SSgt Baloo

Re: The cranky thread I had just been posted to Ramstein AB, Germany, when my 78-year-old grandmother passed away, only the second death of someone close I had experienced (the first being my second-oldest sister in 1972, a casualty of the '60s drug culture. She had not been experiencing failing health or significantly diminished capacity, so it came as a complete surprise to me that she had passed away. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was informed of her Death days after she had passed away (the same day as her funeral). In the summer of 1988, My Dad, diagnosed with "invasive" cancer"* just four months earlier, my Dad passed away from his disease. He was only lucid perhaps a week before he began his rapid decline, and my family got me home just about a month before he finally passed. I was the "Man of the house", so I was the one who had to get training at the hospital to use an aspirator to get excessive fluid from my dad's lungs. It wasn't so much to prolong at this point, but to just help him get more oxygen. When he died a few days later, I remember saying to myself "He's at peace, it's over". It was the first death I ever had to contend with that didn't come as a complete surprise. For once, I wasn't devastated, but merely saddened. Then the penny dropped. I wasn't grieving so hord that he was gone, because I had been grieving his diminished capacity and imminent loss for months beforehand. The important thing is that you were there for your grandmother (and other, surviving relatives) when you were needed. You were there for her.and, someday, yoiu hope that someone will be willing to see you off when it's time. We're all going to the grave, eventually. It is up to us to make those few years mean something. It sounds like you've been doing your part admirably, and I salute you for it. , *Seriously. Is there "noninvasive cancer"?

Re: Creepy Pics. Is that a Star Trek redshirt riding that unicorn? This will not end well!

Re: "Neat" Pictures Less pun. More pictures.

Re: I have a dream. (and MAN was it wierd!) I've had dreams where I was somehow "assigned" to high school as a student. All I could think of was "this is kinda creepy!" and then I got frustrated because I could not figure out how to find the exit.

Re: Generations of Strangers Well, I kind of expected an encore by the undead bunny, but I didn't know when to expect him.

Re: Generations of Strangers Cool! Teh Evil Bunne's returned for no good reason!

Re: Mythos of the Werewolf Of course, because we have a tradition of "Vampires and Werewolves are Different Things", any attempt to go outside those boundaries will be declared "Not a Werewolf" by most of your potential players. If you want werewolves, you should probably have "traditional" ways of dealing with them that resemble those in current folklore OR have good explanations handy for when your players say "But I thought Wolfs-bane/Holy Water/Silver Bullets would do the trick!" AND you must have alternative means for dealing with them that do not require the players to be exceptionally brilliant.* If your plan is to introduce a creature that is more like the notion of a vampire/loup garou as it was imagined to be three or four hundred years ago, you're going to have to give your players some information and run it well, so they don't think they've been cheated out of meeting the "genuine article". ETA: Since there was no distinction between the two (vampires and werewolves) perhaps there were those two (and more) types of supernatural creature that just got lumped into the same category because although their methods may differ, they are evil creatures that prey on humans and did not feel it necessary to denote whether said predator ate human flesh or drank human blood. * Ignore that bit of advice if your players are exceptionally brilliant.

Re: I have a dream. (and MAN was it wierd!) The only nightmares I've had in the last 12 years have been dreams I had somehow moved back in with my ex (who in the dreams is still married to the other guy) and wondering "How did I manage to let this happen?" Last night I had dreams where I was helping organize Earth's heroes (an lot of people-with-(unimpressive)-powers) to deal with an alien invasion.

Re: Foods for those that just don't care anymore More like "Food to help you end it all."

Re: Foods for those that just don't care anymore

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine The reason for the big delay between initial concept and Chicken-Man was that I only became conscious that Cow (voiced by Charlie Adler) was the inspiration for Cow-girl. Once I figured that out, I just had to make Chicken as well.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Cow Girl: The Creation process. Inspiration First Iteration Current Version. Her "Big Brother", Chicken-Man.

Re: Cool Guns for your Games That's "Hello Kitty" hanging from the forward sling swivel, isn't it?

Re: Jokes My room-mate upon my first posting back to America was from West Virginia. Joke spoilered for implied incest:

Re: Super Transportation

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares Keep trying. You'll eventually think of something too awful to contemplate. Then you can share it with us! The Trouble with Charlie's Angels A private investigation agency secretly operates from a Catholic school for girls. Good version: Made with 1970s sensibilities Bad version: Made with 1970 porn sensibilities Worst Version: G-rated version for pre-teens

Re: Question: Knockback / Stomp Question Knockback means the target absorbs the energy of the blow, killing further momentum in the direction of travel. the attacker in a move-through takes half damage. No knockback means the target was braced adequately for the attack. Since he stands rigidly instead of crumpling, some of the damage is "reflected" back upon the attacker. In the first case, the kinetic energy carried by the attacker is cleanly transferred to the target, cancelling his momentum (in this case, downward). The second is more of a collision between the two combatants, so the attacker and defender receive full damage. Yes, the real physics don't work that way, but Mario isn't real physics either.

Re: Creepy Pics. That reminds me of the two summers I spent in South Korea.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Klonk! The reptonfa has been swung, as per instructions!

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares Actually, that would be watchable.

Re: Creepy Pics.

Re: Mythos of the Werewolf True, but it's been incorporated into the modern folklore. If silvered weapons aren't used, perhaps they have damage negation for the first DC or so of incoming unless certain substances are used (wolfs-bane anyone?)

Re: Plague Doctor Where do you live, that "Plague Doctor" is not automatically followed by "what?!?"

Re: Generations of Strangers I enjoy reading these whenever they are posted. Thanks! I'd rep this again, but I gotta spread some.

Re: Plague Doctor