The FPL, despite it’s wondrous ability to inspire and draw from us the best and the worst has a few drawbacks. Over the course of my few columns I will hope to expose these shortfalls and in the end accomplish nothing because we really don’t need them. But, let me get started before I ramble myself to death. As I sit here, listening to Linkin Park (Or as a friend of my father once called it: Limpkin Bark) I think to myself... what is missing?

We all know that there is one thing that all comic books have in common. All Fantasy/Scifi stories attempt to bring to light in order to balance good and evil. Weaknesses. Frailties. Achilles Heels. Usually referred to in terminology spawned by one of the most recognized illustrated heroes of all time: Kryptonite. Ones Kryptonite. Ones Crosses and Sunlight. Ones Silver Bullet. Ones Fire. Ones... you get the point. At one small, brief point in time the FPL (AoC bah) attempted to accommodate such possibilities. Thus called Disadvantages though were... taken advantage of and some were rephrased, some were removed. Not that I’m saying they should be brought back. No, they are missed of course, but things run a bit smoother without them. No, These little rants of unpurpose and randomosity are little more than factspeakers... things I wish to bring to light for no other reason than I’d like them to be said. Maybe. Or that I just feel like writing. No, Things run fine now.... Weaknesses are just things that don’t particularly Fit well in a world of 1’s and 0’s... it’s hard to get a 0.5 in there without messing with code so much that it no longer resembles a character. Somebody can’t exactly have a “Weakness to Fire” and have it actually Show Up on the opponents character sheet that said Power does Double Damage to him... especially when factoring in that one would have to actually Label such things as Matter Animation, Damage Shield, Energy Body, Energy Sheath.... Need I go on? Oh, sure it kind of works if it’s Just on the Character sheet... but then it’s been brought up that only about half of us ever actually read the Character. So this Ice Elemental is fighting this Fire Man... Fire Man is made out of Water (Haha, get it... Fireman fights Fire with Wat... ok I’ll shut up)... and thus the ICE guy can just freeze Fire Man because the Fire Man states in his DISADVANTAGE that not only does he fear the cold but he’s really weak to it... But nobody reads it. And Ice Guy gets fatalited by Fire Man cause he has a cooler Pic. SIOK if I do say so myself. Thus is life... thus is why we don’t have Disadvantages. Albiet they would be cool to have, they just really wouldn’t be worth it. Sure, you can take a few disads on Powers themselves... but even that’s not quite the same.

Ok, I think I’m done here for now... Next time? Well... We’ll talk about Alliances... maybe....

WSS