IndianaJoe3

My sister died of COVID this morning. So god damn pointless and preventable.  

I guess, like 2/4... teams of agents that are trained & kitted out to take down supers, especially to deal with a specific super, can do so with sufficient numbers.  But mostly they're there to overwhelm normal security or provide security against anything short of supers (and raise the alarm if it is supers) or provide cannon fodder/specific tactical support ("when Cpt Everything enters the room, throw this switch, then that switch, you'll be fine, I promise... no, really, there's an invisible force field....") or commit well-orchestrated crimes be it for gain, terror, or whatever else their masters' objectives may be.
 

Sexual attraction isn't really binary. It's more of a spectrum, and the comics are now starting to reflect that.

They're aliens, like Superman. Everyone from their species has these powers (or would if they came to Earth).

I've been fascinated with the Zorn palette in recent years. I've even painted a few miniatures with that palette.
 
 

This is, to put it politely, somewhat overwrought, and entirely inaccurate.
 
Is the Falcon (now Captain America) nerdy or gay, submissive, or an idiot? No.
 
Sure, the Winter Soldier is a reformed villain, but, then again, so was the Black Widow.
 
Black Panther? None of those things. And if the actor hadn't died, he'd be back for another movie soon.
 
The Vision died again recently, but we may well see him again.
 
Spider-man is nerdy, I'll give you that but what's wrong with that?
Dr. Strange doesn't fit this categories either, although he is a bit of a pompous ass.
 
I won't include Hawkeye, since he's a serial killer (but other than that he's an okay guy), or Starlord, because I'd say he does tend to fall in the idiot bucket (and is also an arrogant, insecure jerk).
 
I've seen Ant-Man criticized because Wasp is a better fighter than him, but there's a lot more to being a positive role model than being able to kick ass (which he still often manages).
 
There are also a ton of supporting characters who are good role models.
 
And, guess what, a gay character can be just as much of a positive male role model as a straight character, not that we see many of them in the MCU or other action movies (The Old Guard is a nice exception there). 
 
And Terry Crews is, this very year, playing a badass character on Brooklyn 99.  A smart, accomplished bad ass. He just happens to also be a dad, and a caring person. It's a sitcom, so of course they give him an amusing tic (he tends to refer to himself in third person), but he looks like a pretty positive role model to me.
 
 
 
 

I guess people weren't big fans.

So, I'm looking through the Swords and Wizardry (OSR D&D clone) rulebook and I come across this spell.
 
 
Isn't this just research? You'd think that a sixth-level spell would give better results than simply spending time in a good library.

So, I'm looking through the Swords and Wizardry (OSR D&D clone) rulebook and I come across this spell.
 
 
Isn't this just research? You'd think that a sixth-level spell would give better results than simply spending time in a good library.

The youngest of my ancient aunts passed away from COVID earlier today.
 
< rant >
 
My mom's side of the family has been heavily into anti-science and faith healing long before our former president and his ilk came along. (Some of them believe it is sinful to go to a doctor or to take medicine but luckily my aunt isn't that extreme.)
 
In any case, most of them bought into the anti-mask and anti-vax misinformation because it matched their beliefs. And they also bought into the "the state can't tell us not to have church services in person" and into comparing it to people in previous centuries who'd been martyred for practicing their faith.
 
So they've gone through the whole pandemic not really buying into social distancing or why you shouldn't go to your nephew's birthday party with the rest of the family and the people in the neighborhood.
 
In any case, my aunt finally came down with it. They think she caught it at church because there's been fifty people in her church congregation of less than 200 adults & teens who've gotten COVID in the last couple of weeks. (Mini-rant: they're charismatics so they do a lot of running around the auditorium, singing/chanting in each other's faces, and crowding around each other laying hands and praying over each other during services. You can lay the hands of an amazing number of people on one individual if everyone is determined enough to give it a try. Last time I visited the church, I was tempted to see if there was a listing in Guinness for the largest number of people to be simultaneously touching a single person. And I don't have a problem with believers giving faith healing a go if that's their cup of tea, but as they were practicing it, at least some of the people getting the benefit from the laying on of hands weren't sick in any shape, form, or fashion. You can find out a lot if you're nosy enough to actually ask.)
 
So in any case, my aunt was sick with COVID and in the hospital.
 
The hospital let the family come in to see her if they wore a gown, mask, and gloves.
 
1) These are completely unvaccinated people. 2) They don't believe in protective gear so there's no reason to suspect that they'll treat the process of wearing it and taking it off seriously. 3) Since when can family come and go out of the room of someone with COVID? 4) The hospital is associated with the Mayo Clinic (but maybe the people who work there think that means mayonnaise?)
 
My wife is angry. She's angry at the family for the totally preventable death. She's angry at that church. She's angry at the hospital but to a lesser extent (at least until one of the visitors come down with COVID). She's angry that the aunt who died was my mom's little sister who my mom made sure got fed as a child by giving up her own food.
 
This isn't the first church-related outbreak for my family. On my dad's side, I nearly lost an aunt and uncle back in November. They'd had their kids take them on a trip out of state to attend a family funeral. They were late getting back in state so they decided to stay overnight with the kids and attend church with them the next day (one of the kids is a pastor).
 
So they go to church along with most of the family who'd gone to the funeral. Almost every adult there that day came down with COVID. In my family, everyone came down with COVID, children included, except for one of a set of twins. My aunt and uncle came very close to death. My uncle got that same shot of whatever it was that Trump got when he was ill (the name of the drug escapes me at the moment).
 
They're not as anti-science/anti-doctor as my mom's side of the family. But as a group they're Trumpy and were before Trump came along (maybe in some ways less Trumpy since Trump came along). But it's still deeply frustrating to deal with during a pandemic.
 
I told my dad before they made the trip that making the trip was a mistake. He patiently listened as I explained to him why from a medical point of view that it was a bad idea (listening patiently was a breakthrough at the time for him). The travelers wanted to stop off at his house for a visit while they were in-state and I begged him not to allow it.
 
I feel very fortunate that the caravan got infected after they left my parent's house rather than before.
 
I am so tired of people dying unnecessarily.
 
< /rant >

My current campaign (well, the notes for one, since I'm not playing right now) uses octal instead of decimal currency. There's also a, "great silver" coin (worth 8 smaller silver coins). The final wrinkle is that only the Imperial government can coin money using precious metals, so some nobles have created local currencies using base metals (iron, brass/bronze, or maybe lead).

I'm not seeing the same problem. I select the Lockpicking skill under the Powers tab, and Invisible Power Effics is listed as available. 
 

That depends on the rules version that you're using (first item in my list, above).  I'm assuming OP is using 5th Edition rules (where IPE checks the current/default Visibility of the ability). The Visibility rules were rounded out a bit under 6th Edition, removing that check for the current Visibility state of the ability (i.e. allowing IPE to be applied to an ability that is not "fully Visible" by default).
 
[edited for clarity]

This can already be achieved through use of the Extra Time Limitation and partially limiting the power.
 
Lay On Hands:  (Total: 40 Active Cost, 27 Real Cost) Healing BODY 1d6 plus Healing BODY 1d6 (10 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2)) plus Healing BODY 1d6 (10 Active Points); Extra Time (Extra Phase, -3/4) plus Healing BODY 1d6 (10 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), -1 1/4)

“When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression."

So here are some things you might consider
 
You can house rule that buying the skill roll over 18- costs double (like Normal CHA Maxima), so players are less likely to go there.  But then give them an automatic +1 to the skill roll for Complimentary Knowledge Skills (or other appropriate skills).  That encourages your players to make more scholarly wizards with a coherent set of KS and spells
 
You could also require that mages have a Magic Skill.  But all spells must take a -1/4 Variable Limitation instead of RSR.  That limitation could be RSR, but since Foci are more reliable, most mages will use Foci and then only resort to RSR in a pinch.  This has multiple benefits.  First, most players will spend fewer points in Magic Skill to buy it high since they aren't using it as often.  Second, since they aren't making all those skill rolls, game play goes faster.  Third, it is a lot more dramatic when the wizard has to get off a spell when he has been disarmed, but it also means the wizard isn't completely helpless without Foci.
 
 
 
 

Should have handed him a copy and said, "We'll wait."

I remember an opinion from somewhere that just because Pathfinder (and D&D, by extension) had rules for something (class, race, etc), the DM was not obligated to use them in a campaign. For example, in a low fantasy game, you might have witches and shaman, but not wizards or sorcerers.

I had my second Moderna shot on Friday. So far, the side effects have been identical to the first one (the injection site is very tender).

I had my second Moderna shot on Friday. So far, the side effects have been identical to the first one (the injection site is very tender).