Art?!Art?!Art?!Art?!Recently I found myself trying to explain

roleplaying to non-gamers. Caught up in mytopic, I repeated something that others havehave said before me: Roleplaying is Art.

The funny thing is that untilthat moment I hadn’t reallyconsidered all the ramificationsof that statement. Sure, gamingis a form of art; mostroleplayers would agree withthat without much thought. Butgaming as high Art, asmeaningful and worthy ofrespect as sculpture, painting,or anything else found in amuseum? I know I’d neverthought of it that way.

But it is. Roleplaying is a new form of artwith as much potential for human expressionas any other art form—and with some uniqueproperties. I suspect that the contributors toInterregnum already know this, at least onsome level. After all most of us are adults, inour thirties if not older, and obviously ofreasonable intelligence; no mere game orhobby could inspire such long-lasting loyalty(actually I know better, but stay with me �).

Of course most roleplaying is not really Art.The vast majority of games are just that,games; the point is not to express or expandconsciousness, but to win. Hack 'n’ slash

games have become such a stereotype of gamingthat the term is almost meaningless, but suchgames are still prevalent. In such gamesroleplaying is at most the icing on the cake, and athin icing at that. Yet from personal experience Ican testify that the roleplaying experience has the

potential to be much more,though that potential isall-too-rarely realized.

What are the unique qualitiesof roleplaying as Art?Three—no, four—leap to mind,though if any readers wouldlike to suggest more I’d be veryinterested. Roleplaying is:

1) Social. It requires a groupto exist. Other forms of arthave social aspects, but none inwhich such a degree of

freedom is accorded to all participants.

#7© Peter Maranci October 1994

81 Washington St., #2Malden, MA 02148

home: (617) 397-7958InterNet: maranci@max.tiac.net

Contents

Art!? .........................................................1The Gaming News...................................2A Wonder-full World? ............................3Scenario: The Ice Ruins ..........................4Fiction: In the Box...................................9Comments #6..........................................13TLTF Guest: Rich Staats.............after main body

(separate numbering)

2) Ongoing. Many of the best roleplayingexperiences last for months or years, changingand growing over time. No other art form hasthis quality.

3) Unrecordable. Though in technical termsa roleplaying session could certainly be filmedand otherwise recorded, no record couldreproduce the impact of the game in theprimary stage: the minds of the participants.This is probably one reason why RPGs havenot caught on with the larger population.

4) Finally, roleplaying is not a spectatorevent. It’s difficult to imagine roleplayingbeing performed for an audience, but if it wasit seems likely to produce boredom andconfusion. This, too, is probably a majorreason why RPGs are of limited appeal.

New permutations of gaming can circumventthese last two “problems”; live gamingprobably has the potential to be a spectatorsport (and are “American Gladiators” and prowrestling that different from some LARPS?).However, it’s arguable that LARPS of that sortaren’t really roleplaying. Perhaps the key,unique quality of traditional roleplaying is thatmost of it takes place in the minds of theparticipants. If so, then it may be inherentlyimpossible for gaming to appeal to the majorityof the population—at least, not without aconsiderable change in general education andsensibilities. Or the development ofmind-reading televisions. �

The Gaming NewsThanks to Richard Tucholka of Tri Tac

Games for his kind permission to reprint thefollowing Net post. I hope to include a cartoonon the subject (drawn by a Tri Tac employee) inthe next issue of Interregnum.

The text is reprinted in unaltered form.

rec.games.frp.advocacy #13716

From: tucholka@aol.com (Tucholka)

[1] FBI RAIDS SMALL MICHIGAN RPGCOMPANY

Date: Wed Sep 07 13:07:48 EDT 1994

OK, there have been some wild rumorsabout the FBI raid on Tri Tac Games justafter GENCON. Lets set them straight.

FBI RAIDS SMALL GAME COMPANYPRESS RELEASE

At 10am Tuesday morning, August 23rd, aspecial tactical team from the FBI gainedswift and overwhelming entry into thecorporate offices of Tri Tac Games inPontiac Michigan to the great surprise of theentire staff who were still sipping coffee.

Richard Tucholka, owner and president ofTri Tac, was duly informed of his rights asthe squad of federal agents neatly andpolitely searched the offices of Tri Tacclaiming to be looking for ‘phony FBIIdentification Badges’ and ‘Illicit governmentoperation manuals.’

It is to be noted that Tri Tac Gamespublishes an award-winning Role-PlayingGame called Bureau 13, detailing theadventures of a secret division of the FBIwhich uses magic and Harrier Jump Jets todefend America from supernatural criminalsand monsters.

Page 2 of 16 Peter Maranci

AAAA Wonder-fullWonder-fullWonder-fullWonder-full World?World?World?World?There have been some odd developments on

my recruitment drive for the Wonder campaign. Iposted the flyers shown in Interregnum #6 in twolocal stores several weeks ago. To my surprise,there’s been only one response since then—andthat from someone who saw the flyer inInterregnum, not on the wall.

That doesn’t make sense. In the past I’ve putup much cruder game announcements, and hadten or twenty replies. Why should the mostpolished announcement yet have such a terribleresponse?

I’d pretty much anticipated the reason, I think,and a caller confirmed it. The flyers are toopolished; they look like advertisements for aproduct, not for a campaign. I’ll have to postscraps of paper with a poorly-scrawledannouncement in faded pencil to get a response.In the meantime, a notice posted in a few groupson the Internet has been considerably moreeffective.

I plan to print writeups of the Wondercampaign in future issues. However, I’m not surewhat form these will take. While I often enjoycampaign writeups, they sometimes seem a littlepretentious (at least mine do). Perhaps I’ll simplywrite each adventure up as a scenario after it’splayed.

After painstakingly searching everythingfrom the yet-to-be released CD ROM computergame version of Bureau 13, through thepaperback copies of the Cult -hit novels fromAce Books in New York, absolutely nothingincriminating or illegal was discovered-- anincident close to the precedent setting invasionof Steve Jackson Games a few years ago bythe US secret service which resulted in amajor lawsuit rightfully won by the innocentgame company.

In preparation for another government visit,Mr. Tucholka has informed his lawyer, alertedthe media, and set an extra pot of coffee tobrew for the agents if they return.

****************

Yes, it happened. No kidding. Apparentlysome fool at GENCON thought a $1 doublesized Plastic ID badge on flaming orange andpink paper was a threat to national security.These badges were given to players of Bureau13 as promotional material.

****************

The agents were professional and Tri Taccooperated with them. Computers were nottouched (It is a federal law that a writers‘Works in Progress’ may not be taken.) Theyremoved plastic Bureau 13/FBI ID badges froma display shelf and versions of a Departmentof Justice ID badge produced by DatabankPress.

On Thursday the 25th Richard Tucholkawas informed that the Federal Prosecutorwould not be pressing charges for the badgesbecause there was no malice or intent in theirproduction. There would be a file establishedat the FBI with these badge examples forfuture reference. He was instructed to send inall production copies and masters as well asdestroy the ID Badge Computer Graphics filein question. Richard Tucholka shook his headand said “Only an idiot could think thesebadges were real. Wonderful to see my taxdollars at work.”

And that’s the story.

8)

The Log That Flies Page 3 of 16

I. Hired! (optional)The adventure begins in a northern city,

roughly a month’s travel or less frompermanent ice fields. The party is contacted bya wealthy merchant who seeks capable salvors.He has a map which shows the location of anancient religious artifact which is hidden in acastle in the far north, the Sacred Eye of Hec’t;this is tremendously valuable to the rightpeople. The merchant will bargain strongly, but

will agree to supply the necessary equipment forthe PC expedition plus up to twenty percent ofthe profit from sale of the artifact. If necessary,he will provide enough up-front money topersuade the party to take the job. Oaths ofloyalty may be required.

The map that the merchant supplies isobviously a copy. He admits that he has retainedthe original for safekeeping, but the copy isexact. He also reveals that a previous party wasdispatched on the same errand, but neverreturned. His son Galen was included in thatgroup; if the party returns with his son themerchant will reward them with a large bonus.Galen is carefully described: a young man of 18years with long brown hair, a patchy dark beard,blue eyes and and audacious manner. He carries asword with the family crest marked in sapphireson the hilt.

II. North!The party travels north. Supply encounters as

desired.

III. Chilling OutThe weather becomes bitterly cold. Soon the

party enters ice-covered tundra. Exposure,snow-blindness and hypothermia become likely if

Scenario:There's Snow Place Like Home

The Ice Ruins© Peter Maranci October 1994

This generic scenario is designed for use with any fantasy roleplaying system. The impetus foraction by the PCs is the Search Object. This can be an object tied in to the rest of the campaign;alternatively, the PCs could be hired to recover a lost or rumored object. Details for the latter aresupplied.

If anyone does run this scenario, I’d very much like to hear how it goes. Please drop me a linewith comments and suggestions!

Page 4 of 16 Peter Maranci

the party is careless, and as they travel norththe cold and danger increase.

IV. The Snow CatOn the third day of travel on the ice the

party notices a white and graceful formshadowing their movements. It is a large snowcat, about the size of a cougar or large dog. Itis clever, almost sapient, but it has nocapability for speech. The beast is curiousabout these strange intruders into its territory,and will not attack unless forced.

The hide of the animal is fairly valuable ifproperly preserved. On the other hand, with alittle effort and a few gifts of food the partymay be able to befriend the creature. If so, itwill still not approach them closely, but willnot hide from their sight.

V. Three HuntersThe second week, a hunting

party of three white-fur-cladIce Barbarians is encountered.They call their tribe theSevam. These are a peaceablepeople; hey defend themselvesif attacked, but even so try toavoid killing. If the snow cattravels with the party, thehunters will greet them withfriendship; the beast isconsidered a totem of goodluck by their people.Otherwise, the contact betweenthe two groups must bedetermined through diplomacyand negotiation. Once peacefulcontact is made, the hunters offer theirhospitality to the party. If they accept, they aretaken to a tribal ice-house. It is pleasantlywarm there, and they are asked many questionsabout themselves and their travels. They aretold that a party of Hotlanders (as they callSoutherners) did pass through the area abouteight months ago. After buying some smokedmeat the party continued north, never returning.

The Sevam themselves do not travel that way, forthere is no game there and hunters sometimes donot return.

The elders of the tribe also tell the story of theGreat Freeze. According to legend, these landswere once much warmer; the Sevam lived inlands even further in the north then. But in thespace of a few months the land became muchcolder, so much colder that they were forced tomove south to their present domains.

The PCs are invited to stay the night, orseveral nights. They are given an entirelonghouse to themselves; though dimly lit, andwith a roof so low that they must stoop whenthey walk, it is warm and filled with odd andinteresting curios. The walls are covered with

intricately carvedtusks of forgottenanimals, woventapestriesdepicting scenesfrom unknownmythologies,hides of beastsnever seen insouthern lands, alarge ivory egginscribed in anobscure tongueforetelling strangeprophecies, andanything else theGM desires. Thefloor of the houseis entirelycovered with

enormously thick and warm blankets; there are nobeds as such.

In the morning the characters are fed, and maytrade for goods. None of the Sevam will travelwith the party, but they do wish them good luck.The remainder of the trip north is uneventful, theonly item of interest being a smoking andsteaming hotspring on the third day out. Among

The Log That Flies Page 5 of 16

the dangers the characters face are avalanches,snow-covered crevasses, and any arctic beaststhe GM cares to supply.

VI. The CastleThe party now enters a region so cold that

normal chances of exposure and frostbite aredoubled. There are few geographical featureshere, making navigation difficult. With carefulsearch the party finally discovers the castle.

Little more than ruins remain. The brokenbase of a tower points upward, covered withsnow; this is the sign by which the castle canbe located. The ground here is broken anduneven, with many pits and rocks. Anincredibly fine and powdery snow coverseverything, and the cold is so extreme that thesnow behaves like a fine sand, or even a liquid.There are even snow dunes.

VII. Slippery SlopeA search of the area takes an hour resulting

in the discovery of a large square hole—appar-ently the remains of a downward-leading stonestairway. The walls of the staircase arecompletely obscured by snow. The stair is20 feet deep, but the bottom 10 feet arefilled with powdery snow: fromabove, it appears that the stair endsten feet down on a snowy floor.The stairs are also covered withice, and very slippery; a Dexteritycheck is necessary to avoid falling.Anyone who slips on the stairs fallsdeep into the powder, and appear tohave been swallowed up by the floor.

A character in the powder is likely to beextremely surprised. It is also possible that theymay be injured in the fall, though the snowmay cushion them from the full damage.Adding to the confusion is the fact that afrozen body is lying at the bottom of thestaircase.

A Dexterity check must be made to beginclimbing up the stairs. If climbed on hands andknees, the task will be much easier, though stilldifficult. Should the character remain buried inpowder for more than a minute or two, they willbegin to take damage from the cold.

The characters now face an interestingproblem in physics. How will they get to thedoor? Simply plowing through the snow will beextremely difficult; the characters will have topick a difficult and iced-up lock or break down aheavy door blind, completely submerged in snow.On the other hand, getting the snow out of thehole will also be difficult. It flows almost like aliquid, making shoveling a time-consuming taskindeed. Melting it will result in a large pool ofwater which will soon become ice, blocking thedoor closed—and if the characters wade throughthe water before it freezes, their clothes are likelyto become extremely wet. Wet clothes in deepcold can become a life-threatening hazard withinmoments.

However the PCs resolve thesituation, the body in the

bottom of thestaircase is the

merchant’s son.It is wellpreserved bythe cold, andmatches thedescription of

the merchant’sson; it bears a

sword with a crestmarked in sapphires.

The body’s left leg is badlybroken.

If the party has some means of communicatingwith the dead or otherwise obtaining theinformation, they may discover the following: therest of the party was killed a few miles awaywhen they fell through a thin patch of ice into adeep pit. With the castle in sight, Galen decided

Page 6 of 16 Peter Maranci

to complete the mission; falling through thepowder at the bottom of the stairs, he wasunfortunate enough to break his leg and freezeto death.

VIII. Icy SurpriseThe stairwell ends at a heavy wooden door.

It is locked with a heavy and complex lock,difficult to open. Once opened, it reveals astone corridor ten feet wide, leading straightahead (north). The corridor goes straight for 30feet, slopes downward for another 30 feet, andthen turns left. Waiting around this corner is alarge Silver Blob, about the size of a smallhorse. It is absolutely silent; the characters arelikely to be surprised. The blob registers onmagic-detection spells. It lashes out at the party

with its six pseudopods, hitting six times perround. Each pod has a 50% chance of hitting, andeach does as much damage as shortsword,ignoring metal armor. However, the damage takeseffect the round after a successful hit, as the coldpenetrates.

Two fighters can fight abreast here, or three ata penalty on all attack skills. The creature takesonly minimal damage from ordinary weapons.Weapons under the effect of spells that enhancedamage do only that extra damage which isproduced by the magic. Magic weapons do fulldamage. Unenchanted metal weapons striking thecreature have a 50% chance of shattering due tothe extreme coldness of the blob’s flesh.

The blob is completely vulnerable to heatdamage, and even a fist attack is warm enough todo full damage (though the fist involved wouldtake damage as if hit by a pseudopod). Thecreature has no armor and twice as many hitpoints as a healthy human being. In systemswhich use hit locations, the creature is treated asif it only has one location. The creature cannot bestunned or rendered unconscious. At temperaturesbelow freezing it regenerates 1 hit point perround until dead (except for heat damage).Mind-affecting spells do not affect the blob, andcold-producing spells will actually heal it. It isnormally affected by other magic.

IX. The RoomProceeding on, the party arrives at a large

wooden door with a small shuttered opening at

The Log That Flies Page 7 of 16

eye level. The door is barred on the outside(where the PCs are). Behind the door is askeleton waiting to poke the eye out ofwhoever opens the shutter. A successfulperception roll will alert the players to danger:the faint sound of clacking bones.

This room is the only location of interest inthe ruins. All other corridors are filled withsnow and rubble, or lead to bare chambers.

The room is full of weirdly glowingskeletons, four for every adventurer. Theymove silently to the door as it opens. If twocharacters stand in the doorway, they will faceonly three skeletons at once. The skeletons areunarmed and unarmored, most attacking withclawed hands; two of the skeletons bearancient, ornate axes, which they wield withaverage skill. Strangely, every skeleton“bleeds” a silvery liquid from its bones whenbroken. Though this liquid looks like that ofthe blob, it is inanimate. Apart from theirglowing bones the skeletons are normalundead.

X. And…A search of the room will reveal the

following objects: 3 moldy tapestries, a brasslog-holder by the fireplace, two battered silverlamps of moderate value, a broken woodenchair and a wooden desk in reasonably goodcondition. Inside the drawers of the desk maybe found a writing stone for sharpening pens,several quills in poor condition, some frozenand highly brittle blank parchment, a copperring engraved with the name “Mavia”, anddocuments containing anything the GM feelslike throwing in. However the Sacred Eye isnowhere to be found.

However, the desk itself is extremelyvaluable; it is a product of an ancient artisan ofunparalleled ability, renowned for the beautyand simplicity of his designs. The PCs areunlikely to recognize this fact unless they areexpert traders or wood-carvers. The desk

weighs roughly 400 pounds, and is extremelybulky.

An intensive search of the room reveals ahidden door. This door is opened by a secretmechanism: a nearly invisible catch set inseemingly loose mortar between two nearbystones. Opened, it reveals a small closet-sizedspace: a priest’s hole. Inside is a single inanimateskeleton. Clinging to the decaying bones are thetattered remnants of what was once a fine robe,picked out in cloth-of-gold. A search of the duston the floor of the room produces a small leatherbook with pages eaten away by mold, severalsmall pieces of religious-looking jewelry, and anembroidered strap with a flap attached—the lastbeing made of cloth-of-gold, exquisitelydecorated with jewels. It is an odd piece, but maybe recognized as an eyepatch.

Inside the skull of the skeleton rests the Eye ofHec’t. It possesses no magical powers usable bynonbelievers, though it is detectable as magic.

XI. ReturnThe return should be relatively uneventful. If

special effort was made to retain its friendship,the snow cat might choose to stay with the party.The tribe of Sevam will appreciate hearing thestory of the party’s adventures. The merchant willbe most grieved to hear of the death of his son,but will keep his bargain. And the religiousjewelry may be sold for a considerable sum.

Page 8 of 16 Peter Maranci

Topic #6:TheTheTheThe Horror…Horror…Horror…Horror…thethethethe Horror…Horror…Horror…Horror…

Ironically enough, I couldn’t think ofanything much to say about horror for thisissue. Instead here’s a new story which may bemildly horrifying.

In The BoxCopyright Peter Maranci 1994

Where the hell am I?

Nothing. There’s nothing. No light, nodarkness. Jesus, what’s happened to me?

All right, hold on. Shout.

“Hey!”

Nothing. I can’t hear anything. Can’t feelanything. Am I breathing? I

Hold it hold it HOLD IT. Think. I’m ascience fiction guy—there’s got to be anexplanation.

First things first. I think, therefore I am.Heh. Never thought that lesson would beuseful. What’s the Latin for that? Res ipsetloquitur. No, that’s not it. Mrs. Hodes wouldbe pretty disgusted…but then, I never knew asmuch Latin as she thought. I

Sensory deprivation? Like that movie withthe ape-man? But how’d I get here? And

No light, no dark. Doesn’t make sense—it’sgot to be one or the other. Could it be my opticnerve? If my nerve was burned out, would thishappen? No…it would have to be braindamage, I think. But I don’t feel damaged.

Would I know?

Suspended animation? Not in 1994. Hold it.

I went to sleep. The last thing I did was go tosleep. In my bed. And I never signed up for thatcryogenic suspension insurance thing anyway.Besides, I don’t believe a frozen brain can thinkno matter what Larry Niven says.

Maybe I had a heart attack and my folks hadme frozen.

No. They’d never get to me in time. My brainwould be spoiled meat.

Not spoiled. Not spoiled. I can think. I canthink.

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO ME?WHAT’S—

White room. Misty walls. Like 2001. This hadbetter not be Heaven, or I’m going to feel prettystupid. Hey, I have a body!

“Yeah!”

Ears work too! All right. I’m okay. All hereand in working order! I hope.

“Where the f_ck am I?”

“Welcome.” I spin. White suit, white slouchhat—he looks like Patrick McGoohan in ThePrisoner. He’s seated in a big misty throne,smiling.

Pause. “Okay.” Grin on one side. “Okay.What’s…what’s going on? Where am I?”

He smiles that crooked smile. “You’re in myhome. And you’re welcome.”

The Log That Flies Page 9 of 16

Um. Better be smart. “Thanks. What’s mystatus? What year is this?”

He chuckles. McGoohan never sounded likethat. “Nothing to worry about—really. You’refine. If there’s anything you want—and I meananything—ask.”

“Is this the future?”

That smile again. “You could say that. Careto see it?”

God, I’m so tired! But I’ve got to. But it’sall too much. “Please. Could you tell me how Igot here? Are we in Boston—I mean,Massachusetts? And why am I—”

“Hold it.” Soft, but sharp. “There’s no rush.Let’s have some suitable surroundings.”

My bedroom! What a mess. Is he—stillthere. I guess it’s not a dream. But I knew that.

He grins, waves his hand. Sh_t! Every-thing’s flying into place! It’s never been thisclean before…even that spot on the carpet—

“Bet you’ve wanted to be able to do that fora long time.” He’s smiling. Pleased withhimself. I sit on the bed, lie down looking athim. Weird thought: I hope I’m not some sortof futuristic catamite. No—can’t be. Thatwould be too ridiculous. I scootch back untilI’m sitting with my back against the wall. He’slooking at me.

“So. Let me think for a minute. I mean…canI…”

One-sided grin as he spreads his hands. Iclose my eyes. I’d like to pull the blankets overmy head…hold on.

Magic is still bullshit. This is the future.Technology. With that sort of special effect it

must be…probably…a computer simulation.Makes sense. Am I a hologram?

“Am I a hologram?”

Grin on both sides that time, and a nod. “Closeenough. ‘Simulation’ would be a better word.”

Um. Simulation. Um. Ohhhh… “So I’m dead.”

One side, but he looks a little sympathetic.“Not really. You’re you. Peter Maranci. Is thereany point in thinking about it any other way?”

Hmm. I guess not. God.

“Am I a second-class citizen? Or any sort ofcitizen? Do I have any rights?”

A temporizing look. “Well, no. But I do treatmy guests humanely. You’ll be well treated. And,well, there’s no double whammy here—notomato surprise. This isn’t the Twilight Zone, andyou won’t find that you’re actually in Hell. Youshould be happy. I want you to be comfort-able—you have nothing to worry about. Really.”A searching, sincere look. “You’re tired. Getsome rest; we’ll talk in the morning. I’ll answerall your questions in the morning.”

I am tired. And he’s gone! Wait, a tiredhologram? Programming. Dammit, I’m a puppet.

But I’m real. And so tired…

Wish he’d left a hologram woman forme…what kind of future is this…heh. Nah.

*****

WHOA. What a dream. The alarm’s not on! Isit a workday? Am I late?

Him again. (No!). Now he looks like Gandalf,but I can tell—it’s him. “There’s no more workfor you. You won’t have to go back to the firmagain.”

Page 10 of 16 Peter Maranci

“Okay. I guess there had to be an upside tothis.”

“More than that, you’ll see. So. Questions?”

“What year is it?”

“2064. A.D., of course. Anno Domini.”

“And I’m in a computer. Can I see what it’slike outside? Do we have FTLflight?”

“Faster than light? No. It may turn up someday, but no one’s very interested any more.After all, our world is effectively infinite insize.”

“So most people live like this? Hooked intocomputers?”

“Those who can afford it. Though most whodo are careful to take care of themselves.Fitness is more…more a part of society than itwas, even in your day. We’re not pod people.”

“So what’s happened? Are there spacecolonies? New inventions? New advances inphysics—what’s the successor to ChaosTheory? Who’s in the White House—is therestill a White House?”

He laughs…he’s enjoying this. “Okay, sitback. I’ll give you a show. With pictures.”

He does. It’s a hell of a show. Things didn’tturn out as badly as I feared, it seems. Thoughnot as well as I could have hoped. Different,mostly. Funny, because that doesn’t surpriseme at all. Always expect the unexpected—Ifigured that one out a long time ago.

*****

The show goes on. Day after day…everymorning I wake up, and he’s there. Notpushing, but there. If I ask him to leave me

alone for a while, catch my breath, will he turnme off?

He really seems to like all this. I’d better becareful…I know how easy it is to erase aprogram. Can I escape? Is he telling me thetruth?

The things he can do in this room—no, thisholospace, are incredible. Any sensation, anysetting…I can’t imagine how many program-ming-hours went into this. It’s all so real.

He’s gone again, and I’m tired. The room isdifferent now, bigger, more comfortable. Silly notto take advantage of my condition, I guess. Just afew bytes changed and I’m in a space suiteinstead of Malden. Pretty amazing. And heseemed to enjoy doing it. He sure gets a kick outof this place…

Jeeze. All these changes. And…am I real? Oh,God, am I real?

I’m me. I remember. I remember spending theday home sick in my bathrobe when I wasfourteen after I watched Mommie Dearest,screeching like Faye Dunaway and cleaning justfor the fun of having something to scream about.“But is it clean Christina? Do you think it’sclean?” Heh.

I remember. The fall in the library when I wasfour. My baby blanket. That pink wax rabbit.That atomic mole nightmare when I was four.Yeah, I’m me. And if they programmed me tothink that I know myself…they’ve done a damngood job. Screw it.

*****

Next day. He looks like Orson Welles in TheThird Man. I’m getting reckless, but I don’t care.“Are you a hologram?”

The Log That Flies Page 11 of 16

He’s amused. “No. It would be safe enoughto say that I’m real. No offense intended, ofcourse.”

“And your appearance…just a sort of “suit”,as it were?”

“Exactly. I’m not surprised that you’recatching on so quickly, given your backgroundin science fiction.”

I nod. “You’ve told me a lot. Thank you.”He nods and smiles.

“Just one more thing. Why am I here?”

Is that a smirk or a grimace? With Orson, isthere a difference? I can’t tell.

“It’s…a hobby, if you will. A popular onefor intelligent people. Talking to artificialpersonalities. You can bring back Beethovenfrom the dead, for example, and restore hishearing, play modern music for him, show himmodern entertainment equipment. His reactionsare wonderful.”

I have to take this in. “You know, I think Ican see the appeal. I remember I sometimeswondered what Beethoven would think of TheyMight Be Giants.”

He nods. “Or of Oingo Boingo. You get theidea. Of course some programs are morepopular than others. There’s Elvis, forexample. Or Marilyn Monroe—one of thehottest programs around. Something like sixyears on the New York Times best-seller list.”

Ho ho. “I don’t suppose she just answersquestions.”

He has the grace to look a little embar-rassed. “No, of course not. She’s usually prettygrateful to find out that she’s not dead.”

“Do you have many holopeople?”

“We call them Sims. Hmm. Yes, I have decentcollection. A bit esoteric, some rare items…thereprobably aren’t more than two hundred people inthe world who have Paul Linebarger, forexample.”

Wow. Cordwainer Smith? Too much. “Howdo you…get them?”

“There are stores. People trade. Some are gifts.Oh, you mean how're they made? Some areprogrammed, designed—talking autobiographies,so to speak. Though the better ones have graftedemotional tracks.”

“Am I going to meet these…Sims?”

“Maybe later—some of them, anyway.”

Something in his voice… “Some of them areerased, aren’t they.”

“Yes. But you won’t be.”

*****

‘Night’. Strange that I should have insomniawhen I don’t even have a body. Strange that itshould seem dark when I’m really nothing morethan electrical impulses—light, really—in amachine. It’s all so insane. And…say, why me?Elvis and Marilyn I can understand, but why me?I’m not famous, and I didn’t die—at least, I don’tremember dying.

*****

Next day. He looks strange, smooth butsomehow old—the first body I don’t recognize.

I don’t want to ask him. We talk and talk. Butfinally there’s nothing else to say.

“Who programmed me? What sort ofbiography did they use to make me up?”

Page 12 of 16 Peter Maranci

He’s giving me a strange look. “Sorry, Ididn’t tell you. Not all Sims are composites. Ifthe original is available, they can make apersonality print. It’s more complicated thanthat, but that’s the gist of it. You’re a print.”

Huh. What the hell was I thinking? “Look,why me? What did I do? I mean, why do youhave me?”

“Why you?” He smiles strangely. “You tellme.”

He’s gone.

He’s crazy. How the hell should I knowwhy? Maybe I became famous. But how?There were no prospects in the near future. Itdoesn’t make any sense—

Oh. Oh no—yes. It makes sense. The bodieshe wears. The way he seems to know everyobscure fact I mention. Even the way hespeaks. All of it so familiar. All of it just likeme.

My God. I’m the ultimate in personalizedaccessories. Yourself in a box?

How could he do this to me?

How did I get to be such a bastard?

I want out.

-end-

Comments #6Doug Jorenby: Regarding the possibility

of creating a truly alien perspective, I suspect thatthe question won’t be resolved until we encountera truly alien race. On the other hand, we haveraces right here that may help explore the issue.Take cats, for example. As a cat person, I’mfirmly convinced that cats have a wide emotionalspectrum, and that there’s no emotion that a catmay feel that I couldn’t understand. Does thatmean that cats and human beings share afundamental similarity, or am I just deludingmyself that these small carnivores are like me? �

Castle Falkenstein sounds extremelyinteresting. With your strong recommendation inmind, I picked up the book in the local gamestore. It’s been a while since I last bought a newgame system; I was shocked to see that the pricewas over $30! I found that I simply could notpull out $30 from my wallet for a game.Especially one that I was unlikely to play, notbecause the game isn’t good but because I’m notplaying any new games. Weird, huh?

Re the question of which form of LARPfosters better world development, InteractiveLiterature or Live Combat: It depends on thegame, I guess. The Interactive Lit. games I’veseen have all been one-weekend deals, with adiffering background for each new game; thismakes it difficult to develop a continuing world.On the other hand, the “worlds” of Live Combatgames are generally rather crude and simplistic.Tabletop roleplaying blows the doors off of bothkinds of LARP in any case.

George Phillies: I believe that asuperhero LARP could indeed be done, but itwould work best in an Interactive Literatureformat. In any case, need a superhero gamefeature flying and other showy effects? A gamewith a more sedate power level might work verywell, if handled right. The challenge would be tofind a team of GMs up to the task.

The Log That Flies Page 13 of 16

The new novel looks great—I look forwardto the next installment. For some reason Ireally enjoy fantasy genre works more thansuperhero stories; I’m not sure why. In anycase, the beginning of No Tears for aPrincess/The Warrior Unseen (is that the wholetitle, or are they two alternatives?) is deft andinvolving. I have to wonder what your secret isfor handling dialog.

Gil Pili: I appreciate your concern over

the possibility of a flamewar in IR; thus farwe’ve managed to avoid that problem, andwith any luck we’ll continue to do so. Frankly,I don’t think they make interesting reading.And we’re all a little old to be squabbling inpublic (not that we have anything to besquabbling about).

Am I to conclude that you’ve actually stuckyour finger in an electric socket? Howshocking. Sorry. I apologize. Couldn’t helpmyself. �

I too am looking forward to the Stargatemovie, and even more toward Heinlein’s ThePuppet Masters. Of course, they’ll probablystink; it seems that the only good sciencefiction movies I ever see are those that I expectto be bad. On the other hand, it’s nice to seethat science fiction in the movies is clearly hereto stay. Given the “name” stars in bothfeatures, we’re clearly out of the B-movieghetto for good.

“Clouds, Like Sentinels” was very interesting,Gil—very different. The conclusion was perhapsa bit depressing, but it worked. Though it mighthave been a trifle abrupt…I’ll have to re-read thisone a few more times and think about it.Definitely food for thought, which is good.

Curtis Taylor: First, my sympathies onthe car accident, and congratulations that youyourself were unharmed. I’ve been in a numberof accidents myself (though they were never myfault; the first time I was hit by a speeding car asI walked my bicycle across a road at the age of12), and I know well how much they can take outof you. It’s inevitable that we’re all going to beinvolved in auto accidents; anything you canwalk away from has to be considered okay.Frightening, but better your car than your life,right?

That reminds me of a horror story of my own:in fact, two of the accidents I was in wherenotably bizarre to say the least. Remind me toemail you about ‘em sometime.

The RQCon 2 information looked extremelyenticing; it’s a pity that I won’t be able to makeit, but it conflicts with Arisia, the one conventionI’ve always gone to. Would you be interested inrepresenting IR at RQCon 2?

Perhaps I should consider myself fortunate thatI can’t say anything meaningful about the cardinfo. Magic: The Gathering is a cruel monkeyto have on one’s back…�

Dale Meier: The Toon items weredefinitely amusing, Dale—they fit in well withthe spirit of the best old cartoons. Speaking ofwhich, I’ve noticed with shock that old BugsBunny cartoons are actually being censored inreruns! For example, there’s one classic in whichDaffy and Bugs are in a contest to entertain anaudience. Daffy is technically better, but bombsevery time while Bugs gets a huge response withno effort. Finally, Daffy performs a killer act: heswallows nitroglycerine, gunpowder, Uranium

Page 14 of 16 Peter Maranci

238, shakes well, swallows a lighted matchand…BOOM!

In a rerun on Nickelodeon a few days agothe “swallow a lighted match” line wasobviously cut. I suppose that the networkexecutives (read: morons) thought that somekid might swallow a lighted match in imitation(as if swallowing gunpowder and TNT areokay! �). If this keeps up, we’ll soon bewatching nothing but Barney. This sort ofthing must be stopped.

The reviews were excellent. Just the sort ofsubstantive material that Interregnum needs. Iwas interested to see that Judge Dredd is stillbeing published, since I read the original stuffmany years ago.

As for what LARP system I’d recommend:in part that depends on what LARP organiza-tions are in your area. I suspect that there maynot be any? If so, your choices are limited. TheIFGS rules are workable for combat and such.Interactive Literature rules can be easier toroleplay with. However, there are no ILrulebooks that I know of on the market.Perhaps the Nexus rules recently published byChaosium would serve your needs, though Iagree with a recent assessment of the authorsin a past issue: one’s a nice guy, the other is areal jerk. For some reason, I have a problempurchasing the artistic work of jerks, no matterhow good that work might be…

Virgil Greene: In your review ofhumorous games you neglected to mentionTWERPS, The World’s Easiest Role PlayingGame System; that seems odd, since you’vebeen such a fan of that system for so long.

The comedy bits were very good. You maybe interested to hear that a reader of thepromotional issues singled them out for praise.

Interesting review of The World Builder. Itseems that new roleplaying magazines come

into existence so frequently (and disappear just asquickly) that you may never run out of newpublications to review. I’ve mailed a set of IRs tothe editor of the Zine-Find for review, and willreport on the result when it turns up.

Collie Collier: “You’re Playing What?!”

is an excellent article, scholarly (but veryreadable) and thorough. Nice work. However,there does seem to be a section missing; is thatmy fault? I have a nagging fear whenever Iformat a zine that the text will somehow bedamaged.

A random thought: Is it necessary that theplayer characters in a campaign be a team? Coulda game function without a team?

I couldn’t help but start to apply yourarchetypal team roles to other dramatic situations.How would you classify Iago, for example?

David Dunham: A “well-spoken” StormBull worshipper!? He’s obviously a Trickster indisguise! �

I enjoy your RuneQuest material verymuch—it’s wonderfully dense. I can’t recall ifyou published the mechanics of Pendragon Pass

The Log That Flies Page 15 of 16

in The Wild Hunt, but if not perhaps you couldpublish them here—if Chaosium doesn’t mind.

I admired the use of the marriage ceremonyin the campaign. That’s a major (and terrifying)experience for anyone which is simply ignoredby 99% of GMs. I remember a game in whichmy own character got married; it was a seminalpoint in his life, a major milestone. And acompletely non-violent one.

David Hoberman: AD&D™ is“light” fantasy, David? That’s a bit hard tobelieve! The game is almost always an focusedon killing and death. “Light” fantasy to mewould be, say, The Wind In the Willows. Isuppose some fuzzy animal games might fitthat pattern, but those I’ve heard of havefollowed the same pattern of violence as moretraditional games, and even “dark”games—which seem to be distinguished frommainstream games more by attitude than bycontent.

Wonder may be a light fantasy game—or atleast, lighter than most. There will be somecombat, but probably very little. Can interest ina game be sustained without recourse to thequick fix of conflict? Well, yes. My Nereyoncampaign has very little violence, though inmany ways it’s darker and more tragic (orbathetic) than games such as Vampire.

A very amusing campaign writeup. Willthere be more, or was that a one-shot?

Elizabeth McCoy: Welcome to IR,Elizabeth! Glad to have you aboard, even ifonly for an occasional visit.

It’s interesting that you should chooseamnesia as a topic. I’ve written extensivelyabout that topic in The Wild Hunt, and evenpracticed it on David with mixed results. I’malmost surprised he allowed you to try it afterhis experience with me…�

Needless to say, I agree with you absolutely. Acharacter with amnesia is a very good way to geta key role with lots of roleplaying potential in agame. And the better your GM, the moreinteresting and challenging your character will be.

BE MY GUEST IIDirectly following this page is the course

syllabus for “Designing a Fantasy Role-PlayingWorld” by Rich Staats. Some readers mayremember his scenario “The Fastest Tentacle Inthe West” in IR #3. I was forced to format thearticle rather hastily; any errors are probablymine, not Rich’s fault.

NEXTISHOn time and larger, I hope.

—>PetePetePetePete

COLOPHONThe Log That Flies #7 was gestated in a P.

Maranci 30.5 brain. Much of the text wasthen written with PC-Write 2.5, an ancient butserviceable villain word processor.

The text was formatted for desktop publica-tion using Publish-It 4.0 for Windows, acranky but cheap DTP program.

The DTPed document was printed at aruinous cost at a laser printing service, on a300 dpi laser printer.

Most of the art in TLTF is taken frombooks of copyright-free clipart published bythe Dover Publishing Co. of Mineola, NY.Reviews of various Dover books may beprinted in future issues.

The art was copied on a Kodak 2110high-speed duplicator.

Is it just a coincidence that Quark the Ferrengi on Deep Space 9 looksexactly like Ross Perot? � —>Pete

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