unclevlad

Yeah, I've got the Champions 3rd Ed PDF open. Skills are...scant. Skill levels are a) expensive, and b) *limited* in use. CV is tied to DEX; neither OCV nor DCV are characteristics. Single-maneuver skill levels are 3 points; group levels are 5. And there's no conversion to damage. Martial arts is completely simplified...and VERY expensive. Bouncing was a standard maneuver...that required skill levels. So, sort of a bonus to offset the high cost, I suspect. Yeah, your options are quite limited. And this is as late as 3rd edition, so your contention that bouncing and spreading just got grandfathered in, is quite plausible. But the system bears *very* little resemblance to 5E, and almost none, really, to 6E...too many details change. So completely eliminating spreading or bouncing...or, if you really want them, redefining them as a form of power trick or skill application (Captain America and Batman have used bounces) rather than combat maneuvers. Then you throw Beam out the window, and all my energy projectors cry....

If we started saying "no" to limitations that have little negative impact, we'd likely need to rewrite the rules. Also note that I can use levels to do the same thing, AND get the price break. If I don't need the extra +2 OCV, I get another DC. If I have a problem hitting, I take the OCV. And get more for it. And with martial maneuvers I can do similar things...more efficiently. Fast Strike is +2 OCV AND +2 DCs for 4 points. For Ranged, I can get +2 OCV for 4 points, or +1 OCV and 2 points of range mod offset, with no loss of damage. Now, granted, using the spread as a mini-AoE to hit multiple targets can't be duplicated, but that's very situational. And I think CRT's issue is, it just increases the complexities in a system that has too many of them anyway. Beam doesn't necessarily punch a small hole; that can be rather contextual. A 600 Nitro Express fits the sensible criteria for a beam attack...it can't be spread (solid projectile) and only rarely might be bounced...it'd need a pretty high grazing angle and a hard surface. But it ain't punching a small hole. Sure, small hole kinda fits the notion of a lot of energy beams, altho not necessarily all. I think the bigger problem is thinking you take out lots of wall with most attacks. The NE would actually do a lot more than many non-beam attacks.

Yeah, don't mess with SPD. It involves all kinds of weirdness. With a 2 SPD, Running 22m (net) and x8 non-combat gets...65.6 mph. MovePerTurn == charSPD * baseMove * NCM (still in meters) MovePerMinute == MovePerTurn * 5 Velo (kph) = MovePerMinute * 60 / 1000 Velo (mph) = Velo (kph) * 0.621 (1 km = .621 miles) Velo (mach) = KPH / 1235, MPH / 767, or roughly, KPM / 21, if you're looking at building a HIGH speed type. Note that hypersonic is Mach 5+, and is largely the domain of experimental craft, missiles, and a few supers. Yeah, I've got this in a spreadsheet where I can put in the 3 char-specific numbers, because it's something I like to know. A LOT. Mostly with fliers. Also note, this holds, as expressed, for running, flight, and if it matters, swimming. For leaping and teleport, in principle, divide by 2, as both allow a new movement every other phase. But in both cases, you're well into Megascale by that point...to get x1000 requires 9 additional NCMs, and that's 45 points...and generally it's easier to think max range. Plus, normally one has to have solid ground to land on at the end of each move, so an ocean crossing is...tricky.

Nothing can make me more pissed off than I already am. Course...I'd seen the 3rd, and the first two have been implied by other stories I've seen. Does anyone think that *criminal negligence* charges might get filed against the Uvalde cops? If nothing else, the chief. Everyone else has chain of command issues, but not him. Or SOME kind of serious, criminal charge. I honestly don't know if it's plausible...as was pointed out, arguably it's not a violation of anything per se. HORRIBLE misjudgement, sure, but whether that really rises to criminal? OTOH, if there's a cover-up going on, that's a crime in its own right. And this is just going to make this horrific incident drag on longer and longer, doing NO ONE any good.

Yeah....just saw the pic from a Guardian article. That looks like a VERY bad ankle injury. I suspect surgery's upcoming, and if that's the case, he's likely out the rest of the year. In other news, in the other semi, an eco-fanatic interrupted the match by wiring and gluing herself to the net. Just a semi-generic protest..."we have 1028 days left"...which seems...rather meaningless, from an environmental standpoint. There's nothing that can be predicted accurately that far out. But hey, it's somewhat reassuring to think that not just Americans are that......ummm......I don't think I can use any accurate term without incurring the Wrath of Simon. I'm thinking of the protester at, IIRC, the NBA Finals who tried to glue themselves to the court. Or maybe it's not reassuring at all......it's spread already........... In other tennis news, the Wimbledon entry list is out. Neither Venus nor Serena are on it...they both have leg injuries. Still possible to get a wild card, but we'll have to see. EDIT: and apparently Rafa Nadal is passing on Wimbledon. His foot's been a major problem, so while unfortunate, it's not totally surprising. The times, they are a-changin'....

Took it for 3, 4 years or so...dropped once the blood sugar was consistently very good. Never had any such issues. But then, mine was the min dose.

They're holding him on the weapons charges...which seem rather clear-cut. That should give them time to run a full background check, and the Interpol (presumed) fabrication, to file rather sharply amended charges later. In some ways, just bringing in a BB gun feels stupider than bringing in real weapons. With body armor? No legit investigation justifying the use of body armor, is going to be carried out armed with only BB guns. But hey, starting with the "I'm with Interpol, I'm doing an investigation" is MTG-end stupid. Interpol would always, I believe, coordinate with local authorities to avoid jurisdictional disputes. AND, when around the Capitol, the State Department would likely be involved. There is NO way, IMO, that the man wouldn't have an escort.

Which invites the follow-on question of "well then why are you wearing the symbols of the slavery?" The man has a right to refuse to answer...particularly when it's a blatant setup. The other answer I'd also respect would've been "**** off." Just because we agree with Selvig, doesn't mean his tactics are acceptable. The CMA is banning Confederate flag imagery because it's at least adjacent to hate speech, IMO. Makes sense. In a large gathering, where both sides are likely to be present, it'd be foolish to allow what would be such a potential flashpoint. One can argue that they're singling out the Confederate flag, while seemingly allowing, say, BLM gear or LGBT/Pride gear, but that's false equivalency.

Metformin

I can't be a heretic; I have no faith whatsoever in any Colorado sports team.

On the one hand, IMO wearing Confederate symbols is siding with racism and white supremacy by definition. On the other, give it up. The man said no comment. Asking the second is deliberately baiting; the third, attempting to incite. It's as out of line as Kevin Hart's "joke." On Uvalde: even a Texas police union is urging cooperation with the investigation.

You know they're just setting you up to lose the next 4....

That's not as insane as the part at the end...the record for eating the MOST Reapers. But surprise: the threat's indirect. https://www.health.com/food/dangers-eating-hot-peppers I'd also wonder if you're effectively shutting down your sense of taste from the overload.

College baseball playoffs start today. Makes for a crazy weekend...16 separate double elimination brackets of 4. Each regional is 6 or 7 games, so there's between 96 and 112 games over 4 days. One never knows what'll happen in college baseball...just a couple days ago, UCLA came to bat in the 9th, down 9 runs...and won the game. Flip side, top pitchers can shut teams down. And then...first game. First inning. Florida strings a few hits, got a runner on 1st, a run in, with 2 outs. Ground ball to second. Easy. Throw to first is on time, on target....and the first baseman clanks it. Takes his eye off, or closes the glove early, whatever. E-3. Next batter up gets hit with a bounced curve ball. Next batter grounds out, but still.... In MLB, the first axe fell. Been hearing it for a bit, but the Phillies fired Joe Girardi. That rumor was getting lots of play; the criticism hasn't been Girardi, but the team construction. Dave Dombrowski's been *roasted* for how he built this team. The worst defense in baseball...a lot of that has to be the front office. But hey, when you've got the 4th largest payroll in the league, but you're on pace to lose over 90 games...it'll happen. Dombrowski wasn't gonna fire himself, so.... Writing was also apparently on the wall because Dombrowski didn't pick up Girardi's option for 2023, so this doesn't cost a lot.

Good god, you never see odds like this. Women's College WS. 8 teams, like the men's, 2 groups play double elimination, get down to the last 2 for a 3 game playoff for the title. They're the best 8. Oklahoma is -270 to win it. So you have to bet $270 to win $100. The field is +350, IIRC. That's unheard of. But Oklahoma went 54-2 for the season. Yeah. 54 of 56. INSANE. They were #1 in the nation in 5 big stats. Batting average by 18 points. ERA by 0.6 runs per game...they're at 0.8, next best is 1.4. (3 of their pitchers are in the top 5 individual ERA.) Scoring...over a run per game higher. They won today 13-2....in 5. 13 runs in 5 innings...softball has a run rule. The 39th!!!!! time that's happened this season.

9 seasons with 1000+ yards, tho. 4.3 yards per rush for the overall career. #5 ALL TIME in career combined yards...just missed 20,000. #4 if counting scrimmage yards only...behind 3 guys named Jerry, Walter, and Emmitt. Surpassed Faulk and Tim Brown. NOTE: all 5 of those are in. Leading the league in yards or TDs is much too narrow and situational. Sometimes there's a single player with a gonzo season; TDs depend on overall team weapons and style. 16,000 yards in *today's* NFL. Gore was the active leader; Peterson at just under 15K is second. The drop-off...Mark Ingram is 3rd with just under 7900. Running backs whose careers started in 2000 or later, who reach even 10,000 yards, are rare. So...OK, I'll change my stance. Yeah, first ballot. Too consistent for too long to be anything else.

I'll hedge. Depends on who else is on the ballot. Right now there's Big Ben, who's a no-doubter. Gore's probably the 2nd best...or at least 2nd best known. Several of the others are linemen. So I'll say yes. It's hard to turn down #3 all time career rusher.

One can do a sauce on such a steak; bearnaise is classic. Still..A1 does make that a crime. The worse crime, of course, is cooking the steak to something like medium well.

I love spreading. Cuz then I can take Beam to say "no spreading" for almost every any single-target ranged attack.

According to NFL Talk, so is Frank Gore. Hard to believe: he's 3rd on the all time rush list. 16,000 yards. Never flashy, but very solid. I think we kinda forget that the Niners made back to back SB appearances...perhaps because Kap was the QB for both of em.

I don't hear confidence ringing out there, Mr. P. Got to love the NHL's injury designations. An open greenstick leg fracture is "a lower extremity injury." So's a hangnail. Avs are still -1.5. Puck line (total goals) is a conservative 7. If Tampa Bay's gonna sweep the next 4, they need to wake up first.

(the lighthouse idea is actually really cool) VW Microbus decked out in full 60's paint job the villains inside are actually evil pixies, sprites, and leprechauns

Hell

barren wastes

Translation: bunkering down. It won't help them; I've yet to see anything but "they totally blew it" WRT their handling of the situation. But can you really fire the entire PD of the town? Who's gonna replace them? In other news, it's possible that Putin's going full-on Blofeld. The Russian war effort is still doing...poorly, altho they are advancing. From an NYT story, Putin replaced the commander, but the new guy....