The Creeping Killer(s) [OOC]

[Dr Archeville]

Right, but if you had, say, claws, that would be a lot easier to cut through. And since a bear in real life couldn't possibly do so, it's a little hard to understand.

One-inch thick steel bars have a Toughness of 10 each, 15 for titanium bars, and somewhere in between for high-strength steels. If a bear attacked 'em, they wouldn't be knocking them over like kindling. (And if the bars are electrified, it likely won't keep attacking after the first or second painful jolt.)

And that's the important thing to remember -- if the animal attacks the cage. Most cages/fences, especially at zoos, aren't there to keep the animals in (because most don't even try to break free), they're there to keep the people out.

But it's weird to think of a bear being able to slice through an engine block, don'tcha think?

An engine block made of wood, maybe. A steel engine block would have a Toughness of around 14. :P

[Dr Archeville]

Oh, and, since 22 beats 17, Wesley is not grappled.

[Sandman XI]

No sir, everytime either of us tries to do something, it's an opposed grapple check. 15 and 17 last time. 22 and ?? this time.

[Dr Archeville]

No sir, everytime either of us tries to do something, it's an opposed grapple check. 15 and 17 last time. 22 and ?? this time.

Hunh? What 15? The 17 is for this most recent grapple check (and since you made it, you're not grappled, so you're free to do whatever you'd like to the blob-thing that's directly next to you).

[Sandman XI]

The third blob veers towards Wesley, and grabs onto his leg. It then wraps around both legs and squeezes, a process made even more dire by the fact it is excreting some sort of acid all over Knight.

Toughness save vs Acid (1d20+10=21)

The grapple check is opposed, isn't it? If so...

Opposed grapple vs Acid Blob (1d20+4=15)

Your 15 does not beat its 17, so Knight's grappled.

[Dr Archeville]

Ah, I see what's happened!

Your 15 was to try and break free of the initial grapple; that failed. Not putting two and two together to get four, I failed to then have the Blob do something while it had you grappled (like try again to damage you, which it could & would have done).

Which it does. Please make two Toughness saves, one for the squeezing (DC 15), one for the acid (DC 20).

Then I'll roll the opposed grapple check to see if Knight escapes... and he does.

[Sandman XI]

First is for the squeezing, second is for the acid. (1d20+10=13, 1d20+10=26)

[Dr Archeville]

Takes a Bruise from squeezing, but (Again) the acid doesn't harm him.

[Veiled Malice]

One-inch thick steel bars have a Toughness of 10 each, 15 for titanium bars, and somewhere in between for high-strength steels. If a bear attacked 'em, they wouldn't be knocking them over like kindling. (And if the bars are electrified, it likely won't keep attacking after the first or second painful jolt.)

What zoos are you going to where the bars are electrified? :shock: I've never even heard of that.

And that's the important thing to remember -- if the animal attacks the cage. Most cages/fences, especially at zoos, aren't there to keep the animals in (because most don't even try to break free), they're there to keep the people out.

Actually, no, it's not. A bear, no matter how large, simply does not have the mechanical strength to cut steel with it's claws. And there are no zoo bars made of titanium, sorry. That is way too expensive, and completely unnecessary to hold anything less than a bulldozer inside a paddock.

On an average toughness roll, which most materials make instead of rolling, the bars would still take a bruise. Three bruises, and those steel bars are disabled. Then the bear is loose. It makes no difference whether a bear would do it, only if it can. And in real life, it simply can't. That's the only thing that should matter.

An engine block made of wood, maybe. A steel engine block would have a Toughness of around 14.

Yeah, I guess you got me there.

[Dr Archeville]

What zoos are you going to where the bars are electrified? :shock: I've never even heard of that.

The NC Zoo. Some of the areas -- the red wolf area and the baboon pen -- have electrified fences. At least, they did when I visited, approx. 15 years ago.

And note that "electrified" does not mean "will fry you if you touch it." It just means "has an electrical current going through it." Like on domestic dog fences where the current is enough to jolt, but in no way seriously injure.

Actually, no, it's not.

Yes, it is. If an animal isn't inclined to break a fence, is content to stay in an area bound by a visible fence, then it doesn't matter if it's made of secondary Adamantium or plywood. If the fence is there to keep people out, it just needs to be strong enough to keep people out.

And there are no zoo bars made of titanium, sorry. That is way too expensive, and completely unnecessary to hold anything less than a bulldozer inside a paddock.

Never said they were, just pointing out various toughnesses, and that high-strength steels (which could possibly be used in zoos) would be somewhere between steel & titanium.

On an average toughness roll, which most materials make instead of rolling, the bars would still take a bruise. Three bruises, and those steel bars are disabled. Then the bear is loose. It makes no difference whether a bear would do it, only if it can.

Incorrect. It'd take seven hits to render one bar disabled (to reduce its Toughness to [Damage - 5]). And unless the gaps are really big, the bear'd need to break several bars.

And intent does matter. It's why not all animal cages/fences for animals of a given size are the same: some animals are a lot more placid than others. It's why a well-trained dog can be kept in one type of fenced area but a wild one needs a different type.

Actually, no, it's not. A bear, no matter how large, simply does not have the mechanical strength to cut steel with it's claws.

~~~

And in real life, it simply can't. That's the only thing that should matter.

But this isn't Real Life, it's a simulation of Comic Book Life. Which is really the only thing that should matter.

On a different topic, if Mashin Kun stopping for anything, or is he just plowing through towards his fellow blob-fighters and ignoring the animals whose habitats he's tromping through?

[Veiled Malice]

He's just ignoring them and hoping for the best, really. But with these super-powered animals, that might not be such a good thing... :(

[Sandman XI]

Super-powered bears? This looks like a job for...

[Veiled Malice]

Yes! Go Colbert! Take it to those godless bears! :)

[Dr Archeville]

Colbert ran for President in Marvel comics. He won the popular vote, but Obama won the Electoral.

Nyrath, you around?

[Dr Archeville]

Mashin Kun -- Full Health -- 1 HP

Mongrel Angel -- Full Health -- 1 HP

Wesley Knight -- Bruise x1 -- 2 HP

Mashin-Kun: 17

Bear: 12

Mongrel Angel: 10

Wesley Knight: 3

Blobs (4): 1; 1 is paralyzed

Reminder: here's the map of the zoo. It's roughly 1/2 mile x 1/2 mile x 3/4 mile x 3/4 mile and covers approximately 250 acres.

VM, at his current speed, it'll take Mashin-Kun over five minutes to reach where Mongrel Angel & Wesley Knight are.

[Veiled Malice]

VM, at his current speed, it'll take Mashin-Kun over five minutes to reach where Mongrel Angel & Wesley Knight are.

Wait a minute, I took that route because you said cutting through the animal paddocks would be faster than going around.

Furthermore, Mashin-Kun, Vigor, and Wesley Knight all soon come to an unpleasant conclusion. The quickest distance between two points is a straight line, but traveling in a straight line between the gate and the zebra area where the blobs are would take them into the black bear's area, the cheetah's area, the lion's area, the snow & spotted leopard's area, and the red panda's area. Crossing into those areas would be tricky in the best of cases, but with the animals becoming agitated due to the presence of blob-monsters, it would likely be very dangerous.

They could take the paths, but that would more than double the time it would take them to reach the area, and by then who knows what could have happened.

Yeah, like that.

[Dr Archeville]

Yes, faster: going via the paths, it'd take about ten minutes.

Zoos are big, and you guys are almost on opposite ends of it. And Mashin-Kun is no faster than an ordinary human.

[Veiled Malice]

Soo... I guess Mashin-kun's out of the fight, then. Since it will be over, one way or another, long before he gets there. :(

[Dr Archeville]

Not at all -- you've got a Hero Point, you can stunt something. Or use some of those 14 unused pps Mashin-Kun's got to "discover" some "new" power that's "always been" in him.

[Sandman XI]

I suggest either Flight or Leaping as a stunt off of your Super-Strength. What robot doesn't have piston/rocket boots :P

[Dr Archeville]

Actually, on second look, he can't use Extra Effort, as he lacks a Con score.

But the 14 unsent pps are still there to play with.

[Sandman XI]

Actually according to the errata, he can.

page 32  Nonexistent Ability Scores: Under Constitution, delete “but cannot exert extra effort (see Extra Effort, page 120)†from the eighth sentence (since constructs can, in fact, use extra effort, they just do so differently).

[Dr Archeville]

I stand corrected ;)

[Sandman XI]

Spending an HP for and AP

Drain Toughness 13 (Extras: Area [burst], Selective; Power Feats: Accurate 2, Precise 2)

Selective is targetting the blobs only.

Attack roll against blobs (1d20+6=26)

[Dr Archeville]

Neither Accurate nor Precise apply, since you're not making an attack roll.

And since you're not making an attack roll, your rank can only be as high as your PL.

Also, "finding a major organ or muscle to stop" doesn't sound like a Drain Toughness effect. Sounds more like Drain Dex or Drain Con, or Drain (all physical attributes).