unclevlad

It doesn't help that comics have forgotten what makes comic books work.

Not if the AoE is bought with Selective. Then the attacker gets to pick the targets inside the AoE, and there's a separate roll to hit each one.

MPs are AP-driven because they generally are expected to be more narrowly defined, and the distinction between "AP with common limitations" and "Real Points" isn't considered. You don't need a new variant for the "a few big powers" case. You simply need a limitation specific to the control cost alone...which is analogous to VPP's Limited Powers anyway. Pool size: 40 Control size: 80 Cost AND FREE SLOTS: 40. Limitation: all powers must take at least -1 in limitations. -1 applies to the control cost, and therefore to the slot pool size. 20 points for slots before paying for them. Your 4 slots would total 16...but if you want, hey, one could be an ultra slot. Now it's 20. Or mix and match, 2 ultra slots with 1 fixed. 20. You don't get free slots equal to the control size, you get free slots equal to the control COST. And, note that in a RAW MP, the cost of the MP can only be reduced by the amount of the *common* limitations. Say everything has -1/2 in common limitations, and another -1/2 that vary from slot to slot. Now your 80 point MP --> 53 character points, plus 16 for the slots. (Example? Heals and Drains. Let's say that for concept, the Drain also has to be touch-driven, so No Range. The Heals might have Full Phase and 1/2 DCV. The common mods might be Unified and OIAID.) In a VPP? If you're talking a cosmic pool, forget it. That 80 point control size is now 120, given it's a +2 on all 40 points. To get that down to 20 points is a -5 limitation. It's the diminishing returns aspect of limitations; the control size in my alternate MP doesn't go OVER 40, whereas in the VPP, it's gonna be much, much larger. A -2 limitation gets you back to 40, sure...but to get to, say, 32? From alternate MP's 40, it's a simple -1/4. From a VPP's 120? You're already dividing by 3, so to knock off the points, you go from -1/4 to -3/4 needed. That's a big jump. Plus, doing it like that, is ad hoc; it won't be uniform. If I want somehow to drop the alternate MP's control cost to 20, it'd be -1. For the VPP, gotta triple that to add it atop the -2, so it's now a -5. And if we can live with stuff like 1/2 phase to switch slots along with the No Skill Roll, we're at +1 1/2, so the numbers change all over again.

Many of the senior Republican Senators have a long track record of supporting the military; strong defense has been a cornerstone policy plank for ages. Tuberville is seriously undermining it by his insistence that his social policy is more important. I agree that it's a headache for Mitch, but the entire Republican party is flashing intolerant, ungoverning attitudes...my way or the highway. DeSantis has pulled numerous stunts that are clearly out of line. Tuberville. The entire Freedom Caucus. Heck, the Senate's stunts in denying Obama, then rushing through Barrett. Texas's attempts to slam its anti-abortion policies to other places. Moderates...the few there still are...have to look at this and wonder if voting for ANY Republican is simply too dangerous.

Tuberville is turning into one of the bigger embarrassments for the Republicans. And that's saying something, but his stunt in blocking ALL senior military promotions to try to coerce them to change their abortion policy is wrongheaded and damaging. I seriously doubt he's got much support in the Senate.

My, my. These things never end cleanly, do they? Last week, Bob Huggins claimed he never formally agreed to his termination, and is threatening to sue to get reinstated. Well, now, Pat Fitzgerald is screaming. Yeah, of course YOU thought it was appropriate. Sorry, dude, but the head coach is accountable for actions as heinous as what appeared to be happening. What MAY happen is that you drag the president out the door with you...which can pretty readily be justified because he showed egregious judgment in ever agreeing to a two week, OUT OF SEASON, suspension. This is a feather brushed over the back of the hand...far less than a slap on the wrist. It also GROSSLY smacks of institutionalized protectionism...the kind that gets the NCAA *storming* down the gates. (Not like that's all that credible a threat, because the NCAA's punishment wouldn't come down till around 2026.) If Fitzgerald is asserting he had an enforceable agreement...dubious, I suspect, but perhaps plausible...and the president reneged on it? I think they're both gone. If it feels likely Fitzgerald would sue for wrongful termination on the basis that he didn't know about it, well, the president has a better chance to survive. EDIT: beyond the hazing, the Northwestern student newspaper reported allegations of racism by Fitzgerald. From The Hill:

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/national/ And perhaps more significant, DeSantis is losing badly *in Florida*. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4088873-florida-poll-finds-trump-well-ahead-of-desantis-in-state/

https://nypost.com/2023/07/09/what-elly-de-la-cruz-absence-from-all-star-game-reveals-aboutmlb/

Because high-end athletes often simply skate on their bad behaviors. Not always, but often. Even those who might not approve, may be culturally averse to ratting out their teammates...what happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room. Fitzgerald was fired today. With what's reported in the story Starlord linked, I think that was inevitable. This is also likely to destroy the team, IMO. There would seem to be two No-Win options: attempt to dismiss everyone against whom credible participation could be shown, fracturing team dynamic...or keep every player on the team under a microscope of suspicion. This is going to seriously damage many lives, and there's no chance it'll be restricted to those who deserve punishment. EDIT: the hazing accusations are disturbingly similar to what happened with NMSU basketball in the spring, which led to the school cancelling the last part of the season altogether...a huge blow. And I believe 7 players left the team...that's half your roster. There was the additional element of the bizarre incident in Albuquerque last November; the school said that wasn't a factor, but I'm not sure I buy that. Firing the coach for cause might've been more appropriate without that incident...not a complete and utter implosion. Still, Northwestern is going to take a massive hit to its reputation and image from this.

That's for this one. Note that you could have an 87 point control size and a 58 point pool size, for example...each slot will have -1/2 in limitations, and in this construction, they don't have to be the same. That's an issue with RAW Multipower. If everything can take a common limitation, all well and good, but you can't mix and match the limitations. You can also build something like a 120 point pool size, 60 control size "MP." Where the cap on active points is clear and explicit, as opposed to a 120 point RAW MP, where it's not. EDIT: Limited powers isn't going to make up for 1/2 phase to change slots, which'd be the minimum...and you need to buy a skill roll on top of the control cost. VPPs are for when you want significant flexibility within the powers allowed. Building a healer-drainer type; he can heal or drain any characteristic, or 2 at once (END and STUN was the example built). (I think draining 3 cuts too much into the dice.) So there's a nice notion of limited powers, plus flexibility within them. So that's a VPP. But when the powers don't necessarily need a LOT of flexibility, a combat VPP is very expensive. This framework tends to be overly expensive when you have a small number of fairly high-power slots...like a blaster MP with perhaps 3 Blasts (PD, ED, Flash) and a Flash. All the same points. Well, a "limited powers" equivalent here might be to simply allow a limitation on the control cost. It ONLY affects the control cost, but the principle here: the real points in the control cost == the number of free points you get in slots. At that point, I think this could be a full replacement for RAW MP. Both frameworks have the notions of pool size and control cost; the "MP" has all slots pre-defined, the VPP is "make it up as you go along."

I wonder just how much taxpayer money DeSantis has burned, defending challenges to his actions. Similarly, how much loss of business. The big, glaring one is the Disney HQ relocation that now isn't happening, but he's antagonizing MANY groups. The bill also suggests that if you look like you MIGHT be an immigrant? You're more likely to be hassled by the police. Granted, this might already exist, but if nothing else, it's reinforcement that Florida is likely to be uncomfortable for many people of color. I wonder what other Republican politicos think of him...in private. Cuz he feels like a serious embarrassment...especially if the stunts he's been trying, fall apart.

To explain a bit, perhaps clarify... One of the nice improvements in 6E was separating a VPP's pool size and control size/cost. Very nice, very flexible. So that's what this suggestion is based on. Pool size is pool size. When you say control size is separate, the ability to have large powers needs to be expressed as its own cost function. My first cut is to just put it at 1/2. These are still MP-style slots, tho...the slot list is fixed, the powers are fixed. So, let the control cost give that many points to be used on the slots. It's not for a powers list with extensive flexibility, like, say, Blasts that can use 2-3 different SFX, where you want to cover normal blasts, AoEs, and even Autofires for *each*. And maybe a Flash and an NND targeting Flash Def. That's a whole lotta slots. VPPs also have a notable issue with pricing limited powers available...in this framework, it's simply not an issue.

In *2 pitches* no less. On June 4th, the Reds were 26-33; they've gone 24-7 since (!!!!). They've gone from afterthought to one of the hottest watches in the game. Detroit Tigers used 3 pitchers...starter went 6 2/3, bridge guy got 4 outs, closer for the 9th...for a 2-0 no-hitter. And this was vs. Toronto, not Oakland. So which one wins Feat of the Day? CLOSE call in my book. Complete game no hitter, I'd have to give priority, simply given the rarity of complete games these days. But 3 steals in 2 pitches is pure insanity. It also brings up: I've seen QUITE a few steals of home this year. I have baseball on the TV quite often, as a distraction. I think there were entire seasons I didn't see any attempted steals of home, but this year? I think I can remember...4? In the last month or so? Some of this has to be the limited disengagement/throw over rules, but I think another factor is, this has brought up just how BAD many pitchers are at holding runners on. Playing Launch Angle Long Ball was likely a *serious* factor in making teams HIGHLY risk-averse, in stealing bases at all, much less home. There are still teams that do that, but several teams have adjusted and are willing to play Small Ball.

Jumping back to this, there's a possibly less known but more significant cover by Bad Wolves...look at the intro, at least...it's most poignant.... Yeah, I'd forgotten this song. VERY powerful song. This is the Cranberries original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts

This combines aspects of both the VPP and MP. 1. It's primarily defined by pool size and control size. Pool size is in real points; control size is in active points. This part is identical to a VPP. 2. The control cost is 1/2 the pool size. 3. Framework powers are organized by slots like an MP. They can be fixed or variable, like an MP. 4. The slot costs are FREE, up to the amount of the control cost. After that, they're paid for just like MP slots. 5. Common limitations that apply to the entire pool reduces the control cost and the "slot costs"...but also reduce the amount of free slot points. It's still a net savings, tho. 5. There's no skill roll and no time, because these are fixed slots. Why suggest this? Mostly it's for more complex MPs...but ones where Limited Powers in a VPP won't make up for the VPP's penalties. The issue is that the size of an MP is ambiguous. Is it active or real points? If the MP has a common limitation, while some slots have limitations and others don't...what's the math to determine which powers can be used together? Separating pool size and control size is the VPP solution, and it's a good one. Every slot now has a clean active cost AND real cost, so determining which slots can be used together is easy. This is the framework that got me thinking this way, using the hybrid form: "Multipower", 80 base + 87 control cost, (124 Active Points); all slots Unified Power (-1/4) -- Clairsentience (Sight Group And Normal Hearing), Mobile Perception Point (can move up to 12m per Phase), Costs Endurance Only To Activate (+1/4), NRM (+1/2), MegaScale (1m = 1 km; +1) (82 Active Points, 66 Real) -- TK (40 STR), Fine Manipulation, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (87 Active Points, 70 real) -- TK (36 STR), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (67 Active Points); Limited Range (-1/4) (45 real) -- TK Blast: (Total: 85 Active Cost, 57 Real Cost) Blast 4d6 (vs. PD), PLUS Blast 8d6 (vs. PD), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4); Half Range Modifier (+1/4), Limited Range (-1/4) (25 + 60 Active Points per part) -- Flight 18m, x4 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (29 Active Points, 23 Real) While flying, he can't use the Fine Manip TK or clairsentience; he can use the coarser TK, or the blast. Working out the pool size is trivial to get things to fit in. This framework would allow 35 points in "slots" for free (44, reduced by the -1/4 limitation); it's got 26 right now. This wouldn't replace the RAW MP in all cases...like when you have a few 10d6 Blasts and Flashes, where the total slot costs are quite low. Or it might just need some limitations specifically on the control size to reduce it...and thus, the "free slots" you'd get in this framework.

Story says it's not a rare edition of that work but...published 2 years after Maxwell's death? And in good condition??? I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the book's not worth more than the total fine. Understand: James Clerk Maxwell is probably the most important physicist of the 19th century. His work is the foundation of electromagnetics. https://www.rootenbergbooks.com/pages/books/15414/j-c-maxwell/a-treatise-on-electricity-and-magnetism This is only 1 of the 2 volumes, so I think it'd be worth less than half...but still.... Abe Books has 2 listings for the 1873, first edition...at $17K and $25K for both volumes.

Yeah, sad for Cav. Jasper Philipsen is cleaning up on the green jersey competition. 3 stage wins already; 2nd today. He's already opened up a 100+ point gap over the rest of the field. A sprint stage win is worth 50, but the high finishes also give substantial points.

A new category?

It's baseball. How much attention SHOULD you pay, before September anyway? FREAKISH piece of trivia from tonight's D'backs game. 4 different times, they've had pitchers with 10+ wins by the All Star break. All 4 are named Zac(k). Zack Greinke had 10, twice; Zack Godley had 11 once. Zac Gallen has 10...and is up 7-1 after pitching 7 solid innings. EDIT: second piece of trivia...yeah, it's a 7-1 game in the 8th. D'backs bring in a 21 year old kid to pitch, making his first big league appearance. Throws 100+, but somewhat wild, so gotta love the cushion of a 6 run lead. Anyway, turns out...he's the 23,004th different player to play in the majors...so they just missed. #23,000 was a pitcher for Baltimore, on July 3rd. That's a lotta ballplayers..... Kid walks first batter...strikes out the 2nd. Save that ball!

According to Wikipedia, NOT a cover. Jeff Lynne wrote it for the movie; ONL was the lead actress so she sang it, and Lynne and ELO provided instrumentals and backup vocals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanadu_(Olivia_Newton-John_and_Electric_Light_Orchestra_song)

For the first one... Naked Advantage: Penetrating (+1/2) for up to 30 Active Points of RKAs, AOE (4m Radius; +1/4), UBO (+1/4), Constant (+1/2) Naked advantages have 2 sections. The naked part...that's what applies to the other powers. Here, it's just Penetrating, applying to RKAs. A naked advantage is itself a power and it has a base cost, so the rest...the AoE, the UBO, and the Constant are just standard modifiers on a power. Per 6E1 314, a naked advantage has a duration of Instant, so you need the Constant. For the spell booster...the only difference is that Penetrating would go to Variable Advantage, mechanically anyway. Maybe tweak to the AoE. The bigger concern is whether it's balanced...which is enough of a problem on the first one. These are slapping a LOT of extra punch to a potentially significant number of attacks.

What TAKES so freaking long???? Just under 4 years ago, a self-described white nationalist and hatemonger drove 10 hours to open fire at the Wal Mart in El Paso, ultimately killing 23 people. Today, after only a 3 day trial where he pled guilty to 90 (!) counts including murder and hate crime charges, he was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms. He was caught. He flat out said "I'm the shooter." But it still took just under 4 years. He showed little or no remorse. These were federal charges. Texas is going to prosecute on state charges...and they will seek the death penalty. Generally I think that's a bit pointless, myself, but...it's been some time since I've heard of someone who deserves it more, so I'm ok with it.

Stephanos Tsitsipas has had plausibly the hardest opening 2 rounds in Wimbledon history, particularly for a high seed...he's the 5 seed. First round? Thiem...former #3, but ranking crashed and burned from a wrist injury. Thiem hasn't had great results this year but it's hard to come back. 2nd round? Andy Murray. Former #1, and 2-time winner...AND a national hero in England. Pair of HARD!!! 5 set matches, exacerbated by rain issues, which has been a big problem. Some of the commentators have criticized the tournament because many 2nd round matches were started before held-over 1st round matches.

If you want a bit of a shock? Google "mortar on head." It's happened 2 other times!!!!! in 8 years. Darwin Award winners, indeed...

Yeah, they can go anywhere, but what I usually do is navigate to the folder where my HD6.jar file is. I'll create a folder there, called Prefabs, or somesuch, then put your sparkly new files into that folder.