N/A

Specifically, the "Attractive" feat is like a power, in this case, "Bluff + Diplomacy (Flaws: Limited [The roughly 50% of the population who's attracted to your gender presentation])." It's flawed Bluff and Diplomacy. So it usually represents someone who needs to lean into and rely upon their attractiveness, because they're not universally charming/suave/disarming/etc. Catwoman probably has one or more Attractive ranks, while Batman, despite being charismatic and handsome, probably doesn't.

If that's the case, then go ahead and leave Thrude out for now.

Brian Brubaker had been silently meditating on the far end of one of the rows of side-facing seats in the middle of the train car, using the techniques he'd learned from the Shambala monks to soften the cacophony of the city around him. The scent of adrenaline glided up into his nostrils as soon as the woman stepped aboard the train, jolting him from his reverie. To him, her hair wasn't any darker or lighter than anyone else's, and hers was just another blank face in a sea of hundreds he drifted through on a daily basis. But the thumping of her heart echoed in his ears like a jackhammer, and her labored breaths howled like a tornado. She's not late for work. She's running from something. Brian unconsciously shifted his white cane to his left hand while using his right to dig his wallet out of his pants, holding it up so the conductor could glance at his metro pass. He consciously forced himself to keep facing forward, instead of letting his neck drift back and forth to follow the conductor. But even with his empty eyesockets pointed toward the wall, the ultrasound pulsing from the vibrating lobe of his brain painted him a mental picture of the conductor exchanging a subtle nod with the harried woman as he passed her by. She didn't show him her pass...and he didn't ask. Brian quietly stood up and moved over to a more crowded section of the train car. If this car has cameras, then I want some plausible deniability when the blind man vanishes into a cloud of smoke and Kingsnake jumps out. After sitting down, he folded up his cane and tucked it against the seat behind him. That's quite a bruiser headed directly for her...could just be a horny jock chatting her up. Could be whatever she's running from just caught up to her. Or he might be in on whatever her and the conductor could be planning. Too many variables. Too many ingredients for me to tell what's cooking...

Kingsnake's got Skill Mastery for Notice and Sense Motive, hitting DC30 with both (not counting his 1/2 Immunity to Interaction Skills, which cuts other people's Bluff, Diplomacy, and/or Intimidate bonuses in half), and the required super-senses, so he gets everything.

No one here can possibly beat Kingsnake's Sense Motive, so I'm just assuming he knows when they are and aren't telling the truth.

Can't smell the kid's heartbeat over the burning, but his heartbeat didn't change a microdecibel. He's telling the truth. And the fairy's a known quantity. But "Bastion"...Bastion...I know that name...oh, right. The rebranded Malice, the right-wing redneck revenge fantasy given flesh. Bigoted gun-nut painted up like the American Flag (or so I've heard...wouldn't know), made noise about "power to the people" and "keeping society pure" and all the other usual talking points. Probably has a rant about why we should've stayed on the gold standard. One less headache if the mad dog's finally on a leash. But if some other stray ran off with his kind of firepower... "Michaels." Kingsnake spun his arm in a narrow arc, coiling his whip back into a ring, and hooked it back onto his belt in one fluid motion. "Your hardware doesn't have a tracking device. Otherwise, you'd have gone straight to the thieves. Everything here is supposed to be non-functioning. So whoever stole your hardware knows they can't use it. And if they have enough money to hire a whole crew of metahumans, then they don't need to sell it. If this was personal, there are easier and cheaper ways to get to you. The only other rational reason to steal your weapons is to reverse-engineer them. Not many people in town have that kind of skill, which narrows down the suspect list. Any old contacts in the world of illicit munitions we should know about?"

Of course, Kingsnake can't see the color scheme on Bastion's armor, so until he gets a name, he's got nothing to go on and has no idea who this is. Bastion's armor has Ultra-Hearing, so he should be able to pick up on the pulses emanating from Kingsnake's brain.

Kingsnake couldn't see the flames erupting from Brandish's demonic blade, but he did catch the subtle aroma of sulfur, and he flinched almost imperceptibly backward from the blast of heat spashing against his skin. Not the runt of the pack after all. But young and cocky. Thinks his toy makes him invincible. He methodically tensed and relaxed the muscles in his arms and legs to prepare them for executing the maneuvers already playing out in his head. He scowled under his mask when Grimalkin fluttered into view and started introducing herself. Too trusting. Going to get herself killed. No, she's tough. Going to get someone else killed. His wrist was moments away from snapping his whip up over her shoulder when the rush of air in Bastion's wake wiped his mental state clean. The clanking and grinding of metal on metal matched the metaphorical wheels in Kingsnake's head, sent spinning by the armored man's words. "'My suit.' They wouldn't be keeping 'your' suit here unless they had to take it from you first." This just went from bad to worse. That armor must have a weak point, but it won't matter if I can't find it before he turns this entire building into a crater.

Well-Informed Gather Info check for Bastion: 21. ¡BLACKJACK!

Oops. Sorry for the crossed wires. I'll edit accordingly.

"Wind" is from page 203 of Ultimate Power. It's not based on any existing Environment Control effects. It's only described under the 2PP/rank "Weather Control" sample power. Wind: You create a strong wind in your area that automatically extinguishes open flames and imposes a –2 penalty to thrown weapon attacks and auditory Notice checks. At two-thirds your normal rank, you can create a severe wind that increases the penalty to –4 and has a 50% chance of snuffing out protected flames as well (like those of lanterns). At half your effective rank, you can whip up a windstorm where muscle-powered ranged weapon attacks automatically miss and all other ranged attacks are at a –4 penalty, auditory notice checks are at –8 due to the howling wind, and even protected flames have a 75% chance of going out. Finally, at one-third your rank, you can create hurricane-force winds that extinguish all flames, impose a –20 penalty on all auditory Notice checks. Emphasis added for the tier she bought. The math on the sheet should be good now. Sorry about that.

Oh hey, question: Does the "hellfire" from Brandish's sword give off heat, and/or any smell?

He can totally act however you want, though. Can't stress that enough.

Kingsnake dropped down from the nearest shelf onto the ground next to the discarded vault door. Crouching above it, he traced his fingertips along the impressions left by superhumanly strong hands, committing them to memory. He spoke to Grimalkin and Burke without looking up at them. "Not three. Four. Two men and two women, all with powers, including an electricity controller and a powerhouse. Find out what was in crate number thirty-five B. That was the original target. Everything else was an afterthought or a distraction. And whatever it is, it's at least slightly radioactive. Get someone with a geiger-counter in here and make sure none of you have been poisoned." With that, Kingsnake backflipped up and over the nearest shelving unit, and faded into the shadows. He crept outside and scaled the wall opposite the side of the roof where Brandish stood. Once he cleared the edge of the roof, he pulled the whip off his belt and let the coil fall open. Standing half in and half out of shadow, he growled at the longcoat-clad stranger. "Pretty sure that sword isn't standard issue for G.I.s or A.E.G.I.S. Friends leave you behind when they made their getaway? Or are you just a scavenger hoping to pick at the bones?"

Stealth check with Hide In Plain Sight: 21. Ugh. Seriously, I need to get more Skill Mastery. I'm assuming that Brandish can't roll a 24 on his Stealth check, so Kingsnake can spot him. If Brandish can get 13+ on his Notice check, then he hears Kingsnake coming. Otherwise, he doesn't know Kingsnake is there until he starts talking. Skill Mastery with Intimidate gets Kingsnake 25. Which doesn't matter, since interaction skills to influence attitudes don't work on PCs. In this case it's just an informal, hypothetical measure of whether or not Brandish would be scared if he were an NPC. By that measure, with the best of his Will or Intimidate (+8), Brandish would need to roll a 17+ to avoid being intimidated.

Hridgandr does not get loaned out.

Opinions among the Refs regarding 3rd edition are mixed at best. Several 3E changes got imported as house rules, so it's more like we're playing "2.5 edition."

Kingsnake crouched, ducked, and weaved between the shelves to avoid the soldiers on the scene, occasionally clambering up onto them to let a guard pass below him. They never look up. During the gaps in their patrol, he took slow, deep breaths, trying to take in and sort through all the layers of scent buried under the carbon and ozone of fire and lightning. He ran his fingertips along the surface of the crates, feeling the microscopic difference in texture between the wood and the labels. The extra lobe on his brain pulsed with tiny vibrations, blanketing the area with waves of high-frequency sound that painted a landscape for him in shades of grey. A familiar scent jumped out of the soup. Tiny wings beat a drumline in his ears. A familiar shape fluttered into his "view." The fairy. Good. She can vouch for me if I get caught. Didn't know she was so chummy with the cops.

Stealth check: 18. Only rolled a 3. Grimalkin notices Kingsnake on a Notice roll of 3+. Since Brandish is taking 20 on a minute-long Notice check for the area, he also sees Kingsnake skulking around. The soldiers on-site would need to roll 16. Remind me to get another rank of Skill Mastery. Search check to find any clues: 34. That's more like it. Skill mastery to take 10 for 30 on any required Notice checks. Gather Information check for Well-Informed on Grimalkin: 28.

I'd be down with getting any of my characters in on this. Kingsnake is legally blind, so he probably rides the rails regularly. The Newt (who hasn't been re-approved yet) has powers well-suited to combat on a train (wall-crawling, elongation, etc.).

I usually recommend Complications over Drawbacks, since extra Hero Points during play are usually far more useful than a couple of extra Power Points at character generation. However, in this case, I'd consider having the gem wake the firefighter out of his coma, and having him share time with the warlord, using the gem or a magic word or something to change forms. That would get you an extra 3-4PP from a Normal Identity drawback, and it would give you plenty of roleplaying hooks (balancing the two lives, protecting his family, etc.). I don't think Attack Specialization (Unarmed) is worth it for an unarmed melee character, since it doesn't help your grapple bonus. And for a super-strength character, it doesn't help you with improvised throwing weapons. The Sense Motive skill works against every variant of the feint maneuver, and for the points you're spending on that Limited Immunity, you could just buy a high Sense Motive bonus, which would be less janky. You have a lot of skills with 1 rank in them that can be used untrained. That's not making a big difference. And your skill bonuses don't really line up with the skill DCs in the book. Like, why have +13 Climb, when Climb is one of the many skills with DCs in increments of 5? You don't get much out of +13 that you'd get from +10, and you don't get nearly as much from +13 as you do from +15, because you can't take 10 and reliably hit the next DC tier. I could see Beginners Luck being useful, but with his ability scores, I don't think he gets anything out of Jack of All Trades. Our house rules give you +2 Toughness for each rank of Defensive Roll, and we did away with the janky Reflex bonus option. So he's breaking his defensive PL right now. And I'd reconsider Defensive Roll for a guy who's supposed to have a Toughness tradeoff and be a brick anyway. Here's what the formatting should look more like, along with a suggested potential rebuild: Power Level: 10 Power Points: 150/150 Abilities 15 + 4 + 15 + 0 + 4 + 8 = 46PP Strength: 35/25 (+12/+7), 50/25 Lifting (Heavy Load: 12 tons / 800 lbs.) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 34/25 (+12/+7) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat 8 + 8 = 16PP Initiative: +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Attack: +4 Ranged (+4 Base), +8 Melee (+4 Base, +4 Attack Focus), +8 Improvised Throwing Weapons (+4 Base, +4 Attack Specialization) Grapple: +23/+15 Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback: 11/3 Saving Throws 0 + 6 + 6 = 12PP Toughness: +12/+7 (+12/+7 Con, Impervious 10/0) Fortitude: +12/+7 (+12/+7 Con, +0PP) Reflex: +8 (+2 Dex, +6PP) Will: +8 (+2 Wis, +6PP) Skills 68R = 17PP Climb 3 (+15/+10)Skill Mastery Handle Animal 6 (+10)Skill Mastery Intimidate 15 (+19)Skill Mastery Knowledge (Tactics) 8 (+8) Knowledge (Theology/Philosophy) 5 (+5) Languages 4 (Arabic, Atlantean [Native], English, Hebrew, Latin) Notice 3 (+5) Ride 3 (+5) Sense Motive 13 (+15) Survival 8 (+10)Skill Mastery Feats 30PP Attack Focus (Melee) 4 Attack Specialization (Improvised Throwing Weapons) 2 (+4) Beginner's Luck Chokehold Endurance Fearless Improved Critical (Unarmed) 2 Improved Grab Improved Grapple Improved Initiative Interpose Leadership Luck 2 Master Plan 2 (Can use Knowledge [Tactics] instead of base Int) Move-By Action Power Attack Skill Mastery (Climb, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Survival) Startle Takedown Attack 2 Track Uncanny Dodge 2 (Auditory, Visual) Powers 9 + 10 + 3 + 4 + 6 = 32PP Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9PP] Impervious Toughness 10 [10PP] Leaping 3 (x10 [Running Long Jump: 220ft]) [3PP] Speed 4 (100MPH / 100ft per Move Action) [4PP] Super-Strength 3 (Lifting Strength 50 [Heavy Load: 12 tons]) [6PP] Drawbacks -3PP Normal Identity (Frequency: Common [Free Action], Intensity: Major) [-3PP] Totals: Abilities (46) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (12) + Skills (17) + Feats (30) + Powers (32) - Drawbacks (3) = 150/150 Power Points Combat Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC27/22 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical)

Assuming she gets reapproved, Thrude would be happy to lend an occasional hand to any interstellar peacekeepers.

(I wouldn't turn down a point for the work I've done on the TV Tropes page and the Reputation index this month.) Kingsnake (16) Reputation Table 20Q Downtown Train (8) Legacy of Hatred (8) Thrude (16) Pop Some Tags (7) Prodigals (7) Starspawn (2) The Newt (0) [None]

Kingsnake is going to try to stay hidden while eavesdropping as best he can. If the opportunity presents itself, he'll try to sneak into the actual crime scene so he can "look" for clues (Search to find them, Investigate to collect and analyze them). The "Soldier" template has like +2 Notice, so there's technically a chance someone could hear or spot him. If any NPCs on the scene have Ultra-Hearing, then they can hear Kingsnake's echolocation pulses.

Kingsnake meditated on the implications of the news as he ran, jumped, swam, and climbed his way to the naval base, doing his best to stay out of sight. If all the munitions in lockdown at Lonely Point are non-functioning, then there's no point in stealing them...unless you're the type who knows how to fix them. And teams of metahuman criminals don't take on a high-risk job like breaking into a military base without getting paid a lot of money up front, with even more waiting on the back end...unless they're taking orders from someone with enough weight to throw around. But someone packing that kind of firepower already doesn't need more. No, whoever masterminded this job is very smart and very rich. And someone with teams of supervillains at their beck and call, someone who can get egos like that to work together in the first place...that's someone that cops, even Feds, can't handle on their own. They always miss something. Too distracted by their eyes.