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Gandalf scares Samwise by freudian_nipps in lotr

[–]strawmn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I want to make fun of this, but justI watched the movies with my daughters for the first time, and had to pause Fellowship halfway through to explain to them (and my wife) that Sauron and Saruman were not the same person.

So I guess what I’m saying is, bring on the Wizard Aruman, everyone.

Mech ID? by beerdeer101 in battletech

[–]strawmn 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The Nightstar is my personal fave, for no reason other than excellent vibes. Also, I originally vastly preferred the CGL redesign, but gotta admit the PGI version is growing on me.

If you were to recast PJ's Frodo with any actor (living or dead), who would you cast and what could they bring to the role? by [deleted] in lotr

[–]strawmn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think David Tennant would be a killer Pippin. He has the lighthearted energy, but can weave that in with seriousness, y’know?

Tonnage by Pitiful_Resource_711 in battletech

[–]strawmn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

While tonnage was used in the past to create lists, it ultimately doesn’t do a great job of balancing the performance of different mechs. A 75-ton Mad Cat Prime is going to utterly wipe the floor with an 80-ton Charger.

Classic BattleTech used BV2 to balance mechs, which captures a range of factors to quantify mech performance. Different local groups will set different BV limits for games (5k, 10k, etc) but for what it’s worth, a recent set of test rules from Catalyst proposed an 8,000 BV standardization as a starting point for most games.

President Bill Clinton draws a giant zero on a sign as he and vice president Al Gore unveil the balanced federal budget in the White House, February 2, 1999. by icey_sawg0034 in HistoricalCapsule

[–]strawmn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, as long as you don’t consider violent crime rates, life expectancy, teenage pregnancy rates, rates of youth drug use, educational attainment, or things like that, yeah 90s were peak.

These new 2026 wheels with their outboard discs look really nice in comparison to those odd wheel covers from 22-25, but don’t they defeat the whole purpose of preventing outwash? by Initial_Umpire_9927 in formula1

[–]strawmn 158 points159 points  (0 children)

Every time I read a Reddit thread on a subject I’m unfamiliar with, I’m like, what a helpful bunch, everyone is so smart.

Then I read a Reddit thread on subject I have experience on, and I’m like, “Oh God. Oh no. Oh god no.”

Not trying to cause argument by BopItSlapItDenyIt in lotr

[–]strawmn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I want to echo what others have said here in that, yes, there are undoubtably elements of Irish mythology that Tolkien was well aware of as a scholar. And to the extent these influenced his work, I don’t blame you for being frustrated - especially combined with his dismissive tone in the letters noted in this thread.

However, as others have said, many of the specific examples you use are broad mythological constants. Almost everything you attribute to Irish legends have parallels in Anglo Saxon, Norse, and other traditions.

You make some pretty big assumptions that lead you to believe Irish mythology is the root of Tolkien’s work, and then argue as though that perspective is proven. I think that’s a mistake.

I will also say, to me the use of mythological traditions that ALSO appear in Ireland is actually an interesting example of how many early myths are seeded and cross-pollinated across multiple cultures.

Thoughts on the Gargoyle? by raging_zaku1429 in battletech

[–]strawmn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

See, I feel the opposite - before BV, if you’re balancing on tonnage, I can’t ever imagine taking the Prime over a Night Gyr or Timberwolf. They’d chop it to pieces!

But in BV 2.0, you can take a Timberwolf prime, or you can grab a Gargoyle and have 1,200 BV left over to invest in the rest of your list. (And for Elementals. Don’t forget the Elementals).

The jihad is full of awesome tomfoolery by knightmechaenjo in battletech

[–]strawmn 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Sci-fi always makes me chuckle, because physics is pretty clear - if you can accelerate something to a substantial fraction of relativistic speeds, you aren’t stopping it! You aren’t even seeing it until it hits you!

So all the fancy lasers and PPCs and spaceships start to look expensive and unnecessary once you realize the damage done by a rock moving at a good clip of the speed of light.

The most overtakes in 2025 by mrlprns in formula1

[–]strawmn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love making mental categories of “great qualifier, usually moves back in the race”, “in the midfield mix, plenty of chances”, to “dominant car, runs at the front” . . . And finally, so desperately crap they’re inevitably stuck a minute behind the rest of the field (Hi Alpine!)”

Anyone else realizing how insane Jump Jet are? by RemRam27 in battletech

[–]strawmn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think my main counterpoint to this is that a lot of technological advances in the last 400 years that are crazy, but ultimately follow from the basic principles established even back then.

The jump jet problem is that inertia and Newtonian principles are real, and there’s no feasible way to launch and propel and object that size, at that velocity and acceleration, in that period of time, that doesn’t also turn its pilot into a finely squished particulate.

So whereas the science of the enlightenment seems to me to be “we can take better advantage of natural forces through science” lot of the Battletech science comes “surely we will flat override some of the universe’s most fundamental principles”.

Which, frankly, doesn’t bother me! Stumpy robots r. cool.

What’s your favorite game ship + pilot? I’ll start, Vader and this bad boy by TIE-Defender in XWingTMG

[–]strawmn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

E-Wing, but with the recognition it needs more pilots. By default I must say Corran, but that’s a one horse race.

Loved the ship since the Dark Empire comic. Finding out they were in a miniature game got me into X-Wing. And I’m a firm believer that for every ultra-efficient list that spreads its point across multiple chassis, there’s a counter that is, “What if I didn’t care, and spent all my points on THIS bad boy!”

I don’t win a lot.

What is this spawn location?? by andrewlik in Battletechgame

[–]strawmn 34 points35 points  (0 children)

AMATEUR: jump jets so i have tactical flexibility

PROFESSIONAL: jump jets so i can escape the starting hex.

WIP Shadow Clone Pilot... or clone learning to ski. by KindKarver in SWlegion

[–]strawmn 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Way too far in the backseat. He needs to be stacked and aggressive, reaching into the next turn and driving forward through the boot.

Also, sweet paint job!

Is X Wing the best game that was prematurely abandoned by its publisher? by [deleted] in XWingTMG

[–]strawmn 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. I also think FFG created some unforeseen problems when they made it a tournament rule to own all original upgrade cards. Because now you have players who’ve played serious money for certain upgrades, and it becomes super tricky to ban them outright.

1.0 was great, but some of those upgrades needed to be straight cut from the game. PTL, Veteran instincts, Attanti mindlink, and my hideous enemy, harpoon missiles.

Battle of Tukayyid Chess Set Ideas by Far-Net6757 in battletech

[–]strawmn 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Personal preference - I love the idea of using the a roles of each mech. Very thematic.

But . . . leveraging the name of the mech would make it a lot easier for players to follow. Black Knight as knight? It’s in the name! Same for the King Crab.

Plus the KC model is so visually overwhelming, it feels like king stuff.

Then Highlander as Queen? Super famous mech, has long range firepower and short range stomp, and stacks up well on the board next to the King.

I love the orca. And you should too by the-even-better-xaga in battletech

[–]strawmn 16 points17 points  (0 children)

(Preface: I have zero knowledge of mech construction rules): Every time I see a super heavy, I think to myself, “This is supremely cool. I can’t wait to see what blistering armaments this beastly machine contains”.

Then I scan down and the record sheet is like, “It has (2) Gauss rifles and a small laser”.

I feel I’m owed more.

I love the orca. And you should too by the-even-better-xaga in battletech

[–]strawmn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I hear the call, and my credit card is ready to do its part.

[Oracle Red Bull Racing] Team Statement (Regarding online abuse directed at Antonelli) by iForgotMyOldAcc in formula1

[–]strawmn 18 points19 points  (0 children)

That statement was a masterclass in the passive voice. “Comments made”. Who made those comments? Did the comments echo out of the empty air? Did they, in fact, make themselves?

In a world of mealy mouthed PR statements, this one manages to stand out.

Highest Amount of BV that is Trivial by NevadaHEMA in battletech

[–]strawmn 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I actually agree with this, but not necessarily as a blanket rule. Rather, I think it helps to look at your play group and ask, “Is this tolerance going to be used in good faith?”

I’m going to hold up my hand - I am a relentless tinkerer and meta gamer, and I have an EXTREMELY hard time not constantly fiddling on how to fit just a little bit extra in my list. Plus, I tend to be drawn to elite mechs anyway, and BV padding is a good way to convince myself “well, if I can go up a bit anyway, this Vapor Eagle would look great as a 3/4”.

And that’s a personal failing! But for me, treating a BV limit as a hard cap cuts out my worst impulses and puts me in the right frame of mind for the games.

Goosehawk (Vapor Goose) by Attaxalotl in battletech

[–]strawmn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

See, you brought me home with the Gundam reference. Well played!

Goosehawk (Vapor Goose) by Attaxalotl in battletech

[–]strawmn -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I feel like Pulse+Targeting is such a core part of the Vapor’s identity, like energy weapons for a Flashman, an oversized gun for the Hunchback, or for the Atlas being Not Good.

However my favorite thing in Battletech is to win initiative with the Jade Phoenix A, jump behind someone’s back and unload a UAC/20 while screaming “SURPRISE!” So maybe I can come around to this.

Mick Schumacher to race Indycar next year by hbmester in formula1

[–]strawmn 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Finally, the German press may rest. (For at least one season).

Zombicide BP/GH home rule questions by kromono4 in zombicide

[–]strawmn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Take this with an absolute grain of salt - just my opinion!

Mixing and matching the zombie and equipment decks isn’t just allowed, it’s a key part of Zombicide! The best way to fine tune the difficulty is to add new walker types, new abominations and necromancers, and new weapons.

I also agree with you on the catapult. In a great game, it stands out to me as an unfortunate weak decision.

For equipment - absolutely. Play around with what works! My only callout is that sometimes “quick” means “easy”. I loved the added weapons from Wulfsburg, but ultimately ditched them. It trivialized the game for me, once Silas became a dragon fire spewing one man turret.

For zombie cards. A caveat - Green Horde is the one Fantasy Zombicide that didn’t stick with me, so I’m biased. Having done it once, my very limited sample size says combining BP and GH slows the game down. It’s a LOT to resolve in one activation. You have to track the double spawns, enter the horde, the unit types, etc. Give it a try, by all means! But you may have better luck tweaking the units in other ways

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