[19:19] <+LesterSmith> Hi, everybody. I’m Lester Smith. Used to work full-time for Game Designers’ Workshop, and later for TSR, and did a bunch of freelance work for others.
[19:21] <+LesterSmith> For the past many years, I’ve been working full-time in educational publishing, but I run a little hobby publisher on the side, called Popcorn Press.
[19:22] <+LesterSmith> We’ve published lots of poetry, and some fiction, including a Halloween anthology every year. (You’re all welcome to submit pieces to that, if you like. Check (Link: http://cthulhuhaiku2.com/)http://cthulhuhaiku2.com/ for last year’s.)
[19:23] <+LesterSmith> And last year I started publishing some games again, card games funded by Kickstarter projects to pay for the art.
[19:23] <+LesterSmith> You can find all of this at (Link: http://www.PopcornPress.com,)www.PopcornPress.com, by the way.
[19:25] <+LesterSmith> Last July, I decided to return to role-playing design and at Quincon ran a “players are ghosts” scenario using what is now becoming the CORE RPG. (That’s how I usually refer to it, though the d6xd6 designation can be seen on the cover.)
[19:26] <+LesterSmith> You can follow either the (Link: http://www.corerpg.com)www.corerpg.com URL or (Link: http://www.d6xd6.com)www.d6xd6.com to see what’s going on.
[19:26] <+LesterSmith> So here’s the basic elevator pitch…
[19:27] <+LesterSmith> The CORE RPG is a quick-and-easy character creation system, based on a unique dice mechanic (1d6x1d6) and a single stat: Focus.
[19:28] <+LesterSmith> Character creation takes about 5 minutes, and you can create literally anything.
[19:29] <+LesterSmith> Choose name, sex, age, occupation (which is your overall “skill”), and up to 8 secondary skills from a list of about 20.
[19:30] <+LesterSmith> The number you choose, plus 1 for your occupation, becomes your character’s Focus rating.
[19:30] <+LesterSmith> To succeed at your occupation, or one of your chosen skills, roll above that Focus rating.
[19:30] <+LesterSmith> To succeed at a rusty skill, or one you don’t know at all, you roll low instead.
[19:31] <+LesterSmith> For each 10 points higher than your Focus, you get a bonus effect. When rolling low, 5 points below your Focus can give a bonus effect.
[19:32] <+LesterSmith> Also, you have four basic attributes: Wits, Will, Brawn, and Grace. You circle one of those as your main one (it’s Focused) and cross out one as your weakness. The other two are “Rusty.”
[19:32] <+LesterSmith> That’s character creation…
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[19:33] <~Dan> (Howdy, Sharpe! Q&A in progress, #rpgnet2 open for general chat. 🙂 )
[19:33] <+LesterSmith> Layered onto that is a modular combat system that can be played abstractly or with map and miniatures…
[19:34] <+LesterSmith> And layered onto that is a series of settings based mainly on a couple dozen popular authors’ works.
[19:35] <+LesterSmith> We’ll be running a Kickstarter next month to pay those authors to write their settings chapters, and for some extra art, but the game rules and a couple of settings will remain online for free.
[19:35] <+LesterSmith> That’s the pitch. I think I’m done. Ready for questions.
[19:35] <~Dan> Thanks, Lester!
[19:35] <~Dan> The floor is open to questions!
[19:35] <+Abstruse> What settings will you have to start off with? Not counting stretch goals…
[19:36] <+Rasyr> So, to be clear, the only number is Focus, and that ranges from 1 to 9, correct?
[19:36] <~Dan> Oh, man. does he have settings… 🙂
[19:36] <+xyphoid> So you’re deciding between knowing a lot of skills (and being bad at your main one) or a few (and being bad at most things?)
[19:36] <+Sharpe> What’s the kickstarter address?
[19:36] <~Dan> (Question pause.)
[19:36] <+Sharpe> (Sorry, “next month.”)
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[19:37] <~Dan> (Welcome to #rpgnet, Sean! Here for the Q&A?)
[19:37] <+LesterSmith> Free settings will be “Ghost of a Chance,” “Chambers & Chimaeras,” and “Blood Type,” for sure. Probably a “Core” setting as well, something of an underground anthill society.
[19:38] <+LesterSmith> Re Focus, you’re exactly correct. Choose only a few skills and your number is low, so you’re really good at them but lousy at others.
[19:38] <+Sharpe> (I take it “Chambers & Chimaeras” will be fantasy. 😉 )
[19:39] <+LesterSmith> Choose lots of skills, and you’re less good at them, but decent with even things you don’t officially know. Jack of all trades.
[19:39] <+LesterSmith> Every adventure gives you a few Drama Points to start with, to adjust dice rolls when you really need.
[19:40] <+LesterSmith> “Chambers & Chimaeras” (which I realize is incorrectly pronounced) is role-play in the fantasy world of 1980
[19:40] <+LesterSmith> s
[19:40] <+LesterSmith> 1980’s Saturday morning cartoons.
[19:41] * +Sharpe squeals like a schoolgirl
[19:41] <+Abstruse> (“Wow! A Chambers & Chimaeras ride!”)
[19:41] * ~Dan chuckles
[19:41] <+Sharpe> (LOL!)
[19:41] <+LesterSmith> In that setting, weapons are good only for defending against rays, can’t do any damage to flesh. And less experienced characters have to wear more armor than true heroes.
[19:42] <+Abstruse> (Sorry, had to remind myself that He-Man and Thundercats were both fantasy in a way.)
[19:42] <+Sharpe> (“Science Fantasy,” I call them.)
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[19:43] <+LesterSmith> Yeah, C&C is all about “Now, to this broken land have come the evil Skele-Mat and his champion chimaera* Tia-Tor, determined to enslave the world. Opposing them are the heroic He-darr the Barbarian, carrying the magical Sunday Sword, and his companions the Aerial Princess and Uckla the Mook.”
[19:44] <+Rasyr> The Sunday Sword! It has Mass appeal! Righteous!
[19:44] <+LesterSmith> But He-darr and friends are busy, so you’ve been summoned from an ancient amusement park by the Chamber Master to help.
[19:44] <~Dan> (I hope he’ll be offering Chamber pot.)
[19:45] <+LesterSmith> Yup. The legendary “Sunday Sword”!
[19:45] <+LesterSmith> Most of the settings are more serious, of course.
[19:45] <+LesterSmith> And Doug Niles’ Watershed trilogy got the ball rolling.
[19:46] <~Dan> I think I have the core mechanic down, but I’m not sure… Can you give an example?
[19:46] <+LesterSmith> Well, say you’ve decided to be a children’s TV show host (an actual character from one of our playtests).
[19:47] <+LesterSmith> And you’ve chosen 5 skills to round things out, like “Automobile” and “Lockpicking” and three others.
[19:47] <+LesterSmith> So your focus is 6.
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[19:48] <~Dan> With you so far.
[19:48] <+LesterSmith> And you tell me, “I want to convince this person to invite me into her home.”
[19:49] <+LesterSmith> So I, as game host, say, “That sounds like a reasonable use of your TV personality. We’ll call that a Focused ability.”
[19:49] <+LesterSmith> And you roll a 16.
[19:50] <+LesterSmith> So you succeeded, and actually got 10 above, for an extra success. I say, “Not only are you welcomed in, but she breaks out a bottle of wine.”
[19:50] <~Dan> Okay, I got that.
[19:50] <+LesterSmith> Then later, you want to jump on a motorcycle, but you don’t have that skill. A roll of 16 would mean you failed.
[19:51] <~Dan> Can I stop you there for a moment?
[19:51] <+LesterSmith> A 16 would be 4 x 4, but you have those Drama Points, and you could spend 3 to make it 1 x 4, for a success instead.
[19:51] <+LesterSmith> Listening…
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[19:51] <~Dan> Okay, so in the case of a skill I don’t know, I’m trying to roll under my focus, right?
[19:52] <+LesterSmith> Yup. Unknown skill is under. Unfocused (rusty) skill is your Focus or under. Focused is above your rating.
[19:53] <~Dan> So… if I were trying to ride a motorcycle but didn’t know how, I’d be better off if I knew a bunch of skills?
[19:53] <+LesterSmith> Exactly.
[19:53] <~Dan> Hmm.
[19:54] <~Dan> Because… I’m more of a generalist?
[19:54] <+LesterSmith> The idea is that the more things you know a little about, the better you are at adapting to something unknow.
[19:54] <+LesterSmith> n.
[19:54] <+LesterSmith> Exactly.
[19:54] <+LesterSmith> Jack of all trades, master of none.
[19:54] <~Dan> Huh. Interesting.
[19:54] <~Dan> And how to the attributes relate?
[19:55] <+LesterSmith> Attributes exist for two reasons:
[19:55] <+LesterSmith> (1) During character creation, they’re a quick way to envision your character’s mental and physical nature overall.
[19:56] <+LesterSmith> (2) During play, they can serve as “Saving Throws” if the game host needs and you have no applicable occupation or skill.
[19:56] <~Dan> I see.
[19:57] <~Dan> So how does combat work?
[19:58] <+LesterSmith> In a nutshell, each round is 2 seconds. The game host decides what the bad guys are planning, then asks the players to declare their actions…
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[19:58] <~Dan> (Howdy, MonkofLords!)
[19:59] <+LesterSmith> Then everybody rolls. The game host rolls a handful (2 dice for each creature) and assigns them.
[19:59] <+LesterSmith> Each person’s roll counts for three things:
[19:59] <+LesterSmith> (1) turn order (starting at 36 and counting downward).
[20:00] <+LesterSmith> (2) Success or failure.
[20:00] <+LesterSmith> (3) And amount of damage, based on a scale of Graze, Stun, Hit, Wound, Knockout, Kill.
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[20:01] <+LesterSmith> Fist starts at Graze, but if you got 20 points above what you needed to hit, it would become a Hit instead.
[20:01] <+LesterSmith> Other attacks start at different levels, based on weapon lethality.
[20:02] * ~Dan nods
[20:02] <+LesterSmith> Ranges are Brawl (within 2 meters), Throw (within 20), Shoot (within 200), Sight (within 2km, for psi or magic), and Lost (beyond 2km).
[20:03] <+LesterSmith> There are some optional rules, like choosing one player as squad leader, who rolls all the heroes’ dice and assigns them, and “Second Wind,” for taking a moment to recover a bit.
[20:04] <+LesterSmith> And remember you can use those Drama Points to affect your roll.
[20:04] <~Dan> To increase or decrease rolls, as needed?
[20:05] <+LesterSmith> So it moves pretty quickly. I ran something last weekend with four seasoned PCs against a mob of 8 villagers led by a villain and a giant eyeball. It moved right along.
[20:05] <+Abstruse> You said “free settings”. Is this going to be released under some form of OGL or Creative Commons? Or did you just mean that come with the “core” rulebook, for lack of a non-pun word…
[20:05] <+LesterSmith> Yup. Each Drama Point can push one die result up or down a number, before the multiplication.
[20:06] <~Dan> (brb — please continue)
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[20:06] <+LesterSmith> And as Game Host, I can set a penalty of 1-3 points before the roll.
[20:07] <+LesterSmith> Re OGL, I’m planning something along those lines. Just haven’t done it before, so I want to get it right.
[20:08] <+LesterSmith> The rules and a few settings will remain free online. The Kickstarter is to fund publication of the rules with all the settings in an ebook and print book.
[20:09] <~Dan-brb> (back)
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[20:10] <+LesterSmith> By the way, I’m giving a free promo die ((Link: http://lestersmith.com/2014/05/28/dice-dice-baby/)http://lestersmith.com/2014/05/28/dice-dice-baby/) to anyone who plays at events I’m running at conventions this year. Check the lower right sidebar at (Link: http://www.lestersmith.com)www.lestersmith.com for a list of cons.
[20:11] <+LesterSmith> And I’ve done a couple of Google Hangouts sessions. Plan on some more.
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[20:11] <~Dan> LesterSmith: You said that you can make anything with the system. Mind if I poke and prod a bit to test that? 🙂
[20:12] <+LesterSmith> Poke and prod away! That’s largely why I’ve been drafting the rules online. (The combat chapter in particular has been through many incarnations, and things continue to be tweaked.)
[20:12] <~Dan> Like, let’s take superheroes for example, for which I see you have at least one setting… How would you handle super-strength? It doesn’t seem like strength would have a direct impact on damage.
[20:13] <~Dan> And let’s stipulate that I want a “brick” type hero.
[20:13] <+LesterSmith> Sure.
[20:15] <+LesterSmith> The setting would list another layer of “Powers.” (I’ve done it with ghostly powers, for example.) And Super Strength would have four possible levels of success, from basic to that one time you roll a 36 against a Focus of 6 or less.
[20:16] <+LesterSmith> So we’d just say the basic level would knock out a normal human, maybe. And max effect would knock a hole through steel, or whatever’s appropriate for the specific setting.
[20:16] <+LesterSmith> I’m making that up off the top of my head, of course. But that’s the point of writing each of these setting chapters.
[20:17] <~Dan> Sure.
[20:17] <~Dan> Would you agree that the design leads to some relatively coarse scaling?
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[20:18] <+LesterSmith> Definitely. It’s intended to be an easy game, welcoming to new players, and playable quickly at conventions or as pick-up sessions between other games.
[20:18] <+LesterSmith> But it does have some legs, too, allowing for character experience and growth.
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[20:18] <~Dan> It seems like it would be comparable to Over the Edge in utility.
[20:19] <+Abstruse> What’s your plann for support on the game?
[20:19] <~Dan> (I mean that in a good way.)
[20:19] <+LesterSmith> Re support…
[20:19] <+Abstruse> (Over the Edge is the system Dan runs his chatroom pick-up games, so that’s a compliment)
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[20:20] <+LesterSmith> I’d originally thought I’d be writing all these settings myself and had planned fantasy, modern horror, psychic powers, gangsters, supers, space opera, etc.
[20:21] <+LesterSmith> Then we started publishing Doug Niles’ Watershed novels as ebooks, and I was so impressed with his unique fantasy setting that I asked, “Can I use this as the fantasy setting for CORE?”
[20:22] <+LesterSmith> When he said yes, something clicked in my head, and I wrote “cold call” letters to four other authors I’d never met, but whose work I loved, and whose worlds I thought would make great settings.
[20:22] <+LesterSmith> They all said yes, too!
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[20:22] <~Dan> Funny how that works sometimes. 🙂
[20:23] <+LesterSmith> And the concept changed to gathering as many possible authors and creators as I could into one big cross-promotional project.
[20:23] <~Dan> People sometime ask me how I get game authors such as yourself to show up for a Q&A. I tell them, “Well, I… asked?”
[20:23] <~Dan> That’s a great idea. 🙂
[20:23] * +GenoFoxx waits for the obligatory space opera/mecha setting
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[20:23] <~Dan> (Howdy, MonochromeTide!0
[20:24] <~Dan> )
[20:24] <+LesterSmith> So, in regards to support, I want to continue doing 2,000 to 2,500 word setting chapters that link out to novels and films, which people can then use as inspiration for their games.
[20:24] <+LesterSmith> I’d rather “sell” you on someone else’s fantastic trilogy than have to write a 64-page module.
[20:25] <~Dan> Sure.
[20:25] <+LesterSmith> (Because again, this is hobby work, outside my full-time job.) 😀
[20:25] * ~Dan chuckles
[20:26] <~Dan> If I could go back to the basic mechanic, something odd just came to me…
[20:26] <~Dan> It seems as though not only can you not improve skills, but that learning more skills would make you worse at all of them.
[20:26] <~Dan> Am I missing something?
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[20:27] <+LesterSmith> Yes.
[20:27] <+LesterSmith> Experience works this way…
[20:27] <+LesterSmith> For each 3 Drama Points you don’t burn during play…
[20:28] <+LesterSmith> you can buy one Experience Point to adjust skills…
[20:29] <+LesterSmith> With one XP, you can either (1) move a skill from Unknown to Unfocused, (2) move one from Unfocused to Focused, (3) move one from Focused to Unfocused, or (4) put a + on a Focused skill.
[20:30] <+LesterSmith> That + stays with the skill even if you move it to Unfocused later, and it automatically gives you a bonus level of effect when you succeed with the skill.
[20:30] <+LesterSmith> You can have up to 3 +’s on any one skill.
[20:31] <+LesterSmith> So this lets you adjust your focus up or down, and build up a repertoire of things you’re halfway decent at, though you may not focus on them any longer.
[20:31] <~Dan> But if you learn new skills, you automatically dilute your focus, don’t you?
[20:32] <+LesterSmith> If all you did was add them to your “Focused” list, yes. You’re becoming less focused by juggling multiple things…
[20:33] <+LesterSmith> But by moving some of them back to “Unfocused,” you’re keeping that multiple effect possibility (rolling 5 below your Focus rating), plus the +’s you’ve accumulated on the skill.
[20:34] <~Dan> But would it be fair to say that the game’s not really designed to handle “super-skilled” characters?
[20:34] <+LesterSmith> Frankly, I think this is more representative of real life, where if I don’t use my Spanish minor for a few years, it grows rusty.
[20:34] <+Sharpe> “Super-skilled” like Batman and me in real life.
[20:35] * ~Dan chuckles
[20:35] <+LesterSmith> 🙂
[20:35] <~Dan> Let me give you a specific example of what I mean..
[20:35] <+LesterSmith> You and Batman would probably have a Focus rating of 6 or 7 in this game, with 3 +’s accumulated on everything, and nothing “Unknown.”
[20:36] <~Dan> To go to the super route again, suppose I want to make a “super-archer” like Green Arrow. Is that doable given the coarse skill system?
[20:36] <+LesterSmith> I don’t see why not.
[20:37] <+LesterSmith> First, Green Arrow would have “Shooting” Focused, and would have accumulated several +’s on it.
[20:37] <~Dan> Right, but that wouldn’t make him better at hitting — just at hitting better when he does hit, right?
[20:37] <+LesterSmith> Second, the setting he exists in would probably define his Shooting as a specialized power.
[20:38] <+LesterSmith> Right. But by keeping his Focus lower, he’d hit lots, especially with judicious use of those Drama Points.
[20:38] * ~Dan nods
[20:39] <+LesterSmith> I mean, even Green Arrow has to miss sometimes, or there’s no plot.
[20:39] <~Dan> So a Batman or a Doc Savage type would be more difficult to model, I’m gathering.
[20:39] <+LesterSmith> I’ve thought about those examples before.
[20:40] <+LesterSmith> It comes down to setting definitions.
[20:40] <~Dan> (I’m not trying to “break” your system, I promise! 🙂 )
[20:40] <+Sharpe> Batman, Doc Savage, or Sharpe, you mean.
[20:40] <~Dan> Or Sharpe, yes.
[20:40] <+Sharpe> 🙂
[20:41] <+LesterSmith> Doc Savage’s “Occupation” would be “Ideal Human” for example.
[20:41] <~Dan> Ah, I confess that I forgot about Occupation.
[20:41] <+LesterSmith> By definition, he’d be more effective at his rolls than other people.
[20:42] <+Sharpe> Not to bring up GURPS in every system conversation, but I’ll admit there’s one character that gives that system pause, even. Green Lantern.
[20:42] <+LesterSmith> Yup. Each setting can list its own special “Occupations,” “Skills,” and “Powers” as needed.
[20:43] <~Dan> Are Occupations pre-defined, then? Or are they completely open as are Central Traits in Over the Edge?
[20:43] <+LesterSmith> In the CORE RPG, Green Lantern might need his own setting. Dunno.
[20:44] <+LesterSmith> The Occupations list gives 13 (if I remember) broad categories that fit pretty much every historical period, with a few examples of each. But that’s just a springboard to get the players thinking.
[20:45] <+LesterSmith> As I mentioned, we had a children’s TV host in one game, which is something I’ve never encountered before.
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[20:46] <+LesterSmith> And sometimes the game host will have to ask some questions to further define the character’s occupation. Like one guy said “Engineer,” and I asked, “What kind of engineering?”
[20:46] <~Dan> Right, right…
[20:46] <+LesterSmith> He settled on Civil Engineer, specifically city architecture.
[20:47] <~Dan> But Occupation would be limited to skill effects, right?
[20:47] <~Dan> In other words, would it make sense to have an Occupation like “Wizard” or “Superhero”?
[20:47] <+LesterSmith> Later in the game, he said he wanted to call to mind the details of a sewer tunnel near where he had built something, and it sounded reasonable to me. If he’d have said “nuclear submarine details,” I’d have said “I don’t think so.”
[20:48] <+Janus> Woohoo! No more dialup!
[20:48] <+LesterSmith> In some settings, like the Dragon Dice one, “Magic User” is definitely an occupation.
[20:49] <~Dan> Speaking of which, do you have any baseline for the way, say, magic or psionics work? Or are those totally setting-specific?
[20:49] <+LesterSmith> And even in a regular modern setting, one person wanted to be a spirit medium. I asked her “really psychic, or a performer.” She decided on performer, but I’d have allowed the other.
[20:49] <+LesterSmith> Different settings do define those powers differently.
[20:50] <+LesterSmith> But that brings me to the Game Host again…
[20:50] <+LesterSmith> The Host’s creatures fall into four categories:
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[20:51] <+LesterSmith> (1) Critters: Which are regular animals that might cause a hazard to the heroes.
[20:52] <+LesterSmith> (2) Minions: Who are the pawns and lieutenants in any villain’s organization. They tend to have Unfocused combat abilities but a high Focus number, making them slow when successful and not do a lot of damage.
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[20:52] <+Catseye> hi
[20:52] <+Abstruse> (Hi Catseye…Q&A’s still going on right now with Lester Smith!)
[20:53] <+LesterSmith> (3) Villains: Who, when present, can decide which of their minions get which dice, meaning as Host when I roll a handful of dice for my team, I can match up 6s and such for best effect.
[20:53] <+LesterSmith> And (4) Monsters: Which often have abilities outside the definitions of the setting, borrowed from others. Psychic powers in a non-psychic setting, for example.
[20:54] <+Abstruse> Is your Kickstarter going to be for just the main book or are you going to have sourcebooks as stretch goals?
[20:54] <+LesterSmith> Some monsters are just friggin’ huge, instead, meaning they require multiple “Kill” effects before being defeated.
[20:54] <~Dan> Ah, I was wondering about that.
[20:54] <+LesterSmith> Good question Abstruse.
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[20:55] <+LesterSmith> I’m modeling this somewhat on Robin Laws’ Hillfolk Kickstarter from last year. (I wrote a ghost setting for that, too.)
[20:55] <~Dan> (insert ghost writer joke here)
[20:56] <+LesterSmith> The idea is that the game book will be as big as needed to fit whatever settings are funded. I think.
[20:56] <+Abstruse> (Diana Jones Award nominated Hillfolk, you mean.)
[20:56] <+LesterSmith> Then again, I may just do this as an “I’m going to publish this anyway” project, as I’ve done with the Halloween anthologies the past two years.
[20:56] <~Dan> Quick administrative note here…
[20:57] <~Dan> LesterSmith, you are more than welcome to hang out with us as long as you like and continue to field questions. For that matter, you’re always welcome to hang out with us here and/or talk about your projects.
[20:58] <+LesterSmith> Thanks. 🙂
[20:58] <~Dan> That said, is there anything that we haven’t covered so far that you’d like to have included in the discussion log?
[20:58] <+Abstruse> I had one last question about the Kickstarter…what’s your base buy-in pledge going to be for print and PDFs?
[20:58] <+LesterSmith> Don’t know yet, Abstruse. I’m calculating.
[20:59] <+LesterSmith> The ebook version is easier to figure, as it’s just pay for the writing and art.
[20:59] <+LesterSmith> The print version is more difficult, as extra pages means more cost.
[20:59] <+Abstruse> Better to get a “don’t know” answer that one that’s unresearched.
[21:00] <+LesterSmith> I’ve been calculating. And I’ve done a half dozen Kickstarters before, so I recognize the pinch points.
[21:02] <+LesterSmith> What I might do is an ebook only Kickstarter, with a special print price deal afterward for backers. Kickstarter doesn’t allow discounts, but sometimes creative thinking can find another way.
[21:03] <+LesterSmith> One thing I’m definitely planning for this Kickstarter is to make the “Pre-launch Preview” page visible to anybody who wants to see it and comment.
[21:04] <~Dan> Interesting idea.
[21:04] <+LesterSmith> I’ve got just 19 days to get it figured out, though. 🙂 Ack.
[21:06] <+LesterSmith> If there aren’t any more questions, I’d just like to point out the contact form at (Link: http://www.corerpg.com.)www.corerpg.com. I’d love to hear from anyone there, or via the similar form at (Link: http://www.lestersmith.com.)www.lestersmith.com.
[21:07] <~Dan> Thanks so much for chatting with us, Lester! And, again, there’s no need to run off if you’d like to hang out longer. 🙂
[21:07] <~Dan> Regardless, if you can hang out just a sec, I’ll get the chat log posted and get you the link.
[21:07] <+LesterSmith> Okee doke. Thanks for the interest, everyone. I appreciate your time, questions, and comments. It’s been instructive.
