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Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
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Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
December 17, 2010, 08:07:28 AM »
Stone, Steel, and Steam
is a tabletop RPG about cultures in collision. It features eight unique human civilizations on two continents with technology levels ranging from Stone Age to early Industrial to photovoltaic schizotech. They just discovered each other about forty years ago, and things are starting to get messy. The players can engage the world as characters of any of the nations, from any walk of life but most often as soldiers, explorers, or traders directly affected by or personally shaping world events.
Here is the
completed game manual
, and the self-criticizing
release announcement
about it. I've already got it lined up for some local playtesting; what I really need are critiques and copyedits of the text. 'I like how you handled/described
but I don't like this about
. I think the way
is written is ambiguous,
is unnecessary, and
is something players need to know that's not written,' stuff like that. I'd also be
interested to hear the results of other playtests based solely on the manual, that I've had no opportunity to skew.
The ideas that grew into this game began gestating in around 2000, I had scribbles and notes on paper in 2005, had things complete and cohesive enough to run rough playtests in late 2007, and it actually started coming together into an actual manual in 2009.
One one level this is 'just' a pencil-and-paper tabletop adventure game and it follows many common RPG conventions. The interesting stuff, imo, is the setting, and theoretically I could have just developed it as a setting for OGL or some other generic mechanical engine, except that I have philosophical objections to how most other systems work and wanted to make a few statements by developing my own. Not particularly revolutionary statements, but significant to me.
On another level, this game is or can be a tool to explore social and historical conflicts. I tried to make these cultures ethnologically plausible. Every quirk and feature is a response to a trauma or crisis in their history. Ask, why did the Spanish have the technology to conquer the Amerindians instead of the other way around? Then kick out the 'why' and ask,
what if
the Amerindians had the technology, how would this have played out? Then kick out the Spanish and the Amerindians (or any thinly veiled analogue) so we don't have the personal feelings and political baggage attached, build several cultures from the ground up, plot out how they developed and why, and set the players loose in that world. And you'll have crazy Brisco County, Jr.-style adventures, but you'll also raise questions about imperialism, colonialism, slavery, genocide, and other conflicts that can drive genuine character growth. Maybe that's a little pretentious; I don't really expect everyone who plays this game to have their eyes opened to the tacit injustices of history, and it can certainly be done with other systems.
I'm a narrativist, I suppose, and my real objective has been to craft a setting that would be interesting to tell stories in, where guns and swords are both viable options, where magic is real but not overpowering, where things make sense and the way things are is a result of plausible cause-and-effect conflicts. a game that's a little smarter and more serious than your average mass-market game, but not so artsy/esoteric/indie that it wouldn't also be appealing to a broad audience of gamers. I don't care it it's ever commercially successful; I do care that it's solid and professional and complete and can be enjoyed by like-minded people. It's a rough stone I've finally hacked out, and at this point I need help polishing it.
Stone, Steel, and Steam
- Beta Testers Wanted!
Posts: 58
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #1 on:
December 17, 2010, 04:57:09 PM »
Firstly I've got to say how much I admire the fact that you've actually managed to put together your RPG (even if it is in beta format). I've been working on my own RPG for going on 8 months now and am not past the second draft of the mechanics. That being said, I have some questions and comments.
I was reading over your Magic (or Praxis) section and had a couple of comments. Firstly, the magic system doesn't seem as if it's really a part of the setting-it's not mentioned as affecting the relationships between nations, the makeup of religions, or the cultures of the various peoples that populate the game world. Even if magic is subtle and not believed in with any real frequency, if magic works (at least for some people) then it will have a measurable affect on the societies it appears in. Secondly, the effects that magic can create seem somewhat limited, even taking into account the flavor of magic that appears in your game.
Weather magic, shapeshifting (such as that attributed to Witches in the middle ages by way of an animal skin girdle), hexes beyond the "wasting sickness" that your cursing seems to simulate, and blessings (such as protecting another against witchcraft, or blessing them with fertility, strength, or luck) are all (at least in my mind) appropriate as magical abilities in a world that has subtle and down-to-earth magic as a theme. But all of these are currently impossible with your current magical ruleset. I'd recommend that you expand the list of effects you can create with magic, or else give guidelines for players to create their own effects, giving difficulty examples for general types of magical tasks.
Example 1: Shapeshift. The practicioner can change their form to that of a Beast through the use of their Focus and a long ritual. This requires a Air+Praxis roll against a difficulty based on the power of the form.
Weak Creature with few abilities (Mouse, Frog) Easy
Weak Creature with many abilities (Crow, Dog) Moderate
Strong Creature with few abilities (Large Dog, Poisonous Viper) Difficult
Strong Creature with many abilities (Crocodile, Wolf, Bear) Very Difficult
While in the assumed form, your Fire and Earth scores are increased or decreased by the difference between your scores and those of the animal. This decrease only applies to physical actions. You may not communicate in the form of an animal (unless the animal in question could be trained to speak, in which case it requires an Air+Fire roll against moderate difficulty to speak a full paragraph) or use Praxis while shapeshifted. You gain all of the special abilities of the animal whose form you have assumed (such as flight for birds, incredible sensory abilities for dogs or wolves, faster speed for a horse). While in animal form, you may communicate basic concepts to other animals of your kind through body language and scent. Occasionally, the animal form might influence you to act in a certain way (such as making you stalk a deer while shapeshifted into the form of a wolf). This is resisted by Air+Water, and is of a difficulty based on the strength of the stimulus.
Example 2: Making new Praxis abilities.
Have the player describe what he or she would like to accomplish and determine what category of task it falls into. Then make a Fire+Praxis roll for physical effects, or an Air+Praxis roll for mental effects. Roll against a difficulty determined by Scope, modified by effect.
Small (A single target, Touch Range, a few feet in area) Very Easy
Moderate (Up to 3 targets, range comparable to a thrown weapon, a few yards in area) Easy
Large: (Up to 5 targets, range comparable to a bow, tens of feet) Moderate
Huge: (Up to 10 targets, range comparable to a smoothbore gun, hundreds of feet in area) DIfficult
Epic: (Up to 20 targets, range comparable to a rifle, thousands of feet in area) Very Difficult
Minor (A slight modification, amusing diversions easily accomplished by ledgermain or sleight of hand) +5
Lesser (A significant but still explainable modification, such as placing an odd but reasonable suggestion in someone's mind, or causing it to rain when there are already stormclouds in the sky) +10
Moderate (A significant effect that is hard to explain away as non-supernatural, such as getting rats to follow you away from a village and dance to your song, or having a lightining bolt strike randomly out of a cloudy but not stormy sky) +15
Major (A large effect that's nearly impossible to explain away, such as causing a normally healthy man to fall sick with a horrible disease, or causing your foe's weapon to weaken and rust) +20
Incredible (An obviously supernatural effect that's readily apparent to all as a function of Praxis. Changing your form, causing a healthy man to drop dead with a gaze, conjuring a spirit who takes bodily form, or suspending aging in a target) +25
Posts: 58
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #2 on:
December 17, 2010, 07:45:47 PM »
Either of the above methods would contribute to expanding the versatility of your magic system and it's ability to mimic the wide variety of magical practices that go on in the real world (and it's obvious that you've taken a lot of your information from reinterpretations of various RL cultures, which is cool).
Regarding the fiction of your game, I'm curious as to why the less advanced societies who are stuck at a stone age, bronze age, or iron age level of technology which have had
Posts: 58
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #3 on:
December 17, 2010, 08:07:18 PM »
(I apologize for my previous post, my computer freaked out and I posted it before it was completed. Read this as a continuation of my previous post)
contact with more advanced societies with imperialist tendencies have not been absorbed into the empires of those imperialistic countries. As RL history will tell you, less technologically advanced peoples don't exist side by side with technologically advanced imperialist nations without the less advanced peoples eventually getting steamrolled, or using the technology of their attackers to fight back. If perhaps you provided reasons in the fiction why this had not taken place (such as terrain or climate that makes conquest difficult, powerful Praxis on the part of the less developed peoples, or due to the countries in question being distracted by other concerns), then this would be easier to swallow, but as it stands it hurts my suspension of disbelief. This is especially striking because other than that you've done a very good job of creating interesting societies from the ground up without resorting to cliches often found in RPG material.
Another question I have is why you chose to include an Idiom system that directly punishes characters for "evil" behavior and rewards them for "good" behavior in the form of Karma when you talk about exploring social and historical issues such as slavery, genocide, and imperialism, and driving deep character growth. While slavery, genocide, and imperialism are easy to call evil (and indeed I can't think of many things that fit the bill more closely), to leave it at that is over simplifying it. All of those horrible things that occurred in the real world, or that occurred in your RPG's setting were the result not of people who set out to do evil, but human beings who acted on very basic and primal drives and emotions. That's what's really scary about such events- that the people who perpetrate hem by and large aren't cackling megalomaniacs who kick puppies for fun, but people just like you and I. It seems counter intuitive (at least to me) for a game about exploring these issues in a systematic and deep way to have a system which offers external rewards for moral behavior and external punishments for immoral behavior.
Now the dichotomy between immoral and moral behavior is an interesting one, and I think it's something worth exploring but I would consider ways of making Karma provide rewards that aren't readily apparent in the game world, and also consider the possibility of combining the concept of Karma with something else to make a sort of "motivation system". For example, if you gave characters several "motivations" and they gained a different (but equal) reward based on whether they acted on that motivation morally, immorally, or neutrally then you free up players to easily explore characters of all moralities without worrying that they'll be punished for the system for playing an immoral character. Unless you've intended for one of the themes of the game to be something along the lines of "Those who are pure of heart will usually triumph over those who are corrupt" or something similarly idealistic, I would consider redesigning or scrapping Karma.
I don't mean to be overly harsh-I really do like your game's concept, setting, and the rules by and large and I'd love to discuss them and your reasons behind your mechanical decisions more in-depth.
Ron Edwards
Global Moderator
Posts: 17707
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #4 on:
December 18, 2010, 11:29:59 AM »
I'd like to cast in my support for John's question about the ethics of the game. You used the term "narrativist" to describe yourself ... I am not sure whether you are using this in the sense that I, its author, defined - to embed the action into a pressing, situational, and above all compelling
that taps right into human emotions, concerns, ethics, morality, or anything related to those terms. *
If you are indeed using the term as I've defined it, then John's question is a good one. But it's not just a matter of "alignment vs. no alignment," or "rules vs. no rules." Here are my thoughts about that.
1. The simplest way to deal with such questions in role-playing is to leave them entirely non-mechanical, as emergent social and creative feedback from playing. Given many people's experience with personality and morality mechanics, I can see why they might prefer that because historically such mechanics are highly strictural and punitive. However, just because this is simplest and just because it
work, doesn't mean it's necessarily the best way. In fact, in practice it has a way of running into social clashes.
2. A number of games include what might be called "morality mechanics" (here using morality in the broadest and most story-thematic sense) without dictating exactly what is good and exactly what is evil, and definitely not casting PCs or NPCs into those roles in a fixed way. My game Sorcerer is probably the one that's received the most discussion about such things, but see also Dogs in the Vineyard, My Life with Master, and Dust Devils.
In these games, human judgment at the table is called for - preferably right there in the moment, and preferably at the mercy of a given person, rather than some kind of consensus. The consequences can be severe but also permit "bouncing back" from them, most of the time. It's also worth pointing out that these are fully free-will games, in that nothing on a character puts limits on a character's behavior for good or ill.
What I'd like to know about is exactly how the Idiom rules work at the table, by examples of what's really happened. It may be that you are working with legacy mechanics (D&D alignment, or Storyteller System Humanity) that frankly don't function well except in highly limited, highly group-specific instances. Or it may be that you have hit upon parallel mechanics to those of Sorcerer and similar games, or something that is distinct from them but also consistently functional. It's hard to tell, from reading game text. Can you provide examples, from real play?
Best, Ron
* Narrativism doesn't merely mean "to tell a good story," as that can be accomplished in the context of many other, different creative goals for play.
Posts: 7
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #5 on:
December 20, 2010, 12:02:44 PM »
First of all, thank you very much for your responses. I've had a lot of trouble getting people I know to respond, and I welcome your hard-hitting insights.
Quote from: johnthedm7000 on December 17, 2010, 08:07:18 PM
Regarding the fiction of your game, I'm curious as to why the less advanced societies who are stuck at a stone age, bronze age, or iron age level of technology which have had contact with more advanced societies with imperialist tendencies have not been absorbed into the empires of those imperialistic countries. As RL history will tell you, less technologically advanced peoples don't exist side by side with technologically advanced imperialist nations without the less advanced peoples eventually getting steamrolled, or using the technology of their attackers to fight back. If perhaps you provided reasons in the fiction why this had not taken place (such as terrain or climate that makes conquest difficult, powerful Praxis on the part of the less developed peoples, or due to the countries in question being distracted by other concerns), then this would be easier to swallow, but as it stands it hurts my suspension of disbelief. This is especially striking because other than that you've done a very good job of creating interesting societies from the ground up without resorting to cliches often found in RPG material.
This I thought I covered in the text, and your question shows me that I did not explain it adequately. So, note to self, fix that. The differences in technology levels are largely a matter of geographic isolation and in some cases economic access. You do see these kinds of technological gaps in RL, even today. I imagine you're referring mostly to the gaps between Aralei, Retulia, and Elme/'Haraz? The Aralean Empire is a cavalry-based power, and while they reign supreme in the savannah around the Inner Sea and they claim to rule areas far to the north and south, their ability to actually project power into the northern mountains and the southern swamps, jungles, and mountains is limited. Plus they've been caught up in civil wars for a long time. The peoples they conquered are now at the same technology level, and even though they're not ethnic Aralean, they're included in that cultural 'zone.' So a lot of people did get steamrolled and assimilated and are now using the tools of their attackers, but they don't get their own unit precisely because they have ceased to be culturally and technologically distinct.
Retulia is not so much Bronze Age as it is early Iron Age, while Aralei is later Iron Age, and they have had quite a bit of interaction. It's like the difference between Scotland and Italia c. 200 AD. Given another few hundred years left to themselves, the Retulians might have caught up, and the Borderlands already have some more tech than the average Retulian (which I need to specify).
The Nehom have low tech for religious reasons and nobody has been able to steamroll them because they're badass Amish sand ninjas hiding in the desert with a strong tradition of Praxis. You try to conquer them, they foresee you coming, they'll poison a well to kill all your horses and leave the rest of you to die of thirst or pick you off one by one in the night. Marym is on the conquering trail, and so far the Nehom desert has acted as a sort of insulator, but it won't last.
Also, these are very broad strokes. Sure, Araleans generally don't have guns, but you know that some have been captured or stolen or smuggled no matter how hard the Taksans try to prevent it. Some Elmes may have Aralean steel tools and let's say a small number even understand how to make them, but they don't have the infrastructure to create them locally.
One of the core aesthetics of the game is that magic is invisible, really more like psionics or the Force. People that don't believe in magic aren't crazy or stupid, it's just not measurable. Weather magic, yes, and it was in consideration, I just hadn't figured out a good mechanic for it. Shala does a rain dance, and then it rains, but you can't know that it wasn't going to rain anyway - that works for me. Shapeshifting not so much. Shala turns into a wolf and everyone says, holy crap! She just turned into a wolf! The existence of magic is now indisputable - and that doesn't work for me. Of course, you could use some of the mind-altering powers of Harmonize to make someone
you/they had been shapeshifted, and there would be stories of it, but any kind of 'scientific' analysis of the event reveals it was 'just some dumb superstition' or 'mass hysteria.' I like your idea of hexes/anti-hexes, and I also considered adding some kind of battle meditation. I think I will add more 'spells,' not sure yet about a build-a-spell toolkit, but I'll consider it.
There is a spectrum of belief in and use of Praxis. Most Taksans don't believe, which is partially their pragmatism, a reaction to the abuses of their Imperial period, and a conspiracy promoted by the Central Police. Many Araleans believe, but think it's evil (which is a tidbit that didn't make it in to this draft, note to self). Most Granarctians believe and think only priests should use it. Moy, Retulians, Elme, and 'Haraz all have their shamans and mystics. Nehom and Marym are practically magocracies. I should explicate all that, either in the country descriptions, or the Praxis chapter, or both.
Let me just say it's sometimes
intimidating posting on the Forge. I feel like a primary school kid saying 'Yay! I like animals!' and I come to this convention where everyone's discussing mitochondrial RNA and Malthusian carrying capacities. So, posting on zero sleep and trying to sound impressive because I explore Important Concepts, I probably sounded like more of an idiot than usual. When I say we're going to be exploring issues of colonialism, et al., I don't mean we're necessarily going to be participating in committing atrocities. I mean we're not dealing with a sanitized, heroic version of colonial (pseudo)history, nor are we dealing with a revisionist white guilt version. One thing that's very important to me that I hope I conveyed in the text is that there are no good and bad nations, but there are good and bad people, there are going to be acts of heroism and generosity of spirit and villainy and brutality on both sides. I'm not trying to be edgy, per se, but I reserve the right to be.
One, I sincerely believe that you sow what you reap. Whether that's your slaves rising up in revolt or literally the universe knocking you on your ass is merely aesthetics. It doesn't always happen right away, and you can be really horrible and get away with it for long periods of time, you might even outrun it for your entire mortal life, but it will catch up to you. I feel that a cosmic moral law is a spiritual reality, and a realistic game will reflect that. Of course, it doesn't need to be a mechanic. I don't have a mechanic for falling damage, that doesn't mean I won't kill or injure a PC that jumps off a cliff. Also, I like to encourage heroic play, but being doing what's 'right' usually isn't the most compelling strategy. Why shouldn't we torture the prisoner for information? Why should we help these suffering villagers who can't pay us. A karmic balancer takes care of that.
Two, I see it as much a player mechanic as a character mechanic. I run a very delicately balanced game. I don't run a G-rated enchanted fantasy where nobody poops and nobody bleeds. But I also don't run noir games full of degenerates and horror, and I think there's a lot of middle ground there to cover. My players have different comfort levels for that, and I see one of my roles as gamemaster as a kind of social thermostat. In my experience, when a game has no morality mechanic and I deliver some karmic retribution to remind a player that he's pushing the limits we've set, he'll usually take it as a personal attack. You're making an in-game decision based on a meta-game value judgement, it's arbitrary and unfair, and players are highly sensitive to that. If I have a rule that says, if you do x, you lose Karma, that's the rules talking, not the GM, so the player knows he brought this on himself. But it's still my way of nudging a player to remind him of where the line for our group is, but it's a little more subtle and nuanced than a meteor strike, and it's an in-game resolution rather than taking him aside.
I explicitly left it up to the players and the GMs to decide what's going to be good and evil in their game. I gave some general guidelines and left it at that. Karmic backlash is not 'and then lightning strikes you' - it's a slight increase in probability of something bad happening to your character, or a decrease in probability in having something good happen, and it's a temporary condition. Even if I were playing another game with no morality mechanic, I would tack this on.
My game experience has largely been with
Star Wars
, 2nd ed.,
1st ed., and occasional dabbling in
The Riddle of Steel
D&D 3.x/Pathfinder
. I've heard a lot about
Dogs in the Vineyard
but haven't read it, so I don't know too many cutting-edge alternate approaches to morality mechanics. In
Star Wars
, morality only matters if you're Force-sensitive, and it's black-and-white. My team felt that
morality mechanics didn't make sense, so we largely ignored them.
I've got playtests with my own group coming up in January. I'll post something in Actual Play to show it in action.
Stone, Steel, and Steam
- Beta Testers Wanted!
Acts of Evil Playtesters
Posts: 693
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #6 on:
December 20, 2010, 02:01:48 PM »
Hi there markgamemaker,
I just want to say, your last post was extremely productive for me, but probably not in the way you would expect.
You say
One, I sincerely believe that you sow what you reap.
That's interesting for me, because I
believe that. My personal, lived experience suggests that sometimes good people suffer, and no amount of sowing goodwill is ever enough to raise them up out of the muck. And there are lucky people out there who never suffer...and don't deserve half of what they have. Furthermore, I find the belief that "what comes around goes around" and "good things happen if you just work hard enough" to be firmly rooted in privilege, specifically white heterosexual cisgender able-bodied male privilege.
Now, I'm not here to argue privilege! I do that enough elsewhere. But my point is that your comments about karma and how they filter into your setting evoked a highly emotional response on my part. We could have a conversation about this here...but if a game could capture that discussion and bring it forward, through the decisions and judgments of the players and their characters...that would be theme in the Narrativist sense. And I think it's something your setting seems built for...with these different cultures in conflict, some with their education and wealth and privilege and the others who don't have those things and would be marginalized as a result.
So, and this is just my take, if Karma is important to your game, and you actually are interested in producing something that evokes theme in the Narrativist sense (which you don't have to be),
fertile plot of ground to play in would be the space between "karma is real" and "karma isn't real" (and all the ideas those things call to mind, like justice, fairness, equality, happiness, etc.). You've clearly answered the question for yourself, but what if other people have different answers? I don't know you you would implement that mechanically, but it was the most powerful emotional thread I've picked up from my (admittedly brief) reading of your posts here. At the very least, though, I think the discussion around the idea can elucidate some of Ron's points about how Narrativist games develop theme through play.
(edited to correct a typo and to add the last sentence)
Last Edit: December 20, 2010, 02:07:54 PM by hardcoremoose
Posts: 58
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #7 on:
December 20, 2010, 05:11:10 PM »
Thank you for your detailed and well-reasoned post-I really appreciate your response.
What you've said definitely makes sense, if you're looking only for magic that's explainable as circumstance (even if it's odd or unlikely circumstance). As someone whose done some study of RL occult systems and who has always been a big fan of RPG magic systems, I'd love to suggest additional effects for you to incorporate into your Praxis structure. Just off the top of my head:
Causing/Curing Infertility "I thought my wife was barren, but I guess we just needed to try some more"
Weather Magic "They say anyone who bothers that old crone gets a storm that ruins their crops, but I just say it's their fault for living up on a hill."
Blessings of various kinds "Oh my boy? There's no Praxis there, he's just got shoulders like an Ox! Just like his father." (Blessings of beauty, strength, luck, skill, and wealth are all good possibilities)
Weakening/Strengthening objects "By the prophetess! I thought this door would break by now!"
Hexes of all sorts, including story-oriented curses like "Fire will be as a traitorous dog to you." or "You will never find love until you return what you have stolen." where the effects can be shrugged off as coincidence (or not).
Minor alteration of chance "Son of a bitch. He must be using loaded dice!"
Ability to ignore things like heat, cold, or injuries for a short time "The Nehom warriors-they'll tell you what they endure is through magic. But it's just because they're tough as nails."
I definitely respect your beliefs about reciprocity, as I hold similar views on the subject. But I do think that hardcore moose made an excellent point when he said that the debate over whether or not "what goes around comes around" is an excellent theme to discuss through the avenue of an RPG. One thing to consider is having each character provide his vision of how the world works, and when things go the way they should according to his worldview the player is rewarded somehow. Now when things go against the character's world view-when the idealistic young Retulian who believes that "everything happens for a reason" gets mugged in a big city and then shanghai'ed onto a slave ship, then they have a decision to make. Do they stick with their beliefs and the morals that they hold dear, and sacrifice something else to keep their beliefs intact? Or do they change their belief system to fit the situation, and come away a different person, with different motivations?
Example: Zarai, a Nehom tribesman was cast out of his village for wishing to brazenly preach the Nehomese faith to outlanders, something that would endanger the Nehom who are held as apostates and heretics. He believes that "If you work hard, things will work out alright for you." he gains a bonus to tasks that exemplify this attitude, as this is what he believes in deeply. But after 6 months of ministering to the Araelian people, he's been beaten, kicked, cast away, and even once (he believes) hexed by a powerful Praxis user. He's faced with the decision to change his attitude, or suffer the consequences and "keep the faith". He decides to give up some measure of his brazen belief in his Prophetess-better to be subtle, and not rile up the city folk. He changes his dress, his mannerisms, and even starts using a pistol (something that would earn him exile or death amongst his own people), and changes his belief to "Blend in, and you won't get hurt."
You don't need to use that exact mechanic, but I think it might be something interesting to consider.
Posts: 346
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #8 on:
December 20, 2010, 07:14:44 PM »
I don't disagree that the use of a Karma mechanic could be good for Story Now play but it seems that it's purpose here is a way to reinforce the social contract accepted or agreed to by theplay group. If your group thinks rape, for instance is too real or taboo, then there's a mechanical penalty for going there on fiction. It's a tried and true Sim mechanic that's been successfully used in both Marvel Super Heroes and Pendragon. The big difference here is that as far as I know the Karma awards are based on the player's real world moral systems, which even in very healthy groups could make play go south quickly. It seems wiser to tie the karma awards into explicit in game idea of morality, even if it's a single universal system, and not a culturally realitivistic one.
Nolan Callender
Posts: 58
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #9 on:
December 20, 2010, 08:58:40 PM »
I suppose really it depends on what Mark wants to accomplish-I gathered from his "mission statement" that the game is meant to have Narrativist elements, although the mechanics and the tone of the advice given in the game text gives the impression that this is also a game system with a strong Simulationist "spine". I definitely agree with masqueradeball though that tying Karma into real-world morality can get murky pretty quickly, unless of course the game is set up to handle heavy moral issues, and the "play" or "GM" section of the book has extensive advice for dealing with that sort of thing.
It can be done (I've been GM'ing a Mutants and Masterminds game for going on 5 or 6 years that handles real-life moral issues in a mature and sophisticated way, and with players that have a wide variety of religious and political opinions. I'm a Wiccan, one of the players is a devout Lutheran, one is a "Strong" Atheist, and the last is a moderate Muslim. Despite this, we've never really had a problem tackling tough social and moral issues in our games) but it's certainly not easy, and often times it requires either an unusually strong gaming group, or a section of the book specifically dedicated to making sure moral issues don't become a minefield for players.
On an unrelated note, I accidentally fell into the cliche gamer trap of assuming that there are "no women on the interwebz" and referred to hardcoremoose as a he. Hopefully I won't make any similar mistake again, as I've tried very hard not to fall victim to any other such cliches such as living in my mom's basement or consuming copious quantities of Mountain Dew and Cheetos.
Ron Edwards
Global Moderator
Posts: 17707
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #10 on:
December 21, 2010, 05:37:24 AM »
You guys are making my head hurt a little bit with certain uses of GNS terms. There's a lot of merit in the posts, but also a lot of fog and at least one serious misconception.
I don't want to derail the thread. Mark, let me know if you want a brutal, clear, no-holds-barred breakdown of Narrativism as it pertains to your game (what you've made available) and its practical application in terms of groups, people, real-life morality, and beliefs. I might be rather hard on some of the posts so far.
If you don't want that here, then I ask that we not focus on that issue in this development thread, and talk about something else of Mark's choice. In that case, if anyone's interested in the Narrativist stuff, then I suggest posting in Actual Play about
game experience and raising the issue of whether Narrativist play was going on, or why or why not.
Mark, let us know.
Best, Ron
Posts: 48
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #11 on:
December 21, 2010, 09:32:00 AM »
I still need to read through the docs, but here are few points that caught my attention from what you've posted here.
any kind of 'scientific' analysis of the event reveals it was 'just some dumb superstition' or 'mass hysteria.'
I take it from your examples that this means magic use can be easily attributed to other causes. A scientific analysis could reveal their presence through statistical analysis, though we've seen in our own world how debated those numbers are. Basically, if something has a repeatable mechanical effect then there's a good chance it can be analyzed by scientific methods. That being said some people do treat "science" as a belief system rather than a methodology, which leads to certain biases.
I've found a good way to handle subtle magic is to treat is as largely probabilistic. By that I mean that most of the actual effects should involve altering the odds of a given event. Rules-wise, this can often be handled well by a "reroll" or other second chance mechanic. That actually gives you a fairly easy way to handle a variety of effects. For example: weather control -> reroll chance of rain, mind control -> reroll persuasion attempt, and so on.
This approach does make magic most effective when things start with a 50/50 chance. Below that, it's still effective but the increase in probability is less (ex 50%->75% vs 20%->36%). Above that, the chances are high enough that that an extra boost is less notable (ex. 80% -> 96%).
As for the Karma issue, you have established that in the game world spiritual forces have a definite (if subtle) effect. As such, you can justify that as an actual part of the game world metaphysics or cosmic law. However, you should probably define exactly what that law is. It looks like you've already got "you reap what you sow" as a basis.
Have you considered using "like attracts like"? Within the mind the "nearness" of something is usually related to how similar it is to what you're currently experiencing. In other word, it takes less time to "travel" to another idea if you're already thinking of something similar. If the same applies to spiritual/magical reality, then it makes since that related forces should exist in close proximity. Extend this out one more step and you have actions attracting spiritual forces related to those actions. In short, if you inflict pain on others you may attract spirits or forces associated with that pain. Since those forces can manipulate events, it's not much of a stretch to see how attracting those forces could increase the chance of such events occurring around or to you. By the same token, beneficent acts could attract forces that benefit those around them.
There are a few interesting implications to trying karma to same forces the enable magic. First off, if those forces are probabilistic, that means people can evade the backlash. The changes of evading all of it becoming increasingly small as time goes on. However, in a large enough population you'll have enough people who "cheat fate" to lay the seeds of doubt. By making punishment or reward less certain you encourage a certain amount of risk taking and raise in world debates over whether they exist at all. This does also mean that the characters can never be sure when karma will strike, if it does.
The second interesting point is that those attracted forces might in turn be manipulated by magic. This actually has some similarity to real world beliefs. After all, ritual cleansing is a practice in many culture, particularly around dangerous things like death or combat. It could example, a warrior's cleansing rituals might help ward of any spirits of death that were attracted during a battle. This does mean evil doers might surround themselves with charms and the like to keep those consequences at bay. However, such charms could wear out with use and need to be renewed. At that point all it takes is a bad batch or attracting too many forces to overcome those defenses. It also means that those who acknowledge they're doing wrong may seem particularly superstitious, which is an interesting touch.
Interested in a rambling collection of game ideas? Check out my blog at
Posts: 7
Re: Stone, Steel, and Steam - Revised and Ready to Test
Reply #12 on:
December 23, 2010, 02:55:51 AM »
I think I read an earlier (and, from what I'm hearing, by now antiquated) version of GNS Theory and assimilated it into my way of thinking about gaming from an end user perspective before I even seriously considered design. Either I didn't get it at all to begin with, or I did but my brain's definition of the terms and this community's definition of the terms have drifted apart. Forget what I said about being a Narrativist; I don't know what I am in your book at this point. That doesn't mean there's no merit to discussing what this game is or can be in terms of the current theory. I'll write more about that later - I have to catch a plane and will be offline for the next week.
Karma is intended to be a player mechanic, both enforcement of the social contract and a melodrama tool, so it wasn't ever meant to be an issue of whether or not the characters believe in Karma. However, this discussion is taking an interesting turn and I'll read more throughly, consider, and continue this discussion on that score when I return.
Thanks again, everyone.
Quote from: Ron Edwards on December 21, 2010, 05:37:24 AM
You guys are making my head hurt a little bit with certain uses of GNS terms. There's a lot of merit in the posts, but also a lot of fog and at least one serious misconception.
I don't want to derail the thread. Mark, let me know if you want a brutal, clear, no-holds-barred breakdown of Narrativism as it pertains to your game (what you've made available) and its practical application in terms of groups, people, real-life morality, and beliefs. I might be rather hard on some of the posts so far.
If you don't want that here, then I ask that we not focus on that issue in this development thread, and talk about something else of Mark's choice. In that case, if anyone's interested in the Narrativist stuff, then I suggest posting in Actual Play about
game experience and raising the issue of whether Narrativist play was going on, or why or why not.
Mark, let us know.
Best, Ron
Stone, Steel, and Steam
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The Bengals got wide receiver A.J. Green back at practice this week, but you'll need an HBO subscription to catch a glimpse of how he's looking.
Green will not play against the Titans on Saturday night as the Bengals have decided to give their star wideout a little more time after his bruised knee before putting him into a game situation. It was hardly an unexpected development given the importance of Green to the offense and the lack of a need to see him play in a scheme he has down pat and the fact that his work in practice drew raves should tamp down concerns about the injury lingering into the regular season.
With wide receiver Andrew Hawkins also remaining out for the Bengals, the other wideouts on the depth chart will get plenty of opportunities to show the team's coaches where they belong on the depth chart.
Left tackle Andrew Whitworth, defensive end Carlos Dunlap, defensive end Michael Johnson and safety George Iloka are other notable Bengals that the team announced will not be taking the field in the team's second preseason game.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
For a couple weeks now, I've had the privilege of playing what I now consider to be my new favourite wrestling game -- WWE '12. No, I'm not exaggerating. I've finally found something that wrests the title of "best game ever" from No Mercy.
Now by all means, THQ's game is not perfect -- no game across any platform except for ones involving the Triforce are -- but the flaws are few and far between.
Let's first talk Predator system. THQ has really upped the ante on giving WWE '12 a great system to play in. Not that Smackdown vs. Raw was ever truly "bad," per se, but there were struggles that a lot of gamers had, between AI and odd "warping" where you and a foe would suddenly shift to the middle of the ring if a certain move was executed.
All of this has been cleaned up and individual matches present beautifully. The graphics, which were top notch last year, have been upped once again, with some characters looking so closely like their real-life counterparts that it's starting to get scary.
Additionally, the flow of the game has vastly improved. I didn't find Smackdown vs. Raw 11 to be choppy, but playing WWE '12 is like making the jump from fourth to fifth gen systems -- it really is that advanced.
Another part that has changed is the control system, at least on Xbox 360. As someone who rates pick-up-and-play very high in my enjoyment of a game (namely because I detest reading instruction manuals), I was somewhat annoyed by this, even more when I couldn't set my controller option to last year's model. Still, after about six plays the transition to the new model was flawless and I was back to kicking ass.
Now being a big on the egotistical side, I've always liked putting myself in the game. In Smackdown vs. Raw 11, THQ accomplished this seamlessly, not only putting me and other created characters into the WWE Universe mix, but also in their version of career mode. This time around, Universe has really been solidified with some post-match antics which help push storylines ahead and don't just make you feel like you're in the midst of a random series of bouts.
On the downside though, the career mode has been cut back from five options in storylines to a single stream. I liked the variety that was presented last year, but if cutting back storylines meant that the rest of the game was enhanced, then it was a sacrifice worth making.
The only other really sore thumb is that the commentary problem that has plagued WWE games for years is still here. Yes, there are fresh tracks, but if you play as often as most WWE gamers will, you're going to get sick of the tracks quickly.
Still, the enjoyment of the game overall supersedes these flaws and makes WWE '12 by far the best game the Fed and THQ have produced. Don't think twice -- get your copy today.


text:
John Kardis necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 277 diseños de 61 diseñadores freelance.
Supa Value Discount Pharmacy
We are launching a Discount Retail Pharmacy (Drug Store) brand in Australia. We currenlty run a chain of 45 Pharmacies and are seeking to establish a new brand in our market. We are a privately owned enterprise that is looking at entering into a relatively new market segment within Australia.
We are targeting an increasing consumer market that is looking for value in its pharmacy purchases whether it be prescription items or over the counter products. The Australian Pharmacy market has similar products to those that are available in the USA.
There are 3 main categories in Pharmacy:
1. Prescription medicines
2. General Medicines
3. Skincare and Cosmetics
The greatest proportion of consumers in pharmacy are 23-44 year old females that purchase front of store goods/skincare and cosmetics. The second largest sector are the over 55 years olds that visit pharmacy for their prescription needs.
The logo should countain element(s) that depict a value proposition and symbols that are associated with pharmacy (but not limited to this).
The color schemes should be consistent with this value proposition.
Strong preference to red and white.
Please note: I have attached the logo of our current Advantage Pharmacy brand as a point of reference. The Advantage brand and the Supa Value brand do not have to be related in any way.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
Product Categories
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Design: Free,3D Drawing
Amazing Jungle Gym Children Indoor Playground Equipment
With access to hundreds of activity combinations and our design resources, Dreamland Playground is able to create a Contained Play attraction that is unique to your facility. With elements such as spiral slides, moonwalks, cargo climbs, and tube crawls to build your playground, we are only limited by your imagination!
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About indoor playground, pleas send us your CAD plan or tell us the size of your play area. And also please tell us your favorite theme and budget. Then our designer will make a design according to your requirements.
If you are satisify with the design, our sales will calculate the cost for you.
6,Our Worldwide project
About our COMPANY
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Sviya Playground Co.,Ltd is your one stop shop for all your playground needs. We pride ourselves in providing only the best customer service and support to our customers. We provide custom turn-key indoor trampoline park & indoor playground equipments specific to the needs of our customers. We support our customers through every step of the process of owning a playground from research & funding, to design, manufacturing & installation. Our experience and expertise in this industry will be sure to help ensure your success.
A: Pre-sale service
1,Free CAD customized design according to clients' specifical requirements.
2,Arranging shipment and custom clerance for our clients.
3, Consulting on indoor playground or indoor trampoline park operating.
B: After sale service
1,We offer CAD installation instruction for each projects. And also installation video & projects reference.
2,Our quality guarantee is one year after sale.
Within the guarantee, if there is any parts damaged because of quality issue, we can replace the parts for you for free.
After the quality guarantee period, we can replace the parts for you with our factory price.
3,we can provide instruction of maintenance.
1,what's your payment term ?
Our normal payment term is 30% as deposit, balance before loading by T/T.
For large order, we accept L/C.
For trial order about some play parts, we accept western union, paypal or cash.
2, How can I place order ?
Sign contract-- Pay deposit -- Production-- Pay balance--loading -- delivery
3, What's your delivery time ?
It is based on the quantity you order. But normally, our production time is 12 to 18 working days.
4, Does your product have any certifcate ?
Yes, our products comply with Eu standard. But for indoor playground, we don't have certificate for every model. Because most playground are customized. So the certificate is always applied by our client considering the cost.
Please feel free to contact us if you have interest in our Amazing Jungle Gym Children Indoor Playground Equipment


text:
"Having developed over twenty verification components, we obviously recognize the tremendous productivity enhancing capabilities of reusable components within a verification environment," remarked Cold Spring CTO Jim Kornell. "With the announcement of our new SPI 4.2 eVC, Cold Spring Engineering is providing verification teams yet another efficiency tool to expedite the verification process without sacrificing quality. Verification teams can now verify designs implementing this protocol faster than ever before."
"Without a doubt, Verification Alliance partners like Cold Spring Engineering are enabling our customers to get through verification bottleneck much quicker and easier," said Dave Tokic, director of strategic marketing for Verisity. "Together with Specman Elite(TM), eVCs deliver the most effective solution offered in the market today. Cold Spring Engineering has been consistently delivering the tools needed to not only keep up with increasing design complexity, but actually reduce verification cost and time-to-market, while improving quality."
About the SPI 4.2 eVC
The SPI 4.2 eVC is fully compliant with the Optical Internetworking Forum Serial Packet Interface Level 4, Phase 2 specification (January 2001). It includes a configurable pattern generator for injecting random, directed-random, as well erroneous test cases, and an example scoreboard implementation. Test cases include generation of Ethernet II or Ethernet 802.3, ATM UNI or ATM NNI, PPP, or random packets, with automatic or user-controlled content for all frame/packet fields. The number of ports, port arbitration, status generation and bandwidth, skew/deskew, and many other functional characteristics are user-configurable, so testing focus can be as tight or as broad as the verification need. With its well-documented and easy-to-use interface, it ensures thorough checking for SPI 4.2 designs.
For complete features of the SPI 4.2 eVC, please contact Email Contact or look on the Cold Spring Engineering web site http://www.coldspringeng.com.
e Verification Components
Each eVC includes three integrated components: a stimuli generator for injecting and generating traffic, monitors and checkers for viewing outputs and checking protocol rules, and coverage reports showing the functional coverage of scenarios. They can be used in a variety of design applications and are available for a wide array of industry standards.
eVCs foster verification reuse because they can easily be moved from module-level verification to SoC-level verification, as well as from one chip design to another. Users can drop them into their designs and drastically cut the time it takes to create a verification environment.
For a complete listing of eVCs available, please visit http://www.verisity.com and customers can log in to https://www.verificationvault.com.
e Reuse Methodology (eRM)
eRM provides dramatic functional verification productivity gains, most notably for advanced ASICs, SoCs and processors. eRM is a complete reuse methodology that codifies the best practices for eVC development. eRM delivers a common eVC usage model, and ensures that all eRM compliant eVCs will interoperate seamlessly regardless of origin. In addition, new eRM technology in Specman Elite, Verisity's flagship testbench automation tool, increases the power of eRM compliant eVCs to generate and synchronize complex multi-transaction scenarios.
The SPI 4.2 eVC works with Verilog and VHDL devices and simulators that are supported by Specman Elite and will be available starting August 2002. The eVC comes with complete documentation and example configurations for typical verification environments.
About Cold Spring Engineering
Cold Spring Engineering has developed and continues to develop a variety of reusable verification components. Cold Spring is experienced in a wide range of telecom and bus protocols at both the design and the verification levels, and has expertise in verifying complex ASICs, SoCs, and custom ICs.
Cold Spring views reusable verification components as the future of verification for most designs. Using effective verification methods and thoroughly tested components, verification engineers will be able to not only keep up with increasing design complexity, but actually reduce verification cost and time-to-market, while improving quality. Cold Spring's aggressive development of eVCs pushes a new trend to lower verification costs.
Cold Spring supports its reusable verification components with a full suite of verification services, from requirements analysis through test planning through complete verification and reporting.
Cold Spring Engineering is partnered with Verisity through the Verification Alliance program to make design verification faster, better, and cheaper. For more information on Cold Spring Engineering visit http://www.coldspringeng.com or write to us at Email Contact.
About Verisity
Verisity is the leading provider of proprietary technologies and software products used to efficiently verify designs of electronic systems and complex integrated circuits that are essential to high growth segments of the electronics industry. Verisity's products automate the process of detecting flaws in these designs, enabling customers to deliver higher quality products, accelerate time-to-market and reduce overall product development costs.
Verisity Design, Inc.'s principal executive offices are located in Mountain View, CA. The Company's principal research and development offices are located in Rosh Ha'ain, Israel. For more information, see Verisity's web site at www.verisity.com.
Verisity is a registered trademark of Verisity Design, Inc. eVCs,
Specman Elite and Verification Alliance are trademarks of Verisity
Design, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of the respected
owners and should be treated as such.
Verisity Design, Inc. Ric Chope, 650/934-6820 Email Contact


text:
Marcos Maidana Q&A - Doing It All For The Boxing Fans
Marcos Maidana Q&A - Doing It All For The Boxing Fans
By Johnny Benz, Doghouse Boxing (May 21, 2013)
Follow @DoghouseBoxing
(Video: Marcos Maidana Interview)
Tweets by @DoghouseBoxing
Marcos Maidana vs. Josesito Lopez goes down on June 8th. Check out this fresh new video interview with Marcos Maidana talking about his upcoming fight with Josesito Lopez and more. This video Q&A is conducted by our good friend Radio Rahim of siter sites, MaxBoxing and Seconds Out. Press play (the video interview is embedded to the left of this text) and enjoy the
real bite
on Doghouse Boxing!
Video Description: Radio Rahim interviews Marcos Maidana about his upcoming fight vs Josesito Lopez. Marcos Maidana talks about his fight style and being motivated by his fans. .
This video interview with Marcos Maidana has a run time of 3 minutes and 32 seconds. Just press play on the video player (top left side of this page) and enjoy. *In most cases, You can also change up the video quality and / or audio to HD (high quality) with the option button on the bottom of the video player.
More Video Interviews from Today:
Josesito Lopez Q&A: "I've Paid My Dues, Big Things Coming"
Alfredo Angulo speaks out on James Kirkland rumors
Peter Quillin responds to Gennaddy Golovkin's KO Claim
Marcos Maidana vs. Josesito Lopez - Press Conference
Interview w/ Unbeaten Boxing Prospect, Craig Wyatt
Malignaggi vs Broner: Watch Emotionally Charged Video
Hughie Fury Quotes & Video
Roy Jones Jr. on Floyd Mayweather, Pernell Whitaker
Tommy "The Wisp" Williams Interview
Ricky Burns Post Fight Interview
Floyd Mayweather speaks out on Kobe Bryant
Jeff Mayweather on Floyd v Canelo & Roach's comments
"Floyd Mayweather is Badass!" says Brandon Rios
Austin Trout speaks on Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez
Angel Garcia: "Amir Khan still ain't got no Chin!"
Video: Paulie Malignaggi fires back at Broner - "Yo Momma"
Video: Adrien Broner rips Paulie Malignaggi w/ Funny Story
Robert Guerrero Post Fight Q&A: "Floyd ran", Wants Rematch
Floyd Mayweather Post Fight Q&A: On Saul Alvarez & More...
Watch Video: Ruben Guerrero's Epic Rant on Floyd Jr
Mayweather Sr: "Floyd Jr would for sure KO Danny Garcia"
Floyd Mayweather speaks on his time in jail and more
Bernard Hopkins take on Mayweather vs. Guerrero
Exclusive: Floyd Sr. points out Robert Guerrero's flaws
Floyd Mayweather - On His Dad, Miguel Cotto, Guerrero...
Malignaggi: "Video for sale of Broner getting Knocked out"
Adrien Broner speaks on Rumor he got KO'ed by Errol Jr
Leonard Ellerbe on why he confonted Gabriel Rosado
Oscar De La Hoya breaks down Mayweather vs. Guerrero
Video: Robert Guerrero's Grand Arrival at the MGM
Floyd Sr. Exclusive - "Robert Guerrero gets hit Easy!"
Saul Alvarez on his Favorite Movie, Songs, Music Artist, Cars
Ruben Guerrero mimics Floyd Mayweather Jr
Exclusive: Ghost warns of possible Melee at Floyd Weigh-In
Robert Guerrero Q&A: "Now the Perfect Time to Beat Floyd!"
Floyd Mayweather Q&A: "These guys are hypocrites!"
Paulie Malignaggi speaks on Mayweather vs. Guerrero
Oscar De La Hoya on why Floyd Mayweather Sr. is the Best
Abner Mares: "I've ability & skills to beat Daniel Ponce De Leon"
Thank you for using the New
© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing Inc. 1998-2013


text:
North Korea has executed a vice premier and banished two other top officials to rural areas for re-education, South Korean officials said Wednesday.
If confirmed, they would be the latest in a series of killings, purges and dismissals carried out since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took power in late 2011.
North Korea is a closed, authoritarian country with a state-controlled press that often makes it difficult for outsiders, and even North Korean citizens, to know what's happening in the government.
Rival South Korea, which runs several intelligence organizations mainly tasked with spying on North Korea, has a mixed record on reporting developments across the...


text:
SPENCER – Folks at County Stadium were seeing double on Friday night during the trophy presentation for the Roane Early Bird Invitational track and field meet.
The reason: Ripley came to the awards area not once, but twice to pick up a championship team trophy. Both the Viking boys squad and Lady Viking girls team finished first in the team competition.
Ripley's boys scored 179.5 in the meet while the Lady Vikings racked up 145.
Roane County was second in both divisions with the Raider boys scoring 174.5 and the Lady Raiders 104.
Ripley's Molli Cunningham earned the High Point award in the girls competition, scoring 30.5.
Cunningham won both the 100 hurdles in a time of 17.25 and the 300 hurdles with a clocking of 52.40. She also ran the anchor leg on the first place Lady Viking shuttle hurdle relay team. She joined Holly Farkosh, Erica Gibson and Amanda Longanacre in producing a time of 1:21.41. Rounding out Cunningham's evening was a second place finish in the pole vault, clearing 7-06.
Audra Thomas had two firsts for the Lady Vikings by winning the 200 meter dash (28.69) and the 400 (1:06.29). Maddi Randolph was the winner of the pole vault (7-06).
Thomas was also second in the high jump (4-06). Other second place finishers for Ripley were Farkosh in the 100 hurdles (18.05) and 300 hurdles (54.78) and the 4x800 relay (12:04.69) of Taylor Dale, Kelsey Holmes, Kelsey Frampton and Madison Sanders.
Placing third were Holmes in the 3200 (15:20.01) along with Gibson in the high jump (4-04) and pole vault (7-00). The 4x400 team, consisting of Dale, Emily Oldham, Sanders and Longanacre, was also third (5:23.53). Placing fourth were Gibson in the 100 hurdles (19.42), Julia Scruggs in the discus (68-09), Caylee Painter in the long jump (13-04) along with the 4x100 (59.62) and the 4x200 (2:04.34) relay teams. Brown, Longanacre, Oldham and Painter were on the 4x100 while Farkosh, Longanacre, Oldham and Thomas made up the 4x200. Painter was sixth in the 100 (14.80).
For the Vikings, Antonio Jones was a double winner in the 800 (2:07.81) and the 1600 (4:54.81). Caleb Casto was first in the 3200 (10.29.15) with Sammy Shaver getting the 300 hurdle (43.26) win. Ripley also picked up two relay victories.
The 4x400 (48.53) of Skye Stover, Levi Phillips, Tucker Miller and Tyler Kidd picked up a win as did the 4x 800 (8:50.71) of Phillips, Stever, Jacob Fields and Alex Espino.
Placing second for the Vikings were Jake Casto (4:58.85), Phillips in the 3200 (10:49.59) and the shuttle hurdle unit (1:06.07) of Cody Harris, Chad Longanacre, Tyler Jones and Shaver. The 4x100 (48.53) and 4x200 (1:41.11) teams also finished second. Both relays were made up of Colton Holmes, Paul Lively, Kidd and Quaseem Fields.
Coming in third were Holmes in the 200 (25.22), Stover in the 400 (58.33), Longanacre in the 3200 (11:07.84), Aaron Walters in the 110 hurdles (18.45) and 300 hurdles (46.59), Zane Griffith in the pole vault (10-06), Shaver in the long jump (18-01.5) and D.J. Cummings in the discus (109.5). Fourth place finishers were Espino in the 400 (1:00.01), Jake Casto in the 800 (2:12.58) and Harris in the 100 hurdles (18.72) and 300 hurdles (46.74). Those placing fifth were Fields in the 200 (25.68), Jared Wendall in the 110 hurdles (19.79) and Shaver in the pole vault (9-0). Coming in sixth were Miller in the 400 (1:01.45) and Cummings in the shot put (33-02). Walters and Harris tied for sixth in the long jump (5-0).
Ripley wins both boys and girls titles at Roane Early Bird
SPENCER – Folks at County Stadium were seeing double on Friday night during the trophy presentation for the Roane Early Bird Invitational track and field meet.


text:
Oregon Gerontology Certificate Programs On Campus
Interested in Gerontology Certificate Programs On Campus that offer insight into the unique challenges of growing older? From laboratory research to gerontological nursing, the field of gerontology may offer many exciting professional avenues to explore. Earning a certificate of gerontology may be the perfect next step if your career goals involve improving quality of life for the elderly. Plus, a Gerontology Certificate Programs On Campus could offer opportunities to meet likeminded peers and partake of university resources like laboratories, research libraries, and more. Below, you'll find plenty of info on what a certificate of gerontology could offer. Plus, check out some prospective programs that may interest you!
What is gerontology, and why does it matter?[i]
Simply put, gerontology is the study of aging and the changes people may experience as they grow older. Gerontologists study these changes, and they may work hard to discover solutions for age-related health and social problems. Technically, gerontologists are medical scientists who often work for research labs, universities, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies. However, the study of aging may have applications in other career areas, like gerontological nursing. And some gerontologists may even work with elderly patients in a physician's capacity, after earning a medical degree.[ii]
Perhaps you are drawn to gerontology because you hope to make a positive impact in a world that will soon include a much larger elderly population! In the U.S., the population of residents aged 85 and older is predicted to double by 2036…and a growing population of aging adults may mean more healthcare and social challenges.[iii] Whatever the reason for your interest in the study of aging, it's pretty clear that this field is a meaningful one!
Did you know: average life expectancy of U.S.
residents at age 65 increased by nearly four years between 1972 and 2010. Rates are expected to keep rising![iii]
Should I earn a certificate of gerontology?
That depends on your interests, eligibility, and career goals! Here are a few reasons why a graduate certificate in gerontology may appeal to you:
Career changes are on the horizon – Hoping to pursue a new career path that involves working with aging people or on behalf of elderly populations? If so, you may be hoping to explore a specific aspect of the field of gerontology. Gerontology certificate programs are usually short-term, non-degree programs that could introduce you to the study of aging or help you refine a specific knowledge area.
You've already earned a graduate degree – If you're hoping to build on what you learned in a master's program, perhaps earning a certificate of gerontology is a smart next step! For example, Nurse Practitioners must earn a minimum of an MSN (Master of Science in Nursing), among other requirements.[iv] However, NPs hoping to specialize in adult-gerontology care and pursue gerontological nursing certification could potentially earn a post-graduate certificate of gerontology to learn more about the elderly populations they hope to serve!
You want to choose your area of focus – Certificate programs may offer targeted, specific insight into a career area or issue. For example, you might explore gerontology certificate programs in adult-gerontology primary nursing care, gerontological acute care, or other potential areas of health and social concern for aging populations. You could also potentially pursue a more general certificate of gerontology that offers an overview of the study of aging.
Why consider choosing Gerontology Certificate Programs On Campus?
Today's students may have lots of options for pursuing an education in gerontology…like online and hybrid learning. However, there may be potential benefits to choosing a traditional college campus. Here are just a few:
- Campus resources – you could have access to fully-equipped classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and more. Since gerontologists often spend a lot of time conducting research and working in the lab, it may make sense to have these resources at your fingertips! ii
- In-person learning – some students might prefer face-to-face instruction, while others are just fine with a distance learning format. If you learn best in a traditional classroom setting, perhaps a campus-based program is perfect for you!
- Friends and community – being part of a thriving campus community can be rewarding. You could potentially get involved with student organizations or make social and professional connections within your cohort.
- Potential flexibility – while campus programs may not be quite as flexible as online learning, you just might be able to find a certificate of gerontology program for busy, working adults. For example, ask about the availability of evening and weekend classes that could help you fit gerontology courses into your schedule.
What should I look for in gerontology certificate programs?
You may have a few options to choose from…but which certificate of gerontology may suit your goals and lifestyle? One important factor to look for in a Gerontology Certificate Programs On Campus is location. Ask yourself if you are willing to relocate to pursue your studies, or if a nearby college or university is more convenient. You may also want to find out about the availability of evening and weekend courses, childcare options, or other resources that could help you juggle your work and/or family responsibilities while pursuing your certificate.
It's also important to examine your prospective program's accreditation. Accreditation from an independent agency may help ensure your certificate program upholds standards of the accrediting agency[v]. And don't forget to inquire about student success and satisfaction. You may want to talk to current students and alumni to learn more about their experiences in your prospective Gerontology Certificate Programs On Campus!
Ready to get started?
If earning a gerontological certificate sounds like a good next step, check out some prospective programs that could introduce you to the study of aging and its accompanying health and social challenges. Below, you'll find some Gerontology Certificate Programs On Campus that may be worth exploring. Click the program that interests you to learn more about what's in store!
Sources: [i] bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/medical-scientists.htm#tab-2 | [ii] bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/medical-scientists.htm#tab-4 | [iii] census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p25-1140.pdf | [iv] bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htm#tab-4 | [v] studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college/choosing-schools/consider#work-flexibility
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Blind Billy (ca. 1805–April 19 1855), Lynchburg
Arthur Robert Ashe (1943–1993), Richmond
Tennis Player, Writer, and Humanitarian
Sara Bagby (ca. 1833–1906), Wheeling
Plantiff in cause célèbre
With "a decided taste for freedom,' Sara Lucy Bagby was embroiled in a celebrated legal case that tested the infamous Fugitive Slave Act during the secession crisis.
Clara Olivia Byrd Baker (1886–1979), Williamsburg
Educator and Civic Leader
Janie Porter Barrett (1865–1948), Hampton and Hanover County
Aline Black (1906–1974), Norfolk
Educator and Civil Rights Advocate
Michael L. Blakey (February 23, 1953– ), Williamsburg
Physical anthropologist Michael L. Blakey helped analyze and interpret the important evidence uncovered at the African Burial Ground in Manhattan
Leslie Garland Bolling (1898–1955), Richmond
Elizabeth A. Coles Bouey (1890–1957), Richmond
Founder of the National Association of Ministers' Wives
William Breedlove (ca. 1820–1871), Essex County
Member of the Virginia Convention of 1867-1868
Lucy Goode Brooks (1818–1900), Richmond
Civic Leader
Henry Box Brown (1815 or 1816–June 15 1897), Richmond
Abolitionist and performer
After his family was suddenly sold out of the state in 1848, he shipped himself in a wooden crate to freedom in 1849.
Isaac David Burrell (1865–1914), Roanoke
Physician and Pharmacist
Evelyn Butts (1924–1993), Norfolk
Principal in a case to invalidate the poll tax
Evelyn Thomas Butts led a successful challenge of Virginias poll tax all the way to the United States Supreme Court.
John Cephas (1930–2009), Caroline County
Renowned blues musician
John Cephas has become a world ambassador representing the Virginia Piedmont Blues tradition.
Edna Meade Colson (1888–1985), Petersburg
Fields Cook (ca. 1817–1897), Richmond and Alexandria
Baptist minister and Republician Party leader
Esther Georgia Irving Cooper (1881–1970), Arlington County
Civil Rights Activist
Percy Casino Corbin (1888–1952), Pulaski County
Physician and Civil Rights Advocate
John Wesley Cromwell (1846–1927), Portsmouth, Norfolk County, and Alexandria
Educator and Journalist
Pleasants "Snowball" Crump (1905–1995), Richmond
Annie Belle Daniels, Newport News
Annie Belle Daniels, the founder of the Madam Daniels School of Beauty Culture, is an influential civil rights and political activist in Newport News.
Noah Davis (March, 1804–April 7, 1867), Fredericksburg
author of an emancipation narrative
Born into slavery, Noah Davis raised more than $4,000 to free himself and his family members during the 1840s and 1850s.
Florence Farley (1928–), Roanoke and Petersburg
Psychologist, Educator, Elected Official, Artist
Florence Saunders Farley has fought against racism and bias to open doors in science and politics for African American women in Virginia.
James Farmer (1920–1999), Spotsylvania County
Civil rights leader
As director of the Congress of Racial Equality and as initiator of the Freedom Rides, James Farmer played a critical role in the national civil rights movement.
Dorothy Hamm (1919–2004), Caroline and Arlington Counties
Civil Rights and Community Activist
Through legal and political actions, civil rights activist Dorothy Bigelow Hamm fought for African American equality.
Oliver White Hill (1907–2007), Richmond
Attorney and civil rights leader
Oliver White Hill served as counsel in the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954.
Christopher Howard (1969–), Hampden-Sydney
24th President of Hampden-Sydney College
Christopher Bernard Howard sets an example for Hampden-Sydney students—and for everyone—through his impressive résumé of service to the country and youth-enrichment efforts in Africa and the United States.
John Jasper (1812–1901), Richmond
Baptist minister
An extraordinary orator who preached throughout the eastern United States, John Jasper in 1867 established Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, in Richmond.
Robert Walter Johnson (1899–1971), Lynchburg
Physician and tennis coach
Robert Walter Johnson was a driving force behind the integration of the sport of tennis.
Henrietta Lacks (1920–1951), Clover
Principal in a medical cause célèbre
Henrietta Lacks's cells, known in the medical world as HeLa cells, were the first human cells to be grown successfully outside the body for more than a short time.
Willie Lanier (August 21, 1945– ), Richmond
Athlete and entrepreneur
Willie Lanier broke through racial barriers in professional football by becoming the first African American to play middle linebacker, the position that directs the defense on the field.
Edna Lewis (1916–2006), Orange County
Chef and author
Edna Lewis created nationwide interest in southern cuisine and demonstrated that food could be more than just nourishment, but also a celebration of life.
Henry Marsh, III (1933–), Richmond
Civil Rights Attorney and Elected Official
Throughout his law career and the public offices he has held, Henry L. Marsh has committed his life to bringing equal rights and opportunities to African Americans.
Leland Melvin (1964–), Lynchburg
Leland D. Melvin inspires young people and encourages them to aspire to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Amaza Meredith (1895–1984), Lynchburg and Petersburg
Artist and architect
Amaza Lee Meredith broke through racial and gender barriers in architecture and artistic design.
Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), Roanoke
Often recognized as the country's first African American filmmaker, Oscar Micheaux established a film office in Roanoke, where he produced at least six silent movies.
Yvonne B. Miller (July 4, 1934–July 3, 2012), Norfolk
Political leader
The first African American woman elected to the House of Delegates and to the Senate of Virginia, Yvonne B. Miller worked tirelessly as a politician, educator, and advocate for underrepresented Virginians.
Irene Amos Morgan (1917–2007), Gloucester County
Principal in a civil rights case
Irene Morgan's challenge to the Virginia law requiring segregated seating on interstate buses resulted in a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Dangerfield Newby (ca. 1820–1859), Culpeper County
Participant in John Brown's Raid
Dangerfield Newby was one of five African Americans who took up arms against slavery with fellow abolitionist John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859.
Joseph Thomas Newsome (1869–1942), Newport News
Lawyer and Editor
A leading figure in Newport News, Joseph Thomas Newsome struggled to bring education and voting rights to the African American community.
Gowan Pamphlet (ca. 1750–1807 or 1808), Williamsburg
Baptist Leader
Gowan Pamphlet was born enslaved, but persevered to become a well-known preacher, gain his freedom, and establish a Baptist church in Williamsburg that continues as an active congregation today.
Mary Peake (1823–1862), Hampton
Mary Smith Kelsey Peake was an educator of both free and enslaved African Americans prior to and during the Civil War.
John Rollison (d. 1780), York County
Entrepreneur and landowner
John Rollison negotiated the legal and social restrictions of men of color in colonial Virginia to become a well-respected, wealthy man in York County.
Wendell Scott (1921–1990), Danville
Stock Car racer
Wendell Oliver Scott was the first African American to drive in the highest level of stock car racing and remains to date the only African American to have won a major NASCAR race.
Lucy Francis Simms (d. 1934), Harrisonburg
Born into slavery, Lucy Francis Simms was a highly respected elementary school teacher in Harrisonburg for more then fifty years.
John Arthur Stokes, Prince Edward County
Civil rights activist
As a student at Robert Russa Moton High School, John Stokes helped lead a strike by pupils to gain better education facilities, an act of defiance that contributed to the integration of public schools in the United States.
Claudia Whitworth (1927–), Roanoke
Humanitarian, philanthropist, and editor and publisher of the roanoke tribune
Claudia Alexander Whitworth has worked diligently over the decades to improve the quality of life in Roanoke.
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By Kirsten Massebeau
A pod of approximately 50 pilot whales were driven into, "The Cove", netted off and left for the night on November 19th. In years past the dolphin killers have stated that the mammoth cetaceans, closest cousin to the orca, was much easier to slaughter and capture after a night without food and water. Cove Monitors commented on the Matriarch moving through the pod the previous night, checking on her family. Little did she know what was ahead. There would be no stopping the terror and suffering the dawn would bring.
As the killers approached in skiffs moving toward the nets in their cold dance of death the exhausted pod panicked realizing the brutality, and carefully calculated torture that would ensue.
The skiffs manned with IMATA certified trainers, the slaughter team, and the cold and cruel hunters on skiffs surrounded part of the pod netted off. The horror began as the killers in wetsuits slipped into the water while the hunters roared their Mercury engines in an effort to drive these highly intelligent beings to the shore of the killing cove.
For many hours the torture and fight for life would continue. Onlookers watched as the pod was wrenched apart and slowly marched to their death.
From the entire pod one juvenile was taken for captivity. The price of this pilot whale to a marine park will pay for the entire slaughter for their Mercury engines, equipment and more.
The dolphin hunters callously wrangle a panicked whale into a net with the help of a diver as his or her family watches on in the midst of chaos. As blood begins to spill into the water the family fights harder for life without success. The whales are no match for the humans armed with machines and hearts of stone.
As the terrorizing of this pod continued the sensitive pilot whales begin to give up. This whale on his back has accepted there is no hope for his or her family. Their history, their lives are over and he or she knows it.
Tethered by their tails many whales were dragged backwards towards the pithing station under the tarps. Drowning would be merciful compared to the slow and cruel death under the tarps.
Eventually the cove would run red with the blood of these amazing, mammoth individuals. The matriarch and all her family had been shattered forever.
The water became redder and redder as more whales were forced under the killing tarps.
Slowly the five skiffs began to come out from under the tarps loaded with the dead bodies of the pod on their way to the butcher house where they will be packaged and sold.
Is it over? That is yet to be seen as a large portion of the pod remains netted off swimming in the blood of their family. The cold hunters motor by the remaining victims with the bodies of their family, and the matriarch who led them now gone forever. Sadly the hunters left without dropping the nets or releasing the pod, so the fate of the remaining whales who continue to spy hot in a tight cluster is yet to be revealed. They too may be forced to make the death march under the death tarps in the cove, where the slaughterer with his steel pithing knife, and bamboo nails Continue reading


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Prospects Daily: Indian rupee at a seven-month high, U.K. inflation at a four-year low, China's leading economic index rises in February
Financial Markets…India's rupee climbed to a seven-month high against the dollar as foreign investors stepped up purchases of the nation's stocks and bonds by $3.5 billion this month amid election optimism. Investors have speculated the election of a new government will accelerate the country's economic recovery. The currency gained 0.5% to 60.478 per dollar after appreciating to 60.475, the strongest level since August 12.
Venezuela's bolivar plummeted 88% to 51.86 per dollar on a new free-floating foreign exchange system (called Sicad 2) that the government set up on Monday as part of an effort to increase dollar supplies needed to alleviate a record shortage of imports and tame the black market. The government's official exchange rate is set at 6.3 bolivars per dollar for preferential goods including medicine and food and around 11 bolivars for other items. On the black market, the price of dollar is currently at 57-58 bolivars, down from 88 bolivars in late Friday.
High Income Economies…German business confidence weakened for the first time in five months in March, as firms were worried about the impact of the European Union economic sanctions against Russia in the wake of the Crimean crisis. The Ifo Institute business climate index for industry and trade fell more-than-expected to 110.7 from February's 111.3. Meanwhile, the current conditions index rose for third successive month from 114.4 to 115.2, the highest since April 2012. The expectations index eased for a second straight month, from 108.3 down to 106.4, the lowest since October 2013.
Driven by lower transport prices, U.K. inflation fell from 1.9% (y/y) in January to 1.7% in February, the least since October 2009. This was the fifth monthly slowing in inflation and came in line with economists' expectations. The decline in January took the rate below the 2% target for the first time since November 2009. On a three-monthly annualized basis, consumer prices increased 0.9% in February, down from the 1.1% increase in January.
With exports shrinking 29.8% (m/m) and imports declining 17.6%, the visible trade deficit for Hong Kong SAR, China widened to HK$53.6 billion in February from January's HK$20.0 billion. In the first two months of 2014, the trade deficit was HK$73.5 billion, which was larger than the HK$61.2 billion shortfall registered over the same period in 2013. Exports fell 0.8 % (y/y), while imports rose 1.4% (y/y).
Developing Economies…East Asia and Pacific: Philippines' merchandise imports rose for the third consecutive month in January, jumping 21.8% (y/y), notably faster than the 2.1% growth recorded in December. The strong January increase was driven by an 11.1% rise in imports of electronic products. Month-on-month, imports rose 6.4% (m/m) in January compared with 3.4% in December. As a result of the strong pick up in imports, the trade deficit widened to US$1.38bn in January, up from the US$716 million in December.
China's leading economic indicator rose 0.9% (m/m) to a score of 282.4 in February, following a 0.3% increase in January and a 0.4% rise in December. However the six-month growth rate of the index moderated from the second half of last year, with less widespread strength among its components. Overall, four of the six components contributed positively to the leading economic index. Meanwhile, the coincident economic index, a gauge of the current economic situation, fell 0.2% to a score of 252.8 in February, following a 1.2% contraction in January, reflecting in part negative contributions from industrial production.
Europe and Central Asia: Hungary's central bank cut the base rate by 10 basis points to a low of 2.60%, continuing its easing cycle amid political tensions between Russia and the West over the Crimea crisis. The central bank has cut interest rates every month since August 2012. With the March decision, the base rate has been cut by 445 basis points thus far in the easing cycle.


text: Soybeans Drop on Speculation U.S. Acreage Will Expand February 21, 2013 01:34 AM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Bloomberg Email Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Soybeans fell in Chicago on speculation the U.S. government will forecast record planting this year, boosting prospects for global oilseed supplies. Corn and wheat dropped. Farmers in the U.S. will probably sow a record 78.1 million acres of land with soybeans, almost doubling inventories before the 2014 harvest, according to the average estimate of 18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is set to update its estimates on planting and supply at an annual forum that begins today. "Prices are very lucrative for farmers to expand planting," Faiyaz Hudani, a Mumbai-based grains and oilseeds analyst at Kotak Commodity Services Ltd., said today. "That's pressuring prices lower." Soybeans for delivery in May slid 0.3 percent to $14.6425 a bushel at 6:53 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, after rising 4.3 percent in the three prior sessions. Trading volume was 35 percent more than the 100-day average at that time of day. Corn for delivery in May declined 0.4 percent to $6.9375 a bushel. U.S. farmers may seed 97.7 million acres with the grain, the highest since 1936, spurring record production of 13.863 billion bushels, according to the Bloomberg survey. Wheat for delivery in May fell 0.6 percent to $7.41 a bushel. On NYSE Liffe, milling wheat for the same delivery month rose 0.3 percent to 239.25 euros ($315.48) a metric ton in Paris and feed wheat for delivery in May was unchanged at 207.75 pounds ($316.90) a ton in London, after gains in three of the last four sessions. Most Since 1992 The U.K. imported more than 305,500 tons of wheat in December, the most for records dating to 1992, the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board said Feb. 19. The country, historically the European Union's third-biggest wheat grower, may be a net importer for a second year after wet weather cut winter-crop planting last autumn, the AHDB's Jack Watts said Feb. 13. France, the EU's biggest grower, cut its condition ratings for soft-wheat crops on Feb. 15 after excess rain. "There are big question marks over the state of the U.K. crop," Dave Norris, an independent grain broker in Harrogate, England, said in a telephone interview today. "Everyone seems pretty much certain that we're going to have to be a big importer again in 2013-14. There's a lot of talk about crops in France not looking great, particularly in northern and western parts." --With assistance from Ranjeetha Pakiam in Kuala Lumpur. Editors: Dan Weeks, Sharon Lindores. To contact the reporters on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at email@example.com; Whitney McFerron in London at firstname.lastname@example.com. Back to news


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Delta Dental of North Carolina
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Actuarial value (AV)—A measure of a health care plan's generosity; it is the percentage paid by the plan of the total allowed costs of benefits. Beginning in 2014, all Essential Health Benefits (EHBs) offered in exchange certified plans in the individual and small group markets, both inside and outside health insurance marketplaces, must meet specified actuarial values.
Affordable Care Act (ACA)—A term commonly used to describe the federal health care law enacted in March 2010. "Affordable Care Act" is Delta Dental's preferred use, however, it also is known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or casually as Obamacare.
Balance bill—A non-participating provider's right to bill the patient for the remainder of his or her submitted fee following adjudication of the claim by the health plan. Participating providers have agreed to accept the health plan's determination of a fee—defined as the approved amount—as the maximum amount that can be collected from the patient or health plan.
Benchmark plan—The benchmark plan is the health plan chosen by a state to serve as the standard for determining the mandatory Essential Health Benefits (EHBs) that must be offered in that state.
Benefit year—A 12-month period of benefits coverage under an individual policy or group health plan. For group health plans, the 12-month period may not be the same as the benefit year.
Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO)—CCIIO is charged with helping to implement many provisions of the ACA and oversees the implementation of the provisions related to private health insurance. It works closely with governors and the state insurance commissioners, consumers and stakeholders.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)—The federal agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and also the federally facilitated marketplace.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)—An insurance program jointly funded by state and federal government that provides health insurance to low-income Americans, primarily children. States run these programs within guidelines set by the federal government, but have the ability to expand coverage. While the federal government only requires certain dental coverage for children, several states have expanded dental coverage for individuals covered by Medicaid and CHIP. Medicaid currently covers more than 50 million people, and CHIP covers approximately 6 million children.
Deductible—The deductible is the amount an individual and/or a family must pay toward covered services before the health plan begins paying for services.
Dental coverage—Benefits that help pay for the cost of visits to a dentist for basic or preventive services, like teeth cleanings, X-rays and fillings. In the exchange or marketplace, dental coverage is available either as part of a comprehensive medical plan or by itself through a "stand-alone" dental plan.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—The federal agency that oversees CMS, which administers programs for protecting the health of all Americans, including Medicare, the exchanges, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Dependent coverage—Insurance coverage for family members of the policyholder, such as spouses, children or partners.
Embedded coverage—"Embedded" coverage generally refers to policies where dental coverage is provided under the same contract as medical coverage.
Essential Health Benefits (EHBs)—The ACA mandates that all policies issued in the small group and individual insurance markets provide coverage for certain benefits, which are commonly referred to as Essential Health Benefits or EHBs. Those benefits include:
Unless specified otherwise by the state, EHB pediatric dental services are those services identified in the benchmark plan that are provided to an individual under the age of 19.
Excepted benefits—Dental, vision and other miscellaneous health benefits are examples of excepted benefits. Excepted benefits by law are exempt from many of the ACA requirements.
This means that stand-alone dental coverage, whether purchased on or off the exchange, is exempt from many provisions in the ACA, but if the coverage is purchased as an integrated piece of a major medical plan, it is not exempt and would be subject to insurance market reforms.
For group health plans to be considered an excepted benefit, the stand-alone dental plan must either: 1) be offered pursuant to a separate policy, certificate or contract of insurance; or 2), not be an integral part of the group health plan. In order for the dental component of a group health plan to be considered "non-integral," employees must have the ability to opt out of the group health plan and must pay a minimal contribution.
Exchange (see Health Insurance Marketplace)
Federal Employees Dental and Vision Program (FEDVIP)—The Federal Employees Dental and Vision Program selected by the federal government to serve as the benchmark plan for determining EHBs in those states that have not selected a state benchmark plan.
Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)—Federally funded nonprofit health centers or clinics that serve medically underserved areas and populations. Federally Qualified Health Centers provide primary care services regardless of the ability to pay.
Full-time employee—An employee who works an average of at least 30 hours per week.
Full-time equivalent (FTE)—A standard, based upon a calculation, that represents the number of part-time employees it takes to equate to a full-time employee.
Grandfathered plans—The "grandfather provision" allows plans that already existed when the ACA became law to be grandfathered and therefore exempt from some of the new law's provisions. In order to be grandfathered, a plan must have made a separate election prior to March 23, 2010.
Health insurance marketplace (also called an "exchange")—The ACA requires each state to create a health insurance marketplace where individuals and small employers can shop for health plans. If a state elects not to establish a marketplace, the federal government will establish a marketplace in that state. The marketplace is a resource where individuals, families and small businesses can:
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