Brass Bricks

The Second Amendment and the Living Constitution

The federal statute that preempts various lawsuits against gun manufacturers — passed last week — begins with two interesting items denominated Congressional “findings”:

(2) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the rights of individuals, including those who are not members of a militia or engaged in military service or training, to keep and bear arms.

Interesting. Read the rest of the article for some even more interesting information about the right to keep and bear arms as dealt with in state constitutions.

I think my issue is that Samurai left me feeling a little constrained regarding plot growth, worldbuilding, and whatnot. It is a great campaign, and there is a story to tell, naturally. But like many of my campaigns, WW3 comes to mind, I get to a point with it where it feels like I’ve covered all the ground I started out wanting to cover, and continuing requires more effort for less reward.

So why all of a sudden do I want to run Fantasy?
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I don’t enjoy Chess much. I play about once a year, usually under peer pressure to do so, or the guilty suspicion that I should play to prove my Smart Credentials. My main complaint is that it goes on too long, long after I’ve lost interest and started playing suicidally to end it. Oddly enough, that prolongs it. When last I played David Reichlein (known for being an avid chess player), he had trouble beating me. He was thinking ten moves ahead… I was thinking about what I’d rather be doing. He looked for patterns and plans, but there weren’t any. As often as not, I’d move a piece because I hadn’t moved it yet, because I didn’t want him to get it, I could get one of his, or just because. Victory was not on my agenda.

Last night I had some ideas to make Chess more exciting, by bringing it into the 21st Century. Some of these make no sense at all. That’s an improvement.

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This is a fun little weapon that d20 seems to lack in the core equipment lists. It’s essentially a 5′-6′ staff with a piercing point on one end, and any combination of two of an axe blade, a pick, or a hammer head on one end… kind of a shorter halberd. They were used to fight people in plate armor.
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One of my friends has a very long running DnD/d20 campaign. After nearly a year of hesitation, I decided to go ahead and throw in with his crew (which overlaps mine) to try something new and different. I usually referee my RPG’s, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity. This will supplement my existing group, which is focused heavily on the Warring States campaign. I created a character for the D20 campaign, an 8th lvl Fighter/3rd lvl Cavalier. He is detailed below.

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The product of a “how to deal with zombies” thread started by jokesters on a firearms forum that doesn’t take itself that seriously. I needless to say had some thoughts on the matter. I know how to deal with zombies, and I’ll share my secrets with you, dear readers *wink-grin*

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More to follow as I think of them. Good luck, and good hunting.

I looked over the Libertarian Party Platform line by line, and confirmed a few things. I am not a big “L” Libertarian. Their platform is divided into a few categories, which I will go into below:
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More later as I think of it. Feel free to comment, criticize, or help me refine my positions.

Shikigami (20pts)

These are all based on the assumption that Shikigami are minor familiar spirits, capable enough in their limited way, but reliant on a summoner/master for most sort of direction and initiative, and relatively fragile compared to more free-willed spirits. They are definitely not suitable for most sorts of combat, and are better suited as scouts, messengers, and helpers. In most respects, these are very minor spirits, and they are tied both to the material world and to the summoner. More versatile Shikigami (such as Abe no Seimei’s servitor spirit “Mitsumushi”) are certainly possible; this template represents only a very bare-bones sort of Shikigami.

(160pts) “Basic Spirit Template”, modified with the following enhancements and limitations:
+80% Easy Materialization
+30% Unlimited Lifespan
-20% No Possession
-20% No Probability Alteration
-10% No Spirit Travel

(-50pts) Unliving - Destroyed when reduced to 0HT
(-30pts) Dependency - A monthly binding ritual performed by their master
(-40pts) Slave Mentality (only where their master is concerned)
(-15pts) Mage suffers the familiar’s wounds (M105)
(-5pts) Hidebound: -2 to skills requiring invention or creativity
(0pts) Doesn’t Fatigue/No Extra Effort

One of many things I plan on moving from my LJ for posterity.

This is a crosspost from the samurai campaign. I’m posting it here because it’s easier to get to, and some of you might find this amusing. It’s long and won’t make much sense, so skip it if you aren’t interested. In summary, two samurai clans were at war - the Taniguchi were attacking the Uemoto, and the six PC samurai were fighting alongside the Uemoto.
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Ladies and Gents,

I have a question about where to take Samurai in the future. I’ve been playing around with various alternate plot lines, and they keep getting all tangled up. In fact, I’m having trouble settling on a simple “what to do this Saturday” scenario, much less the Big Picture. So, here’s some thoughts:

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