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![]() The Teratic Tome. Print version is at Lulu. Quality: Most unique visions of monsters I've ever seen. Can you say cannibal halflings?
It's for OSR games. ![]()
![]() For ages, the theory was that when handling miniatures, you wanted something between your fingers and the paint, because your fingers will take paint off. However, modern paints created for gaming miniatures don't really NEED that extra protective coating. Dropping a miniature will have the same effect whether or not there is a layer of varnish on it or not. Furthermore, if you're using Reaper's Bones miniatures, you don't want the varnish, because varnish isn't flexible. The Bones plastic is, and when you flex the material the varnish will crack. It will take the paint with it. Acrylic paint is surprisingly flexible (there's a thread somewhere over on the Reaper forums about a painter flexing a piece around back on itself and the paint doesn't crack). As for any other "preservation" of the paints, no, varnish really doesn't do that. You're not putting a thick enough coat onto the miniature. It's really only there to prevent gentle dings and scratches that come with handling miniatures. But Reaper, Privateer Press, and I'd imagine GW paint don't damage that easily. Edited to add: Imagine putting a layer of clear-coat on your car. It adds a "layer" to the paint, but someone can key your car just as easily as they could before, and it won't do anything if you crash into a telephone pole. There will be some color preservation properties, but you don't leave your miniatures outside for hours at a time. ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
A despotic conqueror? Really? Last time I checked, Israel was a democracy, and had ceded control of Gaza to Hamas. Hamas has been singularly inefficient in providing relief to Gazans, while building up their weapon inventory. I'm sure Israel would like to act on longer term interests. But stopping its citizens from being killed takes precedence. If Hamas really cared about the Palestinians, that would be their first care as well. "Its" was confusing. Had no idea what you were talking about. The only thing I could think of was punctuation. For future reference, "You've changed 'its'" isn't clear enough. It is impossible for me to negotiate the price of a new car when the organization responsible for selling the car is not involved. It is likewise impossible for Israel to negotiate with Hamas about stopping rocket attacks when, as you point out, Hamas isn't carrying out those rocket attacks. Israel can talk to Hamas about it, but Hamas can't do anything. There is no negotiating. ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
I can negotiate the price of my next car with my water company, but I'm pretty sure the car dealership won't care. As for your comment about "its" . . . I left your comment in place. I thought about putting a 'sic' in your quote, but I don't like messing with other people's posts. ![]()
![]() thejeff wrote:
There's a third option. There are already a good number of Muslims living in Israel. Peaceful, productive citizens. Of course, that means giving up the quest to destroy Israel. ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
I agree with you that it's not currently possible. I've laid out why it's not currently possible. Your response is "Israel should do it anyways." ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
You've said this, but then insist that Israel negotiate with Hamas. Hamas cannot provide any guarantees. If Israel were to concede to Hamas' demands to open the Gaza border, weapons would start flowing in, allowing everyone to rearm. How is that in Israel's interest? "But democratically elected!" doesn't cut it. A faithful negotiating partner can and will act on promises made. "But good!" doesn't cut it, because civilians will be the expressed targets of those weapons, and Israel would have to repeat its actions again, leading to even more death. So please explain why Israel should allow the groups that want to destroy it access to the weapons that will allow even more death to occur. ![]()
![]() thejeff wrote:
Okay, I'll look at their actions. The jihadis (not Hamas) decided to start launching rockets again today, once again trying to kill civilians. What's Hamas' action (or reaction)? I don't recall hearing their spokespeople condemn those actions. Not even a token "we would prefer that not happen." Nothing. Strange actions for a group that's interested in peace. ![]()
![]() thejeff wrote:
Hamas' reason for existing is to destroy Israel. It's in their charter. They are not moderate. They aren't as radical as Islamic Jihad, but that doesn't make them moderate. ![]()
![]() thejeff wrote:
If Gazans want peace, they'll kick Hamas out of power and turn towards more moderate Palestinians. ![]()
![]() I'm sure y'all will be shocked to learn that the not-bad-guys-just-resistence-fighters-we-hand-out-candy-and-teddy-bears-at- orphanages-on-the-weekends people started trying to kill civilians again. Translation: "It's your fault we keep trying to kill your people. This could all be resolved if you'd just open the borders so that we can import more weapons to kill you guys faster." ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
So what I'm hearing is that you aren't recognizing the difference between "can't" and "won't." I can't fly my truck Mach 3. Ain't gonna happen.
Hamas CAN stop firing rockets. Hamas WON'T stop firing rockets. See the difference? ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
Yeah, you missed an election. The link you provided . . . look at the first paragraph of that page. Then look at the third sentence: "Since January 2013, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority rebranded itself as the State of Palestine in official documents . . . . " A couple paragraphs lower . . . "After the Gaza Strip was taken over by Hamas on 14 June 2007, the Authority's Chairman Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led government and appointed Salam Fayyad as Prime Minister." ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote: From a moral standpoint, hamas is the democratically elected leadership of the palastinians. They're the government that Israel is either continually invading or has conquered, depending on how you look at it. So a democratically elected group -whose founding document supports the real ethnic cleansing of the Middle East,-who can't refrain from launching rockets at its neighbor, -who (by your own admission) cannot even begin to police its own people should be allowed to try to kill Israelis because it's the group the Gazans elected? Strange morals. BigNorseWolf wrote:
You keep saying they can't like they don't have a media operation. Step 1: Get in front of the cameras and say the words "We will stop trying to kill Israelis." That's pretty easy to do. After all, they get in front of their cameras to say "we will keep trying to kill Israelis." It's one word change.Step 2: Turn over people and groups that want to kill Israelis. Hamas has enough small arms to effectively do this on a small scale, even if they cannot manage the entire territory of Gaza. There. That's it. Two things. But you keep saying "They can't" like I'm asking for them to fly to the moon. It reminds me of the old adage "whether you believe you can or you can't, you're right." BigNorseWolf wrote:
You should really do some research on the lifestyles of senior Hamas officials. For having their funding "slashed to pieces" they do pretty well living in luxury villas. There's plenty of money, but then the thugs at the top would have to stop living the high life. BigNorseWolf wrote:
Fatah is in power in the West Bank. I don't know what you mean by "replaced." Of course the situation isn't sustainable. Hamas wants Israel destroyed. Generally speaking, keeping a neighbor like that isn't a great idea. ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
As to your comments: If Hamas can't effectively police the area, why should Israel deal with Hamas? If Hamas wishes to be taken seriously as a regional powerbroker, it needs to show itself capable of these actions. But if you're right, then Israel is right to ignore Hamas' demands because conceding to those demands will only mean more violence later. Right now, Hamas is facing the equivalent of Detroit. It can't pay it's workers, and the infrastructure Gaza needs went to build tunnels and buy weapons. Its only hope is some sort of truce where Israel opens the border crossings. If it doesn't, Hamas is broken and within a few years will likely be replaced. Totally unrelated links:
Slowly, the Palestinians are realizing that Hamas is the problem. Other Arab nations are also deciding that Hamas isn't the best choice of an ally. ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
Hamas isn't out there saying "we can't control this, it's not us." Right now, it is Hamas firing the rockets. Therefore, it is within Hamas' power to stop the rocket fire. It is also with Hamas' power to announce it's policy of "no more attacking Israel." And it could use it's position of leadership in Gaza to do it's best to stop those attacks and punish the offenders. But Egypt cracked down on the border after ousting the Muslim Brotherhood, putting lots of pressure on Hamas because no money and few supplies made it to Gaza. At this moment, with the Gazan economy tanking, all Hamas' factions know that with the Egyptian border closed they're done. So they'll keep launching missiles in hopes of getting Israel to concede to some sort of border opening. It's Hamas' only hope of retaining power in Gaza. As to your request for a citation: will you accept Israeli statements? I've seen the videos of Hamas gunmen grabbing children, but since those videos aren't from Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch, I'm not sure how much they'll sway your opinion. ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
Hamas can stop firing rockets at Israel. That would stop the situation. BigNorseWolf wrote:
Hamas launches rockets at Israel . . . and it's Israel's fault. I see. BigNorseWolf wrote:
Looking around at the world, I don't see other countries allowing outside forces to launch rockets at their civilian populations without reprisal. Your opinion is that the reprisal is a massive overreaction. Others have the opinion that Israel is holding back. Because a full fledged invasion of Gaza would no doubt lead to lots of Israeli soldiers getting killed, and considerably more damage to Gaza that what has been done.BigNorseWolf wrote:
First, Hamas doesn't differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths (says so in their charter). Don't know if you knew that or not. Second, yes, when Hamas launches rockets from civilian areas and Israel has to attack those sites after warning the civilian population to leave, there will be more civilian deaths. Maybe if Hamas allowed those civilians to leave . . . but many times they don't. Maybe if Hamas spent all that time building shelters with concrete instead of building tunnels there'd be fewer casualties. But Hamas wants the civilian deaths. Their own misfired rockets have landed on Palestinian houses and Hamas has claimed the deaths were the result of an Israeli attack. Out of curiosity, how many Israelis should be allowed to be killed before Hamas needs to held accountable? ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
Or you won't look further than the propaganda Hamas supplies. BigNorseWolf wrote:
I haven't blamed everyone. BigNorseWolf wrote:
Or maybe I realize I could post a link to a video from Hamas that states everything clearly, and some would argue that it's simply Israeli propaganda. BigNorseWolf wrote:
What liberal bias would that be? That jihadis like to kill civilians? Liberals seem to think that Hamas is a purely humanitarian group that gives children puppies while making sure their people are safe from the Jews. That Israel, the only functional democracy in the area, has a right and duty to defend itself from murderous thugs who hide behind women and children? Because the "liberal bias" seems to indicate that Hamas is not filled with murderous thugs that set up shop in hospitals and store rockets in schools run by the UN. Maybe that Hamas is a theocratic and demonstrably racist group who's stated goal is to destroy Israel? Certainly, the "liberal bias" demonstrated so far is that Israel is to blame for everything and poor Hamas is just acting the only way it can when it tries to blow up civilians. I've seen lots of liberal bias, but reality doesn't seem to support it. ![]()
![]() A spike in the conscript/military aged that isn't present in Gaza's overall population distribution? 44% of the deaths amongst 10% of the population. A statistician might find that little coincidence rather intriguing. Furthermore, Palestinian Ministry of Health claims 82% of deaths are civilian. A little research into that shows that in 2009 (Operation Cast Lead), 82% of the deaths were claimed to be civilian. Is that coincidence #2? Luckily, reports indicate the populace of Gaza is starting to turn against Hamas. Some people are probably wondering why that might be. Those of us who follow such things already know why. ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
Secondary explosions . . . from Hamas' rockets. Bombs explode differently. You don't like the link. I get that. Next time I'll try and find one that meets your criteria. How about this one: http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=37&x_article=2 786 I'm sure it's just coincidence. Nothing to see here. Move along. ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
Might be malarkey. Or it might be true. I noticed no one actually pointed out where the guy was wrong. ![]()
![]() Freehold DM wrote:
Hey, if you don't want to keep an open mind about stuff, I can't force the issue. Curious that similar photos appeared 2 weeks ago. Even conspiracy theorists can get it right once in a while. ![]()
![]() Comrade Anklebiter wrote:
But it was considerably more fun to read than other stuff posted. ![]()
![]() Never had an issue. I started playing in 1981. I don't remember when I got the DM's Guide, but I remember my parents looking at it and seeing the chart for mental illnesses. They're both psych nurses, and were very impressed that a game would include such technical stuff. The descriptions were accurate enough for them that they didn't worry about other aspects of the game. They even adopted the term "half-orc" for very unpleasant coworkers. I think the only negative experience I had was with a coworker's wife, who apparently took Jack Chick's description of a secret cabal of 'uber players' to heart and was convinced that if I played too much I'd be indoctrinated into their cult. So no, no issues at all in southwest Michigan. ![]()
![]() It's also important to note that Hamas doesn't recognize a difference between "civilian" and "military." Look at their charter. From Hamas' point of view, they aren't hiding their weapons in civilian areas, because those areas don't exist. Children are not students, they're future martyrs. Of course, lots of people in the rest of the world see it differently, but representatives of Hamas are being "truthful" when they state "We don't put weapons in civilian areas." ![]()
![]() In other ME news . . . The US has abandoned its embassy in Libya. 1000 people were killed in Syria last week, with ISIS carrying out beheadings, crucifixions, and other wonderful tortures as described by sharia. Kurds fighting ISIS got bumpkis from the US in terms of support, so their victories will likely be for naught. But yeah, let's focus on the boogieman that is Israel. ![]()
![]() Hamas has misfired rockets on numerous occasions, killing their own people. Hamas then gets the cameras and claims Israel has bombed a home/school/hospital. The civilian population gets to suffer for the wrongs of Hamas, and Hamas gets to use those deaths to fuel their propaganda. Oh, and as of 2011, at least 160 children died while digging tunnels for Hamas. http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/At-least-160-children-died-digg ing-tunnels-for-Hamas-369138 How many have died digging the latest tunnels? You know, the ones that were built with the express intention of attacking and kidnapping civilians? I'm sure all appropriate child labor laws were followed, because Hamas cares so much for the Palestinians. As for the UN being friendly with Hamas . . . do you really think the rockets that were discovered earlier this month were the first time rockets were stored in a UN school? Really? {"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!" "Your winnings, Sir." "Oh, thank you very much."} But BNW is right . . . there won't be peace with Hamas. As an organization, Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. It's in their charter. They will not accept a truce, except for either the destruction of Israel, or as a 'hudna' which is not a real truce, but rather an opportunity for the Faithful to recover and rearm. It's up to the Palestinians and the PA to drive Hamas out of their ranks. Given the PA's recent "reconciliation" announcement, I'd not hold your breath. ![]()
![]() Lord Snow wrote:
Out of curiousity, is there a Palestinian organzation that recognizes that working with Israel is a better option? ![]()
![]() BigNorseWolf wrote:
It would certainly deprive them of a weapon, because once the Palestinian issue is resolved, people might realize that the only liberally-minded nation in the region was Israel. Way easier to get the world distracted by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than let the world focus on the moral, economic, educational, and cultural failings of the rest of the Middle East (quick: which nation in the region is rated highest by the Human Development Index? Here's a hint: it's the only functional democracy in the region). The sooner the Palestinians figure that out other interests need them as martyrs, the sooner a real and lasting peace will be forged. ![]()
![]() thejeff wrote:
Yeah, so much better to continue to let those people be used by Hamas as human shields. Makes perfect sense. Can't believe I didn't think of that before. ![]()
![]() thejeff wrote:
You wanted a situation, I gave you a situation. ![]()
![]() Mark Sweetman wrote:
As many as their big hearts can provide for. ![]()
![]() Freehold DM wrote: So then, where are they supposed to go, doug? I don't know, freehold. Maybe out of a war zone. I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure not being used as a human shield is preferable option to studying next to a missile. There'd be no point in Israel denying civilians the chance to leave. But there's a better chance that the sun would start rising in the west than Muslim countries provide refugee charity to the Palestinians. ![]()
![]() Mark Sweetman wrote:
And Jordan could still announce a policy of accepting refugees . . . but doesn't. ![]()
![]() No doubt it was for a vocational training program for electrial engineers. I'm sure this was for studying orbital and escape velocities. If neighboring countries really cared about the Palestinians, they would open their borders to refugees. But it's much better anti-Israeli propoganda to refuse to help refugees and instead blame Israel for the violence. Furthermore, those calling for "peace" need to define what they mean. Because to Hamas, "peace" means the destruction of Israel. I'm no expert, but I would suspect that the average Israeli has a considerably different definition. ![]()
![]() Of course price fixing happens. A longsword has cost 15 gp anywhere you are in Golarion. If that isn't collusion between merchants, I don't know what is! But seriously, if the minimum wage in Pathfinder is 1sp/day, that means a healing potion runs about $4000 - $5000 US. There are some pro sports players who would buy that, because it's crucial for them to be out on the field scoring baskets, making touchdowns, and defending Sandpoint from raiding giants. But the normal person just doesn't have the desire or need to spend $4000 on a one-use item. So the "market" has priced potions at the appropriate level. ![]()
![]() The beauty of pen-and-paper RPGs is that they aren't scripted the way computer RPGs are. The GM plays the opponents, so start thinking like someone who is defending his house. Can a burglar break into your house, take a tv, and leave? Sure. Can he do it every day for a week? The homeowner is going to take actions to stop him. Maybe by setting up an alarm system, or hiring a security firm to post guards. Nothing stops your player from going back to town after every encounter, but the bad guys will take advantage of his absence to bolster their defenses. As for sleeping eight hours to regain HP, a character cannot get that benefit more than once a day. So resting five days and doing nothing else gets 10 HP healed, but the world moves on. Maybe another group of adventurers takes care of the monsters while the group was resting. Maybe the monsters decided there were easier pickings elsewhere, and moved on, taking their treasure with them. As for the situation with the skeletons, I would rule that the skeletons are going to follow him, attacking all during his descent. Enemies aren't static, like in computer games. That's a feature, not a bug. Make sure your player(s) know this, because it can be a rude awakening if you're used to computer games.
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