I was just doing some mailing list maintenance, and realized that I posted
the URL for my Mean Streets review to my general Cumberland Games mailing
list instead of the Fly From Evil list. >>sigh<<

http://www.io.com/~sjohn/meanstreets.htm

It's not as glowing as I had hoped it might be before sitting down with the
game ... But it should be noted that designer Mark Bruno has been entirely
classy about the review and understood my critiques (agreeing, in
particular, with the bit about it being thin on setting). And for such
coolness on the part of the designer alone, the game deserves at least a
visit to the Three-Sixty Publishing site to sample and taste!

Best -



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

>
>game here, and probably a good handful more, including a sample adventure
>based directly (without license, it seems) on

... on The Big Heat. Oopsy ;)



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Not directly Fly From Evil related, but of tangential interest to those who
like crime gaming: Mean Streets has been released today!

This is the URL you want: It'll take you right to the samples. Snag 'em
and, if you like 'em, buy the game. Tell 'em S. John sent'cha.

http://www.angelfire.com/rpg2/threesixty/MeanStreets.html

I have a review copy of the full deal on my sweaty little hard drive, and
I'll take it to Kinko's this afternoon to download it into my sweaty little
hands. At first glance, it looks very thin on setting and period resources,
but since Mean Streets is so cheap as to be practically free ($7.95 ---
less than a Sparks set!), it would be unfair to call that a flaw. At first
glance, at least, I think you definitely get $7.95 worth of roleplaying
game here, and probably a good handful more, including a sample adventure
based directly (without license, it seems) on

My only real complaint at first-glance is that the one map of New York City
provided gives you a huge chunk of Long Island while giving you a
postage-stamp sized view of Manhattan (et al); there's no zoom into the
city proper, so you can't even tell Broadway from Greenwich Village. If you
want to actually set your game in NYC, you'll need to find  a period street
map (fortunately, you can get them for about $3 any day of the week on
eBay, as well as at any public library).

My first big dollop of praise goes to the writing. Unlike Archon's _Noir_
RPG, which ponces around like a drunken drag queen, desperate to convince
you that the authors know style (when its painfully obvious that desperate
hopes to convince are all they can bring to the table), Mean Streets is
written with professional restraint that does a much greater service to the
source material.

I'll give a more detailed summary of the game in a day or three, after I've
had a chance to read it front to back, but overall it looks good,
especially in light of the very modest asking price.



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

TCM continues to crank out the Robinson classics as their monthly feature;
they just finished showing Bullets or Ballots (with that sweet gunfight
with Bogart at the end), and they're just starting Vice Squad now (Vice
Squad is outside of Fly From Evil's time period, but still a pretty neat film).

The real treat, of course, comes tonight at 10PM (Central Standard Time)
when they show Double Indemnity. If you don't own it, and you DO own a
blank tape, there's no reason not to have it by the end of the night :)



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

>
>7:30AM: It's a shame it's not a great film, but it's fun, and very
>very Fly From Evil, since it's Robinson in a crime film set in San
>Francisco. Unfortunately, we're supposed to accept that he's
>_Chinese_ in this one. Still, after you've been up all night watching
>the other films, it'll probably be freaking hilarious :)

That's "The Hatchet Man" by the way :)



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Turner Classic Movies is showing a series of tapeworthy Fly From Evil
related films tonight (showtimes are Central Standard Time; adjust
for wherever you are). Some sort of Edward G. Robinson marathon, from
the looks of it:

7:00PM: Little Caesar - The first truly classic gangster film. If you
don't have a copy already, there's just no excuse not to get this
one :)

8:30PM: Brother Orchid - One latter Edward G. Robinson gangster
films, a comedy complete with Humphrey Bogart. It's not exactly
essential viewing, but it's kinda fun, and as a view of Robinson ten
years after Little Ceasar, interesting on that front, too.

10:15 PM: Key Largo - A much better Robinson/Bogart film, and any
excuse to watch young Lauren Bacall is a good one.

Midnight: The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse - A novel take on the gangster
film; it's kind of Brother-Orchid-in-Reverse, since instead of a
gangster going soft, it's a soft guy going gangster. Seeing Robinson
go from his bookish-professor act into his more traditional gangter
role is a hoot. Plus, the title makes me giggle.

1:30AM: The Last Gangster - Another one of the later ones (1937),
Robinson is a gangster facing the post-tax-evasion life.

3:00AM: The Widow From Chicago - Back to the early ones. A solid
little revenge movie. Don't underestimate the widow! :)

4:15AM: Kid Galahad - The real crime is burying this one so deep into
the night, because it's one of the truly kickass gangster films. It's
another Robinson-and-Bogart, with a good performance by Bette Davis,
too.

6:00AM: Unholy Partners - Keep the VCR running; this little gem is a
good merger between the gangster subgenre and the newsie subgenre,
where the press and the mob get together to dance. I love newsie
films, anyway, so I'm biased, but there you are :)

7:30AM: It's a shame it's not a great film, but it's fun, and very
very Fly From Evil, since it's Robinson in a crime film set in San
Francisco. Unfortunately, we're supposed to accept that he's
_Chinese_ in this one. Still, after you've been up all night watching
the other films, it'll probably be freaking hilarious :)

Anyway, that's the Robinson lineup, but you've still got more tapes,
the next film is "Red Dust," an early Gable/Harlow flick with
(bonus!) Mary Astor in it. Interesting for the extreme potrayal of
the Chinese characters; very un-PC. No crimes, though, alas :) And
after THAT is The Kennel Murder case (a kind of much-more-than-half-
baked knockoff of the Thin Man movies, worth watching) and so on ...
My fingers are getting tired of typing, though, so I'll stop :)

Anyway, feel free to post other "tape alerts" that are appropriate,
either period/genre films or documentaries on the History channel or
whatever. Best -




|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

At 11:20 AM 4/17/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>Well, I'll volunteer yet again for playtesting duty. I didn't get picked last
>time around, but there's no harm in trying again... ;-)

Yeah, it's true that I'm a Right Picky Bastard, and the process isn't trivial:

http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/playtest.htm

I'm up to about a 66% rejection rate ... I'm Evil! FLY FROM ME!!!!

:)



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Well, I'll volunteer yet again for playtesting duty. I didn't get picked last
time around, but there's no harm in trying again... ;-)

Proud member of the Fifth Galactic Invader Force.

>Any news on the Fly From Evil front?

I could scrape some bits of "progress report" together and pretend they're
news :)

Right now, I'm mostly hip-deep in the San Francisco Sourcebook and Genre
Sourcebook sections of the game. After those are done, I'll be back into
the next draft of character creation and whatnot (not that I can keep my
hands out of the fiddlybits entirely at any point, of course; I'm a junkie).

I'm not currently at full-steam on FFE, since Points in Space 2 and
Pokéthulhu Gold aren't in playtest yet, and those are the last two
essential milestones before FFE becomes my front-burner project. Once that
happens, FFE _stays_ the front-burner project until the Bigass Playtest
Round begins.

That said, the main reason Points in Space 2 isn't in playtest is because
I've spent the last couple of weeks writing portions of Fly From Evil ahead
of schedule, so it all comes out well in the end :)

At any rate, I'm not hurrying ... FFE may explore a relatively niche genre,
but it's exploring some facets of it in considerable depth, far in excess
of any project I've done before, so it's a long road that I'm taking a
definite "no wine before its time" approach to.

One potentially important note: The next two Cumberland playtests (those
mentioned above) will be the "proving grounds" where the final Fly From
Evil playtest squad are selected; I'll be going for quality over volume,
hand-picking only the cream of the crop from the Cumberland Fire-Eaters.
That means there's still time for one or two more GMs, potentially, to get
on that roster, if there's anyone reading who's kinda-sorta been meaning to
get around to signing up for playtest but hasn't got 'round to it yet ...

If the silence on the mailing list is getting to you (I expect it to get
plenty noisy when the game finally emerges!), we could always discuss our
favorite Fly From Evil-inspiring books and films or somesuch ;)



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Any news on the Fly From Evil front?

Allen
Allensh on #callahans

At 02:08 PM 10/25/2001 +0000, you wrote:
>or on when a pdf starterkit might be available?

They'll happen on the very same day.

>The public has a right to know (of course, we aren't quite the public
>as this is a private list, but we're interested).

Hope that helped :)


|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

or on when a pdf starterkit might be available?

The public has a right to know (of course, we aren't quite the public
as this is a private list, but we're interested).

At 01:59 AM 10/2/2001 +0000, you wrote:

>Pinkerton's, baby. Or a less-actionable "National Detective Agency"

That's the absolute core of Fly From Evil. It's there, and since
Pinkerton's is historical (and current) fact, and Fly From Evil is a
historical RPG, I won't be making up any fake names when describing the
original private eyes. Describing real things isn't "actionable" unless I
engage in libel. Where Fly From Evil takes baby-steps is in giving stats to
fictional properties. That is: It's illegal for me to publish Phillip
Marlowe or Sam Spade stats without a license or permission, but it's
entirely legal for me to suggest stats for the real-life Dashiell Hammett
in his days as a private eye for the Pinkertons. So I will; I'll also be
including sample characters that are inspired by (but not directly based
on) the important fictional private eyes (et multiple cetera).

I'll discuss the creation of fictional agencies (and other elements) in for
GMs fond of that kind of thing ... but Fly From Evil, by default, is set in
the real world, with inventions being left to the needs of the campaign.

>(think Dashiell Hammett's "The Continental Op" stuff).

Every day.


|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Pinkerton's, baby. Or a less-actionable "National Detective Agency"
treatment (think Dashiell Hammett's "The Continental Op" stuff).
Graft, corruption, violence...and a paycheck at the end of the day.

E

With apologies for those on multiple lists who recieve this more than once!
I don't normally do that, but this is a site worth visiting:

http://www.gidfa.org/

Since I keep myself well clear of most of the loops of the traditional
gaming industry, I just heard about this one last night, but it's a very
worthy effort. Soon, there will be many interesting and unusual gaming items
for sale, both new and old, with all proceeds directed to disaster relief in
the areas affected by last week's terrorist strike.

On Cumberland's behalf, I've donated two "lifetime subscriptions" to CG&D,
which will include copies of every font and eBook I ever release; past,
present and future. These will have no reserve price, but don't let 'em go
cheap!

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Cool, thanks for letting me know.

As for me, I'd rather have it right than soon, so no
complaints here (not that it would really matter if
there were, but hey).

Best,

Max
--- "S. John Ross" <sjohn@...> wrote:
> | I heard somewhere that a FFE pdf download was
> being
> | developed.  Any news on
> | when it might be available?
>
> Sort of, sure :) Fly From Evil, like any Cumberland
> Games title, will exist
> _entirely_ as a PDF download, so it's not so much
> "a" PDF download as "the"
> PDF download. While the rumors that a couple of
> old-fashioned-hardcopy game
> publishers have approached me about licensing paper
> rights have some truth
> to them, that's a long way off (and uncertain).
>
> Fly From Evil doesn't have an official release date
> yet apart from "When S.
> John is satisfied that it's done." The early
> playtest round happened last
> year, with a few groups tossing around a rough
> sketch of possible systems.
> The new version of the rules, and the real backbone
> of the game (the genre
> source material and setting material) are currently
> in development for the
> 2nd round of playtest, due to take place in the
> cooler months later this
> year.
>
> There may be some preview downloads and other such
> material available to the
> public later this year, but I'm not in any hurry.
> This is my "doing it just
> right" project :)
>
> || S. John Ross
> || Husband · Cook · Writer
> || In That Order
> || http://www.io.com/~sjohn
>
>
>
>
> |>| FLY FROM EVIL
> |>| http://www.io.com/~sjohn/fly.htm
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>


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| I heard somewhere that a FFE pdf download was being
| developed.  Any news on
| when it might be available?

Sort of, sure :) Fly From Evil, like any Cumberland Games title, will exist
_entirely_ as a PDF download, so it's not so much "a" PDF download as "the"
PDF download. While the rumors that a couple of old-fashioned-hardcopy game
publishers have approached me about licensing paper rights have some truth
to them, that's a long way off (and uncertain).

Fly From Evil doesn't have an official release date yet apart from "When S.
John is satisfied that it's done." The early playtest round happened last
year, with a few groups tossing around a rough sketch of possible systems.
The new version of the rules, and the real backbone of the game (the genre
source material and setting material) are currently in development for the
2nd round of playtest, due to take place in the cooler months later this
year.

There may be some preview downloads and other such material available to the
public later this year, but I'm not in any hurry. This is my "doing it just
right" project :)

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Hi,

I heard somewhere that a FFE pdf download was being
developed.  Any news on
when it might be available?

Thanks

Max Cairnduff


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| And both Justice Inc and Crime Fighter were written by
| the great Aaron Allston :)

Aaron lives here in town, of course, and was nice enough to donate a copy of
Crime Fighter to my game library so I could play it and describe it properly
in the game :)

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

> The original pulp-era crime-drama RPG is
> Gangbusters, published by TSR Way
> Back When.

Yeah, I remember that now. I had that game at one time
and actually ran it; it was pretty decent.

> examining such lost
> classics as CRIME FIGHTER, published by Task Force
> (a 1970's-cop-show game).

I had that one as well at one time, although I never
ran it. Looked good though.
> Note that I was thinking simultaneously of Danger
> International and Justice,
> Incorporated, which is why I put that comma in there
> after the word
> "Danger." D'oh :)

J.I. is the classic by which all other pulp games are
measured, IMO. GURPS Cliffhangers wasn't bad for the
Indiana Jones style, but the crime drama feel was
better in Justice Inc.

And both Justice Inc and Crime Fighter were written by
the great Aaron Allston :)

Allen

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| The original pulp-era crime-drama RPG is Gangbusters, published by TSR Way
| Back When. I think it's still the best of the bunch. NOIR was an
interesting
| try, though! Other good ones for handling the related genres include MS&PE
| and Danger, International. FFE will include not only a full filmography
and
| bibliography, but also a detailed _game_ography, examining such lost
| classics as CRIME FIGHTER, published by Task Force (a 1970's-cop-show
game).

Note that I was thinking simultaneously of Danger International and Justice,
Incorporated, which is why I put that comma in there after the word
"Danger." D'oh :)

Justice, Incorporated rocked on toast :) And that Denis Loubet art ...
>>sigh<< God, I wish I could afford Loubet ...

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

| I had to join this list, as this game hits on a subject I really
| like :) I've only seen one game, Noir, that's based on this kind of
| subject and unfortunatley that game died before it really got going.
| I have always wanted to run a game set in this kind of genre, and I
| am hoping for much success for it :)

The original pulp-era crime-drama RPG is Gangbusters, published by TSR Way
Back When. I think it's still the best of the bunch. NOIR was an interesting
try, though! Other good ones for handling the related genres include MS&PE
and Danger, International. FFE will include not only a full filmography and
bibliography, but also a detailed _game_ography, examining such lost
classics as CRIME FIGHTER, published by Task Force (a 1970's-cop-show game).

Fly From Evil will be a lot more "hardboiled" than it is "noir" -- a lot
more Dashiell Hammett, so to speak (in more ways than one). And unlike both
NOIR and Gangbusters, FFE is set in the real world (although the GMing
section will include a nice discussion of the merits and methods behind a
good fantasy city of the kind those games included).

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

I had to join this list, as this game hits on a subject I really
like :) I've only seen one game, Noir, that's based on this kind of
subject and unfortunatley that game died before it really got going.
I have always wanted to run a game set in this kind of genre, and I
am hoping for much success for it :)

Allen

Of potential interest: A collection of "Selected Letters of Dashiell
Hammett" will be published in May by Counterpoint Press [ISBN: 1582430810].
It'll be a big $40 hardcover, with a trade paperback edition presumably to
follow next year sometime. I intend to form a one-man vigil at the bookstore
in eager anticipation, myself ...

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.cumberlandgames.com

> Thanks for explaining what you are doing rather than just answering
> yes or no.  Appreciated.

No problem; I like talking about FFE :) Someday, I certainly intend to
tackle the European mode of crime fiction, as well ... future FFE
supplements will each focus on a different locale and/or time period.
Eventually, I'll have written a complete library of games and gaming
material for every sort of crime drama.

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Thanks for explaining what you are doing rather than just answering
yes or no.  Appreciated.

Wish you well, I quite like this period for just this kind of thing.  I
have tried dropping Cthulhu out of CoC and moved it to Europe, but
admit I haven't done a lot of this.  Even when trying to do the same
modern, it is almost always in Europe and with CoC (their Basic
Role Play system), and never with the Cthulhu portion.

> Will you have any information about Europe or Canada?

Yes and no, but more no than yes.

Europe: FFE has a general history/era chapter that will discuss significant
events in Europe, but the focus in the main book is on the American crime
scene and, in particular, the events in the San Francisco Bay area. Lots of
material on European ethnic communities in America, though. European crime
drama is a very different animal from the American variety (since it's steps
removed from the Great Depression, Prohibition and the ethnic troubles that
formed the core of the genre FFE describes). I'll be working hard to
maintain the kind of "hazy land where immigrants and the occasional
well-groomed murderer comes from" image that it held in the source material.

Canada: Canada is the headwaters of the river of bootleg whiskey flowing
down through the Great Lakes area and along the Pacific coast, so in that
context, absolutely. The early development and incursions of the Asian crime
syndicates are beginning in the game's time period, too, and Canada is their
main target.

While settings around the globe contain unlimited potential as settings, I'm
keeping FFE focused to provide a coherent and well-backdrop for the Game
Master. A general overview of the world would be much easier to write ...
but this is my baby, and I'm not doing anything the easy way.

FFE's rules and genre material will apply to any setting, of course - but
rather than waste pages on perfunctory overviews of two dozen locales that
would require additional research to use, I'm giving many thousands of words
about _one_ locale, and putting all the goods in place. The upshot is that a
GM who wants to use FFE for European crime will have to do exactly the same
amount of research either way ... but a GM setting his game in the United
States will need to do very little at all (for any large American city) or
_none_ at all, for the pulp crime capitol of the nation, San Francisco.

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn

Will you have any information about Europe or Canada?

After the past several months of experimenting with the playtest method and
exceptions to it, I've revised my approach somewhat. Even playtest gets
playtested!

Under the old system, I relied on snail applications as the primary test to
demonstrate that an applicant took the idea seriously, focused on
snail-based playtest, and limited applicants to GMs in North America with
gaming groups. This method worked pretty well.

Under the _new_ system, I'm requiring more descriptive applications instead
of snail-mail (email applications are fine), using the net for projects
under 30 pages or so, and opening participation to gamers without gaming
groups, and to gamers anywhere in the world (though preference will still be
given to GMs with groups). This approach wouldn't have been practical last
year, but now that CG&D is officially moving, it has become so.

Interested parties are encouraged to read the updated Playtest page at
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/playtest.htm

Best -

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.cumberlandgames.com

I'm assembling dozens of threads into the pieces of the genre sourcebook for
Fly From Evil - notes on everything from the decay of bodies to the models
of police cars favored in the decades covered by the game, from a history of
organized crime to a discussion of the growth of criminology ... even stuff
like a discussion of common locales like hotels, roadhouses, and so on. It
won't be as encyclopedic as I'd like, but it'll be very broad and full of
useful tidbits to keep the GM informed and inspired.

As long as I'm hip-deep in it, I might as well take requests ... If there's
any subject you want me to explore or touch on, let me know. I can't promise
that every suggestion will be used, but you may point out something I've
overlooked, or inspire something cool. Let me know at sjohn@...

Best -

|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.cumberlandgames.com