unclevlad

Sorry, when I think of  *GM* validation, it's approval, and/or discussion/adjustment.  Just because the rules might say it's technically allowed, doesn't mean the GM has to.  The rules are not, and must not be considered, perfect or without holes/flaws.

2 hours ago, Badger said:

And I heard a Bills player decided to retire at halftime.  

It's...interesting.  Story is here:

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24703207/buffalo-bills-cb-vontae-davis-abruptly-retires-football-half-vs-los-angeles-chargers

I grant that doing it at halftime is bizarre, but by the same token, if his body is saying "I can't do this"....how could he play the second half?  10 years in the league is 10 years of serious wear and tear.  The part that's weak is apparently just walking away without saying anything.  

The OT rules are actually only *slightly* different from the past.  The only time the not-quite-sudden-death comes in, for a tied final result, is if the team receiving the kickoff makes the FG, THEN the other team goes down to kick the FG.  Not common.  And note that both ties were because fairly short FGs were missed as time expired.

A bog standard pistol is an RKA with OAF and Beam...bullets can't spread, and can't be bounced.

I get the idea you're after but this isn't the approach.  I'd argue for much stricter GM validation should Limitation Abuse be suspected.  ESPECIALLY in frameworks where the limitation may mean almost nothing.

Media reports say Gordon reported somewhat late Saturday and claimed an injured hamstring...after being fine all week in practice.  Also that Browns are therefore concerned that he's relapsing.  With his horrible track record?  Yeah, see ya.  Even if it hurts in the short term I think it's the right move long-term.

Have to check which games are showing here.  Hope I actually get Bucs-Eagles...who knows.  There is, of course, every real chance that Fitzpatrick will revert to the mean....so the Eagles pick him 4 times and win by 40.  But we can hope.  Sunday night is likely to be glorious on paper and a total barker on the screen.  Boys vs. Giants.  When are we going to stop deifying everyone in the NFL East?

6 hours ago, cptpatriot said:

I think it comes down to genre tropes. The Flash or other superspeedsters routinely disarm large groups because it's a trope of the genre.

 

For the same reason, you don't tend to see major heroes or villains getting disarmed.

I think that's putting the cart before the horse.  It was a plot device used so often that it became a trope.  

Basically it's the difference between literature and gaming.  Comics don't care about points, don't care about defining anything.  What's Flash's OCV for that multiple move-by/disarm at ridiculous speed?  Heck, how much COMBAT move does Flash have?  The writers don't care, they're doing largely whatever they like to fit the needs of the story.

A problem in this specific case is that, on the surface, it's reasonably simple, and there's even a very minor spell we all know from D&D that does this.  That makes it *feel* like it should be quite plausible.  Kind of like a bag of holding, tho, it's MUCH more difficult when you start having to specify the details.  And because underlying assumptions change.  D&D doesn't care about foci;  in Hero, it's a much bigger deal.  D&D also says, sure, if you want to smuggle, smuggle.  It's fine in context.  In Hero, it's negating part of the value of the limitation.  I'll also concede that it shows issues with Champions, where you're going ewwwwwwwww....that has to cost HOW much????  Like the reduced END on the Autofire here.

9 hours ago, Hugh Neilson said:

 

So, for 72 points, the character gets the ability to disarm one or more foci based on an opposed roll which the character will generally lose 50% or more of the time?

 

May as well just buy a Blast.

And that would have to be a standalone power.  NO WAY it'll fit into any sane VPP or Multi because of the active cost.  

BUT...one thing this suggests is that trying to target all an enemy's foci at once is seriously problematic.

11 hours ago, RDU Neil said:

 

Yes... this essentially, because if you can never have a comprehensive list of every possible limitation. And even if you did, it would tend toward limitation stacking that quickly breaks, because there is not enough granularity (and I wouldn't want there to be more) to model every slight difference in how a power functions. (And generally leads toward WAY more price break than the total limitation actually plays out in game.)

Some combinations simply blend well together, so the combined limitation is really no more severe than either one separately.  To wit, quite often...Extra Time and Concentration (to activate, not throughout).  Both are "I really want a moment alone, or engage this outside combat altogether."  As long as the power has major out-of-combat utility, the limitations don't mean enough.  And the more limitations are out there, the more such combinations exist.  

Also, a laundry list of limitations fundamentally drives many people to thinking in the point-shave mode, IMO, to focus on the mechanics and how to get the mostest for the leastest.  And that's not trivial, IMO.

Wishbone's not as bad on the QB;  there's quite a bit of either handing off to the up back, or faking that and quickly pitching, using counter or trap action.  But the pitch puts all 3 backs getting slammed...the up back is going into the line, the off back is lead blocking, and of course the pitch back has the ball.  Classic comment was you needed 6 tailbacks for the wishbone.  OK, fine, back in the day of 120 scholarships, and where the Oklahomas and Nebraskas and Ohio States *dominated* top-level recruiting AND could afford to develop them...it really was no joke to say that Oklahoma's second string would still be top 20.  But fewer scholarships, somewhat faster player turnover, and the overall growth of the youth development programs means that, sure Alabama still gets the best of the best, but the talent pool's much more spread out than it was in the 70s.  (And of course the money side.  MUCH more TV money.  MUCH more bowl money.)

But yeah, the wishbone QB is mostly run-centric.  And bloody few of em ever made it in the pros that I can recall, as QBs.  Then again, can't ignore selective memory...because DAMN few QBs ever make it.  Or maybe we should say, are ever seen again.    Lots manage to hang on a few years as 2nd or 3rd stringers, then fade away.

1 hour ago, Pattern Ghost said:

I think RDU Neil was joking about the dog locking him in.

 

On a more serious note: A good reason to carry a Resqme or a Lifehammer.

Could be.  Lots of things like this look really idiotic on first glance, tho, and generate kneejerk responses like that which may just be showing the writer's ignorance and malice.  NOT saying that's the case here, just something we do see regularly...even without reading the tweets of a certain elected official.  (I really should avoid CNN like the plague.  It does my blood pressure no good, and makes sure my humor radar is maximally obscured.)

Or even have just a regular ol' cell phone.  Even with NO sim card.  I upgraded my phone last year...kept the old phone cuz it wasn't worth trading in.  I use it as an ancillary Hue controller, the clock app, maybe weather...it just sits there.  No SIM card of course...but...it CAN make emergency calls.  And you can kinda think the guy panicked to a degree as well.  Mind, I'm not criticizing...been there too many times when anger, irritation, fear, what have you shuts down the thinking part of your brain for MUCH too long.  So there's LOTS of ways this could've played out much less dramatically, to be sure.

Quick side point about STR.  If you want any kind of realism at all, STR can probably be stopped or slowed WAY before 50.  That's 25 tons.  Like the argument about modeling on Atom, Ant Man, and Giant Man, uber-STR is modeled on Superman lifting an entire (big) plane.  Uhhh...problems.  How much force are Superman's hands exerting on the metal skin?  Or the "pick up and throw a building"...the building material at the point of contact will fail under the stress WAY before that.  Not to mention maintaining grip.  Even something like a car...grab it by the bumper, the bumper probably just rips off.  

Realistically the doubling every time is fairly ludicrous from the get-go.  They just did it, IMO, because all the major models were the uber-cinematic mega-STR "freaks" like Hulk, Thing, and Superman.  Trying to price this level at anything close to sane, would be hugely expensive, or create something too complex.  

GURPS has a lifting STR, that's basically proportional to STR ^2.  (Basic Lift, the amount you can lift, in pounds,  in 1 hand in 1 second...that is, a simple basic action...is STR^2 / 5.  Max lift is both hands, and 4 seconds.  It's 8x basic lift.  These basically translate to a Haymaker.)  I like that approach for street level stuff.  STR 10 GURPS can struggle with 160 pounds, but it's taking all they've got.  STR 20 can lift 640.  World-class lifters can go higher but not that much, so the scale works fairly well so far.  It breaks down if you want serious STR, because STR 40 is only 2500 pounds.  That's not even "lift a small car" level.  BUT, if you want to keep a more realistic game...I think it's worth considering.  

EDIT:  that said, I do like abstracting lifting STR as a roll, just because trying to estimate weight, or force needed to accomplish something, is unreasonable for most GMs.

7 hours ago, RDU Neil said:

 

locked there by his dog, maybe?

Read the article.  Electronic door locks would not release if the engine wasn't started, presumably to energize the entire system.  The car failed to start.  Yes, there's a manual door release...but on the floor. Quite possibly not well marked, even potentially covered.  And the owner's manual wasn't in the car...how many of us keep the owner's manual after 10 years?

The driver has to share some of the burden here, but there's also notable design issues.  The engine should not have to be started to manipulate the doors.

On other notes...Australia is also considering a bill to require security backdoors into cell phones/apps, and force phone makers and service providers to help them decrypt on demand.  Now, combine this with their Crime and Corruption Commission, which can summon you into a criminal hearing about which you cannot talk.  YOU are gagged by the order itself.  It's a star chamber of the first order.  Combine that with excessive surveillance...and that's serious trouble.
 

Last but not least...the female cop in Dallas who entered the wrong apartment has been charged with manslaughter.

1 hour ago, Old Man said:

Giving kids a well rounded education in Pennsylvania

Personally, I support this completely, so long as there's PLENTY of advanced discussion, as it appears there will be.  Yeah, some kids will have problems but that in itself isn't sufficient reason to shut down the exercise.  To me that's a head-in-the-sand argument.  

The service academies aren't trying to build championship-caliber sports teams, or recruiting that kind of player.  Their priorities are massively different...and I seriously doubt they shave academics.  These are Officer Candidates, first and foremost.

WRT Potato Chip...the fast-break offense does kill defenses.  It's also singularly ill-equipped to hold a lead, so it needs to be overwhelmingly effective.  The triple option is hard on backs;  you need considerable depth there.  And the ball-handling is somewhat more error-prone.  It's hard to find a good option QB, IMO.  QB wants to throw, not pitch.  And it's got the flip-side problem:  it's a poor offense if you need to score in a hurry.  I agree that the service academies probably like it because it's also an offense that plays well with smart players and strong teamwork, rather than pure athleticism.

It might not be particularly hard to do.

Hero System has a whole section for physical problems;  they're called Complications.  Deconstruct the "package powers" ...especially DI.  If you want the characteristics, buy them.  If you want the Complication, take it.  Just don't mix them together.  Growth suggests the notion of "complications as powers" and the DCV and perception penalties are simple physical complications.  

Pre-loading a limitation into the base cost of a power has very screwy effects.  The obvious:  it makes any further limitations more effective.  +10 STR, costs END, concentration to activate...10 points with -3/4 knocks down to 6.  +10 STR costing 7 because the costs END is already included, then with concentration to activate, knocks down to 5.  It also plays havoc with active points, which is important in VPPs and multipowers.

Heck, Growth has the size templates with specific powers, and with a physical complication.  6E1 443.  Shrinking's on 444.  Use things like the extra KB as part of the mechanical interpretation of the Phys Complication.  

Option 2 is an entangle, but the "no, no, over HERE" doesn't generally create a lasting entanglement.  Stretching also works to build Spidey's swinging from building to building.  

That is a valid point...not about electrical per se, but that no damage shield the target may have, actually affects Spidey.  By the same token, tho, Spidey can't use it against, say, Human Torch.  Or at least I don't think so.  So seems an SFX wash.

It's also just week 1, AKA the first preseason game of the year for the first string.  No matter that it counts in the standings.  The quality of play is frequently very low.  That said...for a unit, yeah, the Saints defense probably had the worst single performance...them, or the Buffalo offense...but the offensive performance was such that I can't count it an ostrich egg.  BAD loss, tho.  Home game in the division.  

I tend to weigh the Detroit loss a bit heavier, simply because Detroit was at home.  They even get spotted a total freebie...horrendous decision by Darnold...but they roll over and get gutted in the 3rd.  At home.  Buffalo got pancaked.  Offenses are often a bit behind defenses, but that was beyond pathetic, to be sure...but it was on the road.  It makes me question the coaching staff and whether the Bills have any decent veteran leadership...because that performance tells me they were simply not ready to play at something approaching real game conditions.

Saints defense...we'll have to see.  Look at the numbers last year...they were middle of the pack in many things like yards per play, and quite bad in some others.  5th worst in yards per rush.  What they did VERY well, was grab interceptions...3rd best.  But I believe these were more by good secondary play.  That's a tough way to live, as opposed to having a front 6-7 that consistently puts considerable pressure and forces bad decisions and bad throws.  I remember the Broncos during Elway's 2 SB wins.  The defense was good, but not as good, I though, as some felt.  Where they *throve* was pressuring the other team when they had the lead.  That was most of the time.  But against an offense that could dictate to them?  They struggled.

We shall see.  I discount the predictive aspect of week 1 for most of these games, with some exceptions.  Cowboys, because it was part and parcel of their root problems for years now.  Steelers, because not throttling the Browns is simply unforgivable.  

Oh yeah...

Counting Gruden as a 'rookie' coach in that it's his first year back...

Rookie head coaches in week 1 had a perfect record.  0-7.

So, what's worse....

The Raiders' defensive performance vs. the Rams...who are expected to be quite good...

Or the Bears losing despite paying their messiah a full royal family ransom and trading a pair of #1s?

Ostrich Egg of the Week nominees for most embarrassing performance by team:  Steelers, Bears, Bills, and Lions.  

Goat of the Week for most pathetic individual performance, most directly leading to terrible result:  I've got Big Ben and Stafford for sure.  Any other nominees?

Vote early.  Week 2 is imminent.  God I loathe TNF.....

One big problem exists here.  How does this happen?  There's only 2 plausible scenarios...one's a whole bunch of nukes, the other's a natural disaster.  Most obvious one there, is an asteroid impact.  HOWEVER, that's something that probably can be identified in advance, so some precautions could be taken.  There's a few sites that offer models of asteroid impacts of various sizes and velocities.  Kind of fun to look at them.  To take out something as relatively compact as NYC, it wouldn't necessarily take that large of an asteroid.  One thing to remember is there's going to be sweeping secondary damage from water effects.  It's actually possible the disruption *might* be mitigated by distributing things.

Option 2 is more complex.  2 events combine.  #1:  big honkin' nasty earthquake in the Atlantic, leading to a tidal wave.  #2:  at the same time, a big honkin' hurricane hits.  Yeah, the hurricane will offer some advance warning so the population loss could be mitigated....but throw 150 mph winds in with the tidal wave?  It doesn't erase NYC, I'll grant, but the damage is immense.  However, it's likely NYC would be rebuilt.

So let's go asteroid.  Let's also assume many of the companies *don't* decentralize.  Well....it's a mess.  Read this first:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_effects_arising_from_the_September_11_attacks

And this is talking damage 1000 times greater.  Basically, within a week you've got a worldwide depression.  Insurance companies either go bankrupt...there's no possible way to pay off the claims, as they'll quite possibly exceed the entire US GDP...or they're stuck in total PR hell in denying claims because it was an act of God.  This also totally depresses markets;  the insurance companies own a LOT of stock.  Oh, and the stock market crash annihilates pension fund income, meaning many, many retirees are *flattened*.  This isn't speculative;  the banking crisis caused major problems for quite a few pension plans.  This is gonna make that look like a hiccup.

The politics are more complex than just saying there's a loss of a Democratic stronghold...because the market collapse is going to crush many, many fortunes...more of which lean Republican.

I'm also thinking most of the area does NOT actually get rebuilt.  It's honestly not even clear to me if it would be cleaned up.  First, we're talking a HUGE area that's been pulverized.  Second, as was pointed out, there's a honkin' big crater, which means water flooding everywhere, filling ALL the subway tunnels, which will further destabilize the entire region...sinkholes will appear at random.  Now also consider it's going to be a MASSIVE toxic site.  I think there would have to be massive efforts to just stabilize things so the damage doesn't spread.  And given that the economy is in the dumpster?  Rebuild ain't gonna happen.

The pollution aspect makes me think Boston and Philly are Right Out.  I suspect different sectors would move to different cities.  Markets to Chicago, as the mercantile exchanges are already there.  Banking, I'm gonna suggest Austin.  Culture...Miami?  Possibly Atlanta?  Media would be LA and probably Chicago.  But recognize this is gonna be in a vastly changed world;  recovery is going to take decades.

9 minutes ago, archer said:

 

Crouching Tigger, Hidden Pooh

  Kung Fu Pooh

18 minutes ago, archer said:

 

I would think that most people who end up in combat often would naturally seek to become more efficient in combat, out of a sense of self-preservation if nothing else.

Absolutely.  Combat is a crucible where effectiveness wins.  Prioritization is critical, as there's always ways to spend points...and they're all high priority.   You're basically compelled to seek efficiency points.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

BTW:  Champs 3E also has a very narrow set of limitation types:  activation, always on, End Bat, Focus, Increased End, Limited Power, and Limited Uses.

It's very much in the spirit of what Ron's trying to do in Champs Now, and I think it's the better direction.  That said, it's probably asking a lot for newer players to assess what limitations should be worth.

My copy of Champs Now rules is now a couple months old...haven't downloaded in a while.  But one thing for others to note is, the list of limitations s MUCH, MUCH shorter.  Categories:  activation, always on, burnout, costs End, focus, increased End, linked, no range, only in hero ID, and the catchall Limited for usable or not, reduced effectiveness/all or nothing.  

I also have to wonder the degree to which limitations have exploded, in Hero System, is due to trying to duplicate other systems.  For example, trying to duplicate spells and magical items for fantasy gaming, while letting them be affordable and reasonably effective.

5 minutes ago, Hugh Neilson said:

Massey, what do you think of the tangent on Protean?

He never got that far, it seems safe to say.

And it's not that much of a tangent, as it's almost much the concept I was targeting insofar as the movement went.  I'm just not going the limits range, but levels because the viscous body notion totally dovetails in with damage negation IMO.  It's not entirely the same as moving to Desolid but it's close.