Adventures Assemble S3E3: The Great Brain Robbery!

[kenseido]

Spellbinder
HP: 5 (+1 -1 = 5); Condition: Fatigued, Bx2, Staggered

Jason slips out of her grasp, ducking under the grab. He learned to avoid grappling long before he learned Sorcery. Lots of grabby opponents back home.

As he sets back his stance, his ribs remind him of the previous injury. He wants to put some distance, but he's moving to slow. He needs to keep her focused on him, so the others don't get ambushed when they arrive.

"AFFLICTO!"

Dodge save: 1d20+14 29

Afflicto: 1d20+10 15
HP to reroll: 1d20+10 18 +10=28
DC29 TOU save

[Ysariel]

Gelert
Metapower Research -- Air Processing System

Gelert zips off headed for the rear of the facility, to track down Knightfire.

Knightfire's stink is heavy on the air -- burnt, charred, soot-stained. You follow his trail to the positive-pressure air processing system at the rear of the R&D lab. Here, complex pumps and filtration systems maintain the interior of the lab at higher than atmospheric pressure, ensuring that any contaminants are blow out rather than in. There are nuclear radiation and toxin warning symbols everywhere.

The filtration equipment is surrounded by barbed wire fencing, laser tripwires and sentry gun turrets, but Knightfire has melted or blasted his way through the security. His trail leads into a human-sized melted hole in the wire grate covering the air exhaust. Cold sterile air blows into your face as you approach, ruffling your fur. The exhaust pipe seems to lead an underground facility. From within, you can hear faint echoes of General Havoc's voice, the sounds of combat, and something crashing in the lab below as the General engages your friends.

You cannot see Knightfire from here, but the strength of his stench tells you he must be very close by -- hidden by the joints and bends of the exhaust pipe as well as the air processing equipment itself.

OOC

You don't have line of sight to Knightfire from outside the air processing system, but once inside you have no trouble finding him is due to your tracking scent and ultravision (the air filtration system is not that big anyway).

You can enter the air processing system and attack Knightfire before he can get up to any mischief. Due to your small size, you are at an advantage against Knightfire as long as you fight within the pipes: you gain +2 circumstance bonus which you can apply to either attack or defense (as though you have ranks of Favored Environment).

Alternately, you can lie in wait inside the system to see what Knightfire will do.

You can also retreat and enter the Daka Crystal Vault from the main entrance (joining the combat on round 4, as I previously mentioned). You can also do whatever else you consider reasonable.

[Ysariel]

Spellbinder
Daka Crystal Vault

"AFFLICTO!"

The General is immensely powerful but slow. You easily slip through her grasp, and your blast of power explodes against her face and blows up her glasses.

Unfortunately, the General is also too far gone to care. Blood trickles from her nose but her zeal is such that she barely feels anything. "What are you willing to sacrifice in the name of your ideals?" she demands, walking forward through the cloud of smoke, shaking off fire from Amy's drones. "Nothing. Nothing! You are weak -- WEAK!" She raises both fists high over her head to smash you into the ground!

OOC

AA Gen Havoc toughness DC 29: 1D20+14 = [20]+14 = 34

Passes with a 20 on the die, no effect

Her power boost is now down to +4 ranks all powers.

At the start of her turn General Havoc becomes exhausted (-2 to all checks and half speed). She uses unarmed attack as a standard action.

AA Gen Havoc attack vs Spellbinder: 1D20+10-2 = [9]+10-2 = 17

[kenseido]

Spellbinder
HP 5 (+1 -1 =5); Condition: Bx2, Staggered, Fatigued

Havok's eyes took on the look of a Berserker warrior. Jason has faced his share of them. They foolishly believed going berserk was an asset. Sure, they might be able to shake off the pain of injury, but too many dropped dead the instant the battle ended. Jason found dealing with them was easier to push their anger over the top. Most people, Duncan included, tried the opposite results. But pushing Berserkers over the top with their anger led to many, many mistakes.

Like now.

Havok's clumsy attack was easily slipped by Jason. Even still, his ribs cried out in pain as he bobbed under and away from her overhand blow.

Jason reaches out his hand and tries this little trick he used against the mold demon.

"Contego!"

The shield forms initially around him, but with a quick twist of his wrist, the shield reverses, threatening to capture Havok inside.

Using Create to trap
Contego: 1d20+10 17
HP to reroll: 1d20+10 20 + 10 = 30
Usually its Dodge, but since this is a Close attack, I don't know if it should be Parry or not.
Either way, DC22 Save to avoid being trapped in the shield

[Ysariel]

Spellbinder, Nightbird & Moonlight
Daka Crystal Vault

"Contego!"

The shield flexes from convex to concave as though it were made of springy rubber. But General Havoc, her hands already outstretched to try and wring your neck, reacts with surprising speed and seizes the edges of the barrier as it forms!

"Your parlor magic will avail you NOT!" she screams, spittle dotting the transparent surface of the spell, and snaps in two the shield that would withstand direct fire from a tank. Sweat streams down her face, and you can see she is panting with exertion as Amy's drones blast her again. Already her rage is beginning to peter out as she has spent too much of her strength too early.

And then, you hear the lift doors open behind you. Reinforcements have arrived -- and just in time, as General Havoc raises both fists above her head to attempt to smash you flat on the ground!


OOC

Due to her exhausted condition, General Havoc has -2 on her dodge (or parry, she has equal ranks) check.
AA Gen Havoc Dodge DC 22: 1D20+10-2 = [15]+10-2 = 23
Barely passes. With your successful attack, she loses another rank of power boost, and is now down to only +3 ranks all powers.

At the start of this round Nightbird and Moonlight join the combat in initiative order.

General Havoc uses unarmed attack on you, PA2.
AA Gen Havoc attack vs Spellbinder: 1D20+10-4 = [16]+10-4 = 22
Close, but misses your +14 defense.

Round 3
29 General Havoc (w/ attenuated Power of Daka -3) (Exhausted)
14 Nightbird *
10 Moonlight
09 Spellbinder

Nightbird is up!

[Gilliam]

Nightbird
HP: 3 LP: 1
Condition: Normal


Following the path that Havoc and then Spellbinder had taken, Imogen alongside Moonlight moved with a focused determination eyes scanning for any danger. She hoped that Spellbinder had waited for them but as they moved further in and no sight of Jason it was more and more likely he had gone down the elevator.

Entering the lift she locked eyes with Moonlight and nodded they didn't know what to expect when the doors open but they would be ready.

Taking in the scene Imogen saw Havoc about to double axe handle Jason and ran to the attack launching herself into the air to deliver a powerful kick, before backflipping back to a standing position in front of Jason.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Nightbird PA +/-4
Nightbird PA +4: 1d20+15-4 26
Should be a hit and a DC28 Toughness Save.

edit: couldn't count

[Ysariel]

Spellbinder, Nightbird & Moonlight
Daka Crystal Vault

Taking in the scene Imogen saw Havoc about to double axe handle Jason and ran to the attack launching herself into the air to deliver a powerful kick, before backflipping back to a standing position in front of Jason.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Your foot smashes her in the jaw, causing her head to whip backwards for an instant, before she shakes it free of stars and straightens herself.

The force of the blow makes her take a step back, and the glowing blue Daka crystals on the floor go skittering and clattering across the tiles as she does.

"No. I will not be denied, not so close to final victory! No!" she wipes her lip with the back of one hand.

OOC
With your successful attack, General Havoc is now down to only -2 boost to all powers.

AA General Havoc Toughness DC 28: 1D20+12-2 = [10]+12-2 = 20

Fail by 2 degrees: Dazed and -1.

Round 3
29 General Havoc (w/ attenuated Power of Daka -3) (Exhausted, -1, Dazed until R4i14)
14 Nightbird
10 Moonlight *
09 Spellbinder

Moonlight is up!

[Psistrike]

Moonlight
HP: 7 LP: 0
Condition: Fine

Aranel's rage begins to swell upon seeing Jason's condition. "Many before you have said the same thing, yet tyrants and would-be dictators will always fall. You would twist the very things that bring this world wonder to bring horror upon it. So let the fury of nature judge you through me." From her outstretched hands a torrent of water like a raging river came forth, directed at Havoc and intent on washing her corruption away.

OOC: Attack roll for Nature Strikes [water-descriptor], +2 DC, -2 Atk: Attack roll: 1d20+10 24 DC 29 to resist.

[kenseido]

Spellbinder
HP: 5 (-1=4); Condition: Bruised x2

Jason dodges the blow and winces again as the move put undue strain on his injured ribs.

He offers a half smile as the two women unload on Havok. He takes a moment to catch his breath and get his mind back in the right mode.

Spend an HP to recover from Fatigue.
Take a recover action to eliminate the Staggered condition.

Jason's defenses increased by 2 this round from the Recover.

[Ysariel]

All
Daka Crystal Vault

"Many before you have said the same thing, yet tyrants and would-be dictators will always fall. You would twist the very things that bring this world wonder to bring horror upon it. So let the fury of nature judge you through me." From her outstretched hands a torrent of water like a raging river came forth, directed at Havoc and intent on washing her corruption away.

Your gout of water hits General Havoc right in the chest and lifts her right off her feet. Her mouth opens in an 'O' as she goes flying and smashes into a rack of Daka crystal storage units behind her, shattering the polymer cases and sending glittering blue crystals flying every which way, before landing on her back with a heavy WHUMP.

OOC

With your successful attack, her power boost is now down to +1 all powers.

AA General Havoc toughness DC 29: 1D20+11-1 = [1]+11-1 = 11
Failed by 18, or 4 degrees: incapacitated

Combat is over with Moonlight striking the final blow.

"Impossible," General Havoc wheezes, her chest heaving. "I... I had even my father killed to ensure the purity of our revolution. Is... is this the end already? Was our resolve... not enough?"

"NO."

One of the grates on the ceiling bursts open and a human form drops to the ground. He is wearing the scorched, tattered uniform of one of the G.A.S. security guards, but the spectral, burning skull hovering over his head reveals his true identity. Knightfire!

"YOU THOUGHT ME A PAWN AND USED AND DISCARDED ME. BUT I KNOW YOU BETTER THAN YOU THINK, YOU SPITEFUL BITCH. GIVE IN TO YOUR HATE," he seethes. "REMEMBER THE LIVES SACRIFICED, HUMILIATIONS SUFFERED, INJUSTICES BORNE, YEARS SPENT LYING IN WAIT."

He takes a step forward. The Daka crystals all around the vault begin to pulse in unison. You recall that the High Master of Shambhala implied that the intensifying Age of Wonder was linked to the appearance of Incarnates on Earth -- at least two in that many years, now, given your encounters with the Dreamer in the Dark and Kaak-Shar the Incarnate of War.

"NO FORGIVENESS. NO MERCY! NO SURVIVORS. NO EXCUSES!" Knightfire roars. The reddish-black hellfire about him drips to the floor and flows towards General Havoc, pooling about her in a miniature lake of flame.

"No forgiveness," General Havoc whispers. "No mercy..."

"RISE, GENERAL HAVOC. RISE AND ASCEND! YOU ARE BECOME HATE INCAR--"

OOC

AA Knightfire Initiative: 1D20+0 = [14]+0 = 14

Make an initiative check. Any hero who equals or exceeds Knightfire's check result of 14, can take any action you like to stop him. I will include Gelert in this (he will be aware that Knightfire has left the filtration system, due to all the noise).

[Psistrike]

Moonlight
HP: 7>5 LP: 0
Condition: Fine

"No! No more incarnates, no hate. This ends here and now for the good of all life and the universe." Aranel begins to glow once more with the same energy she unleashed against the Incarnate of War, her lifeforce and that of the very Earth in synch as it flowed out from her to strike down Knightfire.

OOC: Initiative check: 1d20+8 11 HP to reroll: Initiative check: 1d20+8 18 +10 for 28 total. If the action to stop him requires a roll she is Power stunting off her array with this: Lifeforce Blast: Ranged Damage 11, Resisted by Will, Affects Insubstantial 2. Attack roll for it just in case: Attack roll: 1d20+12 26

[kenseido]

Spellbinder
HP: 4 (-1=3), Condition: Bruised x2

Jason smiles as the two ladies offer a one-two punch that put Havok down. He can see why they are on the team.

Then another person drops in. Very quickly things are about to get worse, unless..

Jason's eyes roll as once again, a blowhard villain wants to talk about how awesome they are.

Before he can finish his speech, Jason uses "FORZARE!" wrapping the villain up in invisible force for the others to put down hard.

Initiative: 1d20+6 11
HP to reroll: 1d20+6 24

Forzare: 1d20+10 16
And since I have already used an HP to reroll, well eff.

[Gilliam]

Nightbird
HP: 3 LP: 1
Condition: Normal


The appearance of Knightfire was not too unexpected once they heard he was roaming round the site but making Havoc into another Incarnate, not going to happen

"No not going to happen Knightfire we will .."

About to attack the hate demon, Imogen slipped falling face first on the ground.

Scrambling to her feet Imogen couldn't believe it she never slipped ... what was going on?

Nightbird Initiative: 1d20+10 11

Lets roll with the natural one.

[stavaros_the_arcane]

Gelert
Metapower Research -- Air Processing System

Gelert zips off headed for the rear of the facility, to track down Knightfire.

Knightfire's stink is heavy on the air -- burnt, charred, soot-stained. You follow his trail to the positive-pressure air processing system at the rear of the R&D lab. Here, complex pumps and filtration systems maintain the interior of the lab at higher than atmospheric pressure, ensuring that any contaminants are blow out rather than in. There are nuclear radiation and toxin warning symbols everywhere.

The filtration equipment is surrounded by barbed wire fencing, laser tripwires and sentry gun turrets, but Knightfire has melted or blasted his way through the security. His trail leads into a human-sized melted hole in the wire grate covering the air exhaust. Cold sterile air blows into your face as you approach, ruffling your fur. The exhaust pipe seems to lead an underground facility. From within, you can hear faint echoes of General Havoc's voice, the sounds of combat, and something crashing in the lab below as the General engages your friends.

You cannot see Knightfire from here, but the strength of his stench tells you he must be very close by -- hidden by the joints and bends of the exhaust pipe as well as the air processing equipment itself.

OOC

You don't have line of sight to Knightfire from outside the air processing system, but once inside you have no trouble finding him is due to your tracking scent and ultravision (the air filtration system is not that big anyway).

You can enter the air processing system and attack Knightfire before he can get up to any mischief. Due to your small size, you are at an advantage against Knightfire as long as you fight within the pipes: you gain +2 circumstance bonus which you can apply to either attack or defense (as though you have ranks of Favored Environment).

Alternately, you can lie in wait inside the system to see what Knightfire will do.

You can also retreat and enter the Daka Crystal Vault from the main entrance (joining the combat on round 4, as I previously mentioned). You can also do whatever else you consider reasonable.

Gelert scrambles through the vents following his noses to track down Knightfire.

All
Daka Crystal Vault

"Many before you have said the same thing, yet tyrants and would-be dictators will always fall. You would twist the very things that bring this world wonder to bring horror upon it. So let the fury of nature judge you through me." From her outstretched hands a torrent of water like a raging river came forth, directed at Havoc and intent on washing her corruption away.

Your gout of water hits General Havoc right in the chest and lifts her right off her feet. Her mouth opens in an 'O' as she goes flying and smashes into a rack of Daka crystal storage units behind her, shattering the polymer cases and sending glittering blue crystals flying every which way, before landing on her back with a heavy WHUMP.

OOC

With your successful attack, her power boost is now down to +1 all powers.

AA General Havoc toughness DC 29: 1D20+11-1 = [1]+11-1 = 11
Failed by 18, or 4 degrees: incapacitated

Combat is over with Moonlight striking the final blow.

"Impossible," General Havoc wheezes, her chest heaving. "I... I had even my father killed to ensure the purity of our revolution. Is... is this the end already? Was our resolve... not enough?"

"NO."

One of the grates on the ceiling bursts open and a human form drops to the ground. He is wearing the scorched, tattered uniform of one of the G.A.S. security guards, but the spectral, burning skull hovering over his head reveals his true identity. Knightfire!

"YOU THOUGHT ME A PAWN AND USED AND DISCARDED ME. BUT I KNOW YOU BETTER THAN YOU THINK, YOU SPITEFUL BITCH. GIVE IN TO YOUR HATE," he seethes. "REMEMBER THE LIVES SACRIFICED, HUMILIATIONS SUFFERED, INJUSTICES BORNE, YEARS SPENT LYING IN WAIT."

He takes a step forward. The Daka crystals all around the vault begin to pulse in unison. You recall that the High Master of Shambhala implied that the intensifying Age of Wonder was linked to the appearance of Incarnates on Earth -- at least two in that many years, now, given your encounters with the Dreamer in the Dark and Kaak-Shar the Incarnate of War.

"NO FORGIVENESS. NO MERCY! NO SURVIVORS. NO EXCUSES!" Knightfire roars. The reddish-black hellfire about him drips to the floor and flows towards General Havoc, pooling about her in a miniature lake of flame.

"No forgiveness," General Havoc whispers. "No mercy..."

"RISE, GENERAL HAVOC. RISE AND ASCEND! YOU ARE BECOME HATE INCAR--"

OOC

AA Knightfire Initiative: 1D20+0 = [14]+0 = 14

Make an initiative check. Any hero who equals or exceeds Knightfire's check result of 14, can take any action you like to stop him. I will include Gelert in this (he will be aware that Knightfire has left the filtration system, due to all the noise).

Initative: 1d20+6: 7 [1d20=1] HP to reroll 1d20+6: 17 [1d20=11]

Gelert pops his head out of the same vent Knightfire descended from. He sees Knightfire and General Havoc up to some shenanigans giving off a bad vibe

"NOPE! None of that!" Gelert says before blasting Knightfire.

OOC: Blast: Damage 13 (DC 28; Increased Range: ranged, Precise, Variable Descriptor: close group - laser or concussion) 1d20+11: 22 [1d20=11]

[Ysariel]

All
Daka Crystal Vault

"No! No more incarnates, no hate. This ends here and now for the good of all life and the universe." Aranel begins to glow once more with the same energy she unleashed against the Incarnate of War, her lifeforce and that of the very Earth in synch as it flowed out from her to strike down Knightfire.

"No not going to happen Knightfire we will .."

About to attack the hate demon, Imogen slipped falling face first on the ground.

Before he can finish his speech, Jason uses "FORZARE!" wrapping the villain up in invisible force for the others to put down hard.

The ground of the vault is littered with glowing blue Daka crystals -- hundreds, thousands of them. As Nightbird loses her footing, they go clattering every which way, pulsing in rippling waves outwards like the surface of a disturbed pond. All the while,

But Spellbinder's invisible magical bonds snap tight about the guard Knightfire is possessing and holds the struggling man motionless. Then Aranel starts to glow. A sudden wind rises about her, swirling around her form before surging out towards Knightfire, casting bright teal light as it goes. Wildflowers and grass spontaneously erupt along its path, growing straight out of the facility's steel floor. The breath of life sweeps through the black flame of hatred pooling about General Havoc on the floor and snuffs it out as easily as the sea breeze extinguishing a candle flame. It pours into the G.A.S. security guard through his nose and open mouth and ejects Knightfire from the possessed body, causing his black-red form to pour out into mid-air like a cloud of poisonous smog. The Daka crystals everywhere cease pulsing at once, and the unconscious guard slumps backwards in his magical bindings.

"NoooooOOOoOOOoOOOOO--" the hate-wraith wails, clawing with indistinct hands at the hapless security guard he was possessing, but the breath of life still swirling about the man repels Knightfire's touch like oilskins shrugging off the rain.

"NOPE! None of that!" Gelert says before blasting Knightfire.

At that moment, one of the grates on the ceiling behind Knightfire pops open and clatters to the floor, revealing Gelert's head. Knightfire has no corporeal form and the corgi's beam of blue light passes straight through him to blow up a rack of Daka crystals in the background.

But as the light of Hope passes through him, Knightfire screams. To hope, you see, to believe the best of others, to have faith, to trust that tomorrow will be better, that whatever darkened today's sky is only a passing thing, and that light and stars and possibility abound in the infinite space above, and that goodness and kindness will prevail, is something so utterly anathema to the cold, bitter cynicism that is Knightfire's heart that in this weakened state it shatters him. Knightfire screams, in a way none of the numerous beatings he has received in his long career as a terrorst have managed to make him scream, and his immaterial form gutters and extinguishes with a puff of smoke.

For a while, you sense a malevolent presence linger in the room. "No," whispers a broken voice. "You can't... can't..."

But whatever resolve powered his attempt to incarnate General Havoc just moments earlier seems to have been spent.

"You can't... get rid of me... forever," he whispers, feebly. "There will always... be hate. Always... always..."

For a fleeting moment you taste the immeasurably deep bitterness in his soul, a heart cold and hardened from a lifetime of prejudice -- and then he is no more.