Ideaforge

The 1986 remake of The Fly is one of the single-best horror/sci-fi epics ever made, and the debate still rages over whether it’s better than the original 1958 version. Jeff Goldblum’s excellent performance as the eccentric and loopy Seth Brundle is one of his best, and the film is loaded with many memorable quotes not just from his character, but others as well.

These quotes help tell the story of Brundle’s grotesque transformation from a handsome young scientist into a horrific man/fly hybrid and the horrors that ensue. It’s one of the darkest and most tragic horror flicks of the 1980s, and the blood-curdling visuals are married to

one fantastic script that sticks to the story and sells it perfectly.

10 “What Am I Working On? Uhhh, I’m Working On Something That Will Change The World And Human Life As We Know It.” – Seth

Seth Brundle was an eccentric oddball who mostly kept to himself, and the rigors of his work. His days were spent researching technology related to teleportation, which would have a drastic impact on humanity, were the power harnessed correctly. He wasn’t a typical horror movie mad scientist, but he walked the obsessive edge of the knife that led many to fall astray.

He first met Victoria at a science gala, where he immediately tried to woo her with tales of his research. It was enough to capture her interest, and agree to come back to his lab, where he introduced her to the teleportation pods he had been working on.

9 “I’m Glad I Didn’t Give You My Rolex, If I HAD A Rolex!” –  Victoria

Brundle’s teleportation technology was akin to something out of the Black Mirror franchise, and just as dangerous. To demonstrate the power of his teleportation pods, Brundle asked Victoria to share a personal item. She ended up taking down one of her stockings and giving it to him, after which he placed it in a pod, activated the

machine, and successfully teleported it to the other pod.

At first, Victoria believed he had destroyed her stocking, prompting this funny quote that was ironic in and of itself. She’d later come to realize just how on the money Seth was when it came to his research, even if teleportation of organics was still out of his reach.

8 “The Complete Record Of The Most Earth-Shattering Invention Ever. The One That Ended All Concepts Of Transport, Of Borders And Frontiers, Of Time And Space.” –  Seth

When Victoria revealed that she wanted to write a piece on Seth’s work, he immediately hesitated for fear of his funding being cut. He tried to woo her a little more by inviting her to lunch, where he pitched the idea of them working together, rather than on opposite sides.

Victoria would hold off on revealing her story until Seth felt that the technology had been perfected. It was a deal made on mutual trust, paving the way for a working relationship, and a romantic one that followed.

7 “… Human Teleportation – Molecular Decimation, Breakdown And Reformation Is Inherently Purging. It Makes A Man A King!” – Seth

After experiencing a bout of jealousy over Victoria’s ex-boyfriend, Seth got a little too drunk and decided to test his teleportation pods on himself. He emerged healthy and intact on the other side, but it didn’t take long for the warning signs to start popping up.

He took Victoria to

lunch, where he went off on a super-energetic rant about teleportation technology, and how it made him feel. He seemed reborn, like a new man bursting with boundless optimism, self-confidence, and physical strength, not to mention a rather unhealthy obsession with sugar.

6 “Something Went Wrong, Seth! When You Went Through, Something Went Wrong!” – Victoria

Victoria realized that Seth wasn’t well when his personality started to change. He was no longer the adorable, socially awkward guy she fell in love with. He had become arrogant, unhinged, temperamental, and judgmental, all because she wouldn’t allow herself to be teleported as well.

He eventually clashed with her and sabotaged his romantic relationship by saying he’d find someone else who wasn’t afraid of the process. To Seth, teleportation was the pathway to ultimate bliss. To Victoria, it was a nightmare scenario wrought with pitfalls that she did not trust.

5 [Seth] “Don’t Be Afraid.” [Veronica] No, Be Afraid! Be VERY Afraid!”

After breaking up with Victoria, Seth decided to go out and find another woman that he could convince to get into the teleportation pods. He arm-wrestled a burly bar patron and broke his wrist as a demonstration of his power, which was enough to entice a young woman to come home with him.

The two hooked up after Seth demonstrated his teleportation technology to her, but when he tried to convince her to go through, she resisted. Seth told her not to be afraid as he dragged her to the pods, but Victoria stood in his way, telling the young woman to be very, very afraid. Ironically, a behind-the-scenes Fly factoid reveals that comedy legend Mel Brooks was the one who came up with this quote as a tagline, believing it was a comedy instead of a horror film.

4 “What’s Happening To Me? Am I Dying?” – Seth

After Victoria left Seth to his own devices, he began taking her warnings about his physical appearance and personality changes to heart. He went into the bathroom to examine himself, noticing that several parts of his body were beginning to deteriorate.

He ended up pulling off one of his own fingernails with ease, which was enough to strike fear into him. He wondered if the process had caused him to contract some sort of disease, or mess with his molecular structure to the point where a rabid form of cancer had set in. This element of “body horror” is just one reason why the 1986 remake is better than the original 1958 version of The Fly.

3 “I’m Becoming Brundlefly. Don’t You Think That’s Worth A Nobel Prize Or Two?” – Seth

Seth compared the data of his first teleportation trip and discovered that a foreign organic entity was in the pod with him at the time. He was horrified to learn that it was a common housefly which the computer didn’t know what to do with. It chose to fuse their respective DNA patterns together at the genetic level.

He finally had his answer for why he was changing. When Victoria showed up to discuss it with him, Seth indicated that the unnatural fusion of the DNA was turning him into something the world had never seen. To lighten the mood, he cracked a joke about the scientific merit that would undoubtedly have earned him at least one Nobel Prize.

2 “The Medicine Cabinet Is Now The Brundle Museum Of Natural History. You Wanna’ See What Else Is In It?” – Seth

As Seth kept mutating, so too did parts of his body keep falling off. His teeth, ears, genitals, and other pieces of his body were now becoming redundant in the wake of the emerging new genetic mutation. Rather than get rid of them, he stuffed the parts in jars and hid them in the medicine cabinet of his home.

With nothing else to do but ride the mutation out, Seth felt compelled to at least make some jokes about his state of affairs. He asked Victoria if she’d like to see the collection of body parts that had since fallen off, but she was understandably opposed to the idea.

1 “I’ll Hurt You If You Stay!” – Seth

When the mutation entered its second-last stage, Seth realized that his mind was gradually regressing into something much more primitive. He joked about the irony of “insect politics” with Victoria, which was meant to illustrate that insects are brutal and instinctive, and don’t care much for diplomacy.

It was his way of demonstrating the dangers of her being around him. Finally, he came right out and said that if she stayed, he’d end up hurting her. Seth knew that as his mental state deteriorated, so too would his regard for humans. Instinct would become his first reactionary mechanism, and nothing could be more dangerous.

Source: Tech Crunch

Larger-than-life, witty, and fascinating villains were one of the things that fans of the cult fantasy Supernatural couldn’t get enough of. In fact, the show had a range of supervillains who kept the heroic Winchester brothers on their toes.

However, the big baddies alone wouldn’t be able to sustain the show had it not been for a variety of other, low-key, but often dangerous antagonists that the brothers had to face and fight. Whether humans, angels, or humans and angels possessed by other angels and archangels, there was no dearth of challenges that the brothers had to rise to, beyond the typical freak-of-the-week monsters.

10 Bela Talbot

Bela wasn’t a villain per se as much as she was a troublemaker. She turned up as suddenly as she left but within the short span of time that her path crossed the boys’, she brought them a world of trouble, including stealing a staggering 46,000 dollars, that was probably more money than Sam and Dean had or were ever to see in their lives.

Bela also stole the coveted Colt from

the brothers, the gun that was the only one of its kind and could kill any entity however immune to other weapons. Never particularly scrupulous, Bela was a slippery eel, but she certainly wasn’t as horrifying as some of the people or creatures that Sam and Dean go on to meet. Her death, presumably by hellhounds, seemed a tad harsh and the boys seemed to forget about her pretty soon.

9 Anna Milton

The fallen angel Anna seemed like a potential ally for the brothers and Castiel at first, and even had a steamy night with Dean at the back of the Impala, one of the many emotional Supernatural moments the Impala had been through. She was an angel who had revolted against the requirements of Heaven and thus seemed like one of the good guys, capable of thinking of her own.

However, she soon became antagonistic as she decided to go back in time and kill Mary and John Winchester so that Sam and Dean would never be born, the first of the 66 seals that needed to be broken to unleash Lucifer upon the earth would remain intact, and most importantly, Lucifer would not have his true vessel. She was then killed off by the archangel Michael possessing John who wanted to save his wife and although it meant that the apocalypse couldn’t be stopped, Anna’s death was good riddance.

8 Gadreel

Not an out-and-out villain, Gadreel was one of the main characters in season 9, and a secondary antagonist of sorts after Metatron, the scribe of God.

Gadreel had taken refuge in Sam’s body after most of the angels were ejected from Heaven. Having convinced Dean that that was the only way to keep Sam alive, he ended up becoming the scheming Metatron’s right-hand man. While he did seem ambivalent at first, fans went thoroughly against him when Gadreel, possessing Sam, murdered young Kevin Tran in cold blood following Metatron’s instructions, and Dean could do nothing about it.

7 Duma

An angel who at first seemed desperate to save a chaotic Heaven, Duma gradually turned antagonistic as she allowed Lucifer to rule over Heaven in return for his help in creating more angels.

She also held sway over Heaven briefly herself, creating a reign of terror which made Heaven a brutal final destination for humans. She also manipulated Jack so that she could have his tremendous power at her disposal, and eventually became a vessel for the Shadow, the entity ruling the Empty, one of the main locations/sets on Supernatural, since time immemorial. Duma was yet another loose end that needed tying up which Cas finally did.x

6 Billie

Billie the reaper became Death after the former Death was killed with his own scythe by Dean Winchester. Initially appearing to be an ally who wanted to save the world and destroy God just as the Winchesters did, Billie turned out to be a villain too towards the end of season 15.

Billie’s endgame was ambiguous, for the most part, although it seemed as though she was on the brothers’ side and wanted to get rid of God. To that end, she had even had Jack resurrected and told him how h

e could improve his strength which he would need to preserve to kill God. Yet, at the end, it was revealed that Billie had been manipulating the brothers and Jack all along. She wanted to kill God not to save the world but to take over the universe herself.

5 Toni Bevell

Although not exactly low profile, Lady Toni Bevell became a temporary villain in season 12 as the merciless killer on the British Men of Letters’ payroll.

Bevell was shown to be a terminator of sorts, with very little morality or scruples to anchor her, and willing to go to any length to follow the instructions coming from upstairs. She abducted Sam Winchester and tortured him inhumanly, all to please the high command, And unlike Ketch who at least had a compelling personality, Bevell’s character was simply irritating. This was one villain fans hated unlike some of the other Supernatural villains whom they loved.

4 Uriel

One of the earliest angels the brothers met, Uriel deceived everyone (including Castiel) when it was revealed that he was actually working to bring about the apocalypse, rather than helping to stop it.

As the Devil’s mole in Heaven, Uriel was one of the angels who had turned against God, sick of his absence and tired of following instructions from someone who never really showed up. He was probably the one who proved to Sam and Dean that angels, contrary to popular perception, weren’t necessarily the good guys. Uriel was still just a pawn since more important angels like Zachariah soon joined the party and made life a living hell for Sam and Dean. But he was the first of the villainous angels the brothers encountered.

3 Castiel

Castiel makes this list since he nearly went dark side more than once. Season 6 saw Cas going rogue, killing hundreds of his fellow angels, to say nothing of humans he massacred. The idea of becoming God possessed him to the extent that he lost any ounce of humanity he might have picked up from spending time around humans like Sam and Dean.

Later too, Cas agreed to let Lucifer in so that they could beat the Darkness. However, Lucifer had his own plans and the Cas shaped Lucifer soon took over Hell where he kept Crowley under captivity, killed Rowena and basically raised hell. Castiel himself might have been the best of entities, but he made some choices that didn’t go so well, especially for him.

2 Soulless Sam

One of the villains in the course of the series that fans might have forgotten but who was definitely a key antagonist at the time was Soulless Sam. Sam Winchester returned in season 6 from Lucifer’s Cage in Hell where he had been broken and battered to the point that when he returned, his soul had been left behind.

The havoc that the Soulless Sam wreaked became a major plot point in the sixth season as Sam lost his connection with

the softer human emotions and didn’t care if he had to kill a few perfectly innocent humans here and there. He even set a vampire on his own brother knowing that the latter ran the risk of getting turned, and indeed he did! Soulless Sam might have been pretty low-key in the context of the entire series but he was quite terrifying for a period of time.

1 John Winchester

Of course, John Winchester was a good man who had met with a terrible tragedy when his wife died so shockingly, leaving him with two young kids, one of them an infant. It was also he who taught the boys everything they knew about hunting.

However, there is a reason Supernatural fans consider Bobby a better father to the brothers than John Winchester. it was John’s obsession with finding the demon who had killed his wife that led Sam and Dean down this path from where there was no turning back, that took away their childhood. And although they did save the world multiple times, and certain events had been set in motion that would have affected them anyway, the brothers only had their father to thank for a lot of the sacrifices they had had to make.

Source: Tech Crunch

Instagram will introduce new measures to nudge teenagers away from harmful content and encourage them to “take a break,” from the platform, Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said on Sunday. Clegg made the remarks on CNN’s State of the Union show less than a week after whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress about internal research that showed Instagram can have a negative effect on the mental health of young people.

“We’re going to introduce something which I think will make a considerable difference, which is where our systems see that a teenagers is looking at the same content over and over again, and it’s content which may not be conducive to their well being, we will nudge them to look at other…

Continue reading…

from The Verge – Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2Yzszgf https://ift.tt/3DuIQSa
Source: Tech Crunch

Cheryl Burke and Cody Rigsby have reunited inside the Dancing With The Stars rehearsal studio following their COVID-19 diagnosis. Within the last two weeks, both Cheryl and Cody tested positive for COVID-19, forcing them to rehearsal and perform virtually and individually. In doing so, they were allowed to remain in the competition despite not being physically present for the live shows.

Cheryl was the first to test positive between the dancing duo. Just days before the second live show of DWTS season 30, Cheryl tested positive for COVID-19. In place of their live performance for that week, the four judges based the couple’s scores off of a prerecorded rehearsal from before Cheryl’s diagnosis. Then just a few short days later, Cody tested positive as well. As the duo continued to rehearse via Zoom, their third performance took place virtually from inside their individual homes. This was the first time ever on the show a couple has performed in such a way.

Now as the dancing competition nears its fourth week, Cheryl and Cody are preparing to head back to the ballroom together. Over the weekend, Cheryl took to Instagram to share photos of herself and Cody back inside the rehearsal studio together after being apart for nearly two weeks. In preparation for the upcoming two-part Disney Night on DWTS, Cheryl and Cody posed in their best Disney attire. Cheryl wore a pair of Minnie Mouse ears while Cody rocked a Goofy hat as they prepared for not one but two brand-new dances. Cheryl captioned the post, “Reunited and it feels so good!” Take a look at the post below:

Fans were excited to hear that Cheryl and Cody will be rejoining the other remaining couples in the ballroom this week, especially in time for Disney Night. Some referred to them as the “dream team” while others admitted how happy this news made them. Fellow professional dancer Daniella Karagach shared her excitement for their return in the comments section as well, writing, “YAAASSSSSSSS.” One user noted, “The judges better be fair for once!!!!” Following Cheryl and Cody’s virtual dance last week, many felt the judges were too harsh with their scores. Even Cody admitted their low scores hurt.

Since Cheryl and Cody have been quarantined at home for nearly two weeks, this will only be their second live performance together inside the ballroom. In addition to that, they have not one but two dances to prepare for this week. Monday night’s episode will feature a Disney-themed Heroes Night. Then on Tuesday night, the couples will take on performances based off of Disney villains. Here’s hoping Cody and Cheryl can earn some higher scores now that they are back in the ballroom together.

Source: Cheryl Burke/Instagram

Source: Tech Crunch

The Spawn universe has a variety of hellspawn, created by the demon Malebolgia. There have been a few different iterations of the comics’ main character and the hellspawn, including Medieval Spawn, Gunslinger Spawn, and Raven Spawn. Lately, Gunslinger Spawn – a fan favorite – has been garnering some extra attention, but who exactly is he and what do fans need to know about him?

Gunslinger Spawn first appeared in Spawn #119 in 2002, in a very brief cameo with no dialogue. In 2008, his backstory was revealed within Spawn #174 and #175. This hellspawn had the name of Jeremy Winston, but was known as “ol’ Job”. He was a former preacher in Bane, Colorado in 1881, before being framed for the murder of his own family. A rich man named Ed Kemper was after silver on Winston’s land. He wanted it so bad, he tried to force a deal which quickly went south since Winston’s wife wasn’t the kind of person to back down to intimidation. As a result, Kemper and his men killed her, as well as Winston’s children. Their power allowed them to place the former preacher into prison to be hanged.

At the same time, Henry Simmons (formerly Francis Parker) had stumbled across the murder scene and was also thrown into prison for a fight and murder in another town. Simmons is the ancestor of Al Simmons – the original and current Spawn. He was a Buffalo soldier whose regiment was harassed with one of their fellow soldiers being killed – forcing Simmons’ hand. Both Simmons and Winston were offered deals by Mammon, a fallen angel, to sell their souls to Malebolgia. Winston accepted the deal in exchange for taking his revenge on the town that killed his family. Simmons didn’t take the deal, but he was spared since his lineage would eventually result in Al Simmons’ birth – and he took on the name of Henry Simmons to partially start his life over.

Image Comics’ Gunslinger Spawn is easily recognizable thanks to his appearance. While his face appears in the style of many of the other hellspawn with glowing green eyes, he is set apart by his Western attire. He wears a ten-gallon hat and a red duster. He also brandishes a gun on his bandoliers, aptly providing him his name. He is a hellspawn from a long past time, though he has also had a couple of minor cameo appearances throughout the Spawn series.

Gunslinger Spawn is not the most powerful of the hellspawn, but he is certainly one of the most interesting and recognizable. Despite that, he has had very few Spawn appearances over the years. That has been changing as of late. In Spawn #308 and 309, Gunslinger’s journey to the future was revealed. His life and ability to return to his own time are now connected to Spawn himself as a result of a war Spawn is currently fighting. Gunslinger will soon star in his own ongoing comic series, which bears his name as the title. Most recently, he appeared in Spawn’s Universe #1, a one-shot comic kicking off a new era of Spawn stories, as well as King Spawn – a series still focused on Al Simmons’ Spawn that began in August. King Spawn #1 revealed that he has also lost a sister who he wants to avenge, waking up from death in 1865, leaving a peculiar gap between this appearance and his prior origin story. Gunslinger’s self-titled series will focus on his quest to return to his own time. Fans can follow Gunslinger Spawn’s new independent adventures when Gunslinger Spawn #1 releases October 20.

Source: Tech Crunch

An Animal Crossing: New Horizons player has made an accurate in-game recreation of the main character’s bedroom from Pokémon Sword and Shield. Sword and Shield are the 2019 releases in Game Freak’s popular Pokémon franchise for the Nintendo Switch. In Sword and Shield, players travel across Galar to collect Pokémon, fight other trainers, and collaborate or compete with other players.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a versatile game that many players have used to recreate various scenes and maps from their favorite media. Most recently, a fan created a stunning replica of Breath of the Wild‘s Korok forest, complete with a shrine featuring the Master Sword. This feature is on top of the many activities that players can enjoy in-game, such as fishing, gardening, and interacting with the quirky inhabitants of New Horizons.

On Reddit, user LyrianTheWanderer posted an image of their character’s bedroom in Animal Crossing: New Horizons decked out in the style of Pokémon Sword and Shield. The user managed to recreate it with aspects from the game, such as the green comforter on the bed, a plushie, posters on the walls depicting Poké Balls and various Pokémon, and a cleverly placed Nintendo Switch in the corner. Many other users congratulated LyrianTheWanderer for the replica, though one did note that the Pikachu poster was a bit on the creepy side. In a reply, the creator specified that the poster was meant to portray Eevee, despite being placed in the same spot as the Pikachu poster in the comparison shot.

The customizable nature of the game is nearly endless, and with the seasonal Halloween festivities in New Horizons, players can now spruce up their island with spooky decorations. Many players collaborate on their designs using the game’s multiplayer, which was a major selling point for the title during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Animal Crossing allows such a breadth of options that players enjoy tending to their digital life in the game as a relaxing and comforting experience.

Aside from the holiday festivities, Nintendo has announced a new Direct focusing on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is dated for October 15. The Direct is expected to announce new content for AC:NH, so fans of the game are excited to see what new experiences are waiting for them in the near future. With new content, perhaps players will be able to make even more creative replicas that will go beyond expectations of what is achievable within the game. For the time being, fans have a lot to look forward to in Animal Crossing.

Source: LyrianTheWanderer/Reddit

Source: Tech Crunch

Revised versions of the core Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks are coming in 2024, which fans are already referring to as the 5.5 version of the game. This will give Wizards of the Coast the chance to alter the existing D&D rules, in order to improve them, following years of fan feedback and online discourse.

The new books were revealed during D&D Celebration 2021. The new D&D books will launch in 2024, to mark the 50th anniversary of the game. All that has been revealed is that the Player’s Handbook, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the Monster Manual will receive new versions. The rules in these books will be backward compatible with those in the existing 5th edition, so fans won’t need to trash their current library of tomes. The content in the D&D 5.5 books will be developed with the aid of fan feedback, which will be conducted via surveys over the next few years.

The fifth edition rules are solid and contain fewer exploits than previous editions of D&D. This is due to the developers having decades worth of playtesting information to work from, as well as a vocal fanbase that is more than willing to let its opinions be known about the game. The D&D 5.5 books have the chance to smooth out the remaining issues with 5th edition, in order to improve the game for all.

Even before it was confirmed that the fifth edition rules were being updated, there was talk of changing the Ranger class. This was discussed when Baldur’s Gate 3 changed the Ranger, which came with confirmation that plans were in motion for the class to be changed in D&D. The Ranger has already received a minor overhaul, with the Beast Master archetype being changed in an Unearthed Arcana article, as it was considered to be the weakest subclass in the game.

The changes made to the Ranger in Baldur’s Gate 3 were the result of many of its class features not gelling with the video game format, as many of them were tied to exploration, and were situational. The Ranger in D&D is overdue for a total rehaul and for it to be cemented in the Player’s Handbook. This would likely mean strengthening Favored Enemy, in order to bring it in line with the older editions of the game; changing Natural Explorer, so that it applies to more terrain types; and giving them a better level eight ability than Land’s Stride.

The history of multiclassing in D&D is varied, with it being more viable in some editions than others. Multiclassing is notably weaker in 5e, barring a few powerful combinations. The primary spellcasters in the game especially suffer when they try to multiclass, as diluting their access to high-level magic is a major downside that is hard to overcome. The current edition of D&D is focused on campaigns that are shorter, as the developers and players alike realized that not everyone can pull off a lengthy campaign. As such, the 5.5 rules surrounding multiclassing shouldn’t be so strict, or there should at least be an alternate option that is more forgiving. If storylines are going to be shorter, then why not make it easier for players to experiment and play the kinds of characters they want, without diminishing their effectiveness in combat.

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything introduced race rules that offered new options for players. This was the book that introduced lineages and origins. The origin rules allowed players to ignore the stat bonuses in the Player’s Handbook and select ones of their choosing, as well as starting languages and certain skill and weapon proficiencies. The lineage rules allowed a player to create a race of their own creation, which came with +2 to a stat, a Feat, and a choice between darkvision or a skill proficiency.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the origin rules incorporated fully into the revised 5.5 Player’s Handbook, with the original stat bonuses being offered as suggestions, rather than being set in stone. The D&D Adventurers League already uses these rules for organized play, so it would make sense to fully add them into the game when D&D 5.5 releases.

In 2020, Wizards of the Coast released a D&D book called Mythic Odysseys of Theros, which turned the Theros plane from Magic: The Gathering into a campaign setting. One of the most exciting new rule additions in Mythic Odysseys of Theros was Mythic traits, which made the strongest monsters in the game even more powerful. A monster with a Mythic trait essentially has two health bars.

Once the player kills a monster with a Mythic trait, it returns to full health and gains new powers. The Mythic trait has since been used in different campaigns, including Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, but it was used with new monsters. If a revised version of the Monster Manual is released, then it’s likely that the Mythic trait will be added to some of the existing monsters in the game. It’s likely that the Tarrasque will become a Mythic monster, turning the most terrifying creature in the game into even more of a threat.

The revised rulebooks have a chance to fix a lot of the smaller issues that have plagued 5e over the years. This is the perfect opportunity to alter the falling damage rules, which have never made sense in D&D fifth edition. The reason for this is that there is a cap on falling damage. A creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every ten feet they fall, for a maximum of 20d6 damage. 20d6 is a surprisingly survivable amount of damage for a mid-level character to take, especially the melee fighters of the group. This means that a character can fall from orbit and walk it off. The damage cap exists to stop players from abusing the falling rules, by dropping enemies from a great height and trying to instakill them with gravity. A 5.5 revised version of the Player’s Handbook is the best place to change the falling rules so that they make more sense.

Source: Tech Crunch

Marvel Champions lets players step into the shoes of several famous Marvel heroes, but the game’s deck-building rules mean that it can be hard to assess the effectiveness of any given character. While each comes with fifteen cards that they must include in their deck for all games, players select the other 25 to 35 from an ever-growing pool of basic and aspect cards.

This deck-building method helps prevent power creep, and it also means that some initially underwhelming characters have since become much more playable. Also important to remember is that Marvel Champions plays very differently in solo mode compared to multiplayer. While more focused characters struggle to do everything themselves, they’re still powerhouses when teammates can help cover their weaknesses.

10 Thor

Thor may be one of the strongest Avengers in most Marvel media, but fans didn’t respond very positively to the God of Thunder’s initial release in Marvel Champions. While most heroes have some level of versatility built into their hero decks that allows them to explore various playstyles, the only thing that Thor did well was kill minions.

However, since Thor’s release, several minion-heavy villains and Aggression cards that synergize with minion killing have been released. Thor’s relatively limited playstyle still makes him a poor choice for solo games, but he now has enough tools available to make him a force to be reckoned with in multiplayer.

9 Iron Man

When he’s up and running, Iron Man is an incredibly powerful character. The challenge for many players is that it takes several turns to get Tony Stark combat-ready. As one would expect, Iron Man is all about upgrades. While his base stats are low, various tech upgrades boost Iron Man’s stats well above any other character in the game.

Because he can get upgrades out more quickly in alter-ego form, many players prefer to put him in the Justice aspect. This lets Tony deal with building threat levels that come from staying in alter-ego.

8 Spider-Man

Like his comic counterpart, Peter Parker is a hero that villains have a hard time laying a hit on. Spider-Man may have come pre-paired with a Justice deck in the Marvel Champions core set, but he shines in multiplayer games in the Protection affiliation. Spider-Man’s base defense of three means that he can tank several hits with his normal defense, so he pairs well with cards like Indomitable or Expert Defense that let him ready after defending against an attack. His backflip hero card is also fantastic as it lets him take zero damage from an attack regardless of its strength.

7 Quicksilver

Pietro Maximoff is one of the fastest men alive, and his incredible speed is reflected in Marvel Champions by his ability to ready himself after performing a basic action. While this is good for attacking or thwarting twice, it also means that he can defend without sacrificing actions on his next turn.

Quicksilver also has a helpful alter-ego ability, Superpowered Siblings, that lets him discard two cards to draw two. This is a great way to cycling through dead cards for something more useful, and he gets to draw a third card if Scarlet Witch is also in play.

6 Gamora

Gamora is one of the bravest members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and she’s also one of the most popular characters in Marvel Champions. Gamora is one of few heroes that can include cards from multiple aspects in her deck. This twist makes her a versatile character that’s able to adapt to different villains and schemes.

Gamora’s big bonus is that she does one free damage when she plays a thwart event and thwarts one threat when she plays an attack event (once per turn for each). This ability is fantastic in solo games where scheme threat limits and enemy health are low, but it’s slightly less impactful in multiplayer games since the power/thwart doesn’t scale per player like enemies do.

5 Captain America

Captain America was one of the earliest character packs released for Marvel Champions, and he immediately established himself as a powerhouse for both solo and group play. This is true for the Marvel Comics version of Captain America, who ranks as the best Avenger due to his masterful fighting ability.

Steve Rogers isn’t the single best character at anything in the game, but he’s good at absolutely everything. With the unpredictability in Marvel Champions, the lack of a glaring weakness means that Captain America players rarely find themselves in a bad matchup. Steve also gets to start each game with his famous vibranium shield, so he’s very consistent and can get into action right away on turn one.

4 Spider-Woman

There have been more since her release, but Spider-Woman, in any of her plentiful alternate versions, was the first character to use cards from multiple aspects simultaneously. Using multiple aspects gives her incredible versatility and lets her thrive in either solo or multiplayer games.

Her low basic stats may seem like a downside, but she gets +1 to her Attack, Thwart, and defense for each different aspect she plays a card from each turn. While this does mean that the occasional lousy draw can leave her temporarily hobbled, it’s not very challenging to boost her stats up to average or higher.

3 Ant-Man

Ant-Man and the Wasp were the first two heroes to have more than two forms. While both have hero and standard alter-ego sides, their character cards unfold to reveal a second hero form. Ant-Man has proven to be the more versatile of the two Pym-powered heroes, and he excels with several great character cards that take advantage of his tiny and giant forms.

Army of Ants (which Scott has three of in his hero deck) let players do one damage to anything per turn per card. While this doesn’t seem like much, it enables ant-man ping to Tough off enemies or take out low-health minions without using his basic actions. Ant-Man’s helmet is also fantastic and lets him draw a card or heal every time he changes hero forms.

2 Venom

Fans were excited and confused when data leaks showed the Venom was going to be releasing in the middle of several Guardians of the Galaxy packs, but it made a little more sense when it was revealed that this character is the Flash Thompson host of the Venom symbiote, who spent a bit of time with the Guardians.

Venom focuses on using weapons, and his unique Multi-Gun gives players several damaging and thwarting options. Venom’s ability to generate a wild resource in exchange for taking one damage means Flash can play more cards per turn than most heroes, and Project Rebirth 2.0 lets him draw or heal whenever he flips to his alter-ego.

1 Dr. Strange

When he was released, Dr. Strange was the strongest character in the game, and nothing has changed in the 15 months since. The Sorceror Supreme’s unique gimmick is his invocation deck, a set of five spells that exist apart from his standard hero deck. He can only play the top card and must exhaust after using a spell, but his deck contains multiple ways to cycle cards, ready himself, or reuse spells more than once in a row.

The result is that Strange wants to use most of his resources for playing spell cards, so his aspect choice is relatively inconsequential. One powerful option is to play Protection and fill his deck with healing cards to keep him from having to flip to his alter-ego too often.

Source: Tech Crunch

New leaks from a marketing site appear to confirm that the camera for the Pixel 6 will have a new Magic Eraser feature, and the devices will apparently get five years of Android security updates (h/t 9to5 Google)

According to reliable leaker Evan Blass, the Carphone Warehouse website was showing images of Google marketing materials for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro (the images have since been taken down, but you can view the earlier versions of the Carphone Warehouse pages on the Wayback Machine here and here). Screenshots show the description for the previously leaked Magic Eraser, which will apparently be linked to Google Photos:

Magic Eraser makes distractions disappear with a few taps. Remove strangers and unwanted objects in Google…

Continue reading…

from The Verge – Tech Posts https://ift.tt/3ltFnxj https://ift.tt/3uWJyEQ
Source: Tech Crunch