Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Wraith: Sparks - Issue 14

Location: Center City near midnight

The Garbage Man stretched his hands again. This time a debris dragon rose from the garbage truck.  It attacked Officer Milford. He was able to roll with most of the blow. He grunted in pain but moved away from the trash monster.

Officer Caldwell groaned.  He woke up.  The effects of the chemical used on him by the ice cream driver had worn off.  He looked up to see chaos everywhere. A man covered in dirt and trash waved his hands and creatures made of debris and trash moved like marionettes.  The two creatures looked like a serpent and a dragon. Walter wondered for a moment if he was dreaming.

“Get your lazy carcass over here!” yelled his partner and he knew he wasn’t. Gladness filled him when he saw Carl still fighting.  He kept low as he ran to their patrol car for cover.  He looked with surprised at the man in a black mask next to Officer Perkins. Walter knew now wasn’t the time for introductions. He drew his service revolver and focused on the threat at hand.

At the other patrol car Officer Milford moved away from the trash dragon. He moved to a new cover position, raised his revolver, and fired.

BLAM!

Officer Milford missed. He hadn’t aimed at the trash marionette but at its puppeteer.

“Those cops are going to be killed unless I take him out,” David thought.  He dared not attack the Garbage Ghoul directly.  But it was time to hit him with something a little more substantial than a car bumper. “First protect and then attack”, The Wraith protected the cops with his TK shield.

{GM Note: At end of this issue I explained how the TK shield worked in game terms}

The man in the black leather jacket watched intently. Something strange started to happen. He had never seen a telekinetic defense before. A wind started to swirl around the two patrol cars. It wasn’t a natural wind but a focus of movement. It really wasn’t wind but he couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.

The telekinetic shield appeared as movement of force to the untrained eye.

The Wraith reached out with his telekinesis for the gas tank from the listing garbage truck, ripping it out from the underside of the vehicle. Everyone heard the screeching of metal bending.  According to plan the gas tank shattered against the garbage man. A few of the metal shards caused some sparks...

KABOOM!

The tank exploded in a huge ball of flame.  The blast launched the garbage man into the air.  The flames consumed the trash monsters.  The tires on the garbage truck melted into puddles and the truck fell to its side. Officer Milford cried out in pain.  The TK Shield blunted the blast but the flames burned his back. Officer Perkins winced from the pain. A smaller burst of flame had broken through the field to burn his hand. The moving wall of force blocked the blast as Officer Caldwell and Bonesnapper ducked behind the patrol car.

{GM Note: The Wraith lost 1 Power Point for each attack against his TK defense.  He protected 4 people for a cost of -4}

Thud!

The garbage man landed on the ground.  He stood back up with portions of his clothes on fire.  Looking a little daze, the trash covered supervillain looked in a vain to find who had attacked him.

BLAM!

The Wraith looked to man on the roof with the rifle.  He could tell the stranger had fired the shot but he could not tell what the target was.

Officer Alice Walker crawled out of the smashed garbage truck.  She stared in shock to see that the trashy Crusher still stood. She had managed to hang on to her revolver.

BLAM!

Arrgh! Officer Walker had missed the ambushing Crusher but hit her partner. “Alice! Watch out for the crossfire!” cried Officer Milford. She visibly winced at her mistake.

Officer Caldwell didn’t pay attention as masked vigilante made his move to circle around the flaming trash villain. He steadied his revolver, aimed, and fired.

BLAM!

His shot struck the garbage man in the chest.  The trashy terror shrugged off the gunshot like he barely felt it. Caldwell thought, “Yeah, that didn’t hurt anymore than a bee sting but with enough of stingers we can bring you down.”

Officer Perkins pumped his shotgun and fired.

KA-BLAM!

The blast failed to damage the supervillain.  Carl tossed the shotgun down and pulled out his revolver. “Next time load it with slugs instead of with scattershot.” He thought.

The black masked man kept down and he maneuvered around behind the garbage man.  The flames on the Crusher died down. The fire burned on one-third of his body.  The man in black moved behind the man covered in trash without being notice.

The Tonfa wielding vigilante focused on the villain’s skull, looking for an unprotected spot.  Finding the perfect spot, he prepared to strike.

KRUNCH!

He yelled to no one in particular, "If any of you hero types have water powers, this guy needs a bath!" as the Tonfa struck the lower back of the garbage man’s skull.

A stillness filled the scene as the flaming, trashy, Crusher’s body stiffened.  He rolled his eyes into his head.  The Garbage Man fell to the ground unconscious!

{GM Note: Bonesnapper had a 16% change on knocking Garbage Man unconscious and rolled a 16!}

All of the Megalopolis Police Officers let out a sigh of relief. A collective “Whew!” could be heard.

Officer Perkins as senior officer on site informed the others they would not be checking for licenses today.  He waved away the complaints of two of the others. “Look, we wouldn’t have won without them. Whether they helped us legally or illegally, I don’t care.  If they have their DSA Superhero Licenses they can present them to us now. If they don’t have them, we are going to be very busy securing the crime scene. If they choose to disappear now no one is going to notice.”

“Am I clear?”

“Yes Sir!” said the trio of officers.

Officer Caldwell walked over the fallen ice cream driver and hand cuffed him.  He turned the “purp” over.  He reached for his radio only to find it missing.  Instead he yelled to his partner, “Hey, did you know who we have here?  It is Ben Jahmoka.  We have several outstanding warrants on him for illegal organ harvesting and black marketing.”

Carl smiled. Capturing him would definitely make the streets of Winthrope Station and the Foundry safer. He activated his radio, “Officer Perkins to Crusher Task Force Dispatch. We’ve been ambushed. The car with Dr. Morrow escaped. With the aid of several Vigilantes, we captured two Crushers. No casualties.  Request a Meta Wagon for 1 of the Crushers, the other can be brought in by patrol car. Standard CHESS notification protocol Alpha-Epsilon. Officer Perkins out.”

“Crusher Task Force Dispatch to Officer Perkins. The patrol car with Dr. Morrow did not escape. Crushers ambushed them too. Detective Broyko with the aid of Superheroes has engaged. They are attempting to rescue the Doctor at this time.  The location is …”

The dispatch continued to provide the exact location of the ambush.  All could hear the conversation and knew the other fight was happening 200 yards from where they stood.

< Due Date: September 14th, Actions, Goal, Reply?>

Current Conditions:
The Wraith         Hit Points:  10   Power Points: 46           Telekinesis Defense Active

------------------------------------------
The Wraith

Those cops are going to be killed unless I take him out, David thought.  Low on hit points, however, he dare not attack the Garbage Ghoul directly.  But it was time to hit him with something a little more substantial than a car bumper.

The Wraith reached out with his telekinesis for the gas tank from the listing garbage truck, ripping it out from the underside of the vehicle.  His plan is to throw it at his opponent, shatter it against him, and make sure at least a few of the metal shards cause some sparks...

Patrolling the Streets,

Greg

P.S.  Best wishes and safe thoughts to any and all affected by the Irascible Irene.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archer

OOC: I thought this is a really interesting idea. I also thought for sure a full tank of gas for a garbage truck would be too heavy for Wraith's to rip out and lift. Best I could figure it comes in right around 200 lbs for a 25 gallon tank. I'm not sure how that "interprets" into shattering it over his head but I'm thinking Bonesnapper and the cops (and the Ice Cream Man) might want to vamos just in case.  I think Wraith just might turn this guy into a living creature of napalm or something.

See ya in the alleys
John R

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The Wraith

Yeah, if I'm overshooting my own TK abilities let me know, Thomas.  If I am, my secondary plan will be to rip up a manhole cover and use it as discuss (should be heavier and more aerodynamic than a bumper, maybe it'll make a dent).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GM

Your TK Capacity is 420 lbs so you are good to go.

Best
Tom

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archer

I don't know man, looks like you're almost spot on to me. I don't know about the whole shattering thing but I bet it won't take much to rupture that tank (say like a high powered rifle round - hint hint - lol) Can your TK protect the cops from the flames? I do seem to have seen an example of that at the Bridge.

Keep up the good work
John R

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wraith

If I can protect the cops with a TK shield I'll do so. Good idea.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GM

The Wraith has a TK Shield; it is called TK Defense on his character sheet. Setting up his defense around someone (or group of people) of than himself will require the use of an invention point.  The TK Shield provides the TK Defense to whoever is designated.

The Defense can only stop up to the capacity damage. A full strength that is 6 points but in this situation half of his capacity was used to rip out the gas tank.  This left 3 points to defend the blast.  The TK Defense blocked the blast but only up to 3 points of damage.  The first two officers received damage because the blast damage rolled was greater than 3 and the last officer and Bonesnapper did not because the damages rolls were 3 and 1.

Per the TK defense rules the PR is 1 per attack.  Since The Wraith defended 4 individuals, he lost 4 power points.

Phantom: Crosshairs - Issue 14

Location: Center City near midnight.

The Garbage Man stretched his hands again. This time a debris dragon rose from the garbage truck.  It attacked Officer Milford. He was able to roll with most of the blow. He grunted in pain but moved away from the trash monster.

Officer Caldwell groaned.  He woke up.  The effects of the chemical used on him by the ice cream driver had worn off.  He looked up to see chaos everywhere. A man covered in dirt and trash waved his hands and creatures made of debris and trash moved like marionettes.  The two creatures looked like a serpent and a dragon. Walter wondered for a moment if he was dreaming.

“Get your lazy carcass over here!” yelled his partner and he knew he wasn’t. Gladness filled him when he saw Carl still fighting.  He kept low as he ran to their patrol car for cover.  He looked with surprised at the man in a black mask next to Officer Perkins. Walter knew now wasn’t the time for introductions. He drew his service revolver and focused on the threat at hand.

At the other patrol car Officer Milford moved away from the trash dragon. He moved to a new cover position, raised his revolver, and fired.

BLAM!

Officer Milford missed. He hadn’t aimed at the trash marionette but at its puppeteer.

The Phantom heard the screech sound of metal bending. The garbage truck’s gas tank flew out from it.  It broke apart against the garbage man.

KABOOM!

The tank exploded in a huge ball of flame.  The blast launched the garbage man into the air.  The flames consumed the trash monsters.  The tires on the garbage truck melted into puddles and the truck fell to its side. Officer Milford cried out in pain.  A mysterious field blunted the blast but the flames burned his back. Officer Perkins winced from the pain. A smaller burst of flame had broken through the field to burn his hand. It blocked the blast as Officer Caldwell and Bonesnapper ducked behind the patrol car.

Thud!

The garbage man landed on the ground.  He stood back up with portions of his clothes on fire.  Looking a little daze, the trash covered supervillain looked in a vain to find who had attacked him.

Phantom saw the ‘The Man in the Black Mask and Jacket’ that was initially taking cover behind a nearby police car suddenly move into hand-to-hand range with the ‘Garbage Man’. Feeling that it was only a matter of time before the outnumbered garbage-goon was ‘taken-out’, Phantom’s attention quickly turned towards the location of the other ambush site.

As he looked across the city skyline through his rifle scope he could see two meta’s flying above the building tops. One was a female in American Indian garb that was swooping and diving around the second ambush site and the other was a male completely engulfed in a sheath of flames simply hovering over the location.

Phantom took a quick look over his right shoulder at Rico “Puerto Rico” Billings to make sure he hadn’t lost his ‘evenings prey’, and then raised his rifle to his shoulder. As he stared through the scope of his weapon, the fiery mutant hovering above the dark city streets suddenly came into focus. Taking a deep breath, the one-man-arsenal gently squeezed the trigger and sent a round screaming at his targets chest.

BLAM!!!

Phantom watched intently, knowing the exact time it would take the round to travel 200 yards. He saw the hovering flaming villain jerk suddenly.  The supervillain tumbled in the air for 5 feet before stabilizing himself, keeping himself in flight. The flaming Crusher held his side and flinched in pain.

Officer Alice Walker crawled out of the smashed garbage truck.  She stared in shock to see that the trashy Crusher still stood. She had managed to hang on to her revolver.

BLAM!

Arrgh! Officer Walker had missed the ambushing Crusher but hit her partner. “Alice! Watch out for the crossfire!” cried Officer Milford. She visibly winced at her mistake.

Officer Caldwell didn’t pay attention as the masked vigilante made his move to circle around the flaming trash villain. He steadied his revolver, aimed, and fired.

BLAM!

His shot struck the garbage man in the chest.  The trashy terror shrugged off the gunshot like he barely felt it. Caldwell thought, “Yeah, that didn’t hurt anymore than a bee sting but with enough of stingers we can bring you down.”

Officer Perkins pumped his shotgun and fired.

KA-BLAM!

The blast failed to damage the supervillain.  Carl tossed the shotgun down and pulled out his revolver. “Next time load it with slugs instead of with scattershot.” He thought.

The black masked man kept down and he maneuvered around behind the garbage man.  The flames on the Crusher died down. The fire burned on one-third of his body.  The man in black moved behind the man covered in trash without being notice.

The Tonfa wielding vigilante focused on the villain’s skull, looking for an unprotected spot.  Finding the perfect spot, he prepared to strike.

KRUNCH!

He yelled to no one in particular, "If any of you hero types have water powers, this guy needs a bath!" as the Tonfa struck the lower back of the garbage man’s skull.

A stillness filled the scene as the flaming, trashy, Crusher’s body stiffened.  He rolled his eyes into his head.  The Garbage Man fell to the ground unconscious!

{GM Note: Bonesnapper had a 16% change on knocking Garbage Man unconscious and rolled a 16!}

All of the Megalopolis Police Officers let out a sigh of relief. A collective “Whew!” could be heard.

Officer Perkins as senior officer on site informed the others they would not be checking for licenses today.  He waved away the complaints of two of the others. “Look, we wouldn’t have won without them. Whether they helped us legally or illegally, I don’t care.  If they have their DSA Superhero Licenses they can present them to us now. If they don’t have them, we are going to be very busy securing the crime scene. If they choose to disappear now no one is going to notice.”

“Am I clear?”

“Yes Sir!” said the trio of officers.

Officer Caldwell walked over the fallen ice cream driver and hand cuffed him.  He turned the “purp” over.  He reached for his radio only to find it missing.  Instead he yelled to his partner, “Hey, did you know who we have here?  It is Ben Jahmoka.  We have several outstanding warrants on him for illegal organ harvesting and black marketing.”

Carl smiled. Capturing him would definitely make the streets of Winthrope Station and the Foundry safer. He activated his radio, “Officer Perkins to Crusher Task Force Dispatch. We’ve been ambushed. The car with Dr. Morrow escaped. With the aid of several Vigilantes, we captured two Crushers. No casualties.  Request a Meta Wagon for 1 of the Crushers, the other can be brought in by patrol car. Standard CHESS notification protocol Alpha-Epsilon. Officer Perkins out.”

“Crusher Task Force Dispatch to Officer Perkins. The patrol car with Dr. Morrow did not escape. Crushers ambushed them too. Detective Broyko with the aid of Superheroes has engaged. They are attempting to rescue the Doctor at this time.  The location is …”

The dispatch continued to provide the exact location of the ambush.  All could hear the conversation and knew the other fight was happening 200 yards from where they stood.


< Due Date: September 14th, Actions, Goal, Reply?>

Current Conditions:
Phantom           Hit Points: 23    Power Points: 61           Invulnerability: 5           
                                    Right FN Five-seveN Pistol: 20 rounds
                                    Left FN Five-seveN Pistol: 20 rounds
                                    AR-57 Assault Rifle: 48 rounds
                                    M406 High-Explosive Round Grenades: 3

------------------------------------------
Phantom

I should be able to finish putting together my response by later this evening, Tom. Sorry for the delay, but 'Hurricane Irene' has kept me VERY busy these last few days.

I had a few question though about the 'battlefield' that the characters from Street Patrol are currently fighting on:

1. How tall is the building that Phantom is standing atop of? I get the impression that its very tall since you mentioned he was using binoculars to get a better look at the story arcs villains. I ask mainly because I'm feeling some what trapped / limited to fighting mainly from the rooftop ( aka: no way to realistically move to another location without spending several  turns just moving about the map ).

2. How long would it take Phantom to get to the street level of the area that we're fighting in?

3. How far away is the other police car ( the one that took off from the scene of the initial crash )? Is it just a few blocks away; straight up the road, or did the police car make a turn somewhere? Would Phantom be able to see the action at that location through his rifle scope? I ask because if Phantom can engage the villains at long range ( using his rifle and scope ) at that location without spending a bunch of turns just trying to get to that location, he might actually do that.

4. If the other police car ( the one that took off from the scene of the initial crash ) did make a few turns to escape the initial ambush, would it be possible for Phantom to do the old 'running across the roof tops' that all superheroes seem to be able to do in the comics and get to that fight from where he is now?


My apologies for getting these questions out to you so late Tom, but I've just been completely jammed up by all the damage caused by the hurricane, and haven't had much of a chance to even sleep let alone get next to a computer. If you can help me out with these questions I should be able to get a response out to you by later tonight no problem.

Talk to you all soon,

-Kev

-------------------------------------------------------------------
GM

No problem, I knew you were swamped and would be late.  It is going to be a 3 day weekend for me so if you can get it to me by Friday night I will be able to get it out Monday.

1. Phantom: How tall is the building that Phantom is standing atop of? I get the impression that its very tall since you mentioned he was using binoculars to get a better look at the story arcs villains. I ask mainly because I'm feeling some what trapped / limited to fighting mainly from the rooftop ( aka: no way to realistically move to another location without spending several  turns just moving about the map ).

    GM: I am thinking the buildings are between 5 to 10 stories. I imagined the binoculars were more for night vision than distance since it is midnight. Currently Phantom's scope is performing that function.

2. Phantom: How long would it take Phantom to get to the street level of the area that we're fighting in?

     GM: It will take all his movement for one turn to get to street level. He will still be close enough to use his action for combat.

3. Phantom: How far away is the other police car ( the one that took off from the scene of the initial crash )? Is it just a few blocks away; straight up the road, or did the police car make a turn somewhere? Would Phantom be able to see the action at that location through his rifle scope? I ask because if Phantom can engage the villains at long range ( using his rifle and scope ) at that location without spending a bunch of turns just trying to get to that location, he might actually do that.

    GM: The other police car is 120"/600 ft/200 yards away. It is not a straight path, so Phantom can't see the patrol car but he can see two Metas flying. One is female in American Indian garb who is swooping and diving as she flies and the another is a male that is completely in flames who is hovering. (Please let me know if Phantom looks that way even if that is not how he spends his action, so I can write this in the turn).

4. Phantom: If the other police car ( the one that took off from the scene of the initial crash ) did make a few turns to escape the initial ambush, would it be possible for Phantom to do the old 'running across the roof tops' that all superheroes seem to be able to do in the comics and get to that fight from where he is now?

    GM: Yes he could run across the roof tops to the other ambush site. I would not even access a movement penalty for terrain. He movement is 48" so it would take him 2.5 turns to run there. On the third turn when he would arrive it would on his action phase with half him movement already used up.

Best
Tom

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phantom

Street Patrol: Issue 13: On Target


> PHANTOM’S IC RESPONSE <

As Phantom watches his grenade round successfully hits its intended target, he sees the ‘The Man in the Black Mask and Jacket’ ( OOC: Bonesnapper ) that was initially taking cover behind a nearby police car suddenly move into hand-to-hand range with the ‘Garbage Man’. Feeling that it was only a matter of time before the outnumbered garbage-goon was ‘taken-out’, Phantom’s attention quickly turned towards the location of the other ambush site.

As he looked across the city skyline through his rifle scope he could see two meta’s flying above the building tops. One was a female in American Indian garb that was swooping and diving around the second ambush site and the other was a male completely engulfed in a sheath of flames simply hovering over the location.

Phantom took a quick look over his right shoulder at Rico “Puerto Rico” Billings to make sure he hadn’t lost his ‘evenings prey’, and then raised his rifle to his shoulder. As he stared through the scope of his weapon, the fiery mutant hovering above the dark city streets suddenly came into focus. Taking a deep breath, the one-man-arsenal gently squeezed the trigger and sent a round screaming at his targets chest.

BLAM!!!


> PHANTOM’S GOAL(S) <

Phantom is hoping to take some of the pressure off of the occupants of the police car ‘down the block’ and trying to ‘even up’ the fight a bit for Archer. He’s also thinking that if he can keep enough of the villains occupied, the police will have more time to respond with additional units to the location(s) of the ambush(es).


> PHANTOM’S OOC RESPONSE <

Sorry for the huge delay in getting out my response this time around, trouble with work and a family emergency had me jammed up all week. I hope my lateness hasn’t too adversely affect the game, but if it has; again, my apologies.

I’m attaching a Weapons & Equipment supplement to this e-mail for your approval Tom. I came up with what I hope is a more realistic description for Phantom’s Rifle Scope; and keeping my fingers crossed that you’ll approve it, incorporated it into my response above.

Let me know what you think of it Tom, and let me know if you need anything else from me for this issue - I should be able to get it out to you by today, tomorrow the latest.


TOM WROTE:

I am thinking the buildings are between 5 to 10 stories. I imagined the binoculars were more for night vision than distance since it is midnight. Currently Phantom's scope is performing that function.


- Oh cool! I didn’t realize you were giving me Night Vision equipment – worked that into my weapons and equipment attachment as well.


Talk to you all soon,

-Kev

------------------------------------------------
Archer

OOC: Wow. Show of hands, who wants Phantom knocking on their door when he's loaded for bear.

No one? lol, not me either.

Kev, totally surprised me by going for the flyers down the road instead of taking out Trashman first. If I'd known Archer was going to lose his bike and be facing down a meta mano-a-mano, I might not have been so hasty to leave the battle. Although I have to admit Trashman's apparent invulnerability to the sniper rifle was an influencing factor.  You'll probably be more help to the Crusaders than Archer, but the thought is awesomely appreciated though.

You know this whole constant deadly force thing is going to catch up to you eventually. Keep it up and Manta Lad's gonna put you on his top ten wanted list.

Good Hunting Street Fighters
John R

Bonesnapper: This Guy needs a Bath! - Issue 14

Location: Center City near midnight

The Garbage Man stretched his hands again. This time a debris dragon rose from the garbage truck.  It attacked Officer Milford. He was able to roll with most of the blow. He grunted in pain but moved away from the trash monster.

Officer Caldwell groaned.  He woke up.  The effects of the chemical used on him by the ice cream driver had worn off.  He looked up to see chaos everywhere. A man covered in dirt and trash waved his hands and creatures made of debris and trash moved like marionettes.  The two creatures looked like a serpent and a dragon. Walter wondered for a moment if he was dreaming.

“Get your lazy carcass over here!” yelled his partner and he knew he wasn’t. Gladness filled him when he saw Carl still fighting.  He kept low as he ran to their patrol car for cover.  He looked with surprised at the man in a black mask next to Officer Perkins. Walter knew now wasn’t the time for introductions. He drew his service revolver and focused on the threat at hand.

At the other patrol car Officer Milford moved away from the trash dragon. He moved to a new cover position, raised his revolver, and fired.

BLAM!

Officer Milford missed. He hadn’t aimed at the trash marionette but at its puppeteer.

Bonesnapper watched intently. Something strange started to happen. A wind started to swirl around the two patrol cars. It wasn’t a natural wind but a focus of movement. It really wasn’t wind but he couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.

It was the movement of force.

He heard the screech sound of metal bending. The garbage truck’s gas tank flew out from it.  It broke apart against the garbage man.

KABOOM!

The tank exploded in a huge ball of flame.  The blast launched the garbage man into the air.  The flames consumed the trash monsters.  The tires on the garbage truck melted into puddles and the truck fell to its side. Officer Milford cried out in pain.  The mysterious field blunted the blast but the flames burned his back. Officer Perkins winced from the pain. A smaller burst of flame had through broken the field to burn his hand. The moving wall of force blocked the blast as Officer Caldwell and Bonesnapper ducked behind the patrol car.

Thud!

The garbage man landed on the ground.  He stood back up with portions of his clothes on fire.  Looking a little daze, the trash covered supervillain looked in a vain to find who had attacked him.

BLAM!

Bonesnapper looked to see where the rifle fired had come from.  He couldn’t tell where the shot had been fired from and what it had been it target. He made his move.  He kept low as he left the safety of the patrol car.

Officer Alice Walker crawled out of the smashed garbage truck.  She stared in shock to see that the trashy Crusher still stood. She had managed to hang on to her revolver.

BLAM!

Arrgh! Officer Walker had missed the ambushing Crusher but hit her partner. “Alice! Watch out for the crossfire!” cried Officer Milford. She visibly winced at her mistake.

Officer Caldwell didn’t pay attention as Bonesnapper made his move to circle around the flaming trash villain. He steadied his revolver, aimed, and fired.

BLAM!

His shot struck the garbage man in the chest.  The trashy terror shrugged off the gunshot like he barely felt it. Caldwell thought, “Yeah, that didn’t hurt anymore than a bee sting but with enough of stingers we can bring you down.”

Officer Perkins pumped his shotgun and fired.

KA-BLAM!

The blast failed to damage the supervillain.  Carl tossed the shotgun down and pulled out his revolver. “Next time load it with slugs instead of with scattershot.” He thought.

Bonesnapper keep down and he maneuvered around behind the garbage man.  The flames on the Crusher died down. The fire burned on one-third of his body.  The man in black moved behind the man covered in trash without being notice.

Remembering that the garbage man has a weakness to water, he looked around him. “I could never pop a fire hydrant,” Michael thought to himself. “Times like this, I wish I had super-strength.”

Bonesnapper focused on the villain’s skull, looking for an unprotected spot.  Finding the perfect spot, he prepared his Tonfa to strike.

KRUNCH!

He yelled to no one in particular, "If any of you hero types have water powers, this guy needs a bath!" as the Tonfa struck the lower back of the garbage man’s skull.

A stillness filled the scene as the flaming, trashy, Crusher’s body stiffened.  He rolled his eyes into his head.  The Garbage Man fell to the ground unconscious!

{GM Note: Bonesnapper had a 16% change on knocking Garbage Man unconscious and rolled a 16!}

All of the Megalopolis Police Officers let out a sigh of relief. A collective “Whew!” could be heard.

Officer Perkins as senior officer on site informed the others they would not be checking for licenses today.  He waved away the complaints of two of the others. “Look, we wouldn’t have won without them. Whether they helped us legally or illegally, I don’t care.  If they have their DSA Superhero Licenses they can present them to us now. If they don’t have them, we are going to be very busy securing the crime scene. If they choose to disappear now no one is going to notice.”

“Am I clear?”

“Yes Sir!” said the trio of officers.

Officer Caldwell walked over the fallen ice cream driver and hand cuffed him.  He turned the “purp” over.  He reached for his radio only to find it missing.  Instead he yelled to his partner, “Hey, did you know who we have here?  It is Ben Jahmoka.  We have several outstanding warrants on him for illegal organ harvesting and black marketing.”

Carl smiled. Capturing him would definitely make the streets of Winthrope Station and the Foundry safer. He activated his radio, “Officer Perkins to Crusher Task Force Dispatch. We’ve been ambushed. The car with Dr. Morrow escaped. With the aid of several Vigilantes, we captured two Crushers. No casualties.  Request a Meta Wagon for 1 of the Crushers, the other can be brought in by patrol car. Standard CHESS notification protocol Alpha-Epsilon. Officer Perkins out.”

“Crusher Task Force Dispatch to Officer Perkins. The patrol car with Dr. Morrow did not escape. Crushers ambushed them too. Detective Broyko with the aid of Superheroes has engaged. They are attempting to rescue the Doctor at this time.  The location is …”

The dispatch continued to provide the exact location of the ambush.  All could hear the conversation and knew the other fight was happening 200 yards from where they stood.


< Due Date: September 14th, Actions, Goal, Reply?>

Current Conditions:
Bonesnapper    Hit Points: 18    Power Points: 53

------------------------------------------
Bonesnapper

I could never pop a fire hydrant, Michael thought to himself. Times like this, I wish I had super-strength.

He attacks Garbageman from behind with the tonfas, aiming for a headshot. His hope is to render him unconscious. After his initial attack, he yells to no one in particular, "If any of you hero types have water powers, this guy needs a bath!"

Archer: A Bow to a Powers Fight - Issue 14

Location: Center City near midnight

“By the sacred bones of Yi’, that’s it. I’m tired of stepping around every corner in this city and running into another meta … and this one destroyed the bike Craftsman gave me”, thought the Archer.

 Archer used half his movement to “tune” his spatial awareness to Vibron’s vibratory defense.  As the bike shook apart and crashed Archer rolled with its momentum, came up in a crouch, bow loaded with a set of arrows. Without uttering a word he charged the posturing villain. Ducking, dodging and weaving, at the last second Archer leapt into the air using a nearby dumpster as a vault and climbed up, parkour style, the fire escape as high as possible. Hanging upside down with his knees curled around the balcony, Archer fired two arrows from above and behind the colorfully costumed killer.

Ffstt! Ffstt!

The arrows pasted harmlessly through the back of Vibron. Vibron watched them exit his front. The arrows bounced off the cement road and clattered on the street.

{GM Note: Archer with his efforts was able to maximize his to hit amount.  He needed a 14 or less to hit. 15 and 18 were rolled for the attempts}

Vibron turned to face Archer.  He raised his hand with his fingers stretched wide and his palm toward the Mystic Bowman. Vibron closed his hand into a fist and Archer felt a force grab his body.  He could not see the force, it was invisible but since it was a type of solid energy the Mystic Bowman could “see” it with his spatial awareness.

Archer was pulled from the balcony his was hanging from.  To a witness it would appear that David floated toward Vibron, but Archer could see the Psionic energy coming from Vibron’s fist. It appeared as a tendril like jelly stretching from the fist to enclose him from his shoulders to his ankles.

Archer still had his bow in his hand and his quiver on his back. He couldn’t move his arms to use them.

Vibron brought Archer to where they were helmet to face.  He had held David’s body floating in the air in a prone position. It reminded David of the Monastery where the priest made him to do pushups with his head up so his eyes were always on the sacred symbol.

Vibron looked Archer in the eyes, “So who are you? Are you going to be one of those silent ones who refuse to speak?”

“How am I to rue the day I first meet you if I don’t know your name?  I guess I could look at your Superhero License but that isn’t very dramatic is it?”

“Mine is Vibron, so now it is your turn, what is your name?”

“Aw c’mon please tell me your name?”

“So you have decided we can’t be nemesis’s is that it?  Please don’t be hasty to decide, I might surprise you and do something unforgettable”.

“HahahaHa. Unforgettable … Nemesis.  Get it! Hah!”

“Okay, I am going to call you Foolish Fletcher.  The Foolish Fletcher who brought a bow to a powers fight.”

“You made a big mistake. Center City belongs to the Crushers.  You are welcome to do your normal business here in your civies but no crime fighting.  Interfere with the Crushers and you will be crushed!

Today is your lucky day Foolish Fletcher. Hauntress would kill you for your interference. Centurion and Manstar would beat you to a pulp.  Me, I am going to let you run away. All you have to do is agree to leave Center City and never come back again.”

“Well, Foolish Fletcher, do you … agree?”

{GM Note: Vibron has Archer in a TK Hold.  I am using the Hold rules from V&V 2.1 section 8.10, with a slight change. Archer will not have to make a STR save roll against 1d20 or 1d100.  It is Archer’s strength versus Vibron’s TK Strength.  So if you have Archer’s action to be an attempt to break the hold it will be Archer’s HtH die vs. Vibron’s TK Capacity HtH die. Both rolls are without damage modifiers. So it would be Archer’s 1d10 vs. Vibron’s TK HtH of 1d8.}

Current Conditions:
Archer               Hit Points: 53    Power Points: 65
                                    Blunt Head Arrows:   16
                                    Broad Head Arrows:   8

< Due Date: September 14th, Actions, Goal, Replies>

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OOC: Aww crap!!! Daredevil just got caught up in an Avengers Annual

Tom, Could we pretty please go over those rules for Evasion again. They suddenly became extremely relevant.

Thanks (crap really? Vibron, Centurion, please tell me that is not Supernova, and whose the chick and batboy?)
John (up shit creek) R
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GM
Evasion: you have the choice to use an action and it will last for an additional turn or evade and attack at the same time as a dual action. As a dual action it will last only for that turn, cost 2 PP and applies a minus of # to hit to the attack (# is equal to their accuracy bonus from base stats). For Archer using the dual action choice he will get an additional -4 to be hit and a -4 to hit for the turn.

I think that is fair because any character with Agility of 14 or less would have had to use Evasion as their only action for the turn under the only method.  For the Dual Attack it shows the impact that fighting defensively is harder to hit than attacking all out to strike.

Player Knowledge only: No it is not Supernova, It is Manstar.  The chick is Crater and batboy is Shortstop.

Best,
Tom

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Ok thanks Tom

The higher minus for a character with higher agility "seems" counter-intuitive, but if you think it’s that best way to maintain game balance then that's ok by me pal.

Crap ... knew I should have guessed Shortstop  Thank you oh thank you, I've always liked Supernova's character, but never wanted to face him  not that Manstar's a wimp exactly. That's an interesting collection of bad guys you got there. Still no clue who Crater is, must be from a book I haven't been able to get my hands on.

Street Patrol/Crusader team-up is looking like a cool story - wish I’d known the Crusaders were showing up at the back-up ambush I wouldn't have left the boys with Trashman.


Should be a blast
John R
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Hey Tom

Dude I need to go to bed but had to read the Street Patrol Issues first.

Teach me to go running off - man my bike - seriously, that's cold.

Okay all goofy whining to the side  the Question!!!

You mention that if Archer uses half his movement his spatial awareness can get a "lock" on Vibron through his Vibratory Defense.

If he does this, will he thus negate the effectiveness of the Vibratory Defense?

I can't/won't use a Luck Point for this and his 1 Inventing Point is already dedicated to the Tazer Arrow.

If it can awesome, if not I understand that too. Evading should be a decent defense versus Vibron and Archers chances to hit even with his defense isn't impossible merely difficult.

Thanks
John R

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GM

No it won't negate Vibron's vibratory defense, it means that Archer is aware of where Vibron is without having to see him with his eyes. So no from the side or behind attack bonuses for Vibron and Archer is always aware of Vibron's attacks so the Heightened Defense is always effective.

Best,
Tom

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Lol well it was an interesting ideal - I thought.

Well this will teach me to go running around like I know what's going on or have a plan (no it probably won't, but felt humility required me to say it ).

This is going to hurt isn't it?

Okay time to strategize,

***Hey any chance getting plugged into the Crusaders storyline since Archer and they are on the same scene?*** Might feel need to communicate with them or visa-versa

Thanks Tom this is exciting story
John R

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GM

***Hey any chance getting plugged into the Crusaders storyline since Archer and they are on the same scene?*** Might feel need to communicate with them or visa-versa

Sure, how fast can you run?

Yes you can evade and run full movement for the turn.

I am thinking that Archer would be stretching spatial senses forward and to the sides (not sensing backwards much). On his motorcycle, he was using its movement so he could stretch it to 84" semi-circle less the 14" getting off the roof and to his bike would be 70" outer range, so what do you think 50" forward and 10" to each side.

So I am thinking the patrol car is 50" away from Archer and he can move 60" straight line.  So with the appropriate zigging and zagging, He should make it to the patrol car next turn or somewhere nearby of Archer's choosing.

Good Luck
Tom

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Wow I must really be thick in the morning

First I totally overlook Crater in MW3 every time I read it I guess. I’ll take a look for fun thx

Second I think the Home Rule for Evasion is excellent - always have - by counter-intuitive, I merely meant the rule "feels" like its penalizing Spiderman's to hit roll when he's evading more than sat Thor - when they use the Dual Attack rule for Evasion. I assume there is no penalty if they evade and not attack (with dual attack rule?) till the following turn.

Okay here's the really thick headed part

I thought Archer could visually see the Dragon and other Crusaders, so thought I'd ask to see their story intro for this issue - if possible. I should have realized when Centurion used the radio to tell Vibron happy hunting he and I were too far out to communicate verbally with the Crusaders. So Archers in an alley scarp with Vibron - cool - sort of - I get nervous every time he's around real metas


Happy Hunting Indeed - and yes if I down Vibron I’m using that line when I see Centurion.
John R

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GM

I assume there is no penalty if they evade and not attack (with dual attack rule?) til the following turn.

Correct. If they evade this action and the next turn makes a dual action there is no penalty but evasion is still in effect.

Spiderman is the hardest character to simulate in any role playing game. Some of it is because of how the writers over the years have varied what he is capable of (Defeats Firelord without tricks but can't one punch Kingpin).

The way I see spidey in mid career when he would fight 10 normals at once. He has Heightened Defense and at level of somewhere to 4 to 6.  So he would be leaping around avoiding being hit but attacking back each turn as well.

When he is fighting Doc Ock, He is in full evasion mode either single or dual action. That is why the fight lasts for so long. Spidey is rarely hitting.

On the penalty be worse for Spidey instead of Thor that is only because Thor’s bonus is less to begin with. So if normally Thor has +1 to hit and 0 to be hit then when he fights defensively (evades as dual action) Thor is now 0 to hit and -1 to be hit.

So when Archer fights with his bow he is normally +12 to hit and -4 to be hit but when he fights defensively he is +8 to hit and -8 to be hit.

So while it feels like Archer is getting a big negative when you consider his big bonus as well, it shouldn't feel wrong.  In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if you decided to have Archer fight defensively all the time except when he is able to get in a sniper position.

Thanks
Tom

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Hey Tom

Okay that's cool I see where your coming from. Although I think a flat penalty would be even cooler (obviously - lol)  But the ideal that a guy who is moving and twisting and dodging faster than the other guy makes it that much harder to focus on his ability to hit makes good sense.

Spidey beat Firelord? Geez, but then again Hawkeye beat the Collector, so maybe Archer could handle Doctor Apocalypse - no f-ing way (lol)

(Crap it just occurred to me Doc A should be high(est?) on the list of movers and shakers who might be behind this Domain Invasion)

Archer: To Evade or To Not Evade? - that is the question.

And a good question too. I think it comes down to a number of factors, first of which is his opponents ability to hit him. Right now I'm going with, if a guy can do decent damage but needs a 8 or less to hit him, take the chance and don't Evade. 9-11 to hit really is going to depend on the damage potential, and 12 of higher, most likely will be Evading, unless the guy is a total putz damage-wise.

 Some fights he'll just have to walk away from. Even with Dual Attacks, Archer doesn't have enough damage potential to fight someone like DarkStar on his own. It would never get through his Invulnerability. Its one factor in skipping out on the Trashman fight. If we had been a team then you can overcome things like that, but Archer doesn't have a clue to the concept of fighting as a team member (yet) He just saw the slug bounce off Trashman;s head and was like crap it's Invulnero all over again. Given the right info from someone or circumstances permit, he will learn to overcome that but til then I think it’s in character - especially for a guy who didn't grow up in a world full of metas.

Thanks for expounding on the reasoning behind the rules Tom
John R

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My Bike!

Initial Responses to: Archer Issue 13

<Archer: IC Response> By the sacred bones of Yi’, that’s it. I’m tired of stepping around every corner in this city and running into another meta … and this one destroyed the bike Craftsman gave me.

<Archer’s Action> Archer will use half his movement this Turn to “tune” his spatial awareness to Vibron’s vibratory defense. The other half he will use to . . .

. . . As the bike shakes apart and crashes Archer rolls with its momentum, coming up in a crouch, bow already loaded with a set of arrows. Without uttering a word he charges the posturing villain. Ducking, dodging and weaving, at the last second Archer leaps into the air using Vibron’s own shoulder as a vault and parkours up the fire escape as high as possible. Hanging upside down with his knees curled around the balcony, Archer fires two arrows from above and behind the colorfully costumed killer.

<Archer’s Goals> It’s my opinion that, in comic books or real life, no one takes the guy with a bow seriously. I’m hoping to use this trope and the shock of actually being charged by a guy who just recovered from rolling off his bike to put a shock into Vibron. I don’t necessarily think I can get an advantage for shooting him from behind but hoping to get one for shooting from an elevated position.

Since my “genius” ideal of using spatial awareness to “see” through the vibrational defense isn’t an option (righty so without using an inventing or luck point) I’m looking for any tactical advantage I can find to improve Archer’s chance “to hit”. Archer doesn’t have the strength of Vibron’s super powers going for him, but his skills (Heightened Defense and Heightened Expertise) should make Archer harder to hit and more accurate.

Archer will make a dual attack using two blunt head arrows. That will change if he runs into an opponent who is using lethal force. (side note – do you realize how many characters would be on scene using Disintegration Rays if Meltdown was in the game?) Archer would make a special attack on Vibron’s head but with a roll of 12 to 16 (not sure if you’ll give it to him or what bonus he gets from an elevated position) He’ll have to settle for standard attacks for now. Plus I think I want his helmet as a souvenir if things work out.

OOC: You have your wish by the way. With DarkStar (or most any past heroes I’ve played) Vibron wouldn’t be scary. With Archer, I feel he has a chance to win, but I’m still very nervous about the possible outcome – same for when taking on multiple opponents. Congratulations. (This has a Daredevil versus Shocker feel to it, but I think Vibron might be tougher.)

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GM

Quick clarification on my interpretation of the different defenses in V&V.

Lightning Defense - Electrical Field surrounding character.
Force Field Defense - Physical Solid Field surrounding character.
Telekinesis Defense - Moving particles semi-solid field (like wind gusts) surrounding character
Magnetic Defense - Moving Ions semi-solid field (like lightning but metallic) surrounding character
Flame Defense - Fire surrounding character
Non-Corporal Defense - Body is insubstantial, any physical damage is disruption to maintaining cohesiveness.

and

Vibration Defense - Character's body is moving fast and out of sync with itself creating a partial non-corporal effect.

I know it was a bit long winded way to say that Archer can vault but I will have to make a to hit roll for Archer to successful vault of a solid piece of Vibron.  It won't cost an action, only movement but there is a chance he misses thereby instead of vaulting he jumps through Vibron.

Thanks
Tom

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uhm okay, so the vault ideal wouldn’t work well versus any of those defense would it?

I think a "hit would mean he penetrated the defense, a miss means he was stopped by the defense???

How about I change that just a touch then? Instead of vaulting off Vibron he vaults off a nearby dumpster at the last second?

I can rewrite and send or if you want that’s cool to

John R

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GM

In a the case of vibration defense, a hit would mean he hit something solid and a miss would mean it pass through him without touching of him.  Think of the issues where the Flash vibrates through a wall or a window.  That is how Vibron defense acts.  So if Archer misses with an arrow, it isn't stopped by the defense, it would pass harmlessly through Vibron.

The change to a dumpster is fine.  You can make the changes if you still have it saved on your computer, if you don't I will make the change instead of you having to retype it.

Best
Tom

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Hey Tom

Thanks for the chance for the quickie revise.

  Archer Issue 13

<Archer: IC Response> By the sacred bones of Yi’, that’s it. I’m tired of stepping around every corner in this city and running into another meta … and this one destroyed the bike Craftsman gave me.

<Archer’s Action> Archer will use half his movement this Turn to “tune” his spatial awareness to Vibron’s vibratory defense. The other half he will use to . . .

. . . As the bike shakes apart and crashes Archer rolls with its momentum, coming up in a crouch, bow already loaded with a set of arrows. Without uttering a word he charges the posturing villain. Ducking, dodging and weaving, at the last second Archer leaps into the air using a nearby dumpster as a vault and parkours up the fire escape as high as possible. Hanging upside down with his knees curled around the balcony, Archer fires two arrows from above and behind the colorfully costumed killer.

<Archer’s Goals> It’s my opinion that, in comic books or real life, no one takes the guy with a bow seriously. I’m hoping to use this trope and the shock of actually being charged by a guy who just recovered from rolling off his bike to put a shock into Vibron. I don’t necessarily think I can get an advantage for shooting him from behind but hoping to get one for shooting from an elevated position.

Since my “genius” ideal of using spatial awareness to “see” through the vibration defense isn’t an option (righty so without using an inventing or luck point) I’m looking for any tactical advantage I can find to improve Archer’s chance “to hit”. Archer doesn’t have the strength of Vibron’s super powers going for him, but his skills (Heightened Defense and Heightened Expertise) should make Archer harder to hit and more accurate.

Archer will make a dual attack using two blunt head arrows. That will change if he runs into an opponent who is using lethal force. (Side note – do you realize how many characters would be on scene using Disintegration Rays if Meltdown was in the game?) Archer would make a special attack on Vibron’s head but with a roll of 12 to 16 (not sure if you’ll give it to him or what bonus he gets from an elevated position) He’ll have to settle for standard attacks for now. Plus I think I want his helmet as a souvenir if things work out.

OOC: You have your wish by the way. With DarkStar (or most any past heroes I’ve played) Vibron wouldn’t be scary. With Archer, I feel he has a chance to win, but I’m still very nervous about the possible outcome – same for when taking on multiple opponents. Congratulations. (This has a Daredevil versus Shocker feel to it, but I think Vibron might be tougher.)

John R