============ OGREverse list, Jan 13th (Last: Dec 20th) ============= ===== Boardgame to be reprinted. From: Steve Jackson ===== An Ogre for Christmas From: Patrick Odonnell ===== New OGRE units From: "Dominique Sumner" ===== Orignal Ogre Edition From: "Matt Mills" ------------------------------ From: Steve Jackson Subject: Boardgame to be reprinted. The Ogre/GEV boardgame set goes back to press soon. Is anybody aware of any typos or glitches that aren't listed on the web errata page? Thanks! Steve Jackson - yes, of SJ Games - yes, we won the Secret Service case Learn Web or die - http://www.sjgames.com/ - dinosaurs, Lego, Kahlua! The heck with PGP keys; finger for Geek Code. Fnord. ------------------------------ From: Patrick Odonnell Subject: An Ogre for Christmas An Ogre for Christmas Souls weary of blood and tears dare to dream of peace again. By the hands of endless horrid years has been molded one, a simple man. A man who speaks words so pure they loose the soul from it's bindings. Words which ring with freedom's song and dare fathom Solomon's findings. Words to live by and hope to strive for. A light to walk by and a cause to die for. And, so it came to pass ... ... mmmwhrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRR-SHHWOOSHH-WHRRRRRRRRRRRrrrmmm ... "Papa Bear on all penguins report. I say again, all penguins report." chimed Petty Officer senior grade Charles "Papa Bear" Dewly into his headset. It was time for the 02:30 radio check. And, like clock work the GEV pilots of Flight Alpha, Second Wing, Third Battalion of O'Dohnegheu's Ogre Eaters began reporting in on one second intervals over their comlinks. " Penguin One clear." " Penguin Two clear." " Penguin Three clear." ... " Penguin Five clear." PO s.g. Dewly quickly broke in, "Hold one, Penguin Five. Penguin Four, report." Dewly waited for one second and then adamantly repeated, "Penguin Four, report!" Getting an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach Petty Officer Dewly switched his comlink to the squad leader's channel and tried to raise Penguin Four, Petty Officer junior grade Yalanda S. "Death's Angel" Murphy, again. "Yalanda you got a copy," Dewly asked in a worried tone? And still, no reply. Something was wrong. Petty Officer Dewly quickly and efficiently completed the radio check (fortunately, Penguins five through seven were all still in the gaggle) and radioed the situation back to "The Compound" where the officer on duty Caption John R. "Master Thief" Murphy, husband to one Yalanda S., took the news in stride. Dewly then keyed his mike and said, "Penguin One due to the absence of Petty Officer Murphy you are now the second most senior member of the patrol. Take charge of the patrol and fill out the order of the day. I'm closest to Petty Officer Murphy's sector. I'm going to split the difference between both of our sectors to see what I can see. When the patrol is finished all blowers, I say again ALL blowers, are to make top speed back to the compound for download and debrief. Understood, Penguin One?" Dewly didn't like the way things were shaping up. But, there wasn't really anything else left to do. What with it being so close to Christmas. His gaggle was going to make it home for some leave. Or, he was going to die trying to make it so. The blood of GEV Specialist First Class Brian C. "Tiger Eyes" Hancock ran cold as he prepared to key his comlink. "Understood Chief," he coolly replied as his pulse began to race. "Yeah, right. Understood," he thought to himself. "Oki doki Chief. You betcha. I understand. This is only my third extended range reconnaissance patrol and I have to bring it to a, hopefully, uneventful conclusion." He then keyed his comlink and spoke with all the calm he could muster, "Uhh ... Penguin One on all. Penguin One on all. We are now light two blowers and still have a job to do. You all know the drill. Switch over to sweep pattern delta five and carry out the order of the day. Our relief will be here in another couple of hours. Until then everybody stay frosty," Hancock said as he managed to make it sound like something approaching a command. "Resume radio silence," he then ordered. ... Petty Officer j.g. "Death's Angel" Murphy was not having the best of days. She was experiencing, what is among GEV pilots known as, "Blower Trouble." And, that right in the middle of a nighttime ERRP. On top of that, her comlink had gone on the blink shortly after the 00:30 radio check. With the skill of a pilot of her prowess and experience she managed to cajole her ailing ground effects vehicle to the top of a bluff which overlooked the better portion of her sector. "At least," she thought, "I can keep an eye out while I fix this peace of junk. And, if worst came to worst I can use the back up communications flares I've got in my cargo bag." But, she was confident that it wouldn't come to that. Every once in a while she would hear the distinctive sound of one of the "Good Guy's" blowers in the distance which assured her that she was still among friends. She was confident that it was only a matter of time before one of them would swing by and pick her up on a scan. "Nothing to worry about," she reassured herself, "This wasn't the first time a blower had failed her on an ERRP. And, O'Dohnegheu's Ogre Eaters NEVER left one of their own behind." Just as she had knelt down to take off the outer casing of her right front engine the hair on the back of her neck began to stand up as her blood ran cold and her heart felt like it was going to explode through her sternum. She instinctively froze and strained every fiber of her being to figure out what was going on. It didn't take her long. There was only one contraption in existence which could send the kind of vibrations she was feeling through the Earth's surface before it could be seen or heard. An Ogre was on the prowl ... and a big one. Streams of pure thought raced through her mind with every heart beat as she started perceiving reality in stop motion. Tiny beads of perspiration began to form on her forehead and upper lip. "How far away was the beast?" she franticly thought, "What direction is it coming from? Is it one big one or many little ones?" As if to answer her questions the first noises from a machine that was at least an Ogre Mark IV or better could be heard. It was rolling in her general direction. It became, at once, clear to her that speed was of the essence. With resolve she grabbed a "High Flyer" communications flare out of her cargo bag and plugged it into her GEV's console. All relevant data; her last known position along with estimated coordinates, speed, and direction of travel of the Ogre were fed into the flare's memory chip in compacted format. She was hoping to have a little room left. As the flare's microchips finished storing the info from the GEV's console PO j.g. Murphy grabbed the picture of her family which she kept with her at all times and walked to the highest point on the bluff. She quickly spoke a few words into the flare's microphone. It was somehow comforting to her to know that everything she had to say, no matter how short, made it into the memory chip of the flare. Murphy took a few seconds to cast one last adoring look at the chem-light illuminated picture of her husband John and two children, John Jr. and Anne-Mary. She then fixed the image of her family firmly in her minds eye, held the com-flare high above her head, and pulled the rip-chord. ... Petty Officer Dewly was relieved to hear the electronic chirping of a com-flare coming over his headset. "Adda girl, Yalanda." he thought, "I'm on my way." He quickly swung his blower around and depolarized his cockpit's glass cover. He could see the bright golden sparkle of a "High Flyer" com-flare rising up over a bluff, less than a click away. The outline of human silhouetted against the moon could be seen standing on the highest point of the bluff. As usual the data sent by such a flare was automatically relayed back to HQ and all other friendly units in the area at the speed of electricity. His heart sank as his on-board computer deciphered the data and he instinctively pushed his blower to top speed towards the bluff. And then, he heard Yalanda's voice, "John, tell John Jr. and Anne-Mary th..." The end of the message would never be heard. On top of the bluff where once stood the silhouette of a human being was now a miniature mushroom cloud. And, Dewly had made the mistake of looking at the flash. ... The alarm went up immediately throughout the width and breadth of the "The Compound's," or the "Free State of Avolon's," communications networks. An Ogre of unknown size and ability had managed to sneak almost to within striking distance of the outer defense networks without triggering any of a vast array of censors and early warning systems. This Ogre was crafty and dangerous. It was going to be a fight to the finish. ... Captain John R. Murphy sat in a stunned stupor in the forward command bunker of O'Dohnegheu's Ogre Eaters. He simply could not believe that Yalanda was gone. Just like that. His two children now had no mother. But, what he could not believe more than anything was that he was feeling no pain ... nothing ... just disbelief. He then slowly became aware of someone shaking him; slightly at first and then more violently. "...OUT OF IT, SIR!!! SIR, WE NEED YOU!" came the vehement shout. "SIR, WE GOT AN OGRE BEARING DOWN ON US!!" Master Chief Petty Officer William P. Sartain shouted in almost a pleading tone. Master Chief Petty Officer Sartain had just raised his hand to give the Captain a hefty slap across the face when Murphy's hand came up and instinctively stopped the blow. Capt. Murphy shot out of his chair, grabbed MCPO Sartain by the lapels, pinned him against the wall of the bunker, and stared him straight in the eyes. "Check your discipline Master Chief, " Murphy hissed through clenched teeth, "My children just lost their mother!" "Yes, Sir. I realize that. But, there are going to be many more widows and orphans soon if you don't coordinate a counter attack. Sir, the latest info has it that this Ogre might be a Ninja." MCPO Sartain coolly replied making sure not to loose eye contact with the Captain. Capt. Murphy's countenance changed as he realized the gravity of the situation. He drew upon every ounce of strength he had left. And, assured himself that his wife's sacrifice would not be in vain. This Ogre was already dead to him. All that was left to do was to make it so. Captain "Master Thief" Murphy, nick named for his uncanny ability to steal victory from the jaws of assured defeat, began barking out orders. "Scramble all available attack drones, missile tracks, heavy tanks, and GEVs along intercept vectors 214, 235, and 283! Get a radio check of all available resources in the area! Send the grunts into their spider holes. And, alert the howitzer crews! This one just might make it into the final protective fire zone!" ... The six remaining pilots of Flight Alpha were not waiting for orders. This Ogre had taken, at least, one of their own. They were all silently resolved that it would damn well pay with it's existence. Spec. f.c. "Tiger Eyes" Hancock keyed his mike, "Okay people, we got all the data we need. Fall in single file on me. We are going to top out for a few clicks, come up behind this thing, and kill it. Understood?" In one second intervals the remaining battle ready members of Flight Alpha, Second Wing, Third Battalion, O'Dohnegheu's Ogre Eaters replied with a single word, "Clear." ... A hard thin line drew itself across the brow of Captain Murphy. This fight was less than a half hour old and it had already taken a heavier than expected toll on the resources that he had at his immediate disposal. He stared into his Holo-Tank studying the details of the situation like a diviner studying tea leaves. "The 'Triumvirate' sent a Ninja," Murphy thought to himself. Those are usually the precursor to a larger assault. "What are they thinking," he asked himself? Somehow they had managed to hide this attack from all the spies that The Free State of Avolon had planted. The latest intelligence gave no hints of any plans by the Triumvirate to take Avolon. Something had gone terribly wrong. "Have our espionage assets been compromised," Murphy asked himself? "God help us all if they have." Murphy grew uneasy as he watched the Ogre in his Holo-tank cross the ten mile marker. He even thought that he could feel the floor of the bunker start to vibrate. Small beads of sweat began to form on his brow. ... Flight Alpha broke out of a tree line just in time to see an Ogre Mark IV "Ninja" being besieged on all sides by the "Hornet Swarm" style tactics of the attack drones. The on board computers of each of the remaining GEVs confirmed the make and model of the Ogre Mark IV Ninja and radioed the info back to the Compound. The Ogre had made it to within eight miles of the first forward defense bunker of The Free State of Avolon and, outside of some significant tread damage caused by the attack drones, didn't seem to even be scratched. Flight Alpha had managed to come up directly behind the Ninja without further incident. "Form attack formation Bravo Foxtrot on me, " barked Spec. f.c. Hancock into his headset, "And, make sure to target the coning tower with your first salvos. I want this thing to loose sight of the bigger picture and quick." Three seconds later the Ninja's coning tower fell on it's hind quarters like a tree having been cut down by a woodsmen. The Ogre was quick to respond. Penguins Three and Five went up in balls of flame as the Ogre wheeled about to crush the new GEV threat. "WILD WEASEL," yelled Hancock into his comlink, "WILD WEASEL!" The four remaining GEVs of Flight Alpha scattered in random directions. ... PO s.g. Dewly's day was going from bad to worse. He was feeling groggy and had a head ache. He had just come to his senses and was not fully aware of what was going on around him. His eyes felt like they were literally on fire. And, the last thing that he could remember having seen was the silhouette of an old friend change into a brilliant white flash. He began feeding voice commands into his blower's computer. "Status," he said. "All systems mission ready," came the reply from a refined electronic voice. "Mission," demanded Dewly sensing that his blower was moving. "Auto pilot filling out directive Tango Siera. Returning disabled pilot on speed course to Compound." "Override directive Tango Siera," stated Dewly impatiently. "Permission to override denied," came the reply. "DAMN IT! I SAID OVERIDE DIRECTIVE TANGO SIERA!! AND, THAT IS AN ORDER!!!" Dewly yelled into his headset. "Permission to override denied," replied the computer calmly. "Give it a rest Dewly," piped in the familiar voice of MCPO Sartain over the comlink, "your vitals monitor says you're blinder than a bat you thick headed sun of a rat. Your data banks tell us that you looked straight into the flash of a tac-nuke. Not the most intelligent thing that you've ever been known to do, Charley. Now, the med-techs here will give you some implants that will have you back to normal in no time. But, you're gonna have to sit this one out Papa Bear." "You can't do this Master Chief," pleaded Dewly, "I gotta bunch of newbies hangin' out on limb. We can't just leave 'em out there alone." "Relax, Papa Bear. And, that is an order," stated MCPO Sartain, "You got some real fire pissers out there," Sartain said with pride in his voice, "They know what to do. And, I mean that literally. It looks like that young'en Tiger Eyes went and organized himself a right smart little flanking maneuver without even having been ordered to do so. That crazy sun of a rat just might buy us the time we need to win this round." Sartain continued with a chuckle, "I pity the poor fool if manages to make it back, though. 'Cause, that young man is going to get his ass chewed all the way up the chain of command starting with me. And, then my guess is he'll get a medal of some kind," Sartain finished with a grin. ... Flight Alpha was down to three blowers. Penguin Two was unsuccessful in evading the Ogre through her wild weasel maneuver. GEV Spec. f.c. Hancock and his two compatriots, GEV Specialists second class Roland and Wingate were ordered to pull back, re-group, and reinforce the flight of GEVs that was do to arrive in their sector at any moment. But, no further action was necessary from the remaining members of Flight Alpha. Thirty Seven minutes into the fight the howitzers of B-Battery, Third Company, Blake's Bombers attacked the Ninja with a series of salvos which destroyed the Ninja, all the attack drones still buzzing around it, and a few hapless heavy tanks, along with their crews, which had gotten in the way. The fight was over. But at what cost? ... Two days later a Christmas day memorial service was held for Petty Officer junior grade Yalanda Samantha Murphy, wife and mother, who had been twice decorated for valor above and beyond the call. She was being posthumously awarded the Avolon Medal of Honor for her supreme sacrifice. As the entire Avolonian defense establishment stayed on the highest levels of alert. The members of Avolonian society closest to PO j.g. Murphy or, Yalanda, as they knew her paused to remember. The Avolonian flag which was draped over the pedestal upon which her picture had been placed was folded with full military honors and presented to John Jr. by recovering PO s.g. Charles Dewly. Captain Murphy could not be at the memorial due to the alert status. "On behalf of a grateful people," Dewly said in a low tone to John Jr. "I would like to thank the Murphy family for it's sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty to The Free State of Avolon," Dewly paused and then continued, "John, I'm sure that your mother is looking down on you right now and beaming with pride at the young man her son has become." Dewly handed John Jr. the flag. John Jr. took the flag without saying a word. A single tear ran down his right cheek. The heart of the child inside him was slowly dying. In it's place was being born the heart of a warrior. Somehow John Murphy Junior knew that the struggle of freedom from the tyranny of the Triumvirate must go on at all costs. And, that his time would come to take up that fight. ------------------------------ From: "Dominique Sumner" Subject: New OGRE units I've attached a file with a page of new units I've been playing around with. It's still a little rough around the edges though. This is just the first draft. Look it over and let me know what you think. I would appriciate the input. Dominique Sumner ----- [As I don't do HTML here, I've put that on my new articles page. -HJC] ------------------------------ From: "Matt Mills" Subject: Orignal Ogre Edition Would you happen to know where I could find a copy of the original Ogre, GEV, and battlesuit games in the plastic boxes? Thanks   Matt Mills Network Administrator Student Health Services Texas Tech University 806-743-2860 ext.225   ----- [E-bay? But the plastic boxes are not the original edittions. My dad just blew a bundle on e-bay for a copy of OGRE marked $2.95 and a copy of GEV marked $3.95 (Non-mint, but they look like the original plastic bags.) But I guess you could wait for Mr Jackson to re-release the the combined edition. -HJC] Henry J. Cobb ogre@sjgames.com http://www.io.com/~hcobb All OGRE-related items Copyright (c) 2000, by Steve Jackson Games.