Hong's laws of fantasy

H

hong

WotC's bitch

• Jan 2, 2005

• #1

Starting a new thread partly to keep from further hijacking the other one, but really because it was time for another self-titled thread, you know?

Gez said:

I doubt Hong has made more laws than the third.

Anyway, googling for hong laws, I found that.
Look the signature of that Nuray guy.

I think it all somewhat fits. The law, the linked forum's topic, and Hong's nature.

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Hm, yes, right. I don't recall making _that_ law, but I could have been drinking at the time.

Anyway, fie on you for thinking that there was only the third law and no first or second laws. Of course there are first and second laws, they just tend to change places over time.

Hong's 1st law: "It's only the other people who are munchkins"

Hong's 2nd law: Thinking too hard about fantasy is bad" (corollary: "you can find a handwave for anything"; rejoinder to corollary: "some handwaves are better than others")

Hong's 3rd law: "Any sufficiently widespread magic is indistinguishable from technology"

The exact ordering of laws 1, 2, and 3 is rather vague, but that's okay, because 1 == 2 == 3 for large values of 1 and small values of 3.

 

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S

scourger

Explorer

• Jan 2, 2005

• #2

The first law really made laugh. The second and third are good, too. Thanks.

 

Darkness

Hand and Eye of Piratecat [Moderator]

• Jan 2, 2005

• #3

Excellent. I had forgotten these laws but I think to recall you mentioning them once or twice. Thank you, hong. These are great.

 

A

Asmo

First Post

• Jan 2, 2005

• #4

huh?

Asmo

 

V

Verequus

First Post

• Jan 2, 2005

• #5

hong said:

The exact ordering of laws 1, 2, and 3 is rather vague, but that's okay, because 1 == 2 == 3 for large values of 1 and small values of 3.

Click to expand...

This reminds me of this:

"3 == Pi, for big enough 3s and small enough Pis." (or something like that).

 

Nightcloak

First Post

• Jan 2, 2005

• #6

Pure genius Hong.

As usual, you’ve taken highly debated gaming conventions and reduced them to simple truths. The beauty is in the humorously delivered dose of well-grounded reality.

 

M

Mallus

Legend

• Jan 2, 2005

• #7

hong said:

Hong's 2nd law: Thinking too hard about fantasy is bad" (corollary: "you can find a handwave for anything"; rejoinder to corollary: "some handwaves are better than others")

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Sure, with the caveat "except for those people who really get off on thinking too hard about fantasy. Some people enjoy spending hours pondering the physics of fireballs or trying to create an economic model of the Forgotten Realms. They're low on my list of people whose fun I'd like to curtail. Top of the list? Adult Babies...

Hong's 3rd law: "Any sufficiently widespread magic is indistinguishable from technology"

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I'd like to add: "For the lionshare of gamers, anachronism is inescapable. Embrace it.

I can't tell you how much my group enjoyed hearing an NPC naval captain refer to his press gang as "the Fort Ormond Assymetric Recruitment Squad".

 

S

Sugarmouse

First Post

• Jan 3, 2005

• #8

Love the adaptation, hong.

Clarke might actually be proud.

 

Asmor

First Post

• Jan 3, 2005

• #9

RuleMaster said:

This reminds me of this:

"3 == Pi, for big enough 3s and small enough Pis." (or something like that).

Click to expand...

I'd always heard it as "2+2=5 for sufficiently large values of 2"

 

diaglo

Adventurer

• Jan 3, 2005

• #10

hong is handwaving right now

IYKWIMAITYD

just make sure you use a tissue this time to cleanup the mess.