Supercape

GM The arrow sailed through the moonlit sky and snagged the sniper. She could just make out a grunt above. Some curses, and grim determination. "Got ya!" The sniper rifle was silenced, although the dull crack could be heard. Pow! And his aim was true. He was good. The bullet hit Arrowhawk, and would test that very resilience to bullets... And meanwhile the dogs ran down the street. Nasty, attack dogs, angry and irritable, they seemed most keen to gnaw and bite, and they were egged on by the pick up truck behind them - its headlights full beam and almost dazzling Arrowhawk. It was difficult to see it properly, but from what she could make out there was one man in the driver seat, and two in the rear, leaning over the roof and carrying - what - crossbows? "Out the way...now!" one of the men said. "Or you'll be crowmeat too!"

Ok so as we have sort of moved into combat... Initiative: Rich Hunters: INitiative: 1d20+1 9 Dogs: Initiative: 1d20+2 18 Sniper: Initiative: 1d20+5 15 Snipers Tough Save: Tough Save vs Arrow: 1d20+7 21 made For my reference Dogs: Str 15 Dex 15 Con 15 Int 2 Wis 12 Cha 6 Skills: Notice 4 (+5), Survival 0 (+1), Swim 2 (+4) Powers: Super-Senses 3 (scent, track, ultra-hearing) Combat: Attack +3, Damage +2 (unarmed), Defense +3, Initiative +2 Saving Throws: Toughness +2, Fortitude +5, Reflex +5, Will +1 Round 1: 28 Arrow 4 HP Unharmed 18 Dogs [3] Unharmed 15 Sniper Unharmed 9 Hunters [3] Unharmed The Dogs will run at Arrowhawk - fast as they are, they will end up 25' from her. The Sniper will fire at Arrowhawk with a silenced Sniper Rifle: Fires at Arrowhawk: 1d20+10 24 which I think hits, and its a DC 21 Toughness save. For his move action, he will take full cover. The Dogs will move, ending up 25' near Arrowhawk. The hunters, in the pick up will drive up just behind the dogs. The two in the pick up will take an aim action (increasing attack by +2 next round) and speak!

Hound is just going to run away!

Thats enough to hit with distance...just...with partial cover. With the darkness it is also partial concealment due to low light levels so could you roll (and reroll with HP if you wish) for miss chance?

Thats enough to spot four rabid dogs and their handlers approaching from the other end of the street. And a sniper on the roof under partial cover.

Arrow Hawk 4 HP For standing in an awful situation. Notice Roll Please Streetwise Roll Please DC 15

GM "At this stage, its screwed every way" replied the man. He climbed back into the car. "You hold them off then. Looks like you have a bow. Very handy against high powered sniper rifles, I am sure" he suggested. "Although you could sink a few arrows into the dogs and I wouldn't weep any tears. Not after seeing what those dogs do..." he said, grimly. "Best of luck. Ill be keeping an eye out for you. But the other one is on that poor target..." he said, sadly. "I bet she has gone to Shotgun Simon. About her only hope. If you manage to make it out of this with most of your internal organs intact, you can try going that direction. That is, if you want to be helpful for once" he said, and put his fut on the gas, taking off... The dogs now, they sounded closer. And this was a thin dark street, with crumbling buildings on either side...

GM "Yeah, that was my plan, idiot" replied the man, getting out of the car. "I had it all carefully plotted out, I thought that chasing after her in a car in the middle of the night was the ideal way to get her all calm and collected..." He looked behind him. There was the sound of dogs. "I had to improvise" he said, checking his pistol. "I didn't have the luxury of time, or planning. I was about five seconds ahead of the hunters, and now I have lost even that edge thanks to you" he said. "Don't think you are the smart one, here. You just screwed up everything and probably got that woman killed" "As for who is hunting them. They are good. And we better get in the car..." he suggested.

Starshot "Better than nothing. Slow and stealthy it is..." he agreed. But he was not happy. They might well shield against eyes, but infrared scanners? or radar systems? He could only hope the Pirates were not that prepared. If they were, it would be a grim assault out on the desert. And he said as much in private, to his crew-mates. "This is an awful risk. But I don't think we have any choice. The pirates aren't fools. Setting up camp in the flats of the desert was wise. I hope there are enough dunes to plot a more careful path out of eyeshot. But this looks like the odds are against us" he explained, tasting bitter fruit. "Still, we must do with what he have. If they spot us, we have little option but to fight it out. I have only one idea, which involves those grenades..." He explained the back up. He would use his cybernetic hand, small, fast, and removable, to drop a grenade or two as a distraction. It wasn't ideal, but his hand would be hard to spot and fast...enough to give them a little breathing space.

GM If the man thought anything of this threat, he didn't show it. "IDIOT!" he shouted. "I'M TRYING TO SAVE HER LIFE!" he screamed, almost apoplectic with rage. "Now get off of my goddamn car before I...oh hell!" He slammed on the breaks. If he was inclined to show any courtesy or concern for the woman on his car and stop her from falling off, he sure as hell didn't show it. "I lost her!" he muttered, ignoring Arrowhawk. He gave her a death stare with those moonlit blue silver eyes. "If she dies, I'm going to come after you, idiot" he snarled. He held his gun but didn't point it at Arrowhawk. "She's being hunted, scared out of her mind. I was trying to get her out of the city but she got spooked. Now, she is all alone. Going to end up dead. Or worse..." he said, pure contempt in his voice.

IM giving him a +5 Situational bonus for that due to his determination. Which means he can automatically beat it!

GM "Holy Mother of...Get out the godamn way you idiot!" screamed the Man at the wheel. He was in his thirties, maybe early forties, dressed in a black turtle neck and grey trenchcoat. He had stubble, long hair, and kind of grizzled good looks. Whilst he had a tanned skin, his eyes were a most brilliant silver blue, quite hypnotic in the moonlight. He slowed a little but not much, and pulled out a pistol he had been keeping by the passanger seat. "You don't have a goddamn clue do you? Idiot! You are going to get us all killed...get off the godamn car! I cant see where I'm going! I'm going to lose her!"

OOC for this

GM Feb 3rd, 2018 On the start of a long dark night And cold, too. The woman was running down a bad street in a bad part of town. Wolverton. It bled drugs, it bled guns, it bled blood. And it looked like it would bleed this woman too. She was dressed in bad clothes, a little torn. She was running barefoot, and left a bloody footprint. All this, Arrowhawk saw in the dark streets. And behind her, a car, black like the night sky, headlights on and blazing full beam, a determined man at the wheel, his eyes fixed on the woman, his car gaining fast. He didn't look intent on running her down. probably. He did look intent on catching her...

GM The rest of the ship was very much as one might expect; a creaky but seaworthy vessel which was about function rather than comfort - and yet it did not sink to complete discomfort. There were perhaps a dozen sailors, some relaxing, playing cards, even drinking. The cook was stewing something warm and spicy. And in the passenger seat, an old man with a trimmed white beard was working on some books, and making notes in his notebook. Despite Bonfires veil of invisibility, he looked straight up and addressed Bonfire directly. "What are you?" he asked, a trace of impertinence. "A Djinn? Don't stand there gawping. I have the second sight. Nothing escapes my eyes, old as they may be..."

Rev "Looks like the big guy has the scent!" smiled Rev, giving a double thumbs up and a wide grin. "Its OK folks! Its just a giant bear running through the Mall following a scent! Nothing to be worried about! He doesn't eat! I mean...he doesn't eat people! Not that I know about, anyway. And he seems an OK kind of guy. Bear. Guy-Bear. Not the kind of guy that would eat people. That's what he told me anyway!" she said to the onlookers, full of encouragement. "Never mind!" she sighed. And then she was off, following Jack as fast as she could. Which was not fast enough. Man he can move! She had to fire off little bursts of jets from her feet to keep up!

Lord Steam Jason Buckwell, 19, moderator of Truecrimestories.com Yeah I followed him ever since he appeared on the scene. You know, that fancy mansion he has North of Freedom City? By the ocean. Beautiful. When he moved in there. Lots of talk from the neighbours. Just a bit of gossip at first, I guess. Then things got real interesting. That’s when I started following him. I’ve always been into crime. Yeah, that came out wrong. I’ve always been into crime stories. Started when I was a kid, my mam got me into them. I like em all, from Sci Fi to historical. But I gotta say my favourites were the European ones of the twentieth centure like Agatha Christie. Don’t get me wrong, I liked my home grown detectives like Colombo, but I just loved the feel of the European ones, like Poirot. Read the books, watched the films, saw the plays. You name the medium, I devoured it. Even got a stack of Raven comic books back home. But in my opinion, it was Sherlock Holmes who always stood out for me. Something about the obsessive genius, the way his mind just cut through appearances to get to the truth. “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” Always loved that. So, you can imagine when the crazy dude comes along when I was fourteen. Lord Steam. I was hooked. The crazy dude was like Sherlock Holmes. Except real. And you know, I think he is more Sherlock Holmes than Sherlock Holmes! I mean, look at the way he dressed. Nobody dresses like that. Like he is from the nineteenth century. Like he walked out of the set of Downton Abbey and kept his costume. Man, I wish I could pull that off. I mean, its not easy to pull off, is it? Not cheap to pull off either, from the looks of it. I tried Cosplaying him last year. Cost me a fortune. The waistcoat, the cravatte, the shiny shoes, the goggles, the splendid brass magnifying glass. And that cool cane! What does it do, I wonder? Got a concealed sword in it? Fire out steam? I hope it fires out steam, that would be so cool. The hair isn’t easy, either? I mean, how does he pull that off? What product does he use? Maybe he’s got a steam powered hairdryer or something? Hmmm..how would that work? Can steam dry things? A mystery… That’s the other thing about him, of course, all those cool gadgets! Man, what I wouldn’t give to have a few of those! Not your regular looking stuff, either. I mean, this is Freedom City and every street has got a dude with a pair of Anti-grav sneakers and an Ionic Shotgun. But this has a certain, class, you know? Brass, whistles and knobs. A touch of silver. All shiny. Some polished oak here and there. I mean, its beautiful – so intricate. Have you checked out his car? What a classic! I mean, its classic, but unique. Can you still be classic if its unique? Hmmm…it looks classic anyway. Like it was built before cars got invented and we went around in carriages. But its got lines, sure. I heard a Japanese company was trying to buy the design of him and mass produce the car. But he would have none of it. Guess he likes being eccentric, guess he likes being unique. I would too, if I was him. Besides, you couldn’t mass produce a car with flamethrowers, could you? Yeah, you heard that right. I followed that case “Lord Steam and the Frosty Freeze”, you can read about it in my blog. Several eye witness accounts, all respectable, plus a couple of not respectable ones, all testify that when he was chasing down Eye Slick, his care belched out a stream of fire. How cool is that! And that’s not all. I got a whole list of things he has used. Like suction gloves for climbing up walls, or spring loaded boots for a quick getaway. And lets not forget about the infamous clockwork platypus and its whistling corkscrew! Well, that one didn’t actually work, its true. But as Lord Steam himself declared, every failure is a bloody disappointment. Yeah, I liked that. He spins it as it is, rather than pretending a pile of dung is a fragrant heap of roses. You can pick up some replica’s at the conventions, you know. I got a few, although they are pricey. The real expensive stuff actually works, after a fashion. I got a rotating top hat with illumination device at the last one. Cool! As you will see on the blog, aside from all the detecting and inventing, he has been in a few scrapes, just like Sherlock Holmes. He doesn’t run to a fight, but he doesn’t run from one either, at least that’s how I read it. Sounds the right thing to do, if you ask me. Running to a fight means you ain’t using your head. Running from one means you are a coward. So you know how Sherlock Holmes used to practice Bartitsu? So does Lord Steam. We looked into it on our website. I wrote a piece on it, actually. Turns out it as a real martial art, developed by some Brit called Edward William Barton-Wright. Blend of Japanese and English martial arts, like Jujitsu and boxing, even a touch of fencing. Except this guy, back in the beginning of the twentieth century, he made it up to suit the English Gentleman. So things like caped and hats, and canes – all used to distract and entangle the enemy. Apparently it was quite effective, but it kind of disappeared after a few years. Kind of got lost under jujutsu I think. Its kind of fun. I bought a few books on it, and watched some videos. Joined the society. It having a bit of a come back these days, I guess Lord Steam might have added a little interest. They are trying to get him to the conference in Vancouver this year, and if he is going you can be sure I am! He’s an expert in it Bartitsu, when practically nobody else is – at least nobody alive. A lost martial art, they think, although they are trying to resurrect it. He doesn’t like to boast about it, though. I guess he does enough boasting about everything else. I thought it was a bit strange how he was so modest about his expertise in fighting when I first read about it. But then I realised, its because it is fighting. See, I think he doesn’t like fighting. He feels, when he has to fight, that he has failed in some way. Now, the way I see it, he likes a bit of athletic activity, like riding and swimming and so on, and he has a fondness for sparring with Bartitsu, but when it comes to actual fighting, I think he feels he has had to resort to brawn instead of brain. So it’s a bit of a sting to his Ego. So that’s my hero. I know I’m never going to be him, I don’t want to be, I guess. But I do admire him, been a role model for me for my teenage years. An inspiration, you could say. I’m going to study criminology one day. Maybe join the police. Maybe I cam make detective myself! Till then I’m just keeping the website up to date. Maybe get my book published. Its become a fascination for me. Man of science, Man of style, Man of brains. And Lord of Steam!

Starshot Crash on Volturnus (apply to Diamondlight) [17 Posts] Flux (Maxed) Cape No More (apply to Mr Murk) [8 Posts] Rev Far From Home [6 Posts] Pitching In [4 Posts] Road Warriors - Gold Rush [4 Posts] Bloody Mess (Maxed) Shaking the Branches (apply to Echohead) [2 Posts] Lament The Room Where It Happens [2 Posts] Mr Murk Codus Immortus: Icy Juice [3 Posts] Flintlock (Max) Vignette [+1/+2 PP] (Apply to Diamondlight) Lord Steam (Max) Long Way Down (Apply to Lament) [3 Posts] Vignette [+1/2 PP] (Apply to Diamondlight) Diamondlight Under Cove-r Vignette [+1/2 PP] Echohead Vignette [+1/2 PP] Snakebite Vignette [+1/2 PP] Sgt Shark Vignette [+1/2 PP] Curveball Vignette [+1/2 PP] GM Block Head [10 Posts] Hot Shot [25 Posts] Poor Target [43 Posts] Deeper Underground [2 Posts] High Note [2 Posts] Vision of Fire [36 Posts] Monorail Slam [3 Posts] Sunset Wheel [6 Posts] Misc Vignettes are, by word count, a minimum of 1200 words (usually much over). Guide PP to Diamondlight GM Posts to push all nine non-maxed PCs to 25 Posts The remainder GM posts to push Diamondlight, Mr. Murk, Echohead to 50 posts/4 PP in order. I think thats all I have, but if there are any spare, push on to Snakebite.

GM "Excellent! I win!" declared Imprint, jumping free of Mannequins opening fist. In a flash of vaguely blue-ish light, she appeared now as a slightly short, slender woman with long brown hair, dressed in blue armour that had a kind of plastic feel. Her eyes were concealed by a mirrored visor, one would speculate to mitigate the effects of the flash when she changed size. "Ha ha! Well, I knew I would, of course! I have been planning this all for a long time!" she said. "I am, after all, a genius. Even if nobody recognises that fact that is unarguably a fact!". She seemed elated with her success. "Block Head is mine! So if you wouldn't mind opening a portal to my secret hideout which is...ha! I wouldn't let that slip would I?" she laughed. "No no, I think I can manage to get us through the police..." Two police men came strolling in, with slightly blank faces. "See? Would you mind *ahem* arresting me...officers?" she laughed at them. "Yes..." they both replied simultaneously and flatly. "See?" she laughed at Mannequin and Doctor Deoxy. "My clay men can be anything! Very useful, even if they are a bit dull and fragile!" she admitted. "But they serve a purpose!" "As for me, they won't even spot me. I just have to get Block Head out!" she though, although she seemed to think twice now she stood up close to him and gauged his height. "That might be a bit more tricky, I suppose..." she conceded.

Rev Her head was spinning. "That sounds pretty - errr....awesome? amazing? terrifying. Heck, it sounds a lot of things" replied Rev, bamboozled by the enormity of it. She widened her eyes and looked at Zhu for help. Her head was bigger, maybe she could absorb it. "But if thats the case, are these the bad guys? I mean, if Lawrence can save the everythingverse...I mean, is that what it is?" she asked, looking at Lawrence with a completely new set of eyes. "Maybe his mum and dad should like go with him, and see if we cant all stop....collapse. Wow, that's a chilling name..." she shuddered.

Flux "There!" replied Quill, pointing at one of the readings on the screen. "And there!" he said pointing at another. "Radiation spikes. See how they form a characteristic n-dimensional inverse hypercollision?" he explained. "I have only seen that once before. In the anomaly that we were surveying by the asteroid field. Where I was lost.." "The Quantum Dark Zone. It must be!" He shuddered. "You have to understand. Space-Time is...well I am not sure it even exists. Other things do, but its beyond my ability to sense. And that is deeply disturbing, as I am able to sense a lot - it really is a gift of extraordinary sensitivity - " he pointed to his head " - and yet I was quite blind when lost in the zone". He paused and tapped his chin, thinking. "What concerns me is that this may not be your normal wormhole. I say normal because there is no other word, of course. Wormholes are pretty abnormal by their nature. But this pattern of radiation suggests something different. And it also suggest that whatever the Quantum Dark Zone is, it is not a singular thing..."

You could always decide by a thread playing it out.... One point is that the CI is for humans or near humans rather than gods, aliens, or magical beings. I think Grimalkin would qualify as basically human, but mull that over.

Flux "Tea, if you have it" replied Flux without much hope. "Earl Grey" he added, hoping against every reasonable hope. Practically without thinking, he started observing the wormhole, and glancing around at the data. There was room, even with all the glorious scientific analysis to sift through, to take a step back and comprehend the wonder of the thing. And it was wonderful. "Its a beautiful beast" he commented, acknowledging its destructive power. Like anything with utility, it was powerful. Like anything powerful, it could be destructive. Questions started popping up in to his mind. "Where does it lead? When does it lead?" "What are its safety parameters?" "Have their been any casualties?" And any number of more technical questions on radiation, dimensions, energy, mass, and time-space...

Starshot This gave Starshot pause for thought. "You make a good point!" he chuckled. "Who knows what lives underwater!" "It will have to be a night approach. Although I like this less and less. They may have - the probably do have - night vision equipment. Ultraviolent, Infrared. Even if it is our best bet, it could go against us..." he said, grim now. "We will need to carefully coordinate the attack. Multiple angles. Distractions. I think those grenades could work well - if you fancy using them, Laark?" he said with a smile. "The difficulty will be getting close enough. It will have to be fast, and brutal. They have chosen their base well - open sands all around" "What do we have for camouflage, or mounts?" he asked Emorda. "For we must either be unseen or swift. And ideally both..."

A fair point!