Zeitgeist Blue
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Posts posted by Zeitgeist Blue
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Dark Bolt: 1d20+11 = 20
The balance shifts in Rebellion's favor.
Power Rank: +3
Give me another power check and an IC.
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Salvo
As the smoke cloud quickly expands, another shock goes through Salvo's armor, but she powered through the electrical currents. The smoke was pervasive, thick and cloying, and blocked her visual sensors. Yet her radar was able to pierce through Justice's smoke bomb and she saw that the two fake Justice's were firing blind. The real Justice had kept her composure, clearly used to the smoke. Salvo did not know if Justice had radar like her or some other equipment or magic that could pierce the smoke, but she did not particularly care at the moment.
They had a fight to finish.
"Thanks," Salvo grunted in reply as she got back to her feet. Her own electricity arced through the smoke towards the two Justices. "You deal with them here. I'll keep them guessing."
Without barely a sound her jets flared to life, and she rocketed upward, ascending until she reached an altitude of five thousand feet. Then she hovered, her armor making minute adjustments to keep her steady. The night was clear, barely any clouds over the city, and from her position she could see over all of Emerald City and the surrounding area, bordered from all sides by the Atlas mountain range. Mount Stanley towered over all, even her at this height.
Below her, she could see the three Justices where she had left. The two fake ones still firing wildly, possibly unaware she was gone.
It was target practice.
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GM
Abracadaver deftly sidesteps away from your punch and quickly teleports to another set of shelves fifty feet away. As soon as he appears, he slings bolts of dark energy but they fly wildly. The two of you stand there, above the warehouse floor, and here the night clouds shift just enough to illuminate both you and Abracadaver. Dust motes float through the shafts of light, settling down as the both of you ready your powers.
Then your shadows unfurl once again and this time Abracadaver's magic lances out from his hands to meet the shadow tendrils, blotting out the moonlight in their wake. They are columns of black magic, an unearthly shimmer to their forms, and they multiply. More shoot out from Abracadaver's figure, arcing around the warehouse to slam against your shadows from all sides. From your sides, from your back, from underneath you and above you Abracadaver's power pushes yours in. Only the space between you and Abracadaver is clear.
"Ignorant fool that you are!" Abracadaver, his body now shimmering with his own magic, levitates in the air. A shaft of moonlight streams from the warehouse windows, shining behind him, and his shadow is cast large against you. "You wield power you do not understand."
He shivers as if a chill runs down his spine. "I can taste your magic. It drives gods and men to madness. It comes from beyond, whispering secrets not meant for mortal ears."
Below you, more zombies gather around your shelf but they do not climb, even if you know they are capable of doing so. They stand still when they arrive below you, watching your battle with dead eyes.
"I will enjoy cutting you open."
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Dark Bolt: 1d20+11 = 17
What are the odds? Let's say the balance shifts to the middle. No one's winning.
Power Rank: +2
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Right, so Abracadaver will Counter the attack. And we'll be using all the optional rules for Countering Contests as seen in p.19 of Ultimate Power.
Power Check: 1d20+11 = 20
Power Rank: +1
The power is contained and inches towards Rebellion. Do another Power check and I'll get an IC up.
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Guess the the whole area's covered in smoke now. So much for stealth!
Salvo
Toughness Save: 1d20+13 = 14. Staggered and Dazed.
Salvo will clear the Dazed condition for the round.
Toughness Save reroll as discussed: 1d20+13 = 30. Saved.
***
Standard Action: Fire at the two Justices and their guns.
All-out Attack / Power Attack +5 DC / -5 Defense
AP: Stun 7 (Energy Vent; Extras: Area [Targeted, Burst] [5 Feet per Power Rank], Affects Objects [+1], Selective Attack; Feats: Accurate 3, Attack Focus [Ranged]) {38/40} (Additional Descriptors: Electricity)
Energy Vent: 1d20+13 = 17. Fortitude Save vs. DC 22. Is it -2 Defense modifier due to them being Blinded? Doubt it'd hit still.
Move Action: Climb 5,000 feet in the air. Salvo will activate her Subtle feat here to hide her leaving.
DBE: Flight 0-6 (500 mph / 5,000 per Move Action; Feats: Subtle) {0-13}
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Salvo
Salvo couldn't help but growl as another wave of electricity shook through her armor and brought her to her knees. It was just what she needed, three Justices to take care of.
Shakily, she fought the electrical damage and rose again, her thrusters working overtime to compensate for her lack of balance. Bending down on one knee, she raised her visor to look at the other Justice with her own eyes. She noted the gadgets they were using, which were different from the real Justice's hammer. That's how she would know who was real and who wasn't.
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That misses.
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Abracadaver
Ready Action: Dark Bolt: 1d20+11 = 15. Misses.
Move: Teleports 50 feet away.
Standard Action: Ready.
***
Mingzhu
Disappears into the warehouse.
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Zombies
Initiative: 1d20-1 = 3
***
25 - Lady Mingzhu: Bruised 3, Injured 2
24 - Rebellion, 0 HP: Unharmed
12 - Abracadaver: Bruised 2, Injured
10 - Zombies, Unharmed
3 - Zombies, Unharmed
***
Well, nothing happened. Let's go for another round of OOC posting before I post an IC reply.
I will also dangle an HP if you use Shadow Strike again, so that I can see how a Counter contest looks like.
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GM
Your shadows fill the warehouse and all the zombies on the warehouse floor are torn to pieces, their bodies still as soft and easily broken as any human body. Abracadaver and Mingzhu fare better, though Abracadaver is thrown, sailing through the air, until he crashes against the warehouse's wall. The iron support buckles and concrete dust rain down to settle on Abracadaver's clothes. Again, your shadows lash out but Abracadaver beats them back, the shadows slicing off fistfuls of flesh. It does not do much to hinder the magician.
Then when an opening presents itself, he disappears in a puff of black, foul smelling, smoke only to reappear on top of an industrial shelf behind you.
He says nothing as he looks down at you. His face is a mess of wounds and scoured off flesh, the bone beneath exposed haphazardly. His clothes are torn to shreds, exposing the patchwork skin underneath. He bares his teeth and black smoke oozes out from his fists.
From the metal doors, zombies continue to stream out from the basement. Mingzhu stands up and assumes a fighting stance herself.
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Abracadaver
Defense 12. +5 DC
Toughness Roll: 1d20+13 = 30. Saved.
Mingzhu
Defense 19. +3 DC
Toughness Roll: 1d20+13 = 27. Bruised and Injured.
***
ZombiesInitiative: 1d20-1 = 10
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Abracadaver
Move: Teleport to 50 feet from Rebellion. Then 25 feet up the shelves.
Ready
***
Zombies
Move forward
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Mingzhu
Move: Gets up
Ready
***
25 - Lady Mingzhu: Bruised 3, Injured 2
24 - Rebellion, 0 HP: Unharmed
12 - Abracadaver: Bruised 2, Injured
***
And it is Rebellion's turn.
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Roll Initiative for Blackstaff, since I assume he'll start a fight and no one's budging.
Morlock
Initiative: 11#1d20+0 = 19, 7, 6, 2, 19, 4, 6, 17, 2, 17, 14
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Mind, the power requires a full action so you can't move to melee range and use it in the same round. You can move then prep it for Rebellion's next round if you want.
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Rebellion looks like he has the upper-hand now so no HP. It'd also probably make him untouchable if I gave it every round he fights.
***
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GM
The electric shocks tore into Bellios' systems, momentarily shutting them down, and Salvo found herself tumbling a short distance into the ground below. With a jarring thud, she her faceplate hit the pavement and the fake Justice tumbled from her grip.
Salvo growled as she slammed a fist into the ground, fighting the damage the electrical shocks had done to her armor. In her mind's eye, she battled against her systems shutting down en masse, rerouting backup power generators, sending shocks up her servo-dynamos, and bypassing nodes beyond repair. It was dreary work, much of the labor carried by magical code in her systems but it was still something Salvo needed to keep an eye on even as she fought to stand.
"I tried to be nice." Sparks flew as flames spouted from he armor in kicks and starts as she tried to get up to a standing position. "But nice never gets you anywhere does it?"
She dragged herself to her feet, armor scraping against the pavement, and she turned a baleful gaze towards the man who shot her.
"I'll enjoy this."
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GM
Mingzhu cries out as you throw her towards Abracadaver. It is a powerful throw, enough to smash boulders and bend steel, not to mention what it could do to a normal human body. Mingzhu slams bodily into Abracadaver then rebounds off, barreling against a nearby zombie before grinding to a halt. Mingzhu lays there, clearly alive but breathing heavily. And Abracadaver remains on his feet, snarling even more. The zombies around the both of you snarl too, as if sharing in their master's emotions.
"Why you insolent--"
Then your fist slams into Abracadaver's face, sending him flying a good twenty feet, bowling over the zombies behind him.
Yet you find yourself surrounded by even more zombies, and it is like you have flipped a switch. They throw themselves at you, uncaring of their own safety. They trample over one another to take pieces of you and to tear you limb from limb. The newly undead bodyguards retain better functions, and as one reach for their submachine guns, swinging the muzzles towards you.
Paused in time, you stand in the center, a lone hero as zombies leap at you from all sides.
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GM
Advay startles as he hears his name, and he notices you. At first he does not register you, but a glimmer of hope crosses his eyes.
"Mr. Dayes?"
When you ask him in Sumerian, he stammers. "I-- I-- I'm not quite sure what you are saying. But I'm afraid you are too late, Mr. Dayes." He raises his wrists, secured by rope. "I've been had and these morlocks have informed me I'll be taken to the River Clan, along with all my work. To be imprisoned and to work for them, I presume."
From the corner of your eye, you notice the distant figures of the dwarf and the badger leap up from their campsite and quickly gather their belongings. Whatever has them excited about soon becomes clear as they begin to hastily make their way towards your general direction. It is a trek that would take them a bit of time given the uneven, maze-like ground of the cavern.
Beside you, the morlock leader notices the dwarf and the badger too. But the morlock turns towards you instead, giving you a throaty growl as it raises its knife.
"Leave."
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Doktor'd!
Salvo
Added
Bellios Device
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Protocol Sy
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Accurate 4, Attack Focus [Melee[
- Enhanced Strength 8 [8] + Enhanced Strength 8 (Iron Grip; Flaws: Only used in a grapple check; Feats: Accurate 4, Attack Focus [Melee], Improved Grapple) [10] = [18]
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+1 Fortitude
- Enhanced Saves 20 (Fortitude 8, Reflex 6, Will 7) [21DP]
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Intimidate +2, Notice +2
- Enhanced Skills 5 (Intimidate 14, Notice 6) [5DP]
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Accurate 4, Attack Focus [Melee[
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Hexagrammic Panelling
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Immovable 1 (Extras: Unstoppable)
- Immovable 1 (Extras: Unstoppable) [2DP]
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Immovable 1 (Extras: Unstoppable)
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Sensory Suite Array
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Extended 3
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AP: Super-Senses 9 (Direction Sense [+1], Distance Sense [+1], Radio [+1], Radar [+3]; Radar [Enhancements: Accurate (+0), Acute (+0), Extended 3 [10,000 ft] (+3), Radius (+1), Ranged (+1)]) {11/11}
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Extended 3
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Weapons System Array
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Improved Range
- BE: Damage 10 (Kinetic Beam; Extras: Linked [Dazzle], Range [Perception]; Flaws: Limited [5 times a day], Action (Full); Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Penetrating 5, Variable [Energy/Divine Magic]) {20} + Dazzle 10 (Visual and Auditory; Extras: Explosion, Linked [Damage], Range [Perception]; Flaws: Limited [5 times a day], Action(Full)) {20} = {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Energy, Divine Magic, Straight From the Soul)
- AP: Damage 15 (Fusion Autocannons; Extras: Autofire, Range [Ranged]; Flaws: Distracting; Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Improved Range 7 [250 Feet per Power Rank], Variable Descriptor [Ballistic/Energy]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Ballistic, Energy)
- AP: Damage 10 (Flamethrowers; Extras: Area [General, Cone], Vampiric; Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Incurable, Penetration 4, Progression 3 [100 Feet per Power Rank]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Infernal Magic)
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AP: Damage 10 (Missile Batteries; Extras: Area [Targeted, Shapeable], Range [Ranged]; Feats: Accurate 2, Attack Focus [Ranged],
Homing, Improved Range 3 [100 Feet per Power Rank], Indirect, Progression 2 [2 boxes per rank]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Ballistic)
- AP: Stun 7 (Energy Vent; Extras: Area [Targeted, Burst] [5 Feet per Power Rank], Affects Objects [+1], Selective Attack; Feats: Accurate 3, Attack Focus [Ranged], Progression 2 [25 Feet per Power Rank]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Electricity)
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Improved Range
Changed
Bellios Device
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Protocol Sy
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"Only used in a grapple check"
- Enhanced Strength 8 [8] + Enhanced Strength 8 (Iron Grip; Flaws: Only used in a grapple check; Feats: Improved Grapple) [5] = [13]
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"Only used in a grapple check"
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Weapons System Array
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Removed Split Attack. Moved the point to Improved Range.
- AP: Damage 15 (Fusion Autocannons; Extras: Autofire, Range [Ranged]; Flaws: Distracting; Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Improved Range 7 [250 Feet per Power Rank], Variable Descriptor [Ballistic/Energy]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Ballistic, Energy)
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Removed Split Attack. Moved the point to Improved Range.
SpoilerSalvo
Player Name: Zeitgeist Blue
Character Name: Salvo
Power Level: 13 (built as PL 10/11; 196/202PP)
Trade-Offs: -5 Attack / +5 Damage, -5 Defense / +5 Toughness
Unspent Power Points: 6PP
In Brief: Genius technomage finding her place in the many worlds she touchesResidence: University Hill, Emerald City, Oregon
Base of Operations: Emerald City
Catchphrase: "Locked on... And firing."Alternate Identity: Nicole Whitfield-Hall
Identity: Secret
Birthplace: OR, USA
Occupation: Student, Emerald City University
Affiliations: Claremont Academy, Whitfields, Halls, De Leons, The Freedom League Auxiliary, Emerald City University,
Family: Arthur Whitfield (Father), Amelie Hall (Mother), James Whitfield-Hall (Brother), Lauren Whitfield-Hall (Sister), Gregory Whitfield-Hall (Brother), Belle Whitfield-Hall (Sister)Description:
Birthday: August 13, 2001
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Mixed (African-Canadian, Caucasian)
Height: 5'8" (without armor); 6'2" (with armor)
Weight: 125 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Dark BrownPhysical Description
Tall and lanky, perhaps Nicole's most distinctive feature is her curly hair which she usually wears long and unbound. As if to match this carefree style, she prefers easily worn casual clothes or dresses, things she could easily be presentable. She couldn't go wrong with solid, bold colors in any style and that makes up much of her wardrobe. She oftentimes sports eyebags and a perpetually harried look as she rarely rests long. A thermos of coffee completes the look. Additionally, she uses a pretty expensive looking powered wheelchair made of smooth silver steel and a high-backed leather seat.
As Salvo, her armor is sleek and painted like a high-quality sportscar. Aside from that, nothing about Bellios seems normal. A repurposed magical suit of armor, while there still remains a hint of the knightly aesthetic from old legends, now it sports a cleaner silhouette, all sharp angles and chrome-plated armor. When in use, its form is often disrupted by the many weapon systems, limb hydraulics, exhausts grills, and a whole slew of whirring machinery that pop out from underneath the surface when she uses them. Because so many things are crammed into it, the armor is bulkier than a normal full-plate of armor would be. Hidden beneath the plate, are etched in a variety of styles and patterns, some of which are repurposed from their original origins, customized step around to work with modern technology. The armor is hermetically sealed and does not reveal the wearer inside. It emanates a visible and crackling field of purple electricity, as the energy it produces escapes.
As Salvo, Nicole endeavors to muddle as much of her civilian self as she can. Her voice is deep and can even be altered to sound male, while the rest of her armor continues to hide many aspects of her identity. Her gender is not obvious, though is assumed to correspond to her altered voice, and neither is her age, build, or even skin color. However, it is obvious that there is a person (or a very convincing construct) inside the armor as her mannerisms are all-too human. Yet if scanned the results show no signs of what a human should have such as a heartbeat or flowing blood. Salvo gives off heat but that must emanate from the armor itself.
Power Descriptions:
While Nicole is innately attuned to magical energies, it is her battle armor, Bellios, which allows her to focus those energies into the powers she uses as a superhero. Once an old and storied magical heirloom, her work on the armor has made it something more, creating within its essence a platform that applies both centuries of tradition and cutting-edge methodologies integrated in a dialectic unity. Bellios usually manifests her powers in set systems with a technological bent, as befitting her leanings.
Yet it is a thing as much of magic as the material world. Intersecting rune arrays tun electrical currents through chiseled patterns in the armor plates. Targeting spirits line up her Gatling guns and missile batteries as a handcrafted dimension, metaphysically tuned and coupled to Bellios, feeds alchemically-imbued ammunition to sate its voracious appetite for firepower.
History:SpoilerSeek Knowledge. Wield Power.
Those were the words Nicole lived by most of her life. It was the words the Whitfield family has lived by and died for for hundreds of years, since the first Whitfields arrived in the Americas to gamble their fortune as plantation owners, since even before then as they lived like nobles in the Old World. These words were writ in gold-plated letters above every door and fireplace in the Whitfield grounds, so that each member of the family may remember the reason for their existence. The Whitfields were many and spread across the world, as befitting a venerable and wealthy family, but those Whitfields who called California their home were those who could trace their ancestry straight and true. The purest and oldest. The heirs of a legacy that was yet to come.
It was this life and lineage, which Nicole was birthed to, third eldest among five siblings. As a younger sibling, she was not expected to inherit much and neither was much expected from her. She was left to her own devices, made busy with everything old money could buy. Servants in livery, the most expensive toys and gadgets, the richest food served in multiple course meals, yet she felt little, if any, parental love as a young child. She wandered the halls of the mansion alone, a small child who barely reached the waist of any adult, under the paintings of her ancestors, their eyes watchful and austere in the low light. Her parents were much too busy to take time off for her, always managing their holdings and grooming James, her eldest sibling when they were not travelling or locked inside their individual studies.
Lauren, her older sister was sent to study in boarding school before Nicole could remember, and at the times the two met, they were even more distant to each other than she and James. Perhaps then, this would have been a sad life, a childhood with little friends and love, but her personal caretaker took a liking for the young Whitfield, and it was from there that Nicole had experienced a semblance of warmth from another. Elizabeth Leon, her caretaker, took her under her wing, and began to go above and beyond the duties of a servant of Whitfield in attending to her charge’s needs. She was there whenever Nicole needed her - as her only playmate in games of tea or house, or as a shoulder to cry on when either Father or Mother scolded her childish antics.
It was the first time someone truly saw Nicole as more than just a valuable asset to the family. Elizabeth listened to her, and she in turn listened. She learned of her caretaker's family, of Elizabeth's three daughters, the youngest who was her age, and of her husband who was struggling with depression. Elizabeth's bedtime stories were not fairy tales, or fanciful adventure stories. They were of the ordinary, the mundane somehow made wonderful, for it was another world for Nicole.
Years passed and Nicole would grow to adolescence, soon sharing the mansion with two younger siblings, Gregory and Belle, yet like her older siblings spent less and less time with them as she grew older and was sent to an English boarding school. It was also during this time that she drew her parents’ interest. She was a genius among a family which prided itself on producing geniuses, and her intelligence was obvious for anyone with eyes to see. She soaked up information like a sponge and understood lectures meant for students a decade her senior, the many lonely hours she spent pouring over her family library now had paid off, and she had not stopped. Time and time again a servant or janitor would spy the library doors ajar, faint lights open in hours that ghosts roamed awake. They were how she spent her idle time when not with Elizabeth or playing with Gregory and Belle, and neither did she feel a recluse in boarding school, not as much as she did within the Whitfield grounds.
There she had other girls to gossip with, cute boys to sneak glances to, teachers to mock behind their backs. She just tended to develop a fixation for a problem she couldn't solve, or a theory that had caught her interest, and either would occupy the back of her mind, maddening and lingering, until she'd spend hours or days searching and solving, and trying and asking, until she could confidently say she knew all there was worth knowing about that topic. Only then could she dismiss those thoughts that gripped her. It was there that she came to love the wonders of the modern world, how intricate and detailed and interconnected everything was, if only people could see it. Physics led to engineering led to technology led to mathematics led to-- ad infinitum.
She was fourteen when she was summoned to the Whitfield mansion. She remembers, like all things, it was the middle of autumn and school was in full swing, yet she received a phone call. She was to drop all that she was doing and arrive at a earliest date, and she acqueised. A private jet was already waiting for her the same day she had received the call and she flew half the world to California. She was not the only one to be called. Her older brother and sister had already arrived, as had a dozen of her blood relations. The next few days saw a few dozen more arrive - cousins, and Aunts and Uncles - if she was to be technical. Almost every Whitfield of any worth gathered for the first time within the multi-acre estate.
It was unprecedented, and a little daunting for Nicole, even as Elizabeth and Belle greeted her home. Gregory had stayed in his boarding school in France.
All of the Whitfields gathered within a vast chamber buried in the underground vaults of the mansion, and all the servants and retinues barred from entry. They were in the center of the estate, ley lines tracing energies where beats its magical heart, and patterns upon patterns of arcane sigils and stones dotted the walls, lights tracing paths safe to tread, the family's scrolls and tomes arranged orderly rows. Clearly, this ritual had anticipated for some time, and prepared for with a meticulous patience Nicole knew her parents possessed in abundance.
She read what she knew, for she was not yet a full-blooded mage, could make only guesswork as to the reasons for trappings older than her grandparents, but what she saw indicated a technique that would converge every type of magic and energy present into the one point of chamber. A melding of sorts made larger than life for all those attending now as while they were all of the name Whitfield, and all knew the alchemical arts that so defined the family, decades and centuries had diversified their skills to the point of a sensory jumble. Like crossing a street in Los Angeles and picking out people of different ethnicities. Too many that it gets confusing, yet still holding many underlying characteristics in common.
They began. The lights were shut off, a candle in the center of the congregation. Nicole could just make out her father, mother, then James and Lauren standing at intervals apart. Young Belle then, was not to be a part of their destiny. First, there was chanting, occult languages in different tongues reverberating through the walls and melding into one sonorous note. She does not know how long they had stayed there. She does not remember, she would admit uneasily, what had transpired in the darkness, amid hooded figures, and whispering fell things. The candle had guttered into a cold flicker, and a cackling, wet and heavy and inside.
Her arms burned, and her throat cracked with smoke. She hurt all over but her legs, and when she awoke, barely aware, the chamber was on fire and Elizabeth was carrying Nicole in her arms, a bag stuffed with scrolls strapped on her shoulders. They ran from the chamber, out the basement and the mansion as everything burned. Nicole watched the mansion crumble in flames. Her legs refuse and Elizabeth carried her to the waiting paramedics, and she decided she was dreaming.
The authorities would say it was a stray spark that started the fire. An unfortunate series of events led to this tragedy, the official statement would read, leading to 43 deaths, mostly from suffocation and localized within the chamber, except for one teenager that was rescued by a heroic maid. They applauded Elizabeth and shifted through the rubble, looking for survivors. They did not find Belle.
Gregory would go missing shortly thereafter.
She worried about Gregory and went into mourning, for Belle most of all. She was released from the hospital, a certified paraplegic, to Elizabeth and her family in the meantime, who were her legal guardians now. She saved what she could from the remains of her family's capital. The vultures had picked at everything long before she left the hospital. Through means legal and not so legal, her family's once vast fortune had dwindled, taken by rivals, and those seeking revenge or restitution. And perhaps it was for the best.
She had canceled her boarding school. There was an itch her brain could not scratch, and a hunch told her she would find her answers by staying. She soon discovered a side of her family that sickened her. They were corrupt, and perhaps that was not a revelation with how rich they were, but in their dealings lives were lost and ruined with the act of a single handshake, and people killed from one spoken word of her parents. She dug into the books, into the diaries and records saved from the fire. She talked to the lawyers and phoned business partners overseas. The Californian Whitfields had its hand in every pie in the city, state, and a significant number in the country and beyond.
Oil spill cover ups, land siezures from the poor, money laundering, arms trafficking, financing the local Mafia, and shaking hands with Mexican cartels. The Whitfields were far worse among the magical community, yet just as insidious, where an overarching authority non-existent. It was a headache to have it all revealed and heaped upon her in a short time, and she cut every connection she could and gave all she could to the authorities. As the only Whitfield left, she had that right, even if many of her family's erstwhile partners did not see it her way. She walked -- rolled rather -- the streets now, instead of the halls of a mansion or an elite boarding school in a far-off country. They were concrete and now, and she couldn't ignore what was in front of her, even as her magic began to die a slow death for no discernible reason.
Seek Knowledge. Wield Power.
Her family had its reasons for everything they've done, excuses more like. But it was something to say to let them sleep at night, and she couldn't say they were deluded. Not when those reasons almost felt right, like this was just the natural state of the world. The strong prey on the weak. Predators eat. Prey flee. Humans fought wars and died and gave birth. And Whitfields learned and gathered.
She woke up one night as she felt eyes watching her. Bellios stood at the foot of her bed, unscathed. Her powers were all but dead by then, and when she had attempted to wear the armor, the recurring psychic backlash left her sick and vomiting food for a week.
By the coaxing of Elizabeth, she decided to fly to Freedom City and resume her schooling. She was frustrated and without hope, disgusted by her family's activities - a useless feeling, lugging an armor that did nothing but make her ill. Still, perhaps she could find a solution in the city of heroes and start anew, far away from the death of her family and the toxic they left. So she transferred half the money she had inherited with Elizabeth and her family, as much as it was a pittance compared to what her family once held, it was a large sum for them and it felt like the right thing to do to thank them for everything.
She flew out the next day.
She was eligible for Claremont, if just barely, and wasn't that cute.
For a whole year she was the most useless student to grace its halls. Stuck in a wheelchair and magic that fizzled pathetically, if she could even get it to work, she would have been kicked out if it weren't for her intelligence and ability to create tech and mystical devices. She brought with her the family scrolls, even if she could recall their contents easily enough, and could call on mystical energies that did not originate from within. Magic rituals and petty concoctions, she knew how to make them. Electronic riff-raff that would not have been out of place in a gadgeteer's arsenal.
All the while the familiar presence lay heavy upon her mind. It was the strongest pull she had ever, and it was directed in its entriety to Bellios. She let herself fall into that obsession, working for a year upon that construct of ancient arcana. She learned so much more than she would within the confines of a classroom, or the laughable practicums the teachers would give to her. She dreamed of bolts and runes, and incantations and coding. And when she was not buried within Bellios, within the confines of her work, she was formulating ways to improve it, to create more energy, more power, because it hungered.
For a year, barely anyone outside her scheduled classes saw her. During class, her presence was almost non-existent, her output just enough to pass.
But just before the end of the school year she rose from her fugue, as if she had fallen asleep or into a coma and had only woke up, though she remembered everything as clear as day. Groggy, head aching, her insides feeling like jelly, she looked up to take in her work.
And it was beautiful.Personality & Motivations
Nicole is, if anything, inclined to extremes. When something deemed important should done, then it should be done to the fullest of one's abilities or not at all. She is analytical, perhaps a bit too cerebral at times. She is headstrong and sure of herself because of her intellect. Perhaps this is why she is quick to be belligerent or sarcastic to those she does not have good first impressions of.
Perhaps as a way to atone for her family's wrongdoing, she has chosen to bear the mantle of a superhero, opposing those her parents would have gladly drink wine with. They were failures, she'd be quick to admit, and she won't be like them. And like everything worth doing, she has taken no half-measures.
Powers & Tactics:
Experience has allowed her to fine-tune herself and her equipment when it comes to superheroics. She knows to fight where she is strong and her foes are not. She prefers to keep her distance, preferably flying and far away as she overwhelms her opponents through judicious use of firepower. When hemmed in or grounded, she makes for an adequate brute in a pinch, though there are many out there who could surpass her in melee. Her arsenal also heightens her senses, encompassing machines and magic, which she can use to observe her opponents and perform reconnaissance undetected until she wishes to reveal her presence, usually through an opening salvo.
Complications:
Collateral Damage: Like it says on the tin: collateral damage. Turns out, holding the trigger of two fusion autocannons spinning at 3,000 rounds per minute each and firing super-heated metals in the city, or anywhere with infrastructure, isn't the smartest idea. Who knew? Nicole does, intellectually, but in the heat of battle there isn't time to think; only the surge of adrenaline and energy blasts flying. It's unfortunate, but damage does happen, especially when she pushes the suit to its full potential. It is power and she sometimes becomes heedless when wielding it as the usage intoxicates her, damn the consequences. (Accident).The GM may have anything or anyone nearby make Saving Throws usually against Damage, or just decide to create potentially fatal consequences concerning destruction of property and objects.
Her Own Brand of Magic: Though versed in the fundamentals of magic and other branches, Nicole is one of a new kind of practitioners in technomagic. She takes traditional ritual- and artifact-making and adapts them to the modern world. She uses magic to get better results in something she could achieve through technology alone or to achieve a result from an angle technology could not.
Nicole's magical tradition trends towards the Hermetical, the alteration of reality through rituals and runes. If the GM feels that the ritual or artifact Nicole is creating does not skew towards the Hermetic then the DC of tests may be increased. If Nicole is not creating technomagic with her ritual or artifact then the DC of the test may increase.
The DC increase depends on how far from these results and applications Nicole's rituals and artifacts are.
Her Own Brand of Science: Nicole is an engineer through and through, but she is also versed enough in the theorethical side to be thought of as a physicist. As a scientist and engineer both she has dedicated herself to the study and creation of energy sources and all its applications. The machinery and computer systems she knows best help her in this endeavor.
If the GM feels Nicole is not hewing to her specialization they may increase the DC of her skills. The increase depends on how far from her specialization Nicole is using her skills for.
From Shadows to Light: Bound to her in spirit and fate, Bellios appears whenever Nicole has need of him. It steps from the unseen places into reality but only when nothing can witness its coming. This could leave Nicole vulnerable when she is unable to escape hostile attention or even render assistance as Salvo when under the curious eyes of innocent bystanders.
Man and Machine: When Nicole enters Bellios she becomes more than human, and more than just an amalgam of steel and flesh. They become one, the personality of her machine bleeding into her thoughts and deeds. The world outside sees one being and acts accordingly; any power that would have effected either her, as a mere human sorcerer, or the techno-magics enmeshed into Bellios would affect the whole that Salvo has become. To be able to process this, Nicole's mind translates the changes into a reality she could comprehend, creating a HUD and "eyes" to see from her helmet. Anything that would blind her, or interfere with the magic and electronics in the armor, would scramble that visual interface and all essential information arrayed within it.
The GM may choose to negate any of the arrays or containers or any powers within the Bellios Device during relevant events. Additionally, the GM may apply negative modifiers to rolls or Conditions such as Blind, Dazed, Stunned, etc as Salvo's armor acts up due to outside interference.
Zenith Touched: Her legs were changed. Fixed in observable ways but there is more to reality than the mere physical. Her psyche flits from memory to memory and sometimes she cannot distinguish if her legs are able or not. In her everyday this proves to be no problem. She is clumsy with her feet and that is all. But her missteps are more pronounced in stressful situations.
Of course, the magical aspect of her previous to paralysis still lingers.
At any time, the GM may choose to have Nicole make a Concentration roll against a DC 10 Trip Action or be considered Prone. They may also choose to make her oppose a DC 15 Check or have Drawback: Disability (Paraplegic) added for more long-lasting effects.
ABILITIES: 0 - 2 + 0 + 14 + 0 + 0 = 12PP
Strength: 18/10 (+8/4/0)
Dexterity: 8 (-1)
Constitution: 20/10 (+5/0)
Intelligence: 24 (+7)
Wisdom: 10 (+0)
Charisma: 10 (+0)
COMBAT: 6 + 4 = 10PP
Initiative: +3/-1 (-1/-1 Base, +4/+0 Improved Initiative)
Attack: +3 Base, +3 Melee, +3 Ranged, +5 Weapons Suite Array [+14 Energy Vent, +10 Missile Batteries]
Grapple: +22-17 (Bellios + Servo-Dynamos + Iron Grip)/13-8 (Salvo + Servo-Dynamos)/7 (Salvo)/3 (Nicole)
Defense: +5/3 (+4/2 Base, +1 Dodge Focus), +2/1 Flat-Footed
Knockback: -11/2
SAVING THROWS: 0 + 0 + 0 = 0PP
Toughness: +15/5 (+5/0 Con, +10 Protection [Bellios], +5 Forcefield [Nicole])
Fortitude: +13/0 (+5/0 Con, +8 [Bellios])
Reflex: +5/-1 (-1 Dex, +6 [Bellios])
Will: +7/0 (+0 Wis, +7 [Bellios])SKILLS: 88R = 22PP
Bluff 3 (+3)
Concentration 3 (+3)
Computers 5 (+12)SMCraft (Artistic) 3 (+10)SM
Craft (Chemical) 5 (+12)
Craft (Electronic) 6 (+13)
Craft (Mechanical) 6 (+13)Craft (Structural) 5 (+12)SM
Diplomacy 3 (+3)
Disable Device 4 (+11)Intimidate 14/0 (+14/0)SM
Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 7 (+14)Knowledge (Art) 1 (+8)
Knowledge (Behavioral Science) 1 (+8)
Knowledge (Current Events) 2 (+9)
Knowledge: (Cosmology) 4 (+11)SM
Knowledge (Earth Science) 1 (+8)
Knowledge (History) 2 (+9)
Knowledge (Life Science) 1 (+8)
Knowledge (Physical Science) 5 (+12)SM
Knowledge (Technology) 6 (+13)SMKnowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 4 (+11)
Language 2 (English, French, Spanish)
Notice 10/4 (+10/+4)SM
Search 3 (+10)SM
Sense Motive 2 (+2)
FEATS: 15PP
ArtificerDodge Focus
Eidetic MemoryEquipment 5
InventorLuck
Online Research
Skill Mastery [Craft (Artistic), Knowledge (Cosmology), Knowledge (Physical Sciences), Knowledge (Technology)]
RitualistUltimate Skills 4 [Craft (Electrical), Craft (Mechanical), Craft (Structural), Knowledge (Arcane Lore)]
Well-Informed
Equipment: 10EP
Artificer and Ritualist Tools [Masterwork] [1EP]
Laptop [Masterwork] [2EP]
Multi-tool [1EP]
Taser (Stun 5; Electricity; Flaws: Limited [5 Uses]; Feat: Extended Reach 2 [10 feet]; Drawback: Full Power) [6EP]
Mind's Eye [15EP]
SpoilerSize: Miniscule Exterior (6 feet, Bellios) / Colossal Interior [5EP]
Toughness: +5 [0EP]
Defense: 10 [0EP]
Features: [10EP]
Concealed [+10DC]
Communications
Computer
Defense Systems (Descriptor: Drones)
Dual Size (Descriptor: Inside Bellios)
Laboratory
Library
Power System (Descriptor: Bellios)
Sealed (Descriptor: Inside Bellios)
Workshop
POWERS: 3 + 3 + 137 + 2 = 145PP
Device 1 (Bracelet, Tech, Easy-to-Lose; 5DP; Extra Effort [Device] [Cannot use in Bellios armor]) [3PP]
Descriptors: All (Hermetic) Magic and Technology combined. Magitech.
Forcefield 5 (Extras: Duration [Continuous [+1]; Flaws: Ablative [-1]) [5DP]
Device 1 (Eyeglasses, Magical, Tech, Easy-to-Lose; 5DP; Extra Effort [Device] [Cannot use in Bellios armor]) [3PP]
Descriptors: All (Hermetic) Magic and Technology combined. Magitech.
Sensory Suite Array 2 (4DP Array; Feats: Alternate Powers 1) [5DP]
BE: Super-Senses 4 (Visual [Technology] Awareness [+3] [Enhancement: Accurate (+0), Acute (+0), Analytical (+1), Ranged (+0)]) {4/4}
AP: Super-Senses 4 (Visual [Magic] Awareness [+3] [Enhancement: Accurate (+0), Acute (+0), Analytical (+1), Ranged (+0)]) {4/4}
Bellios 34 (Battlesuit, Magical, Tech; 170DP Alternate Form/Device; Extra Effort [Device]; Feats: Restricted [Beings with Magic]) [137PP] (169/170 DP spent)
All Source Descriptors: All Magitech
Protocol Sy 12.8 (64DP Container) [64DP] (Additional Descriptors: Hermetic Magic, Runic Magic, Under the Plate)
Enhanced Strength 8 [8] + Enhanced Strength 8 (Iron Grip; Flaws: Only used for melee attacks leading to and grapple checks;
Feats: Accurate 4, Attack Focus [Ranged], Improved Grapple) [10] = [18]
Enhanced Constitution 10 [10DP]
Enhanced Defense 1 [4DP]
Enhanced Feats 6 (Accurate Attack, All-out Attack, Attack Specialization (Weapons Suite), Improved Initiative, Power Attack,
Skill Mastery [Computers, Intimidate, Notice, Search]) [6DP]
Enhanced Saves 20 (Fortitude 8, Reflex 6, Will 7) [21DP]
Enhanced Skills 5 (Intimidate 14, Notice 6) [5DP]
Communication Systems Array 3 (6PP Array; Feat: Alternate Powers 1) [7DP] (Additional Descriptors: Hermetic Magic, Microrunes, Technomancy)
BE: Communications 4 (Radio, 1 mile; Extras: Area; Flaws: Action [Move]; Feats: Selective, Subtle) {6/6}
AP: Data Link 3 (Radio, 1,000 feet; Extras: Area, Linked [Enhanced Feats]; Flaws: Check Required [Computers]; Feats: Machine Control, Selective, Subtle) {6/6}
Hexagrammic Paneling 5.2 (26DP Container) [26DP] (Additional Descriptors: Runic Magic, Under the Plate)
Immovable 1 (Extras: Unstoppable) [2DP]
Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9DP]
Impervious Toughness 5 [5DP]
Protection 10 [10DP]
Sensory Suite Array 5.5 (11DP Array; Feats: Alternate Powers 1) [12DP] (Additional Descriptors: Hermetic Magic, Microrunes, Technomancy)
BE: Super-Senses 11 (Mental [Magic] Awareness [+3]; Awareness [Enhancement: Accurate (+2), Acute (+1),
Analytical (+1), Extended [10,000 ft] (+3), Radius (+1), Ranged (+1)]) {11/11}
AP: Super-Senses 9 (Direction Sense [+1], Distance Sense [+1], Infravision [+1], Radio [+1], Radar [+3]; Radar [Enhancements:
Accurate (+0), Acute (+0), Extended 2 [1,000 ft] (+2), Radius (+1), Ranged (+1)]) {11/11}
Servo-Dynamos 6.5 (13DP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 1, Dynamic 2) [16DP] (Additional Descriptors: Hermetic Magic, Technomancy)
DBE: Flight 0-6 (500 mph / 5,000 per Move Action; Feats: Subtle) {0-13}
DAP: Super-Strength 0-6 (Effective Strength 18-48, Heavy Load ~400 lbs-~12 tons) {0-12}
Weapons Suite Array 20 (40PP Array; Feats: Alternate Powers 4) [44DP]
BE: Damage 10 (Kinetic Beam; Extras: Linked [Dazzle], Range [Perception]; Flaws: Limited [5 times a day], Action (Full);
Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Penetrating 5, Variable [Energy/Divine Magic]) {20} +
Dazzle 10 (Visual and Auditory; Extras: Explosion, Linked [Damage], Range [Perception]; Flaws: Limited [5 times a day], Action(Full)) {20}
= {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Energy, Divine Magic, Straight From the Soul)
AP: Damage 15 (Fusion Autocannons; Extras: Autofire, Range [Ranged]; Flaws: Distracting; Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20],
Improved Range 7 [250 Feet per Power Rank], Variable Descriptor [Ballistic/Energy]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Ballistic, Energy)
AP: Damage 10 (Flamethrowers; Extras: Area [General, Cone], Vampiric; Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Incurable, Penetration 4,
Progression 3 [100 Feet per Power Rank]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Infernal Magic)
AP: Damage 10 (Missile Batteries; Extras: Area [Targeted, Shapeable], Range [Ranged]; Feats: Accurate 2, Attack Focus [Ranged],
Homing, Improved Range 3 [100 Feet per Power Rank], Indirect, Progression 2 [2 boxes per rank]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Ballistic)
AP: Stun 7 (Energy Vent; Extras: Area [Targeted, Burst] [5 Feet per Power Rank], Affects Objects [+1], Selective Attack; Feats: Accurate 3,
Attack Focus [Ranged], Progression 2 [25 Feet per Power Rank]) {40/40} (Additional Descriptors: Electricity)
Magic 1.5 (3PP Array; Flaws: Unreliable) [2PP]
Dazzle 1 (Visual + Auditory) [3AP]
Drawbacks: -1 + -3 = 4PP
Nearsighted -1PP (Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Minor)
Normal Identity -3PP (Frequency: Common; Intensity: Moderate)
DC Block
ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT
Unarmed Touch DC 19/15 Toughness Damage (Physical, Bludgeoning)Dazzle Perception DC 18 Reflex/Fortitude Dazzle (Staged)
Dazzle Perception DC 11 Reflex/Fortitude Dazzle (Staged)
Energy Vent Touch DC 19 Fortitude Stun (Staged)
Flamethrowers Ranged DC 25 Toughness Damage (Electricity/Fire/Water)
Fusion Autocannons Ranged DC 30 Toughness (Autofire) Damage (Physical)
Kinetic Beam Perception DC 25 Toughness (Penetrating) Damage (Energy/Bludgeoning)
Missile Batteries Ranged DC 25 Toughness Damage (Missiles)
TOTALS
Abilities (12) + Combat (10) + Saving Throws (0) + Skills (22) + Feats (15) + Powers (145) - Drawbacks (4) = 200/202 Power Points
Totals:
Equipment: 10 EP
Normal Identity: Device 1 (5) + Device 1 (5) = 10/10 Device Points
Bellios Armor: Device 34 (169) = 169/170 Device Points
-
Protocol Sy
-
-
Defenses
Mingzhu: 23
Abracadaver: 16
Bodyguard Zombies: 15
Zombies: 10
***
Toughness Save
Lady Mingzhu: 1d20+12 = 27: Saved
Abracadaver: 1d20+15 = 25: Bruised, Dazed, Injured
Knockback: 7. Toughness Save: 1d20+14 = 29
Concrete: 1d20+8 = 25: Saved
Bodyguard Zombies: 3#1d20+5 = 8, 21, 23: Destroyed; Bruised, Dazed, Injured; Bruised Dazed, Injured. Knockback for both: 13
Knockback: 13. Toughness Save: 2#1d20+4 = 11, 5 vs DC 23: Dazed, Disabled, Staggered; Destroyed
Zombies: 3#1d20+7 = 18, 12, 21: Destroyed, Destroyed, Destroyed
***
Abracadaver
Clears Dazed
***
Bodyguard Zombies
Clear Dazed
***
Lady Mingzhu
Clears Dazed
***
25 - Lady Mingzhu: Bruised 2, Injured, Prone
24 - Rebellion, 3 HP: Fatigued, Unharmed, -1 Attack, -1 Defense, -2 Strength, -2 Dexterity
12 - Abracadaver: Bruised 2, Injured, Prone
***
It is now Rebellion's turn
-
FYI, this is the end of the thread if Rebellion gets KO'd besides some epilouge stuff. Though you may want to save the HP for the epilouge rolls for information gathering. Obviously, the rolls would be easier if you escape with the black tome and laptop's contents. It's up to you.
Actually, the third zombie attack won't happen this round if Rebellion is hit like that, so consider this his conditions by his turn next round.
24 - Rebellion, 4HP: Bruised, Dazed, Disabled, Fatigued, Injured, Staggered, Unconscious
-
Definitely. Take an HP for the potentially suicidal action.
***
Abracadaver
Toughness Save: 1d20+15 = 20
Knockbacked: 25 feet, hits a bunch of zombies on the way for another Bruised condition to the zombies.
Clears Dazed
***
Zombies 3:
Initiative: 1d20-1 = 9
Bodyguard Zombies 1, 2, 3
All-out Attack +5 Attack / -5 Defense
Submachine Guns: 3#1d20+10 = 23, 16, 23
DC 19
***
Zombies 1, 2, 3
+2 Attack / -2 Defense
Bites and Claws: 3#1d20+8 = 27, 23, 23
DC 23
***
Lady Mingzhu
Clears Dazed
***
25 - Lady Mingzhu: Bruised 2, Injured, Prone
24 - Rebellion, 3 HP: Fatigued, Unharmed, -1 Attack, -1 Defense, -2 Strength, -2 Dexterity
12 - Abracadaver: Bruised 2, Prone
18 - Bodyguard Zombie 1: Unharmed, Defense 3
14 - Bodyguard Zombie 2: Unharmed, Defense 3
13 - Bodyguard Zombie 3: Unharmed, Defense 3
12 - Zombies 1: Bruised, Defense -2
9 - Zombies 3: Bruised, Defense -2
8 - Zombies 2: Unharmed, Defense -2
***
Roll Toughness vs DC 19, 19, 23, 23, 23
Rebellion basically gets dogpiled by Abracadaver's group of zombies, like 21 of them fluff-wise.
-
Lady Mingzhu
Toughness Save: 1d20+14 = 24
Abracadaver
Toughness Save: 1d20+16 = 27
I'd say it hits and knocks down one or two other zombies near Abracadaver, enough for the group to add a Bruised condition.
***
25 - Lady Mingzhu: Dazed, Bruised 2, Injured, Prone
24 - Rebellion, 3 HP: Unharmed
12 - Abracadaver: Bruised
12 - Zombies 1: Bruised
8 - Zombies 2: Unharmed
-
Salvo
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
Salvo lowered herself towards the knocked down man. She hovered above the man, the fake Justice slumped over her shoulder, and she looked down at him. A light smattering of electricity trailed across her armor, ready to be shot at in a moment's notice.
He was prone, bruised, zapped, and jostled all in the span of a few seconds but Salvo was not moved. He was a potential threat and both she and Justice had demonstrated that they could dispatch him easily. First Mrs. Doors, then Justice, now this man. Everyone was suspect.
"And prove it."
Her armor crackled and out rushed the energy, straight at the man.
-
Move Action: Fly down to the trees
Standard Action: Attack with Energy Vent
All-out Attack / Power Attack
+5 DC / -5 Defense
AP: Stun 7 (Energy Vent; Extras: Area [Targeted, Burst] [5 Feet per Power Rank], Affects Objects [+1], Selective Attack; Feats: Accurate 3, Attack Focus [Ranged]) {38/40} (Additional Descriptors: Electricity)
Energy Vent: 1d20+13 = 27
Fortitude Save vs DC 22
Plea of the Serpent
in Archives
Posted
Morlocks
Initiative: 11#1d20+0 = 18,16, 4,14, 13, 4, 11, 19, 8, 3, 2
***
4, 14, 13, 4, and 11 Morlocks
Drop what they're carrying
19 Morlock
Charge: 1d20+3+2 = 8. Misses
Morlock Leader
Standard Action: Affliction: 1d20+3 = 13. Miss
8, 3, 2 Morlocks
Aim
***
16 Morlock
Your grapple hits and the Morlock can't contest the Grapple check
I assume you use your Move Action to bring Advay to you
***
19 - Morlock: Unharmed
18 - Morlock Leader: Unharmed
16 - Morlock: Unharmed
14 - Morlock: Unharmed
13 - 4HP, Blackstaff: Unharmed
13 - Morlock: Unharmed
11 - Morlock: Unharmed
8 - Morlock: Unharmed
4 - Morlock: Unharmed
4 - Morlock: Unharmed
3 - Morlock: Unharmed
2 - Morlock: Unharmed
***
And it's Blackstaff's turn.
Basically, it's very hard for the Morlocks to hit him with his +10 defense.