Spence

I been intrigued by the trailer for Syfy's The Expanse, so I read the first book of series it based on, Leviathan Wakes.  It's a good page turning read and I would recommend it to any fan of science fiction.  The authors (James S.A. Corey is the pen name for team of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) describe it as working man's science fiction.  They have tried to make the book with enough science as to not pull the reader out of engagement with obvious mistakes but if they don't have to explain how something works scientifically, they don't.  This is an approach that worked well for me, and there was only one place in the book that I read something and thought 'that's wrong'.  
 
I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series and to upcoming TV show, though I wish that they were doing it through animation rather than live action.  There are scenes in the book that they are never going to be able get right on the special effects budget of a TV show.  Heck there is stuff that would be hard to get right in a big budget movie.  Still, I'm interested in seeing how they tackle them and hope that it won't be too painful.

Monster Hunter Legion (Monster Hunters International)
 
Heard about this series because of the game adaptation.  Great series, but it escalated too quickly and could have been a 6-7 book series.  I am a fast reader and really hate it when I find a great series and then it writes itself to an ending....
 
H.E.R.O. - Nightmonger   This makes Kevin Rau's 12th book in the primary storyline. He has two shorter ones that cover side stories.  He started as self published and his writing is getting better.  But the setting and story are well thought out and one of the very few Supers series/book out there that are actually about superHERO's.  You may have to put up with some grammar and dialog issues, but on the whole this is a solid story.   Omega Night (Wearing the Cape)
 
The other series that actually features superHERO's.  This series is also a good solid read for anyone looking for superHERO storys.
 

I'm pretty sure Marvel comics ended in the late 80s. 

I tend to get mine from people who don't like it when I find a trending negativity to be hilariously petty instead of "the right thing to do, dammit!" 
 
 
Indeed!  Great minds think alike!  
 
of course, soft minds run together......
 
We should be careful.   
 
There was a misquote I heard some years ago that I absolutely love:  "Great minds like a think."
 
It's right up there with Pinkard and Bowden's "Hey, won't you play another somebody done somebody's song wrong."
 
Humor that I can really get behind.   
 
 

Hey, we both have the same number of downvotes   Great minds must think alike
 
Mine all come from the same person, from what I can tell is was mostly from pettiness.  For amusement I started to return the favor but then forgot about it. 

interesting essay on the problems with Snyder’s interpretation of The DC Superheroes. 
 
https://arkhavencomics.com/2020/12/30/the-superheroic-virtues-prudence/
 
 
Wonder Woman 1984 was overlong, self-indulgent, boring and crushed under the burden of its caricatures of 1980’s MEN.  However, its biggest problem was handed to it three or four movies ago, when Diana told Bruce Wayne that after she had lost the love of her life, she had withdrawn from the world, apparently for 100 years. 
Snyder turned Diana Prince from Wonder Woman into the Dread Ayesha waiting thousands of years for her one true love to be reincarnated.  He never had any kind of handle on the character.  This is about as bad as Padme “dying of sadness” because Anakin had turned to the Dark Side (admittedly, Lucas is pretty autistic in his own right). 
Simply put, Wonder Woman wouldn’t do that.  She is the embodiment of too many of the heroic virtues of…
Prudence: the ability to always discern which is the path, that is right to take.  Whether or not it will be the easiest is immaterial it is the Right thing or it isn’t. 
Temperance: the practice of self-control and moderation.  Self-restraint in all things from extremes in emotions to extremes in pride and grief.  This is critically important in those that have great power.
Justice:  Having a strong sense of fairness.
Courage: The strength to carry out the other virtues.  To able to confront fear, uncertainty and extreme opposition.  To follow those virtues regardless of the painful burdens of personal sacrifice they will entail.   The strength to keep going when all hope is lost.
 
 

I didn't mean to imply anything.  
I really was surprised by her being "famous" because I didn't recognize her at all.  Once I googled her name I realized she was in Ghostbusters. 
All I remember from that was it being boring with a lot of cussing that was supposed to be funny, but I couldn't name the cast without looking it up.   
 
But you are right that so far the cast is doing well and definitely better than I could do.  But so far the movie has been just dragging and I have yet to work up the interest needed to go back and finish it.

I didn't realize she was an actress let alone a comedian.  But when I did a search I realized she was one of the new breed of comedian I have been calling "the unfunny".  IIRC she was in the new Ghostbusters that cratered. A lot of excuseswere made for that one when it was just not funny.
 
It is probably a generational thing but most of the new funny I see is as good as 5th grade fart jokes.  Funny while you were in the 5th grade, and then you grow up.
 
 
 

I don't get out much nowadays so yes it is the first movie.
 
I enjoyed it. There have been several supers films on over the holidays. Spiderman: Homecoming, Wonder Woman and Justice League. I'll get to see a repeat of the latter on Sunday.
The story works and the iconic moment when we first see Diana in full costume coming out of the trench and charging the German lines is handled well. I was not keen on the whole 'Ares killed everyone else' storyline as I do not care for the whole 'pushing one god' mentality in fiction with multiple gods cf The Clash of the Titans remake. The battles were not over the top or stretch the imagination. People died but there was a genuine attempt to save them and not mindlessly kill them for the sake of it cf Man of Steel.
Gil Gadot did well and they made Steve Trevor interesting without detracting from Wonder Woman. 

I'm pretty sure Marvel comics ended in the late 80s. 

I didn't realize she was an actress let alone a comedian.  But when I did a search I realized she was one of the new breed of comedian I have been calling "the unfunny".  IIRC she was in the new Ghostbusters that cratered. A lot of excuseswere made for that one when it was just not funny.
 
It is probably a generational thing but most of the new funny I see is as good as 5th grade fart jokes.  Funny while you were in the 5th grade, and then you grow up.
 
 
 

I say go with Transformation-minor. Minor because good roads (or more precisely bad roads) affect your horses your your wagons and travel time. Now if they can also do the inverse- good road to bad, to answer @Spence’s question as to why the write up, I can see a scenario where the Earth mage casting the inverse so as to slow up pursuers. Of course depending on casting time and how close the pursers are.

I think you've already missed DCC and Pendragon, but sometimes that stuff comes back around.
 
At any rate, get on the BOH mailing list.  It's a _wonderful_ source for picking up-- _legally, mind you_-- inexpensive PDF collections of both old and new stuff, if you're patient.
 
 

Well, I am going to be "that guy" and ask "why"?
 
Are the player characters going to be repairing the roads? 
All my fantasy games use swords and yet I have not written up one forge.  Or mine for that matter. 
I know that there is a write-up for a horse out there somewhere, but I have never used one.  I jot down a basic stat block with just the basic capability of the horse.  I don't need the entire point build, just movement, carry and basic damage needed to kill/disable the horse.
 
What I mean is, I write up items and magic that is used in play by PC's or NPC's/Creatures that the PC's face. 
 
While it can be fun to write up various things, exactly how much in session play actually needs specifics on road repair? 
The road people have a spell they use to fix the road. 
It is their secret.
It is hard. 
Done.
 
 

Well, I am going to be "that guy" and ask "why"?
 
Are the player characters going to be repairing the roads? 
All my fantasy games use swords and yet I have not written up one forge.  Or mine for that matter. 
I know that there is a write-up for a horse out there somewhere, but I have never used one.  I jot down a basic stat block with just the basic capability of the horse.  I don't need the entire point build, just movement, carry and basic damage needed to kill/disable the horse.
 
What I mean is, I write up items and magic that is used in play by PC's or NPC's/Creatures that the PC's face. 
 
While it can be fun to write up various things, exactly how much in session play actually needs specifics on road repair? 
The road people have a spell they use to fix the road. 
It is their secret.
It is hard. 
Done.
 
 

Merry Christmass to everybody

Happy Yuletide everyone!  May the blood of your enemies run freely in the gutters!

Well I haven't answered because I literally do not understand what you are asking.
 
I don't know what the term "screeching" means in the context you are using it so any attempt on my part to evaluate it is meaningless.
 
But in general power-gaming (min-maxing, etc) is an approach to gaming rather than being good or bad.
But I have noticed that proponents of the two approaches don't mix well.
 
To me, and this is just my personal opinion, min/maxing (powergaming) is just a carry over from computer games.  The ones that claim to be RPG's which they are not.  Since there are no real RPG options the games are really just trying to maximize your PC's capabilities so it can kill/destroy everything it encounters.
 
The other approach, and again this is just my personal opinion, is actual role-playing.  In a role-playing game you build a character concept rather than squeeze the points for maximum effect.  Min/Maxing is actually bad for this type of game, and the encounters are built with this is mind. In a heroic game PC will have drawbacks as well as strengths and a lot of the fun is is working around those disadvantages. 
 
But adding powergaming style PC's into an actual RPG will throw off game balance if it was built for non-powergaming PC's. 
 
Once again, neither approach is wrong or right, but they are different and in many ways incompatible.
I can min/max if I have to, but I don't find those games fun as a player and will not run one as a GM. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Good news!
 
Got the rabbit ear back! 
 
Bad news!
 
He yakked it up on the hood of the truck....

Hi, fellow Herophiles! I am not looking to design and publish something solo at this time, but in the spirit of helping out a community that I quite enjoy I'd like to offer assistance if someone has need of my skills. 
 
I can read for comprehension, grammar and spelling (things a spell checker misses like the versus they, etc.).
I can check math calculations for powers, etc.
I can create basic encounter maps with hexes at appropriate size for VTT or printing. I can provide an example or two if needed. I am not a professional, just a hobbyist with GIMP.
I can sounding board ideas, concepts, contribute power ideas, for plot, characters, organizations, and so forth. 
I am most comfortable in 6th Edition at the moment since that is what I GM right now, but I played and GM'd basically all of them.
 
I have the next two weeks off from work so that is a good window of opportunity. After that my time is more sporadic, but I will still have some spare time. You can contact me on here or email me at eepjr24  at gmail D0T com.
 
 
- Ernie

And just to be different, I'm going to toss out "on one of the Great Lakes."
 
Middle America doesn't get enough super-action.
 

 
 

Mmm...
 
Well, I am not meaning to be rude, but I am just going to bow out. 
I have very little free time these days and getting embroiled in an argument is not how I want to use what time I have.  
And I also don't want to use it to re-familiarize myself with the system to point I can explain.
 
I shall just cede the field 

Problematically, the stomach is up behind the ribs, and the abdomen, where your colloquial "vitals" are, isnt listed at all. 
 
Speaking purely hypothetically, I have long-suspected that the commonality of misapplication of the word "stomach" is responsible for a large part of the chronic confusion regarding Location 13.
 
 

You and the skill argument people are off in a corner talking about a completely different thing than the subject.
 
The subject is converting a group of Pendragon skills into a Hero version.
Dance as it it used in Pendragon is not a background skill.  It is used as an active skill in what can be called social combat for lack of a better term.
 
It is really surprising that Hero players can understand that powers such as Energy Blast can be used to model everything from a crossbow bolt to a laser and the power "name" is just a label for an effect, but suddenly can't comprehend that a skills name may also be just a label. 
 
This conversation has nothing to do with a Background Skill or a Professional Skill.
It is about an active skill that just happens to be named Dance.
 
 

In all of our games it was squarely in the "nuggets" so to speak.