GranspearZX

HellQ [Crusader] [Work In Progress] Introduction Who are you? Sum yourself up in one sentence. Do you have any nicknames, street names, titles, or nom de plume? What is your full birth name? Where do you live? How old are you? What year were you born (if applicable)? Physical Traits What is your gender? If not applicable, please explain. How would you describe your heritage? How tall are you? What is your body type? Do you have any particular weaknesses, such as allergies or physical disabilities? How do you carry yourself? Are you graceful, or heavy on your feet? Can you be stealthy, do you walk with confidence? Describe your skin, eye, and hair color. How do you wear your hair, if applicable? Do you have facial hair? Do you consider yourself attractive? Do others? Do you have any scars, tattoos, piercings, or birthmarks? Do you resemble anyone famous? Do you have a dominant hand? What kind of clothing do you wear? Do you wear makeup? What is your vocal range? Is your voice distinctive in some way? Do you have any distinctive habits, nervous tics, or mannerisms? Where did they come from, and what causes them? Do other people notice and remark on these habits? Do they annoy you or other people? History Where do you come from? Have you made any major moves, or do you live in your hometown? Do you feel loyal to your country of citizenship? Do you consider yourself patriotic? How do you feel about the government of your country? How do you feel about the place you come from? Where is your home town? What was/is it like? Growing up, were most of the people you knew similar to you, or were you somehow a minority? How did that affect you? Is there something you've always been really good at or really bad at? How has that affected your life? Were there any traumatic experiences in your early years (death of a family member, abandonment, orphaned at an early age)? Briefly describe a defining moment in your childhood and how it influenced your life. What stupid things did you do when you were younger? Where did you go to school? How much school did you have, and did you enjoy it? Do you have any mementos of your childhood? What are they, and why did you keep them? If you have none, why not? When did you decide to become a hero? Why? Did anyone influence you one way or another in the decision? Is the reason you give people for becoming a hero different than your real reason? If so, why? Do you have any deep, dark secrets in the past that may come back to haunt you? Do you represent yourself as being different from who you really are? Why? If you do have these secrets, what do you fear would happen if the truth became known? How far would you go to protect those secrets? Do you have any sort of criminal record? If so, is it public knowledge? Family What are your biological parents' names? Were you raised by them? If not, please explain and describe who raised you. What was their standing in the community? What did/do they do for a living? Where are your parents now? Did your family stay in one area or move around a lot? How did you get along with their parents? How do you get along with them now (if applicable). How do your parents view you now, or how would they? Do you have any siblings? If so how many and what are their names? Describe your relationship with them. What was your birth order in the family? Where are your siblings now (if applicable)? Do they have families of their own? What do they do? Do you stay in touch with them or have you become estranged? Do you love or hate one member of the family in particular? Is any member of the family special to you in any way (perhaps, as a confidant, mentor, or arch-rival)? Are there any black (or white) sheep in the family (including you)? If so, please explain. Do you have a notorious or celebrated ancestor? If so, please explain, including how it has affected your life. Do you have a partner and children currently? If so, please describe them. If you do not have a partner or children, do you want them someday? How firm are you in your opinion on this, and what might change your mind? What type of person would be your ideal mate? Relationships Do you have any close friends? If so, please describe them, and how you came to be close to them. Do you have a best friend? If so, how did they become your best friend? How close are you to your best friend? If you were to go missing, who would worry about you? Have you lost any loves? If so, how did it happen, and what did you do? Do you have any bitter enemies? If so, please describe them and their history with you. If you have enemies, how do you think they might attempt to work against you in the future? What is the worst thing someone has done to you? Where do your loyalties lie? In what order? Who or what do you trust the most? Why? Who or what do you despise? Why? What qualities do you admire most in other people? Are these qualities you possess? What qualities do you hate most in other people? Do you have any of those qualities? Do you have a secret identity? If so, who knows it? Do you hide it from people who are close to you? Why? Do you work well on teams and in groups? Are you a leader or a follower? Are you on a super team? If so, how do you get along with your comrades? Do you trust them, or do you have secrets from them? Are you a member of any church, fraternal organization, club, committee, political party, or other group? How much time do you spend on that? Personality & Beliefs Who are your heroes? Did you ever become disillusioned with former heroes or idols? If so, why and what were the circumstances? Do you like being a hero? If so, what is the most rewarding part? If not, what makes you keep doing it? Is there anything that would make you give up hero work, or even switch sides? What are your short term goals (what would you like to be doing within a year)? What are your long term goals (what would you like to be doing twenty years from now)? What is your greatest fear? Why? What do you do when something triggers this fear? Is there anything you would give you life for? How do you feel about money and material wealth? Do you desire it or disdain it? Are you miserly with what you have, or do you like to share? Is it a mark of success, or a means to an end? How do you generally treat others? Are you a trusting person? Has your trust ever been abused? Are you introverted (shy and withdrawn) or extroverted (outgoing)? Do you have a lot of self-confidence? How do you act around attractive, available members of your preferred sex? What are your most annoying habits? Do you feel contempt for any general category of people? Who are they, and why? What is your favorite food? Do you prefer any particular type of food? Do you take the time to enjoy your food, or do you eat as fast as you can? What is your favorite drink (alcoholic or otherwise)? What is your favorite treat (dessert)? Are there any specific foodstuffs that you find disgusting or refuse to eat? What is your favorite color? Are there any colors you dislike? What sort of music do you like? Is there any that you hate? If you have a favorite scent, what is it? Do you have a favorite animal? What is your most treasured possession? Why? Do you enjoy "roughing it", or do you prefer your creature comforts? Is there a job or a task you would absolutely refuse to do? Do you consider yourself a spiritual person? If so, how do your beliefs affect your life?How important is it to you? Was your faith influenced or molded by anyone special? If you belong to a religious organization, how often do you attend? Do you have a specific place of worship, or friends within the organization? How much do you agree with the beliefs of your organization? Could you kill? Have you killed? What circumstances led to you forming that conviction, or taking that action? Are there circumstances under which you believe it is permissible to kill? What are they? How would you react to watching someone kill another person? Would your reaction be different if the killer was a friend or an enemy of yours? How would you react if something important was stolen from you? How would you react to public humiliation? How would you react if a good friend or relative were purposely or accidentally killed? Has it happened to you? What do you consider to be the worst crime someone could commit and why? If your life were to end in 24 hours, what five things would you do in those remaining hours? Career & Training Do you have any special training in your hero skills? If so, where and how did you get it? Who taught you the most about your heroing abilities? What was your relationship with that person? Do you have any particularly unusual skills? How did you acquire them? Do you do something besides hero work for a living? Have you ever done anything else, or do you plan to? What is your preferred combat style? Have you ever received any awards or honours? What skill areas would you like most to improve in? Is there anything you can't do that you wish desperately you could? How do you act around people who are more skilled than you in areas you'd like to improve? Are you jealous, or do you try and learn? Lifestyle & Hobbies What is a normal day for you? How do you feel when something interrupts this routine? Do you have any hobbies, or interests outside hero work? What are they, and where did you pick them up? What do you do for fun? Do you have a costume? What does it look like? How do you normally dress when not in costume? What do you wear to bed most nights? Do you wear any special jewelry? What is it, and what does it look like? Do you have a special place where you keep your valuables? What's your preferred means of local travel? How about long distance? Miscellaneous Have you ever made a will, or tried to make arrangements for your death? What provisions did you make? If your features were to be destroyed beyond recognition, is there any other way of identifying your body? What would you like to be remembered for after your death? Do you believe you pose a threat to the public? Why or why not? What do you perceive as your greatest strength? What do you perceive as your greatest weakness? As a player, if you could, what advice would you give your character? Speak as if he/she were sitting right here in front of you. Use proper tone so they might heed your advice...

Alright! so here's what we're looking at: == Round 1 == 16 :: Lightning Elemental -- Unharmed 12 :: Warp [1HP] -- Unharmed 11 :: Arcturus [2HP] -- Unharmed And the elemental turns and fires a lightning bolt at Warp! (Blast 10): Ranged Attack (Blast 10, lightning): (1d20+10=15) The lightning bolt misses, making it Warp's turn!

Marcus seemed the least bothered by the pouring rain, and as he got closer, his expression seemed a lot more curious. He squinted at the glowing, lightning-clad figure and turned around, waiting for Warp to catch up. "You wanted to know what magic was... there you go. That's not even a person... it's an elemental." He'd only read about them. Marcus had never actually seen one, and he never thought he would; for one to end up here, it would have had to been summoned. In this storm, however--a pretty ideal condition for summoning one--a summoner could have literally been anywhere. He didn't have time to look or be curious. For a moment, he even seemed reluctant to confront it, even with its back turned, until one of its lightning bolts struck the base of a street lamp, toppling it over onto an unoccupied car. "...well, that answers that. Destroying it should send it back wherever it came from. ...maybe."

Marcus takes 10 on a Knowledge [arcane lore] roll, since he can smell the magic in the air (and since Skill Mastery). Discovers that they're dealing with a lightning elemental. And now, initiatives! The elemental's initiative: Initiative: (1d10+7=16) Arcturus's initiative: Initiative: (1d10+5=11)

GM "...whatever. I'm not responsible if something happens..." Trigger didn't seem to care one way or another. It all could have been an act, but if it was, it was a fairly consistent one. If the weapons he carried on his belt were any indication--several metal rods--than he was definitely more intelligent than he let on. With Supercape's back turned, though, Trigger didn't try to hit him and run; instead, the young man simply collapsed the staff and walked forward, leading Supercape to the room beyond the door. The subsequent hallway was just as dimly lit at the rest of the building, but from here, there was a strange echo and rumbling. Supercape's senses didn't pick up any additional disturbance from whatever dimensional happenings were going on below their feet, but it was steady and forceful enough to knock loose dust from the ceiling. Towards the end of the hallway was another door with no discernible handle; Trigger placed his hand against it and, after about thirty seconds, the door slid to one side, revealing an elevator. The smell of sulphur and a wave of heat struck almost instantly when it did, followed by another solid rumble from below.

GM The woman looked reluctant. A crack of thunder from the overcast skies above quickly changed her mind. First the two teenagers hopped in, and then the woman shortly after. During the whole ordeal, Marcus was moving from car to car, displaying a significant amount of strength and agility as he freed as many passengers as he could, working his way towards the lightning-throwing criminal. In the meantime, the figure wasn't so much running away as it was... drifting. It got to an intersection... and then it stopped. By then, traffic had been cut off and there were no more civilians that could be seen in the area.

GM Having taken the majority of the pounding from the caped hero, Trigger flinched a little bit at the threat. Smokey was just about ready for round two, but Trigger just gave a lazy shrug. "Fine, fine... geez. What a bother..." "Now wait just a damn minute--" "It's not like we owe Knives anything. Hell, maybe it'll put us in good with the old man again." "...tch." Smokey sighed in concession, turning to walk away. "You know how to reach me." With that, Smokey's entire body went up in a burst of flame and cigar smoke, disappearing entirely. Trigger turned to Supercape, lightly rubbing at his sore jaw before pointing towards the end of the room, along with two broken strips of yellow caution tape. "This way to your doom... or whatever."

Whatever had been going on inside Marcus's head, he almost instantly snapped out of it, forcing his will against the Beast Rune like a battering ram. With a feral roar and an eldritch sound like shattering glass, his body turned a solid, bright red, bleeding magical energy and shrinking back into Marcus's human form. His expression could only be described as panic as he ran over in the woman's direction. "Not again..." Marcus scowled at his own incompetence and lack of control, slamming his fist into the already damaged car frame, leaving a good-sized dent in its size. The interrogation of the woman was the least of his concern... At least she was still breathing. What was worse was that Elias had been inside his head, and even if he hadn't been reading any of his thoughts, he'd seen everything. All Marcus could focus on for the moment was the guilt and embarrassment, and he scrambled for some way to explain. He was almost certain he'd have to come up with an explanation at school.

GM Smokey smacked Supercape's hand away, scowling and blowing a hefty cloud of cigar smoke into the superhero's face. "Yeah, yeah, whatever... All we were supposed to do was watch the door. Make sure no one goes in. For their own sakes, according to what we were told." Trigger eventually came staggering out of the smoke cloud. He'd found his glasses and his footing, but still looked a bit wobbly on his feet, even while using his telescoping staff as a walking stick. "...you go down there, you're not coming back." He didn't say it in a threatening manner, but simply as a matter of fact not up for dispute. As the steam began to clear from the room, Trigger adjusted his fogged-up glasses. "Whatever's going down underneath here's already started, so..." He shrugged, indifferent as ever.

Marcus's first concern was the civilians in the cars. As Warp focused on one, he moved a little bit ahead of her, focusing on two cars that had run into each other. The driver was stuck, trapped on all sides by one vehicle or another. After looking inside to make sure he was at least conscious, Marcus tapped on the window to get his attention. "Hold on, I've got you!" With one hand on each car, and his back turned to Warp, he put a hand on each car. On his right shoulder blade, the Beast Rune flared to life, burning red through his uniform, and he slowly but surely separated the two enough for the man to open his door and get out. Marcus looked up at the blast as it shot into the sky, and his expression grew grim. The wandering figure was getting further away, but its destruction was leaving more than just a physical trail. He could smell this one. "Magic. Of all the..." Marcus hopped onto and over the hood of the next car, quickly scanning them for citizens that needed a hand. He didn't want to lose whoever that was... but he wasn't about to bail on them either. He looked back at Warp. "Everything okay over there?"

GM "Y-yeah..." The woman in the small car Warp reached first seemed more or less okay; her airbag and seatbelt spared her from any real injury. She quickly looked into her back seat and seemed relieved that the two teenagers were unharmed as well. The pile-up, however, had wedged both doors on the two-door sedan shut with other vehicles preventing them from opening. Not for lack of trying, however; when she realized that she and her children were stuck, she started to panic a little, shoving hard against the door in complete futility.

I'd like to add a complication to Arc's list: Collateral Damage: Arcturus has a tendency, when under the influence of the Beast Rune, to cause a notable amount of damage to EVERYTHING around him. He has an exceedingly difficult time gauging his own strength, and often causes a lot of unintentional harm because of it. Player Edit: Build edits withdrawn for Reasonsâ„¢. HULK SMASHED by GIZMO

And Arc kicks the car right at her: Ranged Attack (Improvised Weapon): (1d20+8=27)

"You've got some questions to answer, lady!" Arcturus growled, focused solely on the woman who had tried to dart him in the face. Beast Rune or no, that had actually made Marcus angry, and there wasn't much that was more dangerous than when both the mage and the magic were on the same wavelength. As she vaulted over the car, Arcturus stalked after her. He didn't stop either; when he got to the car, he launched a vicious front kick into its side, sending the sedan hurtling end over end at the woman. It occurred to him sometime while the car was in mid-air that she really couldn't answer questions while unconscious...

WILL Save: (1d20+12=31)

Was that... Marcus was surprisingly well-versed in traveling across dimensions. He wasn't sure if that's what that was though. It reminded him of the dream dimension in some of its less friendly parts. Before he could dwell on it further, he was being rained on. Still keeping his current form, he gritted his teeth as he tried to reorient himself, turning around before spotting the direction in which the smoke was still rising, despite the rain. There were still people scattering from the scene, and the street was largely blocked off by cars, some of them still with passengers inside. Further up the block, there was another blast. Warp could see it as a lightning bolt streaked from a vaguely humanoid figure moving further away, blowing through a storefront window. "What the heck is that?" Marcus started to run forward, partially to get a closer look, but more to reach the passengers in the cars.

Well! Arcturus is mad. Going to spend a HP to add Knockback to his next unarmed attack. Attack Roll [unarmed; HP: Knockback)]: (1d20+12=20)

The Beast Rune instantly revolted when Elias's influence on his mind became clear. Marcus himself was more surprised than anything, but having been in mental contact with people before, he immediately forced the Beast Rune to back off--after all, there was another problem. He raised his arm as the darts came flying at him, grimacing heavily as they struck. Throwing his arm aside, he catapulted forward. There was no sign of him holding back as he clamped both hands together, swinging with a two-fisted uppercut aimed right for her.

That.. wasn't magic. Huh. There was an odd sense of familiarity for a moment, but he couldn't quite place it as he blinked at Kat's powers at work. He was more fascinated than anything though, and as she spoke, he wondered if it was wise to actually go where the trouble was. Then again... that never stopped him before, even if he thought doing so now might have been setting a bad example. "...you're not gonna let me say 'no', are you?" He reached into his bag and pulled out his mask. It looked something like a brown fur-lined cowl with almost lupine ears. Certain no one was watching, he slipped it over his head; as he did, his blue and gold Claremont uniform seemed to superimpose itself over his existing clothes. Marcus was almost unrecognizable; even his facial features seemed different, and his teeth actually seemed a bit larger and sharper--especially the canines and incisors. "Right then. I guess study time is officially over."

FORT Save [DC15]: (1d20+13=33) Ooh. And now bear is MAD. And in case I need an initiative roll: Initiative: (1d20+5=10)

He doesn't resist, no. He's not gonna be happy about it, but that'll come later. :D

Ah! Forgot the Notice check: Notice check: (1d20+5=25) Ooh. Well, bear smells trouble indeed. Slight modification to my IC post and I'm good. :)

He'll feel that one in the morning. Arcturus released the tigerman from his grip, lowering him to the ground rather than dropping the unconscious figure outright. Now that the danger had passed--as far as he knew, at least--there were questions that needed to be answered. First, though, he checked on Elias. "You alright?" The after-combat awkwardness had already settled in. Arc was always acutely aware of people staring while he was in his ursine form. If anything, he was glad Elias had focused more on not letting him get clawed than being surprised at his sudden shapeshifting. The thought, though, made him look back at the tigerman. He looked exactly the same. Arcturus's expression soured; whatever happened to him, it looked more or less permanent, and if he was as confused and enraged as Elias said... "...somethin' don't smell right." He wasn't aware of the irony of what he'd said until something caught his nose. He straightened up a little bit, nose in the air before turning completely around. The look on Arcturus's face was anything but cordial as violet sparks from the Storm Rune danced from his claws. Red eyes narrowed to dangerous looking slits, and his teeth were bared in an deep, gutteral growl. He might not have been able to see whatever it was, but he could smell it, and there really was only one reason for anyone to sneak up on him in the middle of the street.

Arcturus kept the tiger man pretty well held, but it wasn't slowing him down nearly enough. With the mantiger pretty effectively immobilized, he could see Elias was struggling to do what he could; he knew pain when he saw it. The thought entered the bear's mind to simply squeeze until he stopped moving. Marcus's conscious, however, reigned in the Beast Rune's destructive nature, and instead, he shifted his stance, leaning back as far as he could, aiming his huge skull right between the tiger man's eyes.

Arc is going to maintain the grapple as his free action. Since he has Improved Grapple, he technically does have one arm free. So... he's gonna headbutt him. Attack Roll (Unarmed, Bear Form): (1d20+12=16)