Dreamweaver (OOC)

[Blarghy]

Make two Toughness checks for the Snare effect, DC 18 and DC 21.  I'm gonna rule that since the chains are more or less immobile, and the two Entangled thugs are very close and in a good position to shoot (just pressing the barrels against their targets), they automatically hit. 

 

Furthermore, as the IC post implies, the leading thug has made his escape (after taking some action that Presto wasn't in a position to see clearly--but whatever it was, it made him fast enough to get out of the apartment posthaste, despite all the clutter around the door).  This isn't GM Fiat or anything; if Presto wants to give chase, he's free to do so.  Given his Teleport spell, he'd probably stand a good chance.  It would, however, necessitate leaving the other three thugs alone, in his apartment, chained or not. 

 

Whatever you decide, it's Presto's turn again!

[Sophistemon]

I'm assuming that the Toughness saves are ranked 10 and rolling accordingly. If that's not the case, please feel free to subtract from the total as necessary.

 

Snare Toughness Saves: 2#1d20+10 22 23.

 

If you could give me the result so that I could incorporate it into my post, that would be great.

[Blarghy]

Yup, the Snare has a rank of the campaign PL, which is the same as Presto's (10).  Both of those saves succeed with room to spare, meaning that neither takes any damage and the thugs remain captured.

 

Technically I could have the Helpless thug try to break free as well, but with the Strength penalties given by his current condition, I don't think it's mathematically possible for him to succeed, and he's in no position to try shooting his way out like the others.  That one, at least, is well and truly caught until Presto (or someone else) decides to release him. 

[Sophistemon]

Excellent; thank you.

 

I'm just going to talk to them for now, give them a chance to surrender, but I'd like to Ready an attack to be used if they either try to escape again or open fire on Presto.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Sophistemon

[Blarghy]

Hmmm.  Give me a social roll of your choice.  Presto's Attractive feat doesn't come into play here, so I suppose it doesn't matter whether you pick Diplomacy or Intimidate, given that their bonuses are the same. 

[Sophistemon]

You're the boss, boss.

 

Intimidate Check: 1d20+8 23.

[Blarghy]

Orokos is a fickle mistress.  Or maybe it's just Presto's destiny to either blunder a scene or totally rock it, with no room in between. 

[Sophistemon]

Isn't that pretty much Presto's modus operandi?

[Blarghy]

Make an Arcane Lore check, same deal as usual: only look at the boxes you meet the DC for.  Presto's bonus is good enough to automatically get the first bit of information, and you're free to use Skill Mastery if you wish...though that'll keep you from meeting the highest DC.  How lucky are you feeling, now that Presto's out of combat and Orokos can no longer be trusted?

 

DC15:

Spoiler

Alton Bailey isn’t a drug dealer, much less a crime lord, but rather a globetrotting hunter of magical creatures.  Governments and private individuals sometimes hire him to find and kill dangerous beasts that terrorize their citizens, if no local heroes are available for the job.

DC20:

Spoiler

Alton doesn’t just limit himself to legal or ethical employment; he hunts for the thrill and makes a good living selling his kills either to collectors or as components for rituals.  Predictably, he isn’t a very nice person, although he is reportedly charismatic, intelligent, and strong willed. 

DC25:

Spoiler

In addition to his decent magical knowledge and skill with firearms, Alton is a shapeshifter (payment for services rendered to a powerful sorcerer, rumors say).  He prefers to enter combat this way, when he can afford to mangle his prey a bit; he also uses the talent to get close to skittish creatures if he’s been paid to take them alive.  Altonis not reportedly capable of other forms of magic, such as dream invasion.

DC30:

Spoiler

As last Presto heard (information he obtained in prison, and thus months out of date), this poacher of the supernatural was in Central Europe, following tales of a night-spirit that preyed upon the sleeping.  Alton was supposedly intrigued by tales that no bullet or blade could harm the creature, and thus wished to test himself against it.

 

[Sophistemon]

Okay, here we go:

 

Knowledge: Arcane Lore: 1d20+15 27.

 

Not bad, not bad! I'm not disappointed by average rolls, it's the single-digit ones that bum me out.

[Blarghy]

Alright, let's see if Adept is still Fatigued, or if he managed to catch a little sleep himself.

 

Fortitude: 1d20+7 20

 

Looks like he did.  Coffee probably helped, I imagine.

[Sophistemon]

Okay, it's been a wait!

 

I'm sorry for the delay, but I can't think of a more elegant solution than the one that we've discussed, so we're going with that.

 

Presto is going to jury-rig a Ritual. Said Ritual will take the form of two ranks of Immunity: Sleep to be split between Adept and himself.

 

Knowldege: Arcane Lore: 1d20+15 18.

 

And we just barely made it!

Edited July 23, 2016 by Sophistemon

[Blarghy]

You, uh, do realize that you have Skill Mastery with that skill, right? 

[Sophistemon]

Assuming you're taking that into account, the resulting roll would be 28.

[Blarghy]

I don't think you can use Skill Mastery and roll, then add the results together.  You've already made your roll, in any case, and passed it for the Ritual you wanted.  So, success!  Once Presto finishes his in-character work, anyway.

[Sophistemon]

Right, right.

 

I need to read the rules again, it seems.

[Blarghy]

Ok, we're now in combat!  Roll initiative.  Only two enemies are on the field at this point in time, and both of them are Minions.  Actually, until otherwise specified, everyone will be a Minion.  Among other things, this means that Presto can Take 10 on his attacks, if you wish (I'm told by the Refs that Minions mostly exist to make the heroes look cool).  Since Minions go down after a single failed Toughness save, Presto is mostly just taking out the trash. 

 

Also note that using the flying car as cover offers a +4 to Presto and Adept's Defenses. 

 

Initiative: 1d20+11 22  Not that it really matters at the moment, since Adept is using his Standard Actions to keep their cover afloat.

Initiative: 1d20+1 16

Initiative: 1d20+1 14

 

Name       HPs   Initiative    Damage      Status Conditions

Presto       5       ??               None            Ability Drain (Wisdom, -5)

Adept        1       22               None            None

Thug 1      N/A   16               None            None

Thug 2      N/A   14               None            None

[Sophistemon]

Initiative Check: 1d20+3 12.

 

Oh, good.

 

We're back to this now.

[Blarghy]

Well, as I said, feel free to Take 10 for attacking in return, at least.  No reason to let a Minion make Presto look bad, not at this stage in the game.

 

Name       HPs   Initiative    Damage      Status Conditions

Adept        1       22               None            None

Thug 1      N/A   16               None            None

Thug 2      N/A   14               None            None

Presto       5       12               None            Ability Drain (Wisdom, -5)

 

Let's see how the thugs do.  The good news is, with the Cover bonus, they normally wouldn't be able to hit Adept or Presto at all.  Unfortunately, first round of combat is for flat-footed people.  Let's have one thug attack each of our heroes.

 

Against Adept: Attack: 1d20+2 13

Against Presto: Attack: 1d20+2 17

 

And that's two misses (since even flat-footed, Presto has a 19 Defense thanks to Cover).  I'll edit their ineffective attacks into my previous post, and you can then do yours. 

[Sophistemon]

I'm going to make the most of your offer and Take 10 to return fire, resulting in an attack roll of 20.

[Blarghy]

Waaaait a minute--looks like these particular guys can't beat Presto's Blast DC.  Hell, since they won't be able to hit him next round anyway, go ahead and take them both out in a cool way, to save time and spite Adept's jerk-ness. 

[Sophistemon]

You are the best.

Edited July 28, 2016 by Sophistemon

[Sophistemon]

I don't think it unwise, at this juncture, to roll a Stealth check just in case.

 

Stealth Check: 1d20+7 12.

 

Of course, when you're me, it's always unwise to roll dice for any reason whatsoever.

 

Forget it; I have enough Hero Points that I'm going to blow one. I don't want to follow up that neat little fight by tripping over a window-sill.

 

Stealth Check: 1d20+7 14.

 

Okay, that's still awful but if I'm remembering correctly, when using a Hero Point to re-roll, if you roll below a 10 you get to add 10 to the result.

 

Which gives us a 24.

[Blarghy]

Correct.  A very nice total that should really give the Minions a hard t--wait, none of the gang-related Minions in the core book have Notice ranks?  Well then.  You are a ninja in the night.  Go and be free.

 

Name       HPs   Initiative    Damage      Status Conditions

Adept        1       N/A              None            None

Presto       4       N/A              None            Ability Drain (Wisdom, -5)

[Sophistemon]

Fantastic. Am I allowed to dictate his method of entry, or would you like to suggest something?

 

He's just trying to find a way in that would put him a goodly distance from any guards, so that he might take them by surprise.