Joe Walsh

But it isn't about actual truth.  It's about reinforcing a perception.
 
Elsewhere, the in-box this morning had one from NYT, promoting a 30 minute video about the attack on democracy.  I presume it's paywalled, so no link.  The 2 major points:
--voter suppression efforts aren't the #1 issue.  They're anti-democratic, they're probably racist...but their impact is far from clear.  
--the bigger problem is a concerted effort to distort the voting process at its very source...the polling places.  By bringing in poll workers.  Training them to challenge voters *extensively*, to create the perception that widespread voter fraud *is* happening...when the fraud is being performed by the poll workers.  And this is targetable...election results are tallied at the precinct level, so you challenge in heavily Democratic precincts.  There's never been evidence of widespread fraud...so, well, heck, we can't have that, so let's CREATE THE EVIDENCE.  Oh, and of course, it's in all these Democratic districts.  

Some of it's from the continuing drift away from forums, but I agree about seasonality as well. Certainly I've been occupied with other things lately. Bu I'll be cranking up another Hero campaign for the fall and winter. There's nothing better to bring warmth and light to a long, cold, dark winter.

LL, agree almost completely with the exception that I would say the people who were doing the DC TV shows were actually doing a pretty good job of staying to the characters. Only major difference to me was GA becoming Batman, in effect. Snyder should never have been put in charge of any Superman or WW projects (really, I would say anything other then Batman, honestly). Why Johns wasn't in charge from the beginning, I have no idea.

The MCU has had great success by -- at least until recently -- staying true to the essence and heritage of their characters, and by telling stories like those from comics, emphasizing hope, compassion, responsibility, self-sacrifice. Those films and television shows were made by people who know and respect the source material. That successful example leads me to believe that superhero comics could regain a lot of their market if they returned to the things about the genre the majority of people want.
 
The people behind DC's television and film efforts often don't seem to know or respect the source material, or they don't care. There's a scene in Zack Snyder's infamous cut of Justice League that stands out in my mind as an example. Superman joins the final fight against Steppenwolf, puts him flat on his back, then uses his heat vision to cut off part of the villain's projecting skull bone, causing him great pain and mutilating him. Supes then proceeds to hammer Steppenwolf's body, again and again, while his opponent is clearly helpless to resist. That isn't Superman. That's Zack Snyder's power fantasy. Knowing that Superman always holds himself back from brutality is one big reason why the world trusts him, despite his awesome power.

In my experience, folks who are comfortable with the complexity of D&D 5e are often fine with HERO System, especially if you start them out with a short scenario using pregens, thoughtfully-designed templates, or the Champions Character Creation Cards so they can focus on learning the system as it is played before being asked to design characters for that system.
 
I completely agree that a well-designed character sheet is incredibly helpful (as is avoiding acronyms).
 
I like the long-standing advice for newbie supers players to ignore END and avoid Limitations, but I normally only do that if I'm starting them out with a higher-powered game. For street-level stuff, I usually leave those things in.
 
But, above all, I keep the characters simple. No fancy character builds. Just enough skills/talents/powers to give players good choices, with as few Power Modifiers as I can get away with, presented in as plain English as I can manage.
 
I used to agree that hiding the Speed Chart from new groups was best, but in the last couple of years I've changed my mind. Now I see the Speed Chart as not only integral to the system, but a prime reason to play HERO. I see it as kind of like chess having different forms of movement for the various chess pieces.
 
Edited to add: My experience is that the above works well for smaller groups of 4 or so players. I don't know how well it would work with a large group of new players.

In my experience, folks who are comfortable with the complexity of D&D 5e are often fine with HERO System, especially if you start them out with a short scenario using pregens, thoughtfully-designed templates, or the Champions Character Creation Cards so they can focus on learning the system as it is played before being asked to design characters for that system.
 
I completely agree that a well-designed character sheet is incredibly helpful (as is avoiding acronyms).
 
I like the long-standing advice for newbie supers players to ignore END and avoid Limitations, but I normally only do that if I'm starting them out with a higher-powered game. For street-level stuff, I usually leave those things in.
 
But, above all, I keep the characters simple. No fancy character builds. Just enough skills/talents/powers to give players good choices, with as few Power Modifiers as I can get away with, presented in as plain English as I can manage.
 
I used to agree that hiding the Speed Chart from new groups was best, but in the last couple of years I've changed my mind. Now I see the Speed Chart as not only integral to the system, but a prime reason to play HERO. I see it as kind of like chess having different forms of movement for the various chess pieces.
 
Edited to add: My experience is that the above works well for smaller groups of 4 or so players. I don't know how well it would work with a large group of new players.

We had the first meeting of the school's D&D Club today, and most of the time was spent in character creation. And yeah, it's a LOT more complex than I remember.  (Of course, I haven't played D&D since the Reagan administration. I discovered Champions 3rd Ed in college and never went back. But I digress.) 
 
So, yeah ... maybe an overly simplified version isn't necessary after all.
 
I have a copy (PDF and dead tree) of Champions Complete. I have the Champions Character Creation Cards. I looked through 'em a bit after buying them, but not having a group at the time, I didn't do anything with them. Maybe I should dig those out and see what I can come up with. I've also got the Hero Designer software, which could (theoretically) help with the logistics of character creation.
 
Hrmmm. Must ponder.

Interesting video on how WB/HBOmax got to where it is:
 
 

I wish I could run a game at the local store, I think that would help generate interest and sales.  Definitely I would encourage others to do so if possible.  Run games at cons, at game shops, etc.  The hobby needs life injected into it, and not just stunt celebrities playing on youtube.

We needed a new car, so despite it being a terrible time to look for one, we began our search a couple of months ago.
 
Depending on manufacturer, we were told ordering a car meant waiting anywhere from 6 weeks to 12 months for delivery, and all of them said no one knows what you'll get -- you'll be kept updated, but at any point in the process, the manufacturer may decide to delete features due to supply chain issues.
 
Depending on dealership, we were told buying one of the few new cars on the lot would cost us $2,500 to $10,000 over MSRP. (Factory orders are generally at MSRP.)
 
We looked at all of our options and realized that there was only one SUV that fit our requirements (>5,000 lbs towing, good towing technology, a big cargo area behind the 2nd row (at least as big as the Outback we were trading in, which ruled out most midsize and smaller SUVs), the ability to fit comfortably in our normal-sized garage (which ruled out most trucks and full-sized SUVs), adaptive cruise control, and most importantly comfortable seats for long road trips): a Ford Explorer.
 
So we used the build tool on Ford's site to build what we wanted, then sent it off to the local Ford dealerships that seemed to be run the best, letting them know that was what we wanted. We told them we'd probably place an order in November.
 
A couple of weeks passed, and one of the dealerships had exactly what we wanted on their lot. Another customer had placed a special order months ago, but backed out of the deal just before delivery could take place. And they'd ordered exactly what was in our build.
 
That dealership was the one that had the lowest over-MSRP prices at $2500, so we said we'd go ahead and give it a test drive and see if we could reach a deal.
 
We ended up getting what we wanted for the trade in (which, in our state, also means a reduction in the sales tax, as the portion paid for by the trade-in doesn't get taxed), and got the Explorer for $500 below MSRP!
 
To top it off, Ford's running a deal where you get 0% for 66 months. I didn't think I'd see 0% again in my lifetime.
 
So while it's not great to have a car payment again, we're still pretty darned happy about how this worked out, especially given the circumstances.
 
 

We needed a new car, so despite it being a terrible time to look for one, we began our search a couple of months ago.
 
Depending on manufacturer, we were told ordering a car meant waiting anywhere from 6 weeks to 12 months for delivery, and all of them said no one knows what you'll get -- you'll be kept updated, but at any point in the process, the manufacturer may decide to delete features due to supply chain issues.
 
Depending on dealership, we were told buying one of the few new cars on the lot would cost us $2,500 to $10,000 over MSRP. (Factory orders are generally at MSRP.)
 
We looked at all of our options and realized that there was only one SUV that fit our requirements (>5,000 lbs towing, good towing technology, a big cargo area behind the 2nd row (at least as big as the Outback we were trading in, which ruled out most midsize and smaller SUVs), the ability to fit comfortably in our normal-sized garage (which ruled out most trucks and full-sized SUVs), adaptive cruise control, and most importantly comfortable seats for long road trips): a Ford Explorer.
 
So we used the build tool on Ford's site to build what we wanted, then sent it off to the local Ford dealerships that seemed to be run the best, letting them know that was what we wanted. We told them we'd probably place an order in November.
 
A couple of weeks passed, and one of the dealerships had exactly what we wanted on their lot. Another customer had placed a special order months ago, but backed out of the deal just before delivery could take place. And they'd ordered exactly what was in our build.
 
That dealership was the one that had the lowest over-MSRP prices at $2500, so we said we'd go ahead and give it a test drive and see if we could reach a deal.
 
We ended up getting what we wanted for the trade in (which, in our state, also means a reduction in the sales tax, as the portion paid for by the trade-in doesn't get taxed), and got the Explorer for $500 below MSRP!
 
To top it off, Ford's running a deal where you get 0% for 66 months. I didn't think I'd see 0% again in my lifetime.
 
So while it's not great to have a car payment again, we're still pretty darned happy about how this worked out, especially given the circumstances.
 
 

- Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine in media.
 
- Implement ranked choice voting.
 
- Overturn Citizens United.
 
- Levy a 100% wealth tax on any wealth over $100M.  Billionaires should not exist.
 
 

The expanded language tables from The Ultimate Skill ought to suffice.

Invisible power effects only conceal the activity, source, path target, special effect and intensity.  It does not ever conceal the target effect or the source effect (if any).   The target effect is the effect of the power on the target.  So, the target would know his ego is being drained, but would not know who is doing it or how.   

Do you have any direct evidence that this is a widespread problem? No anecdotes, because I can toss out press clippings of elderly and infirm people running off or shooting attackers all day. Where's the evidence that vulnerable people are having their guns stolen on a widespread basis enough to impinge on their rights?

I'm not an edition warrior.
 
I run 5e, but have a bunch of 6e and 4e stuff, and mix and match from all three. 
 
Hero is my go to system, but my group has been pretty 5e D&D focused.
 
Its only recently that they suddenly perked up and asked about me running Champions again.
 
Everyone is super-stoked.

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I think it looks a lot better than the early trailers, but not quite as good as the movies. I don't expect movie budget FX in a TV show, and the rest of it has been good enough to push the issue to the background for me.

I really hope there's a Scarlet Witch / Daredevil crossover in the future of the MCU. That way, maybe Matt Murdock can teach Wanda how to cope with her loss of Vision....

Yeah, but your not hiring an actress as talented as Tatiana Maslany to play half a part.

I recall an Hourman story (a reprint, likely in a DC 100 pager in the ‘70s) where he was knocked out/fell during his hour, resulting in that hourglass he wore being knocked over, and him being unable to know how much of his hour was left.


 
He went after the thugs, beat them up, then heard the clock chime and realized his hour had ended some time back.  So he was 2-fisted enough to beat a small group of thugs without the Miraclo boost.


 
If I were looking to directly align with the Golden Age material, virtually all characters would have good physical stats, and be capable of fighting a few thugs on their own with no special powers or abilities.  Then the superpowers would be added largely as an afterthought, or they’d get a bit more close-combat oomph if they had no other abilities.


 
As you note, Golden Age Green Lantern fought mainly with his fists.  The Ring did other things, like provide defenses and let him fly, but green power bolts or hands/fists were not his schtick before they brought him back in the ‘60s JLA/JSA tales.  Another one of those reprints, he identified the villain without his mask due to a imprint of his ring left in the villain's chin.


 
Exceptions like Superman, Captain Marvel, Namor or Robotman would exist, but they would not be the norm.

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.

I was so not surprised when it pivoted to lizard people

I reread Autoduel Champions the other day. Apparently you could build a Hero System character in a matter of minutes back then.
 
I kind of want to design a Hero campaign where you can do that now.
 
That would solve all my problems - but it's a lot of work.

Many years ago now... meaning before 6e happened, I did an analysis of Golden Age characters. This involved reading all the Golden Age comics I could lay my hands on.

The main conclusion I drew was that most Golden Age characters were incredibly cookie cutter, and that the key difference wasn't their skills or characteristics, but their powers.

So the differences between Batman, Sandman, Green Arrow and Green Lantern were those between the Utility Belt, the Gas Gun (and mask), a bow and fancy arrows, and an Awesome Magic Ring. Otherwise, they were pretty much interchangeable.

Better yet, in their first adventures, the differences between those weren't all that significant in point terms.

Ultimately, I built them all from one single template. I called it "Generico". I even had disadvantages based on this generic character.

It was surprising to me how well this worked. Yes, Superman and the Flash didn't look much like Generico once I had finished with them, but it was still a useful starting point.

The only major character I couldn't work out was the Spectre - but he was a notable outlier even back then.

Nothing can be done until they get a new generation of writers and editors who understand the medium and the market though. Anyone who blames consumers for not buying their product should be "promoted" to a new industry with a rubberstamped exit interview.