Joe Walsh

Watched the first two episodes of S2 of Warrior (HBOMax) and it's turning into a bit too much of a melodrama for us, so we're going to stop watching at this point, having enjoyed season 1. Also tried out a couple of series we missed a while back, Chuck and The OC (HBOMax). Neither turned out to really be our kind of thing. The OC seems well done, but that sort of family melodrama isn't really our thing. Chuck has some good gags, but otherwise it seems like a kinda dumb show to us.

I can only dream of something like the folks behind Chivalry and Sorcery were able to achieve. Stunning products, true to the game, with an ever-expanding roster of new content. If HERO could do something like that it would be a good start. And I don't see any reason C&S would have an advantage over HERO in terms of the ability to do things like that.

Yeah, it's pretty grim stuff. The kind of stuff you'd expect media to be screaming from the rooftops. "Hey, everyone, they're going to send us back to the time before Silent Spring, before The Jungle, and even before Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Goodbye Great Society, goodbye New Deal, goodbye Progressive Era." But, nope. When they talk about the import of these cases, it's with at best an air of resigned acceptance. "It's the Supreme Court! They gave themselves absolute power without any real accountability, just as the Founding Fathers intended [but didn't], so whattayagonnado?"

Guess we can't regulate nuclear weapons, either, since they didn't exist back in 1791 when the Bill of Rights was passed. Oh, well, I'm sure it'll be fine. We'll just pass a new amendment, right?

I barely remember hearing about that thing back in the 80s, but apparently it's become some sort of menacing presence to the tinfoil hat set?? Yeesh. In other news, sci-fi author Cory Doctorow has a good introduction to a series of articles from The American Prospect and The Forge on building working class power: https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/07/collectivism/#ruling-class-solidarity

I assume about average for someone in their 50s. My wife, on the other hand, is at higher risk of complications.

And now my employer is pressuring me to go to an in-person conference this fall 😩

For 6e, the Advanced Player's Guide (pp 188-190) has the chase rules that appeared in the 4e and 5e core rulebooks. For vehicle chases, my favorite HERO chase rules are in Danger International (pp 84-85). This optional chase system offers a risk/reward system where in the driver can choose to take greater risks in return for a greater chance of achieving their objective.

We also live in an atomized society.

Perhaps foolishly I'd hope the people around them would try to help them get out of whatever has led them to that point.

Glad they caught that guy. Crazy that he'd been idiating on mass shootings in his social media for more than a year and no one noticed.

There was a mass shooting during this morning's parade in Highland Park, IL. That's not far from where I work and is a heavily Jewish area. No word on the shooter or motive, tho.

When it comes to limits, I basically go with the advice in Ninja HERO, which recommends damage limits include everything but pushing and Haymakers, CV limits include everything but what's in the GM's control (clever tactics, surprise maneuvers), etc.

Finally watched Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Disney+). I enjoyed it. There are some really nice bits, and I appreciate that they included a lot of different story beats. It was definitely the most true to the Dr. Strange comics I remember from my youth, and that was nice to see. Also watched Deadwood: The Movie (HBOMax): It was about as satisfying as the Farscape movie. Meaning, it was necessary and enjoyable and did what it needed to do, but oh man do I wish there had been another full season.

S2 of Only Murders in the Building is off to a fun start, as is S3 of Fresh Meat.

Finished Deadwood S3 (HBOMax). Great series, very good season, unsatisfying "ending". Next weekend we'll see what they were able to salvage with the movie years later, but along with other fans we'll always wonder what S4 would have been like if it'd been greenlit back in the day. Also finished S1 of Warrior (HBOMax). The setting is the real star for me. I was born and raised in the SF Bay Area, and this fictionalized version of SF in the 1870s does a good job of illuminating some of the very real racial conflicts from back then, as well as the ways in which local and national politics interacted with industry and the racialized population. On the other hand the show often struggles to present fight scenes that are equal to the cinematic quality of the rest of the show, and some fights are so dominated by the narrative and handled with no real cleverness as to lose my interest. Hopefully they'll do better in S2. That said, the fight scenes in the first and last episodes of the season are pretty good, and S1E5 is a joy for any fan of the Western genre. Still, I dearly wish they'd planned the big fight in S1E9 with a bit more intelligence.

Finished Hacks S2 (HBOMax). This is a rare one where I'd say the second season was as good as the first. Each season had its story problems, but ultimately the laughs and characters made them both worth watching. At the end of S2 the story seems complete, but it looks like we'll be getting a third season anyway. Hope they do a good job on it.

Finished Barry S3 (HBOMax). While not quite as good as the previous two seasons, this delayed third season was still very very good. Lots of fun! Also finished Obi-Wan Kenobi S1 (Disney+). The story, acting, and such were OK. The fight sequences never rose above TV-quality and the chase sequences were mostly terrible. I appreciated the additional characterization of Luke's adoptive family, and it's nice to know why Leia later thought of Ben as her "only hope." Six episodes was about right for this.

On other boards, I've seen quite a few former fans attest that they stopped playing HERO System at some point because the game's presentation was becoming the opposite of what they wanted. HERO fan that I am, even I would never hand anyone I've ever known 5e or 6e -- or even my own favored edition, 4e. None of those books presents a game. They present a toolkit, from which a game can be assembled. Most people aren't interested in doing that, and even if they were, they don't have time for it. Instead I'd go with Champions Complete, which is the closest thing to 1e/2e/3e's presentation that there's been in a long, long time. Plus it's a current product that gets support. That said, there's nothing wrong with using 3e if that's what your situation calls for. I use plenty of older RPGs because they still work best for me and my group.

Finished S1 of Julia (HBOMax), which is based on the life of Julia Child. The show's worth watching, and David Hyde Pierce is great has her husband Paul. Dollhouse fans will enjoy watching Topher as her producer. Good stuff overall, and worthy of a second season (which it's been renewed for). Also finished S2 of Woke (Hulu). Not as strong as S1, S2 was still funny and, at times, very witty. Hoping they get a season 3.

The new (current) Car Wars is supposed to be faster and easier to play, FWIW.

Those old tables are fun, and the Champions cards do a good job of providing a nice randomization option, but they do require that you have a set on hand. Maybe new tables could be made based on them?

😄 So true.

When it was first released to theaters, I hadn't expected Willow to be fantasy's Star Wars, but I'd hoped it would be a fun adventure. And it was, sort of. There were some good lines and some good moments. But in the end it just wasn't very well done, like most fantasy films. I rewatched it a few years ago, and still see it that way. It's OK, but unremarkable. Will they improve on it with a series, or will they just try to give the audience more of the same? I suspect the latter.