Web Posted May 05, 2001
Updated September 04, 2001

Happy New Year. Thanks to all of you, CWIN is starting its fourth year of publication. One of my New Year's resolutions is to get the magazine back on schedule, releasing each issue on the first of each month. I would appreciate if you would send me articles and news regularly to help keep me on schedule. Make me feel guilty of not releasing CWIN on time by filling my inbox with many submissions! Please give me the same problem the editor of Pyramid Online staff has: a slushpile.
 

WHERE IS WADA?

For administrative reasons, the WADA Web site has been removed from the Web space of Philip White, the former WADA League Manager. You can find most of the WADA files on SWAT HQ. Because of space limitations, the two ADQ&A Compendiums are not on SWAT HQ. I hope to have those databases back on the Internet within three months.

For reasons entirely unrelated to the relocation of the WADA Web site (i.e. to save credits for new cyberdecks), SWAT has decided to not renew its lease of the autoduel.com domain name on February 02, 2001, the date when the lease ends. The purpose of having an easy-to-remember domain name for the WADA Web site was to promote WADA. Now the organization has been well-received by the Car Wars community, SWAT has decided to save the money spent on a domain name for other projects. Remember if the WADA Web site moves back to the Web space of Philip White, the autoduel.com hyperlinks will no longer direct you to WADA HQ after next month.

Philip White and I hope to have WADA back on its own Web space before summer. If there is enough demand and the financial resources exist, SWAT might lease a custom domain name again for WADA. Until official announcements about these issues are published, you can find the WADA files by visiting the WADA Web site.

The 2050 WADA League Standings has been updated to include all of the 2050 events I have received. Please review the statistics and tell me of errors before January 31, 2001. The 2050 WADA Champion will be announced on February 02, 2001.

If you are aiming to claim the 2051 WADA Championship, start dueling now. The new tournament's files are on SWAT HQ and RMADA has been given the first points of the league. Is the start of Robert Deis, Arthur Samuels, and the rest of the Denver Daemons dominating the 2051 WADA Championship? Keep your radar locked on SWAT HQ for the answer.
 

2001: AN AUTODUELIST'S ODYSSEY

Wow. The year of 2001 has finally arrived. Where were you twenty years ago? Do you remember these special events that occurred in 1981?

* Snake Plisskin taking a 20-hour vacation in Escape From New York
* James Bond (with a crossbow-wielding female companion) facing MG-armed motorcycles on snow in For Your Eyes Only
* Max Rocketansky destroying the last of the Main Force Patrol's V-8 Interceptors in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
* Gaming stores started selling a ziplock bag containing a strange game about automotive combat called Car Wars.

Besides Steve Jackson Games releasing new Car Wars products, how do you want the 20th anniversary of Car Wars to be celebrated? What do you want the AADA to do for you? How can SWAT, WADA, and CWIN make your Car Wars activities better? What resources would you like to see on Car Wars HQ? Make your comments known by sending e-mail to SWAT and posting to Car Wars discussion forums.

As I asked several issues ago, I want to print stories of gamers first encountering Car Wars in CWIN throughout 2001. Please start writing!
 

ODDS AND ENDS

Autodueling Simulations

SWAT would like to create a comprehensive list of auto-combat electronic games. I will need release dates, platforms, and manufacturers. If anyone is interesting in helping create this database, contact SWAT.
 

Car Wars Event Schedules

WADA has updated its Car Wars Event Schedule. The only other page of its kind is the AADA Event Schedule but that document has not been updated since last year. Please tell me about Car Wars games at conventions so I can make the WADA page useful to all road warriors.
 

KRASH

Are there any Car Wars fans who play KRASH, the auto-combat miniatures game? SWAT would like to support KRASH in CWIN but only if there are submissions for the game.
 

The Nightmessenger

NOVA is still publishing its quarterly journal. Each issue of The Nightmessenger is full of gadgets, vehicle designs, roleplaying articles, and silliness you will not find on the Internet. Please support this project by subscribing. Visit the NOVA Web site for subscription details.
 

Player Registries

Because of the relocation of the WADA Web site, the WADA Player Registry will be indefinitely offline. Please add yourself to the various gamer databases on the Internet, and contact the autoduelists in your area that are listed on those registries. Player lists such as The Autoduelist, Access Denied, and the SJ Games Opponent Finder will be valuable only if gamers use them. Remember the WADA Player Registry existed only because Car Wars players supported gamer databases.

While it is not on the Internet, I am continuing to update the WADA Player Registry. If you are having difficulty finding opponents in your area, drop me a line and I will send you the results of mining gamer databases for Car Wars players.
 
 

SCAB Mailing List

AADA Head Referee Eric Freeman and Southern California Autodueling Brotherhood have a very active mailing list. Although its content is intended for Southern California Car Wars players, auto-combat enthusiasts in all areas are welcomed to subscribe and will regularly find information useful to them. SWAT highly recommends the list.

SCAB Mailing List
Scab@blar.org
http://blar.org/mailman/listinfo/scab_blar.org
 

WADA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Are there any drivers who earned high points totals in the 2049 and 2050 WADA Leagues interested in visiting Washington State to fight against other duelists who performed well in the two WADA Leagues? SWAT would like to add a play-off tournament to the WADA League but SWAT needs input from the Car Wars community. If you are interested in such an event, contact SWAT.
 
 

Thank you for supporting SWAT for three years, Dueling Debate for three years, and WADA for two years. I look forward to making the next twenty years of Car Wars gaming great with all of you.

Drive Offensively,

Michael P. Owen
 

DOMINO DEATH
http://www.tomsmithonline.com/lyrics/dominodeath.htm

A song of (funny) vengeance and bloodletting, inspired by Steve Jackson Games' brilliant Car Wars. Not only is the song not a
vilification of pizza drivers nor of a certain pizza company, but I get their pizza a whole lot, which explains why I now have an equator
instead of a waistline.

Words and Music: © 1988 Tom Smith
tom@tomsmithonline.com
 

ASSOCIATED AUTODUELISTS OF THE INLAND EMPIRE'S HOUSE RULES

Subject: General / House Rules
Message Board: Dueling Debate <http://www.delphi.com/carwars>
From: EDGARLINCOLN
Date: Nov 15, 2000 1:09 pm

Well, I've found the list for AAIE House Rules is longer than I thought since I joined this forum, but I'll try to list them.

1. No tire shots.

2. VFRPs use the old (fifteen 2d rockets) rules.

3. Smart links can be used with SWCs. Smart links can be used to link weapons within weapon groups (MG, VMG, HMG; ATG, RR, BC; the ATG, RR and BC are all considered large-bore recoilless weapons).

4. Starting speed is five times acceleration.

5. Gas tanks must have at least five gallons of fuel.

6. Explosive-tipped spikes will take wheels.

7. Vehicular fires do not go internal until armor is breached but fire does cause 1/2d to all exposed components. (The AAIE is still working on this one.)

8. Speed modifiers run from -1 at 30 mph to -6 at 80+ mph

9. The hazards for damage do not top out at D3. They continue at D1 per 5 points damage. For example, a 75mm TG round averages a D9 hazard when it hits.

10. The only limits on weapons are AGLs and toxin gas. Other than that, it is all good.

11. In our regular games, all variants for characters and Uncle Schmalbert's items are useable. One of the more memorable cars of the last year was Tom's Mime Dropper, a station wagon filled with giant and midget mimes carrying various hand weapons.

12. Overdrive is usable on IC engines.

13. No mid-turn accelerations.

14. Maneuvers don't count against your to-hit rolls.

I think that's most of them.

Edgar T. "Guru" Lincoln
AAIE President
lincolnis@juno.com
 

$44,100 TRAFFIC FINE SETS RECORD IN FINLAND
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/nation-world/html98/fine09_20000909.html

by Matti Huuhtanen
The Associated Press and The Seattle Times
Web Posted September 9, 2000, 0000 PST

HELSINKI, Finland -- A dot-com millionaire said yesterday he is fighting a huge traffic fine -- reportedly $44,100 -- leveled against him on charges he was driving his Ferrari in a dangerous manner.

On a recent spin through downtown Helsinki, Jaakko Rytsola, 27, switched lanes too often and endangered other traffic, police said. Two newspapers reported the size of the fine.

Since traffic fines in Finland are linked to an offender's income, Rytsola's was high enough to top the previous unofficial record. That mark was held by NHL star Teemu Selanne, fined $40,200 in June for reckless driving after he hit another car head-on while driving 80 mph on a narrow gravel road.

Rytsola, 27, denied yesterday he was posing a danger in his Ferrari 360 Modena and said police acknowledge he wasn't speeding.

He did not confirm the amount of the fine, but he said he'll pay it if his appeal is rejected.

There is no limit to how high traffic fines in Finland can go: The higher the offender's income, the higher the penalty.

Neither newspaper reported the formula for assessing fines, but Selanne made $5.45 million last year playing for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

"Some people have called for a ceiling to traffic fines, but I'm not a lawmaker and am not so sure that a ceiling on fines would be purely positive," Rytsola said.
 

ANY REVIEWS OF KRASH?

From: Patrick Dolan <patdolan67@home.com>
Subject: Krash - Collectible car combat miniatures game, any reviews?
Date: 24 Mar 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.board,rec.games.miniatures,rec.games.miniatures.misc

Saw this at my local hobby store. It's $24.00 U.S., gives you two cars and 12 "accessories." They also had an extra car for $10.00 U.S., and a box of six accessories for $4.00 U.S. Anyone picked this up? Is it worth the money? What's it play like? I'd like to get into another car combat game, and the minis look nice on the box . . . The whole "collectible" aspect seems pretty odd to me though . . .
 

From: Andrew Goldman <sushiass@lightlink.com>
Subject: Re: Krash - Collectible car combat miniatures game, any reviews?
Date: 25 Mar 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.board,rec.games.miniatures,rec.games.miniatures.misc

Hey, Patrick,

Here is a link to a page with a bunch of reviews on various games, done in alphabetical order. There are two reviews for Krash.

RPGnet Reviews
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/alpha.html
 

From: DavidR3986 <davidr3986@aol.comnospam>
Subject: Re: Krash - Collectible car combat miniatures game, any reviews?
Date: 24 Mar 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

I've bought into Krash. I got the basic set, one extra car, and one set of accessories. I also won another car box at a tournament.

Is it worth the money?

Actually, it's probably a bit overpriced. I did a price comparison with it's original price in Sweden, and there seems to be a 20% markup over it's 'native' value. Also, what you get in the set is a little lacking, more on that as I answer more of your questions.

What's it play like?

This is Krash's strong suit. It's a lot of fun to plau . . . imagine the mayhem of Car Wars, but incredibly fast and easy.  To restate it, the game plays fast, it's very simple, and it's a lot of fun.

I'd like to get into another car combat game, and the mini's look nice on the box . . .

Well, here's where the game falls down a bit. The minis on the box are painted very nicely, and you can't tell at all what their actual quality is
like. However, when you see the actual minis, you're in for a bit of a shock. I found them to have a lot of quality problems. Basically, there is a lot of thick flash and, for lack of a better word, crud on these minis. It will take *A LOT* of work with a file and a sharp knife to clean them up.
The accessories are often slightly warped, and don't always seem to fit on the cars very well. It's going to take a little manuel bending and some putty to fill in the gaps. The result of all this labor will look pretty good, but it's a lot of work to do on something that winds up being about the size of a Matchbox car, but costs $10.00 U.S.

The whole "collectible" aspect seems pretty odd to me though . . .

The collectible aspect of the game comes from the random assortment of weapons. Basically, I don't think you're going to be happy with the results if you just buy a single car and its weapons. The equipment you get probably won't strike you as being very effective or aesthetically pleasing. Buying more than one car, or buying one of the equipment boxes, is probably going to be necessary before you can construct a satisfactory death machine.

I did a pretty thorough review of Krash on RPGnet a while ago. Mostly I repeat what I say here, but I have some additional comments on the background that you might be interested in.

My original review is here:

RPGnet Reviews: KRASH First Look
http://rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_2784.html

And my second review after having played the game is here:

RPGnet Reviews: KRASH Second Look
http://rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_2878.html

Enjoy!
 

From: Doug "Ducalguard" <ducalguard@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Krash - Collectible car combat miniatures game, any reviews?
Date: 24 Mar 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

Did you say the cars are the size of Matchbox cars? This would put it in line with Dark Future. Might be worth picking up the boxes of weapons to add onto more Matchbox cars if this is the case.
 

From: DavidR3986 <davidr3986@aol.comnospam>
Subject: Re: Krash - Collectible car combat miniatures game, any reviews?
Date: 25 Mar 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

Yep, they're a pretty close match. In fact, in the tournament I played in, one of the players had used exactly that method to outfit a car. Also, depending on what "proxy" car you buy, you could get "free" equipment in Krash terms. For example, an off-road car with rugged tires could correspond to Krash's "jeep wheels," while a car with an exaggerated, visible engine could be considered to have a "turbocharger" already installed.
 
 

ANYBODY PLAY KRASH?

From: Arjen Pilon <aepilon@studenten.net>
Subject: Anybody play KRASH?
Date: 11 Aug 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

Hi there. I just picked up the core box of the game Krash, a miniatures game in which you play with cars at about toy car scale. Do any of you
have it? Do any of you play it? If so, is it any fun? It seemed cool to me, maybe a bit much like Car Wars, but I don't play that so that doesn't really matter?

Thanks,

Arejn Pilon

P.S. The game is pretty new.
 

From: Morpheus <pop_g@my-deja.com>
Subject: Re: Anybody play KRASH?
Date: 11 Aug 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

Some guys at a local store have picked it up. They say it's pretty intersting and they plan on having a few in store events.
 

From: David Rhode <drhode@utmem.edu>
Subject: Re: Anybody play KRASH?
Date: 12 Aug 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

I've played Krash. It is *a lot* of fun, and definitely worth the investment. The difficulty is weaning people away from other miniatures games long enough to give it a try.

Krash is only similar to Car Wars in the sense that it involves conflict between automobiles. Car Wars is a very detailed, realistic (within its own
terms), and alas, slow-playing board game. Krash is a very fast-playing, although pretty unrealistic miniatures game. Krash is probably best
described as a "beer and pretzels" game, focusing on fun and speed over depth and realism.

Krash's major weakness is the quality of its miniatures. They have a lot of flash and crap, and will require a lot of filing to clean up. However,
they do paint up nicely.

Krash's minor weakness is the rulebook. Although the rules are simple, you will be referencing them during your first few games, and it's hard to find the rules you want when you want them. Also, there's a picture missing in the fire arcs section, but you'll be able to figure it out anyway.

Now that the worst bits are out of the way, we can get to the better bits. Krash is billed as a "collectible" miniatures game. The collectible aspect derives from the random weapon and equipment assortment you get with the cars. You will probably want to buy several cars, so you can mix-and-match amongst the equipment provided to come up with an assortment you like.

There's a big strategic element involved in selecting equipment. You can select from weapons that offer various combinations of range, power,
accuracy, and special effects. Likewise, your equipment can provide you with armor, weapon effect immunities, or other special abilities. And then there's the assortment of tires. Cell Entertainment also sells separate equipment packs, so if you're too cheap to buy an authentic Krash car, you can always buy some equipment packs, then get some Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars and customize them.

Krash now has what they call the "Orange Box" expansion. This offers a new set of equipment and weapons, and adds Monster Trucks to the available vehicles. Those are as much fun as you might expect . . . you give up some speed, maneuverability, and weapon slots, but in exchange, you get to ignore difficult terrain and gain the ability to roll over an opponent's car!

All of you, go out and buy Krash now. And be on the lookout for Ronin and Hybrid!

Damn, Cell oughta be payin' me for this . . .
 

Subject: Re: Is anyone interested in a review of KRASH?
From: Patrick Dolan <patdolan67@home.com>
To: Arjen Pilon <aepilon@studenten.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2000 11:19 PM
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

I'd like to read a review, especially if you can explain the basics of the game mechanics. I saw it at Gen Con, but wasn't given any information about how it worked . . .
 

From: DaveSter64 <davester64@aol.comno-spam>
Subject: Re: Is anyone interested in a reviewof KRASH?
Date: 17 Aug 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

The guy at the booth Thursday didn't seem to care a whole lot, except for trying to get people to buy stuff. * I * would have bought a lot from the guy, buying the bits I need, had they had loose pieces available. (Having bought three starters, six cars, and LOTS of equipment expansions, I am still missing seven or eight bits, which I had hoped to get from the company . . . maybe I'll stick to Car Wars or BattleCars . . . )
 

From: Arjen Pilon <aepilon@studenten.net>
Subject: Is anyone interested in a review of KRASH?
Date: 14 Aug 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

Hi there. Me again. It seems like no one out there plays KRASH, so I was wondering if anyone is interested in a review of the game. For a bit of info go here:

Cell Entertaiment
http://www.cellentertainment.se

I plan to play some games pretty soon. (I've played it twice against myself, and won. ; ) ) So if anyone is interested let me know and I'll post a review of the game. If not, then I won't bother.
 

From: Andy Warner <andy@legendgames.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Is anyone interested in a review of KRASH?
Date: 14 Aug 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

Okay. I have just been to Cell Entertainment's Web site. I used to play Car Wars, so Krash looks fun! I would appreciate a review -- if it's good (i.e. well written) we would be happy to post or link to it on our site.

Legend Games
http://www.legendgames.co.uk
 

From: Arjen Pilon <aepilon@studenten.net>
Subject: Re: Is anyone interested in a reviewof KRASH?
Date: 17 Aug 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.misc

Since the general interest wasn't that much, I will not give a full review. An "out of the box" review can be found here.

RPGnet Reviews: KRASH
http://dice.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_2784.html

I will give my impressions though. The box wasn't too expensive to start with. I got it for roughly $15.00 U.S. (though retail is around $25, which is not very cheap, in my opinion, because our local retailer thinks that starter sets should be relatively cheap to get you started.) For this you get: a small rulebook, mine was 16 pages with only English rules (no Swedish ones), two dice that were pretty small (9 mm sides) that appear to be not very straight (the numbers are printed a bit obliquely; the cubes are straight, however), and two bags with each a car and six equipment parts in them.

The models: That casting on the models is pretty bad, there is a lot of flash and it looks as if the moulds are very old (which they are not). The
car design is modular so all parts are interchangeable.

Each car consists of a chassis (this is the same in all cases), a hood (two different designs, one with four headlights and a flat hood with a big grill) and the back of the car (from the windshield to the rear). There are four different designs of rears, two sedan types (with different
windshields, nothing more) and two station car types (one with "wings" and one without). The cars are supplied with wheels (or tracks, I don't know if they go in the basic box). The twelve equipment parts are random (just as the rest of the stuff).

For now there are five different expansions, which are divided into Yellow and Orange expansions. The Yellow ones (which use the basic rules) have a car expansion (one car with six equipment parts) which is, at about $13.00 U.S. locally ($11.00 U.S. retail) a pretty bad deal compared to the basic box, and an equipment expansion (six equipment parts) at about $4.00 U.S. (I don't know retail).

The Orange expansions add new equipment rules. There are three expansions:
Car Expansion: one car and six equipment parts
Equipment Expansion: five (!) equipment parts
Monster Truck Expansion: one car with four monster wheels

On POP entertainment (http://www.p-o-p.demon.co.uk) the minis are priced 10 quid for a starter box, 5 for a vehicle and 2 for equipment. (KRASH is in the RPG section of the online catalog.)

You'll need a lot of filing (these models are beyond scraping), but that's also all they need, once filed and put together (the idea of the equipment fitting on the pegs -- see below -- is nice but you'll have to glue the equipment to the car sooner or later) and painted they look very cool (depending on the paint job too, of course).

The Game (finally ;-): Before the game you design your car, you put equipment on pegs (there are square bulges on the car, there are two front
and back, four on each side, and four on the hood and roof) the idea is basically that you stuff everything you have on the car (there are no points in this game, though you could enforce a pegs limit, say ten per car) until all the pegs are filled. Then you go to battle.

You start at least 60 cm from each other. Each car starts with 30 life points and you win if you reduce your opponent to 0 life points. You can take three actions a round, choosing from speed up (increase speed by up to 4 cm), brake (decrease speed by up to 4 cm), sideswipe (the loser of this takes damage and must make a maneuver test, and turn (up to 45 degrees goes automatic, up to 90 degrees requires a maneuver test) and use equipment (usually shooting a gun).

You start movement between 3-16 cm. Your movement is something that always "happens." You can spread out your movement over your entire round, as long as you have finished all of it by then (even if this means moving off the table, in which case you're dead).

Speed is divided into three areas:
0 = Stationary (Duh!)
1-15 = Slow
16+ = Fast (Normally the maximum is 24 cm, but this can be modified by equipment.)

Shooting: You need a 2+ to hit the other guy (a natural 1 always fails) after modification (cover, your and your target's speed, weapon stats), if
you hit, you do 1d6 points of damage (often modified by weapon's stats).

Collisions (and Ramming): A collision is defined by a total amount of damage (a number of dice), the rammer always takes one die less than the target. A fast vehicle does two dice damage, a slow vehicle one die and a stationary vehicle and objects do no damage. In a frontal collision the dice for each vehicle are added together (so if both vehicles are moving fast the total amount of damage is 2+2=4 dice, the target takes this damage and the rammer takes one dice less, three dice worth of damage). In a front to side collision the rammed vehicle does no damage, and in a front to rear collision the rammed vehicles damage is deducted from the rammers damage.

Maneuver Test: Roll 2d6, if you drive slowly you need to roll a 6+, if you drive fast you need a 10+, if you fail, you usually shoot out a couple of
cm's in some or other direction).

I haven't played it a lot yet (two games against myself, and one game against someone else, with no terrain on the table, I lost all games ;-) but
terrain is very important (otherwise it'll be a simple shoot-out), you can jump over riffs and canyons and such, great fun (don't do it unless you have to though, for it devastates your vehicle). and it makes maneuverable vehicles more useful.

I haven't mentioned yet that this is a "collectible miniatures game," (collectible in much the same way as CCGs). I don't know if there are any
uncommon/rare pieces (I think the larger pieces -- three to four pegs -- are pretty rare), but the random way in which parts are distributed encourage you to trade a bit (not much though, for once it's stuck to your vehicle you probably don't want it gone). I personally like to focus on the game rather than the collecting though. I have already concocted up some league rules (in Dutch) where you start with nine pegs available, and can fill more as you get better.

Finally, here are some sites on the topic that you can visit:

http://www.cellentertainment.se/krash.html
The home of the game. Not much info there.

http://d1o51.telia.com/~u70602280/krash.htm
A basic KRASH site in English.

http://www.krash.de.st
A really nice site. It has all the rules and equipment published there, unfortunately only in German.

http://www.flashback.net/~germ/krash
Unofficial expansion rules, only in Swedish.

http://drive.to/krash
Not much there yet.

Have fun!
 

AADA CHAPTER 11327
http://www.geocities.com/goldnbow/carwars.html

Subject: RE: CWIN Vol. 3, No. 12 (Part 1 of 1)
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 19:39:40 -0500
From: Martin "Dungeonmaster" O'Reilly <dungeonmaster@snet.net>
To: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@serv.net>

Michael,

Thanks for adding Chapter 11327 to the newsletter. I'm also pleased to announce that we are ready to begin the online gaming part of the Web site.

Martin O'Reilly
Chapter 11327 President
 
 

DEADLANDS: HELL ON EARTH STARTER PACK
http://www.peginc.com

Hell on Earth Starter Pack

The next major chapter in the Deadlands story takes place in the Hell on Earth setting as Judgment Day begins. This is your chance to get in on the action with the best deal we've ever offered. For a limited time, through our Online Store, we're offering the Hell on Earth rulebook, the Wasted West worldbook, and the Radiation Screen for only $30.00 U.S.! Separately, these items retail for $70.00 U.S.!

Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc.
Blacksburg, VA
 
 

GURPS DEADLANDS DELAY
http://www.sjgames.com/ill
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/deadlands

Steve Jackson
The Daily Illuminator
January 16, 2001

GURPS Deadlands, which had been scheduled for a March release, will be delayed indefinitely. This will be the first in a series of GURPS
Deadlands books, and we want to start the series on a high note; it's a great background. However, the current draft still needs too much work
for a March release . . . and rather than push the schedule back a month and risk still not having the book we want, we're pulling the title
entirely, and will re-schedule when we have a new draft. We will probably restart the playtest process. Sorry about that . . .
 
 

INTERNET DUELING LEAGUE
http://www.funwebpage.com/IDL

Subject: General / Internet Dueling League
From: MJ Daniels (RACING_CHAMP)
Message Board: Dueling Debate <http://www.delphi.com/carwars>
Date: Jan 12, 2001 3:54 pm

I am sorry to announce that Don Lindsay, father of Elizabeth J. Lindsay, the IDL's technical guru, has passed away earlier this month. This has brought the IDL to a temporary halt, as one of our computers is down, and Elizabeth has had to set the IDL as a lower priority during this difficult time.

All IDL members will be notified when we get back on schedule. We appreciate your patience during this difficult time.

MJ Daniels
IDL Public Relations Director
doa@enteract.com
 
 

MID-SOUTH AUTODUELISTS AND HANDGUNNERS ATTACK TEAM
http://members.aol.com/madhattersinn/index.htm

Subject: Submission for CWIN
Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 17:18:06 EST
From: Jimmy Logan <MadHattersInn@aol.com>
To: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@serv.net>

Just wanted to let you know our local dueling club finally has a completed Web site. We'd like any other duelists out there to check it out! We have things you will NOT find elsewhere.

We are also about to start a playtest of a PBEM Car Wars game. Assuming it goes well, we'll make the next one available for people not in our club.

Sincerely,

Jim "Snake" Logan
MADHAT President
 
 

NEW OMAHA VEHICULAR ASSOCIATION
http://www.novia.net/~desslok/nova.htm

Arena Watch: Searle Racetrack
 

Subject: More December 2000 Events
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 20:29:25
From: Michael Garrity <garritym@hotmail.com>
To: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@serv.net

Mike,

Here are the results of my latest battling. The duel took place on December 23rd at the comic shop. It was a straight-up Division 50 slugfest
using another improvised arena. Due to unforseen circumstances, it was decided to run it in standard format. Starting speeds were set at 40 mph, and each duelist had 60 points to spend on skills.

Turn 1

We all entered the arena and started angling towards each other. Much surprise was in evidence, as I brought in a Division 50 minibus, while Tom Graff used a grasshopper. I made a hard right turn and went after Don Lisle; he began to lay spikes and mines to get me off his rear quarter. Frank Cartier headed towards my back and hit me with an ATG shot which did moderate damage. In response, I triggered my two side-mounted oil jets, then blasted through his top armor with my turreted blast cannon. Frank was knocked unconscious by wounds; the combined hazards of a knocked out driver, the weapon hit and the car being on oil caused him to lose control and roll roof-first into a wall

Turn 2

Tom Graff entered the arena in an airborne grasshopper. As I was thge biggest target out there, he decided to attack me first. He dropped an aerial bomb which struck me squarely on my top armor. The bomb did good damage. A return shot from my turreted BC missed him widely. At the other end of the arena, there was a six-way furball between Walter Herron, Dave Armstrong, Pam Schach, Karyl Delgado, Heather Graff and Lucy Ubadigbo. Lucy used a car with a 100-point ram plate; she t-boned Walter and destroyed him instantly (mostly because he had a CA frame like many of the others). Pam and Heather saw this and fired two volleys of laser-guided rockets at her. A smokescreen loaded with hot smoke linked to a laser-reactive web skunked their targeting lasers and all rockets were wasted. Dave and Karyl exchanged fire with their
autocannons but did no damage, due to their thick metal armor up front.

Turn 3

Lucy rammed Pam head-on and destroyed her. Heather fired her rockets at Lucy's left side and managed to acquire lock with the targeting laser; all rockets hit and did average damage. While this was going on I fired at Tom's bottom armor. His return MG fire did light damage, while my BC shot blew through his bottom armor and went through the space formerly occupied by the bomb. The excess damage was exactly enough to remove his top armor entirely, which caused his rotors to go away in a spectacular fashion. Dave and Karyl went after each other again with their autocannons with the same resut as before. Dave then sideswiped Karyl and triggered an ice discharger. In return, Karyl launched a quartet of incendiary mini-rockets (by using a bumper trigger). The sideswipe caused her to suffer a minor loss of control, while Dave was set on fire. Don Lisle attempted to cut off Sylvia Wilson by laying his spikes and mines. She would have none of it and fired her three GLs loaded with impact-fused grenades. Don took heavy damage to his rear tires and seriously thought about another line of work.

Turn 4

Karyl saw an opportunity and took it. She circled around to Dave's burning left side and hit it with a near-maximum damage shot from her autocannon. This caused the fire to go internal. Dave fired back as she crossed his front, but missed. The fire caused Dave's engine to explode and he was killed. Lucy rammed Heather on her right side. The resulting damage killed Heather immediately. Seeing the better part of valor through her critically-damaged front armor, Lucy headed towards trhe nearest exit. Sylvia fired her GLs at Don again and hit two out of three times. There was enough damage done to excise Don's rear tires. The loss caused him to crash into a wall head-on. I scored the most spectacular kill of the event when I T-boned Sylvia. To make matters worse, I fired my five front-mounted RLs and my turreted BC and her. Confetti doesn't even begin to describe the results.

Turn 5

Wendy James and Karyl Delgado traded ATG and autocannon shells, but only managed to scrub off some of each other's metal armor. I was at the far end of the arena, far away enough to put their top armor out of danger from my blast cannon.

Turn 6

Wendy fired a APFSDS round that penetrated Karyl's metal armor and did major damage to the plastic armor underneath. Karyl's return-fire with her AC bounced off Wendy's front armor. I was still halfway across the arena from them.

Turn 7

I fired my turreted BC at Karyl's rear armor and hit, doing good damage. Wendy fired at Karyl's front again, this time using a HESH round. A
combination of a high damage roll and the removal of 3 points of metal armor by the HESH effect caused Karyl to make an engine damage. Her engine seized up and died. In order to avoid the horrible fate I inflicted on Sylvia, Karyl promptly surrendered to Wendy.

Turn 8

Wendy and I were charging head-on at each other. A well-placed shot from her ATG destroyed my turret. I fired my RLs at her front armor, but
only managed to remove a small amount of metal.

Turn 9

I moved to ram Wendy, but she saw what I was up to. Her greater agility enabled her to avoid me. I missed a side-shot against her with my RLs,
mostly because of the out-of-arc penalty I incurred. I then moved to chase her.

Turn 10

Wendy fired at my left side and scored a powerful hit with an APFSDS round. I couldn't return fire because my turret had been destroyed.

Turn 11

Wendy maneuvered into my rear arc and fired her ATG again. My already-damaged back armor became even more damaged as a result. I triggered the oil jets to try and shake her off. Time was called, as this event took a total of eight hours to run.

December 23
NOVA Div 50 Duel
Location: NOVA Modular Arena
Duelmaster: Michael Garrity <garritym@hotmail.com>
Players: 12
Duration: 11 Seconds

1. Mike Garrity: 6 points (3 kills)
2. Lucy Ubadigbo: 5 points (3 kills, left arena)
3. Wendy James: 2 points (accepted surrender from Karyl)
4. Karyl Delgado: 0 points (killed Dave, surrendered to Wendy)
5. Sylvia Wilson: 0 points (killed Don, killed by Mike)
6. Don Lisle: -2 points (killed by Sylvia)
7. Heather Graff: -2 points (killed by Lucy)
8. Dave Armstrong: -2 points (killed by Karyl)
9. Tom Graff: -2 points (killed by Mike)
10. Pam Schach: -2 points (killed by Lucy)
11. Walter Herron: -2 points (killed by Lucy)
12. Frank Cartier: -2 points (killed by Mike)

I am still trying to set up one final duel on the 30th of December. It won't be anything complicated, as this bloodbath took a lot of the wind out of my sails. I will inform you later that day of the results. If the duel won't take place, I will let you know on Friday, December 30th.
 

Subject: Final 2000 NOVA Duel
Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 13:25:32
From: Michael Garrity <garritym@hotmail.com>
To: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@serv.net>

Mike,

I don't have the time to do a proper write-up of the results, so I'm just going to send them to you.

My last combat action of the 2050 season was a Division 30 duel in the Dumbarton Slalom Arena. Due to the lateness of the season, there were only six participants; myself, Frank Cartier, Don Lisle, Lucy Ubadigbo, Pam Schach and Tom Graff.

The duel lasted 19 turns; it was sharp and incredibly savage. It came down to a hand-to-hand contest between Don Lisle and myself. I had an axe and a set of body armor; he had a knife and body armor. Surprisingly enough, the hand-to-hand part lasted longer than the action between the cars.

December 30
NOVA Div 30 Duel
Location: Dumbarton Slalom Arena
Duelmaster: Michael Garrity <garritym@hotmail.com>
Players: 6
Duration: 19 seconds

1. Michael Garrity: 6 points (2 full kills, destroyed Don Lisle's car, vehicle destroyed by Don, knocked out Don Lisle in hand-to-hand fighting)
2. Don Lisle: 0 points (1 full kill, destroyed Mike's car, vehicle destroyed by Mike, knocked out by Mike in hand-to-hand fight)
3. Lucy Ubadigbo: 0 points (killed Tom Graff, killed by Mike)
4. Pam Schach: -2 points (killed by Don Lisle)
5. Tom Graff: -2 points (killed by Lucy)
6. Frank Cartier: -2 points (killed by Mike)
 
 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN AUTODUEL ASSOCIATION
http://www.io.com/~rdeis

Subject: WADA 2051 Event Submission
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 14:51:09 -0700
From: Rob Deis <rdeis@io.com>
To: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@serv.net>, RMADA Mailing List <rmada@lists.io.com>

Here are the results of the first RMADA game of the new year!

January 13
RMADA Div 30 Death Race 2001
Gladiator Arena
Duelmaster: Ryan Wendling <wend7319@blue.unco.edu>
Players: 6
Special Rules: Points for laps and inflicted damage.

1. Robert Deis
2. Leo Arturo: CO Indep, VK x 2
3. Michael Fal
4. Ed Davis: VK x 2
5. Ryan Wendling
6. Arthur Samuels
 
 

SOUTHERN HITMEN AUTODUEL ASSASSINS GUILD
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dreamworld/2274/shaagCW.html

Subject: SHAAG's New Address
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 04:54:35 -0800
From: Hugh "Hip63" Swindoll <hip63@worldnet.att.net>
To: SHAAG Mailing List
CC: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@serv.net>

SHAAG is sporting a new address. Bookmark it soon.

SHAAG HQ
http://groovygalaxy.50megs.com/shaag.html
 
 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AUTODUELING BROTHERHOOD

From: Eric Freeman <efreeman@physics.ucsd.edu>
To: So Cal Mailing List
CC: WADA Car Wars League <owenmp@hotmail.com>
Subject: SCAB Club Championship Update
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 07:50:30 -0800 (PST)

Hey All,

Less than one week until the 2051 SCAB Championship Duel on January 21st at Brookhurst Hobbies. The duelist list grows daily. Please RSVP to me if you want to join the fun.

Eric Freeman: Yours truly, the reigning SCAB Club Dueling Champion
Erik Rasmussen: Reigning U.S. Southwest Regional Dueling Champion
Rob Hagmaier: Fourth-place 2050 WADA finisher
Dean Gibson: Eleventh-place 2050 WADA finisher
Jeremy Willis: Designer of unique concept cars! Come and see what he unveils!
Steve Richards: Emerging duelist and Webman extraordinaire
Rick Cross: President of PRAG

Others expected include Stan Wells, Tom LaLonde, Chuck Phillips, Peter Cossaboon, and possibly another PRAG member.

The SCAB CDC, a Div 15 duel, will be in a to-be-announced arena. Start time will be promptly at 12 noon. Come early to get your design checked out.  Beginners are welcome and pregenerated vehicles will be available.

Besides the prestige of being the illustrious SCAB Champion, the winner gets seeded to the final round of the U.S. Southwest Regional Dueling Championship. Details of the RDC are available on the WADA Car Wars Events Schedule.

WADA Car Wars Events Schedule
http://www.serv.net/~owenmp/wada/schedule.html

The most current Car Wars Referee Questionaire (CWRQ) has not been posted on the SJ Games Web site. Please e-mail me for the latest version.
 

From: Eric Freeman <efreeman@physics.ucsd.edu>
To: WADA Car Wars League <owenmp@hotmail.com>
Subject: FWD: [SCAB] Fun Crashes
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2000 09:53:19 -0800 (PST)

Subject: [SCAB] Fun Crashes
From: Steven Richards <zensteve@earthlink.net>
Reply-To: Scab@blar.org
To: SCAB Mailing List <Scab@blar.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 17:19:50 -0800

Dear SCAB,

Hi there! My Mad Max Trilogy video is as good as done. It's done to White Zombie's, "Black Sunshine." It streams on RealPlayer at a DSL connection speed.

Steven Richard's Mad Max Trilogy Video: Streaming Version
http://www.stevenrichards.com/real/BlackSunshine.ram

If you don't have DSL, but want the video anyway, it's a 7.1MB download that can be run from the hard drive.

Steven Richard's Mad Max Trilogy Video: Downloadable Version
http://www.stevenrichards.com/real/BlackSunshine.rm

The final version with little tweaks will be out next week, just in case anyone actually likes the damn thing!
 
 

WARHOST INTERACTIVE
http://warhostinteractive.evisionsite.com

From: Anton Ducrot <globalconflict@hotmail.com>
To: Michael P. Owen <owenmp@hotmail.com>
Subject: "South of Heaven" Car Combat Board Game
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 11:02:19 -0000

Dear Michael,

My name is Anton Ducrot and I have just put my company, "Warhost Interactive," online. Currently my business is occupied with PBEM warfare strategy simulations only, however towards mid-2001 we shall be releasing our premiere board game entitled "South of Heaven."

South of Heaven is a post-nuclear car combat game set in a world ravaged by brutal road gangs, anarchy and chaos. The only ones brave or foolhardy enough to stand up to the onslaught are the bold law enforcers and the enigmatic independent operatives . . .

Contact my e-mail adddress for more information or if you have any questions. Check out my Web site.

Kind regards,

Anton Ducrot
Warhost Interactive
Kuraby, Queensland, Australia
 

BLASTS FROM THE PAST

In the modern era of dueling, where a pedestrian stands a fair chance of defeating a small car and the average duelcar carries sufficient firepower to level a city block, it's hard to recall the days when "spitball specials" were the norm, and a laser was a weapon to be feared.

Getting supplies from one town to another was never easy; if the biker gangs didn't cause problems, rival suppliers were always willing to do so. Of course, in the early days, the overriding problems for both sides were weak equipment and poor crew skills . . .
 

Initial Setup

Five standard-size (11") straight road sections, debris-side up. When a unit reaches the end of the road, roll 1d6 on Table 1; lay down the indicated road section debris side up, and make the next roll on the indicated table.

Defender's units begin in line-ahead formation, in the right-most lane of the third road section, facing the first road section, with the front of the specific unit's counter the number of inches indicated from the leading edge of the road section, traveling 70 mph.

Attacker's lead group begins anywhere within the middle 3" x 3" area of the first road section, facing the same direction as the Defender's units, traveling 50 mph. Attacker's rear group begins anywhere within the middle 3" x 3" area of the fifth road section, facing the same direction as the
Defender's units, traveling 90 mph.

|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|           |           |           |           |           | Dir.
| Att. Rear |           |    Def.   |           | Att. Lead |  of  -->
|           |           |           |           |           | Mvmt.
|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
 

Road Generation Tables

Table 1
1: Tight left (Table 2)
2: Regular left (Table 2)
3-4: Straight (Table 1)
5: Regular right (Table 3)
6: Tight right (Table 3)

Table 2
1-2: Tight right (Table 1)
3-4: Regular right (Table 1)
5-6: Straight (Table 2)

Table 3
1-2: Tight left (Table 1)
3-4: Regular left (Table 1)
5-6: Straight (Table 3)
 

Defender's Forces (Note: The tractor-trailer unit is fully loaded, and weighs 40,000 lbs. total.)

Excalibur Combatant 20 (0 ")
Driver (Leader): Driver, Gunner +1, Handgunner. Body armor, machine pistol (5 shots), light pistol (7 shots), 2 VLAWs.

Two Fnord Joseph Special Ts (2" and 9")
Drivers: Driver, Gunner, Handugnner. Body armor, SMG, light pistol (7 shots), limpet mine.

Magnum Economy Tractor and HMF Budget Box Trailer (4")
Trucker: Trucker, Gunner, Handgunner. Body armor, machine pistol (5 shots), smoke grenade.
Gunner: Gunner +1, Handgunner. Body armor, SMG, 2 explosive grenades.

Kane Max III (11")
Driver: Driver +1, Gunner +1, Handgunner. Body armor, shotgun, light pistol (7 shots), 3 VLAWs.
 

Attacker's Forces: Lead Group

Mystic Pisces H
Driver (Leader): Driver, Gunner +1, Handgunner. Body armor, rifle, light pistol (7 shots), concussion grenade.

Two Amex Iguana Is
Drivers: Driver, Gunner +1, Handgunner. Shotgun, light pistol (7 shots), concussion grenade.

Two Amex Iguana IIs
Drivers: Driver +1, Gunner +1, Handgunner. Light pistol (7 shots), VLAW, limpet mine.

Kane Max II
Driver: Driver +1, Gunner +1, Handgunner +1. Body armor, heavy pistol (7 shots), VLAW, 2 limpet mines.
 

Attacker's Forces: Rear Group

Tate Bombardier A
Driver: Driver, Gunner. Body armor.
Gunner: Gunner +1. Body armor.

Tate Bombardier B
Driver: Driver. Body armor.
Gunner: Gunner +1. Body armor, 2 explosive grenades.

Two GM Mini-Shermans
Drivers: Driver +1, Gunner, Handgunner +1. Body armor, machine pistol (5 shots), heavy pistol (6 shots).
 

Victory Conditions

The Budget Box contains 152 DP of cargo. Victory is based on how much of the cargo is undamaged.

122 or more: Defender Decisive
91-121: Defender Marginal
61-90: Draw
30-60: Attacker Marginal
29 or less: Attacker Decisive

If a side's Leader is killed, adjust victory one level in favor of the opposing side. If a side loses more than half of its vehicles, adjust victory
by one level in favor of the opposing side. Note: A Leader's car can be destroyed without killing the Leader.
 

Suggested Tactics

Attacker: You have force of numbers, but no significant dropped weapons (only the Max II has more than a SS), and a couple of large units bearing down (even a mere Economy can crush your units in a ram attack!). Closing the range and shooting tires might work, but one is
vulnerable to similar attacks, as well as your foe's HRs. Concentrate as much fire as possible on the trailer; that's where the VPs are.

Defender: Between a rock and a hard place? Maybe -- but your rearguard has an HDFOJ, and the trailer itself has SDs. The Attacker's rear
force will have to move fast to get into range -- but will also have to negotiate your dropped weapons. The only dropped weapons you have
to worry about are the Max II's mines; other than that, watch for concentrated tire shots, the Pisces's HRs, and perhaps a T-bone ram. If the foe closes, waste his tires -- that's what MGs are for -- and see if the ram-truck can dispatch a few of the foe's lighter units, so the trailer can be gotten out of harm's way.

Chris French
Portland, OR
csadn@ix.netcom.com
 

BLUE STAR GAMING CHARACTER SHEET ARCHIVE
http://members.nbci.com/bsgamers/cw.html

Vehicle Design Sheets
 
 

HOUSE OF DISTRACTION AUTODUEL ASSOCIATION
http://www.geocities.com/cefus_2/HDAA.htm

HDAA Arena, Corporation Statistics, Random Team Generator
 
 

KILL ZONE
http://www.geocities.com/gisby.geo/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/gisby.geo/kiki.htm

Future Warriors: Kill Zone was first released by Grenadier Models, and has been unavailable since that firm ceased trading. Kill Zone provides full rules to enable two or more players to conduct futuristic shootouts using Future Warriors organised into squads, gangs and individuals.

The Kill Zone rules are reproduced on the Gisby Gaming Pages through the courtesy of Nick Lund and Hugh Pitt, who are working on a second edition of the rules.

Nick Lund and Hugh Pitt
aardvark@mountainmedia.demon.co.uk