Fox

"Possible," Dragonfly noted, her gauntlet emitting a low whine as it started generating a distortion. "But unlikely." She brought a hand up and unleashed a twisting, angry-looking shockwave...that the gangster managed to evade with the momentum from his earlier dodge. She swore in Japanese before continuing. "Always guns, or something like them. They think it gives them power or authority or something."

Ranged Attack Roll vs. Thug (Blast, Power Attack -2/+2) (1d20 + 8 - 2=10) Fail.

Hm. Yeah, Dragonfly could probably afford to throw a pp into the mix.

"Mm. Not that lucky, apparently. Would have been nice...will get him eventually. Stash may be traceable. Or could just collapse enough of his infrastructure that he's no longer a threat. Options...." Dragonfly tilted her head, looking up at the moon and flexing a hand, letting her defenses drop and reconfigure themselves. "Pretty," she observed, before bringing her attention back down to earth. "So. Want to ask some questions to our captive?" She held up a hand, wriggling her fingers and - flat expression notwithstanding - apparently taking a bit of pleasure in having a thug trapped but unharmed.

"Somehow doubt these men learned much from their mothers," Dragonfly commented, following Silhouette's tackle up with a charged-up, rippling shockwave of her own. "Suppose I wouldn't know," she observed, tilting her head to watch the guy spin just a bit as he was knocked down, unconscious. A quick mental query to her gauntlet told her that containment was holding again - the thug was back in the void and not doing a very good job of getting back out. "Well. That was fun. Thoughts on captured one? He won't stay trapped forever, would prefer not to continue re-pocketing him. Danger of burnout."

Ranged Attack Roll vs. Thug (Blast, Power Attack -2/+2) (1d20 + 8 - 2=20) Attacking that last remaining thug. DC25 toughness save.

Taking a step back, Dragonfly brought up a hand to fire at the closing thug...and immediately started cursing in Russian as space near her folded outward and deposited a disoriented-looking thug back into normal space. bad timing - bad bad timing - can't deal with you both at this range Before he could get a feel for his surroundings again she grabbed his wrist, reality wrapping around him until he'd disappeared again with barely even the time to give a surprised yell. "Deal with you later. Back into the pocket."

Dragonfly tilted her head, watching the design take shape. punctures - problems - turnabout friendly fire - but not if... She bit her lip and picked up her tablet and did a few quick, clean - almost blueprint-like - sketches over the hose and tank; apparently she'd had no small amount of experience designing weapons. "Can at least lessen problem. Any system vulnerable to damage...best to shut down, not inflict weapon on allies. Not much of a chemist, but...specialized mixture? Multi-chamber tank, lining down center of hose, like so. Individual chemicals are inert, mixture is activated near end of nozzle - additional chemical, oxygen, radiation.... Spray with enough pressure, won't 'gunk up' hosing...rupture makes a benign mess unless multiple ruptures occur. Chemicals best if non-volatile. Possibly self-sealing in event of too much damage...mm." She trailed off, leaning back and chewing on her lip as she eyed the diagram.

Hey, if you can keep it from falling in on itself, GK can keep the fire from spreading to other buildings.

Under the cloth, Gaian grinned. "Maybe that childlike innocence keeps him in check. And would you believe the original model I looked at had realistic metal nipples on the front? Who puts nipples on a chestplate? The arguing I had to do to get them taken off...." He shook his head. "Artists." Finally easing out of his stance, the earthmover eyed the sword for a moment, but shrugged. "Yeah, yeah...moderation. I couldn't kill myself practicing my swordwork even if I wanted to...I've got hero work and a day job. Sometimes I'm surprised I get any sleep, heh...but at least now I have a place to start. Thanks," he said, nodding his head to Jack & Jill. "It's always a pleasure to learn a bit from someone more knowledgeable."

"Hey," Gaian chuckled, shifting his feet a little to support a poor but experimental swing. "Don't mock the breastplate. This thing's saved my life more times than I care to admit. I'm tough but I'm not bullet-stopping tough. Kinda stuck in-between guys who stop bullets with spandex and guys - or girls - who dance around in a fight, untouchable." "Good advice, though." He opened his eyes again, shifting back into position and eyeing the sword. "It looks like I'm going to have a lot of solo practice in my future."

I think - I think, mind you - that you're confusing the descriptors on the Variable structure with the descriptors on the power you get from the Variable structure. My interpretation (possibly flawed, but while we wait for a ref with the answer anyway...) is this: (all these are limited by Variable power's 5*rank pp budget, so I'm assuming that goes without saying on each entry) 4/rank: Pick a type (a class of traits [ability scores, skills, etc], or type of power ['damage', 'speed'], or descriptor ['magic', 'technology']). You can have any single trait from that type at a time. If you pick ability scores, say, then you can boost any one ability score at a time. 5/rank: You're no longer restricted by type. You can boost any trait, but only one trait at a time. You could boost STR one minute and Investigate the next. 6/rank: Pick a type. You can have any number of traits from that type, in any combination. If you pick ability scores, you could boost STR, STR and CON, or whatever other combo platter of ability scores you like. 7/rank: You can have any number of powers of any type, in any combination. 8/rank: You can have any number of traits - that is, ability scores, skills, feats, or powers - in any combination. If I'm right, then there's a fairly regular increase in power as you go up in rank, from specific to extremely general. Descriptor on the power you gain should not be confused with the descriptor on the variable structure; one describes the power you copy, and one describes the power you copy with. Let's say I'm an Alien, and I have this: Variable ? (7/rank level) (alien, mimic, visual) This means that my absurd and likely ref-rejected alien can copy any power he sees, replicating its effects. His Variable power has descriptors that limit how the copying functions, without decreasing the cost of the structure (because they're very broad - if he can see it, he can copy it). The descriptors on the power he copies, though, don't matter; he could recreate anything from a magic fireball to a high-tech laser blast. I'm just speculating, here, but when he uses that power it probably has applicable descriptors off his Variable power ('alien', in this case, and maybe 'mimic'). A practical example here is the Mimic power itself. It's variable, and can give you all kinds of things with all kinds of descriptors, but only if you can see it/touch it/whatever it first. The mimicked power's descriptors describe the power; the Variable power's descriptors describe how you accessed that mimicked power, and by what means. On the other hand, let's say I gave my alien: Variable ? (8/rank level, powers) (alien, physical, at-will evolution) In this case my absurd alien can pick up anything he pleases, but his Variable power has limited the scope: he can only make physical changes to himself by 'willing' comic-book evolution*. It doesn't matter what the descriptors on the power are (acid, fire, brute force, whatever), but I have to be able to justify them as physical changes to the alien himself. Variable structures at, say, 4/rank add a third layer of descriptors to the mess. Let's say our alien is a magic alien! And also a blue mage. Variable ? (4/rank level, magic) (alien, magic, mimic, touch) This means that our magic alien can copy any trait he's touched that has the 'magic' descriptor - in most cases, this'll be a power of some sort. If he gets hit by a fireball, he can choose to 'learn' how to cast that spell, and use the enemy's own fireball on them. However, he can only 'remember' one such spell at a time. The descriptors: THE FIREBALL: This thing almost certainly has 'fire', and likely picks up 'magic' from the Variable power's descriptors. THE VARIABLE POWER ITSELF: Alien is who he is, and maybe describes his magic; 'magic' is what he's using to copy spells, 'mimic' is the limitation (without a cost reduction, remember!) on how he can exercise his Variable power, 'touch' is a further limitation (possibly with a cost reduction, per GM approval if it's deemed limiting enough, in which case it'd become a Flaw or Drawback inside the power) on when he can do the mimicking. THE 4/RANK DESCRIPTOR OPTION: This says what kind of things we can copy - in this case, anything with the 'magic' descriptor, regardless of what other descriptors it may carry. We could have also, say, chosen Power (Damage) as our type. In this case he could copy any power he touched, regardless of that power's descriptors, but only if said touched power was a Damage effect of some kind. * This might actually be fun to play. Also suddenly tempted to make some sort of alien hero made completely of nanites or machinery, who can reconfigure himself to suit his needs at the moment. "You aliens are so weird. You're made of MEAT! So gross."

Choking back a laugh, Dragonfly put a hand over her mouth and tried to stay quiet, ever glad that her visor hid the upper part of her face. always good to see 'academics' put in their place - Liebniz annoying - think I like John Faser - if you must go 'academics' shame to stop at Master's - motivations?

I....think troll's missing an OOC post to complete his turn as GM and Cannonade, and then Dragonfly (whose post depends on what gangsters are left standing, if any).

Dragonfly tapped a finger against her leg, waiting. Finally, though, the awkward silence got worse than the idea of going first, and she hesitatingly raised a hand. "D...Dragonfly. I am, I mean. Bit of everything...specializing in spacial manipulation."

....I'm feeling kind of evil. Melee Attack Roll vs. Un-Pocketed Thug (Dimensional Pocket) (1d20 + 8=16) If that hits, it's a DC17 Reflex save to not go right back into das pocket. IC post pending on the results of the thug's save (or failure of the attack to hit).

Dragonfly grunted a bit as one of the gangsters' bullets had the luck to tear right through the shield she'd brought up in front of herself, jerking her torso to the side a bit as it impacted her force field...and fortunately got no further, jagged lines and creases arcing across the field as the bullet tried and failed to penetrate. lucky - force field standing at 66% Scowling, she brought her other hand up and returned fire, sending a twisting distortion back in the general direction of her assailant. always the hard way - they never just give up - why? not rational....

Toughness Roll vs. Gangster 5 (DC18) (1d20 + 6=20) Horray! Dragonfly's force field is now down to rank 4, giving her...well, Toughness 4. Revenge! Ranged Attack Roll vs. Gangster 5 (Blast) (1d20 + 8=14) Not the most awesome roll in the history of awesome rolls; if that hits, it's a DC23 Toughness save.

"Hm," he grunted, looking down at his feet. "That's easy for you to say; I say moving tons of rock is easier. It listens better than my arm does." Still, years of study had made Tarrant - and thus, Gaian Knight - a good student. He took a moment to memorize his 'fixed' position (and, without glancing up, remold some of the rock around Jill into a more proper chair; never leave a lady in the most uncomfortable seat in the house) before closing his eyes and trying to concentrate less on what he looked like in a fighting stance, and more on what it felt like to be in the fighting stance. The weight of the sword, the balance on his feet. His hand and legs relaxed a little as he settled back, wishing he could feel out metal as well as he did earth.

Dragonfly gave a short and quiet hiss as a lucky bullet tore through her shield and impacted her force field; jagged lines and streaks of force seemed to reach between the projectile and the distortion around her profile, grabbing the bullet and keeping it from tearing through her shoulder, too. The force field flickered for a moment, but held; the young woman's link to her gauntlets told her that her field was destabilizing a little. She grimaced. still need to fix that - so little time - reshuffle priorities - you - you stay down - no second chances Taking the opportunity to switch her 'shield hand' to her other gauntlet, she brought that defense back up and sent another twisting, tinted blast towards the thug that looked half-senseless; she glanced over at Silhouette's fight with minor concern as the distortion found its target. seems capable - focus on your own fight - hope she doesn't need help - not much help to spare

Ranged Attack Roll vs. Thug Two (Blast, Power Attack -2/+2) (1d20 + 8 - 2=20) DC25 toughness save. Good luck with that, Mr. Bruised Thug. Pocket-man's will save to get back out is down to DC13.

DC13? He had a -2 damage bonus?

Chat discussion of maths led to the revealing of an easy misunderstanding! Darn maths getting in the way of perfectly awesome threads. +3 on the pistol, +5 from the crit, so a +8 damage bonus. 15 + 8 = DC23 toughness check. Dragonfly just barely made that, so she doesn't pick up a bruise, but her force field took a hit nonetheless and she's down to toughness 4.

Good gracious. Ouch. This is gonna hurt. Toughness Save vs. Thug Three (DC28) (1d20 + 6=11) ....ow. This, right here, this is why I always try to save my last hero point. Spending Dragonfly's only remaining HP to reroll that. Toughness Save REROLL vs. Thug Three (DC28) (1d20 + 6=13) 7 on a reroll is 17; 17 + 6 = 23. Dragonfly's stunned and bruised. ...well, not as bad as being out of the fight. Stat updates: Her force field's down a couple ranks due to Ablative, so she's Toughness 4. She'll have to do a concentration check on her round to maintain that force field, or it goes down completely, because of the stun. No dodge bonus and -2 defense on top of that leaves her at 0 Defense. I had no idea stun crippled her so badly. This will take fixing next time she has points; in the meantime, this next round will be...interesting. Man, what the heck was that guy firing out of that gun, that it had a +8 damage bonus?

Dragonfly allowed herself a couple seconds to watch Silhouette fight - she had such little combat training, herself, that it was always interesting to see more able fighters do their thing. agile - natural enhanced supernatural? - always questions - focus on task at hand Her attention - somewhat reluctantly - went back to the thugs as the gauntlet she'd been using to attack started to light up at the glass and seams. When she finally fired at one of the remaining enemies, the blast was larger, chaotic, and tinged a distinct neon blue, tearing through space at her enemy like something alive and angry. The young woman's expression was pure, grim satisfaction. don't know why I have limiters in the first place