Adventures Assemble S3E3: The Great Brain Robbery!

[Ysariel]

Nightbird
Aboard the Ragnarok - Reactor Room

"Professor I am soo sorry, I didn't hurt you."

You punch the Professor in what looks like the weakest spot in the armor -- the belly, just below the heavily-armored glacis of the chestplate. Professor Pandemonium's battlesuit, built in the rugged, bulky Soviet style, dents under the blow but suffers no catastrophic failure as you land a solid but not critical blow.

"You insolent filth! I knew I should've known better than to trust sub-standard equipment from an American defense contractor to hold you." Then a revelation seems to strike him. "By the moons of Jupiter... TREACHERY! That lying scoundrel must've deliberately gave us defective units so that you would escape and cause havoc. You'll pay for this, Regina Grace! Not all your fancy lawyers and PMC's can save you from what I'll do to you!" she shakes his gigantic armored fist (twice the diameter of your skull) in fury.

You stop just at the open hatch in the bulkhead. Ahead, you see another dimly lit tunnel through the submarine.

Perception - Result of 24
You hear, faintly, the sound of sloshing water in that direction. The ship does not seem to have been directly hit yet, so it is unlikely to be battle damage. It might indicate some kind of dock or hangar for the Ragnarok to deploy its own smaller submarines, not impossible given its titanic size.

OOC
AA Professor Pandemonium Toughness DC 29: 1D20+14-2 = [12]+14-2 = 24

Failed by 5, -1 penalty

By the way, I forgot the Pandemonium should be -2 from his previous combat, as he has not had an opportunity to rest yet. This brings him to -3.

Round 1
24 Nightbird
18 Spellbinder *
17 Professor Pandemonium (-3)
10 Moonlight (Impaired)

[kenseido]

Spellbinder
HP: 5, Condition: Fatigued

Jason smiles as the "guard" executes a near perfect punch in passing PP on the way out the door while panicking. He lost track of the ladies, but that was almost certainly Genie.

"Hey, Double P! Thanks for having them shut off the engine," he calls out. He then points at the engine core and as the illusion fades away.

"Now I can break it for real. Afflicto!"

His hand reaches out toward the cylinder surrounding the engine and magic bolts fire out.

Targeting the shield protecting the engine.
Afflicto [PA] 2: 1d20+10-2 18
With the crit for rolling, that is a DC36 TOU save

[Ysariel]

Spellbinder
Aboard the Ragnarok - Reactor Room

"Now I can break it for real. Afflicto!"

His hand reaches out toward the cylinder surrounding the engine and magic bolts fire out.

OOC
AA Antimatter reactor core Toughness DC 36: 1D20+15 = [10]+15 = 25
That is just barely a 3rd degree failure (by 11); destroyed

Your magic bolt punches through the containment field surrounding the deactivated reactor core and deep into the nest of machinery at the top, then explodes inside, causing a shower of sparks to rain down on everyone. A second later, there is the KRAAAAAKK sound of deforming metal as something heavy breaks loose inside of it. Then the entire top half of the reactor, a roughly conical-shaped mass of electron arc projectors and antimatter feed control devices, tears free of the ceiling and crashes into the bottom half, shattering it; little metal parts skitter about your feet like a million ball bearings. Finally something detonates deep in the bowels of the ship under you and flames leap up around the wreckage. The sprinkler system dutifully turns on.

You can't really see the 'O' Professor Pandemonium's mouth is making inside the helmet; however, you sure can hear it.

"OooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHATHAVEYOUDONE?!" He screams, as the missile pods on his shoulders -- both of them -- fire wildly and discharge their entire payloads in a single barrage at Spellbinder. Crackling chaos energy, surrounds the mage like multicolored lightning as the warheads explode.

OOC
It is now Professor Pandemonium's turn. He uses Haywire Missile on Spellbinder.

AA Professor Pandemonium: 1D20+10 = [18]+10 = 28
Hits; make a DC 29 Toughness check.

This attack also has a custom extra called Scramble Powers that switches your arrays for you. For each array that you have, number the slots from top to bottom, starting from 1. Then roll 1dX, where X is the number of slots in your array. Your array is switched to the result of the roll until the end of your next turn, after which you can switch it freely again (essentially you're stuck on that specific slot for a round). This doesn't prevent you from using a power stunt.

He then surges again for another attack, this time using AOA 5.

Professor Pandemonium uses Massacre Missiles on Spellbinder.
AA Professor Pandemonium AOA 5: 1D20+10+5 = [6]+10+5 = 21
The missiles miss. No effect

Round 1
24 Nightbird
18 Spellbinder
17 Professor Pandemonium (-3, AOA 5, Fatigued on turn)
10 Moonlight (Impaired) *

Moonlight is up!

[stavaros_the_arcane]

Gelert
General Arms Systems -- Headquarters

"Gelert has a pretty sharp nose," Amethyst points out. "And the General didn't seem too concerned about covering her tracks."

"She also claimed to have 'defeated' Mr. Maxwell, Nightbird and Moonlight. They are still missing," Amy reminds you. The camera drone floats down next to you. "We should free them and confront her as a team. I have faith."


OOC

You can try to track General Havoc, if you like, as you have a Tracking sense; make a perception check. Your degrees of success (or failure) will determine the result.

You can also search for Nightbird, Moonlight & Spellbinder (no check required). You can also do whatever else you consider reasonable.

"I'll see if I can get a scent trail on the general,meanwhile try and raise the others on the comm." Gelert said. "If the others have been captured both they and the general might be heading to the same place. If we can't get in touch with the others I can break off the hunt."

OOC: perception 1d20+10: 20

[Psistrike]

Moonlight
HP: 6 LP: 0
Condition: Impaired

"This ship is going down, and I'm going to make sure it stays down!" Moonlight focuses all of her power on creating a massive column of stone plunging upward through the ship's structure in an attempt to tear it in two.

OOC: Attack roll for Nature Strikes [earth descriptor] on the ship itself since we are inside it, -5 Atk, +5 DC: https://orokos.com/roll/937786 Exactly makes the 10 attack roll versus an inanimate object, so DC 37 for the ship to resist.

[Ysariel]

Moonlight
Aboard the Ragnarok - Reactor Room

"This ship is going down, and I'm going to make sure it stays down!" Moonlight focuses all of her power on creating a massive column of stone plunging upward through the ship's structure in an attempt to tear it in two.

OOC

Well, this is an interesting situation. The Ragnarok doesn't have a toughness score (though it does have outer hull toughness 20). Even if the pressure hull is penetrated and the redundant and self-repair systems defeated, for a ship of this size to sink can take hours.

However you can certainly inflict serious damage on the ship. It's simple enough to blast through both the decks below and above you, however a separate attack is needed to penetrate the pressure hull of the Ragnarok.

The spear of rock tears through the deck plating of the room, sending rivets popping like seeds from a pod. Then, with the moan of twisting metal, the stalagmite together with the ruined husk of the reactor tears free from the rest of the floor and ceiling, ripping open a massive hole above and below you, before it crashes to the deck below with the sound of shattering glass.

Through the yawning hole in the floor you can see that the Ragnarok's cargo deck is packed full of cylindrical bio-stasis tanks, like cans of soft drinks in a crate. Each cylinder is some six feet in diameter and twice as tall, with a metal base that houses electronic monitoring equipment. The interior of the tanks are filled with some kind of clear fluid, and each one houses a muscle-bound, hulking figure that Moonlight recognizes.



N.O.M.U. There must be hundreds of them, thousands. An army for the conquest of the United States. You have found at last the invasion force that General Havoc prepared.

"Fools!" screams Professor Pandemonium. "You've gone and awoken them -- and they aren't going to be in a good mood!"

Your attack seems to have smashed three of the tanks, and from within you can hear low growls as the N.O.M.U. begin to emerge. The other tanks, however, remain dormant for now.

OOC

You tear open a hole leading both upwards to the crew quarters and armory, and downwards to the cargo deck under you, which is where General Havoc's army is stored. Your attack damages three of the tanks, allowing the N.O.M.U. within to emerge. They are awakening, however they will be able to act freely on their next turn.

Round 2
24 Nightbird*
18 Spellbinder
17 Professor Pandemonium (-3, AOA 5, Fatigued on turn)
10 Moonlight (Impaired)
-- N.O.M.U. x3 (squad, minion)

Nightbird is up!

[Ysariel]

Gelert
General Arms Systems --> Over the Pacific

"I'll see if I can get a scent trail on the general,meanwhile try and raise the others on the comm." Gelert said. "If the others have been captured both they and the general might be heading to the same place. If we can't get in touch with the others I can break off the hunt."

"We've been trying for the past twenty minutes," Amy says. "However, there's been no response. They are either out of range, or whatever place they are in, it's not very friendly to radio transmissions."

You fly off following General Havoc's scent on the wind. It is very difficult, as Phoenix Bay being a major metropolis as well as a city by the sea, the trail is muddled by both pollution from the city and the strong sea breeze blowing in towards the bay. However your persistence pays off as you soar out over the Pacific and within minutes, spot plumes of smoke visible from over the horizon as well as heavily damaged U.S. Navy ships -- the aftermath of the battle between the Anarchy Command forces and the Navy. You spot a trio of U.S. F-35 fighters flying in the same direction from behind you; one of them waggles its wings as it passes, and they adjust speed and course to match you.

Your commlink crackles to life. "Attention, Gelert. This is Rear Admiral Mark Gilmore, commanding Carrier Strike Group Nine aboard the USS John F. Kennedy. We have held off the Anarchy Command fleet, but drones report a massive submarine of some kind has just surfaced and we are not in a position to deal with it immediately. It may be their flagship. If you are able and willing to take care of it, aircraft from the fleet will escort you there."

"Be advised that radar detected a lone superhuman approaching the surfaced submarine less than a minute ago at extremely high speed. We don't have any positive ID on who it might be."

The F-35's change course to lead you further out over the Pacific. Very soon, you spot the surfaced ship that the Admiral mentioned. Massive does not begin to describe it; the only larger ship you have ever seen was Lord Steel's battleship, which served for a time as your headquarters. However as you and the planes approach, the ship does not open fire, and seems to lie perfectly still. It does not have a conning tower as a conventional sub does, and you can't spot any windows or visible entrances on the top side of the ship.

OOC

You can try to blast through the outer hull of the ship. No check is required, since you do actually have enough damage to break through the hull toughness eventually, but this is very attention-grabbing and takes time.

Alternately, since you have life support, you can try to approach the ship from underwater and see if there is any kind of entrance from there.

You can also contact the USS John F. Kennedy, or do anything else you consider reasonable.

[Gilliam]

Nightbird
HP: 4 > 3 LP: 1
Condition: Normal


Looking down into the hold below, Imogen could see some of the creatures emerging from their capsules, they looked a lot like the creature Aranel had described fighting not that long ago.

Tempted to try a scream, Imogen decided to take the direct approach to hopefully avoid damaging anymore of the containers.

"What machineman said, lets not damage anymore of the containers down there."

Jumping down Imogen tried to take advantage of the creatures confusion with a multitude of punches and kicks before attempting to move away from them.

Nightbird will use Move by Action to move down to the Nomus and PA +/-5 using Takedown 2 to try and defeat all of them. If possible at the end of her turn she will use any spare movement points to either move back up to where she was or to try and get away from the Nomus.

Nightbird PA +/- 5
Nightbird PA +5: 1d20+14-5 16
HP to reroll

Nightbird PA +5: 1d20+14-5 24
DC28 Toughness Save

[Ysariel]

Nightbird
board the Ragnarok - Reactor Room

"What machineman said, lets not damage anymore of the containers down there."

Jumping down Imogen tried to take advantage of the creatures confusion with a multitude of punches and kicks before attempting to move away from them.

You leap down and blitz through the three awakening N.O.M.U., striking at joints, soft tissues and other exposed weak spots in a familiar assault, each blow filling the Ragnarok' hull with a sharp CRACK! as it lands. However the N.O.M.U.'s gene-engineered muscle and dense subdermal armor absorb your blows with inhuman effectiveness, and their nerve centers and pressure points are completely different compared to a normal human. They're actually tougher than a tank -- and you've punched tanks (or close enough equivalents) before. They growl, crack their joints and rise to both feet, unfazed by your attack.

OOC

For Nightbird, your HP is refunded as a 16 is actually (barely) a hit.

AA NOMU Toughness DC 28: 1D20+14 = [19]+14 = 33
Passed, no effect

Round 2
24 Nightbird
18 Spellbinder*
17 Professor Pandemonium (-3, AOA 5, Fatigued on turn)
10 Moonlight (Impaired)
-- N.O.M.U. x3 (squad, minion)

Spellbinder is up!

[kenseido]

Spellbinder
HP: 5 (-1=4), Condition: Bx1, Fatigued

The missile catches him by surprise, but well-trained battle reflexes keep him from getting completely taken down. Instinctively covering and rolling away - plus a well-crafted Armor rune - minimize the damage to minor bruising. Not that you could tell from his immaculately white costume.

The energy around him is weird. The effects are similar to a chaos storm but without any actual chaos magic. His vision immediately starts to shift and he can see all around him.

But that is a momentary distraction, as he begins casting Afflicto only for the spell to be twisted and form a shield around him instead.

TOU save: 1d20+10 11
Yeah, no. HP to reroll: 1d20+10 25
Bx1

Personal Magic Array: 1d8 7
Specto: Senses 9 (Radius Vision, Vision Counters Illusion & All Concealment)

Sorceryc Array: 1d6 2
Contego: Create 12 (Impervious, Stationary; Close Range)

I don't know if there is anything Specto would indicate as illusion or concealed.
Uses Contego to cast a shield around him.

[Gilliam]

Nightbird
HP: 3 > 4 LP: 1
Condition: Normal

You leap down and blitz through the three awakening N.O.M.U., striking at joints, soft tissues and other exposed weak spots in a familiar assault, each blow filling the Ragnarok' hull with a sharp CRACK! as it lands. However the N.O.M.U.'s gene-engineered muscle and dense subdermal armor absorb your blows with inhuman effectiveness, and their nerve centers and pressure points are completely different compared to a normal human. They're actually tougher than a tank -- and you've punched tanks (or close enough equivalents) before. They growl, crack their joints and rise to both feet, unfazed by your attack.

No impact whatsoever, these things are tough and will be a challenge.

"These things are as tough as they look, lets take them down but we need to ensure no more of them are released by accident."

[stavaros_the_arcane]

GELERT

Your commlink crackles to life. "Attention, Gelert. This is Rear Admiral Mark Gilmore, commanding Carrier Strike Group Nine aboard the USS John F. Kennedy. We have held off the Anarchy Command fleet, but drones report a massive submarine of some kind has just surfaced and we are not in a position to deal with it immediately. It may be their flagship. If you are able and willing to take care of it, aircraft from the fleet will escort you there."

"Be advised that radar detected a lone superhuman approaching the surfaced submarine less than a minute ago at extremely high speed. We don't have any positive ID on who it might be."

"Roger that Rear Admiral Gilmore, I will handle the sub. From the sound of it, the high speed superhuman you saw might be General havoc, who I was tracking anyways. Lead the way." Gelert replies following the Navy's guidance.

The F-35's change course to lead you further out over the Pacific. Very soon, you spot the surfaced ship that the Admiral mentioned. Massive does not begin to describe it; the only larger ship you have ever seen was Lord Steel's battleship, which served for a time as your headquarters. However as you and the planes approach, the ship does not open fire, and seems to lie perfectly still. It does not have a conning tower as a conventional sub does, and you can't spot any windows or visible entrances on the top side of the ship.

OOC

You can try to blast through the outer hull of the ship. No check is required, since you do actually have enough damage to break through the hull toughness eventually, but this is very attention-grabbing and takes time.

Alternately, since you have life support, you can try to approach the ship from underwater and see if there is any kind of entrance from there.

You can also contact the USS John F. Kennedy, or do anything else you consider reasonable.

"USS John F Kennedy, be advised that I am approaching the enemy vessel. Thanks for the escort and be careful." Gelert sends to the Navy vessel before approaching the sub.

Gelert decides to take the straight forward approach. Blasting his way through the top might be attention grabbing but it would make it more difficult for the vessel to dive again.

[Ysariel]

Spellbinder
Aboard the Ragnarok - Reactor Room

"My beautiful ship ruined! The Doctor's monsters running free! And the General herself is nowhere to be seen! A terrible day this has been... but I am NOT going down with the ship." He stabs a finger at all of you. "I will remember the three of you, make no mistake. The next time we meet, you shall all pay dearly for wrecking Professor Pandemonium's masterpiece of engineering."

A lightsaber-like flare of plasma erupts from the Professor's right gauntlet. The battlesuit's servos creak and strain, bringing the plasma torch close to the rock and stone encasing his torso, and the granite glows molten red before sloughing off the armor like glue, hissing as it spills onto the steel floor below. Within seconds the Professor has cut away enough of the rock to free his suit and the remaining weakened stone shatters into fragments as he breaks free. The room fills with the roar and smoke of rocket engines as he engages the jet boots and flies up through the hole in the ceiling to the armory deck above.

OOC

I don't know if there is anything Specto would indicate as illusion or concealed.

You do not notice any illusory or concealed effects. If anything, at least Baron Bedlam is not hanging around to cause further trouble.

On his turn Professor Pandemonium recovers from AOA and is now Fatigued. He choses not to attack. Instead he attempts to counter Moonlight's affliction effect, which he can do with a power of an appropriate descriptor, in this case his Plasma Torch.

AA Pandemonium power check DC 21: 1D20+14 = [15]+14 = 29 Passed. He recovers from the affliction and is free again.

With his move action he engages his Rocket Drive and flies up through the hole in the ceiling left by the top half of the reactor. He is not able to move his full movement distance through the cramped ship (due to lacking Quickness), but he can advance far enough that none of the heroes have line of sight to him any more.

You can follow him through the roof to the deck above if you have Flight of any rank, Leaping or any rank or at least 4 ranks of Acrobatics. If you chose not to follow him then the combat is over.

Round 3
24 Nightbird
18 Spellbinder (Created shield)
17 Professor Pandemonium (-3, Fatigued)
10 Moonlight (Impaired) *
-- N.O.M.U. x3 (squad, minion)

Moonlight is up!

[Ysariel]

"USS John F Kennedy, be advised that I am approaching the enemy vessel. Thanks for the escort and be careful." Gelert sends to the Navy vessel before approaching the sub.

Gelert decides to take the straight forward approach. Blasting his way through the top might be attention grabbing but it would make it more difficult for the vessel to dive again.

The hull of the Ragnarok is not only stealthy, but hardened against nuclear, chemical, biological and super-powered attack. Your first blast shatters the anechoic sound-absorbing tiles on its surface, exposing the super-alloy armor beneath, and it takes half a dozen blasts more before you cave in the ship's top hull and blast a hole into the dark, stuffy innards. Judging by the lack of light, and the dark computer monitors everywhere, you take it that you are at the bridge of the ship -- and that it's lost power, somehow.

Standing before the Captain's chair is a blonde, fair-skinned woman wearing a white leotard under a scientist's lab coat. She looks furious, and she is surrounded by equally furious R.I.O.T. troops that all have their guns pointed at you.

"What?! The dog?" the woman, who is evidently in charge here, exclaims. "But General Havoc left to deal with you and G.A.S. Could it be..."

The R.I.O.T. troops hesitate. The Anarchy Command is infamously fractious. The death or defeat of the current head honcho would precipitate a mad scramble for power and shifting allegiances. It would be prudent to maintain one's flexibility in terms of political affiliation in such an event.

"SHOOT it, morons!" the woman screams. "General or no General, while I'm here you're still under MY command!"

"Yes Ma'am!" barks one of the R.I.O.T. officers. "Defend Doctor Disorder. Annihilate this counter-revolutionary corgi!"

Before they can pull the triggers the Doctor raises her right arm. A little too late, you see that she is wearing some kind of wrist-mounted launcher on it that looses a dart at you with a soft fwip! and the chemical scent of medicine -- a smell you are all too familiar with as a therapy dog -- fills your lungs.

OOC

The Anarchy Command troops attack and Doctor Disorder goes first. She uses Immunosuppressant Drug on you.

AA Doctor Disorder attack vs Gelert: 1D20+12 = [16]+12 = 28
Hits.

However, and Doctor Disorder actually doesn't know this, your ring does give you Life Support which includes immunity to poisons. So you pass the save automatically.

Round 1
21 Doctor Disorder
18 Gelert *
05 R.I.O.T. Troops (squadron, minions)

You are up!

[Psistrike]

Moonlight
HP: 6 LP: 0
Condition: Impaired

"Let the coward escape, the N.O.M.U. down here are a much bigger threat. We need to take down the 3 loose and make sure no others are woken up. My bad for waking these 3 up, I had no idea they had an invasion force onboard." Knowing their muscles and more would probably tank any physical force she could bring against them, Aranel calls upon the power of weather and conjures a lightning bolt over the nearest N.O.M.U.

OOC: Attack roll for Nature Strikes [lightning descriptor] +5 DC, -5 Atk: Attack roll: 1d20+7 18 DC32 for nearest N.O.M.U. to her.