DoveArrow's page

By the way, I ban the Magic Item Compendium. There are just too many items in that book that are broken, and none of the prices are correct. Yes, I understand they changed the way they formulate magic item costs for this book. However, I contend that there are many ways to make cool magic items within the existing guidelines that don't require a wagon full of gold pieces to purchase. As such, you don't need a new book with a bunch of uber magic items set at arbitrary prices to make the players feel useful.

If players want to use the Magic Item Compendium as inpsiration for creating their own items, that's fine. However, they need to recalculate the prices based on the formulas used in the DMG.

Personally, I don't like banning things outright. If a player is excited about it, and they want to play it, I'm usually pretty open. However, there are some builds that are just flagrantly out of hand. Like a PC who takes all of the two-weapon fighting feats, Improved Critical, and wields two vorpal scimitars. I'm sorry, I realize that the rules allow it and all, but the only reason you want to put together a build like that is to demonstrate that you can break the game. Well congratulations! That's not hard to do.

Seriously, if you really have your heart set on playing a two handed fighter that cuts off people's heads, take one vorpal scimitar. Then we'll talk.

Make a decision, and act on it.

NINJA'D!!!

Make a call and move on: If there's a dispute about the rules for grappling, if there are three or four interpretations floating around about how a particular spell or magic item works, make a DM call and move on. You won't always be right, but it keeps the game moving.

That said, don't prevent your rules lawyer friends from poring through their books, looking for the correct rules. After all, that's what they like to do, so let them do it. Just let them know that the correct rules will only apply to future actions, and that the call you just made will stand.

My wife and I are traveling up to Washington in late October. Since we're going to be in the area anyway, I was wondering if Paizo or Wizards do tours of their facilities. If they do, I was wondering if it costs anything, if I need to make an appointment, if there are fast pass kiosks that I need to be aware of, etc.

If anyone has any information that might prove useful, I'd appreciate it. Take care.

My wife put together a bard build that was a lot of fun. Her primary weapon was a whip. She took Improved Trip as one of her feats. Yeah, she was still playing a support character, but at least it gave her an opportunity to do something other than continue singing each round.

A friend of mine played a half-orc barbarian bard. We joked that all of his bardic songs were death metal. As a fighter, he was pretty darn effective.

Comment about the Lollipop Guild.

Accusation of prejudice towards the Lullaby League.

Jhonen Olain's Eberron Journal. Probably the best fan site out there.

By the way, I don't believe your thread is off topic enough for this messageboard. If you're not paying your respects to dead celebrities, dancing around the topic of politics without actually discussing anything substantive, or blaming things on Sebastian, then you don't belong here.

Post of no significance or relevance.

Adequate description of the internet.

True. However, the blatent explotation of such a horrific crime really ticks me off, both as a father and as an ex-cop. To me, to try and say this monsterous act would not have occured if we had universal health care cheapens the tragedy the family suffered and is more dehumanizing than not providing health care for everyone could ever be. It's like the wack jobs that protest soldier's funeral in my mind.

I'm all in support of universal healthcare, but I have to agree that the story above is apalling. To suggest that universal healthcare would have prevented this tragedy is absolutely absurd. There are plenty of people, with adequate access to healthcare services, that still commit egregious atrocities. I don't remember the exact details, but I remember reading a story about a young man who told his psychologist that he identified with the character of Michael or Jason (I can't remember which). Despite the fact that this young man was being treated for his delusion, he still wound up killing several people.

There are plenty of solid arguments for why we should have universal healthcare. This agrument is not, and should not be, one of them.

DoveArrow wrote:

Tell your friends about it. :-)

I'm a gamer, what are these friends you speak of?

Well tell whoever those fat guys are sitting around your kitchen table on game nights.

The problem persists unless the vast majority follow the same course.

That's why you need to tell your friends. :)

[rant]

The media as fighting ground for inept politicians is by no means exclusive to the US. The message is not important anymore, but the skill with which you get the media to share your point of view. If you can get the media to share your view, you will get the masses easily. Style has definitly won over substance, even if style means shouting down the opposition. The political caste seems to have devolved into a bunch of self-important airheads mainly concerned with their own power. One German politician recently said something to the amout that "political parties are the foundation of democracy." I strongly disagree! The foundation of democracy is the people, not any organization. I really wish there would be politicians that truly had the best for the people in mind, not their own best. There are elections to our Bundestag in a few weeks, and I don´t think any of the established parties is worth my vote. All the same sh**, just different colors. I might just vote for the pirate party, out of spite. (they mainly fight against attemps to establish an internet censorship - a worthy cause in my eyes.)

[/rant]

Stefan

I'll let you in on a little secret. If you don't like the media- if you honestly think they're the cause of all our social ills- there's this little button on almost any television, computer, or radio made anymore that says 'Power.' If you press it once, the evil media intelligentsia will no longer be able to reach you with their messages of propaganda.

Tell your friends about it. :-)

Haiku.

There's this episode of The West Wing, called 20 Hours in America. Josh and Toby are having an argument, and Donna asks, "What the hell are the two of you talking about?"

Toby responds, "I assure you neither one of us knows."

For some reason, this thread reminds me of that.

Honestly, I think it has more to do with social dynamics than anything. If you divide people into competing groups, naturally members of each group will view themselves as superior to the other group. Also, since there is a certain amount of anonymity in groups, people will be more likely to resort to hostility when dealing with members of the other group.

Some other interesting things about group dynamics. Winners will typically attribute their success to their own superiority, while losers will typically resort to scapegoating themselves and others in order to explain their losses. If the losers survive this turmoil, they eventually focus on resolving the problems within their own group. Winners continue to think they're all that. :P

That's not to say that competition is necessarily bad. For example, in a free market, competition is a good thing. However, it's not a good thing when the competition happens within an organization. For example, if payroll starts fighting with shipping, you know bad things are in store.

Personally, what I think needs to happen is Democrats and Republicans need to recognize that they are not competing groups in separate governmental systems. Rather, they are both part of the same government, working together to create laws. As long as we look at each other in the light of Us vs. Them, our governmental system is going to remain broken. That goes for Democrats as well as Republicans.*

*But mostly Republicans.

Prediction of end times.

I want one!

I agree, but it appears tha you have forgotten some links. One is the link... to any opposition to the plan. Without allowing for any opposition voices, it becomes a very onesided debate, wouldn't you agree?

Well, I don't consider any of the links I provided to be particularly biased. They provide information about our current healthcare system, they provide a brief synopsis of what is currently being debated by the House and Senate, and they attempt to dispel some of the myths that are currently out there about healthcare reform.

As far as opposition, if you have links you think are valid, I have no problem looking at them.

It sure would be nice if one of the moderators would end this thread!!!

You really have to wonder about the psychological profile of people who argue RL politics on the message boards of a gaming site.

I don't know what you're talking about. I'm perfectly... I EAT THE DRYER LINT!!!

Anothr point where Mr. Axelrod gets it wrong is he says there will be no Medicaid cuts, yet section 1704 is specficially titled Reductions in Medicaid DSH. Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments provide financial assistance to hospitals that serve a large number of low-income patients, such as people with Medicaid and the uninsured. Medicaid DSH payments are the largest source of federal funding for uncompensated hospital care. So, while the people on Medicaid may not se cuts directed at them, there are cuts in Medicaid payments to the hospitals that deal with large numbers of Medicaid patients, which will likely lead to hospitals reducing services because they are not being compensated for them. So yes, lets have an intelligent,educated debate, but lets actaully know what is in the bill and not have a one sidd debate.

The section you are referring to is not talking about cutting Medicaid benefits. It's talking about evaluating the Medicaid DSH Program to see if we need to keep funding it at its current level based on anticipated cost savings.

To give you an example, one of the things that the Healthcare Reform Act is trying to do is eliminate the number of unnecessary medical procedures currently administered by doctors. Fewer unnecessary medical procedures means lower medical costs. Lower medical costs means less money is needed to cover them. Since less money is needed to cover them, programs like the Medicaid DSH program, don't need to be funded at their current levels.

To put it another way, it's like if the price of a gallon of gas went from $3 to $2. You don't keep spending $3 a gallon on gas. You adjust your spending habits to meet the current, economic conditions. That's all we're talking about here.

So according to the bill, you can only stay with the plan you currently have, if you change jobs or circumstances change, you must go on the public option.

Actually, what that section is saying is that your current plan does not need to comply immediately with the policies laid out in Sections 111-116 of the bill. It's basically a way of phasing out old insurance policies without forcing everyone in the nation to switch insurance plans immediately.

The truth is, if you switch jobs, you can still choose a private healthcare insurance provider over the public option. However, your new insurance policy won't be able to do things like terminate your coverage based on a pre-existing medical condition.

By the way, here's the link to the bill, if anyone's interested.

I think if we're going to have an intelligent conversation about healthcare, it would be a good idea to have some idea about what's actually being discussed in Washington. Right now, it seems like everyone has an opinion, but nobody really understands what's being discussed.

Below are some links that I've found helpful. Feel free to take a look.

This is a website dedicated to the current healthcare debate. In the middle of the website, is a map of the United States. By clicking on your state, you can see how healthcare reform will affect you. There are also several helpful links that give you a more in depth look at what is actually being proposed in Washington.

This is an email sent out by David Axelrod, senior Advisor to President Obama. It contains a lot of information, including links to various informative websites. My favorite section is the "Top 8 myths about health insurance reform," which addresses many of the concerns that Americans have about health insurance reform.

This is a Tele-Town Hall on Healthcare Reform, where President Obama answers questions regarding healthcare reform.

Statement declaring poster's confusion.

Declaration of love for Magical Trevor, and the tricks that he does which are ever so clever.

Mushroom Mushroom post.

Summary of recent study that explains how pancakes will one day solve the world's energy crisis. No link provided.

I'd heard of the previous study. I hadn't heard they'd confirmed it with a more recent study, though. Interesting.

Unit D6759-897-34721A is again refusing to comply. Maintain Level 3 surveillance. Also, have agents steal all the left socks in the house, remove the tags from the mattresses, and replace all the Oreos with generic equivalents.

What the? Hydrox cookies? ARRRGGGHHH!!!

Age?

Oh yes! Soon, this age will be over and the AGE OF DEMONS SHALL... wait... did I say that out loud?

Occupation?

Why? Are you one of those government agents sent to watch

my every move? Huh? Huh? HUH?!?!?! I'm so onto you.

Type of Person?

Oh sure, play dumb! As if you don't already know, you g~@ d@&ned government agent spy! Oh I'm so onto you.

Interesting Points?

Well there's the bed of spikes in my basement. However, someone is already impaled on it. What? They tripped.

Gaming Style?

I beat the other players with baseball bats, steal all of their dice, and move onto the next group. By the way, what are you doing this Friday?

Favorite Module ever?

I can't tell you. The penguins have sworn me to secrecy.

Most unbalanced character you ran?

Why? Are you planning on using it for some secret government plot to stop the Age of Demons? YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED, I TELL YOU!!! YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED!!!

So....A pony, a Werewolf, and a kobold walk into a bar.

The bartender says, "We don't serve your kind here."

The kobold says, "That's okay. We already ate."

Zombie attack.

Admission

Financial Aid

So....A pony, a Werewolf, and a kobold walk into a bar.....

The hobgoblin ducks.

Fake id collars are getting pretty good these days.....

Do ponies wear collars?

Table 1-1: Random Comments
01-10 Political statement.
11-30 Sexual innuendo.
31-70 Fourth Edition rant.
71-00 Flame war.

lol stfu nub

IAWTC

These otherwise-legal adults can vote, marry, sign contracts and die in Iraq, but still can't buy a legal beer?

Actually, people who serve in the military are legally allowed to drink at 18.

Also, raising the drinking age to 21 hasn't been a failure. In fact, a study done in 1995 showed that the number of alchohol related deaths for young adults 15 and older dropped by nearly 50% since the law's inception in 1984.

It should also be noted that states with laws designed to discourage binge drinking also tend to have fewer alcohol related deaths, and that students who attend college campuses that do not encourage binge drinking are less likely to binge drink themselves.

Personally, I would rather see the legal voting age lowered before the legal drinking age. After all, it seems a little unfair that we force kids to attend failing schools, but we don't allow them to vote on the people and bills that fund them.

Also kids over the age of 14 can be tried as adults for murder, but they aren't old enough to vote? I'm just saying.

On the other hand, if we lowered the legal voting age, I can't imagine that the legal drinking age would be far behind. :)

6. Water wheel turned by a decanter of endless water.

Talk about your fantasy industrial revolution. :)

Response to illogical argument about right and wrong ways to game.

Dismissal of argument because it involves the HERO system.

Maybe an instinctive fear of anything with more legs than us?

Or not.

I wonder if the fear we have of spiders and snakes is instinctual.

I don't think so. More than once, I've seen kids go from having no aversion whatsoever to spiders (even eating them, on occasion), to dispassionately calling them 'icky,' to eventual, abject fear. If the fear was instinctual, I think kids would have an aversion to spiders from birth. The fact that the fear develops gradually over time suggests to me that it is a learned behavior.

Possibly under your chair as well.

Could be worse.

Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?

Personally I find that if I quietly sit at the corner of bar and gently lick my eyebrows with my tounge, the ladies always seem interested.

I think the attention that you are receiving is more likely a cross between something like abject terror and morbid curiosity.

Link to gold farming website.*

http://www.ineedsmesomegold.com

*It's a joke link folks! I'm not that stupid!

Lie about statistics.

Damn, lazy statistics. Always lying about.

Lie

Statistics.

I like that one.

It is important to note that neither of them went home with him that night. :P

They're doing it again!

I think that there's probably a lot more stress in people's lives now than there was a few years ago...

I blame Fourth Edition.

It turned out to be that I'd not made the track loop back under the bridge - and that was the way is was supposed to be!

I blame this on Fourth Edition too. :P