Amelia

Looks like I need to clarify: Homeless Man is Helpless. He's in such a drunken stupor that being on fire isn't motivating him to do anything. Feel free to modify accordingly.

A lot of the math on the sheet doesn't add up, which is understandable given that it's Frankenstein'd from multiple other sheets. For starters, since she has no Constitution, she has no Fort save, so no need to spend points there. Immunity means she automatically passes any Fort save she's required to make. Since she has no Con, Growth is just giving her +4 Toughness while her vehicle form is active, rather than +8 Con. And her Toughness starts at +0, so with +4 from Growth 8 and the Protection currently in her vehicle form, she's got Toughness +6. I would take the Protection out of the Vehicle Form container entirely. I would go with 35 Strength instead of 34 just because it makes calculating her lifting strength / carry capacity a lot easier. The Uncanny Dodge (Radio) doesn't make sense to me, since her only Radio-type sense is, well, Radio. I don't see how picking up and decoding radio wave transmissions corresponds to being able to react when someone tries to surprise attack you. It would make more sense if she had some actual radar. By default, since she has no Con, she doesn't recover over time from damage or fatigue the way a living creature would. Instead, she has to be repaired, either by herself, or by someone else (and if she's hurt bad enough, it's gotta be someone else). If that fits your concept, then you're good. If you want her to be automatically self-repairing, effectively recovering over time like a living creature, then you need to buy recovery bonus with Regeneration. (Living creatures automatically have a recovery bonus equal to their Con bonus, plus any Regen they buy to supplement that.) Con 0 has a -5 bonus, so 1PP will get her +1, a -4 recovery bonus. Recovery checks are DC10, so she'd have to roll a 14 or better. 5PP in Regen would get her a Recovery bonus of +0, like an average living creature with 10 Con. 14PP in Regen would get her a +9 Recovery bonus, enough to take 1 and automatically succeed at any recovery checks.

Yeah, you can use the shovel, I'll count it. Hernandez's Toughness save (DC24): 22. He takes an Injury.

GM Javier Delgado and Roberto Hernandez had magical auras very similar to that of Mister Strix, but there were key differences. Fundamentally, they were all undead creatures, dead bodies animated by the energy of the Schattenwelt, life-eroding pure darkness. The conduit between the Schattenwelt and the prime material plane was an act of the darkest magic, the most foul necromancy. If that conduit was the engine of their undeath, then blood was the fuel which kept it running. But the engine in Delgado and Hernandez was attached to a smaller gas tank, and their engines didn't burn the fuel as efficiently, so they needed to be refueled more often. Strix's engine was higher quality overall, more robust. His connection to the Schattenwelt was stronger, and, correspondingly, the world of the living seemed to hate him more, reject him more harshly. Strix felt more like a typical apex predator: Solitary, discriminating, and deliberate. These others felt more like a school of piranhas, or a pack of rabid wild dogs. But the most profound difference was the state of their souls. Strix's was shredded, stained with shadows and blood, hanging in tatters, but it was still there. If these things still had more than the echo of a soul, Dead Head couldn't find it. "AHHH GRRRG!" Hernandez screamed through gritted teeth as Dead Head's shovel popped one of his shoulders out of its socket. "THANKS FOR TYING THE ROPE AROUND YOUR NECK, FREAK! MAKES IT EASIER TO PULL YOUR GODDAMNED HEAD OFF!"

Mister Strix Another voice in my head. That's a new sensation. ...I don't like it. Having just pulled his cowl back on and torn himself away from Doctor Aparo, Mister Strix was racing downstairs, dodging people in the halls while mesmerizing them all into not seeing him. He did his best to split his attention between that and focusing his thoughts back at his partner. Another one?! So we still haven't found the source. Maria Delgado turned before I could get to her. She's dust now. But she might have infected two other people on her way out. I have them hypnotized and we're on our way to hijack an ambulance right now. I'm going to take them to the dungeon under the Lodge. If they turn, they won't hurt anyone else down there. Do you need backup? Or should I wait for you?

Mister Strix: Standard Action: Strix Charges at Grim Diddle, trying to Trip him. All-Out Attack for +2/-2. That puts him at +12 Attack, +4 Defense. Strix's Attack roll (DC19): 24. Strix's Trip check: 15. Grim Diddle's Trip check: 14. Grim Diddle is Prone. Free Action: Surge for a second attack. Strix will attempt to grapple him. Strix is at +4 Attack since Grim Diddle is Prone. He'll Power Attack for -2/+2. Strix's Attack roll: 24. That hits. Strix's Grapple check: 21. Grim Diddle's Grapple check: 11. Grim Diddle fails by 5+, so he's Bound. Dead Head's scare goes off. Not using the Minion rules for this one, no. Most of them are PL0 Bystanders. I figure that's useless enough. Fratboy Will saves (DC20): 17, 13, 16, 4, 5, 16. All six fail. Three of the fratboys, including Ethan Pfeffner, are Shaken. One of them is Frightened. The last two are Panicked. SETBACK: As described in the IC thread, the gas can that Dead Head failed to Notice has been spilled, and then ignited. The homeless man, four of the fratboys, and Dead Head are all at risk of getting burned. Dead Head can make a DC15 Reflex save to avoid the flames. If he fails, then he needs to make a DC20 Toughness save against the flames (Lethal damage). Fratboy Reflex saves (DC15): 2, 7, 20, 10. One of them, I'll say Ethan, makes it. Fratboy Toughness saves (DC20): 6, 3, 19. One fails by 1, so he's just Bruised and Injured. One fails by 14, so he's Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, and Dazed. The last one fails by 17, so he's Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Dying, and Dazed. Fortitude save (DC10) for the Dying fratboy: 14. Lucky bastard's still alive. The homeless man doesn't get a Reflex save to avoid the fire. Homeless Man's Toughness save (DC20): 12. Fortunately for him, he's not a Minion, so he's only Bruised, Injured, and Dazed. When Mister Strix sees the fire, he has to make a Will save against an Emotion Control (Fear) effect, with a rank equal to the Damage rank of the fire (5). Mister Strix's Will save (DC15): 18. He's OK for now. Dead Head gets a Hero Point for the setback. Grim Diddle: Move Action: He tries to Escape from the grapple. Grim Diddle's Grapple check: 27. Mister Strix's Grapple check: 36. He fails to escape. Standard Action: He uses Drain Constitution on Mister Strix, who is Immune. Free Action: He uses GM Fiat to Surge for another Standard Action. Standard Action: He uses Paralyze on Mister Strix. Mister Strix's Will save (DC19): 23. He makes it. The homeless man is in a drunken stupor, incapable of taking any actions, so I'll throw him at the bottom of the Initiative order. I'm also adding the fire to the Init order, because everyone who was burned by it is going to keep burning until they take a move action to stop, drop, and roll, or until someone else takes a move action action to smother their flames. No rolls are necessary to put out the flames, but anyone who tries to put out someone else's fire will have to make another DC15 Reflex save, and another DC20 Toughness save (lethal) if they fail that. Initiative & Conditions Summary Woodchuck Man: 27, Unharmed Ethan Pfeffner, Fratboy #1: 20, Prone, Shaken Fratboy #2: 20, Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Shaken, Prone, Dazed Fratboy #3: 20, Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Shaken, Prone, Dazed Fratboy #4: 20, Bruised, Injured, Frightened, Prone Fratboy #5: 20, Panicked, Prone Fratboy #6: 20, Panicked, Prone [Other]: 19, Unharmed Mister Strix: 12, 2HP, Unharmed Dead Head: 11, 3HP, Unharmed Fire: 10 Grim Diddle: 4, Prone, Bound Homeless Man: -, Helpless, Bruised, Injured, Dazed Next round: Woodchuck Man: The back alleys won't allow for him to move all-out. Move Action: He runs away from the alley, normal 30ft movement. Move Action: He runs away some more. Ethan Pfeffner: Move Action: He stands up. Standard Action: He takes another swing at Dead Head. Attack roll: 5. He misses. Fratboy #2: He does nothing, because he's Dazed. Fratboy #3: He does nothing, because he's Dazed. Fratboy #4: Move Action: He stands up. Move Action: He moves away from Dead Head, toward the side of the alley with Strix and Grim Diddle. His 30ft of movement is enough to get him outside. Fratboy #5: Move Action: He stands up. Move Action: He moves away from Dead Head, toward the side of the alley with Strix and Grim Diddle. His 30ft of movement is enough to get him outside. Fratboy #6: Move Action: He stands up. Move Action: He moves away from Dead Head, toward the side of the alley with Strix and Grim Diddle. His 30ft of movement is enough to get him outside. [Other]: Free Action: Extra Effort for a power stunt. He's going to gain a temporary Ranged Damage 8 AP. Standard Action: He attacks Strix, who is flat-footed, since he's grappling. Attack roll (DC14): 25. He hits. Strix's Toughness save (DC23): 13. He fails by 10, so he's Injured, Disabled, and Dazed. He falls over, becoming Prone as well. [Other] uses GM Fiat to avoid Fatigue. Mister Strix gains a Hero Point from the Fiat. Mister Strix: He does nothing, since he's Dazed. He can start recovering next round. He also becomes Fatigued from last round's Extra Effort. His grapple on Grim Diddle is broken. Initiative & Conditions Summary Woodchuck Man: 27, Unharmed Ethan Pfeffner, Fratboy #1: 20, Shaken Fratboy #2: 20, Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Shaken, Prone, Dazed Fratboy #3: 20, Bruised, Injured, Staggered, Disabled, Unconscious, Dying, Shaken, Prone, Dazed Fratboy #4: 20, Bruised, Injured, Frightened Fratboy #5: 20, Panicked Fratboy #6: 20, Panicked [Other]: 19, Unharmed Mister Strix: 12, 2HP, Injured, Disabled, Fatigued, Prone Dead Head: 11, 3HP, Unharmed Fire: 10 Grim Diddle: 4, Prone Homeless Man: -, Helpless, Bruised, Injured, Dazed Dead Head is up. After Dead Head's action, all those who are burning shall burn some more.

GM Dead Head's horrifying visage made the two youths attacking him grow pale and hesitant with their swings. One of the youths in the middle of the alley started to back away from him slowly. The one standing next to him turned around and started running, as did the two who had been attacking the blue glowing man. It wasn't until the literal upheaval in the alley knocked all the fratboys on their backsides that Dead Head got a good look at one of the piles of trash resting against the wall in the middle of the alley, and he realized that it wasn't a pile of trash, but a person, another homeless person passed out in a drunken stupor. The tremors had knocked them halfway out of their improvised bedroll, but they barely stirred. Dead Head also caught a glimpse of the metal gas can sitting next to him, visible now that the fratboys weren't crowded in front of it. The tremors knocked the gas can over onto its side. The contents quickly spilled out all over the alley. Another quake hit the can just right, and caused a spark. That spark turned the alley into an inferno. Dead Head recognized one of the fratboys who's been swinging at him as Ethan Pfeffner, the fiance of the woman laying comatose in the hospital. He managed to roll away from the flames without so much as a singe. None of his friends were as lucky. The two youths at the far end of the alley, who had been attacking the blue glowing man, were safely beyond the reach of the fire, having already fled as it was igniting. But the other three, the two in the middle by where the homeless man was sleeping, and the other one who had been attacking Dead Head, they were all caught in the flames, and now they were screaming in terror and pain. The one in the middle of the alley who had started fleeing was still running, still on fire as he ran past Strix and the blue glowing man with his two friends, escaping the alley and returning to the open street. The blue glowing man struggled against Mister Strix's iron grip, to no avail. His eyes glowed brighter, then his skin did likewise. The blue aura spread briefly to Mister Strix, but it didn't seem to have any effect, and he seemed not to even notice it. The man groaned, and then his glow shifted to a different shade of blue, a darker one. This time, Strix flinched, shutting his eyes tightly and grimacing. But whatever happened, he quickly shook it off before it affected his grip on the glowing man. When the fire erupted, the Woodchuck Man squealed, turned his back to the alley, and took off running. Ethan staggered to his feet, bracing himself with his baseball bat, and then took another ineffectual overhead swing at Dead Head, missing and hitting the ground with a *THUNK*. "Give me back the damned necklace you freaks!" Near the same rooftop that Strix had just descended from, a brick pried itself loose from the wall, and fell. It smashed into the back of Strix's head, bursting it like an overripe melon. Strix's cowl was now more like a bag, loosely holding together a chunky stew of brains, blood, and bone. He fell limply to the side, laying motionless on the ground.

Mister Strix As quietly as his namesake, the man in white descended from the rooftop overlooking the alley, his enormous white cape spread behind him, the lining cut in the pattern of a bird's feathers. Against the night sky, it looked every bit the giant pair of wings it was tailored to resemble. He landed hands and feet first against the blue glowing man, sending them both tumbling to the ground head over feet. When they stopped, Mister Strix had the glowing man on his back. The man was pinned beneath Strix's knees, and Strix's hands were clamped like a mechanical vise around his throat. A path to the mouth of the alley beyond the blue glowing man was clear.

Hernandez is lying his pale butt off about not chomping down on the first throat he sees. EDIT: Dead Head gets another Hero Point, since the Diplomacy check was high enough to have worked.

That's definitely a hit, and a crit, and there's no way he could match that grapple bonus, so Hernandez is Bound. Don't worry about the extra effort. Hernandez will stop struggling for long enough to hear Dead Head out, so he'll skip his turn at the top of the next round, and we can just assume that DH's next round actions are a full one for the Diplomacy check and a free one to maintain the grapple. Dead Head gets a Hero Point for being all humane. Then, at the top of round 3, Hernandez takes his own full action to try to convince Dead Head that he's on board. Roberto Hernandez's Bluff check: 22. Since he's telling Dead Head what he wants to hear, Dead Head suffers a -5 penalty to his Sense Motive check.

GM Roberto Hernandez strained against Dead Head's grip at first, but as Dead Head spoke, he could feel the new vampire's muscles start to relax. When he went limp, the cold flesh in Dead Head's hands made him feel like he was holding a corpse. Which he was. Hernandez's only sign of life was turning his head to the side as he listened intently to the zombie's words. "OK, ok, just relax. I'm calm, you're calm, we're all calm here. Yeah, there's a new voice inside my head telling me to take these new fangs..." He moved his tongue around his mouth, feeling his teeth. "...And use 'em to tear open the nearest throat and guzzle down all the sweet red stuff that comes out. Well, not really a voice, or specific words, but...a feeling. It just makes sense, like eating when you're hungry or screwing when you're horny. Like it's just the most natural thing in the world to do. But you say you got a friend who resists the urge, you wanna help me do the same, and the alternative is getting killed, again? Doesn't take a genius to figure out the smart choice there. Doesn't sound like it's your first rodeo, Cowboy. I'll take you up on that drink now."

GM Doctor Aparo's mouth hung open at the mind-numbing spectacle of her dead husband standing there, arguing with her. "I...I...Guy?!" She shook her head rapidly. "How...I can't...you can't...what...?" She raised a hand to cup his face, running her fingers along its contours. She glanced back at the pile of ashes sitting on the floor. "...Okay. Do whatever you need to do to save them. And if it's really you, then after this is over, you need to come back and find me, and we need to talk. But..." Her face hardened. "If this is some trick, some twisted game, if you're one of those aliens reading my mind and wearing my dead husband's face just to get your way, I swear to God I will hunt you down to the ends of the Earth and I will cut that face off of you and I will show it to you before you die."

Mister Strix Dammit, Adriana, why do you always have to be so stubborn? We don't have time for this...I need to hypnotize her...No...Not her...Never...Then what? ...I can't...I have to. It's the only other way. "Adriana." The man in white grabbed Doctor Aparo's shoulder and pulled her back around to face him. With his other hand, he reached up and slid his mask off of his face. His fangs were still showing. His eyes were still completely black. "It's me. I know none of this makes sense, and I don't have time to make it make sense. You just have to trust me, like you always have." He grabbed her hand and pressed her fingers against his wrist. "My skin feels cold and I don't have a pulse because I'm dead. You watched me die. A vampire killed me, and I dug myself out of my own grave, the same grave I watched you lay those red roses on a couple nights ago. Now I'm the walking dead, just like that thing that used to be your patient. A vampire killed her, and she died and got back up again, just like me. And if I hadn't killed her when I did, she would have killed all of you. But I did kill her, because she was already dead, like me. The same thing will happen to your coworkers if I can't stop it. And I can't stop it here. I need you to let me take them. I need you to trust me."

GM The nurses and the orderly all seemed to fall completely under Mister Strix's spell. They nodded, with unfocused eyes, and wordlessly got up and carried out his instructions. Doctor Aparo, on the other hand, wasn't convinced. "Hey, hold on! Who even are you?! What are you?! I'm not about to let some freak in a mask kidnap my coworkers or my patients, especially after murdering one of them! They're staying here, where I, the doctor, can diagnose and treat them. And so are you. The cops are going to have a ton of questions for you..." She stood up and started to walk toward the door, shouting after her coworkers. "Get back here!"

Mister Strix The man in white, now stained with red, wiped his hands off onto Maria's bedding, then rose and walked up to each of the hospital staff in turn, pulling their faces up to meet his gaze and focusing his will to seize control of their minds. "All of you, do exactly as I say. Calm down, right now." He couldn't bring himself to force his will upon Doctor Aparo. "Adriana, please, listen to me. We don't have much time. That blood," he pointed to one of the many red spots on the wall where Maria's blood had splattered, "is a biohazard, beyond Level 4. This hospital isn't equipped to deal with it. So I'm leaving, and I'm taking these people with me. I don't know if I can save them, but I'm the only chance they have. You two," he pointed at the blood-drenched nurse and orderly, "Wipe off as best you can and meet me downstairs at the ambulance bay. We don't have time for you to shower. You," he pointed at the nurse who had taken cover in time to dodge the blood geyser, "Tell someone to sterilize this room, but don't wait for them. Just give the order, then grab all the saline I.V. bags and P.E.P. you can carry. Rabies, HIV, tetanus, everything. Meet us in the ambulance bay."

GM Maria Delgado's heart was already crumbling to ash in Mister Strix's hand as he squeezed it. He wound up pushing the ashes through his fingers, and they floated slowly to the floor to join the human-sized pile of ashes beneath him. As her husband Javier before her, Maria's body disintegrated in a second. The two nurses and the orderly all started screaming. Doctor Aparo pulled on a pair of latex gloves, ran over to the two who had been sprayed with Maria's blood, and began wiping it off their faces as she tried to calm them down.

Mister Strix The longer this goes on, the more danger everybody else is in. End it, now! The man in white rushed up to Maria Delgado. He lunged at her again, ducking under her arms and grabbing the backs of her knees. With all of his weight and all of his superhuman strength behind him, he heaved her up off her feet and slammed her back down onto the floor. He drew his hand back, then plunged his talons through her chest. The impact snapped her sternum and several ribs in half. His fingers closed around her dead heart, and he yanked it out of her chest, spraying his white shirt with her blood. He crushed it between his fingers.

GM Maria Delgado reeled back from Mister Strix's brutal onslaught. A waterfall of scarlet blood cascaded down the side of her head. She raised a hand and pressed it against the hole where his bite had gouged out part of her brain. Blood streamed out through the cracks between her fingers. Her other hand flailed around as she staggered back and forth.

Mister Strix Damn near took my head off. Her instincts are a lot better than mine were when I was first turned. This breed hits the ground running. But maybe she's not as confident as she looks. Maybe I can throw her off-balance... The man in white scooped up some of his own dark blood off of his shirt, glanced at it, smirked, and flicked it aside. "The mortals may be easy prey for you, Child. But you're not at the top of the food chain. I am." He couldn't tell if his display had any effect on the newly turned vampire, but he didn't wait to find out. He kept slashing at her. When his claws finally found purchase, he pulled her in close and he leaned in for a bite of his own. His fangs plunged into the side of her head, and his powerful jaws clamped down, breaking off a chunk of her skull. He jerked his head back, taking that chunk of skull out of her head, and with it, the skin and hair above it, and some of the brain beneath it. He spit the whole mess onto the floor.

GM Maria Delgado ducked and sidestepped every wild swing of Mister Strix's claws. She was moving as fast as he was. To the mortals in the room with her, she was just a pale streak whizzing around. After one of Strix's swings left him wide open, she lunged forward, grabbing his shoulder and his mask and pulling his throat to her lips. His undead skin was like kevlar, but her fangs sliced into it like a knife through warm butter. He twisted himself free from her grip, but as he jerked himself away, her fangs tore his throat open. Black blood trickled down onto his white shirt. One could see crimson highlights if the light hit it at just the right angle.

Mister Strix Too late to save Ms. Delgado. Too late to save them. This is what happens to Adriana if I fail again. No. Not again. She will make it home to her daughter tonight. To her husband. The man in white bared his fangs, letting loose a growl that matched Maria's. He burned more blood, and his fingernails receded into his flesh, replaced a moment later by talons, each one nearly as long as the finger from which it sprouted. He leaped at Maria and slashed at her wildly. To everyone in the room except her, he was a white blur.

GM A fountain of blood erupted from Maria Delgado's mouth. As she writhed, as her body was jerked by a series of muscle spasms, that blood painted the room. One of the nurses who had been trying to hold her down managed to duck down beside the bed in time to avoid the spray, but the other nurse, and the orderly who happened to be in there when the woman started flatlining, were both drenched. They coughed and spat and rubbed their eyes. Mister Strix had barely reacted in time to save Doctor Aparo from the same fate, jerking her out of the doorway and raising his cape as the spray moved past the doorway. A torrent of blood splashed against his cape. When he lowered it, he saw a much more pale and lean Maria Delgado standing by her bed. Her red eyes glanced at him, then around her room. She licked her new fangs with a tongue two or three times as long as it should have been, and then she roared like a tiger.

Mister Strix Oh no. Mister Strix "burned" some of his stored blood, metabolizing it to activate his superhuman speed. Everything around him seem to fall into slow-motion as he grabbed Doctor Aparo's arm and yanked her out of the doorway to Maria's room, simultaneously raising his massive white cape to block the doorway. It's like ebola, he mused to himself. She's crashing out. I could have saved them all, if I'd been paying attention instead of mooning over my ex-wife like some schoolboy having his first crush. Those people are going to die because I was too stupid and too slow and too sloppy to save them.

GM Mister Strix's ability to cloud the minds of the mortals around him faltered. When he whispered his wife's name, she heard it. Doctor Aparo had been about to walk into a patient's room, but when she heard her own name, she stopped. She was startled at the sudden appearance of the man in white in front of her. "What the?!" She unconsciously took half a step back from him. Then she saw the blood on his hands and on his shirt. "Are you hurt? Or did you...?" Strix was so hypnotized at the sight of Doctor Aparo that he was oblivious to the events taking place in the patient's room beside him, until the people inside started yelling and alarms started beeping. He glanced to the side, and saw two nurses and an orderly trying to hold down a woman as she was wracked with violent convulsions. He knew from the alarms he'd heard a hundred times in another life that she must be in cardiac arrest. Strix's keen eyes saw the blood start to trickle over her lips, from her nose and ears and eyes. He saw the tiny name on her wristband and on the chart hanging on her bed: Maria Delgado. Doctor Aparo started to push past him. "I need to get in there!"

Mister Strix The man in white was dumbstruck at the sight of his widow. He dropped down from the ceiling and stared at her as she strode toward him. His mouth hung open. In his black eyes, the rest of the world around her slowly faded into a dull grey blur. Of course. Why am I surprised? We both started working here before...before...why wouldn't she still be here? Dad kept trying to convince us to apply at Our Lady of Sorrow instead, kept saying he could "make some calls", but we didn't want to work at a Mobbed-up whites-only Sixties throwback...no, we wanted to go "Where we could do the most good"...five years...she could have gone anywhere...she's still here...she's still... He let a single word slip out of his mouth, almost a whisper. "...Adriana..."