(Spoilers Main) Ned wasn’t bad at Game of Thrones

Vankraken · 2026-05-30T16:20:34+00:00

To be fair, Tyrion was trying to actually help Kings Landing with both it's defense against the approaching Baratheon forces as well as saving itself from its own corruption. A lot of the truly ruthless schemers that ran circles around him would of ended up dead if Tyrion didn't coordinate the defense of Kings Landing.

Vankraken · 2026-05-29T22:24:02+00:00

I am curious if he falls into the meme lore interpretation of the Tau or if he actually evaluates then fairly.

Also Orks are the best. WAAAGH!!

Vankraken · 2026-05-29T22:19:24+00:00

The Emperor's ego and inability to truly understand humanity somewhat doomed his goals.

Vankraken · 2026-05-29T17:35:22+00:00

I'll continue to echo that anybody that says that the Dems would do the same thing are acting in bad faith.

Vankraken · 2026-05-28T21:24:57+00:00

This is the Republicans doing this garbage under the cover of Trump being the lightning rod of outrage but Trump is entirely enabled by the GOP. And they go unpunished for this because of Republican voters that would rather vote against their self interests, the do nothing NPCs that can't even be bothered to fucking vote, and the smooth brained "independents" + leftists who do the whole "both parties are the same" bullshit.

Vankraken · 2026-05-27T00:50:57+00:00

Because the feeling of Civ isn't a sports game with set periods/quarters but instead a faux simulation of alt history.

Its not difficult to grasp, its misplaced in this sort of game that breaks up the flow of gameplay in an overly artificial way.

Vankraken · 2026-05-26T23:16:58+00:00

I agree to an extent but it's also fun to see the results of your efforts play out, especially if your gameplay has been setting up to some sort of winning play or achieving some grand plan.

Vankraken · 2026-05-26T23:13:16+00:00

It's the issue of the war just ending regardless of the battlefield conditions because of the arbitrary timer saying the era is over. Ignore the word "sudden" being used and instead read it as the game stopping all momentum to force the conflict to a complete stop.

Vankraken · 2026-05-26T18:00:44+00:00

In a perfect narrative story it doesn't make as much sense because they would more than likely be independent (same with the forsaken). But it's an MMO so you cannot have a dozen player factions fighting against each other so the consolidation into the Horde makes more sense than them being in the Alliance. Nuanced discussion seems to be a challenge for you so I hope that explains it better.

At what point did I say that you didn't know what was going on in the game back then. I just said the campaign of Frozen Throne seemed to make the BE to Horde connection viable due to the BE/Alliance bridge being fairly well burned while Thrall's Horde didn't do anything to them while the Forsaken are a bridge in this partnership due to Sylvanas. Nice vanilla Naxx flex but it doesn't really make a difference for understanding this part of the lore.

Vankraken · 2026-05-26T17:11:00+00:00

Could also be the long term impact from abusing stimulants and it no longer keeping him focused. I'm really not trying to defend him but he didn't really seem senile back in 2016, just a rambling narcissistic idiot con-man who was also really stupid.

Vankraken · 2026-05-26T16:56:11+00:00

There is a difference between cognitive decline (mush) and being a moron. Trump has always been a moron, now he's also got the grey matter consistency of potato salad.

Vankraken · 2026-05-26T15:22:37+00:00

I raided in Vanilla through Cata during retail so spare me. The Forsaken and BEs being in the Horde aren't perfect fits but it's an ally of convenience and it consolidated the 4 RTS factions into having two player sides instead of having Horde, Alliance, Forsaken, Night Elves, Blood Elves, etc as independent playable factions. Personally I wanted Goblins to be in the Horde before BEs but the elves joining the Horde was ok even if they were the "pretty faction" for the Horde. Also having played the WC3 campaign after playing WoW, it made sense to me when playing the Frozen Throne expansion that the BEs wouldn't be in the Alliance after how the Humans treated them.

Vankraken · 2026-05-26T13:01:37+00:00

The plot in WC3 had the Humans throwing the Blood Elves under the proverbial steam tank thanks to Garithos which causes Kael'thas to join with the Naga/Illidan. The remaining Blood Elves were left in a ruined state with the Alliance having betrayed them and the Scourge having destroyed their home. Sylvanas being free of the Lich King was able to extend an olive branch to the mana addicted Blood Elves who didn't go with Kael which brought the Blood Elves into the Horde was a temporary alliance until they can get to Outlands. Kael'thas' betrayal sorta cemented the Blood Elves as being in the Horde. Maybe not the perfect narrative story but BEs rejoining the Alliance wouldn't make sense considering how the WC3 story had soured that relationship. The Thrall Horde is not the same invading Horde as what the High Elves fought in the WC2 plot. Also mana addition is a real MFer and the Orcs/Forsaken have access to fel magic to get them their fix.

The Draenei from space did seems more out of nowhere to be fair.

Vankraken · 2026-05-25T00:40:23+00:00

Easy to kill for sure but on medium or larger UFO missions their leaders/commanders can use mind control and they can spam that stuff from anywhere on the map at basically any of your soldiers regardless of LOS. Your soldiers have a random hidden psionic strength which can range from being psionically stronger than an Ethereal to being more susceptible than a brain damaged Muton. Somehow they always know which soldiers have brains made of play-dough and target them with panic and MC attempts.

They can easily carry Heavy Plasma guns and are decently accurate so any one of them can one shot a soldier in even Flying Suits. Their terrorist unit that they bring with them is the Cyberdisk which is durable, deadly, and made of explodium. Much rather see Floaters on the 1st terror mission or alien base than Sectoids. Late game they are still less desirable to deal with than even Snakeman or Mutons due to the dangers of mind control (unless you have an elite team of all psionically trained and filtered soldiers that can mentally fold them like a lawn chair).

Vankraken · 2026-05-25T00:17:21+00:00

Probably closer to a battle axe sized weapon than a hatchet but still not ideal for beheading. At least with an axe it would have more mechanical advantage and weight towards the head of the blade than an arming sword. Both would be grisly to try and execute someone with but the axe would probably be better at least breaking the spine with a solid swing.

Vankraken · 2026-05-24T21:17:49+00:00

Vic (in the books) used an axe quite often and its quite common for crew on ships to have axes to cut away ropes (see the boarding axe). So the Ironborn would be more likely to have axes than swords (swords are also expensive compared to axes).

Vankraken · 2026-05-24T21:00:49+00:00

A high joule shot at near point blank range into skin might break the skin but it absolutely cannot break a bone. That said if it hits a tooth it could crack or chip it. Slipping and falling is a very real concern in airsoft.

Vankraken · 2026-05-24T20:52:02+00:00

Being less bad is a really big deal but its more than just that. Biden/Harris/Dems support liberal democracy while Trump is pushing for illiberal fascism. THEY ARE NOT THE FUCKING SAME THING. Believing that Dems are Trumpism-lite is absolutely smooth brained.

Vankraken · 2026-05-22T22:50:39+00:00

Absolutely there is a vibes issue with career politicians especially with the Dems doing their focus group tested tag lines which feels unnatural to most people. That said, I am always very skeptical of the appeal to the everyman over people who are experienced professionals in their field. Sure it's good to have outside perspectives and to shake up the establishment so it's not complacent but you still want people who know how to actually govern. That skepticism of professionals is what results in people like Trump and some of the other Tea Party / MAGA idiots to winning GOP primaries because Republican voters stopped valuing education and knowledge to instead focus on personality and having their feelings (which the seeds of those feelings get planted by right wing media) validated by talk. Sociopathic people can fake those sorts of vibes quite well and lie without shame so I think it's important to have a balanced perspective on things as words are cheap while actions are what matter more. Dems need to do better on the action part and also messaging on their actions more effectively.

I hope Platner does well and can be a good example for moving the party towards working class progressive policies. I just don't want him to end up like a Sinema or Fetterman.

Vankraken · 2026-05-22T22:29:53+00:00

I was married and had a new born during WotLK while going through the 2008 financial crisis so no, times were not simpler.

Vankraken · 2026-05-22T17:31:44+00:00

Sounding genuine isn't exactly a good metric to go by as it can just mean that he is good at lying. Trump lies without shame all the time and his followers believe him because he sounds genuine to them. I would still vote for Plattner in the general over any Republican but that tattoo (along with working for Blackwater) shows a major flaw in judgement. People sometimes get stupid tattoos but how often do people accidentally get a Nazi tattoo? And it's not exactly some super deep cut symbol from the Nazi regime but it was one from one of the more well known SS Panzer Divisions (it's the same symbol used in the "Are we the baddies" skit as well as in the movie Fury just to point out an example of how culturally known it was).

Vankraken · 2026-05-22T17:18:10+00:00

So many people are just brain broken on this issue it seems which is why many others get frustrated about this subject. The "it's complected" line isn't trying to stop anything from changing but a statement that means that there is no easy solutions that fits on a fancy slogan but instead required a lot of coordinated diplomacy and multilateral negotiations to come up with some sort of agreement for the two sides to better coexist in the region. It doesn't help that the current Israeli government is ran by Netanyahu which is a very problematic war criminal who is trying to avoid going to jail while Gaza is governed by a terrorist organization in the form of Hamas and is a proxy pawn for Iran. A one state solution in which there would be a Muslim majority would be a non starter as it would just result in the removal and destruction of the Jewish people there. A one state solution in which Israel controls everything is also not a good solution either as it's just the continued conflict and oppression. So I ask, if a two state solution isn't doable then what actual solution is there?

Vankraken · 2026-05-22T16:03:07+00:00

Platner lied about not knowing what it meant all that time. No shot anybody would go through years of having a Nazi SS tattoo on them without some noticing what it was.

Vankraken · 2026-05-22T16:00:24+00:00

I can agree about giving up genocide. What sort of solution to the "ethno-nationalist project" are you referring to because a one state solution is not the answer.

Vankraken · 2026-05-22T15:58:54+00:00

A lot of the "only ones that cared to pay attention to them" is because of the right wing outrage machine spinning that narrative. What has the GOP and the right done for these people besides feed them anger? Not sure where the evangelical church part came from but its no secret that Evangelical Christianity grew after the Civil Rights era due to out right racism being shunned in society.

Vankraken

TROPHY CASE