Curious Key

That's a DC31 check. Oh boy. Yeah that sounds likely. Let's give it a go anyway . . . 1d20+12=26 WHERE WAS THIS ROLL LAST TIME? Dazed again. Can he keep flying, though? 1d20+12=32 He'll take all the damage he wants but someone tries to shoot him out of the sky? He says NO! And, hm, what's this? Someone new in the initiative order this next turn??? 1d20+4=5 1: Rainman 10 2: Bonfire 9.5 3: Mooks 5

The rainman had heard how much Cassidy Breur hated rain. Thought himself useless in it. Weakened he might have been, but Bonfire was hardly toothless. He let his guard down . . . And paid the cost with pain. The fire that sang from him burst straight through the rainman's shield and scorched his exposed face. He recoiled, putting hands over his eyes in a moment of silent pain. His focus lapsed, and the water that had bound Cassidy in place began to fall.

Oh wow! That just BARELY hits. Let's see here. 1d20+13=21 Wow. You've bruised and also dazed him. And therefore, you are now free from his grapple. Rainman needs to make a concentration roll to see if he can maintain his Flight. He needs to make a DC 16. 1d20+12=24 Yeah he's fine.

The rainman turned his palm around, quirked it upward, toward Bonfire, and action erupted all at once. A bubble of water sprung up around the intruder, meeting the fire that sprang from Bonfire's hands head on. It held its own for a moment, but the flame broke through, leaving only steam behind and slamming into the rainman, burning a hole in his suit and leaving him with a burnt shouldier. Meanwhile, water rushed inward from Cassidy's room and closed around Bonfire in an instant, trapping his flames within the water. Liquid gathered around rainman's body, engulfing him now completely, leaving only his face open. He turned his face sideways and flew out of the building through the window, carrying Bonfire up! Windows blurred past, then rooftops, then the open sky. They floated together over four hundred feet above the ground, the city laid out before them. "Do you understand your place now, Bauer? Freedom is a privileged. A privilege you have lost." The rainman held up a hand and closed it into a fist.

Oof, that's a hit. Let's do a toughness roll. If I'm correct, I need to beat a 26? 1d20+14=22 Ouch. That's a bruise. Since you readied your action, I think that delays your order in the initiative, so I think it looks something like this now? Rainman: 10 Bonfire: 9.5 In which case, Rainman is up again. So, he's going to try to maintain his grapple of you to keep pinning you. If he hangs on, then he's going to, uh, drag Bonfire outside for some fresh air. 1d20+17=30

Well, don't want to disappoint, so ranged grapple attack, coming right up! 1d20+10=30 That's a crit! Or . . . It would be a crit, but I don't think grappling gives a special critical effect. Now for the second half of this, the opposed grapple check . . . 1d20+17=22 Gotta beat a 22, or you're grappled. Either way, you can throw your fireball at this guy's face.

Behind Bonfire, the door to his apartment opened wide. The heavy-duty protective gear that the rest of the agents had, this man had quite simply done without. He was wearing a plain, black suit, slacks and white gloves. Excepting the infrared goggles, he looked more like someone come out of a high society dinner than anything else. Though he must have come through the window out of the rain, he was completely dry. "Cassidy Bauer." The man said in a familiar voice. "Don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

A CHALLENGER APPROACHES! Initiative 1d20+4=10 New Order: Bonfire: 18 ?????: 10 I'll do a post where they show up and then it's Bonfire's turn again.

Oh they simply cannot beat that taunt, they have to eat the debuff. On to the damage; Spook One Reflex: 1d20+3 =10 Toughness: 1d20+6=8 Spook Two Reflex: 1d20+3=11 Toughness: 1d20+6=10 Spook Three Reflex: 1d20+3=17 Toughness: 1d20+6=17 There are all minions, so they're down unless you want to leave one awake. You can write out how they get blown away or I can, your call. We're not ending initiative just yet, though . . .

As Bonfire escaped his room and under the door, there was a sound of shattering glass behind him. But by them he was already in the hallway. There were three. They were dressed in uniform black armor, with infrared goggles and a long, dark weapon that looked less like a gun and more like a long, insulated tube with a nozzle. One, the first he met, was pressed against the wall by Cassidy's door. Her eyes turned down, grabbed the heft of her weapon and aimed it coolly at Bonfire's burning, angry mass. She pulled the trigger releasing a spray of liquid that hissed, dropping the temperature of the room and slamming full on into his 'body.' Two others waited at the end of the hall,behind corners. One pointed a thumb toward Bonfire and counted 'one-two-three,' then tossed a flashbang over their partner's head. They managed to glance upward at it and turned their face away before it FLASHED bright in the hall. The two at the end of the hall drew their weapons from behind their backs and turned to look down the corridor.

Spook One is going to pull out her spray weapon and try to get Bonfire to chill out. It's an area cone effect, with the cold descriptor. I think you probably get full bonuses on the reflex to dodge even though you're weak to it . . . But not the damage. DC 17 Reflex for the area attack. Normal save for damage is 15+7, but because of your vulernability to cold, that goes up to 15+10 DC 25/20 toughness save for damage, depending on whether you succeeded or not, I think? Spook Two, hidden behind a door in one of the empty apartments, is going to throw a flashbang. Spook one is in range, so she'll have to make a save. DC17 Reflex for area attack DC17/13 Reflex or be dazzled Rolling for Spook One 1d20+3 = 22 They reduce the roll they need to in order to throw off dazzle. Will they make it? 1d20+3= 13 . . . Yes. Apparently they will. Wow. And Spook Three is gonna take cover behind a door, doing nothing.

Mysterious Spooks: 1d20+4 = 23 Initiative Order 1: Mysterious Spooks - 23 2: Bonfire - 18 They go first.

Let's Roll For Initiative!

Oh no! It seams that Cassidy's lackadaisical attitude to protecting his secret identity has backfire in a big way, and his enemies have found their way to his home. Take another hero point.

"Terrorist," a voice said through the phone, bored, professional. "You're a surprisingly easy man to find, considering what you have done." There was a moment of staticy silence through the phone. Dashing footsteps through the wall that led out into the hallway. "The damage that you have done to my employers' interest is incalculable," he said, clipped and toneless. On the other end, Cassidy could hear . . . Rain? "While it is unlikely that you will ever be able repay the damage you have done to our interests, it has been decided that an example must be made. You will make up for what you have done." "Should you submit, my employeers may show you mercy and allow you to participate as an agent. If you do not, you shall spend the rest of your life in a glass tube as part of a generator." "Let me make this absolutely clear to you, Cassidy Bauer. From this day forward, you shall become our property. The only choice remaining to you is whether you walk or are dragged."

Holy crap, alright. Cassidy is on the ball today. Hm. It seems like it's awfully rainy today. That seems like it might be inconvenient for poor Cassidy. Take a hero point.

GM Over the past few week, there'd been visitors to the fens, driving in with a sleek, too-nice car, and Cassidy had noticed people he didn't know in the building. Standing alert, aware . . . Aware of him, in fact. Now, they were the only people Cassidy had seen in teh building. And as if that wasn't enough, today it was raining. The sort of cold, hard January rain that hit the ground and turned to ice. The fens had retreated into itself; no one wanted to step aside for fear of slipping. It made sense, then, that it was a little quiet that night, in Cassidy's apartment. The lack of footfalls above his head, the lack of arguments from next door . . . Maybe it should have comforted him. At the days' end, the steady pitter-patter of rainfall still audible through the shoddy Fens architecture, Cassidy's phone began to ring.

For this thread. How about we start everything out with Bonfire making a Notice check. That sounds about right.

Warp Peace On Earth, And Mercy Mild? (4) Cool Cats (2) Hardware Hoodlum Heist (2) Other HellQ [I wrote one for Warp 4 years ago, but it was four years ago? Filled it in again. Does it count?] GM Give to Warp Please Extinquished (12)

Kat had never actually been to Japan, which was really something of a shame, considering that she could go just about anywhere. Language was hard though. "A good school can mean a lot," she said, because that at least she knew from experience. Outside, Hammer was having his little snowball war . .. or at least Kat assumed he was from the good-natured shouting and noise outside. Kat ran a hand absently through her hair. "Honestly," she said. "Had its ups and downs. But, altogether . . . not great." She gave a helpless little smile and a shrug. "You have any major hijinks in the last twelve months?" Kat raised an eyebrow.

Kat tugged at her jacket for a moment. It dissolved into thin air, leaving Kat in her bodysuit. The garden variety sort of thing that heroes who weren't quite tough enough all on their own relied on to take a punishment when they didn't have anything else to serve. Kat had tried to listen to someone describe it once, but she could almost feel her brains dripping out of her ears. Supergenius she was not. "Ah. Um." Kat reached up and scratched the back of her head, remembering one time back in Normal, when she'd tried to shove a snowball in some kid's ear. So she did know. Why had she been such a hellion? "I don't have anything that dramatic," Kat said, pulling out at her bodysuit and letting it snap back against her skin. "I just don't really have any way to keep the cold off."

Cary Power Level: 8 (135/135PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: - Alternate Identity: - Birthplace: - Residence: - Occupation: - Affiliations: - Blood Family: Deceased? Adoptive Family: Cary (Sibling), Avce (Sister), Torys (Brother), Ellie ("Aunt"), Kurrn (Mom) Apparent Age: - Gender: - Ethnicity: - Height: - Weight: - Eyes: - Hair: - Describe Character Here History: Personality & Motivation: Powers & Tactics: Power Descriptions: Complications: Abilities: -2 + 0 - 10 + 6 + 6 + 4 = 4PP Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: - Intelligence: 16 (+3) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: 8 + 6 = 14PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +4 (+8 Shadowhands) Defense: +7 (+3 Base, +5 Dodge Focus), +1 Flat-Footed Grapple: +0 Knockback: -4 Saving Throws: 0 + 5 + 4 = 9PP Toughness: +8 ( - Con, +8 Protection) Fortitude: - Reflex: +5 (+0 Dex, +5) Will: +7 (+3 Wis, +4) Skills: 20R = 5PP Knowledge (History) 10 (+12) Knowledge (Streetwise) 10 (+12) Feats: 6PP Ambidexterity 5 Dodge Focus Equipment: 0PP = 0EP Powers: 30 + 8 + 5 + 6 + 18 + 28 = 90PP Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) 30PP Protection 8 8PP Regeneration 5 (Recovery Bonus +0) 5PP Morph 6 (Human 'Self') 6PP (Human Mien) Living Shadow (17PP Passive, Permanent Container; Power Feats: Innate) 18PP Insubstantial 1 ('Fluid'; Flaws: Permanent) 4PP Super-Movement 1 (Slithering) 2PP Elongation 4 4PP Additional Limbs 5 5PP Concealment 2 (Visual; Flaws: Limited [In Darkness]) 2PP Shadowshape (26PP Array, Alternate Power 2) 28PP BP: Snare 8 (Extras: Regenerating, Constricting; Flaws: Range [Touch] Power Feats: Accurate 2) [26/26PP] AP: Strike 8 (Extras: Area [Targeted, Cone], Selective, Power Feats: Accurate 2) [26/26PP] AP: Obscure 5 (Visual, Darkness; Extras: Continuous) [15/25PP] Drawbacks: (-3) + (-3) = -3PP Vulnerability (Light, Frequency: Uncommon. Intensity: Major [2X DMG]) -3 DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Totals: Abilities (4) + Combat (14) + Saving Throws (9) + Skills (5) + Feats (6PP) + Powers (90) - Drawbacks (3) = 125/135 Power Points

Salamander

To be honest, the baseliners at Claremont had always confused Kat a little bit. The metahumans, she could understand, because she was one. The aliens, she got. The ghosts and robots and everything else, like, where the heck else would they have gone? Claremont had the facilities to take care of them all that no one else had. But why would any baseliners need to come? This explained some part of it, at least. A Mali was a legacy hero. Following in her family's footsteps, chasing grandfather's back. "I can't imagine," Kat said, because she couldn't. It was just so strange . . . "For me, I didn't even really mean to go hero, like, ever. I woke up in a dumpster a state away in Chicago one day, and then people from Claremont were coming along to my parents about a school I could learn to control myself. I thought I'd finish up, and that'd be the end of it." "But I'm kind of easy to influence," she admitted. "And everyone being heroes was just so cool . . ." She flashed a smile. "Not really the most noble reason right? But I kinda hope you're right. That the reason doesn't matter so much as stepping up at all."

"Yeah," Kat said, raising an eyebrow as she shoved her her hands into her pockets. "This, uh." She bit down on the inside of her lip. "Is . . . Reassuring? How about we go . . . literally anywhere else?" This place . . . well, Kat didn't like the look of those skeletons. Or those bodies. Or those . . . Anything. She wasn't exactly a pushover, but this . . . Made her distinctly uncomfortable. "I know it's supposed to be safe, but . . ."