Critical Hit: A Major Spoilers D and D podcast


This issue: What happens to those four following their major battle in the keep? Will the Monsters of the Void devour the envoy, or will they make their escape and warn their tribes?

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Plot: Ian tries to convince the Thals to fight against the Daleks, while the Daleks decide the best way to keep themselves alive is by dropping another bomb.

What I liked: Barbara actually siding with The Doctor was something new, she wants off the planet just as much as him, and she's willing to sacrifice the Thals to do it. Ian, on the other hand, tries to convince the Thals to fight, and succeeds. On the Dalek side of things they get even eviler (I'm aware of that not being a word.) By deciding the only way to survive is to set off another bomb. I'm not completely sure if their right about how to survive or just guessing, but either way, it does not bode well for our heroes.

What I didn't like: The pacing was pretty abysmal this episode, maybe it wasn't the greatest idea to make this a 7-part story. This is the first Who episode where I found myself losing interest. Perhaps it was the way the Thals talk, or the fact that nothing really happens for 15 out of the 22 minutes of the show.

Rating: I give this one 3.5 out of 5 stars. The pacing really put a damper on this episode, hopefully the next one will redeem this serial.


 

I have been watching SVU for years and I don't remember there being many cross overs of characters other than villans becoming heroes in the other series.

I was talking with my wife about this issue and we both decided that NCIS lends itself to more sharing of main characters than L&O and CSI b/c police forces are not run by the same person in each city or even each department.  Where NCIS is under the military umbrella and therefore are run by the same person.

It should be noted that this is no knock on L&O and/or CSI.  I love them both and are recorded on my DVR each week.

you mean abby specifically? because the L&O guys cross over at least once per season.

there are no massive damage rules anywhere in the PHB for 4th edition. I think your friends may have some holdout rules from 3rd. It happens, people in my crew were taking unnecessary penalties to their AC after charging for a while before someone actually said something.

I just saw the previews for the next weeks NCIS LA and Abby from NCIS will be guest starring.  This is the fun stuff that NCIS LA could do that the CSI and L&O series can't.   

I think this is an important thing that is true in most (maybe not all) games. The PCs encounter elements of the game world that the common person would never encounter. By virtue of that encounter and the PCs power the PCs then shape the game world in ways a common person would never dream.

I have always considered a person (PC or NPC) with a class to be a great rarity. Most people in the world have NPC classes like Commoner or Artisan. Even an NPC Warrior class character is far below what the lowliest of Fighters can achieve.

Consequently, the mere fact that the PCs all have a PC Class places them into an aspect of the world that is elite. I also frequently make that understood in my game because a 5th level Wizard may not be so tough in the context of the party and plot but, to the populace at large, it is extraordinary.

So when the 5th level Wizard has that one good Fireball spell but it doesn't take out the enemy Rogue who has Improved Evasion and makes her Reflex save...well, that's how combat goes. 

... But if I was the Commoner apple vendor who just saw some halfling chick jump 6 feet into the air and dodge a roaring ball of fire that came screaming from the hands of that crazy-looking dude with the bat on his shoulder ... ...

The only reason I asked is because I know is that it was 4th edition, not 3rd or 3.5.

In 3rd Edition, if you dealt more than 50 hit points of damage in a single attack the creature must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or die.

This is designed to make the game a little realistic in that anyone could theoretically be laid low by a massive blow. Of course, a DC 15 isn't hard to beat so a character of any appreciable power level will probably live. Still, it gives you a shot at glory.

Now I am not directly disagreeing with you, just wanted to point out that it can be a slippery slope when dealing with separate shows (though having the same roots) can be troublesome.  I would like to point out Hercules and Xena, by the end of these two shows respective runs, the two one hour shows turned into a two hour episode of Hercules / Xena, which got old (at least to me).