Dr Archeville

Archeville looked around the room as best he could, trying to get an idea of just what was set up here. Partly out of his own insatiable curiosity, and partly because something seemed very.... off to him. "You could say dat, ja. A fact vhich I attribute to mein keenly developed sense of self-preservation, und to a... distressing familiarity mit some of his vords und mannerisms." Doc clapped his hands together sharply, and began to pace, "so! Arachnos is de name of dis vorld's Leader, eh? Vhat's his story? How did he come to do all he has, und how did you come to..." he placed one hand on top of his head, and waved the finger around in a way reminiscent of the tentacle-hair of The Archeville's minions, "... do all of dis, hrm?" He quickly withdrew his hand, and resumed pacing, "I vould surmise dat dis Arachnos is a conqueror from some other dimension, given vhat you said about him moving on to other vorlds, und vhat Odysseus said about him having no counterpart in our vorld. Dat last bit gives me especial concern: for him to haff no counterpart on mein vorld means he must come from a very different von indeed. I vould also theorize dat he is able to exert some manner of mental influence over others -- not outright mind control, but more a form of brainvashing -- und dat dis is not de first vorld he has come to. He appears to haff come in at a key time of upheaval, to stabilize a vorld still reeling from de loss of its greatest hero, de Gladiator; vhether dis vas a coincidence or Archnos had been vatching dis vorld for some time beforehand, I cannot say. Arachnos may haff even had a hand in August Roman's defeat of Gladiator paving de vay for his conqvest, lying in vait for months or even years."

Better late than never, yes?

Ye OOC threade. Any preference for a date/time?

Date: (To be determined) Legend stood on the platform of the derelict oil rig known to certain people as the Arena, the one place where the villains of Freedom City could mingle with their peers without fear of intrusions by the do-gooders of the city. Today, he was waiting for one such villain to arrive. Legend had kept an eye on Exile ever since the former not-quite-a-Dark Lord had arrived in this dimension. The man's mere presence set off certain warning bells for Legend, and the curious curator wanted to see just how much power and skill the man truly possessed. And perhaps, in being tested, Exile would learn more of himself, what he could and could not do in this world that was both familiar and very different from his own. Of course, he would have to first appear at the Arena before Legend could do anything. So Legend looked off to the distant shoreline, to the Gentle Mansion in Port Regal, and waited for the Exile to appear in answer to his calling.

I believe there's someone in Paragons with a similar power.

Correct-a-mundo.

Sacerdos/Mariner's the only one who has not replied, correct?

So, seeing as how I need Fox to lay low for a few more days (so he can spring Shark and Vulture for the Attack on Pier 18), any objections to me closing this up now (possibly giving you each one Final Post), and you all get appearances in that thread to continue pursuing these guys? Most of the players in the Pier 18 thread have left, it's down to just two heroes now, Geckoman & Quark.

"I-" was all Officer Grigori managed to say before Scarab faded away. "Aw, geez, now I've gotta book these two -- I'll never get to the disco tonight in time! Eh, c'mon, you two." The young Italian officer gets the two into his cruiser, then they're off.

Archeville made mental notes on everything and everyone he saw. He also kept track of all the turns they took, should they need to beat a hasty exit. "Vell, if you cannot meet your own Doppelganger," Doc said in a semi-nonchalant tone, "vhat is de point of coming to an alternate vorld, eh?" "Und you do seem to haff doen qvite vell for yourself," he went on, spreading his arms wide, "de size of dis complex, und of your forces, are truly impressive! I vould love to know you set dis all up..." He lowered his arms, and folded his arms behind his back, "but, of course, since you are mein Doppelganger, I am sure you can guess vhy I vould vish to come here, und all manner of other qvestions I vould vish to haff answered. Such as, vhy are you opposed to de Eagle Defense Squadron, und how your vorld came to be under von unified government."

Activating the "Internal Infernal Combustion" power: Impervious Toughness 7 (note: Sustained Active effect) and Penetrating Strength 5 (PF: Incurable). (Wish I'd gone with Takedown Attack instead of Incurable, but we can't have everything. ) ) And Belphegor has... a mere 9 for initiative.

Yes! Time to work out some aggression! The demon's fanged muzzle broke into something approximating a smile, "Fine by me!" As the demons stomped towards the elevator, the dark flames in its taloned hands flared up, then was sucked back into his body. He now practically glowed with an inner light, and Ghost could almost make out parts of its skeleton from the internalized hellfire. "I can take out the peons easily enough, if you want to start in on the leaders," he added, almost as an afterthought.

After some input and discussion, we've come up with a 4th option! Option 4) 15 free ranks of Sidekick (yes, free Sidekick 15, enough to get a 75pp Sidekick!).

Well, how many minions does she have to use this one? Remember that Empowerment just gives one pool of points, so if you had, say, Empowerment 2 (10pp to give out), that's 10pp total, not 10pp per person it's used on. Is this something she'd be doing in the middle of a combat? Or is it something that would be done off-panel?

It actually sounds more like the Empowerment power (from UP).

:shock: That seems impractically large.

Dammit, Sand, how dare one of the Refs get sick when I'm about to go off on vacation! Get well soon, man.

That only applies to PCs (and even then, it's not a sure thing). Minions are cannon fodder, they're there to be either KO'd or killed. And Drain Con can only kill someone, since once you're drained to Con 0, you're dead. There's also the issue of how big a syringe would have to be to have a Drain Con 15 effect. If the "Drain Con" is supposed to represent drawing out blood/genetic material... then Drain Con 15 means it's big enough to completely exsanguinate most humans!

This is for your Dr. Moreau-esque NPC, yes? My first question is: is this going to be used on other PCs to grant them powers? If not, if it's something only used on kidnapped Bystanders and the like, then it's effectively a Plot Device, and it doesn't need stats. Second, with that big Strike/Drain Con combo, it's going to kill most anyone it's used on.

Welcome to FC PbP! Stats-wise, I see a few problems. (I edited the format to match the board's preferred form; I'm feeling generous today.) In terms of Defense/Toughness, he's PL 3 -- he won't be able to last long in a fight (and fights do happen here, to everyone) even against other PL 6 combatants. There's also nothing in his background indicating why he'd have a +5 to Attack and Defense, as those are the levels of a professional soldier. But that brings me to the biggest issue I see with this character: his background. Now, tragic loss is certainly not rare in comic book characters, nor are powers reflecting the circumstances in which a person's powers first manifested. But it's the "still hasn't found his inner hero" bit that is not going to fly here -- characters should be starting already knowing full well that they'll be a hero (or villain), and acting accordingly such that others should be able to point at them and say "he's a hero!" (or "run, it's that villain!"). This char isn't Spider-Man in his early days, it's Peter Parker the split second after seeing his dead Uncle Ben, but he's still stuck in that moment.

"Herr Star," Archeville finally said, "you may as vell de-cloak und lower us to de ground. Ve haff been spotted -- by mein Doppelganger -- und ve haff been invited to meet und talk mit him." "Und before you voice any protests," he added, "I am avare of de hazards here, und I do share some of your concerns. But ve are still sorely in need of information, und I do believe dis vill be our best bet."

"Hold a moment, please, Herr Star," Archeville said. Then he appeared to be concentrating on something.

Superconducting Materials + Microwaves + Voltage Pulses - Heat (must be kept within a few degrees of absolute zero) = much faster computers with much moar memory. To test it, they gave it a phone number and a phone book, and told it to find the person the number was for. A regular computer would have to check each number, one by one, sequentially. It can do so very fast, but it still has to do it in order. Quantum computer does it by looking at every number & name in the book simultaneously.

Doc first smiled, then joined Estelle in her laugh, giving a good, deep belly laugh that was practically a badge of identification for a German. "You... you speak v-vell," he finally gasped out, then made a deep inhalation & exhalation to get the last of the laugh out. He then raised his glass to her, so that he was looking though it at her, and with a decidedly devilish smirk said "Das Leben ist bezaubernd, man muss es nur durch die richtige Brille sehen." He appeared to be looking at her for a very long time. Or was it that she was looking at him for a long time? In either case, Archeville soon snapped to, "Ach, vhere are mein manners? Ve should get going! Fahrer!" he spoke to an intercom, "zum der Biergarten!" The limo smoothly rolled off.

First solid-state quantum processor created.