Ironox

Bluesman taking 10 on a Preform check with Stringed Instruments is a 29, to give an idea how well he plays.

Josh grinned, his features taking on a wolfish look. "Alright then, let's see here..." Josh had done some research into Annice's musical style, and had an idea of what she was looking for here. He launched into an improvised solo, blending an upbeat pop rhythm with a bit of blues sound. His musicianship was impeccable, even for a mostly improvisational piece. He noodled his way through the solo a bit more, before winding it down to a close with a bit of a flourish. Honestly, he had made it look fairly easy. He tipped his hat out of his eyes one more time, giving another grin. "That the kind of sound you're looking for, boss?"

Bluesman chuckled at the woman's question, turning towards her with a grin playing on his features. "Come on, don't be hard on the guy. I've only got one super-villain fight under my belt, and that's only on a technicality. I mostly cleaned out his goons while everyone else wailed on him. Guess I wouldn't mind a crack at him myself, though." Bluesman returned a firm handshake to the cowled man as he turned the conversation to the business at hand. "Well, most of my questions would probably be directed at Asad, but I'll hit you with them. What exactly would I be signing up for here? What's the plan for this thing that Asad said he's building? What exactly is our goals? We protecting the city, going global Freedom League style? Or is this just more of a social club kind of thing?"

Bluesman nodded, adjusting his hat on his head and making sure that his mask sat squarely over most of his face. "Yeah, I've met Asad, and unless he changed up his style a lot, you two don't look too alike." He listened to this King of Suits' story with a bit of interest. He had only a few tangles with the super-powered, and even at the park, he had mostly dealt with the thugs. It was hard to punch a man made of mist, after all. Maybe Asad could cook something up for him to help with that kind of thing in the future, should this little partnership thing pan out. Of course, that was all in the future. "Sounds like a bad dude to tangle with. But I guess it's part of this whole thing, right? Anyway, I ran into Asad and a couple other capes in the park, fighting some kind of mist-man. Guess I made some sort of impression on him, because I got a little note talking about meeting up and discussing some things. And since it doesn't seem like anyone is trying to kill me, I thought I might be interested."

Josh tipped his hat out of his face, a smile playing on his face. "Hmm, that sounds like some kind of challenge to me." The blond bassist chuckled softly. "I think she thinks you can't play, man." Josh stood up from where he was sitting, shifting his guitar on his shoulder slightly, getting relaxed. "Alright then, you got some requests, boss? Or should I just make something up? I know a thing or two about a thing or two, after all. Rock, pop, jazz, blues, classical. Hit me." He smiled, tucking his pick behind his ear.

The sound of a grapple line catching on a nearby flagpole signaled the arrival of another invitee. After a few seconds of running cable, a young man in a grey suit, hat, and domino mask landed adroitly on the roof. The hook recalled into the grapple gun that he carried, and the man in the suit took a moment to tuck the grapple gun into a holster inside his jacket and adjust his hat on his head, before turning towards the people already on the roof. Seeing only two people, his eyes narrowed slightly, though he didn't visibly tense up. He was cautious of this whole situation, to be honest. While he liked the idea of working with others of a similar mindset, he wasn't sure if this was all on the up and up, and how much about himself he should reveal. He also wasn't exactly in the mood to be a media darling, which seemed to be this Asad's MO. For now, he came, but he wasn't sure yet if he was going to take anyone up on any offers. "Guess I'm early?" He looked towards the costumed and cowled man who he didn't recognize. By the look of him, at least, he seemed to be a pro at this kind of thing. Not someone he probably wanted to tangle with, in any case. "Take it you're this King of Suits the note mentioned? They call me the Bluesman."

Josh chuckled softly, as he continued to finish setting up. "If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty much the antithesis of cool myself, so you're not alone here." Matt chuckled as he took his bass up on his shoulder. "Speak for yourself man, I'm awesome." The three musicians finished setting up as Annice finished setting up the mic. "I, for one, would appreciate the work, but you should probably make sure we're actually good first, huh?" When she called out a song to play, the three men launched into backing it up. They mostly kept low-key, letting the vocals take the lead on it. Josh, for one, didn't seem to be trying too hard on the relatively easy rhythm guitar backing line he was playing, though it was hard to find fault in his technique. It wasn't his job to add embellishments, after all. The three men in general were talented, and didn't seem to have much problem getting into the soul sound as they backed Annice up as she sang through the song.

Josh took her hand in a firm grip, smiling warmly in response. "Josh Brown, that's the only one I've got, but I like it." Well, not exactly true, but hey... "Nice to meet you. Mophead over there," Josh pointed to the blond bassist, who offered a smile and a wave as he continued setting up. "Is Matt. The grumpy looking guy on the drums is Steve." The drummer waved Josh away dismissively, drawing a chuckle from him and the bassist. When she mentioned never having played with a band before, he gave another warm smile, which he hoped was reassuring. "We're the session guys here most of the time. Don't worry about things too much. We like to pretend we're professionals, after all." As Annice walked over to the mic stand, Josh walked over and picked up his guitar, slinging the strap over his shoulder and grabbing his pick from behind his ear. He shrugged as he made some last minute tuning changes to his guitar at Annice's question. "Hey, you're in charge here. Whatever helps you get comfortable; we're flexible."

Josh looked up from his playing when he heard someone singing along. He smiled at the woman before turning his attention back to the guitar, piecing his way through the last bars of the song. The bassist nodded along with the two, tapping his toes to the beat. The drummer just shook his head and continued setting up the kit. Once he finished, he removed the guitar's strap from his shoulder, stood up, and brushed his hair out of his eyes before replacing his hat and walking over to the vocalist. "Heh, I was just thinking about writing some lyrics, but I think that actually might fit it better. Puts a little feeling into it, yeah? A little flavor." Getting a good look at the woman, he recognized the face from the videos he had watched last night. He turned to the other two, nodding towards Agnes. "Looks like we're up and working, gentlemen." Turning back, he offered another smile and a shrug. "Don't usually actually work with the artists on these gigs." He didn't comment further, leaving any kind of explanation she might feel like giving open. It wasn't really his place to pry anyway, but he was curious.

OOC thread for this thread.

Josh began unpacking his things, offering a nod in greeting to the instrumentalists that had already gathered in the room of the small recording studio settled in the Theatre District of Downtown Freedom. He did some session work for time to time, though it wasn't a usual thing; there were precious few big artists that recorded in Freedom, and those that did were usually bands. Still, there was always a place for a hired gun in the music industry. He even got picked up to play a big concert one time when the usual guy got sick, which was sort of cool. It was unusual that the artist actually recorded with the session guys, though; usually Josh came down, laid down the track, and got a paycheck and his name in the liner notes. He had heard a thing or two about this "Annice", but he hadn't really heard her music. He knew that she had been big in the UK a couple years back, but hit some hard times and was looking to make a comeback. Not an unusual story, by any accounts. Still, he didn't know much. That didn't stop the other guys from talking, though. The drummer, a skinny Asian man a few years older than him, turned towards the bassist, a young blond man. "Anyway, like I was saying. I hear this chick is a real diva. This probably isn't going to be fun. Still, a paycheck is a paycheck, right?" The bassist continued to tune his bass, chuckling. "Can't be that bad, right?" The man looked over to Josh, shrugging his shoulders. "What do you think, man?" Josh shook his head. "No clue, man. I don't follow the English scene too well, so all I know is from a Google search from last night, and that was mostly listening to music to get the feel. Guess we'll figure out." Josh, finished packing up his guitar and began tuning. Once that was done, he began picking his way through a song that he had written not long ago to warm up, a slow, bluesy little piece of rock. It wasn't much more than a guitar line, but Josh figured he might clean it up one day and write lyrics. For now, though, it was just something fun to warm up with.

Doktor'd 11/4/2011 Bluesman Spending up his new points. We'll keep it simple; increase Reflex and Will to +9 each. [b][u]Player Name[/u]:[/b] Ironox [b][u]Character Name[/u]:[/b] Bluesman II [b][u]Power Level[/u]:[/b] 10 (153/153PP) [b][u]Trade-Offs[/u]:[/b] +2 Attack/-2 Damage, +2 Defense/-2 Toughness [b][u]Unspent Power Points[/u]:[/b] 0 [b][u]Progress To Bronze Status[/u]:[/b] 3/30 [b][u]In Brief[/u]:[/b] Great-grandson of Chester Brown, the gangbusting Bluesman of the 20s and 30s, the second Bluesman looks to live up to his family's legacy both as a hero and musician. [b][u]Alternate Identity[/u]:[/b] Joshua Brown [b][u]Identity[/u]:[/b] Secret [b][u]Birthplace[/u]:[/b] Lincoln, Freedom City [b][u]Occupation[/u]:[/b] Struggling musician. [b][u]Affiliations[/u]:[/b] None [b][u]Family[/u]:[/b] Carter Brown, father. Anaya Brown, mother. Charity and Candace Brown, twin younger sisters. Chester Brown Jr., grandfather and trainer [b][u]Description[/u]:[/b] [b]Age:[/b] 21 ([i]DoB:[/i] December 1990) [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Ethnicity:[/b] African-American [b]Height:[/b] 6' [b]Weight:[/b] 180 lbs [b]Eyes:[/b] Brown [b]Hair:[/b] Black Joshua stands out a bit in a crowd. Standing fairly tall at almost six feet exactly with an athletic build, he looks more like a professional athlete than the struggling musician he is (or at least professes to be). Still, his physical gifts, helped along with a good amount of training, are fairly evident. His hair is kept cropped close to his head in a caesar. His clothes are non-descript most of the time, and might be a little ragged, most of it coming from thrift stores. If given an opportunity, however, he cleans up very well. He is actually quite handsome, and can be charming when he puts his mind to it. However, he doesn't think of it too much, and doesn't always put this to use. Most would not recognize him at night, however. Dressed in a fedora, a (usually slightly wrinkled) sport coat and slacks with loosened tie, and domino mask, the Bluesman's crusade on the criminal element of Freedom City continues in a new era. Inspired by his great-grandfather, he walks the night as a masked man of mystery, using his guile and skill to fight enemies both mundane and super. Or at least survive until the sunrise, as he likes to say from time to time. [b][u]History[/u]:[/b] Josh was born into the Brown family, famous among superhero circles as the descendants of the Bluesman, one of the famous "mystery men" of the 20s and 30s. Chester Brown's son and grandson followed in his path as musicians, if not heroes, both becoming fairly famous local musicians. However, when Josh was born, it was both of his great-grandfather's lives that caught his attention. He followed the exploits of modern heroes closely, wanting to be like those heroes as a young child. He especially idolized those heroes without powers, standing up against threats with only wits and guile (and perhaps a bit of high-tech). He shared this dual passion with music, learning to sing and play guitar at a young age as well. This was not unnoticed by his family, however; namely, his grandfather. His grandfather let him in on a little secret that he had not told his son; he had wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, and was trained to do so. However, the original Bluesman's death as well as a leg injury meant that Chester Jr. could not take up the mantle. However, he could train Josh to do so. Josh jumped at the chance. He learned the skills of the mystery men; how to fight, how to investigate crimes, and other useful skills. Once Chester Jr. was satisfied with his grandson's skills, he revealed one more secret; the preserved suit, hat, mask, and gear of the Bluesman. And so, Josh began his own career as the second Bluesman. At the moment, he lives with his grandfather; ostensibly so that he can live in the city rather than the suburbs until he can get an apartment of his own. For now, Josh has managed to stay out of the news enough that he hasn't had to explain anything to his parents. Of course, since he's pretty much the most obvious suspect as the new Bluesman should anyone do any research into it, he tries hard to keep his head down. Still, it won't last forever, he realizes. But he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it, he figures. For now, Josh earns money as a musician to help his grandfather make rent and pay his own bills. He usually can make the bills working either as a session musician or playing bars, but its usually a close thing. Still, he wouldn't have it any other way. He even manages to cobble a little together to help fund his nightly exploits. He might not have all the high tech tools, but he's got a nice suit, a sweet hat, and not enough sense to stop getting himself beat up every night. Life is good. [b][u]Personality & Motivation[/u]:[/b] On the whole, Josh is laid-back and mellow in demeanor, and one of his greatest strengths is the ability to keep a cool head even in the most stressful situations. This isn't to say he is completely passive, however. Much to the contrary, he can get pretty competitive and ambitious at times, though it's usually friendly when he does. He has a bit of a sarcastic streak to say the least, and tends towards gallows humor to deal with stress. Despite this he is rather caring and has a bit of a hero complex; he can't stand by when something is going on and he can help. He is a charmer through and through, and is quite unashamed of it. He is a bit of a flirt, and definitely a sucker for a pretty face, but he usually means well. Perhaps the only time he seems completely serious is when composing or playing his music. Josh, despite his almost carefree demeanor, is deceptively smart and cunning, has a great deal of common sense and is very good at thinking on his feet, which has served him well. He can quickly dissect a situation, formulate a plan for solving a problem, and execute it. This makes him tend towards rashness at times, however, trusting his gut rather than taking a second look. While he is self-reliant and at the moment works alone, he enjoys working with others whenever possible; especially other heroes. He is both mentally and physically tough, and is the type to never know when to say quit, which has both served him well and gotten him in trouble in equal measure. [b][u]Powers & Tactics[/u]:[/b] Josh is a normal human (for a certain value of normal, anyway), which means that he has to rely on training and a couple gadgets to get the job done. He has a couple of interesting little gadgets that he inherited from his predecessor; not exactly high-tech, but very durable and quite able to perform their functions. He is also a trained boxer and wrestler, able to hold his own in a fist fight. He is also skilled at stealth and misdirection as well. He is also a skilled detective despite his young age, able to dissect a scene and find clues easily. [hr][/hr] [b][u]Complications[/u]:[/b] [b]Secret:[/b] While he is proud to carry the mantle of the Bluesman, Josh knows that it wouldn't be too hard to intuit who he is. So, he tries to stay out of the spotlight to keep his secret, and his family safe. [b]Struggling:[/b] Josh makes a living as a musician. He can usually keep the bills paid and pay his half of his grandfather's rent. But he doesn't have a lot of spending money. [b]Enemies:[/b] Josh has made an enemy of organized crime, though they don't realize the connection between him and the Bluesman. For now, though, anyone wearing a suit and a domino mask is [i]persona non grata[/i] to the mob. [b][u]Abilities[/u]:[/b] 8 + 8 + 6 + 8 + 6 + 8 = 44PP Strength: 18 (+4) Dexterity: 18 (+4) Constitution: 16 (+3) Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 18 (+4) [b][u]Combat[/u]:[/b] 14 + 16 = 30PP Initiative: +8 Attack: +12 Melee, +7 Ranged Grapple: +15 Defense: +12 (+8 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed Knockback: -4, -2 Flat-footed [b][u]Saving Throws[/u]:[/b] 5 + 5 + 6 = 16PP Toughness: +8 (+3 Con, +4 Defensive Roll, +1 Jacket), +4 Flat-footed Fortitude: +8 (+3 Con, +5) Reflex: +9 (+4 Dex, +5) Will: +9 (+3 Wis, +6) [b][u]Skills[/u]:[/b] 124R = 31PP Acrobatics +8 (+12)[sup]Skill Mastery[/sup] Bluff +9 (+13, +17 Attractive)[sup]Skill Mastery[/sup] Diplomacy +8 (+12, +16 Attractive) Disable Device +8 (+12)[sup]Skill Mastery[/sup] Escape Artist +4 (+8) Gather Information +8 (+12) Intimidate +4 (+8) Investigate +8 (+12) Knowledge (Art) +4 (+8) Knowledge (Pop Culture) +4 (+8) Knowledge (Streetwise) +4 (+8) Notice +8 (+11) Perform (Singing) +8 (+12) Perform (Stringed Instruments) +15 (+19) Search +8 (+11) Sense Motive +8 (+11) Stealth +8 (+12)[sup]Skill Mastery[/sup] [b][u]Feats[/u]:[/b] 28PP Attack Focus (Melee) 5 Attractive Defensive Roll 2 Dodge Focus 4 Equipment 2 Evasion 1 Fascinate (Perform [Stringed Instruments]) Hide in Plain Sight Improved Initiative Improvised Tools Jack-of-all-Trades Luck 2 Move-by Action Redirect Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Bluff, Disable Device, Stealth) Takedown Attack 1 Taunt Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) [b]Equipment 2 ([/b]10EP[b])[/b] [equip]1 + 5 + 1 + 3 = 10EP [u]Armored Jacket[/u]: [b]Protection 1[/b] [1EP] [u]Grapple Gun[/u]: [b]Super-Movement 2[/b] (Slow Fall, Swinging) + [b]Speed 1[/b] [10mph / 100ft per Move Action]) [5EP] [u]Laptop[/u]: [1EP] [u]Throwing Stars[/u]: [b]Blast 0[/b] ([i]Power Feats:[/i] Mighty 3) [3EP][/equip] [b][u]Powers[/u]:[/b] 4 = 4PP [b]Device 1 ([/b]5PP Container, [i]Flaws:[/i] Hard-To-Lose[/b] [4PP] (Weighted Gloves & Steel-Toed Shoes) [device][b]Damage 4 ([/b][i]PF[/i]: Mighty[b])[/b] [5PP][/device] [b][u]DC Block[/u][/b] [code]ATTACK      RANGE  SAVE            EFFECT Unarmed      Touch  DC19 Toughness (Staged)  Damage (Physical) Weighted Gloves  Touch  DC23 Toughness (Staged)  Damage (Physical) Throwing Stars Ranged DC18 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Totals: Abilities (44) + Combat (30) + Saving Throws (16) + Skills (32) + Feats (27) + Powers (4) - Drawbacks (0) = 153/153 Power Points

Bluesman The Harvestfair Bobby at the Crossroad

Bluesman

Bluesman walked up to the dazed woman, looking her directly in the face. Honestly, he was angry; mostly at himself, but still angry. He had not taken things seriously, and had been surprised by a foe that was more dangerous than he thought, and it had gotten someone hurt. He was just lucky that the pale woman could apparently heal her injuries. That anger could be seen plainly on his face as he growled out a couple words to the woman. "Chester's has protection. Mine. Don't come back." And with that, he aimed a strong punch at the woman's jaw, looking to knock her out before she could recover enough to get another chance to use her powers, whatever they might actually be.