GranspearZX

You went right for the hardest question you could ask, didn't you? "I guess... it depends on who you're talking to. We all have a different way of interacting with the magical world. For instance... I'm better at 'natural' magic. Whether it's just me being stronger or tougher than most, or being able to manipulate primal elements like fire, water, that sort of thing. What works for me, though, isn't necessarily what works for Crow. I don't know if you've met him yet. Both of us use runes to channel our magic, but his are a lot more complex and versatile than mine." Marcus paused for a moment, wondering if he'd lost Kat in the explanation. He tried to keep it simple, despite the complicated nature of the question. "My power in particular comes from a single runic symbol. I was born with it, but it happened to trigger two years ago. I'm capable of more, which is why I study, but the Beast Rune takes up a lot of energy, making any other magic a little bit draining." He stood up, stretching a little bit. He started to put his books back into his bag when a huge crack of thunder actually rattled the windows. The sonic jolt seemed to set off several car alarms outside, as well, and Marcus looked more than a little unnerved by the sudden sound. His eyes were on the window, where several blocks down, a plume of smoke could be seen rising from the street. "...what on earth..."

"Chicago... what? Wait, no." Was she actually suggesting going THAT far just to get out of the rain? He hated getting wet--he was worse than a cat in that regard--but he didn't want her poofing around the globe. Especially not on his behalf. He had to assume that she was still prohibited from using her abilities publically. He was too, for the most part, but for entirely different reasons. The Beast Rune had a habit of setting off a primal fear instinct in people even when he wasn't trying... "There's this little pizza place like a block away from here. I can deal with getting a little wet... or we can just try to wait it out. In the mean time, ask me whatever you want. Besides... I'm from Chicago. Not interested in going back..."

GM "I... w-what?" For a second, Smokey was flustered by the explanation. He snorted a burst of smoke. "You KNOW what I meant!" They seemed to be at an impasse; the realization that his smoke form simply wasn't going to protect him--or Trigger--from being irradiated was pretty plain on his face. "Look, we're just watchin' the guy, okay?! Some woman paid us to watch Knives while he got his little power trip on, that's it! It's not like you wanna go down there anyway... all that 'blah blah dimensions, blah blah vessel' crap ain't got all that much to do with us." Somewhere behind Supercape, Trigger started to stir as well--certainly not in any condition to retaliate, but he was at least conscious.

"It's Latin. There's plenty of elements that have Latin abbreviations. " As the 'lesson' continued, Marcus realized why Kat was so difficult to teach. She had to know EVERYTHING. Right then and there. There was no middle ground with this girl. Two years ago, he might've just gone bear, flipped over the table, and said to hell with it; now the Beast Rune seemed to be treating her persistence like a challenge in its own right. Still, after having been tutored by Etain and Professor Quill for Latin, he found himself able to answer much of her curiosity with solid information. Still, just recalling it all was mentally taxing, and neither Kat nor the rain seemed to be letting up any. He looked at his phone--an hour had gone by already. "I think that's enough for today. Don't forget, I expect you to have both memorized by our next tutoring session." Marcus yawned, looking out the window. "I was gonna suggest getting something to eat but this rain is just miserable..."

Marcus had to stifle a laugh at her answer. "Ah... no. That's not even close." He pulled his hand back, pointing out the 'K' on the table. This was going nowhere, at least, not in the manner than Marcus would have liked. he did, however, have another idea. "I'll make you a deal. You HAVE to memorize the alkali metals and the noble gases. In exchange... I'll tell you everything you want to know about my magic. Deal?" Marcus was a noble guy and all, but he wasn't above bribery. That and it seemed to be the most reliable way to motivate Kat. He was far less reserved about talking about what he could do now that he understood how his magical birthright actually worked. In the mean time, the rain seemed to pick up noticeably. A deep, resonating rumble of thunder rolled overhead, and the sky seemed to open up on the poor souls below, drenching anyone without the good sense to have brought an umbrella.

And Arcturus makes a grapple attempt (god, how long has it been since Arc's actually grappled anybody?): Grapple check (Bear Form, +23): (1d20+23=29)

Arcturus didn't make the mistake of waiting to see what the mantiger would do this time. He didn't check on Elias to see if he was okay. It was a terrible habit that he'd caught himself returning to more than once--not trusting others to do their part. It was something he was notorious for, but he was working on it. He was still worried about Elias, of course, but that would have to wait until the current threat had passed. After his punch connected, he continued plowing forward, arms outstretched to try and grab the stunned and panicked metahuman--if that's indeed what he was; Arc couldn't be sure. A bearhug seemed like a more reliable method of immobilizing him than anything else Arc could currently think of, short of willing the earth around him to grab him instead... and he wasn't that desperate yet.

No attack from Smokey. In fact, I think we can pretty much end combat here. :D

GM "You couldn't if you tried!" That, of course, was a bluff; he was tough, but not invincible. Supercape might have been able to sense Smokey just fine, but the opposite was far from true. This time, Smokey didn't just immediately start hauling fireballs into the steam--possibly because Trigger was still unconscious somewhere in it. For all his faults and thuggery, it seemed that Smokey still wouldn't put a comrade in harm's way. At least not deliberately. "You give me Trigger and we don't have to find out what the melting point of bone is. How's that for a deal?!"

Interest: Player, Team Up if possible. Setting: I'm good with Freedom City, but can alter background info to accommodate. Character: Sheets forthcoming in an Alternate Versions thread, but Arcturus/Ironbear Jones (PL8) is a 'retired' prizefighter bent on taking down the mafia that tried to ruin his career and his life. That's... really all I've got. Ending: Happy endings are always nice! I'm all for an open ending of course. All depends on where the RP goes.

"...what on Earth is going on there?" For several moments, Marcus's eyes were firmly fixed on the screen. Did this sort of thing actually happen? Robots and huge ships and the like shouldn't have been all that surprising to him, he realized, but seeing it was surreal. Even in a simulation. He definitely wasn't equipped to deal with something like that. Besides that, his own power was very terrestrial in nature. "How do you even stop something like that? Alone, even? Mine was pretty tame compared to the rest of yours. I hope they weren't taking it easy on me because of earlier..."

Yep, it's perfectly fine. And on Smokey's behalf: FORT save [sickened (-2)]: (1d20+10-2=27)

I could definitely get behind this. Likely as a player, with Crusader, since he'd be easier to mold into the setting. I'm open to teaming if anyone wants to do so.

Marcus had to admit to a certain degree of curiosity as to what her 'thing' was. He smiled as she admitted that magic wasn't her specialty and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I could tell. I've got a sensitive nose." Had he been in bear form, Marcus would have probably been able to tell what she'd eaten for lunch, too. "As for the book... I need it to study. Same as any other subject. Like chemistry." It was the truth; his particular style of magic relied heavily on knowing how elements interacted with one another. What he did was extremely basic compared to some of the things in his mother's old spellbook; most of it still went over his head. He knew enough, however, for his training to become more physical than mental. He knew the theory, but he was still working on training his body to endure the strain. It might have been easier for most, but the Beast Rune was actually making it harder. He moved his hand to cove the entire first column. Errant thoughts aside, Marcus, at least, was committed to the task at hand. "So what's the symbol for... potassium?"

"Ah, so all the easy ones." Marcus smiled encouragingly. A start was a start, after all, and he fished a pencil out of his pocket, marking those elements with an X. "I guess we can start from this end. It's actually not so bad once you break it down into sections, like the alkali metals. Starting with lithium, since helium is a gas and not a metal, and down to... ...huh?" Marcus followed her eyes to the stack of books. Immediately he knew which one she was talking about. He looked at Kat sternly and, plain as he could possibly be, answered her question. "It's a spellbook. You... really are easily distracted, aren't you?" A single eyebrow rose; he didn't seem annoyed or anything, focused more on the task of tutoring than getting into whatever was in that book.

"Chemistry's not SO bad... the periodic table's pretty easy if you study." Marcus smirked as they walked through the library. He'd found an unoccupied and relatively out of the way table close to a window. He set his bag down on the floor, then pulled a chair out for Kat before seating himself. "I'm no genius, mind you," he replied, "but I've had to refine my own study habits too, so I can sympathize." He reached for his bag and rummaged through it, pulling out three books before finally finding his own chemistry book. One of his books didn't look like a school book; it didn't even have a title. Just a green and gold-trimmed leatherbound book with a bronze lock keeping it closed. Marcus barely seemed to even notice it was there as he flipped through to the back of the chemistry book to the periodic table. "You're probably not gonna get it all in one go... so let's start with the elements you do know, and we can go from there."

The smarter thing would have been to run. A bunch of bikers wielding broken bottles, clubs, and all manner of improvised weaponry. He narrowed his eyes a little bit, tensing even as the man he'd rescued scrambled away as fast as he could manage, still on the phone with police. "You boys picked the wrong night. The WRONG. NIGHT." The hero charged headlong into the group, nailing the first biker right under the chin with the thick, blunt edge of his shield. He spun on the spot and slammed the next one in the solar plexus with an elbow, flooring him too. He hopped backward and hurled the shield into the oncoming crowd, cries of pain springing up from them as it ricocheted between thugs, taking out at least half a dozen before returning to his hand. By then, he'd been surrounded by the remainder, none of whom looked particularly eager to engage the shield-bearing superhero. One bravely tried to strike from behind with what looked like a tire iron. Crusader watched him approach from the reflection of a storefront window, sighing inwardly at the stupidity. He pivoted hard and backhanded the guy with his shield arm, sending him flying backward. By then, the others had started gathering their unconscious comrades to escape the sirens, but it was already too late. Red and blue lights could be seen from either side of the street, and those still conscious started to scatter. "...hmph."

Arcturus managed to keep himself relatively uninjured, flashing a toothy grin as the tigerman's movements slowed once again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that Elias was struggling just to keep him disabled--meaning that he had to make his next strike count. He charged forward with a reverberating roar of his own, fist still on fire as he took a mighty swing at the man-tiger. He was fairly certain that he wasn't going to permanently injure the man, and the last thing he really wanted was to go on a wild chase through Lincoln. This person, whatever he was going through, seemed far too dangerous for that.

And Arc attacks! He doesn't have Power Attack (!), but I'll shift -2 Attack / +2 Damage all the same: Attack Roll (Power Attack Shifted): (1d20+12-2=15) ...meh. Using a HP to reroll that: Attack Roll (Power Attack Shifted, HP Reroll): (1d20+12-2=12) +10 makes it 22. The dice hate bears. :I

GM It didn't take very long, swathed in gamma radiation, for Smokey to look visibly ill from the exposure. He panicked, staggering backward and hurling a fireball that went high, slamming into the large pipes lining the ceiling. The entire room shuddered under the force of the explosion that followed, filling the room with steam in a matter of seconds. "T-this ain't over, dammit!" With the steam filling the entire room, he seemed reluctant at first but moved to make a break for the door through which Supercape had entered at the start of the altercation.

(It occurs to me that I missed the marker for Round 5. Derp.) FORT save: (1d20+12=19) And he fails, making him Sickened. Recognizing his problem and what Supercape is really doing, he backs off, launching another burst of flame at Supercape (Blast 12) while moving as far back as he can with his move action. Ranged attack (Blast 12): (1d20+8=9) And he whiffs it. REALLY whiffs it. GM Fiat! His shot goes high and hits some of the pipes in the ceiling. The explosion doesn't damage anything but it sends a cloud of steam everywhere, obscuring the whole room. (Visual). IC post forthcoming!

November 30, 2012 5:02 pm Arcturus panted heavily, arms hanging loosely at his sides. The wolves had stopped coming, but he could still smell a significant of magic in the air. It couldn't be helped, really; the nightstone's power was bleeding everywhere. It was somewhat contained, far enough away from the city that it wouldn't reach as far as Ashton and Lantern Hill, but he was still within its sphere of influence. Within his sphere of influence. His best shot, he realized, was to make a stand until sunrise. It seemed like a thoroughly difficult thing to do alone, but having already thwarted the crazy vampire's plan to use the stone to make a haven for himself and his brood within the forest, there was very little reason not to confront the menace head-on. Already he could smell necromancy in the air, the sharp magical scent of dead leaves and ash made him nauseous the first time he'd caught it's scent in human form. He crouched as he waited for the malevolence to draw closer, not bothering to hide from it.

GM Smokey was clearly not interested in talking. He plowed forward, smoke billowing behind him. He flinched only slightly as the wave of heat struck him. It didn't so much as slow Smokey down as the flames around his right hand intensified. It was clear in an instant that Smokey was just as comfortable in hand to hand combat as he was throwing fireballs at range, but his obvious rage was making him erratic. Smokey's flaming fist slammed against Supercape's force field, but it didn't seem to discourage him from trying to turn the inquisitive hero into ash.

TOU check: (1d20+12=32) And Smokey powers through. And tries to punch Supercape with a flaming fist! Attack Roll (Strike 5): (1d20+8=11) And he whiffs again.

November 30, 2012 4:45 am How far had he gone? A mile? Two miles? Arcturus whirled around, and he could still smell their scent. He could just climb a tree and wait the pack of wolves out, but that wasn't guaranteed to work. These weren't ordinary wolves. He snarled, breath vaporizing against the chilled night air. The last time he'd tried to fight off a pack of adversaries, he'd landed in the hospital for a week. He really didn't have a choice now, though. Arcturus guessed he was at least 12 miles from where he'd started. There was no way he was going to run THAT far, even with magic. The cold vapor that had been his breath began to emanate from his hands as the Frost Rune covered the back of them. He concentrated as hard as he could, even as the barking and snarling grew louder around him. He knew what a risk using 'active' magic was, especially since it took time AND he could never do it with consistency. Three times was as good as it was going to get, less if he was already exhausted. Anything more than that... he didn't want to think about. "Alright, mutts... come get some."