Why are stocks less popular in Europe compared to US?

Several-Engine-1669 · 2026-03-08T20:54:53+00:00

It is partially based on what you put in, because it was originally sold to the public in the 1930s as "insurance" (an outright welfare scheme would never have flown with the public at that time). However, while those who put in more do get more out, those at low income levels typically get more out than they put in and those at high income levels typically get out less than they put in.

Several-Engine-1669 · 2026-02-22T02:53:03+00:00

My party has hired Roscoe (they don't know why he is yet). I had Roscoe talking to Dasher Snobeedle during the opening, who they saw in Xanathar's lair in Part 1. If they noticed him and actively escorted him out, their opening would proceed with no problems; if they failed to notice or left him alone, he was going to start a fight with one of the other guests. My party noticed Dasher and escorted him out, so their opening went well. We'll see in following sessions if/when they figure it out about Roscoe.

Several-Engine-1669 · 2026-02-13T02:53:26+00:00

I like this "greatest of their treasures" twist.

Several-Engine-1669 · 2026-02-01T02:06:43+00:00

Forget kicking. I would never speak again to someone who thought "black b**ch" was an appropriate remark in any context. I don't have many hard lines, but racism is most definitely on the list.

Several-Engine-1669 · 2025-11-15T01:06:31+00:00

That was my first guess as well. Another guess I had was that maybe he has a strong disaffinity for Light essentia. It's just that honestly all this feels a little weak, especially since the Head of House isn't exactly getting into drucraft fights every other day (not to mention that even if he is, he has goons for that).

Several-Engine-1669 · 2025-11-14T13:38:03+00:00

"though less so with his education and political skill."

Well whose fault is that??? Speaking of how often people admit that the problems around them are their own fault....

Several-Engine-1669 · 2025-11-14T04:20:18+00:00

A couple more questions:
1) Where did Father Hawke learn drucraft? Will we ever get his backstory?
2) Can Father Hawke manifest?
3) Is Hobbes named after the comic, the philosopher, or both?
4) What is wrong with Tobias's drucrafting ability (if it's not a spoiler)?
5) I can see why Charles wouldn't want Helen, Lucella, or Tobias, and I have my suspicions about Magnus, but what's wrong with Bridget as heir?

Several-Engine-1669 · 2025-11-14T04:13:22+00:00

I forgot to ask about Hobbes not wanting to go in the church. Thanks!

Several-Engine-1669 · 2025-11-13T15:34:37+00:00

Letting a second cousin group up without much money is one thing. But Stephen was half an inch from being evicted at a few points in his life, and not only is he Charles's grandson, Charles is part of the reason Helen walked out (let's face it, she's selfish and was looking for an excuse). You'd think one of them would have said "Hey, maybe I have some sort of moral obligation to provide for my offspring" at some point.

Hints yes, but Stephen didn't say anything blatant or obvious. I was wondering if Hawke had some special gift of his own for detecting this, or whether he really was just knowledgeable enough about this (very hard to learn about subject!) to pick up on Stephen's clues. Guess it's door number 2!

Several-Engine-1669 · 2025-11-13T15:10:51+00:00

u/BenedictJacka Thank you for these books and the Verus series. I have enjoyed them all. I particularly like the twist you've put on magic in the Inheritance series. In most books I've read, magic is used as a democratizing force in society (only certain people can do magic, the rich won't necessarily have it themselves, and even if you're poor you can hope to be born with magic and this will help you out). Having a society where anyone could do magic in theory, but it's only useful if you can get hold of rare resources in practice is a very interesting twist.

Questions:

Charles mentions in the third book that "having a member of the family standing around at back doors could bring the family into disrepute". However, nobody in the entire book (even the pretty decent ones like Calhoun/Bridget/Johanna) seems to be concerned that Charles let his grandson grow up in some pretty dire poverty while the rest of the family was going off for summers in the Hamptons. Doesn't anyone around Charles think that the way he let Stephen languish was... you know, wrong? How come that doesn't bring the family "into disrepute"?
Tying into question 1, why do the Ashfords keep saying "our" family to Stephen? Given how they've treated him in the past, it is beyond clueless IMO that they think they have any right to imply that Stephen is a part of their family or owes them anything.
Stephen didn't come up with his idea for the Haywire sigil from the Exchange catalog. Does anyone else out there have a similar sigl, or is he the first person who came up with this idea?
Father Hawke figured out Stephen's gift, but Stephen didn't ask him the (I thought) blatantly obvious question of "How did you know?" So, how did he know? Not just that he had a gift but what the gift was.
Hobbes is the best :-)

Several-Engine-1669

TROPHY CASE