ScottishFox

The link you put has great info, but the age bands are different so it's hard to directly compare. I'd prefer 0 in 1000, but you can't have zero deaths. In order to function we have to have some level of acceptable risk. Using the model I placed (imperfect as it is) we're talking about a rate of 0.0236% for the 64 and under group. That's 0.236 per 1,000. If we move the 55+ group into quarantine then we're looking at less than 1/2 of that. At some level we have to be able to resume living - like actual people. Hell, we stomp Coronavirus into the dirt fatality-wise with our self inflicted obesity related illnesses. Will we begin rationing food to save lives? It's going to be awhile before we have the suicide, overdose and alcohol death numbers for 2020, but I bet they are going to be disgustingly large. Large like we haven't see since we started recording them. At one point in time we were going to shut down for 15 days to slow the spread. That was over 200 days ago. If hospitals haven't ramped up to handle the increase by now then they're not going to. Though I'll admit I'm squarely in the Mike Rowe Safety 3rd camp despite being an old, fat, asthmatic guy with hypertension.

Anyone think the Tony Bobulinski testimony will add enough veracity to the laptop and email scandals to make a difference? (https://www.newsweek.com/tony-bobulinski-biden-whistleblower-sit-interview-fbi-over-hunter-biden-business-dealings-1541751) I re-watched part of the debate when Joe was talking about transitioning away from fossil fuels and there was an odd moment with the moderator: Joe Biden: By the way I would transition away from the oil industry, yes. Trump: That's a big statement! Joe Biden: It is a big statement. Because I would stop... Kristen Welker: Why would you do that? That's such an odd question. Joe goes on to explain it, but obviously the reasons to get off oil are pollution and it being a non-renewable resource.

Assuming that model is accurate we're still talking a mortality rate of about 0.11% and even that is massively skewed towards the already sick and elderly. If I take the CDC numbers and extrapolate it will look like... (based on CDC report when we only had 207k deaths). One thing I take away from this is that only 21% of deaths are working age people. And if you restrict it to 54 and under it's only 8%. Surely we could use the masks and social distancing and other basic precautions while putting everyone not in a vulnerable group back to work. It'd be much easier to financially support the last age band or two of workers who are at risk instead of 100% of people in certain industries. Age band 65+ is almost 79% of the total and they're mostly retired. It feels like we've used a chainsaw instead of a scalpel to deal with this crisis.

Seriously, though. The new format was GREAT! I recommend this setup for all debates going forward. It was so much better than all of the previous ones with candidates (especially Trump) yelling over one another. And the moderator was amazeballs.

Easily my favorite of the debates to date. Probably my favorite of the debates in the last 8 years. The moderator was spectacular. Bring her back. For everything. Kudos to her. I kind of agree with Archer that Joe's defenses to some of the accusations were a little light. Just saying "Not True!" isn't going to sway people who are concerned with the recent email dust up which was recently reinforced by the testimony of Bobulinski and the junior partner in prison. I think Joe's overall demeanor was more likable and I think his performance should brush away any of the dementia concerns. He held up very well. Easily the more likable candidate of the two. If you're concerned about personality and presentation from the president - Joe made a good case. Out of all of Trump's blathering I found his attacks along the lines of, "You were VP for 8 years and didn't do anything." or "You've been a politician for 47 years and didn't do anything." hit the mark. Biden admitting his crime bill from 26 years ago was a mistake is particularly bad since he's had 2.5 decades to fix it and hasn't. Also, I was SO impressed by the moderator. She is awesome.

Fantasy HERO also had the idea that magic items were created with the character points of the item creator. Anyone could use the item afterwards and if it were destroyed those character points were just lost. I felt that reasoning behind magic item creation explained the rarity of items in worlds where they could be created. Nobody is going to be mass producing +1 OCV / +1 DC swords when each one eats a permanent 3 CP off your enchanter.

Texas continues to have increased hospitalization, but death rate remains down to flat. It does seems that treatment options have improved.

Honestly, it's more an indication of how many refugees we've accepted from California and New York. Texas has been increasingly purple over the last several years. I think Cruz only beat Beto O'Rourke by 3-4%. Once Texas flips blue it will be Democrat everything for the foreseeable future.

One thing I strive for in a campaign is to avoid Adventurer's League style stupidity. You find a magic sword, but you can't pick it up. Why? Because you don't have enough treasure points for a magic sword... Mostly characters in a fantasy game expect to find mystical and legendary items as they travel. The trope is as old as The Hobbit where the Fellowship stumbles into elven swords in a random cave and one lucky Hobbit gets an artifact (The One Ring) after falling into a hole and tumbling into an even deeper cave. Why it's just laying there in the dirt. Sorry, Bilbo, you can't equip the ring. It's like 200 cp = game ending immersion breaker. And that gets balanced out with things like: Player 1 - I want a Ring of Power! GM: It would instantly enslave you and begin your transformation into a ring wraith. Player 1 - Oh, never mind then. Hey, what gives with the hobbit? GM: Hobbits are resistant to its corrupting power, but not immune. Bilbo Player: Excuse me? GM: Now that you think about it, Golum was roughly your size... Bilbo Player: Um...

I've often wondered why a flat tax with a starting index based income wouldn't work. Something like first $30,000 is free then everyone pays 20% after that. No loopholes, no deductions, no nothing. And the answer is it wouldn't allow the ultra-wealthy to tax loophole their way to paying less / nothing / less-than-nothing.

Well, didn't expect to see this, but 50 Cent just directed his 26.2 million followers to vote Trump after seeing the Biden plan's new top tax rates. I'll quote vs. using a screen clip because it's pretty profanity laden. "WHAT THE !@#$! (VOTE For TRUMP) IM OUT, !@#$ NEW YORK The KNICKS never win anyway. I don't care Trump doesn't like black people 62% are you out of ya !@#$ing mind. <steamy face>.

Man, the R0 numbers are looking bad today. Looks like the winter bump is going to be a real thing. 43 of 50 states are seeing an increase in spread. You didn't lead with bacon. It's unnatural.

We use an interrupt style closer to D&D rules. The interruption is not automatic. * If you're stunned - the spell is interrupted. * If your hands/arms are grabbed - the spell is interrupted. * If you're silenced and the spell has a verbal component - the spell is interrupted. * For most damage scenarios the caster makes a CON or EGO roll at a -1 per 5 STUN or fraction thereof (3 STUN is -1, 9 STUN is -2, 14 STUN is -3, etc.).

More good news. My friend who got the Coronavirus last week (confirmed positive on Tuesday) was already feeling better by Thursday. Granted he's reasonably young and fit so he was ultra-low risk.

I'm still tripping over Twitter and Facebook silencing the 4th largest newspaper in America three weeks before election day. And blocking links to government websites. And blocking the press secretary. And some celebrities. And some other government officials who talk about things they don't want talked about. We are entering Cyberpunk territory here with a mega-corp deciding what information the government can and cannot share with the public. There's some real propaganda going on (I tried using screen clips, but they're over the file size limit now?) This (Time stamped to part where Washington post verifies that Biden didn't get a prosecutor fired) Can't be reconciled with: (Biden on video bragging about getting the prosecutor fired by threatening to withhold 1 billion dollar loan.).

I'm OK with that one. Nobody should vote straight ticket. Actually look at the names of who is or is not running. One thing I couldn't help but notice is that the mayoral candidate who is facing about 100 felony charges related to his ballot harvesting was STILL ON THE BALLOT! Can you imagine that guy winning because of straight party line voting? No, thanks.

Wife and I just finished voting. Wasn't too bad. About an hour of waiting in line. Ballot instructions were brief, but understandable enough. I also noted that Republicans were listed before Democrats in all races. I was disappointed that so many of the lesser contests were completely unopposed. That's not good for anyone. Anyway, my bitching rights are secured for another 4 years.

I'll have to admit I'm not a fan of Facebook and Twitter deciding what constitutes real news and having the filtering done by their guy who has worked for several Democrats in the past. Stone even wears his own bias on his sleeve: The quick biography he posts on Twitter shows his long history of working for Democrats, including lefty former Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. We're 3 weeks out from election day and the supposedly platform, not publisher guys are deciding what we can and cannot see. I get if you think it's bunk or a dirty political October surprise (this is my guess), but let that play out. Let the fact checkers shred it in the light of day instead of sowing suspicion by so blatantly playing favorites. Crazy times.

So, got my results today. Everything was negative. They gave me some antibiotics for the bronchitis and that's the end of it. Hopefully that'll be the end of it.

Had someone I know pop positive for Coronavirus today. I was already headed into the Dr. Office for a persistent cough and shortness of breath. Went through all of the usual and they decided to test me for Strep, Flu and Coronavirus. Whoever invented the Coronavirus test deserves to be shot. Rather, cut repeatedly, basted in honey and laid on the bank of a river where salmon are being hunted by grizzly bears. The Q-tip like end was so swollen I was dubious about getting it into my TMA/MMA mangled nose in the first place. The right nostril was a complete no-go. I couldn't even get it to the bridge of my nose. I can barely breathe out of that nostril as it is mostly scar tissue and my septum is deviated. Other nostril I got further in and the nurse - between laughing fits - suggested I should aim for behind my eye. I had blood on the f'ing Q-tip before I could get the last inch in. This thing is designed for brain trauma. Luckily the Flu test swap is thin enough you can actually slide it up your nostrils and into your sinus cavity. Success. The last one - a vomit-inducing tickler that you have to rub "over your tonsils". I have no idea where that is I haven't had tonsils for 44 years. I swabbed over my uvula and various parts of my throat will gagging repeatedly. I do not enjoy the self-testing lane of the Dr's Office. I would prefer the nurse or doctor wield the instruments of torture so I have a small chance of getting a valid test result. They of course did not call me back as promised nor update my online records. I did get an antibiotic so I **suspect** that only the strep test came back positive. We'll see how it goes.

Trump wasn't the cause. Trump was the symptom. The only way a guy like that rose above the other 15-16 Republican candidates is because that level of aggression and vitriol appealed to half of the country. The impeachment and the recent discussion of Amendment 25 proceedings and the insane level of hostility during recent supreme court nominations compared to the old ones are similarly symptoms of the out of control animosity between the two parties. The party's are losing their ability to work together and like fans of rival footballs teams the public is forming up into sides capable of mass violence. Both sides are losing their damn minds, imo.

I've played in a few campaigns over the decades where the DM made every session a nail-biting near-death experience. Over time the players can become fatigued and demoralized as their cherished characters nearly die again and again. Nihilism can set in or sometimes players will skip a week purely to catch a breather from the action. It's important to let the characters (and their players) catch their breath, feel heroic or simply experience how powerful they've become over the course of a campaign. It's like a palate cleanser. It resets the taste buds for the next delicious adventure. When I was taking my Saturday table through War for the Crown I started to sense the players getting a little haggard from having to hide from and escape the city guard again and again. So when one character went to meet his contact at midnight on a re-supply errand I gave him a little booster. Darran Redbeard - Dwarven explosives expert and military veteran with over a 100 years of experience under his belt - blows his Streetwise roll - badly. A handful of street toughs with rusty gear and patched, misfit armor approach him. Thug 1: Hey, there, little fella. That's a nice axe. Darran: Yeah? Thug 1: Hand it over - along with your coin purse and those metal egg things you got (grenades) and we won't have to cut you. Darran: I see... <More thugs step out of the shadows - It's at least 4 to 1 now> <Player 2 - Oh, Jesus... ~begins laughing~ They don't know they're trying to mug The Punisher.> Darran: Here, take the money. <holds out his coin purse> First thug eats a round from Darran's exploding punch gauntlet (Think 8 gauge shotgun round expended each time a punch lands). His bowels perfume the sidewalk - dead instantly. Next goon runs up and shanks Darran. Right into his enchanted chain shirt. Zero damage. Darran ignores this guy and throws his highest damage explosive into the two guys hanging back and preparing to shoot him with with short bows. A thunderous retort shakes the alley as they are blown to chunks. Darran: This is the part where you run. Shanky runs for his life. He doesn't make it. And when it was over the player who was concerned his explosives expert wasn't quite as powerful as the other characters on the team was grinning ear to ear. The stress of hiding from the guards and shadowy assassins was forgotten. He was John F'ing Wick. He was Baba Yaga.

I'd like 0. But I'm not convinced that we've contained it - at all. Every day I see a good chunk of mask wearers with their nose or mouth exposed so they can breathe. Schools have been back in session for about 4 weeks now and the case load hasn't moved much. Given the amount of exposure already happening at grocery stores, gas stations, costco, etc., I think we could re-open with about the same numbers were seeing now.

I'm ready for a re-opening at this point. We've utterly failed to contain it. Remember when we were going to shut down for 15 days to flatten the curve? That was like 180 days ago. Time to get back to it. And I'm an old fat asthmatic with high blood pressure. I'd rather take my chances than watch the country collapse in fear. Within reason - I wear a mask and wash my hands and avoid crowds.

Given the very limited amount of BOD/STUN characters typically have and how fast that damage leads to being stunned, KO'd or killed a critical hit system has to be changed substantially. What we ended up using is in Fantasy HERO a critical hit just guarantees a maximum damage hit. Players have been pretty happy with it and a max damage hit that lands on 3-5, 12 or 13 generally stuns or KOs an opponent - especially when 2-handed weapons are in play. When we were playing champions guaranteed maximum damage was just too much. 12d6 blast going directly to 24 BOD/72 STUN was one-shotting folks. For champions we set the crit effect to roll 1/2 of the dice on the attack. The rest of the dice are 6s.