Department Lunch Notes:

Ken: Wizards has already trademarked the use of colored mana and collectible
card-based magic effects in their "Magic" game, so we're going to need
something else for Hunter. Try to have a new idea and system fleshed out by
the end of the day -- 40,000 words should be enough. Just reprint the
Vampire Disciplines and rename them if you can't think of anything better;
we've already got those copyrighted.

Ethan: Legal came through from Lucas. Go ahead and do the "Garou are
wookiees" reveal in Rage Across the Heavens. Justin's good with the
werewolves controlling the Sabbat, and that's a perfect excuse to put a new
book on the schedule that's just a 72-page character sheet. I think $14.95
is a fair price for that one. Rich says it's no problem to get four new
covers for the WoD Combat expansion -- did you want to do this as four
separate books or two books with alternate collectible covers?

Jess: WWF has declined to rename Wrestlemania XVI "The Cultists of Ecstasy
Dry-Hump Jamboree," so pull that title from your schedule. Continue the Mage
adaptation of Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand. Phil Hartman's estate has
also shot down that proposal that has Mr. Hartman arm-wrestling Porthos;
they claimed it was "insensitive." I told them Porthos was dead, too, but
we'll send it through another round of legal just to see if they're going to
want to play hardball.

Justin: "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" is already the title of another work, so
you're going to have to come up with something else. McFarlane's good to do
"Spawn vs. Vampire," so be thinking of some decent plot threads and get an
intern to work up Spawn's Traits. I'm thinking he's equivalent to a
4th-generation vampire, so you might want to come up with some lame-ass
excuse for Storytellers to destroy their players' characters with him.
Another Diablerie title, perhaps? Also, I've only seen 57 of the new clan
write-ups, and I'll need the editor's contract and the other seven clans
before we get rolling with "The Guide to the Extra Kindred." Do you want to
do this as a Limited Edition? I know Marketing does, and it would be the
perfect companion volume to next Feb's "Discipline Madness" book of 64 new
powers.

Rich: I need outlines and contracts for Menzoberranzan by Night. The test
demographic seemed to react strongly in favor of the time-travel book, so
continue development on "Dark Ages: Space War." Also, go ahead and introduce
the Klingons as a playable clan, but make sure they're killed off by 1972,
to avoid contradictions with modern Vampire material. Oh, and cut the plots
regarding "finding the Wand of Orcus" and "taking the fight directly to the
Queen of the Demonweb Pits" from The 1,000 Hells -- apparently, someone
already published plotlines in this direction. Finally, send that proposal
for Dark Medieval Street Fighter to Marketing for some sales analysis.

Rob: Let's kill all the Aberrant projects we have in the pipeline -- just
send everyone their pink slips and termination checks. Instead, I think we
should run with some kind of baseball or basketball storytelling game, or
maybe something based on South Park. Think about this and get back to me
with a 2000 schedule by lunch tomorrow.

All: Remember book excerpts for Chris. Art notes are due for September books
at the end of next week. Remember to recycle your beer bottles -- they're
going to cancel our worker's comp if they find any more loose or broken
bottles laying around. Pistol duels in the parking lot are now punishable by
termination.