Posts made by Ganymede

@Arkandel said:

Generally speaking staying fit isn't hard. You watch what you eat a little bit (sweets are bad, cut down on bread/fries, eat more protein and fibers) and you exercise in whatever way makes sense to you (the best workout is the one you can do). It baffles the mind there are so many special programs and diets out there because fundamentally it's not that complicated a matter.

This presumes that one is "fit," and that maintenance is the goal. For many, it's not.

I'm in reasonably good shape, but I don't run well for many reasons. I want to change this. However, over the past 2 years, I've had set-backs (e.g., plantar fasciitis, shin splints, bad weather, etc.) and I can't quite get my constant-running to 40 minutes. On top of that, I want to break 5 miles in 40 minutes, and my pace is nowhere near that.

To get to where I want to be, I will likely need to cut about 20 pounds, and start seriously training. All in the name of "fitness," if that definition means "I fit my internal picture of how I ought to be."

It helps that I loathe sitting on my butt watching television. I need other distractions around, like children or my computer, to do that, to my partner's chagrin.

@Catsmeow

One time, I had someone text me with that after I was unable to respond to their messages for 30 minutes. This was the resulting text conversation:

She: I guess you just don't care.
Me: I don't anymore, no.
She: Are you breaking up with me?
Me: Not exactly. You forced the issue.
She: I don't fucking understand.
Me: That's the other problem.

Passive-aggressive behavior can be amusing at times!

@Coin said:

You're conflating having power with not having weaknesses, which is not the same thing, though. Just saying.

Where your level of power can obviate or effectively conceal any weakness, you've probably got too much power. In my experience, STing these sorts of NPCs bores the shit out of my players.

Transmutation already exists for the Sanctified. It's a Level 5 Ritual. It requires line of sight. If the system allows this to occur at a greater distance, you can bet there will be awful mischief.

@ThatOneDude Well, exactly. The difference is that The Reach exists, and a game with my proposed system does not. That may change.

@Darinelle said:

Sidenote: I fucking LOVE Crossfit.

I like cross-fit; I just dislike the people I've met who do it religiously.

@ThatOneDude said:

So where's the beef?

As a PC who does enjoy to run scenes, I abhor doing so for badass Mages, killer Hunters, ninja Werewolves, or the combo of things that I've found a-plenty-of on The Reach. I'd much rather play on a different game, and you might not.

@Luna

Dailyburn is what helps me get through the winter.

I have kids now, and Dailyburn allows me to work out on my schedule. You can stick to a program, set goals, and have the system monitor it for you. Or, like me, you can simply use it to have a guide for individual workouts that I select on my own, depending on what goals I have for the month.

You can connect to Dailyburn via a web browser or by app. I prefer the web browser version over what you can get for the iPad or iPhone. I used it when I was in Toronto a few months ago, and did a workout in my hotel room.

Like all video workout programs, it takes some time to get used to each workout. The trainers presume you have a basic level of adroitness and athletic ability, and that you are balanced (that is, you've got commensurate skill and dexterity from head to toe). They have a True Beginner system, but I can see that being challenging for someone just starting up.

But, and I cannot stress this enough, its strength lies in its versatility. I use it to supplement when I do primarily, which is interval-timed exercises. I intend to use it to keep my cardio and leg-strength up so I can get back to running in the spring. My ultimate goal is to make Army Ranger training requirements, just because.

@Alzie said:

So basically, the point of this is:

1. Telenuking with blood sorcery is stupid and takes a lot of successes
2. Only stupid STs let it happen
3. It requires a huge investment
4. Only stupid STs let it happen
5. For the love of all that is holy limit potency in some way
   Edit: 6) Actually, limit all the factors in some way for sanity, even mage has some limits on their rituals

You're right on all of this. And some players will invest their points in this. My frozen PC could easily be re-spec'd to be able to do this, and she has a Relic that gives her 8-again on her pool of 15 dice.

You could limit this by employing the system originally introduced in V:tR. Those rituals required line of sight, and time. That gimps the ability to obliterate at a distance substantially.

@ Bennie

What Glitch said, although direct blocks can be employed:

1. Don't allow many alts.

2. Even a minimal-requirement approval system obstructs the ability of a player to generate a PC to take revenge in 24 hours. Were this to happen, I would probably @boot the player for abusing the system. Abuse is a good reason to evict a player.

@il-volpe said:

Being able to advance a PC is part of the fun.

No, being able to advance a PC is part of your fun. I prefer being able to make the PC that I want to play. Regardless, whether I do this over time or immediately out of the gate is immaterial to my enjoyment of the game.

As a player, I've found that a lot of policies designed to reduce 'stat inflation' are simply making my XP meaningless.

Nothing renders XP more meaningless than having it doled out so freely that everyone can, across the board, destroy any reasonable opposition. In my opinion, The Reach makes XP gain meaningless because there's so damned much of it.

I find it much, much less annoying to earn XP very very very slowly yet be able to spend it freely. Then the XP is scarce, yes, but it's mine, and I don't feel conned.

That's fine. That's your preference. It's not everyone's preference.

If The Reach has shown anything, it is that an alternative XP system can be employed to great success. Remember that The Reach opened when Haunted Memories and St. Petersburg were operational; those games used an activity-based XP system.

@Glitch

That's a very good idea; provide a discount for time-based gains. I would adopt that amendment, and do away with justifications entirely.

The 200 XP amount was an arbitrary figure. It is a lot for GMC. I'm not suggesting using that figure.

I would not adopt the reverse buy-up option, since I would adopt the amendment above.

In the event of a cap raise, players can spend up to that level immediately or decide that they want to use the time-gain, which provides the 10 percent discount. It's up to them. Those who decided to climb the ladder slowly from the beginning maintain that slight advantage, and those PCs that existed before the cap raise could have an advantage over those created after the raise.

I also like the GMT-ers because I play first-shift EST now. That is, when work isn't eating me alive.

@Glitch

I propose a "potential" system, which reverses what we mostly use. Whereas one earns and spends XP gained, I propose that each advancement adds to the XP of a PC, which is capped at a certain number. Further, a player can boost their PC's stats out of chargen immediately up to the cap. This allows players to create the PCs they want, for the most part, within a certain "potential" for growth.

Example: Suppose the cap is 200 XP. Player A can create a PC and add up to 200 XP of stats if they want to; however, that PC can no longer advance any stat. Meanwhile, Player B can create a PC and add only 35 XP of stats to round her out. Here, A and B get what they want coming out of chargen.

The system should include two features: (1) minimal justification discounts; and (2) timed spends. For a nWoD game, I would propose that a properly-justified spend be discounted by 10 percent of their total cost. The impact of this is balanced out by the fact that PCs can only advance their stats over time. For the same variety of game, I would propose a delay of 1 day per dot of the advanced stat.

Example: Using the example above, and presuming we are on an nWoD GMC game, Player B wants to raise her PC's Strength from 2 to 3. This normally costs 4 XP. If justified, the PC would add 3.6 XP to their total, and would have to wait 3 days from the date of the request until completion.

If the cap is later moved, then older PCs that have met the cap may now advance further. Newer PCs may start at the higher cap, but obviously cannot take advantage of any justification discounts. Still, the disparity between new and old PCs should be small.

The system meets many objections:

1. The system is neither a flat-rate or activity-based, and is essentially static.
2. New PCs are not at a substantial disadvantage, but can still compete with older PCs.
3. Advanced PCs enjoy an initial statistical advantage over novice PCs.
4. Novice PCs enjoy a long-run advantage over advanced PCs.
5. Losing a PC doesn't hurt as much, and there's no XP rollover issues.

@HelloRaptor said:

People used the same arguments you are when Thaumaturgy for Tremere was essentially just a discipline with a handful of attached rituals. Expanding it into numerous paths wasn't strictly necessary, but it did make playing a Tremere way more fun/customizable.

It also made more sense in context; Tremere were Mages turned vampires. And I would concur that, for the non-Tremere, having more paths coincided with the "sorcerous" natures of the Serpents and Assamites.

But in nWoD, for better or for worse, Cruac and Theban Sorcery are presented not as "magic disciplines," but as a level of knowledge or internal corruption necessary to utilize rituals or "miracles." There is no confusing the Acolytes or Sanctified as Tremere analogies. I can deal with and understand creating homebrew Cruac rituals and Theban Sorcery miracles, but the Blood Sorcery system essentially turns the Acolytes and Sanctified into sects of vampire-mages. And, in practice, it breaks whatever balance previously existed between the Covenants.

So, there was nothing wrong to begin with, and the development led to perversion of the underlying, original theme behind Cruac and Theban Sorcery. Sort of like what they did with the Carthians.

@JinShei said:

Heatstroke from running last week Plan is to just use their air con so I can survive getting fit.

It's winter over here, so that doesn't make much sense to me. Also, running until you pass out. (Also, @Luna, running on your toes is arguably the right way to run.)

There's no one method to get into shape. It's a mix of everything said so far: from motivation to doing new shit so you're not bored, to being at a gym where there's eye-candy or excellent trainers.

Without outing myself too badly, I've been going to gyms for years. I like gyms because the equipment expanded what I could do on my own. But after spending a couple of years doing plyometrics, aerobics, and old-school exercises, about the only thing the gym has that I don't is a pull-up bar (which I could overcome with one of those door-frame attachments, but I don't want to chance fucking up my house).

I think what matters most, though, is the drive. You want to get in shape? Cool -- let's share stories. You want to dish on fat-cutting recipes? Shit, yeah -- let's do it. Don't want to pay gym membership or trainer fees? We've all got ideas. It'd be awesome to share success stories, just so we can all keep motivated.

Seriously, though, the Dailyburn is probably the best $10/month I've ever spent.

@JinShei

As long as you understand that it may take between 1-2 months to see results, and even longer to be able to maintain a weekly regimen without damaging yourself, I think you'll be fine.

Ditch the gym. Do it all at home. Seriously.

I have twins.

My kids love my partner, but she's a total sap to them. When I get home, she's exhausted, and complains about how they ran her ragged. However, neither my mother nor I seem to have any problems with their behavior -- from feeding to incessant whining.

I have struggled to come up with a theory for this. Were it just me, I could chalk it up to my kids treating me like a hovering police officer, which is essentially how I treat them most of the time. My mother, however, showers them with more attention than any reasonable human should ever bear (which means she doesn't give a shit about me, which is awesome). The only conclusion is that my partner refuses to set hard boundaries -- but I only can surmise this from my observation of her.

The problem may be that my partner wants the kids to love, adore, and worship her. And I'm beginning to think that this is a bad thing.

I don't need to be loved, adored, or worshipped, least of all from my children. My role is to raise them. It is, perhaps, the teacher in me (and, yes, I am a certified teacher in addition to whatever the shit I do during the day) that keeps that distance. I'm not sure. But I believe strongly in my defined role, and see little wrong with being no more than that.

If I must be the bad person, I will. If I have to be the stern face of reasonable expectations, so be it. Someone has to be. And, so, I have no problem looking kids in the eyes -- not their parents -- and telling them that their shit is unacceptable.

If their parents have a problem with that, they can remove their chattel from my sight and hearing. Striking "the fear of God" means allowing them to stare into what I imagine to be God's eyes: namely, my hard, cold, unerring gaze.

@HelloRaptor said:

They aren't mutually exclusive ideas. I've no idea what you want to make more sense, though.

Actually, they are, but you don't seem to understand that, and so your statement makes no actual sense. You may know what you're saying, but you're not communicating the thought cogently.

Based on the terms you've used, you're analogizing a PC's XP gain to its income. Scarcity is related to supply. The law of diminishing returns is an observation related to utility and cost. These are all separate, economic concepts that only come together in a discussion of price.

Changes in income do not affect the law of diminishing returns. Scarcity does not affect the law of diminishing returns. If you're going to use concepts and terms, know how they interact.

I'm really just getting on you because, you know, it's you.

That said, under GMC's paradigm, there is no cogent reason to cap Attributes or Skills at 5. They should proceed ad infinitum. The system proceeds under the assumption that the actual rate of achievement should not be constrained by real models. So, why bother? If you want to dump 15 XP into Firearms to get extra dice, you should be allowed too -- because fuck reality.

@Cobaltasaurus

You did not like Sidney, though? I thought everyone loved the Feesh.

@ThatOneDude

The Carthians book made the Covenant a lot better and more useful, but that doesn't mean the shit in it isn't broken as fuck.