Lawnmower Boy

Elizabeth Whelan, sister of detainee Marine Paul Whelan, on the criticism that her brother's release could not also be arranged, from CNN:
 
 

We can still be friends!

But instead of a delicious steak sauce, they invented A.1.

I have played RPG style games since the late sixties, first with chainmail, then D&D and then Hero system in the eighties. I also played E.P.T. (Empire of the Petal Throne) and C&S (Chivalry and Sorcery) as well as a number of other game systems. I have Always been somewhat unhappy with the presentation of weapons and combat in most systems. I am an archer, been so since I was six, in my teens was involved in experiments with a variety of bows and crossbows. Most systems rating of light, medium and heavy bows completely miss s the mark (pun intended) Two bows of differing style (longbow vs recurve) of the same poundage will in fact have different penetration. The experiments presented some unusual results, using a 90 lb. compound and simple iron bodkin tipped wooden shafted arrows against 10 and 12 gauge plate no penetration and virtually no scratch. Against 14 to 16 gauge plate gouge on the 14, denting on the 16, heavy denting against 18 gauge, and against20 gauge deep dent and splitting of the metal. 
   I personally shoot a 55 - 60 lb. recurve and a 45 - 50 lb. longbow - horse bow. With my 55 lb. bow and the iron bodkins I only dented the 18 and 20 gauge plates and only scratched some of the others. However with high carbon steel and heat treated bodkins my 55 lb. recurve penetrated the 16 gauge plate and gouged all of the Heavier, a friend with a 60 lb. draw Yumi style bow (Japanese asymmetrical) penetrated the 14 gauge .5 to 1.5 inch, on the 16 g average of 2 inch 3 - 4 on the 18 g  and treated 20 gauge as though it was tissue paper. Now, admittedly none of the plates was hardened and range was 50 meters the 90 lb. compound penetrated all of the plates, As for other weapons and penetration, swords are mostly ineffective against simple plate armor let alone something like Gothic or Maxmillian plate. You need to go to axes, hammer's and maces to achieve damage to a plate wearer and then it is mostly hydro-static damage. 
    I am about to start a new campaign, and will be recording on duplicate character sheets damage to their weapons, armor and sundries as well as bonus damage to opposing targets based on maneuver's  weapon type , pushed strength and other factors, letting them know as their equipage deteriorates. As GM it is your job to maintain playability and introduce as much reality as you can. Have you ever fired a bow down a corridor  that's 10 ft. by 10 ft. I have, beyond 8 to 10 meters nearly impossible, (corridor was actually 8 ft. wide and 10 ft. high) . Beyond 10 meters arrows kept bouncing off the roof, and finding a path thru cardboard figures in front of you problematic.  

My older brother Joel died yesterday.  He had been suffering from RSV for weeks and suddenly he just was gone.  I know none of you know him or probably even care but he was the world to me.   He was the one who got me into role playing games.  He taught me to love the blues and Pat Metheny.  He provided for me and housed me for decades when my health failed.  He was my biggest fan, supporter, and promoter for my writing.  I love him so much and I miss him so badly it hurts so much I can hardly breathe right.  Everywhere I go, everything I see brings back a flood of memories and emotions and it is so hard to take.
 
I just need to say something about him here because the whole world should have known my dear brother Joel Aaron Taylor.  I want to shout it to the universe, I want everyone to know how wonderful he is and how much I miss him.
 
Thank you for your patience with me.

After being out for about 30 hours, we have electric power at home again, as of 0530 our time.

My favorite guilty pleasure right now is watching the collapse of Twitter. 
 
Within one week Musk is already talking bankruptcy. He fired half the staff. The remaining staff are all threatening to quit if they haven't already. He suspended remote work. His blue check verification scheme is an utter disaster. The remaining advertisers are, well... 
 

 

Happy birthday to the Log!
 

Why White Supremacists Love Bad Black Candidates:
 

It is my buddy Log's birthday! 
 
So give him a happy birthday and treat him nicely today. He's wearing the crown.

my deficiencies are many and for all to see. Enjoy your day of Birht, buddy. 

Do you want werefish?  Because that's how you get werefish....
 
 

Why was I expecting that to be resolved with fruit pies?
 

Greetings fellow HERO System fans! I know these updates should happen more often; and I’ll try to improve upon that. But for now, here’s what’s going on with Hero Games and the HERO System at the end of 2022.
 
1) First of all, if you haven’t joined our Patreon account (https://www.patreon.com/hero_games), please consider doing so. By becoming patron you will not only help fund the creation of of new books, but also gain the ability to review and comment upon unreleased material before it becomes available to the public. Right now we have a little more than fifty patrons; but I envision Hero Games having more like one hundred in 2023. Then we would be really “cooking with gas,” in terms of getting manuscripts turned into books more expediently.
 
And I really prefer Patreon for Hero Games as a crowdfunding method over Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, or any of the other platforms. Though that is admittedly a personal preference.
 
2) Have you seen our Champions Complete bundle on Roll20 (https://roll20.net/)? It has everything you need to play Champions with your friends online, including all of the material from Champions Complete and Champions Begins usable in Roll20.
 
3) Carlos and I got in a proof for Thomas Stadley’s new champions universe organization book Institute For Human Advancement: Pride & Prejudice, and there were some issues. So we’ve made some changes, resubmitted it, and I have a new proof on the way to me right now. If everything checks out, we should have that book available in the Hero Games store, DriveThruRPG, Amazon, Indie Press Revolution, and at a game store near you.
 
4) With Christopher Hackler’s Gaslight: Horror & Heroism in the Victorian Era having been through the Patreon account, Carlos and I have begin editing and laying it out. We’ll be presenting finished chapters on Patreon before taking it to print early next year.
 
5) Steven Otte’s Heroes In A Hurry is currently being run through the account. It is in nearly final form, and will go straight to press afterward.
 
6) Michael Satran’s final work Imperial Throne has been reviewed by fans on the Patreon account, and the response has been quite positive. Carlos and I will begin work on that when we’re done with Gaslight.
 
7) We will continue to put out chapters from renowned game designer Scott Bennie’s final novel The Last Orc, at which point I’ll copy edit it in preparation for publication sometime in 2023.
 
8. We’re going to start putting up chapters of Phil Guinchard’s Gemini System soon. It’s a genre-agnostic game heavily influenced by the Hero System and OpenD6; and, like Champions Now, is the sort of experiment we’d like for you to see.
 
That’s all I can think of here at the end of 2022. As always, if you have a Hero Games manuscript, email me at jason@herogames.com and let me know.
 
- Jason Walters, Publisher
 

Is that specific to Triceratops or any dinosaur. Just asking for a friend who might need a loophole.