GURPS Black Ops
''Black Ops'' is a sourcebook for the ''GURPS'' role-playing game. Contents ''GURPS Black Ops'' is a setting that has our planet under threat from various alien, supernatural, and other monstrous powers. The clandestine agency (not bound to any one country) that protects the world (who, generally, is blissfully ignorant) from these threats is simply called the "Company". It is usually able to recruit the finest from every profession deemed useful to it, from combat agents to scientists to intelligence personnel. The setting usually has players in the dangerous job of agents working for the company, or in the even more perilous profession of opposing the agency for whatever reason. The setting relies heavily on use of various known or less known urban legends and conspiracy theories. The Black Ops In ''GURPS Black Ops'', the player characters are super-skilled agents known as "Black Operatives", or "Black Ops". Individuals having undergone incredibly intense levels of traini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urban Legends
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family member, often with horrifying, humorous, or cautionary elements. These legends can be entertaining but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects or entities. Urban legends may confirm moral standards, reflect prejudices, or be a way to make sense of societal anxieties. Urban legends in the past were most often circulated orally, but now can also be spread by any media. This includes newspapers, mobile news apps, e-mail, and most often, social media. Some urban legends have passed through the years/decades with only minor changes, in where the time period takes place. Generic urban legends are often altered to suit regional variations, but the lesson or moral remains majorly the same. O ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Role-playing Games About Conspiracy Theories
Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing as "the changing of one's behaviour to fulfill a social role", in the field of psychology, the term is used more loosely in four senses: * To refer to the playing of roles generally such as in a theatre, or educational setting; * To refer to taking a role of a character or person and acting it out with a partner taking someone else's role, often involving different genres of practice; * To refer to a wide range of games including role-playing video game (RPG), play-by-mail games and more; * To refer specifically to role-playing games. Amusement Many children participate in a form of role-playing known as make believe, wherein they adopt certain roles such as doctor and act out those roles in character. Sometimes make believe adopts an oppo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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GURPS Books
The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems were story- or genre-specific. Players control their in-game characters verbally and the success of their actions are determined by the skill of their character, the difficulty of the action, and the rolling of dice. Characters earn points during play which are used to gain greater abilities. Gaming sessions are story-told and run by " Game Masters" (often referred to as simply "GMs"). ''GURPS'' won the Origins Award for ''Best Roleplaying Rules of 1988'', and in 2000 it was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame. Many of its expansions have also won awards. History Prior RPG history Prior to ''GURPS'', most roleplaying games (RPGs) of the 1970s and early 1980s were developed especially for certain gaming environments, and they were lar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Contemporary Role-playing Games
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is one of the three major subsets of modern history, alongside the early modern period and the late modern period. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related to, the rise of postmodernity. Contemporary history is politically dominated by the Cold War (1947–1991) between the Western Bloc, led by the United States, and the Eastern Bloc, led by the Soviet Union. The confrontation spurred fears of a nuclear war. An all-out "hot" war was avoided, but both sides intervened in the internal politics of smaller nations in their bid for global influence and via proxy wars. The Cold War ultimately ended with the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The latter stages and afterm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Campaign Settings
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A ''campaign'' is a series of individual adventures, and a ''campaign setting'' is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place. Usually a campaign setting is designed for a specific game (such as the ''Forgotten Realms'' setting for ''Dungeons & Dragons'') or a specific genre of game (such as medieval fantasy, or outer space/science fiction adventure). There are numerous campaign settings available both in print and online. In addition to published campaign settings available for purchase, many game masters create their own settings, often referred to as "homebrew" settings or worlds. While obviously connected to game materials, campaign settings are supported also by other media, such as novels and comic books. Examples of major campaign settings include numerous settings within the ''Dungeons & Dragons'', as well others such as ''Battletech ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Casus Belli (magazine)
''Casus Belli'' is a French magazine about role-playing games, published in different formats since 1980. It contains news, reviews, interviews, features, and role-playing game materials. The magazine was published by Excelsior Publications until 1999, by Arkana Press in 2000–2006, and by Casus Belli Presse in 2010–2011, and has been published by Black Book Éditions since 2011. Since 2020, it also has the online video companion ''Casus TV'', which is produced in collaboration with ''Tric Trac''. History ''Casus Belli'' has been released in different forms since 1980, originally under editor-in-chief François Marcela-Froideval and published by Excelsior Publications; for its first few issues, it was a short, black-and-white publication, before changing to a larger format printed in color. In this incarnation, it became the leading role-playing game magazine on the French market. The artists working on this edition included the cartoonist Tignous. The magazine ended publicat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Inquest Gamer
''InQuest Gamer'' was a monthly magazine for game reviews and news that was published from 1995 to 2007. Originally, the magazine was named ''InQuest'' and focused solely on collectible card games (CCGs); ''InQuest'', along with its competitor ''Scrye'', were the two major CCG magazines. Later, the magazine changed its focus to cover a wider range of games, including role-playing games, computer and video games, collectible miniature games, board games, and others. The magazine was published by Wizard Entertainment (not to be confused with Wizards of the Coast, which produced its own CCG magazine, '' The Duelist''). History and profile ''InQuest'' #0, the first issue, was published in April 1995. For issue #46 (February 1999), ''InQuest'' changed its name to ''InQuest Gamer'' (with ''Gamer'' in large text on the cover), clearly announcing that it was a magazine about games. Issue #53 made the ''InQuest'' title more prominent on the cover again and it had not been changed since then ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Unspeakable Oath
''The Unspeakable Oath'' is a game magazine that was published by Pagan Publishing from 1990 to 2001, and later by Arc Dream Publishing starting in 2010. History Pagan Publishing was founded in 1990 in Columbia, Missouri by 19-year-old John Tynes with a volunteer staff of gamers from Columbia including Jeff Barber, Brian Bevel, John H. Crowe III, Les Dean, and Chris Klepac. Together they created ''The Unspeakable Oath'' #1 (December 1990), the company's premiere publication, a digest-sized quarterly focusing on '' Call of Cthulhu''. That first issue caught the attention of Chaosium's Keith Herber, who helped Tynes recruit Cthulhu writers like Scott David Aniolowski and Kevin Ross. Meanwhile, Pagan published ''The Unspeakable Oath'' #2 (Spring 1991) and ''The Unspeakable Oath'' #3 (Summer 1991). The third issue led Dennis Detwiller to move to Columbia to join Pagan. In the beginning, ''The Unspeakable Oath'' was solely devoted to ''Call of Cthulhu''. The production values ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conspiracy Theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a negative connotation, implying that the appeal to a conspiracy is based on prejudice or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is not the same as a conspiracy; instead, it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, such as an opposition to the mainstream consensus among those people (such as scientists or historians) who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy. Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are reinforced by circular reasoning: both evidence against the conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proven or disproven. Studies have linked belief in conspiracy theories to dis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangible benefit. A person who commits espionage is called an ''espionage agent'' or ''spy''. Any individual or spy ring (a cooperating group of spies), in the service of a government, company, criminal organization, or independent operation, can commit espionage. The practice is clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be a legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law. Espionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. However, the term tends to be associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies for military purposes. Spying involving corporations is known as industrial espionage. One of the most effective ways to gath ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jeff Koke
Jeff Koke is a writer, graphic designer and business owner currently living in Austin, Texas. He is best known for his writing work for Steve Jackson Games in the 1990s, including '' GURPS Vampire: The Masquerade'', an adaptation of the well-known '' Vampire: The Masquerade'' roleplaying game, and '' GURPS Black Ops'' (co-written with S. John Ross). Jeff Koke worked for Steve Jackson Games as Managing Editor, Senior Designer and as a freelance writer from 1991 until 1997, when he left the company to work in the graphic design field. His work for Steve Jackson Games won him two Origins Awards, Best Roleplaying Supplement for ''GURPS Vampire'' in 1993 and Best Graphic Representation of a Roleplaying Game for ''In Nomine'' in 1997. In June 2010, he published his first fiction novel, ''Princess Alex and the Sapphire Crown'', a young adult modern fantasy with a main character based in part on the author's own daughter, Alexandra. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from Texas St ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |