But I’m just grasping at straws here.
Hey all, hope you are doing well today.
I had a thought in my head about the current climate of our community and wanted to know whether or not this has been just my experience or perhaps this is part of a larger trend.
Ever since DnD 5e has come out, everything kind of shifted priority. There are good parts to this and bad ones too.
The good: I see that people are a lot more enthusiastic about role playing their characters. I also see that people who are playing actually try to read and understand what they can do when it comes to mechanics.
The bad: it seems to me that majority of players are not interested in exploring other RPGs , I’ve had groups collapse because of a simple desire to switch systems. I also see that there is a shift of players wanting to have every moment to be cinematic, dynamic, daring in some way, which is not really possible for an average DM, especially if you are just starting out.
Those of you who have been in the hobby for a while, what changes have you seen since this explosion of popularity?
I am happy we have more people in the community, I just wish people were interested in trying new things and getting out their comfort zone.
The Theft
In 1989, Kriangkrai Techamong, a Thai servant for the House of Saud, stole jewellery and other valuable gems from the bedroom of Prince Faisal bin Fahd. Kriangkrai hid the stolen jewellery, which included a valuable blue diamond and other gems, in a vacuum cleaner bag and then shipped it to his home in Lampang Province, Thailand.
Recovery
A Royal Thai Police investigation by a team headed by Lieutenant-General Chalor Kerdthes led to Kriangkrai's arrest and the recovery of most of the stolen jewellery. Kriangkai was sentenced to seven years in prison, but he was released after three years as he cooperated with the police and had confessed. Chalor's team then flew to Saudi Arabia to return the stolen items. However, the Saudi authorities discovered that the blue diamond was still missing and that about half of the gems returned were fake.
In Bangkok, rumours spread in the local press that charity gala photos captured a number of wives of government officials wearing diamond necklaces resembling those stolen from the palace. The Saudis suspected that Thai police and officials had taken the jewels for themselves.
Investigation
Mohammad al-Ruwaili, a Saudi businessman close to the royal family, travelled to Bangkok to conduct his own investigation. He went missing on 12 February 1990 and is presumed to have been murdered. Prior to his disappearance, on 4 January 1989, a Saudi diplomat was murdered in Si Lom, Bang Rak District, Bangkok. On 1 February 1990, three more Saudi diplomats were murdered in Thung Mahamek in Bangkok's Yan Nawa District. The murders remain unsolved, and no connection to the jewellery theft has been established.
Lieutenant-General Chalor was later charged and convicted of ordering the 1995 murder of the wife and son of a gem dealer allegedly involved in the affair, and he was sentenced to death. The Thai Supreme Court upheld the judgement and sentenced Chalor to death on 16 October 2009. However, Chalor's sentence was reduced to fifty years imprisonment by King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the King's 84th birthday. Six other policemen were also convicted of involvement in the murders. One of those involved, Police Lieutenant-Colonel Pansak Mongkolsilp, was sentenced in 2002 to life in prison. The term was upheld on appeal in 2005, but he was released in 2012.
Diplomatic and economic repercussions
Relations between the two countries worsened further following the murders. Saudi Arabia stopped issuing work visas f
... keep reading on reddit ➡Emily is threatened by Gina’s growing friendship with Shannon. Tamra and Shannon coach Vicki on how to deal with Kelly on their upcoming trip to Arizona. Kelly deals with family issues, as her brother JR encourages her to fix her estranged relationships with her mom and younger brother. Gina is frustrated by Emily’s repeated efforts to convince her to join the Vegas trip. Kelly, Shannon and Tamra get to know Braunwyn’s eccentric mom over dinner as they try to convince Kelly to go on the group trip to Arizona.
You'd think an accelerated release schedule would mean characters are made farmable faster but the opposite seems to have happened. The constant bombardment of characters have created a war and raid meta that shifts faster than ever yet farmable character releases have been reduced to a trickle.
One of the great appeals of the game at release was an ability for f2p to access all the content with time and effort. It doesn't feel that way anymore.
We're in the mad situation now that's its actually easier to get legendaries than it is to get regular characters. I have a 7 star Phoenix and a 3 star Colossus. I have a 6 star Invisible woman and the rest are nowhere near.
There's enough unfarmable characters in the game at this point that they could release a new Nexus campaign (or 2) tomorrow. I doubt they're even working on that though because it would benefit the whole player base and not just the top 0.5%.
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/29/810537586/u-s-signs-peace-deal-with-taliban-after-nearly-2-decades-of-war-in-afghanistan
“Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. commits to withdrawing all of its military forces and supporting civilian personnel, as well as those of its allies, within 14 months. The drawdown process will begin with the U.S. reducing its troop levels to 8,600 in the first 135 days and pulling its forces from five bases.” After this, in the next nine months or so, the rest of the troops will leave.
Although this peace agreement may fall through, it is one of the largest policy decisions made in the Middle East since the Iranian-U.S. tensions back in January. What does this mean for the future of Afghanistan? Can we expect the Taliban to make a legitimate state there? Furthermore, what happens to the paramilitary groups in Afghanistan, such as Blackwater? Does this create a power vacuum for Russia or do you believe that the Russian government may hold off because of their history with that region (ala 1980s)?
On top of this, what are the ramifications for internal political U.S. matters? Will this boost approval ratings for the current administration or will anger strike because of the possible power vacuum left?
Also, what does this mean for the U.S.’s future foreign policy considerations? Is this a turn towards a more isolationist America or is the U.S.’s foreign interventionist method still strong?
Thanks.
