Gromnir

wotr release were much the same as you describe. sure, for wotr there were innumerable mechanics errors, many o' which persist to this day, but the genuine game killing bugs were almost non-existent for those acts which were part o' the beta. late game content was predictably a crap shoot at release for wotr, but we were happy surprised at how quick owlcat addressed the game ending bugs from those later acts. am gonna wait for one more big patch before starting. am certain many mechanics errors will exist for months and maybe even years, but everything am hearing suggests rogue trader is following a stability trajectory similar to wotr. HA! Good Fun!

we didn't retire at fifty 'cause o' the huge pile o' money we made as a fist amendment lawyer. for anybody who asks us 'bout becoming an attorney, we always says that if you are getting into law for the money, then you are making a mistake. is far easier ways to make dough in the US. other than the true believers, we has met extreme few attorneys who is happy with their choice o' profession. aside, am not sure how the $148 mil stands. half o' that is punitive damages, and punitive damages is possible not what you imagine. magnitude o' the wrong does not increase punitive damages. wealth o' the defendant is what is important when calculating punitive. even in jurisdictions where there is no limits on punitive damages, the jury is s'posed determining a number which will convince the defendant to not repeat the bad behavior which resulted in the reward. example: your neighbor prunes your tree in your yard 'cause the foliage is blocking his view... and is not the firstest time he has pruned your trees. cops, court and hoa has all warned your neighbor about trespassing on your property to prune your tree, but he keeps repeating the bad behavior. punitive damages would be appropriate in such a case and would be calculated to bring about a change in the defendant's behavior. if your neighbor is a multi-billionaire, chances are a monetary chastisement would need be greater to alter behavior than if the defendant is a school teacher with three kids who is underwater on his home's mortgage. is not magnitude o' the wrong which is important in calculating punitives but rather the depth o' defendant pockets. makes sense, no? rudy refused to provide documentation about his wealth, so the jury used their imaginations to come up with a meaningful number for punitive damages. rudy keeps doing the same bad behavior (defamation/libel) which got him in trouble in the first place, so am understanding why a jury would choose a big number-- shock and awe might be needed to force rudy to stop doin bad. even so, am doubting the punitive number holds. understatement: we would be surprised to discover rudy has +$70 million squirreled away. compensatory damages o' +$70 million also feels a bit much. how much money would it take to make the plaintiffs whole? compensatory damages is NOT about punishing a defendant. doug, the world's most unpleasant bastard, pushes pauline, a retired septuagenarian who donates her free time and what little disposable income she has to the local shelter for victims o' domestic abuse, down a flight o' stairs. doug meant for pauline to be severe injured, but miraculously, pauline only suffered a sprained pinky finger. compensatory damages awarded to pauline should make her whole. so, how much? whatever were her hospital costs? is not gonna be a big number. pain and suffering is a real thing, and there is no hard and fast rules to determine how much additional compensatory money is required to make a plaintiff whole when considering pain. no amount of money could ever make the pain and anguish of the plaintiffs disappear is a bad argument to make when seeking compensatory damages. am not sure how the jury decided on a number, but +$70 million for compensatory damages, even with a fuzzy pain and suffering calculation, feels disproportionate. again, compensatory damages is not meant to make rudy suffer for the wrong he did but is calculated to make the plaintiffs whole. is being able to afford a winter home in aspen gonna make the plaintiffs whole? and again, for compensatory it don't matter if rudy is bad or rich. imagine all the facts o' the case is the same, but the defendant is some crackpot conspiracy theory junkie living in his mom's basement along with her eleven cats. basement dweller's income is whatever he makes part-time at the local seven-eleven. basement dweller's blog posts about the plaintiffs just happened to go viral and got similar coverage as did rudy's nonsense. would a jury have awarded +$70 million in compensatory damages if basement dweller was the defendant? if not, why not? excuse our typical lack o' brevity. HA! Good Fun!

expecting meaningful orthopedic and/or neurological advice from a car sales person? 'cause sometimes the mistake is so obvious you don't even notice. unsurprising, car sales persons is trying to sell you a car-- their skill set is in sales. chances are you wouldn't depend on car salesperson for tax advice. wouldn't rely on the car sales person for insights 'bout whether to buy i-bonds this year. considering lasik surgery? well then, the car sales person is you obvious lighthouse guiding you thorough the storm o' concerns. aside, we hated our bmw x-5, but that thing were disproportionate heavy for its size, which we were told by a not salesperson contributed to the smooth ride we enjoyed, and the driver seat were so comfortable it bordered on the vulgar. when we finally got rid o' the bmw, we felt a sigh o' relief, but we do miss the comfort. given the number o' people with back problems in the US, am suspecting is any number o' reputable publications and sites which offer car advice focused on back issues. car salesperson. HA! Good Fun!

am half expecting you to destroy board souls by sharing how you made a guanciale and pickled herring sandwich with extra mayo, or that the bolognese turned out ok once you added a sufficient amount o' ketchup. HA! Good Fun!

in case is not clear, "sibley" is rudy's lawyer. and this is where we are today with some significant % o' the population having voluntarily smashed through the looking glass where they is inhabiting a fantasy world where whatever they dislike is explained by cartoony dark forces. those who voluntary abandon reason and rational, often for transparent mercenary motivations, when called to account by voters, neighbors or even the legal system is somehow deserving forgiveness 'cause whatever wrong they did were 'cause they is true believers in the fantasy they created for themselves. and no, we did not expect such easy flat earther segue material so soon after our most recent post. HA! Good Fun!

any moderate republican candidate could beat biden w/o a sweat. the problem for haley and anybody else is that no republican will win w/o approval from the trump base-- republicans made a proverbial deal with the devil when they embraced trump. 'course it didn't start with trump. for years the gop was advancing the big tent metaphor while sarah palin, rush limbaugh and steve bannon were simultaneous appealing to the not-so-fringe elements o' the gop. working class white voters, many o' whom voted for obama, were facing decades long economic hardship and simultaneous they were being told they were benefiting from white privilege. in retrospect is not surprising marginalized and disaffected white voters chose to glomp onto an elmer gantry figure such as trump. those voters were looking for a savior from evil as 'posed to a President. elements o' the gop identified a group o' voters who needed a push to radicalize 'em, and that is exact what they did. gop big tent went in the dumpster and instead we see a platform o' outrage and grievance. republicans know they can't win without the radicalized base they took into the fold. is only a few years past, but seeming improbable, key is now full on supporting a candidate who promotes dozens o' demonstrable wrong conspiracy theories about covid, masks, the cia, and tainted water supplies turning your kids trans. doesn't matter how much proof there is o' guys such as trump and rfk jr being wrong 'bout covid deaths or cancer causing windmills, 'cause while the corrupt government and fake news media attempts to distract you with every little detail those guys get wrong, those complicit institutional supporters are ignoring the bigger and important truth that guard dog's They are indeed out to get you and is only individuals not part o' the establishment who have any chance whatsoever o' fixing the corrupt system... or some other nonsense. being angry isn't a crime and in 2023 there is more than a little justification for working class whites to be angry, yes? being told that systematic problems which has existed for a long time can't be fixed simple and easy ain't a winning strategy for getting the angry vote. political version o' flat earthers is no longer fringe, and is not limited to the right (if you want, we can post video from a recent oakland city council meeting where the lefty kooks were calling for oakland to condemn israel [serious] and many such individuals were insisting october 7 were a israeli false flag operation as justification for their outrage,) am not personal understanding why anybody would listen to trump, rfk jr trump and other sources o' endemic misinformation, but for some inexplicable reason, the anti-authority nutters seem to need just a little push from a recognizable authority figure to full embrace their anger and crazy. ironic. haley could easily beat biden... just so long as she has trump base support. it might be a smart movie for trump if he bargained support o' haley in exchange for a prospective pardon, but am barely able to imagine trump doing smart. also, pardons wouldn't get trump out o' his georgia or civil problems. HA! Good Fun!

Trump says he’s not testifying in his civil fraud trial Monday *gasp* <-- feigned surprise can either read the link, or instead just appreciate werner herzog's best evar filmed scene. aside, one reason the court gave for maintaining the gag order in trump's fed jan 6 case is 'cause the appelate judges observed the trial were assured gonna be complete before the election, so there were no need to delay actions until after the election. converse, judge aileen canon is delaying the most straightforward and simple procedural matters in the mar-a-lago docs case. HA! Good Fun!

no doubt many people is playing rogue trader, but we just finished lord of nothing, so regardless o' fact few may care at the moment, am offering insights. am curious disappointed in spite o' fact am thinking the newish dlc was excellent if predictable buggy. examples o' a few annoying bugs: being mounted when a cutscene starts means your character is somewhere improbable when cutscene ends; we noticed sendri had a missing feat only after a subsequent level-up; our martyr paladin had no auras; shaken debuff from greater shadow demon proximity was permanent; etc. the thing is, we expected bugs, so no disappointment, but there were a few frustrating bug moments. more than just a few. ... if lord of nothing were part o' wotr, it would represent much o' the best content o' the game. one portion o' the dlc had mask of the betrayer nostalgia and a nifty mechanic. lon also benefited from a few o' the more interesting written characters in any owlcat offering. tough choices is always easiest to make at the end o' a title 'cause is no bifurcation o' storyline after the finale, but while owlcat broke no new ground, they made the end choices feel meaningful even w/o knowing how such choices impact the main campaign. were a few kewl encounters/fights and quests. but lon were not through the ashes 2. most o' the clever gameplay and mechanics from through the ashes were abandoned in lon. we were back to per kill xp and degenerative gameplay. no tough lon decision as to whether to use rope or tools or perhaps save such limited resources for later. no lon chances to exploit geography to win fights or to have different groups o' antagonists fight each other. etc. through the ashes were refreshing particular as owlcat is ordinarily so color-by-numbers with their encounter design. perhaps is noteworthy owlcat literal abandoned color for lon. oh, and regardless, we thought lord of nothing content were good (and often excellent), but we were disappointed 'cause we didn't get more through the ashes novel content. HA! Good Fun!

speaker johnson explaining why the the january 6 tapes has not yet been released. ... uhmm... HA! Good Fun!

ignorance is never an excuse. even so, out o' all the founding fathers, am thinking washington might be least responsible for his acceptance o' slavery, 'cause he were a rube. is one o' those things not covered often in the myth surrounding the heroes o' the revolution, but washington were probable the least educated o' the founders. some grammar school and the books he read and observed as important to him were 'bout etiquette. 18th century versions o' miss manners advice. serious. don't let southerners fool you, slavery, amongst educated men o' europe and the americas, were recognized as evil and ultimately self destructive even in 1776. yankee abolitionists were some o' the most vocal advocates o' revolution and they were the ones howling indignation at the eventual 3/5ths compromise. the founders knew slavery were wrong, but too many o' the rich and landed men who were part o' the revolution and then contributed to the Constitution depended on slavery... although is doubtful they could envision just how much more slavery would become ingrained in american economic fortunes over the next fifty years. the benign and educated southerner thought slavery as an american institution would die natural sooner as 'posed to later, but they didn't have the courage to step forward and kill the beast themselves. no excuse for thomas jefferson and others. but washington? still not a good excuse, but serious, history books do not often dwell on the disdain many o' the founders felt for the bumpkin putting on airs who would become our first President. regardless, washington weren't dumb, so he don't deserve excuses, but he were pretty darn ignorant even for a man o' his time... at least relative to the other founders. maybe that makes a difference? maybe not. am not judging but am filling in one o' those unfortunate blanks in the american myth. ... converse, the notion women deserved equal rights and were at least as mental capable as men were an extreme fringe notion even amongst the educated men who authored the Constitution in 1787. the wollstonencraft movement were seen as somewhere between laughable and dangerous by the educated founders. jeopardy worthy, mary wollstonecraft whose name became synonymous with early english/american feminism, were the mother o' mary shelly, the author o' frankenstein. HA! Good Fun!

is arguments the US deserves to be considered as oligarchy, but you always gotta be wary o' sources. US as oligarchy is particular popular amongst the conspiracy minded-- the idea the illuminati, a cabal o' powerful corporations, billionaires and government entities is behind your troubles is appealing in its simplicity. The ‘black’ hole in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s housing conspiracy theory dude is nuttier than squirrel p00p, but you see once again his conspiracy driven outlook. for many conspiracy folks, covid were fake and driven by pharma and government self-interest. likewise, the housing shortage is similar caused by a shadowy corporate entity with an ominous name, and government interests is aware o' the problem but ignore 'cause they is complicit... and facts be damned, right? is the narrative and not facts which is important. it all fits, yes? am ok with considering the US for inclusion as an oligarch, but you gotta be suspicious when such claims come from conspiracy folks, 'cause is part o' their cracked mindset. most americans were raised in schools which taught that our republic with a representative democracy relying on checks and balances were the solution. we got a whole mythology built up around certain famous political figures and we construct great monuments in their honor. try and explain how liberty and democracy is creating opposing tensions does not compute no matter how much we explain. the laws created by the democratic process place limits on citizen actions. don't smoke in restaurants. don't drive your car w/o a seat belt. dumping toxic waste on your own land is verboten. etc. athenian democracy were a mess and not just 'cause women couldn't vote... and their reliance on slavery. every choice o' the athenian body politic became a popularity contest. demagogues and petty self interest had a way o' undermining best intentions. the US solution to the democracy problem were to make government inefficient and to limit its powers-- three separate branches, a divided legislature, a bill of rights which is a list o' stuff off limits to The People and the democratic process, etc. the founders baked gridlock into the US system purposeful and yet we all act surprised by how incompetent and inefficient it is at times. unfortunate, 'cause we is raised and taught the religion o' democracy from a young age... US representative democracy is a good thing, but it ain't deserving the myth, and explanations for why people is hungry, homeless, out of work and a hundred other misfortunes is not depending on the cabal o' powerful people, companies and government forces. US as oligarchy is a valid academic question, but beware conspiracy and whataboutism. @Bartimaeus am thinking trump is a problem for many folks, even sooper smart people. perhaps is smart folks who is most baffled by trump. when trump first became President, many were unconcerned 'cause the US system doesn't give the President the power to do everything trump claimed he were gonna do. lotta hot air. trump went ahead and did anyways. after four years, people kept using same arguments. january 6 happens and we got people on this board and elsewhere suggesting the real problem were tds, 'cause is no way trump coulda' remained in power even if he delayed the electoral count. foolishness. similar, smarty people seem incapable o' realizing that a violation o' law or morality does not exist which would move his base from their idolatry. trump has spent the last few years telling his people that the reason he is being prosecuted is 'cause they are coming after your freedoms and trump is standing in their way. to the trump base and most republicans, if 45 is convicted it will prove just how right trump were. facts don't matter. smarty people such as tribe can't seem to process the fact that a large % o' americans has been radicalized or simply divorced from reality for too long. tribe lives in a logical and rational world o' newtonian physics where effects follow causes. 2023 US is so not tribe's world. HA! Good Fun!

today were arguable the single worst day trump has had in regards to his numerous court cases. first: https://www.npr.org/2023/12/01/1216541738/appeals-court-trump-immunity-jan-6-riot-lawsuits Former President Donald Trump is not immune from being sued over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, clearing the way for lawsuits filed against him in connection with the deadly riot. judge luttig thoughts on the matter: not only did the judge find the appeals court decision persuasive but he did not see any reason why SCOTUS would grant cert if trump appealed. judge luttig, btw, before he started to criticize trump, were arguable one o' the top three most respected living textualists (conservatives.) am gonna suggest the guy who were most instrumental in getting clarence thomas nominated by bush were luttig. nobody has ever confused luttig with liberals. also, for those not understanding how the arcane US judicial system operates, appeals court decisions create binding precedent for lower district courts, so were no surprise when... second: https://www.npr.org/2023/12/01/1216696071/donald-trump-election-interference-immunity-claims-rejected-tanya-chutkan Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution in his election interference case in Washington, a federal judge ruled Friday, knocking down the Republican's bid to derail the case charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's decision amounts to a sharp rejection to challenges the Trump defense team had raised to the four-count indictment in advance of a trial expected to center on the Republican's multi-pronged efforts to undo the election won by Democrat Joe Biden. larry is the preeminent con law scholar-- he literally wrote the book on the subject. that said, mr. tribe clear don't like trump, trump policies and the maga credo in general, so he might be indulging a smidge o' wishful thinking. luttig and tribe? two elder statesman o' the law who on paper appear to be natural adversaries agree trump had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. take it for what it's worth. HA! Good Fun!

but not crooked enough to be President? for too many, expel were a transactional consideration. virtual every gop representative from NY voted to expel santos. why? 'cause they know democrats is gonna be using santos as an example o' what is wrong with the gop from now 'til the 2024 election. gop fighting in biden districts in particular needed to get ahead o' the santos problem. any o' those same gop Congressmen voiced their outrage at the lies from trump? the current ny civil case against trump and his family has already determined trump is liable for fraud-- trump lies is already legal fact. only thing being determined is extent o' damages trump is gonna need pay. the now forgotten mueller report accused trump o' lying. is so weird how that always gets overlooked. trump testimony were disbelieved by a jury o' his peers in a civil rape case. trump's own attorney has testified before a grand jury stating that the ex-president was fully aware that keeping the government documents requested by the doj in their subpoena were illegal, and yet he did not turn over those documents. don't even get us started on the trump lies about election integrity. oh, and the trump foundation, before the state o' ny finally shut it down, screwed over veterans, orphans and old people for chrissakes. santos ripped off possible dozens o' people and lied to thousands o' voters. trump ripped off thousands and lied to millions. HA! Good Fun!

Expansion adds hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians to Medicaid HA! Good Fun!

ok, am having said more than once am not a fan o' puns, but we did chuckle at ms. carter's pithy offering. HA! Good Fun!

was planning on waiting for one more patch, but we might give the new dlc a shot this weekend. am likely gonna start a new through the ashes party as the bard companion for lord of nothing doesn't mesh ideal with our previous group: sacred huntsmaster, wildlands shaman, sohei/martyr, and skald. much o' the martyr benefits become kinda redundant with a bard companion, but am not wanting to sacrifice the sohei/martyr animal companion and bab progression. ... we end spending almost as much time and effort trying to choose right party or characters as 'posed to actual playing the game. sickness. HA! Good Fun!

am in agreement, but... perhaps owlcat took a practical approach and assumed that as soon as the game were released, a few persons would start digging into code and even if nobody did, somebody would discover and then want credit for discovering. the reality is, the secret ending requirements were discovered extreme soon after the release o' the game. maybe you recall the ring of wizardry at the friendly arms inn from bg1? if you don't, many others hereabouts will. the only way to discover the ring is complete accident or individual pixel hunting... which is what a few folks did to find other curiously rando loot in bg. yeah, no doubt multiple somebodies would try to puzzle out the heavy breathing in the ineluctable prison, 'cause is improbable something like that is an accident, right? so am not doubting somebody figures out eventual, but is also inevitable other somebodies would dig into code and unlock all the secret ending requirements. am suspecting owlcat were perfect ok with either resolution and that they assumed that once the secret ending were known as 'posed to rumor, people would do find solutions via the online community. am agreeing some o' the secret ending clues weren't so much clues as just rando requirements, but here we are two years following the game release and near everybody who wanted to complete the secret ending probably did so. owlcat russian developers is perhaps predictable practical. owlcat knew it didn't matter if their trail o' breadcrumbs leading to completion o' the secret ending requirements were rational and reasonable, so why sweat such nuance? HA! Good Fun!

@Agiel is a blessing to know what you like. shouldn't be complicated. is. rip

1) am thinking it were a mistake to expel santos-- sets a new precedent and one which may be manipulated in the future santos should have quit, but he didn't. the thing is now you got expulsion for a non-traitor who has not committed a crime or been found guilty while in office. 2) kissinger. well... keep in mind anthony bourdain would probably not have been able to visit china if not for kissinger, and every person reading this board is living in a far safer world 'cause o' kissinger's undeniably instrumental efforts to normalize relations with china. am doubting anybody here is old enough to remembers (Gromnir ain't even old enough) and few people today has been taught or learned just what normalization meant. on a list o' post ww2 diplomatic achievements, kissinger's role in china has gotta rank near the top, 'cause china was a far greater threat than is north korea today. for centuries, china had two things in abundance: people and famine. china also had nukes. golly, what could possible go wrong? @Gorth and Gromnir has both mentioned how the fear o' nuclear apocalypse were omnipresent during our youth. we always knew we were one misunderstanding or mistake away from armageddon but Gromnir didn't particular fear china. (can't speak for Gorth) why? normalized relations changed everything. is literal impossible to convey what it were like to be living during the cold war. is similar impossible to imagine what china sans kissinger's interventions woulda' meant to world stability and safety. the power politics model of the cold war era remains the manner in which great nations interact--don't kid yourself. kissinger were an amoral and uncompromising advocate o' power politics. kissinger were a bad man, living in a bad time and he deserves your scorn. the recent deceased american diplomat made no effort to find a better way than a soulless and uncompromising application o' power politics stratagems. the thing is, he also made the world safer for billions. is ok to hate kissinger, but am thinking nowadays he doesn't get near the credit he is entitled to insofar as china normalization alone. many people today see the world in frustratingly simple terms: black and white; oppressors and oppressed; good guys and bad guys; right and wrong. am not sure where the certainty comes from. it should not be impossible to be disgusted by kissinger while simultaneous being impressed by a few o' his achievements. and heck, we took sh!te for pointing out days after kobe bryant's death that there were ample evidence he committed rape and got away with it. we were told, too soon. respect for the recent deceased. etc. HA! Good Fun! ps am not sure why anthony bourdain's opinion 'bout kissinger is more significant than that o' any obsidian boardie or the rando unintelligible ny cabbie. the deceased chef's opinion is no less worthy than __________, but am always perplexed people see value in celebrity. no special insights from wanting to punch kissinger, so why should we care? we don't get it. also, before the edit we had written, "cause china was a far greater threat than is south korea today." am thinking most k-pop is a crime against humanity, but we wouldn't ever suggest such amounted to a global threat similar to pre-normalization china.

Pence told Jan. 6 special counsel harrowing details about 2020 aftermath, warnings to Trump: Sources But, the sources said, with the pressure on Pence mounting, he concluded on Christmas Eve -- just for a moment -- that he would follow Trump's suggestion and let someone else preside over the proceedings on Jan. 6, writing in his notes that doing otherwise would be "too hurtful to my friend." "Not feeling like I should attend electoral count," Pence wrote in his notes in late December. "Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore I'm not going to participate in certification of election." Then, sitting across the table from his son, a Marine, while on vacation in Colorado, his son said to him, "Dad, you took the same oath I took" -- it was "an oath to support and defend the Constitution," Pence recalled to Smith's investigators, sources said. That's when Pence decided he would be at the Capitol on Jan. 6 after all, according to the sources. and so once again we see america relying on the marines to save democracy. HA! Good Fun!

maybe a little hyperbolic. if you have all the enchantment boosting gear on ember (and there is a great deal o' it,) plus the rest bonuses and various mythic bonuses which either boost your party ability scores, spell dc or lower foe saves, as well as silly op stuff such as the madness domain save reduction power, in addition to hexes and what not, then chances are w/o an extra couple stacks o' expanded arsenal deskari gets a 25% chance to save v. the current 5%. play with a court poet in the party and deskari save chances get even worse. the numbers remain so much in your favour as an enchanter, particular if you are speaking o' a main character demon or azata enchanter, that am personal not sweating the changes even for unfair battles. and for most battles beyond the bosses, a mid-level and beyond ember is gonna be more than adequate to insta-wipe the field even w/o a few buffs. from our pov, wotr unfair is 'bout silly and stoopid exploitation o' numbers and loopholes, and enchanters remain a win option given all the possibilities for exploitation. edit: have mentioned previous, but am thinking it is worth restating, we see core and perhaps even normal difficulty o' wotr as problematic for players unaware o' the exploits in pathfinder and owlcat's quirky take on pathfinder. is not so much that wotr is some kinda hardcore crpg, but the stat bloat utilized to make the game challenging for a party o' six in a setting with reload were implemented such that players who just wanna role-play and pick nifty classes, feats and weapons is likely gonna face frustrations. if you avoid any and all exploitive options, the numerous wotr difficulty spikes for both boss and a few rando encounters will make the game feel mighty unfair even on core difficulty. wotr isn't hardcore in the traditional sense but rather in the age of decadence spin-- in a game with innumerable character generation and leveling options, there is a mere handful o' right choices. if you are unaware o' the spells, class combos and feats which are disproportionate effective, you will suffer. converse, for the player who does know all the exploits and uses such to create an uber party o' unkillable demigods, even unfair difficulty isn't all that challenging even if it does become a soul numbing slog. am thinking the owlcat design philosophy is kinda obtuse for a cRPG, but fans defend it and demand more, so... HA! Good Fun!

well, it is possible to make casters op in wotr, but blasters is less an issue than is enchanters or illusionists. owlcat did address one o' the more obvious caster exploits with the counter-intuitive stacking o' expanded arsenal bonuses. even so, blasters got nerfed a fair bit more than casters who rely on dc to generate insta-kills. the thing is, merged spellbook angel and lich actual received a serious boost 'cause mythic spells post dlc benefit from spell specialization. owlcat is weird cats. if after two years you are looking to balance the game, merged spellbook lich and angels is the most obvious options, followed perhaps by trickster mythic... although am admitting crpg wotr animal companion mechanics may be more beyond the pale than any other curious owlcat implementation. regardless, the developer have taken the nerf bat to blasters in a big way with the changes to dragon bloodlines, chain lightning and other fixes, while buffing merged spellbook casters? is not that the blaster nerfs is wrong, 'cause the aforementioned sh!te, along with sneak attack damage from multiple sources, is just so not how blasters is envisioned to play in pnp. even so, it does make you wonder what is the rationale for owlcat fixes. if we had to guess, am thinking balance is clear not an owlcat concern, but they did wish for features to work as the developer intended 'em to function. regardless o' how busted is merged spellbook angels, they are now working more as owlcat envisioned. converse, blasters may have taken a particular big power hit with the recent patch, but owlcat never intended for players to be able to apply multiple different draconic bloodlines. and to be fair, is still a heck o' a lot o' cheese in wotr for those gamers with a fromage fetish. as @majesticpoints out, unfair difficulty just became a bit more challenging with owlcat's removing obvious exploits, but am having no doubt players still interested in overcoming the highest difficulty will adapt extreme quick. HA! Good Fun!

@Gorth the remoulade looks intriguing and we might give it a go ourself. the lack o' garlic might be a deal breaker, but is worth a shot anyways. jic you wanna make your own mayo, 'cause is ez. aside, we left out 1tsp o' dijon mustard from o' our personal recipe for mayo in the linked post. am actual most intrigued by the effective mirepoix o' onion, carrot and cabbage in your remoulade recipe. celery is... aggressive. we like celery. unfortunate, traditional mirepoix often results in too much celery flavour. reduce celery is always an option, but am curious if cabbage would work in lieu o' celery for dishes which have a mild flavour profile. 'course the sulfides in cabbage is also a potential hurdle. regardless, am likely to experiment with cabbage as a celery substitute in mirepoix thanks to your remoulade queries. so, thanks. HA! Good Fun!

am not a huge spaghetti western fan, but we like a few o' the sergio leone offerings... and we can't help but think the wild bunch is less likely to be made and released without a few early sergio leone movies being successful. HA! Good Fun!

people like simple. people like brevity. in 2023, too many people get their news and info single-serving sized and then think they is educated on issues. we like honest government ad, but it is single-serving fare and relying on it is gonna lead to misunderstandings in a few cases. extrapolating to apply to other situations and nations is even more dangerous. example: in the land o' the free and the home o' the brave, we fixed (HA!) honest ad "sum up" problems two and three way back in 2009. heck, the US mostly addressed honest ad spending concerns back in 1976 with another case, buckley v. valeo. while citizens united deserved gets much attention, buckley is where our campaign finance issues exploded. yeah, 'cause there weren't much money involved in being an elected official pre 1976, only wealthy old guys ran for political office and they all too frequent turned to graft to make dough while in office. opening up the political spending spigot didn't reduce corruption and we still got an old man issue... but those is tangential issues, right? *chuckle* regardless, does it look as if more money flowing into the electoral process resulted in more equitable voting outcomes for the US? take as a warning: (paraphrase) those the gods choose to destroy, to them they grant wishes. in other words, is so not the same situation for the US even if at first glance it might look and feel same. honest ad is funny and we enjoy, but they tend to oversimplify and they frequent promote questionable conclusions based on suspect evidence, which is ok 'cause they is doing for laughs and hopeful trying to get people to further educate selves. unfortunate, all too often am suspecting honest ad, daily show, fox news and other comedy news sources is ends rather than starting points for those wishing to be educated on the important issues o' the day. and yeah, we get the irony o' trying to explain the honest ad extrapolation problem with a single-serving video, but trying to combat endemic ignorance o' the electorate via a game message board is sisyphean. HA! Good Fun!