Dr Archeville

That does in fact miss He Who Wields The Spider-Staff.

The creature's nearly-expressionless face just managed to convey a sense of annoyance at this. It turned towards the graves they had been at and called out, "Hey! Is this guy," it pointed to Physicus, "joshin' me? Or is he really just pickin' up somethin' a friend left?" Nothing appeared to Zak's eyes, no whisperings picked up by his ears. All exactly as he'd expected. "Thomas, yer the one who saw 'im -- did you see 'im dig all th' way down, or just partway?" It appeared as if the strange being was watching someone move from around the church, and listening carefully to someone, but Zak still saw and heard nothing. Dang, looks like I owe this guy an apology. And Thomas a lesson in not jumpin' th' gun. The being whirled quickly back around to face Zak, and held its right arm outstretched; the left one was still dislocated and flopped about. "Sir, it does indeed appear an egregious mistake has been made, and for mah actions I do sincerely apologize. I-" The being paused as it had glanced down and seen its flopping arm. "Oh, my, that is embarassin'! Lemme jes... there!" it said as it popped its wayward arm back into place, "that's got it!" "Now, where was I... oh, yes! Who am I? Well, folks 'round these parts got lots o' names fer me -- some of which I shall not repeat -- but you can call me Dead Head. As fer what I am... well, that's a bit trickier. I would normally list a few film references, but since ya've never heard of black magic, and on account of them fancy clothes ya got on, I'm guessin' yer not from around here, so any movie I mention would be lost on ya. Hrrmm...." The being tapped on its chin with one finger, deep in thought.

Pft, you and your internally consistent logic...

psst... when's this going down?

"Hunh... a man who knows his own limits. That's a mighty rare sight." Luring me in? Or is this legit? Eh, I thwacked him once, I can do it again if need be, so I'll give 'im a listen. "Though, if'n you recall" the being said as it crouched down -- still keeping its unblinking eyes on Zak -- and reached under the pressure bubble with its flopping dislocated arm to retrieve its shovel, "I did start questionin' first. Who are ya, and what're ya doin' stealin' from that grave over yonder? Ya don't look the type that's strapped fer cash, or the type to traffick in black magic, so what are ya doin' disturbin' mah friends here? Answer me that, an' I'll tell ya what folks 'round these parts call me." Its arm still hung loose. It did not seem to notice.

Creepier now that I went in an added a bit I'd accidentally left out. ;)

3 putrid power points for Dead Head. 1 to add 4 ranks in Diplomacy. (He's a nice guy, really!) [b][u]Skills[/u][/b]: [56 ranks = 14pp] Diplomacy 4 (+5) 2 to add the Connected and Contacts feat, linked to his Comprehend (Spirits) power, to show how he can call on them for information and the occasional favor. [b][u]Powers[/u][/b]: [3+4+7+2+1+1+32+6+2+14+17+22+3+3 = 117pp] [b]Comprehend 2[/b] (languages [understand all], spirits; [i]Extra[/i]: Linked [b]Enhanced Feats 2[/b] [Connected, Contacts]; [i]PF[/i]: 1 Alternate Power) [2x2 +3 = 7pp] [u]AP[/u]: [b]Super-Senses 8[/b] (postcognition, precognition; [i]Flaws[/i]: Distracting, Requires corpse) DONE BY SHAENTHEBRAIN

"OOOF!" was the sound the air rushing out of the strange beings lungs made. Crud, this guy's some kinda air-bender. An' his next move's likely t'be t'put me up, up, and away! "Cute... trick..." the being gasped out; it would make sense that talking in an area of such magnified air pressure would be difficult for anyone using lungs and vocal chords. "But... I... got... one... bet... ter..." Zak heard a series of disturbing popping sounds, and he now had further proof of this being's insanity: it was dislocating its joints in an attempt to contort its body and wriggle through the snare, an act which had to be incredibly painful! Either this being was a complete masochist, or was high on some manner of narcotic. Plus, it should be impossible for it to break free in such a manner -- while Zak was sure there were some gaps in the pressure-bubble he'd made, especially along the ground, this being would have to not only dislocate almost every single one of its major joints but also partially cave in its ribcage to- CRUNCH! To Zak's surprise and concern, that is exactly what the being did. In a surprisingly short time, it had popped out its limbs, compressed its chest and skull slightly, wriggled under the pressure bubble like a mouse squeezing through a hole, then stood back up and restored itself. Well, mostly; its left arm still hung loose out of the shoulder socket and dangled at one side. And through it all, through every bit of it, his eyes never once shut, never blinked. They just stared at Zakitaj. "That all ya got, ya windbag?"

Dead Head's actually worried now, since he thinks Zak is an air manipulator and his next move is going to be to fling him up, up and away. DH is opposed to that -- not because of the fall, or the sudden stop, but because of the walk back. And who knows what this purple-and-silver graverobber would do while he's trudging back?! Standard Action to activate Insubstantial. Extra Effort to surge and gain another Standard action; HP to nix the fatigue. Full round action to escape; Escape Artist check, DC (20 + Snare's rank), or DC 30, but his Insubstantial lets him automatically succeed at any Escape Artist check.

Gossamer's flurry of hair-fists strike true, knocking out not only four of Scrounge's minions, but also Scrounge himself! The four minion slumped to the floor or ground, while Scrounge fell thirty-some feet from the sky, into an open dumpster. But wait: there's five minions! And there the fifth one was, standing at the truck, clutching the giant spider-leg staff tight. "Ha! Guess this thing's got some power in it after all! I-" He stopped and looked around, seeing everyone else was down for the count. He turned and ran.

Minions Reflex Saves: Reflex saves (DC 20) (1d20+1=15, 1d20+1=20, 1d20+1=17, 1d20+1=4, 1d20+1=17) No.2 (Spider-Leg-Man) just made it, the rest failed. No.2 only faces a DC 20 Toughness save, the rest face a DC 25 Toughness save. Minion Toughness Saves: Toughness saves (1d20+5=24, 1d20+5=24, 1d20+5=11, 1d20+5=8, 1d20+5=21) No.2 passes! The rest fail, and since they're Minions, any failure = KO. (Clearly the Spider-Leg bestows phenomenal luck powers!) Scrounge's Ref Save: Reflex save (1d20+5=13) fails, so he faces a DC 25 Toughness save Scrounge's Toughness Save: Toughness save (1d20+7=8) Fails by 17! He is KO'd!

Ah, no, you're right.

Reflex saves, my own weakness! Reflex save vs. Snare (DC 20) (1d20+6=12) That fails by 8, so he'd be immobilized. Question: is the Snare going to be an airtight bubble of kinetic force, or bands of force? I can do fun things with either; bands lets him show off his "insubstantial" (or anatomic separation), while an airtight bubble would let him fake being suffocated. EDIT: nevermind, I see it's compressed air. Very clever. (And don't forget everyone starts with 1 HP, so you do still have one if you need it!)

No problem. *eagerly waits to see how Zak will attack the obviously deranged madman*

In the interests of doing as little backpedaling as possible, I'm fine with saying DH looks on as Zak reels (stunned) for a few seconds, and when Zak snaps to he acts as you'd already posted. And by "looks on" I mean trying to ask the grave's inhabitant what's going on; when Zak snaps to, it will look like the madman is talking to the grave again.

How is he managing to keep his voice so even and- wait, what'd he just say? "Well, well, could it be that I'm mistaken?," the clearly insane being replied. Though his facial expression barely altered -- the rictus grin remained unchanged -- the tone of his voice did show he was open to negotiations. "Sure, I'll go your way. In fact, fer bein' such a good sport," he said as he jerkily shambled after Zak, appearing to use the shovel as a walking aid to steady his balance, "I'll give ya two free hits on me! After that... well... we'll jus' wait an' see." Mercifully, the nearest street was a small side path, one with no vehicles on it. "'Course, if'n we get out here and you just turn tail and run with what you stole," he added, "I will come after ya." Once they both got out to the street, the bizarre being stood in the middle of it, and faced Zak. He held the shovel loosely in his left hand, and had both arms spread wide. "Show me whatcha got, graverobber! Betcha can't even knock me down!"

18, fails by 2, so 'tis but a Bruise. Oh, wait: DH hit while Zak was putting the armor on, so he wouldn't get the +10 Protection his armor grants. (If his armor was up, he wouldn't have taken any damage anyway due to his Impervious Toughness, which is higher than the damage of DH's attack.) Which'd mean he fails by 12, putting him at Stunned & Staggered. Since attacking while his armor wasn't up is most assuredly a setback, I'd be perfectly happy to give you a Hero Point (HP), which you could use to re-roll the Toughness save (and remember that on a re-roll, you add 10 if the die result is 10 or less, so the least you can get is 11, which means at worst DH's attack would Bruise Zak & Stun him for one round). And I'll give another HP for Zak's Reputation complication. ;)

Gossamer's amazing hair-fan not only blows the stun-gas away from her, but it blows the gas over the three minions in the truck, with enough force to knock them all off their feet! And two of them are blown back a few feet, banging up against the sides of the truck! "Think you're clever, eh," Gossamer heard Scrounge say. "Well try and deal with... this!" Scrounge pointed his energy lance at a car across the street, and a bolt of crimson energy sped out. Everyone turned to look, and it appeared to hit the car dead-on, and for a moment Gossamer feared the car would explode into a cinematic fireball and possibly set others near it aflame. But that did not happen. In fact, the car was just barely dented. (A later investigation would reveal that the owner, who'd lost two previous vehicles in superpowered crossfires, had paid to get the gas tank of his latest car armored to prevent such catastrophes.) "Sonuva..." was all she heard him mutter. The trio of men rising from their blown-down position, and rummaging through the crates they'd already taken, drew Gossamer's attention back. She also saw the two still in the museum loading bay going through another set of crates. One let out a cry of triumph as he pulled out an ancient tome. The cry turned to a brief whimper as he opened it and found nothing of use inside, no spells leaping off to do his bidding. The other was more lucky: in his crate was one of Luna Moth's gauntlets, in a not-quite-decommissioned state. Eager to use it, he didn't even take the time to put it on, instead pointing it at Gossamer and pushing buttons. A stream of sticky gray polymers shot out at Gossamer's head, threatening to gum up her hair!

Alrighty. Round 2 Gossamer -- 1 HP, fatigued Scrounge Minions Gossamer blew. Scrounge fires at a nearby car, hoping to blow it up and start a nasty fire that Gossamer'd (hypothetically) need to tend to. Full-Size car is defense 8, Toughness +9. Of course he criticals the car... Can objects be crit-ed? I'll say yes, at least in this case; his blast hit the gas tank precisely. Car's toughness save = Toughness save, DC 27 (1d20+9=25)! Fails by 2, so that's an "injured," and it's Toughness is reduced by -1. Evidently the owner put in some armor plating around his gas tank He spends his move action gawking/cursing his luck. The three knocked-prone Minions stand and look for something else to use, while the two in the Museum rummage through random crates. One gets a book. The other gets a funky goop-spewing gauntlet (a Snare 5 effect). Attack vs. Gossamer (Defense 18); DC 15 Reflex save if it hits (1d20+5=21) That hits, so I need a DC 15 Reflex save from ya.

Crud, he's goin' for a weapon!, Dead Head thought. "Oh, no ya don't!" the bizarre and clearly psychotic being shouted. While Zak's reflexes were quite good, and he was not caught totally unawares by the considerable speed the being showed in swinging its shovel around and over in an high arc, his armor was not fast enough to fully activate before said shovel came crashing down upon the top of his skull. "What, ya think that just because the dead just lie there and can't fight back, ya can take whatever ya want from 'em? Well this one's fightin' back!"

Annnd I almost critical you: Attack w/ shovel (vs. Zak's Defense 20); pulled his punch, so it's only a DC 20 Toughness save (1d20+11=30)

During the full round Physicus takes to activate his battlesuit, Dead Head strikes. (Don't worry, he'll pull his punch some ) Question is, does he do so before Zak can fully react? I.e., is Zak flat-footed? That's what initiative is for Dead Head has a mighty initiative (1d20+2=18)

The three Gossamer blows at all fail, so all are knocked prone. Are they blown away? Knockback calculation time! Two failed the initial Ref save, so it's a "Damage" 5 effect. 5 & Knockback of -2 = 3, which works out to being blown back 5 feet. One (the one with the big spider leg) made the initial Ref save, so it's a "Damage" 2 effect. 2 & Knockback -2 = 0, so he's just knocked prone. More importantly, is the gas blown away? I'll say it works (mechanically) the same as using Super-Breath to blow out flames, i.e. you blow away gas of a rank equal to (your Super-Breath/Hair-Fan check -10) or less. Your check was a 15, 15-10=5, and 5 is the rank to beat, so away goes the gas, blown over the three minions at the truck! Before I continue: power stunting makes you fatigued. Do you wish to spend Gossamer's last HP to nix that?

I know AW's been ill of late, but do you know if she'd had any plans to continue this thread? Did y'all wants the results here, or in another thread?

New IRON MAN 2 Trailer (attache case armor!!!)