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Brian Stanfield

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  1. Haha
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Spence in Western Hero 6th edition   
    Yosemite Sam? I mean, c'mon, he's the rootin'est, tootin'est, gosh-darn shootin'est . . . .
  2. Thanks
    Brian Stanfield reacted to Hugh Neilson in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    Indeed, therein lies the challenge.  And I got Brian for you as well (that's one of two he deserves, though).
  3. Haha
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Chris Goodwin in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    I would totally agree here, except that I once saw Ernie solve the problem of "not eating crackers in your bed" by eating crackers in Bert's bed instead. Some crackers (albeit very few) really do matter to some beds.
     
    But in the spirit of your overall message, we do in fact tend to take ourselves waaaaay to seriously in these discussions, and probably do deserve to sleep in the beds we make for ourselves, crackers or no. 
  4. Like
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Christopher R Taylor in Western Hero 6th edition   
    Yosemite Sam? I mean, c'mon, he's the rootin'est, tootin'est, gosh-darn shootin'est . . . .
  5. Like
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Sicarius in Western Hero 6th edition   
    Yosemite Sam? I mean, c'mon, he's the rootin'est, tootin'est, gosh-darn shootin'est . . . .
  6. Thanks
    Brian Stanfield reacted to Simon in Fonts?   
    Yes (though there are ways around it). I truly dislike folks changing fonts.
  7. Like
    Brian Stanfield reacted to Duke Bushido in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    You don't, at least not as part of a convenient dashboard (which I take as more proof that whoever set up these fora initially-- presumably Dan, but I don't know) didn't find upvote / downvote ratings any more important than I do).  The only reason I happened to notice is because of this very thread.  Up above, I wasn't kidding when I said the ratings thing doesn't matter to me: I know who I have fun discussing X with, and who I enjoy discussing Y with, and have a rough idea what things are which persons "buttons" and I _try_ to not push them.
     
    That's about it.  If you've ever noticed, when you're out here reading and posting, you can't even see your own numbers.  (Right now, I can see Tribble's and Scott's above me, but not mine).  You can log out, find a post by you, and see them that way, or you can go to your profile  and see them (and really, I rarely go to my profile, what with all those handy buttons at the top of the page to go directly to where I want to go on the board).
     
    _However_, for the sake of this conversation and an answer I gave earlier, up above, I _did_ open my profile to check my numbers, partly because the question made me curious, and partly because I was really expecting a way-lower number, and I had hoped that I could use that information and my continued enjoyment of discussing things with you folks as a reassurance to the original poster that "crackers don't matter."  I had a bug-eye moment when I saw what the total was.
     
     
    Anyway, when someone reacts to one of your posts, or quotes your posts, or does one of those "at so-and-so" thingies, you get a little pop-up (and kudos to whoever designed that: it's the first non-obtrusive, easy-to-ignore pop-up I have ever seen on a forum.  Good work; have and Attaboy as a sign of appreciation     ) if you're currently on the board, or, if you're just logging in, you get a different notification message--
     
    anyway: when that get happens, I do get curious-- not about the vote itself, as I _genuinely_ do not care if someone who doesn't actually know me has decided to dedicate himself to absolutely _vilifying_ me to entire world: For one, he's not bothering some other person who I may actually like or someone whose skin may be a lot thinner than mine. For another, there is no better "reward" for that kind of pettiness than getting yourself worked into a tizzy so powerful that you are willing to waste time-- even one precious second of the only life you will live on earth-- being 'that kind of guy.'  All in all, I find it to be quite balancing, and sort of a proof that your own existence isn't that important to you, either.  So if you're not important to _you_, who the Hell do you think you should be to _me_?         
     
    Gah--!
     
    I'm sorry, N-B: when something is really funny, it's easier for me to get side-tracked into enjoying it.  My apologies.      Back on track:
     
    Just a day or two ago, I had looked at my actual whatever-it-is-you-call-that-green-number-under-your-avatar.  Last night, as I was cruising the board before I logged in, I noticed that number had gone up by 1.  I found a thread I wanted to reply to and logged in, at which time I got a notification that I had three notifications.  I clicked the little bell at the top of the screen and got the notifications:  three different people had reacted to three different posts.  As my little green number had gone up by 1, clearly there had been two positives (a "thank you" or a "like" or a "laugh" or anything that was not a "sad" or a "downvote," both of which deduct from that number) and one negative.
     
    I also noticed that one of the replies was both in one of the MHI threads-- about the book itself, not the game-- _and_ was by someone I had never heard of.   Since the entire "it was a hoax / it was a travesty / it was a fraud / it was real / it was the people proving what they want / your-nonsense-here situation that invariably becomes the focus of any thread dealing with the author of that book brings out the pettiness of people unable to accept that time moves forward without cessation, and the person posting the reaction was someone I had never heard of, it was really to determine both where the downvote was _and_ just how many craps I gave. 
     
    The other two were Lord Liaden and Spence, both in current threads that I was still participating in, so I opened both of those threads in the hopes that they had posted and added someone to the conversation.   .   Why?  Why, when I claim that crackers don't matter?!   Well, it's true: crackers _don't_ matter.  However, those are both people I enjoy conversing with, and the _silent_ notification you can pull from the written one is "someone whose opinion, even when different from yours, usually proves quite insightful is currently interested in and may have added to a conversation that you are currently enjoying."
     
    What's not to love?!      Honestly, that's the part of the ratings  / voting system that _is_ important to me!    
     
     
     
    Hugh, this is one of those times when I am in _total_ agreement with you, Sir!
     
    it didn't take long, way back when, to realize that you only get-- I don't know: let's say ten (see my comments on this up above) or so of these every 24 hours. I started to get _stingy_ with them!  "Oh, these things are important!  Super important!"
     
    Then two things happened:
     
    We had a couple of people who were- to be generous-- potentially bipolar, who would swing from participating in every conversation to just attacking and downvoting every post that disagreed with their own.
     
    That was Thing One, and I confess, those couple of guys were the only people I ever wasted a slot on-- not for me, mind you: I can't over-stress how much I am not bothered by "this guy doesn't like me!"  I've got twelve younger siblings, for Pete's sake!  I don't have any feelings left!  They were burned out _decades_ ago!  But Thing One did lead me to use downvotes on occasions when one of these two guys would just tear into someone else without any provocation.  I think I'd passed out about 4 downvotes when I thought "this is stupid.  If they don't bother me-- a typically upbeat, social, outgoing and well-adjusted person, why do I think someone who clearly has a legitimate psychological problem is going to be bothered?  And whatever kind of thing might be helpful to such a person, _this_ isn't it!  I mean this _really_ isn't it!"
     
    So I quit.  This was actually hard to do.  Obviously, none of you were part of my youth.  It's a pity, because we'd have had _so_ much time to game together!   
     
    I used to get in _lots_ of trouble at school as a kid.  I got in my first fight in third grade, and by the time I got out of high school-- well, I couldn't tell you how many there were, but Sam (yeah: I was in front of the principal often enough that he got tired of me calling him Mr. K__ and we moved to that first-name relationship) showed me my "discipline file."  It was impressively thick-- nearly two inches.   We had a long talk that particular afternoon, because he wanted to know how I could end up in so many fights and not actually _start_ any of them. The only reason I hadn't been expelled was because _no one_ had ever seen me start a fight. 
     
    It's pretty simple.  I'm an anti-bully.  The high school councilor tried to use the phrase "hero complex," so I spent days in the library looking into that (because I have that problem, too), and proved to him that he was completely wrong.  I have no need to be a hero or to be acknowledge or anything like that.  What I have is a complete unwillingness to let someone attack someone else.  Maybe it's because I've been a de facto parent my entire life, and just in the habit of looking out for those I consider to be close to me or under-defended against an attacker; I don't know.  But seeing someone else get attacked for no reason (seriously:  if you're getting your butt kicked because of something that you did, I don't care if you're Steve Buscemi and the guy jumping you is Mike Tyson, you had it coming) just flips a switch in me, and that made it really hard to swear off the downvotes.  What finally did it was the realization that the guy (well "guys;" at the time there were two of them) I was pegging with downvotes really did show evidence of actual _problems_.  Downvotes weren't going to do anything to stop the behavior, and the implied insult of them might make it worse.  (for what it's worth, I haven't see one in _years_, and the other in months.  I hope they got help, or at least found healthier places to hang out.  I've read that online social media can lead to and worsen depression and other problems in some sorts of people.)
     
     
    Hell, there's a still a few semi-regulars-- folks that drop in, make a big splash, then disappear for a while-- that trigger me.  I got one of my [gothic voice] Permanent Demerits[/gothic voice] for refusing to be insulted by one known to bully those whose opinions differ from his own.   Oddly, he's got an extremely high green number.  Given the backhanded insults-to-posts ratio, he's also the greatest proof on this board that crackers absolutely do _not_ matter.   
     
     It's not a hero complex; it's an anti-bully complex.      Remember, kids: bullying is wrong, and you will be punished for refusing to allow it to continue (I know: I've been in trouble for standing up to it my whole life).   Now go out there and write those articles and blog posts and news stories complaining that we don't understand why it continues even to this most-enlightened of all days.   
     
     
     
     
     
     
    I didn't, either!  
     
    Then, the same time I realized that downvotes had only two outcomes:  worsening someone who might actually need help, or as a tool to spread animosity (or a tool of actual bullying), I also realized that a limited number of votes of any kind imbued them with a special property.  Think about it with a comic book example (this should be awesome, considering that the majority of things I know about comics came from spectating conversations on these boards   )
     
    In all the universe, there are like eight people who can use Thor's hammer (apparently.  Unless it's ten thousand.  or Two.  Or whatever the story needs at that moment.)  There are ten (maybe) votes I can spend in a day.
     
    I opted to use them as a means of saying "This content is worthy."
     
    I also use them as "thanks for participating in something we are all enjoying," but I make it a point to spend _all_ my allotted points.  Those that don't go as "I really appreciate this" go to posts specifically to say "This is worthy.  Please keep doing this.  Be a solid example."
     
     
    That's why I don't have them on tap all the time:
     
    So many worthy people here.
     

     
     
     
     
  8. Like
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Barton in Western Hero 6th edition   
    Yosemite Sam? I mean, c'mon, he's the rootin'est, tootin'est, gosh-darn shootin'est . . . .
  9. Haha
    Brian Stanfield reacted to Lord Liaden in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    My sister-in-law has a knack for distorting common expressions, but in a way where you can see the logic in how she got there. My favorites:
     
    "Shoot Bill" instead of "fire at will."
     
    "Hindsight is 50-50."
     
    and
     
    "It ain't over 'til the fat lady's dead."
  10. Haha
    Brian Stanfield reacted to Duke Bushido in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    I tend to get mine from people who don't like it when I find a trending negativity to be hilariously petty instead of "the right thing to do, dammit!" 
     
     
    Indeed!  Great minds think alike!  
     
    of course, soft minds run together......
     
    We should be careful.   
     
    There was a misquote I heard some years ago that I absolutely love:  "Great minds like a think."
     
    It's right up there with Pinkard and Bowden's "Hey, won't you play another somebody done somebody's song wrong."
     
    Humor that I can really get behind.   
     
     
  11. Like
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Gary Miles in IS this still avallable?   
    That's exactly it. 
  12. Like
    Brian Stanfield reacted to Duke Bushido in I will probably regret telling you all this   
    but one of my favorite (nonalcoholic) sipping refreshments involves Bold Ginger Ale, and in particular, Canada Dry Bold Ginger Ale (which is strange, because Canada Dry is not my favorite ginger ale, but their bold is my favorite bold).
     
    Not by itself, though.   Shake in some cinnamon.    Yes, it's a serious PITA to stir in.
     
    If you've gotten the ratio correct, it's also _totally_ worth it.
     
     

     
    (Don't buy it all up, please.  Leave some for me....)
     
     
  13. Like
    Brian Stanfield reacted to Duke Bushido in Wondering if I'm alone here   
    Thanks for the bump, Spence. 
     
    I had been interested to know that, too. 
     
    Finally did get the porcelain dice a few weeks ago.  They're gorgeous!  The feel great, too.  Alas, they have the same flaw as the Champions and Monster Hunter dice: they are casino - sized, making a handful of them impossible, especially for the women they were bought for. 
     
    I'll do a video on them when I get a minute. 
  14. Haha
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Looking for Champions !st Edition Character Sheets with Picture   
    The private message said, "I'm sending you a public message," thus closing the circle and starting a paradoxical black hole.
  15. Like
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Eyrie in Looking for Champions !st Edition Character Sheets with Picture   
    The private message said, "I'm sending you a public message," thus closing the circle and starting a paradoxical black hole.
  16. Haha
    Brian Stanfield reacted to Chris Goodwin in Wondering if I'm alone here   
    I've always thought those were meant for our more... hygienically challenged brethren.  A die as a reward for using the soap!  
  17. Thanks
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Product Checklist   
    By the way, take a look at Sheet 2. It appears to have most of the product numbers that you are looking for. Sheets 1 & 3 are notes and stuff that Duke made for himself.
  18. Thanks
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Product Checklist   
    Fire of a message to @Duke Bushido and give hime that info. I'm positive he'd want it and would add it to the list.
  19. Like
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from BigJackBrass in Product Checklist   
    Duke has a link in his signature for what you are looking for. He'd point you that way, but since he's unavailable right now I'll add it right here for you: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BYuTpC3Xg3xWgFQXEvIJC__QLHojYkvsP8IHCW1_4qI/edit#gid=0
  20. Thanks
    Brian Stanfield reacted to chall in 6th edition hardcovers?   
    So I ordered the softcover versions of Vol. 1 and Vol 2.
    Volume 1 arrived to day and I was pleased with what I got. It's no where as thick as the hardcover so I think it will work nicely as a table copy to save my hardcovers. 
  21. Like
    Brian Stanfield reacted to massey in Simple Combat for Newcomer   
    Here's what I'd do.  It sounds like you're just wanting to learn the combat system for yourself.  Rather than worry about a bunch of optional rules, I'd just set up a few fights with you acting as both player and GM.  Start slow, focusing on one aspect at a time.
     
    Fight #1 -- Take a Champions brick (somebody like Ogre) and let yourself fight a group of regular cops.  I don't know what books you have, but if you don't have any stats for Ogre, use a generic super-strong guy.  60 Strength, 18 Dex, 30 Con, 30 PD and ED (all resistant), 4 Speed, 60 Stun, OCV 8, DCV 6, 10" of Running, 20" of Leaping.  Now go rampaging through town.  Every turn two cop cars pull up, with two cops getting out of each one.  The cops shoot at Ogre with their guns (damage is inconsequential -- they're all too weak to hurt him, but it's good for you to practice rolling to-hit).  Set out some figures on a game mat and just learn how the basics of the game work.  Spend a phase or two grabbing cop cars and hurling them through the air.  Use your high leaping movement to bound away off the map and leave the cops behind.  Smash holes in walls and rip trees out of the ground.  Just think of cool things you could do if you were a rampaging super-strong monster, then look up how to do it in the book.  Don't worry about trying to be efficient or effective in combat.  Don't track endurance, or calculate knockback, or even worry about damage if you don't want to (anything Ogre hits will shatter, nothing can hurt Ogre).  Just learn the basics of rolling to hit, and how the Speed chart works.
     
    Fight #2 -- Now a local superhero shows up to fight Ogre.  Make sure the guy is a little weaker than you (of course, you're playing both sides, so it doesn't matter who "wins"). Fire Lad has a 20 Dex, 25 Con, 25 PD and ED with his fiery force field, 5 Speed, 40 Stun, OCV 8 and DCV 7, 15" of Flight, and a 10D6 Energy Blast.  He will have a very hard time whittling Ogre down.  Try to play each guy to win.  Look at how damage works now.  Don't track endurance, but maybe look at Knockback, and maybe range penalties.  Ogre should still win this fight -- Fire Lad will have to get close to Ogre to hit him, close enough that Ogre can jump through the air and smack him.  And remember to be creative with how you fight.  If Fire Lad stays too high in the air, Ogre can always smash through a wall and go inside a building.  Or he can throw a manhole cover and then drop down into the sewers.  Or he can climb inside some poor lady's minivan and hide ("No go out there lady, fire guy shoot at Ogre!").
     
    Fight #3 -- It's time to add in some other powers besides raw damage.  After Fire Lad's defeat, the Caped Avenger shows up.  He's a dark and mysterious avenger of the night.  26 Dex, 25 Con, 20 PD and ED, 6 Speed, 40 Stun, OCV 10 and DCV 10, 10" of Running and 10" of Leaping.  He's highly skilled in the martial arts (the character has 25 Str and +2 damage classes with martial arts).  He has an Offensive Strike maneuver (a powerful spinning roundhouse kick) that does 5D6 for Str, +4D6 for the Offensive Strike maneuver, +2D6 for extra damage classes, for a total of 11D6.  Doing it increases his DCV by 1, but decreases his OCV by 2 (OCV 8, DCV 11).  It's hard to hit with.  He's also got a Martial Dodge maneuver that increases his DCV by 5, but he can't attack the phase he uses it.  And he has a Nerve Strike maneuver that does 3D6 damage and ignores defenses (it has the same OCV/DCV as the spinning roundhouse).  Finally he has a Martial Strike maneuver, a basic punch that does 9D6 damage, but boosts his DCV and doesn't hurt his OCV (OCV 10, DCV 12).  He'll have a hard time hurting Ogre with the basic punch, so that's why he carries a Utility Belt.  His Utility Belt is a Multipower (don't worry about exactly how this works yet), which lets him use different tricks.  He carries 4 blinding flares, which is an 8D6 Flash vs Sight (which will temporarily blind Ogre).  Once he uses the 4 charges, they're gone.  He has 2 gas pellets, which do 3D6 damage on each of Caped Avenger's phases for a full turn and ignore defenses, but they can be avoided if Ogre holds his breath (they are not Area of Effect -- to hurt Ogre the Caped Avenger has to throw them in his mouth).  The Caped Avenger has enough options available that he should be able to beat Ogre, but it's not a sure thing.
     
    Fight #4 -- If the Caped Avenger falls, then Ultra Guy shows up.  Use Ogre's stats, but he has a Dex of 26, a 6 Speed, an OCV and DCV of 9, and 20" of Flight, as well as a 12D6 Energy Blast and 10" of Knockback Resistance (i.e., he doesn't get knocked backward).  In addition, he has N-Ray vision so he can see through walls.  Ultra Guy should whoop Ogre's butt.  But Ogre has a secret (that he doesn't know -- Ogre is dumb).  This whole rampage was set up by Bald Scientist Man.  Bald Scientist Man is hiding in a nearby dumpster (no game stats needed), and after one turn of combat, he peeks out and fires his Green Kelvarite Ray at Ogre (no game stats needed).  Ogre becomes charged with Green Kelvarite Energy.  Ultra Guy has a Vulnerability to Green Kelvarite, and takes x2 damage from it.  If Ogre can last this long (remember, he doesn't know it's coming, so he shouldn't be dodging around waiting for it to happen), then he'll do double damage every time he punches Ultra Guy.
     
    Above all, have fun with it.  That's why we play this game.  And don't worry if you forget something (like skipping somebody's action or forgetting to see if the damage they take exceeds their Con score).  Even very experienced groups forget things virtually every session.  Each of these scenarios gives you a little something to fiddle with and figure out.  You can make it as complex as you want (I always liked knocking people back through buildings), or as simple as you need.  Welcome to the game.
  22. Like
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from massey in Simple Combat for Newcomer   
    Uh oh, now you done did it . . . . 
  23. Haha
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Simple Combat for Newcomer   
    Uh oh, now you done did it . . . . 
  24. Thanks
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Duke's scans   
    Thanks, Duke . . .uh . . . Goodwin.
  25. Haha
    Brian Stanfield got a reaction from Chris Goodwin in Duke's scans   
    Thanks, Duke . . .uh . . . Goodwin.
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