Pattern Ghost

You don't have to be arbitrary. If you want unreliable magic, you tell the PCs they're playing with fire, and when they get burned, you make it interesting. The BBC series Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell gives a good example. The character uses magic he knows is dangerous to advance his position, and in doing so creates a situation that the plot flows from. Now that PC's actions are a centerpiece of the adventure, or in a campaign, perhaps create an interesting side adventure. How that's resolved should be utterly fair.
 
I'd say that if you want magic to figure into tactics as in a typical Pathfinder/DnD game, then it'd be unfair to make it unreliable. Your PCs will quickly all become rogues and fighters, leaving magic by the wayside. If you're going for tactical magic and still want some danger in the magic system, then doing something like separating the tactical magic system from the ritual magic system is probably in order. You want to bring your party's best fighter back from the dead? OK, you have some options, and they all have drawbacks. The easiest option, he comes back as a kind of stupid zombie, so scratch that. The second option, you have to petition a powerful magical being to help with the process, and run the risk of making a bad deal with said entity, or simply unleashing it on the world.
 
As the GM, you can treat it as simply a roleplay opportunity for the PCs to outwit the entity. The negotiation can be the thing, in and of itself. Let them outwit the entity. This time. Maybe next time, it gets the upper hand.
 
None of this is railroading. It's letting the players make decisions and steer the direction of the game as they play out the consequences. It's the furthest thing from railroading, and can be a lot more fun than the Pathfinder dickery described above.

The Pathfinder scenario imposes mechanical consequences. A good campaign striving to give magic unintended consequences should look to impose story consequences.

The Pathfinder scenario imposes mechanical consequences. A good campaign striving to give magic unintended consequences should look to impose story consequences.

The Pathfinder scenario imposes mechanical consequences. A good campaign striving to give magic unintended consequences should look to impose story consequences.

That Melville, such a ray of sunshine.

I haven't watched it yet, but he looks like Hyde from That 70s Show.

Vi!
 

https://imgur.com/gallery/Xd3Wf
 
Some Kevin Matchstick Cosplay, 2 more pics in Gallery

Yes, that is John Barrowman, cosplaying Squirrel Girl at Comic-con.

If that was a "Musical Episode", then standards for musical episodes have really dropped precipitously over the years. The ratio of singing/dancing to spoken dialogue was about 10%/90%, unlike Once More, With Feeling which was the other way around. And this Flash episode didn't do much to advance plot or character development beyond helping two couples patch things up. Very disappointing.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold did it better.
 
Neal Patrick Harris!

Yeah, I've never been a fan of the "subcategory" breakdown for skills. My preferred approach was that you just by the general skill and if you want your character to specialize in some areas, buy the appropriate complementary KS/SS/PS skills.

Sure, but late teens. This is the pic that was mostly circulating that I was referring to:
 

 
Cloak is supposed to be a bit imposing/scary. That baby-faced kid on the left is a far cry from the (same) guy I linked in my last post. I figured it was an old pic, which seems to be the case.  He looks spot on in the newer pic. Presuming that's actually the actor. Source seems legit, but can never be sure on the web.

I was a little leery of the casting for Cloak since he looks about 12 in most of the pics shown in articles. Thankfully, those seem to be older pictures. Here's one of the pair I found here:
 

 
If that's a legit pic, it looks like they did pretty well on the physicality of the casting at least. If they can act, they should be a good fit for the parts IMO.

Tell him to ask for an extra couple of blankets at night. That'll make it easier to get a good blanket rope going so he can escape and return to us.

Welcome back. Glad it was just the brain and nothing serious.

I try to keep as small of an amount of serious stuff in my brain as possible at all times!
 
HM

I have to agree with "Sociotard" re "Dune". Overrated, derivative (the personal shields that mean people use blades was lifted straight from a novel by Charles Harness) and inferior to the book with which it tied for the Hugo Award ("And Call Me Conrad"- Roger Zelazny).

That's my favorite Chris Tucker movie.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement everyone. Today is the first chance I have had to be in front of a full size keyboard in over a week and it feels good!
 
I had a reoccurance of Melanoma cancer... this time in my brain. Probably a lucky break since the symptoms presented like a stroke. They've cut out the big/easy piece and have just done a hires/3d MRI of my brain stem so they can target with radiation next week. The next big hurdle is the results a PET scan of eveything else in a couple of weeks.
 
I am much better than just few days ago. The fine motor dexterity and strength of my right hand is the biggest issue right now. Typing this was good exercise.
 
I know I am not a frequent contributor to this part of the forum but you guys always put a smile on my face.
 
....
 
Be sure to have yourselves checked for skin cancer!!!
 

HM
 

Silly theories about the Soul Stone when it's so obvious:
 
Aretha Franklin has it, but she's distracted by an ongoing struggle for control with the soul of James Brown, which it contains. Brown will possess Aretha, momentarily creating an opening that Thanos will exploit to gain control of the stone.

Yeah, it is unfortunate that we must so often grade on a curve when it comes to superhero-oriented tv shows.

My guess is that Savatar is either Wally or Flashpoint Wally.

I'll go along with two out of three of those. The writing isn't substantially better than any of the other CW super shows, though.

My guess is that Savatar is either Wally or Flashpoint Wally.