Amelia

Everyone who enters the House, make one (1) DC20 Notice check, and three (3) Will saves. The Notice check is to pick up on the fact that someone's trying to read their minds (a Subtle Mental effect). The first Will save is a contested check against the House's Mind Reading power, so the DC is the result of the house's check. House's Mind Reading power checks: Against L0vel@ce: 13. Against Gremlin: 27. Against Hitter: 22. The three Mind Reading effects will roll out one by one over the first 18 seconds they're in the House. If the House wins, its first "question" is "What do you fear?" If you fail that save, go ahead and post the answer here. The other two Will saves are both against a static DC20, first for the Illusion power, and second for the Emotion Control (Fear) power. Those are both Selective Area effects, so they hit everyone at once, one right after the other, during the next 12 seconds. I'll describe the effects in my next IC GM post for anyone who fails. The House isn't going to inflict worse than a Shaken result from the Fear effect, no matter how badly anyone fails that save. All this happens in the first 30 seconds after they enter.

GM The viewing panel slammed shut. Behind the door, snickers and giggles steadily escalated into a full cackle. Then the double mahogany doors creaked as the slowly slid open, revealing a poorly lit antechamber, mahogany paneled walls rising up from a marble floor covered with a large Persian rug. Several smaller mats lined the walls, and the antechamber was flanked with closets on both sides. Another set of double-doors waited at the other end of the antechamber. Those, too, opened inward by unseen hands, showing a two-story foyer, just as poorly lit, with the same marble floors and Persian rugs. An enormous crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, glittering with the dim light reflected from the electric fixtures sparingly mounted to the walls. Twin staircases at the far end which spiraled up to a second-floor walkway and wooden safety-rail lining the room, which faded into walkways in several directions. Vaguely humanoid shapes ascended the stairs and moved along the second-story walkway. The voice continued from behind one of the front doors, still lingering on certain syllables. "Uninvited...though you mayyy beee...ennnter freeeeely...annnd of your owwwnnn willlll. I cannn...take your coats...annnd any other...possssessssions...of which you wisssh...to be relieved. Welcome...to the Twilight...Lodge."

Grim sees NOTHING!

Since the Disease Transform effect is Incurable, per the modified version of that power feat in Ultimate Power on the "Disease" power, none of Strix's tending to his patients with his Medicine skill will give them any kind of saving throw bonuses. But he's still going to try.

GM Mutt led Wadjet across the river to the southern shore of Bedlam, up the steep hills past the docks and warehouses of the Greely Point harbor and down to the southeast slopes, where the oak and elm trees loomed over Griswold Street, shading the 19th-century mansions where the oldest of Bedlam's old money slept. The house Mutt tried to lead her to was the largest one she could see, when she could see it. But it took her a few tries. The trees and grass near it were all grey, dried out and dead. That seemed like it should bother her, but it made a strange kind of sense. She kept losing track of Mutt, kept wandering toward one of the neighboring houses instead, before he'd run back in front of her and start herding her again. She kept forgetting where she was going. It was hard to look directly at the house for very long. Once the ghost-dog practically dragged her to the front door, the light bulbs inside the twin glass paneled ironwrought lamps mounted on either side of the doors came on, and the double mahogany doors opened, seemingly by themselves. A raspy voice hissed, "Pleeeeease, come inssside. Weee've been expecting you."

Mister Strix As soon as his party teleported into the dungeon level deep below the Twilight Lodge, the man in white started barking orders at the zombie guards. This sense of urgency and lack of courtesy from him was as unprecedented as the burst of activity in what used to be the least-used part of the whole building. "You, take Mister Lee to one of the silver cells and help him secure that piece of trash he's hauling. Burt, there's a fridge full of blood in the kitchen if you want a carrot to go with your stick. You, grab whoever you want from upstairs, tell them to drop whatever they're doing and help you! Make sure two more of the silver cells have fresh bedding and washing tubs, and have food and drink brought down here! Something light! No alcohol! And let the upstairs crew know that I'm expecting another guest to arrive at any moment. Let her in and bring her to my office as soon as she arrives! Show her every courtesy! You, clear off that table! NOW!" He turned back to the nurse and orderly he'd brought with him from the hospital, speaking in calm, even tones. "You're going to be my guests for a couple of days. Your patient, Ms. Delgado, had some kind of contagion, and she might have infected you. So we need to quarantine you. Public safety. This is a secure facility. We'll make you comfortable. Follow me." The two mortals both stared back at him with unfocused eyes and slack jaws and nodded slowly. He led them to the table the zombie had just cleared off, where he dumped the armful of medical supplies he'd carried with him. "Ms. Delgado's chart showed symptoms similar to the flu, so I'm going to set you up with a saline drip to keep you hydrated, and I'm going to give you every kind of post-exposure prophylaxis there is." He reassured them as he worked, injecting needles into their arms and connecting plastic tubing to bags of fluid he hung on wheeled metal racks. "Take them to their cells," he instructed the zombie guards. Once the prisoners were secured, he looked up at the ceiling, and growled, to no one in particular, "Unless they turn, these people are my guests. Leave them be." Then he whispered more orders to the guards. "I'll be back to check on them as often as I can, but keep eyes on them at all times. Task two of the incorporeals, and instruct them to remain unseen. Let me know if there's any change in their condition. If I'm not here, call me with the house line. Accommodate any requests you can - books, games, food, drink, anything to make them more comfortable. But no booze. Blood thinners are the last thing they need right now. And do not open those cells without my approval, under any circumstances. If the pattern holds, then in three days, either they'll stay alive, or they'll die, they'll get back up, and I'll have to put them back down again."

Fire: Fratboy #4 is now the only one who's both alive and on fire, so he's the only one who burns. Fratboy #4's Toughness save (DC20): 7. With his Injuries, that's actually 5. He fails by 15, so he's Bruised, Injured, and Dazed again, and also now Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, and Dying. Fortitude save (DC10): 1. He's Dead, outside the alley and just around the corner. You can probably still smell him. Grim Diddle: Move Action x2: Responding to the telepathic instructions, he takes two move actions to move out of the street and back toward the alleys, but not the alley that he came from, since there's still scary fire, but the next one over. End of round. Initiative & Conditions Summary Woodchuck Man: 27, Unharmed Ethan Pfeffner, Fratboy #1: 20, Bruised, Injured, Shaken, Dazed Fratboy #2: 20, Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Dead, Shaken, Prone Fratboy #3: 20, Bruised x2, Injured x2, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Shaken, Prone Fratboy #4: 20, Bruised x3, Injured x3, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Dead, Shaken, Frightened, Prone Fratboy #5: 20, Shaken, Frightened, Panicked Fratboy #6: 20, Shaken, Frightened, Panicked [Other]: 19, Unharmed Mister Strix: 12, 2HP, Injured, Fatigued, Prone Dead Head: 11, 2HP, Unharmed Fire: 10 Grim Diddle: 4, Unharmed Homeless Man: -, Helpless, Bruised, Injured Beginning of Next Round: Woodchuck Man: His previous move actions got him around the next building and at the mouth of the next alley over, and Grim Diddle's last move action put him next to the Woodchuck Man, who will now Delay his action so that he and Grim Diddle can both move together on GD's turn. Ethan Pfeffner: Dazed. Fratboy #2: Dead. Fratboy #3: Unconscious and Dying. Fratboy #4: Dead. Fratboys #5-6: New Will saves: 13, 3. Still Panicked. Full Action: Move All-Out away from the alley. [Other]: Standard Action: Uses Mind Reading on Dead Head. Mind Reading power check: 12. Dead Head beats him if he rolls anything but a "1" on his Will save. Move Action: More Mental Communication. Both the Communication to someone else and the attempt to read Dead Head's mind will ping Dead Head's Mental Awareness. Mister Strix: Reaction: He spends a Hero Point to get rid of his Fatigued condition. Move Action: He stands up. Notice check (DC10): 22. He's still got the Woodchuck Man's scent. Move Action: He follows the Woodchuck Man's trail around the building into the next alley over. With 500ft, he's easily got enough to reach him. He stops at least 10ft short of him. Free Action: Swap his array to the Mind Reading blood drain. Free Action: Surge. Standard Action: Charge the Woodchuck Man to initiate a grapple. All-Out Attack for +2/-2. That's +12 Attack, +4 Defense. Attack roll (DC20): 13. Natural "1". Reaction: He'll burn his last Hero Point to re-roll. Attack roll (DC20, Hero Point re-roll): 20. Just barely. Grapple check: 19. Another. Natural. One. Woodchuck Man's Grapple check: 16. He only fails by 3, so he's Pinned. That's enough for Strix's Requires-Grapple power to go off. Strix's Mind Reading power check: 19. Woodchuck Man's Will save: 16. That fails against the Mind Reading power check, so Strix gets to ask his first question, and that fails by 3 against the Nauseate effect, so he's Sickened (-2 to all rolls). Strix's Mind Probe Question: "Where is the little girl?" Initiative & Conditions Summary Woodchuck Man: 27, Pinned, Sickened Ethan Pfeffner, Fratboy #1: 20, Bruised, Injured, Shaken Fratboy #2: 20, Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Dead, Shaken, Prone Fratboy #3: 20, Bruised x2, Injured x2, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Shaken, Prone Fratboy #4: 20, Bruised x3, Injured x3, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Dead, Shaken, Frightened, Prone Fratboy #5: 20, Shaken, Frightened, Panicked Fratboy #6: 20, Shaken, Frightened, Panicked [Other]: 19, Unharmed Mister Strix: 12, 0HP, Injured Dead Head: 11, 2HP, Unharmed Fire: 10 Grim Diddle: 4, Unharmed Homeless Man: -, Helpless, Bruised, Injured Dead Head is up again.

Mister Strix The man in white pushed himself up from the ground and dragged himself to his feet as the bulk of his brain and skull slid back into place and re-fused the broken pieces together. He turned around and scanned the ground, quickly identifying the shattered remnants of the brick which had pulverized the back of his head a few moments ago. He glared up at the alley wall above him. It wouldn't be a stretch for the buildings on Ash Street to start coming apart at the seams. But those bricks aren't loose. Someone pried this one out and threw it at me. He growled and took off running back down the alley, past Dead Head and the burning frat boys he was putting out, a white blur vanishing around the corner. As soon as he made it around the building, he caught sight of the Woodchuck Man and his glowing companion. The man in white roared like a tiger and pounced on the Woodchuck Man, burying his fangs in the furry creature's neck. He tastes even worse than he smells. Mister Strix shuddered as the drops of the creature's blood hit his tongue. He strained to focus past the rush of pleasure, to read the psychic resonance absorbed into the creature's blood. He saw a thousand ghostly images all superimposed upon one another, Mentally, he began pushing them aside, sifting through them for the memories he needed. Show me...Where is the girl?!

GM The air was thick with the stench of burning gasoline and burning flesh. Dead Head would be choking on it if he still breathed. The alley was still a chaotic mess. Dead Head's desiccated hands managed to smother the flames on Ethan Pfeffner's arms and shirt, but he'd managed to burn himself pretty badly with his inept flailing in the service of his friend, and his personal ordeal seemed to command all of his attention. It took a few seconds for him to realize he wasn't on fire anymore. Dead Head could see the blue glowing man hover out into the street, then suddenly stop, turn around, and float back almost the way he came, disappearing into the next alley over. He could hear the man's groans, and the chittering of the Woodchuck Man around the same corner. The creature must have run the long way around the one of the buildings framing the burning alley. He heard one of the other fratboys stop screaming, heard his body thump against the street outside. The flames claimed another one. Dead Head also felt a new set of fingers digging into his mind, trying to pry it open.

Mister Strix The man in white turned his back to Judex and knelt down onto the ground, inviting him to climb piggy-back. He clasped his hands around the backs of the large man's knees, stood up with the ease of someone wearing a light shawl upon his shoulders instead of a couple hundred pounds of preacher, ran to the edge of the rooftop, and jumped through the air, landing without a sound on top of the warehouse. He knelt down again, allowing Judex to climb off of his back, turned around, put a finger to his lips, and jumped back to the other building to repeat the process with Doctor Thorne. Once all three vigilantes were assembled on the warehouse roof, he searched for an entrance, quickly finding the skylight and flinching away from it when he caught sight of the silver charms hanging from it. He whispered to the others. "I don't know how much they figured out about me. Silver is useful against a lot of things that go bump in the night. But I can't touch that without getting burned, and I can't go through while it's there."

Mister Strix How did I miss that...? The man in white squinted suspiciously at the flamboyant duplicator, before kneeling down to examine the spraypaint more closely. "The Mara want everyone to think they're sorcerers, but I've put a couple dozen of them in the hospital, and so far, the only 'spells' any of them have tried to cast at me were 'Knife' and 'Gun'. But if one of them has finally figured out how to summon the Fires of Hell to do their bidding, then this is exactly what it would look like. A big enough room with enough idiots at typewriters, and eventually one of them figures out Shakespeare. This changes things. Extortion just jumped to the top of the list. Someone isn't paying their protection money, and an example is being made. We should still get the property records, find out who owns these places. But we should also beat some answers out of any Aces or Brujitos we come across. And in Hardwick Park, if you throw a stick in any direction, you'll hit three of them."

Strix technically hasn't done anything to give himself away, but I'm feeling generous, so anyone who wants to see through his perception filtering mind-whammy can go ahead and make a DC18 Will save and a DC23 Notice check.

GM The cops moonlighting as doormen for The Rock and The Stone knew better than to impede the progress of four attractive young women into any of their underground nightclubs. They were as much a draw as the liquor (or the other drugs they had for sale). The foursome from Freedom weren't even asked to show identification. The doormen simply nodded at them and held the double doors to the warehouse open for them. Inside, hip-hop beats blasted from the speakers, heavy on the bass, while lights in every color of the rainbow flashed in patterns which synced up to the music more often than not. Over a hundred party people, about half of them looking below the legal drinking age, bumped and grinded on the dance floor or hung off of each other at the couches, tables, and bars scattered around the perimeter and at the back. Nothing looked permanent, not the fixtures or the furniture or the equipment. Everything looked modular, hastily assembled and even faster to take apart. As they entered, they caught sight of Dale King, dressed in his usual vaguely 19th-century goth-peacock style, getting another drink thrown in his face by a woman who looked a dozen years younger than him. He pulled a black silk handkerchief out of his long coat to wipe the stinging alcohol from his eyes. The cloth appeared to already be half-soaked.

Mister Strix The man in white had taken a more direct route to the warehouse on Industrial Drive, running faster than a car, down the streets and up the walls, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and even clear over some of the shorter buildings, yet never making a sound when his feet hit the ground (or the wall, or the roof). As usual, he focused his will on clouding the minds of any mortals who might see the white blur whizzing by them, forcing them not to see him, not to remember him. When he reached the club, he leaped up onto the roof and found a vent. He dissolved his body into mist, slipped inside, followed the vent to the warehouse interior, then re-solidified, clinging to the ceiling, looking down at the club, scanning the faces in the crowd. They might have to pay to get in. They might have to buy drinks to blend in. Or others might buy drinks for them, hoping to make a friend for the night. But every single dollar they spend is going right into the pockets of thieves and pimps and murderers. It had better be worth it.

Don't give them a Limited flaw. Slap them into a Container and make it an alternate power of her Vehicle Form container. Pay 1PP.

Another Octoman nemesis. Since Spider-Man has Doctor Octopus, I'm giving my octopus hero a spider villain. Character: Webmaster Power Level: 10 Tradeoffs: -2 Attack / +2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness) Power Points: 233 In Brief: What If Mac Gargan Was Part Of The Alt-Right? Alternate Identity: Josef Bankowski Identity: Public Legal Status: USA citizen and fugitive Birthplace: Freedom City, New Jersey Base of Operations: Freedom City, New Jersey Residence: Mobile Occupation: Former: Mechanic, Current: Criminal Affiliations: None Family: Olivia Lenkiewicz (ex-wife), Mia Bankowski (daughter), Gabriel Bankowski (son), unnamed brother, sister, parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles DESCRIPTION Age: 27 (Date of Birth: 1992) Apparent Age: 27 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Polish-American Height: Werespider Form: 8'6", Human Form: 6'1" Weight: Werespider Form: 1,200 lbs., Human Form: 170 lbs. Hair: Werespider Form: None, Human Form: Blond Eyes: Werespider Form: Black, Human Form: Blue X HISTORY Josef Bankowski's grandparents were devout Catholics who fled Poland in the 1960s, escaping the Communist regime which would control that country for another quarter of a century. They immigrated to America, where they were granted refugee status and, eventually, citizenship. Josef, like his parents, was born in Freedom City, growing up as part of the multi-ethnic tapestry that is Freedom's West End. Josef's father enlisted in the Marine Corps and then worked as an auto mechanic, eventually owning his own shop, where Josef started working as a teen. Josef started doing hard drugs in high school. His already terrible grades got even worse, and by his senior year, he managed to not only flunk out, but also impregnate his 17-year-old classmate Olivia Lenkiewicz, the daughter of family friends. Olivia carried the child to term, and the two were married before her senior year. With no other prospects, and at the urging of his father, Josef joined the Marines, like his father before him. The discipline didn't take. He resumed his old lifestyle, using again and cheating on his wife (both with random pick-ups and with professional sex workers), almost as soon as he got out of basic training, as often as he could make the time for it. The first few times he was caught, he was reprimanded, but let off with warnings or light informal punishments. But eventually, his behavior became too egregious for the Corps to ignore. He made it almost halfway through his first 4-year enlistment term before being arrested, court-martialed, and dishonorably discharged. He spent a year in prison. Olivia stayed married to him for several more years despite his behavior. She was forced to become the primary breadwinner when he proved to be chronically unemployable. Despite his record, he would get various mechanic jobs, but he could never hold them for long before either losing his temper or failing to show up to work on time (or at all) because he was too busy indulging his addictions. He regularly cheated on his wife, spent their money on his addictions, and physically abused both his wife and their two children. Olivia finally kicked him out of their apartment in 2017, getting a restraining order which Josef frequently violated. They were separated for a year before Olivia filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2019. Josef spent the two years after their separation sleeping on his brother's couch, and tumbling down an online rabbit hole of political radicalization. He'd been interested in pick-up "artistry" and "uncensored" anonymous image-sharing message boards since he was a teenager, but after his long-suffering wife left him, he found a ready-made pipeline to an ideology which affirmed that he was the true victim. His political views quickly shifted from reactionary to outright fascistic, buoyed by rabid bigotry. He established his own online presence during those two years, starting a vlog series where he parroted the same bigoted talking points as a thousand other guys just like him, and presented an account of his life which was heavily distorted in his favor. Meanwhile, his addictive behavior continued to escalate. In 2019, after his divorce was finalized, Josef started abusing "super" drugs. After taking a "powerball" of Max and Zoom, he went to his ex-wife's apartment. His own brother called the police on him after he left. After breaking in, he assaulted Olivia, her mother, and her new boyfriend, and took the entire family hostage at gunpoint. On his first outing as a superhero, Octoman intervened, and, with Bombshell's aid, he defeated Josef, though Josef almost beat him to death in the process. After the police took him into custody, Josef suffered multiple organ failure. The super-drugs had taken their toll. With his history, no hospital would consider transplants. He was advised to check into hospice care for what the doctors expected to be the last few weeks of his life. Meanwhile, despite his prognosis, the city, state, and federal attorneys offices all moved forward with indictments. The charges included multiple counts of kidnapping, and, because of the super-drugs in his system at the time, assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, and attempted murder. Josef was facing multiple lifetimes worth of prison time alongside certain death, before his thirtieth birthday. Because he no longer had powers once the drugs had left his system, and because he was physically incapacitated, Josef was held in the Freedom City Correctional Facility just outside Hanover, while awaiting the trial no one expected him to live to see. Doctor Cooper Seidel, who had kept Octoman under surveillance ever since the accident which gave Octoman his powers, had observed Octoman's battle with Josef, taking an interest in him. Seidel infiltrated the minimum-security facility and kidnapped Josef, spiriting him away to Seidel's new secret laboratory. Months before, Seidel had genetically altered a group of venomous animals with months of retroviral therapy and nuclear radiation exposure, as part of his continuing quest to refine and enhance the universal antivenom serum which gave him the ability to transform into the monster Goanna. Seidel had lost those animals when he had to pack up his lab to flee the authorities, and his hired thug crashed the truck after swerving to avoid 15-year-old Ben Wang, who had run out into the street to save a dog. During the following few months, Seidel had split his efforts between spying on Wang, who had gained powers after being bitten by the blue-ringed octopus, and combing the sewers with a Geiger counter to recover as many of the experimental specimens as he could. One of the animals Seidel managed to recover was a northern funnel web spider. Seidel injected the spider's venom into Josef, out of pure scientific curiosity. Seidel didn't care whether Josef lived or died. He just wanted to see what would happen. And he told Josef as much. But Josef didn't die. He gained the ability to shapeshift into a giant centaur-like human/spider hybrid, or a human-sized swarm of spiders with his mind as a collective consciousness spread out among them. He escaped from Seidel's lab after his first transformation. Josef quickly parlayed his new powers into a career as a professional criminal. His main sources of income are violent armed robbery, extortion, and murder, both on his own initiative and for hire to other supervillains and organized syndicates. He also occasional commits various terrorist acts for his own gratification, using his superhuman strength to wreck buildings such as community resource centers, restaurants, and nightclubs which are associated with people he considers "degenerates" or "foreign invaders". Some of his earliest "work" was for the national designer drug cartel owned and operated by Cortex (Threat Report, page 24). Along with money, and super-drugs tailored to overcome Josef's enhanced physiology, Cortex provided Josef with a unique form of compensation: He used his world-class tech skills to help Josef maintain and expand his social media presence, despite his fugitive status. With Cortex's help, Josef has been able to continue his vlog series, which has attracted a significant following in a short time among the worst people on the internet. The regressive reactionary politics he advocates in his rambling, drug-fueled hours of recorded hate-speech still aren't any different from what a thousand other men just like him are already saying, but his status as a powered supervillain gives him a level of prestige above and beyond his peers. His videos get taken down from the more legitimate platforms almost as soon as they go up, but they get downloaded and re-posted all over the less reputable parts of the web. Despite multiple active law enforcement investigations, and the more legitimate crowdfunding platforms refusing to get anywhere near him, he has been able to collect regular crypto-currency donations from his fans, which keeps him living comfortably between "jobs". Multiple technologically-inclined heroes have attempted to trace the source of his uploads or cut off his funding, but so far, Cortex has foiled those efforts. Cortex considers it both an amusing intellectual exercise, and another means of controlling a useful but ultimately disposable asset. The moment Josef steps out of line, Cortex can cut off his supply of drugs, donations, and adulation with a few keystrokes. PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION Josef describes himself as "a ladies man", "an alpha male", "a soldier", "a working man", "a patriot", "a man of God", and "a defender of Western Civilization". In reality, he's a coward, a bully, a bigot, an addict, and a blowhard. His ego is inflated and his skin is paper-thin. He loudly, belligerently hates and disdains anyone who isn't a white male heterosexual cisgender Christian-identified native-born citizen who's seeking or already in a nuclear family. Everyone else, he refers to as "degenerates", "parasites", and "globalists". He isn't nearly as intelligent or well-educated as he claims or even thinks he is. He used to have a sort of "bad boy charm" which bought him initial success in his romantic endeavors, but he drowned it in bitterness and resentment years ago. Now he appears at first glance to be the hateful creep he truly is. He doesn't love anyone, but there are people (like his ex-wife and their children) whom he wants to possess. His main priority in life is to secure for himself a never-ending stream of money, drugs, sex, and adulation. His secondary priority is vengeance on everyone who ever "wronged" him, everyone who ever dared to make him feel weak. Goanna, Octoman, and Bombshell are all at the top of that list. A distant third is to promote an ideology which just so happens to state that those things are his birthright. POWERS & TACTICS X ABILITIES 12PP Strength: 30/12 (+10/+1), 60/12 Lifting (Heavy Load: 50 tons / 130 lbs.) Dexterity: 26/12 (+8/+1) Constitution: 28/12 (+9/+1) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 14 (+2) COMBAT 36PP Initiative: +8/+1 Attack: +8/+9 (+9 Base, -1 Size) Damage: +10/+1 Unarmed/Thrown, +12 Claws, +10 Acid, +10 Webs Grapple: +32/+10 vs one target, +28/+10 vs multiple targets (+8/+9 Melee Attack, +10/+1 Strength, +4 Size, +4 Additional Limbs, +6 Super-Strength) Defense: +8/+9 (+9 Base, -1 Size), +4/+5 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 15/0 SAVING THROWS 9PP Toughness: +12/+1 (+9/+1 Con, +3 Protection, Impervious 8 ) Fortitude: +9/+1 (+9/+1 Con, +0PP) Reflex: +8/+1 (+8/+1 Dex, +0PP) Will: +9 (+0 Wis, +9PP) SKILLS 52R = 13PP Acrobatics 0 (+10/+1) Bluff 3 (+5) Climb 0 (+6/+1) Craft (Mechanical) 8 (+8) Drive 5 (+13/+6) Gather Information 3 (+5) Intimidation 4 (+16/+6) Knowledge (Current Events) 5 (+5) Knowledge (Pop Culture) 5 (+5) Knowledge (Streetwise) 8 (+8) Knowledge (Technology) 5 (+5) Languages 1 (English [Native], Polish) Notice 0 (+10/+1) Search 1 (+10/+1) Sense Motive 0 (+10/+1) Stealth 0 (+15/+1) Survival 4 (+5) Swim 0 (+6/+1) FEATS 5PP All-Out Attack Distract (Intimidation) Move-By Action Power Attack Startle Enhanced: Uncanny Dodge (Sense Types: Tactile) POWERS 158PP Additional Limbs 4 (+10 Limbs, Feats: Ambidexterity) [4PP] (Descriptors: 2 Extra Arms, 8 Spider Legs, Mutation) Burrowing 5 (25MPH, 250ft per Move Action) [5PP] (Descriptors: Acid, Claws, Mutation) Enhanced Skills 48 (Acrobatics 2, Intimidation 8, Notice 9, Search 9, Sense Motive 9, Stealth 11) [12PP] Enhanced Constitution 12 (Feats: Regrowth) [13PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Regeneration, Super-Stamina, Super-Toughness) Enhanced Dexterity 14 [14PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Agility, Super-Reflexes) Enhanced Strength 10 [10PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Strength) Growth 4 (Size: Large, Size Modifiers: +5ft Reach, +8 Strength [+13 Lifting], +4 Constitution, -1 Attack, -1 Defense, +4 Grapple, +4 Knockback Resistance, +2 Intimidation, -4 Stealth, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Permanent, Feats: Innate) [13PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider-Centaur) Immovable 1 (Extras: Unstoppable) [2PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Legs) Immunity 1 (Own Powers) [1PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Impervious Toughness 8 [8PP] (Descriptors: Carapace, Mutation) Leaping 4 (x25, Running Long Jump: 500ft) [4PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Strength) Morph 1 (One Form, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Feats: Metamorph 2 [Human Form, Spider-Centaur Form, Spider Swarm Form], Drawbacks: Action 2 [Standard]) [2PP] (Descriptors: Molting, Mutation, Shapeshifting) Protection 3 [3PP] (Descriptors: Carapace, Mutation) Speed 2 (25MPH, 250ft per Move Action) [2PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Legs) Spider Power 16 (32PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 2) [34PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Base Power: [4PP] (Additional Descriptors: Forearm Claws, Spider Leg Claws) Damage 2 (Feats: Improved Critical [19-20], Mighty, Variable Descriptor [Forearm Claws and/or Spider Leg Claws, Piercing and/or Slashing damage], Drawbacks: Lethal) [4PP] Alternate Power: [31PP] (Additional Descriptors: Acid) Drain Toughness 10 (Extras: Affects Objects, Linked [Damage], Secondary Effect, Flaws: Requires Grapple, Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20]) [22PP] Damage 10 (Extras: Linked [Drain], Secondary Effect, Flaws: Requires Grapple, Drawbacks: Lethal) [9PP] Alternate Power: [32PP] (Additional Descriptors: Webs) Snare 10 (10 100ft Range Increments, 1,000ft Max Range, Extras: Contagious, Feats: Accurate [+2 Attack], Tether) [32PP] Super-Movement 5 (Sure-Footed 2, Swinging, Wall-Crawling 2) [10PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Legs, Webs) Super-Senses 9 (Danger Sense [Sense Types: Tactile], Low-Light Vision, Radius Visual Senses, Ultra-Vision, Tremor-Sense, Uncanny Dodge [Sense Types: Tactile]) [9PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Eyes, Spider Hairs) Super-Strength 6 (Lifting Strength: 65, Heavy Load: 100 tons) [12PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Spider Swarm Form: PL 10 PP 171 ABILITIES 35PP Strength: 01 (-5) (Heavy Load: 10 lbs.) Dexterity: 30 (+10) Constitution: 28 (+9) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 14 (+2) COMBAT 40PP Initiative: +10 Attack: +10 Damage: -5 Unarmed, +10 Venom Grapple: +5, Automatic Escape with Insubstantial Defense: +10, +5 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 5 SAVING THROWS 9PP Toughness: +10 (+9 Con, +1 Protection) Fortitude: +9 (+9 Con, +0PP) Reflex: +10 (+10 Dex, +0PP) Will: +9 (+0 Wis, +9PP) SKILLS 36R = 9PP Acrobatics 2 (+12) Languages 1 (English [Native], Polish) Escape 0 (+10, Automatic with Insubstantial) Notice 9 (+10) Search 10 (+10) Sense Motive 9 (+10) Stealth 5 (+15) FEATS 0PP [None] Enhanced: Uncanny Dodge (Sense Types: Tactile) POWERS 78PP Anatomic Separation 5 (Extras: Variable Split) [15PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Swarm) Burrowing 1 (2.5MPH, 25ft per Move Action) [1PP] (Descriptors: Claws, Mutation) Immunity 3 (Critical Hits, Own Powers) [3PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Swarm) Insubstantial 1 (Liquid, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Duration [Permanent], Feats: Innate) [6PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Swarm) Morph 1 (One Form, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Feats: Metamorph 2 [Human Form, Spider Swarm Form], Drawbacks: Action 2 [Standard]) [2PP] (Descriptors: Molting, Mutation, Shapeshifting) Protection 1 [1PP] (Descriptors: Carapace, Mutation) Spider Power 15 (30PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power) [31PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Base Power: [30PP] (Additional Descriptors: Necrotic Venom) Damage 10 (Extras: Autofire, Alternate Save [Fortitude], Feats: Accurate, Drawbacks: Lethal) [30PP] Alternate Power: [2PP] (Additional Descriptors: Webs) Create Object 1 (Volume: 1 10ft cube, Toughness: 1, Lifting Strength: 5 [Heavy Load: 50 lbs.], Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Permanent, Range [Touch], Feats: Innate) [2PP] Super-Movement 5 (Slithering, Sure-Footed 2, Wall-Crawling 2) [10PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Legs) Super-Senses 9 (Danger Sense [Sense Types: Tactile], Low-Light Vision, Radius Visual Senses, Ultra-Vision, Tremor-Sense, Uncanny Dodge [Sense Types: Tactile]) [9PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Spider Eyes, Spider Hairs)

I was gonna offer to power stunt an Affects Others version of his Concealment, but that works too.

Here's some revised drawbacks that might help: DRAWBACKS -7PP Vulnerability (Electricity, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Major [x2 Effect Rank]) [-4PP] Vulnerability (Magnetism, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Major [x2 Effect Rank]) [-3PP]

Octoman Octoman visibly deflated when he saw those words on the screen. "Man. Just...puttin' it out there," he mumbled. "Comin' right out and sayin' it. OK, y'all wanna get real, let's get REAL..." He grabbed a nearby towel for modesty as his skin rippled and faded to brown. His tentacles all retracted back into his body. Curly black hair sprouted from the top of his head in a medium-Afro style. White eyes turned brown. Over the course of a second, he stopped looking like a superhero and looked like a perfectly normal (and completely naked) teenage boy, aside from the many cuts and bruises which still revealed his purple blood. "So this is what I looked like, before...the accident. It's what Mamá and Tatay think I STILL look like." His skin rippled again. The hair disappeared, all of it, even his eyebrows. His skin was the same shade of brown, but the texture was different. It was shinier, almost rubbery. The irises in his eyes faded from brown to yellow. What appeared to be either scar tissue or folds of skin appeared on the sides of his neck, his forearms, the back and sides of his torso, the palms of his hands, and the soles of his feet. The large folds in the center of his palms and soles opened up to reveal a large orifice of some kind, while the other, smaller folds appeared to flip or turn inside out, revealing suckers. The folds on his forearms and torso spread open and his tentacles, now the same color as his skin, slid back out. The folds on his neck split open to reveal the inside of his throat, before closing again. Gills. "But this is the real deal. And they're. Gonna. FREAK." He aimed one hand at a nearby sink, and a wad of black ink spurted out of the orifice in the center of his palm. "I...don't THINK that'll clog the drain?" Not for the first time in this conversation, his mood shifted drastically. "So Gecks and Spellbound ARE still together! Sweeeeet. Wait, so if he's the new Raven, is she, what...'Mission Control' or something?" "Heh. YEAH, why DOESN'T she have noses in her elbows? Asking the REAL questions!" One of his tentacles wandered over to the girl and bent its tip upward, presenting a few inches of flexing suckers. "Slap me five, up here!" He leaned back and put his arms up behind his head. "That's me, just FULL of surprises!" His skin flashed back and forth between two patterns of loudly contrasting polka dots. Then he started pressing his hand to his own chest in several different places. "Real talk, though, I think I might have more than one heart now?" "Of COURSE Geckoman has fans! Also the sky is blue, water is wet, and Taylor Swift's next album is gonna be nine songs about some dude who dumped her, two songs about wearing red lipstick, and one Kanye West diss-track. He's only THE GREATEST SUPERHERO OF ALL TIME! He's got the BRAINS! He's got the MOVES! He's got the TOYS! Ain't scared of NOTHIN'. Can you BELIEVE I managed to snag the username 'geckofan' on BOTH HeroHouse AND TroubAlert? No numbers after it or anything!" "Really? Oh wow. Man, coming from YOU GUYS? GECKOMAN's teammates? That means A LOT. EVERYTHING. THE WORLD. Wow. I'm honored. Should I, like, call you guys on a burner phone or something? Or should I just stop by here? I'm gonna need you to write down the address, 'cause I kinda wasn't paying that much attention on the way over here, what with the blood loss and all." "'Can I?' 'CAN I'...actually, I think I've LITERALLY never thrown a punch before! Wow. BUT, I DID just throw a GUY. Through a BUILDING. Nah, I'm kidding, that's not true." He cupped his hand up to his mouth and stage-whispered as loud as he'd been speaking. "I threw him threw TWO buildings. And then Momma Bombshell here pulled out her big stick and was all Bam-BAM!" He made a punching motion toward the floor with each fist. "Like one of those Freedom League vs Street Kombat games, I tag out and she comes in, then 'KAAAYYY OHHH!' and the bad guy's like UGHHH!" He lowered himself back onto the bed as if he were falling in slow motion, then pointed with both hands at Bombshell with a "finger-guns" gesture and winked. "YOU! WIN!"

Mister Strix Good plan. Wait, you can do that? Nevermind, not now, no time. Dammit! The cop! I forgot the cop. I'll check on him, gather up the infected people, and meet you down there. The man in white sprinted through the hospital, from one end to the other. He reached the operating rooms, where, as he'd predicted, Officer Thomas Molloy was being prepared for surgery. He caught a glimpse of Doctor Aparo washing her hands. He considered interrupting her, but he stopped himself. Two more days. If he's like the others, then she gets him for two more days. Then, he's mine. He raced back down to the ambulance bay, gave new orders to the enthralled nurse and orderly, and followed them down to the basement, with a stretcher under each arm. Are you still in contact with the dog? Have him lead Horus back to the clubhouse.

Oh hey, if Dead Head is power stunting on his Teleport, instead of a Progression rank, he could do an AP, and hold onto it for the whole scene, so he could come back for Strix and his infected thralls, saving them the trouble of stealing an ambulance (the hospital only has 6, only 4 of which are operational).

Meanwhile, Doctor Aparo's Medicine skill check to stabilize the older cop with emergency surgery, henceforth known as Officer Thomas Molloy (DC15): 19. Now he's just Disabled.

Yes, absolutely. You could also use Extra Effort to gain that power feat, since it's a power feat.

Thanks to Dead Dead, Homeless Man is no longer on fire. The fratboys couldn't possibly resist that Intimidation, and all your mechanics look correct to me. Two things: 1) Ethan's the only fratboy who isn't either Dazed or fleeing right now, so he's the only one who's going to help put out the fires. 2) The fire gets a turn before anyone else, being next in the Init order behind Dead Head. Fire: I'd give Fratboy #2 a Reflex save to put himself out, but he's Dazed. Fratboy #2's Toughness save (DC20), at -2 for being Shaken: 10. He's Dazed again, and since he was already Disabled, his condition upgrades to Dying. Fortitude save (DC10), also at -2: 1. He's Dead. Fratboy #3, being Dazed, Unconscious, and Dying, doesn't get a Reflex save to put himself out either. Fratboy #3's Toughness save (DC20), at -2 for being Shaken: 13. That's another Bruise and Injury. Since he took damage again, I'm going to force him to make another Fortitude save. DC goes up by +1. Fortitude save (DC11), also at -2: 12. Tough little bastard might pull through. Toughness save for Fratboy #4, who escaped the alley last round but is still running (DC20): 11. He takes another Bruise and Injury, and he's Dazed. So he'll stop running for a round. Grim Diddle: Move Action: Stand up. Move Action: He floats out of the alley and into the street, away from the fire. That's it for that round. Initiative & Conditions Summary Woodchuck Man: 27, Unharmed Ethan Pfeffner, Fratboy #1: 20, Shaken Fratboy #2: 20, Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Dead, Shaken, Prone, Dazed Fratboy #3: 20, Bruised x2, Injured x2, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Shaken, Prone Fratboy #4: 20, Bruised x2, Injured x2, Shaken, Frightened, Dazed Fratboy #5: 20, Shaken, Frightened, Panicked Fratboy #6: 20, Shaken, Frightened, Panicked [Other]: 19, Unharmed Mister Strix: 12, 2HP, Injured, Disabled, Fatigued, Prone Dead Head: 11, 3HP, Unharmed Fire: 10 Grim Diddle: 4 Homeless Man: -, Helpless, Bruised, Injured Next round: Woodchuck Man: Two more Move Actions to keep moving. Ethan Pfeffner: Move Action: Ethan tries to put out the Dying fratboy. Reflex save (DC15), at -2 since he's still Shaken: 2. Fail. Toughness save (DC20), also at -2: 11. He fails by 9, so he's Bruised, Injured, and Dazed. I'm gonna say he fails to put out his Dying friend. Fratboy #2: Dead. Fratboy #3: Unconscious & Dying. Fratboy #4: Dazed. Fratboys #5-6: Now that they're out in the open street, they both take Full Actions to Move All-Out away from the alley. [Other]: He uses Telepathy, setting off Dead Head's Mental Awareness. Mister Strix: He takes a full action to Recover. He automatically recovers from his Disabled condition. Initiative & Conditions Summary Woodchuck Man: 27, Unharmed Ethan Pfeffner, Fratboy #1: 20, Bruised, Injured, Shaken, Dazed Fratboy #2: 20, Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Dead, Shaken, Prone Fratboy #3: 20, Bruised x2, Injured x2, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Shaken, Prone Fratboy #4: 20, Bruised x2, Injured x2, Shaken, Frightened Fratboy #5: 20, Shaken, Frightened, Panicked Fratboy #6: 20, Shaken, Frightened, Panicked [Other]: 19, Unharmed Mister Strix: 12, 2HP, Injured, Fatigued, Prone Dead Head: 11, 3HP, Unharmed Fire: 10 Grim Diddle: 4 Homeless Man: -, Helpless, Bruised, Injured Dead Head is up, followed by FIRE.

GM Dead Head's flesh grew back faster than the fire could scour it away. He didn't look any more monstrous after smothering the flames on the homeless man. The man was unresponsive, but breathing. He reeked of booze even over the stench of the gasoline. He'd taken some second and third-degree burns on his arms, but they were far from life-threatening, at least unless they got infected. "...Dammit." Ethan finally lost his nerve. He did as he was ordered, tossing his baseball bat aside and doing his best to smother the flames on one of his friends. "Dammit dammit GODDAMMIT!" Unfortunately, his best wasn't very good. Not only did he fail to put out his friend, but he wound up lighting himself on fire. The other two fratboys left in the alley both stopped screaming and fell to the ground, motionless but still burning. The screams of the fourth one echoed from the nearby street as he ran away. The blue glowing man slowly floated back to an upright position, hovering about a foot over Mister Strix's corpse. He looked at the fire in the alley, moaned again, then turned around and floated out into the street. Dead Head felt a familiar tingle in the back of his head. Someone close by was using some kind of psychic power. He could also see movement under Mister Strix's cowl, as the vampire's head put itself back together.