Dr Archeville

How does she have Benefit (Wealth) -- "Professional employment, often requiring a graduate degree (doctor, lawyer, etc.), owner of a small business, or you draw a regular stipend from some inheritance; Upper middle class or lower upper class" -- if she just "does chores and responsibilities around the house"? Are her parents wealthy? If so, how?

Overall, this looks good! One small typo I see: "One night, when she was twelve years old, her father sat her next to him and told her a story, the story of Black Tiger" A few concerns about that NONE occupation: what's she doing to keep herself fed and sheltered? Is she still living at home with her parents, mooching off them? Is she going to college? Basically, what's she doing when she's not patrolling & kicking bad guys? Her stats need a few minor tweaks: :arrow: Even though she has Uncanny Dodge, you do still need to list her flat-footed defense (as 1/2 her 'base' Defense, or in this case +2). Uncanny Dodge does not protect you from being flat-footed in all situations, only in certain ones, and will be useless if she's been deafened (Auditory Dazzle) or in some sort of silence effect (Auditory Obscure). :arrow: :arrow: Since having an odd-numbered 'base' Defense is a somewhat poor purchase, I'd suggest either buying it up to +6 (flat-footed Defense would increase to +3), or down to +4 (flat-footed Defense would remain at +2). :arrow: Similarly, since she has Defensive Roll, you need to list her lat-footed Toughness (which, in her case, would be +3). Note that this also affects her Knockback, reducing it to -2 when flat-footed. :arrow: Under Skills, we usually note which language is a speaker's native one. There's no real mechanical reason for doing so, it's more a flavor thing.

German biochemist & fashion designer Anke Domaske creates "Qmilch," a natural, non-irritating fabric made from milk proteins.

Even as far north as Freedom City was, the summers still got quite hot, so on this late June day Gorsky had left the windows on his precious car slightly cracked. Just cracked enough for something small to fly in. But Dead Head did not, in this case, have the luxury of time. I think those guards spotted me; gotta make this quick. Jes' pop out one of my eyeballs like so... leave a bit of the optic nerve attached, so it can slowly slither 'round like a slug if'n it needs t'move.... pull a few tendons from mah neck an' rope 'em 'round my index finger an' thumb t'make an impromptu slingshot... load it in, pull back... gotta time it so's Gorsky don't see it... annnnd.... fire! The squishy sphere soared through the air. It almost looked like it would miss, but that was due to Dead Head's lessened depth perception; it squeezed in just as he'd hoped. Now he had to ditch the cops -- he didn't have time for questions!

Dok starts out with his Enhanced Charisma (his default when dealing with people). Too bad this harsh world and its harsh people are not going to give him time for Diplomacy!

Archeville staggered out from the crater, his flickering force field slowly solidifying back to its regular full power. "Any landing you can walk away from...." He quickly shook off the dazed state, and looked around, taking in everything his senses could. Hotter than I was expecting... dry, too. Desert world? Recall study of single-biome planets... no, no, not now. Fairly primitive area.... simple clothing on natives... mostly humanoids, but a few insectoids. Communication should be easy, due to 'translation field' Professor Atom says exists- wait, no, there is a sun in the sky -- this is not the Terminus! Okay, okay, think: wide assortment of wares in the shoppes. Merchant's district? Could be the best place to find information. Best to keep force field up, in case natives are hostile. Archeville held up his hands, "hello, gentlefolks! I have come in search of someone, someone very dear to me. Would any of you happen to have seen a large woman, about yay high," he stood up on tip toes and put his hand as high up as he could. I would need to hover up a few feet to give her true measurement, but I do not know if doing so would mark me as some sort of witch in these people's eyes. Best to keep things on the subtle side, for now. More nobles, merchants, slaves and beggars crept out to see the strange pale-skinned man with long hair, who was apparently looking for a half-giant. And who had arrived in a craft made of fine, precious metal.

"Easy enough t'do, thanks t'that mojo you an' Phantom worked on Mutt & me," the one-eyed revenant replied, grinning. He stared off in the direction of the warehouse. Hey, Mutt! Y'hear me? I do! I do I do I do! Good boy! You been doin' real good at scoutin', now we need somethin' else. Think you can get into that place? Ohhh, I don't know. Big bull in there, he looks mean! I know, boy, but you'll be okay -- you're one of Legba's hounds, 'member?Ain't not bull gonna give you no trouble! Besides, we gotta get them two guards outta there, an' anyone else who might be holed up in there! A bark came from the air near one warehouse window, You are right! I will go in! Whoa, whoa, boy! he 'said' as he saw Mutt trying to phase through the window. We need you to go in a certain way, see if it's clear for us. We need ya to go to the front door, where the taureau-trois-graines' tryin' t'bust out. Need to see if whatever's keepin' it in will keep us out. Can ya do that, boy? Another bark pierced the night sky, I will do that! Dead Head blinked his one eye, and looked back at Equinox and Nick, "Mutt's gonna try goin' in the front door, ghost-like; if 'e cain't get in that way, we'll know th' ward works both ways."

I've submitted edits for Dead Head since this thread started; is it okay to use them? (If so, he can mentally communicate with Mutt!)

Archeville shook his head, "even with my mental faculties diminished... even if I did not still retain my eidetic memory... I will never forget." Never forget... never forget... never forget.... At Arrowhawk's second question, the Doktor stopped shaking as much, perhaps because giving one morsel of good news gave him some resolve. "No. Well... not through me. Phantom and Scarab both gave m-me a through scan -- now that they knew exactly what to look for -- and gave m-me a clean bill of health. Ah, metaphysically speaking. That... that thing will not be manifesting from me again; if it survived the explosion-" His voice caught as he remembered the look on Mona's face before she sacrificed herself to stop the rampaging physical manifestation. "I... If it survived that, it was cast into the Terminus. Hopefully it will not merge with anything else floating out there..."

Stealth check (1d20+2=10) Stealth check; HP re-roll (1d20+2=19) ARGH! 1 HP now, still Fatigued I'll try to come up with some stats for Jake this evening. Dead Head's plan was to sneak up to Gorsky's car and plant a bug on it, the 'bug' being one of his Anatomically Separated eyeballs.

Agopsowicz saw Dead Head close his eyes and stand statue-still for a moment, then wink out of existence in a flash of black light. Before he could move to inspect the spot, he reappeared, holding a familiar brown-suited body like a sleeping babe. "Here's Cartwright, safe an' sound, right where I'd left him on Lantern Hill. No sign o' Mutt, though; 'e must still be on the hunt. 'Least, I hope he is...." A look of true concern crossed his face, but he quickly snapped to, "ah, the doc here was s'posed t'be in...," he nodded towards the drawer the Medical examiner had checked earlier, "in there, right?" One Cartwright was safely 'tucked in,' the undead hear headed for the door. "Rolls Royce, personalized license plate? Shouldn't be too hard t'find. I'll keep in touch, Jake!" He waved as he looked out both sides of the door to check it was clear before leaving. He made his way outside, out through the loading dock, and crept around to where many of the doctors parked, searching for Gorsky's flashy car.

The revenant shook his head, "ah, I keep forgettin' things don't work 'ere like they do back home. I'm used to workin' in small towns, not a big metropolis like Freedom," he said, spreading his arms wide, then drawing them back in and leaning on a nearby table on his elbows. "Y'know, places where all a fella's co-workers is on first-name terms with each other's wives an' kids an' dogs, an' they all go t'each others homes fer cookouts an' such." He let out a small chuckle, "heh, I been in Freedom over a year an' a half, an' there's a lot I still ain't used to." He stood straight, arching back, popping several vertebrae out and back in to place as he went, "hoo, speakin' of dogs, I need to find Mutt, see if'n he found anythin'. Should really check with Phantom 'bout that communication spell. Ah," he shook his head to clear the tangent, looked back to Agopsowicz, "don't think I'll go checkin' personnel, but the car's a good lead. I can follow it to 'is home, or wherever he goes. Best go locate his car now, in case he's leavin' now. But first..."

"Well," Dead Head drawled, slowly standing, the backlashed rot on him having stopped and now slowly being reversed by his body's unnatural regenerative processes, "seein' these aliens got me thinkin' -- maybe we can call out t'other, non-pre-graverobbin' alien mystics? Them fellers up on the moon, the... Farsiders," he his right middle finger and thumb as the name came to him, butt he act of doing so caused the still-rotted tendons to snap and the fingers to dangle limply. He continued talking, unphazed, seemingly not even aware of the damage. "I cain't imagien folks livin' on the moon ain't got no mystics. Or the Star Knights, or, ah, them fellers what fight the Grue... Kkore... Moar... Lor!" He tried to snap the fingers on his right hand again, and, failing, noticed the damage, and popped the digits back into place, "ways I hear it, they got a whole federation, like on Space Trek; don't know if they got some 'Primary Mandate' that'd prevent 'em form interferin' with us, but it's worth a shot."

"... hunh," Dead Head grunted after a moment. He turned his one-eyed countenance towards Nick & Equinox, "big bull. 'Bout the size of a minivan. Hair like barbed wire. Keeps tryin' t'bust through the door, but there's w ward right 'fore it that it cain't bust through. It's tryin' though, givin' all it's go- whoa!" He stumbled as the beast slammed into the ward again, which spooked Mutt (and thus caused his detached eye to jostle like a camera from Blair Witch Project). "Okay, still lookin' 'round... ooh, that red on its horns ain't its natural color... not seein' any bodies, though... ah, but there is two guards cowerin' in an office. I think they's okay, fer now, long as the bull keeps focusin' on breakin' the ward." He scratched his head, "I know I've seen this beastie before, somewhere... or least 'eard 'bout it. Bull... big bull... bull... with... three?... Oh!," he exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up to make one eye and one eyesocket widen, "I know -- it's a taureau-trois-graines! Nasty loa, fierce, an'... an'... an' it normally rides people, like any other loa, it ain't one to manifest like this. 'Less it's ridin' an actual bull, an' gave it a makeover..." He cocked his head to one side, turned to Nick, "how common's that? Loas ridin' animals?"

The OOC thread for Dok's solo adventures on Not!Athas! I'm hoping to run Dok through the first five Dark Sun adventures: [*:2hcd9mym]Freedom: Dok's caught in the city-state of Tyr (Tyre), enslaved, but aids the local revolt once the cruel Sorcerer-King is killed (mainly preventing the panicking mob from killing itself). Afterwards, Dok learns of another thing that had streaked through/fell from the sky, and heads north towards it. [*:2hcd9mym]Road to Urik: On the way towards the other fallen object, Dok runs across the army of Urik (Babylon/Uruk), which is massing to invade and take over the newly-freed Tyr. Whatever shall he do? (Dok will have his gear, but it is damaged, only working at half rank, and those ranks will be Unreliable.) [*:2hcd9mym]Arcane Shadows: Now in Urik (northeast of Tyr), Archeville becomes embroiled in a plot that may save the horrifically ravaged world, but comes into conflict with evil forces bent on stifling such hopes. (Dok's gear is repaired some, operating at half rank, but no longer Unreliable.) [*:2hcd9mym]Asticlian Gambit: Dok becomes embroiled in complex plot in the Crescent Forest between Gulg ("African Jungle," though I'm aiming to remove as many Unfortunate Implications as I can, and not invoke "Mighty Whitey") and Nibenay (Angkor/Khmer Empire). (More repairs to Dok's gear: half normal rank, othr half is Unreliable.) [*:2hcd9mym]Dragon's Crown: Dok finds the mysterious fallen object is in the hands of The Order, a bunch of Well-Intentioned Extremist Psions in the Dragon's Crown Mountains (far to the northwest of Tyr) who wish to use its power to amplify their own abilities and dominate the land. Dok stops them, but finds the fallen object is not Fulcrum, but a large shard of crystallized Terminus energy, energy identical to Mona's, which he can use to both track her and travel to her. (Dok's gear is more or less fully restored.) Voices Doktor Archeville, a Stranger in a Strange Land Anavias, f Human Psion Herminard, m Human Bard T'Kkyl, m Thri-Kreen Warrior Vaerhirmana, f Half-Elf Gladiator & Preserver The Forest Queen The Shadow King EDIT: And I've just realized Dunkel Sonne (German for "Dark Sun") sounds kinda-sorta like Dunkelzahn... Starting with 6 Hero Points: 1 base, +5 from Luck 5. So let's see how bad this crash left Dok. To keep things simple, I'll treat as as a Damage 20 effect. Toughness save, DC 35 (1d20+14=33) Better than expected! Fails by 2, so he's merely Dazed. Does his Force Field stay up? That's a Concentration check, and I'll say he was using his Enhanced INT to jury-rig the craft so he didn't die (thus no Enhanced WIS to help with the check) Concentration check, DC 16 (Enhanced Fort), 18 (Force Field), and 12 (Shield) (1d20+4=7, 1d20+4=20, 1d20+4=19) Enhanced Fort part fails, but the Force Field and Shield aspects remain up.

Place: Gygax-K-Omega-24: Nede (Continued from Never Split the Party. OOC thread here.) [GM/NPC Post] The crimson streak appearing in the olive-tinged skies barely drew any attention from the people below, for they were either too downtrodden (the vast majority) or too engrossed in their own decadence to look up. Cruel overseers whipped and beat the countless slaves in their work on constructing the great ziggurat for their inhuman sorcerer-king, while the merchants and nobles entertained themselves by viewing the 'sports' of the gladiatorial pits, the blood of the combatants the only liquid the parched land had seen in months. Far from the gladiatorial arena and the massive ziggurat sprawled the merchant district, filled with traders hawking all manner of wares. Most were humanoid, as were the customers, though not all were human; large mantis-men also prowled the dusty streets, looking to buy or trade. It was here that the crimson streak was seen, and here that panic set in as the people realized it was not passing overhead, but headed straight for them. The strange object slammed into one building, obliterating the small hut, leaving a trail of burning, warped brass and iron and wood strewn behind it. The merchants and beggars brave (or foolish) enough to not have run clear out of the district peeked out from behind their shelters, and slowly, warily approached the scene. Some reached for the metal scraps along the ground, knowing it would fetch a handsome price, while others went for the greater mass in the crater, and the tall blonde human stumbling about, sheathed in a fading blue glow.

Knowledge (Arcane Lore) check (1d20+10=21)

"I do not think she can grow old, any more," he said nonchalantly as he hopped into the driver's seat. "Part of her whole superpowered paragon... thing. But that," he slapped his leg, "is no reason to lollygag!" Adventure! Exploration! Thrill! I can do this! I can do this.... Archeville waited for Silhouette to get settled with all her gear, and for the okay from Miss Wells, who was (quite understandably) concerned about their jaunt. As she instructed, Archeville pushed the crystalline control lever forward, feeding more power into the dimensional borer. With the pinprick it created, the Doktor's Screwdriver could scan through multiple dimensions, and after what seemed an eternity locked on to the signal it sought. As soon as it had, he threw the lever forward, pouring more power into the borer; the great disc at the back of the vehicle spun faster and faster, generating a sphere of crackling crimson energy the enveloped the machine, then in a wink it vanished. "This is quite a bit bumpier than I had imagined!," Archeville exclaimed as he tried to control the bucking, roiling conveyance. Well's dimensional travel machine was great for getting from Reality A to Reality B, but going to the Terminus itself -- that weird 'interstitial' realm between (and eroding) all Realities -- was quite another. Soon after entering, an errant ribbon of energy grazed against the machine, knocking out the stabilizers; now the Doktor was desperately trying to avoid hitting another that was headed right for them. But Doktor Archeville was no Midnight, nor even a Geckoman, ans his piloting skills were far from up to the task. The craft was hit and torn asunder, Archeville in one half, Silhouette in another, and both split off from one another, veering towards (and in imminent anger of crashing into!) alien worlds below. ~~ To follow Doktor Archeville, click here. To follow Silhouette, click here. ~~

Looks good! :approved:

Dead Head and Mutt had both hung their heads out the rear windows on the drive over; once there it took but a few moments for the revenant to reaffix his loosened face. He studied the body a moment, trying to determine if the wounds -- not just what made them but where they were on the body, or if it looked like they'd be done quickly & forcefully or slowly -- matched those of the other body, when the loud sounds from within the warehouse caught his attention. "Hunh, only animals Samedi favors is 'gators, so...," he rubbed both eyes with the heels of his palms, "giant 'gator-man?" He dropped one hand, uncovering one eye, and looked around the assembled officers, "has anyone caught a glimpse of what's in there?" Mutt appeared next to him, nuzzling his free hand while his other kept rubbing his eye. He knelt down and rubbed the faithful hound behind the ears with his free hand, "Yeah, you know what I'm thinkin', don'tcha boy?" Moments later, Dead Head slowly rose, shakily, slightly disoriented from having two radically different perspectives playing in his head simultaneously. Mutt trotted towards the warehouse, up a seemingly invisible staircase into the air, circling the building, peeking into any windows and holes he could with his own eyes and with Dead Head's detached eye, which was affixed to his collar.

Nuts. Speaking of, I went ahead and added Protectron's contribution (5 EP) to his latest char edit request.

Dead Head had leaped in front of the blast meant for Equinox, and suffered greatly for it, which perhaps partly spurred on her impressive incendiary workings. As the great beast burned, Phantom darted over to him and worked a quick healing spell on the revenant (well, more a repairing spell), which combined with his own unearthly regenerative abilities to make him good as 'new'. "'ppreciate it, Phantom, but I think I'm about t'undo some'a what ya jes' did," he drawled as he saw the second giant Grue-Beast was still active. Remaining on the ground where he'd fallen, he stared hard at the conglomeration of Grue dead, saw how the bodies were held together, how the necrotic flesh was preserved... and pulled at those sorceries. As he did, his own body began to sympathetically unravel, skin putrefying and slackening off his face and limbs. "If one a y'all's got another big whammy t'throw at it... now'd be the time..."

Recovery/Healing check, +13 Healing +9 Regen = +22 (1d20+22=31) That's enough to heal up everything 1 HP spent to clear the Dazed condition, so he can act. 0 HP now. Dead Head's going to borrow a page from Equinox's book, and work his own version of a Big Magical Whammy. In his case, it's stripping the preservational magic (i.e., re-starting/accelerating the decompositional processes that are halted/slowed) in the big Undead Grue nasty, though doing so accelerates his own body's decomposition. Reaction: Extraordinary Effort; will be Exhausted at beginning of next round Part 1: Alternate Power off his Necromancy Array Drain Toughness 12 (Extras: Affects Objects, Range 2 [Perception]; Flaws: Action [Full], Side Effect 2 [suffers Drain Toughness 12 automatically]) {12/12} Part 2: Increase Power to bump up +2 ranks, to 14. Full: Attack Hecatonchire #1. Per our House Rules for Constructs (they make Reflex saves to resist Affects Objects Fort effects), it must make a DC 24 Reflex save. As must Dead Head: Reflex save, DC 24, vs. Drain Toughness 14 (1d20+6=22) Fails by 2, so he only loses 1 point of Impervious Toughness

Ability Score regen is probably the least important one, since the duration of most things that cause ability score loss -- Drains -- have their recovery rate set by the Drain itself. It'd only be good in cases of environmental 'damage' (excessive cold/heat/radiation), though since those can be completely avoided by taking 1pp Immunities, it can quickly become a waste of points. Recovery rate is important, since buying it up to +9 means never having to roll (as the DC is 10, so a minimum roll of 1 + 9 = 10), and things which remove the need to roll dice (and thus rely on the fickleness of Invisible Castle) is a good thing. Powerful Regen can be a solid thing to base a character on -- it's one of the cornerstones of my character Dead Head -- but a character will need more than "doesn't go down" to make them interesting (and acceptable).

Dead Head laughed, holding his sides, the sound echoing around the small room as if it were a far bigger tomb. "I ain't that old, Doc. I know I look like some kinda un-wrapped mummy, but I was still drawin' breath when Clinton was in office an' people started gettin' scared 'bout Y2K!" He neglected to mention that fears and dread of Y2K (and other "Millennial Madness") was what drew Baron Samedi and Malador the Mystic into attempting to summon Something Very Nasty, the interruption of which lead to his current condition. Best not to have two doctors nosing around necromantic workings. He helped Agopsowicz clean by taking dirtied towels and tossing them into the trash, "I'll bring Cartwright back here, easy enough; since you didn't know 'e was gone, I'm guessin' no one's asked 'bout him since Gorsky stole 'im. As fer the rest: guns aint' a bother t'me -- though Gorsky had some kinda anti-undead bullets in his, potent ones, which implies 'e's more'n jes' a dabbler -- so I'll jes' leave here after I bring Cartwright back. Where I'll be goin', though, is where I'll need yer help: you know Gorsky's home address? Or what kinda car 'e drives?"