spectrevk

Catherine takes hold of the shoe, using her chalk to draw another diagram on the ground. Placing the shoe in the center of the diagram, the held her hands a few inches above and began reciting what she hoped was the right incantation for this... (arcane ritual based on Super Senses:Postcognition [flaw], jury rigged, which should be a DC of 17 I think.) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1598043/ (17, if I calculated it right, I just made it) Search check if the post-cognition works: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1598045/

Sorry! I had an unexpected interruption. I uh...switched jobs. Haven't started the new one yet, but I've been running around with all kinds of stuff I have to finish up at the old one.

Catherine looked down at the slimy thing, carefully comparing it to what she had seen in the vision. "I don't think so...this looks like some kind of acidic creature...it just latches on and digests you. The things I saw were tearing that poor woman apart."

Sure, here you go: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1598041/ Not likely to succeed, I rolled pretty badly.

"Ginny, wait...maybe I can help" said Catherine, placing one hand on the shoe. "I could....hmm....well, I think I might be able to look up an abjuration ritual that might help, or maybe I could try reading the shoe?"

Ah, I was thinking of the 1e use of Hero points, my mistake. The thing about Accurate is, if it's constrained by PL, then she still can't go above 6, because she has a trade-off on attack bonus that caps her at 4 (which is why her blast is at 8, not 6). In any case, in the interest of fairness, I should keep my original roll of 7, but I'd like to use the alternate power to go with the Teleport 5 you described. If Accurate is affected by PL limits (and I believe it is), then could I replace that with a Homing power feat?

Actually... Now keep in mind, I have no verification for this, but a friend of mine who was studying criminal justice told me that the last GTA game's release actually caused/coincided with a 30 day reduction in violent crime, because the guys who would be running around at 3am capping each other were too busy playing GTA.

She already has a blast. I wasn't thinking clearly. Let's just get it to a safe place....What does the "accurate" power feat do for the power in this case? I might want to go for the Teleport 5 route, since she's much better at ranged attacks than melee. If you want to keep the same roll (it was a 7, plus 2 from her melee attack for 9) I'm fine with that. But I thought extra effort could only get you one extra? That's why I was going with the melee touch attack. If it can do more, then sweet. :)

I was talking about San Andreas when I said I liked to have the other people in my car do the shooting. In GTA IV, I generally just don't bother unless I have bullets to waste. I'm not sure what the deal is with your game being stuck...you might want to contact their tech support.

Are you sure you couldn't advance? There are points in the game where you have no places to go, but if you hang around a bit you'll get a phone call. The driving system takes some getting used to, as they tried to make it more "realistic". I was worried about it being unuseable, but personally I haven't had that much trouble. Handling varies with the type of car you're driving, and the weather conditions. Also, you really have to make good use of the hand brake and regular brake. Shooting while driving really *should* be hard, and it wasn't that easy in San Andreas either, to be honest. I usually left that stuff to the guys I packed in my car. The frequency of calls is annoying at the start of the game, when Roman is constantly bugging you. It slows down a lot though...maybe because I kept doing stuff with them, or maybe because the game just reduces it after a while. In any case, you can turn off the phone, or so I'm told. To me, the single player campaign, while nice, is basically just training you for the Multiplayer, which is where the game becomes truly awesome.

Catherine took a moment to clear her head, then sat down on one of the park benches. "I couldn't find her...but there's something in those woods. Like Ginny said, it was calling us, but not with words. Whatever it is, I don't think it's human. I couldn't make contact with it, the distance was too great...but it's definitely somewhere in there." she said, looking perplexed. "I don't like the way Ginny reacted to it though...this thing could be really dangerous if it can exert that kind of control on people. On one hand, the safest thing would be to get some officers together to search the woods, but on the other hand, I don't want to risk losing more people to this...."thing" than we already have."

Catherine cried out in surprise, freezing up as she tried to figure out what to do about this...this THING without hurting the kid it was attacking. Initiative: 7 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1587585/ Hitting upon an idea so crazy that it just might work, Catherine furrowed her brow in concentration and approached it gingerly, her hands crackling with magical energy. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1587599/ [i would like to use Extra Effort to use her teleportation spell on the monster...since the range is usually Personal, I *think* this means she would have to succeed in a melee touch attack to do this (I'm hoping that the fact that it's grappling him will help as well). Let me know if this isn't possible. She wants to teleport the monster halfway into the ground if possible.]

If anyone was wondering where I was this weekend (sorry about the lack of posting), well...I was in Liberty City. Before I get into any hyperbole, I just want to say that if you own a PS3 or XBOX 360 and aren't underage, you need to, at the very least, rent this game. The single player game is excellent, and truly a step up from the previous generation of GTA games. Transportation options are increased (you can ride in taxis and take the subway), the city itself seems more alive and interactive, and the physics are incredible. The characters are interesting, the dialogue mostly well written, and the plot, while not always innovative, is compelling. And of course, you can just run around and do stunt jumps/shoot cops/whatever. And then there's the multiplayer. Of course there are some immature kids around, but not as many as I had feared, and the gameplay itself is just awesome. There are a bunch of different modes, but I'm still squeezing gallons of entertainment from the deathmatch and team deathmatch modes. It's one thing to run around an urban map and shoot people; it's another thing entirely to run around causing havoc in a simulated city, with people fleeing in terror, cops responding to the trouble, and broken fire hydrants spewing water into the sky. In other words, it was a rather eventful weekend. :)

Catherine took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "They were alone...well, if you call a pack of them "alone". And they came from that direction." she said, pointing to where they had snuck up on the unfortunate woman in the vision. "Oh, hey...what's that dripping sound?"

Catherine scratched her head and considered the scene for a few moments. She circled around, looking but not really seeing anything. "Where should we start, Lieutenant? I'm not so arrogant as to think my eyes alone are going to pick up something you and the forensic teams missed, but I can't really think of anything else unless....wait! I've got it. The Eye of Aquarius! I think I might be able to look in a...somewhat different way. Give me a few minutes." she says, walking to an open area of the sidewalk and etching a few symbols with a piece of chalk. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. And it shouldn't be dangerous at all...just a scan..." http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1583456/ Arcane Knowledge roll: 29 to figure out the ritual.

Barnum, if I wanted to jury-rig a ritual to scan the area for living, human minds and make contact, what would I need to build that from? I'm thinking telepathy with a range extra might work, perhaps adding a "Tiring" flaw to keep the cost (and thus the DC) down. Does that sound about right?

Catherine extended her hand and smiled politely. "Pleased to meet you. I'm a private investigator and a...ah, journeyman practitioner of magic. Glad to help if I can."

Catherine Kato slowly approached the group, walking at a glacial pace that didn't leave her huffing. Recognizing Ginny, she waved and smiled. "Hey there, um...I'm sorry, but I'm really bad with names. I'm Catherine, I think we spoke this morning about the King investigation? Care to introduce me to your friend?"

Catherine's eyes blink open, and suddenly she's back in the present, in the dark and surrounded by a strange mix of superhumans. Sucking in a deep breath to calm herself, she straightens up and addresses the group. "She was eaten by a pack of...things. I couldn't see what they were, exactly...maybe some kind of animal, or something more humanoid. About five feet tall though, and terribly vicious. And...green. They're green."

Catherine's mind tensed, her eyes focused intently on the vision of the past before her, seeking clues, wherever they might be. Search Check: 19 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1569777/

Catherine sat down to finish her coffee, then set the cup in the sink and walked back to her room, choosing her clothes for the day. She'd need her boots if they were going into the forest. Hopping into the shower, she turned the information she had over in her mind a few times...a wealthy girl, heir to Heironymous King, disappears near Lantern Hill...she'd assumed it was a mundane kidnapping, or some serial killer...if it was supernatural though, what could it be? Stepping out of the shower she headed for her library, just looking for general info on supernatural abductions in the area. Arcane Lore: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1568742/ (28 total) Streetwise: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1568745/ (13 total) Not wanting to take too much time on research, Catherine quickly dressed and locked up her apartment, heading by bus to the Lantern Hill district. There was an excellent bakery there, and her mind was occupied with visions of a bagel with lox and cream cheese. Finally, having researched, eaten, and arrived at her location, she headed for the crime scene, eager to begin on the case. This was exactly the kind of break she needed as a private investigator.

Awesome. I've been trying to speed things along on my side so we can get the whole crew involved.

Catherine blinked and straightened up; the conversation woke her more capably than any coffee. "Lantern Hill, you say? That's a...rather odd corner of town. If there's anything I can do to help find this girl, I'll try. I have to say though, it's a bit surprising to have the police coming to me...I didn't think you guys went in for the hocus-pocus." She left the pot brewing and walked across the room with a slow, lazy gait, sitting down across from the two officers. "Obviously I won't be coming along in my pajamas. Is there someplace you'd like me to meet you, or do you want to wait outside while I get ready?"

Catherine yawned and unhooked the chain lock, waving the two "officers" inside. "Sure, c'mon in. What's all this about?" she says sleepily, slowly dragging herself to the kitchen to make coffee while the officers seat themselves. She seems nonplussed by the young girl being introduced as a cadet, but it's quite likely that she hasn't entirely noticed...she's at least one cup of coffee from being officially "half awake". "Can I get either of you something? Coffee? Biscotti? I can order some french toast from the diner down the street..."

I should've checked in yesterday; sorry about that. Sleepy-headed Catherine Kato is ready to go now, however.