Airon

previously on Something Fishy GM Bessie crossed the Lindroos Bridge, passed through Kingston bringing an unusual sight to the uniform suburbs, and finally arrived in North Bay, where the houses and buildings left place for a red, yellow and brown wall, made of maple and oak trees, hiding the mansions and villas behind a barrier of autumn colors shining beautifully in the sunlight. Bessie lifted clouds of dry leaves as Steam drove her towards the ambassador’s address. The mansion called the Purple Porch appeared behind a high laurel hedge. It was a Victorian mansion, built in Queen Anne style; it was painted with a faint yellow in and growing up to two stories and an attic set below a very steep roof covered in dark tiles; Bessie seemed almost more fit to be in the yard than the Audi A8 currently parked there. The mansion was slightly below road level, built so that the back yard would end in a small beach facing Great Bay. "Purple Porch" was probably inaccurate as a nickname, though. "Giant Purple Portico" was more precise in describing how the villa greeted the guests: a large portico held by five columns, all covered in a climbing plant still brightly green, and sporting giant purple flowers as wide as Frisbee disks, in complete contrast to the surrounding flora, flowerless and covered in autumnal colors. The fine gravel cracked under the shoes as the trio got out of the car.

you can act accordingly to the result of your TS here's what's real, if you pass the TS

ok, Heraldo still has half his round (either a move or a standard action, unless he keeps the Surge). He gets a Will Save DC 16 (10 base + 10 power - 4 strong interaction) to understand what is real and what is not. If he informs the others, they get the same save.

It took Heraldo only a fraction of a second to get down to the falling girl, but his enhanced hearing told him something was amiss. The girl's mouth was open, but no scream was coming out, and so close to her, it surely couldn't be entirely dominated by the loud noises in the store. The realization of being tricked definitely sank in when, as he extended his arms to catch the girls, she fell right through them as if she was a ghost, continuing her eeire silent fall untile she fell through the floor of the atrium and disappeared. The other girls where still very much falling, but now Heraldo knew he had been tricked. He looked up, and saw Looking Glass flying above him, her thrusters propelling her through the air weren't emitting any sound either.

page 168 core rulebook you can substitute your powers to the Strength bonus, though at least in your case I wouldn't recommend it. They are falling from 30 feet, so if you have more than +3 to Strength, you get the Damage to zero.

Looking Glass didn’t fall for the pathetic pantomime of G-Stunt, however the baton was accurate enough to hit her. G-Stunt was about to unleash a small laugh of victory when Looking Glass jerked her head aside and the baton merely messed up her hair. “Oh, please…†she scolded Stuart with a pitiful look “You may be enough to incapacitate those apes they sold me as henchmen, but a mastermind of my caliber? You’ll be needing way better moves than that… and dear Lord…†she added then, looking at the trio opposing her “Three ‘heroes’, not one with a decent costume! Who are you, the Raven’s Ugly Ducklings?†She moved away from Heraldo, gun still pointed at the heroes, then her hand went to her belt. The thrusters on her back fired up and suddendly she was airborne. “Well, let’s see how well you ducklings fly, shall we? Go, come on, go, go be little obedient heroes like they taught you…†as she said so, she fired with quick motions her crystal gun towards a group of bystanders: three teenage girls, so far totally lost in admiration of their own reflection in the hallway mirror, suddenly seemed terrified by it: they turned around and until they got to the third-story handrail; the time seemed to stop for a second, then they jumped off and fell down in the atrium, their screams lost in the chaos of the other Confused people around them.

G-Stunt was about to unleash a sound beating on the thugs who injured him, but was startled by the new hero appearing on the scene. Flying up from the bottom floor, the fast grey-clad figure blasted to Morpheus’ realm the criminals. G-Stunt shook his head to get rid of the painful ringing in his ears left by the trail of the sonic attack, and to endure the pain caused by his wounded leg. “Thanks, guys!†he shouted to Net Fly and Heraldo: between the newfound help and Heraldo’s rousing speech, he now felt definitely better. He turned around waving his three-section staff. A quick motion disjointed the chain rings that kept together the three sections, transforming the weapon into a series of heavy throwing batons. He turned towards Looking Glass “Ah!†he screamed “My leg! It hurts…†he limped and faked a fall to the ground, but right when he was going down, he turned the fall into a somersault, landed on his feet and threw one of his batons, aiming at her head for maximum damage. “I’m about to put a black eye on that pretty face, doll. Hoping this won’t make too hard looking into a mirror… you’ll be lost without’em, I’m guessing!â€

1d20+3 → [11,3] = (14) 1d20+3 → [13,3] = (16) both down! 23) G-Stunt, 2 HP, bruised, injured, Inspired 10) Looking glass, unharmed 6) Heraldo, 1 HP, bruised 4) Net Fly, 2 HP, unharmed, Inspired *** G-stunt is up Free action: switch Weapons array from strike to blast Move Action: Bluff (he's feeling cocky, so no Acrobatic Bluff) on Looking Glass (with -5 because of the reduced action, but +4 because of Inspire) 1d20+7 → [9,7] = (16) Looking Glass defends with her Sense Motive 1d20+4 → [14,4] = (18) and she sees through the pathetic pantomime. Standard action: G-Stunt throws his baton (using power attack 2) 1d20+8 → [9,8] = (17) +4 for Inspired, =21 and it is a hit! TOU DC 21 for Looking Glass 1d20+7 → [14,7] = (21) and she's still unharmed... Looking Glass is up, aaaaand... major twist in her tactic! 23) G-Stunt, 2 HP, bruised, injured 10) Looking glass, unharmed, and very much a bitch 6) Heraldo, 1 HP, bruised 4) Net Fly, 2 HP, unharmed Heraldo is up!

Well, now, that was a bit rude thought Weaver as Catalyst got into the van without another word. I guess she’s not really the trusting type. Weaver held on tight to Arug and commanded it mentally. The carpet took off and flied after the thug who was running on all four paws, the stolen item kept with the jaw. As Weaver got near the flying Asad, he asked “Care for another ride? It would be faster…†he held out a hand towards the billionaire hero. GM Apparently the thug had practiced the route, because he was able to keep distance from his pursuers, taking the shortest path to his destination. When the three heroes finally caught up with him, the sun had finally set behind the skyline and now the fading twilight was giving in to the streetlights and neon Halloween decorations. When the Hanover Zoo made his appearance behind the last tall building, the trio of heroes gasped for a second. An impressive show of spotlights and lamps had just been lit: thick beams of yellow light were cutting the air above the fences and environments of the zoo, driving the animals crazy. A sonic mayhem made of growls and howls, roars and groans, shrieks and screeches, bellows and barks filled the air. Mixed with all this, speakers were blasting another popular 80’s hit, Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran, barely recognizable in the chaos. The feral thug was a mere 300 feet away from the main gate, which was open. Standing on the outer wall, illuminated by at least three spotlights, was a figure familiar to tabloids and crime reports alike: the supervillain known as Madame Marvelous. The song coming out of the speakers was clearly in theme, since she fully embraced a 80’s look, wearing a short skirt made out of a spotted, leopard coat-like fabric and furry boots. She was wearing a zoo gift-shop T-shirt two sizes too large, tied on the navel, and her hair were fashioned in a gigantic wavy mane, rising in an arch at least a foot above and around her forehead. “Come! Come to me, my beautiful friend!†her voices imposed itself out of the speakers, obfuscating the animal noises. She held a hand out towards the thug “Come give Mother the instrument for her Revolution! Today Freedom City learns to embrace the wild, raw power of the Animal Kingdom!â€

Ok, here’s what I’m going to do: we’ll skip another 3 rounds of chasing this poor guy, to get to the real showdown. This is a GM fiat for creating a more interesting climax, so every hero gets an HP. You can get to the scene from the direction you like most, most likely on the tail of the thug (100 or so feet behind him), or from somewhere else if your character wants to act stealthy or such. If that's the case, here's Madame's Notice check. 1d20+8 → [8,8] = (16) between the dim lights and the distance though, she has a -4, so 12 to beat with Stealth if you don't want to be seen on arrival. The location of the Hanover Zoo in on the map at page 31, and it’s briefly described on page 51. Also, Initiative. Running Thug 1d20+3 → [17,3] = (20) Madame Marvelous 1d20+7 → [7,7] = (14) Weaver 1d20+3 → [5,3] = (8)

ok Net Fly is up 23) G-Stunt, 2 HP, bruised, injured, Inspired 14) 2 thugs, unharmed 10) Looking glass, unharmed 6) Heraldo, 1 HP, bruised 4) Net Fly, 2 HP, unharmed, Inspired

no, sorry, it's just the weekend, and I wanted to see if Eviscerus had something in mind. Info is in the IC post.

The City was waking up and that gave a little boost the investigation speed. The trio of detectives interrogated several other club-owners in the proximity. "Yes, the guy was definitely a young Atlantean, you could see the little gills on the side of his neck, even with the collar of that Armani shirt he was wearing. He's a bit young for her but, hey, good for the ambassador I guess..." "It's not the first time they come around either. In the last two months they been here at least once every two weeks... and my buddy who works at the Pavillion in the Theatre District says they're a pretty common sight there, too." "I've seen them getting off a cab together a couple of times, and leaving together, too." Even more helpful was the cab company "Yeah, we get them to the City quite a lot - at least twice a week. They usually want to be dropped in the Theatre District. I sent Nikola last night." "Yes, I picked them up last evening" said Nikola "It's good. Big trip, big tip, you know? Ah ah! And I was kinda curious to see the Purple Porch. What? Yes, it's how we call that mansion the ambassador has up in North Bay, near the shore. Really fancy stuff, that house, and those climbing flowers around the porch, they're still colorful in the fall. What? The guy? Yes, that guy gets in the cab with her there at the Purple Porch, guess they're together or something. Maybe he lives in the poolhouse, eh? Ah ah ah!"

thugs shoot! 1d20+2 → [17,2] = (19) 1d20+2 → [11,2] = (13) damn, one atually got me! Toug DC 18 for G-stunt 1d20+5 → [11,5] = (16) nope! G-stunt is bruised and injured *** Looking glass will use her Move action to feint with bluff (+8, +8 from Attractive, -5 for the reduced action, = +11) 1d20+11 → [20,11] = (31) uuuuh boy I'm guessing that worked! Heraldo can't make a DC 31 Sense Motive roll even with another natural 20... With Heraldo flat-footed, she uses the Standard action to attack with her blast 1d20+10 → [18,10] = (28) that hit right in the chest! Toughness DC 25 (15, +8 dmg, +2 sneak attack) for Heraldo Arich, resolve the Toug roll, then Heraldo is up! 23) G-Stunt, 2 HP, bruised, injured 14) 2 thugs, unharmed 10) Looking glass, unharmed 6) Heraldo, 2 HP, unharmed (not for long I'm guessing), and a bit of a sucker too 4) Net Fly, 2 HP, unharmed

As soon as they saw their mates knocked unconscious, the two remaining thugs reached for their guns and took shots at G-Stunt. The first bullet got lost above his head, but the second one was accurate enough to rip the leg of his costume and take away a good chunk of meat from Stuart’s thigh. The hero screamed in pain “You’re next, you out of place stripper boytoy!†pointing at the ridiculous bowtie of the goon who hit him. Looking Glass lowered her gun from Heraldo’s face. “Well, I guess I can probably sell my weapons, if I want… it would make me rich just the same, and it would be legal…†she raised her piercing blue eyes into Heraldo’s ones. “You… you really got to me. I guess you’re a hero after all, Her…†she was mid-sentence when she pulled the trigger and shot from the hip to Heraldo’s chest. A brief ZAP! and the red laser left her gun “Sucker! The world doesn’t deserve my genius! Now if you’ll excuse me I have some jewels to steal!â€. The laser hit Heraldo right in the chest, burning a painful semi-circle below his sternum. Looking glass chuckled and scouted the area for other heroes.

It took the blonde woman only a fraction of a second to recover from the sudden apparition of Heraldo. She turned her head, her golden hair following in a harmonious motion and landing on her shoulders. She smiled maliciously at the young hero “Oh my, you are cute one!†she winked at him “Or should I say eres lindo? But then again, most likely…†she pointed her shining crystal gun at him, dropping the smile for a snarky grin “...it would be more correct ERAS lindo! Get out of here, boy, before I blast all the zits on your face! Boys, hurry up!†she shouted then to the thugs, who kept on shoving handfuls of jewelry into the bags. Stuart saw the young flag-bearing hero rise up through the atrium and got a bit startled. Oh, good. I’m not alone. Let’s hope he has some actual expertise and is not just some clown… It took an instant for him to direct his gravity pull towards the ceiling. He felt the familiar jerk around the navel as he got pulled up and away. He redirected the pull mid-flight to land on his feet near the thugs. He rolled his three-section staff around his head “Didn’t mom tell you not to play with the shiny things, like the ca… no! Like the bird… oh forget it!†he dropped his clumsy attempt at a taunt and attacked the thugs “It’s raining bruises for you!†the two thugs tried to defend themselves, but quickly fell under the repeated blows to the stomach and the head.

G-Stunt will use his Move Action to jump into the jewelry store, then his Standard action to cover two adjacent thugs with his Autofire strike 1d20+6 → [15,6] = (21) 1d20+6 → [9,6] = (15) thugs have defense 12, so they are both hit DC 21 Toughness 1d20+3 → [13,3] = (16) 1d20+3 → [12,3] = (15) both are out 23) G-Stunt, 2 HP, unharmed 14) 2 thugs, unharmed 10) Looking glass, unharmed 6) Heraldo, 2 HP, unharmed 4) Net Fly, 2 HP, unharmed

Weaver (Saeid Ashoubi) The Interview (20 Questions) HellQ Reputation Vignettes News

Looking glass initiative 1d20+2 → [8,2] = (10) Henchmen initiative 1d20+1 → [13,1] = (14) so, Looking glass is at page 37 of Freedom's most wanted. The target of her Confuse suffers the following effects: 1-2 attacks Looking glass 3-5 acts normally 6-10 admires his own relfection in a mirror 11-14 flees from his own reflection as if it was a horrible vision 15-20 viciously attacks his own reflection the henchmen are 4 Thugs archetype from Core Rulebook, page 229 initiative order 23) G-Stunt, 2 HP, unharmed 14) 4 thugs, unharmed, Surprised 10) Looking glass, unharmed 6) Heraldo, 2 HP, unharmed 4) Net Fly, 2 HP, unharmed G-Stunt and Net Fly are still respectively at the sports store and in the arcade, since they spent their previous rounds changing into costumes. Heraldo is wherever he wants since he used the previous round to move up to the third floor. The Bystanders around are in various states of Confusion. Now there's a Surprise round for Heraldo. He can take either a Move action or a Standard action (not both) and of course Free Actions. Looking glass is not flat-footed (she has Uncanny Dodge), while the thugs are. after this surprise round, G-stunt is up for the beginning of the first standard round.

Heraldo flew up to the third story and faced the Bulgari store while in mid-air: before his eyes there was some controlled mayhem. Almost everyone in a 50-feet radius around the jewelry shop was looking at a mirror: mirrors in clothing stores, in the elevators, behind bar counters, or just a very polished glass panel. A teenage girl was turning her head left and right looking at her distorted reflection in a metal vase. The only people who seemed aware of their behavior were in fact robbing the store. There were four men filling bags with the jewels by the handful. All four were tall and muscular, all wearing an outfit so ridiculous that Heraldo almost dropped three feet when he saw them. It had all the makings of a male stripper outfit: a black bowtie on a white collar around the neck, even if the collar was attached to no shirt: they were wearing a black waistcoat on a naked chest, showing off their muscular arms. Black formal pants and lucid shoes completed the set. They were all wearing white skymasks. Guarding the store entrance, welding twin guns that looked made of crystal, was one of the most beautiful women Heraldo had ever seen. An algid beauty, with pale skin, golden hair, full lips and a perfect hourglass figure modeled by an adherent dark jump-suit.

Gather Information check, DC 15 staged, to know about the ambassador's date whereabouts. Help of the police already included. you may Aid one another, of course. this will take 1 hour of asking and researching (1/2 hour if you take a -5 penalty), since nobody has Well-informed nor Contacts. If you want to do something else instead, feel free. Also, maybe I'm worryingfor nothing, but do Eviscrus and Tiffany feel left out from this phase? I have no problem if you want to do something else during the more standard investigation, or help in some other way...

ok: as I wrote in the G-Stunt section of the post, the alarm went off at Bulgari jewelry store on the third floor. The arcade is on the first floor. Of course the mall has a wide central atrium so you can fly right up. Security guards are trying to handle the Confused people. at this point, I'd say we can roll initiative. G-Stunt will use his full-round action to change into his costume, regardless of how well he's placed in Initiative order. 1d20+4 → [19,4] = (23) now that's what I'm talking about!

ok, all PCs get 1 HP because the emergency went out while they were in their secret identities. Unless you have the Quick Change feat (which seems to me only Heraldo has), you have to either risk revealing your identity or spend a full round changing. also, Notice DC 12 to pinpoint exactly the store where the alarm went off (you can't take 10 unless you have skill mastery), other wise you only know it's on the third story. G-Stunt has SM and passes the DC.

Once yanked away from the screens, the youth cooled down quickly: they both stared blankly for a few seconds, before seemingly regain their focus. “$#|%, what the hell happened?†they asked, looking in pain to their knuckles scratched and bruised against the screens. The cleaning lady also stopped screaming, even if she kept shivering and refused to uncover her eyes and kept her hands firmly cupped over them, while whispering “A moment… I need a moment. Oh God. Just a moment please.†When Serge, with all the caution he could, gazed into the pool of water, all he could see was his own reflection in the wet floor. It was in that instant that an alarm went off, the sound ear-piercingly loud, from a store on the third floor. Stuart was still befuddled by the strange accident that an alarm went off. Between people screaming, and apparently other similar accidents bursting out, it wasn't easy to locate the source of the alarm, but the Bulgari jewelry store caught his eye. "Well, this should be new. Let's mix the two jobs!" he said to himself. Hoping nobody would see him, he disappeared into the storage room to change into his hero costume.

“The date? Well, ‘t’s hard to tell… at first I thought ‘t was this guy†she pointed at the corpse “but… no, I guess not. I think he was ‘nother one of them, though. He was dressed normally but, you know: the skin, the hair, the movements… I think she brought him back from the depths, ‘f you know what I mean. He looked younger than her, too, but I guess ‘t could be a genetic thing and he’s one hundred years old ‘r something...†now that she awakened a bit, the club-owner was also more talkative, even if she kept chewing on every word in her weird accent “He didn’t talk much during the discussion between that poor guy and the ambassador though… they seemed to treat him as a child ‘r something.†She looked at a piece of paper, then handed it to the trio “I don’t think the bouncers can tell you much more, but here’s names and phone numbers. I gotta tell you though, they pr’bably won’t answer to anything short of a ram through the door till noon ‘t least…â€