Heritage

"Take that, evildoer!" Grapple: 1d20+23=28 I know I could have gone up to +33, but then she couldn't do anything else. Edit: Nyrath pointed out a didn't do my correct to hit roll. To hit: 1d20+10=14 Le sigh

The heroine's eyes went wide with fury as her smouldering hair twitched and snapped in outrage. Then a cruel smiled spread across her lips. "No, you don't; you just has a microscopic member and can't hit the broad side of a barn!" In a flash, Gossamer's still-smoking hair shot forward, attempting to wrap itself around her arrogant foe. "You're so I right, I hate to shed blood and get it all over my lovely hair...but I have absolutely no problem shattering bones." She hoped to give him a squeeze, just a little one, to give him a taste of things to come. "Now tell me how to release him, or you'll spend the next year hooked to a machine yourself."

Well at least life in this city is never boring. Estelle's first priority was getting the kids to safety, but dropping some goons would make that a lot easier. The blonde scientist kicked off her shoes, removed her splash goggles and shook out her hair, always an impressive sight; as the shimmering locks spread out around her, she activated her wristband, allowing the silvery nanomachines to spread across her body in a protective layer. "Watch your heads, kids!" Gossamer's hair swept across the room like a golden tidal wave, the breeze of its passing sending papers flying in all directions as it rolled over the henchbots.

Yay, first time using Takedown Attack feat! Taking 10 totals 20 to hit. Toughness save is DC 25.

Bluff (pre-pp spending): 1d20+7=24. So, what happens next?

Yeah, I think so; those three feats are mostly tricks I learned in Oom Pah Pah! Doktor'd

Wait, i don't see Gossamer's three new feats listed on the actual sheet, which I'm pretty sure is because I typed that damn thing so darn fast (I was paying by the minute an on my way to see a show). Improved Initiative, Power Attack and Takedown Attack probably use up some of those 'unspent' points. :(

D'oh! Intimidate: 1d20+3=5

For a moment, Gossamer was actually mad at herself. Damn it, should I have called the League? But how does one even do that? Nevermind, I'll take care of this myself. Shaking off her self-doubt, the blonde heroine took a deep breath, and then sent the full mass of her hair sweeping down into the basement, like the boom of some great sailing ship smashing its way across the deck in a gale. And with great satisfaction, she felt the men knocked aside like storm-tossed ragdolls. All but one. The golden tidal wave retreated back up the steps and swirled around the statuesque scientist, hovering like a shimmering thunderhead about her shoulders as she glared at the last man standing. "So...I take it you're the ringleader?" Her locks coiled and flexed behind her, creating a very disturbing creaking sound that suggested a catapult ready to fire. "Release my friend now, or I will bring this house down on your head." :evil:

Lynn stared at the little piece of plastic in both hands, running her thumb along the edge. "They do." And then a wave of emotion swept over her, a mixture of happiness and sadness. She looked up at her wonderful cowboy with tears in her eyes. "But I could never...they would have to be trapped live, I guess, and then..." Suddenly she threw her arms around him, holding him tightly as she cried. "Oh Colt, I'm sorry; this was a thing you wanted us to do together, but I can't, I just can't!" Finally she let go and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "But, y'know, we can do other macho ****, right? You can, ah, teach me about guns, and we can go to the range, and I'll look like a little girl holding this giant gun, with like those big orange earmuffs on? And we can do paintball-" Then she got all excited and she slapped him a few times on the shoulder. "Oh, oh, maybe we can fish! I think I can do that! Please tell me you fish; tell me you loooooove fishin' and you can't wait to have a rod in your hand. Wait, that sounds wrong."

The kissing was nice, as always, but then Colt's comment made her frown ith confusion. "What?" She reached up and touched her hair, then rolled in her eyes in annoyance. "Aw, man!" Grim bolted upright and grabbed a few napkins to dab at the stain. "Look, I appreciate your curiousity about my faith and my people, but don't think for a minute that I would ever force you do something you don't want to do." Checking to see if she got it all, she tucked the dirty napkin into a pocket on her daypack for later disposal. "When my folks got married, Mom laid down the law; our house was going to be a Conservative household, and Dad went along with that. But Dad grew up in a Reform household, and a pretty lax one at that; he'd been eating pork chops since he was a kid." She shrugged. "Pretty soon, the guy was miserable, and it was hurting their marriage. Finally my mom did something she rarely does: she admitted she was wrong. She told Dad staying together was worth a little sacrifice; now, she didn't start making him pork chops, but she did let him indulge when he went out with his friends." She set her bag aside, grabbed both of Colt's hands and looked him right in the eye. "You are worth it, and I will never push you away, okay?"

Lynn had to laugh as she watched her boyfriend juggle his various appetites. "Wow, that was impressive; that was like a YouTube moment right there." She takes another pull off her bottle of lemonade, then screws the cap back on. "Okay, sadly it's easier to start with the prohibitions, the don'ts not the do's; all these rules were laid out in the Torah, aka the Jewish bible, which is not the same as the Old Testament, by the way, though they're pretty close in some ways." She starts ticking points off on her fingers. "Number one, you can't eat meat and dairy together; this means no cheeseburgers, no milkshakes with your steak and no chicken alfredo. This is wrong because, in theory, it's possible to consume the flesh of an animal with the milk of its mother." She holds up her hands in a shrug. "I know, chickens don't give milk, and the chances of the mother's milk thing happening is like a million to one, but it's about respect. The Jewish people must respect the animals they eat, and not just stuff meat in their mouths without thinking about it." "Number two, no blood in your meat. It has to be drained and scoured out with kosher salt, which is called kashering and then cooked throughly, so none of this 'make mine pink' stuff." "Number three, only mammals that both chew their cud and have cloven hooves are fit to eat, so no camals, pigs, rabbits, hyraxes or a bunch of other weird animals. Girrafes are now technically considered kosher, but good luck finding a sochet who could pull of that miracle. Oh yeah, also most hard cheeses have this stuff called 'rennet' in it, which comes from a cow's stomach, so those cheeses are out." The young Jewish girl paused for another sip of lemonade, then gave Colt a sympathetic smile. "Sorry hon, just two more major ones; the other stuff is mostly about grain and wine, which to be honest I'm usually really bad about unless it's Passover. And I was brought up Conservative, not Orthodox, so we didn't do any of the stuff with the milk-safe plates; too big of a hassle." "Number four, only fish with both fins and scales are kosher, no eels, shark, swordfish, catfish and nooooo shellfish. Kiss them crawdad good-bye. It's in Leviticus, which is where you find most of these rules, along with Deuteronomy. And Jews don't consider fish meat, so you can go nuts with fish and dairy." And now, Grim started waving her arms about dramatically, like she's about to either throw out the first pitch or perform an exorcism. "And now, your big rule number five, the one I always save for last because it freaks people out: ritual slaughter!" She cupped her hands around her mouth and made fake crowd noises. "Yes folks, it's ritual slaughter, the thing that really seperates the Jews from the Gentiles." With a flick of her wrist, the changeling is holding what looks to be a razor-sharp knife, somewhere between a cleaver and a straght razor. "This is the knife a shochet would use to kill, say, a chicken; the blade has to be sharp, rust-free and not have even a single nick in it." She hands the realistic-looking prop to Colt for him to examine. "Now that's some kind of faerie silver or something, 'cause I can't make real steel; it's not actually all that hard, so you could probably snap it pretty easy." She makes a lightweight wooden version of the knife and tosses it from hand to hand. "Now a shochet is a specially-trained butcher who's whole job is to minimize the animal's suffering; the animal cannot be drugged, abused or in anyway unhealthy. The animal must be held, with great respect and kindness, and the cut-" And here Grim looks very solemn as she holds the wooden blade to her neck and makes a smooth single motion. "One stroke, completely severing the throat, veins, arteries, everything; the animal will bleed out in seconds." The fae placed her wooden knife on the ground cloth in front of her, like a samurai laying down his sword, and watched as it slowly melts back into mist. "It means something, to take a life, be it human or any other animal." She smiles. "It always makes me think of those movies, where like an Indian kills a deer, and he thanks it for it's sacrifice?" Lynn sighs, opens up her bottle, and drains the last of her lemonade; as she sets down the empty bottle, she turns to Colt and shakes her head. "A good Jew doesn't just grab a bite of whatever is lying around; he thinks about what he's putting in his body, and the steps people took to prepare it. He appreciates the bounty of the Earth, and is thankful for God's many gifts." Then she threw her arms wide and fell back on the blanket, her head landing on half of her sandwich and getting a good bit of Grey Poupon in her hair. "Aaaaaand I'm guessing I just scared the crap out of you." ;)

"Mmm, well it's a little complicated." She poured a pouch of Crystal Light in her water, shook it up and then took a long swig. "Ahh, that's the good stuff!" She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, set aside her drink and rubbed her hands. "Okay, so if you really want to know, the rules of kosher, kashrut as well call it, basically fall into two major catagories: what foods you can and cannot eat, and how that food is prepared. Also at Passover the rules get much stricter, to remind us of what the people of Israel endured during the time of slavery." Lynn took a deep breath and smiled. "You sure you want to hear all this? We had to memorize this stuff in schul, and I could go on and on if you don't stop me."

Lynn snorted as she stood up. "Yeah, that plan was doomed to fail; here, you can lay it over my magic one for double the moisture protection." She skipped to one side and helped Colt lay it over the first one before resuming her seat. "Okay, now that is gosh darn comfy." As she started to unpack their portable feast, her tone became more thoughtful. Y'know when you really think about it, my glamour is actually really good for the environment. I don't have to buy clothes any more, which means less water used and chemicals and stuff poured into the sewers. I make my own furniture, my own toys to amuse myself. Plus the time and energy I save by not having to maintain all that crap..." Feeling proud of herself, she began to fix a few pastrami sandwiches for the two of them, while humming some old Disney tune as she spread the dijon mustard on thick.

Lynn felt sick to her stomach; it was like all those legends of old she'd read up on when she found out she was fae. Through a quirk of fate, a man could lose everyone he'd ever love, and return to find them dust and bones. She tried to imagine her own family, every one of her pathologically messed-up kin all gone forever, and a dagger of ice sliced down her spine. Because if she really was fae...then that might actually happen... :shock: Oh god...oh god... But then her lover's voice snapped her back to the here and now, and all she cared about was Colt; she'd never seen him this scared before. She went to him, and as she rose from the sofa she grew taller and taller, like some weird giraffe girl; at first it made no sense why she would do this, but then she took him in her arms and rested his head on her shoulder and shushed him, like a young mother comforting her son, running long fingers through his hair. The sensation was odd, maternal yet otherworldy, too; sometimes Grim's heart took her metamorphic flesh in strange directions.

Notice check:1d20+6=9 Initiative: 1d20+7=12

Ok, with her last 3 pp, I think I need to boost her two lowest saves, so let's set Fort at 8 and Willl at 7! Also her Initiative score should now be +7.

New edit for march spending on Gossamer! New feats! Improved Initiative Power Attack Takedown Attack New skills! Bluff 4 (+7, +11 w/ Attractive) Notice 4 (+6) Search 4 (+8) Stealth 4 (+7) Take a look-see! [img=http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/images2/Gossamer.jpg] [b]Character Name[/b]: Gossamer [b]Power Level[/b]: 11 (163/163 pp) [b]Unspent PP[/b]: 0 [b]Alternate Identity[/b]: Dr. Estelle de Havilland [b]Height[/b]: 5' 9" [b]Weight[/b]: 141 lbs. [b]Hair[/b]: Blond (reaches down to her ankles) [b]Eyes[/b]: Blue [b]Appearance:[/b] Estelle is a beautiful blond with refined features and an elegant bearing whom always dresses to impress. Though her face and figure are both extremely attractive, the first thing anyone notices about Estelle is her amazing hair, which floats about her like a cloud of luminous gold. In its natural state, it cascades over her shoulders and down to her ankles, but she often wears it up or in a thick braid to keep it out of the way. Normally she dresses quite well, as her mother taught her, eschewing jeans and T-shirts for simple dresses with classic lines and open-toed shoes; she likes diamonds and vintage jewelry, but keeps the pieces small and tasteful. However, if she's not planning on going out, she will revert to collegiate sweats and gym shoes for comfort and convenience. As Gossamer, she wears an experimental protective suit (in blue and white), designed by ASTRO Labs; though the material appears to be rather thin, it is actually well-insulated and includes a combination communicator/wireless uplink on the left wrist. [b]History:[/b] Estelle de Havilland grew up wealthy - she is neither proud nor ashamed of this fact, as it has always been part of her environment. It's been said that the de Havilland family owns a third of the Eastern Seaboard, and while this statement is obviously an exaggeration, it is true than Estelle need not have worked a day of her life, if she so chose. The family estate on Long Island was like a magic castle for the de Havilland children, who were essentially raised by its staff; however, young Estelle manifested a questing intelligence at an early age, more interested in science and reading than charity balls and fashion shows like her brother and three sisters. Her very traditional parents were somewhat flummoxed - a bright daughter is nothing to be ashamed of, but one who displayed no interest in either the family's investments or impressing the sons of other wealthy dynasties did present a bit of a problem. It was decided that she would attend the best schools and university (the de Havillands have been linked with Harvard for nearly a century) while still being raised as a proper lady. Estelle dutifully worked on her calligraphy and proper manners, took dance and tennis lessons, and went to all the right parties in all the right dresses. She never resented these family obligations, and always managed to enjoy herself, fully aware of both the importance and silliness of this rarefied world. In time, Estelle grew to be a beautiful young woman of grace and poise, and her parents breathed a sigh of relief - at least she wasn't a tomboy, like her cousin Arlene. Once at Harvard, Estelle felt truly alive for the first time in her young life. No one cared how much money she had; all that mattered was hard work, dedication, and the occasional raucous party to blow off steam. She made many friends and earned high marks, and was glad to find that she'd more or less dropped off the cultural radar, no longer interesting enough to regularly show up in gossip magazines along with her younger sisters Selene and Celeste. She went on to pursue her doctorate in organic chemistry, and took a position in one of her family’s research labs in Freedom City, and it was here that her life would change forever. Her older brother Jason had been effectively running De Havilland after their father had stepped down to an advisory position to spend more time with his wife, who has been fighting cancer for several years. Jason, eager to bring the company into the 21st Century, authorized research involving synthetic compounds based on samples of Grue DNA, especially for use in the medical and beauty aid divisions; at first Estelle was leery of working with the compounds, but Jason showed her data that convinced her, and told her everything had been run by the FDA. He told her to keep her findings secret for now, but due to issues of industrial competition she didn’t really question it at the time. One late Friday night in the lab while she was trying to isolate certain protein strands, a tired and overworked Estelle spilled some particularly caustic reagents on herself and one of the compounds, so she rushed into a nearby emergency hazmat shower to save herself from serious burns; as she stood in the tiny stall ripping off her contaminated clothing, the fumes rose up, making her dizzy, and she passed out right then and there. When she awoke the next day, half-naked and damp, she discovered that she'd somehow inadvertently triggered a strange mutation - her hair had grown super-long, and was animated by her very thoughts! After some time experimenting, she wrapped herself in a fire blanket and took a taxi to the Albright Institute, as she had clearly been somehow altered. However as she described the circumstances that lead to her transformation, she was shocked to find out that not only had the FDA not approved the research, but in fact the samples she’d been using were mostly likely from actual Grue, and had recently been stolen from that very lab! The subsequent investigation cost the de Havillands millions, and put Jason in jail, as well as making public his drinking and gambling problems. The first thing Estelle’s father did when he took over the reins of power once more was to fire her and shut down her lab; a truly loyal daughter would have kept it in the family, within the company, not bring ruin down upon them all. Cut off from her inheritance, she decided to seek out Dr. Clarence Macleod’s help, and he was able to find her a position at ASTRO for the time being. Her older sister Sunny is still on speaking terms with her, as is her ailing mother when she gets the chance, but otherwise things are quite chilly between her and her family; the de Havillands are too rich to be wiped out by such a disaster, though it will take years to undue the damage to their reputation. For her part, Estelle sees her bizarre new circumstance as a sort of ironic message from the cosmos to get over herself and think about others more often. [b]Personality:[/b] Estelle is no 'frosty blond' - despite her breeding and refined upbringing, she's both friendly and approachable, and has a wicked sense of humor. Her laugh is surprisingly loud and contagious, and she tends to laugh a lot - how else should she respond to her bizarre new condition? No one, not even Estelle herself, would deny that she can be a bit vain, but as true as this is, it does her an injustice; she is very passionate about both her chosen field of study and to helping those who are less fortunate. Though she may seem shallow and image-obsessed at times, all concerns about her appearance go out the window if someone is in genuine need; of course, she will most likely bemoan her bedraggled state at length after the fact. She collects first editions of Russian literature, and loves to go out dancing with friends whenever she can 'slip away'. She also owns several vintage Gibson electric guitars, and plays along with her favorite albums when she needs to unwind. [b]Powers:[/b] Estelle has full control of her hair, which she can form into up to twenty-five tendrils that lengthen at will up to 100 feet; her hair limbs are just as dexterous as her own two hands, capable of such complicated tasks as typing a letter or shuffling cards. Despite its rather lightweight appearance, her hair is surprisingly strong, allowing her to lift up to six tons with ease. She can also automatically style her hair at will, and often does so to playful or sensual effect. She is constantly finding new ways to use her powers through experimentation. [b][u]Abilities[/u]: [/b] [0+6+4+8+4+6 = 28pp] Strength: 10/30 (+0/+10) Dexterity: 16 (+3) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 16 (+3) [b][u]Combat[/u][/b]: [20+16 = 36pp] Attack: 10 (Unarmed +10) Grapple: +10, +23 w/ Hair, up to +33 if using all her Hair for nothing but a Grapple Defense: +8 (+4 flat-footed) Knockback: -10, -9 flat-footed; -2 w/out Suit, -1 w/out Suit and flat-footed Initiative: +3 [b][u]Saves[/u]:[/b] [4+7+4 = 15pp] Toughness: +12 (Impervious 8), +10 (Imp 8) flat-footed; +4 w/out Suit, +2 w/out Suit and flat-footed Fortitude: +6 (+2 Con, +4) Reflex: +10 (+3 Dex, +7) Will: +6 (+2 Wis, +4) [b][u]Skills[/u]:[/b] [52r = 13pp] Acrobatics 5 (+8) Bluff 4 (+7, +11 w/ Attractive) Computers 1 (+5) Craft (Chemical) 6 (+10) Craft (Mechanical) 1 (+5) Diplomacy 4 (+7, +11 w/ Attractive) Disable Device 1 (+5) Drive 1 (+4) Gather Information 2 (+5) Knowledge (Arts) 2 (+6) Knowledge (Current Events) 1 (+5) Knowledge (History) 1 (+5) Knowledge (Life Sciences) 4 (+8) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 8 (+12) Knowledge (Popular Culture) 1 (+5) Language 2 (French, Russian; English is native) Medicine 1 (+3) Notice 4 (+6) Perform (Dance) 1 (+4) Perform (Stringed Instruments) 5 (+8) Profession: Teacher 4 (+6) Ride 1 (+4) Search 4 (+8) Stealth 4 (+7) [b][u]Feats[/u]: [/b] [14pp] Ambidexterity Attractive Benefit 2 (ASTRO Labs access, Wealth 1) Chokehold Connected Contacts Defensive Roll 2 Improved Grab Improved Grapple Improved Pin Improvised Tools Quick Change [b][u]Powers[/u]:[/b] [20+30 = 50pp] [b]Device 5[/b] (Bodysuit, 25 points, hard to lose) [20pp] [quote][b]Communication 4[/b] (radio) [b]Datalink 4[/b] (radio) [b]Immunity 1[/b] (cold) [b]Protection 8[/b] ([i]Extra[/i]: Impervious 8)[/quote] [b]Prehensile Hair 6 [/b](Container) [30pp] [b]Prehensile Hair 10[/b] (100 feet, 25 tendrils; [i]PF[/i]: 2 APs) [u]AP 1[/u]: [b]Deflect 8[/b] (slow projectiles) [u]AP 2[/u]: [b]Snare 5[/b] ([i]Extra[/i]: Engulf) [b]Enhanced Strength 20[/b] ([i]Limit[/i]: Only with Prehensile Hair) [b]Super-Movement 2[/b] (Slow Fall, Swinging) [b]Super-Senses 1[/b] (Analytic Touch, [i]Limit[/i]: Only with Prehensile Hair) [b]Super-Strength 3[/b] ([i]Limit[/i]: Only with Prehensile Hair) [Heavy Load: 6 tons] [b][u]Drawbacks[/u][/b]: None [b][u]DC Block[/u][/b] Unarmed -- DC 15/Toughness -- Damage Hair -- DC 25/Toughness -- Damage Totals: Abilities 28 + Skills 14 + Feats 17 + Powers 50 + Combat 36 + Saves 15 = 163/163 pp Should all add up (I hope!) DONE BY SHAENTHEBRAIN

Sorry, a bad habit. Claws: DC 23/Toughness (25 w/ Sneak Attack) And Grim's got the feats that her Strength and attacks are not reduced at this small size, so at that distance it would look like his skin just opened up on its own accord :twisted: Since we're at the start of combat, is Mister Fishstick considered to be flat-footed, I hope I hope?

Yes, she's using that HP you just kindly provided to avoid exhaustion. I will do a post to reflect that attack very shortly, but I need food right now Initiative: 1d20+3=16

Okay, so Goss could take 10 and use Takedown Attack to sort of sweep out the mooks, am I correct? Assuming they fail vs her 20 to hit and all.

Yay! Using EE (and Nyrath's advice), Gossamer is adding Takedown Attack this round.

I don't have any HP left, do I? And I think I'm still fatigued.

Grim smiled gratefully and rested her hand on Jester's arm as she nodded emphatically. "Thank you, seriously. It means a lot to me." She jerked her head back toward the direction they came from. "And thanks for the, uh..." She frowned, curled her fingers and sort of smooshed them back and forth like she was playing a concertina. "Scrunchy thing earlier. It saved us a trip in the rain." The changeling wasn't sure if her boyfriend had pitched his voice so low so only she (in theory) could hear him, or if he was just feeling that miserable; regradless, she had, so she stepped over to him, grabbed his collar and pulled him down for a warm kiss before muttering in his ear. "Hang in there, cowboy, we'll figure this out, alright? Together." Once she let him go, she grabbed his nose and gave it a playful twist. "Nert! C'mon, let's see how much damage Doc can do." Grim took Colt by the hand and led him into the sanctuary.

The archer's clear aversion to lethal violence was certainly commendable, though Gossamer wondered how easy it would be to avoid it in ship-to-ship combat. With the ship more or less stable, she released herself from her own hair and stood up to examine the cabin more thouroughly. "I would think it will be quite challenging to fire upon another pressurized vessel and not breach the hull, leading to explosive decompression. Perhaps your best chance would be to target the ship's propulsion systems? After all, a crippled ship will have a much harder time giving chase." The blonde scientist smiled at the rakish swordsman's words. "No, this is definitly the highlight... though feel to invite me to any such parties you might attend in the future, and I promise to do the same in return." Then she approached Atlas. "Did you say this was a recent development, the shapeshifting? How long have you been able to do this?" A thin golden wisp gently slid across his massive chest; clearly Estelle is fascinated by the sudden metamophosis. "One doesn't see this level of precision very often."