DShomshak

Also, when I revised Tyrannon I gave his home dimension a toroidal theme. When he broke his homeworld's star into 8 parts and shaped them into spheres, it was to show off how powerful he was, that he could force matter into this crazy, unnatural shape!
 
Dean Shomshak

Oddly, in my FH games, there followed a progression of competent, danger worthy professionals, into minor nobility with a lot of useful contacts. Rarely would I permit less than competent characters, as there were a lot of dangerous consequences out there in the world. Magic could be powerful, but trade offs limited its uses, so one never saw Isekai sorts of progression in power. We never got to Fantasy Champions, even more so, the recent no magic game, progression was by recruiting friends and Allie’s into you character’s conflict. I suppose it kind of parallels the Danger International character progression in that the characters become more skilled and teamwork becomes smoother over time, but it’s the favors and contacts that make their jobs easier over time. It’s a pretty anti- D&D way of running fantasy. 

Today, at least, justice was served

*is under 50*
*knows*

Sorry...but just because. An Animated Pooh who became a cleric.

To me, bare mechanics don't feel magical. Neither does resource management -- and from the beginning, D&D has been very much a game of resource management (gold, hit points, spell slots). The magic comes with the description and context. This is why all the writing about magic I've done for HERO spends so much word count on defining how a style of magic works, what it can and can't do, and describing each spell.
 
Since we're talking clerics as heal-bots, let's take the basic cure wounds spell. It doesn't matter whether this is defined as "3d6 BODY Aid" or "Restores hit points equal to 1d8 + spellcasting ability modifier." It's just a game resource.
 
If I want magic -- no, a miracle -- I might start with a myth how the gods shaped the first mortals from clay and breathed life into them. (It's a classic, go with it.) So a cleric who heals someone touches the person and says, "From clay were you made; to clay now return, that the Maker's hand shall repair you." And the area around the wound briefly turns into clay that flows back together before returning to intact flesh.
 
Okay, players won't want to describe this every time. But just describing it once might help convey a sense that the character isn't just a resource to manage.
 
I should note that the very latest D&D supplement, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, suggests letting players customize the descriptions of their characters' spells, to make characters more distinctive. For instance, a sorcerer (wild talent spellcaster, more or less) who's a farmer. When he casts magic missile, he evokes chickens of magical force that fly at his targets to scratch and peck. A refreshingly HERO-ish attitude, I think!
 
Dean Shomshak

Yeah if you wanted to do a really gritty, grim sort of game you would have that kind of thing happen.  Hospital administrators fearing lawsuits and angry at the loss of revenue.  Doctors upset that the healer makes them look bad and isn't using "proper medicine".  Insurance companies suing because they fear liability when some healer fixes a problem and it goes wrong.  Patients suing healers and attacking them because while you healed their broken leg, they later got the flu and its your fault, somehow.
 
All reasons not to have that kind of thing in a game that's allegedly about having fun.

"Tax and spend" is how governments are supposed to work. Government exists to provide services: notably, protecting citizens from foreign enemies and from each other. That costs money, which the people pay in the form of taxes.
 
It's a much better system than "Don't tax but still spend," which various politicians have advocated. Or, "Extort money but provide no services," which has been a common setup through history.
 
I am sorry if this seems snarky, but my guess is that people who complain about "Tax and Spend" merely want someone else to do more of the paying, and to see more of the spending directed at them. But, well, humans. How often does anyone get on a soapbox and shout, "Raise my taxes! And spend the money helping people who aren't like me!" And some people talk tough, but not many really want to go back to Hobbesian anarchy.
 
I do not think that politicians of *any* party will ever speak honestly about what government costs, and how to pay for it. The public won't stand for it.
 
Dean Shomshak

Heard on the news yesterday: JWST is five days out and unfolding on schedule.
 
Dean Shomshak

"Tax and spend" is how governments are supposed to work. Government exists to provide services: notably, protecting citizens from foreign enemies and from each other. That costs money, which the people pay in the form of taxes.
 
It's a much better system than "Don't tax but still spend," which various politicians have advocated. Or, "Extort money but provide no services," which has been a common setup through history.
 
I am sorry if this seems snarky, but my guess is that people who complain about "Tax and Spend" merely want someone else to do more of the paying, and to see more of the spending directed at them. But, well, humans. How often does anyone get on a soapbox and shout, "Raise my taxes! And spend the money helping people who aren't like me!" And some people talk tough, but not many really want to go back to Hobbesian anarchy.
 
I do not think that politicians of *any* party will ever speak honestly about what government costs, and how to pay for it. The public won't stand for it.
 
Dean Shomshak

"Tax and spend" is how governments are supposed to work. Government exists to provide services: notably, protecting citizens from foreign enemies and from each other. That costs money, which the people pay in the form of taxes.
 
It's a much better system than "Don't tax but still spend," which various politicians have advocated. Or, "Extort money but provide no services," which has been a common setup through history.
 
I am sorry if this seems snarky, but my guess is that people who complain about "Tax and Spend" merely want someone else to do more of the paying, and to see more of the spending directed at them. But, well, humans. How often does anyone get on a soapbox and shout, "Raise my taxes! And spend the money helping people who aren't like me!" And some people talk tough, but not many really want to go back to Hobbesian anarchy.
 
I do not think that politicians of *any* party will ever speak honestly about what government costs, and how to pay for it. The public won't stand for it.
 
Dean Shomshak

"Tax and spend" is how governments are supposed to work. Government exists to provide services: notably, protecting citizens from foreign enemies and from each other. That costs money, which the people pay in the form of taxes.
 
It's a much better system than "Don't tax but still spend," which various politicians have advocated. Or, "Extort money but provide no services," which has been a common setup through history.
 
I am sorry if this seems snarky, but my guess is that people who complain about "Tax and Spend" merely want someone else to do more of the paying, and to see more of the spending directed at them. But, well, humans. How often does anyone get on a soapbox and shout, "Raise my taxes! And spend the money helping people who aren't like me!" And some people talk tough, but not many really want to go back to Hobbesian anarchy.
 
I do not think that politicians of *any* party will ever speak honestly about what government costs, and how to pay for it. The public won't stand for it.
 
Dean Shomshak

"Tax and spend" is how governments are supposed to work. Government exists to provide services: notably, protecting citizens from foreign enemies and from each other. That costs money, which the people pay in the form of taxes.
 
It's a much better system than "Don't tax but still spend," which various politicians have advocated. Or, "Extort money but provide no services," which has been a common setup through history.
 
I am sorry if this seems snarky, but my guess is that people who complain about "Tax and Spend" merely want someone else to do more of the paying, and to see more of the spending directed at them. But, well, humans. How often does anyone get on a soapbox and shout, "Raise my taxes! And spend the money helping people who aren't like me!" And some people talk tough, but not many really want to go back to Hobbesian anarchy.
 
I do not think that politicians of *any* party will ever speak honestly about what government costs, and how to pay for it. The public won't stand for it.
 
Dean Shomshak

"Tax and spend" is how governments are supposed to work. Government exists to provide services: notably, protecting citizens from foreign enemies and from each other. That costs money, which the people pay in the form of taxes.
 
It's a much better system than "Don't tax but still spend," which various politicians have advocated. Or, "Extort money but provide no services," which has been a common setup through history.
 
I am sorry if this seems snarky, but my guess is that people who complain about "Tax and Spend" merely want someone else to do more of the paying, and to see more of the spending directed at them. But, well, humans. How often does anyone get on a soapbox and shout, "Raise my taxes! And spend the money helping people who aren't like me!" And some people talk tough, but not many really want to go back to Hobbesian anarchy.
 
I do not think that politicians of *any* party will ever speak honestly about what government costs, and how to pay for it. The public won't stand for it.
 
Dean Shomshak

"Tax and spend" is how governments are supposed to work. Government exists to provide services: notably, protecting citizens from foreign enemies and from each other. That costs money, which the people pay in the form of taxes.
 
It's a much better system than "Don't tax but still spend," which various politicians have advocated. Or, "Extort money but provide no services," which has been a common setup through history.
 
I am sorry if this seems snarky, but my guess is that people who complain about "Tax and Spend" merely want someone else to do more of the paying, and to see more of the spending directed at them. But, well, humans. How often does anyone get on a soapbox and shout, "Raise my taxes! And spend the money helping people who aren't like me!" And some people talk tough, but not many really want to go back to Hobbesian anarchy.
 
I do not think that politicians of *any* party will ever speak honestly about what government costs, and how to pay for it. The public won't stand for it.
 
Dean Shomshak

First day out of self-isolation.  Never got much worse than a middling head cold...and I apparently isolated well enough that my wife never caught it (she's been testing throughout -- all negative).
 
Thank you vaccines and booster for what seems to have been a very mild case.  Apart from 10 days of enforced boredom (where I never left the bedroom), not too bad....and the enforced boredom was likely something that I kind of needed...