trollthumper

Points adjusted, and I decided to shift some things around so my spider-trickster isn't completely screwed if caught flat-footed.

Skein Power Level: 8 (built as PL10, 150/150 PP) Unspent Power Points: 5 Trade-Offs: None In Brief: Indigenous fashion designer empowered by an ancient spider-god to feast on horror Alternate Identity: Daniel Deere Birthplace: Manderson, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota Residence: Bedlam Base of Operations: Bedlam Occupation: Fashion Designer/Vintage Store Proprietor Affiliations: Urban Subcultures, Indigenous American Community Family: Rebecca Deere (mother, waitress), Michael Deere (father, nurse), William Deere (brother, missing) Description Age: 23 (DOB: 9/6/2001) Apparent Age: 23 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Oglala Lakota Height: 5'9" Weight: 160 lb Eyes: Green Hair: Black In his civilian clothes, Daniel is a handsome Lakota man with long black hair (usually worn tied back) and very faint stubble. He often dresses in with that "fresh from the rez" aesthetic, but with a chameleon blend of elements - equal parts Western wear and streetwear, often with notes of his tribal affiliation in beadwork and jewelry. As Skein, Daniel looks like a cross between a spider and its prey, wrapped in dark black webbing like a fly caught in a web. Eight red eyes cover his face, looking like facepaint... most of the time. The problem is, Danny's costume tends to shift, especially when he's pursuing criminals at night. Those eight eyes start to glow, two bloody fangs drip down from a normally hidden mouth, contrails of four phantom limbs dangle behind him... one gets the idea. History: Growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation wasn’t exactly easy for Daniel Deere. Living in the poorest reservation in the United States taught Daniel a lot about resilience early on. It also taught him a lot about defiance. He learned the stories that had been kept for centuries. He knew the truth behind the name his ancestors had been assigned in the Carlisle Indian School. He knew that folklore had to have power if the men in charge wished to rip it from tongues. But that didn’t mean he thought it was real. He didn’t dismiss it as fairy tales, but each hardship on the reservation - each season his parents went without work, each cold winter in a house where the heat would give out on a whim, each funeral for a classmate who committed suicide - turned his mind further towards the material. His brother, Will, was much the same way. As soon as he graduated from high school, he left to take on a construction job in Bedlam City, always ready to send money back. That money helped pay to put Daniel through an apprenticeship where he learned the ways of fashion. He knew the power and allure of stories, and while selling blanket-patterned jackets to the young hipster crowd was a barbed prospect, it was also a chance to keep the stories alive. He was saving up money to join Will in Bedlam, perhaps even open his first shop, when the news of his brother’s disappearance arrived. Daniel left for Bedlam immediately. A little second-story work took him into his brother’s apartment, which had seemingly become a shrine to paranoia. Photos pinned to the wall and journals full of a short hand he couldn’t recognize. A little sleuthing led him to the location in one photo, however - the rundown remains of a storefront that had once housed Rags to Riches, a thrift store of ill repute that got even worse repute when its owner killed himself in 1996, right as he was about to be arrested for the murders of 21 gay men. Every business that had settled in there had failed since, with the last one going under 2 years ago. When Daniel inspected the shop at night, he expected to find it empty. The mannequins were definitely a surprise… and it only got worse when they started moving. As they grappled him, snatching at his clothes and limbs, Daniel gave into panic. That’s when a voice spoke in the back of his head: “Do you see the traps this world makes for you, child of Inyan? These nightmares breed like botflies in the soul, paralyzing their prey to cannibalize them from within. Will you be the fly… or the spider?” Daniel doesn’t remember speaking his answer, but the force that spoke to him heard it nonetheless. When he came to, the mannequins were dismembered, he was clad in webbing… and he felt full. The next few days were a fever dream, as he could hear the words of spiders and watched as spirits of anger and fear flitted down the streets of Bedlam. When the entity next spoke, Daniel knew its name, or at least the name it claimed: Iktomi, the spider god. Trickster, weaver, puppet master, twisted from wisdom to trickery by the mimicry of the demon Gnaski. Bound by malice and hubris, both became Iktomi’s meat and drink… and Bedlam was full of fear, anger, and hatred, feeding malicious nagi who had never known a human heart but knew only the fervor of its strongest frequencies. And so, Daniel, having entered a pit defined by human fear, found himself the fly in Iktomi’s soup… and the trickster god had granted him a chance to be his champion instead, to feast on dangerous passions and sow fear and trickery. Not to make Bedlam worse, but to hopefully teach it how to be better. Daniel is still looking for his brother, when he’s not trying to get the repurposed Rags to Riches (now Cloud Loom) off the ground. But the city is full of demons. And his god is a hungry god… Personality and Motivation: Daniel is a man of many masks. He can turn on the charm and be the toast of any party, or he can go taciturn and adopt the kind of stoicism that sells "the brand." As Skein, he knows how to be quiet and only say the things that will make his prey piss themselves, though he does love to twist them up in knots along the way (verbally before physically). At his core, though, Daniel wants two things: To help use his brand to spread his tribe's culture and stories out into the world, and to find out what happened to his brother. It's just that Iktomi wants him to pursue a third, secret thing... Powers and Tactics: Daniel has been empowered by Iktomi to serve as an apex predator, a thing that preys on terrors and misbegotten emotions. He is meant to be a trap-setter and trickster, the thing that sends prey running down dead end allies and answers cries of "Where are you?!?" with "Behind you." In another city - Freedom, perhaps - Iktomi would have Daniel be the laughing trickster, the con artist who trips villains over their own shoe laces like Bugs Bunny. But Iktomi knows what it's like to have to fit one's own confines, and the tenor of Bedlam demands that his chosen be a beast of fear. Daniel tries to balance the drives and demands of his patron with his own mindset. He will try to be creative, Power Stunting whatever he can out of his webbing and using the gifts he gains by feasting upon the nagi. But Iktomi gave him these gifts for a reason, and he will use them to his full capacity. And when starving, he may not have a choice how he fights, as long as it ends with the prey bloody and fearful... Power Descriptions: Snare: Black webbing flies from Daniel's costume like a whip, ensnaring the target. He does not necessarily cast it from his wrist or his mouth; it just lashes out, like the prey has stepped into his web and caught his attention. Paralyze/Damage: Daniel's fists take on the appearance of phantom fangs, driving deep into his prey. Emotion Control/Mind Control: Daniel's red eyes flare, boring deep into the target's soul. Complications: I Don’t Know Why He Swallowed a Fly: Iktomi has given Daniel a strange hunger for untamed emotion, embodied by spirits, or nagi, who are often blitzed on the stuff. Though nagi can embody good emotions and be benevolent, in a city like Bedlam, they’re often strung out on the bad stuff… and even positive emotions, like love, can be the thing that keeps someone from leaving their abusive partner. Daniel has to find and feast on these raw emotions in order to feed his god. If he can’t find nagi, then the fear of mortal criminals will suffice. And if that won’t do… Spiders Georg is an Outlier: When lost in the flow of weaving and stitching, Daniel has sometimes snatched flies out of the air and eaten them, only to realize what he’s done minutes later. He has woken up clinging to the walls of his apartment. He has started taking his burgers rare, or blue if possible, and he will suck the juice from each morsel until it turns to jerky in his mouth. Every so often, the spider instincts sneak out, which isn’t great in mixed company. Pull My Strings: Daniel has believed in Iktomi since he was a little boy. He just doesn’t trust him; no Lakota in their right mind would. But “trickster” doesn’t mean “devil,” and Daniel has to hope his patron’s strange demands work out for the best… while planning for the worst. Some Pig: Daniel puts a lot of pride in his work, which he views as capturing the legacy and medicine of his people while also incorporating greater elements of the world of fashion. Accusing him of fronting, of unoriginality, or worse, of being a “Pretendian” is a great way to draw his vengeance. Webs Within Webs: Daniel has to run a vintage store while also running the atelier in the back. He has taken on jobs for Western apparel stores, fancydancers, drag queens, and aspiring country artists, all in the name of keeping the lights on. Having to balance that against a side gig as a vigilante can be a lot. Ties That Bind: Daniel’s brother is still out there somewhere, possibly having chased down some arcane mystery that dragged him into its depths. Just a hint of wherever Will may be can get Daniel to drop everything in pursuit. Abilities [2 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 6 + 4 = 24 PP] STR 12 (+1) DEX 16 (+3) CON 14 (+2) INT 12 (+1) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 8 + 12 = 20 PP Initiative: +7 (+3 DEX, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +4 (+8 Spider’s Snares/Iktomi’s Mantle) [8 PP] Defense: +8 (+6 Base, +2 Dodge Focus, Flat-Footed +3) [16 PP] Grapple: +5 Knockback: -4 Saving Throws: 4 + 5 + 4 = 13 PP Toughness +8 (+2 CON, +6 Protection) Fort +6 (+2 CON, 4 PP) Reflex +8 (+3 DEX, 5 PP) Will +7 (+3 WIS, 4 PP) Skills: 112 ranks = 28 PP Acrobatics 10 (+13) Bluff 6 (+9) Climb 4 (+5) Concentration 6 (+9) Craft (artistic) 8 (+9) Diplomacy 6 (+8) Intimidate 8 (+10) Investigate 4 (+5) Gather Information 8 (+10) Language 2 (Lakota, Spanish) Knowledge (arcane lore) 4 (+5) Knowledge (art) 8 (+9) Knowledge (popular culture) 8 (+9) Knowledge (streetwise) 4 (+5) Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 4 (+5) Notice 8 (+11) Sense Motive 6 (+9) Stealth 8 (+11) Feats: 16 PP Acrobatic Bluff Blind-Fight Dodge Focus 2 Evasion 2 Fearsome Presence 5 Improved Initiative Luck Quick Change 2 Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 6 + 21 + 14 + 6 + 2 = 49 PP All powers have the Divine descriptor. Protection 6 [6 PP] Spider’s Snares 8.5 (Power Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 2) [21 PP] Base Power: Snare 8 (Power Feat: Tether) [17 PP] Alternate Power: Mind Control 8 [16 PP] Alternate Power: Paralyze 8 [16 PP] Iktomi’s Mantle 6 (Power Feats: Alternate Power 2) [14 PP] Base Power: Damage 8 (Power Feats: Accurate 2, Affects Insubstantial 2) [12 PP] Alternate Power: Emotion Control 8 (Power Feats, Subtle; Flaws: Limited to Fear) [9 PP] Alternate Power: Super-Movement 6 (Slow Fall, Swinging, Sure-Footed, Trackless, Wall-Crawling 2) [12 PP] Super-Senses 6 (Danger Sense [auditory], Detect Spirits Ranged, Tremorsense) [6 PP] Comprehend 2 (Animals [Flaw: Limited to Spiders], Spirits) [2 PP] Totals: 24 + 20 + 13 + 28 + 16 + 49 = 150 PP

The heat fled Sea Devil's bones with her cry in prayer. Her armor cooled to meet the night's chill faster than it should have as the phantom of steam abandoned her, its embrace falling away. As Nick Cimitiere worked his magic on Artificer, he watched the apparition fade away into the night, leaving just the trail of smoke from the building behind them and the shriek of approaching fire engines. "Good work," he said; it was better than admitting he had no idea what Sea Devil said. He had to maintain the mystique, after all, and Duolingo didn't offer courses in Lemurian. Once Artificer was roused, he returned to the burned couple; there would be some scarring, and the EMTs would need to get both on fluids, but neither of them would meet the reaper tonight. "The question is, where the hell did it go?" At the necromancer's words, Sea Devil felt a pull in her soul. To an inland ocean, sullied by filth and disease. A stone bastion, overlooking the desolation.

The cloud of steam froze, swirling and twisting over the burning house's lawn. One eye remained locked on the wounded Artificer, its fury fixed... but the other shifted towards Sea Devil. The twisting corpus brought the full gaze of this eye upon the Deep One, the head nearly splitting in half to maintain its focus between its two targets. The eye locked on Sea Devil seemed to soften for a second... before the tide of steam fell upon her. As Nick Cimitiere focused his will to keep Artificer on this side of the grave, he turned one eye towards the assault. The steam did not enter Sea Devil's armor; it couldn't seem to find a crack in the design. But from inside, Sea Devil felt like she was burning. Not from the steam of an underwater caldera, but from under an unclouded sun on scorched earth. Her skin was cracking. Her gills were sandpaper. The earth turned to baked clay beneath her feet, then to grinding stone She didn't know where she was. The pressure was thin, the sounds piercing yet distant. It took her a while to pierce together the words she was hearing. "If you want back in the tank, you'll talk. Where are the others?"

All right, Aquaria is trying to call the steam ghost inside of her. And... she succeeds. I'm going to need a Will save for Aquaria as she is beset by both visions and psychic damage from the surface level possession. Nick, meanwhile, takes the turn to heal Artificer. Artificer can make an instant recovery check with a +12 bonus.

The Atlantean hero fell to the ground, scalded and singed. The apparition looked down on him, with a flicker all too familiar to Sea Devil - the delight of a long quarry brought to a swift and terrible end. But, just as soon as she saw the light, it faded. The expression in the phantom's eyes grew hollow, longing. There was no determination or jubilation in its body language. There was simply a sense of surrender, the inevitable of carrying on because there is nothing else that can be done. Its steam coalesced into boiling claws, slowly descending towards the prone Artificer...

Yes, let us move forward. I apologize for the long delay. The Steam Monster was last to go, Artificer is down, so Aquaria is up next. I will get an IC post in to describe things.

@Dr Archeville Just posting a reminder, in case things have eased up.

There was a moment of recognition in the eyes of the behemoth, the remembrance of childhood prayer, almost... until the blast struck its form, causing rents in the steam. Nick was happy to have the distraction, focusing his will on keeping the female artist alive. Her burns began to heal up, new skin forming over scalded flesh. It would still take some time... Which he didn't seem to have. The entity roared, all sentiment gone, as if trying to buck at invisible chains. Gouts of boiling water fell from the air. Nick grabbed the artists and hauled them as far as he could - maybe I should have tried football instead of just smoking behind the school - getting out of the way of the brunt of the onslaught, his jacket deflecting the rest. "Who did this to you?" he asked, hoping it might cut through the madness. But he had his doubts.

This one was my bad. The Steam Monster just fails its Toughness save and is now Bruised x2. Nick will use his Healing power on the first of the wounded to keep them from dying of being parboiled. The Steam Monster, on the other hand, decides to be a dick and uses his Damage 10 (Targeted Area Shapeable) to try and hit everyone who has directly attacked him - which means Nick, Artificer, and Sea Devil, but not the artists. As an Area attack, that means DC23 Reflex to avoid/reduce, DC28 Toughness if it hits in full. Nick rolls a 27 on his Reflex save, then a 26 on his Toughness save. Which is good.

All right. The Steam Monster fails the Reflex save by 2, then makes its Toughness save. Sea Devil is up next.

The cry of Deep One prayer, paired with the golden sigil, seemed to draw the attention of the many faces. Their eyes fell onto Sea Devil; some faces drew forward towards their brethren, whereas others recoiled. The phantasm seemed to be fighting against itself... and as it did, the people in its grasp were still caught in the boiling mist, their flesh burning. I wish we had time for a breakthrough... but we don't. Nick reached into the soil. He really didn't want to think on how easily the ectoplasmic hands surged from the earth - nor why they smelled so strongly of dead fish - but as they rose, mist met mist. The steam of the phantom was too yielding for his hands, but mortal flesh found fast purchase. He tried to pull gently, thinking of all the way this could go wrong... but he breathed a sigh of relief as the two were tugged back towards the firmament. They were still burned, and still seemed to be twitching in some sort of bizzare rapture, but he could handle the former. And, hopefully, the latter. Unfortunately, dragging away the artists seemed to have the same effect on the creature as yanking a teddy bear away from a toddler. Its eyes focused as one... and as they fell on Artificer, they surged forward in a steaming coil, their wrath so great that they struck near enough that he could feel the scorching heat without actually getting scorched. But the whispers around him began to turn to screams. "Did you know? Did you know? When they came, did you lead them?"

All right, Nick's going to try to get the two people out of the grip of the Steam Monster via his Area Telekinesis effect... which will be interesting, as they are effectively already Grappled by the monster. So, tug of war it is. Nick's TK has a Reflex DC22 for its Grapple, and the Steam Monster rolls a 17. That means the hostages are Grappled. The Steam Monster, however, goes Insubstantial and unleashes its steamy might upon Artificer. Or it would, if it hadn't critically failed. It's not exactly in a good mindspace right now. Artificer is up next.

I should at least get a response in to that... The Steam Monster rolls a 23 to resist, so it is Bruised. I will hold off on further actions until @Dr Archeville gets an IC post in.

All right, we're entering Initiative. From the Steam Monster, we will be using a modified version of my Particle Man build at PL13. We've also got two hostages effectively Grappled by it who are taking Damage each turn due to being in the midst of steam heat. So they're going to need help. Nick goes on 10. Steam Monster goes on 4.