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Ok tonight I am recommending a fantasy movie with a female lead (Brigitte Nielson) in a cool movie from the 1980's. A good fantasy warrior film with great fun characters, action, and magical musical score that sets the tone.

SYNOPSIS:

After having her family murdered and beaten by savage barbarians, a vengeful Sonja sets out on a journey to retrieve a magical orb from the twisted evil queen whom she vows vengeance upon.

With the help of Kalidor the Barbarian(Schwarzenegger), Prince Tarn the fighter(Ernie Reyes Jr), and Falkon the Barbarian, the heroes must team up and find a way into the queen's palace to destroy her evil kingdom once and for all.

"A must have for any film collector of fantasy filmfare."

I have created this thread in the name of equilibrium.

Before I state my claim, I would like to ask the question of has anybody ever had their credit card or debit card information stolen after making a purchase off of the Paizo website?

I figured I would post this hear since Pro Wrestling consists of live Roleplaying, action choreography, storytelling, characters, and daring feats of doom! Help us out, and be a part of pro wrestling history!

Who We Are: 5 Guys Wrestling, doing business as “Extreme Rising,” has hosted five live professional wrestling events in 2012 throughout Philadelphia, New York, and Pittsburgh. The management of 5 Guys consists of Steve & Mike O’Neill, Kevin Kleinrock, “The Franchise” Shane Douglas (Troy Martin), and Cody Michael (Mark Keenan). Each has a designated role within the company. Shane Douglas and Cody Michaels handle the booking of wrestlers, and along with Kevin Kleinrock mold the Extreme Rising talent roster and storylines. Mike O’Neill handles the direction and execution of the most effective street team in the history of pro wrestling, as well as live event production. Steve O’Neill handles all production for the live events, as well as post production, and media, and marketing.

Why do the Project: THE FANS! Unlike the WWE and TNA, Extreme Rising does not have any financial backing whatsoever. There is no TV/Cable network. No sponsors. No investors. If the fans really want to see an Extreme Rising TV show (as our feedback suggests), then we need your help to get it up and running. We have been bootstrapping it from day one, and we thrive on the fan’s support.

What Is The Project: The fans want a weekly EXTREME RISING WRESTLING TV show, and we want to produce it—but we need your help! That is why we turned to indiegogo to help us raise the necessary funds. If you are serious and want to see an Extreme Rising TV show, then let’s get cracking—time is of the essence. We are ready to go—If YOU are ready to go! We will not waste time with a long, drawn out campaign. The faster we can get this funded, the faster we produce the TV show and air it! The idea is to be on the air late February 2013.

Extreme Rising has had great success thus far, as the live events boast an average of 1,000 people through five events in 2012, the best average attendance for any US wrestling company without a national television deal. This is something unheard of in professional wrestling today. In addition, Extreme Rising has had an incredible online presence, and it grows daily. All of this grassroots success is made possible by the great fan base that wants and demands more Extreme Rising live events, DVDs, merchandise, and now TV! We can only do it with your help.

Extreme Rising is looking to expose our brand, further the fan base, and—by popular demand—bring Extreme Rising to TELEVISION by producing a weekly, episodic series.

Extreme Rising comes to fill a void in pro wrestling today. When Extreme Championship Wrestling closed; fans were left with a lack of diverse choices in pro wrestling. Extreme Championship Wrestling was a unique underground subculture where the misfits of wrestling entertained legions of fans every week, and the fans contributed to make for one of a kind wrestling events. Extreme Rising has captured the spirit and diversity of what ECW was by utilizing the legends of Extreme, as well as the best unsigned talent in the United States and Mexico. What started as an “Extreme Reunion” on April 28, 2012 in Philadelphia, has turned into an Extreme Rising and continues to rise.

We want to produce an episodic season of Extreme Rising Television to air on broadcast TV in Philadelphia, PA, South Jersey, and Delaware. We will also offer the Television show online, for the entire World to see. In addition, we have started to look for an outlet in the Pittsburgh area as well.

What we propose to the fans and backers of Extreme Rising and Pro Wrestling:

-We will produce13 Extreme Rising TV episodes, including all production: editing, directing, graphics, voiceovers, etc…

-These sixty-minutes per episode shows will include matches, promos, and advertisements for DVDs, T-shirts, and never-seen-before content.

-We will purchase an airtime slot per week (for 13 weeks) on local Philly/NJ/DE TV Station, same day/time each week. The higher the backer pledges we receive the better time slot we can acquire.

- For Backers ONLY: Website/Streaming to view episodes in advance

-Also included is the cost of Promotion and Marketing of the TV show

Who Will Appear on the TV Show:

-Featuring Extreme Legends: STEVIE RICHARDS, JERRY LYNN, SABU, RHINO, DEVON STORM, THE FRANCHISE SHANE DOUGLAS, RAVEN, FBI LITTLE GUIDO & TONY MAMALUKE, THE SANDMAN, BALLS MAHONEY, PERRY SATURN, AXL ROTTEN, AL SNOW W/HEAD, CW ANDERSON, GANGSTAS, 2 COLD SCORPIO, BLUE MEANIE, PITBULL GARY WOLF, THOMAS RODMAN, JOEL GERTNER, CHRISTIAN YORK, AND MANY MORE…

-Plus the best talent in the United States and Mexico: MATT HARDY, HOMICIDE, LUKE HAWX, BESTIA 666, HIJO DE REY MISTERIO, BLK OUT JEEZ & RUCKUS, PESADILLA, GREEK GOD PAPADON, SYLVESTER TERKAY, LOS DRAMATICOS, JAY BRADLEY, FAÇADE, ROBBIE MIRENO, BRIAN XL, MATT TREMONT, AND MANY MORE…

-Plus the sexy women of Extreme Rising: REBY SKY, CHRISTINA VICIOUS, LEANN, and TAYA PARKER.

What we hope to accomplish with the 13 episodes of Extreme Rising TV:

-Entertaining pro wrestling television with edgy storylines and characters that captures the “extreme spirit,” mixed with its share of humor, realism, and featuring the best athletic wrestling with high flying maneuvers and hardcore stunts. While the WWE enjoys its PG rating, we take pride in delivering something edgier, grittier, and more extreme. It promises to be the most entertaining hour of wrestling on TV each week.

-We hope to bridge the gaps of live events and DVDs to “make sense” to the fans who have been following, and give them the meat and potatoes of Extreme Rising, truly revealing the vision and direction of the company.

-To build and advance characters and storylines, and offer a true wrestling alternative.

Why We Need Money: To make 13 weeks of TV includes time and money that we don’t currently have available, but the proper funding will allow us to quickly switch gears into television production mode. We have roughly 20 hours of footage from matches, to promos, already recorded. We will also have to grab a few promos to finish/continue some storylines. Our costs include editing and production, voiceovers (all footage being re-voiced for TV to give concise calls and to drive the character development and storyline home), hard drives, closed captioning, incidentals expenditures like travel, and other post-production expenses. We’ll also need to fund the production of our perks for backers including producing/shipping the DVDs and fulfilling all the other perks we offer. There are fees taken out by indiegogo.com/paypal.com, as well as business expenses/legal, paying taxes, and so on. We are sure you understand the idea. This is a large project, we live it and love it, but we need the fans help.

Why It Is Important We Make Extreme Rising TV: First, we are trying to do something that the fans want and demand. It is a large undertaking, and we need help. Second, we would like to see if our vision of wrestling has legs, even given the limited exposure of TV in Philly, NJ, DE, possibly Pittsburgh, and the Internet to start. Having an Extreme Rising TV show can open A LOT of doors for Extreme Rising and with the fans help, JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL ECW, can get Extreme Rising not only on TV with this proposal, but to give the extra push so that the executives who make the real decisions see that Extreme Rising is a tangible, viable source of Wrestling and entertainment that people, not only in the United States want, but the World.

If you pledge and believe in us, we will do everything in our power to produce the best TV Extreme Rising is able to do within budgetary constraints.

Thank you for reading. Please support and back this project with a pledge. Take advantage of some great perks and bonuses. Tell your friends. Post it on message boards, websites, email to reporters. Use Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, or whatever social media you use –it ALL HELPS! Whatever you can to help spread the word helps. Remember 21 days. Make it or break it.

Besides an entertaining pro wrestling TV Show, what else do I get for supporting this awesome project:

-Postcard Announcing Extreme Rising

-Poster Extreme Rising TV

-Download of each Episode one week after initial broadcast

-Viewing of Video Stream of Each Episode (13) Online PRIOR to general release / initial broadcast

-Special Limited Edition Extreme Rising TV t-shirt

-4 DVD Box Disc Set of entire Season 1 of Extreme Rising

-Special Thanks Credits at end of each episode

-Associate Producer Credit (IMDB Credit)

-:30 second Commercial 1 per episode (13 – thirty second commercials) (6 available)

-Corporate Title Sponsor (per half hour_ (this program brought to you by) 13 episodes (2 available Corporate titles available)

-Executive Producer credit (IMDB Credit)

F.A.Q.

-Will the Extreme Rising TV show be produced in High Definition or Standard? HIGH DEFINITION!

-What if Extreme Rising is unable to raise the full amount needed? First, no one gets charged anything. Second, we would be unable to proceed producing Extreme Rising TV. We are a 100% fan backed operation. If the fan support is not there, it just wouldn't be feasible.

-I live overseas (outside the United States), is there extra shipping for International orders? Yes. We would safely say it should be no more than $10-$20 as we have the DVD box set, poster, t-shirts, etc... It all depends on what your perk is.

-Why can't you just produce a web series? That still will costs money. Think about what Extreme Rising has accomplished in one year. Our footage is in HD, and all the costs associated with TV production will still be necessary, excluding airtime. We are using the base model of what ECW did years ago to grow and build their product. There is alot to learn from history, and we are taking the "good" that was accomplished. We will start in the Philadelphia, South Jersey, and Delaware areas first. We will look at possible airing stations in Pittsburgh, if we raise up and over the set goal. Anything raised above the goal WILL go back into the product. It is the only way to grow.

-Can't you just get a TV deal on USA, SYFY, or Spike? Young Jedi's it is not that easy. However, by producing a full 13 week season, we will give network executives something to look at so they can see Extreme Rising for themselves, and that we are the real deal!

See perks and funding goals at this link...

http://www.indiegogo.com/extremerisingTV

I've been looking through the Player's Guide and it's a quite different system. It requires lots of accessories and strange custom dice. I don't know If I like it yet or not but it seems there is something to do with cards, tokens, sheets... etc.I did not get the $80.00 core set but now I know I have to buy some more stuff now to play it anyway, but the books are nice quality from Fantasy Flight. The artwork sets a nice tone, but I feel this game is quite obscure because I never see it in game stores I always see the Warhammer miniature game instead. My local game store is stocked with D&D 4th edition and Pathfinder of course. It just feels like nobody I know plays it. Have you played it, and what do you think of this game?

This thread is about Martial arts movies of all kinds. Most young kids today don't even know what a kung fu movie is and probably just laugh at them but they are a special hidden genre in film. Lots of the films displayed lots of real martial artist who were also actors. Superstars Like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Gordon Liu, Donnie Yen, Sonny Chiba, Sammo Hung, Philip Kwok, etc will be discussed and movie recommendations as well. First off I want to ask who here has sat down and watched a kung fu movie?

As all of you are probably aware by now Disney made big news last week when they announced they had purchased Lucasfilm for over 4 billion dollars. It looks like Mickey and company haven't put away the old checkbook just yet. MTV Geek is reporting a rumor that Disney is now in negotiations to purchase Hasbro! It's just a rumor for now, but according to MTV Geek a reliable source has stated high level discussions are happening at this moment. Click here to visit MTV Geek for the full story.

Is Opti-mouse Prime in our future?

MTV Geek wrote:
Well, we have it on good authority that serious discussions are happening at the highest levels of both Disney and Hasbro to fold the largest toy and game company on the planet into the Mouse.

MTV Geek wrote:
The acquisition would give Disney the rights to Transformers, G.I. Joe, Dungeons and Dragons, Beyblade, Battleship, Nerf, and Magic: The Gathering among several dozen other game titles and IP. When you add Marvel and Star Wars to that list it’s a pretty comprehensive lock on boy’s entertainment; a far cry from a few years back when Disney was heavily criticized for losing its grip on boys.

The ramifications to the Transformers hobby could potentially be extremely significant. Everything from the upcoming 2014 Transformers movie to BotCon locations to potential exclusives being available at Disney stores could be affected by this decision. Tell us what you think by clicking here.

http://www.seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=26155

I've always enjoyed this Universal Soldier franchise. Starting with the original followed by Universal Soldier: Regeneration, and now this third film "Day of Reckoning". (I don't count the failed one with Bill Goldberg) Anyway this film was awesome, dark, bloody, and action packed. The film is on Payperview now and will be released on blu-ray on Jan 22, 2013.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning Storyline...

John awakens from a coma to discover his wife and daughter were slaughtered in a brutal home invasion. Haunted by images of the attack, he vows to kill the man responsible: Luc Deveraux. While John tries to piece his reality back together, things get more complicated when he is pursued by a relentless UniSol named Magnus. Meanwhile, Deveraux and surviving UniSol Andrew Scott are preparing to battle anarchy and build a new order ruled by Unisols without government oversight. They are weeding out the weak and constantly testing their strongest warriors in brutal, life-and-death combat. Luc has emerged operating the Unisol Church of Eventualism, taking in wayward Unisols whom the government has been secretly operating as remote-controlled sleeper agents. His mission is to liberate these Unisols from the implanted memories and the lies the government has inserted in them. As John gets closer to Deveraux and the rogue army of genetically enhanced warriors, he discovers more about himself and begins to call into question everything he believed to be true.

This is what the Gamemaster "Should not do" to avoid having a lame campaign.

1. Rail-Roading: Otherwise known as ‘forcing you into the adventure’. Rail-roading can occur whenever the GM has a plan for something to happen, you try to avoid it, and he shows you who’s boss. Classically, this begins at the start of the adventure when the players can’t decide how they all met, continues on to why they have to go in some random dungeon, and ends with an arbitrarily forced ‘hook’ for next adventure.

2. Disregard of ‘Unimportant’ Rules: Sometimes the GM will get so wrapped up in the ‘story’ that some ‘rules’ may seem trivial in comparison. Often, the GM won’t realize he’s being slightly unfair by letting a bartender auto-hit a 17th level fighter and knock him out without rolling for initiative.

3. A Sense of Balance: Well-meaning GMs sometimes try to enforce their own version of ‘balance’ on a game. This often includes detailed lists of which books are allowed, where your character can live with his 20 page background, and the fact that a 35 intimidation roll will only make peasants ‘slightly concerned’ because of ‘realism’.

4. Taking Things too Seriously: Often, and quite logically, GMs will think they’re making The-Best-Ever-Game-in-the-Universe. They will believe that they’re basically John Grisham and anything they invent is pure brilliance and can’t be messed with. If anyone dares to imply that their game world might not be perfect, or *gasp* comes up with their own cool ideas; these GMs will not hesitate to squash out their ideas like so many bugs on a trucking highway.

This kind of game will usually generate a very self-satisfied GM with very quiet players. The successful players will soon learn that flattery and ‘getting into’ the world will yield them the best results. The GM will be encouraged by this into the deluded belief that his players actually think he’s John Grisham.

5. Lack of Rules: At the opposite end of the spectrum, some GMs believe rules are for sissies. They will often come up with convoluted or downright insane random tables and bizarre creations of their own design. If it were up to them, the extent of the rules would consist of 250 pages of GM Advice which ranks somewhere below ‘optional’. Success in such games often depends on convincing the GM your ‘rule’ is a good idea. Once the GM figures something makes sense, he’ll likely make it into a new house-rule and you can do whatever you like until you run into some whacky 50 HD blob thing which wants to kill you for unknown reasons.

6. Poorly Thought-Out Adventures: There are few things more annoying to a player than a GM who doesn’t really know his stuff. Maybe he wrote some notes, but forgot them; maybe he wrote his notes last week, and can’t understand them anymore; or maybe he didn’t write any notes whatsoever, and is just making stuff up. These are the kinds of adventures that make the bravest players groan in frustration.

For example: when the GM creates an impenetrable wall of fire just to buy time to think up the adventure, and then throws a 60th level orc archer at the party to ‘keep them busy’.

7. GMs as Players: Once in a blue moon, a long-time GM will get the hankering to be a player for a while. A great player will, no doubt, jump at the chance to GM for a while…and soon regret it. Some GMs have just been at it too long to know when to stop. When they game as a player they tend to control the adventure, make up NPC appearances, offer helpful plot advice, and arbitrarily rewrite character creation rules without telling you. Since the primary GM is often the one with the real power, telling them ‘no’ can be catastrophic for your future characters.

GMs are also used to prattling on at all times. If they aren’t describing what their characters are doing for at least 50% of the game session, they end up feeling deprived and stifled.

8. Forgetting to say ‘Yes’: Often, one of the best things a GM can do is to say ‘yes’ to the players’ ideas. Some GMs forget this concept completely and figure they’re in charge of the game. Whenever a player comes up with a cool idea, action, or plan the GM will just say, “No, you can’t do that.”

10. Never Admitting they’re Wrong: Some GMs must always be right. It’s in the rules. If there’s a problem, it’s obviously the result of the players’ poor reasoning abilities or lack of character powers. Obviously, the system or the GM is never at fault for anything.

11. Being a Pushover: Some GMs kill off their players’ characters like no tomorrow (and occasionally for no good reason). Far more likely these days are the GMs who will pander to the might of the players and the game designers. If there’s an argument, this GM loses. If there’s a rules interpretation, the players’ votes always stand. If any player’s character happens to die *shudder*, he’ll be resurrected with no drawbacks in about 12 seconds.

These GMs will hand out magic items for the asking, treasure for the taking, and allow their players to pretty much control them in every way.

12. Ignoring the Action: GMs love to create cool stories and role-play. They’ll sometimes create elaborate and highly annoying NPCs. Some of these NPCs seem to have a hidden spell called ‘immune to everything’ which never allows them to die or suffer any ill-effect.

Sometimes, the GM will ignore the action of the adventure in exchange for mucking around and wandering about the city for the best version of iron rations. Trying to find a fight in these games would not only take forever, it would be nearly impossible.

13. Non-Combat, What’s That?: On the flip side of things, some GMs seem to be under the impression that RPGs are simply a glorified version of tabletop miniatures warfare with less pieces. The game starts with the first battle and ends with…well, it doesn’t really end; there are just more battles.

14. Weird, Cheating Dice: The rules actually encourage GMs to cheat the dice.

Also highly annoying are the times when you roll a 1 and receive obviously false information, or roll a 20 and still fail for some reason.

15. Overdeveloped sense of Fairness: Sometimes a good GM will feel it’s his duty to make his players equal. This will often result in magic items being taken away because they’re unbalanced, or other well-meaning but highly irritating feats of GM improvisation.

16. Lack of Rewards: After fighting for 15 hours, you get no treasure.

17. Outlawing Dice Towers: The GM outlaws dice towers as ‘not helpful’ to the game.

18. In-game Chat: For some reason, the GM comes up with a crazy rule to enforce whether you said something in-game or out of game.

19. Disappearing Treasure Hoard Trick: After defeating an ancient red dragon it often turns out his ‘hoard’ is 100 gp. Other times, whenever the group comes to a large, seemingly unguarded pile of treasure they just ignore it. It’ll obviously disappear or be trapped in some diabolical way.

20. Goblins Only Carry Copper: Apparently, this is quite annoying to one of my players. Edit: *consulted with player in question* "Because goblins are really tough to kill, usually. Then they only have little bits of copper and not loads of gold."

21. Thieves steal all of your Treasure: ‘Nuff said.

22. Cursed Magic Items: Hey, I thought all magic items were beneficial?

23. Poor Descriptions: You can’t really fault them for this. Player: “I know there’s a trap here, can you describe the area?” GM: “You see a door.” Player: “I check it for traps.” GM: “Where?” Player: “On the Handle.” GM: “You fall in the obvious pit trap before the door.”

23 1/2. GM's Pet NPC: You know the guy. That random fighter the GM created he thinks is so cool that he gives him 'role-playing' bonuses to attack. The wizard who solves all the party's problems and hogs the show in battles. The NPC Thief who says, "Hey, guys, I think there's a trap over here..." etc.

The prices are getting so high on these books these days. $50-$100 dollar books. I remember the days of AD&D when I could walk into a hobby shop and get a good adventure module for $15 bucks. Now, every body wants $30,$40, $50, $100 bucks for modules. The prices are getting ridiculous and is seems nothing cool can get made anymore withoug a kickstarter. Sad times for the RPG game industry. Due to the economy and $5 dollar a gallon gas prices, my campaign has come to a hiatus until further notice and there's no way I can keep caught up. If people keep paying these prices they will keep raising them. As of now, I'm not paying it anymore.

I have a question regarding the table 7-5 on encumbrance effects. My question is what is the MAX DEX +3 for Medium loads used for? Does this mean this is the max amount of modifiers I can have in DEX when using this type of armour?

Come on people we're almost at $175,000 to get the bigger Thornkeep book. Let's make it happen! The support for Paizo has been quite impressive. Tell everyone! Only 40 something hours left to contribute.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is one of the oldest living tree species and its leaves are among the most extensively studied herbs in use today. In Europe and the United States, ginkgo supplements are among the best-selling herbal medications. It consistently ranks as a top medicine prescribed in France and Germany.

Ginkgo has been used in traditional medicine to treat blood disorders and enhance memory. Scientific studies throughout the years have found evidence that supports these claims. Although not all studies agree, ginkgo may be help treat dementia (including Alzheimer's disease) and intermittent claudication, or poor circulation in the legs. It also shows promise for enhancing memory in older adults. Laboratory studies have shown that ginkgo improves blood circulation by dilating blood vessels and reducing the stickiness of blood platelets.

Ginkgo leaves contain two types of chemicals (flavonoids and terpenoids) believed to have potent antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are substances that scavenge free radicals -- compounds in the body that damage cell membranes, tamper with DNA, and even cause cell death. Free radicals are believed to contribute to health problems including heart disease and cancer as well as Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Antioxidants such as those found in ginkgo can help neutralize free radicals and may reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause.

Plant Description:
Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species. A single tree can live as long as 1,000 years and grow to a height of 120 feet. It has short branches with fan-shaped leaves and inedible fruits that produce a strong odor. The fruit contains an inner seed, and there has been a report of a human poisoning from ingesting the seed. Ginkgos are tough, hardy trees and are sometimes planted along urban streets in the United States.

Although Chinese herbal medicine has used both the ginkgo leaf and seed for thousands of years, modern research has focused on the standardized Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), which is made from the dried green leaves. This standardized extract is highly concentrated and seems to be more effective in treating health problems (particularly circulatory ailments) than the non-standardized leaf alone.

What's It Made Of?:
More than 40 components from the ginkgo tree have been identified, but only two are believed to act as medicine: flavonoids and terpenoids. Flavonoids are plant-based antioxidants. Laboratory and animal studies have shown that flavonoids protect the nerves, heart muscle, blood vessels, and retina from damage. Terpenoids (such as ginkgolides) improve blood flow by dilating blood vessels and reducing the stickiness of platelets.

Medicinal Uses and Indications:
Based on studies conducted in laboratories, animals, and humans, ginkgo is used for the following:

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Ginkgo is widely used in Europe for treating dementia. It was first used because it improves blood flow to the brain. Now further study suggests it may directly protect nerve cells that are damaged in Alzheimer's disease. A number of studies have found that ginkgo has a positive effect on memory and thinking in people with Alzheimer's or vascular dementia.

Clinical studies suggest that ginkgo may have the following benefits for people with Alzheimer's disease:

•Improvement in thinking, learning, and memory (cognitive function)
•Improvement in activities of daily living
•Improvement in social behavior
•Fewer feelings of depression
Several studies have found that ginkgo may work as well as prescription Alzheimer's medications in delaying the symptoms of dementia.

However, one of the longest and best-designed studies found ginkgo was no better than placebo in reducing Alzheimer's symptoms. In a 2008 study, 176 people in the United Kingdom with Alzheimer's took either ginkgo or placebo for 6 months. At the end of the study there was no difference in mental function or quality of life between the groups.

Ginkgo is sometimes suggested to prevent Alzheimer's and dementia, as well, and some studies have suggested it might be helpful. But in 2008, a well-designed study (the GEM study) with more than 3,000 elderly participants found the ginkgo was no better than placebo in preventing dementia or Alzheimer's.

Intermittent Claudication

Because ginkgo improves blood flow, it has been studied in people with intermittent claudication, or pain caused by reduced blood flow to the legs. People with intermittent claudication have a hard time walking without feeling extreme pain. An analysis of eight studies revealed that people taking ginkgo tend to walk about 34 meters farther than those taking placebo. In fact, ginkgo has been shown to be as effective as a prescription medication in improving pain-free walking distance. However, regular walking exercises work better than ginkgo in improving walking distance.

Glaucoma

One small study found that people with glaucoma who took 120 mg of ginkgo daily for 8 weeks had improvements in their vision.

Memory Enhancement

Ginkgo is widely touted as a "brain herb." It has been studied to see whether it can improve memory in people with dementia, and some studies found it did help. It's not as clear whether ginkgo helps memory in healthy people who have normal, age-related memory loss. Some studies have found slight benefits, while other studies have found no effect on memory. The most effective dose seems to be 240 mg per day. Ginkgo is commonly added to nutrition bars, soft drinks, and fruit smoothies to boost memory and enhance mental performance, although it's unlikely that such small amounts of ginkgo would work.

Macular Degeneration

The flavonoids found in ginkgo may help stop or lessen some retinal problems -- problems with the back part of the eye. Macular degeneration, often called age-related macular degeneration or ARMD, is an eye disease that affects the retina. It is a progressive, degenerative eye disease that tends to affect older adults and is the number one cause of blindness in the United States. Some studies suggest that ginkgo may help preserve vision in those with ARMD.

Tinnitus

Nerve damage and certain blood vessel disorders can lead to tinnitus -- ringing, hissing, or other sound in the ears or head. Because ginkgo improves circulation, it has been studied to see whether it can treat tinnitus. A few poorly designed studies found it might reduce the loudness of the sound. However, a well-designed study including 1,121 people with tinnitus found that ginkgo was no better than placebo in relieving tinnitus symptoms. In general, tinnitus is a very difficult problem to treat.

Raynaud' s Phenomenon

One well-designed study found that people with Raynaud' s phenomenon who took ginkgo over a 10-week period had fewer symptoms than those who took placebo. More studies are needed.

Available Forms:
•Standardized extracts containing 24 - 32% flavonoids (also known as flavone glycosides or heterosides) and 6 - 12% terpenoids (triterpene lactones)
•Capsules
•Tablets
•Liquid extracts (tinctures, fluid extracts, glycerites)
•Dried leaf for teas
How to Take It:
Pediatric

Ginkgo is not generally used in children.

Adult

Initial results often take 4 - 6 weeks, but should grow stronger beyond that period.

Memory impairment and cardiovascular function: Generally, 120 mg daily in divided doses, standardized to contain 24 - 32% flavone glycosides (flavonoids or heterosides) and 6 - 12% triterpene lactones (terpenoids). If more serious dementia or Alzheimer's disease is present, up to 240 mg daily, in 2 or 3 divided doses, may be necessary.

Intermittent claudication: 120 - 240 mg per day

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/ginkgo-biloba-000247.htm

Well, here is the next chapter of the ongoing campaign battles series. Next up we have 2 legendary campaigns with Ravenloft vs Dark Sun, 2 legendary campaign setting I've recently reacquired for old time gamers sake. I would like to thank everyone who has participated in these.

Which one do you like better and why?

RAVENLOFT

Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark Powers". Each domain is mystically ruled by a being called a "Darklord".

Ravenloft is primarily a Gothic horror setting. Dungeon Masters are encouraged to use scenes that build apprehension, dread and fear, culminating in the eventual face-to-face meeting with the nameless, dark evil. Characters have a much greater significance attached to their acts, especially if they are morally impure, as they risk coming under the influence of the Dark Powers (through the game process called "dark powers checks") and gradually transforming themselves into twisted figures of evil.

The magical mists of Ravenloft could appear anywhere in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, drawing evil-doers (or player characters) into the Ravenloft setting. One exception is the 'phlogiston' of the Spelljammer setting. The phlogiston blocks all planar travel, but the mists can appear in deep space inside crystal shells, according to the Complete Spacefarer's Handbook. Another exception is in the Inner and Outer Planes, which for some reason they never appear in.

The Dark Powers are a malevolent force who control the Demiplane of Dread. Their exact nature and number are purposely kept vague, allowing for plot development in accordance with the Gothic tradition of storytelling—where the heroes are frequently outclassed and outnumbered by unknowably evil forces beyond their control.

The Dark Powers most frequently serve as a plot device for Ravenloft, especially concerning the Dark Lords, feared rulers of the Ravenloft Demiplane. Where the players are often tormented and opposed by the Dark Lords, the Dark Lords are themselves tormented and opposed by the Dark Powers. Of course, the difference lies in order of power—while many D&D adventures focus on allowing a band of heroes to triumph over a Dark Lord, no such victory over the Dark Powers is even imaginable. Vecna, (a demi-god and darklord) however plans not only to escape Ravenloft, but destroy the Dark Powers as well.

Most frequently, the Dark Powers make their wishes and intents known through subtle manipulations of fate. Thus, Barovia's famed vampire lord Strahd Von Zarovich's many attempts to win back his love, Tatyana, are doomed to failure, but the Dark Powers arrange such that he never truly loses hope. Each time, for example, Strahd's own actions may be partially culpable for his failure, and as such he may go through crippling self-recrimination, rather than cursing the gods solely and giving up. Most other Dark Lords have similar tales of frustration, kept all the more unbearable because the flicker of the possibility of success is never truly extinguished.

Not all Dark Lords acknowledge the presence of Dark Powers directly, however. Strahd, for example, in his own memoirs, speaks only of a force known as "Death," who mocks him with the voices of his family and former colleagues throughout his life. Vlad Drakov, the Dark Lord of Falkovnia whose military expeditions are doomed to constant failure, seems even to be totally oblivious of any non-mortal factors in his repeated defeats.

The Dark Powers also seem capable of non-evil manipulations. Although their machinations are often directly responsible for the misery of many of Ravenloft's inhabitants, they also appear to play a role as dispenser of justice. Some tales of innocents who have escaped Ravenloft for happier environs are attributed to the Dark Powers, who have judged a being worthy of reward and release from their misty domain.

The precise nature of the Dark Powers of Ravenloft is never explicitly described in the game material, with the exception of a few of the novels based on the setting, and even those are considered semi material. In a sense, the Dark Powers are intended to be eternal unknowns, an array of mystery, fear, unforeseeable wills whose motives and actions the player characters cannot hope to understand.

DARK SUN

Once a blue planet bursting with life, Athas has since been stripped of its fertility by the use of corrupting magic known as Defiling Magic, and the decay of its sun. It is a sun-burnt land forsaken by the gods, water, and hope. The natural resources have been depleted and a lack of metal has resulted in the use of wood, obsidian and bone for weapons, tools and other common equipment. In such a harsh and unforgiving land, even the most mundane of creatures have developed psionic abilities in the constant struggle of survival of the fittest.

In such a world as Athas, a death by natural aging is considered to be a great achievement and an event worthy of celebrations.

Sea of Silt-Water has long since ceased to flow on the surface and can only be found in the last sea, some oases, tiny lakes and streams, as well as west of the Ringing Mountains in the Forest Ridge. Not only are the mountains nearly impassable (the name Ringing Mountains refers to the lightheaded feeling one feels from lack of oxygen when traversing them) but the Forest Ridge is the home of halflings, which in the Dark Sun world are small creatures that live in tribes in the forest and do not hesitate to capture and eat intruders to their realm. This makes the prospect of going west across the mountains nearly impossible.

In the place of an ocean, the world of Athas, due to defiling magic, has a sea composed entirely of silt. The silt is dangerous as it is not capable of supporting the weight of humanoid creatures, and the particles themselves are extremely fine and get into the lungs quite easily. A strong wind from the Silt Sea can force people from nearby villages to remain indoors all day, though with a certain amount of water some people often make use of a mask-like object called a silter which is placed over the mouth and nose and kept wet in order to help the user breathe.

The silt actually becomes hard-packed a few metres below the surface, but this is of no help to a human as the level within the first two metres is extremely loose and fine. Giants often make use of the packed silt roads further below and can be seen wading chest-deep through the silt. Humans have sometimes built crafts that can navigate these silt roads much like giants do, though the going is much slower and both humans and giants still have to deal with the creatures that live in the sea.

Another method of travel is the shipfloaters, psionicists can use a large obsidian orb to focus their power to telekinetically levitate and sail the ship as if it were sailing through water.

Tyr- Tyr region is a region of Athas encompassing thousands of square miles, and stretches from the Hinterlands in the West to the Valley of Dust and Fire in the East within the Sea Of Silt, to the Dead Lands in the south, and the Troll Grave Chasm to the North, it contains all but two city states of the sorcerer-kings, former Champions of Rajaat.

City States-The rulers of the isolated city-states are called Sorcerer-Kings and, in most cases, are secretly the Dark Sun equivalent of dragons. Templars can serve and worship these Sorcerer-Kings as a source for their spells (which are actually granted by something known as a living vortex), while Clerics worship Elemental forces (Air, Fire, Water and Earth) and Druids follow powerful entities known as Spirits of the Land.

The campaign setting of the Dark Sun world generally takes place in the Tyr Region of the world of Athas, an area that spans from the Silt Sea in the east to the Hinterlands in the west and a bit beyond, plus south to the dead lands and north to a certain extent. There are cities further to the north and the south but the land is extremely unfriendly and most people do not wish to risk a journey of such length, and the location of other cities beyond the region is uncertain at best. As a whole, life within the Tyr Region itself is hard enough, and though characters in the campaign setting begin on a much higher level than those of other campaigns, this is also accompanied by a severe practicality, that risking one's life for adventure or altruism is a foolish notion, and survival from day to day takes precedence.

Bodach-The city of the undead and the location of the Sage, 30 miles (48 km) south west of Salt View. The once beautiful city is now overrun by the undead, protectors of the secret treasure.

Balic-The southernmost city of the Tyr Region, formerly ruled by the sorcerer-king Andropinis. It is situated on the edge of the Silt Sea, and is the only city in the region to have a tradition of elected government. Balic's templars are elected into office (although templars that Andropinis does not want in power usually vanish), and public debate is allowed, except for any direct criticism of the Dictator. Compared to Ancient Rome.

Draj-Located on a vast mud flat in the northeastern area of the Tyr Region, Draj was formerly ruled by the brutal, expansionist Sorcerer-king Tectuktitlay. After his death at Rajaat's hand in Ur-Draxa he has been replaced by his putative son, Atzetuk. Inspired by the Aztecs.

Gulg-Ruled by the forest-goddess, Lalali-Puy, Gulg is unique among the city-states due to its construction from living materials of the forest instead of stone and brick. While an absolute ruler, owning just about everything in the city, Lalali-Puy is loved by her citizens since she is the bringer of rain and wheat. Inspired by the jungles of Africa.

Nibenay-Nibenay is located closer to the center of the Tyr Region, just to the east of the city-state of Gulg. Nibenay is ruled by the sorcerer-king Nibenay, formerly known as Gallard the Bane of Gnomes, now known simply as "The Shadow King," and he is the most reclusive of them all. The Shadow King will often stay out of sight for years or more due to lack of interest in governmental affairs and having other more important projects to work on. Inspired by Angkor, capital of the Khmer Empire.

Raam-The largest city-state in the Tyr Region, Raam was ruled by the sorcerer-queen Abalach-re, who was disinterested in her city's well-being. As a result, the city was always on the brink of rebellion. After Albach-re's death, it is now filled with chaos, an armed camp divided among various struggling factions. Its inspiration seems to be the Mughal Empire of India with a dash of Pharaonic Egypt.

Tyr-Tyr is located just to the east of the Ringing Mountains. Tyr was ruled by the sorcerer-king Kalak until his overthrow on the verge of his ascension. It is now the only free city of the region, banning the practice of slavery. It shares much in common with its historical quasi-namesake Tyre, including a monopoly over purple dye.

Urik-Urik is a highly efficient, militarized city-state ruled by Hamanu, the self-proclaimed "King of the World". Urik possesses the strongest army in the Tyr Region, and Hamanu takes an active interest in his city's affairs. Urik has become a closed city since the Great Earthquake, only rarely sending out trade caravans and remaining otherwise sealed. Inspired by Babylon and Uruk.

This is a classic Sci Fi movie from 1985. I think it's one the best Sci Fi movies ever made. Has anyone seen it?

Synopsis:A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on an hostile alien world.

What setting do you like more and why?

SPELLJAMMER

a comprehensive system of fantasy astrophysics, including the Ptolemaic concept of crystal spheres. Crystal spheres may contain multiple worlds and are navigable using ships equipped with "spelljamming helms". Ships powered by spelljamming helms are capable of flying into not only the sky but into space. With their own fields of gravity and atmosphere, the ships have open decks and tend not to resemble the spaceships of science fiction, but instead look more like galleons, animals, birds, fish or even more wildly fantastic shapes.

The Spelljammer setting is designed to allow the usual sword and sorcery adventures of Dungeons & Dragons to take place within the framework of outer space tropes. Flying ships travel through the vast expanses of interplanetary space, visiting moons and planets and other stellar objects.

Like the Planescape setting, Spelljammer unifies most of the other AD&D settings and provides a canonical method for allowing characters from one setting (such as Dragonlance) to travel to another (such as the Forgotten Realms). However, unlike Planescape it keeps all of the action on the Prime Material Plane and uses the crystal spheres, and the "phlogiston" between them, to form natural barriers between otherwise incompatible settings. Though the cosmology is derived largely from the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, many of the ideas owe much to the works of Jules Verne and his contemporaries, and to related games and fiction with a steampunk or planetary romance flavor. A strong Age of Sail flavor is also present.

PLANESCAPE

Sigil, the "City of Doors", is located atop the Spire in the Outlands. It has the shape of a torus, and the city itself is located on the inner surface of the ring. There is no sky, simply an all-pervasive light that waxes and wanes to create day and night. Sigil cannot be entered or exited save via portals. Although this makes it quite safe from any would-be invader, it also makes it a prison of sorts for those not possessing a portal key. Thus, many call Sigil "The Bird Cage" or "The Cage." Though Sigil is commonly held to be located "at the center of the planes" (where it is positioned atop the infinitely tall Spire), some argue that this is impossible since the planes are infinite in all dimensions, and therefore there can never truly be a center to any of them, let alone all of them. Curiously, from the Outlands, one can see Sigil atop the supposedly infinite Spire.

The Factions are the philosophically-derived power groups based in Sigil. Before the Faction War, the factions controlled the political climate of the city. Each of the factions is based on one particular belief system; many of the factions' beliefs make them enemies where their other goals and actions might have made them allies. There are fifteen factions in total.

Rule-of-ThreeThe first principle, the Rule-of-Three, says simply that things tend to happen in threes.The principles which govern the planes are themselves subject to this rule.

Unity of Rings The second principle is the Unity of Rings, and notes that many things on the planes are circular, coming back around to where they started. This is true geographically as well as philosophically.

Center of All
The third principle (fitting neatly into the Rule-of-Three above) is the Center of All, and states that there is a center of everything — or, rather, wherever a person happens to be is the center of the multiverse... from their own perspective, at least. As most planes are functionally infinite, disproving anyone's centricity would be impossible. In Planescape, this is meant philosophically just as much as it is meant in terms of multiversal geography.

Which campaign do you like better and why?

DRAGONLANCE...

Dragonlance is set on the world of Krynn. The majority of the novels take place in the various regions of Ansalon, a small continent, though some have taken place on the continent of Taladas, located northeast of Ansalon. The world's major gods are the High God and his children: good Paladine, neutral Gilean, and evil Takhisis. The gods are opposed by Chaos, who seeks to destroy Krynn. Depending on the time period, the evil chromatic and the good metallic dragons are rare or plentiful. Humans are Krynn's most common humanoid race, but elves, dwarves, kender, gnomes, and minotaurs occupy the world as well. Clerics derive magical powers from their gods, and wizards derive their power from the three moon gods, Solinari, Lunitari, and Nuitari. Hickman had previously preached as a Mormon missionary in Java for two years, and uses Indonesian in Dragonlance spells.During Krynn's various wars, armies of draconians are used as troops. Draconians are created by corrupting a dragon egg, thereby creating a reptilian humanoid. The eggs of good dragons create evil draconians, and vice versa.

FORGOTTON REALMS

The focus of the Forgotten Realms setting is the continent of Faerûn, part of the fictional world of Abeir-Toril, usually called simply Toril, an Earth-like planet with many real-world influences. Unlike Earth, the lands of the Forgotten Realms are not all ruled by the human race: the planet Abeir-Toril is shared by humans, dwarves, elves, goblins, orcs, and other peoples and creatures. Technologically, the world of the Forgotten Realms is not nearly as advanced as that of Earth; in this respect, it resembles the pre-industrial Earth of the 13th or 14th century. However, the presence of magic provides an additional element of power to the societies. There are several nation states and many independent cities, with loose alliances being formed for defense or conquest. Trade is performed by ship or horse-drawn vehicle, and manufacturing is based upon cottage industry.

I'm glad they are rereleasing these books but I don't like the altered bookcovers. They should of kept the original covers dang it! I heard everything else is accurate tho to the old books. This is a gem for RPG game collectors and enthusiasts alike. I may swoop these up if I get some extra cash, but I also still need some more Pathfinder books...

The Last Starfighter is a 1984 science fiction adventure film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan (played by Lance Guest), an average teenage boy recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war. It also featured Dan O'Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Preston, Norman Snow and Kay E. Kuter.

The Last Starfighter, in addition to Disney's Tron, has the distinction of being one of cinema's earliest films to use extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI) to depict its many starships, environments and battle scenes. This CGI technique, for the time, was a great leap into the future compared to contemporary films such as the previous year's Return of the Jedi, which still used static physical models shot by moving film cameras.

I recommend this film to all. It came out at a time when Arcades were first coming out and video games were getting big.

I saw the Phantom Menace in 3D the other day and it was cool. The 3D makes you feel like you're in the movie. The space scenes, pod race, and Jedi battle at the end looked great in 3D. You can see things in the background better and some things pop in your face. The movie is great on the big screen. The details pop out and the music score sounds great and helps to tell the story. I recommend seeing this space adventure fantasy while it's still on the big silver screen.

I hope Paizo can figure out a way to produce a monthly publication on the hobby of Roleplaying games. There is enough games, materials, and conventions to support such topics. I would subscribe to something like this in a heartbeat!

Has WOTC fixed this problem yet? My friend showed my his Player's handbook and told me as he was fingering through the book the ink smudged terribly in several places inside his book. Do all 4th edition books have this problem or is it just my friend and his old copy of Player's handbook

I busted out the old Player's handbook to tidy up on some old rules. Wow the magic of the old days came back to me with that old Player's Handbook back. I started rereading the book and forgot so much of the game but it's all coming back to me, coming back to me. I used to venture in the Forgotton Realms, and Ravenloft. I am eager to venture back to these places to catch up with some old friends.

I think it would be great if Pathfinder could creat a darkworld like Ravenloft or make some new Ravenloft stuff. Something like that with a gothic touch would be great.

When Im using a 2 handed weapon how do I apply 1 1/2 x character strength bonus to damage rolls? Could someone explain this please?