Go ask the lizard-guy something....

[Sstavix]

A whole new world of combat is opened up to characters which cannot be killed?

Depends on the nature of the immortality. I've read of many situations where a character can't be killed (typically in D&D) and clever players have found ways around that. Burying the offending person in a pit and covering it with a huge boulder, for example. Sure, that doesn't kill the opponent, but if he or she isn't a magic user, it will be a long, long time before they'll get out to bother anyone again....

[Hcube7]

What sports have you done / do?

[Sstavix]

What sports have you done / do?

Hello, new member! Welcome to the forums!

Except for whatever sports they've tossed at us while I was in grade / middle / high school, not a lot. I used to downhill ski, but that was many, many years ago. Since then, all my sporting activities have involved video games.

And that's only if you count the Wii and Rocket League as sports.

[Chozon1]

Depends on the nature of the immortality. I've read of many situations where a character can't be killed (typically in D&D) and clever players have found ways around that. Burying the offending person in a pit and covering it with a huge boulder, for example. Sure, that doesn't kill the opponent, but if he or she isn't a magic user, it will be a long, long time before they'll get out to bother anyone again....

I have a character named Bell who is immortal; his gift is that he can heal others by taking their injury or illness upon himself, and then heals rapidly in his own right. To the extent that during combat with say, a guy with a sword, he has no problem catching the sword in his arm, or letting himself get stabbed, and pulling it from the attackers hands.

But what I'm coming up against is...at what point is the line crossed between self-sacrifice, and abuse of his gift? He could theoretically work his way through an entire army, one soldier at a time, leaving bits and pieces of himself all over the battlefield. Or stand up and let a bad guy empty his gun into him before taking him down. Both of which are cool idea's...but I'm not sure it would be right. XD

Poops everwhere?

[Sstavix]

Depends on the nature of the immortality. I've read of many situations where a character can't be killed (typically in D&D) and clever players have found ways around that. Burying the offending person in a pit and covering it with a huge boulder, for example. Sure, that doesn't kill the opponent, but if he or she isn't a magic user, it will be a long, long time before they'll get out to bother anyone again....

I have a character named Bell who is immortal; his gift is that he can heal others by taking their injury or illness upon himself, and then heals rapidly in his own right. To the extent that during combat with say, a guy with a sword, he has no problem catching the sword in his arm, or letting himself get stabbed, and pulling it from the attackers hands.

But what I'm coming up against is...at what point is the line crossed between self-sacrifice, and abuse of his gift? He could theoretically work his way through an entire army, one soldier at a time, leaving bits and pieces of himself all over the battlefield. Or stand up and let a bad guy empty his gun into him before taking him down. Both of which are cool idea's...but I'm not sure it would be right. XD

Well then, here's an idea - and it's hardly a new one, I'll admit. Suppose Bell runs across another person or character who has a similar gift, but has decided to use his (or her) powers for evil? Perhaps this other guy is the general of the opposing army because of his reputation for being unkillable.

One example I can think of would be Wolverine vs. Sabretooth. Both of them have enhanced senses and a healing factor so extreme that they may as well be immortal. But unlike Wolverine, Sabretooth has taken his abilities in a different direction, embracing a savage ferocity and a "might makes right" attitude that firmly lands him in the "villainous" category. He may not be the most powerful of Marvel's villains, but he's no slouch, either. Yet the only difference between him and Logan - aside from an adamantium skeleton - is how they chose to use their mutant powers.

Poops everwhere?

This is one reason why some of our cats quickly became "outdoors only."

[Chozon1]

It's more...at what point does he simply stop caring about the injuries he receives, and should that be a problem? Superman takes a grenade to the chest...meh. He didn't feel it. Bell takes a grenade to the chest and is shredded to pieces...should he also not care? Would that make him less human?

TMNT?

[Sstavix]

It's more...at what point does he simply stop caring about the injuries he receives, and should that be a problem? Superman takes a grenade to the chest...meh. He didn't feel it. Bell takes a grenade to the chest and is shredded to pieces...should he also not care? Would that make him less human?

Well, those are two different situations. Superman (who isn't human, mind you) is super-dense in terms of his musculature. He can shrug off a grenade because it literally doesn't damage him. Assuming that Bell's healing factor is similar to Wolverine's, he does take damage and feels pain - it just takes him a quicker time to recover than your normal person. Eventually, he could develop a coping mechanism to work through the pain, but that should take years, and even then there are some injuries that should immobilize him for several minutes. For example, suppose a stone pillar collapsed on him, shattering his spine and pinning him to the ground. He can't heal through that as long as he's trapped under the pillar, and the whole time he should be blinded by pain as his healing power struggles to recover from his injuries while the stone pillar continues to inflict said injuries.

I think that it could be his capability to feel pain that can serve as a connection to his humanity. Maybe make that part of his character when he's starting to question his humanity. It might even lead to a form of insanity - maybe he gets into the habit of cutting himself and watching himself bleed, just to remind himself that he is human and mortal.

TMNT?

I used to like them when I was a kid. My own children? The ninja turtles have been little more than a passing interest. They're more into Legos and Minecraft.

Donatello is still the best, though.

[Chozon1]

He's actually not mortal either; when I get around to writing his story, he'll be around 130 or so, I think. Might make him a bit older.

There comes a point where you have to admit that you enjoy complaining, and get over it?

[Sstavix]

There comes a point where you have to admit that you enjoy complaining, and get over it?

I actually don't like complaining. There's no point to it - especially if the person you're complaining to isn't listening. Why bother wasting words? Just leave them behind and get on with your own life.

[Chozon1]

I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't enjoy complaining, about one thing or another. But I haven't had breakfast yet, so my thinking is skewed.

Sometimes you just want to line people up and slap them one by one?

I'm not thinking of family here. Mostly the "resistance".

[Sstavix]

Sometimes you just want to line people up and slap them one by one?

I'm not thinking of family here. Mostly the "resistance".

What are they resisting, exactly?

If they can't come up with a coherent, short answer, then yes.

And yes, sometimes slapping people is more effective than complaining.

[Chozon1]

That's what the anti-Trump protesters are calling themselves now. -_- I saw a magazine in Barnes and Noble the other day titled "A Resisters Guide to the Trump years" or some such.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm still not pro-Trump (though I've been pleasantly surprised by his first weeks), but I am anti-idiot...especially those who try to validate themselves with delusions of grandeur.

Cauliflower pizza crust?

[Sstavix]

That's what the anti-Trump protesters are calling themselves now. -_- I saw a magazine in Barnes and Noble the other day titled "A Resisters Guide to the Trump years" or some such.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm still not pro-Trump (though I've been pleasantly surprised by his first weeks), but I am anti-idiot...especially those who try to validate themselves with delusions of grandeur.

I agree with you there. Some people are so blinded by their ideologies that, even if Trump decided to make gay marriage part of the Constitution, or outlaw non-electric cars in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they would still complain and say that Trump was ruining everything.

I'm going to use this opportunity to write something that's been on my mind. Karl Marx indicated in his Communist Manifesto that the ruling elites - the bourgeoisie - would get to the point where they were so corrupt and oppressive that eventually the proletariat - the peasantry, a.k.a. the working class - would revolt. They would overthrow their oppressors and establish a new form of government. In Marx's book, this government would be communist, of course. And many of those on the left - including the Progressives in both political parties - saw this as a good thing. Down with the oppressors! Down with the ruling class!

But guess what? We saw this happen in November. The working class did revolt against their oppressors. The liberals - mostly Democrats - lost seats in record numbers, partially as retaliation against the oppressive laws and belittling attitude the proletariat had been experiencing under eight years of Democrat rule. So the liberals got exactly what they wanted! The glorious revolution is here! Throw off your shackles and seek freedom from the oppressors!

... the liberals just never thought that they would be the oppressive government regime. The bourgeoise. The government that must be toppled to pave the way for true freedom and equality.

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.

Cauliflower pizza crust?

Just those words in the same sentence are an abomination. BURN IT!

[Chozon1]

I don't know. You make a good point. Not one I would repeat in real life, I think; I've no desire to be pummeled. But a good one. I just...I wonder how people can be so stupid. I'm not exactly a shining beacon of intelligence myself, and I realize some of it is possibly the blindness of division, and I know that's not a kind way to say it.

But come on. Some of this is legitimately stupid. I mean, if you live in a country where you can print "A guide to resisting the president" without being put in prison...you probably don't have a reason to print it in the first place. I don't want it, clearly, but a part of me wants those same individuals to go on a trip to a middle eastern country, where a wrong word can get you killed, and then talk to me of resisting a corrupt authority. I have seen the same people throwing rainbows and in the same breath praising sharia law. -_-

Also...as a firm lover of pizza, and a self styled expert in its consumption...it is possible to craft a passable pizza crust from cauliflower. You would never believe that it's regular pizza, and it will never have the chewy texture of a real crust...but it's great for diabetics, since they can have the glory of pizza without all the carbs. ^_^

Eating too much pineapple?

[Sstavix]

But come on. Some of this is legitimately stupid. I mean, if you live in a country where you can print "A guide to resisting the president" without being put in prison...you probably don't have a reason to print it in the first place. I don't want it, clearly, but a part of me wants those same individuals to go on a trip to a middle eastern country, where a wrong word can get you killed, and then talk to me of resisting a corrupt authority. I have seen the same people throwing rainbows and in the same breath praising sharia law. -_-

That's one of the wonderful things about this country, though. We have a First Amendment right to say or print whatever we want, and for the most part, we won't suffer repercussions for it. (There are some exceptions, of course - for example, when Madonna said at the Women's March that she fantasizes about blowing up the White House, the Secret Service did launch an investigation.) So, to coin a phrase, everyone is entitled to their wrong opinion.

In other words, stupid people don't have to keep their stupidity a secret. It makes it so much easier to avoid them this way.

Also...as a firm lover of pizza, and a self styled expert in its consumption...it is possible to craft a passable pizza crust from cauliflower. You would never believe that it's regular pizza, and it will never have the chewy texture of a real crust...but it's great for diabetics, since they can have the glory of pizza without all the carbs. ^_^

But cauliflower is eeeeeevil and must be destroyed. (My absolute least favorite veggie, in case you couldn't tell.)

Eating too much pineapple?

I can relate... but it's so tempting and delicious....