Walsingham

I don't deny that the USA was strategically beaten in Vietnam. I am asking whether it was a phyrric victory in the sense that at least proved a speed bump to further expansion. Had it not been for the US at least trying to halt communism the South would have possibly fallen by 1968 if not before. Don't lets forget that besides time the communists lost something between 1 and 2 _million_ casualties. Which is a sizeable chunk who could have been later used in the domino process I already described. I've forgotten, though, what the relevance is to world war. Oh yes, isolationism. Let's see.. first half of the century an isolationist USA, and two world wars. Second half of the century an involved USA, and no world wars.

I also had a rather fragmented family life. Parents moved around quite a bit. Fought quite a bit. Got divorced. Mad as badgers in the bayou. Sent to boarding school. Demanded to stay in boarding school. I suppose teh idea for this occurred to me because on the one hand my grandfather is in hospital, and I feel like he's been a huge part of my life but never really knew. On the other hand I just woke up to the fact that I have a niece, who I grotesquely bad with, but who adores me. She's only five but she seems to think an uncle who pretends to be a pig and lets her hunt him around the house with a nerf gun is the pinnacle of entertainment. I also buy her ice-cream when she is brave.

I now have the exact same problem, but much stickier.

I wouldn't object to that. I don't buy the notion of society as a general rule.

I was wondering what to do with all these damn hazelnuts so I cooked up a panful with sugar, cinnamon, salt and black pepper. They're actually very good.

I must say that as more of my friends get children I start to wonder about the importance of having a family. It's inconvenient and expensive, and constraining, but... I don't know.

With Christmas coming up I thought it might be interesting to hear what people tought about and felt about family. I know some of us are also having problems with family members being very sick, but I hope this won't cause problems. Who are your family? Are they nice? Are they getting nicer? Where does family end? Where does it begin? Are parents really sensible people to leave in charge of a child? Woudl life be better if we didn't have families but came out of pods? What are your best memories of your family?

Always fresh, never fails.

Cool. Now, to be a bit more risky, what IF the reason we're struggling with them is that in fact society is working, rather than failing? It's easy to get these things because we are prosperous, and there are a lot of safety nets to catch us when we do overindulge. Like alka-seltzer and re-runs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Chocolate Mouse Nazi. they're sweet, but evil, and high in fat. And a vermin. But cute vermin. It works.

I think they do. They are our way of tapping into the hidden undercurrents of our minds, by showing associations, mainly. I did kill the person concerned. They were horrible, and standing in the way of my getting a lot of money. Actually I'm not sure what was more horrifying. The fact that I killed them, or the fact that I tried to conceal the body in an inflated air mattress then forgot about it.

Chocolate Mouse Nazi? Wow.

I find the whole notion of an attractive cosplayer more insane than my dream. Actually that isn't true. There are attractive live roleplaying women and cosplayers. It's just that I'd feel safer dating a 35 year old stripper. A stripper with a past history of mental problems. Because female cosplayers and lrpers are either plain or completely deranged in the sense of teetering on homicide. As for my dream, I don't mind so much having these full detail stereo surround sound dreams. I just get annoyed when they're so rarely about lying on a private beach in the mediterranean, being brought mezze and 20 year old female journalism students. I mean why is it more often that I'm stuck in a trench somewhere bored out of my mind and freezing cold? I get enough of that during the bloody day!

I assume by hogwash you mean some sort of fantastic aromatherapeutic, citrus and cinnamon concoction for bathing magic pigs. Even with the USA fighting for Vietnam the communists went on to topple Laos and Cambodia. If Vietnam had been uncontested give me a couple of reasons why Thailand, Burma, and Malaysia would have survived? When you can think of reasons why the rest of Southeast Asia would have survived, can you then explain why Northeast india - a place still suffering a communist insurgency - would have been OK. I sure as hell can't, so I'll be very impressed if you can.

I massively overslept while having teh most horrific dream I've ever had about trying to hide a body. It was absolutely revolting.

Onsidian VIPs are like judges sent out into the Cursed Earth.

I agree with GDM that it was very hard to roleplay a tough self-serving stance without falling into either far too godo or far too evil. I justified this to myself by the I found two moments of perfect hilarity. 1) The epic spell 'mass fowl' came in at the absolute last minute in one of the final fights which I was getting minced in. I really just coudln't nail the sucker, until I remembered I still had the epic spells left. I used all the others then in a final desperation I drew on mass fowl. In a sudden flash BOOM the guy is a chicken. I literally just ran around for a bit being chased by deadly chicken, enjoying it. I'd have let him go if it had been an option. 2) My character's name is Sorrow. I fashioned an altered mask, and in honour of the game called it the Mask of Sorrow. It took me about a minute before I realised the inadvertant pun.

I don't think this thread has really shown our (myself included) debating abilities at their best. Good raw material for discussion not handled well I feel.

Use your Mold Spirit feat on the enchanter's bag. the results can be both startling and sometimes a wee bit disappointing. Save before you craft, as usual.

I've been playing MoTB since getting it on Friday and my views on thi topic have shifted quite a bit. This is largely because it is absolutely freaking superb. I had forgotten what a hand crafted work of genius you chp[s were capable of. Each bit has the touch of class that comes from individual attention. I'm just not sure you'd get that feeling with a part automated game. It's like the finish on a stradivarius. You know the interior is nearly as beautiful as the exterior, even though you can't see it. On the other hand is that part automation necessary to keep Obsidian profitable, and allow you to go home on time. I don't know. Stradivarius Chris Avellone

ROFL. I have an image of you like Sylvester the cat, with a gingham napkin around your neck.

This is one of those things, where whole system logic doesn't remove personal accountability. Certainly if the industry raises prices it should expect piracy to increase. It's not as if this is news to anyone. However, at a personal level 1. This does not mean that the individual has the right to just ignore the law, particularly in a democracy where that law is open for debate and alteration 2. Nor does it make it moral to contribute to hurting the industry 3. Nor does it make any sense to damage an industry which supports you in your hobby If a protest is warranted, don't buy the games when they come out at full price. Wait until they come down in price, or don't buy at all. It won't kill you.

Interesting topic. I'm concerned that he considers sports violence two points lower than cartoon violence. Which suggests to me that he isn't giving either one a correct rating. Also compare this with violence against robots is only one point below hurting people. However, overall I think it is very good that he is so clear and open about the scoring system. Rating is a difficult business at the best of times.

Original thread: http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?sh...5&start=465 I just want o say I'm only in Act II, but god DAMN it's a fine game. Absolutely fantastic.

Attention. This thread is archiving. BEEEP BEEEEP.