Gizmo

Well that's more bloody like it! Jack grinned broadly as he ducked under Grim's strike. Taking a playful jab of his own, he clasped his gloved fists behind his waist and continued to move casually around the shapeshifter's blows as though he were avoiding bumping someone's shoulder on a crowded sidewalk. "Woah, there!" he exclaimed cheerily, "I don't think Colt would stand for me getting 'deep in your cups'. And thrusting, now? Grim, you're going to make me blush!"

Guess I'll try a regular attack: Unarmed attack (1d20+11=13) Oh no... Alright, I'll go for a move action Feint; if memory serves, Grim should get a +2 against this: Move action Feint (1d20+16=26) Woof. So that's... yeah.

So that's a +4 cumulative bonus on top of +15 Acrobatics: Acrobatics Check vs. DC33 (1d20+19=33) ...huh. Ol' Jack, he does okay for himself, huh? So Grim's Defense should be 22 - 1 (fatigue) - 4 (Aggressive Stance) = 17, right?

Jack's Defense right now is just his regular 26. And yeah, since Feinting is a standard action, a lot of the time you'd have to wait until the next turn to attack. That's part of why Jack spent so much of the early fight jumping around instead of attacking; normally he'd take the penalty and use it as a move action, but Grim's Bluff is too high for that to work most of the time. I wouldn't worry about it; if the bonus works the way we think it does, he's managed to beat all of Grim's various Feints so far anyway; if not, he's avoided the hypothetical surprise attacks, too. We could retroactively factor in the -5 penalty, and it wouldn't actually change anything. Good to know! Jack'd probably be feeling a little guilty regardless. You'll notice when he was sparing with Blink in the Underground, he scored based on touches alone; the whole "bludgeon the petite woman with your fists" thing feels kinda skeevy to him. When he said he liked to hit on girls, this isn't what he meant, *rimshot*, hurr hurr.

Grim's bruised and fatigued; the -1 to attack comes from the latter.

Jack's heart honestly wasn't in the fight anymore as he twisted around Grim's attacks. He might not have been a boxer by specialization, but he was a precision fighter, and he knew he hadn't struck his opponent nearly hard enough to account for her response. At what point did putting on a show for charity turn into bullying a friend in front of a stadium full of people? Weak sauce. He took a feeble swing at the shapeshifter as Fulcrum shouted from the stands. Jack managed a wry smirk as he raised his voice. "Well, you heard her! Can't let us chauvinist pig dogs get the upper- hijo de...!" For a split second he thought Grim had managed to land a blow to his head. He quickly recognized the sensation as a spike in the energy radiating from the paragon in the audience. Feels like she's going to explode... either her or my head. One thing at a time...

Can we get a ruling on the cumulative +1 bonus against Feint? So far Grim has used a regular Bluff Feint here and the Acrobatic Bluff version here and here. Jack beat the first two for sure, and beat the third assuming he got at least a +1 bonus. The current Feint is the forth overall and the third Acrobatic Buff. Does Jack get +3, +2 or no bonus at all? Again, it doesn't make a lot of difference this time, since Jack can avoid that 14 flat-footed, but it'd be good to know for future reference. In the mean time... Surprise Power Attack: Unarmed attack, Defensive Attack 5 (1d20+6=7) Drat. Well, that was bound to happen sooner or later. Let's try a move action Taunt: Move action taunt (1d20+16=18) Wurg...

Yeesh... Well, that explains a lot. Speaking of explanations, for those of you unfamiliar with the "crazy lady pantyhose" phenomenon: voilà !

"Holy nertz..." As Grim began her assault her bubbly aura shifted to hard prisms filled with crimson quantum argyle. The air around Jack's head filled with afterimages of kinetic energy, building to reverberating power chords. The snarling fae was everywhere at once and the swordsman stuggled to jerk away from the flurry of punches. A grunt heralded a streaking comet trailing mystic and mundane energies headed straight for his face. Caught off guard, Jack did the only thing he could think of to get out of the fist's path: he dropped flat on his back, hitting the mat with a thump. Even as he touched down, the swashbuckler's feet were under him, launching him back up. A cautious swing sought out the same place he'd just managed to strike as Jack tried to regain control of the bout's momentum. "So, if this like a regular crazy-lady-pantyhose moment, or like a feral, snikt-snikt-bub-bub danger-to-yourself-and-those-around-you berserker thing? Or is that personal, like asking a lady's age?" Jack wasn't trying to make his movements look easy anymore; he responded to Grim's vicious attack with his full abilities as a duelist and gymnast, feet barely making contact with the ring as he spun and leaped over and around her swings. "I gotta tell ya, though, this explains a lot," he admitted, keeping his voice low. "Some of the sounds coming out of your room in the middle of the night...! I love you and Colt like family, for reals, but all of this..." Jack indicated his face with a gloved fist, "requires beauty sleep to maintain, y'know?"

Alright, I guess I should roll against the Acrobatic Bluff anyway: Acrobatics Check vs. DC33 (1d20+15=32) Since he already beat an Acrobatic Bluff earlier, I'm pretty sure he gets a +1 bonus, which matches the DC, but seeing as even flat-footed Jack can avoid a 13, I guess it's a moot point anyway. As I mentioned earlier, I'm spending that HP to shake off the fatigue from last round's surge. I'll go for +3/-3 Defensive Attack: Unarmed attack, Defensive Attack 3 (1d20+8=24) That's DC 17, and Defense 29. Next Jack will try a move action Feint, I guess: Move action Feint (1d20+16=33) Uh. Wow. That's... that's pretty good. Guys, I think Invisible Castle might be hitting on me.

...yay... Alright, let's do this!

Jack came to the realization that he may not have thought things though all of the way. The plan for the bout had been to joke around, put on a bit of a show and see how things played out, like a sparring match with an appreciative audience. And everything is better with an appreciative audience. Instead, Grim had gone all, well, grim. Which, y'know, obvious in retrospect. By this point in the fight he'd managed to paint himself into a corner, leaving two options. A) Continue to dance around, evading attacks and making his opponent look foolish until Grim ripped out his larynx, or attack in earnest, in which case either Grim would cream him anyway or he'd win and Colt would be obligated to pummel him on her behalf. Darkstar may have had a point with that whole 'violence is bad' thing. Wait. Mr. No Joke, have a point? That can't be right. Regardless, the decision was taken out of his hands as the black and blue-clad heroine responded to his latest round of irritation in a way that left her wide open. There are those who believed that, when they died, they would be punished for every drop of good alcohol they'd wasted in their lives. Fencers held a similar philosophy regarding openings. Jack sighed mentally. He was almost certain he was going to regret what he was about to do, but sometimes a man just has to sucker punch a five foot three blindfolded Jersey woman in the stomach. I think Descartes said that. Snapping forward, he lashed out with his right glove, driving at Grim's midsection with a guileless but powerful blow. He immediately followed with a left hook aimed at her shoulder; he expected her to dodge it, but the second attack would keep her too preoccupied to launch an effective counterattack. His bandanna moved up and down as he waggled his covered eyebrows and smirked. "Finally, the good stuff, amirite?"

She's got Luck 2, doesn't she? Or am I looking at the wrong sheet?

Aw, boo. Well, fine, I guess that makes the second attack roll effectively an 18. Fail. Hey, Heritge, any chance you could flub your Toughness check, use your final HP to reroll, flub it again and get stunned so that the second attack hits? Maybe? No?

Jack's not just obnoxious, he's meta-obnoxious, radiating annoyance particles into other planes of existence! So, using his mad ninja skills (which only work in a crowded location provided the target has voluntarily blindfolded his or herself), Jack will make a surprise attack with full Power Attack trade-off: Unarmed attack, Power Attack 5 (1d20+6=17) So that's DC 22. Now, that clearly gives his position away, but Jack will use extra effort to make a second attack anyway, this time using a full Defensive Attack because, seriously, if Grim gets her hands on him at this point, she is going to mess him up. Unarmed attack, Defensive Attack 5 (1d20+6=23) DC 17, for the sake of argument, and it puts his Defense at 31. For a move action, I'll go for the dream and try for a Taunt with the -5 penalty for speeding it up. Move action taunt (1d20+16=18) Ha, well, that was bound to happen sooner or later. I'll use my remaining HP to get rid of the effects from using extra effort.

Are you sure? We could split the ep cost more evenly if you like. Equipment related note: is there like a standard grappling hook? Does the 'swinging' Super-Movement cover it? Maybe throw in a rank of Speed?

Does Freedom City have some sort of iconic New Year's celebration? Like a Times Square Ball sort of thing?

Nice. It's not like Erik knows about every FCPD officer, but if the Colbys are supposed to be something like the O'Dares, it'd make sense for him to have heard of them at least, and be suitably impressed. Not sure how much she'd be able to help with the hellfire thing on her own, though.

Well, this might not be entirely team specific, but Jack's still trying to find out what the deal is with his powers, and his new hellfire complication just makes that all the more urgent. It might make sense for him to see if Grim had some magic-using contacts who could help him figure that out. Beyond that, didn't Doc A drop some plot hooks at the end of Issue #0?

ARGH. Denari, you are killing me with your ridiculous powerset. Alright, okay, I can make that work: Probability Control 10 [Extras: Fortune, Ranged, Power Feats: Alternate Power 3] - 63pp AP: â€Jinx†Probability Control 10 [Extras: Jinx, Perception Range, Flaws: Limited to Jinx] AP: â€Accidents†Damage 15 [Extras: Targeted Burst Area (75' radius), Ranged, Selective Attack, Power Feat: Subtle, Drawback: Full Power] AP: â€Lucky Dodge" and "Misfire" Immunity 2 [critical hits], Protection 5 [Extras: Impervious 10, Reflective 2], Enhanced Feats 4 [Evasion 2, Improved Defense 2], Disintegration 7 [Flaw: Limited to Objects, Power Feat: Subtle]

Alright, so "Drain Attack Bonus" was kinda ridiculous, so how about this version, with Disintegration to represent weapons misfiring or breaking down at an inopportune moment. Probability Control 15 [Power Feats: Alternate Power 3] - 63pp AP: â€Jinx†Probability Control 10 [Extras: Jinx, Perception Range, Flaws: Limited to Jinx] AP: â€Accidents†Damage 15 [Extras: Targeted Burst Area (50' radius), Ranged, Selective Attack, Power Feat: Subtle, Drawback: Full Power] AP: â€Lucky Dodge" and "Misfire" Immunity 2 [critical hits], Protection 5 [Extras: Impervious 10, Reflective 2], Enhanced Feats 4 [Evasion 2, Improved Defense 2], Disintegration 7 [Flaw: Limited to Objects, Power Feat: Subtle]

Absolutely, but I think that can still work. This way, if there's a gang of super strong thugs about, we can call up some powerhouse type reserve members. If a mission requires stealth, or telepaths, or magic prowess, or strictly unpowered heroes... whatever, we can get the right group together and send people where they're most needed. Plus, having a larger network gives us a better chance of finding out about things before they go down, which plays into our whole proactive mission statement.

Here's a thought: in-character, what about positioning The Interceptors as a sort of semi-formal network of young heroes? I mean, teen metas have Claremont and older, established heroes have made all kinds of connections, but if you're a twenty-something who nobody's ever really heard of and you get yourself into a situation you can't handle alone, who do you call? That way we could reasonably have a significant number of reserve members with a smaller core group, without worrying as much about filling slots or where people are disappearing to. The brownstones and Underground could work as a place for young heroes to crash or get medical attention if they can't go home for whatever reason. It'd also solve some of our concerns about publicity; to the public, it'd just look like a bunch of more or less random team-ups.

Things weren't going quite the way Jack had expected. He'd assumed Grim would spar with him verbally as much as physically; she was one of the few heroes he'd worked predisposed to the same kind of constant banter he favoured in his own confrontations. Instead, the petite woman had been silent but for a series of almost feral grunts and snarls, and if her roiling energy aura was any indication, his antics were beginning to legitimately get under her skin. The swashbuckler felt a momentary pang of guilt. In the Espadas household, playful jabs had been a sign of affection; he couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten through a conversation with his sister without one of them making a joke at the other's expense. He realized that he'd made a foolish assumption believing that Lynne would take his admittedly abrasive behaviour in that spirit. His attention was snapped back to the fight as Grim's body language calmed and she suddenly launched a battery of blows against him. Yow! Self-preservation now, apologies later! The blindfolded hero struggled to remain a step ahead; what the attacks made up for in finesse they made up for in power. Letting even one punch land could seriously ruin his day. He dodged a blow more easily than he should have and alarms blared in his head, not from his energy sense but from his instincts as a fencer. She's maneuvering me, came the shocked thought. His training afforded him the split second needed to compensate, rolling into the space she was telegraphing her next sloppy punch for instead of away from it. As expected, a brutal haymaker flew into the empty space she'd expected him to dodge into. Jeez, who's playing who, here? Jack realized that his feelings had been misplaced. Grim was a big girl, and entirely capable of being just as crafty as he was, with the benefit of greater experience. The moment he began to take his control of the bout for granted was the moment she would down him with a single punch. No time to get fancy, he resolved. Snapping back to his feet to Grim's left side, he blew a loud but thankfully dry raspberry directly into the shapeshifter's ear, then immediately vaulted into the space behind her. From there he circled around as silently as possible, hunching over comically and stepping gingerly on the tips of his toes, to the audience's delight. Okay, so maybe a little fancy.

Ah, good point! Guess a roll is in order, then. Acrobatics Check vs. DC 31. (1d20+15=20) Uh, no. Gonna blow that HP from Jack's earlier antics to reroll. Acrobatics reroll (1d20.minroll(11)+15=33) Now that's more like it! Sorry, Heritage, Jack lives to annoy another round! Edit: Alright for Jack's turn, he'll start with a DC 31 Distract, then try another Stealth check, rolling for it this time: Stealth check. (1d20+15=33) ...woah. 18's my lucky number, apparently. Oh, and Defensive Stance, natch.