Fox

Initiative Roll: 1d20+3 4 Whelp. I'll at least get that IC post in.

Notice Check: 1d20+8 21

"Ooh! Nice placement," Elizabeth said, ducking toward the portal. "Depending on what they're up to, we can maybe block them, push them back, or lure them away - no sense causing trouble for anyone else." She clapped her mask between her hands as she moved, pulling them apart to reveal her mask, full-size; by the time she spun around to look at the others it was already on her face, her dress billowing out into a coat and leaving white spandex in its wake. She'd miss the dress - she missed it already - but even she had to make allowances for secret identities...though she did tint the ends of her coat blue, in defiance to the costume change. Nobody would figure that out, surely. "Showtime!" she said, grin audible, as she hopped backwards through the rift.

Elizabeth nervously fingered the charm on her bracelet, trying to examine their options. Their very few options. Their shot-in-the-dark options. "If we stay here, and they're coming here, it's a fight with a bunch of people around," she muttered, looking around to make sure they weren't being watched. "If we stay here and they aren't coming here, they get away with whatever they're doing, if they're baddies. If we go to them, we can maybe stop them before they get here, or stop them from doing whatever they're doing? Or, you know, they're great people we just didn't know about and we laugh it off later." It was a weak smile, but a smile. "I like that last option. I kinda vote for heading down, though, if they're on lower floors. Worst case, maybe we have to follow them back up here anyway, and we can, you know. Get dressed, while we're at it. Do you know what's down there?"

"I guess I wouldn't know," Elizabeth said, almost laughing. "I don't think I've danced since I was a little kid dancing with my dad." That was a good memory, and it put a smile on her face before she thought to continue. "I bet that if you chose to anyway, though, and really went for it, only dumb people would think anything bad about you. It might depend on the song, though," she added, cocking her head at the lovebirds. "If it's a love song or something, you probably can't dance that alone without weird looks. Something upbeat, though, I say you go for it and dare anyone to stop you!" The other Elizabeth had started to respond to Ashley - something along the lines of not being that much younger than Ashley could have been - when she caught both the kiss and Ashley's transparent move to be closer. Needling was fun, but that was a drama she decided was very much not her business nor something she should stick her nose into...yet. She smiled, shrugged, and moved off to get that drink, since the other her didn't seem to be doing as she'd been told.

"I felt it," Elizabeth confirmed. As soon as the spell had gone off she'd clutched her purse to her side, and with Veronica telling her that it hadn't just been a fluke, she took a moment to reach into her purse for her phone. "I didn't catch exactly what it was, either, though. I don't do much general magic myself, so it's hard to tell it all apart if I can't see it." She only glanced at her phone, a teenager checking her messages, before putting it back - but sometime during the process she'd picked up a bracelet that hadn't been there before: a simple silver chain with a small mask token hanging off one side. She frowned, looking between Kam and Veronica. "That can't be good, though, right? I don't know how many mages a museum would have on staff, who'd be doing spells like that during an opening."

Happy Birthday Tiff!

Masque Knowledge (Arcane Lore): 1d20+11 20 Initiative Roll: 1d20+3 23

It had been a tenuous thing, the deal Elizabeth had struck: Christmas at home, but Christmas Eve at school. Her precious away-from-home hours were still guarded jealously, after so much of her life spent stuck there - though it had taken a lot of arguing and at least two guilt trips to get her mom and dad to see things her way. She'd had to promise, up and down, that she would show up early in the morning for actual Christmas celebrations, cause no trouble at school, and most importantly stay out of any trouble at school. That had been easy, so far. Simple conversations, a little bit of Christmas cheer, a moment that she was pretty sure had been flirting (right? it must have been...), and a lot of comfortable clothes and terrible, wonderful foods. She'd watched two movies. She'd made eleven snowballs. She'd thrown four of them. She stood at a dorm window, pajama-clad and hot cocoa in hand, staring out at the dome and the...thing...bearing down on the school. Very slowly, she set the mug down and reached out to pluck her mask from thin air. "I," she said to it, looking into its eyes, "am going to be in so much trouble. Let's make it worthwhile."

Not sure how I stand (strictly as a player) having my PC GM'd, but for the sake of the tactics discussion: These seem more a "fight 'em" enemy than a "oh god, run for cover" enemy; Masque's likely to duplicate and improve her odds of survival even the numbers a little for the melee brawl, each duplicate pulling out whatever weapon they think is useful. That'll lock up most of her magic, but she's hoping they can all push through and deal with the source together - or at least, between them, someone ends up giving someone else an opening. A lot of the actual move-to-move decisions there depend on what came before, since she's so awfully low in the initiative order.

As always, we are but frail mortals - if you believe something got mis-counted, mis-math'd, or mis-edited, please do reach out to me or the larger ref team via Discord or (better yet) forum PMs, so that we can get it addressed ASAP. And without further ado.... Azuth65 Gauss: 2 posts = 1pp Cubismo Replica: 6 posts = 1pp Ms Thursday: 11 posts = 1pp Exaccus Venomax: 18 posts = 2pp Facsimile: 19 posts = 2pp Oz: 2 posts = 1pp Grumblefloof Mister Strix: 9 posts + 16 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp + 4 (guidebook) = 7pp GM: 8 posts x2 = 16 Heritage Crystal-Gazer : 6 posts = 1pp Grimalkin: 10 posts = 1pp Miracle Girl: 3 posts = 1pp Shrike: 5 posts + 10 (Grimalkin rollover) = 15 posts = 2pp KnightDisciple Raven III: 3 posts = 1pp + 1 (guide) = 2pp Thunderbird: 11 posts = 1pp Judex: 2 posts = 1pp Nick Arcana: 0 posts = 0pp + 1 (admin) = 1pp Portia Labiata The Blind Huntsman: 0 posts + 12 (GM) = 12 posts = 1pp GM: 6 posts x2 = 12 RocketLord Dust Devil II: 20 posts + 5 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp + 2 (misc.) = 5pp Forever Boy: 24 + 1 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp + 1 (misc.) = 4pp Justice: 73 + 34 (GM) = 107 posts = 5pp + 5 (misc.) = 10pp GM: 20 posts x2 = 40 Supercape Rev: 14 posts + 11 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp Snakebite: 22 posts + 3 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp Mr. Murk: 3 posts + 56 (GM) = 59 posts = 4pp + 1 (guide) = 5pp The Red Rat: 2 posts = 1pp Starshot: 6 posts = 1pp Sgt Shark: 0 posts + 2 (The Red Rat) + 23 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp Echohead: 0 posts + 25 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp Curveball: 0 posts + 25 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp Ronin: 0 posts + 25 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp Lament: 0 posts + 6 (Starshot) + 19 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp Diamondlight: 0 posts + 25 (GM) = 25 posts = 3pp GM: 106 posts x2 = 212 Terrakhash Black Mamba: 4 posts = 1pp Chromium: 11 posts = 1ppDelta: 11 posts = 1pp Thevshi Tsunami: 3 posts = 1pp Veronica Danger: 6 posts + 9 (GM) = 15 posts = 2pp + 1 (ref) = 3pp Velocity: 1 post = 1pp Synapse: 6 posts = 1pp Squire Kath’lana: 1 post + 9 (GM) + 10 (rollover) = 20 posts = 2pp GM: 9 posts x2 = 18 Tiffany Korta Bee: 4 posts = 1pp Dr. Thorne: 2 posts = 1pp Merge Trois: 1 post = 1pp Miss Grue: 1 post = 1pp + 1 (ref) = 2pp Ms Bright: 5 posts = 1pp Revenant: 2 posts = 1pp The Scarab III: 7 posts + 8 (GM) = 15 posts = 2pp The Traveller: 3 posts = 1pp Triakosia: 2 posts = 1pp White Lioness: 5 posts + 6 (GM) + 4 (rollover) = 15 posts = 2pp GM: 7 posts x2 = 14 Zeitgeist Blue Salvo: 19 posts + 50 (GM) = 69 posts = 4pp + 1 (20Q) + 2 (HellQ) = 7pp GM: 25 posts x2 = 50

Initiative Roll: 1d20+3 4 Ah, yes. The karma evens out.

Knowledge: Arcane Lore roll: 1d20+11 30 ...well. Alright, then.

APPROVED!

"I'm not going to be much use in fixing stuff," Masque confessed; she'd been peering around the room, all runes (which made her brain itch, and she didn't know why) and gears (which she'd have a hard time sorting out if they were mundane, much less...all this!), and her normally-impassive mask was, for once, fairly fitting for her actual expression. "It's pretty great but it's really not my area." Instead she knelt down near the pixelated spell, masked eyes glowing as she took it in. She really needed to put more practice into the practical side of magic, but she could at least feel them out... "Something's watching this spell," she said, finally, turning back to the others. Her mask had a furrowed brow seemingly drawn over the eyes in what looked like permanent marker. "Or it's watching itself. It doesn't belong here, and I'm betting if we mess with it, it'll alert its master. Bet we could fix the little gear, but I don't know if it'll notice that, too."

Yeah, alright; not Masque's area but in the interests of contributing to keep things moving, Masque's going to take a good look at the spell-supported gear. Knowledge: Arcane Lore roll: 1d20+11 18 She's probably more interested in the spell itself than the gear, which other folks have a far better handle on. Does it have a purpose beyond fixing the pinion in place? Why bother? Can it be (safely) cancelled out so that the pinion can be fixed or replaced without screwing something up?

Pulling back out of the Heroes bank for further review; missed a bit of math, to my great shame.

Fluff To make sure I understand the character's purpose, this is a space-based character, not intended for Earth play? Saves Toughness gets a bonus from Con, not Strength, though I believe the final math works out. Skills I count 45 ranks of skills, though one of those may be illusory - you've bought Languages 2, but only one extra language. Powers The Multiple Weapons power feat should be on the Device, not on the Strike power. This may require some cost adjustment.

"That's the one where your heart gets weighed against a feather, right?" Elizabeth asked, keeping up as they moved on to view more of the exhibit, hands placed firmly behind her back lest she touch anything she rightfully shouldn't. One mask was enough. "I...think I read about that one somewhere. The myth's in my head, anyway!" She smiled, more secrets than feigned naivete, and turned again to peer at the artifacts and cards. "It's all just so...it's like everything here as a story, and they all pull at you, you know? Like you could reach out and touch it and learn so much. It makes you wonder what they've all seen!"

For the sake of coordination, Masque can throw up a nice illusion to buy time if anything toothy shows up; she could also send a copy of herself off to draw personal attention, but she'd really rather not. No specific character exploration for me, though! Masque is just making friends and having adventures today, and the weird bit with her mask having its own Self was just opportunism on my part.

Masque frowned, tapping the head of her staff against the ground like a batter sizing up a pitch. "I guess...when you're out in the real world you aren't always ready for what happens, right?" Her faith in her own logic was somewhat shaky, but there was a voice in her head telling her that this could be fun. She cocked her head, mask concealing her expression. "If we're supposed to be training we may as well treat it like it's the real thing. Save people on our way, see how we do. It could be pretty fun," she said, turning to look at the others. "If, you know. We don't die or something."

Thanksgiving again, which means it's time to head off to visit family for a week - I'll be taking my phone and laptop and will keep up with threads as best I'm able, but I may not be around chat as much.

Elizabeth peered into the window dubiously, reaching out to pull a wide-sleeved open robe of white cotton out of thin air; she slung it over her body and brought her mask up to her face. The translucent mask over her shoulder had disappeared, now shimmering slightly over the surface of her artifact. "Guess we should!" she said, flexing her hands. "Hopefully the big thing's not very smart; maybe we can keep it distracted for long enough, or at least knock it off its game. I don't think I like the look of that...magic...cancer virus thing," the girl added, wiggling a finger at the gaping hole in the sphere. "But at least the problem's easy to spot. That's something!"

"Wasn't me!" Elizabeth held up her hands in protest, taking a half-step back in case whatever dress-manifesting magic was at play needed more room. "That really looks great, though! I should learn that trick. I can only do my own clothes, or fake other peoples', but that takes more magic than I've got right now." She grinned, pointing back across the room to...another Elizabeth, currently interrogating Ashley. "All my stuff's tied up in being two of me at once. I don't have a lot of mojo to throw around, you know?" The other Elizabeth looked sympathetic but not particularly moved by Ashley's argument, frowning at her and trying to choose her words very carefully. "That is very, very sad," she said, with genuine sincerity. "I think all the stories I've ever seen or read would end in something like 'but would he want you to not have fun', but I bet that's nothing you haven't heard before." She took a deep breath, clearing that out. It wasn't her place. She'd...figure something better out later. "No gymnastics teams for me, no! I can only have two of me, so, you know, that's not much of a team. I'm also, um, working on being in better shape. I was sick for a while and still get tired too fast."

Nodding as if she had any kind of insight into ancient Egyptian culture and burial techniques, Elizabeth bent over slightly to inspect the case. "I guess the scare might be part of the point?" she ventured, tilting her head Veronica's way for...feedback? Correction? "A really fancy guard dog for a really fancy person." She turned back, looking the statue in its eyes as if trying to appraise its character. She bet that if it was wood, it was lighter than it looked; it'd make a great prop for a magic show. "....good dog."