Sunday, October 18, 2020

Crusade: Issue 66 - Broadcasting Live by Unit One

 


1 HOUR EARLIER:

Location: Megelaopolis – HWY 17

 

A newly purchased JEEP carelessly sped in and around the highway 17 traffic.  A lone young man sang loudly with his left leg dangling out of the vehicle, almost dancing as he drives.

 

“Taake ooooon meeeeee - take on me…”  

<DISSAPOINTMENT>

 

“Taaaake meeeeee oooooooon - take on me…”

<AGGITATION>

 

“IIIIIII'll beeeee goooone”

<ANGER>

 

“ IN A DAY OR TWOOO -  *COUGH! COUGH!*

<RAGE!>

 

“Ok, Ok M.I.S.H.A.  I know: These beautiful American songs, they are so classic! But very difficult with the high notes. We shall practice more.  You maybe not understand, it is like, what do they say?  Getting kicked in the b-“. 

 

KRAKAO!!   “O NET!” * Screamed the driver.  (* Translated from Russian)

Lightning struck seemingly out of nowhere nearby causing the JEEP to careen barely missing the minivan in front. The JEEP came to a screeching stop amid the other cluster of cars on the highway.

 

All of a sudden what were moments ago clear sky became roiling with clouds, seemingly out of nowhere

 

“What is this? This does not seem natural.”  The driver looked towards the City.  “There, it appears the center of the storm is emanating from above the Center of the City.”

 

The 80’s radio station broke into a news report along with the demands of Dr. Apocalypse.

 

“MISHA, after we get the cover on, how do you feel about a trip to the City before going back to base?”

 

<ANTICIPATION>

 

10 MINUTES EARLIER:

The JEEP drove through the City proper amid the high rises, moving slowly through the storm.  Cars were everywhere.  Debris flew all around. The wind was merciless. BAM! Something metal bounced off the front of the car.  “Damnit! My new car! That sounded expensive!” yelled the driver as he came to a stop. <SYMPATHY>

 

The driver attempted to look at a building on fire through heavy rain, the wipers on high.  Blocking the street to the building was a local transit bus pulled sidewise.  Apparently vacated by all its passengers, it blocked the street from oncoming fire and rescue first responders.

 

“Time to go to work, that bus isn’t going to move itself for the Fire Department”. Under his breath, the lone drive said, “M.I.S.H.A. - Zanimat'sya”. Small black motes with subtle silver flashes started to emanate from the young man and slowly start to combine outside the car.  The mass solidified over the next few minutes, finally taking shape into what appeared to be a 10’ technological construct of a bear.  The driver looked almost tired from the experience.

 

5 MINUTES EARLIER:

“PUSH MISHA! – GOOD!”  The large nano tech bear pushed its shoulder into the front of the bus.  Slowly it started to pivot on the weighted back end where the engine was.  Soon the way was made clear for the first responders to get through to the building.

 

“Thanks, pal! By the way, what’s your name for the report?” said one of the Firemen.  The young man answered, “This is MISHA” as he pointed to the bear. “Call me Rubicon.  Like the JEEP, yes?  I love Americ-“ ZAP! CRASH! BANG! Over the din of the storm the bust of a giant robot can be seen above the buildings a few blocks away.  A seeming battle was being waged between it and some familiar hero’s.  “Hey look!” said the Fireman pointing to the sky. “I think that’s Adamas!  Looks like your needed elsewhere, buddy.  We got this.  Good luck, and thanks!”

 

 “Hey, watch my JEEP, yes? She’s new!” The young man nodded and started to run in the direction of the battle.  MISHA gave a “Hrummpf” as it started to bound after the young man.


Outside of the Doomsday Robot


[10] WHAM! Adamas flew out of the 3 foot hole in the Doomsday Robot’s chest he had just made.

 

{GM Note: Since Adamas was inside the robot he doesn’t need to roll to hit. For a ramming attack Adamas get to roll his HtH, Velocity times 10 for HtH dice per Carrying Capacity chart, and Mass; keeping the 2 highest rolls. Adamas rolled 14 points of damage, the chest’s structure rating was 8. He did 6 points of damage to the floor. This opens a 3 foot hole he can fly through

 

For Ramming damage Adamas is hit with the same 14 points of damage. His invulnerability stopped 10 points. He rolls with 3 for -3 PP. This leaves 1 point of damage to his Hit Points; -1 HP}

 

[10] Demolisher stood and spun his hammer.  "I have had quite enough of giant robots trying to squeeze the life out of me!"  He used his find weakness ability on the damaged leg of the robot and hit it as hard as he possibly could, trying to bring down the robot.  "That's the great thing about giant robots though, you can hit them as hard as you want and not feel guilty about it!"

 

WHAM! The Doomsday Robot slid down the street for 45 feet. It still stood.

 

{GM Note: Demolisher needed to roll 18 or less to hit. He rolled a 12. Demolisher rolled 25 points of damage. The Robot’s armor and structure withstood the blow. It was knocked back 9 squares but remained standing.}

 

Shanley and Baker yelled in pain as they were slammed into the robot as it skidded down the street.

 

{GM Note: Because of the Robot’s size when it suffered knockback it throws the crew members and anyone else inside around or those riding on top of it. They suffered 2d10 points of damage.

 

Baker received 13 points of damage. She was able to roll with some of it. She is able to continue with the fight

 

Shanely received 10 points of damage. She rolled with half of the damage. She is able to continue with the fight}

 

Patty attended to Manta-Man, attempting to draw him back to consciousness. With a gentle shake and some encouraging words Manta-Man awoke and thanked Patty. He then looked at Dr Wildman. “Hey, Doc. Do you anything that will help me get back on my feet?”

 

William fished in his pockets and pulled out three aluminum vials. He selected one, gave it a shake and handed it to the aquatic avenger: 'Just the thing MM...my secret blend of herbs and spices and a healthy kick of brandy!' 

 

Manta-Man replied to Dr Wildman after digesting it, "Thanks, I needed that. I like the new look but what about the Cowl? Wasn't someone going to bring that to you?"

 

Manta-Man spoke into the New Crusaders comms, "Black Orchid and StrikeForce, the crew is abandoning the robot. They are screaming something about a Self-Destruct Device. You need to get out of there!"

 

Laserfire replied, "Two of them are on the Robot's shoulder firing at me. It doesn't appear they are in a hurry to get down. Maybe the device implodes instead of explodes. I will handle these 2 but be careful Crusaders; the others might be armed too"

 

[8] “You won’t be handling them alone.” Manta-Man activated his electrical aura then took to the air. He flew toward the Doomsday Robot. He fired an electrical bolt at Baker.

 

KKZZKTT!  He hit her. Baker rolled with the damage. She was knocked out

 

{GM Note: Manta-Man needed to roll 14 or less, he rolled 7. His electro bolt did 7 points of damage. Baker rolled with most of the damage. She took more than her remaining Hit Points in damage. She was knocked out. Her mass roll was greater than Hit Point damage so no knockback.}

 

[6] Laserfire said, “Okay I’ve got the other one” as he flew after the skidding robot.

 

ZZAM! The laser beam struck Shanley. She grunted in back and nearly fell of the robot’s shoulder. She scrambled to hang onto the slippery metal, dropping her pistol in the process.

 

KLANG! KLANG! THUD! The pistol bounced of the robot twice before it fell 60 feet below and smashed into the pavement.

 

{GM Note: Laserfire needed to roll 13 or less to hit, he rolled 9. He did 11 points of damage. Shanley rolled with some of the damage. Her mass roll was 1 less than the Hit Point damage taken. Shanley was knockback 5 feet (1 inch) on the robot. This brought her to the edge of the shoulder. She had to roll an Agility save of 11 or less to not fall off. Shanley rolled an 11. She stayed on but is now prone for the turn}

 

Erdbeben waved in reply to Patti's greeting. "Wow, it would really help my cause if I could actually become a member of the team!" he thought to himself as he kept an eye on the giant robot.

 

He saw the crew abandoning the robot, but didn't himself know enough about the construct to determine if it could operate on its own.

 

"We've got to stop this thing now before it does any more damage!" he muttered to himself. Bracing himself for another blast, Erdbeben attempted to fire two blasts knowing that such quick action will likely keep him from being as accurate. However, with such a large target, he felt he could still get away with it.

 

[6] Erdbeben fired two blasts at the robot in an attempt to finally put it down.

 

VARR!  The first vibe blast struck the robot in the chest. The Doomsday Robot shook and vibrated. Pieces and bolts flew of this armor but it was still functioning and stood up.

 

{GM Note: Erdbeben needed to roll 14 or less to hit. He rolled 7. Erdbeben’s vibe blast did 22 points of damage. The Doomsday Robot’s armor stopped some of it but the rest damaged it. It still stood.}

 

VARR! The second vibe blast struck the robot in the chest. The Doomsday Robot shook and vibrated. Its electronic systems suffered catastrophic failure and shut down. The Giant Robot started falling to the ground. The Doomsday Robot was broken and defeated. It was out of the fight.

 

{GM Note: Erdbeben need to roll 14 or less. He rolled 6. The second vibe blast did 16 points of damage. The robot’s armor stopped half of it. The remaining damage defeated the robot. It was falling to the ground, incapacitated.

 

In the Leaping rules it states that leaps of 355 inches by a character, the character only moved half the distance on its phase of the turn and the remaining at the end of the turn. The Doomsday Robot is 300 inches (60 feet x 5). This is close enough that I am doing the same thing of the Doomsday Robot’s fall. It is starting to fall on Erdbeben’s phase traveling 150 inches and then on phase 0 it will hit the street}

 

Dr Wildman looked towards Patty extending out a hand to hers and started to shake it with a big grin on his face: "So its Patty isn't it, did I hear that right - Patty Plus? Good work out there by the way. I am fascinated by your 'nom de plume'. Were you, by any chance, bitten by a radioactive duck billed mammal in Australia? That is a story I'd love to hear." William gave her his most winning charming smile and winked.

 

[4] StrikeForce came running out of the Doomsday Robot’s leg. He ran toward the two crew members that were facing the robot. He grabbed Gaugran putting him in a grappling hold he had learned in college.

 

{GM Note: StrikeForce needed an 18 or less to put Gaugran in a grapple hold. He rolled 13}

 

[3] Dr Wildman looked around and reflected on what was happening. As if inspired by a thought he stood up and spoke into the communicator: "Strike I'm going to make the most of this moment and rattle Apocalypse's cage a bit. See if we can't throw him off balance..."

 

Replying to his friend and teammate the Bionic Brawler said. "Go ahead Doc, if anyone can, my monies on you. Let me know if you need my help."

 

William made his way to the television crews on the outskirts of the battle zone. He remembered his previous career in television, these news hounds would be keen to broadcast a good story - and this was potentially the story of the decade.

 

Osgood the Newt grinned from ear to ear, which was a really large smile on a newt, the hero was walking toward him and not Shutterbug. "Eat that bug!" he thought. He was still upset that the Arachnid Photojournalist had been in a better position to video the newcomer, with vibration powers, slam the Giant Robot down the street.

 

Quickly Osgood motioned for his cameraman to focus on the approaching Dr. Wildman. The newt news journalist signaled to William, which both understood based on their having similar TV backgrounds, that everything was all set and ready to capture whatever the Druid said with the battle in the background. Osgood the Newt was so excited he had to fight hard to suppress the urge to lick his eyes. He would never understand why humans found that disgusting.

 

Osgood snapped back to attention with Dr Wildman signaled he was ready. Osgood signaled back that they were recording.

 

'Time to use the moment' he mused internally. With his hands raised to get their attention he bellowed:

 

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press I have a statement for you and a message to this self styled Dr Apocalypse.

 

Pietor - I'm not going to appeal to your humanity - I suspect you have forgotten what that feels like now.

 

We've heard your challenge...that you will defeat us strategically, crush us psychologically and destroy us supernaturally.

 

Good luck with that! As you can see behind me we seem to be trashing your technological superiority quite well."

 

William looked at his watch

 

"Yep, it took us about 5 minutes and..." He points to the trail of the departing CyberDoom "...be they giant-sized or man sized your robot army seems somewhat less than...superior!"

 

"But you may be asking yourself, what has the self styled Dr Apocalypse got to fear?

 

Us, not just us but all of us.

 

You see you threatened us and sent your world-wide storm, but you stirred up a hornets’ nest in doing so. You demand land that's not yours to take. You demand power, influence and authority that's not yours to wield.

 

Do it here and we'll stop you. Do it in my country of origin and the Crown Guard will stop you. Do it in Russia and the Red Guard will stop you. Turn your intentions to Canada and the Crimson Guard will stop you.

 

You may have an army of robots, we've got an Adamas!

 

There is no sovereignty for you here.

 

There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Back in the day kings and armies from different nations gathered together to defeat what they saw as a greater threat. They took their knights, soldiers and guards and they became crusaders.

 

Yes, back then the idea had some serious flaws but today...well...today; congratulations today you p!$$£d off the whole world...don't be surprised when you find us kicking back!

 

We're the New Crusaders...good job Apocalypse...you just gave us cause and now we come after you!"

 

William finished his monologue by pointing dramatically into the camera. He turned and walked back towards the battle zone to see what pieces need to be picked up.

 

[3] Seeing that Manta-Man was back in action (and privately admiring his tenacity) Patty fixed her gaze on the newcomers trying to escape the robot.

 

"Y'know," she mused to herself. "That robot is a big bad guy. *They* came from the robot. I can safely assume they're little bad guys. Let's see if we can keep them from getting away."  Patty ran towards the two escapees on the ground and used her paralytic venom on Krajovic.

 

Krajovic muscles stricken into a frozen position. She fell to the ground paralyzed.

 

{GM Note: Patty needed a 14 or less to hit. She rolled 4. The paralytic hit, Shanely needed to make an Endurance save of 1. She rolled 10. She failed and is paralyzed.}

 

[2] Shanley hung on the Doomsday Robot as it fell. She tried not to scream but failed. Unsure whether jumping off would make the situation better or worse she held on for her life.

 

Martin look to his right, standing there was a construction work with a large silver hammer. He had smashed the Doomsday Robot with it sending it backwards for 45 feet. To his left, was the new hero with weird lines on his costume, he was the one whose blasts had finished the Giant Robot, destroying it. Neither of them was mentioned in the briefing, he wondered why Iron Maiden hadn’t mentioned them. Unsure what else they could do, he decided that running would most likely be a waste of time and energy, and could end with him experiencing a lot of pain. Instead he sat down and put his hands behind his head with his fingers interlaced. His programming for self preservation was strong.

 

Gaugran didn’t think he could slip the hold he was in. His best chance was to break it. The Robot Crewman strained with all his might but he wasn’t strong enough to free himself from StrikeForce’s hold.

 

{GM Note: Gaugran rolled his HtH in an attempt to break the grapple hold of StrikeForce. StrikeForce would roll his too. If Gaugran’s was higher he would be free. Gaugran rolled 9 on the dice and StrikeForce rolled 9 too. It is a tie so Gaugran failed to break the hold}

 

Caufield ran as hard as he could to get out from under the shadow of the Giant Falling Robot. He wasn’t looking ahead as much as down to make sure he was clear. Finally he was out from under it, he turned to continue down the street when he saw a man standing in front of him and something big was hiding in the shadows of the building.

 

10 SECONDS EARLIER:

Rubicon and MISHA make their way through the alleys toward the cacophony of battle with the robot.

 

They watch from behind the giant robot as two of its apparent operators, Caufield and Krajovic, exit out of the back of the giant.  Demolisher, recently in the gargantuan’s grasp, dropped to the ground then appeared to ready an attack on the robots leg. “LIGHT BULB!” Rubicon laughed at himself. “Come MISHA, I have an idea”. Rubicon felt MISHA’s nano-synced emotion <HUMOR>

 

In the shadows another watched the fight. He was silently tracking the crew of the Doomsday Robot. Soon he would take action. Not now but soon.

 

PRESENT:

[1] Rubicon positioned himself and MISHA to block Caufield in the bottleneck of their proposed escape route.

 

As the robot operator quickly approached Rubicon had his pistol casually drawn as he said, “Leaving the party so soon? But we just got here.  Now the fun begins, yes?”  MISHA remained hidden behind a large structure close by.

 

Rubicon used his presence along with MISHA’s imposing presence to intimidate into getting Caufield to surrender, which he did.

 

{GM Note: Characters may attempt to intimidate NPCs into performing desired actions. This takes an action and requires a Cool based task check, opposed by the opponent’s Cool. Further difficulty modifiers may apply, depending on the circumstances and what the character is attempting to get NPC to do:

 

Rubicon’s Cool Save is 11

MISHA Cool Save is 11 so +1 can be added for his support.

Rubicon has a major advantage of the New Crusaders defeating the Robot and capturing other crew members +9

Rubicon is demanding that the NPC must surrender 12.

Caufield’s Cool Save is 11 so -1 for the opponent’s Cool.

 

The CL Save target number is 8 (11+1+9-12-1)

 

Rubicon needs to roll an 8 or less, he rolled 5. Success, Caufield must surrender.}

 

[0] Baker and Shanley hit the street pavement when the Doomsday Robot crashed to the street. Both were incapacitated from the impact of the fall. Both were out of the fight.

 

{GM Note: The Doomsday Robot is 60 feet tall. That is 300 (60x5) inches in game terms. To calculate the damage dice from falling, take the distance traveled time the weight of the object. For all of the Crew members I assigned 180 lbs for their weight. For Baker and Shanley that is 300 times 180 for 54,000. Looking up 54,000 on the Carry Capacity chart produced 2d10 damage dice.

 

Baker suffered 8 points of damage from falling. Since she was already KO, damage is first to HP then PP. She was incapacitated from the impact of the fall.

 

Shanley suffered 11 points of damage from falling. She rolled with half of it. The remaining damage reduced her Hit Points to zero. She was incapacitated.}


Deck E of the Doomsday Robot.


[10] StrikeForce hit by the wall in front of him, throwing him across the deck. He slammed into the far wall, leaving a huge dent in it. He wondered which of the New Crusaders had hit it hard enough to have done that.

 

{GM Note: The knockback created by Demolisher caused everyone inside the robot to take 2d10 damage from being slammed by the walls of the robot as they are not connected to it. Only those sitting in the command chairs would be unaffected. The Robot did 15 points of damage. StrikeForce’s armor stopped 6 points. He rolled with 5 points, -5 PP. The remaining 4 went against Hit Points, -4 HP. StrikeForce rolled 1 on his Mass roll. He was knocked back 3 inches (squares). He hit the wall with 1 point of Knock Back left. this was less than his armor of 6. He took no further damage.}

 

Manta-Man spoke into the New Crusaders comms, "Black Orchid and StrikeForce, the crew is abandoning the robot. They are screaming something about a Self-Destruct Device. You need to get out of there!"

 

[4] StrikeForce received Manta-Man's communication, and replied, “This is StrikeForce, my dance partner is out, and I am headed outside to your position.”

Deck C of the Doomsday Robot.


[10] Adamas flew through the robot's body creating his own exit.

 

[10] Black Orchid and Cavagnaro are struck by the command console and Hawkins is struck by the wall. All were able to roll with damage. All were able to continue with the fight. Hawkins had fallen prone when he hit the console near him. Black Orchid held onto the console and her hand on the dead man switch. The self destruct sequence hasn’t been activated.

 

{GM Note: The knockback created by Demolisher caused everyone inside the robot to take 2d10 damage from being slammed by the walls or consoles of the robot as they are not connected to it. Only those sitting in the command chairs would be unaffected.

 

The Robot did 12 points of damage to Hawkins. He rolled with half of it. His Mass roll was less than damage taken. He was knocked back 3 inches (squares). He hit the console with 0 points of Knock Back left. He took no further damage.

 

The Robot did 9 points of damage to Cavagnaro. She rolled with more than half of it. Her Mass roll was greater than the damage taken, no knock back.}

 

The Robot did 9 points of damage to Black Orchid. She rolled with 7 points, -7 PP. She took 2 points of damage to Hit Points, -2 HP. Her Mass roll was 4 which is greater than 2, no knock back.}

 

Manta-Man spoke into the New Crusaders comms, "Black Orchid and StrikeForce, the crew is abandoning the robot. They are screaming something about a Self-Destruct Device. You need to get out of there!"

 

Black Orchid wanted to reply it was a false alarm but she didn’t want the remaining crew to hear her. She had tricked them that it had been activated.

 

[5] The Black Orchid kept protecting the switch and hurled a vacuum blast at Cavagnaro.

 

ZUMPT! The vacuum blast hit Cavagnaro. She groaned as the energy left her body. Cavagnaro was still able to fight.

 

When it hit, Black Orchid said, "You really don't want me to hit you with that again. You should leave."

 

{GM Note: Black Orchid need a 19 or less to hit, she rolled 10. Her vacuum blast did 26 points of devitalization damage, reducing Cavagnaro’s power points}

 

[2] Hawkins stood up. Hawkins couldn’t see a chair and he couldn’t tell where he was in the room from the darkness.

 

{GM Note: Standing up from a prone position takes 1 action. Hawkins failed his perception test to find a chair. He needed a 1 because of Black Orchid’s darkness, He rolled a 6. Hawkins had movement left but without an action he couldn’t attempt a second perception test to try to find a chair}

 

Cavagnaro need to activate the self destruction sequence. She had to get Black Orchid’s hand off the switch. She reached through the darkness attempting to grab and put the Black Orchid in a standing arm bar. Cavagnaro missed.

 

{GM Note: Cavagnaro was performing a special attack on Black Orchid’s hand so that is a -3 to normal grapple hold attack. Cavagnaro need a 10 to hit, she rolled 15, missed.}

 

[0] Hawkins and Cavagnaro hit the walls of robot when the Doomsday Robot crashed to the street. Both were knocked out from the impact of the fall. Both were out of the fight.

 

{GM Note: The command Center is in the center of the chest of the Doomsday Robot. It is 50 feet from the ground. That is 250 (50x5) inches in game terms. To calculate the damage dice from falling, take the distance traveled time the weight of the object. For all of the Crew members I assigned 180 lbs for their weight. For Hawkins and Cavagnaro that is 250 times 180 for 45,000. Looking up 45,000 on the Carry Capacity chart produced 2d10 damage dice.

 

Hawkins suffered 14 points of damage from falling. He rolled less than a 1/3 of it. The remaining damage reduced his Hit Points by more than half remaining. He was knocked out. Falling damage doesn’t create knock back as it is the equivalent to knock back already.

 

Cavagnaro suffered 10 points of damage from falling. She rolled less with 1/3 of it. The remaining damage reduced her Hit Points to more than half remaining. She was knocked out.}

 

Black Orchid grunted in pain as she was slammed against the console when the Doomsday Robot hit the ground. She held on, never letting go of the switch.

 

{GM Note: The fall did 11 points of damage to Black Orchid. She rolled with 7 points, -7 PP. The remaining 4 were against her Hit Points, -4 HP. To determine whether or not the fall caused her to let go of the switch I decided to use the knock back check rules. If her Mass roll is less than the damage taken then she would move that many inches thereby letting go of the switch. No additional damage would be taken.

 

Black Orchid took 4 points of damage to Hit Points. Her Mass roll is a 1d4. She rolled a 4. She was not knocked back. Her hand is still on the switch.}


<Turns and Actions due August 17th >

 

Battle Conditions (Mighty Protectors character data):

Adamas                        Hit Points:   18 Power Points:   33       

Black Orchid                Hit Points:   18 Power Points:   64        Invisible

StrikeForce                 Hit Points:   12 Power Points:   48        Combat Stance: Offensive

The Skink                    Hit Points:     4 Power Points:   74        KO!

Manta-Man                   Hit Points:     3 Power Points:   54       

Dr. Wildman                 Hit Points:   12 Power Points:   60        Form of: Man

Demolisher                  Hit Points:   28 Power Points:   58        Absorption: Fortitude (2x rolling dmg)

Patty Plus                    Hit Points:   15 Power Points:   50       

Laserfire                       Hit Points:   12 Power Points:   33        Flame Aura Defense: On

Erdbeben                     Hit Points:   46 Power Points:   46        Flame Aura Defense: On

Rubicon                       Hit Points:   20 Power Points:   66

MISHA                          Hit Points:   41 Power Points: 101

 

Combat is now over. Please let me know what you want to do with the Crew Members, Doomsday Robot, and other ideas you have in working with CHESS in aftermath of the battle. Here is the CPs awarded.

 

Adamas                        CP: 2

Black Orchid                CP: 2

StrikeForce                 CP: 2

The Skink                    CP: 2

Manta-Man                   CP: 2   

Dr. Wildman                 CP: 2

Demolisher                  CP: 2

Patty Plus                    CP: 2   

Laserfire                       CP: 2

Erdbeben                     CP: 1

Rubicon                       CP: 0

MISHA                          CP: 0

 

If you know what you want to spend your CP on let me know. Otherwise we will save it to later. Remember CPs can be spent at any time, even during combat. If a character sheet has Invention Points for a permanent power I will use the CPs to free the IP up for later use, unless told otherwise by the player.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Woo hoo!

My actions got the cover! I realize I might have hindered my own efforts to get them to leave, but at least I instilled panic!

 

The Black Orchid will keep protecting the switch and hurl a vacuum blast at Cavagnaro. If it hits, she'll say, "You really don't want me to hit you with that again. You should leave."

 

-----------------------------

 

Also welcome Greg!

 

Is anybody interested in a one-time zoom to say high, since a number of us have been playing this game for years! It doesn't have to be a whole session, maybe just a hello.

 

- Marc

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I know, now that Adamas finally got down there, I'm not sure what the plan was, looks like everything is under control. 

 

I'm OK to join a zoom, may be difficult to find a time that works for everyone... but I'm flexible.

 

Jon

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Greg, can't wait to be introduced to our new teammate. Tom, it will be interesting with the team up to nine members. But I know that it will be easy for you.

 

Jamey

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 Here we go then...

 

IC: Patty attended to Manta-Man, attempting to draw him back to consciousness. With a gentle shake and some encouraging words Manta-Man awoke and thanked Patty. He then looked at Dr Wildman. “Hey, Doc. Do you anything that will help me get back on my feet?”

 

William fished in his pockets and pulled out three aluminum vials. He selected one, gave it a shake and handed it to the aquatic avenger: 'Just the thing MM...my secret blend of herbs and spices and a healthy kick of brandy!'

 

OOC: Dr Wildman hands Manta-Man one of his healing potions. I think its 3 HP healed per turn for 3 turns

 

IC: Dr Wildman looks towards Patty extending out a hand to hers and starts to shake it with a big grin on his face: "So it's Patty isn't it, did I hear that right - Patty Plus? Good work out there by the way. I am fascinated by your 'nom de plume'. Were you, by any chance, bitten by a radioactive duck billed mammal in Australia? That is a story I'd love to hear." William gives her his most winning charming smile and winks.

 

OOC: Happy to play out any dialogue here Shane if you want.

 

IC: Dr Wildman looks around and reflects on what is happening. As if inspired by a thought he stands up and speaks into the communicator: "Strike I'm going to make the most of this moment and rattle Apocalypse's cage a bit. See if we can't throw him off balance..."

 

William makes his way to the television crews on the outskirts of the battle zone. He remembered his previous career in television, these news hounds would be keen to broadcast a good story - and this was potentially the story of the decade. 'Time to use the moment' he mused internally. With his hands raised to get their attention he bellows:

 

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press I have a statement for you and a message to this self styled Dr Apocalypse.

 

Pietor - I'm not going to appeal to your humanity - I suspect you have forgotten what that feels like now.

 

We've heard your challenge...that you will defeat us strategically, crush us psychologically and destroy us supernaturally.

 

Good luck with that! As you can see behind me we seem to be trashing your technological superiority quite well."

 

William looks at his watch

 

"Yep, it took us about 5 minutes and..." He points to the trail of the departing Cyber Doom "...be they giant-sized or man sized your robot army seems somewhat less than...superior!"

 

"But you may be asking yourself, what has the self styled Dr Apocalypse got to fear?

 

Us, not just us but all of us.

 

You see you threatened us and sent your world wide storm, but you stirred up a hornets nest in doing so. You demand land that's not yours to take. You demand power, influence and authority that's not yours to wield.

 

Do it here and we'll stop you. Do it in my country of origin and the Crown Guard will stop you. Do it in Russia and the Red Guard will stop you. Turn your intentions to Canada and the Crimson Guard will stop you.

 

You may have an army of robots, we've got an Adamas!

 

There is no sovereignty for you here.

 

There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Back in the day kings and armies from different nations gathered together to defeat what they saw as a greater threat. They took their knights, soldiers and guards and they became crusaders.

 

Yes, back then the idea had some serious flaws but today...well...today; congratulations today you p!$$£d off the whole world...don't be surprised when you find us kicking back!

 

We're the New Crusaders...good job Apocalypse...you just gave us cause and now we come after you!"

 

William finishes his monologue by pointing dramatically into the camera. He turns and walks back towards the battle zone to see what pieces need to be picked up.

 

Steve

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 Oh this is going to be fun!

 

Awesome write up!

 

Tom

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 /clap

/whistle

 

Well Steve, THAT is why I came here!

 

Good stuff!

 

Greg

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 William fished in his pockets and pulled out three aluminum vials. He selected one, gave it a shake and handed it to the aquatic avenger: 'Just the thing MM...my secret blend of herbs and spices and a healthy kick of brandy!' 

 

Manta-Man replied to Dr Wildman after digesting it, "Thanks, I needed that. I like the new look but what about the Cowl? Wasn't someone going to bring that to you?"

 

Manta-Man spoke into the New Crusaders comms, "Adamas, Black Orchid, StrikeForce, the crew is abandoning the robot. They are screaming something about a Self-Destruct Device. You need to get out of there!"

 

Laserfire replied, "Two of them are on the Robot's shoulder firing at me. It doesn't appear they are in a hurry to get down. Maybe the device implodes instead of explodes. I will handle these 2 but be careful Crusaders, the others might be armed too"

 

William makes his way to the television crews on the outskirts of the battle zone. He remembered his previous career in television, these news hounds would be keen to broadcast a good story - and this was potentially the story of the decade. 

 

Osgood the Newt grinned from ear to ear, which is a really large smile on a newt, the hero was walking toward him and not Shutterbug. "Eat that bug!" he thought. He was still upset that the Arachnid Photojournalist had been in a better position to video the newcomer, with vibration powers slam, the Giant Robot down the street. Quickly Osgood motioned for his cameraman to focus on the approaching Dr. Wildman. The Newt News journalist signaled to William, which both understood based on their having similar TV backgrounds, that everything was all set and ready to capture whatever the Druid said with the battle in the background. Osgood the Newt was so excited he had to fight hard to suppress the urge to lick his eyes. He would never understand why humans found that disgusting. Osgood snapped back to attention with Dr Wildman signaled he was ready. Osgood signal back that they were recording.

 

'Time to use the moment' he mused internally. With his hands raised to get their attention he bellows:

 

Thanks

Tom

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 IC: Erdbeben waves in reply to Patti's greeting. "Wow, it would really help my cause if I could actually become a member of the team!" he thought to himself as he kept an eye on the giant robot.

 

He saw the crew abandoning the robot, but didn't himself know enough about the construct to determine if it could operate on its own.

 

OOC: If the robot is still functioning:

 

IC: "We've got to stop this thing now before it does any more damage!" he mutters to himself. Bracing himself for another blast, Erdbeben attempts to fire two blasts knowing that such quick action will likely keep him from being as accurate. However, with such a large target, he feels he can still get away with it.

 

OOC: Erdbeben will fire two blasts at the robot in an attempt to finally put it down. No modifications will be taken to add to damage, just straight up attacks.

 

If the robot is no longer functioning:

 

IC: Erdbeben turns to the nearest crew member to exit the robot, "You'd better give up now, before you get hurt!" Erdbeben tries to yell with as much confidence and authority that he can muster, but all of this was kind of overwhelming for his first outing as a 'super hero'. He almost chuckled at the thought, "Me, a super hero!"

 

As long as the crew member complies, Erdbeben takes the man's/woman's weapon and directs him/her over to the authorities that are most likely waiting on the sidelines. If they don't comply, he will attempt to strike them with his fist not wanting to take the chance on killing somebody with his vibrational blast that seemed so effective against the robot.

 

OOC: Normal single punch.

 

 

Paul

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 Steve,

 

 

Great job! Loved.the reply.

 

Jamey

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 StrikeForce receives Manta-Man's communication, and replies, “This is StrikeForce, my dance partner is out, and I am headed outside to your position.”

 

OOC: He will attempt to apprehend some of the robots crew when he gets outside, if he is able to.

 

Jamey

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 Demolisher will stand up and spin his hammer.  "I have had quite enough of giant robots trying to squeeze the life out of me!"  He will use his find weakness ability on the damaged leg of the robot and hit it as hard as he possibly can, trying to bring down the robot.  "That's the great thing about giant robots though, you can hit them as hard as you want and not feel guilty about it!"

 

Thanks!

Chris

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 Dr. Wildman.

"Strike, I'm going to make the most of this moment and rattle Apocalypse’s cage a bit. See if we can't throw him off balance..."

 

 

Replying to his friend and teammate the Bionic Brawler says. "Go ahead Doc, if anyone can, my monies on you. Let me know if you need my help."

 

Jamey

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 1 MINUTE EARLIER:

In the shadows another watched the fight. He was silently tracking the crew of the Doomsday Robot. Soon he would take action. Not now but soon.

 

1 HOUR EARLIER:

Location: Megelaopolis – HWY 17

 

A newly purchased JEEP carelessly speeds in and around highway 17 traffic.  A lone young man sings loudly with his left leg dangling out of the vehicle, almost dancing as he drives.

 

“Taake ooooon meeeeee - take on me…”  

<DISSAPOINTMENT>

 

“Taaaake meeeeee oooooooon - take on me..”

<AGGITATION>

 

“IIIIIII'll beeeee goooone”

<ANGER>

 

“ IN A DAY OR TWOOO -  *COUGH! COUGH!*

<RAGE!>

 

“Ok, Ok M.I.S.H.A.  I know: These beautiful American songs, they are so classic! But very difficult with the high notes. We shall practice more.  You maybe not understand, it is like, what do they say?  Getting kicked in the b-“. 

 

KRAKAO!!   “O NET!” * Screams the driver.  (* Translated from Russian)

Lightening strikes seemingly out of nowhere nearby causing the JEEP to careen barely missing the minivan in front. The JEEP comes to a screeching stop amid the other cluster of cars on the highway.

 

All of a sudden what was moments ago clear sky becomes roiling with clouds, seemingly out of nowhere

 

“What is this? This does not seem natural.”  The driver looks towards the City.  There, it appears the center of the storm is emanating from above the Center of the City.

 

The 80’s radio station breaks into a news report along with the demands of Dr. Apocolypse.

 

“MISHA, after we get the cover on, how do you feel about a trip to the City before going back to base?”

 

<ANTICIPATION>

 

10 MINUTES EARLIER:

The JEEP drive through the City proper amid the high rises, moving slowly through the storm.  Cars are everywhere.  Debris flies all around. The wind is merciless. BAM! Something metal bounces off the front of the car.  “Damnit! My new car! That sounded expensive!”, yells the driver as he comes to a stop. <SYMPATHY>

 

The driver attempts to look at a building on fire through heavy rain, the wipers on high.  Blocking the street to the building is a local transit bus pulled sidewise.  Apparently vacated by all it’s passengers, it blocks the street from oncoming fire and rescue first responders.

 

“Time to go to work, that bus isn’t going to move itself for the Fire Department”. Under his breath, the lone drive says, “M.I.S.H.A. - Zanimat'sya”.Small black motes with subtle silver flashes start to emminate from the young man and slowly start to combine outside the car.  The mass solidifies over the next few minutes, finally taking shape into what appears to be a 10’ technological construct of a bear.  The driver looks almost tired from the experience.

 

5 MINUTES EARLIER:

“PUSH MISHA! – GOOD!”  The large nano tech bear pushes it’s shoulder into the front of the bus.  Slowly it starts to pivot on the weighted back end where the engine is.  Soon the way is made clear for the first responders to get through to the building.

 

“Thanks, pal! By the way, what’s your name for the report?”, says one of the Firemen.  The young man answers, “This is MISHA” as he points to the bear. “Call me Rubicon.  Like the JEEP, yes?  I love Americ-“ ZAP! CRASH! BANG! Over the din of the storm the bust of a giant robot can be seen above the buildings a few blocks away.  A seeming battle is being waged between it and some familiar hero’s.  “Hey look!” says the Fireman pointing to the sky. “I think that’s Adamas!  Looks like your needed elsewhere, buddy.  We got this.  Good luck, and thanks!”

 

 “Hey, watch my JEEP, yes? She’s new!” The young man nods and starts to run in the direction of the battle.  MISHA gives a “Hrummpf” as it start to bound after the young man.

 

1 MINUTES EARLIER:

Rubicon and MISHA make their way through the alleys toward the cacophony of battle with the robot.

 

They watch from behind the giant robot as two of it’s apparent operators, Caufield and Krajovic, exit out of the back of the giant.  Demolisher, recently in the gargantuan's grasp, drops to the ground then appears to ready an attack on the robots leg. “LIGHT BULB!” Rubicon laughs at himself. “Come MISHA, I have an idea”. Rubicon feels MISHA’s nano-synced emotion <HUMOR>

 

In the shadows another watched the fight. He was silently tracking the crew of the Doomsday Robot. Soon he would take action. Not now but soon.

 

PRESENT:

OOC: Ok, wall of text over.  Rubicon has positioned himself and MISHA to block Caufield and Krajovic in the bottleneck of their proposed escape route.

 

As the two robot operators quickly approach Rubicon has his pistol casually drawn as he says, “Leaving the party so soon? But we just got here.  Now the fun begins, yes?”  MISHA remains hidden behind any large structure close by.

 

Rubicon is using his action along with MISHA’s imposing presence to attempt an intimidation check to get them to surrender assuming their morale is spent.  Rubicon will fight defensively if it fails on one or both of them.

 

MISHA holds his turn, if necessary, until the outcome of this. If it is a success against both operators MISHA will fire his bolts at the same “hamstring” leg that Demolisher is attempting to attack to help topple the robot.  MISHA then charges to attack it physically next turn.

 

If one or both operators fail to be intimidated, MISHA moves between he and Demy and claws at one or both who are not.

 

Super glad to finally be here gang!

 

-Greg

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 Wow, great write up, love the detail.

 

Jon

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 I agree Jon.

Greg, I am looking forward to your character officially joining us. I can't wait to see his character sheet.

 

Jamey

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 Seeing that Manta-Man was back in action (and privately admiring his tenacity) Patty fixed her gaze on the newcomers trying to escape the robot.

 

"Y'know," she mused to herself. "That robot is a big bad guy. *They* came from the robot. I can safely assume they're little bad guys. Let's see if we can keep them from getting away."

 

OOC: Patty will run towards the two escapees on the ground and try to use her paralytic venom on one of them. I'm guessing that would be Krajovic as the closest but maybe Caulfield the way things go this next turn?

 

OOC: She doesn't have anything ranged to do something about the other two on the robot's shoulders, but if needed after another turn she can try to attract their attention and draw fire.

 

Shane

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Adamas: is confused on what the plan was

Black Orchid: Protecting the switch and hurl a vacuum blast at Cavagnaro. 

Demolisher: Attempt to bring down the Doomsday Robot with his hammer

Dr. Wildman: Speech to Dr Apocalypse

Erdbeben: 2 Vibe Blasts into Doomsday Robot or Influence Task to get crew to surrender

Patty Plus: Paralytic venom attack on one of the crew members.

StrikeForce: Attempt to apprehend some of the robot crew

Rubicon: Block 2 crew member and attempt to Influence to surrender (Task Save)

 

Please confirm this is what your character is doing for this turn. If this isn't what you want please send in a correction.

 

Thanks

Tom

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 Looks good to me.

 

Steve

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 Sounds good Tom.

 

Rubicon is using his action along with MISHA’s imposing presence to attempt an intimidation check to get them to surrender assuming their morale is spent.  Rubicon will fight defensively if it fails on one or both of them.

 

MISHA holds his turn, if necessary, until the outcome of this. If it is a success against both operators MISHA will fire his bolts at the same “hamstring” leg that Demolisher is attempting to attack to help topple the robot.  MISHA then charges to attack it physically next turn.

 

If one or both operators fail to be intimidated, MISHA moves between he and Demy and claws at one or both who are not.

 

Greg

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 Confirmed for Erdbeben.

 

Paul

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 Is Adamas able to sense anything using his enhanced vision? Or possibly hearing?

 

If he can sense Cavagnaro, he'll attempt to blast her, if not, I think he'll attempt to Exit, possibly going through the front of the robot.

 

His biggest concern is not harming Black Orchid with an accidental "pray and spray" blast. :)

 

Jon

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 Adamas enhanced vision can't see through Black Orchid's darkness. He doesn't have enhanced hearing.

 

He could try a normal hearing perception test to find either of the crew members in the darkness.

 

Do you want to try it?

 

Tom

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 To make sure it is clear. I will roll a perception test for Adamas to see if he finds anyone. I will tell you how many he perceives but not who.

 

He will know he is targeting a sound he heard but he won't know if it is a crew member or Black Orchid.

 

Does Adamas want to try and blast what he hears?

 

Tom

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 Confirmed for Patty Plus

 

Shane

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Nope, Black Orchid has this; Adamas will exit, through the robot's body.

 

Jon

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Jon, Thank you for your confidence!

Tom, that is correct for The Black Orchid

 

Marc

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 Tom,

 

Correct on StrikeForce's actions.

 

Jamey

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