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City Hall, Emerald City, Oregon December 3rd, 10.17 AM, 2016 "...so we turn to the man with a plan: Maximilian Mars! Together with our beloved mayor and crusading D.A.! Shall we give them a warm welcome, fellow munchkins?" Fit and fashionable John Nakane needn't have bothered with the suggestion. A roar of applause and hollaring voices greeted a short, smiling and stocky red-haired man dressed in expensive blue simplicity, a care-worn and kindly-looking woman whose quick wave, predominantly green wardrobe and auburn hair marked her as Mayor Amanda Talbot and a thin and stern-looking brunet whose bespectacled officiousness pegged him as District Attorney Stanley Everett. The unlikely trio took to the podium mounted at the end of City Hall's broad front porch, a stubby granite cliff flanked by the slopes leading up to the aggressively modern metal and glass structure from which over 450,000 souls had their fates determined. With a flicker the holo-screens snapped to life, showing the three at gigantic size in crystal-clear resolution across the front of the building. Tilting down the microphones a little to better reach his bearded face, Max Mars grinned boyishly at the congregation. In almost every direction the manicured lawns and gardens held scattered collections, singles or parties of locals, while the geometrically exact white lanes were crowded to the bursting with them, the throng thickest in the broad square right before City Hall. The winter sun was unusually strong today, despite the clouded weather, which fit with today's agenda perfectly. "Hellooo my little people! It's great to see so many of you here today! The public notification did say this was just a sneak peak at the future, and you're the ones who make the future happen!" Waiting for the whoops of approval to die down with a fatherly "aw, shucks" expression, Mars quickly got down to business. "We all pay attention to the news, and we all know the problems facing our world. A lot of them seem too big for anyone, or even everyone to handle. But we didn't get where we are by giving up! You can't cross a thousand miles in one step...well, at least not until our teleporter watches are out in 2018, but until then we take this one step at a time, one day at a time, one problem at a time." Mars took a hard drive out of his pocket "For a start, our wasteful consumer culture. This is a two-terabyte drive, peanuts, right? But look at all the stuff that goes into it, just to make a disposable, near-obsolete pile of junk. Mr. Everett?" The District Attorney stepped forward, rummaging in his pocket and pulling out something that took a second for the sensors to focus properly on it: a tiny thumb drive, grey and russet with the MarsTech logo. "How much space is that again, Stan?" Mars asked with a grin at the audience. "Two hundred and fifty terabytes, Max. Consolidation of city records is already almost complete, and the security is, well..." Everett frowned at the piece of electronics in his hand "...well it's actually almost unbelievable. I have even been keeping personal files on this." "And this is just the first step, folks! Mayor Talbot, you've been looking for material to shore up Red River Dam, correct?" "We all know what happens if it collapses, Max, and frankly I would prefer our fair city not suffer Astoria's fate." The mayor's smile was a little more wry than usual "This the part where we dramatically reveal those slow-growth nanobots?" Mars clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide with betrayal "Mandy! How could you? But yes!" At his nod Talbot held her hand up to the sensors, revealing a tiny pile of concrete visibly alive with activity "Self-repairing structures aren't just Freedom City's thing anymore, folks! And we don't need an Ancient Egyptian cosplayer to do it either! This is all us, Emerald City, we're making this happen together!" This time the cheers, whoops, screams and claps lasted for a good five minutes. Which was no problem. Selective sound-pitching tech meant that the questions from the press, civilians and short statements from the most powerful people in Emerald City carried through loud and clear. In the hustle and press of the crowd, a cheerful-looking young man with a ponytail and a very consistent red/green color scheme accidentally stumbled against a smaller woman. With a yelp of surprise he whirled around, fists half-raised until he saw who she was. "Sorry! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention! You okay? I'm Paris, Paris Redwater." He offered his hand with a chagrined twist on his mouth "I'm here for school, my Comms teacher wanted me to see professional public speakers in action. How about you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow "Here for the city spirit?"

I'm looking for a couple of Emerald City PCs in the 8-10 range to help Blue Jay deal with a new crime wave in Emerald City. Magic will be involved. Any takers?

OOC for this thread. Emerald City PCs only, but if you want yours in only say so. Everyone's day gets a little weirder with the city's first-ever local supervillain. And all the people who want her dead. (The title is ironic.)

OOC thread for this thread.

Monday, August 11, 2016 Emerald City, Oregon The long, ragged line of passengers spilled out of the jet liner, six hours of flight time taking their toll on legs and patience and attention. Tona Baudin did her best to keep her face together until she was able to get away from the crowd. She stood alone by herself for long minutes, focusing on her breathing and her thudding heart. Flying through the air -- such an impossible thing that people here handled so blandly! -- always got to her, and crowds always got to her, and the two together for so long left her feeling twitchy and breathless. For now she was just happy to be on the ground. In time she followed the signs and the crowds out to the main terminal of Benjamin Jacobs International airport and towards the luggage carousel. That, at least, was easy for her. No one else had brought along a bright orange hiking pack with a solid bow case webbed onto the side. No one else could probably heft it one-handed like she did, either, which earned her plenty of empty room when she swung it onto her back. Out on the street, Tona briefly wondered how she was supposed to go about hiring a taxi cab before she saw the big man with her name on a sign. He was broad-shouldered, with greying hair and a powerful, wearing the sort of brightly patterned tourist shirt the archer previously thought only existed in movies. He waved at her, pointing at a black SUV. "Antoinette Bawd-in, is that right? Glad as hell to meet ya, girl!"

Tekton Power Level: 10 (150/153) Unspent Power Points: 3 Trade-Offs: None In Brief: Mutant with Vibration Control and Generation Powers In a corporate sponsorship and uniform. Catchphrase: "Time to shake you down!" "lets shake things up!", "I'll leave you7 quaking in your boots!" and of course "Halt Evildoer!" Theme: Shake, Rattle And Roll Alternate Identity:Vladimir Richter (Secret) Birthplace: Wallachia, Romania Residence: Emerald City, University Hill (ECU Dorm) Base of Operations: Emerald City Occupation: Retail worker; Student of Geology Affiliations: N/A Family: Radu Richter (Twin Brother) Friends: Description: Age: 25 (4th December 1991) Gender: Male Ethnicity: Romanian Height: 5'11" Weight: 185 lbs. Eyes: Grey Hair: Dark Brown History: Born into a large and close-knit family, Vladmir and his brother Rudu both were known to be Different from their elder siblings both developed mentally much faster than average and reaching an emotional maturity beyond their years,however this was even more pronounced in Rudu, Whom upon coasting through his early education with the greatest ease, it was plain to all whom saw that Rudu had been born with almost superhuman Intelligence Quotient and when his Secondary education had been completed He was approached by an agent of Emerald city university with the offer of a scholarship and the opportunity to travel to the united states and thus access some of the most advanced facilities and finest scientific minds in the world. Young, Proud and filled with ambition Rudu accepted without so much as a second thought and packed his bags and rushed headlong into the promising future set out before him, Meanwhile, Vladimir, whom hadn't revived the gift of superhuman intelligence discovered that he had instead received an equal but different gift, he found that he had developed the ability to sense and through force of will effect tremors in the air and ground around him, whilst there were not many known superheroes around in Romania let alone wallachia and so he found himself without the guidance he needed to truely hone his powers to the precise and honed edge necessary to use them without risking the safety of both himself and everyone around them. Though he clung to the idea of being one of the few Romanian superheroes he quickly abandoned the idea when he realized that without proper training and equipment he was far more likely to kill people than to save them. It was then that his brother, Long since graduated from his scholarship, and kept appraised by Vladimir own letters of this development intervened, using some of the wealth he had accumulated in his work at PanStar to secure his brother a place at the very same university that he himself had attended and paying the bulk of his tuition out of his own pocket. and so Vladimir came to the states following in his brothers footsteps and given enough money to set himself up with a small but comfortable apartment he began to attend both geology classes and Meta human Support groups and slowly but surely began to master his abilities. using what little free money to gather materials for a ramshackled costume of his own design; consisting mostly of construction site Safety apparel, SCUBA Gear and a morphic molecule under-suit, that was quickly abandoned when he was offered the aid of PanStar in developing a sleeker and far more advanced model based on his designs. a Project he later discovered had been submitted for review by his own brother, under the name of a corporate sponsored metahuman hero. Soon he would be ready to try his hand at his long since discarded dream wearing the black, silver and red of his brothers corporate affiliations Personality & Motivation: Personality; Vladmir is a good natured young man, whom despite wanting to be a super hero for perhapse the wrong reasons is genuinely interested in helping those in need and protecting the world from the predations of criminals, though he is quite physically fit he tends to enjoy more bookish hobbies and is equally at home in art galleries and museums as he is in the local comic book store and fighting small time back alley crooks. Motivation: Vladmir's primary motivation for becoming a super hero is his own excitable nature and the positive attention it garners him, even if it is through the filter of a Pseudonym and mask, he enjoys interacting with his (So Far Few) Fans on the twitter, face book and snapchat he is contractually obligated to keep and is by all accounts something of an aspiring bon vivant. all he lacks is the budget. Powers & Tactics: Powers: Vladmir has the ability to amplify, control and/or create vibrations in both himself and the surrounding environments, though he lacks the superhuman intelligence of his brother he retains a great aptitude for learning and retention of information that allows him to become relatively skilled in certain areas he remains otherwise untalented in. Tactics: Vladmir is a showboat through and through, and though he would never risk someones life in the name of dramatic tension he remains something of an entertainer in his fights till the stakes grow to high for him to dance around exchanging quips as readily as blows with his opponents, favoring raw power to finesse until such a time as it proves nonviable as an option and then will switch to suprisingly cunning stratagems applicable to what he knows about his opponents. Power Descriptions: Vibration control: the only visual indication of vladmir's powers are the ripples in the air around him when he is using particularly intense vibrations some even creating light via air resistance when utilized, though all of his powers are accompanied by a hum, buzz or shrill shriek, some above or below the humans hearing spectrum. Complications: Transylmania: Due in part to his birthplace, upbringing and the classic literature he studied in high school, Vladimir's childhood nyctophobia has developed into an intense fear of vampires and the superstition that surrounds them, Vampires (or people with convincing enough appearances and powers) Terrify Vladmir and find him far more pliable that he would otherwise be due to that extreme fear. he may also refuse to enter places that have in lore been home to or played host to vampires, graveyards at night, Old Abandoned homes and ruined and abandoned cathedrals chief among them, though he is in equal measure exhilarated and perhaps slightly addicted to the extreme Adrenalin rush provided by this fear and will sometimes get himself into positions where he must confront it. Sold my Soul to the Company store: Due to his brothers influence in PanStar and his good relationship with both him and the company, Vladimir is reluctant to believe any misgivings about the company and in extreme cases takes attacks against them as personal affronts to his brother and reacts angrily to accusations, taking them as slander against his brother when they are directed against the company entire and will in some cases overlook minor misgivings as simply being the norm for such companies and the media blame parade being little more than the klaxon announcing one has been caught; he is as financially indebted to the company as he is emotionally indebted to his brother. Showboater: Due to his desire and slight contractual obligations to not only save the day but look good doing it, other heroes will sometimes dismiss him as a greedy and shallow hero with no real convictions, leading not only to difficulties in interacting with other super heroes whom feel strongly about such things but also something of a mixed relationship with the media, praise and scorn both becoming exaggerated due to corporate intrigues and relationships he has no control over. Accidents: Vladimir's control of his powers is tenuous and relies greatly on his knowledge of materials and geology for his more fancy powers, should he be unduely distracted or unable to concentrate fully for whatever reason he may do anything from shatter bones like glass, resonate a material he doesn't mean too or even in extreme cases kick off full scale earthquakes in tectonically unstable locations. Abilities: 8 + 4 + 8 + 0 + 4 + 4 = 28pp Strength: +4 (18) Dexterity: +2 (14) Constitution: +4 (18) Intelligence: +0 (10) Wisdom: +2 (14) Charisma: +2 (14) Combat: 12 + 12 = 24pp Attack Bonus: +6 Ranged: +6 (+10 Shockwaves) Melee: +10 Grapple: +14 (+6 Base attack, + 4 attack focus (Melee) +4 Strength) Defense: +10 (6 Base: +4 Dodge focus, Flat-footed: +3), Knockback: -5 Initiative: +10 (+2 Dex +8 Improved initiative 2) Saves: 4 + 6 + 6 = 16pp Tough: +4/+10 (+4 Con +6 Protection (in Costume)) Fort: +8, (+4 Con +4) Ref: +8, (+2 Dex +6) Will: +8 (+2 Wis + 6) Skills: 14pp = 56 Ranks Diplomacy 8 (+10) Intimidate 8 (+10) Knowledge (earth sciences) 10 (+10) Language 4 (Native: Romanian; English, Russian, Turkish, German), Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 8 (+10) Swim 2 (+6) Feats: 20pp All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 4, Distract (Intimidate), Dodge Focus 4, Equipment 2, Fascinate (Diplomacy), Improved Initiative 2, Improved Throw, Instant Up, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Second Chance (Audio based Dazzle), (Device Based) Second Chance (Sight based Dazzle), (Device based) Uncanny Dodge (Tremor Sense) Equipment: 2pp = 10ep Laptop Computer 1ep Motorcycle: 9ep Powers: 8 + 4 + 36 = 48pp PanStar Armored Costume (Device 2) (Hard to lose)[8pp] Carbon fiber Armor (Protection 6) (+6 Toughness) Insulated helmet and Shaded Visor (Enhanced Trait 2) (Feats: Second Chance (Audio based Dazzle), Second Chance (Sight based Dazzle)) Micro Oxygen tanks (Immunity 2) (suffocation (all)) Tremorsense (Super-Senses 4) (extended: Tremorsense 2 (-1 per 1k ft), tremorsense)[4pp] Vibration Control (Array 15) (default power: blast PF: Alternate powers 6)[36pp] Airquake (Damage 10) (Array; DC 25; Cone Area (100 ft. cone - Targeted), Autofire (interval 2, max +5)) Blastwave (Trip 10) (Array; Burst Area (25-2500 ft. radius - General), Knockback; Range (touch); Progression, Decrease Area 5 (-5 ranks), Progression, Increase Area 5 (area x50)) Hypocenter Generation (Environmental Control 10) (Array; hamper move (Movement reduced to 25%), Radius: 5000 ft.; Selective Attack) Molecular Disruption (Corrosion 10) (Array; DC 25) Shockwaves (Blast 10) (Default; DC 25; Penetrating [5 ranks only]; Accurate 2 (+4), Affects Insubstantial 2 (full power), Precise) Thrumming Debris Cloud (Obscure 10) (Array; affects: 1 type + visual - visual and audio, Radius: 5000 ft.; Independent) Vibrolance (Damage 10) (Array; DC 25; Line Area (5x250 ft. line - Targeted), Autofire (interval 2, max +5)) Attack Range Effect DC Unarmed Touch Damage DC19 Tou (Staged) Shockwaves 100ft Blast DC25 Tou (Staged) Airquake 100ft Cone (T) Damage DC25 Tou (Staged) Vibrolance 5x250ft Line (T) Damage DC25 Tou (Staged) Molecular Disruption Touch Corrosion DC20 Fort/DC25 Tou (staged) Totals: Abilities 28 + Skills 14 (56 ranks) + Feats 20 + Powers 48 + Combat 24 + Saves 16 + Drawbacks 0 = 150/151PP

GM October 1st, Saturday, 2016 Miles offshore from Emerald City, Oregon, the PanStar Pacific Proliferation Platform(P3 Station) "We're very excited to have you both here, Dr. Delacroix, Dr. Anderson." Though easily a few heads shorter than either of the two men, Olivia Oum, Director of PanStar's Ocean Developments division, seemed a positive giant among the ever-present crush of workers, technicians, company people and sundry humanity scurrying around the shiny-new fish farm and cloning facility. All of them quickly made way for the quartet of Dir. Oum in her crisp blue suit, her PA whose eyes never left her phone (which did nothing to impede the rest of her work) and the two visiting scientists. There was certainly plenty of space on the Platform, an enormous silver-white dome intersecting two massive rings cradling an advanced force-field system that let water and nutrients in and kept a great many other things out. Every ceiling and floor bore PanStar's gold star, the symbols of its associates(Emerald City's MarsTech, Ming Xi Visions and Saito Solutions) while the rain-streaked windows looked out at a recently-passed storm front and a heaving deep-grey sea. Leading the way to an elevator, Oum went on blithely "PanStar has worked hard to make the world a better place, and with this, a way replenish our dying ocean's ecosystem, we hope to avert a disaster even this world's heroes have been powerless against." With a swipe of her thumb against a colored bar the door rematerialized behind them. The PA's head tilted slightly upward "Zhou in manfac needs another bulk order Ma'am, 203E-5s, tungsten." "By all means, Panita, put it through." Oum smiled benevolently to the visitors as the elevator descended swiftly, the Pacific Ocean surrounding them and the submerged levels of the Platform as a cloud of darkness and shifting shadows deepened by the facility's lights.. "We understand UNESCO's need to ensure our full compliance with the law and the highest ethical standards, given the stakes at play. Rest assured, Dr. Anderson, we have nothing to hide and every member of our staff will comply with your review. Or I shall know the reason why." The dazzling smile the compact woman shone at the Englishman did nothing to undermine the undertone of ferocity. Turning to the American, the Director added "Dr. Delacroix, we appreciate the willingness of the Institute to gives its second opinion. Your work in bioscience and the in-depth understanding of business your brothers have displayed fills us with confidence that this will lead to a swift and mutually-satisfactory conclusion!" Relaxing against the transparent metal windows, Oum asked brightly "Do you have any questions?"

So here's the idea: A series of attacks have been occurring in Emerald City and CoVic where victims have been found cold and drained of blood. Most of them remain dead, but some rise again within a few hours and attack anyone they can get their hands on. I'm looking for two PC's preferably around PL 10 to join in and stop this menace!

Reading through the Emerald Knights campaign has given me an idea for an adventure within Emerald City. The short version is that one or another supervillain -- likely FOE or the Chessmaster -- is going on a recruiting drive. That means a lot of petty and not-so petty crime popping up in Emerald as various supercriminals are given auditions. Ideally this would start with a number of solo or semi-solo threads as individual PCs stop individual groups, then track them back to some common mastermind. At the climax the PCs can come together to face this foe and strike a blow for, uh, peace and justice and apple pie and all that.

Since Freedom City and Bedlam City don't really benefit from having a metaplot/coordinated direction, but Emerald does by nature of its more open and vague arrangement, I say it should have one. Preliminary suggested outline: Early threads(1-2) where they're just starting out. Who? Makes no odds to me. They get more or less established to the public and are initially just random curiosities fighting random mundane crooks/disasters or helping people with random problems. A collective one where they face Emerald City's first public supervillain: Faster Pussycat, who debuts stealing some outlandishly sensitive information leading to the revelation that Emerald City South's District Attorney, Stanley Everett, is in the pocket of organized crime and has been lightening sentences for people in the gang that's been blackmailing him. This gives the local police a lengthy list of suspects and leads which springboards the new heroes into a very asymmetric fight against the Malakov Mafiya and the Chamber. At first Koschei the Deathless and his comrades in crime are content to just make the south shore heroes look bad, arrange for crimebusting debacles, meddling in their private lives and doing all they can to make getting involved personally painful and difficult. This escalates into attempts on their lives, those of their families and a gradual influx of super-crooks. The few times they do get anything done the local AEGIS branch is always there to mess things up. Meanwhile public interest runs out of control with rampant speculation and a flood of attention and intense scrutiny over anything the heroes do in the open. Complicating matters further is the Ascension Event, where humans and Morlocks twisted by a monster living underneath Emerald City burst out and attack the upper world. The discovery of how the Emerald City government has been shunting homeless people into the subterranean Undercity for decades, creating the circumstances leading to the Ascension, creates a national scandal. The heroes are simultaneously blamed by city leadership for this black mark on the Emerald's reputation and transformed into celebrities for resolving the crisis. The local AEGIS branch, weakened and bloated by years of top-level corruption, performs disgracefully badly, so badly that Nat. Dir. Powers and newly-promoted Director Calpurnia Maddox finally have the excuse they need to totally restructure the agency. Maddox formally apologizes for the harm AEGIS has done and henceforth agents turn from obscurantist bureaucratic MIBs to some of the best help a superhero could want. Meanwhile the enigmatic Nightwatch, a tight-knit unit of powerful vigilantes who fight the fights nobody else will in the dark places nobody else can go, arrive in the Emeralds. Their first act is to obliterate all trace of the local Blood Brothers vampire clan, a mere prelude to their private and hard-hitting war on crime. They mostly keep their operations out of the way of lighter, less experienced heroes. Mostly. That they're a bunch of bloodthirsty opportunists using the hand-tying heroes to keep attention and pressure off themselves while working under the self-constricted Chamber's nose is ideally something that takes a very long time to unravel. The major companies in Emerald City start to capitalize on the hero craze. Those that can't get the new heroes to sign on with them import some from across the Pacific Rim, bringing an eclectic bunch of hyper-competitive corporate-logoed professional heroes who aren't the least shy about trying to steal the "local's" thunder. Across the river several members of Project: Safeguard are called in to help deal with the influx of supercrime and to protect the dangerous secrets at Joint Base Clark-Gordon. And the nuclear weapons at Fort Brewer. Despite their differences, the largely unaffiliated supers, dubbed the 'Emerald City Knights' by the press, are able to combine their strengths and save the city from destruction at the hands of the meta-supremacists of MEDUSA. Things take a very dramatic turn when the Emeralds' next 'official' villain appears: the enigmatic Commander, an armored, secretive genius who controls people through nanotechnology and quickly shows a mastery of misdirection and infiltration. Initially just hired help for the Chamber to reassert control she soon starts on a project of her own to control every last one of the Knights and, like everything else, is soon off the rails. There's more, but I feel this is more than enough for a start. Thoughts, concerns?

Trying to do some worldbuilding here, tying together our three (technically four?) cities of adventure through related criminal organizations. Today, the Mafia. Feedback and suggestions welcome! I'm considering updating what's going on with Freedom City's three mafia families, but I'd have to consult the ref team first. I plan to add a little more overall, but I'm out of time for today. Ultimately, I'm hoping that the Commission as a massive group of antagonists could provide plot hooks to bring heroes from one city to another for a thread or two, or at least have them hear about each other. The Commission The Mafia was originally formed in the nineteenth century as a group of Sicilian freedom fighters seeking to expel Napoleon and the French; the name itself is an acronym for "Morte Alla Francia Italia Anela,” which means "death to the French cry the Italians!". The traditions of mutual protection and loyalty at the expense of the state that developed during this period persisted over the following centuries, and as Sicilian immigrants traveled to America and ran up against intense nativism, these families became respected parts of their communities. To outsiders, however, they became synonymous with insidious crime. The Mafia as a criminal organization in the United States began in the early 1900s in major East Coast cities, predominately New York, New York and Freedom City, New Jersey. Early on, they were supposed to be administered by a single "capo de tutti capi," or "boss of all bosses", but brutal infighting over who could hold such a powerful position led the heads of the various Mafia families to reevaluate this style of leadership. In 1931, after a particularly brutal murder of one capo de tutti capi, the nation's most powerful mob branches met in Chicago to decide on an alternative. The result was the Commission, a sort of Mafia board of directors composed of the leaders of the twelve most powerful families: the Five Families of New York; Al Capone's Chicago Outfit; the Scarpias, Igglionis, and Gorganzuas of Bedlam City; and the Drioganos, Olivertis, and Tonifannis of Freedom City. The Twelve Families, as the Commission was also known, met to make all significant decisions about the future of the Mafia as a whole. Meetings approved or denied the admission of Sicilian-born men as Made Men, meted out retribution to traitors, and made the fateful decision to get involved with the drug trade. As lesser families, such as the Manettis (who arrived in Emerald City in the 1940's), began to spread, members of the commission increased their influence by offering to champion their interests; both the Manettis and the Los Angeles mob were long represented by the Chicago Outfit. But despite this show of cooperation, uneasiness between families sometimes erupted into near-open hostility. A series of ugly incidents in 1967 nearly put the Chicago Outfit at war with Bedlam's Scarpias, and although the Commission forbade hostilities, neither group has been welcome in the other's city since. As the Mafia's influence grew with the drug boom, so did law enforcement scrutiny, vigilante attention, and competition within the organization. The activities of superheroes in many of the major cities of the United States began to take a serious toll on families that had until recently been unshakable institutions. After the murder of New York Mafia kingpin Paul Castellano in 1985 and a major defection by insiders who revealed the organization's secret structure in order to get revenge on his killers, the mob began to be muscled out of its nationwide place as undisputed head of the criminal underworld. The Five Families of New York and the Chicago Outfit stayed in contact, but never called or attended a meeting of the full Commission again. In some places, however, local circumstances allowed the Mafia families to hold onto more power. In Freedom City, the corruption that came with the Moore Act era largely destroyed any chance for local superheroes and law enforcement to deal the mob a knockout blow, and the three families there managed to retain significant influence in the city's underworld. In Bedlam City, lack of effective oversight by the half-disbanded commission allowed the Scarpias to wipe out the Igglionis. The city was already so corrupt and economically depressed that it had little chance of rooting them out. With heroes and police in Freedom City still working hard to put an end to the Mafia's operations now that the Moore Administration is a distant memory, and with New York and Chicago largely running their own affairs, the axis of Mafia power in the United States has shifted to Bedlam City, where they rule effectively undisputed. Taking advantage of the situation, the Scarpia family reinstated the Commission in the early 2000s, this time with seven seats: three for the Freedom City families, one for the Manettis of Emerald City, one for Bedlam's Gorganzuas, and two for the Scarpias, representing both themselves and the Igglionis. Although a blatant grab for further power and influence by the Scarpias, this new Commission ("the Seven Families" now, although really there are only six) has had considerable success. The member families run contraband routes from coast to coast, dispose of evidence for one another, hide wanted members of families from other cities, share information on superheroes and law enforcement, and have a shared list of assassins and metahuman contractors to pull from when someone interferes too much in their operations. Whether the new Commission can fully revitalize the Mafia as America's most powerful criminal organization remains to be seen.

Downtown Emerald City, Oregon 10 am PDT, 1st August 2016 Emerald City the little city that could a glittering beacon of new opportunities as it embraced the future head on. And whilst it was no Freedom City it even had a few of it’s own superheroes a sign to many that a city had finally made it to the big leagues. But it wasn’t just the law abiding that were drawn to Emerald City, many criminal sorts were also drawn to the city. After all there were so few heroes and so many chances to make you fortune, why not try to make your fortune the easy way. Such was obviously the case for the guy sat in the car idling outside of Emerald Cities First National, he and his fellows were out to make a unofficial withdrawn. Unfortunately for him he’d attracted the attention of Emerald Cities heroes.

GM July 5th, Tuesday, 3.45PM, 2016 4027 Tower St., Emerald City, WA, USA Downtown on the Emerald City riverfront was like being in another world. Voices and faces from dozens of other countries filled the streets, the sharp sea breeze lent a salty tang to the smells of streetside vendors selling the cuisine from dozens more and the sleek, pristine skyscrapers rearing above bore the richest names on Earth in at least ten languages. In particular was the soaring crystal-green Emerald Tower, the corporate center of world-famous MarsTech, one of the several new corporations in the super-technology industry and already a household name. The Tower was the hub for its own micro-universe, the eye of a financial, legal and technological hurricane, a block in each cardinal direction devoted to its needs and those of its sky-dwelling inhabitants. Public involvement with superhumans was considered passé, a kind of cheating, so there was little surprise when Prof. Erasmus Bolt was contacted about one of his newest inventions and invited to a meeting with the head of MarsTech, the flamboyant and vibrant plutocract Maximilian Mars. Although he has made a name for himself as someone with the city's best interests at heart, nobody doubts that Mars is chiefly concerned with Number One. For whatever reason, Erasmus had not yet entered the Tower. "Bolt!" A harsh, cold voice hissed from behind him, which turned out to hail from a very dour-looking man cloistered in a pitch-black limosuine, a rarity in downtown Emerald which prides itself on its mass-transit system. The man glared out at Bolt, then up at the Emerald Tower "Come to see Mars, hn? When you're done, come see me. I'm Kessler, Arwin Kessler, KessKorp. Unlike Mars, I won't lie to you. My card." Thrusting his lean hand out with a well-produced rectangle of laminated plastic pinched between thumb and forefinger, Kessler waited with an air of impatience for Bolt to take it.

OOC for this thread. There's some problems with companies...sabotage...insider flummox... @Supercape [X-FILES THEME]

Character Name: Black Vulture Power Level: 10 (162PP) Trade-Offs: None In Brief: Arrogant king of the Avians Alternate Identity: Vohl-Turr Identity: The general public is unaware that the Avians or Vohl-Turr exist. Birthplace: Atlas Mountains Occupation: King of the Avians Affiliations: Sky Clan, Cryptids Abilities: 6 + 10 + 8 + 2 + 0 + 8 = 34 PP Strength: 16 (+3) Dexterity: 20 (+5) Constitution: 18 (+4) Intelligence: 12 (+1) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 8 + 12 = 20 PP Initiative: +9 Attack: +4 Melee, +4 Ranged, +10 Claws Grapple: +7 Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback: -5/-2 Saving Throws: 3 + 5 + 7 = 15 PP Toughness: +10/+4 (+4 Con, +6 Defensive Roll) Fortitude: +7 (+4 Con, +3) Reflex: +10 (+5 Dex, +5) Will: +7 (+0 Wis, +7) Skills: 56 R = 14 PP Acrobatics 12 (+17) Diplomacy 6 (+10) Intimidate 11 (+15) Language 1 (Avians) Notice 8 (+8) Sense Motive 8 (+8) Survival 10 (+10) Feats: 26 PP Acrobatic Bluff Animal Empathy Assessment Benefit (Ruler of Sky Clan) Challenge 2 (Fast Demoralize, Fast Startle) Defensive Attack Defensive Roll 3 Dodge Focus 4 Evasion Fascinate (Intimidate) Favored Environment (Aerial) Improved Initiative Leadership Move-By Attack Power Attack Redirect Set-up Startle Track (Visual) Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: 2 + 9 + 20 + 3 + 21 = 55 PP Comprehend 2 (Animals, speak to & understand, Flaw: Limited [Birds]) [2 PP] Flight 5 (250 MPH, Drawback: Wings) (Avian Flight) [9 PP] Obscure 10 (Visual, Extra: Independent) (Clouded by Birds) [20 PP] Super-Senses 3 (Visual, Extended 2 [1000 ft increments], Low-Light Vision) (Eagle Vision) [3 PP] Winged Warrior Array 10 (20 PP, Feat: Alternate Power) [21 PP] BE: Damage 7 (Feats: Accurate 3, Mighty, Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Split Attack, Extra: Penetrating [6]) (Claws) [20/20] AP: Dazzle 10 (Visual, Extra: Area/Cone [General], Flaw: Range/Touch) (Wing Gust) [20/20] Drawbacks: (0) = -0 PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC18 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Claws Touch DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Wing Gust Area/Cone DC20 Reflex/DC 20 Fortitude Blinded Obscure Ranged None Blinded Totals: Abilities (34) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (14) + Feats (26) + Powers (55) - Drawbacks (0) = 164 Power Points

This is a thread to collaborate on threads for Emerald City, specifically for ways to get FC heroes out to the West Coast, either temporarily or permanently. It's also a place for those who have the book to help those that don't.

Player Name: Ari Character Name: The Salmon Power Level: 7 (105/105PP) Trade-Offs: +3 Attack/-3 Damage, +3 Defence/-3 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 0 In Brief: Aquatically-adapted and linguistically-gifted mutant way out of his depth in the Emerald City underworld. Residence: 635 Tkope Ekoli Way, Riverfront District, Emerald City Base of Operations: (Incomplete) A cave in the flooded subway tunnels. Catchphrase: "I got this!/I don't got this!" Alternate Identity: Ishmael Paris Redwater/Ishi/Fishy Identity: Secret Birthplace: Emerald City, Oregon, USA Occupation: Student, translator, superhero Affiliations: Golden Dragon Society, the Malakov Mafiya, the Takazumi-gumi, Emerald City Community College Family: Ellen Riverrun(aunt, paternal), Abraham Hector Redwater(brother, elder) Description: Age: 18 (March 21st, 1998) Apparent Age: N/A Gender: Man Ethnicity: Coastal Chinook(Clatsop) Height: 5'6" Weight: 160 lbs Eyes: Brown Hair: Black Ishmael is slim and athletic with shoulder-length straight black hair. Everything from his fresh-faced, guileless good looks to his relaxed, fluid body language to his relentlessly casual dress sense seems almost tailored to make people feel comfortable around him. He generally wears clothes at least one size larger than fits (mostly hand-me-downs from his brother), many of which have pithy slogans or intricate designs. His favorite outfit, regardless of weather, is a beaten green jacket, red t-shirt, green cargo pants and scuffed red sneakers. His voice is usually soft and awkward, but can quickly switch to clear and projecting. He has the names "Priam" and "Cassandra" tattooed on his shoulders. When talking in most languages, he does not have a noticeable accent. As the Salmon he wears a green and black costume with slanted orange eyes and patterns of thick wavey lines of the same color on the trunk. In costume he becomes much more expressive and animated, talking with a slight accent he doesn't have in normal life. Power Descriptions: Ishmael's powers are internal and nonlbvious besides what they let him do, being a mutation of his body chemistry and biology making him superhumanly-fast, his skin capable of absorbing oxygen in liquid form and improving his ability to sense vibrations. History: Abandoned by his parents as an infant, Ishmael grew up with his brother Abraham in the extended Riverrun family. The boys early formed a bond with their aunt, Ellen, and Ishmael still lives with her and helps out at the art gallery she runs. Growing up, the boy developed none of his brother's self-assurance or independence, instead remaining reliant on others for direction and purpose. As a result, Ishmael's social skills quickly surpassed solitary, introspective Abraham's, and the younger brother became adept at getting in and out of trouble, confident in his legion of pals to back him up. Exposed to so many people from other cultures, he also quickly picked up on other languages with a dedication that far outstripped his academic efforts. While his brother was around, Ishmael had a steady role model to keep himself out of the ever-present gangs around their school. But only two years after Abraham left on a scholarship to Freedom City's Hanover Institute of Technology 'Ishi' has become an invaluable asset to the Emerald City underworld. Lured in by both the promise of easy money and the stylish, iconoclastic flair of mob prince Ryu Takazumi, Ishmael became enmeshed in the inner politics of the crime families as an interpreter and go-between. Thanks to his Amerindian ethnicity and facility with languages and people, Ishmael was ideal as a neutral, inconspicuous party. Even after graduating high school and starting at Emerald City Community College, even after it's become obvious just who he works for and what they do, Ishmael has found it impossible to leave. Besides the money and implicit threats, it's the first time in his life that he's really felt needed or wanted He has only just come into his powers and already made a monumental, horrible mistake with them that resulted in the death of now-late Triad dragon head and beloved Jadetown community leader "Uncle" Zhi. Ishmael's alter-ego, the Salmon, is already a murder suspect and hunted by both the law and the mob. Caught between the endless possibilities of his new gifts and the crystal certainty of his old life, he's finally going to have to decide what he is. Personality & Motivation: Ishamel is a jokey, cocksure, fun-loving and irreverent guy who's grown adept at lying to people(in luding and especially himself) and telling them what they want to hear. He doesn't like making his own opinions known, and mostly just goes with majority views and whatever will get him off the hook fastest, which has badly-strained his relationship with his family. Ellen doesn't know what he does for money, but as he evades and dodges she gets more and more worried, which pushes him to lie more. At heart, Ishmael is deeply unsure of himself and afraid of being abandoned or unwanted. But as he starts to understand that the underworld needs him more than he needs them, that's beginning to change. For now, however, he's still learning that his alter-ego can be something besides a liability and convenient cover. As the Salmon, Ishmael mostly just copies what he's seen speedsters like Johnny Rocket and Velocity be like on TV: confident, quippy and a little impulsive and prone to water or fish-based puns(Johnny went through a rockets and speed jokes phase that the League is trying very hard to forget). Powers & Tactics: Run up to a guy real fast and hit them, maybe run around a bunch of guys and get them tangled up in some stuff. The Salmon is still very new at this, and his martial training is very basic. Complications: After my alter-ego: The Salmon is not a popular guy after he apparently killed the respected "Uncle" Zhi. The police and the city's underworld are both after him, and they may not exactly have different ideas of what happens after he's caught. Black mark: Being partly responsible for a man's death has left a deep scar on Ishmael's soul. He'd do anything to avoid that happening again, and anything to undo what he has done. Dependence: Ishmael Identity: Secret. Responsibility: Family, especially his aunt, Ellen Riverrun. The lowdown: Ishmael knows a lot of what's going on in Emerald City, much of it could cost him his life if it's found he told someone. Switcheroo: As the Salmon, he can't show he knows what Ishmael does. As Ishmael, he can't reveal anything about the Salmon, not even to other heroes. Abilities: 6 + 6 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 6 = 30PP Strength: 16 (+3) Dexterity: 16 (+3) Constitution: 16 (+3) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 16 (+3) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP Initiative: +3/+11 Attack: +10 Melee, +4 Ranged Grapple: +13 Defense: +10 (+4 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback: -1 Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 4 = 8PP Toughness: +4 (+3 Con +1 Protection) Fortitude: +3 (+3 Con, +0) Reflex: +7 (+3 Dex, +4) Will: +5 (+1 Wis, +4) Skills: 48R = 12PP Bluff 7 +(10/+14) Diplomacy 7 (+10/+14) Drive 2 (+5) Gather Information 7 (+10) Knowledge(Streetwise) 8 (+10) Languages 8(Chinook Jargon, English(native), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese) Sense Motive 9 (+10) Feats: 19PP Attack Focus(Melee) 6 Attractive Benefit (civilian I.D. trusted by the Emerald City underworld) Contacts Dodge Bonus 6 Equipment 1 Move-by-Action Well-Informed Equipment 1= 5EP [Masterwork] Smart Phone(Nova Comm's network)[1EP] [Masterwork] Lock-release Gun[2PP] Motorcycle(book-standard)[0EP] Powers: 20 = 20PP Physiology Mutation 4(20PP Container; Action: Passive, Duration: Permanent)[20PP] Biology, Mutation Enhanced Array 6(12PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 2)[14PP] Base Power: Damage 1(Extra: Aura, Autofire; Feats: Mighty[DMG4])[12PP] AP: Enhanced Feats 2(Moving Feint, Wall Run)[2PP] + Enhanced Speed 4(to Speed 5(250MPH, 2500FPH))[4PP] + Enhanced Swimming 4(to Swimming 5(50MPH, 500FPR) + Super-Movement 1(Water-Walking)[2PP] Enhanced Feat 2(Improved Initiative 2)[2PP] = 12PP AP: Snare 6(Extras: Area(Burst, 30ft), Blocks Sense(Visual, Normal); Flaws: Range(Touch), Limited(requires suitable materials(clothing, drapes, carpets, etc))[12PP] Immunity 1(Drowning)[1PP] Protection 1[1PP] Speed 1(10MPH, 100FPR)[1PP] Super-Senses 2(Tremorsesense(Danger Sense, Radius, Tactile))[2PP] Swimming 1(2.5MPH, 25FPR)[1PP] Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 18/23 Toughness Damage(physical) Totals: Abilities (30) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (12) + Feats (19) + Powers (20) - Drawbacks (0) = 105/105 Power Points