薔薇語

All in all, that was a nice story to read. I was expecting a bit more resolution to the initial problem but such things are more common in fiction than real life, I suppose. Her boss seemed like a bit of a jerk. I am glad she got out of that situation. Foreign Orchid.

I choose Bizaro SuperThor. No, wait... I choose Jor-El-Son, Kryto-Thor. Foreign Orchid.

Change Environment to cause a concentration check. Mind Control to cause uncontrollable tickling urges. Entangle vs Mind to cause the target to not be able to act effectively. Foreign Orchid.

Why must there be such a strong disconnection between the magics? A God of death could make an argument for raising the dead, killing the living, preserving bodies, decay of plants, etc. They should have a place in both halls of hope, remembrance, morgues, and on the battlefield. Likewise, the God of Fuji could lay claim, to a certain degree, all the aspects of life and death, profit and loss, growth and decay, in his vicinity. Perhaps not as strongly as the actual gods of each but stronger than those with no connection to his land and people. That makes me think of an idea. What if the various hierarchical priesthoods are countered by more free-form and local shaman groups? Following a successful overthrowing of a bad or corrupt priesthood, the locals of Fuji institute shrines to their local nature spirits so as to weaken the authority of the various priesthoods. The only priesthoods allowed to continue activities are those not likely to initiate hostilities. Or maybe Fuji is a warring god and aligns himself with the actual god of war and uses his powers to further command his locale. The above would be a way to add in lots of local diversity. And while I generally like the idea of restricting a priest to powers relevant to their god, I think it should be done through nudging and not bans. Make it clear than the god of miners can offer health, heartiness, and prosperity but also has some command of the life and death of his followers. But such powers are just weaker or require more effort or alternate material costs. Also, if you don't honor him when one of his followers is healed or dies, then he will release his protections for those priests, families, or communities. Next up, having large overarching gods who have lots of followers and power but are rarely involved much in mortal affairs is good. Then you can have a plethora of trade or locale specific gods. So while everyone is likely to know of the Sun god and pay homage to her, it is a small exercise outside of all but the most devote groups. Most pay homage to the local rivergod who brings the season floods for food and thus life. And that same river god is the guardian of their with his strong currents that would wash away all intruders. So it is also a god that can grant limited protections and attack bonuses. Anyway, those are some random thoughts on the situation. Foreign Orchid.

Can a Mod please delete this thread. I accidently put it in the wrong forum. ^^ I will put it in the correct forum with a second post shortly. Foreign Orchid.

Happy Independence Day! Foreign Orchid. -Posted this in the wrong forum.

I learned recently that a filming contract can not exceed ten years. So, unless Marvel gets to work quick on 3 & 4, they may be forced to renegotiate their deals with the actors. Foreign Orchid.

The previous job was for an NPO in Shibuya that works with National Geographic and others to conduct wildlife documentary festivals and such. Alas, they have a rather depressed pay and apparently NPOs are not allowed to do visa sponsorship in Japan, so it would have been impossible to work with them. But I did find a teaching gig up in Saitama (right next to Tokyo prefecture and only about an hour away from Shinjuku). While teaching isn't exactly what I want to do, the pay and hours are good. It may also help lead me into finding other work in Tokyo proper. At the very least it has good hours and pay so I can find plenty of things to do there. Again, if you do plan another trip this way, always feel free to shoot me a message. I would be more than glad to help out where I can. That said, though, perhaps we have occupied enough of this thread with what is essentially a PM worthy conversation. Feel free to PM me. Enjoy Brussels! Foreign Orchid.

I see. Well, I hope you enjoy your new position and all that it entails! If you do make your way back over to Japan at some point, always feel free to shoot me a message. I am more than glad to give pointers or travel advice. Actually, I may be moving to Tokyo in a month's time (well, near Tokyo). So it was beginning to look like I wouldn't be able to do more than give simple advice about Kyoto anyway. Again, Best of wishes to you in your new endeavor! Foreign Orchid.

Arent the outer layers of the shuttle made from a ceramic compound precisely because the temperature of reentry is so extreme that it would likely melt any exposed metals on the front of the craft? I imagine if you wanted to know the impact power you could calculate its volacity, possible rate of deccelleration, and then come to the final energy of impact and guess that value in Hero Terms. If it were me running this I would look at the heroes stats. Can he fly to intercept? Can he lift the item raw? Can he survive in space or near severe heat? If the answer is yes to all the above, then I would give him a chance to do a strength check with some very hard target. Maybe a minus five to ten. If he passes, then it was done well with little to no ill effects. If he only barely failed, then the hero will take some arbitrary damage that I think is good. Maybe 1d6 rka penatrating per point of failure. A fail by five or more points means even the craft will suffer major damage and maybe complete destruction. Foreign Orchid.

If you are sticking with the Cold War Era foundation, then I think finding a universal cooperative may be hard. Perhaps the USSR cedes some for the Global benefit but I am not convinced. To be honest, all the "if we find aliens we will unite" mindsets out there seem a bit off to me. While I think there would be a lot of social pushing to be united against a threat, that wouldn't neccessarily lead to a surrendering of national sovereignty. And when you have massive and ideologically opposed nations like the US and the USSR, I highly doubt even an alien invasion would unite the world. Not unless at least one of those powers were ousted in the fighting. And if there were relics or other such remains left over, you can be sure that no world power would simply allow the other to have control over it. I could easily seem such a situation escalating into a hot war. But that is me and my view. Obviously to each their own. Since we are talking about a world with Supers and some Super tech, having the city be younger seems acceptable. Plus that means that the PCs would be in a city that is really experiencing its growing pains. While 50 years may not be long in terms of city existence, that is at least two generations worth of people. Indeed, children born in the city shortly after the crisis would be seriously contemplating how they will retire by the time the game picks up. If I were going to choose a time for all this to happen, I would go with the Early 90s or late 90s. Both times saw a downturn in economic development, were after the fall of the USSR, and the US was already mired in some eternal conflicts. This would be a great staging ground for the US to expend a good portion of its military resources, further cripple Russia and Europe, and generally bring the world to the bring without a clear single nation leader (minus maybe the US still - but at reduced value). Other alternate locations , especially if we went with the Early 90s: British Hong Kong - A great area with a rich history. Still part of the West while having ancient ties to the East. If done before 97 (99?), the city would still be in UK control. The invasion that devistated Hong Kong made the economics of taking it over by China less desirable but since it was already slated to leave UK control, the UN interceded and took command while allowing it to be a kind of nation unto itself. The still struggling Singapore island nation. While already independent from Malaysia by the 90s, it could be a great place for the UN to take over for similar reasons to Hong Kong. Kuala Senglor and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia could be interesting spots. They are at a nexus point for South East Asian commerce like Hong Kong and Singapore but have an interesting history. They also would be the best locations in Asia for introducing a strong Muslim presence into the city backdrop. Also being connected by land and sea (the above two are really just islands), it offers greater ease of undocumented human traffic. It also would add to the tensions of a Malaysian city / state being taken over by foreign powers. Sri Lanka has been torn apart by civil war for most of my lifetime. It could make for an interesting staging ground. Anyplace in North Korea - This could lead the the UN re-igniting the Korean war but ending it with the final collapse of the North Korean Regime. South Korea assumes control over most of the peninsula but the affected areas turn into UN independent zones. This would help raise the prominence of China as they might end up sharing a boarder with the UNIZ. Busan in South Korea is also another option. Prime coastal city with a beautiful view. Macau - This works for the same reason Hong Kong does but of course this is the gambling center that used to be ruled by the Portuguese - not the trading nexus ruled by the British. Oman or Yemen could work. That would add in an interesting set of troubles. These are among the poorest places in the world but are rife with violence and religious identity issues. Israel is already somewhat like the city we are talking about. It was a country created by the UK and the UN. Anyway, those are some Asian continent options. I think Hong Kong, Busan, and Singapore would top my list of place in Asia to use as the backdrop. La Rose.

Nice video! I moderately liked that song already and thought the video was a great parody. Also, Doger's blue eyes were absolutely captivating. Foreign Orchid.

Good gosh does that author seem like a raving loon. First, I am not going to comment on the actual gender of the raptors as I have not watched the movie. I can say that just because the trainer calls them his "girls" does not automatically mean they are female. It could just be his 'pet name' for them. Next up, "he" is generally accepted as the gender neutral pronoun in standard English. Complaining that people who most likely never watched the movie (at least during the initial production of the figures and their case) used the normal default pronoun rather than "she" is stupid. Straight up, bigoted level stupid. Surely this person has better things to do. Moving on, this is a complete non issue regardless. The kids and parents are not actually reading the descriptions and seeing "she". If you see a parent or kid actually spending the time to read the description in detail prior to purchase, knock them out and take them to be examined. They are most likely aliens. Lastly, just like my last sentence was an over the top simplification, so was the author's ultimatums. The author is far too narrow minded to accept that people must fit into his narrowly defined narrative? Give me a break. There are actual issues to address when it comes to sexism in the world and in the US. This isn't one of them. Seeing people feint offense (at least I hope they are just feigning because if this is real, then they need medical attention), only inspires people to be more set in their ways. I almost feel like cat-calling a few girls after reading such rubbish. Foreign Orchid.

For other cities one could reasonably choose any sufficient area from a developing nation. That opens up a lot of Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia. Indeed, there could be several cities across the Globe. Maybe the Heroes are part of the US station forces that do one year rotations to each local? Maybe they are the all year heroes and sometimes come into conflict with the transitional forces because they think their official state sanction puts them above others. La Rose.

Here is an idea: Don't place it in the US or any other developed nation. There are a lot of interesting story lines you can develop when you make this new city a new administrated territory of the US or other international body. The Aliens come to Earth. Their fight, rather than taking place over Detroit like Millennium city, takes place over a large area of Haiti. The ensuing fight leaves the already devestated locale even worse for wear. Countless Super Heroes and nations worked together to defeat this threat over Haiti. Now that the threat has abated, there was an issue over who should have sovereignty over the area and all that was left in the wake of the fight (Central Spire, The Nexus Convergence, etc). The local government didn't have the resources or knowhow to manage their nation before this crisis, in the wake of it there was no hope. So the UN largely agreed to unilaterally disincorporate a large swath of the Hatian territories and re-establish them as a quasi independent nation. The Chief administrator was selected by the UN and several treaties were written up to establish this locale as both being independent from all other nations while technically operating under the authority of the US and paying taxes to the Hatian government. Intrigued by all that was going on there, corporations, people, Heroes, and all kinds of other individuals and groups relocated to the new city. The neighboring populations made up the bulk of the work force initially and still do to some degree. But there are tons of tensions as there are strong cultural clashes as the city is truly an international one. And this was exacerbated as the initial anticipated interest in the area was underestimated. The idea that millions of people would move there almost over night for work and opportunity left the UN struggling to plan appropriately. A benefit to this kind of background is that it allows more political intrigue as no 1 nation has full authority over the new city-state. The HEROes could come from all around the world. Indeed, some might even have official state backing (Perhaps the Nexus Core has six month rotations and four man squads because every member state must choose a representative to serve for a set term, etc). La Rose.

This has good effects beyond the bounds of standard characters. As a mere human I know that I am sick. With this power I could know before I become symptomatic. I would also know the type of disease and what stage it is in. With such precise knowledge I can plan more effective treatments than "drink water and sleep". I could also know my blood alcohol level. If I had injested poison or other drugs. In games where the GM tracks damage and only gives general feedback, this would be a way to see the exact numbers. You might also be able to justify a bonus against Mind Control or other effects that tamper with your mood or memories. It is not a useless power that simply mimics what everyone has. La Rose.

https://news.vice.com/article/unarmed-man-shot-by-lapd-officers-for-allegedly-raising-arm-wrapped-in-towel?utm_source=vicenewsfb La Rose.

The Earth and the Moon don't have the same orbital path. The moon orbits around the Earth and incidentally revolves around the sun. The Earth orbits around the Sun and leaves no substantive bodies in its wake. La Rose.

Indeed. Going in with a hit squad over a failure to have / maintain a business license is ridiculous. They only did that there because it was a pot joint and they really needed everyone out before they could start stealing the pot and jerking around while on the clock. La Rose.

I am going to preface this by saying that the following post, given that it directly follows mine and seems to be taking a rather strong stance in opposition has inspired my more direct and equally strong retort. If I am misreading this in some significant manner, I do apologize. First, allow me to be a bit nit-picky: "may exist" comes off as a bit condescending. I do not know you personally so I do not know how it is you choose to speak. I, for one, do tend towards saying things like "may" "think" and "probably", etc when speaking to make things seem more polite. But I do so knowing that I need to add in more clear language lest I come off less than clear in my view. In this case, by saying "may" and not adding more to it, it strikes my ears you are, at best, reluctantly agreeing with a fairly basic and non controversial statement. It strikes me as being akin to saying "well, gravity may exist but F* Newton!" Next up and more to the meat of your post: HERO makes no baseline assumptions in the differences between the sexes. This is probably done for a large variety of reason. But regardless, no one has, to the best of my knowledge, suggested otherwise. Nor has anyone suggested that it need to. The post that started this whole mess was simply pointing out that men and women have differences in the real world. That fact, that being that it is discussing the real world, was rather abundantly clear given the series of follow posts made by others who equally interpreted as a post reflecting the nature of the real world. Next up, while it did make an off hand suggestion for how one could tweak male/female stats, it was making that suggestion as a way of capturing the grittier real world differences. It, in essence, did the same thing happening in the "How tough are tanks" thread wherein people have argued for a great many pages how to best reflect real world physical properties in HERO while also maintaining cinematic flavor. So, to that end, the post was neither controversial nor proposing, in principle, something that we don't discuss in detail on other matters. La Rose

Altair is overstepping his case. A case that you, WistfulID, decided to set up by over-reacting to an innocent comment. The two accounts do not have the same name and lest there is good reason to assume they are the same person it is generally best to take in good faith that they are two different people. Next, the first poster used a broad and general description of strength. That stance was not wrong and is still not wrong. To add to that view, the second poster provided a link discussing "strength" in a more defined manner. Even if the first and second posters were the same (And it is still foolish to assume they are), there has been no contradiction or moving of goal posts. Allow me to be more clear in my stance towards Altair's post - it is needlessly argumentative and void of substance; rather choosing to try and impugn the posters (for whom he thought was the same person) than really address the merits of the case being brought up. Next up, looking at post counts is not always a good idea. There are countless people here who lurk and have tiny post counts. Automatically assuming two of them must be the same is flawed at best. And might I add, that a mere 100 or 200 posts is tiny. How do I know that you and Altair are not the same? 200 posts is just one good weekend for me. And you both have taken the same stance, too. Makes me wonder... Lastly in regards to the two posters, the length of the two posts in question is not nearly long enough to draw any set conclusions on the nature of the authors, especially in regards to them being the same person. Even if they use the same key phrase that is proof of nothing. You can read any thread in any section of this board or others on the internet and find that trend. People often repeat key or unique words, phrases, and sentences. It is a normal and natural thing to do in both written and spoken language for a variety of reasons. But it is far easier to notice it off hand in written communications. But go back to any significantly long enough discussion anywhere on these boards and you will see one of us initially use an interesting word choice and then see it parroted several times. Not because we are all the same author, but because we are all human and that is what humans do. To end this, allow me to reiterate my earlier point: The initial post was not provocative nor offensive. The stance taken in it is not one unsupported by science nor general belief. The accusations to the contrary were, however, out of left field and unsubstantiated. The followup accusations against two board posters as being the same author are equally unsubstantiated and out of left field. La Rose.

I came across this gem of a story a bit ago: LA cops raid a pot dispencery, Jack the cameras, proceed to eat the products and play around while making offensive jokes. So, where in the police manual does it say "jack the cameras after clearing out everyone in a raid"? And what are the chances that any video they did get was destroyed minus the camera they left up? Every single one of those cops should be fired, arrested, and thrown in jail. La Rose.

La Rose.

Let me stop you there. Please go back to your post and check the name on those two quoted sections. After doing so, please feel free to revise everything you just said. ^^ La Rose.

Kyoto is a wonderful place. That is where I live now. I am not sure where I will be come the holidays but if I am still in Kyoto, I would love to show you some of the sights. Worse comes to worse, I can at least give some suggestions on local winter attractions. La Rose.