Ari

GM There was a long silence as 'Taker' observed the archer sourly. At last she said irritably in French with a noticeable British accent "<I understand it. I'm English, it isn't uncommon there.>" she narrowed her eyes at Blue Jay "<I'm not fighting some child with a bow, just to make that clear. If you press the issue I'll just have this gentleman>" she jerked her right thumb at Paris standing silently next to her "<Hold you still while we go on our way. Your choice>" she stated grimly. Paris looked much less certain about that idea, but said nothing. ------------------- The sound seemed to relax, calming and slowing. she explained nervously, sounding more than a little embarrassed at voicing the idea.

Removed Blood-Drinking Weakness and Iron Vulnerability(for the simple reason that that one shouldn't have been on there). Bumped STR down to 12, CHA up to 8. Dropped the Tracking on Super-Senses and 2 points on Will, 4 ranks in Stealth and the Innate Power Feat from the Immunity.

I think at least some of the crew should head over to the University to check if there are any clues there that would lead to the actual perpetrator.

Due to stated interest, adding HG_Morrison's Omen to this. Sheet here: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=5970 EDIT: Nevermind, shortly.

What you will.

GM With little fuss from either Groan or Flay the two unconscious officers were installed in the closet, the narrow and utilitarian space uncluttered by its regiments of cleaning supplies including a rack of sterilized mops arranged by size with icy precision. Their otherwise perfectly regulation uniforms turned out surprisingly to completely lack dead man switches, or even the standardized keycards meant to track would-be infiltrators. Instead they both had a small rune tattooed on the back of their left hands, a rune that Blodeuwedd recognized almost immediately: the old Germanic rune naudiz. It was faintly glowing with an eerie blue light. From the hall they had come from the ponderous steps of the two armored and heavily-armed guards approached, their steel-shod feet clanking on the harsh alloys making up the floor. Neither's walk sounded hurried, though through the confiscated helmet's radio Myrmidon heard their hastily-whispered words perfectly. ~"Signal from those two who just passed. Stay on guard, could be re-programming failure"~ ~"Alright, but I hope we don't have to shoot our own men"~ They had almost rounded the bend, the faint clicks of disengaged safeties on their massive guns ringing in the air. From beyond the small command sector, the tramp of lighter soldiers was almost constant.

Player Name: Arichamus Character Name: Red Moon Power Level: 11 (168/174PP) Trade-Offs: None Unspent Power Points: 6 In Brief: A Farsider scientist and one-time spy against humanity who accidentally transformed herself into a vampire. Alternate Identity: Atraxia Falkaet Identity: Secret, her history and nature are anything but obvious or common knowledge. Birthplace: Farside City, the Moon Occupation: Preserver technology researcher, superheroine, Affiliations: Farsiders, Truth, Family: (Seda)Mother and (Placil)father(deceased), 3 sisters and brothers. Description: Age: 67 (DoB: 1929 ) Apparent Age: 20, age at transformation. Gender: Female Ethnicity: Farsider Height: 6ft. 2in. Weight: 80Lbs., 120lbs. with the terrasuit Device. Eyes: Icy blue Hair: Black Atraxia outside her specialized costume is a towering and spidery woman with black hair streaked with white, and unblinking eyes that are solid white save for a blue core where the pupil ought to be. Her skin is so pale that the dried, blackened veins and shriveled muscles under it are clearly visible, and it is pulled taut around her bones, producing a singularly morbid appearance. The fangs and claw-like hands don't help, and the harshly croaking voice seals the ugly effect. The 'terrasuit' she wears does a great deal to hide this, a grey & red mostly skin-tight affair filled out to resemble a normal example of her kind, with a large, opaquely-black helmet covering her head and allowing her to see without being exposed to ultraviolet radiation or the eyes of others. It is studded with small pouches and pockets to accommodate its wearer's impulsive tendency to collect samples of things. Power Descriptions: (Descriptors: Psionic, Mutation) After being blasted by her attempted recreation of the mysterious Moon Stone, Atraxia's body was effectively killed at the same time her soul(or psychic expression) was partially released from it. As a result, she is basically a ghost possessing her deceased body out of both a lack of desire and power to leave it and the desperate hope that this can be permanently reversed somehow. This had the side-effect of unlocking her bizarre latent mutations: the power to attack a living being's soul by partially transferring herself to another dimension(currently she is unaware that this is the realm of Earth-bound spirits), the power to make herself all-but impossible for the unaided eye or ear to observe her as well as being difficult for psychics to detect, a paralytic toxin secreted in her fangs, and the ability to fly through walls, scale any surface, and walk without leaving a trace and temporarily turn her mass into coherent energy for space-flight. Her eyes can penetrate almost any attempt to deceive her, and she has a weak power to tell if psychics are nearby. Her terrasuit has a built-in translator that enables her to speak and understand any language spoken around her, though its power to translate the written word is a work in progress. The program gives her a slightly more normal voice, though it injures that by the breathy translation and disconcerting background noise. Her transformation has not been without ill effects(Atraxia being of the opinion that ALL of the effects it has had are ill), mainly that now she has to contend with dead nerves, the knowledge that if she reveals herself to the light of any sun she will be burned to ashes, an all-consuming need to drink blood. History: One of the rare children of Farside City to take an active interest in their austere metropolis, Atraxia developed at a young age into a remarkably adept physicist and engineer, particularly intrigued by the Moonstone, the Preserver artifact(or discovery) that maintained their quiet, peaceful world. In this time of the former king and queen of Farside City, such experimentation was welcomed and the woman was given all the help and equipment she could need. Attempting to discover more about the energy radiating from the chunk of crystal, the Farsider attempted to re-create the object using Lunar science, deciphering the long-lost language of the Preservers in the course of her research. When the replica was complete, Atraxia activated it, triggering a devastating reaction. She, somehow, survived the surge of power but was horribly twisted by exposure to the radiation, transformed into a pseudo-energy being shackled to a bloodthirsty, monstrous corpse. After years of experimentation and failure to return herself to normal, Atraxia exiled herself from Farside City, unwilling to live as she was. On her lonely trek to the near side of the Moon, hoping to burn herself in the sunlight, she stumbled upon a cave system on the lip of the Farside crater. Within she found elaborate pictograms and carvings detailing the miseries of what she realized were creatures just like herself. In ages past, others had attempted to unlock the secrets of the Moonstone, all either killed or hideously changed. Even while reeling from the shock, Atraxia was puzzled: why had she never heard about this? Why hadn't the king and queen known or warned her? But that was brushed aside. She wasn't a freak but the logical conclusion of interacting forces, and it was her duty to find out as much as she could about this new state, for the good of all who might suffer like her! Pushing to the limits her new powers, she spent months testing her body, her new senses and all the ways they intersected. At last, sure she had gotten as far as she could without the right tools, she returned to Farside City. She found it under the reign of the maddened Princess Selene. While immune to the princess' new powers and more than a match for her army, Atraxia's transformation was still her weakness. Selene offered her a cure that the royal physicians had been working on in exchange for her service and loyalty. The sensation of normalcy after years of being a monster was more than enough to sway the scientist. But the 'cure' was only temporary, and as her body began to dessicate again the promise of more doses and Selene's harping on the violent and rapacious nature of the humans was enough to win over Atraxia, every inch the respectable, peaceable Farsider. Throughout the 1970's and 80's, the lunar vampire was kept busy spying on humanity's movements, slipping through walls to read plans, listening invisibly to conversations and gathering reams of data. However, she was forbidden to attack anyone both as a means of control over where she got her vital blood and to keep her tracks clean. Thus, when Prince Mentac returned with his Atom Family and defeated his sister and her followers, the harmless record and pitiable story of the vampire was enough to get her a royal (if grudging) pardon. After doing her part to repair Farside City and even improve some parts of it, Atraxia struggled with conflicting desires as she moved to the caves outside her old home. She longed to get away from her past and explore the universe, especially given her natural ability to move faster-than-light, but the lingering homebody tendencies of Preserver conditioning and the pull of her duty to future scientists risking their lives to explore the Moonstone won out. Earth's vampire menace and and wealth of weirdness, her constant work improving her Moon base and work (via correspondence) with Farside scientists keeps her busy as her long unlife plays out, searching tirelessly for answers. Personality & Motivation: Atraxia was never what one would call a people person. The focus of her life's work was almost always on things, how they work and what they do. Years alone and then working as a spy did nothing for her social skills, leaving her quick-tempered and prone to speaking impulsively when not sullenly holding her tongue. She is deeply self-conscious about her condition and does all she can to disguise what she really is from others. The mysterious, complicated place that Earth has proven to be piques her interest, but as a thing to be studied and understood before anything else. When meeting others for the first time they get to experience the joys of a suspicious and haltingly-spoken woman who feels deeply ill-used by the world. Despite all that Axtraxia is earnestly committed to trying to help make the human's world a better place in any way she can, and doesn't hesitate for an instant if there seems to be anything of use she can do. The mystical villains that "exploit the superstition of the ignorant" are to her mind the primary obstacles to human progress, and she devotes herself to combating them. Powers & Tactics: Sneaking up behind someone and hitting them from surprise is the only combat tactic Red Moon knows, so she does that. Complications: Enemy: Lady Lunar Habit: Needs blood plasmas to keep at the level of health she considers normal. As well, suffers cravings for it. Myth...busted?: Driven to try and disprove magic and magic-related phenomena as anything but entirely misunderstood 'normal' forces. Reputation: Willing collaborator with the Moon's despot. Secret: Vampire Secret: Identity Abilities: 2 + 6 -10 + 12 + 2 + 0 = 12PP Strength: 12 (+1) Dexterity: 16 (+3) Constitution: - Intelligence: 22 (+6) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 10 Combat: 10 + 8 = 18PP Initiative: +3 Attack: +10 Melee, +5 Ranged Grapple: +11 Defense: +10 (+4 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback: -5 Saving Throws: - + 6 + 8 = 14PP Toughness: +11 (- Con, +10 Protection (Hardened Skin), +1 Protection (terrasuit)) Fortitude: Immune Reflex: +9 (+3 Dex, +6) Will: +9 (+1 Wis, +8) Skills: 40R = 10PP Computers 5 (+11) SM Craft(Electronic) 4 (+10) SM Disable Device 6 (+12) Knowledge(Galactic Lore) 4 (+10) Knowledge(Physical Sciences) 6 (+12) SM Knowledge(Technology) 6 (+12) SM Language 2(Galactic Standard, Farsider(Native), Preserver) Stealth 7 (+10) Feats: 20PP Attack Focus(Melee) 5 Dodge Focus 6 Eidetic Memory Equipment 5(25EP) Improvised Tools Inventor Skill Mastery(Computers, Craft(Electronics), Knowledge(Physical Sciences), Knowledge(Technology)) Powers: 12 + 40 + 2 + 24 + 10 + 2 + 2 + 11 = 103PP Device 3(Hard to Lose, 15PP Device)[12PP] Terrasuit Comprehend 3(Languages; Read, Speak & Understand all)[6PP] Feature 1(Buys off the No Sense of Touch Disability)[1PP] Feature 6(Buys off the Sunlight Weakness)[6PP] Protection 1[1PP] Super-Senses 1(Tracking(Infravision)[1PP] Immunity 40(Fortitude Saves, Mental/Psychic powers)[40PP] Flight 1(10 MPH)[2PP] Lunar Vampirism Array 10(20PP Array, Power Feats: Alternate Power 4)[24PP] Base Power: Strike 10(Extras: Alternate Save(Will)[20PP](Ghostly Claw) AP: Concealment 7(All Visual Senses, Normal Auditory, All Mental Senses)[14PP](Insidious Step) AP: Drain Constitution 9(Extras: Linked(Paralyze)[9PP]+Paralyze 10(Extras: Linked(Drain); Flaws: Slow Only)[10PP]=[19PP](Blood-Drain) AP: Mental Transform 10(Change Memories/Recollection; Extras: Continuous)[20PP] AP: Super-Movement 6(Permeate 3, Trackless, Wall-Crawling 2)[12PP](Spectral Infiltration) Protection 10[10PP](Hardened Skin) Regeneration 1(Resurrection 1/week, not when staked through the heart or beheaded)[1PP] Super-Movement 1(Space Travel 1: Local System)[2PP](Mass-Energy Transfer) Super-Senses 12(Visual Senses: Counter Concealment, Counter Illusion, Counter Obscure(All Descriptors); Psychic Awareness; Infravision)[12PP] Drawbacks: (-1) + (-6) + (-2) = -9PP Disability(No sense of Touch)[-1PP] Weakness(Sunlight, Destroyed in 10 Rounds; Frequency: Very Common; Intensity: Major)[-6PP] Vulnerability(Cosmic Energy damage; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Moderate(+1.5 DC))[-2PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC16 Toughness(Staged) Damage(Physical) Drain Touch DC19 Fortitude Constitution(Drained) Mental Transform Perception DC20 Will Transform Paralyze Touch DC20 Fortitude Slowed Strike Touch DC25 Will(Staged) Damage(Physical) Totals: Abilities (12) + Combat (18) + Saving Throws (14) + Skills (10) + Feats (20) + Powers (103) - Drawbacks (9) = 168/174 Power Points

Huzzah and congratulations on reaching your 21st year! May the cattle fall like grass before your fists. May you see many happy returns to this day. :toot:

GM The punch intercepted by his target's large and powerful hand, the King of Suits was almost instantly seized by some of the inexplicable small army, spun around, and thrown heavily to earth, or at least the dirty asphalt. As soon as he began to rise several bodies flung on top of him, pinning him to the ground while the battle above raged onwards, with a stray gunshot splitting the night air with its sharp report. Above the chaos of punches, thuds, groans and shouts of anger, the voice of the apparent spokesman proclaimed "Friends! Let us conclude this struggle quickly! The ones above are already under attack, and might not reach our mark before the appointed time!" With a chorus of "Okay"s, small army redoubled their attack on the security team and police escort, those they managed to subdue bound and gagged with their conscious doubles dragging them into the bright yellow van, and disappearing in after them. Those who resisted for what their copies judged to be too long were more unceremoniously grappled and flung into the van from where they stood, their brief cries of surprise followed by metallic thuds and frequently short barks of pain ringing out into the night. The four keeping Marceau from interfering said no word.

GM The voice said quietly and obviously in confusion a horrified tone crept into the voice ---------------------- Meanwhile, the time for Riff's band to start grew closer, the crowd swelling with stragglers and people from other bands that had concluded their acts. Vendors of hot dogs, soft drinks and ice cream competed fiercely for customers, almost all of whom were eager to get their hands one something to eat and especially something cold to drink. The speakers were primed, the amps were ready for action, and the smoke machine was unblemished. Everything was ready, with even the faint buzzing noise vanished. Meanwhile, Wlodjyka had reappeared backstage, lending a deft hand with one of the inexplicable tangles of power cords that arose almost inevitably with music acts. He peered just a bit too closely at the cords, as if looking for something. ------------------------- The blond man stiffened and glanced back at Blue Jay when she began to whistle, then turned back with remarkable cool to the white-haired woman "'Taker, a cape" he said softly and urgently. Without missing a beat, the white-haired woman swung around and marched up to Blue Jay. "Well?" she said crisply, folding her arms in a confrontational way "Can we help you? We're in a hurry," she added, glancing down the block as if looking for something before turning back to the young heroine "places to be."

Starting at the gunshots cracking sharply from above, the King of Suits looked sharply up at where they came from, a hand straying to the deck of razor-edged cards on his belt. A quick glance and the moon-lit night showed him that at least Catalyst hadn't been shot, and with a sigh of relief he drew out two bulky gauntlets that he attached with thin tubes to rounded packs on his armor. Pulling one of their triggers half an inch was answered with a powerful rumble from the gauntlet, and he smiled in relief "It still works" he said quietly, getting smoothly to his feet, a towering figure in the dark above the alley. With a click of his boots on the concrete shelf, he hurled himself down into the milling crush of duplicates struggling chaotically with the security guards, using his grapple gun to slow his fall while crying out "Beware, evil-doers! Your thefts end tonight!" Landing lightly, he directed an impeccably-aimed punch with the gauntlet at the nearest of the attacking thieves, his armored fist sailing at a heavy-set man with a prodigious beard and a neat security officer's grey uniform.

Subito followed close behind the others, relieved that Galanta wasn't in a bad mood today. It ain't like she usually is, but sometimes... he shook his head, not the time for that. Kicking off his shoes with two quick movements, he sauntered after his imposing sister and his two friends. He briefly lost himself for a moment, staring in awe at the spread that lay on the table and giving a low whistle. Grinning broadly he turned to his dour mother "How come you don't cook like this every day, Mom?" he asked Broma jokingly "It might make Rodrigo a little less grouchy!" his smile gradually wilted under her grim stare, and he looked sheepishly at the ground before glancing up and muttering "<I..I'm sorry, I know..yeah>" he stood awkwardly, not knowing where to look. After a second Broma's face softened, and passing between Victoria and Serge she patted his arm kindly " "Oh come on, Surge, It's just what they called me when I was a kid!" Subito protested hotly, turning scarlet and looking imploringly at his parents, who happened to have chosen that moment to look cheerfully at the other two students. "It was all he could say when he was four" Pavor explained calmly "it was adorable!" he hugged the red-faced mantle-bearer with a fervor belying his lean arms. After a brief few seconds of mutinous rigidity, Subito relaxed and returned the hug, stepping away with a smile of genuine affection for his spindly father. Suddenly looking over at Vicky he said curiously "Hey, Vick, what happened to your voice? I thought you had a Russian accent?" he looked baffled "Y'don't need to do that, you know. Not like they'll hate you for havin' an accent" Galanta pounded Victoria enthusiastically on the back as she began setting up some of the places for the meal. With a soft noise of footsteps, a boy with a definite family resemblance to Galanta and Subito though with much finer and more delicate features walked in, wearing baggy clothes and large glasses. His hair was a profusion of curls, and after a second of grim observation he walked up to the two guests, holding out his hand "I'm Rodrigo, Galanta and Subito's cousin" he said quickly, already looking with wide eyes at the heaped table.

That works for me, I take it both of you are using Unarmed DC bonus for this? In that case a DC23 and a DC25 TOU save. #1 is Groan, #2 Flay: 14, 6. Moot point, both fail. Post away!

GM The paintball pellets whizzed towards the three trenchcoat-wearing figures. Traveling faster than the eye could follow, they were halfway across the street before one of the mysterious persons to the heroine's right drew a small handgun from the depths of their coat, aimed it at nothing, and with an equal number of shots blew every last one of the pellets clean out of the air, sending them splattering their contents across the roof in briefly smoking patches. That done, they silently released his hold on the silent jackhammer, walking over to the edge of the roof and facing Catalyst from under the brim of their concealing hat. The struggle below raged on, with furious cries, muffled swearing and thudding blows punctuating the night.

...........You are correct, that would be a much simple and better way to do that. I apologize profusely for this idiocy I nearly made you use a HP for.

The highest Officer Groan could reach is 26, so that grips him tight! I don't see the Chokehold feat on Blodeuwedd's sheet, though, so you'll need to buy it with a HP to take down the Officer that way.

Neither can possible match that, so Blodeuwedd sneaks up behind them without their noticing.

GM The pounding feet of the retreating 'soldiers' quickly receded into the distance. The abandoned hospital was now silent as the grave. Besides the bubbling noises coming from beyond the barred metal door behind the two heroes, of course. This close to the inelegant slab of steel Stormbreaker could hear something else: the sound of metallic scrapes and sharp clicks. Voltage could something generating a powerful current. The jungle outside was now silent, the would-be guards passing out of range entirely, and only the quick steps of a cautious bird detectable.

The source of the voice and noise is all around Jay and a part of all the other sounds he hears. The hypersound pellet that went unsmashed is no longer emitting any noise whatsoever. The source is unmoving and drops radically in volume even if only slightly moving away from it. As for the rest, best thing would be to post Jay doing so IC!

7 in range, 7 DC20 TOU saves: 15, 24, 15, 9, 24, 20, 11. So all but 3 fail. Seeing as you just bashed these guys, they take off, as do their 7 buddies.

Alright, two things here. One, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you guys are going to take ten on your Stealth rolls to follow without being seen? Second, Semi wants to know what Myrmidon would know about the kind of magic used by SHADOW folks, which is a good question. The book just says 'ancient Teutonic magic', which could mean a lot. I'm going to go with his focus being a ritualistic brand of sorcery based on runes, maybe with some Hermetic philosophy along for the ride with his original Egyptian beliefs. As a result, the Quaestor here has similar interests. The finer details are of course lost on John.

"A Ferris Wheel, hm?" commented the triton sourly. He stared at the slowly revolving wheel for a few seconds, wondering how such things were made. It wasn't like how the Atlanteans were able to do it, that much was obvious. No water pressure around it to keep the thing steady. At length he shrugged his ponderous shoulders and switched his cold attention back to the human. "Eliza? I heard of a human named Eli...something, ending with 'a', once. It was very long ago" he added with a faint note of doubt in his voice "I believe he stole the chariot of Helios a few thousand years back..." He stared at her for a very long minute, finishing suddenly "...No. That was another. As for why I am here" his voice strengthened noticeably "I am come to walk among your race, to see you and allow you to see me. I only rarely venture into the city, most of my days are spent in the bay where few of you go" walking up out of the water, he strode up to her heavily, stopping when he was ten feet from her and sitting with a crash and jangle of armor on the sandy mud "I felt the steps of many of your kind, and came up here to see what was happening. Some manner of celebration?" he hazarded, casting a glance back at the small crowd around the Ferris Wheel "You have much to celebrate, I am sure." He suddenly looked fully at her "Why are you here? Why do you not join them?" he asked, his breath salty and almost sickeningly sweet, his head leaning against a pauldron.

GM The super-fast hammer blows smashed and battered the small pellets into broken and rather sad piles of warped and dented microchips, metal and plastic. As they cracked and bent under the assault, a sudden *POP* resounded in Jay's ears, and he felt a twisting whine like static run through him while a crackling buzz grew around him. After a few seconds, the hum abruptly ceased, replaced by a slow repeating throb in which the words could be clearly heard. ----------- Blue Jay saw the white-haired woman and blond man stiffen when something on the stage they were watching happened. "Paris, I think that's our cue to leave" the woman said briskly, jumping to her feet and quickly walking out of the park. 'Paris' shrugged, swallowed the last of his drink and followed, tossing the cup in the nearby trashcan.

GM Two days afterwards... In their own ways, both heroes happened to turn to page 21 of that morning's Freedom Ledger, beholding a column bearing the headline Mary Stewart "An anonymous call from a phone booth in the upper Fens earlier this week brought the local police to an alleyway, where they found two dozen Freedonians in black robes, including Egyptology Prof. Achilles Andrews of Freedom City University, who claimed to have formerly belonged to the cult of the Egyptian snake god of darkness Apep. In the same alley were the three missing persons (Xerxes Pentora 31, Serena Andrews, 40, Guan Li, 24), who claimed that a black-clad vigilante known as "Silhouette" had rescued them and killed a gigantic snake-monster sent by Apep to prevent their escape. Investigation of the open manhole nearby revealed a vast temple apparently carved and built without detection by citizens above ground. After confiscating the cult's hoard of foodstuffs, weapons and the corpse of an unusually large snake that was in an extreme stage of decomposition, mystical former Next Gen member Seven purified the temple. Speaking to the press she described what happened in the Fens as a "near-miss" attack, and extends her congratulations to the hero who prevented it. "Thanks to people like that a potential invasion has been decisively thwarted". After exorcizing the area of the city that the temple was situated in, Dr. Metropolis amalgamated the underground center into the rest of the city. Tunnels leading to a hardware store elsewhere in the Fens led to the break-up of a small smuggling ring." END.

Without hesitation, the triton leaped easily up from the warm and soft grass to his feet. "I will go with you, General" he said, glancing his large eyes around at the humans nearby, curious to see if they would disagree. Examining a greave casually he added "As I have had dealings with your culture, albeit in the past, I will make a slightly better representative than most of these others. My graceless and brutish nature aside!" He laughed harshly at that, though in a light and easy tone that suggested he was joking.