RDU Neil

Ransom? Pshhh! It is well known within certain inner circles that the crown jewels have several pieces not of this earth! Several of the gems are of a crystalline construction that reflects a complex silicon bio-lattice. The royal house has spent much of their fortune researching the properties of these jewels, which have the potential of a vastly new and different kind of technology. These jewels were clearly stolen by secret organization that is going to manufacture weapons of incalculable power to take over the world. Ransom... hmmph.

Thanks to you, I now know there is a missing Malaysian flight. I had no idea, since I don't watch/listen/read any US news. The Guardian or a variety of science and literature websites, or gaming stuff. Amazing how much better life is when not paying attention to the "news".

This is a very tough question that is keeping me awake when I should be sleeping. So, I think you have to start with "what defines Science Fiction as a genre?" and then how do you best evoke that in game play? If you are thinking of mechanics as purely the kind in Hero, I think you'll struggle, as that style of mechanic was designed to be generic, and while Knockback is clearly something primarily evoked in superhero comics, it still applies in a lot of over-the-top action genres. Now, if you go outside of such mechanics, you can look at things like classic D&D spells as a type of mechanic. It is a stylized way of organizing rules that evokes a specific genre feel... a wizard with her spellbook. Leomund's Tiny Hut is not just a name stuck on a mechanical effect, it is a unique set of effects combined in a unique way, including the structure of what level of spell it is, etc. It can't be deconstructed and pieced together differently without just making stuff up, the game just doesn't allow that. Now spells in D&D are a crappy way to do it IMO, but they do evoke the "magic" sense for fantasy in a specific way. What could that look like in Science Fiction? Perhaps knowledge/skill trees that reflect abilities of science, engineering and technology? Perhaps character abilities that are defined in context of the world? I think setting is SO important to science fictcion (the fact that it is, at core, an extrapolation of current social and technological trends to a possible future state) that the rules/mechanics have to evoke the setting in them.

I really can't disagree more with this. The "values" discussion about some abstract notions that represent America is pointless. There are specific social outcomes that represent fundamental beliefs about the nature of humanity and the role of society vs. the individual that are at stake, and political policy outcomes are where the rubber hits the road on beliefs and values. What are you actually trying to get done? How are you actually trying to move social activities? How do you have a statistically significant affect on the social order that makes up your community, county, state, country... the world? I've read your post several times, and while I get the sense of what you are against, I'm not sure at all what you are for? Some philosophical purity of concept? The parties may be pursuing their short term goals, but those pursuits affect the everyday lives of people across the world, and if supporting one over the other has significant ability to get closer to outcomes you desire, and oppose outcomes you loathe, then that is what you work towards. . I'm not even sure what it means " to play an infinite game aimed at maximizing personal liberty and opportunity and prosperity for every single American." What does that look like? How do you play that? What do you do, and how is it different than trying to get policy enacted? As far as I've ever experienced, the only people who espouse some kind of platonic ideal of pure "values" (whatever that is) are people who have traditionally been privileged enough to be at the top of the social order, where their "values" are just assumed to be correct and universal, thus morally superior to anyone who chooses to value anything else.

I just watched an Aussie film, "The Rover." Now, I'm a fan of stark, even nihilistic movies, but this one was viciously bleak. Not quite "The Road" (the book) bleak, but close.

I love this idea... especially if they didn't know their parents were the heroic types... suddenly they have a legacy to discover.

Storn gifted me with this poster that features the major PCs from my 30 year campaign. Always an honor to have a friend and fellow gamer who can draw great stuff for a campaign! This poster just scream George Perez-esque, and is getting framed for the Geek Cave.

You must have nearly died... a lot.

He's my hero! Seriously... I now feel guilty when I listen to the Smiths, having only recently realized what a flaming racist malcontent Morrissey is. I was on Season 2 of House of Cards, and now I'll never find out what happens. Kill Bill 1 & 2 are movies I love, but will never watch again. A small price to pay, but disappointing, none the less.

I believe in a large, robust and active government, because the government is us, the people, having a say and influence over the economic forces that otherwise harm the majority for the benefit of the extreme minority. I believe no individual is more important than the social contract that binds us, that provides the stability necessary for advancement. I believe equal opportunity requires limitations on those who have traditionally held privilege. I believe fiscal responsibility involves a level of wealth redistribution that reduces the gap between the most wealthy and most poor, and incentivizes a bulging middle class. This includes highly funded public education through university levels. I believe in a level of defense that is not beholden to, nor for the benefit of the military industrial complex. I believe in active, dynamic regulation of the markets, because "free markets" never exist... they are either controlled by a wide body of government, or controlled by the economic interests who benefit the most from them. I believe that good faith in the face of unbridled greed and corruption is foolish and treasonous. Strong defense starts with defending the majority from the minority that would enslave them.

My supers campaign is the RDU (Red Dragon Universe) and there is a running joke for the past, oh, 18 years or so... Two supers were running from a really powerful villain. They'd been infiltrating a base, found out, and were trying to get away (a straight up fight would have been highly NOT in their favor). We were on combat actions as they zipped through the high-tech HQ. They came to the observation room of a lab and said, "Ok... blast through the glass and drop down... we can escape out the back!" This was reinforced plexiglass... 8 Def/ 2 Body... meant to be strong enough to take some minor mishaps in the supers lab. Still, they both were tossing 12d6 or better... so all they needed was an average, even slightly below average roll. First guy rolls 8 body on 12 dice. "Damn! That's tough!" Second guy, "Well, I blast it... he's catching up!" Rolls 9 Body on 13 dice! Because they were being chased, the action taken to get through this were letting the bad guy catch up, so they ran off through the side door, both saying, "Holy crap! What was that stuff made of? RDU Plexiglass is like... the most indestructable stuff on Earth!" Every since then, any times someone is trying to break something, or a villain is really tough, the joke is, "Oh man! Armor made of RDU Plexiglass... that sh!t is unbreakable!" I'll occasionally have them see a TV ad or something, "Tired of superbattles ruining your property! RDU Plexiglass now available for replacement windows for your home!" All it takes is two unlucky rolls in a row to make world building history!

If they are truly new to Hero, and new to RPGs, character creation can be tough. 1) Ask them if they could describe the kind of fantasy character they want to play... you can build it for them... and show them how their character concepts are represented in the rules. 2) This helps them jump right in and see how their ideas are able to be translated into characters. 3) You get to shape their interpretations of Hero, so they inevitably build to your biases... always important for a GM to have players who fit a style. 4) You can teach them by saying, "After a couple sessions, we can talk about what you like, and don't about the characters, and we can tweak them so you learn how to make characters. 5) Or they can make a new character after they've seen how the game plays, from the ground up. 6) I think it would be a good idea to allow the players ideas about their characters to shape the world. If one of them wants to be all Avatar: Last Airbender... then now your world has elemental clans in it, or some such. If another wants to play a noble house, second daughter who loves to duel, then now a certain part of society is heavily shaped by dueling culture. Make their interests part of the game, and they'll be happy to learn the system. Just my opinion, but game play and character dynamics first... system and process second.

Ok... that was nice, concise and entertaining. It occurred to me, though, especially on the shotgun slug test, that I don't think he ventilated the watermelon/lung before shooting. We a semihard skin and no pre-venting, the impact of the bullet causes severe compression of the watermelon, causing the dramatic eruption. A lung has less of a hard skin, so better able to deform and not rupture, and the air inside it can evacuate... so I'm wondering if the damage done would be less... dramatic... at least. Plus, not sure what type of body armor that was, but given that it stopped at pistol rounds and shotgun slug, I'd say at least level II. Interesting.

He can fly, and the wings have something to do with that (as wasn't there a time when they were cut off and he couldn't fly? The Byrne Namor run? I honestly think it was old school 4 color simplicity of a way to show that he could fly.

On this point, has anyone watched "Nanette" on Netflix? it is a, nominally, comedy stand-up routine by Australian comedienne Hannah Gadsby... and it turns, throughout, into an annihilating critique of current society that is gut wrenching and raw and incredibly unsettling... and must be watched. She addresses the point above very specifically.

Designer seems to work just fine, but two things... ... when I buy a character a hand killing attack, it adds the full DCs of their STR to the HKA, more than doubling the HKA... ex: 45 STR character with 2d6K hka... it should max out at 4d6k... but it will show as 5d6K damage.

I find this to be good news. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/26/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-bernie-sanders-kansas-james-thompson

I agree with both of you. I would love to see a show that has the focus be on "normals juxtaposed with supers" but I think they might need to take the more modern approach of different charaters, different stories, different writers, every week. Sort of like a Black Mirror for a supers universe. Or what is that show about the pot dealer, and how he is just around, but episodes show the lives of all his customers, rather than focusing on set group of characters and plots. Superhero stuff is going to have to mature, and quickly, because it has already become oversaturated. If someone like me doesn't watch half of the superhero shows available, when most of my five decades on this planet I would have killed for ONE half-decent show (there was a time when Agents of SHIELD would have been good)... then something needs to change. Netflix Marvel started out really strong, but has begun to fall into its own self-referential trap (still strong in places, like the ending of Luke Cage Season 2 was really powerful). To me, they have a lot of "characters" to play with in their world/universe... but they have yet to focus on the world itself... giving us glimpses (and leaving us wanting more rather than explaining every little thing) of all the crazy and wonderous and dangerous things out there... THAT show I'd watch. That show, to ground it, would work best if showed through the eyes of the norms. An Agents of SHIELD focusing less on a plucky band of stereotypical characters and their soap opera lives, could have a large, varied, non-standardized cast as we saw a much wider slice of the world. I'd love a show like that.

You can order tacos, sit at home and watch TV and drink, and you have a private bathroom... or you can order the same tacos, sit at one of our tables and watch TV and drink a wider selection at a higher price and share a bathroom with dozens of others. Introvert vs. Extravert... I know which one I'd choose...

If that is what she is doing, essentially separating the water molecules from the dissolved air molecules, that would solve a lot of problems, though the amount of heat generated by that would be pretty intense, right? Anyway, it has just be screwing with my head, that if you were "displacing" a large cathedral size amount of water at the bottom of the ocean, that volume has to go somewhere, since you can't compress a liquid... so the deeper that is done, more pressure is resisting pushing the water away, requiring a MASSIVE level of TK... and probably setting off a minor tsunami as the wave event generated by the displacement eventually reaches the surface and/or coasts...

In JL, it appeared they couldn't talk underwater, but only when Mera created an air pocket. (Where does the air come from in those pockets, anyway?) But now they show them talking just fine underwater, so... qua?

Fellowship of the Ring, Extended edition... now on to Two Towers. A yearly thing my wife and I enjoy.

I think my wife just swooned. Heck, I enjoyed that movie myself, so I'd totally support that.

It feels to me that Supergirl and Flash (if the writing were better) and Black Lighting seem to hit closer to the tone you at talking about. I mean, I really enjoyed Young Justice a lot, but that is because it used animation to bring to life a comic book tone. There is no way, without massive budget, that they could provide the seemless action and character bits that are easy in animation, but would cost a bajillion dollars of SFX and physical trainers and choreographers, etc. So much of what works in animation is how the characters move and casually use their powers, and they can jet off into space or the bottom of the ocean and back to their Volcano HQ easily... they can leap in and out of trees while quipping and so common stunts that would be insane to try to produce live, that are just throwaway moments in animation. The medium is REALLY important in capturing "superheroes brought to life" and the medium of live action TV or movies just will never do that. To me, the reason the Marvel movies work so well, is that they understood this from the beginning. They understood "Make a good action movie, but turn it up a notch," and this works. As much as I enjoyed Ragnarok, or hated Infinity War, the more they move into the cosmic, wild, colorful sturm und drang... the more the Marvel movies start to crack. The fight scenes in Civil War are a great example. The Bucky capture and then escape scenes were amazing, well acted, dramatic... and very grounded. The giant airport fight was awesome, which was impressive, because the weightlessness of the CGI began to show a little. The more they escalate that, the more the movies become un-relatable and just big light shows. I think there needs to be realistic expectations for what can be translated from the comic book and animation, which still require a lot of investment and imagination by the viewer, to any kind of "live action" medium. Edit: And if DC chose to bring PIXAR level of animation and writing to a movie universe (DCAMU?) then maybe we'd have something. I think viewers would be very negative about trying to expand The Incredibles into a "universe" that was to be taken serially and seriously... but if there was sophisticated writing and direction with sophisticated animation... maybe you could get your DCAMU that you envision. I just can't see it working with live action.

Nearly the exact reaction my wife had. "Oh... he can change back and forth?" after watching it. She laughed at all the jokes and said, "It looks cute!" enthusiastically. Again, if and when there are reviews that make it sound as good as Wonder Woman, we'll go see it. Otherwise, eh...