Maptool 1.5.0 has finally been released.

There was a considerable delay between this release and 1.4.1.8 due to Oracle kindly taking stuff we used for the launcher, out of core Java. So we had to completely retool that. Thanks Oracle.

As a consequence the release contains a shed-load of stuff. Bugfixes and features. Syntax highlighting in the editor. AI pathing. Terrain movement cost modifiers. New script functions and more!

https://www.rptools.net/2019/03/maptool-dev-test-version-1-5-available-for-download/

I could see that 

On 3/16/2019 at 8:17 AM, Zeropoint said:

 

I fully understand and appreciate why someone wouldn't want to be associated with someone like the shooter. However, I wonder if it's really a good idea to give in to the impulse to pretend that such people are other than human, or somehow qualitatively different from us. If we forget that "people like us" have the capacity to commit atrocities, we run the risk of failing to carefully consider the ethics of our own actions, ceasing to police ourselves because we know we're not "one of those people."

 

I strongly suspect that such thinking is a part of the mix that produces these atrocities.

Totally agree. 

Also demonising the individual gives people the idea that this person should have been easy to detect and prevent. The cynic in me thinks it's so politicians can make some quick law change and say "job done"  rather than invest in the harder job of mental health services needed to find these people. 

My favourite run of Captain Marvel in recent years was the stretch were she and Peter Parker were dating. It was a strange dynamic but at the same time you could totally see it.

As I was annoyed by the whole MJ marriage thing, they did a good job making me like this pairing. 

It's interesting that in the Elder Edda it states that Thor is not allowed to use the Bifrost Bridge because he is too rough and may break it. So has to go the long way round.

In Marvel terms I always imagine the long way round being use of the world tree. Whatever that might look like

How old is Spiderman exactly?

I think I am one of the few that place Capt Marvel above BP.

Both are middle ranking MCU movies for me. But I found the BP brother rivalry plot less interesting than the amnesia plot. Plus the CGI fight in BP between the brothers was very poor. Especially when the fights using the real actors was so much better. 

I was trying to work out why some CGI fights really annoy me but others get a pass? 

I think it is because some, like in Doctor Strange or Captain Marvel aren't actually the climax of the movie (looking at you Wonder Woman). When they are supposed to supply the story's high point, I feel cheated. 

You have to remember that security features that used to be in place were removed for safety concerns. There are now no physical barriers in place to prevent people from getting onto the pitch. 

Yes, looks good. 

Tennant and Sheen are excellent choices although I partly wish they were playing each others role. 

Like many I found that a middling MCU movie. I did enjoy it more than WW, if that means anything. Probably not, since I don't really like DC movies. Fingers crossed for Shazam. 

Given how some people I know were excited by the cat, I found that something of an anticlimax. Likewise the reveal of Fury's eye.

The de-aging tech worked well. Except for Coulson for some reason. Please let me know when this can be applied outside the cinema

On 3/1/2019 at 2:41 PM, bubba smith said:

ms Blair is I think dealing with MS and was unavailabe

Yes, I read that. Very sad. Had a friend die of the condition recently too ?

I think the new cast seem like a good fit. Although I must admit to having something of a crush on Selma Blair. And the film has no Abe Sapient ?

Completely agree. I would like to see X-Men returned to Marvel and scaled down significantly. 

I rarely enjoy the large ensemble affairs. The Avengers movies have been hit and miss in this regard but for me X-Men has been all miss ?

I loved package deals. I thought they represented a certain kind of campaign flavour. A shorthand expressed in a points framework for both the action and the drudgery of being a Policeman, Until Agent or Paranormal Investigator. Or maybe the genetic ups and downs of being a dwarf.

Can't remember if we ever got much use out of them and I think they provided the flavour equally well whether or not they were used or just read by your players when creating their characters. As a GM I was just as likely to offer everyone x number of free points for non-combat background skills.

On 2/22/2019 at 5:15 PM, Sean Waters said:

 

No, fine: you've convinced me.  Leave PRE Attacks in and we can game them so it doesn't seem too obvious that we are storytelling.  Poof!  The magic is back.

Hey! Don't start pulling at that thread, the whole thing will come apart. I hear a knocking at the door, its the Union of NPCs and they want to talk to us about some missing Post-Segment 12 Recoveries ?

31 minutes ago, Sean Waters said:

I simply do not see the point.

I am genuinely surprised to read you say that (is that a thing?). I bet if you asked Matt he could remember a few times he had gloriously successful PRE attacks.

I think we all agree with your assertion that they don't work when taken as a power but I don't agree with your analysis that we voluntarily nerf them. The way I remember them from our games, they got used when circumstances allowed the player to effectively double their attack due to bonus dice.  Isn't that "Rules as Written" ?

Can I also add that the silhouette of a wolfman ripping through a door was one of may favourite images in the rule book (as well as one of the most frequently looked at pages)

31 minutes ago, Sean Waters said:

Also I can pretty much negate most mental powers with 3 levels in EGO rolls.

Your ability to bend and break Hero System isn't going to convince me there is a problem

Quite a few books out there where the Gandalf type is inventing the prophecy as they go along.  Struggling to remember some titles tho

I also preferred the old multiples of PRE rather than +10 etc. Isn't that how it originally worked?

28 minutes ago, Sean Waters said:

OK, here is a detailed note of why I don’t like PRE Attacks...

Yeah, I think I agree with that.

PRE attack as an alternative to a player attack is horrible.

PRE attack as a natural consequence of a player characteristic, good!

28 minutes ago, Sean Waters said:

because you are naturally fair and decent people.

Thanks, may be in contact for a reference

On 2/19/2019 at 11:01 PM, massey said:

Summon Giant Eagles is also one of those campaign breakers. 

Other possible reasons why you might be reluctant to summon Giant Eagles 

https://www.oglaf.com/ornithology/

Warning: this page is safe. Others on that site very much not! 

7 hours ago, Sean Waters said:

 

Moreover they don't really represent anything we see in comics or movies or any other source material. 

Not sure I agree with that. Batman seems built around the idea. Ignoring mundane attacks from mooks (baseball bat to the head) is a repeating image for Superman.

Plus remember I had a character with a little more PRE when in costume? That idea was inspired by stuff taken directly from the Spiderman vs Wolverine comic #1*  I loved that and felt it really spoke about who the character was

Yes, we only ever used PRE Attacks spontaneously when the situation suggested. Is that a house-rule? Not sure, page 80 (or was it 82) always had the minus dice for inappropriate situations, second attempts etc. So I am sure we were using as intended. 

* Set in pre-unification Eastern block Germany. Excellent story if you can find it, although obviously dated by world history.

I am one of possibly 2 people in the world who haven't watched that. Might get round to it eventually

On 2/19/2019 at 6:21 PM, Cygnia said:

How photos of your hands could help bring child predators to justice

This is the justification they use for mass surveillance and dna database of everyone. 

I spent ages trying to remember where I knew Number One from, without resorting to IMDB. Which resulted in me shouting "Merlin" in the middle of one episode for no apparent reason 

11 hours ago, Sean Waters said:

 

The Physicist  v Scientist problem has a theoretical solution: if they are each trying to solve a Physics problem then the Scientist is at a -2 penalty because they are a generalist.  If they are trying to solve a Biology problem the Scientist is also at a -2 penalty but the Physicist either can not solve it at all or or has a penalty of -5.

 

We probably need something like the Language Chart for Science.  Hmm...

I am going to risk disagreeing with my referee and suggest that the correct solution is for either both characters to have "science" as a skill or none. 

Why? Because only the referee knows how skills will be used in used in their campaign and it maybe that "science" is as deep as it's likely to go, or detailed skills are an important part of the campaign flavour.