Amelia

@RocketLord please clarify: The ink has shown that it's independently mobile, but has it shown any ability to defy gravity? Has it moved up any walls, or just down? It's pouring through the hole in the floor of the top room down to the level below, but is it also sliding down through the hole and along the ceiling of the lower room where Strix is currently Spider-Manning?

Officer Friendly's opposed Grapple check: 41. She doesn't get ahold of him. Arrowhawk gets a Hero Point for the setback of running into an absurd Grapple bonus. 25 Notice is good enough for Arrowhawk to spot that Officer Friendly's car has vanished. @Thunder King, still waiting on rolls from you.

Strix technically can't get any more Destroyed than he already is, but I'll have him roll a Toughness save against a Damage effect with rank equal to the Healing effect now, and I'll apply it to him retroactively once he Regenerates, and give him a Hero Point for the setback. Toughness save (DC22): 28. Wow, natural 20. Even if I give it a crazy penalty, that still passes. OK, I'll describe some superficial damage with no in-game effect. Grimalkin inflicts an Injury condition upon herself to start removing the eyes. Initiative & Condition Summary Deep Spawn: 25 (Injured, Unconscious, Dead) Grimalkin: 22 (Transformed, Injured, 1HP) Mister Strix: 20 (Destroyed, 4HP) Set: 16 (Staggered, Disabled, Transformed, 3HP) Temperance: 16 (Unharmed, 5HP) Sekhmet: 13 (Unharmed, shares Set's 5HP)

GM Mister Strix's soaking wet corpse didn't actually look much different than it had when he was moving around under his own power, aside from having been disemboweled. He hung limply in Sekhmet's grasp. When she touched her healing light to his skin, it quickly burned and melted. The effect wasn't limited to the part of his body she touched. Several seemingly random clumps of flesh around his body smoldered and were consumed in an instant, including roughly half his face. Holes were burned in his clothing as well, leaving charred bone exposed to the air. He did not stir. There were no signs of awareness or mobility. Grimalkin continued to stare wordlessly at her own hands for a few moments longer. She poked at one of the eyes growing from a finger, and flinched. Her fingers were once again surrounded by a soft glow which quickly hardened into talons. She closed her eyes tightly, gritted her teeth, and began gouging the extra eyeballs out of her hands. She bit her tongue to stifle her own screams. Blood and white goo poured between her fingers in tiny waterfalls.

Mister Strix barely had the chance to spot the black liquid creeping toward him before Lady Horus pulverized the floor beneath them. He fell down through the new hole, landing on his feet without a sound, then quickly rolling to the side to avoid the ink dripping down after him. Whatever it is, whatever it does, it probably won't affect me. But it's probably best not to take the chance if I don't have to. His unnaturally powerful legs launched him back up at the ceiling. His hands and feet clung there like an insect. He quickly flipped himself around so that his back was against the ceiling. He glanced back and forth at the hole in the ceiling in front of him, and the floor beneath him. The ink is following us like it has a mind of its own. So let's find out if it can run up walls and cling to ceilings like I can. If not, it buys me time to think of something...

Nope

Reflex save (DC16): 25

It's been about a week since this thread moved. @Ecalsneerg, @Thunder King, consider yourselves poked.

It's been about a week since the last IC post. @Gizmo, @trollthumper, either of you can go anytime.

Are we still on for this, or is real-life still kicking your ass?

Oops, miscounted. Did not realize I had one more group to go. Oh well. The lone survivor from the last group will keep. He'll rush in and beat up the goons. Charge, and All-Out Attack and Power Attack for +/-2. Attack +10, Damage +10, Autofire & Takedown Attack 2. -4 Defense = +4 (DC14) until his next turn.

The thug's shots tore through Mister Strix's costume, but they barely pierced his skin. As usual, the wounds didn't bleed. The bullets simply remained embedded in his undead flesh. He glanced down at himself, then glared at the thug. He was about to pounce on him when he heard another group of men cock their guns behind him. Interrupted. Damn. Miscounted. He glared into the thug's eyes. "Hold still." Then he slowly turned toward the new group. His massive cape followed, flowing about him. "Killing for money. Killing children. Not a single one of you deserves to walk out of here tonight...so you won't." With a roar, he surged forward, a streak of white slamming into puny human flesh and bone like a wrecking ball through drywall.

So @RocketLord, what's going on with the floor under Lady Horus and Mister Strix? Figured I should check in with that before another IC post.

GM The deep spawn of He Who Watches Through Ten-Thousand Bleeding Eyes howled and screeched as Sekhmet's flaming makeshift spear impaled its bulbous flesh. Dozens of its eyes were burst like pustules by the impact and the heat. The vitreous fluid boiled and charred, leaving black streaks. Its tentacles flailed in its death throes, lashing out at the ice wall surrounding it, finally shattering it as the monster slumped into the water with a splash and died. Its eyes remained open, but they stopped moving. Trickles of blood still leaked from them into the water below. The purging of Grimalkin's guts seemed to clear her head as well. Once her stomach ran out of anything remotely solid to vomit up, she staggered back to the basement stairs and calmly sat down, alternately staring at the new eyes growing from her hands and then shuddering and looking away. Mister Strix's corpse remained completely submerged in the fetid pink water still flooding the basement floor.

That hadn't happened yet, Trollthumper, so thanks for clarifying. @Gizmo Speaking of, Sekhmet's about to become Exhausted on her turn unless Set spends 2HP (or Fatigued if Set only spends 1HP). But with the monster dead and no one in danger of attacking anyone else, we can drop out of combat rounds. Initiative & Condition Summary Deep Spawn: 25 (Injured, Unconscious, Dead) Grimalkin: 22 (Transformed, 1HP) Mister Strix: 20 (Destroyed, 3HP) Set: 16 (Staggered, Disabled, Transformed, 5HP) Temperance: 16 (Unharmed, 5HP) Sekhmet: 13 (Unharmed, shares Set's 5HP)

I'm going to go ahead and say that the Deep Spawn isn't just Dying, but is Dead. Obviously, horrors from beyond time and space don't count against the "Thou Shalt Not Kill" rule. Set gets a Hero Point for Sekhmet's cool attack. It's the start of the new round and the Deep Spawn is up, so everyone gets to make a new save against all their lasting status effects, at +1. Grimalkin: Will save against Fear (DC20): 25. She's no longer Frightened. Will save against Confuse (DC20): 26. She's no longer Confused. Fortitude save against Nauseate (DC20): 19. She'll burn a Hero Point for a re-roll, which means she'll automatically save, since her minimum possible result will beat the DC. She's no longer Nauseated. Set: Make a DC20 Will save at +1 to recover from the Confuse effect. Set is no longer Bound, since the other grappler is Dead. Set will recover from damage with rest, unless something else heals them first. Temperance: Make a DC20 Will save at +1 to recover from the Confuse effect. Temperance is no longer Blind. Since the Deep Spawn is dead, it's no longer creating a Fear effect, so she can look at it with no ill effect. Mister Strix: Mister Strix's action is up next, so he gets a recovery check to resurrect (DC10): 8. Not yet. I rolled and saved the rest of Mister Strix's recovery checks, so I know how long it'll take him to resurrect and recover, but I'll hold off on posting them until that rough amount of time has passed. In the meantime, it's up to you guys whether you try to heal him (heh) or write him off. I'll give him a Hero Point for the setback of being taken completely out of action and taking a statistically long time to recover. Initiative & Condition Summary Deep Spawn: 25 (Injured, Unconscious, Dead) Grimalkin: 22 (1HP) Mister Strix: 20 (Destroyed, 3HP) Set: 16 (5HP, Disabled, Staggered, Bound, Confused) Temperance: 16 (6HP, Blind, Confused) Sekhmet: 13 (Unharmed, shares Set's 5HP) Whether or not we drop out of combat rounds now depends on how Set and Temperance roll on their checks to recover from being Confused. If they're still Confused, then we'll keep rolling to see what they do, since it might include "attacking Set and/or Grimalkin."

No room for the Demoralize, since using your Super-Strength to coup-de-grace an inanimate object is a full action, but everything else works. The wall is Toughness 9, equal to Sekhmet's 7 Str + 2 Super-Str, so it fails its Toughness save by 10 and is Disabled, enough for Sekhmet to punch a Sekhmet-sized hole in it. Deep Spawn's Toughness save (DC27): 27. Hey look, Luck Control only takes a Reaction to use. What's that? Set uses Luck Control and burns a Hero Point to force the Deep Spawn to re-roll that save and take the worse of the two rolls? Works for me! Deep Spawn's Toughness save (DC27, re-roll): 12. Natural "1". Much better. The Deep Spawn fails by 15. I'm assuming lethal damage, because fire, so the Deep Spawn is Dying + Unconscious. Initiative & Condition Summary Deep Spawn: 25 (Injured, Dying, Unconscious) Grimalkin: 22 (Confused, Frightened, Nauseated, 2HP) Mister Strix: 20 (Destroyed, 2HP) Set: 16 (4HP, Disabled, Staggered, Bound, Confused) Temperance: 16 (6HP, Blind, Confused) Sekhmet: 13 (Unharmed, shares Set's 4HP)

GM Officer Friendly cocked his head slightly to the side. "Please move along, Sir. Nothing more to see here." He jerked the barrel of his enormous revolver to line up with Mister Strix's face and pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through Strix's skull right above his eye. When it burst out through the back of his head, it took most of the back of his skull with it. A large chunk of Strix's brain splattered across the pavement behind him. But there was no blood. Strix barely reacted. He didn't collapse, or stagger, or even flinch. Instead, he smiled, baring his razor-sharp fangs. The Tattered Man's punch had clearly broken Officer Friendly's nose. Even beneath the lycra stocking mask, it was obviously bent out of shape. And Arrowhawk's battle axe had sliced a deep gash in his torso. The tear in his uniform exposed pale flesh and crimson blood, though the wound bled far less than it should have for how deep the axe had cut, a mere trickle instead of a spill. In the time it took Officer Friendly to utter one sentence and pull the trigger on his gun, his nose bent itself back into place, and Arrowhawk's cut mended itself halfway closed. While one hand still holding his revolver in Strix's face, Officer Friendly's other hand, still holding his baton, whirled around and encircled The Tattered Man, pulling him close. With one arm, Officer Friendly was poised to pin both of The Tattered Man's arms down against his torso, pressing the baton against The Tattered Man's throat.

Officer Friendly Reaction: Officer Friendly's Regeneration kicks in, and one of his Injured conditions goes away. Arrowhawk gets a Hero Point for the setback. Free Action: Officer Friendly uses GM Fiat to get rid of his Dazed condition. Mister Strix gets the Hero Point. Standard Action: Officer Friendly shoots Strix with the gun they're holding. He'll Power Attack for -5 Attack / +5 Damage. Attack roll (DC16): 18. That's a DC25 Toughness save against lethal damage for Strix. Strix's Toughness save (DC25): 21. Strix fails by 4, so he suffers an Injury. Move Action: Officer Friendly does...something. EVERYONE NEEDS TO ROLL A NOTICE CHECK. Strix's Notice: 23. Free Action: Officer Friendly uses Extra Effort for another Standard Action. Standard Action: Officer Friendly initiates a Grapple against The Tattered Man. He'll Accurate Attack and All-Out Attack for +/-2 each. Attack roll (DC18): 21. Grapple check: 30. THE TATTERED MAN NEEDS TO MAKE AN OPPOSED GRAPPLE CHECK. Officer Friendly's Defense drops to +6 (DC16) until his next action. Initiative & Condition Summary 17: Arrowhawk (2HP, Bruised x3, Injured x2) 16: The Tattered Man (3HP, Bruised, Injured) 05: Mister Strix (3HP, Injured) 05: Officer Friendly (Injured x2) New round begins. Arrowhawk is up.

The bullet from "Officer Friendly"'s gun only grazed that tattered man's temple this time, but just a centimeter in the wrong direction, and that bullet could easily have burst his head like a piñata. His head, or some innocent bystander a building or two over in any direction. And he's got up to five more shots. I don't like those odds. I need to remove that gun from the equation. Mister Strix diverted his attention to Officer Friendly's ludicrously huge revolver. Strix's superhuman speed allowed him to get a grip on the weapon. But when he tried to use his matching superhuman strength to pull the weapon free from Officer Friendly's grip, he found that Officer Friendly was even stronger. Impossible...What are you? Strix tugged on the gun a few times, but he couldn't move Officer Friendly's hand so much as an inch. Time to change tactics, then. Are you as strong of mind as you are of body? Strix glared into the shadows of the white lycra mask where Officer Friendly's eyes should have been. "LET GO OF THE GUN." His inhumanly deep voice reverberated up and down the street. Officer Friendly's vise-like grip remained steady. I guess you are... Strix clenched his teeth and braced himself for the shot he knew was coming. Better me than one of the mortals...

Mister Strix Move Action: None. He's already in melee with Officer Friendly. Standard Action: Mister Strix will attempt a Disarm maneuver to take Officer Friendly's gun. He'll All-Out Attack for +2 Attack / -2 Defense. Attack roll (DC18): 15. He'll burn a Hero Point for a re-roll. Attack roll (DC18, Re-roll): 23. That "3" becomes a "13". +2 "damage" from Autofire. Mister Strix's contested Disarm check: 14. Bloody hell. Officer Friendly's contested Disarm check: 22. Strix already used a Hero Point to re-roll the attack, so he can't re-roll the Disarm check. Officer Friendly keeps a firm grip on his pistol. Free Action: Strix reconfigures his array. The Mind Control power is now active. Free Action: Strix uses Extra Effort for a second Standard Action. Standard Action: Strix uses Mind Control on Officer Friendly. Officer Friendly's Reflex save (DC18): 14. He doesn't avert his gaze in time. Strix's Mind Control power check: 13. Officer Friendly's Will save: 26. Fortune continues to piss in Strix's breakfast. Strix will be Fatigued at the start of his next action. Initiative & Condition Summary 17: Arrowhawk (1HP, Bruised x3, Injured x2) 16: The Tattered Man (3HP, Bruised, Injured) 05: Mister Strix (2HP) 05: Officer Friendly (Injured x3, Dazed)

The milky wisp that was Mister Strix briefly glimpsed the field of darkness before flying past its edge. That is going to attract attention. But not as much attention as that. Even though he was currently just a cloud, and as such, he felt the vibration from the impact only as a distant, almost abstract sensation, Strix still flinched when Lady Horus hit. He continued to hug the ceiling, where he was least likely to be seen, but he doubled his flight speed. Strix floated just above and behind the guards, continuing to hug the ceiling as they ran down the hall. When they reached the storage room and saw Lady Horus, the cloud drifted down to the ground and coalesced back into the form of a dead man. She provided the distraction. Would be a shame to waste it. Besides, I don't know if she's bullet-proof or not, and I don't want to learn the hard way. Strix grabbed two of the guards by the sides of their heads and smashed their skulls together. The third turned around just in time to see Strix kick him hard enough in his ribs to send him flying into one of the bookshelves lining the walls. Once the guards were slumped unconscious on the floor, Strix got a full view of the giant glowing ankh that was the full manifestation of Lady Horus's power. He cringed, pulled his cape up to shield his face, and squeezed his eyes shut. They felt like they were on fire. He roared from behind his cape, the same tiger's roar Lady Horus had heard in the alley behind Doctor Thorne's office. Run No It burns Stay calm Run No RUN RUN R-NO...No. I'm not an animal. No, you're a monster. Maybe, but I'm their monster. Slowly, he lowered his cape, though he still very obviously kept his eyes on everything in the room except Lady Horus.

Per our Discord conversation, the sight of Lady Horus's ankh inflicts an Emotion Control (Fear) effect on Mister Strix with a power rank equal to her Power Level. Will save (DC20): 27. Booyah.

Nitpick, she's only blind because she's keeping her eyes shut. She can open them anytime. But then, she'll have to make a Will save against the Fear effect, unless she's got her back turned to the creature (which would probably be even less useful than having her eyes closed). From Discord: That's a Toughness 9 wall the Deep Spawn will now have to bust through before it can get to any of the PCs. That's awesome, and smart tactics. Trollthumper gets a Hero Point. Temperance will be Fatigued from the Extra Effort at the top of her next action. Initiative & Condition Summary Deep Spawn: 25 (Injured) Grimalkin: 22 (Confused, Frightened, Nauseated, 2HP) Mister Strix: 20 (Destroyed, 2HP) Set: 16 (5HP, Disabled, Staggered, Bound, Confused) Temperance: 16 (6HP, Blind, Confused) Sekhmet: 13 (Unharmed, shares Set's 5HP) @Gizmo Sekhmet is up.

Gizmo previously said he's going to let Set remain Dazed for the round, so @trollthumper, Temperance is up. @Gizmo, if you want to do an IC post describing Set's lack of action, feel free. Initiative & Condition Summary Deep Spawn: 25 (Injured) Grimalkin: 22 (Confused, Frightened, Nauseated, 2HP) Mister Strix: 20 (Destroyed, 2HP) Set: 16 (5HP, Disabled, Staggered, Bound, Confused) Temperance: 16 (5HP, Blind, Confused) Sekhmet: 13 (Unharmed, shares Set's 5HP) EDIT: Forgot that Grimalkin melee attacking the Deep Spawn triggers its Reaction Nauseate + Transform power. Grimalkin's Fortitude save (DC20): 12. Can't re-roll, since she already did that once during this round. Grimalkin's condition updated to include Nauseated.