N/A

OK, now that the December points have gone out, this one's ready again.

LUCK'D OUT BY HGM Kingsnake: 2PP to spend. Please spend 2PP on 2 ranks of the Luck feat.

Thrude shouted a challenge at the unknown entity. "CRAVEN BEAST! THY REIGN OF TERROR IS AT AN END!" Her words were punctuated by cracks of thunder echoing across the sky. "THOU HAST SLAUGHTERED THY LAST VICTIM! I AM THRUDE! DAUGHTER OF SIF HARVEST-QUEEN, AND THOR THUNDER-KING, SON OF ODIN ALL-FATHER! I AM THE DAUGHTER OF STORMS! THE PRINCESS OF ASGARD! CHOOSER OF THE SLAIN! THIS REALM AND ALL ITS PEOPLES STAND UNDER MY PROTECTION! THOU HAST VIOLATED THEIR SANCTUARY, AND NOW THOU SHALT FACE THE JUSTICE OF THE AESIR! MAKE PEACE WITH THY GODS, DEMON! DRAW STEEL, AND PREPARE THEE TO TASTE THE LIKE OF MINE!"

Initiative: 18.

"Nay, this is the first I have heard of this smaller horror." Thrude shook her head and sighed. "Mayhap it was thought a trivial matter, compared to the sheer scale of the slaughter for which that curs-ed, damn-ed Kantor did use my idiot father." She turned briefly to Heimdall and nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank ye, Uncle." She turned back to Comrade Frost, so far the most forthcoming of the group. "This 'Göessler,' once she joined our sisterhood, did she renounce her loyalty to Kantor and his Thule-wizards? Or did she continue to do his foul bidding? And what of the child? Do either of them still live?"

I didn't see an OOC thread, so I made one. I'm assuming that Kingsnake took 10 on the Gather Info check with Well-Informed to hit DC25 on Miras's reputation table. Kingsnake takes 10 with Skill Mastery to get a DC25 Stealth check. If she doesn't meet that, then she's surprised when he starts talking. He takes 10 with Skill Mastery on Sense Motive checks, hitting DC30, and Miras's Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate get cut down to +6, +5, and +2 (respectively) when used on him, so he's functionally immune to any of her interaction skills.

Kingsnake hugged the shadows as best he could while approaching the abandoned Greenbank building. Since he couldn't see precisely where the light did and didn't fall, he needed to rely upon his hypersensitive touch to feel the temperature difference between the lit and unlit areas. Every time another incandescent light bulb was replaced with an L.E.D., that slight difference became more difficult to notice. He crept up to the back of the building, climbed up to the roof, then worked his way down, entering by the most discrete means he could find. His echolocation bathed the area in waves of ultrasound, translating into a three-dimensional line drawing in his mind. Right where she said she'd be. Alone, like she said she'd be. If it's an ambush, it's a lazy one. Once he was satisfied with his reconnaissance, Kingsnake dropped down from the ceiling behind Miras and spoke up, harshly but quietly, somewhere between a growl and a hiss. "What do you want?"

Kingsnake held his nose while the Woodsman cleaned the site of his impromptu surgery on Nighthawk. The disinfectant stung his nose. He no longer had eyes, but he still had tear ducts, and they dripped slightly behind his mask. "Let me see the map." Kingsnake took the flier, turned away from the two teens, and ran his fingertips gently across its surface, right to left, from the top down, first on one side and then the other. He committed the map to memory, and concentrated on integrating it with the city map inside his own mind. After he got his bearings, he turned back toward Nighthawk and handed it to her. "I can make my own way. The layout of this city lends itself well to freerunning. You go on ahead on the bike. I'll be close behind."

Kingsnake flinched almost imperceptibly as Grimalkin's wooden wall sprang into existence. His perception of that area was momentarily blurred, as the wall slowed the return of the waves of ultrasound his brain had broadcast in that direction. The interruption lasted only a fraction of a second, but it threw him off-balance. He dropped to a crouch to regain his bearings, before springing into a lunge at the new arrivals. He slashed diagonally through the air twice in rapid succession, snapping his bullwhip first up, then down, aiming the lash at each guard's head. Not hard enough to crush their skulls, but they'll each need their own bottle of aspirin tomorrow.

Sorry. Kingsnake will take a standard action to Charge one of the two guards on his side of the barrier, getting just within the 15ft melee range of his whip. He's Fatigued, so he's at +11 Attack, +7 Damage, +11 Defense. The Charge gives him +2 Attack / -2 Defense. He'll Defensive Attack for -2 Attack / +2 Defense and Power Attack for -2 Attack / +2 Damage. Assuming they're minions, he'll Take 10 on the attack checks, hitting DC19 (+9 Defense). If that hits, then it's a DC24 Toughness save. If the first guard goes down, he'll use Takedown Attack to go after the second. His Defense is +11 (DC21) until his next turn. Bookkeeping Note: Kingsnake is Fatigued, and his Initiative should drop to 17, since he's at -2 Dex.

"The street-level techs don't know who they're really working for. The entire time you talked, their pulses didn't budge, and there was no change in sweat or pheremones, except for the one who wants to have sex with you. Past this point, they're a dead-end. Don't waste the arrow. You, let me see the injection site." Heh. "See." Old habits... Kingsnake leaned in and sniffed at the puncture wound. Then bent his head sideways, nearly touching his ear to it, as if he was listening to it.

Are each of the guards within 5ft of at least one other guard? Could a series of Takedown Attacks clear them out?

Brian Brubaker (AKA Mister Strix) owns a townhouse in one of the worse areas of Southside. From the outside, it looks "modest," bordering on "dilapidated." In this case, appearances are deceiving. The cheap, weathered facade conceals steel plate shear walls reinforced with insulated pre-cast concrete, with additional stone-wool insulation on the interior, which makes the structure both earthquake-proof and nearly sound-proof. The windows are all double-paned bullet-resistant glass. The thick walls and windows greatly reduce incoming noise from the outside world, which would otherwise overwhelm Brian's enhanced senses. Both the front and back entrances are covered by inch-thick steel security doors. Every room is covered by a foam/water sprinkler system, and high-quality smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide detectors. The whole house is wired with the best alarm systems available for purchase by the general public. Motion sensors (both ultrasonic and passive-infrared) cover every room, and acoustic glass-break detectors are mounted adjacent to all windows. If any of the alarms are tripped, an automated alert will be sent to Brian's smartphone, and the alarm service provider will attempt to call him. If they are unable to obtain verification of a false alarm from him, they will assume an emergency is in progress, and they will contact the local police. Bypassing the alarms requires a DC25 Disable Device check. A DC25 Search check will reveal the bunker hidden under the basement. The hidden entrance is also wired with an alarm, and can be locked from the inside to prevent entry from the house above. The interior of the bunker shares climate control, ventilation, fire prevention, and power systems with the house. The bunker contains Brian's crime lab, a two-way radio, a computer (with a separate phone line from the main house), a generator set to activate if power flow from the local grid is interrupted, and spare living quarters, including several collapsible cots, cold food storage, and a bathroom with a shower and a flush toilet. Townhouse with Secret Bunker (PL13 HQ) [13EP] Size: Tiny [-1EP] Toughness: +10 [1EP] (Earthquake-Proofing, Bulletproof Windows, Steel Plate Shear Walls Reinforced With Pre-Cast Concrete) Features: Communications, Computer 2 (Masterwork [modified for blind users]), Concealed (+15DC), Fire Prevention System, Gym, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Power System, Security System 2 (DC25), Workshop [13EP]

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/14/alan-rickman-giant-of-british-film-and-theatre-dies-at-69 Same age and same cause of death as David Bowie.

Kingsnake chuckled a bit beneath his mask. "Like you said, good ears. I can hear them talking in the van from up here. And I'll be able to smell that urine tag from a way's off. Maybe I have other powers. Maybe I don't. So far, you know what's relevant to the task at hand. You know what you need to know, and nothing else. That's how it should be. The most valuable commodity is information. Always has been, always will be. You win by knowing more about your enemy than they know about you. It's doubly important if you're not the type of costume who can ignore bullets and toss cars around like footballs. And make no mistake: Everyone is an enemy, until they're not, and every friend is just an enemy you haven't fought yet. You never know when someone will turn on you. I'm not just talking about mind control and shapeshifters. Everyone has their price, or their breaking point. No two people see eye-to-eye on everything."

Kingsnake sighed beneath his mask as he felt the vibrations from the stomping feet of the incoming guards, as their thumping heartbeats and matching footfalls painted glowing lines across his mind's eye, as the stench of their sweat and gun oil filled his nostrils. Damn. They held some in reserve. Smarter than I gave them credit for. He sidestepped into the smoke cloud, the fumes lightly caressing his skin through his jumpsuit. He heaved his bullwhip up over his head again, building a few swings worth of momentum, before snapping it down at the standing cultist. The air around him hissed as the braided leather cut through it, and another explosion echoed across the library like a firecracker or a gunshot.

Kingsnake is Fatigued. Move Action: Kingsnake steps into the cloud to get concealment from the goons who just ran in. Standard Action: Kingsnake whips Electro-Woman. He'll Power Attack for -2 Attack / +2 Damage, and he'll All-Out Attack for another +2 Attack / -2 Defense. Attack check: 19. If that hits, it's a DC25 Toughness save. If she's blinded by the cloud, then she loses her dodge bonus, and she suffers -2 Defense on top of that. Kingsnake's Defense is +9 (DC19) until his next turn. Anyone who can't see him through the cloud has a 50% miss chance, assuming they choose the right 5ft square to target with their attack. The cloud lasts for 10 rounds. One round has now passed since he threw it down.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/arts/music/david-bowie-dies-at-69.html?_r=0

Sparks erupted from Thrude's icy-blue eyes, which threatened to bulge out of their sockets. She half-spat, half-screamed "A CHILD?! THAT FESTERING PUSTULE DEFILED ONE OF MY SISTERS, WITH BOTH HIS SORCERY AND HIS SEED?!" She turned back toward Frost and Bombshell. "Are THESE the 'minions of Kantor' of whom thou doth speak? To my ear, they would seem his VICTIMS, not his cohorts! What of their fate? Do they claim sanctuary in Asgard still? Or do minions of Kantor invade Asgard in search of these poor souls?"

Kingsnake raised an eyebrow under his mask. Smooth as silk, cold as ice. He's not lying. He's no weekend warrior. The kid's seen some nasty stuff. Good. Maybe he won't mess this up after all... He tilted his head slightly to the side. "The kids doing the testing aren't much older than you, and they have no idea what they've gotten themselves into. Nice false front. That's also how these people operate. The pawns can't betray the king if they don't know they're working for him in the first place. Try not to hurt these ones." Kingsnake lifted his head back up. "And so far, they're taking the bait. They look at your partner and they just see another desperate street kid."

If Kingsnake still had eyes, he would have rolled them. Children. He whispered behind Woodsman while the young archer lined up his shot. "To fight monsters, you have to become a monster. That's what we do. That's why we wear masks and capes, instead of badges and uniforms. We do things the cops can't do, and things they won't do. And the monsters we fight can smell weakness. If you lack the fortitude to get rid of your weaknesses, then you have to bury them, as deep as you can." "I won't."

"I don't owe you an explanation," Kingsnake hissed at Miras. He was momentarily surprised when, finally "seeing" her up close, he realized how tall she was. Her eyes were at the same level his would be if he still had any. "But I will give you some advice: What you will and won't do doesn't matter as much as what the enemy thinks you will do. You don't have to be a sadist. You don't have to be a killer. But your job is a lot easier when they think you are, or at least when they think you might be. The more terrible things they think you're capable of doing, the fewer of them you'll actually have to do. And I didn't worry about the jet for the same reason I didn't worry about the train: You. And the Boy Scout, and Herr Doktor Von Braun over there."

You need to specify what that one rank of Comprehend does. Does it allow you to speak any language? Understand any language? Read/write any language? You might want to work some kind of mobility power in there. Maybe a few ranks of Leaping and Speed so she can move like a cat? Otherwise, she's a melee-focused character who's screwed against flying firepower. Her STR bonus isn't high enough to do much damage with a thrown object.

I stand corrected.

Kingsnake crept up behind the Woodsman as Nighthawk walked away. "You're in love with her," he said flatly. "That's a problem." He angled his face down at the slight young man's head, as if he was looking him in the eye. "People who are in love aren't very good at hiding it. You reek of it. And people in love don't act rationally. They make stupid mistakes. It's a weakness that the people we're dealing with will see from a mile away. That's what they do. They find weakness, and they exploit it."