I've misplaced my copy of the rulebook (I know which room it's in, but not which pile on which desk)...

How strong does a V&V character need to be to be able to dead-lift 800kg? And then walk with it for a couple of meters?

(Asking for a scenario. Fun fact of the day: a catalog briefcase, like this one or Yomiko Readman's, can hold 800 kg of gold... until it splits its seams because it's not designed to carry that much mass.)

Old thread is here.

And let me just start the new thread with a couple pics I've got laying around.

   
   

So here in the US it's a three-day holiday weekend, and as usual for Memorial Day, we're spending it with my wife's family. Which includes our niece Vivienne, AKA Vivi, who is an amazingly large ham when she knows a camera is pointed at her. That said, all I need to add is, look at the niece. <grin>

The fiftieth Fic Update thread... that's some milestone.

Number 49 is here.

I've been reminding myself recently that I needed to log in to COH and just make sure everything in the Legendary is running on an even keel. I couldn't remember how long it had been since I last logged in, but it wasn't that long, was it? I was sure i remembered the most recent Halloween and Christmas events, so it could only have been, what, a couple months, right?

Well. After spending an hour getting my launcher and game files updated tonight, I discovered it had actually been exactly 301 days since the last time I'd logged in. The events I remembered were from 2021. How I'd gone so long without playing and not noticed I have no idea, but I did, and I want to apologize to all the members of the Legendary for apparently abandoning the group -- especially after having to ask for my leadership position back last time.

I'm going to make a point of not vanishing again.

I don't look at the them too often, not having a group to play with and not really being interested in class & level systems in general these days, but if there's any of the books you don't have and want it looks like they're around 40% off cover price line-wide on Amazon at the moment. I'll admit I was really tempted by the updated Spelljammer and Xanathar/Tasha/Mordenkainen sets until I reminded myself of the above factors.

Of course, there's also your gaming politics to consider if you care about that, with the whole OGL retcon attempt and its fallout. Given the general attitudes here I'd actually expect that to carry some weight as well... and even on sale, they're still more expensive than Paizo's various "Pocket Edition" TPB size reprints

To get a story going, you need the audience to bite that hook. Dangle some bait for me!

example Wrote:"Well that's unusually polite for a summoning," [character] said, looking down at the magic circle that included an explanation of its purpose spinning around the edge and an actual progress bar and timer ticking down to when it would activate.

bad example Wrote:Seized by a press gang and taken to sea, [character] was freed when the crew mutinied against their cruel captain, but now guilty by association, [pronoun] must try to find a place in this harsh new life!

example Wrote:[character] sat listening to the sounds pf nature. The rock was warm, and the sunset was beautiful. "It's finally over,' [pronoun] sighed.

Wired has put up a disturbing article about a for-sale AI-based writing tool that has incorporated AO3's contents in its language model, how it was discovered, and the growing outrage in the fan communities about it:

The Fanfic Sex Trope That Caught a Plundering AI Red-Handed

As I recall, he gave up on ff.net and retreated into some small fanfic community like the Fanfiction Federation, but I don't remember which one. I do remember that it had dedicated areas for him and other authors to post their works. I'd like to see if he's followed up on some of his stories that have been stagnant since his retreat. Does anyone know where he's hanging out these days and if he's still writing?