ooc Change Is Necessary for Growth [OOC]

[trollthumper]

It would be allowed. Odds are the students have iPhones, laptops, and other devices to use.

[Avenger Assembled]

I rolled pretty crappily the first time, so here (via HP) is a 32 instead

[trollthumper]

All right, here's what that yields:

Wraith

Despite precautions likely taken by Collins, word is already spreading among the students about Doug Malick's little "incident" in Freedom City. Some of them are wondering if it means he's "woken up," whatever that means.

Citizen

A quick browse of everyone's personal media reveals that Malick is far from the only student who's undergone a sudden change at Dunwich. There's video on one student's iPhone of a thin and reedy student doubling over with a headache in gym class, before his body erupts into something more like a pro bodybuilder. There's also discussion on another student's blog about how a fellow student changed genders seemingly overnight - that caused a bit of a stir, but it was eventually revealed that the student had been identifying as a woman since puberty. Those who are talking about the incidents wonder if Collins' talk of "inner realization" might be right.

[Gizmo]

Oh, hey, should have thought of this before. Kimber should use her Detect Fear on the local students. That's:

Super-Senses 5 (Detect Fear [Mental, Extras: Acute, Analytical, Radius, Tracking]) [6PP]

With Analytical she should be able to get a pretty good idea of what's got them spooked - assuming they're even afraid of what's going on.

[trollthumper]

There's a slight undercurrent of fear - not quite the "oh crap, what's happening" of the imminently screwed, but there are a few spikes of that. In most cases, it's the general, low-grade level of uncertainty, doubt, and anticipation that you usually find among teenagers. Among the spikes, there are the usual "upcoming test" fears and "does he/she like me" fears of teenagers, but there's also the occasional fear relating to what might happen when the student in question starts to "bloom" like the others.

[trollthumper]

I'm awarding Kimber two Hero Points for the last scene - one for running right into a gigantic case of her pyrophobia, and one for having her Intangibility flat-out fail because of... something in the door and the floor.

[Avenger Assembled]

Citizen stunts the following power off his 24 pp Tronik array:

Nullify Electronics 12 (Extra: Area [burst], Duration [Concentration], Flaws: Action [Full], Distracting, Range [Touch], Progression 6 on Area, Selective, Subtle) [20/24 pp]

That should, I believe, let Sharl tag the entirety of the school's electrical system without tagging the nearby town. The Subtle means it can't be traced directly back to him. He will keep doing this as long as is necessary. He will also not hit any mechanical students or anyone who looks dependent on a respirator or some other life support technology.

19

This is inadequate.

25

Eh, I'll take it.

[trollthumper]

That will certainly work. I'll get a GM post up as soon as I can.

[Gizmo]

To clarify, anyone not immune to cold getting within 25' of Kimber right now is going to have to make a DC10+ Fortitude save after each minute to avoid taking 1 point of temporary Constitution damage, since she's radiating extreme cold (the equivalent of an arctic winter storm).

[Fox]

Indira's mostly sticking to vents and the ceiling, to stay off-camera as best as she can for as long as she can; power or not, she doesn't know what kind of backups the place has and she doesn't know when the power'll come back on.

Hunter shapeshift configuration, if it matters, though I doubt she can hit her full 100 mph while navigating a building. She's gonna darn well try, though.

[trollthumper]

And here's what everyone else sees. I realize I was a bit specific for Wraith, but I need to take into account everyone else:

The Group

The hallway looks like your average private school dorm -- halls colored a neutral, primary shade, floors that alternate between carpeted and wooden, even flourescent lights. The only difference is that in most dorms, the doors don't look like a cross between infirmary doors (small windows for looking inward, though fashioned with curtains and such) and bulkheads. There are obvious means to open the doors both from inside and outside, so they're not prison cells. The students inside show activity of high-yield, low-control powers - not necessarily shapeshifting, like with Bastion, but obvious cases of power incontinence.

Citizen

The guards are preoccupied upstairs, checking the make sure all the students are okay. They may make their way down to you eventually, so you likely can't spend long where you are. But it appears you have maybe a minute or two.

Ghost Girl, Cobalt Templar

The lights keep flickering, but you can see fairly clearly. The lights under the doors stay steady, as Sharl isn't targeting the individual dorm systems for obvious reasons. The lights under the janitorial closet are doing the same - which is weird, as Sharl seems to be targeting every other system in the dorm.

Wraith

Already covered in the IC thread.

[KnightDisciple]

Just so it's clear and stuff, TT said it was kosher to handwave an Affects Insubstantial Big Brother Hug from Corbin to Kimber. :)

[Avenger Assembled]

Citizen is bloody-minded enough to stick his hand through the door and see what happens. What does happen?

[Electra]

Koshiro's going to use an origami critter to open the door, using Move Object. That requires a power check.

First roll is bad! Spending an HP.

Second roll is a 31.

[trollthumper]

Oh, yeah, that door's open. If you want to get an IC post up of Koshiro sending his paper soldiers in, E, I'll get a description of what he sees up right after.

[Gizmo]

Kimber's doing another Detect Fear sweep, now that they're up close and personal.

[trollthumper]

There's traces upstairs, but nothing in the cell. It appears empty because it is empty. I will note, though, that Kimber's little freak out upstairs has caused a computer hooked up to the brewing vats to start spewing data. It doesn't look like the vats are going to break open and spill their creamy contents, but it looks like the right hands could dig up some info on what's in the vats.

[Avenger Assembled]

30

Nice! Lemme know what Sharl finds, and I'll get an IC post up.

[trollthumper]

All right, as Sharl got a 30 on his Computers check, here's what he finds in the archives:

The computer has a number of functions to it. One is regulation of whatever's in the vats. It appears it's not a sensitive substance - the temperature in the vats is just a few degrees below room temperature, and the vats appear to be more for storage than refinement or preservation. There are a few commands that allow one to strain the milk, transfer it between vats, or release small amounts into a storage container.

The other function is as a PC/research log. The notes stored on it, which were obviously transferred from some other PC, date back to 2002, about a year before the school got revamped to deal with students with powers. They're for the most part scientific, but bear a few disconcerting references to "the Great Mother" and her "Dark Young." They refer to a substance called "Mother's Milk" - likely what's in the vats - and its mutagenic properties, ranging from a rapid increase in strength of powers to a reshaping of the flesh. They're very specific on what quantities are to be milked and drawn from the vats in one go.

There's also a PDF containing a document that looks like a weathered scroll dotted with pictographs. On the second page of the document are words in a language Sharl has never seen before, likely a translation of the original into "English" script. The document is named "Dark_Young.pdf."

[trollthumper]

After all that, I'll take a straight WIS check from Corbin to see if he remembers any of that lingo.

[KnightDisciple]

After all that, I'll take a straight WIS check from Corbin to see if he remembers any of that lingo.

Hm. Okay, fair enough.

17+2=19. Hope that gets me something...

[trollthumper]

It sure does!

Blake mentioned "the Dark Mother" in the past. It's a nickname for Shub-Niggurath, one of the nasties from the same general purview as the rest of his powers. It's regarded as something of a twisted fertility deity, capable of bestowing great change upon "her" children.

[trollthumper]

Perfidy! Sage is hidden up in the rafters as Summers is taken by Collins and her staff, and the rest of Young Freedom is stuck fighting a Dark Young. Speaking of which, the part of the Dark Young will tonight be played by AA's Hulking Blob. However, its stats are effectively boosted to PL11. That means it has STR 32/24 (+12/+7), Attack +5 w/ Growth (+11 Melee), Defense +7 w/ Growth (+2 Flat-Footed), Toughness +15 (+7 Impervious), Fortitude +8, Reflex +6, Will +6, and damage caps to match.

The Dark Young goes on 20.

[Gizmo]

Initiative. (1d20+3=14)

[KnightDisciple]

9; Looks like CT's going last...