Patty reviewed with the team what she had
learned from scouting the island and the military base. It appeared to her that
the robotic workers were trying to build another Doomsday Robot as quickly as
possible. She surmised that Cyberdoom had not counted on his Doomsday Robot
being defeated. While he had a small army without the Doomsday Robot, his
forces might not be powerful enough to invade Megalopolis as was promised. The
team had time to set down anywhere on the island. The New Crusaders could
choose a course of stealth and subterfuge. They didn’t have to attack the
military base immediately.
Based on Patty Plus recon she showed on the map
the team has key areas are on the map. Not all items marked were spotted (if
there was something to see). Adamas filled in what he could see with his
heightened vision.
I & H: Adamas saw these were the silos that
the Skyberion came out of.
1-7: These are native villages.
8: This is the Temple excavation. Adamas
confirmed he had been to the Temple before with the Fellowship. {See Quest Issue
23 http://vav-megalopolis-pbem.blogspot.com/2012/03/quest-dr-arcanes-shame-issue-23.html
}
9: Base of the Oceanographic team.
10 Tracking System which is communicating into
the heavens.
11-12: Both Patty and Adamas don’t know what is
there.
13 Old U.S. Military, naval/air base
14 Villa
15-20 These are native villages.
Between A and K is the underwater trench {dark
water shading in the middle of the non-shaded Water} which contains the
underwater base that both Adamas {Issue 85} and Dr. Wildman saw.
Dr Wildman slipped carefully out of the water
holding an old Spanish sword hilt he had found lodged between two rocks on his
way up from the seabed. The waves lapped over him occasionally but in this form
he didn't really notice. He had set 'Bruce' on patrol to monitor what was
happening under the surface, especially around the undersea base. William
turned the hilt in his hand and was mindful of 'StormBlade' - the mystical
weapon of Excalibur who had passed the sword down to William rather than to his
grandson Stormlord. "I suspect, young man, you will find better uses for
this than Stanislas - the magic in this blade has affected him in a way I had
not expected - it's as if the storm has touched his soul as well as his
body." The old man who was once the hero of WW2 looked sad as he passed
his legacy on. Stanislas had hated them both from that point on. William had no
evidence, but he was sure that the 'death by misadventure' report from the
coroner had more than a hint of Stanislas' intervention. Still, Stormlord
inherited his Grandfather's estate and William inherited the sword...or rather
wore the cowl. The 'StormBlade' was more than a weapon, it was the raging heart
of a storm made manifest in a physical arcane artifact. In the hands of Dr
Wildman it became a hood, more fitting for the survival expert than the warrior
who once bore it. William's act of mercy of handing the hood to Stormlord to
protect him from the vampiric effects of Dr Apocalypse's World Storm may have
finally given Stanislas all he had ever desired - but who knows what form the
'Storm Heart' may have taken in his hands.
Suddenly he twitched as a familiar presence swept over him. "That's not possible' he thought. He focused and there was no doubt - the 'Storm Heart' was near and it was 'suffering'!. It was here on the Island. What diabolical plan was Pieter plotting, or perhaps Stanislas - enraged at his situation - had come seeking retribution from the man who almost killed him. Surely, he wasn't that proud! It was always his sense of entitlement that was his downfall. Stanislas had called himself 'Stormlord' but with the 'Storm Heart' he quite likely had become that. William had always felt there was some redemption possible for Stanislas. His Grandfather was a good man - some of that must have filtered through. He had always hoped that Stanislas would join him as part of the 'Circle of the Sun'.
'Well, this day is getting more complicated by the hour.' he said to himself. William made a difficult decision - he had to find Stanislas. Whether he was a friend or foe of Dr Apocalypse - that would be unveiled all too soon. For now, he must find the 'Storm Heart' and take it back - by force if necessary. He threw the sword hilt back into the water. With a mental command he sent the 'Staff of Thorns' back to the Steading - he would need all his mystical capacity to wrestle back the 'Storm Heart'. With a discreet flurry of arm action and emerald eldritch energy where once 'The Creature' stood now there was a gull.
With a cawing that sounded very much like
'mine, mine’ - which seemed an appropriate phrase to utter at this juncture -
William took off and focused his mystical senses. He honed in on where the
'Storm Heart' was calling him from and flew in that direction...
Off in the distance Dr. Wildman sense multiple
types of magic existing. Normally he couldn’t feel magic this strongly. Maybe
it was the concentration or something unique about the islands themselves. He
wondered if the Temple could be a fey line and amplifier combined. Before he
had time, he saw someone flying ahead of him. He was surprised that the person
was visible. Maybe Stormlord had become overconfident since his new gain powers
from the ‘Storm Heart”.
Dr. Wildman could not catch Stormlord before he
landed. When he landed, Stormlord walked into a cave. He opened a gate to a
wire cage elevator and walked in. Dr. Wildman guessed there must be something
underground, He wondered if the elevator went down to the tubes he had seen
under the island. Could Stormlord be headed to the underwater base or was there
somewhere else in the cave he could be going that Dr. Wildman hadn’t seen?
{Stormlord and Dr. Wildman are at location marked 11 on the Map}
Demy found comfort with Black Orchids
leadership. He felt like she could tell
his anxiety was redlining from being cooped up in the Strikes aircraft. He had plenty of missions being transported
by Russian and US Air Forces aircraft.
They were all loud and utilitarian, with exposed hydraulics and basic
handles and other controls with uninspired signs so common in the military. Nothing like this craft, where form
paralleled function. It wasn't a NYC
penthouse by any means but Strikes technology definitely was an "11"
in comparison to standard DOD aircraft.
And he could hear himself think.
So much quieter in here than what he was used to. Which gave him time to think - maybe too
much. He certainly didn't like the fact
they could potentially go down in the water.
He scouted for some type of emergency floatation device just to be ready
to deploy for himself and others if they went down. Assuming they survived any crashing into the
water. NOPE! "Snap out of it." He said to
himself. He REALLY appreciated Orchids
comforting words, her leadership may be new, but could tell he was in good
hands with her and the others in charge.
He focused his attention towards the land masses in front of him. It was hard to gauge as their shifting maneuvers made it difficult to accurately approximate how far off, they were, but it was going to be soon.
StrikeForce asked the team. "Does anyone have a landing preference? I can drop off multiple locations if that is what you want."
Patty studied all of the new intel and options. "I still say we hit that robot factory I scouted out before all the recent fireworks. This undersea base thingy is interesting but if we hit the factory, not only will that put a stop to their current efforts but like I said before, it will likely draw out some or all of any bad guys in the vicinity without us having to track them all down."
"Since you're looking for military knowledge, that would mean we set the location and hopefully control the tempo of the battle instead of having to react to whatever they might be planning."
James was looking a little green in the gills after the evasive maneuvers subsided. "Well, I hope we never have to do... that again!" he muttered as he tried not to throw up.
Adamas recommended they stay together vs. splitting up.
Powercell understood the desire to not split up, but he was too tired to participate in a head on attack. He needed time to recover.
Enforcer suggest either he or Blizzard stay with the aircraft. Both had the ability to provide area protection.
Blizzard thought he was the better choice to stay with the aircraft as Enforcer had more experience in the type of assault on the base that was being proposed.
Erdbeben said, "I don't care what we do, let's just get on solid ground again." After providing his input, he made a mental note to write himself a prescription for extra strength Dramamine.
Patty and Adamas’ reports made Demy's mind start to swirl with all kinds of tactical options that he shared with Black Orchid during their discussions.
A) They could submerge and potentially infiltrate into the undersee base. They could then attempt to make their way through the tube, possibly disabling the launch positions of the robot sea and sky sentries (all positions A-L) as the snuck towards the Villa where he thinks the HQ of Cyberdoom may be. All assumptions he is betting on. This was ruled out when StrikeForce pointed out the aircraft wasn’t capable of submerging and the mini-sub had been lost.
B) Attack full force at the military base at 13. This would take on the full force potentially of Cyberdoom’s minions and other sentries head on.
<<ANTICIPATION!!!>>
C) Attack position 10 which he was betting on may have something to do with shield projection system covering the islands. His concern was that positions 11 & 12 may be either power supply or defensive batteries providing over watch for the "shield generator"/Comms antennae. Maybe if they can ID what they are and take them out they can call in some additional support if things go south or at least help with exfil.
D) The islands of T'Pao, K'naud and T'und all APPEAR to have natives that feels like we should steer clear of to mitigate collateral damage and save lives.
No matter where they end up landing, Demy will deploy immediately and continue to get MISHA into position to either provide defensive cover if we are sneaking around OR head straight into the mass of oncoming baddies to rend, rip, tear and blast away using multi shot and/or multi attacks with Demy using this Nano Sync To Hit modifier to help direct fire control.
He pauses a moment after that last and his eyes go wide, then a slight, quirky smile starts to appear.
<<ANNOYANCE!>>
"T'PAO... ?" Demy questioningly whispers....
Head stationary but eyes darting and looking up
at the ceiling as if searching for something unseen.
“No....T'PAU!"
With that, Demy settles in. Puts on his Sony
Walkman headphones, lays his head back, his eyes roll back white, and begins to
summon M.I.S.H.A. regardless of where they end up landing while hits the PLAY
button..... nothing happened …
Demy checked the batteries on the Walkman. They were dead {GM Note: See last issue where a Skyberion’s missed still drain the energy from the Sony Walkman’s Battery. I rolled a luck roll to see if Demy had extra batteries. Demy needed a 10 or less. He rolled a 16}
Demy sighted in frustration. He didn’t think to bring extra batteries because the commercial said these batteries would go on and on and on and ... he so wanted to listen to his song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwrYMWoqg5w
From within Demy the unstable nanotech particles started to leave his body and converge on the location where M.I.S.H.A would form. It would take about 30 seconds for the particles to merge and construct the Cyberbear.
The Black Orchid thought about the options. "I always prefer the stealth route, but we have also had good success with the decoy route. Those of us who can become invisible could break off and infiltrate while there is a more frontal assault. They DO know we're here after all. Alternatively, I could be part of the distraction with a large darkness 'monster.' We also have the sea folk. How comfortable are people feeling with a partial frontal assault?"
"That could work," Patty agreed. "However, I wouldn't be able to go with any invisible types, I can only do that in astral form and that would take me out of any fighting needing done."
StrikeForce replied, "I can drop off the team wherever you want, even if it is in multiple locations."
Erdbeben strapped himself back into his seat and tried to close his eyes and rest until the plane landed.
<Turns and Actions due August 28th>
Battle Conditions (Mighty Protectors character data):
Adamas Hit Points: 22 Power Points: 33 Flight: 256”
Black Orchid Hit
Points: 24 Power Points: 83 Visible
Dr. Wildman Hit
Points: 12 Power Points: 60 Form (9): Bird; Controlled (2): Shark;
Swim: 48”
Erdbeben Hit
Points: 46 Power Points: 36
Patty Plus Hit
Points: 15 Power Points: 60 Corporeal
StrikeForce Hit Points: 31 Power
Points: 93 Flying Aircraft: 256”
Rubicon Hit
Points: 20 Power Points: 66 Absorption Protection
MISHA Hit
Points: 41 Power Points: 101 Not Summoned
Blizzard Hit Points: 12 Power
Points: 37
Enforcer Hit Points: 12 Power
Points: 58
Powercell Hit Points: 13 Power
Points: 19
Manta-Man Hit Points: 13 Power
Points: 66 Swim: 0”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr
Wildman slipped carefully out of the water holding an old Spanish sword hilt he
had found lodged between two rocks on his way up from the seabed. The waves
lapped over him occasionally but in this form he didn't really notice. He had
set 'Bruce' on patrol to monitor what was happening under the surface,
especially around the undersea base. William turned the hilt in his hand and
was mindful of 'StormBlade' - the mystical weapon of Excalibur who had passed
the sword down to William rather than to his grandson Storm Lord. "I
suspect, young man, you will find better uses for this than Stanislas - the
magic in this blade has affected him in a way I had not expected - it's as if
the storm has touched his soul as well as his body." The old man who was
once the hero of WW2 looked sad as he passed his legacy on. Stanislas had hated
them both from that point on. William had no evidence, but he was sure that the
'death by misadventure' report from the coroner had more than a hint of
Stanislas' intervention. Still, Storm Lord inherited his Grandfather's estate
and William inherited the sword...or rather wore the cowl. The 'StormBlade' was
more than a weapon, it was the raging heart of a storm made manifest in a
physical arcane artifact. In the hands of Dr Wildman it became a hood, more
fitting for the survival expert than the warrior who once bore it. William's
act of mercy of handing the hood to Storm Lord to protect him from the vampiric
effects of Dr Apocalypse's World Storm may have finally given Stanislas all he had
ever desired - but who knows what form the 'Storm Heart' may have taken in his
hands.
Suddenly he twitched as a familiar presence
swept over him. "That's not possible' he thought. He focused and there was
no doubt - the 'Storm Heart' was near and it was 'suffering'!. It was here on
the Island. What diabolical plan was Pieter plotting, or perhaps Stanislas -
enraged at his situation - had come seeking retribution from the man who almost
killed him. Surely, he wasn't that proud! It was always his sense of
entitlement that was his downfall. Stanislas had called himself 'Storm Lord'
but with the 'Storm Heart' he quite likely had become that. William had always
felt there was some redemption possible for Stanislas. His Grandfather was a
good man - some of that must have filtered through. He had always hoped that
Stanislas would join him as part of the 'Circle of the Sun'.
'Well, this day is getting more complicated by
the hour.' he said to himself. William made a difficult decision - he had to
find Stanislas. Whether he was a friend or foe of Dr Apocalypse - that would be
unveiled all too soon. For now, he must find the 'Storm Heart' and take it back
- by force if necessary. He threw the sword hilt back into the water. With a
mental command he sent the 'Staff of Thorns' back to the Steading - he would
need all his mystical capacity to wrestle back the 'Storm Heart'. With a discreet
flurry of arm action and emerald eldritch energy where once 'The Creature'
stood now there was a gull.
With a cawing that sounded very much like
'mine, mine’ - which seemed an appropriate phrase to utter at this juncture -
William took off and focused his mystical senses. He honed in on where the
'Storm Heart' was calling him from and flew in that direction...
Steve
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce
asked the team. "Does anyone have a landing preference? I can drop off a
multiple locations if that is what you want."
Jamey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Patty
studies all of the new intel and options. "I still say we hit that robot
factory I scouted out before all the recent fireworks. This undersea base
thingy is interesting but if we hit the factory, not only will that put a stop
to their current efforts but like I said before, it will likely draw out some
or all of any bad guys in the vicinity without us having to track them all
down."
"Since you're looking for military
knowledge, that would mean we set the location and hopefully control the tempo
of the battle instead of having to react to whatever they might be
planning."
---
OOC: Tom I'll probably hold on to my CPs and
keep building them up but for upgrading a character is it just 1:1 on CP cost?
For example, if I have 5 CPs and spend 5 on an ability, then I would have rank
5 in that ability (or 5 additional ranks in an existing ability)?
Shane
---------------------------------------------------------------------
On the CPs it is 1 for 1. While MP does not use
ranks, but the concept is close. If you used it on an existing ability, you can
improve the damage or damage resistance.
You could add a modifier which increases range or lowers power costs,
etc.
A new ability would have a use level that
starts at 5 CPs or less. Invulnerability for example starts at 20 CPs can't be
bought for 5 CPs without 15 CPs of modifier(s) which would severely limit its
usefulness.
You can save them for use later. You won't have
to wait for a break in play either. If during combat, you decided what you
wanted to use it on we would update as part of the turn, and it can be used for
that issue.
Tom
---------------------------------------------------------------------
James was looking a little green in the gills
after the evasive maneuvers subsided. "Well, I hope we never have to do...
that again!" he muttered as he tried not to throw up.
"I don't care what we do, let's just get
on solid ground again." After providing his input, he made a mental note
to write himself a prescription for extra strength Dramamine.
Afterwards, he strapped himself back into his
seat and tried to close his eyes and rest until the plane landed.
OOC: James is going to invest 5 CP into his
Vibro blast and 5 CP into his Agility.
Paul
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom,
Let's beef up Adamas damage a little bit, I
believe 10 pts will get him 2d10, vs. the current 2d6. In addition 3 cps to Str would give him 2d8
dam, vs. the current d6+d8, and a couple of hit points to boot. Let me know if that's not right, or you do
not approve.
As far as actions, Adamas will go with Patty
and the Robot Factory. He recommends
they stay together vs. splitting up.
Jon
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Yikes, sorry for delay as well as the wall of
text.
Lots to put out in case there is more multi
round action. I'm ok with it FWIW.
IC: Demy found comfort with Black Orchids
leadership. He felt like she could tell
his anxiety was redlining from being cooped up in the Strikes aircraft. He had plenty of missions being transported
by Russian and US Air Forces aircraft.
They were all loud and utilitarian, with exposed hydraulics and basic
handles and other controls with uninspired signs so common in the military. Nothing like this craft, where form
paralleled function. It wasn't a NYC
penthouse by any means, but Strikes technology definitley was an "11"
in comparison to standard DOD aircraft.
And he could hear himself think.
So much quieter in here than what he was used to. Which gave him time to think - maybe too
much. He certainly didn't like the fact
they could potentially go down in the water.
He scouted for some type of emergency floatation device just to be ready
to deploy for himself and others if they went down. Assuming they survived any crashing into the
water. NOPE! "Snap out of it." He said to
himself. He REALLY appreciated Orchids
comforting words, her leadership may be new, but could tell he was in good
hands with her and the others in charge.
He focused his attention towards the land
masses in front of him. It was hard to
gauge as their shifting maneuvers made it difficult to accurately approximate
how far off they were, but it was going to be soon.
Patty, Adamas, and Dr. Wildman's reports made
Demy's mind start to swirl with all kinds of tactical options that he shares
with Black Orchid during their discussions.
A) They could submerge and potentially
infiltrate into the undersee base. They
could then attempt to make their way through the tube, possibly dissabling the
launch positions of the robot sea and sky sentries (all positions A-L) as the
snuck towards the Villa where he thinks the HQ of Cyberdoom may be. All assumptions he is betting on.
B) Attack full force at the military base at
13. This would take on the full force
potentially of Cyberdooms minions and other centries head on.
<<ANTICIPATION!!!>>
C) Attack position 10 which he was betting on
may have something to do with shield projection system covering the
islands. His concern was that positions
11 & 12 may be either power supply or defensive batteries providing over
watch for the "shield generator"/Comms antennae. Maybe if they can ID
what they are and take them out they can call in some additional support if
things go south or at least help with exfil.
D) The islands of T'Pao, K'naud and T'und all
APPEAR to have natives that feels like we should steer clear of to mitigate
collateral damage and save lives.
No matter where they end up landing, Demy will
deploy immediately and continue to get MISHA into position to either provide
defensive cover if we are sneaking around OR head straight into the mass of
oncoming baddies to rend, rip, tear and blast away using multi shot and/or
multi attacks with Demy using this Nano Sync To Hit modifier to help direct
fire control.
He pauses a moment after that last and his eyes
go wide, then a slight, quirky smile starts to appear.
<<ANNOYANCE!>>
"T'PAO... ?" Demy questioningly
whispers....
Head stationary but eyes darting and looking up
at the ceiling as if searching for something unseen.
“No....T'PAU!"
With that, Demy settles in. Puts on his Sony
Walkman headphones, lays his head back, his eyes roll back white, and begins to
summon M.I.S.H.A. regardless of where they end up landing while hits the PLAY
button.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwrYMWoqg5w
OOC: Tom/All, I realized too late that Demy's
Summoning of MISHA requires 5 minutes, is a Persistent Ability, and takes an
Action to initiate if I understand correctly.
I'm trying to understand Summoning Modifiers: Conditional Summoning Time
on p.72 and am wondering if I can spend IP to add a version that allows for
faster summoning deus ex machina due to the fact that I should have been
actively summoning MISHA ~5 minutes ago.
I did state that I was "preparing to summon him as we hit
appropriate distance" from land fall, but Demy usually goes into a
"state" to do and I feel having him being able to be summoned would
be against the characters story, if not the rules. So, I was thinking of the 1 Action or 3 round
version but this appears to be based on how far away MISHA is. The character concept is that Demy is infused
with "unstable nanotech" where MISHA auto departs in either d20 hours
AND fails to summon at all if a 20 is rolled.
Essentially, MISHA is a part of and "in" Demy (Demy's weight
alone is not Demy + MISHA, FYI), but there is this law of mass and density that
I get wrapped up in that the delta of which has to come from somewhere (other
dimension...?). Let me know your thoughts on this and what the cost might be,
if allowed.
If not, he will get MISHA's summoning initiated
finally and put his IP's into MISHA's size increase. The intent is to spend
enough to get MISHA into the next size bracket, if possible. If not, we'll increase his STRENGTH to the
next level, Increase his Plasma blast if he has any left over to the next
damage die. For Demy, he would like to
increase his ability to see through and use MISHA more as a drone so may
discuss options in the future.
Also, regarding the Scientist who helped with
Operation Siberdum, I have some thoughts, but will follow up as this already
suffering from TL; DR.
Cheers!
Greg
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking about increasing his healing
rate or ability to control machines.
Jamey
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He might need a defense against the beam that
the robot fired that slowed down his nanobots.
Jamey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
That is a good idea for the short team. For the
long term option, StrikeForce could use his CPs to start a Base. It falls under
the Vehicle rules section. Vanguard Industries could be the base. We know it
houses the regenerative device. Here are some examples that can get you
started.
Tom
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom,
Sorry for having to ask, but what is/are the
benefits to StrikeForce of having a base?
Thanks in advance,
Jamey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You can
add permanent abilities for less CPs with the restriction of having to return
to base to get it.
The Regeneration device for StrikeForce at
Vanguard was available because of his IPs. If he uses his IP for something else
the next time he visit Vanguard it will be down for maintenance.
The base can make the Regeneration device
permanently available plus other abilities.
Tom
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Tom
Jamey
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Black Orchid thinks about the options.
"I always prefer the stealth route, but we have also had good success with
the decoy route. Those of us who can become invisible could break off and
infiltrate while there is a more frontal assault. They DO know we're here after
all. Alternatively, I could be part of the distraction with a large darkness
'monster.' We also have the sea folk. How comfortable are people feeling with a
partial frontal assault?"
Marc
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"That could work," Patty agrees.
"However, I wouldn't be able to go with any invisible types, I can only do
that in astral form and that would take me out of any fighting needing
done."
Shane
----------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce replies, "I can drop off the
team wherever you want, even if it is in multiple locations."
Jamey
