Ari

GM January 15th, 6.15, Wednesday, 2014 Blue Moon Pub & Grill, Southside "...and so, introducing Joe, a man who needs no introduction!" declared Stanislaw in a mock-stentorian voice, his broad face red from both suppressed laughter and the heat of the room, thanks the kitchen door left open to let the aroma of cooking meat work its magic. Raising a glass mug from the bar, filled with the local ale and glittering like liquid gold(if one was feeling high-minded), he offered it to Joe Macayle with a solemn "Your award, sir, for spectacular achievement in the realm of Doing a Damned Day's Work Without Whining. Bear it with pride and honor. A toast, ladies and gentlemen, to Joe!" "To Joe!" repeated the rest of Joe's shift, who in better or worse unison downed a mouthful of ale, giving a round of exaggerated applause alongside quite sincere grins. Though the half-emptied mugs were part of that. The steel plant had just finished the Week of Champions, where the exemplary output and smooth running of the plant over the last three years had gotten its managers and staff a slew of corporate awards, delivered with about as much passion and dignity as the average office birthday party. The lower-rung staff hadn't been afforded the same honors, though that and the notable pay increase was considered by most of Macayle's shift to be a much better deal, and after the day was over many of them had decided to hold their own awards ceremony at the Blue Moon. Stanislaw, as the most generally senior employee, had been Master of Ceremonies. Since Joe had been last in line, he gratefully dropped his mighty bulk down onto the chair beneath him and nodded sagely to the long-suffering bartender "A little recognition for the workin' man, brother. Don't tell me you don't want some too!" He was answered with a snort and the clunk of another mug being placed in front of him which the burly man happily scooped closer. "Recognition for what?" A much less friendly voice asked from a table behind them "For being the longshoremen of the steel industry?" The speaker was dressed in a crisp dark grey suit, with dark curly hair and a short beard, looking sourly at the millers "For being (@##& machines, is that it?" It got a lot quieter. Most of the workmen at the steel mill weren't as big as Joe or Stanislaw, but they all suddenly looked that much more dangerous.

I am finding all KINDS of Skills I forgot to give Osprey. He doesn't have Knowledge(Technology) so no dice there. Notice roll: 14. +2 from reading the Haven's plans turns that to a 16. Search roll to work out where any scanners, sensors or pressure plates are: 21. +2 from knowing the plans makes it 23. Stealth to keep from activating anything(if that fits): 27.

Heraldo is also Immune to Poisons, just putting that out there. Initiative roll: 18. DC20 Reflex saves: 14. and 23. Seeing as he was already Bound and Helpless, I doubt that second helps him much.

GM With flash and burst of white flame, the guardsbeast let loose a mournful howl and crashed to the ground in a jumble of broken armor and singed robes. Blood seeped from the hood, spreading on the floor in a thin puddle. There weren't many of them left who could even stand without trembling, either from the wounds the gliding jets of water or flaming sword had delivered or their mistress's flare of treachery. One of them however, who had escaped both, drew itself up off the smoking floor and charged at the young agent! The spear was clutched tight this time, held close to deliver the maximum possible force, and for a second Blodeuwedd saw its slitted cats-eyes, glowing with hate like a fire within. It amounted to nothing though, the beast missing the swordswoman by a mile and stumbling to a halt several feet behind her. Meanwhile "Whelp!" barked the Scaled Empress, drawing back the claw that bore the orb of Viracocha, a globe of golden fire soon whirling above her "With a wave of my hand I can reduce you to asssh! The jungle tribesss, the new Rome, it livesss by my will! And ssso do you! Defy me further, and thossse below will sssuffer the penalty!" She prepared the roiling the fire, her dead golden eyes daring the powerless paragon to call her bluff. Nailing him through the brain with helplessness.

GM No further attacks were made on the Claremont alumni that night, and even to their experienced eyes none of the people they passed on the way out of Algeciras acted as if more than one mind was at work. The warm air was hurrying everyone not native to the climate onward. Hardly anyone gave them a second glance, in fact, besides a middle-aged Indian man who started upon seeing Indira, but passed by after a closer look with an embarrassed shake of his head. The trip northward was far from difficult. Even without needing to fall back on their powers the trio made good time on the local bus service. The other passengers chatted amongst themselves, and as usually happened when crowded by people quite happy to talk about themselves, it was impossible to miss that most of them were heading to either Cadiz or the closer town of Ronda, and all of them had heard something about the blackout attacks, no matter how suspect the details. Their general consensus was that it was superhero business, and that the elusive Toro would take care of it before it got out of hand. The grand hills of Andalusia grew swiftly around them, spotted with the brilliantly green, tight-knit Spanish trees that had hammered themselves into the region over long centuries. Rivers cut deep ravines into the slopes along with their tributaries, making for some spectacular drops into valleys far below. After a trip of a few hours, they disembarked just a few miles from what seemed to be the epicenter of the strange hunt. The Cordillera mountains swung far to the east, and a few of the more unlucky hawks swooped above the river plain, their sharp cries making the beautiful desolation that much lonelier, not to mention the rising Moon, its light lending a cold starkness to the world. It was pretty easy to imagine wanting to wander the rugged hills, never suspecting that something was hunting you. "Hola!" came a cheerful voice behind them, revealing its owner to be an athletic young man about Corbin's age sitting on a nearby rock, wearing shorts, hiking boots and a floral-print t-shirt so loud it actually seemed audible. He grinned, showing very clean teeth "Not many tourists come around here. You people looking for the magic spring too?" Without waiting for an answer he jumped down, landing next to the trio and offering his hand "I'm Alfonso, from Jerez de la Frontera, northwest of here. Mind if I come along? I have two friends who should be here in just a few minutes!" Nodding at the romantic vista below he explained cheerfully "Me, Ion and Christina have been coming around here for a while now, since we were kids and first heard the old story about the Caliph. Sometimes others wander in, more for the moonlit walks with lovely ladies than actual hope they'll find a glowing magic pond. Don't blame them much!"

Going with the next-most injured. DC25 Toughness save: 18. Failed by 7, Daze refreshed and Bruised again. If you want to take some Move action, feel free. Otherwise, Tiff's up. EDIT: And I forgot the Knockback. Rank 12 Attack against +8 Toughness makes a -4. So Knockback is 8, or 250ft. But they hit the next Serpent over on the way to the wall. DC23 TOU save for him 11. Staggered again, so they are down.

Hit. Supposing it's the most badly Bruised of the bunch, the Toughness save is: 11. That is a failure by 14. They are out. The only Unharmed one Power Attacks(-3 Attack +3 Damage) against Blodeuwedd: 8. Failed so hard. The Empress attempts to cow Subito with some Intimidation: 24. DC24 Will save: 11. There we go. Demoralized. None of the rest are up to fighting, so moving on. Round 5 Tsunami: Bruise(x1), 2HP Blodeuwedd: Bruise 2, 2HP Heraldo: Unharmed, Powers Nullified, Demoralized, 5HP Serpents(x3): Bruise(2x1), Dazed(2), Staggered(1x1), Unharmed(x2)-GM You're up Thevshi!

She knows that the Mob(especially its leader, the 'Omega of Crime' Leigh Newman) intentionally brands itself after the extradimensional supervillain Omega, and engages in just about every kind of criminal activity within reach, they're rumored to be based in Darwin, though smaller branches of it have cropped up in other cities along the eastern coast. The smuggling they're said to be part of doesn't have anything to do with super-tech weapons though. In fact, nothing like it has been seen in any Omega's hands.

Marceau hadn't been looking forward to the prospect of being surrounded by people about his age who voluntarily immersed themselves in imaginary miseries. What were you supposed to do? Feign total apathy for a few hours? Complain about how wonderful your life was? So it was a welcome shock when the steampunk woman in the impressively detailed and realistic-looking suit of armor called them out and started bearing down on them. "Hey love!" he called back, raising his hands in a placating gesture "What's the matter? We stepping out of line? Think I'm your boyfriend? We're just here for the con, you've got us confused with some other blokes!" To say the least the young Frenchman wasn't up to date with his Britishisms, but at least the accent was fairly convincing, even if nothing else was to the steely eyes fast approaching. All the same, his eyes flicked about the hall, checking for relatively open spaces to lead this lady in iron towards if things took a turn for the violent.

That's....not what I have the torch for, since we can open the main door elsewise, but okay.

Alright. He's Bruised, but otherwise fine. Initiative please! The gang's Initiative roll: 10. Blue Rose, feel free to have Stormbreaker enter the scene.

Bluff roll: 15.

Knowledge Streetwise to know if anyone's been in this area lately who might have stumbled over this: 28. Also Knowledge Physical Sciences to get an idea of what the door's made of : 8. Stunting a cutting torch off the Utility Belt Array, Corrosion 4(Flaws: Action(Full-Round))[12PP]

GM Though clearly surprised, neither of the young men dared to question somebody like her, falling over each other in their eagerness to explain. The first grinned sheepishly "Oh, sorry ma'a-er, miss? Didn't mean to say that s-" "Stuff!" his partner burst in "Yeah, sorry, um..the Chessmen?" they darted glances at each other even as they spoke "They're that bunch of megas-the good kind, not like those other guys-, dress in black and white, like ten of 'em, they've got all kinds of weird powers like yours-" "Not that we think your powers are weird or nothin'!" clarified the first man, to the thankful look of the other who resumed "Anyway, they started back in June, remember when the news was all about that hostage thing in Brussels? That was when they showed up." "Nobody knows who they are or where they come from, seein' as they don't show their faces..." he paused, frowning as he remembered "...well, 'cept that Castle guy, but nobody's been able to work out who he is either. Nice guy, nice abs, too...uhm, right, yeah! They're like, those comic-book guys, superheroes, goin' around the world, saving peoples' lives from wars, fires, mudslides, enforcing order in rogue states, that stuff. They mostly keep outta politics though" he added, lowering his superfluous sunglasses to give Young Britannia's Union Jack outfit a dubious once-over "they're backed by that Hanks Conglomerate, got like a million different kinds of merch, tv shows; you name it, its got them on it." While they'd spoken a crowd had started to gather, although unlike the ones on her Earth this one stayed a healthy distance away from what they were staring at. A few of the more daring took photos, but the rest seemed to be preparing themselves to make a dash for it at a moment's notice. Suddenly, a powerful feeling of approaching danger struck Agnus, followed by the excited shout behind her of "Hey look! It's one of them!" as the nearby Freedonians turned and caught glimpses of something in the sky, pointing out the fast-growing black ribbon racing towards them...

GM Elaine's face twisted for a moment, her eyes growing and ears elongating, her suddenly impossible mouth drawing back in a snarl as she looked at Blodeuwedd. For a few seconds the informant looked just like all the other Fey lords and ladies did when their wishes were flatly denied: a childishly quick temper married to an ageless talent for vengeance. Almost at once though, the fugitive recovered herself. In moments a very contrite woman sat back down in the chair, nodding quietly "Yes, you're right. Of course. I just...I wanted to punish them for this. Mr.Boulder was never friendly to anybody, but he never hurt anyone either. There are methods of ensuring such misdeeds are not repeated. Don't worry," she added with a wry smile "I will not detain your hunt any longer, or attempt to involve myself in it." Leaning forward she added, her voice deadly earnest "I beg this of you though: bring them back. Don't let them escape for anything. They won't have more than one trick to them, no matter how bad your kind thinks we are, we always turn out worse." Rising she gestured to the door with one hand, the one making a cutting motion to the fireplace that made the red glow smouldering in the log dissipate in a puff of ash. The door opened noiselessly. "I would also prefer if you transported a little distance form here," the blonde woman explained breezily "I have heard rumors of power that lets you trace journeys made by magic, I'd rather this house weren't tied to you sympathetically. No sense becoming a burden, Mr Crow, I can't give information if I'm dead."

That actually sounds like a perfect idea. Dee mentioning that that's their aim, then fade to the entrance of the Vanguard super-base.

Congratulations, DariusPrime, on reaching 32! I hope you have a happy birthday swooping into another year! May you see many happy returns. :toot:

Wave-Eye The Travails of the Triton 1. The old Fishman lived in a sea-side cave Crouched at Camelot's pure new city From the heights of sunk' Atlantis, silent He saw the world change its face, harsh to soft Ceaseless war he fought, cruel was his red heart But now Arthur reigned, God's Peace on Earth dwelt Camelot rose amid wreck of empires And the Fishman's work was ended, grace given The thing that wrought so much death, reddened seas Lay at his door, watched the grey tide flow. 2. A cold wind shook at New Year's coming Though King and Queen burnt their hearth that day From New Camelot's halls, diamond of the realm Where gathered many from Cathay to France All the world praised the knights who dwelt there Thunder-Lance, John Mercury, dark Siren And more, but swords cannot stay tongues Save unlawfully, and there rumors spread Of a Lie that was their World many spoke And some gave ear, but not grim old Fishman 3. He who had seen fall Jericho Broke lances against Prester John Served the heathen kings of land and sea Knew well truth when he saw, felt it, heard And smelt it for ten-thousand years or more. 4. "But", thought old Fishman, the seagulls crying And all he knew so close and solid, still, "What if they speak some truth we cannot see?" 5. His thoughts were dashed, faint reverie lost, At the roar of the Shore Knight's trumpet. The brassy din echoed from cliff to cliff Heralding and calling all there to arms To greet the sea-coast's unfailing wardens. High Gaheris came first, his mount spraying sand Breasted foam-bearing waves and stood dripping Smiling proudly at his unlovely friend He and Agravain, Orkeny's Brothers Who stood sentinels over Camelot And knew what evil lurked in the deep. Twenty lances followed them, all strong folk And many more on foot with axe and shield Marching toward battle with fiery eyes. "Lying yet, Fishman, like a drowsy cat?" "I should not count that strange! For age takes toll" "From all who walk the road of years and hours" "Who, Wave-Eye, has paid such tribute as you?" "I am old, knight" said the son of Triton "But long stillness wearies me, not action" "Why have come you to me with arms and men?" "What battle draws nigh to New Camelot?" Gaheris grew dark "The Mer of Phoros" "Masters of ancient flame from living stars" "They come from the depths to wreck our fishers" "Claim our seas for their bleak inhuman realm" "None know them as you, so we ask your aid." 6. The Fishman sighed, for in his head he saw The streaking blood, making darker the waves And all his old sins bubbled in his brain But he rose, taking long lance and gold shield Relics from the fall of high wizard kings Who claimed the world in Atlantis's pride And now are lost and sunken out of sight. Taking these, the Fishman marched in their line Leaving his cave to join the Shore Knights' war. 7. A mighty galleon stood at anchored ease Awaiting them, made ready for battle Archers thronged the great iron-bound deck Adepts of magic murmured together Agravain was captain, Gaheris mate And with a shout, the ship raised anchor Aside was cast the yet uneasy peace A thousand shouts were loosed when upwards flew Arthur's flag, gold lion and red dragon Amidst the chorus the white sails tautened And Guardian of the Coast fled away. 8. The Mer of Phoros they met at high noon A fishing smack, abroil with red flame, blood Of the ship as humble cross-trees blazed With the Sun to mark them and lend her fire To battle the heathen fires of the Mer Who foamed the water with their fish tails And in whose eyes burned the evil stars. "You know your work" said Agravain faintly For war was duty, no lover to him No matter how evil the enemy's deeds "Bring us a harvest for our swords and bows." 9. From the deck leaped cold old Fishman And with his great lance striking drew the foe To the surface where their smooth hides and cloth Were no defense against the arrows' fall And the shrieks and wails were hardly counter To the spells that lashed their maddened forms. 10. The slaughter grew, but it was not the end And the Mer for all their rage were cunning They drew old Fishman away with a pack While their fiercest crept under the corpses And stealthily clambering up the hull Hurled themselves upon the soldiers unready Who had not thought to guard their back from beasts And thus were crushed against their friends. 11. Fire from evil skies swept the deck like hail As stern Agravain, like an armored crab Burst upon their flank with a score of swords Shouting prayers and curses as he felled them None could withstand him, or his armor's spell His sword bright with blood until eclipsed By rushing flame that cut him to the deck And the sea knight fell gasping to his knees. The Mer rejoiced in monstrous chorusing But their joy was short-lived, as the tide turned Gaheris took command, shouting orders Weeping for him who he had seen stricken And loved as a brother for many years. The axes of Camelot hewed them And the shields borne in fury were thunder And archers among the rigging laid low The great Merfolk's mightiest warriors. 12. Meanwhile, far below battle's crash and din In the depths where a warm heart is frozen His lance all broken between stout Mer ribs His shield crumbled under the burning star Old Fishman found the Phoros' hearth made flesh. A Mermaid, old as he, with as many scars In her hands she bore the raging red fire And he drew close "Lady, what is your will?" "What will make you stay this war between us?" The Handmaid of the Phoros looked at him With scorn and hatred in her sea-green eyes She replied "Naught anything you could give me" "For my brother's blood flows down here to me" "And whispers of their deaths. This is your hour" "Again Wave-Eye will conquer us Merfolk" "And bring our skulls, heap before his masters" "The proof of our passing. We wanted fish" "You gave us lances and nails. Kill me, cruel one!" 13. For a time Old Fishman swayed before her Struck to the bone by her bitter lament And all the mothers whose sons he murdered Could not have kindled such shame as he felt. But, of a sudden his black eyes burned And looking at the Mermaid in wroth said "You merely want fish? Why then burn the boats?" "Put to the torch them who did you no evil?" "Aye, and forge pact with the Phoros, alien things" "Whose heat and power never come to good?" "Recall that I have seen this world change too" "And seen the deep with my own eyes long hence" "The bounty of the sea is but scratched here!" "Your vile aim is to rule over all the seas" "For that, you must perish, God's world is this" "Never again will it fall to monsters!" 14. Long after the sun had passed her summit Old Fishman appeared, bloody and burned One arm useless, he came aboard in pain Bearing on one shoulder a white-wrapped corpse To meet the Shore Knights of New Camelot. The Handmaid dead, the Phoros fire was lost And all the army of the sea retreated. Their loss was great as well, loud was their cry At the passing of many good soldiers At the death of Agravain, their captain Who had led them well through many battles. They praised God for all that they had won But rued deeply the price they had payed. 15. As the Sun fell from her throne in the sky Making the slain all the redder that eve The ship bore the bodies of all who fell Back to the city, mourning the triumph Leaving Old Fishman again at his cave. He had refused all care, shunned medicine And no good healing spells would he permit "I have sinned, and must remember this ever:" "Death breeds death, and I must never allow" "Myself to be led again into war" "Leave me!" And this they did with much sorrow. 16. At the mouth of his cave, in the grey water He washed the body of the Handmaid clean With labor he went and gathered the dead With his strange power he mended their flesh Making them as they had once been hours ago And taking his trumpet formed of conch shells He stood on the water, blew a great blast That made murmur Camelot far away And the grey sea curled around the fallen And took the Mer bodies into its care And dragged them down to the black deep. 17. Hanging his conch again in the sea cave That of old had been his refuge in peace To wait for times of chaos and clashes To wait for the struggles of land and sea And in dim days even longer ago As a new-born of Triton's great brood Had been a place for laughing and play Old Fishman sat once again on the beach. Weariness taking him, stirring his mind It was welcome when he fell asleep Dreaming of kind ages that were to come With Arthur's World Kingdom forever strong.

Hello Kanister! Welcome to the site. Good to have a Pole about, never know when those damned krzyzacy will show up to be jerks! And you are yet another member who found us from TVTropes, it's getting crazy. That page is worth its weight in gold in terms of wrangling in new people. Also, I had no idea The Witcher got a role-playing game. Seems kind of obvious in hindsight, its setting and series tone seems perfect as a more grounded counterpoint to the Dark Eye(going by what I've heard of it, never had the chance to play it). With that much experience you should do fine, so long as you don't do anything really stupid or crazy(if you suspect something you want to do might be one of those, ask our friendly Mod team!). I had less than a month or two of RP'ing under my belt when I started here. And don't worry about the language thing too much. So long as it's intelligible you're fine. This isn't a high-art philosophy piece where subtleties of language can totally change a sentence's meaning. In other curiosities, what kind of comics are you into Kanister?

Heraldo Subito listened with unusual interest to Maxima's brief lecture, nodding along vigorously when she paused and laughing heartily when the scientist stopped herself from going even more into detail "I wouldn't have minded, Maxima, it's good to learn, and it's obviously somethin' you're really passionate about. That's great! I hope I grow up to be like you, workin' in a field that I can get excited about. How many dudes d'you think can do that? We've got so many choices, and it's thanks ta people like you, Maxi! To your health, and all seekers of knowledge." He solemnly toasted the built biochemist with an enormous mouthful of spicy soda. At first all seemed well, until his eyes opened over his swollen and reddening cheeks with a look of deep regret. Swallowing loudly, he hurriedly grabbed a nearby glass of water and chased the soda down with it, putting the glass back as he coughed and spluttered, pounding his chest with a free hand, managing, as he regained his colorful composure to gasp out "I'm okay, jus-just need to not do that ever again. Blagh" "I've been great! Got lots to do, had some great times recently, and made awesome friends!" his former schoolmate replied happily "Just graduated in September, but I think they're going to wait until next summer to have the big "you made it!" party. Don't think I'll go, got stuff to do, you know how it is." Taking a bite out of the rice and vegetables making up the base of his sizable plate, he glanced around at the nearby Claremonters, his merry smile taking on a slightly melancholy edge before his normal cheer returned. The resplendent teen paragon blinked "Thaelia...you and me are totally on the same page!" he exclaimed joyfully, slinging his free arm over his shoulder "I've been trying to get this guy" he pointed accusingly at Errant "to stop looking like he's just swallowed the world's supply of lemons for more'n a year! " Swinging around Glamazon he offered the Atlantean teen demigoddess his powerful hand "I welcome you to the battle of joy against misery, sister in arms!"

GM Vector Her two informers risked a momentary look over their shoulders at the man lying several meters away, faint gasping whimpers signalling that at least their former leader was alive. Turning back to the heroine, the burlier one stepped forward, motioning his comrade back as he took the stage. Gulping a little, he said hesitantly "Uh, well, y'see Vector, we-we were told by that guy there," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder "that this stuff was some kinda alien gun s*** left over from the last invasion, and if we shipped it outta Australia we'd be helpin' to break the Omega Mob who wanted to get their paws on it. He payed well too, and I kinda needed the money." "We just unload 'em onto the boat" put in the smaller, slightly broader man with a worried look "we didn't take any out of the crates until now. One got dropped once, and the poor guy's still in hospital, I...uh...we're sorry? Never said where the stuff was from, just that he stole it from them Omegas. Never thought to ask more."

Thevshi, in view of your past history of awesomeness, splendid Gamemastering and work as a Moderator, we hereby submit our appeal that you'll keep at it. Happy birthday! I hope you have a great time with your family, and that you and they managemto enjoy this day for years to come. :toot:

Alden hadn't heard a word of what was going on with the Cuckoos. He could tell that things were so far still in the 'tense' rather than 'hostile' stage, and breathed a silent prayer of thanks that his present comrades were keeping things so calm. 'Blokes can get awful jumpy if they think they're in trouble' Osprey thought, scanning the building's windows, noting one where the Cuckoo inside was talking to somebody else 'This lot seems pretty-hold it!' the other figure had caught his superhuman eyes, his profile oddly familiar. Leaning forward, Osprey concentrated, focusing on the silhouette instead of the stark features outlined in the harsh yellow light. 'Is that...yeah, that's his hair, his smirk, his movements. It's him.' "Mitchell" his voice a soft, guttural whisper. In a second he had dashed to the end of the building, rappelled noiselessly down the wall, and was running around the back of the flats next to his former lookout. Without hesitation he shot across the street in a white-brown blur, nearly invisible in the night. 'They'll be fine without me' he told himself, glancing fleetingly at the two other heroes before he vanished behind the rough brick building adjacent the Cuckoo turf. As he slipped quietly up to the back door, he wondered anxiously if he oughtn't to have made some kind of sign that the plan had changed... Dropping down in a crouch next to the entrance, he tested the handle and sighed as it failed to turn. "No. This won't take a minute." He muttered drily, taking out a set of lockpicks, and settling down to a long, painstaking session of breaking and entering...

That hits. Assuming it's the Strike(please be sure to mention what the attack is, even if it seems obvious to you!), DC27 Toughness save for him. He cannot possibly make that, and is flung thirty feet. The other two surrender promptly. Question away.

He went off the the roof around the back, skulked around the next building, darted across the street and then snuck around the back so he could get to the rear door without being seen. And yeah, I'll take 20 on Disable Device, thanks.