I have decided to cool down on the posting for now or at least for a good bit. I want to make sure that I am running this sub and more importantly South Asian Masculinity well by eliminating toxic, negative, and limiting content. What I did want everyone to know is that we are being watched. There is an entire sub dedicated to reporting, harassing, and targeting both this sub and South Asian Masculinity. A user DM'd me and said it is all from ABCDesis, a sub I am not even familiar with.
To a degree, even I got carried away.
My posts got too controversial for reddit and a lot of what I said, was, well kind of out there. They say crazy and genius have a thin line between them and a lot of them, those of us who submit great content also come off as crazy every now and then. My life has been too busy for me to write long posts now as worked has really picked up and I am also getting back into the game again after months of health problems.
This is for all others on here, do be careful of the content you submit. Even if I and others like it, other redditors are watching and reporting. Somehow, South Asian male self-improvement brings out the worst in people. It's not any other race than our own, typical mentality you find in South Asian men all over. Crabs in a bucket, they see one do well and there will always be enough of a chunk to drag that one guy or those one successful group of men down.
Meanwhile, I do want to spend my time on reddit cleaning up South Asian Masculinity.
It has to be done and has been long overdue. For months, trolls, spammers, incels, and guys who have been an infection to that sub have lingered around to stop it from reaching its true potential. I do think that by the end of the year, the sub can take off to new heights like DesiFluent would have wanted. We want discussions to go from "woe is me I am desi and can't get laid" to something more productive.
Right now, there are also trolls lingering around on other subs making up stories of how they are handsome and did an experiment as an Indian guy but their white friends were still getting more matches than them. I think it is all BS and these trolls are a drag on South Asian Masculinity as well as the development of South Asian men worldwide.
I've had to ban a good chunk of people in recent weeks because of just how much they were holding South Asian Masculinity back and I will have to ban a good chunk more. It is time SAM moved to a more positive direction where more like DesiFluent can freely post and share their content and we get less trolls and incels. We need SAM to truly be South Asian Masculinity, not some sad Incel echochamber.
I will be around, just less often. If you find any sketchy shit going on South Asian Masc, please DM me directly so I can deal with it.

I truly need just one or two safety and target schools to make a good, well rounded list.
Major: Marine Biology (a must!)
School Preferences: Medium/Large school, near a coast??, anywhere geographically but I’d prefer east or west coast, not southern states really
Stats: 4.0 unweighted GPA, not sure on 4.0 scale for weighted, but 104 on 100 point scale
Ranked 5/250 in a pretty competitive class
PSAT (just took SAT, don’t have that yet)- 1270, probably won’t submit SAT score
Okay ECS-
3 Normal School Clubs
100+ hrs community service
300+ hrs research projects relating to marine biology and environmental science
Leadership positions in Varsity sports
In FFA program

• other stuff i’m too tired to type out now LMFAO

Financial Aid: Not really an issue, but would prefer schools that give good merit scholarships!
Ask me any more questions cuz I may be forgetting stuff if you want.
Thanks!

Ok so I’m playing on Miami and one of my main objectives is to kill a target by drowning them. I had 4 targets and I threw 2 of them into bodies of water yet NONE OF THEM counted as a “drowning kill.” What the heck?! First target I lured to the edge of the water and threw a hard melee object at him, causing him to fall in the water. The counter under drowning kill came up, did the whole 0:02, 0:01 thing and then nothing!! So ok I go to my next target and she’s by the fish tanks. I throw her ass in the fish tank and same thing!!
How are these not counting as drowning when they are actually dying by drowning? I already reported it to IO, so hopefully they’ll fix this nonsense; probably not, though!
How else can you complete this objective other than shoving their face into a toilet? This is especially hard on maps like Miami where if you use any type of emetic on someone, and they’re on the west side of the map, they won’t go to a bathroom and will usually go to a trash can or the edge by the water.

The 'weekly current conflicts' post (WCC) focuses on various conflicts around the globe. WCC posts every Fri. at 5:00 PM, West Coast time. The post is for asking questions or sharing related media. Post photos, videos, articles, or links to other places covering ongoing wars.
Please keep direct discussion about Ukraine to the Ukraine discussion post. Previous discussion or content may be carried on into a new post. Please do not spam.
Wikimedia map of ongoing conflicts
Wiki list of ongoing armed conflicts
Conflict and national subs including countries where low-intensity conflicts are present:

AfghanConflict	Algeria	Benin
BurkinaFaso	Cameroon	Colombia
Congo	Egypt	Indonesia
India	IsraelPalestine	IvoryCoast
Kashmiri	korea	Kurdistan
Maghreb	Mali	Mauritania
Mozambique	Myanmar	NarcoFootage
Niger	Nigeria	Pakistan
Paraguay	Peru	Philippines
PoliticaDeMexico	RepublicofChad	Senegal
Somalia	Somaliland	SouthSudan
Sudan	Syriancivilwar	Thailand
Tigray	Togo	Tunisia
Turkey	Uganda	Venezuela
Westpapua	WesternSahara	YemeniCrisis

List will be updated periodically using mentions from these posts about subreddits and sites.

My mom and brothers went to Buffalo, NY. So me and my dad went somewhere better. Of course I mean Palisades.
We left at 5 pm. I brought my Knuckles stuffy. I filmed a video (actually a sequel to a Black Friday video I filmed at the Bergen Town Center with a Sonic stuffy) about Knuckles exploring the Palisades Center.
Dad let me go thru a few corridors, though I never got to see where they led to. We went to Burger King and had the Impossible Whopper, since it is Lent, and I can't eat meat on Fridays. It wasn't filling.
Then we went to Target, and I bought a bottle of Sparkling Ice (I need those to survive, since I gave up soda for Lent.) We went to Dave & Buster's after that.
I played Fruit Ninja (no bombs), Injustice Arcade (I got Green Lantern on my team this time round, but he died, and my dad hit the Special Attack button for me), Star Trek, SpongeBob, and the Terminator VR game. I told the guy running the game about how Terminator reminds me of the Superman TAS "New Kids in Town" episode, and he actually got that. I made his day. Then I played Mario and Sonic (played as Knuckles, got up to Day 2 Gymnastics and failed) and Ring Toss.
Then we went by the Ice Rink to find that storage room where all the old stuff like the Brazeiro animals were. We didn't find it, but we did find some old logos on the floor, including Oscar Meyer and DiGiorno (which weren't even in the mall. Why would they put them there?) I have some questions about some of the stores that were on the floor, but I'll save it for the Knuckles video's release, since I got them on tape.
Then we went over to the west parking garage to see if we could find the Rainforest Café props and Food Court stuff. We ended up finding some Home Depot storage and Best Buy auto shit. Then we left.
Funny things: when we were at Target, there were these two guys talking about SpongeBob. "Will you increase my wages? Will you let me play my clarinet? Then I'll give you the secret formula!" Then we heard a guy say, "Jamar, what the fuck?!" in a different aisle. They were probs employees. Whoever you are, thank you for making me laugh.
I can't wait to go back. I don't think I've seen everything.

​
To understand the Forebears, you need to understand the role of warriors in Yokuda and their real-life parrel, the Samurai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai
The Forebears are the self-proclaimed descendants of the Ra Gada the Warriors of Yokuda. The history of the Redguards on Yokuda is basically an exact parallel of Japanese history, specifically the Sengoku era, so we can definitely make the assumption that the role of the Ra (Warriors) is equivalent to the Samurai irl. In contrast to what the Forebears and Imperials will tell you, the Forebears were and are NOT of Low Class, as read above the Samurai, and therefore the Forebear's ancestors were quite wealthy and relatively High in Class when compared to 95% percent of the population.
The role of the Samurai was specifically to enforce the Feudal Lords'(Daimyo) power onto Japanese Peasants, brutalizing the peasants if they didn't comply with the taxes imposed by the Daimyo. Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in the 1870s during the Meiji era. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo, the great feudal landholders. They had high prestige and special privileges. These warriors often times had the power to kill Anyone of a Lower Class, peasants, etc. They were not an oppressed class, in fact, they were more times than not the oppressors of the masses than not. They enforced the rule of the State, the State their Employers. They had a Monopoly on inflicting Violence.
As seen in the writing Divad the Singer "The Emperor's men were either very lucky or very unlucky depending on how you choose to view it. Being no fool, Hira sent 100 of his best guards, for even an unarmed Singer was a very dangerous foe. The luck was that they were able to capture Divad and place him in chains, for they came at him as he sat dining with his elderly mother. The disaster was that as he surrendered, they rashly struck the pleading old woman. Too hard, it would seem, for she fell dead with that single blow." these warriors had no problem killing the innocent. The point being they were not an oppressed class.
Ignoring, the War of the Singers, which the Warriors or "Forebears" ancestors supported Emperor Hira in, showing that the Forebears were NOT Singers. Frandar and his son David were the first Ra Gada (Warrior Wave) to head to Hammerfell. Frandar was neither part of the ruling Kings nor their Warriors, but he was likely an aspect of Hoonding the Make Way God of the Redguards, considering him an ancestor to the Forebears, the descendants of those he fought and helped kill 300,000 of, is ridiculous and likely a Forebear invention for Legitamacey. The Forebears aren't even the first in Hammerfell, as Frandar and his son were an entirely different group. Even during the 2nd Ra Gada (Warrior Wave) came to Hammerfell, the "Crowns" Led the armies as strategists and leaders. Also, Frandar being an aspect of Hoonding, which would later choose to fight against the Empire as Cyrus (an aspect of Hoonding) in The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard, it wouldn't make sense for him to be the ancestors of the Forebears the pro - Imperials.
REMAN EMPIRE CREATION OF THE FOREBEAR POLITICAL FRACTION
The Forebears are naturally situated between and on major routes, and centers of trade. To ensure profitable trade between non-Redguards, learning the language and customs of the Bretons, Nords, Imperials, etc, was necessary. Those who were able to monopolize this trade could become rich or even lords themselves. It was in the material interest of the Forebears already ruling to keep ruling, and so they opened up their ports. Soon enough these "Forebears" didn't have to rely on the Na-Tatumbu to pay their checks, they could hire Warriors for themselves to enforce their rule on the peasantry. The Warriors were being Lords. The Forebears were gaining power a little too fast and the ruling "Crowns" felt the power they had over their warriors, paychecks, privileges, and legitimacy to enforce violence waning, they could no longer give the Elite Forebears more than what they already had. The Crowns in a desperate attempt to ensure their continued rule outlawed Forebears from owning too much property, a gamble to prevent the Forebears from replacing them as the ruling class. However, this wouldn't cause the official split between the Redguard Elite. The Elite of the Forebears would just marry into the existing Nobility and assimilate into the Na-Tatumbu if they wanted to gain power. A full-out war would just drain the very thing which made them gain this power and wealth in the first place, ceasing trade between the outside world and Hammerfell itself. Not only to mention they did not have enough power to win, by themselves at least. (this is not progressive btw, would just be replacing the Na-Tatumbu with Na-Taumbu Lite. Would actually be a stronger Monarchy actually)
After the Conquest or even during possibly the Forebear Political Faction was "formed". "When the province of Hammerfell was annexed into the Second Empire, two political parties were formed to contribute to Cyrodiil's administration over the land. The Crowns were created from what was left of the Na-Totambu, who retained their high-ranking status in the Empire, using Hegathe as their capital. From there, they were represented by the Phyllocid Dynasty, who maintained their relationship with the Empire throughout its lifetime. The Forebears was the other political party founded in Hammerfell, from the warrior-lords that descended from the Ra Gada and governed tribal districts in the south. For the longest time, these groups were sworn enemies, a rivalry that had existed far longer than the Empire itself." - https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Forebears.
Notice how these factions are only "formed" after the conquest of the Reman Dynasty, and wonder why these two "sworn enemies" needed an invasion to split. Consider how the Redguards were actually united by an outside invasion by the Thalmor, but for some reason, the Redguards conveniently split into two political factions right after the Imperial invasion, Pro-Imperial, and Native Resistance.
Imperials state that the Forebear Faction was a "natural and inevitable" outcome of "sworn enemies " whose hatred for each other was "older than the Empire" itself. That the Empire had no part in its creation and simply followed the already existing lines when creating the administration of Hammerfell. While yes, there were multiple fairly large Samurai rebellions in Japanese history, these rebellions were to increase their own power in feudal Japan, higher pay/privileges, lordship, etc. The Daimyo and the Samurai were not "sworn enemies" by any means. A Samurai got his power through the state and the state tough the Samurai, it wouldn't be in either of their interest to disrupt the status quo. Them being "sworn enemies" only makes sense if you consider the Singers or Ansai (Sword Saints) to be the ancestors of the Forebears, which we know wasn't the case.
The Ansei, while warriors, were NOT comparable to samurai. They were closer to a specific Order or school. Closer to that of Japanese Warrior Monks than swords for hire. They did not work for the Yokudan Lords, they were entirely separate, which is why Emperor Hira wanted to purge the Singers. instead of utilizing them to exert control over Yokuda. They were uncontrollable, not paid swords for hire.
The split between the Crowns and Forebears is correlated with the arrival to Tamerial. I would argue that the Reman Dynasty split Hammerfell in two for good, in the same way, a Colonial power like the British Empire creates groups and funds others in Subject Nations, to breed conflict. The Reman Empire played a significant role in the creation of the Forebear Political Faction as a permanent Imperial puppet state in Hammerfell. To ensure Hammerfell like every other province other than Cyrodil is a Subject Province. In fact, my comparison of Japan and Yokuda wasn't just because of the obvious parallels, but another, more obscure reason, the Meiji Restoration and the role of the Imperial power of the time the British Empire.
The Imperial view of the Forebears is quite clear, they are the "cosmopolitan", "flexible", "progressive", "and modern", Redguards, rightfully accepting the rule of the one true Empire. Unlike those damn Crowns, who are "traditionalist", "conservative", "supertesuous", "primitive", "alien", and "oppressive" resisting the rightful rule of the Imperialist Empire. This language is disturbingly similar to how The West, specifically Great Britain described Japan after and Before the Meiji Restoration of Japan.
Let's get to the point, after the Sengoku Era (Warring States) of Japan and a failed invasion of Korea, Japan became extremely isolationist, and the arrival of European weaponry revamped Japanese warfare which was one of the reasons the new Shogunate came into power. Knowing that European influence in Japan resulted in the Shogunate taking power it was also the way the Shogun could lose their power over Japan. This isolation period lasted 200 years, in which they only allowed trade from Europe to come from the Dutch, until the U.S. came knocking and forced Japan to open up trade in 1853. The Shogunate had the correct assumption, as in the 1860's the "Mejji Restoration" coup would occur where power was restored to Imperial power, wonder how that happened. The British, THE Imperial Power at the time. Western capitalists, especially the British saw how exploitable Japan was and let's say was a HUGE player in propping up the Emperor. The language which is used in describing Mejji Japan is identical to how the Empire describes the Forebears, "honorable", "renewal", "rebirth", "modern", and "westernization", basically legitimizing their rule as it is in the interest of Britain.
This actually correlates well with the Redguards, the "Sengoku Period" of Yokuda was basically a carbon copy of Japan except for the Yokuda sinking into the sea part. After Yokuda sinks and the Redguards make a home in Hammerfell they are very isolationist at first, not trading with the other races for quite some time. However, the "Forebears" start to trade with the rest of Tamriel, including Cyrodill. Upon the Rise of the Reman Empire and their Imperialist ambitions, the Forebear Faction is "formed". Since the Forebears weren't powerful enough to conquer Hammerfell themselves, they had to rely on the support of someone who could, in exchange for vassalage. They would be given greater power than the Crowns in this Empire.
The Forebears don't care about morals they care about power. The Empire Doesn't care about how "progressive" the Forebears are, what's "progressive" about supporting a hegemonic power invading your home province just so the Empire can exploit you and your people? The Forebears are choosing power over their people's freedom from an Imperialist power. That is not progressive, in fact, it's quite the opposite. The Empire used pre-existing strife between the Redgaurds to achieve their Imperialist ambitions. The Empire allows subject nations to enslave indiscriminately as long as they can continue their rule. They are a State, more powerful and deadly than the Crowns. I believe the Forebears were deliberately created and or supported by the Empire to create conflict and social strife. All the better when a political faction like the Forebears is largely dependent on the Empire for strength and political influence. As seen here -
Circa 2E 862, when the Crowns monarchy left their ancestral throne of Old Hegathe and took over the Forebears kingdom of Sentinel, it caused a schism between both factions. Baron Volag was chosen by the Forebears to strike an accord with the Crowns King, Thassad II, for a short-term truce.[9]:25 But, when Thassad II passed away from natural causes in 2E 862, Volag and his Forebears launched a wide-scale rebellion against the Crowns that has since been remembered as the Purge of the North. After the first massacre, the Crowns of Sentinel, led by Prince A'tor, were forced to flee the kingdom to the west, to the island-kingdom of Stros M'Kai.[10]
On the island, the Crowns prepared for their counterattack and managed to provide a strong retaliation against the Forebears.[10] But, when the Forebears pleaded for assistance from the Third Empire, the tide of the war quickly shifted back against the Crowns until they were cornered in Stros M'Kai.[7] Some people believed that Volag was used by the Empire, for his ambitions for the throne.[11] As the conflict proved out of favor for the Crowns, Baron Volag and his Forebears disappeared from the public eye, but it is unclear whether this happened after he claimed Sentinel[12] or if it happened after the Battle of Hunding Bay in 2E 864.[10] In any case, Sentinel was without a figurehead and, much like other human realms, a Colovian Officer,[7] in the form of Senecus Goddkey assumed the title of Provisional Governor for the Kingdom of Sentinel and the Forebears principalities. - https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Forebears.
The Forebears are an Imperial invention to ensure domination over Hammerfell.

Introduction

Enough people ask about Gauss Rifles, which prompted me to write this up. Initially, I was going to keep it as a draft, but since mobile has trouble opening it, I decided to post this. Note that everything here is for a full health, VATS, sneak build. This is generally how this write-up is organized:

1. The Loadout [Opinion]
2. The "Best" Gauss Rifle for each application [Opinion]
3. The case for each Legendary Effect for a Daily Use Sniper [Opinion]
4. One-shot Capabilities [Tested In-game]

The Loadout

In my opinion, the optimal way to run a Gauss Rifle as your main is to carry at least three Gauss Rifles.

1. Daily Sniper: highest damage per bullet without a critical hit with maximum accuracy. You use this 90% of the time in instances such as clearing West Tek or Daily Ops Decryption or events in which you aren't going to be overrun by enemies.
2. Boss Killer: this gun looks for maximum damage over a period of time and is used for things like Earle, SBQ, etc. You may even swap to this for Daily Ops bosses/Pitt Bosses.
3. Event Gun: for specific events like Radiation Rumble or Daily Ops Uplink with weaker enemies.

The "Best" Gauss Rifle for Each Application

Defer to the numbers below and longer explanations, but if you just want an opinion straight out of the gate, here is -- in my opinion -- the best three for each of those categories:

1. Daily Sniper:
   1. Instigating/Vats Hit Chance
   2. Two Shot/Vats Hit Chance
   3. Quad/Vats Hit Chance
2. Boss Killer:
   1. Anti-Armo50 critical damage
   2. Quad/50 critical damage
   3. Aristocrat's/50 critical damage
3. Event Gun:
   1. Quad/Vats Hit chance (if you plan to charge it)
   2. Quad/50 critical damage (if you plan not to charge it)
   3. Two Shot/Vats Hit Chance
4. If you were looking to carry only one: Quad/Vats hit Chance

These selections are supposing you are actually carrying three different Gauss Rifles. For the Daily Sniper, I think you could make an argument for any of the top prefixes, as each has their pros and cons.
For the boss-killer, the debate will be between DPS and Damage Per Bullet. If you are a Rifleman in the first place, DPS probably isn't your primary concern, which is why Anti-Armor takes the first place, but I would never argue with someone against Quad for the Boss Killer.
For the event gun, I am supposing you are looking strictly for a Gauss Rifle. For simplicity's sake, I did not include other guns.

Daily Sniper Prefix: A Case for Each

Instigating

• Provides the most damage-per-shot on a full health build, and allows a little more flexibility in terms of what it can one-shot. For example, maybe the most important is the ability to one-shot level 100 Mutants without sneak, which is infinitely helpful during Daily Ops Uplink with Super Mutants. One of the most noted downsides, no bonus if the creature is even a little damaged, is almost always not an issue, as it is either your own splash damage (meaning TenderizeFollow Through become active on that target) ensuring a one-bullet kill anyway or you are in an event at which someone else is helping you kill things anyway. The real down-side is when you get to enemies with a ton of hit points. Though, this issue only really happens if you are unwilling to carry more than one Gauss Rifle (as you would switch to your boss-killer in those instances), and in that scenario, Instigating likely is the worst choice.

Two Shot

• Provides the second most damage-per-shot, and unlike Instigating, you don't lose the bonus on those creatures with huge hit point pools. Although the 50% damage weapons do roughly the same damage to regular targets and a little bit more to high DER targets, Two Shot is zero maintenance. Again, if you were looking to run only one Gauss Rifle, Two Shot is likely the second worst choice, as it really doesn't set itself apart from Aristocrat's and has an accuracy penalty. But as a dedicated Daily Sniper with other guns in the arsenal to supplement it, the damage and the ease of getting that damage makes it a great choice.

Aristocrat's/Junkie's

• Provides third most damage-per-shot in day to day sniping and does more damage to high DER creatures than Two Shot. The choice will be between if you want the convenience of Two Shot or the accuracy of Aristocrat's. Since it does a little more damage than Two Shot once the creature gets a little more tanky, it's likely the better choice than Two Shot if you want to carry only one. If keeping caps or maintaining addictions isn't something that bothers you, the accuracy alone likely justifies its use over Two Shot and knowing you aren't losing damage if a target comes pre-injured could be a case to use it over Instigating.

Anti-Armor

• Of the prefixes detailed and tested here, Anti-Armor does the second least damage in most situations. Obviously, it does more damage than Quad, and in a Daily Sniper circumstance, it does set itself apart from Quad in a few instances. If one were opposed to running more than one Gauss Rifle, this is likely the second best choice, as damage is needed more when heavily armored targets are in play, such as boss fights and more challenging events (like Eviction Notice). If one is willing to carry more than one Gauss Rifle, it is a great compliment to any of the guns above (especially Instigating), as those guns would be used for Daily Sniping for max-damage there and Anti-Armor would be switched to in circumstances that require maximum armor penetration.

Quad

• The most versatile of all the Gauss Rifles, Quad could be a casual's only gun or serve as a great compliment to the Daily Sniper as an Event Gun. Where it shines is events like Radiation Rumble or Daily Ops Uplinks with weaker enemies. Not reloading is a huge deal, and uncharged, it does Lever Gun damage at Fixer fire rate. Being naturally explosive allows for tags to get that sweet, sweet XP. A try-hard likely isn't going to use it as a Daily Sniper, but they would certainly carry one for events.

Bonus: Case for Second Star:

• 50% Vats Hit Chance
  • Gauss Rifles are naturally inaccurate in Vats. They also have a small clip. So hitting shots is very important. Anecdotally, it makes a huge difference, and even when you are half way across West Tek at 40% hit chance, it will hit all day. There's no way to test this or prove this, but for a Daily Sniper, 50% Vats Hit Chance is incredibly useful because no regular enemy that you are going to face is going to need any more damage to kill since level 100 Mutants die in one bullet from sneak and all Gauss Rifles kill level 100 Super Mutants with a critical without sneak.
• 50% Critical Damage
  • I have not tested this thoroughly (to see what the difference between targets with a large number of hit points, like Mirelurk Kings), but 50c might reduce the number of bullets to kill some enemies with a boatload of hitpoints. Where 50 critical damage really shines is when facing bosses, of course, and is a good choice for a spammed Gauss Rifle, which makes 50 Crit a better choice for the Event weapon and Boss-killer weapon.

One-Shot Capabilities: the Numbers

The following is the max level a Gauss Rifle can one-shot. All Gauss Rifles can one-shot level 100 Mutants from sneak with a headshot with a proper full health build and when properly modded. All Gauss Rifles are primed on a full-health build. Here's the build.
Some Quick Notes:

• .1 = with a little help from Adrenaline
• .2 = with a lot of help from Adrenaline
• Ghouls are listed at 75 because I don't think there are level 100 Ghouls? I forgot that humans are level 100 in the Pitt, so at some point, I'll need to see what the numbers are.
• Why Prime? Well, that has a pretty complicated answer. The simplest answer is that once the creature drops below 100 DER (with Tank Killer, etc.). Anti-Armor Prime does more damage than Aristocrat's Perforated (by a small margin) on tanky creatures. Add the huge damage bonus against Scorched, and that immediately makes Prime better in most applications. Again, like most of this, I would not argue against Perforating, but I think Prime barely edges is out.

Body Shot (with sneak)
​

Effect	Super Mutant	Mole Miners	Scorched	Human	Ghoul
Instigating	50/60.1/75.2	75	100	75	75
Two Shot	50/60.2	75	100	75.1	75
Aristocrat's	50/60.2	60/75.1	100	75.1	75
Anti-Armor	50	60.1/75.2	75	60	75
Quad	50.1	60.1	75	60	75

​
Non-sneak (head-shot, no "Taking One for the Team")
​

Effect	Super Mutant	Mole Miners	Scorched	Human	Ghoul
Instigating	60/75.1/100.2	75/100.1	100	75	75
Two Shot	50/60.2/75.2	60/75.1/100.2	100	75	75
Aristocrat's	50/60.2/75.2	60/75.1/100.2	100	75	75
Anti-Armor	50/60.2	60/75.2	100	60/75.1	75
Quad	50.1	60.1/75.2	100.1	60/75.1	75

I (45F) moved up from down south and I’m looking to make friendships around here. I enjoy reading, gardening, crocheting and hiking. I’m in the inner West but happy to connect with people from all over. Thanks.

Jungles, beasts, priests, and corruption. Thacia, a large country with deep scars from conquest, segregation, and betrayal, is about to lose the fragile peace it has struggled to maintain. To the north, a mysterious plague turns men into flesh-craving beasts. A young priestess raises her forces to contain this infection. To the east, a baleful Emperor plots invasion and revenge. The Titans of old are born again to defend their country from foreign invaders with a young bastard boy at their helm. To the south, thousands of freed and fleeing slaves, find their home on the island of Phevia. Once a slave-soldier now their King, it is up to one man to keep his people safe from the clutches of slavers. To the west, the old gray-wood fort that separated the civilized people of Thacia from the horse-riding warriors of the steppe is soon to be besieged and destroyed. A poor farmer's son must find a way to keep his lands safe from the horse-born conquerors. Amid the blood and chaos, whispers of a fiery winged serpent emerge on a shadowed island where ominous winds rise and stir. is a low-ish fantasy in a classical antiquity setting. Here is the blurb:

It's low fantasy in a classical antiquity type of world setting. Here is the blurb: Jungles, beasts, priests, and corruption. Thacia, a large country with deep scars from conquest, segregation, and betrayal, is about to lose the fragile peace it has struggled to maintain. To the north, a mysterious plague turns men into flesh-craving beasts. A young priestess raises her forces to contain this infection. To the east, a baleful Emperor plots invasion and revenge. The Titans of old are born again to defend their country from foreign invaders with a young bastard boy at their helm. To the south, thousands of freed and fleeing slaves, find their home on the island of Phevia. Once a slave-soldier now their King, it is up to one man to keep his people safe from the clutches of slavers. To the west, the old gray-wood fort that separated the civilized people of Thacia from the horse-riding warriors of the steppe is soon to be besieged and destroyed. A poor farmer's son must find a way to keep his lands safe from the horse-born conquerors. Amid the blood and chaos, whispers of a fiery winged serpent emerge on a shadowed island where ominous winds rise and stir.

A game about the Polish legend/urban legend of a Nazi train filled with riches hidden in the south west of Poland.
In my eyes there are too little games about slavic folklore or slavic countries in general, without implications or only negative or WW2 or USSR games
More information: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold_train
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/sarahatopol/the-hunt-for-polands-buried-nazi-gold-trains

Daily New Covid Cases by DHB reported 25 Mar 2023 (as at midnight Friday 24 Mar 2023)

• New Cases: 1,495 ( ↓ 101)
• Rolling 7-day avg: 1,574 ( ↑ 9)

Location	New Cases	Change	Seven Day Rolling
Total	1495	-101	1574 ( ↑ 9)
Auckland	146	+10	134 ( ↑ 7)
Bay of Plenty	65	+7	59 ( ↑ 2)
Canterbury	263	-4	271 ( ↓ 1)
Capital and Coast	99	+8	104 ( ↑ 3)
Counties Manukau	109	-32	127 ( ↓ 1)
Hawke's Bay	40	-10	51 ( ↑ 0)
Hutt Valley	47	-4	49 ( ↑ 2)
Lakes	36	+6	34 ( ↑ 0)
MidCentral	50	-14	51 ( ↓ 2)
Nelson Marlborough	66	-1	61 ( ↑ 1)
Northland	31	-10	43 ( ↓ 1)
South Canterbury	16	-7	22 ( ↓ 3)
Southern	156	-19	167 ( ↓ 4)
Tairawhiti	10	+1	14 ( ↑ 1)
Taranaki	37	-14	45 ( ↑ 1)
Unknown	2	-2	3 ( ↓ 1)
Waikato	94	+2	101 ( ↑ 1)
Wairarapa	18	-3	18 ( ↑ 1)
Waitemata	174	-12	182 ( ↑ 3)
West Coast	22	+2	21 ( ↑ 1)
Whanganui	14	-5	17 ( ↓ 1)

Last 10 days of the Rolling 7-day average Reported 25 Mar 2023

Date	7-day rolling avg
Fri 24 Mar	1574 ( ↑ 9)
Thu 23 Mar	1565 ( ↓ 7)
Wed 22 Mar	1572 ( ↑ 0)
Tue 21 Mar	1572 ( ↓ 17)
Mon 20 Mar	1589 ( ↓ 4)
Sun 19 Mar	1593 ( ↓ 9)
Sat 18 Mar	1602 ( ↓ 23)
Fri 17 Mar	1625 ( ↓ 6)
Thu 16 Mar	1631 ( ↓ 28)
Wed 15 Mar	1659 ( ↓ 8)

No hospital data today

source: MoH GitHub data

There are many ways to invoke, and not all of them require ritual work. However, rituals can be very helpful, especially when you're trying to establish contact with a spirit you haven't communicated with before. I'm going to outline a basic ritual that can be used to facilitate invocation. I have used rituals like this to satisfactorily invoke Beleth, Bune, Vapula, and other goetic demons.
1. Do your research
Before invoking a named spirit, learn as much as you can about them. Study old grimoires like the Abramelin, Lemegeton, and Grimorium Verum, and look them up in contemporary guides like Jake Stratton-Kent's Pandemonium and David Crowhurst's Stellas Daemonum. Prioritize scholarly research over individual UPG. You want to get a good sense of the spirit's history, key attributes, and personality.
2. Choose the right time
Most spirits will have associations with particular astrological signs or decans, or specific days of the week. In my experience, you will often get better results by factoring these associations into the timing of your ritual.
3. Set up your ritual space
Choose a space for your ritual where you will have some room to move around and will not be interrupted. Then set up the ritual implements you will be using. I suggest the following:

• A lamen bearing the spirit's sigil. This can be a piece of paper or more durable material. If you're using a metal plate, choose a metal that has the correct planetary associations with the spirit. Draw, paint, or etch the sigil yourself.
• Candles and incense. Again, choose the colors and scents according to the associations you have researched. If you don't want to use open flames, use LED candles and a spritz of perfume instead.
• Offerings. Candies, fruits, milk, and alcohol are appropriate for most spirits. Place them in an offering bowl during the ritual, or if you're outside, pour liquids into the earth.

As we are not trying to compel evocation with this ritual, there is no need for circles or triangles.
Most spirits are associated with one of the cardinal directions (north, south, east, west). Arrange your space so that you will be facing the appropriate direction during the ritual.
4. Extend the invitation
Take a shower, put on clean clothes, and you're ready to begin. Perform the Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram (instructions can easily be found online, and you can adapt or simplify the ritual if you want), light the candles and incense, then call out to the spirit. You can say (out loud, or mentally) something like this:
"Prince Stolas, I invite you to make your presence known to me, remain with me for a while, and teach me all I should know about astronomy, herbalism, and precious stones. Please accept the offerings I have prepared for you, and allow me to benefit from your wisdom."
The specific wording doesn't matter. I'd say to try to make it sound semi-formal but not corny. Sincerity is the note you want to hit.
5. Meditate
After you have spoken, stand in silence for a few moments. Take a few deep breaths, let the incense and candles burn for a bit.
When you're ready, put out anything that's still burning, dispose of the offerings (you can eat them yourself once the ritual is over, it's fine, really), put away the implements, and go sit down to meditate.
Try to let your mind go blank so that you can receive communication from the spirit. It takes time, practice, and experience to get good at discerning spirit communication from your own thoughts. What you want to pay special attention to are images and concepts that come to you fully-formed, without having been shaped by your conscious cognitive processes.
In the days ahead, you may receive signs and synchronicities related to the spirit. Make a note of these, they are indications that the ritual worked.
Over time, the spirits you work with will get easier to invoke, and you will be able to communicate with them more clearly.
A final note
It's entirely possible that you will perform a ritual like this and feel nothing. No presence, no communication. This is not uncommon, especially for new practitioners. It takes a good deal of knowledge and grounding to invoke named spirits, and while some people may be inherently better at it than others, it almost always involves a long learning process. Be patient, stick with it, and keep up a daily meditation practice.