Was Pyramid 18 a can of taurine?

J. Edward Tremlett · 04-26-2010, 03:53 PM

You know, the active ingredient in Red Bull, which fuels Warren Ellis' crazed rampage towards the future, one creator-owned comic at a time.

*cough* where were we. Oh yes.

Pyramid 18 - Space Exploration. Did it push you down in your chair like g-force and leave you unable to escape the weight of its words? Did it leave you floating aimlessly in search of inspiration? Did it show you strange new worlds and other life forms, and boldly go... wait.

Anywya, what'd you think about it? Pick up the comm and transmit, space rangers!

Agemegos · 04-26-2010, 06:11 PM

Taurine? 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid? The stuff found in bile?

J. Edward Tremlett · 04-26-2010, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brett

Taurine? 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid? The stuff found in bile?

Yep! And if you keep reading the article, you'll find out its' many other uses. Think about that before you imbibe...

Got a status report on P-18 while you're at it? :)

desorto · 04-26-2010, 11:06 PM

There are several parts I plan on using for a planetbound campaign sometime in the near future. The obelisks and the personality plague, are certainly going to get crammed in there somewhere, somehow. Kelly Pedersen's write up on the ruins will probably inspire a thing or two as well. I'm unsure how well the exploration cards will work, but I'm inclined to try it at least once. Interestingly, this issue now has me looking through issue 17 for things to use.

rogersd · 04-26-2010, 11:45 PM

I'd like to start by saying well done to Kelly for Pele-3. It was really well done, and I like the ideas of the setting to use it as a stand alone world, if and when my players every decide they want to play something besides dungeon fantasy.

The various life pods outlined were also interesting. It reminded me of a tv movie from back in the late 80s, early 90s that saw people trapped in a lifepod after their ship had exploded with the dawning realization that one of them had blown the cruise ship up. The name however, escapes me. The unwanted visitors is my current selection, but I'm not quite done yet.

The cards would be interesting and I could see a person using some to create other randomly generated adventures and settings. Maybe along the lines of Dungeon fantasy.

RogerBW · 04-27-2010, 01:34 AM

I'm rating things on a 1-5 scale; not quite the old Pyramid ratings, but 1 = "no use to me" and 5 = "superb".

Shores Beyond the Night: appealed to me more than the other Pele worlds, though I can't really say why - but I do like the early space exploration feel, and maybe that's it. Pity about the reactionless drives, which break my suspension of disbelief a bit too much; if I were to run it, I think I'd probably dump them for gas-core fission rockets or some other suitably high-impulse but physically plausible drive. Unfortunately I won't get to use this soon, so [3].

Close Encounters of the Unwanted King: seemed a bit too high-tech or high-power for the sort of space game I like. Or to put it another way, I'd have to redirect campaigns round them rather than dropping them into something ongoing as a side quest. Fair enough if that's what's wanted; what I generally look for in Pyramid is stuff I can use in an existing game without severely distorting it. Mind you, the Personality Plague could work in Transhuman Space... [3]

Ruins and More: as usual I really don't find the play-aids useful. I assume they appeal to people other than me. [1]

Cold Horizon: a detailed study of a fairly obscure thing, great stuff. Some typical deckplans would have been nice. [4]

Secondhand Space Exploration: The Power of Probes: this is the sort of game-building advice for which I love GURPS material, working through various possibilities in relation to a particular thing and considering the game implications. [5]

Looting Your Life Pod's Locker: excellent and dense, fine value, broadly applicable. [5]

RTT: Thought-provoking, which is the point, but frustrating because I don't have the time or players to run all the different campaigns I want to. Bah! [4]

walkir · 04-27-2010, 12:03 PM

I tried to add up the life pod stuff but did not find enough stats for it. But I admit I did not look into each book.

The luxury life pod obviously is for third generation managers (build - manage - destroy ;) ) can I understand the quote"no expense was spared making
survivors both comfortable and safe" on page 36 as a stylish x10? (target is to make it from expensive, light-weight materials as mass is everything in space and stylishx5, expensive materials is a lot saner than the other option.)
Next step would be rebuilding that thing to a ut I luxury exploration pod for terran ISW free traders.

Liked the version, but I don't like/need the card things. Well researched articles are of a lot more use to me, as is new equipment/design rules.

lachimba · 05-08-2010, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogersd

The various life pods outlined were also interesting. It reminded me of a tv movie from back in the late 80s, early 90s that saw people trapped in a lifepod after their ship had exploded with the dawning realization that one of them had blown the cruise ship up. The name however, escapes me.

It is Lifepod http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifepod which was a reimagining of Hitchcok's Lifeboat

Sand Rodent · 05-08-2010, 08:56 AM

Shortly before writing Lifepods, I saw Lifeboat, great movie and a bit of inspiration as well.

04-26-2010, 03:53 PM	#1
J. Edward Tremlett Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Lansing, MI	Was Pyramid 18 a can of taurine? You know, the active ingredient in Red Bull, which fuels Warren Ellis' crazed rampage towards the future, one creator-owned comic at a time. cough where were we. Oh yes. Pyramid 18 - Space Exploration. Did it push you down in your chair like g-force and leave you unable to escape the weight of its words? Did it leave you floating aimlessly in search of inspiration? Did it show you strange new worlds and other life forms, and boldly go... wait. Anywya, what'd you think about it? Pick up the comm and transmit, space rangers! __________________ It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Heb. 10:31) "Or the light that never, never warms" (Boc. 6:55) Read SPYGOD. Behold my Linked In Buy my (SJ Games) stuff.

04-26-2010, 06:11 PM	#2
Agemegos Join Date: May 2005 Location: Oz	Re: Was Pyramid 18 a can of taurine? Taurine? 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid? The stuff found in bile?

04-26-2010, 11:06 PM	#4
desorto Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Oklahoma	Re: Was Pyramid 18 a can of taurine? There are several parts I plan on using for a planetbound campaign sometime in the near future. The obelisks and the personality plague, are certainly going to get crammed in there somewhere, somehow. Kelly Pedersen's write up on the ruins will probably inspire a thing or two as well. I'm unsure how well the exploration cards will work, but I'm inclined to try it at least once. Interestingly, this issue now has me looking through issue 17 for things to use.

04-26-2010, 11:45 PM	#5
rogersd Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Saskatchewan, a place colder than Siberia	Re: Was Pyramid 18 a can of taurine? I'd like to start by saying well done to Kelly for Pele-3. It was really well done, and I like the ideas of the setting to use it as a stand alone world, if and when my players every decide they want to play something besides dungeon fantasy. The various life pods outlined were also interesting. It reminded me of a tv movie from back in the late 80s, early 90s that saw people trapped in a lifepod after their ship had exploded with the dawning realization that one of them had blown the cruise ship up. The name however, escapes me. The unwanted visitors is my current selection, but I'm not quite done yet. The cards would be interesting and I could see a person using some to create other randomly generated adventures and settings. Maybe along the lines of Dungeon fantasy. __________________ ...you're a disappointment to me. You've spoiled the keenness of your mind by wallowing in sentimentality... You are an idealist - and I pity you as I would the village idiot.

04-27-2010, 01:34 AM	#6
RogerBW Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: near London, UK	Re: Was Pyramid 18 a can of taurine? I'm rating things on a 1-5 scale; not quite the old Pyramid ratings, but 1 = "no use to me" and 5 = "superb". Shores Beyond the Night: appealed to me more than the other Pele worlds, though I can't really say why - but I do like the early space exploration feel, and maybe that's it. Pity about the reactionless drives, which break my suspension of disbelief a bit too much; if I were to run it, I think I'd probably dump them for gas-core fission rockets or some other suitably high-impulse but physically plausible drive. Unfortunately I won't get to use this soon, so [3]. Close Encounters of the Unwanted King: seemed a bit too high-tech or high-power for the sort of space game I like. Or to put it another way, I'd have to redirect campaigns round them rather than dropping them into something ongoing as a side quest. Fair enough if that's what's wanted; what I generally look for in Pyramid is stuff I can use in an existing game without severely distorting it. Mind you, the Personality Plague could work in Transhuman Space... [3] Ruins and More: as usual I really don't find the play-aids useful. I assume they appeal to people other than me. [1] Cold Horizon: a detailed study of a fairly obscure thing, great stuff. Some typical deckplans would have been nice. [4] Secondhand Space Exploration: The Power of Probes: this is the sort of game-building advice for which I love GURPS material, working through various possibilities in relation to a particular thing and considering the game implications. [5] Looting Your Life Pod's Locker: excellent and dense, fine value, broadly applicable. [5] RTT: Thought-provoking, which is the point, but frustrating because I don't have the time or players to run all the different campaigns I want to. Bah! [4]

04-27-2010, 12:03 PM	#7
walkir Join Date: May 2006 Location: Germany	Re: Was Pyramid 18 a can of taurine? I tried to add up the life pod stuff but did not find enough stats for it. But I admit I did not look into each book. The luxury life pod obviously is for third generation managers (build - manage - destroy ;) ) can I understand the quote"no expense was spared making survivors both comfortable and safe" on page 36 as a stylish x10? (target is to make it from expensive, light-weight materials as mass is everything in space and stylishx5, expensive materials is a lot saner than the other option.) Next step would be rebuilding that thing to a ut I luxury exploration pod for terran ISW free traders. Liked the version, but I don't like/need the card things. Well researched articles are of a lot more use to me, as is new equipment/design rules.

05-08-2010, 08:56 AM	#9
Sand Rodent Join Date: Apr 2010	Re: Was Pyramid 18 a can of taurine? Shortly before writing Lifepods, I saw Lifeboat, great movie and a bit of inspiration as well.