Jack Thompson To Face Contempt Charge

Gamasutra has the story (by way of the currently-down GamePolitics) that Jack Thompson could be facing a contempt charge over his antics during the Bully fiasco. From the article: "According to the report, the contempt of court request could find Thompson facing jail time, though it is more likely that 'fines, judicial admonishment or censure' would result from this most recent turn of events. The report also notes that attorneys representing the Philadelphia law firm Blank-Rome have filed a 'Petition for Order to Show Cause,' which requires Thompson to illustrate to a judge why he should not be held in contempt."

Re:I dislike him as much as the next guy...

[AceCaseOR]

He tried that when he ran for Florida State Attorney General against Janet Reno and lost. He then tried to get Ms. Reno to admit she was a lesbian being blackmailed by the mob. He failed. He accused her of it (being a lesbian that was being blackmailed by the mob) anyway.

Jack Thompson works for Take 2......

[onkelonkel]

His guerilla maketing campaign for Bully has been nothing short of brilliant. Thanks to Jack, Bully has been at the top of the headlines for weeks and weeks prior to its release.

Well done, I say.

Re:Is it just me?

[Control Group]

Nah. Level 0 NPCs with a class get an automatic max roll on that class' appropriate hit die. Level 0 NPCs without a class get 6 HP (default hit die is 1d6). Yes, this does mean that a non-classed NPC will have more HP than a level 0 or 1 magic user, but them's the breaks.

At least, that's how it work at my table.

Re:Wow. He has officially flipped.

[Keith Russell]

IANAL, but I can't see how it could be relevant. Contempt of court usually means the judge said either "Do X" or "Don't do X", and then the person did the contrary in violation of the order.

Well, there's a sort of Zeroth "Don't Do X" Law in any courtroom: Don't go off on a foaming-at-the-mouth rant about the judge's decisions/competence/parentage, or your whiny ass is headed to jail.

Re:Jack Thompson works for Take 2......

[shigelojoe]

Now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. Take a controversial public figure, pay him to do what he's famous for, and set up a false conflict. Gamers will flock to your product out of spite for your 'enemy', and anyone who's convinced by his rhetoric wouldn't be buying your games in the first place. Genius!

Well, except for the judicial system wanting your head on a pike after they find out you've been using the courtroom as a PR outlet. Nothing a few campaign contributions wouldn't fix, though...

i am locution - and bored

[hxnwix]

"You want to play hardball...? You want to try to throw me in jail? You have no idea what you are unleashing in doing this. You're at the brink..."

That's pretty contemptible remark there, bully boy. You know, the judge didn't even make his last ruling with prejudice. I think that the next time you are struck down, you won't even be appealing to him anymore. Sure, you'll be able make all the noise you want, but he won't hear you!

One really shouldn't be playing brinksmanship when he has so many holes in case. But really, on the hole, I think this judge is feeling pretty good. Eh hole? Hahahah. Yeah Jack, I'm flaming you. Burn in hell.

Re:Is it just me?

[budgenator]

yeah extremely high stamina, but charisma, kids? Generally the porblem with their stamina is their lack of charisma; do you have any idea how many questions a sugar-rushed three year old can ask in five minutes?

Re:Is it just me?

[Deef]

I play D&D too, and I can tell you... how much damage they do depends a great deal on what you choose to launch with them. (Suggestions: ink, flour, glue, oil, holy water, acid, caltrops, alchemist's fire, thunderstones, poison darts, scorpions, etc.) Add rapid shot and multishot, and it starts to get to be some serious damage. The weapon requires a bit of creativity, but I think hearing the GM say "you're launching WHAT at the monster?!?" makes it totally worth it. :-)

Re:Is it just me?

[ultranova]

Yes, but level 0 children only get 2d2-1 hit points. (No idea really, just making this up - for the one purist who actually knows how many hit points level 0 children get.)

In 3.5, level 1 Commoner (adult) gets 1d4 hit points. A slingshot makes 1d3 points of damage (1d4 if used by an adult), so a very lucky kid can take 4 hits before dying, but can die from the first and is likely to die at the second hit.

Of course this all assumes that the kid is really a kid and not a skull child or some other hideous monster in disguise. And there's nothing quite like when the sunlight suddenly gets blocked by a shadow, allowing you to see that the theird markings on the kid you've been making fun of for the past half an hour are really scales, and then noticing that the shadow that's getting bigger all the time really looks like a pair of giant wings ;)...

And the sad thing is that I've never played the game, but just read the rulebooks for kicks ;(.