Blarghy Posted December 29, 2016 Author Posted December 29, 2016 Orokos is a cruel mistress. I'm fine with the power stunt, but unfortunately you failed that second Toughness check by 6, which means that MG is both Bruised and Dazed, according to the forum's house rules. That'd take away her turn for the upcoming round. If you want to avoid that, then you can spend your Hero Point to reroll the save, instead of using her Freezing Breath. Technically you're supposed to make that decision before you know the outcome of a roll, but I've been open about the DCs anyway, and that's an inconvenient rule for play-by-post games, I think. Either way is fine with me. If you prefer to accept the Dazed condition, hope for better saves in the next round, and save that last HP for a power stunt, then at least that Shaken condition won't matter.
Heritage Posted December 29, 2016 Posted December 29, 2016 Crap, I'll have to think about this; not for *days*, like my last post, but a few hours at least.
Blarghy Posted December 29, 2016 Author Posted December 29, 2016 No rush. It's still a busy holiday time of year, so I can't promise quick updates either. Take your time.
Heritage Posted December 30, 2016 Posted December 30, 2016 (edited) Y'know what, I will accept the crappy rolls and deal with the consequences; one of the reasons I didn't make Casey tougher than she is is because sometimes you need to see the good guy down to rally behind them. I always loved how in the spaghetti westerns, Clint would get his ass seriously kicked at least once per movie, which just made his glorious comeback all the more triumphant! So does that mean Casey really can't do anything this round? I'm fine if that's the case. Edited December 30, 2016 by Heritage
Blarghy Posted December 30, 2016 Author Posted December 30, 2016 I know, right? What's the point of a story if the hero easily succeeds all the time? In any case, I don't think there's a way around the Dazed condition, other than to reroll that save with a Hero Point. The rulebook says that you keep your Dodge bonus, but can't take any actions; I won't prohibit MG from talking and whatnot, but I believe that's about her limit for this next round. Feel free to let me know if I'm wrong; you could ask the mods if you like.
Blarghy Posted January 7, 2017 Author Posted January 7, 2017 Alright, since MG didn't attack them this round, the duplicates get a bit of their confidence back and delay their actions, giving her a chance to surrender amidst the talking. Leviathan enters the scene (only taking two Move actions this round) while the villains chat, then Temporal Displacement swings at him with that rebar, both gunwomen shoot as well, and the last Copy Error draws a Masterwork knife and throws it at him. Note the new Initiative order. Attack: 1d20+15 34 Attack: 1d20+14 19 Attack: 1d20+12 22 Attack: 1d20+11 27 Four hits! So that's a DC20, two DC21s, and a DC19. Toughness: 1d20+17 37 Toughness: 1d20+17 21 Toughness: 1d20+17 19 Toughness: 1d20+16 26 Failed the third, but not by much, so the big guy only takes a Bruise. This moves us onto the next round, where MG starts off and is no longer Dazed or Shaken. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Miracle Girl 1 24 Bruise 3 None Security Guard N/A 13 None Prone Leviathan 1 8 Bruise 1 None Temporal Displacement N/A 7 None None Copy Error Prime N/A 7 None None Copy Error 1 N/A 7 None None Copy Error 2 N/A 7 None Unarmed
Heritage Posted January 8, 2017 Posted January 8, 2017 (edited) Okay, so now Casey will spend the HP to stunt her freeze breath, which has the following effect: Freezing Breath, Selective Cone Damage 8 (Flaw: Full Round Action, 80' cone) DC23 Toughness Save. I'm assuming she can probably only get the three CEs or the Irishman and not both, correct? Edited January 8, 2017 by Heritage
Blarghy Posted January 9, 2017 Author Posted January 9, 2017 Yeah, I think that since it's a full round tactic, she'll have to choose between the duplicates or the teleporter with this attack. It's just an Area Blast with the cold/ice descriptor, right? So a regular Reflex save, followed by Toughness?
Heritage Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 Correct. Even though the Irishman is pissing her off, the guns have more potential to hurt her, so she'll focus on the three Copy Errors.
Blarghy Posted January 17, 2017 Author Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) Reflex: 1d20+12 31 Reflex: 1d20+10 12 Reflex: 1d20+8 13 So CE Prime saves against Toughness DC19, but the other two get the full DC23. Toughness: 1d20+10 15 Toughness: 1d20+8 22 Toughness: 1d20+6 20 All three of them take a Bruise, and furthermore, CE Prime has to make a pair of Will checks now, albeit with a good bonus. Will: 1d20+17 18 Will: 1d20+15 28 Failed the first one by 5, so that's another Bruise, plus she's Dazed! Leviathan goes next; he first Regenerates that Bruise (his recovery bonus is high enough that he doesn't have to roll), and for his action, he attacks Temporal Displacement. Attack: 1d20+12 20 And he misses. TD responds by using his Distract feat on Leviathan. Sadly, his Attractive feat doesn't really apply. Bluff: 1d20+12 15 Leviathan's Will save and Sense Motive skill both have the same bonus, so I'll just use Will. Will: 1d20+5 13 And he fails, so Leviathan loses his action next turn. CE Prime can't act, but the other two can. Since they moved closer together this past round (close enough that MG could hit all of them with the same blast), I'll be kind to the villains and say that CE2 can take a 5' step and still take Prime's shotgun, then fire, as does CE1. CE1 will shoot again at Leviathan, while CE2 turns back to Miracle Girl. Attack: 1d20+12 23 Attack: 1d20+10 28 Both hit. Toughness: 1d20+17 36 Leviathan shrugs it off, but I'll need another Toughness check from you, DC21 like the others. And with that, it's back to you! Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Miracle Girl 0 24 Bruise 3 None Security Guard N/A 13 None Prone Leviathan 1 8 None Distracted Temporal Displacement N/A 7 None None Copy Error Prime N/A 7 Bruise 2 Dazed, Unarmed Copy Error 1 N/A 7 Bruise 1 None Copy Error 2 N/A 7 Bruise 1 None Edited January 18, 2017 by Blarghy
Heritage Posted January 17, 2017 Posted January 17, 2017 So Casey's Toughness check is now -3, correct?
Heritage Posted January 18, 2017 Posted January 18, 2017 Toughness check: 1d20+9=11 Groan! So where are we at now?
Blarghy Posted January 18, 2017 Author Posted January 18, 2017 Hrm. Well, that's a failure of 10, so per the house rules, MG is not only Dazed again, but Staggered to boot, meaning that for the remainder of the combat, she can only take a single standard or move action each round, not both (although, note that even though she's out of Hero Points, she isn't currently fatigued or exhausted, so she can always use Extra Effort to surge or do some other maneuver). On the bright side, she at least doesn't take another Bruise. I think it might be a good time to switch the scene up a bit, in light of this. The current state of affairs isn't going quite how I planned; I should've known that Orokos wouldn't cooperate. Still, the villains are starting to worry, and since they haven't got any leads on their kidnapping target, I think they'll take advantage of both heroes being Dazed and spend the next round trying to escape in their stolen car. The following round after that, unless you have a better idea, we could bring back one of Leviathan's old tactics. I see that MG has heat vision, so we could do a kind of "vehicle combat" deal (I need to get familiar with those rules anyway!), where Leviathan handles the chasing and MG fires and helps navigate as they pursue the villains back into the heart of the city. This would get around MG's Staggered condition, and I think she should benefit from some cover too, if she's hanging off Leviathan's back and shooting her eye-beams over his shoulders. Does something like that sound fun, or would you rather keep at it for another few rounds as we currently are? Do you want to continue drawing out the fight at all? Hopefully it's not getting boring or frustrating.
Heritage Posted January 18, 2017 Posted January 18, 2017 I vote for change of venue It's a little frustrating, but not horribly so; it still doesn't beat my all-time worst die roller streak from several years ago, where i didn't get a die roll in double digits for like five or six rounds straight.
Blarghy Posted January 20, 2017 Author Posted January 20, 2017 Works for me, then. If you want to do a brief IC post, then I'll set up the transition; feel free to decide where/how the shotgun slug Staggers Casey.
Blarghy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Posted January 24, 2017 I thought about making that a longer update, right up to the next round where the heroes take real actions, but I figured I'd split it up and give you a chance to reply if you like. If you want to do a brief post--maybe MG telling Leviathan she's too injured to fly and fight at the same time--then that's fine. You can even suggest their tactics, unless you want Leviathan to do it. Or, if you don't have anything in mind, I can just jump on ahead to the mobile combat; either way's fine.
Blarghy Posted January 31, 2017 Author Posted January 31, 2017 Alright, I've given it some thought, and here's how I want to handle this. Leviathan will spend each round moving all-out (he can do this for, I think, over 50 rounds before he has to start making Constitution checks) and Interposing as necessary for MG. Technically his speed should be fast enough to overtake a normal vehicle (he can hit 200MPH when sprinting), but all the sample cars in the core rulebook have a higher Speed ranking than he does, so I'll say that the SUV outpaces our heroes on the relatively traffic-light roads around North Bay, but will have trouble reaching max speeds in the city proper. Especially with his ranks of Leaping as well, Leviathan and MG should be able to keep up with their targets by taking shortcuts and rooftops--especially if MG can successfully navigate good routes. So, each round you'll have the option to make a Notice check, in addition to your Standard action (mostly heat-vision, I assume, but feel free to get creative!). I'll set the base check at DC20 to just avoid trouble and keep pace with the SUV, meaning that you can easily hit that using Skill Mastery. However, if you're feeling lucky, you can roll; at DC30 (you'd have to roll a 16 or higher, I believe), MG will spot better opportunities, like a way to get ahead of the car to line up a better shot (giving her attack for that round the Aiming bonus), or helping Leviathan herd the car toward a dead end, or noticing a pedestrian who's about to cross the street and get smeared across the pavement (earning you a Hero Point for saving them). Failing to hit the base DC (on a roll of less than 6) will cause the heroes to encounter an obstacle, like plowing head-first through the side of a food truck. I'm open to suggestions on what could happen in either a good or bad scenario, if you have them! Finally, I'm thinking of activating Leviathan's monstrous Complication by having the police misinterpret this situation. If the cops see a giant lizard-creature with a woman hanging from his shoulders, chasing after a car, then it seems reasonable that they'd initially suspect a King Kong type situation, and intervene on the wrong side. This would give both heroes a quick Hero Point to start the scene. MG could likely tap into their radio band and convince them of the truth, but I expect it would take a couple of rounds and a Diplomacy check, in order to have the Complication actually count. Thoughts?
Heritage Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) You know, this wouldn't be a problem if she was dressed like Khaleesi This sounds fun; I'm working at school right now, but I will post some Notice checks tonight in the hopes Casey can get a bead on 'em (and yes, heatvision sounds like the best bet for tracking purposes; a car in a hot pursuit has an engine that stays pretty, well, hot). Also down with the Diplomacy radio situation; we need all the HP we can get at this point. Edited January 31, 2017 by Heritage
Heritage Posted February 1, 2017 Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) 1d20+14=22 Well, at least she didn't miss the base check. Let me know if I need that Diplomacy check. Edited February 1, 2017 by Heritage
Blarghy Posted February 5, 2017 Author Posted February 5, 2017 Let's hold off on the Diplomacy for just a bit. It's hard enough to have the police be skeptical when MG is so darn precise and reasonable. I'll have them interfere for a couple of rounds to justify the Hero Points, and then you can try persuading the officers of their mistake (which'll be easier to sell once the real villains start shooting). Initiative: 1d20+1 7 Such a weirdly consistent Initiative order for this game. Name HPs Initiative Damage Status Conditions Miracle Girl 1 24 Bruise 3 None Leviathan 2 8 None None Police N/A 7 None None Temporal Displacement N/A 7 None None Copy Error Prime N/A 7 Bruise 2 Unarmed Copy Error 1 N/A 7 Bruise 1 None Copy Error 2 N/A 7 Bruise 1 None Alright, I was going to give you the option of making a long-distance attack at the SUV if you wanted, but MG's heatvision attack is only Rank 6, so her maximum range is at best 600 feet with heavy penalties. I figure the car is further away from that at the moment, but the police car is a lot closer. If you want to take an action against it, to slow it down or try shooting the officer's gun from his hand (which is probably very illegal even for someone with good intentions, but I see no reason to get bogged down with all of that) or whatever else you can think of, then I'll give you time to try. If you aren't worried about that (after all, both heroes are tough enough to shrug off a handgun; MG won't even have to roll), then you can do a fluff post and I'll move us ahead to the Kingston part of town, where we'll get to the meat of the scene. I'll give it a round or two there, and then you can start making Diplomacy checks against the cops (as well as lots of laser eyes toward the SUV, I assume).
Blarghy Posted February 14, 2017 Author Posted February 14, 2017 I'll move us onto Kingston, then. In this new situation, I'll say that Miracle Girl is close enough to attack the SUV with her heat-vision, but only at a -4 penalty for the moment (two range increments past her ideal range; the vehicle is currently about 150 feet away). Alternatively, she can try to do something about the police cruiser that's about to attack Leviathan. I'll handle that as a Trip attack, using the car's Strength and size modifiers; it's unlikely to hit, but if it does, and Leviathan fails the opposed Trip check, then the heroes would go tumbling and lose more ground in their chase. Of course, third options are always available, if you can think of any.
Heritage Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 Hmm; my first thought was to use her super-breath to slow down the patrol cars, but that would just convince them that they were a threat. My second thought is to try and send a message to the cops, but without using the police band and making them angry again; this I can imagine working one of two ways: 1. MG stunts a huge volume boost off her super-breath to tell them in a very loud voice "WE ARE NOT BAD GUYS; WE'RE TRYING TO CATCH BAD GUYS!" 2. MG uses Communication ability to directly call one of the cops' cellphones and totally freak them out, but hopefully get them know that they're all on the same side. I find the second option more intriguing, though it is a bit more problematic; cellphones do use radio signals, but how would she know which specific one to call? This would be very Silver Age/CW's Supergirl, i.e. the kind of thing that makes you laugh and roll your eyes, but you still kind of think it's cool, so I leave it up to you
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