svensson

Magnifying glass and diffuse light. Helps a lot.

I agree with DW, to a large extent. Humans are squishier than Mythos creatures and no amount of science ought to change that. Every single fight in CoC ought to keep the players on the edge of their seats. I've said in the past that there are two kinds of horror game: one where the players have a chance to defeat the bad guys and one where they don't. CoC is definitely in the latter category. The greatest victory in a properly run CoC campaign is putting off the inevitable just one more day. I also want to reiterate humanity's great ability to ignore facts that get in the way of the cherished myths and hoaxes. In just one recent example, large numbers of people in theoretically educated countries willfully chose to ignore 200 years of scientific proof and even the evidence in their own health and well-being because some political gas bag on TV told them to. I'm talking about the anti-vaccination nonsense, of course. I don't bring this up to cause a political discussion, I'm just using a real-world example to illustrate my gaming point. That point is this: No matter how educated they are, human beings have a hard time confronting truths that disprove their 'everything is going to be OK' worldview, and this is a valuable tool for the CoC Keeper. Any scientist who is willing to breach the wall of disbelief and actually try and use the Scientific Method on Mythos creatures is in for a whole bunch of SAN checks at the very minimum. And there are a great many Mythos creatures who's physiology defy modern scientific logic, or ANY logic for that matter. This can lead the scientists down some very dangerous mental and psychological paths. And should any player character try and share their experiences and findings with the uninitiated will find their credibility and veracity challenged at the very minimum.

And for the record, I'm NOT being 'insulting' by point out flaws in your arguments. We're friends enough that we've called each other out in more than one discussion. I'm not saying I have all the answers, nor am I making this personal. You're a socialist, I'm not. That's all fine. Your vote counts for exactly as much as mine does and that's also fine. You have every single right to your opinion, and I wouldn't dream of denying that to you. But I have the same right to disagree with it and explain why. And we can respect each other's opinion and remain friends.

@Bill the barbarian Well, Bill, you're going to have to find different heroes then, because Marx was just as full of shit as Henry Ford or Adolph Hitler was. Every single 'socialist' government granted absolute power has turned into murderous dictatorship. Unless that socialism has a VERY strong democratic system that has the power to oust socialist system if it fails, of course. But then, if it has a strong democratic component, it's not really socialism, is it? The fact is that top-down central control economies simply don't work. Period. Everybody who's tried has failed miserably. And, as you say, even China has given up on it. Not that that's improved the lives of the Chinese any...

Well, if you can find a union that isn't mobbed up or bought out by political interests, that'd be peachy. But the fact remains that one reason why most people have lost faith in unions is that they became part of the same hypocrisy that generates the robber barons. I don't mean to sound as if I have all the answers. I absolutely do not. I'm not a genius, and I don't play one on TV, ya know? A lot of people who are way smarter than I am have devoted their entire careers in trying to sort out a really just and equitable economic system and have failed miserably at it. But I am an observer of how people feel in Western society. People don't trust unions. That trust has to be re-earned. With the post-COVID anti-work movement maybe that trust is returning.

Marxist, Leninist, Stalinist, Maoist... it doesn't matter. It's still the same murderous dictator. The point is that communism/socialism is as failed a system of government as fascism or anarchism is. This doesn't mean that I'm 100% in love with capitalism either. To paraphrase the great Robert Heinlein, 'Capitalism is poor economic system, but it's better than any other system anyone has tried.' [Heinlein's actual quote is from 'Stranger in a Strange Land': "Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.”]

Truth. Like I said, I don't mind the idea of owning property. What I dislike is the manipulation of the market so as to jerk over most of the people living in that market. I grant you 'capitalism' and all that, but you'll find similar manipulations of housing market or systems in any government type in the world. Sure, a worker in Beijing is going to have an apartment, but they never have the right to own a house or improve their living conditions beyond that which the State prescribes. And the material quality of the buildings they live in is lousy by and large. Electrical outages, plumbing and sewage problems, even concrete that isn't allowed to set sufficiently and begins to fall apart after only a few years of occupancy, and that's not even getting into the aesthetics of a building that looks like a warehouse. And no one to appeal to in order to get direct action on the problems discovered. 'Socialism' isn't as 'glorious' as Comrade Ulyanov would have anyone believe, ya know?

And a bunch of techies moved up here and jacked up the housing market. 'Gentrification' and all that....

Well, I don't entirely disagree with the idea of property ownership. It used to be one of the ways that someone could solidify their place in the Middle Class, after all. The idea was that you bought a house, outgrew it, and then bought another. You then rented your old house for costs +10 or 15% and that lowered your payments on you new house. That's all well and good so far as it went. But builders quit building the small houses. Now they build McMansions and Garage-Mahals that cost $500K and nobody who doesn't work for Microsoft can afford one.

So, I was talking to the familial Minister of Finance [my wife] and I was way off on my rent estimate. Like 5 years off. According to zillow, the median rent in my area is [averaging bedrooms, etc.] is $1900, cheaper than Seattle up North by about 10%. The Puget Sound region is the 6th most expensive region in the US, WAY below NY/LA prices, but one of the more expensive [4th] as a percentage of median income.

As I have structured the game, 'Chaos' is the rule of Titans... They're mercurial, tyrannical, and care little for the lives or structures of mankind. While the Olympians are certainly fickle, they value mortals because they provide the POW necessary to defend against the Titans.

I knew that, BW, but one of my players is a 12 year old girl. 'Baccus' is easier for her to remember.

Since none of my players are worshiping her, she's not an issue yet.

OK, I have an honest question for those of our British friends. I understand that many of you don't like Truss or Johnson. Setting those feelings aside for a moment, could you explain just WHY Truss was forced to step down? This is a major difference between the US and UK democracies and one I still have trouble grasping. It really does seem to me that the head of government is being forced to step down because they had a bad opinion poll.

Has his Executive Privilege been quashed by a court? I ask because I honestly don't know. We've seen POTUS' dodge Congressional supoenas before, after all. Don't get me wrong here... Cheeto Benito absolutely needs to answer for the used kitty litter that was his tenure, but I'm not at all certain he'll actually end up answering for 6 JAN like he ought to.

Trump gets $250,000 per year for life. AND Secret Service protection. Talk about a 'crime against humanity'...

Sure. I can absolutely understand that, @Lloyd Dupont. One of my chief complaints against and about the Republicans is the extent by which they've allowed the rich to destroy the middle class and then blame the poor for it. Where I live is one of the more expensive regions of the country. A two-bedroom apartment rents for $1200 /mo plus utilities. And home builders don't built 'starter homes' anymore. ALL they build are these fake, pre-fab developments /HOAs where every single house is $450K or better. So in order to buy a home, you have to make better than $80K per year. All others must rent. And this lets the property management companies charge whatever the Hell they want. And that's not even getting into the assholes who list the houses available to buy on AirBnB or VRBO.... I know it sometimes sounds as if I'm against the Left, but I can assure you that I'm not. Neither am I for the Right. I have seen what unbridled socialism does to a culture and country and want no part of it. Neither do I want free-market capitalism. A balance HAS to be struck, and right now that balance is entirely out of whack.

Nope. I just miss the cutoff of 'boomer'. I turn 57 in a few days, and I'd like to share just a bit of wisdom with you... When I was 18 years old, the world was divided in half, democracy on one side and communism on the other. At one point in 1983, the whole world came closer to nuclear Armageddon than it had been since the Cuban Missile Crisis [which, for the record, happened before I was born]. I had a front row, or 'front tank' rather, view of the proceedings. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, thought that the Earth would get out of the decade without the nukes flying. Later, when I was 22, I found myself in a war-that-wasn't-a-war... one that had no 'good guys' and whole bunch of bad guys. I honestly didn't think I'd make it to 23. Obviously, I did. The wisdom from that story is this: 'Never' is a mighty long time and there's been nobody yet who can reliably predict the future. The closest you're ever going to get is 'probably'.

Well, I can only say this... the US midterm elections are going to be HUGE this time around, especially in the Senate. Our womenfolk are **highly** pissed off and I expect them to vote in record numbers. The Roe v. Wade SCOTUS ruling has a broad spectrum of women working together in ways they never would have on any other issue. OTOH, I believe that our national debate on Abortion will be resolved in the next 24 months and I see that as a very good thing.

I heard today that the Tories are talking about Boris Badanov running again? REALLY?

As some of you may remember, I'm running a pseudo-Atlantis RQG game for some family members. In a recent discussion, the players decided they want to continue with the 'Atalan' setting rather than to convert to Glorantha. I'm fine with that, but it's obviously going to take some more writing on my part. I've decided to start with Cults. The way that I've envisioned the cults is that there are the Big Three Greater Gods, and a host of Lesser Gods. All creation depends on the Greater Gods, but the Lesser Gods are important within their specific spheres of influence or portfolios. Some of the Lesser Gods are immensely powerful, some powerful enough that they creep into the Greater category. The Greater Gods are: - Zeus: King of the Gods, Patron of the Air, Sky, Lightning, Clouds, Birds, etc. - Poseidon: Father of the Empire, God of the Waters [incl. rain] - Demeter: The Earth Mother, Patroness of all that lives upon or depends upon the Earth, specifically the Domesticated Earth The Lesser Gods are: - Hades: Brother of Zeus and Poseidon, Hades is the mightiest of the Lesser Gods and resents that 'lesser' status. Patron of the Underworld, Protector of Elysium, Jailer of Tartarus. - Apollo: The Charioteer of the Sun, Patron of Archers, Musicians, Actors, and Healers - Ares: The God of Slaughter, of Warfare For Its Own Sake, of Soldiers [but not necessarily discipline] - Artemis: The Maiden of the Wilds, the Virgin Huntress, Keeper of Wild Beauty - Athena: The Mother of Civilizations, Patroness of Wisdom, Thought, Writing, Law, Crafts, and Strategy - Baccus: God of Wine, Brewers, Passion, and Madness - Hermes: The Messenger of the Gods, the Neutral Arbiter, the Herald and Merchant. And most the rest, as they become necessary to the campaign. As for PC worshipers, ALL 'Atalans' are initiated into Poseidon as a rite of adulthood at 15-16. Most choose a second cult to initiate in as their interests and professions make themselves known. So, the cults I have to generate immediately are: Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, and Athena Now, obviously, many of these deities have direct apples-to-apples correlations in Glorathan and so writing the cults is a snap. Hermes for example will have a lot of Issaries in it. Some cults I'll have to write from whole cloth, which isn't much of a problem. My big question that I really need help with is this: Rune Lords, yes or no? How do you folks perceive the Greek/Roman pantheon [the common perceptions, not the actual historiography] insofar as the division between Spiritual and Temporal responsibility? It can fairly argued that relatively 'simple' deities like Artemis and Ares would have Rune Priests or Rune Lords, not both, in the manner of Hunter Gods and Humakt. But Apollo and Athena are stickier and more problematic.

As I mentioned earlier, the figure I purchased from HF was pretty expensive. It turns out that was because of several design decisions I made and the shipping I'd inadvertently selected. So I redesigned the figure without the 'XL' elements and was able to cut the price for a color plastic fig down to $45 USD + shipping costs. That's still expensive, but it beats the heck out of $80 USD! 🤣 You can find the original version of the figure on Page 1 of this thread. This is what he looks likes now. Design notes: Kesten Blackblade is a starting RQG character. He is of the Narri Clan of the Colymar tribe, is an initiate of Humakt, and trained as Light Infantry background. His gear is an bronze open Helm, linothorax torso, cuiboulli limbs and medium shield. He is armed with a broadsword and knife. Additionally, he's skilled with the composite bow. He has wrapped his simple rectangular woolen cloak around himself to get it out of the way for the fight. His ancestral sword is 'the Blackblade', a fine [+1 AP] bronze broadsword with a Bladesharp 2 matrix in it. He carries the geas that he must clean the blade daily and rub a mixture of charcoal, fat, and ash on the blade to 'blacken' it. [Note: this isn't an official Humakti geas, just a roleplay detail]

My poor Rhino Rider, Grettir Widewander, about the middle of his career. He wears buckskins [+2 Armor Enchantment] under a bronze cuirass, thick leather abdomen, and middle-grade helm with a Farsee 2 matix. In our game, we simplified helmets thusly: Caps /Hoods of 1 or 2 points, Open nasal helm 4 pts, 'Cheeked' helm [similar to a classic Roman legionary helm] 6 pts, and Full helm [the Corinthian helm or European great helm] 8 pts. He is armed with a fine composite bow [Speedart matrix], suitable for use rhino-back, a broadsword of excellent quality [+1 AP, +1 Damage, Bladesharp 2 matrix] and a skinning knife. On his [unseen] mount is a lance, medium shield, and extra quiver.

Orlnessa of Odayla participates in the Great Hunt. She wears 1 pt. buckskins and a bear skull headress [4 pts.]. She is lightly armed, with only a longbow and hatchet. Presumably, she also carries a skinning knife [the HF program doesn't allow 'daggers in the boot' or 3 items on a belt].

Depends on the creature, really. But in any event, even if the creature doesn't disappear in a puff of nauseating smoke, it still leaves an unidentifiable puddle of putrescent primordial proteins. At no point would extraterrestrials or extra-dimensionals leave an identifiable corpse for forensic study. Creatures from Earth logically would, but humans have long been conditioned not to accept the evidence of their senses. They'd rather believe in a conspiracy or hoax than accept the reality of the Deep Ones even if somebody brought back a trawler full of their corpses.