Supercape

1d20+12=31 which should do the trick! although you can add a +4 for attractive if it counts!

"Metal Man, I couldn't care two dollars about you. You aren't human. Just a toaster with ideas above its station" said John Smith dismissively. As Oscar Wilde said, if there was one thing worse than being spat at, it was not being spat at. John Smith didn't even consider Hronos worthy of his eye contact, let alone anger. He was just a machine that had got in his way. "Velocity...I have heard of you" he said, smiling at the speedster. "You, I can talk to. On account of being flesh and bone and soul. Please come in". It was not clear whether he included Hronos in the invite. Possibly, he simply didn't care. "You are not intruding" he said, relaxed and calm, and making himself some tea - nothing exotic but good quality. "I take pleasure in inviting you in. Fascinating to meet you" he said. He sat down, and crossed his legs. "The device, as you call it, I believe is legally mine, and I intend to challenge the charges placed against me by the machine you are with. I understand societies caution, but it has been in my possession for some considerable time, and I am well versed in its properties. It seems to me an interesting legal issue. After all, the government hardly seems to deprive every superhero in Freedom City of dangerous items does it? even if they are nuclear powered battlesuits? hmmm?" "I believe I have a good chance of legally recovering my property, and I am a patient man. But you intrigue me, what would you want this device for? what do you know of its nature?" Despite his calm, there was a glint in his eye, of fierce intelligence and the cunning of countless centuries.

I think Lucy should take Harry out for a walk (as a Dog) because that would be quite funny, and potentially Harry could track down some juicy smells! I think we should avoid splitting, but the image of Lucy taking out a Dog for a walk has stuck in my head...

Carmen parked the Motorcycle and shuffled off it cane in hand. She felt like she had blown the whole evening - been too reckless, too paranoid, and too brash. But then, that was her, and that was rock n' roll. Perhaps she was being too hard on herself. Whatever the case may be, she wasn't going to write of John yet - there obviously something going on - all she had to do was dig. That was what a reporter was meant to do, right? right? Truth was, she got by on reporting by being a wild child rock n roll chick, knowing all her music, and street cred. She wasn't really an investigative reporter. Still, no time like the present, huh? she told herself. First things first then - lets tone down the fire and Brimstone for the evening, Tazel. That blew it today, lets try subtle for the evening. Strictly human... ...if I can get away with that. With her mouth open and a mental command she swallowed the flame of Tazel and let him settle inside her. Tonight, she would try and play it as "human" as possible. No chains of metal, no burning spears or breathing fire. She fingered the knuckleduster in her jacket. Well, that was just backup obviously. She walked into the Hotel, cane clicking. "Hey, got a room?" she asked, giving the receptionist her best smile. "I just saw John Perdition walk in here! I am a real fan! I would kill for his autograph!" she said, conspiratorally.

"It is never mundane, monsieur. Ze more ze veil is parted, the more you see that there is merely another veil behind..." replied Rene. "Non, there is nothing mundane in this world, or ze next. From your American Popcorn to ze babbling insanity of the Yellow Sign, it is all mercurial and magnificent. Savour it all!" he said, popping some popcorn into his mouth and licking his lip. "Although I prefer salt to sugar, myself!" "So, my friend, we are all in this together. This Jingles, this Mallory. I cannot know for sure, but if he is a creature of ze night, he may feed on fear, on panic, and it is ze human spirit that is ze shield!. Resolute, brave, strong" Rene was speculating wildly, but the thing had that spectral quality, and some of what it said hinted that it fed on something. Perhaps not the night itself, but the night of the human heart. "So, perhaps we should put on a show for him, oui?" he suggested. "Is your circus full of ze heart of ze line tamer? ze strength of ze strong man? will elephants roar in his face, and will ze human cannonball bowl him over? Will ze custard pie blind him?"

Ok that's a whacking high toughness save, and not one they can make, so feel free to narrate you elegantly disposing of six luddites in front of Pennyworth's nose!

GM ...Shortly, at John Smith's Abode, Just South of Freedom City... John Smith, it appeared, was actually of that name. The paper trail of his history was well concealed though, with documents apparently "lost in a fire" back when electronic records were a future aspiration. He was, it seems, 47 years old. He looked at least ten years younger to Hronos. He was, by admission to Hronos but nobody else, thousands of years older. Technically he was under bail conditions, but rather limited ones. The proof he was any threat to the fabric of society was scant. An upstanding citizen, by all accounts. Even got a commendation for apprehending two muggers a decade ago. Single handedly, two - without a scratch. Of course, having survived two thousand years of various scrapes and brawls one would imagine his combat experience would be hard to match. His house was well furnished, but not extravagant. An outside wall, some good but not excessive security, and a few dogs outside. It struck a very well judged balance between firm security measures without drawing attention to itself.

Carmen blinked away the sleep and fatigue - and it was fatigue - from her eyes, and wrapped the blanket around her. She shook the cobwebes in her head away, and spared little thought for the strange hypnopompic hallucinations of waking. She started prodding the sailors awake, and went to Tom and Angelica. "Nice work guys" she nodded to them as she went to prepare some food, what little they had. But there was little time to waste. They had to get back to Archeron's place and see how Billy and the others were doing - and hopefully get to the bottom of this mess. Tazel, its time to get moving. Be ready to get eaten when I come back outside... She went to see the Captain, and yawned herself despite trying to model a fighting zest. "I know its hard knocks today, Cap'n, but we need to get this show on the road. Its been a bum deal, but we gotta make it to Archeron's place. See how the others are doing, and try to get to the bottom of this mess. If there is any clue as to what happened to this place, its with Acheron and his crew..."

Rene scooped another mouthful of popcorn into his mouth. Despite his general contempt for American cuisine in comparison to French cooking, one of his guilty pleasures was popcorn. Somehow the homogeneous banality of its flavour and texture was pleasing all the same. "I am indeed Monsieur, and I regret to say that ze new is not good, not good at all" he said, sadly. "Monsieur Mallory is not only - how you say - a fruitcake! - but a dangerous one, and possessed of malign and mysterious forces that even I do not fully understand!" he said dramatically. "And, more ominously, I believe he aims to cast his shadow this very night, and I suspect your rejection of him, justified and innocent as it was, may have lead his derranged mind to cast his eye over this very circus!" he said dramatically, raising his finger to the sky and spitting out a popcorn or two from his over full mouth. "But never fear, I am confident I can defeat his wicked intent!" he lied "moreso, if the spirit and will of your circus is behind me!"

GM "Well you came in here quietly enough, Osprey. Bar the alarm you triggered. Thanks for that, by the way" he chuckled. "And from what I heard about you, I'll keep my guns up and ready. But I won't call the police. Yet. Lets have ourselves a little Mexican Standoff, for a while, at least..." he smiled, and poured himself a drink, a rum, Osprey noticed. "Now then, I have to say its a pleasure to meet the man who has been playing havoc around London. I can't say the same about my friend Tony, here. There really is no honor amongst thieves, is there, tsk tsk?" he shook his head. Bullet Tony had clearly been in some serious situations before, but he was stone cold frozen and sweating. Fear had gripped him, and that was a bad sign. "You already know me, of course. I am Big Nelson. I own this part of London. Some of it, even legit" he laughed. "But above us all, is the middleman. That's who you came for really, isn't it? Don't lie, I got a nose for it. Truth is, I'm the biggest cat in London right now, but I'm still small fry compared to the middleman. He has his finger in every pie, knows everything about everyone. Probably knows exactly what's happening right here, right now..." he said, more seriously. "I ain't gonna say I like it, but the middleman knows even that. He got everyone in under his thumb, even Big Nelson. I be the only guy who even seen him. But if I tell a soul..." he shook his head, and downed his Rum in one go. Despite it all, even Big Nelson appeared petrified of the Middleman. The man, it seemed, was the very definition of big brother, inspiring paranoia in every crime lord in the city.

OK lets play along with that. Im going for diplomacy rather than bluff. That moves him from Hostile to indifferent, so lets see how that goes.

Ok, so we move the action to the Hotel where Boomstick has his intelligence. Firstly, Stickie - you and Boomstick can do any scouting or so on, or have a discussion about what to do, lets bash this out OOC. Absurdist, Asad is up, I presume he has been invited to this charity ball and is getting his arm twisted for cash or support somehow! Feel free to narrate how he ended up there, including any NPC you wish to be there with you, or whom he might be talking to (for instance, you may wish to take a Muslim charity angle on this, as the ball and the vets are trying to support those Afghan's who supported the troops this year) - I leave this up to you. If Asad wishes to make any pre-event Knowledge or Gather Info rolls feel free to do so although its all pretty self evident - we could make these rolls as and when they are needed with the understanding that Asad has looked the details of the event up beforehand.

GM Boomstick gave a pained grin. "I knew I could count on you. A soldier never deserts his country, heh? Lets step into my Van. I got word of a terrorist cell that is going to hit...." (At the) The Hotel Jefferson "Is proud to host the annual war veterans fund raising Halloween Ball!" said the MC, a short slightly squat comedian by the name of Mike Masters, well known to have done several tours around the wall providing entertainment for the troops at times of war. He wasn't the most talented comic of all time, but he wasn't bad, either - and his work for the armed service always mad him a popular figure with them. And the cause was popular too, several dozen of societies richest, its movers and shakers, all keen to do their part and look patriotic - some of them, perhaps even the majority - even were genuinely patriotic and moved to the cause. It was a popular one, looking after wounded Vets, providing medical and psychological rehabilitation to those wounded in action. Mixing with them were various people from the charities that helped them, and many key veterans themselves, some wounded, some healthy, all keen to speak out about giving proper help and care to those that had given so much. This year, to add another dimension to the event, the Programme had included aid workers from Afghanistan, and even some Afghan's who had been wounded in action, such as those caught in friendly fire or those translators who had risked their lives helping the Armed forces. The military servicemen and women overseas were keen to have their voice heard too - perhaps not as popular a cause, but one they felt needed to be heard. It was perhaps a little more fractious and radical, but it was there in the pot anyway.

I am a little stumped - Tiff? We could go for a generic hit the streets and ask questions about a fence for the artifact, or a superstrong heroine (or hero) making noises?

Fallen Angels? Fallen from where, I wonder? Carmen didn't concern herself with the other side. She wasn't even sure how many sides there where. As far as she was concerned, she had enough on her plate with demons. She wasn't what you might call a religious person. If there was a God, and she wasn't decided on the matter, she had come to the conclusion that he worked in mighty mysterious ways. Too late to walk away, Tazel. And that's not my style, anyhow. I've been diving in my whole life. And I'm a reporter, remember? She fired up her motorcycle and sped off. She was near the limit, she knew. That was reckless of her. But right now, she needed to find John, and ask him who Meremoth was, and why he was interested in an ex con singer...

Thanks TT, I think the last post I made stands!

3 pairs. Arranged in a semi circle closing in, each 25 feet away. Im no good with diagrams and Im really not sure how relevant this is except for take down feat. If you wanted to zoom in now, you could do a takedown on 2. Alternatively you could ready a reaction until they have all closed in on Pennyworth and take em all down at once.

GM "What the hell was that?" groaned Boomstick, choking in pain. "And don't give me that Son, nonsense. I'm too old for that" he groaned. He looked up at Havoc and held out his hand. "If I'm not mistaken, you are Havoc. Well, that could be the worst break I got, or, could just be it's the best break of the night. All depends if you listen to me. And if you are ready to fight another war..." he said, getting up slowly. He held up his hands to indicate surrender. "Look, if you are Havoc, well, I'm unarmed, and you aren't some punk like those Skanks. You got me" he confessed. "My name is Boomstick. YOu might have heard of me, don't matter if you have or you haven't. Half of what they say about me is a lie, the other half ain't exactly true. I was in Afghanistan, and I left. I got eyes and ears in half the military organisations in the world, and I come well equipped..." he said, nodding at his Van. "Now, I don't work for the government, I don't work for the law. All I care about now is protecting the soldiers and their families, and this country, and fighting back at the terrorists, like OVERTHROW, without the law and politics getting in the way. I'm a terrorist, to the terrorists...." "It's not being a vigilante. I'm not in it to kill. I'm in it to send a message back" he said firmly. There was no grimness in his voice, just the weariness of a solider who had seen to much. "And I got wind of a terrorist attack today. Guess where. This is golden. At a war veterans fundraiser. The lowest of the low, huh? OVERTHROW got their hands on some Afghan terrorists and bent them to their own cause. Smash the 'States...." he shook his head, and then his fist. "You gonna stand for that?" he asked Havoc. "So, you can turn me in, or you can help me. I gotta warn you, I ain't got no proof of this. Its all come from illicit sources. That's how I work. But me, I can work with that, and nine times out of ten, my sources are right. So I can work where the cops and the intelligence services can't..."

Ok So Boomstick resists with his own intimidate skill (+8) 1d20+8=24

Is that an intimidate roll from Havoc?

Ok so for the INT check, with his military background, and reaching DC 15, Havoc vaguely recalls some talk from some military chums (or whatever you would like to relate) about the military equivilent of an urban myth: "Boomstick" was a black ops special forces guy who went by that codename and went about blowing up terrotist targets as a sort of revenge. Nobody was quite sure if it was government sactioned under the radar or he had just gone rogue. So grapple fails, and he can use that stun attack, which does attack: Note it is actually a DC 17 Fort Save, as exotic attacks are base 10 + The level of attack (whereas damaging attack are base 15+level of attack, for various good reasons!) 1d20+8=9 Now, hes a tough guy but the dice fall badly his way - he is well and truly stunned. I suggest we drop out of combat at this stage for some parlay, as they say. Post your attack and insight and lets go from there.

GM The man stopped, paused briefly and then threw his gun back in the van. "Damn! what are you wearing under there? Kevlar? You are one damn tough son of a bitch..." he grumbled, before looking around. This was the Fens, which was no stranger to the sound of gunfire, but still... "Just my damn luck to run into some Shanks and some do-gooder tough guy out to save the world, tonight of all nights" he complained. "Can't risk the gunfire, even with the silencer. But Boomstick knows a few tricks to send you to sleep..." he added, marching up to Havoc and putting his arms around him. Havoc caught a whiff of gunpowder on him, as the man started to grapple him, trying to get a lock on his neck and induce unconsciousness.

Indeed! So inglorious a beginning, for that and the combination of saving some thugs lives, deserves a hero point! Round 2 17. Boomstick - Unharmed 14 Havoc - Bruised, Staggered - 2 HP So Boomstick is quite surprised you are still standing. He will discard his submachine gun, as a move action, move to you, as a standard action, initiate a grapple: 1d20+10=29 Is another hit - its all swinging his way today! 1d20+14=26 opposed grapple roll. So could I have an opposed grapple roll. Also - could you throw me an INT roll, DC 10.

GM "Sorry, my friend. Just be grateful these are only rubber rounds. That's a small mercy I wouldn't give to these scum" he said, indicating the Chanks lying on the floor. "As it is, I just hope you don't go blabbing to the cops. I'm on a mission as it is, and I can't afford loose ends. I'm taking a risk. So if you talk, I'll be back..." he said, steely voiced but with a trace of sympathy. "Welcome to the war, my friend..." he finished, before a pale red light appeared on the chest of Havoc and the man in black unleashed a muffled clip of bullets into the hero. As he had promised, they were only rubber bullets, but they stung like hell.

So Boom Stick is going to take a shot at you with his souped up Sub Machine Gun. The weapon fire stun ammunition, is silenced, has a laser target, and is masterwork. Yes! All the trimmings! His base atack is +10, but due to the weapons bonus an additional +2 1d20+12=29 Which hits! It an autofire weapon, so the base damage is 4. He exceeds the attack roll by 9, which gives him an extra 4 DC (+1 per 2 in excess) so thats a DC 23 Toughness save!