Shadowboxer

Ah, I see. I misunderstood the text; I was thinking the power was countered instantly without a roll, mimicking the occasional miraculous save in comics. :D

Wow, what happened? School happened. Stupid school. I'm posting today. What are we going to do about Grim, now that Heritage has retired?

If there's room for one more, Nightrival would be up for some crime-fightin'. In fact, he already belongs to a team. Though two members are no longer with us, Nightrival and Hub are still active members. Maybe we can work something out? :)

I was trying for an instant counter but I'll roll as you requested. NR gets a bruise and is stunned. I will have to edit my post accordingly. :(

I have 1 PP to spend on Nightrival. I will increase his Wisdom score to 16. The following edits would occur: Concentration 9 (+12), Notice 13 (+16), Sense Motive 13 (+16), Will +7 Thanks! Updated by Doc.

I rolled rather badly on the Will save so I'm spending a Hero Point to completely negate the damage. Nightrival steels his mind against the attack. I can certainly play Grim. I will post her actions ASAP.

I finish school early today (yay!) and I'll be catching up this afternoon. I'm gone most of the weekend for a memorial then I'm back into a regular routine. Hopefully, I can continue to post without much delay.

That's sad and unexpected news. Thanks for all story-telling opportunities these past few months, which, in my opinion, transformed a couple of pages of statistics into authentic three-dimensional characters. You're a great player and I hope we bump into each other in the near future. I think bringing Grimalkin into the forums and letting her move around a bit and talk to other characters is a good exercise. You get a chance to frame her character. I look forward to seeing your comic when you feel it's ready to be written. You're currently in one game with me. For the sake of brevity, could we have Grim remain as an NPC until it's duration? Take care, and remember what Nightrival would say: "Don't let 'em grind ya down!"

Man, that's terrible. I hope you stay safe.

School started this week and I'm very busy. I will be gradually posting over the week to keep up with Refs and fellow players. I'm in desperate need to crack some villian upside the head. Thanks for your patience!

I really enjoyed the first season but I was disappointed with the second season. I got about half-way through and decided to give myself a cease and desist order. Maybe I'll pick up the series in the future if season three proves to be better.

If and when I bring Twister back into the game, how do I go about doing that?

Nightrival scratches the back of his head and lightly blushes. "Right. I forgot about the no-money situation. I guess we skip breakfast and go find us some elves. Maybe they got some food ta spare." Though he's seen meditation techniques like the one Sen used during the evening, the feat impresses him nonetheless. Nightrival spent his life learning the art of fighting and neglected the other aspects those arts offered. The physical realm was his kingdom: breaking bones and breaking spirits is his way. He meditated often but not at the intensity Sen has clearly mastered. Part of him wishes to venture into the spiritual side of his practice, perhaps to unlock some hidden talent. Nightrival shakes his head. The mission comes first; meditation won't help anyone. With Slathliss finally awake and the rest of the group coming together, he walks out the door and stops in the hallway. "I'll wait fer ya outside," he says over his shoulder. "Don't take too long." He swaggers down the hallway and down the stairs. He briefly pauses to scan the tavern.

Nightrival finds himself in another living room. This one is simply decorated: a few photographs hang from the wall, and two couches with floral patterns are wrapped in plastic. A small television stands on a dinner tray in the middle of the room. He looks around and then cups his hands over his mouth. He can smell the smoke drifting inside. "Hello!" he yells. "Anybody home?" "There's no need to make such a ruckus, young man," replies a tiny voice. "I'm sitting right here." Nightrival swings his head from side to side to find the owner of the voice. He spots a small figure seated on a rocking chair facing the television. Normally he cound find someone, even of that stature, in a darkened room if he searched hard enough. For some reason the person only appeared to him now. He steps closer. The figure in the chair is dressed like an elderly woman. She is wearing a blue dress under an apron trimmed with lace. A pair of heavy leather loafers hang from her feet. Her white hair is tied back in a tight bun and thin, square glasses balance on her nose. She must be no taller than four and a half feet. Her human resemblance ends there, however. Her round face is greenish-blue and covered in scales like a fish, and bookended by long, pointed ears. Her eyes are coal black and they shimmer in the faint light. She holds a pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn is tucked in beside her. "You look lost, young man," she says. Nightrival pinches the base of his nose. I hate this town. "Um, yeah, right. Sorry ta barge in on ya like this - " "You broke my window." "I had ta get in here, didn't I?" She crosses her arms. "You did, did you? You could have knocked on the front door like a sensible person." "The hallway is on fire." "Still, I'd prefer a little more sensibility. Harold always insisted that the world needed a strong dose of sensibility." "Harold?" She points to a framed black and white picture standing on a side table. Nightrival peers closer. The woman is in the picture, much younger than she is now, and beside her is a man with the same features. They are seated on a blanket under an oak tree. "Harold is . . . was my husband," she explains. "He worked in textiles." "I see. I hate ta cut this short, but the building's on fire an' I gotta get ya outta here." "I'm not going anywhere, young man. I have lived in this apartment for fifty years. My Harold - bless his heart - passed away in this very room. We raised six children here. I'm not about to scurry away when a few little flames poke their noses in here." "I know this ain't a party right now. Ya gotta lot of memories here. But, ya can't stay. Even elves aren't fireproof. I think." "Elves?" she huffs. "What makes you think I'm an elf?" "Well, um, the ears an' all . . ." The woman crosses her arms again and her lips tighten. "I am a water sprite, young man. Water. Sprite. I thank the elemental spirits my Harold is not here to listen to this. To think, young people today can't tell the difference between a sprite and an elf. Harold would have had a fit; he would think you were being quite insensible." Nightrival hangs his head. The idea of dragging a little blue woman out of her apartment is not exactly the scenario he imagined. A sharp odour seeps into his nostrils. He turns to look down the hall. Flames are raising from under the front door and are getting larger. He decides to do away with sensibility and take the initiative. "I hate ta do this but yer comin' with me, ma'am." He rushes forward to pick her up. Just as he's standing over her his chest clenches tight. He panics when he realizes he can't draw a breath. Clenching his chest, he falls to his knees and looks up at the woman now gazing down at him with her shining black eyes. He opens his mouth to speak and water gushes out instead of words. The sprite picks up her needles and continues knitting. "You people are much like us, young man," she says softly. "We are both made of water. Now, promise to be sensible and I will draw out all that water I directed into your lungs. I told you I'm not leaving and that's final."

:bat: doesn't like birthdays, but he wishes you a good one anyway.

I think that's the fundamental piece of the argument. The language skill is not structured like other skills and so the feat cannot be easily adapted. Having a sound argument against using this feat would fill in those loopholes players enjoy finding from time to time. :D

Nightrival wakes up in the same position he fell asleep in, startled by the noises radiating from the streets outside. He lifts his head and rubs his eyes. Slowly, the room and its occupants come back into focus. Nightrival is feeling stiff from the neck down and his mouth is dry as a stone. He's not surprised to find Slathliss still with the group, though the reptilian thief could have disappeared during the night to abandon them and cast off his responsibility. For that, he decides to fully trust their guide. Seeing that everyone is still present, he stands up and brushes the dirt off his legs. "Not th' best sleep I had but it sure beats crashin' inna alley," he mutters. He pauses to listen to Sen and Kevin. "I'm glad yer doin' better," he says to Kevin. "Gettin' a bite ta eat sounds like a plan. Let's head downstairs and see what there is ta see."

I included the roll for my Acrobatic Bluff check. Nightrival will move 10 feet away from his target.

Sounds good. I'll post later today. :)

I think you're right on this one but technically I can see no reason why it shouldn't. There is nothing in the text mentioning languages, as far as I know. However, that loophole provides players with too much "power" for such a low cost. They could speak any language for one measly power point! Perhaps they can spend a Hero Point in conjunction with the Jack-of-all-Trades feat to be able to speak a certain language when the situation arises.

Nightrival groans, grips his side, and takes a step back. The house and front yard tilts and spins before him, and his feet have trouble finding the ground. He shoots a glare at the grinning woman. He knows what's happening to him; he doesn't know why. She could have superpowers or some kind of technology, though it really doesn't matter to him. He has to find a way to take her down without giving her a chance to reflect the damage back to him. That won't be easy. His ears ring from a high-pitched sound coming from behind him. He turns his head and sees the thug Heavy yelling at a giant . . . . bat? He does a double take to make sure he's not hallucinating and indeed he sees a human bat flying high in the air. Is that what I saw earlier? he thinks. Man, I'm never gonna get used ta this town. But if he's giving Heavy a hard time then he must be fightin' fer our side. He returns his attention back to his new opponent, in an attempt to straighten out his fractured vision.

We can wait to post until Invisible Castle is back online or we find an alternate roller. I can wait until either option is available. In the mean time, I can write my post and insert the URLs later. EDIT: I'm using Acrobatic Bluff and a move action this round.

For me, the distinction between taking an ability as a power or as a feat or skill is more than cosmetic. When a martial artist takes Strike, for example, that implies the ability is above and beyond normal human capabilities - the fighter in question is able to channel enough chi to punch through concrete - and thematically that makes sense. I think taking Comprehend as a power for a baseline human would not make sense unless there's some kind of rational explanation. For regular humans, language should be a raw skill to reflect training and exposure rather than an inexplicable talent. It all boils down to a matter of opinion. What kind of descriptors do players use to explain their characters' abilities is the main point, I believe.

The Comprehend power would work for superpowered characters, but what about non-powered ones? Purchasing ranks in the language skill would be the way to go, but if you want a character who knows many languages that could get very expensive. How would the Benefit feat work in this case?

Nightrival will watch for an hour or two then fall asleep. We can move onto the next scene then. :)