Lights, Camera, Action! (OOC)

[Blarghy]

Reflex: 1d20+10 19  Nope!  Should I follow this up with Toughness?

[Sophistemon]

@Blarghy:

Yes, please, if you don't mind.

[Blarghy]

Toughness: 1d20+10 27  Much better.  Perhaps Warne got his force field up in time.

[Sophistemon]

Excellent, you take no damage.

Edited November 5, 2016 by Sophistemon

[Avenger Assembled]

I'll let you take this one, Heritage!

[Sophistemon]

Thank you all so much for being patient.

 

As an aside, how are you folks reading Punchline's dialogue?

 

I'm not writing him with any particular voice in mind, and your interpretations will help me settle on something.

[Blarghy]

I try not to picture him more than I have to.  You've sent me too many Pennywise clips, you bastard, and now I can't help but always be a little horrified when Punchline shows up.

[Sophistemon]

Now, that's just coulrophobic of you, Blarghy.

 

Clowns are no more or less inherently frightening than anyone else.

 

EDIT

I think I should reiterate that Punchline is meant to be more of a cartoon than an actual clown. His demeanor is based on that of Daffy Duck, which is why he can sometimes come across as sly and spiteful. As a matter of fact, he was originally conceived as a character called 'Rascal Rabbit' but I felt that was too on the nose. In terms of personality, he's almost entirely id, if you'll forgive the outdated Freudian reference. He sees the snack tray and he starts stuffing his face -- it's all about the infantile pursuit of basic pleasures. He's very childish in a way, but his borderline invincibility has made him a child that can't be fittingly chastised for bad behavior. In much the same way that the fun of playing Presto comes from clashing his ego-maniacal tendencies against the expectations of being a superhero, the fun of playing Punchline comes from turning those same expectations inside-out, of approaching heroism from a perspective of unadulterated (see what I did there?) childishness. Punchline is what might happen if tying that towel around your neck at age 7 actually made you a superhero: all of the power, with none of the restraint that comes with growing up.

 

As for his laugh, at least, I hear it in my head as aping Cesar Romero. It's perhaps a bit more shrill, replete with plenty of cavorting about. I think that I've described Punchline's voice as trending towards being high, though that should only come into play when he's at his more manic phase. Mark Hamill will always be the Joker to me, but Cesar's laugh had actual glee in it, which I think is important. He is, after all, single-minded in his obsession with having a good time.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Sophistemon

[Heritage]

I hope I'm not irritating you, but I think that unless he looks cell shaded or otherwise drawn, the first thought many people would have would simply be 'clown', since he still looks mostly human; after all, he called himself that in his sign! Also his body hasn't morphed or deformed in any way (unless I missed something), which is  what normally sells you on toonage more than behavior.

 

However, if he referred to himself as a toon, everyone would go, 'oh, of course he's a toon', because then they'd make the connection.

[Sophistemon]

Not at all! He is, after all, a cartoon clown. He's both, and functionally more of the former than the latter according to his character sheet, but your characters don't have much reason at the moment to suspect as much. And he's not really a cartoon -- he's sort of a remarkably malleable living signal -- but 'cartoon' is a quick and easy way of summing up what he's capable of. He's already pulled a few things from hammerspace and warped localized reality, but I can see his appearance overshadowing those things so far. Once he gets a chance to show off his invulnerability, as well as a few of his other powers, I'm hoping that aspect of his character will shine through a little more strongly.

 

Although, now that you mention it, there is something I could do that would clue you all in... something classically cartoon-y...

 

EDIT

Please don't ever worry about irritating me. Even if you had -- you didn't -- I find it impossible to hold any kind of real grudge.

I'd much prefer people to be honest with me whenever possible; dialogue is important and communication is key.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Sophistemon

[Blarghy]

I should point out that Warne's own phone is off and has no battery now.  Can't speak for Chalmers', of course, but Warne figures that laying out the situation is more important than putting on a brave face for their unseen watcher, given that their top secret files could be compromised at this very moment. 

[Sophistemon]

Duly noted.

[Avenger Assembled]

Go ahead and keep going - Aquaria is just watching and listening for now.

[Sophistemon]

I can't thank you all enough for your patience.

 

I know that this game has been a little trying -- part of that is scheduling issues, another is my relative unfamiliarity with running games.

 

I want to thank you all for sticking by me. Now that the big 'sale season' has passed (not even Christmas Eve will be quite as hectic) things should go more smoothly.

[Blarghy]

No worries.  It's been fun so far!

 

As we've just discussed via chat, Adept is totally gonna hit Punchline with his psychokinesis.  Toughness DC25, as usual.  I would feel a little bad about this, but...well, clowns.  Clowns, man. 

[Heritage]

Just want to have a good idea what happens to Punchline from Adept's attack before I post here again.

[Avenger Assembled]

Same here! 

[Sophistemon]

Fair enough.

 

Toughness Save: 1d20+3 4.

 

Well, ain't that something?

 

A failure of 21 means that Punchline is well and truly knocked out -- does he also accrue the previous damage conditions? I'm looking at the book, and I can't see it anywhere.

[Blarghy]

...I really shouldn't be surprised.  I already know full well how Orokos feels about you.  Now I do feel a little bad. 

 

And no, I think he only takes the listed condition.  That's how I've been playing it, at least.  If I'm wrong, then it'll be good to know, and we've got the Admin right here to tell us!

[Sophistemon]

I'd like to say it wouldn't have been so disastrous if Punchline hadn't been using his Morph power (the use of which turns off his Force-Field) but with that 1 he'd have still been knocked out.

[Avenger Assembled]

Okay, what's the next step here?

[Sophistemon]

My understanding is that AEGIS is going to go over the data provided, find a white house with blue shutters, and scan for semi-recent excavations underneath.

 

There's also still the hostage exchange to consider, and the missing woman.

 

How you folks want to divide up and go about things is of course your own prerogative -- you have Punchline to tag along, if you'd like an even split.

 

He was introduced a little earlier than originally planned for just that purpose.

 

 

Edited January 1, 2017 by Sophistemon

[Avenger Assembled]

Okay, gang, how should we go about doing this?

[Blarghy]

Well, I don't see any reason to split up; I figured that, assuming we can find the house, then we'll all just go check it out together, since it's our only lead on both the villain and the hostages (fictional and human, if Ms. Brown isn't actually the culprit here).  The smartest method, at least to begin with, is probably to just have Miracle Girl fly about a mile above the place and scope it out, before we try kicking down any doors.

[Heritage]

That's pretty much the way I saw it, Blarghy, though where are we in relation to the timetable of making the money drop? Is that still scheduled for the following day? And how long will it take to identify the Fanatic's location based on Punchline's description?