Supercape

Supercape was not the canniest fighter at the best of times. When intoxicated, and facing an opponent who seemed to move as fast as lightning, he had little chance. The blurring figure slammed into him and he went flying, the wind completely sucked out of his body. Heroics and wine really don't mix he realised. He just hoped this realisation was not too late, as he fought to shake off the stars.

Ok thats enough to hit Poor Cape Who hasn't got his force field activated 1d20+5=9 Ouch! Vs DC 17, thats stunned and bruised!

Ok as we are moving into combat: I am arbitarilly giving SC -4 on initiative and -2 to all other rolls (bar toughness and fortitude as they probably aren't affected) due to moderate intoxication. Initiative 1d20-4=9

Quentin looked quickly around. It was dark and nobody could see him. Focussing for a moment, his clothes instantly reformed themselves into the resplendid blue costume of Supercape. His moderate intoxication lead to a slightly blurred costume. The cut was a bit wrong, the cape a little lopsided, and the blue and white insigna blurred. But it didn't look too bad to the casual eye. I hope this isn't too serious. Not in the best of shape. Damn that wine. He flew, in a fairly straight line, to the commotion. The night air breeze and the sight of the boy were sobering, to say the least. It was still a little dark to make out the form of the girl. "Call 911, Citizen!" he intoned in what he hoped was a suitably confident and notatall slurred voice. "This man needs medical attention!"

I'd rather keep it relatively simple and not have counterparts there. However, it could be arranged at player request.

I should clarify I was envisaging "Earth Prime" toons being temporarily catapaulted to Earth Victoriana: I think it would be fun to have them (socially) as fish out of water. So it would be Cannon, technically.

Supercape Absolute Uncertanties The door you can't unlock Red Hot Science = 2 Posts in September Coming to America Mysteries Infinite: Under a Crimson Glow Coffee Break Two for the Show All part of the Show Slick One Pill Makes You Larger GM (Add to whoever benefits the most please - which is almost certainly Slick!) Earth Victoriana: The Brit Machine NPCs (Add to Supercape please!) Professor Liebniz SHARKTOPUS! And of course, +150 bonus PP for having a superhero rhyming with "Doopersnape"... whaddyamean, you havent implemented that house rule???

Quentin decided to toast a wonderful day and his publication at one of the campus restaurants. The young Haley Hearts, an attractive young post graduate research student had joined him for a drink or two, alongside one or two other academics who drifted in and out. He was, he decided, unusually intoxicated. But the Pinot Noir was excellent, the steak succulent, and the Creme Brule appropriately tasty. He had been a bit disappointed with the lacklustre french onion soup, but it was uphill from there, and this was only a campus restaurant. Better still was the company, the academic prestige, and, to be blunt, the warmth of the alcohol that was dancing through his veins. He was hardly an alcoholic, but neither was he conservative with the bottle. He bid Haley goodnight, put on his Tweed Jacket, and strolled out (slightly unsteadily) into the night air. Even in his partially intoxicated state, he could hear the distant crashing sound.

I am vaguely thinking about a moderately protracted thread set in an alternative Earth, based on steam punk Victorian England. Tossing it about in thread there was some interest in this. I will have to ponder a while, but I'm throwing it out here for comments, suggestions, and interest. For reference, I tend to prefer slightly non-combat challenges, which is not to say they will all be social, but other forms of kinetic adventure interest me. Any character which is not combat-tricked out would be a good fit. This is just my own preference as a GM (and player to be honest), but I'm not militant about it.

Character: Professor Lief Liebniz Power Level: 5 (38PP) Trade-Offs: None In Brief: Professor Quentin Quill's (Supercape's) arch academic nemesis. WERNSTROM! from Futurama. Alternate Identities: None Birthplace: Berlin Occupation: Lecturer at Freedom City University Affiliations: None Family: Wife, two children. Age: 60 Apparent Age: 65 Gender: Male Ethnicity: German Height: 5'7" Weight: 65 kg Eyes: Blue Hair: White Description: An archetypal professor with balding white hair in a pony tail and an aged, respectable air. Speaks with a slight German accent. History: Professor Lief Liebniz was born in Berlin after the war and soon established himself as a genius. It was not long before he moved to the USA, at the age of 30, and continued his academic career. Aside from his obvious intellect and academic prowess, his career has also been built on a famed knack for sycophantic flattery and unscrupulous methods for gaining research grants. Personality & Motivation: Liebniz is an arrogant academic but not evil. He will think nothing of backstabbing and manipulation to further his career, but he is not violent or psychopathic. He will of course enjoy crushing his peers with academic superiority, and is terribly vain about his own intellect. Nothing terrifies him more than been ridiculed himself. Abilities: (-2) + (-2) + 0 + 10 + 2 + 0 = 8pp Str 08 (-1) Dex 08 (-1) Con 10 (0) Int 20 (+5) Wis 12 (+1) Cha 10 (+0) Combat: 0 + 4 = 4pp Initiative: -1 Attack: +0 Grapple: -1 Defense: +2, +1 Flat-Footed Knockback: 0 Saving Throws: 0 + 2 + 6 = 8pp Toughness: +0 Fortitude: +0 Reflex: +1 (-1 Dex, +2) Will: +7 (+1 Wis, +6) Skills: 56r = 14pp Bluff 8 (+8) Computers 6 (+11) Craft (Electronic) 6 (+11) Craft (Mechanical) 2 (+7) Diplomacy 4 (+4) Knowledge (Earth Sciences) 4 (+9) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 10 (+15) Knowledge (Technology) 8 (+13) Languages 2 (English, French, German [Native]) Perform (Oratory) 2 (+2) Sense Motive 4 (+5) Feats: 4pp Distract (Bluff) Equipment (5EP) Improvised Tools Inventor DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC14 Toughness (Staged) Damage Abilities (8) + Combat (4) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (14) + Feats (4) + Powers (0) - Drawbacks (0) = 38 Power Points

Quentin looked at the frumpy but studious student who had addressed him. Looked like she could do with a square meal or two, he concluded. "That would be splendid, dear Lady. I'm afraid those buffoons who run the course do insist on such things. Bit of a pain, I expect, but there you go. Personally, I view all these papers and exams a bit of an barrier to true learning, but sorts the wheat for the chaff, as they say. Make the most of it." He beamed at her with all the encouragement he could muster. He did hate marking exams, especially if he had to give bad marks to intelligent students. Of course, giving a resounding fail to loudmouth jocks who got to university on a sports scholarship was a positive delight.

"So, If we presume that M-Theory is a valid map of quantum entaglement..." Professor Quill was unusually excited today. Why, his paper on observational probability models in n-dimensional space has been accepted by Quantum Research! "Despite what Professor Liebniz might teach you, the effect of direct observation on the theory is influenced by our own state of perception. If we look at..." He supposed some of his enthusiasm was rubbing off. Some of the students actually looked interested! In your face, Liebniz!

The news had reached Quentin Quill uncharacteristically fast, via one of his students who was paying more attention to a web broadcast than his lecture. Making some rather weak excuse (no doubt Liebniz would be on his case later), he soon took to the Skies as Supercape. The red haze was visible from quite some distance, and with a brief period of concentration and calculation, quantum forces throwing out invisible lightning, he suddenly reappeared by the scene in a blaze of blue-green light. Crowds. Hmph He didn't like crowds. And so, as usual, his cape became even bigger, his hood grew even deeper, and he withdrew to the safety of his magnificent costume. Landing on top of a Media truck, with a muttered apology to the somewhat irate news reporter, he surveyed the red dome with his uncanny senses. To his annoyance, he couldn't make head or tail of it.

HUZZAH!

Haley was shaken, but not stirred. "Oh professor, thank heavens you are all right! I was so worried!" Quentin dusted off his tweed jacket. "The heavens had nothing to do with it, dear lady. Three fine heroes saved the day. Guardian, Sparksmith..." He showed a little twinkle in his eye. "And this chap with a simply splendid Cape..." Over a cup of green tea, he proceeded to tell Haley what had happened. With only a little embellishment. He had earned that much.

"Hmph. I wouldn't recommend it", answered a still disorientated Slick, as Dragonfly sped off. It looked like the immediate crisis was over, so Slick took a few minutes at the rooftop getting used to the regular three dimensions and surveying the sights, sounds, and smells of the burning building and the unfolding emergency services response. Spotting Cannonade and Dragonfly in the throng, she made her way down to join them. This whole business was deeply wrong, and someone was going to pay. She fought back the customary flashbacks to her infancy and the horrors she had undergone. Yes, they were going to pay.

With a cheery wave, Quentin flew off and up to the skies. Oh. That's my ship he realised. This "secret I.D" thing all those heroes use was actually pretty complicated. And he wasn't even in costume, just a makeshift and slightly ragged tarpaulin. "Super...cape" he muttered to himself, as the embryo of an Idea formed in his mind. His mind whirring, Quentin discarded the tarpaulin to the wind and made a sharp dash flying straight down. It took but a few moments for a man of his intellect to find his cabin window, and just a few seconds to teleport himself into the cabin with a blurred aura of purple-green light.

I know this is very late in the day, but it sounds great. If you have space, Supercape will be up for this on the "outside". If its overfull, no worries.

Slick was, of course, somewhat apprehensive. As his world collapsed and altered, leaving him in a state he could only describe as limbo, he added disorientation to the emotion. With all the folding of space (and he guessed other dimensions) into impossible angles, his only clear memory was of Dragonfly's motorcycle hanging in the not-space. A curious sense of calm, probably birthed from complete bewilderment, overtook him. And before he knew it, the same folding and angular madness started again, and in a completely indescribable fashion (at least to a sane human mind), he was "out" again, standing by Dragonfly. He wasn't normally short of words. This was an exception. "Whoa!"

Its too cool not to do. Slick will go along with it!

Quentin wandered the gala sniffing out anything particularly dusty and interesting looking. It wasn't particularly difficult. History was not exactly his forte, but it was a pleasant intellectual diversion, as he termed it. If only the place wasn't so damned packed. He had never liked crowds, and still didn't. At least he wouldn't be the centre of attention here. His characteristic tweed jacket and bow tie fitted in reasonably well amongst the intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals milling around.

"Absolutely" lied Slick. It wasn't a complete lie: Dragonfly looked trustworthy enough, its just that Slick had been around the corporate world of business too long to hand out absolute trust frequently, if at all. But a goodwill gesture was always handy. And besides, now was the time for action, not delay. The smoke was getting thicker. "So whatever you are going to do, now is the time to do it!"

"According to my calculations", said Supercape, "the plague is over. " He started to piece together the various computers and sensors in the laboratory. After a few moments, he turned to the hero's relief on his face. "No residual energy detected. We are in the clear!" He shook both of the heroes hands. "Could one of you take this poor chap to hospital?" he asked, pointing at the battered form of Liebniz. "As for me, I need to be off. " With a merry wave, he proceeded to fly out of the wrecked laboratory, and as soon as he was out of sight, his clothes fluxed and reformed into the tweed jacket and bow tie of Professor Quill. Landing gently, he proceeded to half run, half amble, out of the building towards the coffee shop that had housed Haley.

Slick gave a few coughs. The smoke was getting bad, and as vital as his constitution was, he would not be able to hold out forever. The girl, even less so. She looked heavily sedated, and through the smoke wafted the smell of powerful barbiturates. "Best not unhook her just yet", he called out to Dragonfly. No idea how long she had been under. Slick took the extinguisher and gave a few squirts, then kicked in the windows to help the smoke clear. But it wouldn't buy them much time.

Dont worry, I dont take these things too seriously - whatever flows better for the story! To be honest, getting her out with a drip seems more dramatic! so if its ok I will go that. In my defence for being pedantic, I am a doctor, and we all get tetchy about our field of expertise!