Gizmo
-
Posts
11,085 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Freedom City Guidebook
Freedom City PBP: A How-To Guide
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by Gizmo
-
"Oh my," Set observed appreciatively as Ouroboros handily undid the cultist's summoning spell, swinging a hip out to one side and tapping a black lacquered nail to her teeth. "You merely stand there and look pretty for a spell, handsome. You, however, with your amateur hour shapeshifting," she continued, casting a glare in the lead cultist's direction as he labourously reworked his own flesh, "would do well to learn not to interrupt a goddess while she be attempting to have a moment. Feh, 'inconceivable'. I shan't even make the popular culture reference." A ball of oily shadowstuff coalesced in her palm, roiling unnaturally before she lobbed in an overhand throw right at the cultist's face where it splattered, tar-like across his eyes. "If you cannot be bothered to bring your 'A' material, I see no reason I should, either."
-
Set Move Action: Feint High Cultist: 1d20+16 31 Standard Action: Shadow Globule vs High Cultist: 1d20+7 9 Shadow Globule vs High Cultist, HP Reroll: 1d20+7 9 Oof. That's a 19, which... might still hit, depending on the Feint? Dazzle 7 (Visual; Extras: Autofire, Power Feats: Accurate 1, Reversible) [23PP] (shadow globule; darkness aspect)
-
Alkahest Reflex Save vs DC 20: 1d20+5 11 Can't have it bound right off the bat! Reflex Save vs DC 20, HP Reroll: 1d20+5 19 27 - Cathy - Uninjured, 3HP > 23 - Hannah - Uninjured, 2HP 15 - Robin - Uninjured, 2HP 10 - Raina - Prone, 3HP 4 - Alkahest - Entangled, 0HP
-
The heaving girl seemed entirely too panicked to worry about her state of undress on top of everything else but she managed to get her breathing under control enough to lock her wild, pleading eyes with Robin and weakly thump a fist into the other girl's chest. Forcing accented words through a jaw that wouldn't stop locking and unlocking on her she grated out, "For... the love of God... run!" The fist against Robin's chest spasmed again with a wet, sickening pop and swelled to an impossible size, as wide across as her whole torso. The growth continued violently up the girl's arm and down her ribs, the bones practically exploding outward with enough force to break the Fens native's grip, leaving the transforming girl's feet to hit the museum floor with enough new weight to crack the tiles. Almost as suddenly as she'd broken free from the statue the disheveled girl had been replaced by a slab of uneven, grey-tinted muscle, covered with bulging veins and towering a full three feet over the top of Robin's head. Milky white eyes devoid of pupils or emotion looked down at the Claremont student and broad teeth audibly ground against each other behind swollen lips pressed tightly together. Without a word the hulking monster slammed its fist into Robin with the force of a freight train!
-
Alkahest Initiative: 1d20+1 4 Raina gets an extra HP because... well! Robin gets an extra HP, too but needs to make a DC 27 Toughness Save. > 27 - Cathy - Uninjured, 3HP 23 - Hannah - Uninjured, 2HP 15 - Robin - Uninjured, 2HP 10 - Raina - Prone, 3HP 4 - Alkahest - Uninjured, 1HP
-
The statue was predictably unresponsive to Raina's advances but a moment after he lips touched the jade she felt a jolt across her tongue like licking a battery, powerful enough to make her toes curl reflexively. Very much unbidden a spark of raw, instinctive magic reacted violently with something in the sculpture. If that hadn't been enough to startle to fire witch the audible crack of fracturing minerals right where her nose had brushed against the rock. The crack lengthened quickly, bisecting the statue's face within the span of a heartbeat then spiderwebbing outward across the entire head. Little flakes of the green stone were already falling down onto Raina in her reclined pose by the time the fissures reached the shoulders and in the next moment the whole thing seemed to explode outward with a sound like a massive hammerstrike, paper-thin slabs of jade flying across the room in all directions, raining down on everyone nearby! In its wake was left a flesh and blood girl, toppling over from her outstretched pose on top of Raina with a shuddering gasp for air. Green eyes wide and terrified, long black hair slick with sweat she struggled to get her hands and feet under herself as her limbs spasmed out of her control. Gulping loudly like a drowning woman struggling for breath she grabbed desperately at Raina's lace top, what little torn rags she was wearing herself sliding about her shoulders as she trashed.
-
Set didn't even bother moving to dodge the strike, looking disdainfully bored as the cultist slipped at the last moment as though she'd known what was about to happen. "Feh. Posuer. Cannot even handle a little chaos magic." The sky above the preternatural darkness rumbled threateningly and a bolt of crimson lightning rocketed downward from on high, crashing over the stumbling cultist like a tidal wave of power; not enough to smite the man outright but certainly enough to make him think twice about attacking Set's august personage again. "Nor a lot of chaos magic, eh? A brand should never apologize for becoming more marketable, wretch!" she sneered, head shifting back to human form so that she could properly convey the expression, albeit covered in the same protective scales she'd grown upon seeing the summoned creature. She shot a grin toward the dhampir, momentarily unconcerned by the continued fight. "Ha, retro, wretch-ro."
-
Trevor accepted the hug in good spirits, even allowing a short chuckle escape amid a faint smile. "Coffee," he decreed confidently on the subject of what Mike needed to put him back in order, looking to Erin and Mark to silently take their own requests for drinks as well. "Ask Alex what she wants" he instructed the downtrodden paragon while he was at it. Off the nonplussed looks he reminded the small gathering, "Detective. ...also Mike's 'telepathy face'." Even without the general assumption that the highschool sweethearts were in more or less constant mental communication their guest wore a fairly distinct expression when he was 'listening' to the cheerful redhead.
-
Did the Taunt go through?
-
Set Move Action: Taunt Ranked Cultist: 1d20+16 19 Standard Action: Lightning Bolt vs. Ranked Cultist: 1d20+7 26 Damage 7 (Extras: Autofire, Linked [+0], Ranged, Power Feats: Accurate 1, Affects Insubstantial 2, Homing 1, Indirect 2) [27PP] + Drain Toughness 7 (Extras: Affects Objects, Linked [+0], Ranged, Flaws: Limited [Electronics, -2]) [7PP] (lightning bolt; chaos aspect, storm aspect, electricity)That should be a DC 22 Toughness Save, plus any Autofire!
-
Between Hannah and Cathy's studious reading of the exhibits' placards and spurned on in equal measure by Robin's competitiveness and Raina's immediate boredom with each new display, the group powered through the first wing they inspected in short order. Circling around brought them to the collection of 19th century artwork, with a newly featured collection of unattributed pieces, most of which had been borrowed from other museums worldwide. The placards went to great lengths to play up the mystique of the various works and their creators but the somewhat lackluster grouping of art nouveau paintings and neoclassical sculptures made the case that there was perhaps a good reason the artists hadn't bothered to attach their names. The centerpiece of the exhibit, however, was of a different category altogether. A life-sized jade statue of a young woman, no older than the girls themselves, doubled over and screaming in palpable agony was breathtaking in its realism. The smooth stone, a vivid green that reflected the overheads lights brilliantly, captured the smallest details down to the texture of the girl's hair and beads of sweat, frozen in the terrifying moment the unnamed artist had chosen to capture. Her clothes were torn rags, her eyes were clenched shut, her scream exposed individually carved teeth and the fingers of her one outstretched hand were curled into a rigid claw. The piece had never received a more poetic title than 'Screaming Girl in Jade' but from the accompanying write-up there were several hotly contested theories as to the master sculptor responsible for the exquisite but disturbing work.
-
With her superior hearing Sekhmet picked out the crying from the background noise first, cocking her head to one side, perturbed as her eyes darted back and forth. Set noticed shortly thereafter, distracted from her train of thought. "Ah, well, 'miss' may not be the term. Tis complica-- eh?" Clamoring off of Sekhmet's shoulders in a manner that perhaps not coincidentally involved placing the sole of a sandal directly in the solar goddess' face, Set dropped to the ground and wandered away from the line, navigating her way through the crowd. It didn't take long for her to find the source of the sound, a little girl of five or six with her hair tied into two round bunches on either side of her head, clutching a stuffed dragon that had obviously been a prize at one of the amusement park's games. "Hail, princess," Set greeted with a broad smile, crouching down to meet the child eye to eye. "What troubles you so?" The girl huffed for breath, caught between the continued need to cry and trying to answer the question, tucking her chin into her overalls warily. She puckered her mouth stubbornly, knowing that she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers - especially ones dressed this strangely - but couldn't stop herself from objecting, "M'not a princ'ss." Set looked taken aback by the statement, eyeing the child more carefully. "Be you certain? If you be no princess, then why..." The godling snapped her fingers and a glittering silver tiara appeared, balanced atop the girl's head. "...do you have a crown? Hm?" She placed her hands on her hips, challenging the mortal to refute that logic.
-
Timberwolves Toughness Save vs DC 31: 5#1d20+10 20 19 29 17 30 33 - Blue Fox - Uninjured, 5HP [SOUTH] Telekinetic Barrier +13 Toughness [SOUTH + EAST] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x5 [WEST] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x5 [EAST] 23 - Papercut - Bruised x1, 3HP [WEST] 13 - Citizen - Injured x1, 1HP [WEST] 12 - Wraith - Uninjured, -2 Defense, 3HP [SOUTH] > 12 - Temperance - Uninjured, 4HP [WEST] 11 - Jotun Skeletons - Uninjured x14 [WEST] 9 - Revenant - Uninjured, 2HP [WEST]
-
Jotun Skeletons Can't beat that Grapple check, so! Toughness Save vs DC 30: 11#1d20+13 18 17 33 31 17 16 33 23 26 29 14 33 - Blue Fox - Uninjured, 5HP [SOUTH] Telekinetic Barrier +13 Toughness [SOUTH + EAST] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x5 [SOUTH] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x5 [WEST] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x5 [EAST] 23 - Papercut - Bruised x1, 3HP [WEST] 13 - Citizen - Injured x1, 1HP [WEST] > 12 - Wraith - Uninjured, 3HP [SOUTH] 12 - Temperance - Uninjured, 4HP [WEST] 11 - Jotun Skeletons - Uninjured x14 [WEST] 9 - Revenant - Uninjured, 2HP [WEST] Wraith is up and as a reminder Blue Fox made her barrier Selective so that allies can pass through it!
-
The skeletons are significantly closer together now that they're ganging up on the heroes, so: Jotun Skeletons Toughness Save vs DC 23: 8#1d20+13 15 30 24 22 16 20 27 32 33 - Blue Fox - Uninjured, 5HP [SOUTH] Telekinetic Barrier +13 Toughness [SOUTH + EAST] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x5 [SOUTH] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x5 [WEST] 25 - Timberwolves - Uninjured x5 [EAST] 23 - Papercut - Bruised x1, 3HP [WEST] > 13 - Citizen - Injured x1, 3HP [WEST] 12 - Wraith - Uninjured, 3HP [SOUTH] 12 - Temperance - Uninjured, 4HP [WEST] 11 - Jotun Skeletons - Uninjured x22 [WEST] 9 - Revenant - Uninjured, 2HP [WEST]
-
Set Reaction: Luck Control; Force Reroll on dagger attack.
-
Madison bristled at it became clear that Raina didn't even have the good grace to know when she was dealing with her betters. "Oh, like that's a subject you really want to get into, man hands," she shot back coolly with an expression that Raina recognized well enough as trying to decide if there was a spell she could use without getting caught. "Don't expect everyone to be as shallow as you. Did I tell you they actually had to confiscate a pony from her house? A pony. Like the monkey wasn't ridiculous enough." Rolling her eyes at the obvious lost cause that was Hannah, Celeste pulled her glitter encrusted denim jacket a little closer. "Ugh, what part of the 'don't use your powers in public' memo did you miss, Clouston?" At some point her hair had turned to honey blonde with strawberry pink streaks and she turned her attention to the confrontation between Robin and Sofia with a sort of relaxed interest in who might come out on top. For her part the polymath's nostrils flared very subtly, looking like she very badly wanted to take the Fens native up on her offer. Instead she let out a silent breath and spoke slowly and precisely to minimize her accent, "When I beat you, Chevalier, it will be in class in front of our instructors, where it matters. Some of us have more self control than to jump at every pointless brawl." "Enough," Faiza finally spoke up in a voice that had been practiced on many unruly siblings, both younger and older. "Hannah and Sophia are both correct, this is neither the time nor the place. Honestly. You're acting as badly as they are." That was leveled primarily at Madison who looked ready to protest but instead made a gagging sound and waved her hand, ceding the argument for the time being. "We all have work to do; unless anyone causes trouble I'm sure we can stay out of each others' way." It was clear who among them she thought was more likely to be causing trouble and it wasn't any of her friends but she did lead her group away from the model of the city and off to one of the museum's wings. To Cathy's disappointment, it looked to be the one containing the Norse exhibit.
-
"And people complain about my planning skills," Jack scoffed, a predatory grin spreading across his face as he cracked his neck to one side then the other. By the time an arc of electricity had jumped from the end of Geckoman's staff to his outstretched hand the swordsman was already sprinting with startling speed toward the cybernetic dinosaur. By the time the energy had solidified into a finely honed rapier complete with crackling hand guard he had already bounded into the air and hooked a boot on the towering saurian's scales. In a series of acrobatic flips and swashbuckling twists he carried himself up and over its metal prosthesis, long coat flaring out dramatically behind him as he landed behind the surprised rider. "Nice hat." The electric hand guard caught the blustering man in the face hard enough to knock him clean from his perch, tumbling off the dinosaur to land in an unconscious heap on the dusty ground while his ten gallon floated back and forth as it gently descended. Snapping it out of the air and placing it on his own head, Jack rolled his knees to stay upright as the tyrannosaurus bucked violently. "Alright, Gecks, step two! Any time you're ready!"
-
"Rrrr... So. Irritating," Set growled, finding considerably less mirth in the situation that the dhampir as she sidestepped a dagger thrust. It would be one thing if the cultist had simply been questioning her claim to her own name, she reflected darkly as she took a step forward and her exposed flesh rippled, reforming into little overlapping scales of emerald green, but she had seen her brother's memory slandered more than enough recently and actually managing to summon a passably dangerous bottom feeder on top of everything simply tore it. "Someone needs to protect you imbeciles from yourselves. Ugh." Waving her arms in a circular arcane gesture brought waves of sand bursting from the bases of the nearby statues, streams of particulate joining together and sweeping over the hill in overlapping sheets. The less experienced among the cultists were buried alive immediately, protected from suffocation by the mystic nature of the attack but pinned and unable to do themselves or anyone else any additional harm. Their leaders fared slightly better, two of them keeping their heads above the dunes while two more kept themselves free and clear. Somewhat mollified, the godling called to Ouroboros, "Merely focus on the gauche goblin, handsome. Surely you can keep that raised and rigid for a respectable duration, hm?"
-
Set Move Action: Configure Shapeshift: Immunity 5 (Scales of Ammit; Drain Effects) [5PP] Standard Action: Sand Snare vs Cultists Snare 7 (Extras: Area [General, Shapeable], Selective, Power Feats: Obscure Senses [All Senses], Variable Descriptor 1 [sand or shadows]) [34PP] (darkness aspect/desert aspect) Set is going to try to position this to catch as many of the cultists in one go as she can. It's a DC 17 Reflex Save to halve the effect, then a DC 17/13 Reflex Save against the Snare itself.
-
Jack of all Blades Move Action: Climb the dinosaur! Climb check: 1d20+10 23, Acrobatics check: 25 with Skill Mastery Standard Action: Energy Sword vs Dinosaur Rider; Power Attack 5: 1d20+15 22 Damage 3 (Extras: Autofire 6, Linked [+0], Penetrating 4; Power Feats: Improved Critical [18-20], Mighty, Variable Descriptor 2 [Any Available, Concentrated Energy or Magic]) + Drain Toughness 6 (Extras: Affects Objects) [29PP] (energy sword)So a DC 10 + 6 + 5 Power Attack = 21 Fortitude Save vs Drain Toughness then a DC 15 + 3 + 3 Mighty + 5 Power Attack = 26 Toughness Save, plus any Autofire bonus.
-
"Always cutting to heart of matter, Dimitri, haw!" the bearded ghoul guffawed loudly, making welcoming gestures as the vampire sat down. "But of course you do! You are weapon, yes? In mind, in soul, you are cutting edge!" He reached for one of the teacups and filled it sloppily not from the kettle sitting between them but with the purple ichor leaking messily from his chest wound. He placed the dripping cup daintily back down on its saucer and slid it back over to Dimitri. "No sin in that, old boy, haw! But what is this, now? Helping little girls with arts and crafts projects? Bah! No! A blade is a blade, Dimitri!" The steely chips of colour in his dark sockets flared as he pounded the table hard enough to rattle the tea set. Composing himself, he spread his hands outward in a gesture of commiseration. "What else can it be!" * * * The corner of the warrior woman's mouth twisted in a scoff, looking down at Siobhan with flat out disdain. "Phaw! You think yourself worthy to shape the eternal power of the Silver Tree?!" she challenged in a booming baritone that very nearly made the witch's back teeth rattle at such a short range. "That you can forge a weapon of such raw might as to cut the lost child's fate in twain?! Scholar! Academic!" The volume with which she hurled the words and the way the chords of her neck stood out, just barely visible between the silver of her armored collar and the metallic black of her helmet, made it clear they were being leveled as insults. "You know nothing of true battle, of true strength! You doom your endeavor to failure with your milksop weakness!" The lines of light in the armor flared with energy, pulsing along with her angry words. * * * The young man on the gravestone looked up at Eric finally, barely a hint of expression on his slack features or in his sunken eyes. "I'm working on a song," he explained woodenly, looking back down at his guitar slowly then back up at the necromancer with a sigh. He lifted one skeletal hand, looking at the bony fingers with a detached sort of calm. "It's harder now. Than it used to be. Dead things are only supposed to worry about dead things." He lowered the hand back down and plucked a few more notes, dissatisfied with the results. "Look at you. You died and now you're only good for putting away the broken things so they don't bother anyone. You don't create anymore." Shaking his head with a heavy sigh, the youth turned back to his work, stringy hair falling over his eyes. "You can't help me." * * * The wounded Kinigosi made a sort of shriek as Tarva's shadow beasts fell upon it with slavery jaws, rising up for the glorious final battle the priestess had intended. Where dark tooth and fang raked into metal flesh, however, the alien seemed to absorb the shadows, turning from burnished steel to a black without reflection. Consuming the shadows made it stronger, certainly, as it grew in size, but no less sick, the oxidized scars screading out to cover more of its increased mass. Worse still everywhere the hounds managed to strike the Kinigosi Tarva felt a sharp pain on her own body, claw marks bursting open on her pale limbs as surely as if she had been the one under attack. Swiveling one of its three eyes toward her while it continued to fight, it hissed something in a tongue Tarva didn't know but could parse all the same. Betrayer! it cried out. Faithless! Unworthy!
-
"Get out of there, Sanderson, gawd!" an irritated voice demanded. It belonged to Madison Tyler, another girl in their year with a dark complexion, immaculately shiny, voluminous hazelnut brown hair and an outfit that easily cost more than everything Raina's group was wearing combined - even if Cathy would have been loathe to put a price tag on her jumper. As far as the pyrokinetic witch was concerned Madison's distinguishing characteristic was the perpetual scowl she had for her, one she was wearing again just then. Her cousin had been part of the group of mystics who had participated in the raid on the coven led by Raina's parents, something Raina only knew because Madison had taken every opportunity to let know and remind her since they'd run into each other in one of the orientation classes for students with spellcasting abilities. It didn't help that she'd impressed their instructor and the rest of the class with the variety and potency of her magic. "Maybe you could do whatever you wanted back in your little backwater cult but we won't let you get away with that stuff here!" 'We' turned out to include three more girls flanking Madison in a V formation as if they'd been practicing it for years. Sofia Torrez was a polymath and if buzz around the dormitory was true she had learned to duplicate the skills and moves of any other fighter just by watching them. There was nothing overtly super-human about her abilities, simply prodigious intelligence and physical gifts honed by long training with her parents, both of them famous non-powered heroes in their native Mexico. Powerfully athletic and only an inch shorter than Raina, the short haired girl had made no secret of wanting to spar with Robin, annoyed to be grouped into the same category as an unskilled ruffian who'd been given a place at Claremont through dumb luck more than anything. She took in Robin's visible bruises and pursed her lips, muttering in Spanish under her breath, "<Ugh. Thug.>" "Now, be nice, Sofia." To Madison's left was Celeste le Faye - although there was a strong suspicion among the sophomore girls that that wasn't her actual name. Only barely over five feet tall, accordingly petite in build and pale as milk, Celeste was, depending on which rumours one chose to believe, either a full blooded fae, the child of a fae queen and her starcrossed mortal lover, a changeling child born under a momentous combination of star signs, and so forth. She'd certainly proven to be deadly accurate with a bow in weapons class and happy for any excuse to use her will bending powers at any chance. While out and about in public she'd used a simple glamour to hide her pointed ears, ephemeral butterfly-like wings and gleaming black, pupil free eyes but her long braid was still a different, unlikely shade each time one looked at her, a light 'suggestion' keeping any mundanes from noticing. Just then it was a frustratingly attractive lavender. Even needing to look upward at Hannah she managed to come across like she was looking down her nose as she patiently explained, "Cooper, I know you're not good at being assertive or thinking for yourself, but you don't have to throw in with bad eggs like this, you know? People will get ideas." Faiza Saeed had had a bit of trouble adjusting to dormitory life, coming from a large British Pakistani family. The first metahuman in her family, when her friction control power had emerged with little control a few years before the entire community had rallied around the girl, helping her parents 'power proof' their home while local heroes took the time to teach Faiza how to keep her new abilities in check. Proving to be a quick study, the serious girl had made her plans to become a hero herself known but her parents had eventually negotiated her down to at least waiting until after she'd graduated from Claremont and further honed her gifts. She was much too polite to have outright called Cathy's frigid aura the result of laziness but she was also much too frank to have made the sentiment any less clear. Wearing a pale teal hijab that perfectly complemented the rest of her outfit, she stood just behind Sofia with her arms crossed and her thin lips pressed together in a disapproving line at Raina's antics.
-
Ellie gave Mara's jerky movements a confused look for a slit second before she made the connection and realized why the blonde engineer might be so uncomfortable. Stepping in smoothly just beside her, she pushed her own hand forcibly between Mara's twisting fingers and squeezed tightly, running her thumb up and down the back of her girlfriend's hand reassuringly. Mara was so brave about confronting her understandable aversion to hospitals in general it could be difficult to predict what specific things might prove to be too much. If the nurse reordering the cart had noticed she was too busy with her work to make any kind of comment. She did look up and down the hall when the question of why the patient in the room beside them had been targeted before leaning forward and speaking in a hushed voice. "Well, you know Trinity has a reputation for being, well, safe from all of the craziness in this city but it sounded like that boy might be some kind of..." She mouthed the word 'superhero' silently, giving each of the women the significant, knowing look of a particularly juicy bit of gossip. "He was wearing some sort of outfit when they brought him in anyway," she continued, making waving gestures as she said it to make it clear that it hadn't been anything a normal person would be seen wearing. "They got it off of him right off, of course, Miguel -- that's one of the orderlies -- said that when they went to figure out what to do with it, it was just gone. Poof!"
-
"Oh! Be you from a large family, then? What could be more human than that, eh?" Set piped up, her interest piqued by the mention of older brothers. Bracing herself on the top of a gumbling Sekhmet's head she leaned over to better address Phantom. "And something we share in common!" For someone who had made a career of being an outsider the reincarnated deity was cheerfully excited to have a point of shared experience to discuss. Sekhmet snorted, reaching up and over to grab the strap of the godling's cross halter and pull her back into to more upright position, out of the goddess' immediate field of vision. "One hopes the Chosen One's family life was substantially less fraught with drama and violence." The shorter woman gasped, all outrage and disbelief. "Surely you would not speak ill of the Ennead, oh She Who Mauls?!" Sekhmet's spine went immediately rigid as though standing abruptly to attention as she sputtered, "N-nay! Of course n--" Her instances turned into a low growl as they were drowned out by Set's laughter.
