Thunder King

Adam walked the distance. Well, walked was a relative term. Rather, he moved quickly when he could and slowly when it was too inconspicuous. He had a dufflebag slung under his arm and was practically daring in dress. Well, at least for him. He was wearing swim trunks that rested on his knees and a plain black short sleeved shirt that was tighter than he'd anticipated when he bought it. He knew his pallor and scars might draw attention, but his parents had reassured him that he had nothing to fear. Claremont had all sorts of students, some of whom were far less 'normal' than even him. He was still wearing his false eyebrows and wig, though and trusted that the gum he applied them with would hold.

Adam, Group 1 Adam's head slumped slightly. They were all valid points, he saw. He was glad that he was spending this time with people who could think and reason for themselves. He agreed with Leroy, though, it was impossible to predict the situation, and there was no clear answer. He supposed that was the point. The world has very few clear answers, and superheroes live complex lives. "As much as it sucks, Leroy, some people simply do not do anything in their own best interest. They pursue their goals with a single-minded aggression, never considering the consequences. We would all be dead if any of the Centurion's foes had managed to kill him before the Terminus invasion years ago. None of them considered what would happen if they removed their own greatest protector from the board, only that he was a thorn in their side and a wrench in their machinations." "Some gifted people try to use their gifts to help others, while some only use them to help themselves. I imagine there are others who keep their gifts secret and their heads down. I too don't think there's a satisfactory answer, because the answer is different for everyone, and we can't predict the actions of a disease or cruel mind."

23 on notice

Adam muttered a profanity his mother would be shocked to hear. This had gone bad quickly. He looked at Lulu and hoped that she'd stay down at least until the gunfire situation was resolved. Adam had never been shot before, but he was pretty sure he could take it. This was his first real fight, ever. He wasn't afraid of getting shot. Yet, he hesitated. Not because of fear, but because he simply hadn't honed his reflexes and reaction times. Even though he wanted to charge in to help the woman, he just stood there for a moment psyching himself up.

Initiative 6

Adam, Group 1 "That's the problem, though, I think. What happens if the information gets into the wrong hands? What even qualifies as the wrong hands? I hand over my identity, and the government decides they want me on the front lines. I wake up to find my parents held hostage. I'm no less vulnerable in my sleep than I am wide awake, but my parents? What about the heroes who only have powers sometimes, or none at all? It's one thing to face down villains in person, quite another to find them in your bedroom with your family well in hand." "Secret identities are not perfect, by any means, but what's the alternative at this stage? It's a big question." Adam leaned back, thinking. It was obvious, in part, that he was playing the Devil's advocate. He liked discussions like this. "If a supervillain found out my secret identity, well, I'm no more vulnerable asleep than awake. Allies, though, I'm not sure. The only thing I can think to do is to capture the villain and find a way to destroy the evidence. There's no protection against that sort of thing. All you can do is hope they don't find anything out." Hypothetical discussions on philosophy were one thing, but he had nothing to contribute to this question. he had no real practical understanding of superheroing. Nothing he could fall back on or rely on for experience. All he knew was that all of his 'identity' paperwork was fabricated whole cloth some years ago, and that he was basically immune to many weapons.

25 on Toughness save.

"That's why I'd read the contract in full. If they're going to force me to enforce a law I think is unjust, well, I'm seeking asylum in another country." He gave a shrug. He knew what he was made to do what he was created for. After that, he decided he would find and establish his own purpose. There were things he was not prepared to tolerate at all, and one of those was being forced to become a government agent. "I'm dubiously okay with registering as a superhero or a person with superpowers. I am not okay with being forced to serve as an agent of the government. I'm not an agent of any government. That might change someday if I agree to it, but if they force me, well, we're no longer the land of the free at that point, are we?"

Adam leaned back in his chair slightly. "Anyone who doesn't view their authority figures with suspicion is a fool. Not to say you can never trust a government, just that you shouldn't trust them too much." He shrugged. He was wearing a nerdy t-shirt, jeans, and his usual work boots. "I'd make sure to know exactly where the information was kept, who had it, and what the registration contract looks like. Not sure if I'd sign it or agree with it, but the terms must be abundantly clear. I wouldn't want to sign such an agreement only to find that they expected me to go overseas and overthrow a dictator." He realized it wasn't an answer, but he also felt that a real bill like that would require some more context.

Adam, for his part, carried stuff. He had a bunch of stuff stacked up. He was trying to play a good host as the GM, but he was mostly failing on account of nerves. Once he was secure and ready for the game, he was sure to be a little less nervous. Especially considering how many girls there were here. How many pretty girls, at that. "If anyone has any lingering questions, feel free to ask. I want to get stuff cleared up so we can get to gaming when we start." That was redundant of him to say, but he doubted anyone noticed. Or, at least, hoped. The good news was, nobody seemed to notice how badly scarred his arms were.

Adam didn't know what he was thinking, but it ended up working out in his favor. This was more time than he'd ever spent with a girl in his life, let alone as pretty a girl as Lulu. She wasn't just pretty, of course, she was also intelligent. He didn't have much to discuss beyond the game, though. He was lost in pop culture because he'd grown up with the classics. He could discuss the merits of the Socratic method, but he'd completely missed out on whatever a One Direction is. He was glad she was able to eat the sandwich, because he could have put away two. Not that anyone would suspect him of being a light eater, but he was always self-conscious about it. So when she pointed out the vampire robot witch that looked like the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life, he was more than a little taken aback. "I doubt this would be legal if they were doing it out here in an alley." He managed to whisper. Which was probably louder than he meant to. He was not known for subtlety. He ducked down to the best of his ability, but with his height, that probably made him just look stupid.

Mali shifted quickly to one side and raised her foot as if to kick him. Then she bounced to her other foot and went for a kick straight to his side where he was less prepared to take a hit. However, he managed to shift backwards just in time. This one was gonna be a challenge. "Ohh, you know what you're doing." Mali grinned. "Guess what, so do I." She didn't entirely feel her bravado, though, this guy was good, very good. She'd need her A game feor this fight.

Tagging

As per the Discord channel, I came up with an idea. Freedom League Auxiliary Specialty Teams. Here are a couple of good ideas so far; Marine Response Team: Basically a team of people who are good on the water and can do ocean rescue and/or fight illegal activity on the ocean. Disaster Relief/Response Team: Team of people who are especially good at moving debris, providing medical relief and/or search and rescue. Plus whatever other people think of. I imagine some of these teams would be standing teams, while others might be reservists. Independent heroes who might get a call to help with a sudden problem. Does this idea have merit, does anyone else have any other ideas?

Adam nodded, it made sense. "Sure. I mean you're going to be playing the good guys, beating bad guys. Like superheroes." He smiled. "I mean there's stats for the bad guys, but that's so we know how to defeat them." It was more than mere pretend, it was telling a story. With other people, wherein you acted like...okay so it was pretend with rules. "Paladins are great. You get to be really tough and strong, but you also get to be someone that helps your team by healing them when they're injured." He was doing his level best to keep his enthusiasm measured and relaxed. Judy was one thing, Ashley was another. He figured she was dragged into this but didn't want to play. Adam decided that he'd hope Ashley would get into it.

"No worries." Adam said with a shrug. "I've had some protective people watch out for me. I understand." He did more or less understand. He had been around strict security before. He wasn't sure why Ashley was acting that way, but he had a feeling questions would be bad in that context. "Questions, sure. What would you like to know?" He said in the most nonchalant way he could manage given the circumstances. Alone in a room with two girls, one of which was really zealous about security for reasons he didn't want to think about.

Ms. Thursday brings us to a complete party. An eight person social thread. Avenger Assembled, Ari, Exaccus, Heritage, Azuth, RocketLord, Cubismo, Me, A seven member adventuring party works Thread Here; https://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/10783-adventuring-time/

Adam was at first delighted with the response. He wasn't sure how many of them were serious about playing, but he sent the materials out. He distributed materials for making characters and sincerely hoped that the people who said they'd come would be there. Then he got scared as he realized the implications. He had snacks, and drinks, and extra sets of dice, three copies of the player's book, an abundance of mechanical pencils, several notebooks, and a whole bunch of minis that his mom had given him. He had an inkling of what they were going to bring to the table, so he had a collection of various classes and races. He figured they could pick out their minis. "Game's starting in a bit, mom." He said as he did a mental checklist. "Yeah, yeah, it's the new edition, but most of these guys have never heard of the old stuff. Or the new stuff, probably. I dunno. Any advice?" While he waited for an answer, he paced back and forth. He had on a pair of boot cut jeans, his size fifteen sneakers, and perhaps daringly, a short sleeved shirt. He looked over them. He'd memorized every scar he bore. He wasn't going to bring it up, wasn't going to mention it. It was just too warm to wear a hoodie. He checked his laptop. He had a sound effect playlist as well as a music playlist. He probably did way too much research, he admitted. But, if he could make this work, he could make actual friends. With actual teenagers. This was a terrible idea, but he was determined to see it through.

Full on power attack; 21 If that hits, DC 27 TOU save.

Adam genuinely smiled, and sighed. "Thanks. I mean, it's not that bad, you know? I know what I just said makes me look like or feel bad, but trust me, I was told all about how superheroes work. There are all sorts of oddballs. Besides, you seriously think anyone's gonna try to pick on me? I could pick up and carry off an elephant." He reconsidered that thought. Yeah, someone probably would. Maybe not here, though. He sat on his bed. "I mostly read. I like to work out but I'll be at the gym for that. Can't get anything in here that I could work on. I know I'm big, but I'm mostly quiet."

Prism stepped forward. While the guy in the bee outfit tried to stop an outright rout, she started slinging blasts at the speedster. She swung her hands towards the servant of entropy, sending jagged spikes of scintillating energy at her target. Most of them missed, but a few struck home. She just wanted to be back in her room, back home, back somewhere else, but she couldn't be. This was what it meant to be a hero. It meant helping, it meant protecting, it meant putting your life on the line. If she got through this day, though, she'd take a long, long bath.

Gonna use Fast Acrobatic Bluff to try to feint Ye Quan. That'll be a 26 with Skill Mastery. She's going to hit him, but I'll reserve the attack roll for after I know how effective the feint was.

Adam: DM, Rogue or Wizard Judy: Paladin (Ashley Horse) Leroy: Martial or DM Facsimile: Artificer Gauss: Rogue Lulu: Cleric Pan: Bard Paladin, Fighter/Barbarian, Artificer, Cleric, Bard?

Come one, come all! Looking to put a social thread wherein our Claremont PCs will settle in for a fantasy tabletop RPG game based more or less on D&D. Please post your PC and what classes you think it would be fun for them to play. I'm throwing Adam into the fray, but I'm not sure if he's going to DM or play. If you want to volunteer your PC to DM, that's fine too. SO far; Adam: DM, Wizard or Rogue.

Adam always felt self-conscious when he was in public. While the assembly was a motley group of odd people, he felt the oddest. He was wearing his lightest hoodie, keeping the hood down despite every instinct telling him to cover his head. Still, despite his efforts to remain inconspicuous, he was nevertheless taller than most, and even the hoodie couldn't conceal his musculature. And, even though the rest of his body was a hideous map of scar tissue, his face was reasonable looking, handsome even. . He kept to himself and stood at the back, not trusting anything to be sturdy enough for him to sit down. He was sure he wasn't the only nervous person here. He'd read up on teenagers, a lot, actually, studying books on psychology and biology. He was finding that his theoretical studies showed only that his practical understanding was limited. That was okay, though, his nerves were the product of his sheltered upbringing. The doctors had told him that teenagers were often nervous and that he wasn't anymore maladjusted than any other teen. At least not by a noticeable margin.