Lord Liaden

This diver held his breath for record-breaking 24 minutes underwater — and he's 54-years-old.

I have a little experience adapting stories from novels into a performance medium. IMO most of the elements from the books that Jackson excised -- not all, but most -- were not necessary to advance the plot or clarify what the audience needed to know, so could be sacrificed in the interests of time. OTOH one of the most frequent criticisms of the novels over many years is that the romance between Aragorn and Arwen is underplayed over the course of the story. She essentially just shows up near the end to wed Aragorn and become queen. When contrasted with the longer and more vibrant presence of Eowyn, many readers felt that Aragorn picked the wrong consort. Of course Arwen's backstory is covered in an appendix, but one shouldn't need an appendix to appreciate their relationship. Jackson put their love story front and center, showed why Arwen was worthy of Aragorn, and why her choice to remain with him is so profound and bittersweet. It greatly enhances the emotional payoff of their eventual union.

You know, none of those is mutually exclusive...

I still believe we're witnessing the death throes of the old social order. White male Christian privilege can still do a lot of damage as it lashes out, but eventually it will go the way of the landed aristocracy. Human nature being what it is, some new form of elitism will eventually take its place, but we can only deal with the problems we can foresee.

I think the reverse covers for a double book would be a cool marketing concept. Definitely attract attention.

I still have a 1024 x 768 screen. And I am old.

That's exactly where those oft-maligned top-end Champions published megavillains would shine.

You certainly make a good case, Dean. And looking at the GM's Vault, if you go deeper into both cities -- literally -- there are even more intriguing possibilities. One other thing that Tavrosel does have going for it is the potential for political and military plots. Several larger nations have influence in Tavrosel's region and would love to acquire it, most imminently and dangerously the Sirrenic Empire and Hargeshite Empire of Vashkhor. Those two great powers have their own ancient enmity, and Tavrosel could become a flashpoint in conflicts between them.

Now that I think of it, the kind of post-chaos scenario Dean talks about could play out most interestingly in the kingdom of Khrisulia in Northern Mitharia. That land has been ruled for almost a millennium by the wizard-king Ansgar, called "Ansgar the Twice-Lived" because, after his magically-prolonged life came to an end, he reanimated himself as a lich. Unlike other liches Ansgar is as benevolent as he was in life, and has governed justly and capably. However, recently his behavior has become erratic: staring blankly and silently at nothing for extended periods, making provocative and threatening statements to neighboring states, lashing out at his subordinates for no reason then apologizing later. His people fear Ansgar is finally succumbing to the evil madness that so often afflicts liches. PCs might very well assume they should take him down before that happens. But when Ansgar died without a named heir it appeared Khrisulia's nobles would war with each other for the crown, and there's no more provision for succession "now." What's really happening is that

And speaking of fraud, and related corruption: 'Worse than a jungle': the cartel controlling Iraqi borders.

It's happening in Canada, too. New cases in Ontario are reaching levels rivaling before the last lockdown. British Columbia just instituted new lockdown measures for public gatherings for the next three weeks. New variants of COVID-19 -- mostly B117 first identified in the UK -- now account for 67% of new infections.

You remember dropping something there, Old Man?

I would consider the rivers being navigable to decent-sized cargo vessels -- at least equivalent to the "Shaanda barges" -- all the way between Lake Beralka and Aarn (with provisions for getting around the Ettinstone) to be a major factor in Aarn's growth. That would make Aarn the gateway on the Sea of Storms to the Beralka/Shaanda/Mhorec system for traders from the southern Westerlands as well as Northern and Central Mitharia. Combine that with Aarn being the only deep water harbor between Bellinberg and Tatha Gorel, and its proximity to the High Pass into Tornathia, and you have more than enough stimulus to build it into the largest city in the world. Tavrosel, which might be Ambrethel's second-largest city, would derive many similar advantages from its location, as its magnificent harbor would make it the natural exchange point across the Sea of Mhorec for the many desirable goods from the eastern region of Mhorecia: minerals and enchanted items from Arutha, fine iron and steel work from Hrastarin, cattle and leather from Ingushel, gemstones and jewelry from Mount Keluurazond, plus the products of Khoria coming through the Great Pass.

I respectfully disagree. JL says that the stakes are of cosmic significance, but we aren't really shown that because the DC cosmos hasn't been built up for movie audiences the way that Marvel had done for theirs by the time of IW. What we see in JL is a threat to Earth, as in Avengers. The Avengers are pushed to their limits to defend against the invasion, and are clearly shown being worn down and overwhelmed before they close the portal.

To everyone comparing the run time of the Snyder cut Justice League to that of Return of the King, I have to point out that the two movies aren't comparable. ROTK was the third and final chapter in a continuous story which a great many fans were already heavily invested in. JL was a stand-alone movie about which there was already much doubt due to the mixed reception of Man of Steel and the heavy criticism of Batman vs Superman. A studio would have every reason to fear that a three-plus-hour run time for JL would dissuade many fans from seeing it.

I haven't seen that personally, but if it's your experience, my first thought is that "gadgeteers" typically have more Limitations to their VPP as a logical consequence of defining it as "gadgets": Focus or available materials, Extra Time, RSR with appropriate technical Skills or Sciences, and the like. Such things can apply to magic, of course, but particularly in the comic-book genre they aren't considered necessary. "Super magic" usually functions like super powers, just with different SFX. Players may want a magical VPP so they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. That can be a genuine headache for a GM.

I have, and even at 700, the 5E suggested "galactic Champions" level. But I've only done so with experienced players I could trust to handle such character builds without GM hand-holding, and only for shorter-term campaigns built around a threat or threats that would challenge them.

You mean you stopped listening to music after 8-tracks disappeared? Then you must have dropped television when cable TV was announced. Changes to the devices that carry the medium aren't the same as changing the medium.

I'm old, so the studio theater system I grew up with hasn't existed in decades. I expect to see some changes to how movies are presented to conform to the new social reality post-pandemic. But movie theaters won't go away, they'll just evolve. They provide a type of experience no one can truly have in their homes. Over the course of the past century, every new entertainment technology was prophesied to mean the end of its predecessor. Movies would be the death of live stage. Television would kill movies. The Internet would doom television. FM radio would finish AM. In every case the medium adapted to emphasize what it does that distinguishes it from others, and found a niche it which it could continue to thrive. I don't see why movies won't evolve in response to this situation. because there'll continue to be demand for them.

Well, by those criteria, I think your optimum vote would be Orasamn. The disadvantage to choosing Tatha Gorel, the city ruled by a dragon, is that Scauromdrax the Magnificent (that's actually what he's called) has over nearly three centuries built up such a reputation as a wise and just ruler, the rulers of other states sometimes seek his advice. Anyone who kills him will probably carry a stain of infamy not just among the Gorelians, but any other law-abiding land they visit. Gorgashtar would be almost the opposite problem, because the lich Varakes isn't the Big Guy -- he's one of the chief lieutenants of the Biggest Guy, Kal-Turak. There will be no resultant chaos because the Ravager of Men will appoint someone else to govern Gorgashtar, but the PCs will now be prominently on the radar of the greatest evil in all Ambrethel. Sargath, the Vampire King of Dragosani, is a usurper who murdered all the former royal family, and killed or "turned" everyone else who opposed him. His capital, Orasamn, has for nearly a century lived under the same kind of fear as the villagers in Transylvania in the novel Dracula. Killing Sargath would not solve the problems for the Dragosa, because it would leave no obvious successor, save among the remaining nobles who are vampires themselves and would probably fight for the throne.

Aarn started off slow in the poll, but it's picked up some steam. Before the Hero Games downsizing, a book for Aarn was on the publication schedule, and Steve indicated he was eager to write it. He probably has notes for it already.

A classic of brainstorming on RPGnet forums: The city built around the tarrasque.

"I told you not to touch the Pym particles."

I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.