Quickly he stops the bleeding. He listens from his position for Invulnero’s next action. He listens to footsteps and grunting. Invulnero has lifted something heavy. Archer listens to the sound of footsteps walking away from him and the docks "Blood loss is making me lose focus. . . No, I will not be stopped by three back alley drug pedaling thugs. Focus Daniel."
He focuses on his breathing, slowing the flow of blood in his body. He is surprised to hear the sound of police sirens.
Archer decides it would be best to not be found. As he starts to move he looks to see where the police are. They have blocked the alleyway. They did not enter the alley but are watching from behind their cars.
"Good, the drugs are still there. Mission accomplished, but . . . how . . . how did the local police respond so quickly? They can't find me here. Not now, I'm not ready to go public yet. I have to get out here. Heal up, and start again"
“Chief Ravage has sent our instructions personally”, calls the officer of car 601. “We are to secure the perimeter but are not to enter. The fight had at least 2 metas involved. There are two CHESS knights on their way”.
"Meta? Hone your senses through years of training and that makes me a Meta? Did he say CHESS?"
The surprised officer of car 413 yells. “Really? The tipster must either be reliable or connected to get both Megalopolis PD and CHESS to respond”.
"CHESS? Tipster? But there was no line of sight to the ambush. This back alley has no security cameras, and I'd have sensed anyone close enough to have identified Invulnero or me as "metas". Who the hell is this Tipster? Has Craftsman or Oracle betrayed me to the authorities? Time to find some answers. I hate sewers, but at least the Foundry's are cleaner than Hong Kong"
The wounded Vigilante moves to find a place to hide. He can’t be found by CHESS. He finds a maintenance door on the roof. He quickly picks the lock and crawls into the entrance. He quickly used his senses to determine that the building is abandoned. Secure that he won’t be found from someone in the building, he checks to make sure his wounds haven’t reopened.
He pauses as he hears the sound of flying vehicles. He hasn’t heard the sound before in person, only on the T.V. from the Crusher Crimewave coverage. It is the sound of CHESS Skycycles.
He listens as the 2 CHESS Knights take up position.
“Knight 1 on location.”
“Knight 2 in position.”
“Location is secure. No sign of Metas in the area. There is one dead gang member and three destroyed bikes. Each bike has the mentioned saddle bags on them. Two saddle bags are ruined with the contents spilled over the area and the third one is intact.”
“CHESS Rook 5, we have blood evidence on the roof but no trail. Permission to track wounded Vigilante.”
“Please note in log my disagreeing Rook 5; Vigilante could get away before Bishop Codename Prince arrives on scene.”
“Understood, Rook 5, we will maintain perimeter security, Knight 1 over and out”.
Knight 2 speaks, “Did I hear right, Not only is Prince in route but a MEDUSA Tactical Squad as well?”
Archer breaths a silent sigh of relief "So, I haven't been betrayed, the hounds are on a leash. . . Interesting.
MEDUSA? I feel like I'm on an ice flow without snow shoes. Time to go" Working his way down to the basement of the abandoned building, Daniel concentrates on the CHESS agent's conversation.
Knight 1,”Affirmative, I don’t know what that blue tinted powder is but this is more serious than a couple of metas upping
the stakes.”
Knight 2, “I wonder what it could be that would turn us into a couple of babysitters?”
Archer slips through the abandoned offices of the second floor of the warehouse the bloodied bowman has thoughts very similar to the CHESS agent. "I too wonder at your superiors motivations? Have Craftsman or Oracle aided my escape this evening, or have the Talons been given a chance to reacquire the drugs due to my actions? What is MEDUSA, and why would they become involved?"
The sound of a third Skycycle is heard as it enters his spatial awareness. The Skycycle flies quickly to the building. It has two riders. One in armor and the other is not. When it hovers over Archer’s head the other two Skycycles leave. The unarmored agent drops to the roof. Archer quietly moves across the second floor heading toward the opposite end of the building. At the same time trying to find an opening to the sewers in the building, He can’t find the opening within this warehouse. He will have to cross the street to a different building.
As he prepares to take the stairs to the first floor several armed troopers enter his awareness. They are ground level and in skirmish formation. A few break off and enter the buildings. They are performing a search pattern. Archer quickly gets to the first floor and finds a hiding place with two troopers enter the building.
From where he is hiding he can see the alley outside. The squad is being led by a woman.
Archer heard the sound of a repel line being strung. He freezes and the only sound he hears himself make is the dripping of his blood. The two troopers are searching the first floor but are unable to find him.
David sees a man in a suit repel down the side of the warehouse. The repel line is coming from his belt. He is heavily armed with many hidden weapons.
Seeing him land on the ground, the Woman from MEDUSA walks over. “Bishop Prince, I am Squad Leader Captain Houston. We are responding to a call from the Megalopolis PD that a Talon Assassination Squad has been spotted”.
Bishop Prince makes no attempt to hide his disgust. “Sorry Captain but MEDUSA has been had. There is no Talon Assassination Squad. I don’t even think the Talon’s were involved in this fight.”
The Squad Leader gives a quizzical look toward the powder on the ground. “Yes, that is Blue Xiang”, replies the CHESS Bishop. He then holds up his cell phone and place a part of a recording that was sent to him.
"Genghis said you wouldn't listen, I said the drugs were never yours"
Bishop Prince stops the recording. “It would appear that the Talons were involved but a double cross on their first sale in Megalopolis is not a very smart way to gain customers”.
“Agreed,” Captain Houston signals her team to regroup, “It isn’t there way. They get secondary suppliers on board with cheap product and before the pushers know what has happened they are so dependent on the Talon organization there is no way to double cross them or for the pusher themselves to make a profit.”
“The intelligence community refers to it as ‘Criminal Welfare’. They become so reliant on the provider that they lose all initiative and won’t think for themselves. How could an informant so unreliable generate such a fast response time from all these organizations?”
Again Bishop Prince shows his disgust, “He is extremely connected. He knows the right way to setup each organization. He is a former CHESS agent and Megalopolis Police Chief Ravage’s brother. He is a drunk who uses the moniker of Invulnero or Invulnero Man now.”
“I had the CHESS Rooks track down the sting he setup. He has used MPD, CHESS, and MEDUSA as the Nicotine’s backup in a drug buy from the Talons of the Jade Emperor. He contacted the MPD to let them know of the drug sale but gave incorrect location and time so the police were ready, available, and minutes from here. But they were far enough away from the sale location not to stumble on it”
“He then contacted CHESS at the end of the cape fight, sending recordings like the one I played. He must have turned his cell phone memo feature on sometime during the fight. We have over 30 Knights and Valkyries on Skycycles patrolling all of Megalopolis in an attempt to quarantine the Crusher Crimewave to Center City and also manage all the criminal elements that think the rest of Megalopolis is open season. Our response time is great, it is the amount of resources to respond with that is lacking. We can never send more than 2 at a time.”
Bishop pauses, “I hate needle in a haystack operations like this. The political environment requires us to show that we are ‘serving and protecting’ the citizens and their property which prevents us from properly coordinating our efforts to arrest the villains. I completely understand what the military felt like in Vietnam. CHESS has too many Congressman, Governors, and Mayors to appease to effectively end this.”
The Squad Leaders returns a grim smile as well, “I hear you. We have had a squad on alert with boots on the ground in the docks ever since the cargo freighter ‘Celestial Garden’ anchored. The Talons of the Jade Emperor had been declared a paramilitary organization like the Red Directorate, Dervish Jihad, and the Emissaries when they took over the government of the Island of Juompur. While we are not allowed to stop any typical criminal activity like the sale of drugs, we can intervene in the sales of weapons and other military actions. Since the lead was worthless, we will depart. I leave the crime scene to CHESS and the Police.” With that she signals her team as they all leave.
Bishop Prince turns to complete his processing the crime scene.
Archer slips from his hiding spot. Unseen he enters the nearby the building to enter the sewer system. In a few minutes he is on his motorcycle and leaves the docks behind him.
Current Conditions:
Archer Hit Points: 41 Power Points: 0
Blunt Head Arrows: 5
Target Point Arrows: 9
Broad Head Arrows: 6
< Due Date: Feb 23rd, Actions, Goal, Replies>
Replies to Issue 6: It is not yours.
Holy Brahma Bull!!!
I don't know if Archer just won or loss? Duh obvious -both!
Daniel accomplished his goal of keeping the Blue Xiang off the streets, but actually killed a guy and got pretty shot up himself in the process. Good God Tom I don't know what dice your using but how the heck did Archer fail an Agility save, and a shot at a stationary target? Must of been the same die you used for Invulneros shotgun. I thought for sure between the darkness, the height advantage (hey was I getting a bonus for attacking from above?), and his Heightened Defense, he'd be almost unhittable. Ah well vulgarities of the bones as they roll Awesome storytelling my friend, with your table as full as it is with 2+4 role plays and RL, it's a testament to how much you enjoy what you do.
CHESS !!!
Crap, his first mission out and his actions draw the attention of CHESS . . . and MEDUSA? What the hell's going on around here? I thought MEDUSA was like the CIA. You know, no activity on US soil. Crap, metas and govt heavy weights on his initial outing? Before you know it he'll be either be on Fear Island or the Megalopolis version of . . . ? hell I don't know some SHIELD agent/ex-agent. Nooo just had to be the good guy and stop the drugs, couldn't just go after Genghis Chi like his "mission" would have called for. Damn Megalopolis for making him care about her so quickly
Well between these guys (thanks to the "tipster", and yeah that's another issue we're going to have to explore) and his wounds (I need to reread killing damage obviously, PR=0 ? Grrr damn agility save) Archer's going to have to go evacuate the area, heal a bit, do some recon, and find another way to stir the pot if necessary - although killing one of their guys certainly seemed to "help".
I'll think on what I want the battling bowman to do next and we'll go from there. I assume Archer heard all the stuff about CHESS and MEDUSA from his hidey hole?
Excellent Issue Tom Thanks Bunches
John R
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GM Reply
I assume Archer heard all the stuff about CHESS and MEDUSA from his hidey hole?
Yes, if he didn't hear I either wouldn't have written it or would have done a [GM Note: ] if it was player information you needed.
The key difference is MEDUSA is Military based. So if you were thinking it was like FBI equals Super Forces and CIA equals MEDUSA that is wrong.
MEDUSA is FBI and CIA combined into one unit for the Military.
Super Forces is more akin to Army Special Forces (Green Berets), Navy SEALS, and Air Force Special Operations Force.
Thanks
Tom
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Hmmmm
Thanks for the clarification. I was/am still shocked by MEDUSA's interest in the situation. CHESS make some sense; given the tipster was likely either Oracle of Craftsman. (I need to check Archer's costume for electronic devices) but MEDUSA? Why would a shipment of Blue Xiang be of interest to the military? The implications are . . . well let's say it opens doors I wouldn't have thought were going to be part of Archer’s story arc - I am soooo digging it
Thanks Tom. I'll start on Archer's OOC/IC response soon. Definitely have to make this stuff part of his pondering -hey he has to do something while he wrapping his bloodied body up
John R
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GM Note: Player Knowledge only - You are right about Invulnero - He is the Nicotines Meta-Warlord.
Every game is going to have one tough that is not on the gang list but deserves its own character sheet. Some will have low grade powers like Invulnero and others will be super-skills only.
This character is what I refer to as the gang's Meta-Warlord, as referenced to in The Wraith Issue 5.
Thanks
Tom
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OH!!!
Oh, hey great, great news, Archer got a chance to embarrass a Meta-Warlord in front of his troops and accidentally kill one of the same all on his first mission Oh not to mention get CHESS and MEDUSA sniffing around the joint (??? actually, that might be good news - sorta???) Well if nothing else there's a chance I got a Meta pissed off at the Talon and that's a win in my books any day.
Thanks for the PKO info
John R
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Actually my thought wasn't so much a defensive bonus from being above, rather from having some kind of partial cover from the roof and/or and defensive bonus from it being so dark. Not sure if the rules allow for any defensive bonuses for those either though All good - if they don't I won't worry to much about making that part of the game plan and if they do thats cool too. Honestly I just assumed you rolled pretty good for the bad guys and it's not like Archers anywhere close to unhittable. It's one of the reasons I have him training his Willpower. I want to be able to apply his Willpower as a hth defense - sort of a "combat awareness". And what better way to get better at that than in combat
John R
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The rules do allow cover but the PC or NPC has to be more than 1/2 behind the cover.
Info for planning purposes.
With the Bow and needing to shot at a downward angle, I did not think Archer would be able to maintain more than 1/2 of his body behind cover and fire. The rules allow for movement and action during a phase or action and movement during a phase. So if he was hiding behind cover at the start of his phase, movement would be spent to rise up and then shoot. Archer would be out of cover until his next phase where he would shoot and then drop behind cover.
On the darkness bonus. It really was used for the ambush and the first turn. The road next to the alleyway had lights and the warehouses had security lights so the lighting was more of a dusk setting then complete darkness.
If that wasn't clear, let me know and I will make sure that I make the setting more evident in the write-ups.
Regards.
Tom
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Nah your write ups were great. I'll just be more clear for what I'm trying to accomplish and you can let me know if its possible or to Go Fish
Thanks again
JR
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Hey Tom
Hope things are going well.
Had a few questions/thoughts I wanted to run by you before I put Archer "in play" again. Although his Primary Mission of neutralizing the Blue Xiang seems to have been a success there was a set back or two.
1) I'm going to need to run the Marlboro Man's death through my head a few times before I can get a feel for how I want it to affect Archer long term. Right now I'm going for bury it underneath and deal with it when there's time for him to meditate on the event.
2) I do know that he would have stayed focused on the furthering the mission and would have said something to further intimate that Invulnero was facing the Talons when he yelled "Assasin!" Maybe something like "Genghis said you wouldn't listen, I said the drugs were never yours"
3) Can you approximate how much time between Archer's first shot, and the sound of the sirens? I'm thinking 30-45 seconds given the 2 turns? That's quick. Not to mention Invulnero picked his buddy up and left before Archer heard the sirens - btw you said he grunted picking Lucky up - would it be reasonable to guess Invulnero has fairly normal strength? I have to assume Invulnero lugged the guy back toward the docks given the arrival/position of the police cruisers?
4) Can Archer get power points back by resting a few minutes? You've thrown a few curve balls at me (baseball season) so I'm torn between wanting to spy on CHESS and MEDUSA and high tailing his butt out of there, given his condition. At the very least he's going to very carefully use his Heightened Senses to examine his gear for any kind of tracking/eavesdropping/etc devices. I figure that's the most likely way a "tipster" got CHESS and MEDUSA to respons so quickly - as Archer was very careful to avoid security systems/atm cameras etc on his way to the ambush. If it cost him a couple hit points so be it. I just need to know if I can get the powerpoints I'll write his actions up in seperate e-mail.
5) If possible a description of the building if possible - I'll want to use his Escape/Evasion ninja skills, but the basic escape plan is to find a path to the sewer system to escape detection, and work his way back to his bike and the Warehouse using his skills and heightened senses to avoid potential pursuit. If thee's a Rave or something nearby he can blend into just as good. He'll change to his hooded jacket and civies as soon as possible (after rechecking his bleeding. First thing first want t make sure he has good escape route first though
sorry 2am was rambling abit - will post all this as a OOC/IC response next time
Thanks John
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GM Replies.
Can you approximate how much time between Archer's first shot, and the sound of the sirens? I'm thinking 30-45 seconds given the 2 turns? That's quick.
Combat time ended with your last shot at the saddle bags. Archer doesn't know how long it was from his shot to the sound of the sirens. He was fatigued, bleeding badly, and focusing his concentration on saving his life (binding wounds and slowing blood flow)
Not to mention Invulnero picked his buddy up and left before Archer heard the sirens - btw you said he grunted picking Lucky up - would it be reasonable to guess Invulnero has fairly normal strength?
You are probably safe in believing he can't lift a ton.
I have to assume Invulnero lugged the guy back toward the docks given the arrival/position of the police cruisers?
That is a bit of a leap isn't. In V&V a NPC with all 10's for BC can sprint 50 yards in 15 seconds. Enough time had passed to allow even a low grade Meta to cross the street and find a place to hide. The Warehouse district of the Docks provides plenty of hiding places.
Can Archer get power points back by resting a few minutes?
Yes, now that he has stopped the bleeding. He can gain 1 PR per minute of rest.
At the very least he's going to very carefully use his Heightened Senses to examine his gear for any kind of tracking/eavesdropping/etc devices.
He can but it counts as movement. So he will stop gaining PR until he starts resting again.
If possible a description of the building if possible
All Archer knows is that it is abandoned and has been for a few years (3 to 5) based on the dust on the floor, rust on the lock, and smell of the maintenance area he is hiding in. There is a door in the floor which leads into the building below. You hear no activity below you; no people, machines, or electrical sounds.
Since it takes movement to use his Heightened Senses, he hasn't had a chance to scan the building yet as all his movement was used up in combat and as long as he is moving he isn't at rest.
Tom
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Hey Tom
I cut and pasted Archer's Heightened Sense ability off the Megalopolis site, because I want to make sure we're on the same page. Speaking of, that Killing Attack stuff is no joke huh :) Yeah if he was that out of it time perception-wise there would be no way to guage Invulnero's escape route. Okay back to the Spatial Detection
4. Heightened Sense: Spatial Detection -
Base Range is constant.
To increase range requires PR=2 to activate and movement
He can see (in gray form) the image of objects behind items. (No color or definition)
Base Range is 21" and Structure rating of 6. By using 1/2 of movement he can extend his range to double
the distance or double the Structure Rating he can 'see' through. If full movement used he can see 84" or
through St Rating 24
From this I take Archer should be able to use his Spatial Detection at "base range" of 21 without the use of PR or Movement. It's only when he tried to double or quadruple his range or penetrating power does a PR of 2 and Movement come into play. If so? Would he then, as long as he doesn't move, be able to regain his power points while using his senses?
Thanks
John
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GM Reply
No. I meant distance of 6 ft.
Did you think Archer has spatial awareness 105 ft. in front of him in all directions at all times?
If that was how far his power works then he would be spatially aware of an area that was 34,636 ft in size and the outer circumference of the circle would be 676 ft.
If that is the range you are wating then we would have to figure out how he tunes out that much sensory stimulation. I am guessing he would need a sensory deprivation chamber to sleep.
He definitely wouldn't be shy around women because he can see porn whenever he wants. He just has to walk into one of the dorms at the university. It would explain why he likes going to Tommy's place. He can watch how the rich play.
As GM I have a problem with a PC that has a no secrets zone around him that is bigger than two football field. If I have do special construction on anything I don't want him to immediately know. That violates the whole point of Street Patrol.
If he range of 105 ft. has to be the radius he sees at all times and not the area to be true to your vision then he is officially more powerful than 99 percent of all the characters in Street Patrol. He did this without having a single XP. You were also correct when you said he is as powerful as the Crusade PCs. In fact he has more abilities than I allow Crusade players to start their characters with.
So that is why we are are spelling KAT on the range issue.
Tom
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Hi Tom
Hmm okay, I'm sorry for the confusion. I guess I havent figured out all the potential advantages of his power. I understood his "base constant range of 21" or approx. 35 yards, as being constantly aware of things in a "grey" sense. In non-combat situations I didn't that wouldn't be a big deal. In combat situations he would need to pay PR of 2 and Movement to either expand his range to something more useful in combat, or to look deeper into objects with higher SR. I was envisioning a power similiar to Daredevil but without the advantages of lie detection, tracking scent, etc. I always remember Daredevil being almost impossible to sneak up on and had the ability to "see" through walls and stuff.
I'm not sure how it's that powerful. He can be ambushed by anyone with a weapon of range with 22"+. In combat I have to ration his movement and expend PR to go beyond that. In addition, he cant ID someone with Spatial Awareness since he has no sense of color or definition (according to our description of the power) It's one reason I was amazed you had him ID the Blue Xiang with it. If I've interpretted the description we wrote up wrong I apologized. I honesty thought I was going by the description as it appears in his character description. Please lets set things right or rework the power. Either way is fine with me. (You really think he's powerful? He has some good stats but I been thinking Wraith and Phantom both seem to outclass him so far? There's no way Archer could go through guys like they have so far - I think?)
Just a Thought or Two!!!
Maybe the 360 degree aspect can always be on, but he can only penetrate solid objects by using 1/2 his Movement? As far as range or penetrating ability lets just make them a constant that your comfortable with. Keep it simple and easy
Sorry again
John R
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Quickly he stops the bleeding. He listens from his position for Invulnero’s next action. He listens to footsteps and grunting. Invulnero has lifted something heavy. Archer listens to the sound of footsteps walking away from him. (If we're on same page of the Spatial Detection, Archer should have enough base range to get an ideal what direction Invulnero took off.)
<Archer: IC> "Blood loss is making me lose focus . . . No, I will not be stopped by three back alley drug pedalling thugs. Focus Daniel."
He focuses on his breathing, slowing the flow of blood in his body. He is surprised to hear the sound of police sirens.
Archer decides it would be best to not be found. As he starts to move he looks to see where the police are. They have
blocked the alleyway. They did not enter the alley but are watching from behind their cars.
<Archer: IC> "Good, the drugs are still there. Mission accomplished, but . . . how . . . how did the local police respond so quickly? They can't find me here. Not now, I'm not ready to go public yet. I have to get out here. Heal up, and start again"
“Chief Ravage has sent our instructions personally”, calls the officer of car 601. “We are to secure the perimeter but are
not to enter. The fight had at least 2 metas involved. There are two CHESS knights on their way”.
Archer: IC> "Meta? Hone your senses through years of training and that makes me a Meta? Did he say CHESS?"
The surprised officer of car 413 yells. “Really? The tipster must either be reliable or connected to get both Megalopolis PD
and CHESS to respond”.
<Archer: IC> "CHESS? Tipster? But there was no line of sight to the ambush. This back alley has no security cameras, and I'd have sensed anyone close enough to have identified Invulnero or me as "metas". Who the hell is this Tipster? Has Craftsman or Oracle betrayed me to the authorities? Time to find some answers. I hate sewers, but at least the Foundry's are cleaner than Hong Kong"
The wounded Vigilante moves to find a place to hide. He can’t be found by CHESS. He finds a maintenance door on the roof. He quickly picks the lock and crawls into the entrance. He quickly used his senses to determine that the building is abandoned. Secure that he won’t be found from someone in the building, he checks to make sure his wounds haven’t reopened.
He pauses as he hears the sound of flying vehicles. He hasn’t heard the sound before in person, only on the T.V. from
the Crusher Crimewave coverage. It is the sound of CHESS Skycycles.
He listens as the 2 CHESS Knights take up position.
“Knight 1 on location.”
“Knight 2 in position.”
“Location is secure. No sign of Metas in the area. There is one dead gang member and three destroyed bikes. Each bike has the mentioned saddle bags on them. Two saddle bags are ruined with the contents spilled over the area and the third one is intact.”
“CHESS Rook 5, we have blood evidence on the roof but no trail. Permission to track wounded Vigilante.”
“Please note in log my disagreeing Rook 5; Vigilante could get away before Bishop Codename Prince arrives on scene.”
“Understood, Rook 5, we will maintain perimeter security, Knight 1 over and out”.
Knight 2 speaks, “Did I hear right, Not only is Prince in route but a MEDUSA Tactical Squad as well?”
<Archer: IC> Breathing a silent sigh of relief "So, I haven't been betrayed, the hounds are on a leash . . . interesting.
MEDUSA? I feel like I'm on an ice flow without snow shoes. Time to go" Working his way down to the basement of the
abandoned building, Daniel concentrates on the CHESS agent's conversation.
Knight 1,”Affirmative, I don’t know what that blue tinted powder is but this is more serious than a couple of metas upping
the stakes.”
Knight 2, “I wonder what it could be that would turn us into a couple of babysitters?”
<Archer: IC> Slipping through an opening into the city's sewers the bloodied bowman has thoughts very similiar to the CHESS
agent. "I too wonder at your superiors motivations? Have Craftsman or Oracle aided my escape this evening, or have the
Talons been given a chance to reacquire the drugs due to my actions? What is MEDUSA, and why would they become involved?"
Archer: actions and goals
Tom you definitely must be a fan of roller coaster rides. Just as I think I might have a handle on the situation, you throw a new twist into the plot. At this point in time Daniel's primary goal is to escape the attentions of the CHESS/MEDUSA agents. As fun as it might be to continue to eavesdrop on the situation, I'm pretty sure he needs a bit more experience (and better equipment)before he starts playing with the big boys. I hoping with all their fancy gadgets and skycycles, these guys are use to looking to the skies and rooftops, leaving an opening through the dark, dirty, underground passages of the city. He'll continue to use his Spatial Detection at base range so as not to require any power. As soon as he no longer senses activity above he'll change ti his civies and rest a few minutes then expand his Heightened Senses to their maximum range in order to find a safe place to surface. Preferably as close to his motorcycle as possible. If I'm missing something, then go with his "escape and concealment" skill rolls.
If he has made it this far then Daniel will head home, clean up and rebandage his wounds. After that he'll use his Spatial Detection to examine his equipment and battle garb. He's looking for anything that might vaguely resemble a transmitter of some sort. If Craftsman did bug him, then it's too late now, and if he didn't then Chess seems to have been alerted to his actions some other way. Either way he'll mend and wash his bow and costume, leaving things as they are. His next conversation with Craftsman will be driven by the result of his search for the transmitter. Then he'll e-mail Craftsman asking for a meeting and get some sleep before classes in the morning.
<Archer: IC> "I wonder if this is what Oracle expected when she contacted me? Just who is Oracle?"
Current Conditions:
Archer Hit Points: 41 Power Points: 0
Blunt Head Arrows: 5
Target Point Arrows: 9
Broad Head Arrows: 6
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He has some good stats but I been thinking Wraith and Phantom both seem to outclass him so far? There's no way Archer could go through guys like they have so far - I think?)
The problem you have with that assessment is you don't have a baseline to compare the Nicotines against the Sons of James or Shamrocks.
At the moment The Wraith is the weakest. His main defense - Telekinesis can't stop bullets, Archer's arrows, or even Archer's punch. That is why the Shamrocks had chains and knives. Archer would have wasted these clowns in 3 shots.
The Phantom has gotten a little lucky. He has been hit twice with shotgun blasts which rolled less than 5 damage each time which is his Invulnerability level. Once pass his armor he is as weak as any gang member. Archer in his fight rolled with higher damage without losing a hit point twice.
I don't know if you have noticed, while there a lot of Son of James gang members he has faced more than 2 active threats only once. Archer on the other hand faced 3 threats every turn with 1 being a meta and if it wasn't for bad luck on the dice rolls and spending half his shots on the motorcycles, Archer could have finished his fight in 2 turns even with a low grade meta involved.
After reading your note, maybe it is not the range we need to clarify but the level of grayness. To me, if you can use it to determine the Structure Rating of an object (i.e. the attempt to determine Invulnero's Invulnerability level) that is very fine control. That is why I said he could tell it was a powder that the Talons were selling and it was his knowledge on the Chinese Underworld that told him it was Blue Xiang because it is the only powder narcotic they sell
Maybe we can state that in its natural state it is a fuzzy gray. He knows height, weight, male/female but wouldn't know the fabric of clothing, if a object was a cell phone holster or gun holster until he focused. Left a resting state, no movement required but isn't resting either.
Using the Daredevil movie (the only thing about it I liked was his radar sense) he can see a person but can't see the features until they are standing in rain. Same with the Spatial Awareness. At rest it is a fuzzy fat man but when he leaves rest he can tell it is Genghis Chi. So while he is not spending movement if they are in the 35 yard circle, the crispness of the view depends on whether he is at rest or active.
Does that sound reasonable.
Thanks
Tom
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Hey Tom
I'm LMAO. I was reading your newer description for Spatial Awareness - which is just great with me, and I was like "hey I should watch Daredevil again just to refresh my memory" . . . and I don't have it. I bought my wife Elektra, but apparently havent thought enough of the Daredevil movie to plunk out the 10 bucks or less I could probably get it for. But now I will :)
So to be clear 360 degree always on (?) and fuzzy on the details with fine details allowed at the cost of movement? Half movement gets some detail, full movement lots of detail? You know I may have been confusing the Daredevil and Batman movie (echo-location cell-phone thing) I'm definitely going to get the Daredevil movie and play it that way. I'd go get some of his newer comics but his story seemed to "jump the shark" a while back.
You know I hadn't really thought about the "quality" of the opponents. Archer was more focused on taking the drugs out of play than the bad guys from the get go. I'm sure I just noticed Wraith's "real" superpowers :) and Phantom's body count and assumed both could probably smoke Archer. Looking at it again, I can't argue the Wraith thing much but I still think Phantom's arsenal would be almost impossible for Archer to go against - the dude has more weapons than Batman has gadgets :) Hmmm still that would be an intriguing fight. You know though, I bet your right, Archer could probably fit in with the Crusaders and hold his own - I actually thought Phade would make an excellent Street Patrol hero.
Speaking of Crusaders what's the deal with Filius? Did he drop out?
Thanks and Later
John R
PS: If I need to do anything for Archer's responses let me know I might not have access to a computer for a week or so after Monday. Wife's taking it to Florida on her vacation.
I avoided Daniel's response to killing Marlboro because "I" didn't react how I thought "I" would when I read what happened. I regret it, very much so, but for some reasn that feeling of angst or guilt I thought would be there is tepid at best. Which in itself is more bothersome than the fact he killed Marlboro (by accident) - method acting sux :) I think I'll expolre it i his conversation with Craftsman (hopefully we get there) He's the only individual Daniel can openly share this stuff with right now.
- and HEY!!! Daniel would never use his power to "peek" at Tommy's mom - even if she is an attractive rich intelligent caring woman with a hidden cougar complex.
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Hmmm
Very interesting, I think I'm one of those who (as a GM) would have went with the straight up rules and said 1 power point - after all almost any use of a Power or any actions after the first in a turn is going to start cost hit points. On the other hand as a role-player it doesnt seem very realistic does it. Unless your Steve Rogers suppose As far as Archer goes . . .
I don't think I'll worry about the rule so much in this case and just go with how I percieved the character would act and go with whatever the consequences call for. Daniel primary goal after making sure the Blue Xiang is out of the drug dealers possision would be to escape detection/capture. He would take a minute or two accessing his physical condition and planning an escapr route based on the "readings" he would have gotten from using his Spatial Awareness during the battle. That and the recon he did of the Docks prior to the battle should aready give him a picture of the best escape routes given the current situation.
Modus Operandi: Extraction
1) Having bound his wounds Archer will move off the rooftop when he hears the local police sirens.
2) He will rest while listening to the local police as they set up an initial perimeter.
3) Hearing that CHESS agents are on the way he would move to an entrance that will get him into the sewer systems.
4) He will rest and listen to the CHESS agents
5) Once he hears of a Bishop and a MEDUSA tactical squad is on the way he would enter the sewers and make his escape.
The ideal is to rest a minute or two and move to a new location. Rest another minute or two and move to another location. After leaving the area his Spatial Awareness had covered during the battle he would activate it to get a clear picture of his new environment. By the time he leaves Ambush Alley behind him he should reach a position he can actually catch his breath and recover enough to leave the sewewrs and make his way home - periodically checking for a tail to insure he isn't being followed.
Once again escaping undetected is the primary goal. At whatever cost necessary to his hits or power. This is exactly the kind of stuff he was trained for at the monastary, time to put those skills to use
Hope that's the kind of thing you were looking for
John R
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Hey Tom
Just bought the movie for 4 bucks and think I'll look a TPB of the Miller stories. It's just been way too many years since I read those - awesome classic stuff - definitely worth putting a few bucks down for.
When it's time to update Archer's sheet due to experience points or something. Could you "update" the description for Spatial Awareness in his Power descriptions? That way I can refer to it and make sure I'm on the same page when using it in the future.
Speaking of updating the character: You wanted Archer to hold off on having access to his Special Weapon: Trick Arrows ( the bow is basically just a bow). If I remember right, your thought was to have Craftsman build him trick arrows as the game progressed. I was wondering if you might consider going a different direction. I'm just tossing this around in my head and wanted to see what you thought.
I'd like to keep Craftsman as his control and confidant. I think there's are some great storylines to explore with his family background. And I still he'd be Archer's provider of spy-gear tech stuff. Kind of stuff that would end up putting him on par tech-wise with CHESS and MEDUSA. But after playing him a bit I think exploring his mystic-warrior training is more in theme with this guy than slapping him with Trick Arrows that simulate "real" powers. I've been reading alot of Green Arrow, Arsenal, Hawkeye stuff recently and everytime I see a trick arrow, I don't see it fitting Archer's street patrol theme as well as the arrows I'm using already. This is a cooperative story though so I really want your thought on all this also. I think dropping the Special Weapon: Trick Arrows feels right though.
Instead I'd like to think about re-focus on his temple training.
I've been doing the side shots that focus on Daniel's obsessive training regiment. I think this is part of the genesis for taking the character this direction. Currently he's trying to train his mind and body with the techniques the Master taught him before he left to gain greater control of his Willpower (A). I don't expect you to just let him drop Trick Arrows and suddenly he gets to use Willpower but maybe he could pick this up as a Level Two upgrade? I also want us both to have a clear ideal of the things he can do with this - I can only assume an open ended power like this can cause some uber-confusion.
Alternatively I was thinking we could just drop Special Weapon: Trick Arrrows and replace it with Heightened Attack. He could still gain Willpower (A) - if your letting Street Patrol heroes gain new abilities due to campaign experience - later on, and the only thing he didn't get advantage of from Heightened Attack was a couple arrow shots that would have had the same effect in the game anyway. I was thinking this might be a way to enhance not only his bow ability but improve his hand to hand abilities also. It's a way to show him as not just a bowman but also a martial artist - without having to give him Natural Weaponry like most martial art characters. - I think I might like this ideal best. Simple, doesnt alter story continuity, small campaign foot print.
Okay enough spitballing for now
Thanks John
PS: I know you have another curve ball waiting for me, but I was sure I'd get a glimpse of Lightning Fist during the Alley Ambush - if only on the edge of my Spatial Awareness (Crap- that gives me a third suspect for who called the cops and govt goons )
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You wanted Archer to hold off on having access to his Special Weapon: Trick Arrows ( the bow is basically just a bow). If I remember right, your thought was to have Craftsman build him trick arrows as the game progressed. I was wondering if you might consider going a different direction
Whatever you want to do on the arrows is up to you. While storywise Craftsman was going to provide it, mechanically Archer was going to have to spend an invention point to get one. So if you want to spend the invention points on other tech that is your choice.
The only time I will intervene in Character Advancement or Invention points is when something makes him so powerful he will have to leave Street Patrol because only Super Villains provide a challenge.
The Special Weapon he has is his Bow. How it is special is the Draw Weight is 1000 lbs. That is how he gets the 1d10 on his bow. While the rulebook states a Bow is HtH damage. Is it right that Archer gets 1d10 and DarkStar gets 2d8 from the same bow? Each bow should have a max damage based on Draw Weight, wouldn't you agree? So those that can lift 1000 lbs can pull it to 1d10 but no one can do better regardless how much higher they can lift.
Archer already has Martial Arts, it is +4 to hit and -4 to be hit. It is the same kind of Martial Arts as the Intercrime Assassins have but double the value. Obviously theirs is a cheap Western knockoff of the true style that Archer has learned.
You can always choose Heightened Attack as a level advancement.
I will update Archer's character sheet to include our further clarifications but it might take me a week to get to it.
Thanks
Tom
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Wow, really?
I don't thin I ever realized Archer was going to be using Invention Points for his Trick Arrows. As far as the bow goes, I see what your getting at, but does it really reach the level of a Power? It has less hitting power than a shotgun, and less range than a rifle. Don't get me wrong I'm not looking to make him too powerful for Street Patrol (which on second though - glad I asked your opinion on this - probably makes Heightened Attack a bad ideal) I just think he could be doing pretty much the same thing without having used a power slot.
Maybe I've just had the wrong impression what kind of character Archer would compare to in the comic books? His greatest power seems to be his sta-line. Is it too much for Street Patrol? I kind of thought of him as operating on the same physical level as Shang Chi, Iron Fist and Daredevil. Is that wrong? Or is he more on par wth Captan America? I know he misses Spidey's boat by a wide margin. I always thought Cap did a nice job of bouncing between both worlds But I've always thought of those guys as having Heightened Stat-line, Defense, Expertise, and Natural Weaponry (and Willpower A in some cases)
Okay then thinking ahead, with leaving everything as is, and him getting a Trick Arrow per level (?) via the Invention process with Craftsman's support - Does Willpower A make him too powerful? Using it as a defense for HtH combined with Heightened Defense is going to make him pretty hard to hit even for a minor meta. On the other hand Heightened Attack is going to make that bow just that much more powerful. I originally came up with this whole line of thought after watching the Daredevil movie today. While Spatial Awareness does a pretty good job of simulating his Radar Sense, Daredevil's senses can do soooo many other things it gets a bit ludricous trying to simulate them all in V&V. And since I don't want Archer to be Daredevil or a Green Arrow knock off I was trying to explore different lines of thought.
Back to the drawing board I suppose. I got this whole Daredevil/Iron Fist/Shang Chi thing going on in my head - man I hadn't thought of the Master of Kung Fu in ages, but his recent appearance in Secret Avengers has me thinking of him alot. Yeah more I think of it compared to Bonesnapper, Wraith, and Phantom, Archer's close to cape than he is Shang Chi. Which is kinda weird because I see Dom and others giving Batman and others all kinds of crazy stat-lines - especially agility.
Okay just caught myself rambling
Cathya later pal
John R
