Adventures Assemble S3E3: The Great Brain Robbery!

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Ysariel
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Moonlight
Undersea
Psistrike wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 9:20 amFocusing she willed two giant boulders to form on each side of Calamity before trying to force them to slam together with her foe in the middle, but the drag from the water was set her aim off and she wasn't sure they would hit.
Calamity easily swims out of the way before the two boulders close in on her like giant, rocky applause.

"Too slow, hero. Too slow!" her voice echoes strangely in the seawater. She kicks her legs -- you see that the bodysuit leaves her feet bare, and there is webbing in between her toes -- and swims powerfully towards you, zigzagging unpredictably. Then she lunges at you, attempting to seize you by the throat and choke you into unconsciousness.

Over her shoulder, you see the anti-ship torpedo from the submarine complete its wide turn in the water and make its way back towards you. The missile is less than twenty yards away when it explodes and the world erupts in fire and shrapnel about the two of you. The explosion throws a massive gout of water up from the surface of the sea and leaves your ears ringing.

Calamity snarls with deadly fury, but she doesn't let go. "Catastrophe!" she roars into her commlink. "Tell your goons to stop getting in the way of my hunt, or I will have their hides AND YOURS for snacks when I get back!"

OOC

Calamity uses unarmed attack on you.
AA Calamity attack vs Moonlight: 1D20+13 = [12]+13 = 25

Hits. Make a DC 26 Toughness check vs Damage.

She has Fast Grab so she also immediately makes a grab check as well. Make a DC 21 Str or Athletics check vs Grab. If you fail you are in a grab; next round, she can apply any of the grab options without making a new attack check.

The torpedo makes another homing attack on the submarine's turn.
AA Tempest-class attack vs Moonlight: 1D20+10 = [11]+10 = 21
Hits. Make a DC 27 Toughness check vs damage.

This attack is area 10, and Calamity also takes friendly fire damage from it: she fails by 1 degree and takes a -1 penalty.

Round 1
26 Moonlight *
20 Calamity (-1)
-- Tempest-class Attack Sub (vehicle, immobile & defenseless)
Ysariel
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Nightbird & Jason
Outside the city -- Small cove
Gilliam wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 8:13 pm Letting out another scream Imogen targeted Catastrophe through one of the gaps in the barrier.

Later she would have to work out her internal conflict where she wanted to tell Jason off for not listening to her against the fact he saved her life and wasn't 10 years old anymore.
Nightbird's sonic bombardment causes the air to thrum, the sand on the beach to dance, and the gentle sea to froth white. Little pebbles skip and bounce on the ground and the trees along the coast shudder in unison, shedding leaves and startling birds. But Catastrophe is undaunted: the corona of energy about him flares brightly and seems to vibrate at high frequency, absorbing and neutralizing the incoming sound waves, leaving a perfectly spherical zone about him where the air does not shimmer as though in a heat haze.

"FOOL!" Catastrophe levels a finger at Nightbird. "I radiate pure chaos energies that adapt to and neutralize any energy control powers, from heat to magnetism. Your feeble offensive has no hope of--" Nightbird raises her voice further and obliterates the rest of his sentence, whipping his hair backwards from his face like a gale-force blast of wind and sending him tumbling uncontrollably in mid-air.

Catastrophe considers the situation, clutching his ringing head. His supervillain mook army has been wiped out. The submarine's cruise missiles tubes are empty. There is apparently a new, unidentified man working with the Champion. And judging by the squawking in his earpiece, his sister is busy tangling with a third metahuman. Also, he has been blasted half-senseless already. What was supposed to be an ambush laid for the Champions with air and sea support is increasingly looking like a trap for them.

He makes a snap decision and keys his earpiece. "Sister! Forget the other hero. We're withdrawing!" he turns to wag a threatening finger at both of you. "Enjoy your brief reprieve, heroes. Once General Havoc's plans come to fruition, you'll wish you'd died on this beach instead!"

OOC
You're right that Catastrophe actually failed by 12, or 3 degrees, so I updated the turn order to reflect that.

When you attack him, as a reaction, Catastrophe's Chaos Aura variable power activates and configures itself to provide Second Chance: toughness vs sonic attacks, limited to 1 round. This lets him roll twice and take the better result on the toughness (but not dodge) check against any attack with the sonic descriptor.
AA Catastrophe Dodge DC 22, toughness DC 27/21: 1D20+14 = [2]+14 = 16
1D20+8-1 = [11]+8-1 = 18

AA Catastrophe toughness DC 27 reroll: 1D20+8-1 = [12]+8-1 = 19
A result of 19 fails by 2 degrees; he takes another -1 penalty and is Dazed until the end of his next turn.

His Chaos Aura then deactivates.

On his turn, Catastrophe decides to book it and fly off. He is staggered so he cannot double move. That means Jason and Nightbird still can take pot shots at him with powers of range: ranged or perception until the end of round 3 before he flies out of range. After that, you can continue to give chase if you have a movement power of at least rank 9 (1 less than his maximum flight rank).

Round 3
22 Catastrophe (-2, Dazed, Staggered)
22 Jason *
19 Nightbird


Jason is up!
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by kenseido »

Jason Maxwell
HP: 5, Condition: Fine

"What's with lame bad guys and lamer threats? Doesn't matter what world I'm on, they just seem to cry about how 'next time it will be differnet.' Someone needs a serious dose of reality."

He uncurls his hands, dropping the shield. Pulling his middle fingers back he points at the fleeing coward, "Afflicto!"
Afflicto: 1d20+10 20
If that hits, DC29 Toughness
Ysariel
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Meanwhile...

Federal Penitentiary 'Deep Six'
Supermax containment -- 800 feet below sea level


The walls: sound-insulating, padded foam. The light: merciless, stark white. The occupant: a single man, small, unassuming, shrunken. He is in his sixties, perhaps, sporting a case of male pattern baldness, dressed in orange prison fatigues with a nametag that reads Nikolai Constantinovich Piotr.

He sits upon a stool -- little more than a cylinder of concrete that extends from the floor -- and writes. He has a pencil of soft polymer, and blank inflammable paper, rewards for good behavior. He has a lot of paper. It lies piled in neat stacks about him, covered in countless lines of tiny, impeccable writing, millions of words that will never be published.

"... it was the increasing emphasis on the ethnic and racial qualities of the nation, accelerating in the 19th century, that gave birth to the modern nation-state, an entity defined by the dominance of a particular tribal group and hence motivated to perpetuate, through whatever injustice necessary, that dominance. The 20th century, with its legacy of genocides, ethnic cleansings and culture wars, is but ample proof that the nation-state is the chief architect of oppression in the world..."

The pencil-tip pauses. In the distance, even through the sound-proofing of the walls, he thinks he hears the wail of sirens. Is it merely his imagination? Sometimes, the memories and sounds of his old life return to him, and he remembers -- he remembers the gunfire, the energy blasts, the American soldiers dying by the hundreds on the shores...

He shakes his head and continues writing.

"...The organs of the state have ever been employed to destroy, any minority or ideology that might challenge the dominance of the nation -- none more than the super-powered individual, that man or woman who might single-handedly sway elections, rout armies and change societies. And there is no greater oppressor than the United States, a land of imperialism conceived in tyranny and dedicated to the lie that all men are created equal -- a flagrant denial of the super-powered truth..."

He pauses. There are more sounds outside his door now, sounds which he has not heard in many years. Gunfire. Explosions. Screams.

He puts down the pencil and smiles.

The gunfire stops. There comes a keening sound like a dentist's drill but much louder, then the door of the cell topples inward to slam on the ground, smoking at the edges. The prisoner turns around on the stool, without getting up, to contemplate his visitor.

Marshal Lawless stands in the doorway, an anti-material rifle in one hand and sonic vibro-blade in the other. His expression is unreadable behind dark glasses. "Chaos Commander," he says. "It's been twenty years."

"That it has," says the founder of the Anarchy Command and the man who was, at one point, the most dangerous person in the world. "It has taken you and the others long enough. But two decades too late is better than never."

"You know what I must do," Marshal Lawless says.

"One of two things, I expect. Tell me: have you come to free me -- or to kill me?"
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Jason & Nightbird
Outside the city -- Small cove
kenseido wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 11:13 pm "What's with lame bad guys and lamer threats? Doesn't matter what world I'm on, they just seem to cry about how 'next time it will be differnet.' Someone needs a serious dose of reality."

He uncurls his hands, dropping the shield. Pulling his middle fingers back he points at the fleeing coward, "Afflicto!"
Catastrophe hears you shout and manages to jink left just barely in time to avoid the magical blast. It soars past him, burning off the right sleeve of his bodysuit to explode in a starburst over the ocean. You can't tell very clearly at this distance, but he seems to be redoubling his efforts to run (fly) like hell for safety.

OOC
Unfortunately, a 20 does not hit him. Catastrophe is uncharacteristically defense shifted for an energy controller.

Round 3
22 Catastrophe (-2, Dazed, Staggered)
22 Jason
19 Nightbird *


Nightbird is up! Catastrophe is out of range of your area attacks. You will need to stunt a power that has increased range: ranged or perception to hit him, or alternately, choose to give chase.
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Gilliam
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Gilliam »

Nightbird
HP: 6 > 5 LP: 1
Condition: Bruise x 1, (Fatigued if surge allowed)


It looked like Catastrophe was moving faster than what her bike could do even taking into account the time to grab it and then give chase.

"I know what you mean Jason, it is hard to find a good villain these days."

Focusing her voice Imogen let out a piecing whistle, something different but hopefully enough.
OOC wrote: Hmm if I am reading my character sheet right I only have a +2 attack if I use my Blast attack option so instead will use an HP and stunt

Ranged Attack 5 (Extra perception)

So should be an auto-hit for a DC20 Toughness Save

And if possible I would like to surge and repeat the attack which will mean fatigued end of round.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

Ysariel wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:31 am You transmit a reply by blinking on and off the glow of your Ring of Hope in a coded sequence. Amethyst thinks a bit before answering your first question.

"As far as we know, yeah. But the science around Daka crystals is fuzzy. There's a lot we still don't know about how they work and what they can do. So I wouldn't rule it out, either."

"As for hacking, that depends on how they're controlled. If they're remote-controlled by radio, like most military drones are, they can be hacked -- it's happened before. Especially if you have spies or insiders who might clue you in to vulnerabilities in the encryption.

"If they're AI-controlled, like bog standard supervillain robot minions, then the hacker needs physical access to the computer inside. For a drone that can fight and defend itself, that usually means physically disabling/restraining the machine and taking it apart."
Gelert keeps all this in mind as they go on.
Ysariel wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:31 am Amethyst follows you into the lift. Rex looks very smug as he taps a control and the doors close. You get the sense that he expects Amethyst to be impressed; for her part, she says nothing.

"The future of warfare is automated, Mr. Gelert," he says. "It's more reliable. More efficient. More economical. No veterans' bills to pay, no expensive and lengthy training process, no squeamish public needed to support the war effort against our enemies. We're keeping our soldiers home and saving American lives and money. There is an option for both remote control and piloted operation -- it's useful for medivac purposes and such, as you saw -- but I envision autonomous drones as the primary mode of operation."


"Now I'm not the biggest fan of war in general..." Gelert said in the understatement of the millennium as someone who literally tangled with war incarnate. "so I'm definitely gonna be biased when talking about it. While I like the idea of lessening casualties and these drones having peaceful applications, I'm concerned about one side of a conflict distancing themself from cost of war will simply lead to more of it. Sorry you didn't bring us here to debate wider issues of Philosophy or Ethics."

"Actually before we go on, something springs to mind Mr. Richards." Gelert added. "With all the efforts you've gone to keep this project a secret, how did Anarchy Command learn about it?"
Ysariel wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:31 am The lift glides to a stop and the doors open. Curious heads turn in your direction as Rex leads you through the production floor. The air is cold, air-conditioned, and smells of plastic, synthetic lubricant and freshly-machined titanium alloy. A woman in her mid-20's wearing a sharp business suit under a lab coat walks up accompanied by a small group of engineers and technicians. She looks at you and Amethyst, and her eyes narrow.

"This is Chief Technology Officer, Regina Grace," Rex introduces. "She will answer your questions -- within reason. We can't give away all our secrets, after all."

OOC

You can ask questions about the STARS technology. Neither Regina nor any of the engineers can lie to you on technical questions while Amethyst is present. You can also examine the suits, or interact with any of the NPC's present. At any time, you can chose to request to leave as well.


"Of course, I probably don't have the military or technical background to know what to ask to pry into too many of those secrets, but I'll try to keep my questions vague and general enough." Gelert says to Rex.

Gelert turns to Regina Grace. "Hello, thank you for fielding my questions Ma'am. I'm curious about a number of aspects of these S.T.A.R.S. but I'll start with the ones that are probably going to be the most awkward to talk about to get them out of the way. Are the effects of that super-power negating weapon these units are being sold on permanent or temporary?"

Gelert follows up with his next question. "Mr. Richards mentioned remote and piloted control options, but I presume these units are generally meant to function under automated AI guidance correct? Would each unit have its own AI or would they be controlled collectively by a single central one? Either approach has advantages and disadvantages that I can see. I ask because... well from my experience the quality and reliability of individual AI can vary wildly based on more developmental factors than I could possibly understand."

The difference between an AI like Amy, who was a digital person, and some mass produced robot minion brain was like comparing a hand carved mahogany desk and a piece of press board because they were both technically being made from wood.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Psistrike »

Moonlight
HP: 4 LP: 0
Condition: -2 [bruises], Bound [Defenseless, Immobile, Impaired]

Moonlight barrier of hardened water blunts the force of Calamity's blow against her completely, but it strained the barrier just enough to weaken it some. The force of the blow was enough to set Moonlight off-guard to the sudden grab by her force leaving her grabbed the throat. Grabbed as she was, she couldn't avoid the torpedo's explosion and had to rely on her hard-water barrier to blunt it once again, the strain weakening it once again. In a similar situation before with the N.O.M.U., Moonlight decides to force her opponent to release her by entrapping her foe herself. Focusing on the water around Calamity, she combines her power over air to cause it to flash freeze in a near-instant around her foe.

OOC: First Toughness check: Toughness check: 1d20+14 21 Failed by one degree, Bruised. Athletics check: Athletics check: 1d20+5 6 2nd Toughness check: Toughness check: 1d20+13 24 Another Bruise. Attack roll for Nature Entraps [ice descriptor] +2 DC, -2 Atk: Attack roll: 1d20+10 26 DC 23 Dodge check to avoid affliction. Edit: Forgot to account for Impared from being grabbed in 2nd Toughness check and Attack roll I made. Totals should be 22 and 24, no change to degree of failure on 2nd Toughness check.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Gelert & Amethyst
General Arms Systems -- Underground STARS assembly plant
stavaros_the_arcane wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:28 pm "Actually before we go on, something springs to mind Mr. Richards." Gelert added. "With all the efforts you've gone to keep this project a secret, how did Anarchy Command learn about it?"
"Clearly," Richards comments, "there has been a security breach. Nobody can keep a secret these days. You know how it is in this age: every tattletale, whistleblower and foreign spy wants to spill the beans for five minutes of fame -- or a few hundred grand. A full-scale security audit will be held once the immediate threat is dealt with."
Insight - result of 28

You judge that Richards is lying through his teeth. That is, however the Anarchy Command learned about the STARS weapons, it was not due to a spy, inside job, hacking attack, or similar security breach.
Gelert turns to Regina Grace. "Hello, thank you for fielding my questions Ma'am. I'm curious about a number of aspects of these S.T.A.R.S. but I'll start with the ones that are probably going to be the most awkward to talk about to get them out of the way. Are the effects of that super-power negating weapon these units are being sold on permanent or temporary?"
"The effects are temporary," Regina Grace says. "How fast the subjects recover from the effects depends on the strength of their powers, but full capacity is restored within minutes of being hit -- or leaving the area of effect, in the case of the nullifier field."

"I'm sure you'd like them to be permanent," Amethyst says evenly.

Richards smirks. Ms. Grace merely looks back, stone-faced. "No comment," she says.
Gelert follows up with his next question. "Mr. Richards mentioned remote and piloted control options, but I presume these units are generally meant to function under automated AI guidance correct? Would each unit have its own AI or would they be controlled collectively by a single central one? Either approach has advantages and disadvantages that I can see. I ask because... well from my experience the quality and reliability of individual AI can vary wildly based on more developmental factors than I could possibly understand."
"Each STARS unit has its own independent AI core," Regina Grace says. "There is no central, controlling AI system -- such a topology would be vulnerable to a decapitating strike on the central AI unit."

Richards smirks. "Come on, Mr. Gelert. I know what you're really thinking. We've all read the comic-books and seen the sci-fi flicks: military turns over control of weapons to an AI, AI turns evil and decides to kill all humans, spunky heroes lead a rag-tag resistance to destroy SkyNet, Ultron, WOPR or whatever it is. Well, rest assured there'll be none of that going on here."

"Doesn't that come with a pretty big performance penalty?" Amethyst asks. "High-performance AI systems are power-hungry. The kind of AI that can be installed in a mass-produced drone like this is about as smart as your average supervillain robot mooks. That is, not very."

"These are specialized weapons," Ms. Grace says coldly. "We don't expect them to perform the full range of tasks an infantryman must."

"Which is the point," Richards helpfully adds. "They don't need to think for themselves. They just need to follow orders. The model soldier."

Amethyst turns to you and shrugs.
Perception

At this moment, out of the corner of your eye, you notice one of the STARS unit's optical sensor swivel to focus on you for a moment; then it swivels back to the neutral resting position. Nobody else seems to notice it, as most of the attention in the room is on the two heroes.
After a pause, Ms. Grace adjusts her glasses. "I will now bring you to observe the fabricator unit, which is what manufactures the drones and which we believe will be the primary target in a supervillain attack. If you have more questions, feel free to ask them along the way."

OOC

You can investigate the STARS unit that looked at you momentarily.

You can also ask more questions of Richards and Ms. Grace.

At any point, you can also end the interview by telling Rex you want to leave. You can also do whatever else you consider reasonable.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by stavaros_the_arcane »

Ysariel wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:26 am Gelert & Amethyst
General Arms Systems -- Underground STARS assembly plant
stavaros_the_arcane wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:28 pm "Actually before we go on, something springs to mind Mr. Richards." Gelert added. "With all the efforts you've gone to keep this project a secret, how did Anarchy Command learn about it?"
"Clearly," Richards comments, "there has been a security breach. Nobody can keep a secret these days. You know how it is in this age: every tattletale, whistleblower and foreign spy wants to spill the beans for five minutes of fame -- or a few hundred grand. A full-scale security audit will be held once the immediate threat is dealt with."
Insight - result of 28

You judge that Richards is lying through his teeth. That is, however the Anarchy Command learned about the STARS weapons, it was not due to a spy, inside job, hacking attack, or similar security breach.
Gelert makes a mental note of this. Pressing Richards on that point isn't likely to yield any useful results without something to back it up. But its certainly something to investigate further. Who knows what kind of double dealing an arms developer or one of his subordinants might get up to for the right price?
Ysariel wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:26 am
Gelert turns to Regina Grace. "Hello, thank you for fielding my questions Ma'am. I'm curious about a number of aspects of these S.T.A.R.S. but I'll start with the ones that are probably going to be the most awkward to talk about to get them out of the way. Are the effects of that super-power negating weapon these units are being sold on permanent or temporary?"
"The effects are temporary," Regina Grace says. "How fast the subjects recover from the effects depends on the strength of their powers, but full capacity is restored within minutes of being hit -- or leaving the area of effect, in the case of the nullifier field."

"I'm sure you'd like them to be permanent," Amethyst says evenly.

Richards smirks. Ms. Grace merely looks back, stone-faced. "No comment," she says.
"Honestly hearing that is one less worry for me. Temporary weapon is more difficult to abuse. I mean you can understand how the idea of a weapon designed to permanently cripple someone might have bad optics. It would be like designing a weapon that gave people Cerebral Palsy." Gelert said intentionally pointing out a way of viewing such a weapon that would look the most monstrous to say, the media. "Also I imagine such a weapon has limitations beyond effect duration. It would probably be less reliable against non-humans with abilities naturally beyond the average human range, or individuals with technology based enhancements."
Ysariel wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:26 am
Gelert follows up with his next question. "Mr. Richards mentioned remote and piloted control options, but I presume these units are generally meant to function under automated AI guidance correct? Would each unit have its own AI or would they be controlled collectively by a single central one? Either approach has advantages and disadvantages that I can see. I ask because... well from my experience the quality and reliability of individual AI can vary wildly based on more developmental factors than I could possibly understand."
"Each STARS unit has its own independent AI core," Regina Grace says. "There is no central, controlling AI system -- such a topology would be vulnerable to a decapitating strike on the central AI unit."

Richards smirks. "Come on, Mr. Gelert. I know what you're really thinking. We've all read the comic-books and seen the sci-fi flicks: military turns over control of weapons to an AI, AI turns evil and decides to kill all humans, spunky heroes lead a rag-tag resistance to destroy SkyNet, Ultron, WOPR or whatever it is. Well, rest assured there'll be none of that going on here."
"Well I'm glad that scenario is off the table. I've seen an alternate future with a rag-tag resistance. It wasn't fun. Its not the only concerning scenario I have in mind, but not having a single point of failure puts several of them to rest." Gelert remarked. Honestly Gelert was more concerned with the humans giving the orders doing something terrible with the S.T.A.R.S units than the units doing so under their own initiative.
Ysariel wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:26 am "Doesn't that come with a pretty big performance penalty?" Amethyst asks. "High-performance AI systems are power-hungry. The kind of AI that can be installed in a mass-produced drone like this is about as smart as your average supervillain robot mooks. That is, not very."

"These are specialized weapons," Ms. Grace says coldly. "We don't expect them to perform the full range of tasks an infantryman must."

"Which is the point," Richards helpfully adds. "They don't need to think for themselves. They just need to follow orders. The model soldier."

Amethyst turns to you and shrugs.
Gelert looks like he's about to say something but stops himself. "No, I promised myself not to start a debate about ethics and morality with a weapons developer. Not going to get into that. That said, I'm sure there's some potential draw-backs to the minimized AI set-up... like how specific or literal an order has to be for the AI to follow them as intended. What's the saying 'a computer will do exactly what you tell it to do, not always what you want it to do' or something? I'm sure your software ad programing people have already looked into that sort of thing."
Ysariel wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:26 am
Perception

At this moment, out of the corner of your eye, you notice one of the STARS unit's optical sensor swivel to focus on you for a moment; then it swivels back to the neutral resting position. Nobody else seems to notice it, as most of the attention in the room is on the two heroes.
After a pause, Ms. Grace adjusts her glasses. "I will now bring you to observe the fabricator unit, which is what manufactures the drones and which we believe will be the primary target in a supervillain attack. If you have more questions, feel free to ask them along the way."
"If you don't mind, I'm just going to take a closer look at something real quick. Won't take long." Gelert says before he zips over to inspect the S.T.A.R.S unit he saw looking at him.
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Jason & Nightbird
Small cove --> Over the Pacific Ocean
Gilliam wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 5:36 pm "I know what you mean Jason, it is hard to find a good villain these days."
You activate a remote control and your bike, which you need to think up an awesome name for, hovers into place next to you. You turn the throttle open wide and its repulsorlift drives kick into full gear, rocketing you over the ocean.

Catastrophe hears the noise over the roar of the sea, turns around, and sees you approaching. He quickly keys his commlink. "Sister, what are you doing? Stop tangling with the hero and support me!"
Intellect -- 1 rank

It strikes you that you have not yet found the location of the Anarchy Command's seaborne base, whatever it is, and that Catastrophe may actually be heading directly for it.
OOC

Nightbird's bike's flight speed of 8 is 1 lower than Catastrophe's effective flight speed of 9. However, given that you use your action to start giving chase rather than attacking, you move twice the distance (effectively flight 9 for a round) and can engage him at once for the duration of round 4. Next round, round 5, you will need to make a Vehicles check to successfully keep up the chase and be able to attack him. Alternatively, you can double move in round 5 and be in engagement distance again in round 6.

Catastrophe goes first, following his turn in the initiative order. Since he is Staggered, if he stops and attacks you, he cannot move forward and this will allow all characters to engage him freely until the start of his next turn. So instead he chooses to spend his action moving forward.

Jason goes next. Jason can catch up to Catastrophe with his Extended teleport, however extended teleport requires 2 move actions, or a full round, to use. In other words, you can pursue but will only be able to engage in round 5.

This brings us back to Nightbird.

Round 4, in pursuit
22 Catastrophe (-2, Staggered) -- Flight 10(9)
22 Jason -- Extended teleport 7
19 Nightbird -- Flight 8 *


Nightbird is up!
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Moonlight
Undersea
Psistrike wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:30 pm Moonlight barrier of hardened water blunts the force of Calamity's blow against her completely, but it strained the barrier just enough to weaken it some. The force of the blow was enough to set Moonlight off-guard to the sudden grab by her force leaving her grabbed the throat. Grabbed as she was, she couldn't avoid the torpedo's explosion and had to rely on her hard-water barrier to blunt it once again, the strain weakening it once again. In a similar situation before with the N.O.M.U., Moonlight decides to force her opponent to release her by entrapping her foe herself. Focusing on the water around Calamity, she combines her power over air to cause it to flash freeze in a near-instant around her foe.
Streams of bubbles trail away from you and Moonlight as both of you tumble into the darkness of the sea. In the dim sunlight filtering from above the waves, light suddenly sparkles about Calamity: microscopic ice crystals forming in the water about her. In less than a second her scaly, blue-tinged skin is covered in solid glacial ice as you turn her into a human (?) popsicle. She looks positively offended.

"Release me, little twerp! Release me or I snap your neck!" Calamity tightens her crushing grip on you. A pause. "And shut up, useless weakling! Fend for yourself, or answer to the General on your own!"

The second part seems directed not at you, but whoever she is talking to by radio.


OOC

AA Catastrophe Dodge DC 23: 1D20+13 = [4]+13 = 17

Fails by 6, or 2 degrees. Calamity is defenseless and immobilized. Note that if you roll to hit her, any successful hit is also an automatic critical.

On her turn Calamity applies her strength damage to you as a standard action: make a DC 26 Toughness check vs Damage.

The submarine takes no action on its turn.

At any point you can try to break out by spending a Move action and making an athletics or strength check. Calamity has Improved Grab, so the check to break out is 5 higher than to resist, ie DC 26.

Round 2
26 Moonlight *
20 Calamity (-1, Immobile & defenseless)
-- Tempest-class Attack Sub (vehicle, immobile & defenseless)
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Psistrike
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Psistrike »

Moonlight
HP: 4 LP: 0
Condition: -3 Toughness, Bound [Defenseless, Immobile, Impaired], Dazed for 1 round

Still stuck in the grip of her scaley foe, Aranel feels Calamity's grip tighten around her neck and bruise her even through her solid water barrier. "Okay, it's my turn now." With a vicious glare, she willed the ice holding Calamity to form spikes on the inside and rapidly extend into her foe's body.

OOC: Toughness check: Toughness check: 1d20+12 19 -1 Toughness, Dazed for 1 round. Oops, forgot Impaired, but same result. Attack roll for Nature Strikes [ice, spikes descriptor], +5 DC, -5 Atk: Attack roll: 1d20+5 21 DC 37 with the automatic crit.
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Gilliam
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Gilliam »

Nightbird
HP: 6 LP: 1
Condition: Normal


With a whistle actually a subtle press of a button her flying bike appeared by her side like magic,

"Sorry Jason with 2 people on the bike we will never catch him but with one might be able to get him, check with Aranel if she needs any help with the sub if you can't follow."

Hopping on she tore off after Catastrophe, turning the throttle right round the flying bike took off like a rocket, the upgrades Liam had made all that time ago were still top of the line and allowed her to keep up with some of her more faster and powerful teammates.
Ysariel wrote: Catastrophe hears the noise over the roar of the sea, turns around, and sees you approaching. He quickly keys his commlink. "Sister, what are you doing? Stop tangling with the hero and support me!"
"Heads up Catastrophe has a sister nearby be careful" Imogen advised to Jason and Aranel on her own commlink.

Looks like Catastrophe must have been injured from their previous encounter as he seemed a bit woobly in his flight although still moving fast, pulling the bike up next to him Imogen lashed out with a kick.
OOC wrote: Nightbird PA +/-2
Nightbird PA +2: 1d20+15-2 18
Use an HP

Nightbird PA +2: 1d20+15-2 26

If there are any penalties for attacking on a flying bike just deduct from above rolls and if her second attack still hits then a DC26 Toughness Save.


[/OOC]
Ysariel
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Re: Adventures Assemble S3E1: Enemies of the State!

Post by Ysariel »

Gelert & Amethyst
General Arms Systems -- Underground STARS assembly plant
stavaros_the_arcane wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:33 pm"Honestly hearing that is one less worry for me. Temporary weapon is more difficult to abuse. I mean you can understand how the idea of a weapon designed to permanently cripple someone might have bad optics. It would be like designing a weapon that gave people Cerebral Palsy."
Richards snorts. "Mr. Gelert, I know what you're implying. And I'm sure that in a few decades, the courts will take your side and update the Geneva Accords to reflect that it is against the laws of war to permanently de-power a superhuman. Until such a time, our battle is one with more gravitas than the one being waged in the court of public opinion. See, the nature of technology is that if we don't produce such weapons first, someone else will. And China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and North Korea are not going to be as humane as us in their deployment. I remind you that 98% of China's metahuman population was massacred during the pogroms in the late 50's, with the covert aid of Soviet super-soldiers. Imagine what they would do with today's technology."

"If it is at all possible to produce these weapons, then for our security and the world's, America must have them first -- and have more and better ones than anyone else." He smiles his smug, self-satisfied smile, and makes a scissors-like gesture with two fingers. "If it helps, think of it as chemical castration for the super-powered and dangerous."
"Also I imagine such a weapon has limitations beyond effect duration. It would probably be less reliable against non-humans with abilities naturally beyond the average human range, or individuals with technology based enhancements.
"Oh, but that's the beauty of this technology," Richards says with a broad grin. "It doesn't."

"We've tested it on aliens, mutants, super-science devices, the works. Any abnormal crap that gets in the way of the average, honest American citizen gets shut down --" he snaps his fingers -- "just like that."

Ms Grace adjusts her glasses. "The technology works against subjects resistant or immune to AEGIS power-nullifier restraints, which are based off nerve impulse disruption and are far more limited in application. As far as anyone can tell, it has no blind spots."
"That said, I'm sure there's some potential draw-backs to the minimized AI set-up... like how specific or literal an order has to be for the AI to follow them as intended. What's the saying 'a computer will do exactly what you tell it to do, not always what you want it to do' or something? I'm sure your software ad programing people have already looked into that sort of thing."
Regina's voice is as cold as liquid nitrogen. Actually, she sounds like she's talking through gritted teeth. "Naturally," she hisses. "We have."

"Have you given up trying to decode and use the black box AI technology you got from my old company when you bought it?" Amethyst looks as smug as a million bucks.

"We're moving on to something better," Richards cuts in before Ms. Grace can say anything. "Technology that's proven, reliable, scaleable, and not based on some wildcard genius's whims." He pauses and seems to remember who he's talking to. "Of course, if you want to come and work under my wing and build something more, ahh, suitable for commercialization..."

"You know what they say about the definition of insanity, Rex."
"If you don't mind, I'm just going to take a closer look at something real quick. Won't take long." Gelert says before he zips over to inspect the S.T.A.R.S unit he saw looking at him.
The STARS drone in question stands approximately 7.5 feet tall and is covered in angular grey metal armor. There is a prominent chest projector and wrist-mounted emitter for the nullifier beams. The other hand is equipped with a laser blaster, and the shoulders carry missile pods. The "face" sports a V-shaped sensor array, within which you can see the optical sensor nestle, like a cyclopean eye. It is connected to a supporting harness by cables and restraining arms. Computer monitors on the harness display all manner of readouts and statistical data. However, the unit does not show any further movement of its own.

You hear Richards' voice from behind you. "Hey. Hey!"

He hurries up to you with Regina in tow. "What, exactly, are you doing?" he demands.


OOC

You don't have the Technology skill. Instead, you can make a DC 25 Persuasion check to ask Rex to instruct his engineers to examine the STARS unit in question for anything untoward, or to allow Amethyst to do so. If you inform Rex that the unit looked at you, the DC decreases by 2, to DC 23.

You can poke and prod the unit physically (no check required) to try and get a response.

Alternately, you can decide not to pursue the issue further and continue with the tour, where you will be shown the fabricator unit.

You can also do anything else you consider reasonable.
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