# Forum > Play-by-Post Games > Finding Players (Recruitment) > Out-of-Character >  New Harbour Needs Heroes! (OOC)

## Dodgeson

Okay gang, once everyone's posted up their character sheets we can get going! 

Whilst we're waiting I have two questions, first off do any of your characters already know each other? Second, what does their 'average' day look like?

*Name*
*Player*
*Defence*
*Toughness*
*Fortitude*
*Will*
*Initiative*
*HP*

Kevin Matthews aka Platfomer
Quellian-dyrae
10
10
10
10
10
4

Jacob Manwell aka Wildcard
Llyarden
6
14
8
12
20
3

Ishani Descartes aka Indelible
Zelphas
10
10
10
10
20
2

Rowen Taggard aka Runtime Terror
Ridai
13
7
7
13
20
4



Current IC

*Spoiler: Houserules*
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*Ability Scores*
All gone! Smarter minds than mine have tried to balance them and failed, just by the bits of them you want individually and be done with it.

EDIT: Strength can now be bought as a power for 1/pp per rank acting as the non-damaging applications of Strength.

*Tradeoffs*
No more than +/- 50% PL

*Dodge/Parry*
Both are being consolidated in to a single 'Defense' stat at the cost of 1/rank. There's no reason being Defence-shifted should cost more than being Toughness-shifted and when was the last time you saw anyone with unequal Dodge/Parry anyway?

*Assessment*
Works as follows: One degree of success against an opponent gives you their PL, two degrees gives you any trade offs they might have and three degrees you learn if any stats are below PL limits, absent, or immune.

*Luck*
Gone! Varying levels of Luck between a party is common source of imbalance. Instead of a 1/2 PL pp character tax everyone just starts each adventure with 3 HP instead.

*Skills*
No more than 5 ranks of a skill can be part of an array without some kind of limit. Equally you can't have any more than 5 ranks of a skill coming from Variable full stop. This is to prevent someone taking a couple of ranks of Variable and becoming an instant expert in everything, potentially overshadowing other players in their own specialities.

*Mobility*
This skill combines Acrobatics, Athletics in to one skill along with the Escape and Contortion functions of Sleight of Hand and initiative.

*Expertise*
Expertise is just one skill. What used to be individual Expertise skills are now individual proficiencies. You receive one proficiency per Expertise rank. You use your full Expertise rank for any proficiency you have, although if you want you may spend one proficiency to divide your ranks among several (no proficiency can ever exceed your full ranks). You may also exchange one proficiency for an additional language known, or an additional 1 Equipment Point, if you wish, so you can have a very high Expertise skill in only a few or even only one field if you wish. You may leave some proficiencies unselected and fill them in between scenes. You may also fill one or more of them in mid-scene at the cost of a Hero Point.
If you have Jack of All Trades, you are treated as a minimum of half proficient (i.e. you use at least half your Expertise ranks, rounded down) for most proficiencies. If you have Eidetic Memory, you gain this benefit as well, but only for knowledge-related checks. These bonuses don't stack. The GM may designate certain proficiencies that, due to being exclusive to certain groups in-setting, do not qualify for these bonuses.
You may buy five additional proficiencies for 1 PP. The Languages advantage is removed, since these options are strictly superior to it.

*Stealth*
Gets everything left from Sleight of Hand.

*Vehicles*
Is an expertise now.

*Healing*
The Healing power heals one condition if its check succeeds, plus one additional condition per two degrees of success beyond the first. Restorative healing cures one point of weakened traits per point of success on the Healing check that does not go to healing damage, to a maximum equal to the power's rank. The total healing received by a given target is halved, rounded up, if that target has failed a resistance check against the type of attack being healed (so Damage for base Healing, Weakens for Restorative) since the end of the healer's last turn.

In addition, rather than healing worst condition first, the power first heals Dying, then heals each Bruise individually. Then it downgrades Staggered to Dazed. Then it removes the Dazed condition. Then it downgrades Unconscious to Staggered, and repeats the previous downgrades from there. The one-round Daze from failing a resistance check against Damage by two degrees isn't affected by the healing, it's just a brief side effect of being hit that hard, but if a target takes such a Daze while suffering a lingering Daze from getting Staggered downgraded by this power, it returns to Staggered instead.

*Growth & Shrinking*
One's too good and the other's garbage, you want to change your size category it's a 1 point feature per shift either way.

*Alternate Resistance*
Alternate Resistance Toughness/Fort/Will are all considered +0/per rank modifiers

*Accuracy*
Too many ways to buy it with varying degrees of efficiency, out it goes! Anything that would normally need a to-hit roll is just assumed to have enough to-hit to meet caps.

*Range*
Extended Range and Diminished Range are removed. Ranged powers have a range of a Distance Rank equal to the rank - 2 (if only some power ranks are ranged, it has a Distance Rank equal to the ranks that are Ranged).  Linked powers don't require the same range; instead, as long as any of them are Ranged, they all are, using the total Range ranks.  Likewise, if any power in a dynamic array can be made Ranged, all of them can.

*Spoiler: Downtime Actions*
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Between missions, each PC has the opportunity to take Downtime Actions. They'll generally receive between one and three each mission, depending on the amount of downtime. A Hero Point can be spent to gain another Downtime Action, as a sort of Edit Scene function.

Downtime actions will generally require some sort of check, depending on what you are trying to achieve. How much you accomplish will depend on the degrees of success on the check. Powers and Advantages may also open up possibilities for Downtime Actions that other characters might not be able to take (Quickness, for example, wouldn't let you take more Downtime Actions, but would allow you to take actions that would normally be a process of months or years rather than days; similarly, a Precognition or Postcognition power may allow you to learn the answers to questions that other PCs couldn't).

There are three main types of Downtime Actions:

*Immediate Actions*

Things like learning the answer to a specific question, accomplishing a specific task, and other short-term, one-time things are immediate actions. They are generally similar to Edit Scene and Inspiration uses of Hero Points. You make a check to determine if you succeed. In some cases, where enough persistence will lead to eventual success, you can spend one additional Downtime Action per degree of failure to treat the attempt as a success. With additional degrees of success, you will receive some additional benefit as called by the GM.

Special Immediate Actions: You may spend one Downtime Action to use the Inventor, Artificer, or Ritualist Advantages without bothering with the exact time. You may still only use one such temporary power in any given scene. However, you may "stockpile" such options, and select one at the start of a later scene, expending its free use. If you wish to select from your stockpile in the midst of a scene it costs a Hero Point.

You may spend one Downtime Action to retrain up to five PP worth of traits, shifting them to something else. There is no check required.

*Extended Actions:*

Extended actions are those that will take prolonged amounts of time working towards the goal. Extended actions will require a specific number of total degrees of success before they are complete. Some may also include milestones that provide a partial benefit before the task has been fully accomplished. Degrees of failure past the first will deduct from accumulated degrees of success.

*Indefinite Actions*

Indefinite actions don't have a set endpoint; they provide some manner of benefit which constantly accumulates. A running tally of degrees of success is kept, and those degrees can potentially be spent to gain some benefit or offset some complication. Some indefinite actions will provide more immediate, concrete benefits for their degrees of success.

Special Indefinite Actions: You can spend your Downtime to improve an NPC; training them, building them devices, etc. Once you do this, I'll get an official stat block made for the NPC if I don't have one already. The DC will generally be 5 + 2 * the NPC's PL, and each degree of success will give them one PP. You can't bring an NPC's PL or PP total above your own. This doesn't make the NPC a Sidekick, Minion, or the like, but if circumstances come up where they're involved in a scene, they'll be better able to assist or defend themselves. If the NPCs PL is at least two lower than yours, you can spend two degrees of success to raise it by 1 directly, up to a maximum equal to the average of its original PL and your PL. This won't provide more PP or immediately increased stats; those still have to be trained up normally. This will increase the DC of further training.

You can use your Downtime to improve an Installation. The DC will generally be 10 + the Installation's current effective EP. Each degree of success grants the Installation 1 EP. You don't have to spend your own PP buying Equipment ranks to do this, even if you own the Installation.

If you're really, just, super boring, you can spend two Downtime Actions to gain one Hero Point.

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## Dodgeson

*Status*

Platformer: Fine
Wildcard: Fatigued/Bruised x1
Indelible: -1 All Defenses/Bruised x1
Runtime Terror: Stagged/Bruised x1

THE DEMON WITCH:Fatigued/Staggered/-7 Accuracy&Will/Bruised x4

*Spoiler: Platformer Downtime Actions*
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*Relationship Building (Morningstar) [Indefinite]* 2 Successes/1 Spent _Deception, Persuasion or appropriate Expertise DC20_ 
Successes can be spent to get favours from Morningstar. For example, insight in to what makes supervillains tick, carting off defeated enemies or for 5 successes she can act 'on-screen' for a scene when she is present as if she was a Summon. In addition, every 5 successes you may ask one question to learn more about her.

*Hunting Eschaton [Indefinite]* 1 Successes _Investigation DC25_
Every 10 Successes defeats a would be cult of Eschaton/destroys a stash of forbidden lore, reducing the likelihood of it being able to enter the material world. I'm sure nobody will *Ǹ̵̢̨̦̦̯̝̘͈̱͕̞͓̎̄̆̒̅̑̅̿̌̉͗̈́̽͗̃̄̆͂̅̉̈̊͂̏͌̅͆͘̕̚͘͝͝ͅͅ  ̨̨̡͔̙̻̩̭͙͍̼̰̙̰͍̘ͅͅO̸̅̑̋͛͒̐͋̓͆̉̍͒̏̈́̽̄̀̏̌͆̐̊̊̈́͘͘͘̚͠͝  ̨̽͑͐̾̽̓͋T̴̨̞̣̻̙͖̳͈̘̤̪̲̈́̓̀͆̚͝ͅͅȈ̷̛̛̽͌̈̌̀͗̋̔̓̋̇̚͠͝͠  ̧̡̡̜̱̟̳̥̻͍̼̬̠̥̪̫̝̗̻͎͕̦̓̀̍̔͊͗̉̓̀͐͑̋̉͆̀̌͆̿̿̽͐͌̕͜͜͜͝͝  ̧̨̨̬̬͕̖͍̮͖̰͚͉̭̠̳͎̦̙̟̰̪̝͜C̵̡̧̪͎͇̣͓͙̖̺̤͖̿̀̊͐̐͗̓́͂̔̈ͅ  ̜̲͜͜ͅȨ̷̡̡̦̝̪̟̘̠͔͎̯̻̩̥̜͕̥͓̥̣̰̤̰̞̿̒͘͘* 

*Spoiler: Wildcard Downtime Actions*
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*Rebuilding New Harbour [Extended]* 8/50 Successes _PL or relevant Expertise DC25_
As successes are accumulated the parts of the city that have yet to recover become livable again, at 15 Successes Wildcard becomes aware of ways to access the Undercity and at 50 the city is fully rebuilt.

*Recovering Protectorate Tech [Extended]* 0/50 Successes _Investigation or relevant Expertise DC20_
Successes can be spent to use a recovered piece of Protectorate tech of your choice worth up to 5pp per 2 successes spent for a scene (Max 20pp). In addition, once complete Wildcard has recovered all missing pieces of Protectorate technology.


*Spoiler: Downtime Actions for Multiple Characters*
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*Superheroics! [Indefinite]* 6 Successes/0 Spent _PL DC20_
Successes can be spent to take advantage of your heroic reputation. At 15 successes the PCs will be accepted by the majority of New Harbour as defacto successors to the Protectorate. 

*Exploring the Palaceship [Indefinite]* 0 Successes/0 Spent _Investigation or Technology DC25_
Renovate the Palaceship and discover its secrets! Two successes can be spent to add a new feature from the list below.
*T1* Gym, Habitat, Hangar, Holding Cells, Infirmary, Laboratory, Library, Trophy Room, Workshop
*T2* (Unlocks at 15 Successes) Combat Simulator, Communications, Computer, Defense System, Fire Prevention System, Personnel, Security System
*T3* (Unlocks at 25 Successes) Dual Size, Intelligent, Moveable, Self-Repairing, Teleport Lock, Temporal Limbo, Transport, Variable Environment

*The Palaceship*
*Size:* Gargantuan
*Toughness:* 15
*Features:* Living Space, Power System

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## Quellian-dyrae

*Kevin Matthews AKA Platformer*

*Hero Points:* 4.

*Spoiler: Mechanics*
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*Attacks*

*Initiative:* +10.
*Attack:* +10 (DC 25 Damage, DC 20 Effect).

*Defenses*

*Defense:* +10.  *Toughness:* +10.  *Fortitude:* +10.  *Will:* +10.

*Skills*

Expertise +20, Investigation +20, Mobility +10, Perception +10.

Proficiencies: Aliens, Culinary, Current Events, Draconic Lore, History, Gaming, Geography, Law Enforcement, Law, Literature, Local, Magic, Meta-Genetics, Military, Popular Culture, Psionics, Science, Sports, Superheroes/villains, Tactics.

*Advantages*

All-out Attack, Benefit 2 (Clever, Tech Savvy), Equipment, Evasion 2, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Skill Mastery 2 (Expertise, Mobility), Teamwork, Well Informed.

With Powers: Add Eidetic Memory.

*Benefits*

*Clever:* May substitute Investigation for Deception to oppose Deception-based actions.

*Tech Savvy:* May substitute Expertise for Technology for purposes of tech knowledge (so, identifying, understanding, and using technology, but not repairing, building, securing, hacking, demolitions, and other more specialized functions).

*Equipment*

*Modern Smart Phone with Bluetooth:* Cell Phone, Computer, GPS, Commlink {4+1}.
_Alternate Applications:_ Camera, Audio/Video Recorder, Flashlight.
*Powers*

*Flicker:* Insubstantial 4 (Subject to [Magic] damage; Reaction [Immediately after being attacked], Limited [Cannot pass through unattended objects, structures, and terrain features], Limited [Triggered by Damage effects only], Limited [Only if provoking attack hits], Limited [Only if resistance check fails], Limited [Cannot sustain; must deactivate by end of next turn]) {4}.

*Menus:* Enhanced Advantages 1 (Eidetic Memory) {1}.

*Extra Lives:* Immortality 1 (Unreliable [5 Uses]), Enhanced Immortality 9 (Permanent, Unreliable [5 Uses]; Check Required 8 [Fortitude DC 18 to use, DC 27 for full ranks]), Feature/Quirk (Rather than reviving where he died, he revives wherever he was at the start of the episode) {2}.

*Life Bar:* Protection 10, Immunity 2 (Critical Hits) {12}.

*Game Mechanics:* 50-point Dynamic Array, Feature 1 (May dynamically Link up to three effects) {51+11}.

*Controls (2 Slots):* Multiple Effects.

*(Y) - Run:* Flight 10 (Platform, Limited [Must remain adjacent to a solid or liquid surface], Quirk [Must begin and end movement solidly supported]), Feature 1 (May pick up and drop off unresistng targets as a free action) [5].

*(B) - Jump:* Flight loses Limit [5].

*(X) - Activate:* Strength 10 [10].

*(A) - Strike:* Damage 10 [10].

*(Z) - Shoot:* Damage gains 7 ranks Increased Range (900'), Variable Descriptor 2 (Magical Descriptors), Ricochet [10].

*(L) - Shield:* Create 10 (Selective, Stationary, Feature/Quirk [Selective Resistance], Reduced Range [Close], Concentration) [10].
_Selective Resistance:_ The barrier gets a resistance check using its rank against all attacks, including those that would normally automatically destroy it or that it would normally be immune to.  If it beats a DC of 10 + the attack's rank, the Selective nature of the barrier works in its favor - it avoids an attack that would auto-destroy it or blocks an attack it would normally be immune to.  If it fails, its Selective nature works against it - it blocks an attack that would auto-destroy it or misses an attack it would normally be immune to.

*(R) - Block:* Deflect 10 (Secondary Effect, Reduced Range [Close]) [10].

*(Start) - Pause:* Quickness 20 (Limited [Mental]) [10].

*(Select) - Camera:* Remote Sensing 3 (Visual; 250'; Feature [Counts as Simultaneous as long as he remains on camera], Subtle 2), Senses 1 (Extended Vision) [10].

*(Connect) - In-Game Chat:* Visual Communication 4 (Rapid 2, Subtle, Feature [Can send images]) [20].
*Special Attacks:* Multiple Effects.

*Stomp:* Damage gains Alternate Resistance (Defense), Perception (Limited to Close), and Limited (Must spend a move action jumping at target) [10].

*Kombo:* Damage gains Multiattack [10].

*Smash Attack:* Weaken Toughness 10 (Alternate Resistance [Toughness]) [10].

*Hitstun:* Affliction 10 (Impaired+Vulnerable/Stunned+Disabled; Will; Extra Condition, Limited Degree) [10].

*Pinball:* Strength gains Contagious [10].
*I'll Tank, You DPS:* Multiple Effects.

*Refill Life Bar:* Regeneration 10 (Sustained) [10].

*Button Mashing:* Immunity 30 (Will; Sustained, Limited [Half Effect], Limited [Only for checks against ongoing effects]) [10].

*Rotate Control Stick:* Immunity 30 (Fortitude; Sustained, Limited [Half Effect], Limited [Only for checks against ongoing effects]) [10].

*Stats What Stats?:* Enhanced Defense, Toughness, Fortitude, Will 5 (Limited [Only to offset Weakens]) [10].

*Shrink Hitbox:* Concealment 10 (All Senses; Limited [Defensive purposes only; does not allow for stealth or prevent targeting by non-Perception effects]) [10].
*White Magic/Psychic Support:* Multiple Effects.

*Cure/PK Lifeup β:* Healing 10 (Limited [Others Only]) [10].

*Remedy/PK Healing α:* Healing gains Restorative [10].

*Esuna/PK Healing γ:* Nullify Afflictions 10 (Broad, Simultaneous, Reduced Range [Close], Limited [Counters Only]) [10].

*Protect/PK Shield Σ:* Deflect gains Shapeable Area [10].

*Reflect/PK Shield β:* Deflect gains Reflect [10].
*Power Ups:* Multiple Effects.

*Boost Items:* Variable 2 (Improve Existing Traits; Reduced Action 2 [Free], Affects Self and Others, Feature [If a non-Minion non-object received a non-Bruise condition from a single-target Damage effect on his last turn, may add Limited (Earned) to the traits bestowed; this counts against the flaw cap for IET], Quirk [One target at a time out of combat; in combat, effect ends if target fails a resistance check vs. Damage]) [20].

*Healing Items:* Healing loses Limit [10].

*Invincibility:* Immunity 60 (Physical, Energy; Affects Self and Others, Reflect, Sustained, Limited [Only if a non-Minion non-object received a non-Bruise condition from a single-target Damage effect on his last turn], Limited 2 [Only if the attack roll for the qualifying attack was a natural 20 or the resistance check was a natural 1], Limited [Lasts for a maximum of two rounds, and may only be used on one target at a time]) [20].
*Calculations*

*PL:* 10.  *PP:* 0/154. 
*Stats:* 30.  *Skills:* 30.  *Advantages:* 13.  *Powers:* 81.



*Spoiler: Complications*
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*Not Just a Game [Motivation - Responsibility]:* When he was younger, Kevin kinda took his powers at face value, treating the world in many ways like he was the hero of a video game.  As he's matured, he's come to more intuitively understand that it's not all a game.  He's seen the sort of threats that are out there, and he's seen the sort of damage his own powers can cause.  As a young man, Kevin is wiser and more responsible now, although that isn't to say he's lost the kinda-goofy, innocent spark of his youth.

*Always Plays the Hero [Motivation - Doing Good]:* Kevin doesn't play video games to kill monsters and collect treasure.  Well, okay, not _only_ to kill monsters and collect treasure.  The point is, he likes to be the one who saves the land, rescues the princess, defeats the villain, and so on.  While he's not really super compassionate or anything, he has a strong desire to be the Good Guy.  His parents also did good work teaching him heroic morals.

*Glitched Power Ups [Accident]:* These days, Kevin has a lot more control over his power ups than he used to, allowing him to freely choose when they appear, easily direct them to himself or an ally, and choose what effects they have.  However, his control still isn't _perfect_, and as a Complication, his power ups may occasionally...glitch.  This usually happens because of Kevin subconsciously believing a fight should be "cooler" or "more challenging" - it's most likely to occur when his opponents are outmatched (especially if they otherwise have some narrative significance, such as some goons holding off the heroes while a villain escapes) or for powerful enemies who have a run of bad luck.  Glitches to Kevin's power ups could take a variety of forms; his control could slip, making them Unreliable and/or Uncontrollable like they were in his youth, they could move on their own requiring actions and/or checks to collect them, they could turn into trap items that cause negative effects, or they could even directly power up his enemy!  In the latter case, Kevin doesn't even strictly need to be on his Power Ups power for his attacks (or perhaps enemy attacks against him) to create "traitorous" power ups.

*Unconscious Reality Warper [Accident]:* Kevin himself, even with Power Stunts, can't use his powers to go outside his video game theme; even after learning the truth of his powers and with a St. Ambrose education under his belt, reality is simply too _complicated_; he needs it to be translated to something familiar and understandable to manipulate it with anything resembling control.  That said, he's still an outright reality warper.  In times of severe stress, anger, or other emotion...things can happen.  Usually, these things still adhere to video game physics (such as his Glitched Power Ups and Enemy Sprites Complications), but not always.

*Enemy Sprites [Enemy]:* Every game needs villains to fight and monsters to tear through by the hundreds.  Kevin can, occasionally, subconsciously generate video-game enemies - sometimes even in place of power ups!  Most of the time, these are Minions with fairly simple capabilities, but it is not impossible that a more serious opponent could develop to provide a proper boss fight.

*Malus Academy [Enemy]:* Many of Kevin's adventures during his time in St. Ambrose involved thwarting the students of Malus Academy, a school for aspiring supervillains.  Now that Kevin is no longer supported by Pending Objective, some of his old foes might seek him out for revenge, or some of the new crop of Malus students might target him for extra credit.

*Alchemaster [Enemy/Responsibility]:* Alchemaster has been an enemy of Kevin's father for years.  Kevin himself did battle with...well, a convincing duplicate, anyway, of Alchemaster once before.  A big part of the reason Kevin has come to New Harbour is because of Alchemaster's involvement in the devastation that the city suffered through and the deaths of its heroes.  Alchemaster would see Kevin as a priority target if only to get back at his father, and Kevin would be personally invested in thwarting any future plans of the mad alchemist.

*Glitch [Enemy/Hatred/Phobia/Power Loss/Reputation]:* Originally a Malus Academy mimic, "Glitch" (Kevin still doesn't know what his original name was) bit off more than he could chew when he tried to copy Kevin's reality-warping powers.  Lacking most of his limits, both subconscious and psychically-imposed, Glitch took on the form of a "palette-swapped" Kevin and basically became an all-but-entirely uncontrolled and probably-mostly-insane reality warper.  While his powers do still have some degree of video game thematics, to say they correspond to actual game mechanics would be too generous by half.  His powers also sometimes cause Kevin's to behave erratically when he's in Glitch's vicinity.

Glitch believes himself to be Kevin on some level, and his delusion sometimes causes him to try to insert himself into Kevin's life.  While generally fairly stable as long as the delusion isn't challenged, Glitch can lose control quickly when it is, and an out-of-control Glitch is a danger to anyone in the vicinity.  Glitch will identify himself as Kevin Matthews AKA Platformer, and so in some cases Kevin may encounter reputational problems where Glitch has done wrong in his name.

While Kevin won't hesitate to face Glitch in personal combat, the idea of the harm his powers could do when in Glitch's vicinity, or what Glitch could do with them, or especially what could happen if Glitch were to gain full control of them, all rather terrify him.  And while the truth is that the best way to neutralize the threat Glitch represents might be to offer help and support, Kevin bears a deep personal hatred of Glitch that goes beyond reason; he has come close to outright murdering Glitch in the past, and basically refuses to treat Glitch as anything other than an enemy and a dire threat.

*Galacticorp [Enemy]:* Now, to be clear, Kevin totally doesn't hold it against the interstellar corporation Galacticorp that they randomly abducted he and his friends and forced them to run through a lethal obstacle course culminating in a full-on super-powered throwdown with other aliens for the amusement of their audience.  He doesn't even blame them for the incident where their teleporter intercepted a wormhole and sent them off on a visit to a Dark Future that they barely survived.  These sorts of things _happen_, he knows the score, it's nothing personal.

He did, however, take some offense to their attempt to invade and conquer his planet.  One assumes that they were similarly displeased when he and Pending Objective thwarted a couple of their invasion teams and then rocked up to their mothership and took down their CEO in personal combat.

So, you know, that's a thing.

*Eschaton [Enemy/Phobia/Obsession]:* The biggest bad Kevin has ever faced, an eldritch horror that basically conquered the world in a Dark Future Kevin visited, *Eschaton* is a looming menace that Kevin finds absolutely and existentially terrifying.  Even the vaguest hint of an indication that something might so much as incrementally increase the chance of *Eschaton* being unleashed on our reality would immediately shoot to the top of Kevin's priority list.  He actively works to destroy any information about summoning or contacting *Eschaton* that he finds, and his fear of it is so great that even now Kevin kinda freaks out if anyone says its name, and absolutely refuses to do so himself (when he must discuss it, he tends to refer to it as "Big E").

*Eschaton* has had some plots and minions foiled by Kevin, so while as a part of reality Kevin is basically on its list like everything else, given a need to prioritize the destruction of particular things-that-exist, Kevin might rate higher than most.  Certainly, any well-informed individual seeking power from *Eschaton* would be aware that Kevin would be a likely impediment to such a goal, and may take proactive efforts to removing it.

*Sore Loser [Obsession/Temper]:* Kevin's an introverted kid who subconsciously alters reality.  He's not what one would call good at losing.  He can get quite angry if someone beats him, especially if he has reason to believe they cheated.  When he can't overcome a challenge, he often obsesses over it and dedicates his free time to trying again until he succeeds or is forced to stop.

*Video Game Caring Potential [Power Loss]:* Kevin's a lot better than he used to be about consciously remembering that he's not _actually_ the main character of a video game.  His connections and emotional attachments to real people helps ground him in the reality of the world, keeping him from indulging the frankly terrifying behaviors his powers can encourage (see Video Game Cruelty Potential below) and acting as something of a limiter on his powers, helping him keep them under control.  However...they are limiting.  The more grounded he is in reality, the less oxygen his powers have.  When he's feeling strong emotion about something or someone he cares about - when things get "too real" in other words - his powers will weaken.

*Wrong Genre Savvy [Quirk]:* Kevin has a perfectly reasonable, given his circumstances, tendency to assume things are going to act like they do in a video game (and to be fair, he has had a _surprising_ amount of success using video game tropes to guide him).  He knows not everything does, but he has a tendency to at least _try_ a game-relevant solution to problems, to at least see what works and what doesn't - at this point, he's fairly convinced that his powers are subtly, unconsciously shifting reality just enough to make such methods plausible (although it's also entirely possible that he just lives in a zany enough world that his particular brand of crazy works).  And while his powers definitely relate most heavily to platform games, that isn't the only type of game he plays, so he can flit between genres when trying this stuff.

Of some note, while Kevin sees this as simply rational given the way his powers work, there's more to it than that.  At the end of the day, the video game theming is just a subconscious interface for controlling his powers, a translation of the awesome complexity of reality into a format Kevin can understand and interact with intuitively.  It is, in fact, more-or-less impossible for him _not_ to believe, on at least some level, that reality works like a video game.  No matter how much he may consciously believe that reality operates by different rules and he's just fiddling with them some, deep down, he will always intuitively _expect_ for things to work like video games.  Acting otherwise tends to create a sense of cognitive dissonance for him, making him stressed and uncomfortable.

*Video Game Cruelty Potential [Quirk]:* As indicated above, Kevin believes - deep down, at least - that the world works like a video game.  And, specifically, that he is the main character.  It's not really possible for him to believe otherwise on an intuitive level, although he does have conscious limiters on the belief.  Even so, especially in times of stress, anger, or just when he's not thinking clearly, those beliefs can have a much greater impact on his behavior.  And while usually his video game shenanigans are kinda silly and harmless, at worst leading him to make inane decisions or come off as, just, _super_-weird, you guys...such beliefs can also become pretty terrifying if taken to extremes.  At his worst, Kevin can sometimes struggle to remember that NPCs are _people_, or that he isn't entitled to just walk into anyone's home and search it for useful items, or that his enemies are more than just hostile sprites placed to provide challenge, EXP, and power ups.

Now, it would take quite a lot of stress to actually drive him to act on some of those beliefs.  In general, his powers mainly reinforce his tendency to be rather introverted and distant.  Kevin is a devoted and powerful hero - but the fact is that he has the potential to be an utterly terrifying villain.

*Heroic Parents [Relationship]:* Kevin's parents are full-fledged heroes in their own right - his father, Abrams Matthews AKA Spellweaver, is a practicing mage.  His mother, Elise Matthews AKA Thoughtweaver, is a powerful psychic.  Their enemies could go after Kevin to gain leverage over them (the reverse has also happened once, although Kevin made a...let's say "pretty strong case for why it would not be wise to do it again").  Or his mom might telepathically contact him and teleport him home to do chores in the middle of a super-powered fight.  Either way, really.

It's also worth noting that Kevin's maternal grandmother and granduncles are Heather, Daniel, and Roger Walker, AKA Mindwalker, Spacewalker, and Forcewalker.  They aren't superheroes themselves, but military psychics who played key roles in World War 2.  Roger was a powerful telekinetic who fought on the front lines with war-scale powers, but his younger siblings, the twins Heather and Daniel, are probably more famous.  In addition to master logisticians who used their global-scale powers of telepathy and teleportation to extraordinary effect, they were members of the famed Taskforce Victory, which went on to help found St. Ambrose.  Thanks to some modest biokinetic secondary powers, Kevin's grandmother and granduncles are still alive, albeit retired.  In addition to, likewise, being able to telepathically contact Kevin and teleport him over when they need help with their computers or something, they still have military connections and might be asked to call in their grandson/nephew to assist the military if such were required.

Kevin's relationship with his parents has been a bit strained since he learned of their role in keeping the true nature of his powers secret.  Logically, he understands why they did it, but his mother used some pretty invasive and occasionally painful telepathic powers to ensure the secret was kept, and his father...well, Kevin's father has always been very active in encouraging Kevin's education, intellect, and just in general, his acquisition of knowledge.  Truth is the fact that his dad kept this secret from him...hurts, it was kinda Kevin's "your parents aren't perfect" moment.

*Pending Objective [Relationship]:* During his time in St. Ambrose, Kevin was part of a team that eventually became the school's primary heroic team, Pending Objective.  The team consisted primarily of himself, the draconic martial artist Meta, and the unpowered teenaged gymnast who nonetheless fought to devastating effect alongside a video-game-themed reality warper and draconic martial artist like it wasn't no thing, Megan Dawson, though several other students occasionally joined up and dropped out over the years.  Kevin still considers Meta and Megan his two best friends (and he and Megan were dating for a while there), and if either needed help with anything he would literally leap to assist them.

*Bad Blood With Miss Jenson [Relationship/Responsibility/Rivalry/Secret/Creepy Foreshadowing By Professor Quantum]:* Kaja Jenson, AKA Morningstar, was a student at St. Ambrose back when Kevin was attending.  She has some manner of Light Control power drawn from the choker she wears, which Kevin had identified as belonging to a former superheroine called Radiance who had fallen off the grid some twenty years prior.  At the time, the St. Ambrose science teacher (and master time traveler), Professor Quantum, had alluded to some sort of "bad blood" between she and Kevin in the future.

She's also, apparently, the daughter of Alchemaster.

There had never been any trouble between them at St. Ambrose.  Kevin considers her a friend.  Still, Kevin has never taken Professor Quantum's forewarnings lightly.  He would prefer to avoid any "bad blood" between himself and Morningstar, and he gives her the benefit of the doubt and assumes she stands against her villainous father...but he has to admit, there's a lot he doesn't know about her.  If he encounters her, he'll tend to be wary, often overthinking his interactions with her out of concern that the wrong choices may send her down a more villainous path, coupled with a bit of suspicion that she may not be the hero she appears.

*Gotta Catch 'Em All [Responsibility]:* Kevin once pointed out to an enemy that he's not a _comic book_ superhero.  While at the time he was making a rather...darker point, the fact remains true.  In comics, the heroes tend to be fairly reactive, dealing with threats as they come up.  In video ganes, though, it's the bad guys who sit around in their lairs waiting for the heroes to come fight them; the heroes are the ones who go around getting quests, grinding for levels, and going out to actively thwart the bad guys.  Now that he's a fully-trained superhero, that premise informs Kevin's approach to heroics.

Kevin spends a good chunk of his downtime actively investigating and researching known villains, particularly those who have escaped justice somehow, and working to track them down and bring them in.  He won't go after people just for something they _might_ do, and he generally tries to coordinate (or at least communicate) with appropriate law enforcement in the process.  But if a villain has outstanding warrants and such, he's happy to take personal responsibility for their capture.

Of course, video game heroes aren't expected to find the plot all on their own, so Kevin's very open to requests from police or others for dealing with particular villains, and will actively seek such out where plausible.  He can be somewhat naive when it comes to properly vetting information provided by such people; he tends to take the requests of "quest givers" at face value unless he has a particular reason not to.


*Spoiler: Power Descriptions*
Show

Kevin is a reality-warper, but like most reality warpers his powers are subject to some subconscious limiters.  In Kevin's case, his powers basically alter his perception of and interactions with reality to make him work like a video game protagonist, with tropes drawn primarily from classic platform games.

*Flicker [Reality Warping] [Personal Mechanic]:* When Kevin is damaged by an opponent, he flickers for a brief time, becoming insubstantial.  This allows him to move through other characters (though not objects), and causes most tangible attacks to pass harmlessly through him.  The flickering only lasts for a few seconds, but it's an effective defense against multiple simultaneous attackers.

*Menus [Reality Warping] [Interface Mechanic]:* Pretty much Kevin's entire knowledge-base is organized into a menu structure like you might find in a video game, allowing him to reference everything he knows freely and with perfect reliability.

*Extra Lives [Reality Warping] [Personal Mechanic]:* Like any platform hero, Kevin has extra lives allowing him to return if killed.  It usually takes about an hour for Kevin to revive, but it can take longer, in some cases as much as two weeks.  Kevin revives at the "start of the level" - basically, wherever he was at the beginning of the episode.  Kevin can only revive five times; his extra lives don't refresh over time, but at GM discretion certain feats or events may allow him to recover his extra lives.

*Life Bar [Reality Warping] [Personal Mechanic]:* Kevin doesn't really receive physical damage normally.  In his point of view he has a life bar, and it drops when he gets hurt.  His life bar can take quite a lot of punishment though.  Kevin has also realized that there's no reason it should matter where on his body you hit in terms of damage done - after all, the whole point is that it's not really his physical body that's being damaged, because his physical body is just a sprite.  What gets hit is his hit box, and while an FPS hero might have a "headshot" hitbox that causes them more damage or something, platform heroes largely don't care about that sort of thing.

*Game Mechanics [Reality Warping]:* Kevin can manipulate the "game mechanics" - that is, the rules of reality - to achieve various effects.

*Controls (2 Slots):* Kevin uses most of his powers through the interface of a sort of mental video game controller.  This is actually a major part of his perception of the world; Kevin doesn't really feel like he's personally, physically acting in most cases, he feels like he's watching his surroundings play out on a sort of visual-field-filling screen, while he in a dissociated way controls the Kevin on screen with a controller.

*(Y) - Run [Personal Mechanic]:* Kevin can hold down the Y key to run at tremendous speeds, not only moving at something like Mach 3, but also allowing him to run up walls, over water, and even upside-down on ceilings for a short time.

*(B) - Jump [Personal Mechanic]:* Like any good platform hero Kevin can also leap great heights, although his leaping is taken to rather ludicrous extremes.  He's also capable of wall-jumping, double-jumping, and so on, making his movement fundamentally equivalent to flight in short bursts, although he has to begin and end each movement solidly supported - he can't actually hover in the air, at least without an appropriate power up.

*(X) - Activate [Personal Mechanic]:* Kevin is capable of feats of super-strength both in and out of combat, much in the vein of video game heroes who can lift enormous loads and send their enemies flying with powerful blows.

*(A) - Strike [Combat Mechanic] [Physical] [Bludgeoning]:* Kevin can attack foes with unarmed strikes or bashing weapons with paragon-level strength and speed.

*(Z) - Shoot [Combat Mechanic] [Variable]:* Kevin can cast a variety of magical attacks at a distance.  Such attacks can bounce off walls to potentially hit from unexpected angles.

*(L) - Shield [Combat Mechanic]:* Kevin can create a forcefield to block attacks and passage.  The forcefield selectively allows passage to those Kevin wishes.  The shield's selectivity is precise enough to avoid some attacks that would normally instantly destroy it, but this prevents it from being a perfect defense against attacks that would normally cause no harm to objects, as they might slip through.  Kevin's forcefields last for as long as he concentrates and are stationary once created.

*(R) - Block [Combat Mechanic]:* Rather than (or in addition to) creating large-scale shields, Kevin can actively block incoming attacks against himself or an ally.

*(Start) - Pause [Interface Mechanic]:* Kevin can put the game on pause, but unfortunately this puts him on pause as well.  Still, this gives him all but unlimited time to think about things and perform other mental activities, including looking around with his Camera.

*(Select) - Camera [Interface Mechanic]:* Kevin is capable of perceiving the world from a third-person viewpoint, creating a camera angle that can pan, zoom, and so on, though if he doesn't remain on-camera it can make it hard to react to things in his vicinity.  In his youth, Kevin's perceptions were _locked_ into this mode, contributing quite a bit to his feelings of disconnection with reality, but he's learned how to switch to a first-person viewpoint now, which helps quite a bit.

*(Connect) - In-Game Chat [Interface Mechanic]:* Kevin can create a chat box in the vision of others, allowing him to communicate in a manner similar to telepathy, albeit more visual.  When someone concentrates on the chat box, time slows down for them, allowing such communications to happen very rapidly.  The chat boxes are difficult even for those with appropriate super-senses to detect, and they allow uploading "image files" as well as text.
*Special Attacks [Combat Mechanic]:* Kevin can initiate a number of video-game-derived special attacks.

*Stomp [Mystical] [Reality]:* Kevin's most powerful attack, mightier than any Master Sword, more devastating than Ultima, stronger than the greatest dragon shout - he can _jump_ on his enemy's _head_ in true Super Mario fashion!  This doesn't cause physical damage the way his normal strikes do.  It's actually kinda weird.  Why does Mario jumping onto an enemy's head take them out?  It just kinda _does_, as if by, well, a brute fact of reality.  And that's how it works here, only distinctly _moreso_.  If Kevin jumps onto your head, that's it, game over, you lose.  Set hit points to 0, empty your life bar, _whatever_.  Now, if you dodge his jump, you're fine.  If you _partially_ dodge it, so he only jumps on like your shoulder or your back or something, that hurts but you're otherwise still in the game.  Or if you block with an arm or something, same deal.  But if Kevin jumps squarely on your head, it doesn't matter how tough you are, it's just _over_, because that's what reality dictates.  (Although some "boss enemies" may be immune or resistant; half immunity to Defense-resisted attacks is a heck of a thing).

*Kombo:* Kevin can execute a Mortal Kombat style sequence of button presses to make devastating combo attacks.

*Smash Attack [Physical] [Ballistic]:* Quick-tap the control stick towards your enemy before hitting A and you'll execute a devastating smash attack with far greater power than a normal strike.

*Hitstun [Mystical] [Reality]:* In some games, enemies struck by the hero will be momentarily hitstunned, unable to fight back and open to follow-up attacks for a short time.  Kevin can impose this effect on his foes with his attacks.  This doesn't, like, concuss them, or paralyze them, or telepathically blast the thoughts from their mind.  They're just unable (or less able) to act effectively, as a brute fact of reality.

*Pinball:* Just like how Kevin can ricochet his ranged attacks off of walls, so too can he send his enemies pinballing off of each other in a continuous chain until one of them manages to resist the force of his attack.
*I'll Tank, You DPS [Personal Mechanic]:* While Kevin's a capable enough damage-dealer, in the great MMORPG that is team-based superheroics, he primarily envisions himself as a tank-role character (to be more precise, his RPG tropes tend to lean towards the "main character" archetype, who's often a pretty tanky warrior).  Over time, this has caused his powers to develop more towards personal defense and recovery.

*Refill Life Bar:* Kevin's life bar has always refilled passively at a modest rate, but with experience he's learned to improve its recovery rate to be fast enough to matter in combat.

*Button Mashing:* When you're affected by some debilitating effect in a real-time game, what do you do?  You _hit the buttons on your controller as fast as you can until it goes away_, obviously.  Kevin has found that this strategy works to help more rapidly throw off a wide variety of ongoing detrimental effects.

*Rotate Control Stick:* And if button mashing doesn't work, spinning the control stick around really really fast usually does.

*Stats What Stats?:* Okay, yes, Kevin draws from lots of game genres when he uses his powers, but by focusing on his primary aspect as a platform character, he can benefit from a simple truth: platform characters don't typically have stats.  This allows him to ignore some portion of effects that would debuff _his_.

*Shrink Hitbox:* Kevin's body, as far as his powers are concerned, is really just a sprite.  Attacks in video games don't take effect when they hit a sprite; they take effect when they hit a _hitbox_.  So Kevin learned how to shrink his hitbox.  He still visually occupies the same position, but if your attack doesn't catch his actual hitbox, it'll just pass right through him.  Now, when he's not doing this his hitbox and his body are basically the same thing.  But the distinction between them becomes much clearer when he shrinks it down.  Amusingly, since his hitbox is itself completely invisible, this means attacks that require accurate perception will simply fail against him while his hitbox is shrunk, because the attacker can't perceive the hitbox that they need to target, just the mechanically-irrelevant sprite (unless they have some tactile or relevant Concealment-countering super-sense, which will still ping the hitbox normally).
*White Magic/Psychic Support [Combat Mechanic]:* Kevin's father is a wizard and his mother a psychic.  And neither magic nor psionics are all that far off from reality warping.  Kevin has been studying magic and practicing psionic disciplines in an effort to further develop his control of his powers.  He isn't _actually_ a mage or psychic, but his reality-warping powers can credibly emulate certain spells or psychic powers (at the core these are still [Reality Warping] effects; they aren't actually [Magical] or [Psionic]).

Of course, magic is a common power source in video games.  Psionics is somewhat more rare, but still represented.  Kevin's powers along these lines tie further into his RPG tropes; like many "main characters" or advanced warrior types in RPGs, he has access to a solid suite of recovery and defense magic, supplementing his tanking by allowing him to directly heal or defend his allies.  In his case, these are patterned off of Final Fantasy White Magic spells, or several of the recovery and assist psychic powers from Earthbound.

*Cure/PK Lifeup β:* Kevin can use a basic Cure spell or Lifeup ability to heal others.  He can't actually heal himself in this way, because they restore _hit points_ and he has a _life bar_.  Obviously.

*Remedy/PK Healing α:* Kevin can remove most basic status effects, mainly those that directly debuff stats, by casting a Remedy spell or trying the PK Healing α ability.

*Esuna/PK Healing γ:* But for more serious status effects, he can wipe them away with Esuna or the more potent PK Healing γ.

*Protect/PK Shield Σ:* Kevin can cast Protect to shield his allies from harm, or cover his entire party with PK Shield Σ.

*Reflect/PK Shield β:* Kevin can cast Reflect to turn enemy attacks back against them, or accomplish a similar feat psychically with PK Shield β.  (When using both this and the above slot, he can also provide a reflective defense for the whole party by casting Wall or trying PK Shield Ω.)
*Power Ups:* In his youth, Kevin would sometimes randomly generate random power ups when he attacked his foes, that he or his allies (or occasionally, if they were sufficiently enterprising, his foes) could collect.  Now that he has more control and knowledge of his powers, he's learned to generate power ups at will, control which ones he creates, and direct them automatically to his desired target.  He can even produce power ups without damaging an enemy first, but they're weaker.  Kevin has also integrated his power ups with the rest of his abilities, which means he can make use of the raw energy that was going towards generating them for other purposes when he wishes to.  This does, however, mean that Kevin's power ups don't really make him personally stronger the way they used to; they just let him use his powers in more versatile ways than he can accomplish normally.

*Boost Items:* Kevin's typical power ups produce all manner of boosts that augment the powers of whoever he bestows them upon, or allow him to use his powers in more ways than he normally could.  Kevin can have multiple power ups active simultaneously on different allies, but they are lost immediately if the target receives damage, and a given character can only benefit from one power up at a time.

*Healing Items:* While Kevin's Cure spells and Lifeup abilities can't refill his life bar, good ol' healing power ups can do it juuust fine.

*Invincibility:* Kevin's most potent power up bestows upon the target temporary invincibility, at least to most normal forms of attack - all physical and energy attacks are not only useless against the recipient but get reflected back upon the initiator, but other forms of attack may still be sufficient to hamper them.  Invincibility only lasts for a brief time, twelve seconds at most, and unlike most of Kevin's power ups he can't provide it to multiple allies simultaneously.  He also is unable to actually invoke this power at will, at least without cheat codes (that is, power stunts); rather, there's a small chance when he attacks that he might be able to produce an Invincibility power up.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

*Spoiler: Description*
Show

Kevin is a bit over five and a half feet tall (he finally hit a growth spurt!) with a compact, wiry build.  He often appears rather...distracted, not really good at making eye contact. In fact, his gaze often seems somewhat vacant. He has short, straight brown hair and green eyes.  He's twenty-two years old.  At first glance, his costume appears to be that of a stereotypical fantasy wizard; a formal, well-tailored wizard's robe, complete with cape, hat, and rune-carved staff.

But if you look at it for a moment, you'd realize that the costume is the exact same shade of blue as Sonic the Hedgehog. That the hat isn't a wizard's typical wide-brimmed, pointed headgear, but the same kind of floppy cloth hat that Link wore...except in the front, it bore a white circle with a blue K. The robe is covered with stylized patterns of lighter blue and white thread that resembled the designs around the titles of the more recent Final Fantasy games. The symbols on the staff, with a moment's notice, are easily identified not as actual arcane runes, but all manner of carvings of video game items and symbols - stars, mushrooms, bombs, various food items, hearts, and even a triforce - and is topped by a golden disk with about a pie-slice taken out of it, the iconic image of Pac Man. The cape is the off-white color of a Gameboy, embroidered in silver threads with various video game scenes - Kirby inhaling something, a Skyrim Dragonspeech Wall, Crono sacrificing himself against Lavos, Samus's ship landing on Zebez, and so on and so forth - arranged in the same square surrounded by squares formation of a Megaman level select menu, with the larger center square occupied entirely by the first level of Donkey Kong.

(His costume also often changes some when he collects power ups.)

Kevin tends to be rather shy and introverted. He's...awkward in a conversation, and tends to stumble in his words around people he doesn't know. He can be quite exciteable, however, especially in the company of friends. Talk to him about a subject that peaks his interest, and he can get a pretty good ramble going. He does also have a good sense of humor, and if one pays attention, they might catch some softly mumbled wry comments about a situation he it witnessing or a conversation he is listening to.

Though he often doesn't appear so, he is keenly attentive, rarely missing details. He is very bright and possesses an excellent memory. His ability to give himself unlimited time to think or bring up menus that contain every fact he's ever learned are also big helps to that. He has a lot of pride in the wealth of information he has collected, and the education both superheroic and mundane that he received from St. Ambrose School for the Extraordinary.

While he's grown out of it to a large degree, he can sometimes still lapse into being a bit self-centered.  While he enjoys a challenge, he does not like losing at all, to the point of obsessively trying again until he succeeds. It's a useful trait in a sense, but he can sometimes take it too far.

A child of two superheroes, he's been taught heroic morals from a young age (his gaming, in fact, strongly reinforcing that).  While in his youth he saw heroics as a somewhat abstract thing, wanting to "be the hero" without much thinking about the people he was helping, his time in St. Ambrose built upon the strong foundation his parents instilled in him.  While he may not always take things super-seriously, and definitely has a...unique way of looking at the world (probably all the moreso now that he's working with adults rather than teenagers), his heart is firmly in the right place, and he cares deeply about helping others and making the world a better place.

That being said, Kevin's powers could be incredibly dangerous if taken to their limits, and already have altered his ability to interact with the world on a fundamental level. Though a hero by nature and upbringing, the fact remains that he can be self-centered, obsessive over failures, and very distant from people. He does occasionally treat people like background characters in a game, and while he logically understands that he's not really in a video game, he more-or-less can't entirely get that on an intuitive level. In short, while he has grown up into an intelligent, courageous, and compassionate hero, one of his biggest fears is how easy it would be, in the right circumstances, for him to become a truly terrifying villain.


*Spoiler: Backstory*
Show

Kevin's father is Abrams Matthews, practicing mage and a stalwart protector of the world from dark magic, supernatural monsters, and the occasional traditional supervillain as well. His mother, Elise Matthews, is a powerful psychic metahuman, capable of feats of telekinesis, telepathy, and teleportation. The combination of powerful magic and a strong metahuman bloodline ensured the birth of a child with no small potential for power.

Kevin's abilities manifested before he could speak, but they were always fairly minor, along the lines of his parents opening a can of peas and it being applesauce when they set it down. As he grew older, the manifestations became less frequent, although fortune did seem to somewhat favor him. Consulting with several colleagues, they eventually concluded that he possessed an apparently unconscious ability to alter reality.

Still, his power seemed a minor talent...until he hit puberty. At first, he appeared to have developed a completely different power set - strength, speed, jumping ability. How he had gone from reality warper to paragon confused and concerned his parents, but they didn't really worry until he started bringing up the cognitive changes he had undergone. His vision was disembodied, like he was watching himself act from afar. He could freely recall any information he knew. And then, putting reality warping squarely back on the table, he mentioned stopping time.

Then one day, his parents got a call from his school. Apparently he had terrified his class during a dodgeball game when he got hit by a ball and immediately starting blinking in and out.

"Yeah, it was really cool. It's just like what happens when you get hit in a video game."

Two, meet two.

Kevin had been an avid gamer for a while (his parents encouraged the hobby, particularly games where he could play the hero and save the world and such). Apparently, his favorite form of entertainment had become something of the focus for his powers. Knowing that he was going to need professional tutelage to learn to control so difficult an ability as reality warping, they immediately contacted St. Ambrose for consideration (Abrams was an alumni, in fact, learning magic at the feet of the Professor of Arcane Studies).

However, they requested to the ranking officials of the school not reveal the full extent of Kevin's power, as they knew that conscious control over his abilities would require years of training and discipline, and wanted him to get the hang of controlling the limited and subconscious reality alterations he was manifesting before starting him on such an arduous path. They even went so far as to telepathically implant a...few additional memories into Kevin himself to secure his cover.

So as far as 99% of the school (and Kevin himself) knew, he got his powers when their house was struck by lightning in the middle of one of his father's arcane rituals while he was playing video games.

Yes, really.

Kevin's time at St. Ambrose was a wild adventure.  Over time, he and his two best friends ended up forming the nucleus of the superhero team that became known as Pending Objective, eventually becoming the school's official super-team.  Their adventures ranged from thwarting the machinations of dinosaur-people bent on conquering the world, to doing battle with the villainous students of Malus Academy, to rescuing their classmates from the fell circus of Ringmaster Grandier, to being whisked through space and even time to thwart alien foes and cosmic entities alike.

And while Kevin's knowledge and experience grew in leaps and bounds at St. Ambrose, perhaps the most important impact the school had on him was helping him build connections to the reality he lived in and the people around him, to better deal with the dissociation and apathy that his powers predisposed him towards.

Over the course of his adventures, Kevin slowly uncovered clues about the true nature of his powers.  His use of "cheat codes" to manipulate his power ups.  The uncontrolled reality warping caused by the mimic he called "Glitch" copying his abilities.  His incredible feat of selective time stopping to get his team home from the Dark Future moments before *Eschaton* destroyed them all.  And more as time went on.  His mother tried to keep the full extent of his abilities under wraps, reinforcing the telepathic defenses that kept him from putting it all together, but as his knowledge became ever more at odds with his beliefs, the psychic feedback started to take its toll.  Finally, mid-way through his Senior year, his parents decided it was too dangerous to try to maintain the mental blocks, and they revealed to him the truth.

Kevin...didn't take it particularly well.  Those psychic blocks had caused him a non-trivial amount of mental pain when they conflicted with his understanding of reality, or when he tried to force his thoughts to go in a direction they precluded.  But that was kinda the least of it.  Kevin's mother was a psychic, his father a wizard.  They hadn't only taught him how to be a hero; one of the most important lessons they had taught him was that knowledge was power.  To keep him from that knowledge, to go to such extreme lengths to keep the functioning of his own powers a secret from him, was for Kevin if anything an even more profound breach of trust than the psychic manipulations (though, let's be clear, he wasn't exactly thrilled about those either).  He went most of the rest of his Senior year without talking to his parents at all, and even now their relationship is still a bit strained.

Finally Kevin graduated, and Pending Objective went their separate ways (though Kevin keeps in touch frequently with his Chat).  Kevin enrolled at a college a fair distance from Jubilee City, not wanting to move back home after leaving the school.  He did some solo heroics for a time, but when he heard about Alchemaster's attack on New Harbour, he packed up and headed there pretty much immediately.  Alchemaster had been an enemy of his father's for some time, and Kevin felt it was his responsibility to help the city that the mad alchemist had ruined, and to step up to fill the void left by the heroes he had slain.


Splitting into two posts because I was close to the character limit.

On the knowing people subject, I actually had a minor character beat idea operating on the assumption that Kevin didn't know the rest of the team, or at least didn't work with them as yet.  I'm not married to it, but unless anyone has other ideas I'm leaning towards Kevin being new.

As far as an average day thing...hrm.  It's a bit weird because I've been figuring Kevin to be newly arrived in New Harbour, so he probably doesn't have much of a routine yet.  When I search my brain for what his day job should be the answer I come back with is, "He doesn't actually have one, but thanks to his adventures with Pending Objective there's now a Platformer video game series and he lives off the licensing fees from that."  I think at the moment much of his time is divided between "training" (practicing his control of his powers, playing video games to get new ideas for how to use his powers/expand his subconscious intuitions for what he could do with them, practicing/studying various mundane skills because he has Expertise 20 and that takes effort, etc) and kinda rambling around town patrolling/looking for quest hooks/familiarizing himself with the area/randomly helping people/etc.

----------


## LoonyLadle

Thank you again for having me! I do not publicly share my character sheets; the following link goes to my Google document for GM reference, but only Dodgeson will be able to access it. _https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing_

Do any of your characters already know each other?

That depends on whether you want to start us out at the beginning of our career or not. Given the usually glacial pace of PbP I'm inclined to say we ought to skip all the setup; that would allow Jill to already have her "headquarters" (really more of a garage) and her powered suit already built and ready to go.

The most sensible way for the rest of the party to already be acquainted with Jill would be for them to have rescued her. As a future-tech mechanic she could have been discovered, found, or summoned by an Evil McBadGuy and enslaved or otherwise coerced into making them lots of crazy dieselpunk technology. When the other characters burst into the Evil Lair of Badness they discovered her workshop and, realizing that she was not herself a bad person, helped her bust out... perhaps with the aid of a mech suit she'd been building on the side. So, y'know, basically the Iron Man backstory.

What does their 'average' day look like?

Jill likely spends a majority of her time at her headquarters trying to find a way to get back home... or at least, that's what she wants to do! But every time she goes outside she ends up getting distracted trying to feed the poor or house the homeless or fight supercrimes. Even staying indoors isn't a guarentee of being free of distractions because one of the rich party members provided her with her workshop under the condition that she help them whenever she is called on. In the evenings she likely goes to a dive bar and gets herself ****faced!

*Spoiler: Character Description*
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Jill Glass is a temporally displaced citizen of a parallel timeline in which the Dark Ages never happened, allowing rationality and science to develop unfettered for an additional six hundred years, yet never experienced a mass adoption of electricity despite the advancements in technology. This has resulted in a world in which dieselpunk technology reigns supreme and even the prosthetic enhancements of its citizens are nano-scale clockwork automata. It must have been a bizarre world to modern sensibilities, for Jill to be so wondered at the advancements and horrified by the injustices she witnesses here.

Jill was, by all accounts, an ordinary citizen in her home timeline, working as a mundane mechanic. In our timeline, she is a nanotech-infused engineering wunderkind wielding her futuretech knowledge to build seemingly-wondrous solutions to the problems of crime, poverty, and injustice. Not least of these inventions is her mechanized battle dress. Although nominally a powered exosuit intended to facilitate mechanic work, its powerful welding beam and prestigious strength make it a more than capable combat vehicle in its own right.

Jill is a short-ish young woman with pale skin, chin-length dark red hair often worn in a low ponytail or short twintails, and a line of freckles crossing the bridge of her nose. She is often seen wearing mechanic's overalls or big, poofy Victorian-esque dresses, and almost never without her trusty giant red wrench. She is perpetually upbeat and curious, although with a somewhat crude sense of humor at times.


*Spoiler: Complications*
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*Diesel Girl:* Jill comes from a very different universe where mass adoption of electricity never happened. She has a great deal of difficulty interfacing with modern electronics, and has very little understanding of the modern world.

*Innocent:* Jill comes from a world where many of the societal evils that plagued humanity have been solved. She has lived such a charmed life that she is incapable of understanding why the problems of the modern world persist, and tends to approach them with an almost child-like perspective. This can cause her to easily offend people and be vulnerable to deception.

*Problem-Solver:* Jill is an engineer; when she sees a problem she wants to find a solution. And the modern world has a lot of problems: crime, intolerance, poverty, corruption, war, disease. Whenever she sees a problem she requires a firm hand to keep from dropping everything to try and solve it.

*Tech Freak:* Jill just looooves technology! She can't resist an opportunity to check out some unusual piece of kit, and destroying works of engineering is absolutely out of the question -- even when it's supervillainous tech!

----------


## Llyarden

*Jacob Manwell aka Wildcard*
*Spoiler: Description*
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A young man in his mid twenties, Jacob is relatively good-looking but otherwise fairly unremarkable, with mid-length brown hair and grey eyes.  He tends to dress in a variety of casual clothes which are nonetheless carefully chosen to avoid clashing colours and the like.

As Wildcard, he wears a simple domino mask - white with a black outline - the majority of his identity concealment coming from his powers, which leave him a wild kaleidoscope of shimmering light and elemental power.  One minute his hair might be bright red, spiky and burning with white-hot flames, and the next it might have turned into cascading water while swirling shrouds of darkness wrap around his body.  The stronger his emotions, the more noticeable and quicker-changing his elemental raiment.


*Spoiler: Background*
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Jacob Manwell and Rachel MacCoyd were...well, basically the stereotypical 'childhood friends/neighbours turned boyfriend/girlfriend.'  They started dating during their high school years (the fact that they didn't go to the same high school wasn't much of a problem, mostly because Rachel could just, like, fly across the state in a couple minutes when she was allowed free time outside school grounds), bought a place together with the aid of their respective parents' finances when they graduated, and were generally just, like, the cutest couple.

They were both supers, in the common-or-garden 'inexplicably develop powers at a young age' sense - Rachel was your average flying brick type, while Jake's powers were a little more...confusing.  Strictly speaking, he could create and manipulate various forms of energy, matter and anti-energy.  It was a pretty substantial skillset...which would have been distinctly more useful if he'd actually had any control over what form of reality he was manipulating at any given time.  His childhood was...not the greatest - barely a week went by that he didn't end up messing something up with his haphazard powers, drenching himself in water instead of retrieving his rucksack from where some bullies had hung it, setting the teacher's potted plant on fire instead of helping it grow, etc.  The only reason it wasn't a lot worse was that Rachel had no such issues about control, and even if she would've never actually _used_ her superstrength, flight, etc on one of their classmates, just overtly sticking up for Jake was more than enough to dissuade the worst of the bullying.

Of course, to some extent, that only made it harder for him, and made him more determined to control his powers, which led to more attempts at using them, which led to more mishaps, which led to more bullying, which led to Rachel standing up for him more, which led to...you get the idea.

That might have been why - despite Rachel's attempts to convince him to apply - he didn't go to St Ambrose when she did.  It was bad enough her reminding him how useless his powers were, never mind being surrounded by nothing but awesome heroes-in-training who would've hammered the point home even more conclusively.  All the same, he _did_ want to be a hero - admittedly, mostly to impress her, but still - and since they spent most of their time during the holidays together anyway, he managed to persuade Rachel to pass on the hero-ing lessons she'd learned at St Ambrose to him.  And, y'know, you might think that second-hand lessons coupled with badly-controlled powers could have ended in disaster, but actually he legitimately _did_ manage to gain some measure of control over his powers, at least enough that he could stand up to Rachel in a sparring match for, like, almost twenty seconds before getting flattened.  (Some observers might have wondered if his developing control was less a facet of his own improving ability to _actually_ control his powers and more simply down to his powers responding to his desire to impress her.)

When they moved to New Harbour, he was not in the least surprised that Rachel - using her heroic pseudonym of Centuria - joined the Protectorate.  Nor was he surprised that she tried to convince him to join too, but he steadfastly refused.  All the same, he did end up learning a fair bit about the Protectorate's workings, just because, well, they had to have a secret room installed in their home for storing Rachel's supersuit, a special computer that could connect to the one at the Protectorate's base, and generally she didn't really care how much her boyfriend knew about her life as a hero.  To some extent he kinda enjoyed the vicarious heroics through her first-hand retelling of events.  Sometimes when she was out doing solo heroics he even served as her support - from the safety of their house, over the Protectorate communication channels, that is.  It wasn't that he wasn't strong enough to handle most of the threats out there (or at least not be as helpless as your average civilian), but...actually going out and fighting was her thing, not his.  And as it turned out, tactical advice and overwatch and all that kind of thing was something he was actually kinda good at.

It was a couple years after they'd moved to New Harbour that Alchemaster attacked.

As much as Alchemaster was the most dangerous threat the city had ever faced, as much as the initial attack caused carnage...Jacob never once doubted that the Protectorate would win.  Moreover, he never once doubted that Rachel would be fine, and even if their house got wrecked they could just move back in, rebuild, and she'd have another story to tell.

And then she didn't.

It wasn't just losing his girlfriend.  His whole life, Rachel had been this strong, confident, invulnerable beacon of hope.  To say he'd put her on a pedestal would almost be putting it mildly.  And so on top of the fact that his girlfriend, who he'd always assumed he'd spend the rest of his life with, was gone and he'd never see her again...if someone as _perfect_ as her couldn't survive this world, what hope did a loser like him have?

The funeral gave him closure, a little.  And then he discovered that - thanks to a typically-foresighted decision to take the hard drive of the Protectorate computer in their home with him when he'd evacuated the city - he now had one of the most intact repositories of the Protectorate's data that was left after the carnage wrought by the battle with Alchemaster.

And he knew that - no matter what - Rachel would never forgive him if he just lay down and never tried to do anything.

Among the data he'd kept was a list of the backup stashes the Protectorate had left around the city.  And in all the rebuilding, no-one questioned just one more person picking through the wreckage.  But by the time things were beginning to get back to normal, Jake had amassed a respectable amount of gear.

He just needed someone to use it.

Originally stepping up as a hero was just going to be a temporary gig - he still had very little control over his powers, after all.  But he'd begun to realise that...once he stopped worrying about them messing him up (because he was too busy worrying about not living up to the heights of Rachel's success) he could actually kinda handle his random powers.  The same tactical acumen that had served him well directing Centuria from behind the scenes worked just as well in the field.

And maybe working as a hero like this would mean that some part of them would always be connected.  That he'd never have to say a final goodbye.


*Spoiler: Mechanics*
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*Defences (26 points)*
Defence 6 (6 points)
Toughness 14 (from powers)
Fort 8 (8 points)
Will (12 points)

*Powers (83 points)*

*Amplify Elements* - Enhanced Control Elements 20, Limited (Move Action), Enhanced Dynamic Alternate Effect 1, Limited (Move Action) - 11 points

*Control Elements* - 50-point Dynamic array + 6 alternates, Quirk 5 (five of the alternates - marked with an asterisk - are not entirely under his control; instead he chooses how many points to invest, in increments of 10, into the five of them as a whole, and then rolls a d5 to determine where the points are distributed; this *can* cause him to waste points if he rolls incompatible choices), Quirk 0 (can only invest up to 50 points in the semi-random slots, even if he has more points available in the array as a whole), Quirk 5 (Individual slots can go up to 50 points, but he only actually has 40 points available to invest), Feature (can dynamically Link up to three effects) = 54 points
*Personal Energy Control* - 48 points
*Wobbling Flight* - Flight 10, Platform [10]
*Energy Jets* - Remove Platform [10]
*Energy Sheathe* - Feature (can pick willing targets up as a free action) [1]
*Energy Titan* - Feature 3 (can grow up to Size Rank 1) [3]
*Flexible Titan Form* - Insubstantial 1 (Limited [Only in enlarged forms; his human body retains the same flexibility]) [4]
*Resilient Titan Form* - Enhanced Insubstantial 1 (Limited, Limited [Only confers half immunity to physical attacks; no other effects]) [3]
*Kinetic Control* - Strength 14 [14]
*Energy Armour* - Immunity 2 (Critical Hits) [2]
*Energy Precision* - Feature (never suffers penalties to manipulate objects for being too big or fluid) [1]
*Project Energy* - 50 points
*Elemental Blast* - Damage 10, Enhanced Extra [Variable Descriptor 2 (Elemental Themes)] (Uncontrolled) [12]
*Mystic Blast*- Damage gains Alternate Resistance: Will [10]
*Mystic Power* - Variable [Extras] 1 (Free Action, Limited 2 [Only to apply Affects Insubstantial 2 to up to 2 effects], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [5]
*Dangerous Blasts* - Improved Critical 3 [3]
*Energy Whip* - Extra Limbs 5 (Sustained, Projection) [10]
*Project Whips* - Increased Range 10 (1 mile) [10]
**Polar Midnight (Burst)* - 48 points
*Shadow* - Concealment Attack [All Visual] (Blending) [4]
*Midnight* - Remove Blending [4]

*Freeze* - Affliction 10 [Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed, Resisted by Fort] [10]

*Bewildering Darkness* - Affliction 10 [Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, Resisted by Will] (Limited [Only to randomise targets of actions]) [5]
*Nightmare* - Remove Limit [5]

*Layered Power* - Variable [Extras] 4 (Free Action, Limited 2 [Only to apply Cumulative to up to 2 effects], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [20]
**Meteor Swarm (Shapeable)* - 50 points
*Blind* - Affliction 10 [Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated, Will] (Limited [Visual]) [5]
*Scorch* - Remove Limit from Blind [5]

*Precipice* - Create 10 (Stationary, Reduced Range, Quirk [Must start adjacent to something solid]) [9]
*Island In The Sky* - Remove Quirk [1]

*Hardened Crust* - Add Impervious [10]

*Ignite* - Variable [Extras] 4, Free Action (Free Action, Limited 2 [Only to apply Secondary Effect to up to 2 effects], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [20]
**Storm of Vengeance (Cylinder)* - 49 points
*Gust* - Move Object 10 (Reduced Range, Limited [Away]) [5]
*Whirling Winds* - Remove Limit [5]

*Zap* - Affliction 10 [Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated, Resisted by Fort] [10]

*Wind Wall* - Deflect (Limited [Projectiles], Reduced Range) [4]
*Aerorepulsion* - Remove Limit [1]
*Solid Fog* - Environment 1 [Impede Movement 2, Visibility 2] [4]

*Guiding Winds* - Variable [Extras] 2 (Free Action, Limited 2 [Only to apply Selective to one effect], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [10]

*Tornado* - Variable [Extras] 2 (Free Action, Limited 2 [Only to apply Contagious to one effect], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [10]
**Weird (Cloud)* - 50 points
*Hindering Ground* - Weaken Speed 10 (Limited [Non-Cumulative]) [5]
*Gravity Pull* - Add Broad [Movement] [5]

*No Escape* - Add Simultaneous [10]

*Distort Space* - Weaken Attack Bonus 10 [10]

*Disintegrate* - Variable 4 (Free Action, Limited 2 [Only to apply Alternate Resistance: Defence to up to 2 effects], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [20]
**Control Plants (Cone)* - 50 points
*Spores* - Weaken Stamina 10 [10]

*Vine Snare* - Affliction 10 [Hindered+Vulnerable/Defenceless+Immobilised, Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Stealth or Damage] [10]

*Leech Life* - Healing 10 (Restorative, Limited [Only if a Linked attack hits], Limited [Degrees of success on Healing capped by degrees of failure against the attack]) [10]

*Regenerate Armour* - Regeneration 10 [10]

*Winding Vines* - Indirect 4, Ricochet 2, Precise, Split 1, Homing 1 [10]
*Full Power [from Amplify Energy]*- 50 points
*Greater Energy Control* - Variable [Extras] 4 (Free Action, Limited [Only to apply one instance of any form of Area to up to 2 effects], Limited [Can only choose a form of Area that matches the keyed area for an active elemental power], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [20]
*Project Energy* - Variable [Extras] 4 (Free Action, Limited 2 [Only to apply Multiattack to up to 2 effects], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [20]
*Magna Energy* - Variable [Extras] 2 (Free Action, Limited 2 [Only to apply Penetrating 10 to one effect], Limited [Must lock the Dynamic points into this power before using it, even if they were assigned to this effect last round, and must always spend points as though the effect costs at least 1/rank even if it costs less], Reduced Duration) [10]
*Elemental Raiment* - Protection 14, Noticeable, Activation (free; 0 point quirk) - 13 points

*Gadget Store* - Variable 1 [equipment], Limited 2 (1PP), Limited (no individual item can cost more than 2EP), Slow - 3 points

*Collapsible Domino Mask* - Feature 1 (Quick Change) - 1 point

*Quick Thinker* - Quickness 2 (Limited: Mental) - 1 point

*Skills (20 points)*
Persuasion 20
Expertise 20
- The Protectorate, Law [+10 only], Superpowers, Cooking, Housework, Tactics, RPGs, Games [+10 only], Fashion, Scholastic, Current Events, Popular Culture, Superheroes/Supervillains, New Harbour, Law Enforcement, History [+10 only], Science [+10 only], Magic [+10 only], Aliens [+10 only], Writing, Art
- 2 EP

*Advantages (21 points)*
Attractive 2
Interpose
Power Attack
All-out Attack
Evasion 2
Assessment
Well-Informed
Takedown 2
Teamwork
Benefit 2 (Passionate: Can use Persuasion to incite positive emotions and certain negative emotions eg guilt, similar to using Intimidation to incite fear)
Equipment 3
Benefit 2 (Tactical Analysis: Can use Expertise (Tactics) for Assessment and initiative)
Benefit 1 (Security Clearance [he has access to old Protectorate data])
Holding Back 1
Move-by Action
Uncanny Dodge

*Equipment (15+2 EP)*
*Costume Integrations* - Commlink, GPS, Computer, Video Camera, Flashlight - 6 EP

*Smart Phone* - 2 EP

*Hidden Hero Room* - Headquarters (Miniscule) - 9 EP
- Communications, Computer, Security System 5, Power System, Concealed 5


*Spoiler: Power Descriptions*
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*Amplify Elements [Superpower] [Reality Warping]*- By taking a moment to concentrate, Jake can amplify his powers, allowing him to create more powerful effects or affect multiple targets.

*Control Elements [Superpower] [Reality Warping]* - Jake's primary power is the ability to control a wide range of elemental powers, ranging from darkness to fire to plantlife.  The closest he's come to a scientific explanation is that he has the ability to create 'proto-energy,' a mysterious substance that he can control with his powers to cause it to transmute into various forms of energy or matter, or even into into 'anti-energy' substances that draw in the energy from the world around them.  Unfortunately, he doesn't have very much control over his power - he's pretty good at manipulating his proto-energy while it's in contact with him, but once he pushes enough power into it that he can project it away from himself, he kinda tends to lose control of exactly _what_ he's creating.
*Personal Energy Control*
*Wobbling Flight & Energy Jets* - By projecting pulses of energy from his arms, legs, eyes, or generally whatever body part happens to be pointing in the opposite direction of where he wants to go, Jake can bounce himself somewhat awkwardly through the air.  If he was more athletic, it might look like a graceful sort of super-powered parkour.  As it is, it just kinda looks like the poor guy turns himself into a pinball.  If he dedicates more power to it, though, he can support himself more consistently and steadily, and with a bare minimum of accidentally flipping himself upside-down.
*Energy Sheathe* - Jake can extent his own natural barrier around other people or objects with relative ease, and if he reinforces it enough, he can use it to bring them along with him when he catapults himself up into the air.
*Energy Titan, Flexible Titan Form, Resilient Titan Form & Energy Precision* - By pushing his barrier _outwards_, Jake can take the form of a somewhat-amorphous, vaguely humanoid shaped figure standing up to 60ft tall.  While somewhat inconvenient when it comes to, for instance, getting a cup of coffee from a normal-sized cafe, it does have its advantages - if he pushes more energy into it, he can reshape his larger 'body' and make himself malleable enough that he can soften the impacts of people falling onto him, or resist most physical attacks by dint of simply having too much mass for them to matter.  No matter how big he makes himself, though, he can still manipulate things just as dexterously as he could in person.
*Kinetic Control [Telekinetic]* - By pushing more proto-energy into his barrier, Jake can create a powerful kinetic force that can support massive loads of weight.
*Energy Armour* - Jake can use his barrier to protect his eyes, throat, and other vulnerable areas, leaving him with no weak spots.
*Project Energy* 
*Elemental Blast [Force or (Various Elements)]*- Jake's most basic power - he can conjure up a sphere of...some element or other, usually even he's not really sure what until it happens...and slam someone with it.  The energy disperses if it gets too far away from him, so it's very much a melee attack.
*Mystic Blast [Mystical]* - Jake's reality warping powers allow him to directly attack the soul of his target, instead of their physical form.
*Mystic Power [Mystical]* - And since souls generally aren't on the physical plane anyway, he doesn't have much issue hitting ghosts and the like.
*Dangerous Blasts* - Usually Jake's Elemental Blasts are kinda sphere-y, but he can shape them into more cone-like forms with a little effort, allowing him to strike a target's weak points more easily.
*Energy Whip* - Generally speaking Jake has a hard time controlling his power when it isn't in direct contact with him; to make up for that hindrance he's learned to form a half dozen kinda pseudopods of force that he can use to manipulate objects, lift things, and so on.  And since they're just made up of mystical reality warping energy, he can poke them into raging infernos, acid, etc, without really caring.
*Project Whips* - He can also stretch them up to a mile away - assuming he can actually see where the heck he's trying to put them.
*Polar Midnight*
*Shadow & Midnight [Darkness]* - Jake can cover a target in clinging shadows that camouflage them (it's more a metaphysical darkness than actual darkness, so it can work just fine in broad daylight.)  They're relatively easy to brush off, and even just vigorous motion can disperse them unless he pushes more energy into them.

*Freeze [Ice]* - Your average 'freeze the bad guys solid' ice power.  The ice continually regrows, so while a target can break free of the weaker stages easily enough to throw a punch, fire a death ray, or whatever, it makes it pretty hard for them to react fast enough to dodge an attack.

*Bewildering Darkness & Nightmare [Darkness] [Mental]* - By shrouding a target's eyes, Jake can make it impossible for them to distinguish friend from foe - or completely rewrite their perceptions of reality, tricking them into taking actions that they never would otherwise.

*Layered Power [Meta-Power]* - By controlling the metaphysical essence of darkness and ice, Jake can cause his powers to layer over themselves, making the effects more pronounced the more times he uses them.
**Meteor Swarm*
*Blind & Scorch [Light / Fire and Pain]*- At low levels, a brief flash of fire can produce a bright light that temporarily blinds a target.  Jake rarely uses this power at max power, but when he does, the blinding effect is mostly lost beneath the pain of being lightly fried.

*Precipice & Island In The Sky [Earth]* - Jake can create stone structures as hard as steel, either attached to a solid surface or just kinda hanging in mid-air in stark defiance of gravity.  He generally can't sustain such structures for long, though (as his array randomisation will often cause him to switch away from this slot)

*Hardened Crust [Earth]* - By pushing more power into his structures, Jake can make them sturdy enough to turn aside most small arms fire with ease.

*Ignite [Meta-Power]* - By controlling the metaphysical essence of volcanic lava, Jake can cause his powers to start 'fires' where they land, though these 'fires' are purely manifestations of building energy, and he will often end up creating blue flames that erupt into a wave of cold or the like.
**Storm of Vengeance*
*Gust & Whirling Winds [Air] [Kinetic]* - Jake can create a blast of air capable of hurling weights of up to 25 tons away, or whirling windstorms that can pick up and manipulate such objects however he pleases.

*Zap [Electric]* - A bolt of lightning is usually pretty good at getting people to stop what they're doing.

*Wind Wall & Aerorepulsion [Air] [Kinetic]* - Jake can shield a target in a whirling gale, protecting them from most projectile attacks - or, with a little more power, from anything that has to pass through the barrier.
*Solid Fog [Air] [Water]* - He can also create a wind-filled fog that makes a little hard to see and move.

*Guiding Winds [Meta-Power] [Air]* - By conjuring winds infused with his power, Jake can protect allies or innocent bystanders from his own powers.

*Tornado [Meta-Power]* - By controlling the metaphysical essence of wind, Jake can cause his powers to spread from target to target, like a tornado sweeping up everything that it comes in contact with.
**Weird*
*Hindering Ground [Spatial]* - By manipulating space, Jake can cause the ground to resist allowing his target to move, making it like running on a treadmill. 
*Gravity Pull [Gravity]* - By manipulating gravity, he can instead cause the air, or the water, or the fabric of space-time itself to resist the movement in the same way.

*No Escape [Spatial]* - With more power, he can make it harder for a target to move _anywhere_, no matter what mode of movement they try.

*Distort Space [Spatial]* - By warping space around a target, he can make it harder for them to strike with any accuracy.

*Disintegrate [Meta-Power]* - By channeling the power of the depths of space, Jake can charge his powers with an eldritch force that can carve through almost any traditional defence.
**Control Plants*
*Spores [Plant]* - Jake can unleash a handful of spores that hamper their victim's physiology.  Since this is perhaps one of his most dangerous attacks, he very rarely actually uses it, no matter how strong the temptation is.

*Vine Snare [Plant] [Grapple]* - By creating a vine that wraps around a target, Jake can restrain them or pin them in place.

*Leech Life [Plant] [Life]* - By infusing his effects with plant spores, he can cause the energy his attacks sap to be transferred to himself or another.

*Regenerate Armour [Plant]*  - By drawing on the essence of plants, Jake can rapidly generate more energy that he can funnel into his elemental armour.

*Winding Vines [Meta-Power]*  - By infusing his attacks with the essence of plants, Jake can cause them to take on the properties of vines - although in practice it makes them look more like snakes, sending them writhing around corners and even continuing to seek out a target after he takes his attention off them.
*Full Power [Meta-Power]* - 
*Greater Energy Control* - By pushing more energy into an attack, Jake can cause it to affect multiple targets - an omnidirectional blast for ice and darkness, a shaped crack in the ground that issues forth energy for earth and fire, a tornado for air and lightning, an ominous fog for space and eldritch forces, or a spiralling eruption of plantlife.
*Project Energy* - Alternatively, he can target his attacks more precisely, at the cost of accuracy.
*Magna Energy* - Or he can just make them more powerful, capable of breaking through even the strongest defences.
*Elemental Raiment [Superpower] [Reality Warping]* - Jake's physiology was permanently enhanced at the moment he got his powers; he doesn't suffer all the usual minor aches and pains that most people do, he can't get drunk (something he has been frustrated by on a regular basis following Rachel's death), and generally he's pretty resistant to poisons and diseases and such.  But in terms of actual physical damage, he's no tougher than an ordinary human.  Fortunately, he's learned to create a more-or-less-skin-tight barrier of energy around himself that can protect him from attacks.  Perhaps unsurprisingly given the rest of his powers, it's very obvious, which is convenient for him, since it serves as a large part of his identity concealment, but it also means he can't keep it active during his day-to-day civilian life.
_The 0-point 'quirk' represents that while he can activate it quickly enough - and will usually have it up when acting as a hero - if he's genuinely surprised, it might not be active.  The reason this is not an actual quirk worth any points, nor a Complication, is that the Activation 'flaw' confers a significant benefit to a Noticeable Permanent effect, at least for a character like Jake who cares about his secret identity: being able to turn the darn thing off!_

*Gadget Store [Tech]* - Over the five years since Alchemaster's attack, Jake has amassed a pretty sizeable amount of old Protectorate gear, like commlinks and such.  It's kinda his hobby.  Most of it's pretty minor, and he's keeping it mostly to stop it getting sold or passed on to villains, but bits and pieces come in useful on occasions.

*Collapsible Domino Mask [Tech] [Nanite]* - Jake was given this 'hairpin' by Rachel, back when she was trying to convince him to go out in the field with her.  He never did, but he pretty much always wore it in its disguised form anyway.  With a quick press of the clip, however, he can convert it into a domino mask with translucent eye-slots that go a pretty good way to disguising his facial features - and his powers do the rest.

*Quick Thinker [Skill]* - Jake might not be absolutely the most intelligent guy out there, but for someone without any mental-boosting superpowers, he's pretty quick to figure things out and make plans, something he's discovered is a quite useful knack given how he has to adapt to his wild powers with only about a second's advance warning of what they're actually gonna do at any given moment. over the people he's trying to use them on.


*Spoiler: Complications*
Show

*For Memories (Motivation: Doing Good)* - Okay, sure, to some extent Jake is doing the whole 'heroics' thing because it makes him feel closer to Rachel.  But that doesn't diminish the fact that...he actually _does_ like helping people, and he does feel like it's the right thing to do.

*What Could Have Been (Quirk/Temper)* - ...even if that does mean that more and more he finds himself wondering whether things could have been different if he'd joined Rachel in the field instead of supporting her from behind the scenes.  Sometimes he can find himself getting lost in the idea.  Kinda the flip side of this is that he absolutely _hates_ people saying that the Protectorate should have done a better job of protecting the city, or wondering why they didn't do X, Y or Z.  He's more than willing to criticise his own past actions, but no-one criticises theirs.

*I Cast Magic Missile!  Wait, No. (Weakness/Power Loss)* - So, when Jake and Rachel were kinda-sorta dating as teenagers, in amidst learning how to control their respective powers and, y'know, actually going out on dates and stuff, they played RPGs.  It was more Jake's thing than Rachel's, to be honest.  But long story short, being able to visualise a massive array of magical powers...actually kinda helped Jake visualise _his own_ powers.  So yeah, for a while there he was envisaging his powers as various fantasy spells.  As his control of his powers grew greater, he stopped needing the whole fantasy thing as a crutch as much, but...well, Rachel's death caused a pretty significant backwards step as far as the whole 'control' thing went.  Nowadays he once again finds that he has better control of his powers when viewed through the lens of fantasy mages.  For the most part this is pretty minor - I mean, about the worst that could happen is he ends up accidentally yelling out a 'spell' in the middle of combat, and I mean like this is a world where magic legitimately exists.  I guess maybe a real wizard might be a bit ticked off about it.  No, the much bigger concern about all this is the fact that...well, Jake can only use his powers because he envisages them as spells.  He doesn't claim to be a wizard or anything, but if by chance he happens to end up in a situation where a real magician might have difficulty using their magic - or at least, a situation he _thinks_ a real magician might have difficulty, whether or not that's actually the case - his own powers can go on the fritz.

*The Ones Left Behind (Relationships/Responsibilities)* - Jake met all the other members of the Protectorate to various degrees, but at least once or twice.  How much he knows about them - particularly their real identities, if like Centuria they weren't publicly known - is up to the GM, but between his own connection to the Protectorate and his Protectorate data store, it's quite plausible he may well know about other people like him: close friends or loved ones of the Protectorate mourning their loss.  He's not made any attempt to seek them out - Rachel's secret wasn't his to share, if nothing else - but if he happens to find out about one of them being in trouble, he's likely to go to some lengths to help them out.

*Not A Real Hero (Enemies/Rivalries)* - Okay, yeah, Jake doesn't have the pedigree of a fancy superhero school, and pre-Alchemaster he spent his time advising from the safety of his own home.  Some people - on both sides of the hero/villain divide - sometimes end up with the impression that he's not much better than a glorified sidekick.  Villains might target him in the hopes of using him as leverage against other heroes, heroes might decide he doesn't have what it takes to be a hero and try to get him sidelined.  And even-tempered as he tends to be, Jake has absolutely no qualms about standing up for his own ability to be a hero.  It's taken him this long to actually muster the courage to take that step, he's not going to let anyone claim it was the wrong move.

*Reality Is Hard, Y'All (Accident)* - Badly-controlled reality warping powers can sometimes cause things to happen Jake wasn't really intending, no surprise there.  It does tend to be a bit more common when he's feeling strong emotions, so, y'know, good thing he isn't living in a city his girlfriend sacrificed herself to protect where there's tons of stuff to remind him of her.  Oh, wait...

*Living Up To The Legend (Responsibility/Temper)* - Being a hero - or rather, Hero - means something.  Jake takes that responsibility seriously, and while he's certainly not the kind of guy to be all work and no play, when 'on the job,' so to speak...yeah, he takes things seriously, and he expects other heroes - and to some extent other people in similar positions of authority or responsibility - to do the same.  People that don't do so tend to irritate him a bit.

*The Man Behind The Mask (Secret)* - Jake keeps his secret identity...well, secret, just as Rachel did.  Admittedly, the only reason Rachel kept her identity secret was to make sure no-one came after him to get at her and he doesn't exactly have that to worry about, but it's one of the many things he's just kinda kept going with without really considering it.

*Die. (Hatred)* - Jake doesn't kill.  Y'know, it's kinda one of those hero things.  When it comes to Alchemaster, if he had the opportunity, he would certainly consider making an exception.


Regarding whether we know each other - I figure Jake will at minimum have vaguely been aware of Cpt Rutherford, maybe Jill (I'm not sure how long she's been in the city) and Scylla, but if my understanding of the timeline is correct, I don't think Jake would know much about Platformer and Pending Objective beyond what just his skills and Well-Informed can give him; Alchemaster's attack and Rach's death would've happened before all that since it was five years before the current IC date.  For his part, as Wildcard he's been acting as a minor hero for a couple years now, so it's plausible he's crossed paths with...I guess anyone except Kevin?

As for an average day...well, in his mundane, day-to-day life, he doesn't have a job - he's been getting by mostly on what he inherited from Rachel courtesy of the financial support she got from the Protectorate and the city - so he basically just spends his time trawling through forums and stuff looking for signs of Protectorate tech resurfacing that he will either bid on in his personal identity (posing as just one of the many seekers of Protectorate memorabilia) or, if necessary, take by force as Wildcard at a later date.  Aside from that, he spends an unhealthy respectable amount of time out in the field doing just minor heroics and good deeds and all that.

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

*Spoiler: Scylla's sheet, Latest Edition (2022/March/18)*
Show




> *SCYLLA
> *
> 
> *Spoiler: Character Sheet*
> Show
> 
> *Flowing Form*
> _Scylla's skin is smooth and iridescent, with razor fins on her arms, legs, head and back. At will, she can change back to Iara with her dark braided hair and wide eyes, or else merge into a puddle of water and have no appearance at all. In all her forms, she's confident in her body and very hard to restrain._
> Defense: 15 (15 pts)
> ...





I'm inclined to assume that Scylla and Blackcoat started off as enemies. When Iara first got her powers, she didn't have any sense for how to pick her battles and had a special vendetta against smugglers and kidnappers in particular. She probably took one look at the skull on Rutherford's back and decided he was her arch-nemesis.

Of course, that would have been like seven years ago. Scylla didn't have the benefit of academy training or anything; she would have been like 3 PLs lower than the experienced pirate, and I don't know what Blackcoat's approach would have been to a weird avenging fish girl back then. Maybe he took her on as a sidekick for a while, maybe they developed a friendly rivalry. 

Anyway. This is probably silly, but I can also imagine Kevin rescuing Jill and developing a weird complex about it. He might suspect that he accidentally created her himself, complete with false memories from some fictional video game setting. Anachronistic technology is certainly a common trope of the medium.

----------


## LoonyLadle

> This is probably silly, but I can also imagine Kevin rescuing Jill and developing a weird complex about it. He might suspect that he accidentally created her himself, complete with false memories from some fictional video game setting. Anachronistic technology is certainly a common trope of the medium.


That could be fun and/or tragic, especially if Jill starts believing him!




> Regarding whether we know each other - I figure Jake will at minimum have vaguely been aware of Cpt Rutherford, maybe Jill (I'm not sure how long she's been in the city)...


Ideally Jill has not been in the city for long, and has never really been operating as a "superhero;" this would afford her the maximum opportunity to still be adorably wondered at modern technology.

----------


## Starsign

*Captain Stanley 'Blackcoat' Rutherford*
*Spoiler: Mechanics*
Show

*Skills* (47 PP):
Deception +18 (9)
Expertise +10 (5)
Insight +8 (4)
Intimidation +18 (9)
Mobility +8 (4)
Perception +8 (4)
Persuasion +18 (9)
Stealth +6 (3)
Technology 0
Treatment 0

Proficiencies (+10): Nautical, Criminal, History, Geography, (6 more)

*Advantages* (21 PP):
Accurate Attack
All-Out Attack
Defensive Attack
Power Attack
Takedown 2
Inspire 3
Leadership
Assessment
Benefit 5 (Wealth)
Fearless
Interpose
Teamwork
Contacts
Connected

*Powers* (52 PP):
*Pirate Lord's Coat* (Device, Hard-To-Remove, 8 PP)
 - Protection 10

*Immortal Experience* (Immunity 3: Age, Critical Hits, 2 PP)

*Seen 'em All, Know 'em All* (Mind Reading 10, Subtle 2, Limited to Surface Thoughts, 7 PP)

*Five Hundred Years Too Old To Die* (Regeneration 10, 10 PP)

*Pirate Lord's Skills & Charms* (25 PP)
 - *Cutlass of the Sharpest Metal* (Damage 10 + Deflect 10; DC 25 Toughness)
 - *Flurry of the High Seas* (Damage 10 + Multiattack; DC 25 Toughness)
 - *Painful Dirty Trick* (Damage 10 + Weaken Toughness 10 (DC 25 Toughness + DC 20 Fortitude)
 - *Flintlock of Endless Ammo* (Damage 10, Increased Range: Ranged; DC 25 Toughness)
 - *Crippling Cheap Shot* (Damage 10, Affliction 10; Vulnerable/Defenseless/Asleep; DC 25 Toughness + DC 20 Fortitude)
 - *The Pirate's Terrifying Presence* (Affliction 10; Impaired/Disabled/Controlled; Burst Area; Selective; Limited [Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc]; DC 20 Will)

*Defense* (30 PP):
Toughness +10 (0)
Defense: +10 (10 PP)
Fortitude: +10 (10 PP)
Will: +10 (10 PP)

*Total*:
Skills: 47 PP
Advantages: 21 PP
Powers: 52 PP
Defense: 30 PP
Total: 150 PP


*Spoiler: Complications*
Show

*He's A Pirate* (Motivation, Greed): Blackcoat lives a life of piracy and gold. And while the centuries has eased his hand on who he hunts and targets, he remains a pirate lord who loves to plunder treasure and money, preferably ill-gotten money, when he can to add to his trove. He _is_ spending it to help the city... but greed is still greed.

*To Be The Most Feared Seaman* (Motivation, Recognition): Blackcoat has a reputation to uphold, and it's not one which port cities should forget. While one would _think_ this means being a villainous terror who plunders cities when they're most vulnerable, Blackcoat would rather see a fallen city rise back into prosperity, both as a productive and impressive way of showing his wealth, and to uproot and take down any supervillain who thinks they can be a more notorious person than him.

*Too Big A Crew For Good Tides* (Accident): Blackcoat has a lot, _a lot_, of crewmates, owing to him being a pirate lord and the ruler of many ships. Not all are fully loyal to him, and some have greater ambitions, or are less disciplined, than Blackcoat expects. This can cause unintended dilemmas, complications, and other unwanted scenarios that Blackcoat has to own up to.

*The Most Feared Pirate In The World* (Fame): Blackcoat has not been subtle that he's been pirating for centuries. This sort of reputation, along with his changing policies in piracy and business across the sea and in port towns, has made him something of a celebrity for sailors, other pirates, and plenty of sea-faring people the world over. He's quite good at taking the spotlight and stealing the show... even when he doesn't want to.

*The Most FEARED Pirate In The World* (Reputation): With piracy comes infamy, and plenty of law enforcement, vigilantes and other criminals who want to take down Blackcoat, one way or another.

*Gotta Invest, Gotta Protect* (Responsibility): Blackcoat's best trait, perhaps, is the seriousness he takes in anything he helps out with, whether his crew, or New Harbour, or anyone he's promised to keep safe. He insists on keeping his word and doing what he's set out to achieve; no half-measures, even when it puts him in difficult positions.

*Captain Lutra* (Rivalry): One of the many 'Freelance Peacekeeping Agents' who had unsuccessfully invaded Earth years ago. While most of their kind had fled, Lutra stayed with their flying and seafaring alien ship, "The Majesty" (according to Earth translators), partly out of a fascination for Earth's world and culture, and partly out of an interest they took in Blackcoat. Coming from their own, pirate-analogous world, Lutra sees themself as the greatest pirate in the land, and thus one who tries to out-perform Blackcoat whenever they meet.

*Blackbeard* (Enemy): An old pirate who appeared in recent times. Whether they truly are the same Blackbeard, or one taking his name after the original's death so long ago, he and Blackcoat have bad blood toward each other, and Blackbeard, always accompanied by his elite pirates Anne and Mary, won't stop until the pirate lord drowns at the bottom of the ocean.

*Ye Better Start Believin' In Ghosts* (Enemy): The seas have taken many a sailor or pirate, many of them being enemies of Blackcoat, or crewmates who fell with regrets. And the dead, as they say, do not rest. They come back for Blackcoat, on sea or land, and until put to rest, they do not stop coming after him and those he works with.


*Spoiler: Appearance*
Show

Blackcoat is a British-born man looking roughly in his 40s. His skin appears partly-wrinkled but tough and sturdy. His body is athletically built and he is at a relative size of 6' 1''. Befitting his nickname, the captain hair is colored utter black, shaved to a short length so it fits snugly under his classic skull-and-bones pirate hat that's always on his head. His head is sharply chiseled, with a sharp chin and edge-lined eyes, stone-hard blue eyes. While he has a clean-shaven beard, he also has a thick, impressively-kept mustache stretching to the edges of his cheeks.

Blackcoat's clothing more closely represent the style of the golden age of piracy compared to modern day clothing. His hard wooden shoes clank hard on ground surfaces, and he wears loose, baggy dark brown pants to accommodate for windy weather. He also wears a simple, loose white shirt and a long necklace made of fish bones. A leather belt holds his steel cutlass on his right hip, and his flintlock on his left. Most importantly, however, is his black coat. Large, thick, refined with leather and equally expensive, impressive, and unique, with a white skull on the back, the coat is the most important and iconic part of his outfit.


*Spoiler: Backstory*
Show

The golden age of piracy was home to many heroes; some fought on the ground, others behind closed doors, others in meetings, and many out at sea. From the sea emerged sea-faring vigilantes, terrifying pirates, and all sorts in-between. This is the story of one in the middle.

Stanley Rutherford was born a British man, calm, strong, and made for the sea. The notorious and quick-witted man rose up the ranks from a sailor all the way to captain, noted for his preference for black clothing to distinct himself from other pirates. Originally loyal to the crown, the soon-named Blackcoat strayed off to carve his own place in history, taking his ship, "The Eternal," and a large island in the Atlantic ocean for himself, bringing in those abandoned by others or seeking fame and fortune on the high seas. Gathering an increasingly larger crew of sailors and crew of ships, the brave pirate fought and pilfered other pirates, facing the greatest and scariest, including the infamous Blackbeard.

But Blackcoat was a greedy man, and one who'd gladly scour the world for treasures not his own. And one day, he came upon a treasure belonging to a fallen king, one who cursed Blackcoat upon seizing the gold; the gold, now, was Blackcoat's responsibility to keep together, and with that, was the curse of immortality.

And so he lived, past the many centuries, watching his crew come, go, live, die, while he lived through wars, upgraded technology, continued to amass a wealth matched by none.

But as the world of supers emerged, Blackcoat's days of piracy changed. There was still heists and profits in the old seas, and he made shipments and smuggling between ports, but superheroes gave him a new avenue to explore. He was always a gallant and flashy fighter, one who'd be in the spotlight just like those heroes. Becoming a superhero, in the right place at the right time, feels perfectly natural to him.

And more importantly, he had money, not just to hoard, but to spend. So when he hears about the destruction and rebuilding of Harbour City, he was one of the first to arrive and help finance the city's reconstruction. In doing so, he also took to the streets as a hero to keep the city safe; New Harbour needs new heroes, after all. If he wants to keep a place from being destroyed again, he'd have to do it himself.


So I've still debated how famous Blackcoat would be, in general. I think he'd might be known as some mix of a folk hero for those who haven't met him, and a bit of a living legend for those who do, given how long he has been around for. That said, he's likely be more known and less folktale-esque in New Harbour, where he's been around and where _The Eternal_ has likely been docked at. If any of the PCs have been in any prior, big events in the world, he might have heard about it from his contacts. But he largely operated out on the seas and at port cities until he helped with New Harbour, so I imagine hasn't directly met most of the other PCs until then.




> I'm inclined to assume that Scylla and Blackcoat started off as enemies. When Iara first got her powers, she didn't have any sense for how to pick her battles and had a special vendetta against smugglers and kidnappers in particular. She probably took one look at the skull on Rutherford's back and decided he was her arch-nemesis.
> 
> Of course, that would have been like seven years ago. Scylla didn't have the benefit of academy training or anything; she would have been like 3 PLs lower than the experienced pirate, and I don't know what Blackcoat's approach would have been to a weird avenging fish girl back then. Maybe he took her on as a sidekick for a while, maybe they developed a friendly rivalry, maybe Rutherford already knew Wildcard by then and got the established superhero to vouch for him?


That'd be a fun meeting, I think! Unless Scylla threatened or nearly capsized his ship, I imagine he would be overly courteous when they fought, and if she wasn't experienced then he'd likely have helped her a bit with what to watch out for on the seas and where to go for hero training. If Iara was inclined, I imagine he'd definitely help her out, for a time, with smugglers and kidnappers out in the seas before she meets Wildcard or someone else.  :Small Smile: 

As for the average day, I imagine Blackcoat has to do a lot of paperwork on _The Eternal_ over the various contracts, places, and areas in New Harbour that he helped/helps finance with his wealth during the early mornings and late nights, taking care of his crew on the ship or out in the city as well, and also engaging in hero work that happens throughout the city. He'll often be found pretty much anywhere in the city, equally fighting villains or negotiating with people or his own crew.

I also... don't quite know what to do for my Proficiencies yet. Given the house rules, may I fill them in later for languages? Like if it becomes relevant (since I figure Blackcoat should know quite a few over his many years)

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

> Regarding whether we know each other - I figure Jake will at minimum have vaguely been aware of Cpt Rutherford, maybe Jill (I'm not sure how long she's been in the city) and Scylla, but if my understanding of the timeline is correct, I don't think Jake would know much about Platformer and Pending Objective beyond what just his skills and Well-Informed can give him; Alchemaster's attack and Rach's death would've happened before all that since it was five years before the current IC date.  For his part, as Wildcard he's been acting as a minor hero for a couple years now, so it's plausible he's crossed paths with...I guess anyone except Kevin?


I had actually checked on some timeline stuff with Dodge after my initial sheet post, and ended up moving Kevin's age to 22.  The events of the actual St. Ambrose game would have been eight years ago.  That said, I don't know that Pending Objective's escapades are particularly well-known outside of Jubilee City; probably the largest-scale thing they did was their contributions to stopping the alien invasion, but while they may have been the ones who beat the big boss, I don't recall that it was like an Independence Day scenario or anything; they were just one part of an overall successful response by Earth's militaries and heroes.  (Stopping the *Eschaton*-possessed cultist was plausibly world-saving in long-term effect, but wouldn't have appeared so to the outside world and I believe was kept largely secret in any case, given Suzie was using downtime actions to research it in Tomorrow City).  So I think "not much beyond what skills/Well Informed would give" is probably still an accurate conclusion.




> Anyway. This is probably silly, but I can also imagine Kevin rescuing Jill and developing a weird complex about it. He might suspect that he accidentally created her himself, complete with false memories from some fictional video game setting. Anachronistic technology is certainly a common trope of the medium.


I don't expect he'd believe he had created her or anything - Kevin actually visited both an alternate reality and an alternate timeline in the St. Ambrose game, so he wouldn't have any problem taking her existence at face value.  I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it a complex, but yeah if he had rescued her in the past it would kinda slot her into his head as like a "quest target NPC", which would influence his interactions with her, especially if he encountered her later as a hero.




> I also... don't quite know what to do for my Proficiencies yet. Given the house rules, may I fill them in later for languages? Like if it becomes relevant (since I figure Blackcoat should know quite a few over his many years)


Nautical would probably be the one for general ship-related stuff.  And since Vehicles was folded into Expertise in the house rules you'll probably want that (although Nautical might be able to sub as Vehicles for purposes of ships, I'd check with Dodge on that).  Criminal would also be a classic choice for a pirate, and Military would probably make some sense as well.  Given his investment work and such, you may want to consider Business.  Geography is a good one for sailors to have, and given his age History would make a lot of sense considering you know he lived through a lot of it.  And whatever others to taste, but those are the ones that jump out at me.

----------


## Llyarden

> I had actually checked on some timeline stuff with Dodge after my initial sheet post, and ended up moving Kevin's age to 22.  The events of the actual St. Ambrose game would have been eight years ago.  That said, I don't know that Pending Objective's escapades are particularly well-known outside of Jubilee City; probably the largest-scale thing they did was their contributions to stopping the alien invasion, but while they may have been the ones who beat the big boss, I don't recall that it was like an Independence Day scenario or anything; they were just one part of an overall successful response by Earth's militaries and heroes.  (Stopping the *Eschaton*-possessed cultist was plausibly world-saving in long-term effect, but wouldn't have appeared so to the outside world and I believe was kept largely secret in any case, given Suzie was using downtime actions to research it in Tomorrow City).  So I think "not much beyond what skills/Well Informed would give" is probably still an accurate conclusion.


Yeah, I was more meaning that Jake's girlfriend went to St Ambrose too, so if that was now eight years ago, it's plausible that she was there at the same time as Kevin, so Jake might have learned a bit from her talking about it.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Ahhh right right right.  Yeah that makes sense, just eyeballing it if she was around the same age as Jake it seems plausible she'd have been there at the time.  Probably a few years ahead of him so between that and, well, Kevin being Kevin they probably wouldn't have known each other personally, but she'd have likely known him by reputation in that case.  I imagine Kevin would have had most of the student roster in his Menus somewhere, so he'd probably know _of_ her if she were mentioned, at any rate.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Is it okay if we do some sheet-fiddling still?  I was thinking some about Kevin and came up with some tweaks I wanted to do, as follows (I have the updated sheet written, but not edited into the post):

-Drop Provocative and Startle.  While Kevin did put quite a bit of work into getting his Intimidation skill up to par, he's always been kinda socially inept so really he doesn't need advantages expanding its function.  (+2 PP)
-Remove Takedown 2 as a standalone advantage, but add a Turbo Mode standalone power - Enhanced Advantages (Takedown 2; Limited [Only while benefitting from a Power Up that adds Multiattack or Area to at least one offensive power, or while Invincible]).  Back in St. Ambrose Kevin was always pretty mediocre at taking out large groups of Minions unless he had an appropriate Power Up (especially compared to his teammates, who both eventually had Takedown 2).  I kinda like that setup.  (+1 PP)
-Remove Fearless.  Not sure why it was there in the first place.  Kevin's brave but he's not completely immune to fear.  (+1 PP)
-Remove Make It Look Good because see below.  (+1 PP)
-Reduce Evasion to only one rank.  Kevin's jumpy enough to have some improved defense against area moves, but he's not really a dedicated speedster or thief-type or anything, so he doesn't really need both ranks.  Maybe he'll pick up the second eventually.  (+1 PP)
-Lower base Expertise to 10, but see below; Kevin's more knowledge-monkey than super-skilled in general.  (+5 PP)
-Add +10 Mobility, because that helps with some combat things.  Also initiative.  (-5 PP)
-Add five extra proficiencies because he still needs those, though I ended up making everything he has full proficiency and dropping Scholastic (since he's been out of school for longer than I had originally planned and is no longer doing college stuff) and Medicine (because let's be real his best role model there is Doctor Mario and it doesn't work like that).  (-1 PP)
-Add a Limited +5 Expertise and Investigation to his Menus, to buff up his knowledge-monkeying and add more emphasis to Investigation, which I'm coming to realize is going to be a more significant skill for him.  Only +5 Expertise because I realized with Eidetic Memory he only needs Expertise 15 rather than 20 to reliably hit 30s for his knowledge stuff.  I also added a power for +2 Mobility Limited to Combat Purposes to deal with the fractional PP.  (-4 PP)
-Add Skill Mastery (Expertise) to his Menus, so that he can Routine knowledge-based Expertise stuff for 30 no matter what.  Just because I was doing it wrong before does not mean Kevin accepts anything less than 30 on his Expertise checks now, it just means I have to do it right  :Small Tongue: .  (-1 PP)

I also worked out another thing Kevin tends to do with his day, which is put active effort into proactively learning about, tracking down, and apprehending known villains, particularly those who have like outstanding warrants or have otherwise escaped justice.  This'll probably be a prime downtime action for him, and I've worked out a new Complication to this effect.  (This won't need to cause too terribly much friction between him and Blackcoat; some drama and suspicion no doubt, but I figure Kevin will largely see Blackcoat as a "Magnus" or maybe "Wario" sort, treat him more as a former bad guy or maybe just an anti-hero in general rather than an active villain).

----------


## Starsign

> Nautical would probably be the one for general ship-related stuff.  And since Vehicles was folded into Expertise in the house rules you'll probably want that (although Nautical might be able to sub as Vehicles for purposes of ships, I'd check with Dodge on that).  Criminal would also be a classic choice for a pirate, and Military would probably make some sense as well.  Given his investment work and such, you may want to consider Business.  Geography is a good one for sailors to have, and given his age History would make a lot of sense considering you know he lived through a lot of it.  And whatever others to taste, but those are the ones that jump out at me.


Oh these are great suggestions, thanks  :Small Smile:  Though, uh, come to think of it, I don't have a lot of Expertise ranks to fit a lot of these  :Small Eek:  Maybe I should make room for more.

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

> That'd be a fun meeting, I think! Unless Scylla threatened or nearly capsized his ship, I imagine he would be overly courteous when they fought, and if she wasn't experienced then he'd likely have helped her a bit with what to watch out for on the seas and where to go for hero training. If Iara was inclined, I imagine he'd definitely help her out, for a time, with smugglers and kidnappers out in the seas before she meets Wildcard or someone else.


Yeah! Now that I look at his complications, I wonder if the mystery cartel that once got Iara have since joined up with Blackbeard's gang to help protect their supply lines, prompting Scylla and Rutherford to work as a team to combat them.

So, story draft:
*Spoiler: Story draft!*
Show

- In the course of her early back-and-forth across the Caribbean Sea, purely by chance, Scylla catches _The Eternal_ in the middle of some cargo heist or another. She ruins the whole operation by disabling half of the pirates with spooky mermaid music. Rutherford duels her, wins, and absconds with his crew before the authorities arrive.
- They have a few more run-ins. It's weird. Scylla can't really fight him unless she catches him red-handed, and he's mostly kind and helpful when she doesn't.
- Fed up with Rutherford's antics, some Cuban government agency contracts with Lutra, who in turn hunts down Scylla. Lutra helps the young heroine with the arts of telekinesis and being sneaky in exchange for her help bringing down Blackcoat.
- Together, Scylla and Lutra, 'confiscate,' _The Eternal_. Lutra doesn't give Scylla time to wonder what will be done with the riches on board, instead directing her to a high-profile trafficking shipment whose capture is extremely time-sensitive for some reason.
- The cartel ship turns out to be ready for her. They have earmuffs and everything, and Lutra is suddenly no help at all. A certain red-haired woman locks Scylla in a ballast tank.
- Rutherford, having read Scylla's mind in their earlier fight, figures out Lutra's convoluted scheme. He evades the Cuban authorities, shows up in a stolen speedboat and bails Scylla out.
- It is revealed that Lutra was using Scylla as a distraction. While she knocked out criminals and washed them ashore, _The Majesty_'s crew could take the stolen loot for themselves. Seeing how much this sucks, Scylla and Blackcoat join forces for real and steal back _The Eternal_.
- To show up Lutra further, Blackcoat offers Iara his superior knowledge and resources to help find and defeat smugglers and kidnappers. Recognizing that he's not really a bad person, Iara returns Blackcoat's courtesy and even calls him a friend. To this day, they both try to avoid situations where Scylla might catch Blackcoat red-handed again.

That's probably at least two years of antics already! Then, finally...

- Alchemaster happens.
- Sensing an opportunity, The Cartel quickly establishes itself in the power vacuum of New Harbor's criminal underbelly. A certain red-haired woman, whose name Iara never actually learned during their two trips together, takes up residence there. To combat the known aquatic menaces to their expanding operation, she and her bosses form an alliance with a certain upstart pirate lord, calling himself Blackbeard.
- Meanwhile, Blackcoat and Scylla each find their way to the rebuilding city for their own reasons...


Meanwhile! An average day for Iara:
- Scylla: Rise with the sun, stretch, check the calendar/clock/weather radio dealie on your bedstand, remember whether you had anything going on today
- Scylla: Go to the bathroom and get dressed. Your body is naturally endowed with a not-insignificant number of 18-inch-long anti-clothing razors, so your costume amounts to a two-piece backless bathing suit. There are some loose shirts and dresses that you can wear over it, but it's impossible for you not to stand out.
- Scylla: Eat breakfast! Your fridge is filled with a variety of cheap, whole fish, your primary staple since childhood. You can gut and grill these as casually as most people boil ramen or eggs.
- Iara: Visit Jonah. On Sundays and Thursdays, Iara eschews her Scylla persona to go to church or to board game night, so her dear friend doesn't have to be caught associating with the heroine. Iara doesn't even keep her own clothes in Scylla's apartment, instead maintaining a stash in the guestroom at Fr. Joe's lodgings.
- Scylla: Work out. Even liquid spirit-persona-things have to exercise regularly to maintain their athletic skills. Scylla can do this in the ocean in relative safety.
- Iara: Scout the streets and the docks. Iara isn't much of a researcher or investigator, but she is cunning in her own way. A mysterious past, a low profile and a dubious legal status can all be advantages when you want to dig up info on a criminal organization.
- Scylla: Check gigs. Like it or not, you are a professional vocalist now. You have sung at a number of weddings and there's a cruise line that schedules you some nights during the summer. You even did the voice of the main villain in the Platformer video game.

Oh! Right! I was going to suggest that - if Platformer has a video game based on him, I thought it would be fun if Scylla did some voice acting for it.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

> Oh! Right! I was going to suggest that - if Platformer has a video game based on him, I thought it would be fun if Scylla did some voice acting for it.


Down!   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Dodgeson

> That depends on whether you want to start us out at the beginning of our career or not. Given the usually glacial pace of PbP I'm inclined to say we ought to skip all the setup; that would allow Jill to already have her "headquarters" (really more of a garage) and her powered suit already built and ready to go.


That parts already in the bag, I'm only really asking the questions so I know where to put you guys when the game starts.




> In the evenings she likely goes to a dive bar and gets herself ****faced!


A woman after my own heart  :Small Tongue: 




> I also... don't quite know what to do for my Proficiencies yet. Given the house rules, may I fill them in later for languages? Like if it becomes relevant (since I figure Blackcoat should know quite a few over his many years)


You can fill them in as you like between adventures or during if you spend a hero point.




> Is it okay if we do some sheet-fiddling still?  I was thinking some about Kevin and came up with some tweaks I wanted to do, as follows (I have the updated sheet written, but not edited into the post):


Yeah that's fine. If everyone's got there stuff hammered out I'm ready to start when you guys are!

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

That's up on the sheet, and yeah I'm good to go.

----------


## Starsign

> Yeah! Now that I look at his complications, I wonder if the mystery cartel that once got Iara have since joined up with Blackbeard's gang to help protect their supply lines, prompting Scylla and Rutherford to work as a team to combat them.
> 
> So, story draft:
> *Spoiler: Story draft!*
> Show
> 
> - In the course of her early back-and-forth across the Caribbean Sea, purely by chance, Scylla catches _The Eternal_ in the middle of some cargo heist or another. She ruins the whole operation by disabling half of the pirates with spooky mermaid music. Rutherford duels her, wins, and absconds with his crew before the authorities arrive.
> - They have a few more run-ins. It's weird. Scylla can't really fight him unless she catches him red-handed, and he's mostly kind and helpful when she doesn't.
> - Fed up with Rutherford's antics, some Cuban government agency contracts with Lutra, who in turn hunts down Scylla. Lutra helps the young heroine with the arts of telekinesis and being sneaky in exchange for her help bringing down Blackcoat.
> ...


Ah, I quite like this! Makes a lot of sense to me. And I quite like the idea of Blackcoat being able to determine and disassemble a villain's plans through some careful reading and intuition.  :Small Big Grin: 

I've updated Blackcoat's sheet to give him some more Expertise ranks, and add in some of the proficiencies Quellian suggested. I think I should be good now.

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Excellent!

Relevant stuff has been tacked onto the sheet. I dropped Scylla's music history proficiency in favor of a wildcard for now. Iara's glasses were taken away. I've made a few other forgettable edits over time.

----------


## Dodgeson

And we are live!

Hope that works for everyone  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Starsign

Hooray! Works pretty well for me  :Small Big Grin:  I'll try to find time to post today or tomorrow. Got a few things to hand in today.

----------


## LoonyLadle

What the last guy said! So excited to see what kind of antics that my first ever game on this forum can get me into!

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

...I remembered not to include the z in one out of two rolls.   :Small Sigh:   To be fair it was a pretty good roll.

Perception, for real this time: (1d20+10)[*30*].  *...Nice to be playing you again, Kev.  Well done.*

----------


## LoonyLadle

Oh! Someone will have to tell me how to roll dice and stuff on this forum because I do not know!

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

{roll}1d20+10{/roll}, but replacing the {curly brackets} with [square brackets].

----------


## LoonyLadle

Okay! I'll quickly roll a d20 experimentally: I got a (1d20)[*9*]! Would be nice if I knew the result while I was writing the post so I could flavor my writing appropriately. Should we have a thread specifically for dice?

----------


## Dodgeson

Rolling in the OOC should be fine.

Also quick heads up gang, I am currently sick as a dog so my post is going to be slightly delayed while I shake whatever this is off.

----------


## Starsign

> Rolling in the OOC should be fine.
> 
> Also quick heads up gang, I am currently sick as a dog so my post is going to be slightly delayed while I shake whatever this is off.


Being sick is never fun. Hope you feel better soon!  :Small Smile:

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Feel better!

----------


## LoonyLadle

What horrible timing! This is the most important time for any game! Shake that crap off quick!

----------


## Dodgeson

I LIVE! Mostly...I'm stuffed with enough of the not-fun drugs to kill a particularly small horse but it'll do! Speaking of which...lets see who's first on the draw here!

Jill Glass Initiative(1d20+4)[*10*]
Leoni Hunter Initiative (1d20+10)[*30*]

EDIT: Well then!

----------


## LoonyLadle

> Leoni Hunter Initiative [roll1]


How'd he get a +10? Ability scores are houseruled away and Improved Initiative works in increments of four; there's no other way to get initiative, right?

----------


## Dodgeson

The Mobility skill also contributes to initiative

----------


## LoonyLadle

Oh. In that case when Jill is wearing her suit her mod is +14! She is not wearing her suit right now.

----------


## Dodgeson

Good to know! I'll update the cheat sheet accordingly.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

All that time it took to get into the habit of adding the zs on Mythweavers, now I have to remember _not_ to.  I wonder if I could code up a browser extension that detects z[/roll] and if I'm on GiTP it gives me a warning...

Investigation: (1d20+10)[*27*].
Expertise (Criminal): (1d20+12)[*31*].

----------


## LoonyLadle

Oh, another programmer? Cool! I'm a modder for RimWorld so my jazz is C#, but I never quite managed to get into javascript stuff.

----------


## LoonyLadle

[roll]1d20+10[/roll] vs affliction; [roll]1d20+12[/roll] will...

Edit: I don't know why that isn't working. I decided to roll a physical d20; I got a 14 for Defense and a 2 for will. This mean Jill is hit and... controlled, I think? Well that "fight" ended quickly!  :Small Frown:

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

You don't need to roll Defense at all; if an enemy makes an attack roll, it's against a DC of 10 + your Defense.  You generally only roll Defense against Area attacks, or those that are specifically resisted by Defense.  (The Defend action also lets you make a Defense roll to get an extra chance to avoid attacks.)

It looks like this attack is resisted by Power Level rather than Will.  With a natural roll of 2, that's a 12 total, so the good news is you're only Compelled, not Controlled (actually judging by the table in the OP even with Will 8 you'd have still _just_ been in Compelled territory).  Compelled still sucks, but you get a new resistance check each round at the end of your turn to throw it off, so you're not out entirely!  However, that attack is Cumulative, so if it affects you again while you're still under its effects it'll stack.

That being said, remember that you start with three Hero Points.  One of the options for Hero Points is rerolling a check, with a +10 bonus if the reroll comes up 10 or less.  If you want to, you could spend a Hero Point and reroll that Power Level check, and with the bonus it can't fail against DC 20.  Even if you don't (since you already posted IC anyway), you should roll your recovery check now since that happens at the end of your turn, and if _it_ fails you still have the option of rerolling it with a Hero Point.

----------


## Dodgeson

> (1d20+10)[*19*] vs affliction; (1d20+12)[*31*] will...
> 
> Edit: I don't know why that isn't working. I decided to roll a physical d20; I got a 14 for Defense and a 2 for will. This mean Jill is hit and... controlled, I think? Well that "fight" ended quickly!





> You don't need to roll Defense at all; if an enemy makes an attack roll, it's against a DC of 10 + your Defense.  You generally only roll Defense against Area attacks, or those that are specifically resisted by Defense.  (The Defend action also lets you make a Defense roll to get an extra chance to avoid attacks.)
> 
> It looks like this attack is resisted by Power Level rather than Will.  With a natural roll of 2, that's a 12 total, so the good news is you're only Compelled, not Controlled (actually judging by the table in the OP even with Will 8 you'd have still _just_ been in Compelled territory).  Compelled still sucks, but you get a new resistance check each round at the end of your turn to throw it off, so you're not out entirely!  However, that attack is Cumulative, so if it affects you again while you're still under its effects it'll stack.
> 
> That being said, remember that you start with three Hero Points.  One of the options for Hero Points is rerolling a check, with a +10 bonus if the reroll comes up 10 or less.  If you want to, you could spend a Hero Point and reroll that Power Level check, and with the bonus it can't fail against DC 20.  Even if you don't (since you already posted IC anyway), you should roll your recovery check now since that happens at the end of your turn, and if _it_ fails you still have the option of rerolling it with a Hero Point.


Basically what Quell said, if you want to burn an HP for a reroll and edit the post you made then go for it. Also I'm not sure why it wont let you post rolls either but in the mean time I'd appreciate it if you could use something like Coyote Code. I'm not saying you're cheating or anything (you probably wouldn't have flub that roll if you were  :Small Tongue: ) but I can see everyone else's rolls and I'm just trying to be consistent.

----------


## LoonyLadle

Oh. I thought it was a PL 20 attack which meant it would have been DC 30; guess I misread. A "power level check?" Are those a thing? Where in the book are those described?

Compelled or controlled doesn't really seem to matter from where I'm sitting; I can tell by the flavor of the affliction that it is probably Progressive in addition to everything else and since Jill was apparently out shopping when this happened it means the only thing she has to fight back with right now is her Damage 3 giant wrench. I don't like those odds. Probably best to lay down and accept. Besides, I can see the perception of being a weak-willed commoner coming in handy later; they won't ask Jill to fight if they don't realize she can, and they might not guard her as well as they otherwise might.

Hero points... ehhh... I already wrote the post, the dice gods obviously wanted me to lose the fight, and I'm not sure I feel comfortable burning resources on the very first roll I make in the game.

I was wondering what a good dice logging service was, but it was late and didn't want to go hunting for one. I'll use Coyote Code in the future if necessary. Is cheating a big problem on this site?

----------


## Dodgeson

A PL20 attack? Lord no, I am nowhere near mean enough to throw one of those at you right out of the gate, heck I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a PL20 attack before. You wont find an explicit reference to a PL check in the book but what you will find under Modifiers is:




> *ALTERNATE RESISTANCE (+0 OR +1 COST PER RANK)*
> An effect with this modifier has a different resistance than usual. The resistance check difficulty class remains the same, only the resistance differs. If the change is to a generally lower (and therefore more advantageous) resistance, this extra increases cost per rank by +1. If, in the GMs opinion, there is no real increase in effectiveness, just a chance to the resistance, it has a net modifier of +0.


I price Alternate Resistance:Power Level at +0 because while you'll never hit a strong save with it, you'll also never hit a weakness. I look to use it for certain weirdy esoteric powers, which the silver chord certainly is. Also you don't have to worry about the attack being Progressive, literally all the information about the attack is what you can see in the spoiler.

As far as I know the site doesn't have a cheating problem but like I said, I can see everyone else's rolls and I'm just trying to keep things consistent.

----------


## Llyarden

Thanks to my Tactical Analysis benefit I think I should have +20 to init?

----------


## Dodgeson

Yes you should! Have at them!

----------


## Llyarden

Oh and I guess some other checks:

Well-Informed: (1d20+20)[*22*]
Assessment: (1d20+20)[*27*]

Expertise (Aliens?): (1d20+10)[*16*]

*...well I'm glad those weren't my combat rolls!*

----------


## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: Assessment*
Show

The Shaman is PL10 with no trade-offs. The Raiders are PL8 with no trade-offs, no stats below PL or absent and an Immunity to temporal effects

----------


## LoonyLadle

I said WILL SAVE! [roll0]

"[roll0]?" What the frick does that mean?

Save me, CoyoteCode! 1D20+12 = [15]+12 = 27 Yay!
Perception check too? 1D20+10 = [5]+10 = 15 Darn.

----------


## Starsign

Alright, seems like a good time to use Assessment against the leonine invaders! (1d20+8)[*11*] *...Barnacles.*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Oh, and yeah, I'll Routine Expertise (Aliens) for 30 to try to identify these guys as well, and roll Well Informed at (1d20+20)[*32*] after +5 for Eidetic Memory.

----------


## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: So. Many. Saves.*
Show

Leoni Shaman Defence vs DC20 (1d20+10)[*16*] *Full Effect*
Leoni Shaman Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+10)[*22*] *Bruised*
Leoni Shaman Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+10)[*19*] *Entranced*

Leoni Raider #1 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*25*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #1 Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*28*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #1 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*10*] *Controlled*
Leoni Raider #2 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*23*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #2 Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*24*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #2 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*15*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #3 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*25*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #3 Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*22*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #3 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*23*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #4 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*16*] *Full Effect*
Leoni Raider #4 Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*23*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #4 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*28*] 
Leoni Raider #5 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*21*] *Half Effect*
Leoni Raider #5 Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*10*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #5 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*27*]
Leoni Raider #6 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*21*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #6 Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*28*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #6 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*19*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #7 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*22*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #7 Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*28*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #7 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*25*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #8 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*33*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #8 Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*25*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #8 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*28*] *Resists*




> I said WILL SAVE! (1d20+10)[*16*]


*Cough* PL *Cough* Not that it matters 'cause you make it either way but something to keep in mind. Also while you're at it can I get a Stealth check to move about unnoticed?

*Spoiler: Blackcoat Assessment*
Show

The Leoni with the eyepatch is PL10, the others are PL8


*Spoiler: Platformer*
Show

This isn't the first time these creatures have been to Earth and in fact their are scattered records of them appearing all throughout human history, variously referred to as Demons, Interlopers and Slavers. Their arrival is always proceeded by a thick fog after which they appear seemingly out of nowhere, grab as many people as they can and then vanish back from whence they came.

----------


## LoonyLadle

> *Cough* PL *Cough* Not that it matters 'cause you make it either way but something to keep in mind. Also while you're at it can I get a Stealth check to move about unnoticed?


Right, sorry! It's just such a weirdness. Anyways, stealth! (1d20)[*2*] _GREAT! I'M GLAD!_

----------


## Dodgeson

Leoni Raider #1 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*29*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #1 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*12*] *FLEEING!*
Leoni Raider #2 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*14*] *Full Effect*
Leoni Raider #2 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*26*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #3 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*30*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #3 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*13*] *FLEEING!*
Leoni Raider #4 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+13)[*21*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Raider #4 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (DC20/15) (1d20+8)[*12*] *FLEEING!*

The other Leoni (with the eyepatch) is out of range but it doesn't really matter anyway because he has Fearless.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Will (DC 20): (1d20+10)[*23*].  *Resists*

----------


## Llyarden

Toughness (DC25): (1d20+14)[*18*] *Bruised & Dazed.*
Fort (DC...18?): (1d20+8)[*18*] *Resists..?  I'm not really sure why the DC is only 18.*

----------


## Dodgeson

> Toughness (DC25): [roll0] *Bruised & Dazed.*
> Fort (DC...18?): [roll1] *Resists..?  I'm not really sure why the DC is only 18.*


That's a typo, it should say 20 my bad  :Small Red Face:

----------


## LoonyLadle

... deception...? (1d20)[*16*]

----------


## Starsign

That looks like it'll hurt:

DC 27 Toughness vs Damage: (1d20+10)[*13*] *Rerolled*
DC 22 Toughness vs Weaken Toughness & Cumulative Vulnerable/Defenseless: (1d20+10)[*24*] *Resist*

----------


## Starsign

Yeah, uh... let's reroll that Toughness save vs Damage: (1d20+10)[*26*] *Bruise*

----------


## Dodgeson

Not sure if you want to leave the one that's Controlled standing but I'll roll for him anyway, if you think he's of more use to you conscious then just ignore this.

Leoni Raider #1 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*20*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #2 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*26*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #3 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*26*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #4 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*27*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #5 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*20*]

Leoni Raider (Controlled) Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*26*]

Leoni Shaman Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+9)[*21*] *Bruised*

Leoni Raid Leader Defence vs DC20 (1d20+10)[*28*] *Resists*
Leoni Raid Leader Will vs Entranced/Compelled (DC20) (1d20+10)[*15*]

Unfortunately you can't move between Minions and Non-Minions with Takedown, quoth the SRD.




> A second rank in this advantage allows you to attack non-adjacent minion targets, moving between attacks if necessary to do so. You cannot move more than your total speed in the round, regardless of the number of attacks you make. You stop attacking once you miss, run out of movement, or there are no more minions within range of your attack.


Leoni Raider Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+8)[*22*] *INCAPACITATED*




> That looks like it'll hurt:
> 
> DC 27 Toughness vs Damage: (1d20+8)[*20*] *Rerolled*
> DC 22 Toughness vs Weaken Toughness & Cumulative Vulnerable/Defenseless: (1d20+8)[*26*] *Resist*





> Yeah, uh... let's reroll that Toughness save vs Damage: (1d20+8)[*20*] *Bruise*


Also if an attack has multiple effects resisted by the same stat you just roll once for all of them, it doesn't really matter this time because that re-reroll handily beats the DC for everything but it's just something to keep in mind for the future.

----------


## Dodgeson

You still out there Loony?

----------


## LoonyLadle

Yeah. Been busy.

----------


## Dodgeson

Cool bean, just get a post up when youve got the time  :Small Smile:

----------


## Dodgeson

Leoni Hunter(s) Insight (1d20+15)[*19*]

??? (1d6)[*4*]

----------


## LoonyLadle

> Jill might have been cooperating for now but they weren't buying her excuse for a second, the lack of the wyrm around her neck betraying her instantly...


but but but!




> Jill reaches up to rip the silver squirmy from her neck and deposit it into her fanny pack for later study and analysis. (...) Before she does so however she realizes that she seems to have circumnavigated its functions subconsciously, and so decides to keep it on so as to appear as enthralled as the others.

----------


## Llyarden

Toughness (DC23, -1 for Bruise): (1d20+13)[*31*] 
Fort (DC18): (1d20+10)[*30*]

...well that was a resounding *nope* to that stun staff!

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Fortitude: (1d20+10)[*13*].  *Bruised and Staggered*

----------


## Starsign

Already looking like one of those sessions. Thankfully Blackcoat has regen and can just fight through the pain.

DC25/20+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage & Impaired/Disabled: (1d20+10)[*28*] *Also like this.*  :Small Cool:

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

On another note, there's a part of me that fully expects the ship's wheel to be a strictly symbolic, vestigial mechanism and for Scylla to slowly realize this as the silhouette of her opponent growls and looms up behind her.

This would be at least as fun an outcome as any actual success.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## LoonyLadle

Ahhhh, I see that Gunsforhands also loves fun failures~!

----------


## Dodgeson

> but but but!


Fixed  :Small Red Face: 

Once again not sure if you want to keep the controlled one around any longer, so just feel free to ignore the last roll if you don't want it.

Leoni Raider #4 Toughness vs DC29 (1d20+8)[*11*] *Incapacitated*
Leoni Raider #5 Toughness vs DC29 (1d20+8)[*9*] *Incapacitated*
Leoni Raider (Controlled) Toughness vs DC29 (1d20+8)[*16*] *Incapacitated (?)*
Leoni Shaman Will vs Weaken Attack Bonus (DC24) (1d20+10)[*16*] *-8 Attack Bonus*

Leoni Raid Leader Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+10)[*26*] *Resist*
Leoni Raid Leader Fortitude vs Weaken Toughness (DC20) (1d20+10)[*17*] *-3 Toughness*

And I'm gonna have to wait to resolve Scylla's actions for later because I need to benchmark a couple of things before I do.

----------


## LoonyLadle

SURPRISE WRENCH BONK! (1d20+12)[*16*]
ow. HERO POINT REROLL! [roll]1d20+12[/roll]

I guess editing posts does not trigger the rolling code. SAVE ME COYOTECODE! 1D20+12 = [13]+12 = 25

----------


## Dodgeson

You know this may be the first time I've ever used the slam rules. Also just for funzies anyone on a ship that fails their save by 2 degrees or more make  a DC25 Mobility check vs Trip.

Ship #1 (Blackcoat) Toughness vs DC27 (1d20+11)[*24*] *Bruised*
Ship #2 (Scylla) Toughness vs DC21 (1d20+11)[*25*] *Resists*

Leoni Hunter Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+8)[*11*] *That's...that's a pretty good wrench, Staggered & Bruised*

----------


## LoonyLadle

Oh, there were three of them? That changes the calculus of power a little bit not in my favor. And also why do they keep rolling so damn well? x.x

Defense one... (1d20+10)[*19*]
Defense two... (1d20+10)[*27*]
Defense three... (1d20+10)[*16*]

----------


## LoonyLadle

Toughness versus energy bow... (1d20+8)[*10*]
Fortitude versus energy bow... (1d20+8)[*13*]
Defense versus grab... (1d20+8)[*12*]

... God damn it...

----------


## Dodgeson

> Oh, there were three of them? That changes the calculus of power a little bit not in my favor. And also why do they keep rolling so damn well? x.x
> 
> Defense one... [roll0]
> Defense two... [roll1]
> Defense three... [roll2]





> Toughness versus energy bow... [roll0]
> Fortitude versus energy bow... [roll1]
> Defense versus grab... [roll2]
> 
> ... God damn it...


What's those first set of rolls for?  :Small Confused:  Also it looks like you've only rolled for one bow there?

----------


## LoonyLadle

The first were defense rolls to see if Jill was hit, and the second for determining how hard Jill was hit. The second energy bow attack missed. That's how M&M works, right?

----------


## Dodgeson

No, you don't roll for defence. Defence+10 is a static number that the attacker rolls against, like AC in D&D. So they all hit.

----------


## LoonyLadle

Oh, good. I'm glad to hear it.  :Sigh: 

moar tuffness (1d20+8)[*21*]
moar fortitude (1d20+8)[*15*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Okay so totting that all up it looks like

Bruised x2
Staggered
Impaired (DC18)
Bound (Defenceless/Immobile/Impaired)(DC20)

So not unconscious but not great

----------


## LoonyLadle

Great. Perfect, even.

Can we skip the pretense of agency and just move Jill along to wherever it is you want her to be? And when you do, remember she doesn't have any powers except for enhanced vision and a couple situational immunities to things that don't matter.

----------


## Dodgeson

Wait, you think I'm trying to railroad you, I thought I was leaning in on the whole 'fail forward' thing. Okay something has clearly gone wrong here and I'd hate for this game to leave a bad taste in your mouth so lets try and get on the same page so we can fix it. So cards on the table, this has been my thought process so far:

"Okay everyone's going to have their own encounters then team up to fight the big bad, pretty standard adventure 1. Jill's not got her gear? Okay that's fine, chase scene, bump in to some of the other heroes go grab her gear and we're away at the races. Jill's not going to HP that Controlled? Okay that's fine, I'll put someone in the crowd to help her they can escape she can grab, easy peasy. I really shouldn't have gated that behind a Perception check (that's totally on me), no problem take her in to the Citadel and turn this in to a jail break. Jill's going to stand and fight...?"

And here we are, so that's where I'm at, what about you? How would you have handled it?

----------


## Dodgeson

Star, Llyarden, Dr G, you guys still out there?

----------


## LoonyLadle

I am here, don't feel anxious 'cause of anything silly and ill-advised things I may or may not have said.

----------


## Starsign

I've been distracted, and not in the most productive of ways.  :Small Red Face:  I'll get my post up this morning before I get to my final assignments.

If I am correct, with Multiattack, the Toughness DC goes up to 29: (1d20+10)[*26*] *I'll take it.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Leoni Raid Leader Deflect vs DC26 (1d10+20)[*21*] *Hits*
Leoni Raid Leader Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+8)[*9*] *INCAPACITATED*

Second verse same as the first! If either ship fails its save by two degrees or more, everyone on it makes a DC25 Mobility check vs Trip! Also you don't need to bother making a check any more Dr G (I can call you that right?), I kicked it around a little and playing bumper cars isn't exactly a complex maneuver, and you're right, it is fun!

Ship #1 (Blackcoat) Toughness vs DC27 (1d20+10)[*17*] *Bruised and a hole punched in the side!*
Ship #2 (Scylla) Toughness vs DC21 (1d20+11)[*15*] *Ditto!*

----------


## Dodgeson

Okay Blackcoat and Scylla lets see those saves! And while I'm here...

Leoni Raid Leader Mobility vs Trip (DC25) (1d20+10)[*20*] *Eating the floor!*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Iara's mobility (This isn't swimming, though she probably will be soon if it fails): (1d20+10)[*18*]

I apologize in advance for double-posting to accommodate the parallel universes that hinge on this roll.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Resistance check vs. DC 29/24: (1d20+5)[*13*]

----------


## Starsign

Let's try making this Mobility check: (1d20+8)[*9*] *Wow nope.*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

There's a chance that you didn't need a check to get to him, since the two ships are presently stuck together.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Starsign

Alright, bruises should be healed. Let's... roll for that DC 30/25 Toughness check: (1d20+10)[*12*] *Yikes, no let's reroll that*

----------


## Starsign

Let's spend HP and try this again: (1d20+10)[*29*] *Better, that should just be a Bruise*

----------


## Dodgeson

I guess one good crit deserves another

Leoni Raid Leader Toughness vs DC30 (1d20+10)[*25*] *Bruised*
Leoni Raid Leader Fortitude vs Weaken Toughness (DC25) (1d20+10)[*18*] *-7 Toughness*

----------


## Llyarden

Expertise (Science): (1d20+10)[*26*]
And Assessment: (1d20+20)[*25*]

Assessmenting the captured folks as well just to be on the safe side.

----------


## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: Assessment*
Show

The guards are PL8 with no trade-offs, all their stats are at PL and they are immune to Temporal effects

The civilians are PL1 with no trade-offs, all their stat are at PL.

*Spoiler: Expertise:Science*
Show

The circlets around the civilians' necks are like nothing you've seen before, looking almost like a single unbroken band of mercury around each neck than a piece of technology. By the way it's coiling around their necks they almost look like they're alive.

----------


## Starsign

Alright time to make another Toughness check; thank goodness for Regen: (1d20+10)[*21*] *Bruise+Daze*
And Defense: (1d20+10)[*27*]

----------


## Starsign

Really can't cut a break with these rolls, huh? Alright, gonna spend my HP to reroll: (1d20+10)[*20*] *That's a 30*

----------


## Dodgeson

Leoni Raid Leader Toughness vs DC35 (1d20+3)[*7*] *INCAPACITATED*

With that in mind, Dr G feel free to have Scylla come round whenever you want.

----------


## LoonyLadle

I hate how this site only informs me of one reply per thread per login. What's the point of that? Is there any way I can be notified of every reply?

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

I might be misinterpreting the question, and it's not quite notifying you of every reply, but if you click the little green arrow by the link, it will take you to the earliest reply you haven't seen, and then you can read all of them.

----------


## LoonyLadle

(1d20+10)[*18*] Persuasion check!

----------


## Dodgeson

> (1d20+10)[*28*] Persuasion check!


Lets see if Jill's celly can't give her a little hand!

Boss Team Check vs DC10 (1d20+10)[*28*] *+5*

EDIT: Huh, it rerolls if you quote someone's roll. I did not know that.

----------


## Dodgeson

Oh, I was going to do this as one as well, good job me!

Morningstar Will vs DC20 (1d20+10)[*30*] *Well then*

Really hard not to put that z after rolls...

----------


## Dodgeson

> an intelligent giant ant armed with a flamethrower.


*Crosses out villain ideas*
*Furiously takes notes*

----------


## Starsign

> *Crosses out villain ideas*
> *Furiously takes notes*


...We're doomed.  :Small Eek: 

 :Small Tongue:

----------


## LoonyLadle

> I've always argued that a well-built character should feel essentially the same no matter what their PL. The only metric of power that actually matters is the difference between PCs and NPCs. Sure, at PL6 you're worried about the equivalent of SWAT officers and at PL10 you're kung-fu fighting giant mechas on Mars but the actual mechanics of it work out essentially the same and, let's be real here, the second one just sounds silly.


I'm not making the situation worse, you're making the situation worse. Shut up! You smell!

----------


## LoonyLadle

I'm withdrawing from the game. Sorry for abruptness. An incident on another forum forced me to check what other sites I am being censored on, and this is apparently one of them. Sorry Dodgeson, this isn't your fault. Fortunately, none of the other PCs have actually met me yet so my absence shouldn't be disruptive at all.

----------


## Dodgeson

Sorry to hear that Loony, best of luck elsewhere I guess.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Sorry to hear it Loony!

Uh yeah if I have time to do so before she acts Platformer will just close his eyes (and deactivate his Third-Person Viewpoint).  If not:
Defense (+2 for Evasion): (1d20+10)[*23*].  *Doesn't*
Fortitude: (1d20+10)[*27*].  *Matter*

----------


## Dodgeson

I thought I'd already done this, I'm pleading Christmas!

Leoni Raider #1 Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+3)[*12*] *INCAPACITATED!*
Leoni Raider #2 Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+3)[*4*] *INCAPACITATED!*
Leoni Raider #3 Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+3)[*13*] *INCAPACITATED!*
Leoni Raider #4 Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+3)[*13*] *INCAPACITATED!*
Leoni Raider #5 Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+3)[*19*] *INCAPACITATED!*
Leoni Raider #6 Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+3)[*11*] *INCAPACITATED!*
Leoni Raider #7 Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+3)[*23*] *RESISTS!?*

----------


## Dodgeson

Leoni Raid Leader Will vs DC20 (1d20+10)[*19*] *Fails*

Leoni Raider #1 Toughness vs DC27 (1d20+8)[*17*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #2 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*13*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #3 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*27*] *Resists*
Leoni Raider #4 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*19*]
Leoni Raider #5 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*10*]
Leoni Raider #6 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*25*]
Leoni Raider #7 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*18*]
Leoni Raider #8 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*15*]
Leoni Raider #9 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*21*]
Leoni Raider #10 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*20*]
Leoni Raider #11 Toughness vs DC27  (1d20+8)[*21*]

Leoni Raider #12 Toughness vs DC27 (1d20+3)[*20*]

Wow, the dice are being real good to these minions, I guess it's their Christmas too.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Oh actually it looks like since Raider 2 hit with their Team Attack (even after deducting 5 for Teamwork) that'd still be a hit, and if you add 5 to Raider 3 that's potentially enough for +2.  My Deflect can't beat the 28, but fortunately Minions can't crit non-Minions.  (Looks like this might also be the case for Wildcard with Raider 7).  Therefore:

Deflect (DC 22): (1d10+18)[*22*].  *Deflected*
Toughness (DC 25 or 23): (1d20+12)[*14*].  *Bruised and Dazed*
Fortitude (DC 20 or 18): (1d20+10)[*11*].  *Rerolled, can't fail*

EDIT: ...Not cool, dice.

----------


## Llyarden

Yeah, similarly I think I'm facing DC23 Damage and DC18 Affliction.

Toughness (DC23): (1d20+14)[*27*] *Resist*
Fort (DC18): (1d20+8)[*19*] *And Resist.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Leoni Guard #2 Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+8)[*19*] *Dazed & Bruised which means Platformer gets a Power-Up!*

----------


## Starsign

My apologies for being quiet of late. Holidays and resting have taken up a lot of my time here. Will try to get back to this tonight, or tomorrow failing that.  :Small Smile:

----------


## Dodgeson

Leoni Raider #1 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*16*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #2 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*11*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #3 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*18*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #4 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*20*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #5 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*19*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #6 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*10*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #7 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*14*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #8 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*9*] *INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #9 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+8)[*26*] *They tried but...INCAPACITATED*
Leoni Raider #10 Defence vs Damage (DC27) (1d20+3)[*16*] *INCAPACITATED*

----------


## Dodgeson

*Morningstar*
Move: Nah
Standard: Attack Leoni Guard #2 with Blinding Bolt (1d20+10)[*16*] DC25 Toughness vs Damage & DC20 Fortitude vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Stunned&Disabled if that hits *Miss*

Leoni Guard #2 Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+7)[*19*]
Leoni Guard #2 Fortitude vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Stunned&Disabled (DC20) (1d20+8)[*15*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Llyarden, Quell, you guys still out there?

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

I've been sick for the past week, starting to feel better now though and got a post up, sorry for the delay.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Huh I don't think I actually checked my mechanics spoiler after posting.  Just noting that if my readied action does end up triggering, I'll reroll the attack, but I'll make the reroll if it actually happens.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

> along with such ideas as, 'they went to another planet,' and, 'they went to the dinosaur past.' Those are giving up thoughts and they are not what we need right now.


Both less implausible than you might think.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Indeed. They are exactly as plausible as they are way out of Scylla's pay grade right now.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Starsign

Probably should mention but I'm still around, just didn't have anything to add atm while Scylla was searching outside the palaceship. I'll have a post up, though, once Scylla reports things.  :Small Smile: 

Sorry if that was inconvenient for you Dr.Gunsforhands.

----------


## Dodgeson

Sorry for the delay guys! 

I took one day off and work has gone absolutely haywire, there'll be a post up tomorrow I swear.

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Dodgeson! Your PM inbox is full! Also the answer to your question is yes?

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

I think the greatest challenge in my entire life of playing RPGs is remembering to use the z on Mythweavers but not on GiTP.

Well Informed for real this time: (1d20+20)[*38*].

----------


## Dodgeson

Looks like we're not going in for the talky stuff so lets roll some initiative! But first...

Chainmaker Defence vs DC20 (1d20+18)[*38*] *Resist*
Chainmaker Will vs Entranced/Compelled (DC20) (1d20+13)[*20*]

Leoni Shaman Defence vs DC20 (1d20+10)[*20*] *Resist*
Leoni Shaman Defence vs Entranced/Compelled (DC20) (1d20+10)[*24*]

And reminder that that isn't Selective so Blackcoat, Platformer and Wildcard will have to roll for it too.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Dodge (DC 20, +2 for Evasion): (1d20+10)[*25*].  *Avoids*
Will (DC 20): (1d20+10)[*11*].

----------


## Llyarden

Defence (DC20, +5 for Evasion 2): (1d20+11)[*22*] *Avoids*
Will (DC20): (1d20+12)[*32*] *And crits the resistance roll for good measure.*

Assuming I don't get Entranced by Scylla...

*Assessment* - (1d20+20)[*31*]
*Well-Informed* - (1d20+20)[*28*]

----------


## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: Assessment*
Show

*Spoiler: Chainmaker*
Show

PL13
No trade-offs

*Spoiler: Green Cloak*
Show

PL10


*Spoiler: Well-Informed*
Show

Not sure what to put here that you guys don't already know...but I guess that one in the green cloak is absolutely the shaman that fled the scene from your first encounter at the electronics store.

----------


## Llyarden

Oop, my turn to forget what syntax is needed for what site.

(1d20+5)[*12*]

----------


## Dodgeson

As per the request in Discord

Blackcoat Defence vs DC20 (1d20+10)[*27*] *Resists*
Blackcoat Will vs Entranced/Compelled (DC20) (1d20+10)[*17*]

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Defense (DC 23, +2 for Evasion): (1d20+10)[*21*].  *Full effect*
Toughness (DC 28/21): (1d20+12)[*28*].  *Resists*

----------


## Llyarden

Fort (DC25): (1d20+8)[*25*] *Resist*

Defence (DC23, +5 for Evasion 2): (1d20+11)[*15*] *Full Effect*
Toughness (DC28/21): (1d20+18)[*35*] *I typed the wrong number, should've been 33, still resists.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Leoni Shaman Toughness vs Weaken Toughness (DC20) (1d20+10)[*23*] *Resist*

Leoni Shaman Defence vs DC20 (1d20+10)[*29*] *Half-Effect*
Leoni Shaman Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+10)[*15*] *Bruised*

Chainmaker Defence vs DC20 (1d20+18)[*20*] *Half-Effect*
Chainmaker Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+13)[*22*] *Resist*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

If I read the rules correctly, the toughness saves both only apply if the axe hits, right?

Defense: (1d20+15)[*17*]

Toughness?: (1d20+5)[*9*]

Toughness a second time?: (1d20+5)[*12*]

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Guess it didn't matter.  :Small Tongue: 

It should be fun to describe getting one-shot. It lets the villain have some time in the spotlight and provides some wordless drama to make up for my awful description of Scylla's singing.

Still, I feel like I've failed somehow, which I guess shouldn't be surprising since it's objectively true. I've hindered the group more than I've helped here and I apologize.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

It's an Area attack, so it hits automatically (the reason yours was ignored entirely on a successful Defense check is that it was Perception Area, which is easier to negate but covers a much larger area than most).  However, if your Defense check succeeds, you halve its rank, lowering the DC from 28 to 21.  You don't have to roll the second Toughness save now regardless; Secondary Effect means that if you get hit by the effect, it repeats at the end of the user's next turn at the same DC.  For example, Kevin resisted Chainmaker's attack for now - but next round, I'll have to roll another Toughness check, so he might still end up getting hurt by it.

That all being said, while the dice _did_ shaft you pretty hard there, remember you still have three Hero Points.  Never discount your Hero Points, if I am exaggerating when I say they are 50% of an M&M PC's power it is only very slightly.  If you were to reroll the Defense save, you'd be guaranteed to halve the effect and only be Bruised and Staggered.  Or you could reroll the Toughness check, which with the bonus on low rolls would guarantee no worse than a Stagger and may be better (but would also mean facing a full DC Secondary Effect next round).  Or you could even reroll both, although that's pretty expensive.  Bruised and Staggered is still not a great place to be in, especially with the SE pending, but you could also use your standard action on your turn to Recover off the Stagger (you can only Recover once per combat so you have to make it count, but removing a Stagger is generally the best way to do that).  Then you're still in it and can attack next turn, or even use Extra Effort to take a bonus action and still attack this turn, albeit at the cost of Fatigue.

Hero Points, Recover actions, and Extra Effort are all limited-use resources, so you want to spend them judiciously.  But all together they are _extraordinarily_ powerful, and used well can allow an M&M PC to overcome challenges that would otherwise outmatch them by the numbers.

This is not to say you should feel obligated to spend them here.  If you'd rather play for resources - conserve your Hero Points to build them up and such - I'm confident we can win this fight even with Scylla taking an unlucky incap early.

(And I mean I know you already posted Scylla going down IC, so this all may be a for future reference thing, although I wouldn't be surprised if Dodge let you retcon the post and go back and reroll _if_ you want to.)

Regardless, no need to apologize.  M&M is also _super_ swingy and bad luck happens.  Not your fault at all.

----------


## Dodgeson

> Guess it didn't matter. 
> 
> It should be fun to describe getting one-shot. It lets the villain have some time in the spotlight and provides some wordless drama to make up for my awful description of Scylla's singing.
> 
> Still, I feel like I've failed somehow, which I guess shouldn't be surprising since it's objectively true. I've hindered the group more than I've helped here and I apologize.


Just going to echo what Quel said, while those were some truly awful rolls, you do still have 3 hero points and considering this is the big bad of the adventure, I'm not sure why you wouldn't burn one for a reroll and I'm perfectly happy for you to retcon those posts if you wanna do it.

Still I'm not here to tell you how to play your character and if you really do want to take the Incap then thanks for selling my villains I guess  :Small Tongue: 

Although come to think of it I'm pretty sure Secondary Effect does not play nicely with Incap...

----------


## Llyarden

Secondary Effect very much does not play nicely with being incapacitated, although it can't be a Finishing Attack since the attack was already rolled, so there's that at least.  And with Fort 10 Scylla isn't _too_ likely to just kinda die, the DC is only 15.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

And I can try for a Healing Item come down to it.  This Area power up isn't super-useful here, so I can swap away from Boost Items next turn without particular downside.  Well unless reinforcements come crashing through the door I suppose.   :Small Amused:

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Thanks everyone! I'm indecisive and I don't want to hold up the combat further, so everyone please go ahead as-is.

Meanwhile, let's see if I understand what spending a hero point to reroll the Defense save would do:
- Hero Point rerolls have a floor mechanic. They effectively roll 1d10+10 instead of 1d20. In Scylla's case, this means a guaranteed success against the DC of 23.
- With a successful save, we would downgrade the Damage effect DC to 21, which in turn would give the subsequent roll 3 degrees of failure instead of 4.
- On Scylla's turn, I can use her action to recover the Staggered condition. We can probably make this work in the background without holding up anything else.
- On Chainmaker's next turn, the secondary effect will happen, and Scylla will roll the second resistance check. Because she now passed the original defense save, it also has a DC of 21. Because the first hit gives her a -1 penalty on Resistance checks, her second resistance roll will have a result of 11, which is 3 degrees of failure again, so she will have 2 bruises and the staggered condition.

Is that all correct?

By comparison, here is what happens if I don't do that:
- Scylla failed the resistance check with 4 degrees and is incapacitated.
- On Chainmaker's next turn, she'll fail the resistance check against the secondary effect and her condition will change to dying.
- Why did Llyarden mention Fortitude?

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

11 vs. DC 21 is two degrees of failure.  Bruise and Daze.

Llyarden mentioned Fortitude because once you're Dying you have to make Fortitude checks each round to not actually die, or maybe to stabilize.  But you basically have to get three total degrees of failure to die, and you'll stabilize if you ever get a single two-degree success.  The DC is only 15, so with Fortitude 10, you'd basically have to roll below a 5 three times before rolling a 10 or higher to actually die.

----------


## Starsign

Alright, now to focus and get this post up. Apologies for the wait.

DC 23 Defense: (1d20+10)[*21*]
DC 28/21 Toughness: (1d20+10)[*12*] *Yeah I'm gonna reroll that.*

----------


## Starsign

Whoops, right, better reroll that Toughness check: (1d20+10)[*16*] *26, so that's a Bruise*

----------


## Dodgeson

Want you guys to know I'm rooting for you here, if you bring Scylla back up I don't have to learn the death rules!

Shaman Toughness vs DC30 (1d20+10)[*11*] *Rooting for you but it is only round 2, that's a reroll and Wildcard stacks up another HP!*

----------


## Dodgeson

Shaman Toughness Reroll vs DC30 (1d10+20)[*21*] *Dazed & Bruised*

Okay and I think that's still enough to put Scylla back on her feet

----------


## Llyarden

Toughness (DC28): (1d20+14)[*21*] *Bruised & Dazed.*
PL (DC23): (1d20+10)[*30*] *Very, very resisted*

Toughness (DC28, probably -something from above): (1d20+14)[*32*] *-1 for Bruise.  Resists anyway.*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Toughness vs. SE (DC 28): (1d20+12)[*32*].  *Hard nope!*

----------


## Dodgeson

Shaman Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+9)[*25*] *Resist*
Shaman Defence vs Weaken Defence/Toughness/Launch (DC20) (1d20+10)[*18*] *-2 Defence/Toughness & Launched*

Chainmaker Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+13)[*21*] *Bruised*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Spending a hero point vs. the Secondary Effect, since everyone has gone to too much trouble for Scylla to just drop again that easily:

(1d10+15)[*19*]

And a regular Fort roll vs. the shaman's doom spell:

(1d20+10)[*18*]

----------


## Llyarden

Well since I keep getting all these hero points, let's reroll the surge attack on Chainmaker: (1d20+10)[*22*] *That...that's still a miss, isn't it.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Chainmaker Toughness vs DC27 (1d20+12)[*15*] *Staggered & Bruised*

Shaman Toughness vs DC30 (1d20+7)[*11*] *So very Incapped...*

Shaman Toughness vs DC30 (1d20+7)[*13*]

----------


## Starsign

Well I forgot about the Secondary Effect so lets fix that. DC 28 vs Toughness: (1d20+9)[*28*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Chainmaker Toughness vs DC27 (1d20+11)[*15*] *INCAPACITATED*

----------


## Starsign

Let's just interpose for that axe attack; DC 33 Toughness: (1d20+10)[*19*]

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

One day, one brave and glorious day.  (1d20+10)[*14*] *Well that seems unlikely to accomplish anything*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Persuasion: (1d20)[*10*].  EDIT: Make that 20 with Intimidation.

----------


## Dodgeson

> And, as Blackcoat once learned the hard way long ago, keeping a sealed being as part of your treasure horde is a *BAD* idea.


I'm sure this is never going to come up again... :Small Tongue: 

Anywho gang, we're pretty in the wrap up here so can I get a quick rollcall on who is still present and what sort of downtime actions would you guys like to pursue?

Also do you guys want to call dibs on the Palaceship?

----------


## Starsign

> I'm sure this is never going to come up again...
> 
> Anywho gang, we're pretty in the wrap up here so can I get a quick rollcall on who is still present and what sort of downtime actions would you guys like to pursue?


Still here, just been horribly busy due to my school term, especially with all the assignments in March.  :Small Frown: 

As for downtime actions... I've got two in mind but not sure which to pursue. The first would be to build up Blackcoat's pirate crew and recruiting people in need of work, or recruiting pirates, if he'd be able to recruit any of the Leoni  :Small Tongue: 

The second is to help fund and invest money and construction in New Harbour to help build or rebuild it as necessary and ease any damage done during our adventures and episodes. Still need to think of names for these downtime actions, though.




> Also do you guys want to call dibs on the Palaceship?


Blackcoat will!  :Small Big Grin:  Though it'd also likely make a good base for us in general.

----------


## Llyarden

I'm still here, I was just waiting to see if the Wyrm would/could reply to Platformer and if I could convince it to just leave, but it kinda convinced itself lol.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Present!

As for downtimes...definitely one for general heroing.  Probably worth having a Relationship Building for his parents, although it might be a bit before he starts actually spending actions on it given his current issues with them.  And something for tracking down and destroying/defeating any information related to/people seeking to make contact with *Eschaton*.

...And maybe some sort of combo Relationship Building/Investigating/Keeping an Eye On Morningstar.

Oh and if we're taking the Palaceship as a base some sort of exploring the Palaceship thing to like...learn its secrets/technology/etc might be cool, if plausible.  Not sure how many secrets it actually has.

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Still here!

I made an inaccurate calendar to help decide what to do for downtime:

*Spoiler: Iara's Calendar*
Show

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat



1
2
3 Board
Game w/
Night Joe
4 Get small
business
license *
5 Research
Streaming
Tech

6 (church)
Computer
shopping
7
Join
SAG
8 Scylla
technically a
character?
9 Get Iara
into SAG??
No! Bad!
10 Board
Games
Set up CPU
11 Set up
Studio,
Church Soccer
12 Testing
Wedding
Appt. 10AM

13 (church)
13:00
Wedding
Rehearsal
14 09:00
Wedding Appt.
STUDIO MIC
15 14:00
Wedding go!
16
Visit Mom
17 Board
Games
Test Stream
18 Studio
Test Stream
19
Persona 6
Release

20 (church)
All Day Stream
21 Stream?
22
23
24 Board
Games
25
26

27 (church)
28
29
30

* (It
costs HOW
much??)






So, it looks like I have too many things to do!

- 0: She routinely makes time to go to church and to the board game shop as Iara, mainly to hang out with her hierophant confidant. Fr. Joe probably specializes in interaction and expertise ranks, being a normal human and a pacifist priest. Psychology and divine/arcane lore are likely specialties. That said, it's not like she's training him per se; at most, she's acting as a reason for him to research the supernatural on his own. She'll always make time to visit, but maybe not enough to count as an action.

- 1: If Rutherford is in charge of repairing and moving the palace ship, Scylla wants to build a studio space inside it for herself. This entails some requisite computer, communication and cybersecurity upgrades for the installation, all things that Blackcoat might not have time for, so she can invest some time setting that up and "testing" it with live streams of singing and video games.

- 2: The world needs to know the Leoni's deal. The Chainmaker promised them that this was their last chance at a bright future. Now that he's out of power, his minions are just regular people, and it would seem that they're stranded without a home. If the press is already on top of unpacking that, great. If not, Scylla will interview them to find out where they come from and what they need to move forward. She probably won't be able to help them much at actually finding redemption, though. That's really more Joe's thing.

- Last: For money, Scylla can take an odd job as a wedding singer for a pair of locals. This will probably backfire and result in her being flooded with requests, though I suppose it could also backfire _worse_ and lead to whatever's the opposite of that. If we are already starving for downtime, looking for odd jobs is a very low priority, especially if she can live on a flying base rent-free.

----------


## Llyarden

And I forgot to post my downtime ideas.

Wildcard would definitely also have one for general heroics-ing and one for helping the city rebuild, along with something about tracking down stray Protectorate tech as well.  Trying to figure out some way of helping the Leoni might also be a useful thing to do.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Totally forgot for downtime actions, but one of Kevin's big things is actually tracking down and bringing in like villains who have warrants out for their arrests, or have escaped justice, or stuff like that.  Not sure if that should be its own thing or if it'd just be part of the general heroing thing.

----------


## Dodgeson

And the downtimes are up in the OP! Tell me what you think and then everyone take two and a pair of pp.

As for the fate of the Leoni, here is how it'll probably play out barring any edits. Whether they realise the Chainmaker was defeated or not they all felt the Wyrm being released and they know the game is up, so they're booking it except the ones that physically can't which would be the ones that Scylla and Blackcoat brought to jail and as hostile alien invaders they're going straight to whatever not-so-secret holding facility they built to hold aliens post-Invasion in Nevada.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Spending the 2 PP to add +4 Insight, since Kevin kinda lost his Insight skill since high school for some reason (maybe the psychic blocks his mom had implanted had also been subtly giving him interpersonal advice?) and it probably behooves me to pick it back up.

I also made some changes to his array.  In his Basic Controls, Improved Shield has been replaced with Shielding Block, which adds Reflect to his Deflect, because I had forgotten that in St. Ambrose Kevin had used his Reflect in a few iconic ways and he should totally still have that.

In his Combat Controls, Strike is now just straight Damage 10, Stomp got changed entirely - it now adds Alternate Resistance (Defense) and Secondary Effect to Strike (with the same Limit as before), and also changes its descriptor from [Physical] [Bludgeoning] to [Mystical] [Memetic].  The idea is that Kevin's Stomp isn't just adding momentum to his attack or whatever, it's just a kinda arbitrary thing - if Kevin jumps on your head, you lose, as is right and proper.  If he jumps on not-your-head, then okay maybe it hurts but you're still in the game, so by partially dodging it you can reduce the damage, and of course by entirely dodging it you can avoid it entirely.  Pinball Mode was removed.

Charged Attacks was replaced entirely by Special Attacks, to get rid of the issue where too many things with Limits kinda made him run out of things to invest dynamic points into.  Charged Attack has a Temporal Strike power that adds Secondary Effect to his Damage and which he may or may not have gotten the idea for from Chainmaker, Cursed Strike adds Broad and Simultaneous to his Weaken and makes it Will-resisted and [Mystical] [Curse] descriptor, and Biokinetic Strike is a different Affliction option.

Let me know if that's all okay!

For downtimes, I'll spend my two remaining Hero Points for two more since they're resetting and:

Relationship Building (Morningstar): Routine Expertise (Superheroes/villains) for 20.  *1 Success*

Superheroicsx3: Routine PL for 20.  *3 Successes*

----------


## Llyarden

I'm honestly pretty happy with how Wildcard functioned, so I'm just going to give him Move-By Action and Uncanny Dodge with my 2PP.  I am, however, going to replace Expertise (Heroes) with Expertise (The Protectorate) because I somehow ended up with both Expertise (Heroes) and Expertise (Superheroes/Supervillains) without noticing lol.

And then since I somehow ended up with a ton of hero points, spending all four for four more downtime actions:

#1: Superheroics! (DC20): (1d20+10)[*19*] *+5 to next roll.*
#2: Superheroics! (DC20): (1d20+10)[*26*] *+5 from above, 2 successes.*
#3: Rebuilding New Harbour with Expertise (New Harbour) (DC25): (1d20+20)[*28*] *1 success*
#4: Rebuilding New Harbour with Expertise (New Harbour) (DC25): (1d20+20)[*24*] *+5 to next roll*
#5: Recovering Protectorate Tech with Expertise (Superheroes/Supervillains or The Protectorate or New Harbour) (DC20): (1d20+20)[*24*] *+5 from above, 2 successes*
#6: Recovering Protectorate Tech with Expertise (Superheroes/Supervillains or The Protectorate or New Harbour) (DC20): (1d20+20)[*27*] *2 successes*

*...wow.  Wildcard was really not feeling it, huh.*

EDIT: ...and the only reason I rolled some of those was because of the '+5 to next downtime action' thing, which isn't even in this version of the downtime rules.  Whoops!

----------


## Dodgeson

Do we not have that? I copied those Downtime rules from like when I was running Defenders without updating them, it's one of those things like buying toughness directly that I just take for granted  :Small Red Face:

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Pretty sure that got added in in the SFD/HA/ToHA games.

----------


## Starsign

Well Blackcoat is out of HP, so here's just the two downtime actions:

#1: Welcome Aboard! Persuasion vs DC20: (1d20+18)[*32*] *3 Success*
#2: Superheroics! PL vs DC20: (1d20+10)[*16*] *He's not good at this superheroing thing, huh?*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

"Okay, cool! So, who was in charge of exploring the palaceship again? ...guys?"

*everyone is already off doing superhero things*

"Seriously? No one? So, what, now I have to do it?"

*looks up at the now-empty alien tower, intimidated*

"Guys, you know I'm not really an ace detective or a xeno-engineer or anything, so..."

*there is no one there to listen to her; she is talking to herself*

"...so, whatever. I need to go change for my thing tonight anyway."

* = Edited in the resulting degrees of success

1: Routine hangouts with Father Joe (*4 Deception degrees)
2: Vocalists gigs aren't really routine for her yet: (1d20+10)[*23*] (*3 degrees)
3: Hero Point ("Uh... that was just for the rehearsal!") (1d20+10)[*13*] (*1 degree)
4: Hero Point (Incidental heroics - she rarely makes time to do it on purpose, but it happens) (1d20+10)[*12*] (*2 degrees failure)

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

While she's practicing music, Scylla tries to develop her voice for future adventures as well. She continues taking "watch your area attacks" to heart, using the reflective barrier between air and water to conduct her songs through a Sea Witch attack. As a bonus, the strategy also means she can sing and fight at the same time.

Added alternate effects using the 2 pp:

For Siren Attacks:
- [Sonic/Mystical/Persona/Water] The compulsion effect, but Linked with Force of the Sea. Uses the same range or area as the Linked attack.

For Environment (Which was separated from Force of the Sea and renamed to She's Here to avoid confusing their respective Alternate Effects):
- [Water, Mystical] The exact same Environment effect, but Linked with Force of the Sea. Effectively floods the room with the water generated by a Force of the Sea effect.

----------


## Dodgeson

Cool beans, anybody got anything they want to do to wrap up the adventure or should I move us on?

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

I'm cool to advance.

----------


## Starsign

I'll see if I can manage a post tonight but otherwise I am good to move on  :Small Smile:

----------


## Llyarden

On the off-chance I manage a natural 20...Perception (DC25): (1d20)[*2*] *Well there's a 2, it just lost the 0 along the way.*

And for the bonus downtime action, more Rebuilding New Harbour (DC25): (1d20+20)[*29*] *One success.*

EDIT: And Wildcard continues to not believe in dice rolls above a 10.

----------


## Starsign

Let's give Perception a try: (1d20+8)[*9*] *Uh... yeah, uh, no.*

----------


## Llyarden

Should've thought about this when I made my first OOC post, but better late than never - let's try an Expertise roll to see what Wildcard knows about anti-hero groups.  This can be Superheroes/Supervillains, The Protectorate, Current Events or New Harbour, whichever is most applicable: (1d20+20)[*40*] *Well there's that natural 20 I was looking for last post!*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Perception: (1d20+10)[*24*].  *So close!*

And for the downtime action, Superheroics!  Routine for 20.  *One success*

----------


## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: Anti-Hero Groups*
Show

While as a general rule, here in the Ambrose-verse heroes have a positive impact on the world around them and the public at large appreciates what they do with varying levels of intensity, there are still contrarians out there. They range from people who simply don't believe that somebody could be that altruistic and think heroes are just in it for money and fame to the sort of people who'll share poorly edited graphs on their social media or think that the whole 'heroes and villains' thing is carefully orchestrated sideshow to distract from everyone from what's really going on. By and large their considered to be kooks but mostly harmless, New Harbour does have a larger concentration of these people then most who have gotten it in to their heads that the destruction of the city was some how the Protectorate's fault.

Also since that was a stonkingly good roll, if there's anything specific you want to know just ask away.

Protester Will vs DC20 (1d20+1)[*13*]

*Spoiler: Captain Blackcoat*
Show

No surprise, the protester is mad! But it seems to be kind of unfocused? Like they're just here to make loud noises and wave a sign about rather than having any sort of immediate target.


Also are you still out there Dr.Gunsforhands?

----------


## Llyarden

Hmm, so...I do also have Well-Informed, between that and my critical Expertise check would Wildcard recognise anyone in particular in the group as being notable anti-hero types?  (He's in the crowd somewhere, so I would assume he gets quite a good look at them as they shove their way towards the stage.)

----------


## Dodgeson

New Harbour's specific brand of anti hero weirdos do have something of a figurehead in the form of a woman by the name of Sarah Ness who runs a podcast/blog that they've coalesced around (yes she uses the song you're thinking of, no she doesn't pay for it), however she doesn't appear to be a part of this particular mob.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Fortitude (DC 20): (1d20+10)[*30*].
Perception (DC 20): (1d20+10)[*19*].

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Routining the Perception check, because I should have done that last time and Subtle being used to make an attack outside of combat more than once is a pet peeve of mine.

Fortitude (DC 20): (1d20+10)[*23*].  *More nope*

----------


## Dodgeson

> Routining the Perception check, because I should have done that last time and Subtle being used to make an attack outside of combat more than once is a pet peeve of mine.


Noted

EXTRA TEXT

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

It's all good, the thing is just so poorly designed.  To be fair I have yet to figure out a better way to design it.   :Small Tongue:   :Small Sigh:

----------


## Llyarden

Some more longshot Perception (DC20): (1d20)[*17*] *Better, but still not quite there...*

----------


## Starsign

Alright maybe this Perception check goes better: (1d20+8)[*19*] *Dang*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Fort (to resist being physically puppeted, I guess?): (1d20+10)[*29*]
Perception (to realize that something's afoot): (1d20+10)[*30*]
Perception (to see the sneaky boi): (1d20)[*2*]

----------


## Llyarden

Some Assessments:
Big Al: (1d20+20)[*21*]
Delilah: (1d20+20)[*31*]
Madcap: (1d20+20)[*22*]
Lucy: (1d20+20)[*29*]

And some sort of check to know about Lucy if possible, either Well-Informed or Expertise (Superheroes/Supervillains): (1d20+20)[*31*]

----------


## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: Big Al*
Show

PL12
+4 Effect/Toughness/Fortitude shift
All Stats at PL, Half-Immune to Fortitude Effect

*Spoiler: Delilah*
Show

PL10
+2 Defense ****

*Spoiler: Madcap*
Show

PL10
+2 Toughness shift

*Spoiler: Lucy*
Show

PL10
No Shifts
All Stats at PL

----------


## Dodgeson

Madcap Will vs Weaken Movement (DC22) (1d20+10)[*29*] *Resist*
Madcap Fortitude vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed (DC22) (1d20+10)[*18*] *Vulnerable*

----------


## Dodgeson

Tiebreaker dice roll, 1-10 Blackcoat is on turn 11-20 it's the villains!

(1d20)[*20*] *Villains it is!*

----------


## Llyarden

Toughness (DC25): (1d20+14)[*22*] *Bruised*
Fort (DC20): (1d20+8)[*25*] *Resist*

----------


## Llyarden

The forgotten-about Deflect: (1d20+6)[*9*] *+10 for Deflect, but still doesn't make a difference.*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Toughness (DC 31): (1d20+12)[*13*].
Fortitude (DC 26): (1d20+10)[*11*].

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Wow really?  There go both my HP I guess.

Toughness Reroll: (1d10+22)[*28*].  *Bruised*
Fortitude Reroll: (1d10+20)[*28*].  *Resists*

----------


## Dodgeson

Big Al Defence vs Damage (DC20) (1d20+8)[*14*] *Dazed & Bruised*

Delilah Deflect vs DC23 (1d20+12)[*22*] *+10 on a roll of 10 or less. Deflected*
Delilah Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+8)[*22*]

----------


## Llyarden

Now how many Hero Points do I have again..?  :Small Eek: 

Defence (DC25, -1 for Bruise): (1d20+5)[*15*] *Just barely clings to Bruised and Dazed*
Defence (DC25, -1 for Bruise): (1d20+5)[*15*] *-1 for above Bruise.  Bruised and Staggered*
Toughness (DC28): (1d20+14)[*17*] *Forgot the Bruise I started with, further -2 for Bruises = 14, Bruised and Staggered again -> Out.  Of course the one I'm good at is the one I roll worst on. Rerolled.*

----------


## Llyarden

I can probably survive that with just 1hp, let's reroll against that crit.

Toughness redux, this time with the right bonus (DC28, -3 for Bruises): (1d20+11)[*30*] *Resist.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Madcap Toughness vs DC33 (1d20+12)[*31*] *Bruised*
Madcap Fort vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed (DC27) (1d20+10)[*24*] *Vulnerable*
Madcap Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC27) (1d20+10)[*24*] *Entranced*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Deflect can't beat Big Al's roll so:
Toughness (DC 31, -1 for Bruise): (1d20+11)[*22*].  *Bruised and Dazed*
Defense (DC 26): (1d20+8)[*17*] (add 2 if Defensive Attack applies).  *Launched*

Reflect against Delilah: (1d20+10)[*29*].

----------


## Dodgeson

Delilah Deflect vs DC29 (1d20+12)[*18*] *Hit*
Delilah Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+8)[*23*] *Resists*

----------


## Dodgeson

Delilah Deflect vs DC25 (1d20+12)[*19*] *+10 Miss*
Delilah Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+8)[*27*]
Delilah Fortitude vs Vulnerable/Defenseless/Asleep (DC18) (1d20+10)[*15*]

Big Al Toughness vs DC30 (1d20+15)[*28*] *Bruised*
Big Al Will vs Immobilized&Vulnerable/Stunned&Defenseless (DC18) (1d20+8)[*16*] *Immobilized&Vulnerable*

----------


## Dodgeson

Rolling for Scylla to keep things moving! RNG take the wheel!

Scylla Attack (1d20+10)[*27*]

Delilah Deflect vs ^ (1d20+12)[*29*] *Deflected*
Delilah Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+8)[*22*]
Deliliah Will vs Entranced/Compelled (DC20) (1d20+10)[*11*]

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Deflect (DC 25): (1d10+18)[*28*].  *YES!*
Toughness (DC 33/26): (1d20+12)[*23*].
Defense (DC 26): (1d20+8)[*9*].

----------


## Dodgeson

Not only is Big Al immune to Crits but if he's still standing on his next turn, if his attack connects it is an automatic crit! But the dude All-Out Attacked for +5 and Multiattack is still Multiattack...

Big Al Toughness vs DC35 (1d20+14)[*16*] *Come on Al, you were doing so well! Reroll*
Big Al Fortitude vs Impaired/Disabled/Transformed (DC30) (1d20+16)[*36*] *Resist*

Big Al Toughness vs DC32 (1d20+14)[*25*] *Dazed & Bruised*
Big Al Fortitude vs Impaired/Disabled/Transformed (DC27) (1d20+16)[*18*] *Disabled*

----------


## Dodgeson

Big Al Toughness Reroll vs DC35 (1d20+14)[*15*] 25 *Dazed & Bruised*

----------


## Starsign

Whew, those are some effects.

DC20 Fortitude save vs Impaired/Disabled: (1d20+10)[*29*] *Saved*
DC25+Multiattack Toughness: (1d20+10)[*16*] *Bruise and Daze, barely.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Delilah Deflect vs DC29 (1d20+12)[*17*] *Hits even with the +10!*
Delilah Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+8)[*17*] *Dazed & Bruised*
Delilah Fortitude vs Weaken Toughness (DC20) (1d20+10)[*21*] *Resists*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

I'm slow on posting this week because I am away from home and forgot my laptop charger. I should have something tomorrow hopefully?

----------


## Dodgeson

Madcap Will vs Damage (DC30) (1d20+10)[*25*] *Bruised*
Madcap Defense vs Vulnerable/Defenceless/Paralysed (DC25) (1d20+8)[*9*] *Paralysed!*
Also I think the above roll counts for the Launch too...? One attack can't make you roll the same save twice right? *Hella launched*

----------


## Dodgeson

Also Wildcard Attack to hit Big Al (1d20+5)[*14*] *Hits*

Big Al Toughness vs DC30 (1d20+7)[*21*] *Dazed and Bruised*

----------


## Llyarden

Fort (DC22): (1d20+8)[*19*] *-3 defences*
Will (DC22): (1d20+12)[*13*] *-3 from above.  Would be Controlled.*

Y'know I should've just tossed my rerolls in this post, I knew I'd need them anyway.

----------


## Llyarden

Fort again: (1d20+8)[*12*] *+10 for Improve Roll.  Resist.*
Will again: (1d20+12)[*27*] *Resist.*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Dodge (DC 20, +2 for Evasion, -5 for AoA): (1d20+5)[*9*].  *Full effect*
Toughness (DC 25/20): (1d20+12)[*29*].  *Why did this have to be the one I rolled high on?  Flickering here would have been so much more useful.*

Deflect (DC 23, -5 for AoA): (1d10+13)[*18*].  *Nope*
Toughness (DC 36): (1d20+12)[*24*].  *Bruised and Staggered*
Fortitude (DC 31): (1d20+10)[*18*].  *Stunned.  Buy it off with an HP.*
Defense (DC 31): (1d20+8)[*25*].  *Would be Bound but Flicker to the rescue.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Big Al Fortitude vs Cumulative Impaired/Disabled/Transformed (DC27) (1d20+11)[*22*] *Cumulates to Transformed*
Big Al Fortitude vs Cumulative Impaired/Disabled/Transformed (DC27) (1d20+11)[*24*]

----------


## Starsign

Hmm, just a DC 20 Fortitude save? Alrighty: (1d20+10)[*18*] *Impaired.*

----------


## Starsign

Oops, forgot about the Perception check: (1d20+8)[*12*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Delilah Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+7)[*19*] *Dazed, Bruised & Kevin gets a power up!*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Can Scylla hit the broad side of a blimp? (1d20+10)[*19*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Blimp Strength vs DC20 (1d20+14)[*19*] *Moved 60ft*

----------


## Dodgeson

Lets see if Dellilah is in any state to resist Platformer!

Delilah Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+6)[*10*] *Staggered & Bruised!*

Looks like we're going to need a Grab here

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Oh I thought combat over basically meant they surrendered.

In that case, Kevin's Game Mechanics should be like 10 Run/Jump, 10 Strength, 20 Chat, and let's say 10 Block.

Grab (-2 for Exhausted): (1d20+8)[*15*], DC 20.  Kevin is Deflected for two rounds.  If the Grab fails he'll remain on the building with her, since communicating by Chat anyway.  If she attempts to flee he'll use his move action to give chase at effective Speed 9 since Fatigued.

----------


## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: Wildcard*
Show

While there's any number of fast food joints and greasy spoons that would rankle the Catfish on principle he largely ignores that sort of place, considering themselves above such things. What he truely reserves his ire for are high class venues that claim to be a cut above the rest, which would suggest two resteraunts on the rich side of the city The Gilded Vessel, an old money eatery, the sort of place where you need a reservation months in advance (unless you happen to have the right surname) or l a hot new fusion resteraunt that draws in celebrities and other well known individuals from across the country.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Perception: (1d20+8)[*17*].

----------


## Dodgeson

Delilah Stealth (1d20)[*4*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Crate Toughness vs DC23 [rol]1d20+3[/roll]  :Small Yuk: 

??? (1d20)[*18*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Crate Toughness vs DC23 (1d20+3)[*17*] *Breached*

----------


## Dodgeson

Delilah Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+5)[*15*] *Dazed & Bruised*
Delilah Will vs Immobilized&Vulnerable/Stunned&Defenseless (DC20) (1d20+10)[*26*] *Resists*

*Spoiler: Wildcard*
Show

*Spoiler: Umbrella Girl*
Show

*Spoiler: Well-Informed*
Show

Monica St Cross aka Parapluie, the result of a dalliance between the Catfish and a member of french high society. Highly trained in the martial art of Baritatsu she is a common fixture at her father's side she's become more of a threat in the last six months when she began displaying super speed.

*Spoiler: Assessment*
Show

PL10/+5 Defence Shift/All stats at PL


*Spoiler: Teal Skin*
Show

*Spoiler: Well-Informed*
Show

Gail Timmins aka Gale ("It's spelt different!") a metahuman supremacist with the power of air manipulation. Not much to say about her really, she's a journeyman super crook who shows up every so often as part of some gang or another and very rarely striking out on her own.
*Spoiler: Assessment*
Show

PL10/+2 Defence Shift/All stats at PL]


*Spoiler: Scruffy Guy*
Show

*Spoiler: Well-Informed*
Show

Walt Harrison aka Outlaw, this guy is a long way from home having carved out a reputation as modern day highwayman on the other coast. Riding a flaming horse and wielding unearthly revolvers he was a scourge to vehicles on long and lonely stretches of road until he just vanished in to thin air a few years back.

*Spoiler: Assessment*
Show

PL10/Not trade-offs/All stats at PL

----------


## Starsign

Better make this Perception check before I forget: (1d20+8)[*9*] *Oh boy.*

----------


## Dodgeson

??? (1d20+10)[*29*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Goon #1 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+6)[*17*] *Full Effect*
Goon #1 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (Limited:Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc) (1d20+6)[*20*] *Resists*
Goon #2 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+6)[*20*] *Half Effect*
Goon #2 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (Limited:Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc) (1d20+6)[*26*] *Resists*
Goon #3 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+6)[*21*] *Half Effect*
Goon #3 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (Limited:Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc) (1d20+6)[*8*] *Flees!*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Fortitude (DC 20): (1d20+10)[*17*].  *Entranced.  Delilah brought this on herself.*
Perception (DC 20): (1d20+10)[*12*].  *Kinda irrelevant since he definitely notices the effect.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Delilah Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+4)[*13*] *Staggered & Bruised!*

Goon #1 Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+6)[*21*] *INCAPACITATED!*
Goon #2 Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+6)[*23*] *INCAPACITATED!*

----------


## Dodgeson

Parapluie Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+5)[*6*] *Reroll, Platformer takes an HP*

----------


## Dodgeson

Parapluie Toughness reroll vs DC25 (1d10+15)[*19*] *Dazed & Bruised*

----------


## Dr.Gunsforhands

Hi everyone, I'm sorry I've been out of it. Work has been keeping me busy enough that I need to prune my gaming schedule, and I don't think this one is going to make it. Do whatever you need to do to write me out effectively.

----------


## Dodgeson

> Hi everyone, I'm sorry I've been out of it. Work has been keeping me busy enough that I need to prune my gaming schedule, and I don't think this one is going to make it. Do whatever you need to do to write me out effectively.


No worries.

Pretty sure objects don't get the Defence check.
l Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+6)[*24*] *Surprisingly Sturdy!*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

You know what gonna just go ahead and HP off that Exhausted.
Defense (DC 20, +2 for Evasion 1, +2 for Defensive Attack): (1d20+12)[*19*].  *Full Effect*
Toughness (DC 25/20, -1 for Bruise): (1d20+11)[*20*].  *Bruised*

----------


## Llyarden

I recovered a couple rounds ago so I don't think I'm Exhausted any more...

Defence (DC20, +5 for Evasion 2): (1d20+11)[*26*] *Half Effect*
Toughness (DC25/20, -3 for Bruises): (1d20+11)[*15*] *Bruised.  Why couldn't those have been the other way around?*

----------


## Dodgeson

> I recovered a couple rounds ago so I don't think I'm Exhausted any more...


Fixed!

Parapluie Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+4)[*7*] *Yeah I'm not bailing her out of this one...*

----------


## Dodgeson

Gale Defence vs DC20 (1d20+17)[*23*] *Half effect*
Gale Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+8)[*25*] *Resist*
Gale Defence vs Hindered&Vulnerable/Defenceless&Immobilised (DC20/15) (1d20+12)[*15*] *Resist*

Outlaw Defence vs DC20 (1d20+10)[*25*] *Half effect*
Outlaw Toughness vs DC25/20 (1d20+10)[*23*] *Resist*
Outlaw Defence vs Hindered&Vulnerable/Defenceless&Immobilised (DC20/15) (1d20+10)[*22*] *Resist*

----------


## Dodgeson

Goon #1 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+6)[*19*] *Full Effect*
Goon #1 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (Limited:Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc)(DC20/15) (1d20+6)[*19*] *Controlled*
Goon #2 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+6)[*25*] *Half Effect*
Goon #2 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (Limited:Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc)(DC20/15) (1d20+6)[*8*] *Controlled*
Goon #3 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+6)[*14*] *Full Effect*
Goon #3 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (Limited:Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc)(DC20/15) (1d20+6)[*22*] *Resist*
Goon #4 Defence vs DC20 (1d20+6)[*8*] *Full Effect*
Goon #4 Will vs Impaired/Disabled/Controlled (Limited:Impaired and Disabled only apply to active checks, Controlled can only force targets to back down, flee, surrender, etc)(DC20/15) (1d20+6)[*24*] *Resist*

----------


## Dodgeson

Once more with feeling!

Outlaw attack vs Platformer (1d20+10)[*11*] DC25 Toughness vs Damage with Secondary Effect & DC20 Will vs Weaken Toughness if that hits. *Goobers every last one of them...*

l Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+5)[*20*] *Bruised*

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## Quellian-dyrae

Dodge (DC 20, +2 for Evasion): (1d20+10)[*27*].  *Half Effect*
Toughness (DC 25/20, -2 for Bruises): (1d20+10)[*22*].  *Resists*

----------


## Llyarden

My attack roll, because this is backwards day or something apparently (and because GitP doesn't let you edit rolls into posts), +5 for All-out Attack, critting on an 18+: (1d20+15)[*28*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Gale Toughness vs DC27 (1d20+8)[*15*] *Staggered & Bruised*
Gale Defence vs Move Object (DC20) (1d20+12)[*25*] *Resist*

----------


## Dodgeson

Outlaw Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+10)[*13*] *Staggered & Bruised*
Outlaw Will vs Dazed&Vulnerable/Stunned&Defenseless (DC20) (1d20+10)[*19*] *Dazed&Vulnerable*

Malus seriously needs like an OFSTED inspection or something...

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

I feel like this has now become obligatory.

----------


## Dodgeson

Gale Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+7)[*19*] *Dazed & Bruised*

----------


## Dodgeson

Gale Toughness vs Secondary Effect (DC27) (1d20+6)[*9*] *INCAPACITATED!*

----------


## Starsign

Hmm, yes Accurate Attack is quite the threat. Rolling Toughness vs DC 20/25: (1d20+10)[*24*] *Success!*

----------


## Dodgeson

Catfish Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+8)[*12*] *My guy, come on...*

----------


## Dodgeson

Catfish Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+7)[*13*] *Staggered & Bruised*  :Small Sigh: 
Catfish Fortitude vs Weaken Toughness (DC20) (1d20+10)[*24*] *Resists*

----------


## Starsign

Alright I'd better make these rolls:

DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage & Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenceless: (1d20+10)[*24*] *I'll take a Bruise*

DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage & Vulnerable/--/--: (1d20+10)[*15*] *That should be Daze and Vulnerable*

----------


## Llyarden

Assessment:
Catfish: (1d20+20)[*23*]
Enfield: (1d20+20)[*35*]
Galatea: (1d20+20)[*34*]

----------


## Dodgeson

Enfield Toughness vs DC24 (1d20+12)[*27*] *Resists*
Enfield Will vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Stunned&Defenseless (DC19) (1d20+10)[*16*] *Impaired & Vulnerable*

Galatea Toughness vs DC24 (1d20+10)[*20*] *Bruised*
Galatea Will vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Stunned&Defenseless (DC19) (1d20+10)[*28*] *Resists*

*Spoiler: Enfield Assessment*
Show

PL10, +2 Toughness Shift, All stats at PL & Immune to Fortitude Effects

*Spoiler: Galatea Assessment*
Show

PL10, No Shift, All stats at PL & Immune to Fortitude Effects

----------


## Dodgeson

I have a bad feeling about this...but Enfield is going to interpose that crit anyway! Note to self, the party favours energy based attacks

Enfield Toughness vs DC30 (1d20+12)[*28*] *Bruised*
Enfield Defence vs Hindered&Vulnerable/Defenceless&Immobilised (DC20) (1d20+8)[*19*] *Hindered&Vulnerable*

Galatea Defence vs Move Object (DC20) (1d20+10)[*22*] *Resists*
Enfield Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+10)[*18*]

----------


## Starsign

Rolling to shake off Vulnerable: (1d20+10)[*20*]

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Toughness (DC 25, -2 for Bruises): (1d20+10)[*22*].  *Bruised*
Fortitude (DC 20): (1d20+10)[*20*].  *Resists*

----------


## Dodgeson

Enfield Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+11)[*25*] *Resist*

----------


## Dodgeson

Enfield Damage vs Hindered&Vulnerable (DC20) (1d20+10)[*16*]

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## Starsign

Alrighty, before I forget: DC20 Fortitude vs Progressive Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated: (1d20+10)[*11*] *Not allowing that in a duel.* :Small Eek:  *Rerolling that.*

----------


## Starsign

Rerolling that above roll:(1d20+10)[*20*] *Success!*

----------


## Dodgeson

For the record a 23 just hits the Catfish but Enfield will Interpose for his master and you know...robot.

----------


## Dodgeson

Too keep the information flowing, The Catfish does in fact have Uncanny Dodge and Captain Blackcoat misses him but as per the Discord he's going to take Wildcard's new Affliction because he's a trooper.

Catfish Fortitude vs Impaired/Disabled (DC20) (1d20+10)[*17*] *Impaired*

----------


## Starsign

Blackcoat is very bad at this "dodge the undodgeable attacks" thing.  :Small Tongue:  He should have healed from his bruise by now.

DC25/20 Toughness vs Damage & Vulnerable/--/--: (1d20+10)[*12*] *Aww man, really? Alright, I'll live with that, this time.*

----------


## Dodgeson

And Galatea will Interpose for her master! 

Galatea Toughness vs DC20 (After Half Immunity) (1d20+10)[*12*] *Dazed & Bruised*

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## Quellian-dyrae

Defense (DC 25, -3 for Bruises): (1d20+5)[*13*].  *Bruised and Staggered*
Deflect can't beat a 28 with my shift, so Toughness (DC 24, -3 for Bruises): (1d20+9)[*11*].  *Reroll* *Nope, nevermind!  Flicker!*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Toughness reroll (-1 for above extra Bruise): (1d10+18)[*21*].  *Bruised*

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Smite it, rerolling that attack: (1d20+8)[*23*].  *Much better, pretty sure that's full Multiattack since Vulnerable.*

----------


## Dodgeson

Luckily for not having to worry about how moving for Interpose would interact with Platformer's melee attack, Catfish can afford to take that hit!

Catfish Defence vs Weaken Attack Bonus (DC30) (1d20+10)[*11*] *It's capped at rank right? Right...?*  :Small Eek: 
Enfield Defence vs Damage (DC30) (1d20+7)[*18*] *Staggered & Bruised*

Enfield Toughness vs Damage/Weaken Toughness (DC30/24) (1d20+12)[*14*] *INCAPACITATED & -Like a Lot of Toughness!*

----------


## Dodgeson

Goon #1 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC25) (1d20+6)[*13*] *Controlled!*
Goon #2 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC25) (1d20+6)[*13*] *Controlled!*
Goon #3 Will vs Entranced/Compelled/Controlled (DC25) (1d20+6)[*16*] *Controlled!*

----------


## Dodgeson

Catfish Toughness vs DC25 (1d20+6)[*18*] *Dazed and Bruised*
Catfish Fortitude vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Stunned&Defenseless (DC20) (1d20+10)[*30*] *Resists...not that it matters!*

----------


## Zelphas

Hello to all! Here is:

*Ishani Descartes* *AKA Indelible*
*Spoiler: Mechanics*
Show

*Indelible (Ishani Descartes) (PL 10, 152 PP)*

*Defenses: 40 PP*

Defense: 10
Toughness: 10
Fortitude: 10
Will: 10

*Skills: 35 PP*

Expertise (Art, Cosmology, History, Law, Local, Mathematics, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Physics, Piano) +10 (5 PP)
Intimidation +20 (10 PP)
Mobility +20 (10 PP)
Perception +20 (10 PP)

*Advantages: 10 PP*

All-Out Attack
Evasion
Fearless
Interpose
Power Attack
Set-Up 3
Startle
Uncanny Dodge

*Powers: 67 PP*

I Remain: Regeneration 10. {10 PP}

Universal Truth Array: 50 PP Dynamic Array, 3 Alternates, Feature 1 (Can Dynamically Link up to three effects). {57 PP}

Full Awareness: Multiple Effects.

Third-Person Person: Senses 8 (Extended 3, Penetrates Concealment, Radius 2 Vison). (9 PP)

Where I Should Be: Teleport 9 (Accurate, Subtle 2). (29 PP)

Drag and Drop: Flight 10 (Platform, Subtle 2). (12 PP) 
Bodily Mastery: Multiple Effects.

All-Muscle Strike: Damage 10. (10 PP)

Two-Pronged: Damage gains Multiattack. (10 PP)

Pebble Snipe: Damage gains 7 Ranks Increased Range (900), Ricochet 2, Homing 1. (10 PP)

            Nerve Strike: Affliction 10 (Vulnerable & Impaired/Defenseless & Disabled). (10 PP)

Weighty Blow: Damage Gains Secondary Effect. (10 PP) 
More Real: Multiple Effects.

What is Weight?: Strength 10. (10 PP)

            	That Missed: Deflect 10 (Reduced Range (Close), Burst Area 1). (10 PP)

            	I Must Remain: Healing 10 (Limited (Self)). (10 PP)

            	Reality Rejected: Insubstantial 4 (Attack Only). (20 PP) 
Horror of Reality: Multiple Effects.

Weight of Existence:  Weaken 10 (Defense, Resisted by Will). (10 PP)

            	Futility of Effort: Weaken 10 (Accuracy, Resisted by Will). (10 PP)

            	So, So Small: Weaken 10 (Will, Resisted by Will). (10 PP)

            	Apparent: Weaken gains Increased Range 2 (Perception), Limited (Close). (10 PP)

Behold: Weaken Gains Perception Area (Sight). (10 PP) 
*Def: 40 + Skil: 35 + Adv: 10 + Pow: 67 = 152 pts.*


*Spoiler: Complications*
Show

*I Am a Hero (Motivation: Doing Good):* Ishani would like to use her powers to do good, even if those powers are a bit unorthodox, and honestly somewhat frightening when the implications are really thought out. The power doesnt make the person, even when the power is literally I exist as a universal constant.

*I Am Human? (Quirk/Weakness):* Ever since her consciousness has expanded outside of her own head, Ishani has taken to narrating her own actions. This can be awkward, to say the least, and her unblinking stare and general disconnectedness doesnt help matters much. In addition, while her powers seem to run towards reality warping, at the moment she still needs to eat, sleep, and in general behave like a normal human in order to keep her body healthy. With her newly detached point of view, this can be difficult to remember, and can lead to times where her body refuses to obey her due to extreme hunger or lack of sleep, for example.

*I Am Frightening (Reputation/Accident):* Ishanis powers make her at least seem to be more real than the people around her, and she does not move her body in a normal human way any longer. Both are uncomfortable signs, and most people who she comes in contact find her somewhere between unnerving and downright terrifying. She is not tremendously well-liked in the hero community as a result. This feeling is intensified in high-stress situations, causing people to react in any number of worrisome (and usually hostile) ways to her presence.

*I Am Frightened (Phobia):* So far, Ishani has come into contact with a power nullifier once. In that moment, when the nullifier attempted to remove her power from her, I****a faced the fact that she may, one day, cease to exist. She never wants to see that again. Those with the ability to nullify powers terrify her in a deep, visceral way.

*I Am Loved (Relationship):* Ishanis parents, Ambroise and Kamala Descartes, live in New Harbour and still try to stay in contact with their daughter as much as they can. They still arent sure how to respond to Ishanis decision to drop out of college, her crime-fighting, or her new and strange way of speaking, but theyre being as supportive as they can as she goes through whatever this is. Ishani is aware of their love and appreciates it, even if it can be a bit too intrusive at times.

*I Am Hated (Enemy/Hatred):* Evanesce (real name Sevim Toselli) is a small-time Villain who has the power to remove small objects from existence and store the energy of that removal for later use. Ishani and Evanesce ran into each other by accident while both were masquerading as civilians and hated each other on sight; perhaps their opposite powers forced the conflict. Regardless, the two try to foil each other whenever possible, and it seems as though Evanesces power has grown since running into Indelible, making him a more dangerous threat.

*I Am Too Real (Accident):* The sheer weight of Indelible's reality can make her see the rest of the world around her as... less. When she is struck by this in a moment of distraction or focus on other matters, she can brush away solid stone as if it was no more substantial than cobwebs or assert herself in spaces that she could not normally occupy. This sounds like another level of her superpower, but Indelible has kept herself away from this realization for a simple reason: she has to believe her family and loved ones are real. This means that she only goes into this state when she doesn't mean to do so, usually with unfortunate results.

*I Am Wrong (Relationship/Power Loss/Enemy/???):* Ishani assumes that she is a meta-human; her powers awakened in her more-or-less naturally, despite her strangeness. She is wrong. What this means, and how it will affect her and the world around her, is up to the GMs discretion, but it will have an effect.


*Spoiler: Power Descriptors*
Show

*I Remain [Supernatural, Mystical]:* Indelible is a constant; she is, at least in her own mind. It is difficult for damage and weakness to stick so long as she is aware of herself.

*Universal Truth Array:* Utilizing her abilities to fight crime took some time, but Ishani has discovered a few ways to go about it.

*Full Awareness:* Complete awareness of and control over ones body has some perks.

*Third-Person Person [Supernatural, Senses]:* Ishani no longer sees through her eyes; instead, she can see all around herself with good clarity and scope, which fuels her sense of disconnection from her body.

*Where I Should Be [Mystical]:* If Indelible needs to be somewhere, she is there, at a certain distance. This appearance comes without any sound or warning, so shes taken to announcing herself with Im here as she arrives, to calm people down. It hasnt helped.

*Drag and Drop [Supernatural]:* For more mundane movement, Indelible is able to essentially pick up her own body and drop it where she needs it to be, leaving herself suspended by her arms in midair. Ishani has not played many video games, and so doesnt T-pose on purpose. 
*Bodily Mastery [Physical]:* Since Indelible can use every muscle, all at once, she can do a number of rather astonishing things in combat for a regular human body.

*All-Muscle Strike [Bludgeoning]:* Ishani can literally put all of her muscles behind an attack, amplifying the power of normal-seeming punches tremendously.

*Two-Pronged [Bludgeoning]:* Double the fists means double the pain; all of her muscles are behind each fist separately somehow.

*Pebble Snipe [Ballistic]:* By picking up a pebble and putting all her muscles behind flicking it, Indelible can strike from range.

*Nerve Strike [Skill]:* With just a little bit more aiming, Indelible can hit nerves and tendons, causing pain and paralysis in opponents.

*Weighty Blow [Mystical]:* Indelible focuses her reality in her strike, making it come back to hit the opponent again even though she doesnt actually go back to punch them. 
*More Real [Mystical]:* Ishanis power seems to make herself more real than what is around her and make things around her less real as a result. Though shes cautious, shes learned to use this.

*What is Weight?:* By simply forgetting that something should be heavy, Indelible can lift it; she wants it to move, so it does.

*That Missed:* Indelible can, to a limited degree, decide the reality of attacks around her. If she says it misses, sometimes, it does.

*I Must Remain:* When she doubles down on her own innate reality, Indelible can sometimes reject wounds done to her, restoring herself to health.

*Reality Rejected:* Though she is hesitant to overuse this power, Ishani can direct her sense of reality outwards; instead of thinking of herself as _more_ real, she thinks of a person as less real and they are. She hasnt tested this much; she thinks its reversible hopefully. 
*Horror of Reality [Mystical, Mental]:* Finally, Indelible can draw on the fact of her reality to make those around her doubt their own truth. This is a deep, existential dread.

*Weight of Existence:* Indelible presses down her own reality like a physical weight, slowing the opponents ability to defend itself.

*Futility of Effort:* Indelible fouls the opponents strikes by convincing them silently that their attempts are useless.

*So, So Small:* Indelible crushes the mental defenses of an opponent by forcing them to confront their place in the universe around them.

*Apparent:* With a bit of effort, Indelible touches a person directly without worrying about the intervening space; after all, she is.

*Behold:* A bit more effort allows Indelible to affect all who can see her, though she cannot exclude anyone from this attack at the moment.


*Spoiler: Backstory*
Show

Ishani Descartes had a fairly normal life; she was raised by two strict but loving parents as an only child, she got fairly decent grades, and watched heroic battles against villains from afar while planning out her own, much more mundane, future. She was in her second year of college on track to become a lawyer when her powers suddenly awakened.

In that moment, walking home from a late-night study session, Ishani was struck with the realization that she exists. There is no other way to properly describe it. Her self, her being, was truly real, and that reality brought with it total mastery over her very real self. She suddenly saw herself from all sides, and all around her, with great depth and clarity, and she found that she could move her body however she wished (within some limits). She could use every muscle of her body at once in ways no human could manage normally. Her very existence seemed to cause others pain and surprise, suddenly, as though her reality somehow disagreed with their own.

Ishani dropped out of school; she could not concentrate on it, stuck in her realization of what she was. She took several months trying to figure out what was going on with her, and in that time the Alchemaster came. Like many, she heard and saw the Protectorates sacrifice, and it struck a chord with her. She decided, then; if she was, she was a hero. She went out to do what heroic deeds she could, using her new existence to go beyond what regular humans could do.

It took her more time than she cared to admit to figure out what exactly she could do and how to apply it; existing as a universal constant sounds impressive in your own head, but it isnt exactly practical for the most part, especially when you dont really know what that actually means. During that time New Harbour faced several other struggles; Ishani held back, worried that she would do more harm than good if she dove in without knowing what she could do. Now, finally, she is ready well, hopefully.


*Spoiler: Physical Description & Personality*
Show

Ishani Descarte is fairly tall, standing just a shade above six feet, with pale brown skin, darker brown hair that is roughly waist-length, and brown eyes dark enough to be almost black. When in civilian garb, she wears dull clothing, has her hair in braids and tied out of her way (partially to hide its full length), and generally attempts to keep to the background, though a keen observer may notice that she looks more vibrant than anything around her. When out as a Hero, Indelible has a simple white mask that covers everything on her face but her eyes, and her hair is unbound. She wears a white dress with leggings underneath, as well; it wasnt really easy to think of a good costume idea, so she just went with what came to mind first.

There is an element of detachment in everything that Ishani does and says, as though the impact of her own reality has made the rest of the world less real to her. She feels real emotions, but they are filtered through this detached concept so that they almost seem like someone reading a story about anger or sadness rather than someone who is truly angry or sad. Still, she genuinely wants to help others, and she is not purposefully strange; the awakening of her power has simply skewed her entire mindset into this strange direction. Conversations are therefore decidedly odd, most of the time.


Hopefully the name change got fixed everywhere it needed to be.

----------


## Quellian-dyrae

Welcome to the team!

----------


## Ridai

*Rowen Taggard AKA Runtime Terror (but really RT)
Reality's Tech Support*
"RT, don't switch it off and on again."

 :Small Cool:  as of 2022-12-23: 4

*Spoiler: Mechanics (PL 10)*
Show

*Defenses*
Defense 13, Toughness 7, Fortitude 7, Will 13

*Skills*
Deception 20, Expertise 10, Insight 10, Stealth 18, Technology 20

_Fields of Expertise:_ Carpentry, Cooking, Cryptography, Current Events, Gaming, Law, New Harbour Local, Pop Culture, Science, Vehicles

*Advantages*
Benefit 3 (Air Goes In BS Comes Out [no penalty for move action Deception], Mind Games! [Use Deception instead of Mobility for Initiative]), Equipment 2, Evasion 2, Hide in Plain Sight, Interpose, Inventor, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Set-up 4, Taunt, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge

_Equipment:_ Its a smartphone, yall. And a good small laptop, flashlight, and tools.

*Powers*
*Reality Tech Support:* Feature 2 (can attempt to fix reality glitches and malfunctions, is sometimes notified about where reality needs work with varying levels of details and helpfulness) {2}

*Debug Human Default Resistance:* Toughness 7 {7}

*Suddenly Works When RT Is Around:* Variable 4 (Affects Others Only, Free Action, Limited [only grants extra PP for Dynamic Arrays], Quirk [only one instance maintained at a time, any further last only 5 rounds, no implied pre-buffing]) {31}

*Debugging:* {Dynamic array, 16+7}
*Debug Finger Gun:* Damage 7 (Ranged, Variable Descriptor 2 [various weaponry and random objects])*Finger Guns Akimbo:* Damage gains Cone Area, Multiattack, Indirect 2*Debug Health Restore:* Healing 10 (Ranged 6, Others only)*Debug Logistics:* Flight 3 (Winged), Strength 4, Comprehend 2 (Machines), Quickness 15 (Technology only)

*Defenses* 33 + *Skills* 39 + *Advantages* 19 + *Powers* 63 = *154/154 PP*

*Spoiler: Complications*
Show

*Duct Tape and Prayers [Motivation: Responsibility]*
Working in IT and generally staying on the up-and-up of technological developments, Rowen knows how much of the world is basically held together with shoestrings, especially critical systems. So now that _reality_ apparently also is in need of maintenance, and with not one but three (possibly more!) reality warpers running around, someone needs to keep things running. Uptime is rather important when it comes to existence itself.

*Meaningful Work [Motivation: Doing Good]*
Its not that his normal IT job is bad work, but maintaining reality and helping some superpowered people help other people feels nice. He had to content with the satisfaction of a job well done (or as best it could within the limitations), but now he can have a notable (hopefully positive) impact on other peoples lives when they need help. And that helps with getting out of bed in the morning.

*Learning on the Job, Barely Knowing What He Is Doing (Accident)*
Look, IT is often challenging enough, even though he got pretty good at dealing with tech in general (given how many hats he has had to wear in his career, and it was a lot of hats!). But fixing reality is, uh, a little more challenging. Lil bit. He managed once, but it is not like there is a lot of literature on proper Reality Tech floating around, so as with all projects, it is nice to plan and want things, but well see how things will actually shake out.

*Extremely Misleading Nickname That Stuck Against All Odds (Reputation)*
So a colleague at Reality Watchdog who has passing interest in tech but mostly enjoys it on a Hackers is a fun movie level dubbed Rowen Runtime Terror so he has a cool hacker name, because he is so wiz with tech. Rowen went with it as a joke, thinking it would go away soon. But it stuck. Worse, this is also what he is starting to get known as. Even Reality joined in! So people who dont really know better often assume Rowen is some sort of mean hackerman out to steal peoples data those VPN ads warn about.

*Three Jobs (Responsibility, Quirk)*
His normal job is at Reality Watchdog, the creatively named self-proclaimed watchdog organization keeping an eye out on the state of reality and especially those three reality warpers running around! Doing _important_ research on those matters! Top men and women on the case! In the meantime, theyll keep those reality warpers honest! Rowen handles their IT stuff. He set things up to work most of the time, and has prepared a lot of scripts and procedures to handle usual day-to-day stuff, so he honestly doesnt have to do much, being very much the efficient and productive kind of lazy admin. Still, no system survives contact with humans, so his colleagues can end up calling him at basically any hour of the day to get tech support or because they somehow, against all odds and logic, managed to break something in spectacular fashion.

The second job is maintaining reality. Rowen is still feeling this one out and learning what he can. This is way more involved and much less figured out, and also can happen at any hour of the day. He is still trying to wrap his head around the whole deal, and this mysterious back-end of reality and how the hell he exactly is doing all this with a computer or sometimes the weird reality-equivalents of a front-end or terminal of existence itself, but there you go.

And finally, helping the others in their hero work. This is the most frequently outright obviously  dangerous work, can also happen at any hour of the day, and carries a whole bunch of possible repercussions, since villains tend to be a sore bunch and also have a lot of nasty friends.

So since all three can happen at any time, sleep is often compromised, or he has to do tech support _for freaking Karen again its the fifth time this week and it is still Wednesday what the heck_ while dodging bullets and trying to figure how to keep this one back alley from trying to translate the fourth dimension into the third one.

*Watchdog Hurts Itself In Confusion! (Accident, Relationship)*
Reality Watchdog means well. They are not bad people. It is just that Victor Vicman Cromwell is a billionaire who one day woke up concerned about reality and decided to make an organization to keep an eye on it and maintain it. Hired a bunch of specialists from all sorts of fields, hand chosen. Vicmans real good at keeping people honest and fired up. It is just that they dont really know what they are doing or how to exactly help maintain reality, but they are not letting something small like that stop them! Rowen just got hired to handle IT, by the way, but by now Victor calls him Its our boy, the Runtime Terror, the tech wiz of New Harbour!. And because his IT buddy is so good at what he does and also did a thing once (the thing was fixing reality, not that they realized that) and is such a good guy, Victor personally appointed Rowen to go to those reality warpers and keep an eye on em, while the others do the important research!

And that research occasionally lands one of the Watchdog employees in less than ideal situations, whether getting themselves into hot water with the powers that be, criminal organizations (or just a gang of thugs), or sometimes stumbling into an issue with reality itself. So since Rowen fixes things, he tends to help out.

For his part, Rowen actually likes most people working for Reality Watchdog, he gets along with them. Despite lacking the Wealth benefit, Rowen is also paid pretty well, but he redirects most money to his family and charitable purposes, so after rent and the various other bills, he ends up with his usual modest budget.

*Hello, This Is Reality Speaking (Relationship/Responsibility)*
So reality is in contact with Rowen in various degrees of directness and various media and forms. Fixing one problem apparently was like a job application for life and he got unknowingly accepted. So he got used to an increased rate of weird happenstance, cryptic messages, and meetings with strange people and beings apparently somehow influenced by, controlled by, or outright sent from reality itself. It can be harrowing at times, or utterly confusing, but reality ultimately needs help to fix some local problems and it gave him a few tools to deal with problems along the way, so it seems (?) that the relationship is amicable?

*The Taggard Family (Relationship)*
Rowen (25) came from modest beginnings, the Taggards simply a working-class family trying to make ends meet. Pa Eric (53) is a mechanic and Ma Carol (51) is a nurse, and Rowen has three younger siblings, namely Terry (21), Zoe (19), and Amber (15). Rowen helped with the household and got into IT instead of going to college to help the family out, and by now he is helping to get his other siblings through school and make sure the family doesnt have to worry about money or healthcare, since most of what he has left after bills goes straight to them. Rowen has often been a sort of mediator or the go-to person if theres a problem if his parents werent there because of work or too tired because of work. 

Terry is in the process of getting a chemistry degree and it only feels like a matter of time until he proposes to his boyfriend Mick he has been with for four years or vice-versa, since the latter has been a frequent presence at the household for a while now, partially because of Mick no longer having much of a family anymore.
Zoe is still not really sure what to do and is kind of just feeling things out, working a job here or there, frequently getting into new hobbies and not feeling in much of a hurry, being perhaps the most laid-back member of the family, perhaps even too laid-back.
And finally Amber has reached a prickly age where she is desperate to grow up and be seen as a grown up, but also feels like no one understands her as she goes through the usual teenage phases which definitely arent phases, _mom._ Equally desperately tries to hide her penchant for adorable art and handcrafts she wouldnt be caught dead collecting and making, because shes _cool,_ you hear?!


*Spoiler: Description*
Show

Around 1.75m tall, average in build, with brown hair kept short (and somehow still managing to look chaotic and like it is trying to escape in various directions on most days), blueish-green eyes. Varies from clean-shaven to stubbly from day to day. Humble beginnings of a gut (Rowen is working on it. Making it smaller, that is). Usually just throws on a t-shirt, jeans, hoodie, and either his one pair of sneakers if it's relatively warm, or his one pair of boots if the weather's crap.

When doing his reality tech work, well, despite the fabulous circumstance of people somehow not associating him and his nickname with the "superhero" going by the same name (not that Rowen picked that, it just happened), Rowen did at least try to prepare a bit, so he got himself a sturdier set of grey-black jacket and pants, modified them to have a polygonal pattern that tends to mess with analysis running on security cam footage. And because he could, he designed himself a flexible mask covering the entire head, normally showing nothing but grey-black, though he can activate it to have them work like, well, masks in superhero cartoons showing eye movement and a mouth. Again, because he could. That's what happens when you give someone with this level of Technology and the Inventor feat an opportunity to goof around.

*Spoiler: Power descriptions*
Show

When Rowen was suddenly recruited as reality technician (or RT), he also gained, from one moment to the next, a set of features that apparently both are to help with debugging reality, as well as being features of some sort of debug human. So much of his powers just works, but not necessarily in an elegant way, or at times just having a somewhat unpredictable nature to it.

*Reality Tech Support:* Reality hired him and lets him know when there is work in New Harbour through various... let's call them omens, or sometimes even directly by sending him messages or having someone straight-up talk to him. He can engage with glitches in reality, and the way he does so tends to vary depending on what is wrong and where it is. He has accessed devices part of an anomaly with his laptop or phone and was able to see what's wrong. Sometimes he "talks" through a glitch. Sometimes he can even access the equivalent of control panels or terminals in thin air. There seems to be little standardization and it is chaos. So basically like IT.

*Debug Human Default Resistance:* Said default apparently is the maximum toughness an unaltered human can have. Rowen didn't test this trait _too_ much, but it seems reasonable to assume so.

*Suddenly Works When RT Is Around:* Reality warpers seem to just work better around Rowen. He already can affect reality (if mostly to fix it, not change it however he wants), but he seems to have an effect he would call "stabilizing". Not in making reality more stable, but making reality warpers more stable in their power usage. Everything just works better. Your mileage may vary, however. Rowen did not have much opportunity to test any of this.

*Debugging:* The set of "tools" granted by reality so he can go about his job. That reality deemed it necessary to basically hand him a gun probably speaks volumes.

*Debug Finger Gun:* It is basically what it says on the tin. Rowen can shoot things with his fingers. Well, his hypothesis is that it's not _really_ his fingers, but rather an object overlaid on his hands, like a placeholder for a gun in a game or something. But anyway, he can shoot things. Doing finger guns is the most intuitive, adding a "Bang!" or "Pew!" also helps (and it's also fun). What actually happens when he shoots, however, can be a bit random. It always delivers about the same-ish level of force and seems mostly non-lethal (thank goodness), but it can range from something like a movie gunshot with an invisible projectile, it can be a sudden jet of high-pressure water, a cartoon anvil can drop on the target, the pavement has once punched a mugger, the surroundings briefly warped to have the target hit something, and at least once he knocked someone out with a high-velocity cake. The list goes on and on, and seems to range from standard weaponry to temporary reality alterations to what Rowen can only assume basically visual memes as a sort of visual shorthand most people in New Harbour are familiar with. Nothing created sticks around for the most part, usually disappearing shortly after.

*Finger Guns Akimbo:* When one finger gun doesn't suffice, Rowen can whip out another at the same time! Sometimes he even does splayed hands Contra spreadshots! Or the finger submachine gun/shotgun! Accuracy usually goes to hell, but if you finger gun everything roughly in front of you, or something actually right in your face, that tends to be okay.

*Debug Health Restore:* Rowen can heal wounds by touch, usually by trying to clean or dress a wound or wrap it in something. Though he once actually just slapped a wound right off because the wounded person was understandably quite hysterical after getting stabbed, but was making it really hard to help. It doesn't always work on the first go, so it is a bit of a crapshoot how much it actually helps, but it usually helps. If he is further away, Rowen can still help, mentally switching his debug finger gun to healing mode and kind of shooting wounds off. That works, but healing with the same thing he shoots with tends to not inspire confidence and is also horrible (finger) gun safety, but it works in a punch. Alternatively, he just throws something at the person or does a pinching motion with his fingers and may or may not have done a Jedi mind trick gesture once, though that didn't quite feel right.

*Debug Logistics:* Assorted features he can draw upon. Working with tech got way, _way_ easier and most of all _faster_, which is great since that lets him do his day job pretty swiftly (apart from the bits where he needs to walk his colleagues through something), though it does take away from the simple joy of the process when he is working on something not annoying. More unusual is that he can more or less converse with machines now? Very technomantic, but Rowen is still getting used to that one, like a Japanese kami is living in every electronic (and sometimes mechanical) device now. His back was used to carrying heavy things around before, but it is also thankful that he can lift things more easily now (and wishes he had that earlier in his life, like when he had to set-up that server room and carry all the racks and cabinets himself). There is also the matter of going around, so basically flight. It... feels like he can basically drag himself through space like he would click and drag something on a monitor, but three-dimensional, and naturally, if something is keeping him from moving around, he can't do that. Which gets confusing when it comes to being tied up but not tethered to anything, but I guess reality also deals in status effects.

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## Llyarden

Spending 1pp to remove Slow from Wildcard's Variable.  I'm not sure what I'm doing with the other yet.

Downtimes:
1 - Superheroics (DC20): (1d20+10)[*13*] *Nope.*
2 - Rebuilding New Harbour with Expertise: New Harbour (DC25): (1d20+20)[*40*] *+5 from above.  7 successes after crit!*

And then...
Well-Informed (DC20): (1d20+20)[*30*]
Expertise (New Harbour) (DC20): (1d20+20)[*40*]

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## Ridai

Rolled a 29 in the wrong thread, so let's try again here.

Expertise (New Harbour Local) (1d20+10)[*28*]

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## Ridai

And I promptly forgot the for gits and shiggles Deception check, which I will now add here: (1d20+20)[*31*]

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## Quellian-dyrae

Downtime Actions:
Relationship Building (Morningstar) - Expertise (Popular Culture) (DC 20): Routine for 20.  *1 Success*
Hunting *Eschaton* - Investigation (DC 25, +5 for Menus): Routine for 25.  *1 Success*

In other news, as is practically tradition at this point I took the 2 PP and did a massive sheet update.  The two main things I wanted to adjust were that 1) I remembered normal M&M defenses punish all tradeoffs but still wanted Kevin to be tanky, so I needed a different angle for that, and 2) His Power Ups were kinda super-awkward to use in practice since not only were they fairly tough to activate and costing him points just to try, but then there was a chance they'd go away before he even got to use them.  From those initial goals one thing led to another and the result was this.  Let me know if that all flies.

*Spoiler: Mechanics*
Show


*Attacks*

*Initiative:* +10.
*Attack:* +10 (DC 25 Damage, DC 20 Effect).

*Defenses*

*Defense:* +10.  *Toughness:* +10.  *Fortitude:* +10.  *Will:* +10.

*Skills*

Expertise +20, Investigation +20, Mobility +10, Perception +10.

Proficiencies: Aliens, Culinary, Current Events, Draconic Lore, History, Gaming, Geography, Law Enforcement, Law, Literature, Local, Magic, Meta-Genetics, Military, Popular Culture, Psionics, Science, Sports, Superheroes/villains, Tactics.

*Advantages*

All-out Attack, Benefit 2 (Astute, Tech Savvy), Equipment, Evasion 2, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Skill Mastery 2 (Expertise, Mobility), Teamwork, Well Informed.

With Powers: Add Eidetic Memory.

*Benefits*

*Astute:* May substitute Investigation for Deception to oppose Deception-based actions.

*Tech Savvy:* May substitute Expertise for Technology for purposes of tech knowledge (so, identifying, understanding, and using technology, but not repairing, building, securing, hacking, demolitions, and other more specialized functions).

*Equipment*

*Modern Smart Phone with Bluetooth:* Cell Phone, Computer, GPS, Commlink {4+1}.
_Alternate Applications:_ Camera, Audio/Video Recorder, Flashlight.
*Powers*

*Flicker:* Insubstantial 4 (Subject to [Magic] damage; Reaction [Immediately after being attacked], Limited [Cannot pass through unattended objects, structures, and terrain features], Limited [Triggered by Damage effects only], Limited [Only if provoking attack hits], Limited [Only if resistance check fails], Limited [Cannot sustain; must deactivate by end of next turn]) {4}.

*Menus:* Enhanced Advantages 1 (Eidetic Memory) {1}.

*Extra Lives:* Immortality 1 (Unreliable [5 Uses]), Enhanced Immortality 9 (Permanent, Unreliable [5 Uses]; Check Required 8 [Fortitude DC 18 to use, DC 27 for full ranks]), Feature/Quirk (Rather than reviving where he died, he revives wherever he was at the start of the episode) {2}.

*Life Bar:* Protection 10, Immunity 2 (Critical Hits) {12}.

*Game Mechanics:* 50-point Dynamic Array, Feature 1 (May dynamically Link up to three effects) {51+11}.

*Controls (2 Slots):* Multiple Effects.

*(Y) - Run:* Flight 10 (Platform, Limited [Must remain adjacent to a solid or liquid surface], Quirk [Must begin and end movement solidly supported]), Feature 1 (May pick up and drop off unresistng targets as a free action) [5].

*(B) - Jump:* Flight loses Limit [5].

*(X) - Activate:* Strength 10 [10].

*(A) - Strike:* Damage 10 [10].

*(Z) - Shoot:* Damage gains 7 ranks Increased Range (900'), Variable Descriptor 2 (Magical Descriptors), Ricochet [10].

*(L) - Shield:* Create 10 (Selective, Stationary, Feature/Quirk [Selective Resistance], Reduced Range [Close], Concentration) [10].
_Selective Resistance:_ The barrier gets a resistance check using its rank against all attacks, including those that would normally automatically destroy it or that it would normally be immune to.  If it beats a DC of 10 + the attack's rank, the Selective nature of the barrier works in its favor - it avoids an attack that would auto-destroy it or blocks an attack it would normally be immune to.  If it fails, its Selective nature works against it - it blocks an attack that would auto-destroy it or misses an attack it would normally be immune to.

*(R) - Block:* Deflect 10 (Secondary Effect, Reduced Range [Close]) [10].

*(Start) - Pause:* Quickness 20 (Limited [Mental]) [10].

*(Select) - Camera:* Remote Sensing 3 (Visual; 250'; Feature [Counts as Simultaneous as long as he remains on camera], Subtle 2), Senses 1 (Extended Vision) [10].

*(Connect) - In-Game Chat:* Visual Communication 4 (Rapid 2, Subtle, Feature [Can send images]) [20].
*Special Attacks:* Multiple Effects.

*Stomp:* Damage gains Alternate Resistance (Defense), Perception (Limited to Close), and Limited (Must spend a move action jumping at target) [10].

*Kombo:* Damage gains Multiattack [10].

*Smash Attack:* Weaken Toughness 10 (Alternate Resistance [Toughness]) [10].

*Hitstun:* Affliction 10 (Impaired+Vulnerable/Stunned+Disabled; Will; Extra Condition, Limited Degree) [10].

*Pinball:* Strength gains Contagious [10].
*I'll Tank, You DPS:* Multiple Effects.

*Refill Life Bar:* Regeneration 10 (Sustained) [10].

*Button Mashing:* Immunity 30 (Will; Sustained, Limited [Half Effect], Limited [Only for checks against ongoing effects]) [10].

*Rotate Control Stick:* Immunity 30 (Fortitude; Sustained, Limited [Half Effect], Limited [Only for checks against ongoing effects]) [10].

*Stats What Stats?:* Enhanced Defense, Toughness, Fortitude, Will 5 (Limited [Only to offset Weakens]) [10].

*Shrink Hitbox:* Concealment 10 (All Senses; Limited [Defensive purposes only; does not allow for stealth or prevent targeting by non-Perception effects]) [10].
*White Magic/Psychic Support:* Multiple Effects.

*Cure/PK Lifeup β:* Healing 10 (Limited [Others Only]) [10].

*Remedy/PK Healing α:* Healing gains Restorative [10].

*Esuna/PK Healing γ:* Nullify Afflictions 10 (Broad, Simultaneous, Reduced Range [Close], Limited [Counters Only]) [10].

*Protect/PK Shield Σ:* Deflect gains Shapeable Area [10].

*Reflect/PK Shield β:* Deflect gains Reflect [10].
*Power Ups:* Multiple Effects.

*Boost Items:* Variable 2 (Improve Existing Traits; Reduced Action 2 [Free], Affects Self and Others, Feature [If a non-Minion non-object received a non-Bruise condition from a single-target Damage effect on his last turn, may add Limited (Earned) to the traits bestowed; this counts against the flaw cap for IET], Quirk [One target at a time out of combat; in combat, effect ends if target fails a resistance check vs. Damage]) [20].

*Healing Items:* Healing loses Limit [10].

*Invincibility:* Immunity 60 (Physical, Energy; Affects Self and Others, Reflect, Sustained, Limited [Only if a non-Minion non-object received a non-Bruise condition from a single-target Damage effect on his last turn], Limited 2 [Only if the attack roll for the qualifying attack was a natural 20 or the resistance check was a natural 1], Limited [Lasts for a maximum of two rounds, and may only be used on one target at a time]) [20].
*Calculations*

*PL:* 10.  *PP:* 0/154. 
*Stats:* 30.  *Skills:* 30.  *Advantages:* 13.  *Powers:* 81.

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## Ridai

If I understood things correctly and I do in fact have two Downtime Actions as well, I am putting them towards Superheroics! by routining for a total of 2 successes.

I also spent my two leftover pp to increase Stealth from 14 to 18.

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## Dodgeson

THE DEMON WITCH Insight vs Deception (DC31) (1d20+8)[*24*] *Hook, line and sinker*

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## Zelphas

Well then.

Toughness (DC 33): (1d20+10)[*13*] *Rerolling*

Fortitude (DC 28): (1d20+10)[*26*] *-2 Defences*

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## Zelphas

HP to reroll Toughness (DC 33): (1d10+20)[*23*] crit chance: (1d2)[*2*] *1 Bruise & Dazed*

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## Dodgeson

DEMON WITCH Toughness vs DC26 (1d20+18)[*19*]*Dazed & Bruised*
DEMON WITCH Fortitude vs Vulnerable&Impaired/Defenseless&Disabled (DC19) (1d20+14)[*27*] *Resist*
DEMON WITH Will vs Insubstantial (DC19) (1d20+14)[*27*] *Resist*

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## Zelphas

Welp.

Toughness (DC 33): (1d20+10)[*21*] *1 Bruise & Staggered*

Fortitude (DC 28): (1d20+10)[*19*] *Spending an HP to reroll... not that it's going to matter much here, probably.*

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## Zelphas

Fortitude Redux (DC 28): (1d10+20)[*23*] *Barely Impaired; two rounds to go.*

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## Zelphas

Assuming I should roll this (apologies for the triple post)...

Deflect (needs to beat 23): (1d20+10)[*20*] *I think this becomes a 30, so Deflected?*

Barrier Toughness (DC 33): (1d20+10)[*19*] *If the above is wrong, then the barrier is Destroyed*

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## Llyarden

Readied action: (1d20+10)[*17*] to hit for DC20 Defence vs Weaken Stamina.

And because I forgot to do it earlier, Assessment: (1d20+20)[*37*]

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## Dodgeson

If I'm parsing the order of everything right, Wildcard's attack misses but that assessment's on the money.

*Spoiler: Assessment*
Show

PL14/+4 Damage Shift & +4 Toughness Shift/All Stats at PL


THE DEMON WITCH Insight vs Feint (DC23) (1d20+8)[*14*] *Vulnerable*
THE DEMON WITCH Will vs Taunt (DC31) (1d20+14)[*24*] *Impaired*

And that stomp'll hit if THE DEMON WITCH is feinted so...

THE DEMON WITCH Defence vs Damage (DC18 after Half Immunity) (1d20+10)[*15*] *Bruised*

EDIT: Forgot the first bruise, *Dazed & Bruised*

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## Dodgeson

If this ends up affecting things that have already happened, I'm calling reality bender shenanigans.

THE DEMON WITCH Insight vs Feint (DC30) (1d20+8)[*19*] *Vulnerable*

THE DEMON WITCH TOUGHNESS vs DC25 (1d20+18)[*30*] *Resists*

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## Dodgeson

THE DEMON WITCH Toughness vs DC32 w/Secondary Effect (1d20+16)[*30*] *Bruised*
THE DEMON WITCH Will vs Weaken Accuracy/Will (DC25) (1d20+14)[*16*] *-8 Accuracy/Will*

THE DEMON WITCH Will vs Damage (DC30) (1d20+12)[*28*] 19 after Indelible's attack *Staggered & Bruised*

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## Zelphas

Toughness (DC 29): (1d20+9)[*10*] (I have -1 to all Defenses, I think?) *Welp. HP to reroll that, I guess.*

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## Zelphas

Toughness check redux (DC 29): (1d10+19)[*27*] *1 Bruise, then.*

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## Llyarden

Toughness (DC29): (1d20+14)[*19*] *GitP dice still don't like me.  Bruised & Dazed.*

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## Quellian-dyrae

Toughness (DC 29): (1d20+10)[*30*].  *The stentorian no is a Paladin class feature*

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## Dodgeson

THE DEMON WITCH Will vs Damage (DC25) (1d20+4)[*20*] *Bruised*

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## Llyarden

Welp, guess I'll reroll the natural 1 at least: (1d20+10)[*12*] *Into a natural 2, thanks a lot dice.  Becomes 22 after Improve Roll though.*

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## Dodgeson

THE DEMON WITCH Will vs Damage (DC30) (1d20+3)[*9*] *INCAPACITATED*
THE DEMON WITCH Fort vs DC25 (Vulnerable/Defenceless/Incapacitated) [rol]1d20+14[/roll] *Messed it up BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER!*

THE DEMON WITCH Toughness vs DC24 (1d20+10)[*21*]
THE DEMON WITCH Will vs Weaken Defense/Insubstantial (1d20+7)[*26*]

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## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: Zelphas*
Show

The Protectorate Memorial Museum certainly has plenty of things that could be valuable to the right thief or buyer. Their old costumes (and their variants) are all on display, each precious collectors items in their own right and on top of that the gadgets and weapons of their vanquished foes from the mechanical terror suit of Professor Hyperion to the Doomsday Book of the Witches Three, all of them are disarmed and defanged before they were put on display for the public of course but what are the bets that someone couldn't fix that?

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## Llyarden

Well-Informed/Expertise(Superheroes/Supervillains): (1d20+20)[*34*]

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## Dodgeson

*Spoiler: Llyarden*
Show

You don't recognize the guy in the green/red but there was a news story about strange bursts of light in the sky of just those colours in the last town that the his partner had left, that preceded a sudden spike in the birth of metahumans.

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