Dreams of Power

[18th Avenger]

"Which is fancy term for 'ghost', so I'd say it's apropos."

The voice, which could be none other than the Gentleman Avenger was coming from one of the PA's installed in the upper corners of the room. A tiny IDEA-manufacture camera swiveled and zoomed in on them.

"Real fancy toys they got here, Caerus. Did you have a hand in making them?"

The camera lenses swiveled to look at each of them in turn.

[Dorni]

Nolan Caerus

" 'fraid not" came the inventor's chuckle. "At least not directly, in any case. I was involved with a project that studied the efficiency of inductive charging devices. We reduced the waste heat and solved a few of the interference and efficiency issues of higher frequency fields. Our work reduced the costs of using inductive chargers to the point that IDEA started a panel to push for industry standards. So I am partially responsible for so many devices using wireless chargers, but that's just a tertiary component of the 'toys' you're playing with."

With a sidelong glance, Nolan turned pensive while he reconsidered the Ghost. If her story was true, what did that make her?

[HopeHubris]

"I have absolutely no idea what you just said, but it sounded smart", pointing towards Nolan, Evil-Smasher continues, "I vote he makes the plans"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Much as Warden suggested, the next several days passed pretty much without incident. The news kept up nearly constant coverage of Hero Corps' mission (short version: they're winning), interspersed with some other stories. A new breakthrough in synthesizing regenerative serums from Dreamer blood (curatives so produced were available, but fairly rare and very expensive; this promised to reduce costs by two-thirds at least, a huge deal in the medical community with several implications for other Dreamtech sciences). A border skirmish between an Ilessian mech and some Limbrans (tanks, power-armored soldiers, and a few Dreamers; the mech won but was heavily damaged, Limbra denied any involvement, blaming a Reclaimer terrorist cell). A direct attack on the Heroes On Call in Verdania (the attackers were soundly trounced in somewhere under a minute). A Paradisian shipwreck (yep, they use ships still, basically cruises, gives newcomers the chance to meet other Dreamers, experience living among them, etc. Everyone survived). The death of Wilbur Bralman (a well-known IDEA scientist, largely credited as the primary contributor to the development of power-scanning technology. It was ruled natural causes).

In this region, though, things were mostly quiet. Threat Levels rarely even hit five, although with Hero Corps technology at your disposal, it's trivially easy for any of you who have the desire to do so to go thwart whatever random crimes and general hazards pop up as you deem; you're watching an area several hundred miles across, so there's no shortage.

But that all came to an end on Saturday night. The city of Kellarn, about eighty miles west and thirty south. A Threat Level 5 dutifully popped up as a freshly dead body was found and a call to the police made.

Not three minutes later, incoming reports of two more bodies bumped the Threat Level to six.

And a minute and a half after that, an alert flew up, followed shortly by a second. Officer Down. Threat Level 7. The computer didn't waste time with theatrics; a few flashes of red light and a monotone "Threat Level 7 Detected" displaying in the command center in case anyone was in there and not watching the screen. A satellite feed came up on screen, reading fifteen seconds to get into position. The map zoomed in, providing a static but detailed view of the area; a pleasant-looking park with several shops and a mall on one side, suburbian houses on the other. Data on current activity on scene came up. Four police officers; two down, one active, one out of contact. Twelve more approaching the scene, ETA 160 seconds. One SIDE combat unit gearing up, ETA 300 seconds. Three noncombatants confirmed on scene; status unknown. Four hostiles confirmed, more suspected; status unknown.

Dreamer powers detected.

[TheThan]

With nothing to do at the time but haunt the Hero Corps facility, the Ghost happens to be nearby when the warning claxon began blaring. She floated down the hallway as quickly as she could, and phased through as three walls to get to the “situation room” as quickly as possible.

What’s going on?

She says to whoever is already in the room.

[HopeHubris]

Evil-Smasher, also present at eight, as he tends to leave at nineish, starts talking rapidly, "Oh crap, is that a seven? And one of the bag guys is a dreamer? I guess that's why we're here, we should go, quickly, before anyone else gets hurt, can everyone get there fast... Right, silly me, completely forgot about the teleporter, um, yeah, we should go now, like, right now"

[crazydude369]

Shift was lazing around, watching TV when he heard the alert. He jumped off the couch hasitly, knocking the TV remote across the floor. Grabbing his staff from under his bed, he quickly ported his way down the halls and to the command center. "What's the situation? Did some real action finally spring up?"

[HopeHubris]

"Dreamer, kill, bad, go, hurry!" and with that, Evil-Smasher runs out of the room, heading towards the teleporter room

[18th Avenger]

In the control room, where he'd moved one of the multi-functioned easy chairs, Jerry woke with a start and a snort.

"I wasn't sleeping!" slurred out the Gentleman Avenger as the klaxxons blared. Next to the common sleeping area, the work station he'd claimed since arriving at Building H bore the marks of his habitation; crumpled pieces of paper, a metal rubbish bin half full of take-out boxes, candy packs and empty bottles of soda. He reached a hand to the desk, which was loaded with folders and comics, and pulled his gloves from where they rested and a piece of candy; a Hyper-Mint.

Stuffing the candy, which served both as a sharp breath freshener and coffee substitute, in his mouth, Jerry grabbed his cane and made for the teleporter. He keyed in the combeads issued to each Hero.

"Kings to Corps, I'm en route to the teleporter room," he spoke into the tool through a mouthful of candy and winced as the potent taste began to fill his mouth. "It's our first dance, after all."

[Dorni]

Nolan Caerus

Nolan floated down the hallway, his half-eaten meal left behind in the kitchens. A holographic image similar to the command room's alert screen danced in front of him as he sorted through the map and activity data.

"I read you, Kings. En route to teleporter room."

[TheThan]

Yes, the teleportation room, let’s hurry.
With that the ghost phases through the wall, taking the shortest path she could think of to get to the teleporters. Once there, she goes solid gently landing on the floor.

I’m ready when you are.
She says as she checks her pistols on last time.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Richard was in the teleportation room this evening; the area map was already up on his monitor, and only a couple seconds after the characters arrived, the teleporter locked on. The blank wall it led to was replaced with a view of the park, flashing red and blue from the lights of the two police cars parked in the street. One officer was crouched behind one of the car doors, gun in one hand, phone in the other, facing the houses across the street. The characters could also make out a second lying in the middle of the street, very still. The portal opened about ten feet behind the surviving police officer, and he did not appear to notice it.

"-that backup?" the officer was hissing into his smart phone.

Perception DC 25 (DC 21 if you have Extended senses):

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You notice movement in the shadows across the street; five humanoid forms, spreading out.

"You're good. Go!" Richard said.

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Will have a map up for you guys shortly.

[Dorni]

Nolan Caerus

Nolan dashed through the portal, calling "Everyone, stay close!" He gave an effort of will and the suit responded to his neuro-link, encasing the immediate area in a simmering, translucent force field.

As the Force Field shimmered into view, Nolan addressed the officer. "Back-up is here. What's the situation?"

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Force Field (created object) borders are marked in red on the map. It is a cube with Dimensions 10x15x6 ft. Feel free to place yourselves inside of it.

Variable Powers: Create Object (Extra:Stationary) 10, Move Object 10, Force Field 9

[HopeHubris]

"Uh, Mr. Caerus, I think the policeman was killed by vampires, Vampires! They have fangs and everything, they're over there, can't you see 'em?" Evil-Smasher says, with an odd mix of emotions in his voice, excitement at seeing vampires and going on his first real mission, and his disappointment at not arriving soon enough to stop them from killing.

[Dorni]

Nolan Caerus

"Vampires?" First Ghosts, now vampires. Anything else going to jump out of stories this week? Suppressing his surprise, Nolan scanned the empty suburb across the street. It was still empty, so they must be well hidden. No, the kid had seemed surprised that he didn't see them, so they must be using something to hide themselves.

Nolan brought his left arm up, wrist facing him, and started making rapid adjustments to the controls on his suit. He wasn't actually making any adjustments, but the show was necessary. "Evil-Smasher, I'm using my suit's induction charger to overcharge my smartphone's hologram generator and boost it's range. I need you to use the neuro-link and create holograms wherever the vampires are hiding. Even though they'll be Illusions, once you mark them, everyone else can subdue the targets before they attack anyone else." With a final 'adjustment', Nolan stopped adjusting his suit and took out his smartphone, offering it to Evil-Smasher. "Can you do it?"

[HopeHubris]

"Umm... Yeah, I will use the neuro-thingy to make illusion-y holograms, that is definitely what is happening"

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Illusion 10: The enemies I can see all glow now, I suppose, or are marked in some obvious manner

[TheThan]

The ghost floats through the portal right behind Nolan with her weapons drawn. She starts scanning the area for the threats the police mentioned and covering Nolan as he makes whatever sorts of adjustments to his devices he thinks is necessary.


“Vampires? This should be interesting.”

[18th Avenger]

Jerry was next to step through the portal, turning the sweet over in his mouth as he felt his molecules pass from the chill teleportation room to the sudden outside-ness of the city park, sirens in their ears.

The Gentleman Avenger took his place behind the group, cane twirling in his grip as he shifted his attention towards the humanoids within the deeper shadows.

[crazydude369]

Shift hops through the portal, staff at the ready, and quickly forms up with his teammates. Noting Evil Smasher's and Nolan's helpful trick, he moves in to attack. "Thanks for the light show guys, I'll grab the one on the far right!" He ports over to the apparent 'vampire', and wastes no time unleasing a volley of blows from his staff.

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Attack: (1d20+11)[26]
Damage: (1d20+7)[17]
Affliction: (1d20+7)[22]

[HopeHubris]

"Sun Blast!" announces Evil-Smasher as he unleashes what appears to be a bright blast of energy from his hands

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Activate Boots (Move Action)
Illusory Blast (Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated) at V3
(1d20+10)[22] vs Will

[TheThan]

“Let’s see how tough a vampire is.”
The ghost says as she opens fire at the closest “Vampire”.

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Attacking vampire V2
Attack roll 1 (1d20+9)[28]
Damage roll 1(1d20+8)[24]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Before Shift's target could so much as say "What?", the Dreamer had given it two solid jabs with his staff. The vampire's undead body didn't respond to electricity as a living being might, but the sheer potency of the shock was still enough leave it convulsing.

Ghost's little experiment ended in disappointment. With Evil-Smasher's illusion clearly marking her target despite the darkness, she planted two perfect shots in the vampire's head and another in its heart, dropping it into an inert heap.

Evil-Smasher's target cried out in pain as his "blast" struck home, believing itself to be burned by a solar offense. In fact, quite oddly, the creature's skin actually blistered and burned where the illusion itself made contact. Interesting trivia fact...a damaging illusion of light? Is basically just light.

Shift's foe began regenerating some of the damage. Ghost's attacks had resulted in too much blood loss for regeneration, and Evil-Smasher's could not heal the traumatic burns.

Evil-Smasher's marking illusion went down as he turned his attention to the new one, but the vampires were hardly invisible, just stealthy; they were revealed as they moved to the attack.

Dazed by Shift's attack, his foe could only forcibly try to control its muscles, lashing out with a powerful punch that the Dreamer deftly avoided. But it did manage to regain some control of its body.

The other three vampires, still moving twice as fast as any normal human, rapidly closed the distance to surround the force field.

The police officer gives a breath of relief. "Thank the gods for that," he murmurs in response to Nolan, then gritting his teeth as the vampires close and pointing his pistol in defiance of the odds of him having even the slightest impact on this encounter.

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Vampire 1 takes -3 Resistance penalty, Regenerating one of those on its turn, is Dazed and Hindered until it can make a Fortitude check, DC 19, and attacks Shift at (1d20+8)[17] for (1d20+8)[21]. It then gets its Fortitude check: (1d20+8)[22]. Miss, but success on the check.

Vampire 2 is incapacitated.

Vampire 3 takes a -1 Resistance penalty from Aggravated Damage.

Vampires 3-5 take double move actions to approach. I'm not sure if the forcefield is invisible or merely translucent, but they don't have actions remaining to attack this turn anyway.

Police officer uses a move action to Aim and a standard to Ready an action to attack when the forcefield comes down.

Vampires are now visible. Darkness provides Concealment at distances greater than 30'.

The map has been updated. Current status has been added off to the right of the map for ease of reference.

[18th Avenger]

With the forcefield in place, Jerry calmed down, standing straight as he moved closer to the 'cube's' edge. The hostiles, whom Smasher and Ghost had called vampires, were prowling right outside, seeming to move from shadow to grass like oil on water.

With a black gloved hand cupping his chin and his cane tucked under his arm, the blue eyes within the red mask took a close look at them, taking in every detail and their movement.

Knowledge - Pop Culture

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(1d20+10)[20]

Knowledge - Dreamer Lore

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(1d20+11)[15]

[Dorni]

Nolan Caerus

"That's what we're here for, officer, but you should leave this to us," replied Nolan.

As the vampires closed the distance, Nolan changed his plan. The officer wouldn't be able to escape on foot. He'd need cover. "Jerry, Smasher, I'll cover you!" cried Nolan as he made another adjustment to his suit's power grid and took a defensive stance. At once, the translucent barrier surrounding the team vanished.

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Standard Action to reset variable powers:
Move Object 8
Deflect (Area (30 ft radius), Selective) 10
Force Field 4

Move Action to Defend w/Deflect. Nolan will be blocking against vampire 3, 4, and 5 (to a range of 30ft). Defend bonus is +12 for members adjacent, +10 out to medium range.

[18th Avenger]

"Yep, they're vampires alright."

His only thoughts as the forcefield began to waver, Jerry had only one thought in mind.

If only that Morgenstern fellow was here...

Well, two thoughts to be exact. The other one was;

Fortune favors the bold.

The Gentleman Avenger flipped his cane into an attack position and snapped it forward, aiming between the bloodsucker's eyes.

Move Action: Draw Weapon, Standard Action: Melee Attack (Defensive Attack) on Vampire V, 15

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(1d20+16)[35]

[TheThan]

“Looks like they’re not so tough!”
The ghost says as she turns to her right and fires at the vampire close to Evil smasher.

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Next round:
Aimed attack attack on V4
[roll]1d20+11[/roll]
[roll]1d20+4[/roll]

[HopeHubris]

Evil-Smasher flies straight up and fires another illusory sun-beam at the vampire

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(1d20+10)[23] vs Will
Same attack as last time so, Affliction (1d20+2)[14]

[crazydude369]

Shift takes notice of the creature's regenerative abilities. Hm, looks like I might need to hit these guys with a little extra oomph. He does a quick midair flip to his side, then wheels around with another series of powerful strikes.

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Agile Feint as a move action: 23 as a routine action with Skill Mastery
Power Attacking for 5: [roll]1d20+11-5[/roll]
Damage: [roll]1d20+7+5[/roll]
Affliction: [roll]1d20+7+5[/roll]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Jerry beat the vampire all over the face, chest, and shoulders, blow after blow striking past the vampire's defenses with amazing speed and finesse...but the attacks simply lacked the power to penetrate the creature's toughened flesh.

The Ghost's next shots only grazed her target, the minor physical damage instantly regenerating.

Evil-Smasher smashed some evil, his target giving a piercing shriek as his blast psychosomatically attacked its mind - and once again, covered every inch of flesh it touched with horrid burns.

Shift's foe couldn't keep up with his agile maneuver, taking another punishing hit upside the head, leaving it reeling.

Vampire 1 again tries to to throw off the debilitating effects of Shift's staff as it lashes out with a heavy punch, but its awkward, jerky swing makes clear that neither effort was successful.

Vampire 3, badly burned by Evil-Smasher, lunges for Jerry with a vicious bite, sinking its teeth into him despite Nolan's force field, eagerly gulping down his blood, the life-rich plasma healing it completely of the horrific damage Evil-Smasher had done to it.

Vampire 4, facing Nolan evenly, attempts to knock him to the ground and kick him while he's down. It bounced off his forcefield uselessly.

Vampire 5, with Evil-Smasher having flown out of reach, turns the power of its gaze upon the flying hero while entering a defensive stance against his allies. It was a logical move, going against a foe clearly strong of body with an attack on the mind. But logic availed little when your foe decided what you knew.

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And this time I'll remember that vampires have powers.

Vampire 1 vs. Shift (DC 22): (1d20+8)[20] for (1d20+8)[12] Damage vs. Toughness DC 13 and (1d20+8)[21] Weaken Stamina vs. Fortitude DC 22. On hit gets Healing (1d20)[6] +1/Stamina drained.

Vampire 1 Fortitude to throw off Shift's status at end of turn (DC 24): (1d20+4)[15].

Vampire 3 vs. Jerry (DC 20 w/ Defensive attack or DC (1d10+20)[21] Nolan's Deflect): (1d20+8)[23] for (1d20+8)[13] Affliction vs. Fortitude DC 17 and (1d20+8)[23] Weaken Stamina vs. Fortitude DC 17. On hit gets Healing (1d20)[18] +1/Stamina drained.

Vampire 4 vs. Nolan (DC 16 or DC (1d10+20)[29] Deflect): (1d20+6)[25] for (1d20+5)[18] Trip vs. Nolan's (1d20+1)[20] Acrobatics.

Vampire 4 vs. Nolan (DC 16 or DC (1d10+20)[27] Deflect): (1d20+8)[25] for (1d20+8)[26] Affliction vs. Fortitude DC 20 and (1d20+8)[18] Weaken Stamina vs. Fortitude DC 20. On hit gets Healing (1d20)[18] +1/Stamina drained. Gets +5 bonus on this attack if Trip succeeds.

If trip fails:

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Nolan can react to trip at (1d20+1)[21] vs. (1d20+5)[21]

Vampire 5 vs. Evil Smasher (Will DC 27): (1d20+8)[22]. ((And this should be two lower since your Concealment does apply against Perception attacks - basically, it's gazing at the wrong eyes!))

Vampire 5 takes a Defend action: (1d10+18)[23].

--

So, short version, Vamp 1 is looking really bad off, Vamp 3 got pummeled but got good rolls that healed it back up, and GA took a hefty -6 to his Stamina, which is really not good with his already mediocre Toughness and Fortitude.

And I forgot the officer's actions. Gods blast it...

[Quellian-dyrae]

The police officer, meanwhile, would take his shot as the forcefield went down (and the vampire dodged it with superhuman speed), and then per Nolan's directives, back off.

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Officer with Aim at Vampire 3 (DC 18): (1d20+7)[12] for (1d20+3)[21] Damage. Then double move.