Supercape

Carmen ordered the Soda, and washed down her whisky quickly with a hint of guilt. She had ordered it too quickly, for the wrong reasons. Guess it figures. The gut has snorted and injected his way through a mountain of drugs in the past. Now he stays clean.... "Sure thing Jon, call me Carmen. I never did do the whole formal thing anyway" she replied. "I hope you don't mind someone new" she added, bringing out a notebook, pen, and camera. "I came here to get the deal on how things are going with you. Could take a few pictures if you don't mind, but that's only if you don't mind" she added. It wasn't in the contract. But a few shots of them at the bar would spice up the text of an interview. "Let's start with how your life is changed now that..." Tazel interrupted her with his warning... .... Yeah, everythings wrong with you around, you little toad. She answered back to the brimstone in her belly. Well spit it out then, Tazel, what is it this time? is he wearing the wrong colour shirt? Should I go convert the schoolkids down the road to goat worshipping? she paused an second to long before focussing back on John. He would have noticed. "...you are back on the straight and narrow, so to speak. Has your perspective changed with age and sobriety?"

Carmen pulled up outside and parked her bike, grabbing the brass and black wood Cantos devil stick as she pulled herself off her Harley and walked stiffly into the bar. She didn't quite know how to dress for this one. It was just that slight step out of her comfort zone of regular rock. It wasn't quite the leathers and bikes she was used to, but it sure wasn't the redneck cowboy boots and hats of the country and western scene either. So she had settled for jeans and boots, and a cut off t shirt that showed just a little too much to be safe, but not enough to be too risky. She may have walked with an obvious limp, but she still had a good physique and a wild streak. And besides showing a little of said body, she liked to show off the tattoo running down her spine. And not just for vanity. The tattoo was a sigil of protection, a very real sorcery that protected her from infernal forces. She walked up to the bar and immediately ordered a double whiskey. The pains in her leg had been creepingly bad last night and she was getting irritable with them. She knew alcohol wasn't the answer. But it was the answer she took anyway. Damn it. She spied John at the bar, recognising him almost instantly. He had a kind of dusty magnetic charm, but she wasn't Carmens type. She preferred her men with more joy - not boundless joy, but the kind of defiant joy despite awareness of the aching of life. John seemed to be enjoy the ache to her. But that wasn't to say he was without charisma. He had that, like a hypnosis. And she was a sucker for an anarchist like he was. As she recalled his drug use and penchant for starlets, she spared a momentary wonder if her t shirt wasnt an inch to high. Still, it couldn't hurt. She could handle herself even if he did get a bit frisky. Sure, she could handle herself. Even without a demon bubbling away in her stomach, ready to fire up her bones and sinews at her command. "Hi, John Perdition? Carmen Cantos. I'm here from Rock Report, about the interview? But let me buy you a drink first, my way of saying that was a great song!" she said, by way of introduction.

Oh and for the sake of it, lets make a knowledge roll to see if Pitch knows anything about the Guy with the Banjo - I guess thats a Knowledge - Pop Culture Roll? 1d20+10=30 HOws about that? Ill leave that up to you of course to determine if that means a damn thing! Just throwing out there for you in case it does.

Le tag.

Pitch frowned, deeply unsettled by the pain of the sailors and the horror of the the creature before her. She shook her head to the demon, her spine tingling. Whatever damage it had caused her as a babe, it had also protected her from any infernal magic. She belched forth a black smoke and grinned at the demon, raising a finger and wagging it. Not so easy with me, foul thing... Gathering her fist, she pulled a dense ball of smoke on it, gathering the horrible acrid smoke from the realm of the infernal forge, and threw it at the creature, letting it pour into the things many ghastly throats. Choke on that... She would have loved to have said it...

Gimme a day or so to stew and I will come up with a proposal to tie up SW2 and lead into SW3, the future!

Ok so In retaliation, Pitch is going to stuff the horror's mouths full of smoke! Suffocate Attack: 1d20+10=22 I guess hits, and thats a DC 17 Fort Save Suffocation Attack.

1d20+4=21 Reflex DC vs Area Which I presume halves the DC of the Paralyse Effect to DC 15 1d20+10=14 which she fluffs, so I guess is slowed. This is presuming its not an infernal descriptor - which she has immunity to unless her spinal tattoo is covered?

Carmen actually took two steps back and felt a cold sweat form on her skin as she beheld the creature. She never liked spiders, and this was a hundred - a thousand times worse. It was the stuff of nightmares, and she was sure this thing would be crawling into her dreams for years to come. Her smoke paled and her flames fickered as fear overtook her. Perhaps even Tazel was recoiling, and that was something. Still, the infernal fire continued to bubble through her stomach into her bones and muscles. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, she spat out bellow of fire and smoke. She wasn't going to be a fly today...

Ok ill do a cut to the ship but can we have some notice rolls from you both?

1d20+2=14 for initiative

"Damn that's a neat trick! Wish I had thought of that!" said the Mess with a grin on his face as he piled into the fray. His legs were pumped up like a sack of melons, the super powered blood fizzing like a soda can. He gave his head a friendly tap on the side to try and knock a few more brain cells into shape. Predictably, it had little effect. He had taken a few too many knocks already. "Right ya bozo's, its time to get messy!" he said, gritting his teeth and swinging left and right. For a man of his squat shape and huge musculature, he was pretty agile, bouncing around with speed and grace. His fists were like hammers, and knocked the Riverters four goons with brutal swings - pounding them with power and skill, sending them sailing through the air and into a sprawled out K.O. "That's just for starters..." he said, remembering the murderous events that had lead him to the main course, and the promises he had made...

So, lets see if Mess can take out the trash. MOve action: Leaping. Which should be enough given Leaping 6 as it is boosted to reach the thugs I guess. Standard Action: Take 10 to attack the thug minions. Shifting attack -4 attack, +4 DC for an attack roll of 16 which I guess will hit them flat footed. Its a DC 29 Toughness save which I really hope they cant make, and Takedown attack which I hope will knock em all out!

HI Spider, For dazzle, you need to specify which sense it dazzles. I guess you are dazzling visual senses, but it does need specication! Visual dazzles cost 2PP/Rank, other senses cost 1PP/rank. Here is my suggestion about how to build a sparkly laser beam eye array. I am building this on the assumption that eye blasts are particularly accurate (you look at something, fire, it hits) and therefore to trade off a little less powerful. i.e. a +2 accuracy/-2 DC trade off. On his base build, you have only +3 Base accuracy. That is fine, but I am going to say a bit limiting. For instance, it cuts him out of throwing cars at supervillians, or suchlike. I would personally suggest you bring it up to +4 base. This allows you to have a less accurate but powerful punch (say build his mellee up to +8 accuracy and +12 DC) and an accurate but less poweful laser vision (say +12 accuray and +8 DC). To my mind shooting laser beams out of your eyes should be accurate...as you are targetting with your eyes...which tends to be accurate to say the least! So I am building the below array on the basis of +4 base accuracy (which will cost you of course) Star Vision Array (21 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 2, Drawback: Power Loss [Daka Crystals]) [22PP] Base Power Blast 8 (Feats: Accurate 3, Precise, Variable Descriptor [Electromagnetic Spectrum]) [21/21PP] "Energy Beam" Alternate Power Dazzle 8 (Visual; Feats: Accurate 3: Precise) [20/21PP] "Light Beam" Alternate Power Super Senses 8 (Visual Penetrates Obscure [5], Visual Penetrates Concealment [4], Ultravision [1], Infravision [1], Visual Detect Electromagnetic Spectrum [3], Feats: Variable Descriptor [Electromagnetic Spectrum]) [15/21] "Energy Vision" This is just a suggestion, of course!

That is a very good point, Thev, well made. I think I have a personal problem with team leaders in RPGs - my own issue with using RPGs as ego crutches. So I should be open and aware about that and not impose my neurosis on you guys! So I leave the decision about team leader to you guys, and Ill keep my stinking nose out of it! PS: Loved last post, Thev.

GM Stan shook his head as his skin turned a pallid ghostly white and his eyes became blood shot. As much as might have wanted to drop the Icon, his grip on it did not falter. "What...is this..." he croaked before his voice gave out completely. This time, Vermin spoke. His voice was small and tinny coming out of a rats throat, but it was still quite audible, and perfect English, in a slightly strange and clipped accent. "Something to ensure your compliance. We never were convinced you had the will to go through with this...." Stan still looked like Stan, but his flesh was drawn and haggard, his eye bloodshot like he had not slept a week, and his skin white as a ghost. He looked half dead. Which was, ironically, half true. "Now, lead us to the main engineering suite...." hissed vermin, eyes still darting around, alert to the mystery unseen intruder...

In relation to TiffK's last post, I'm going to pose the notion that Young Brittania might well be th 'face' of Vanguard 2.0 - she is the least suspicious character as far as the Ministry is concerned, is suitably jingoistic, and has, mechanically speaking the highest CHA. I dislike the concept of "party leader", as this dampens down inter team conflicts (which is interesting, as long as it avoids the horrors of PvP) and gives rise to E-peen swordsmanship, but putting her in a position as public 'face' might be a thing to do, much as champion was for Vanguard 1.0 (and from the relationship map, you will see how he was far from the commander of the team). I put this up for discussion, but lets not bog down the flow of IC. On a side note I have one more piece of raidroading to do, which is the fledgling team hunting down Osprey and/or the Middleman (for reference you may wish to observe the thread ">Beating Crime Soundly" I will try not to make this to klutzy and obvious, but if I could ask for one final piece of leeway / railroading in that if I drop the bait, can you bite? Of course the possibilties we have with the relationship map and everything is not to have a cohesive team of four super-friends, but to have a interesting mix of flavours, and positive and negative relationships.

Let me know if you guys want a cut to the ship, or have another plan, or otherwise I can throw stuff at ya!

As an afterthought, I have toned down Deadbeats Percussive Strike to make the Dazzle not an area. This lowers his cost. Hope you can give it the once over. I just think every time he makes a blow having to roll two reflex rolls for everyone in the area will just slow everything down and be to much a pain. It may make mechanical sense, but really, sometimes logic has to take second place to fun! Hell, logic always has to take second place to fun!

So, Holy Holes, you are right. I make him come out at 176 PP so lets fill out the last few holes: Getting that Superstrength 1 Power Filling out those Skills for another 2 PP Perform Keyboards to 4 (+7) Perform Singing to 8 (+11) Perform String and Wind to 11 (+14)

Thanks Fox! Much Appreciated! 1. Yeah, Cha is listed as CHA 16 (+2). Guess what, that's wrong, huh? So he does in fact have +3 Cha bonus and its costed correctly, just annoted wrongly in the abilities. Corrected! 2. HQ: Ill add in an Art workshop just to cover that base. 3. Precise power on obscure is so he can vary the level of obscurement. For instance, if he is painting dust or fog to cover the area, he could make it a certain colour or density that might make it particularly good camouflage for Captain Pink, the Spandex superhero with a colourful super costume. 4. Concealment is a good catch. I have spare PP so easily pushed up to Progression 8. The idea here is to harmonise all the AP to an indentical area: His ink covers 5000' radius. 5. Forgot Color Control's save was reflex. However, given I forgot it, I wonder if it worth keeping in as a reminder? your call on that one (no harm, no foul either way I guess). Unfortunately I dont have UP to hand: do you have any suggestions as to how to build this in terms of area? 6. Corrected Dream Travel, as you say still within budget. 7. NOt sure where you are coming from with Fanatical plus uncontrolled. Fanatical will still mean under Rene's control. Uncontrolled means that he has not control over what he summons. I think you may be thinking of the Attitude flaw? And yes, as Deadbeat and the Uncontrolled summon are part of the same array he cannot ever summon both at the same time as per house rules - he cannot have two heroic summoned characters. The idea here is that he can pull something from his dreams. Either Deadbeat - a spirit with whom he had forged an intimate relationship - or something quite random (like what dreams are!) Deadbeat 1. Tidied up! 2. No you are correct. I probably gave him Super Strength 1 in an old build. 3. Skills tidied up 4. Good catch with Emotion Control, so dropping the Mind Blank which shold not have been in there in the first place! 5. This was an interesting question I went through with Giz when Deadbeat was presented as an NPC. How can you build something to Mindcontrol an undead? we both agreed it should be possible. The way we thought to do it was how it was presented: Alternate Save [Fort] firstly, As you say, this would on its own not affect Constructs. But then add in the Affects Objects (only) Extra (+0). By out house rules it now affects undead, who then ger the save flipped to reflex. Alternatively of course I could just say Alternate save [Reflex] But the thinking goes as above. As for why it then justifies the limitation (only undead)...well, if you buy Alternate Save [Fort] and Affects Objects only, then technically the power could affect machines, robots, etc. I hope that makes sense, Giz and I bashed that one about quite a bit! 6. corrected teleport array

Kit - O HP - Unharmed

Ok, I will actually handle this as an opposed roll rather than a will save, as basically two effects are vying for control over Stan's poor bruised and weak soul. The Evil Idol is a Power 10 effect: 1d20+10=22

Kits Soul Awareness can sense the Idol sucking away Stans Soul.

GM As Kit slipped Stan's wallet into her palm, and started her deft manipulation, the dark eyes of Vermin grew wider and darker. Then, its is quiet and ominous squeak, it turned and scuttled to Filths ear, emitting its rat noise. Filths eyes narrowed and he looked left and right. Then sniffed. "I don't see anything" he said, suspiciously. But he frowned deeply, clearly not liking what he had heard. And vermin was on the prowl around his shoulders, squeaking furiously. "That rat of yours give me the damn creeps" muttered Stan, shuddering deeply like someone had walked over his grave. "I know you have an army of the things. Hell, they can chew threw the cables and wiring of this subway. I seen what you can do to this place...." he said, with a note of respect to Filth. A thing Filth clearly didn't get very often. He stopped, feeling his pocket, and pulling out his wallet. "What the hell?" he asked. "Did one of your crazy rats just steal mu cards???" he demanded, as Vermin hissed into Filth's ear. Filth frowned deeply. "No man. No way. I think we are being set up...." he mumbled, unsure. "I think I am being set up..." retorted Stan, bitterly. "I should have known better than to trust some no good thugs and his army of rats..." he muttered, getting ready to go. "Don't go...don't go..." spluttered Filth as Stan started to stomp off. "Look, I have something for you...a...a...gift..." he said, pressing the filthy and horrible idol his minion had brought him into Stan's hand. "What the hell is this trash you have brought me" said Stan, turning the thing over in his hands "I don't want this...it's...ghastly....it's...it's..." he said, his voice trailing off....