Blarghy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Posted October 23, 2016 And we're now in combat! Roll initiative! Let's see if Adept is Fatigued from his drawback, while I'm at it. Fortitude: 1d20+10 23 Nope, looks like he got plenty of sleep on the plane. Adept: Initiative: 1d20+11 27 Mantis: Initiative: 1d20+4 16 Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 1 27 None None Upgrade 1 ?? None None Mantis N/A 16 None None
Blarghy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Posted October 23, 2016 You need to sacrifice a goat to Orokos or something. Let's hope this time it's kinder to you than in Dreamweaver. Anyway, Adept does his usual thing and auto-hits the creepy cyborg with unseen telekinesis. Toughness: 1d20+14 26 Denied! Mantis will respond with a grenade. I mentioned IC that Adept was putting a bit of distance between himself and Upgrade, but he didn't count on a blast of this size (60 foot radius), so they're both caught in it. DC22 Reflex, followed by a DC27 Toughness if failed, DC21 on a success. Reflex: 1d20+10 12 Wow. Full DC for Adept, then. Toughness: 1d20+10 11 Wow. Gonna Hero Point that. Maybe I shouldn't have made that joke about Orokos. Toughness: 1d20+10 29 There we go. Let me post, and then it's onto Upgrade. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None None Mantis N/A 16 None None Upgrade 1 10 None None
Sophistemon Posted October 23, 2016 Posted October 23, 2016 Reflex Save: 1d20+6 9. Toughness Save: 1d20+11 18. Three rolls so far, not a one of them even average.
Blarghy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Posted October 23, 2016 Bleh. That's a Bruise and a Daze. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None None Mantis N/A 16 None None Upgrade 1 10 Bruise 1 Daze On round 2, Adept will take to the air and get far enough away so that they can't both be caught by another blast, followed by his usual attack. Toughness: 1d20+14 30 Yep, seems about right. Mantis brings out the machine gun toward Adept. Let's see if I can do Autofire properly. Attack: 1d20+12 28 That's eight points over Adept's Defense, which I believe raises the DC from 27 to 31. Adept can't mathematically make that, but let's see just how bad he fails. Toughness: 1d20+10 13 ...Really bad. He fails really bad. Well, the psychic is down and out. Best of luck! Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None Unconscious Mantis N/A 16 None None Upgrade 1 10 Bruise 1 None
Sophistemon Posted October 23, 2016 Posted October 23, 2016 How many actions would you say it would take to clear the rubble, grab Warne, and fly us both up through the hole that the grenade made in the ceiling?
Blarghy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Posted October 23, 2016 Ahh, I didn't even consider retreat; that's a fair point! I mostly mentioned the rubble to emphasize that the factory is already starting to crumble, but looking at my IC post, I only specified one metal sheet (which, if they're not too large, can be lifted by a regular person in decent shape--and this one is presumably in pieces already). I think it's reasonable for Upgrade to just sweep it aside as part of snatching up Warne. However, unless you have the Move-By feat, or whatever it's called, I'd say you'd need to do a Hero Point stunt to get to him, pick him up, and then fly off. ...Huh, you do have that feat. Convenient! In this case, I suppose you could actually do all that in one turn. Given Upgrade's titanic Strength, I wouldn't even make you use an existing hole; he can just make his own, if he wishes.
Sophistemon Posted October 23, 2016 Posted October 23, 2016 Attack Roll: 1d20+9 15. Yeah, we're going to beat a hasty retreat here in a minute. This is ridiculous.
Blarghy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Posted October 23, 2016 I guess sometimes the dice just won't cooperate. Makes it all the more satisfying when they do, though. I thought about bringing out the scythe, but if Upgrade is on the move again, then I think Mantis will stick with the machine gun. Attack: 1d20+12 30 ...That's, ahh...that's a Toughness DC32, thanks to Autofire. .
Sophistemon Posted October 23, 2016 Posted October 23, 2016 (edited) Toughness Save: 1d20+11 19. No. To hell with that. I'm spending the Hero Point. Toughness Save: 1d20+11 31. That's better. Upgrade's going to tank the machine gun and on his next turn he's going to fly over to Adept, tear that rubble off him, and jet up through the ceiling. Edited October 23, 2016 by Sophistemon
Blarghy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Posted October 23, 2016 (edited) Sounds good to me! Unfortunately Upgrade's Toughness bonus is actually a tad lower thanks to his first Bruise (he's up to 2 with this failed save), but it doesn't change the damage "category" that you fell into. Still, unless he heals, he'll be at +9 to future saves for the rest of combat. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None Unconscious Mantis N/A 16 None None Upgrade 0 10 Bruised 2 None Edited October 23, 2016 by Blarghy
Sophistemon Posted October 23, 2016 Posted October 23, 2016 Oh, right, the accrued damage. I'm sorry about that. Still, the natural-20's a success, right?
Blarghy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Posted October 23, 2016 (edited) The core rule book only mentions natural 20s in the case of attack rolls and stabilizing checks, and the forum's house rules don't add anything that I can see, but I'm finding a number of Atomic Think Tank threads that claim it at least should apply to saving throws. So sure, I'll go with it! Back to just one Bruise. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None Unconscious Mantis N/A 16 None None Upgrade 0 10 Bruised 1 None Edited October 23, 2016 by Blarghy
Sophistemon Posted October 23, 2016 Posted October 23, 2016 Okay, this is handled as a Move-by Action. One movement action to get to Adept, one standard action to retrieve him from the rubble, and another movement action to fly us both back to the four agents remaining in Wallders. Upgrade is going to roll a Healing Check. According to Ultimate Power, Bruised and Injured conditions heal automatically -- which makes me wonder why I invested in the Total extra when the power is limited to myself, but whatever. Next turn, with Upgrade at full strength, I'm going to fly back and take the bastard by surprise.
Blarghy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Posted October 23, 2016 I'm ok with that, however, the Healing power appears to be a full-round action. This will therefore take Upgrade two rounds instead of one (if you're thinking of dropping the Total extra, then perhaps you should consider reinvesting those points to bring this time down to just one action). It's mostly a technicality in this instance, as he's somewhat out of combat at the moment, but it does mean that Mantis has time to get out of the factory and overlook the town. His extended vision, various other visual Powers, and reasonable Notice bonus mean that he's well aware of where Upgrade has gone (giant battlesuits aren't exactly hard to spot anyway). Thus, you get two Hero Points instead of one: the first for rescuing a fellow hero, and the second, because Upgrade must now contend with a number of endangered civilians, adding a Complication to the situation. To really drive this point home, Mantis will use his action for this turn (after spending the previous 1.5 rounds in pursuit) to set fire to one of the town's outlying buildings. Back to you (and note that Upgrade has those 4 AEGIS agents to command, if he likes; he should probably realize that sending them against Mantis is a suicide mission, but it shouldn't take all of them to care for Warne; he can put them to other uses if he thinks of any). Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None Unconscious Mantis N/A 16 None None Upgrade 2 10 None None
Sophistemon Posted October 24, 2016 Posted October 24, 2016 (edited) Man, thank you for those Hero Points. I'm going to need them. So, here's the plan. Ethan's going to order three of the four agents to begin a town-wide evacuation. Everyone out of the pool, because it's probably going to be on fire before long. The last agent has to stay and maintain Adept's health. I've got a sneaking suspicion that once Upgrade engages Mantis, the cyborg's going to be more interested in getting back down to Warne than he will in chasing after the fleeing townsfolk. We can't have Adept leave, or he'll chase after him and I can't risk a lucky shot. Hopefully, by dividing his attention three ways and using Warne as a means of encouraging him to say here, in town, Upgrade can keep him busy long enough for Becker's back-up to arrive and chase him off. Hopefully. Fingers crossed. All that. We'll open this off with a Snare. I don't want him damaging any more property. At the very least, he can't destroy the bar -- I still owe these folks a first round. Attack Roll (Snare: DC21): 1d20+9 25. Now that's more like it! As a side-note, I've finished writing up my 'Upgrade Overhaul' character sheet. Do you remember where we're supposed to post that stuff for review? Does it just go in the Character Bank? Edited October 24, 2016 by Sophistemon
Blarghy Posted October 24, 2016 Author Posted October 24, 2016 For such extensive edits, I'm not sure. You might have to resubmit entirely. That's a question for the mods, though. Reflex: 1d20+10 29 Orokos seems to have a new cyborg mascot. He'll retaliate with a shot from his flamethrower. Attack: 1d20+12 17 Woo! Back to you, then. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None Unconscious Mantis N/A 16 None None Upgrade 2 10 None None
Sophistemon Posted October 25, 2016 Posted October 25, 2016 Please, please, please. Attack Roll (Blast, Penetrating): 1d20+9 28.
Blarghy Posted October 25, 2016 Author Posted October 25, 2016 (edited) Toughness: 1d20+14 18 Weeee! That's a failure by 8, which means he's not only finally Bruised, but also Dazed! I don't think he suffers any Knockback, since his modifier against it is higher than the rank of your attack. In any case, no action for the dastardly Mantis this round, and so, Upgrade goes again! Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None Unconscious Mantis N/A 16 Bruise 1 Dazed Upgrade 2 10 None None Edited October 25, 2016 by Blarghy
Sophistemon Posted October 26, 2016 Posted October 26, 2016 Attack Roll (Blast, Penetrating): 1d20+9 24. Not quite as good, but hopefully it's still serviceable.
Blarghy Posted October 26, 2016 Author Posted October 26, 2016 That's definitely a hit, yes. Also, while I appreciate you not metagaming and checking out Mantis' publicly-posted sheet to figure out your most efficient attack, I think I'll give Upgrade a chance to figure it out on your own. Make a Notice Check, DC15 for him to conclude that the cyborg's armor (his Impervious ranking) isn't quite so durable that he needs to use his armor-piercing laser (his Penetrating extra), but that he could instead likely get more mileage out of a rapid-fire attack (his Autofire extra), if he chooses. Toughness: 1d20+13 18 And the same result as before! Another Bruise, and he's still Dazed. Orokos has finally warmed up to you, perhaps. Take another turn as soon as I make my IC post. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None Unconscious Mantis N/A 16 Bruise 2 Dazed Upgrade 2 10 None None
Sophistemon Posted October 26, 2016 Posted October 26, 2016 Notice Check: 1d20+7 9. Nope, didn't quite figure it out. But that's okay! Once more with the laser. Attack Roll (Blast, Penetrating): 1d20+9 17. Ouch, let's spend a Hero Point and try that again. Attack Roll (Blast, Penetrating): 1d20+9 23. There, substantially better.
Blarghy Posted October 26, 2016 Author Posted October 26, 2016 (edited) Toughness: 1d20+12 30 Sadly not. Mantis is well and truly pissed at this point, so he's bringing out his namesake weapon and making a flying Charge at Upgrade (or an All-Out attack for 2 points, if you prefer). Attack: 1d20+10 24 Urp. That'll be a Toughness check for a whopping DC31--perhaps it's a good thing you have another Hero Point, an enemy with lowered Defense for your follow-up attack, and of course, backup on the way. Edit: furthermore, you must make a Strength or Dexterity save against the linked Trip power, DC22. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Adept 0 27 None Unconscious Mantis N/A 16 Bruise 2 None Upgrade 1 10 None None Edited October 26, 2016 by Blarghy
Sophistemon Posted October 26, 2016 Posted October 26, 2016 (edited) Toughness Save & Resist Trip: 2#1d20+11 12 28. Oh, ouch! A natural 1 on the Toughness Save; thankfully, Upgrade was able to resist the Trip. I'm going to use that Hero Point to re-roll the Toughness, because otherwise I think Ethan would down for good. Toughness Save: 1d20+11 20. If I'm not mistaken, the Hero Point adds 10 to any roll below 11, so that bumps up to a 30. After tanking that hit like a B-A, Upgrade's going to press his advantage, this time by using the machine gun. Attack Roll (Blast, Autofire): 1d20+9 13. And he misses, of course, but I'll settle for being alive. Edited October 26, 2016 by Sophistemon
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