unclevlad

Even if only Oregon and Washington leave, and reports are, they've already told the rest of the conference that they will... The conference is down to 7. Who's left to poach, and what status do they have? That's not entirely rhetorical, as I don't pay enough attention to know. And it's 7 only if we assume no one else bails. If Arizona balks because they don't want to split from ASU...what about Utah? They have no connection to any other team in the Pac. Would they want to be in the Big 12 with BYU? Sometimes the bad blood is...pretty bad. I don't know. But if that's not an issue, it's still a more comfortable geographic fit. The Big 12 might not be gung-ho to take *them*...but it's still a legit Power 5, and UConn isn't. UConn also looks to be more of a pain for travel; that's an issue brought up for Oregon and Washington going to the Big 10, their travel costs jump up considerably. That offsets a fair bit of the increased revenue. Also...we don't know the details of the Apple+ deal, but if 2 more big schools bolt, then what? The deal, as I understand it, is linked to bringing in new subscribers. No one attractive is left. Bye-bye revenue. And anyone who doesn't get out NOW, is likely gonna have a harder time doing it in the next few years. EDIT: Pete Thamel is reporting Arizona has already been accepted by the Big 12...and that talks are ramping up with Utah and ASU. He also brought up that poaching the Mountain West basically has no chance for the '24 season. The exit tab to head to the Pac x (they no longer rate a big X) is apparently $32M. For a bad rights deal, for a conference with other economic woes from the prior admin? Doesn't look smart, does it? Also, with all these departures, what'll happen with all the bowl tie-ins? The Power 5 status? The remaining teams don't rate an automatic bid into the 12-team playoff...which locks the conference out of most of the serious bowl money. The conference might fight to retain the name, somehow, but ya gotta figure...if the bowls can execute an escape clause, or potentially argue in court that the conference splintering to such a degree, constitutes something like a breach of contract and the deals are void...ya gotta think they'll try.

Oh? Hugh already did, by pointing out that buying 1/2 END was a no-brainer in 5E, because buying additional END and REC past figured, *was too expensive.* I'll even add...at SPD 6 and higher, odds are, you'll still need to buy up REC, even WITH 1/2 END on some things. Or you run a hybrid END setup, using a big END Reserve and only buying up the REC to deal with STUN. Again, my take is, you're only thinking heroic. 10 END per phase is quite plausible in 5E...attack, movement, and defense. How high a CON do you intend to buy? Say, 25? That's only 50 END. You're tapped after a full turn, assuming only a 5 SPD. (Note that I do include defenses, because Force Field is cheaper than more defenses + damage resistance...and can be slid into a natural, movement/attack/FF EC.) Speaking of STUN...the argument about low SPD and low damage applies here too. For supers, you're much more likely to be hit multiple times, and take more STUN per. Figured characteristics probably won't even be *close* to enough. I'll grant: I build to urban fantasy/supers novels standards, NOT comics standards. Get knocked out in comics, your opponents leave you alone. In UF/supers novels, it often gets you DEAD. Sure, this principally happens to ancillary characters in a scene, not to main characters...but rather than saying "well the world isn't lethal," I say the world is lethal...the heroes that live through it are tougher. To me, the grossly distorted view is the classic comics view...yeah, it's perfectly fine that Batman's opponents snatch him, or Robin, a half dozen times a year, and they get out of it unscathed *every time.* Well, except once, of course. That's Stupid Villain Building.

Yep. The first 4 relievers were fine...1 run over 4 innings, can't argue that. 2 run lead going into the top of the 9th, AT HOME, against a team you're neck and neck with for a WC spot. The "closer" gives up walk, walk, single (runner stops at 3rd), strikeout, BOOM. Ohtani was 2-2, as noted; everyone else was 4-30 with 12 Ks and 0 walks. I don't think he'll break Judge's mark, because with ZERO lineup protection, he's just going to get walked a lot, against any contending team. Plus, ya gotta be a little concerned that he came off the mound after 4, with cramps again. That's multiple instances in a pretty narrow window. One alternative is to have him skip his next start in the rotation, but the Angels can ill afford that. As is, FanGraphs' playoffs projections dropped the Angels' chances from about 12% to about 8%. Last night was game 110, so 52 left. With only 56 wins right now...they need 34 of those 52 to get to 90 overall. That's 2 of 3 the rest of the way. The other team that's suffering right now is the D'backs. Runs have been a huge issue; 4 in the first game, a 4-3 win...but after 2 runs in the first inning of game 2, a total of 3 runs over nearly 3 full games after, all losses. In 19 games since the ASB, 4 runs or less 12 times. Not surprisingly, lost 9 of em. 7 times, 5+...but the pitching fell apart in 5 of those, all losses. Heck, they scored 16 in a game in Hotlanta...that was a nail-biter. Team ERA is the worst in baseball since the ASB...over a run worse than the Rockies and Reds. Combine that with at best a spotty offense...and you get the worst record in MLB since the ASB. Not a good time for this.

END doesn't cost too little when talking about the system generally. That's where I think the core disconnect is. Try, as Hugh noted, buying enough END and REC, in 6E, to support 12 DC attacks with a 6 SPD, with at least intermittent movement. AND last for *at least* 1 minute going all out. If you're only going to consider 3 SPD and small attacks, well, sure, different story...but that doesn't validate your argument.

OK, yeah, I wasn't thinking about it as being from 6E base. But CRT conceded the bigger point...heroic levels. Low SPD, low dice, relatively speaking...even, often, Charges. Hugh made the point i was gonna get to. 40 END a turn is not at all hard...much less, if you start looking at higher SPD...for supers. So your answer for Conan is, blow off the rules? I'll gleefully accept blowing off wound impairment...that's fitting for something like noir, but not high heroic. But why jump to "ignore END" when there's a huge middle ground? Heroics should get tired...at some point. Supers should get tired. WHEN? After how long?

Stretching. 6E1 284, right column...the 5 point adder. Double 1 dimension by halving another. As Grail notes, what's the intent? You need some form of UOO to affect an object, but you shouldn't need UAA unless you want to affect an unwilling person.

That depends on SPD, how much END you're using per phase, and how many turns you want to be able to operate without needing to spend a phase recovering. The latter implies considering how long you should be able to stay in combat continuously. Also...5 points for 45 END can be done, in a 5E END Reserve...but not in 6E, or at least not with some fairly sizable limitations. 6 points for 10 REC can't be done without limitations. So how are you building these?

Oh yeah. Where does the mass come from, for someone who has Growth or DI that isn't always on? If the SFX is "I turn into bronze" for my 3 levels of DI, is it ALL of me? How does my nervous system work, how do I see, hear? There's lots of em. Sometimes it's even a fun exercise...well, huh, I can toss in *this*...and heck, that suggests "this* is something else I can do. I have some points for it;...sure!!! Superpowers generally run the laws of physics through about 3 dozen Google translations, fron English to German to Russian to Mandarin to Japanese...at some point coming back to English, for each specific empowered individual. The translation is...unique. To each one. Sure, by and large, there's broad classes and things that tend to be fairly common, but that's about it. Details usually vary in some ways.

But also, how much of that is a writer just trolling?

It already is. It's just free because you can't have interaction without perception.

OMG...... The first preseason game of the year is Jets-Browns... And it's.......tomorrow................................ I NEED MORE TIME!!!

Also... https://stanleesgenesis.com/nft/ This raises red flags allll over the place for me.

The most amusing thing is the backlash against Carli Lloyd for calling out that they shouldn't be celebrating on the field. They escaped, nothing more. This has been a seriously underwhelming performance.

Yet you posted this anyway. Prepare to die.

Tidbit from tonight's Rays-Yankees broadcast... As you may have heard, the Mets are paying large chunks of the salaries for both Scherzer and Verlander. Noted just now...with these, with some other similar...the Mets are paying $210M in salary and luxury taxes for players playing with other teams. That alone would be the 14th largest payroll in MLB.

Just be careful that you don't give the character TOO great of a defense hole. Heat and electricity tend to be pretty common attack FX. On that point...would people accept AoE (heat) as the damaging effect? A heat beam perhaps doesn't intercept enough of the diffuse body to be an issue...? Also, if you have APG, consider Alternate Desolid. It's "density reduction." They even present a full-scope Density Manipulation power, which combines DI and alt desolid.

Mmmm...I find it odd this is coming out as the Marvel Multiverse RPG...which has a very similar premise...got released *yesterday.*

Diamond energy defense...it's an electrical insulator, so good there. It transfers heat efficiently, tho, so not so good there. As Duke noted...yeah, avoid reality, at least unqualified. "Seems like" or some other hedge is a useful escape clause. One thing that SERIOUSLY annoys me as a reader is when a writer...let's say, says a weapon's made of gold...but then says it's feather light. The material properties of diamonds...the meaning of things like hardness vs. toughness...those are a tad esoteric. Forgivable to not get them right. But the fact that gold is HEAVY, is pretty darn central. Similarly...the biggest common mistake in sci fi is trying to explain too much.

Quick notes... FanGraphs only gives the Angels about a 1 in 8 chance of making the playoffs, even after the moves. Yankees got smacked by several pundits for failing to move yesterday. I wonder if the news today didn't come as a surprise to them: Domingo German has voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, and was placed on the restricted list. He is gone for the rest of the season. One could argue, no, they didn't, or they would've tried harder...but the available pitching was already largely picked over, except possibly Verlander...and the Mets weren't trading with the Yankees.

Yeah, I've seen stories that Barbie stuff is going to be EVERYWHERE for Christmas, so...it's a pretty safe bet we'll be inundated with pink for the rest of the year.

Different take on the number...saying it's much lower. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/big-12/2023/08/02/big-12-expansion-arizona-decision-puts-pac-12-on-brink-of-destruction/70514910007/ And suggesting a LOT less traditional TV. So even weaker than what you cited. The Big 10 report...look, when we combine that with the 'report' about FSU and Clemson and the other 2, well, my read is it's all wishful thinking/I heard from a guy who knows a guy/there's a tweet about.... Random noise at this point, IOW. Plus, all the arguments against an 18 team conference still apply. I do suspect that Arizona's decision will be announced before the week's out. Huh, now this is something I didn't know, and supports the all-or-none angle: And the Big 12 will want an even number of teams, so Utah is the most likely 3rd leg. But I still say, they have no leverage, as UConn is reportedly an interesting add...for basketball, if not football.

Reports are that the media deal is with Apple+. I agree with Finebaum: this is not, not, not, NOT going to draw many people to sign on to Apple+. Sure, the immediate fan bases, some of them will, but this is a death knell in terms of national recognition. If Arizona thinks that staying will save the conference, tho, they're deluded. At least as a Power 5. And on Apple+, honestly, they might not rate the Group of 5, because what's this going to do to recruiting? We'll have to see, but even if the 9 teams stay...how many of their freshmen and sophs, in particular, jump ship? The most I think can be said is, even if they keep everyone they have right now, they've already taken a musket ball to the gut. Take your pick...bleed out or die from massive infection. San Diego State dragging their feet is looking smarter and smarter. The part I find absurd is thinking that Arizona has any leverage here, to 'force' an all 3 or nothing deal.

Oh, yeah, that does deserve highlighting. Memories of the PLANT his (I assume) brother did in the bowl game come to mind...still the most intense hit I've ever seen. Be a great name for a supervillain too.

People conflate hardness and toughness, when they're quite different. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardness Mostly, scratch hardness...and diamond is still about as hard as they get. (IIRC there are some exotic materials that might beat it, and some I know come REAL close.) BUT, a diamond's structure makes it very easy to cleave...separate it along a crystal face. Diamonds in rings often take damage at the facets due to this. Not much, not all that fast, but rings don't get knocked around all that much. Toughness is something else. From the article: The very, very rigid structure of a diamond does not allow deformation, ergo it's brittle. Toughness and brittleness are generally the 2 sides of the same spectrum; the opposite of hardness is softness. As noted, tho...we're not doing physics here, we're playing a game. It doesn't have to be "diamond" in the full sense; in fact, much like a stone creature...taking it literally? How would such a critter move? Well, his power is such that it lets him move!! Well, fine, in that case, it also gives him more toughness than would be expected. BTW, the density of diamond is about 3.5, IIRC, so there's justification for some DI there. Quick digression: Shrinking with Normal Mass. Oh dear. 2 levels of Shrinking with Normal Mass means your density is basically 2-3x that of any metal, including the refractory metals that you can beat on all day, and won't show a ding. So what's the theoretical PD for someone with this ridiculous density? Similarly, the melting points of all refractory metals are *extremely* high; the loose definition is a melting point over 2100 C; the tighter one is even a little higher than that. So the ED from these is also crazy high. And 3 levels of Normal Mass shrinking???? Density exceeding 500???? You're not getting into the range of degenerate matter, but you're far beyond anything we know. From Phys.org: So density of 500 is 3x higher. Nothing is gonna penetrate. But we can't exactly define this in game terms, now, can we? So if ya wanna do this, ya wing it.

It isn't that they're doing it for free. It's the core function, the reason why you buy it. Some are stronger than others...I've never been a fan of PRE attacks, for example. I realize I may be an exception there. But, that's ok. Every characteristic has utility. They don't all have to have equal versatility, even at the same cost. The system granularity doesn't support it. I have no problem removing Leap from STR. They're not correlated at all. How far do you think a power lifter can leap? Heck, I've played with some 5E builds that are heavy on characteristics...and often sold back some of the leap, if the character was gonna be a flyer or use teleport. I did have fun with a build that bought Leap...and even Megascale for the leap...for what'd work as a light-hearted villain. As for BODY adding to STUN...you put it in yourself, man. Big tends to be more durable. NOT being stunned is also part of staying alive. And, the two are on notably different scales anyway. BODY is one of the awkward characteristics, tho. Yes, it helps keep you alive, but if we consider Hero to be the root, then the point is NOT to kill. This makes that function of BODY important, sure...but not gonna be invoked that often. By the way people want to use Transform, arguably, the core function of BODY is to resist being Transformed. Which...like being stunned...can largely be equated with staying alive. Nothing says the core function has to be simple. Can also argue that BODY adds to STUN because STUN is critical. The STUN from attacks scales up so fast, compared to, say the BODY. How much of our purchased defenses are needed for not taking BODY...versus, reducing the STUN to something manageable? It's why I'm a huge fan of both Damage Negation and Damage Reduction in principle, if not necessarily in practice.