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  1. - Top - End - #61
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    GnomeWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Jun 2012

    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Quote Originally Posted by kidjake View Post
    She tried about everything under the sun but everything was equally ineffective against Brick. Her diamond coating is scary effective versus flesh, but Brick is 8'9'' and more than a ton of angry, solid stone. In game terms he's exchanged almost all of his Defense for a higher Toughness save, so it basically takes a crit + power attack just to have a chance of scratching him. He's not so much an opponent as a particularly deadly puzzle and even McCrow and Fanboy had to settle for just holding him down with everything they had so Parks could freeze him in their last fight.

    That's why they were so distraught that Tree King had let him go.
    Your logs have made me really want to play M&M, and I'm trying to puzzle through all of the rules right now. Any chance you'd post some of the character sheets some time? I'd love to see how all of this is being translated from character sheets into play. Does Fanboy not have Mental Blast? If he picked up a few ranks of that he'd have a good attack vs will to throw at Brick.

  2. - Top - End - #62
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Kid Jake's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Mayberry, NC
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Quote Originally Posted by The_Werebear View Post
    Tell me, are you or your players familiar with Steelheart
    ?
    Nope but that's something I'm gonna fix. Sounds like a blast.



    Quote Originally Posted by Jacob.Tyr View Post
    Your logs have made me really want to play M&M, and I'm trying to puzzle through all of the rules right now. Any chance you'd post some of the character sheets some time? I'd love to see how all of this is being translated from character sheets into play. Does Fanboy not have Mental Blast? If he picked up a few ranks of that he'd have a good attack vs will to throw at Brick.
    Yeah, he's got Mental Blast but once Brick realizes you can hurt him then YOU'RE the guy he wants to maul.

    Here are McCrow and Fanboy's sheets, although they're pretty rough to look at.

    Spoiler: Fanboy
    Show
    Telepath (Didn't even have a name when we first whipped him up.)
    ---------
    Str: 10
    Dex: 10
    Con: 10
    Int: 14
    Wis: 14
    Cha: 10
    Defense: +7 (+0 Flatfooted)
    Attack: +7
    Toughness: +7 (+0 Flatfooted) (+4 points from tac vest)
    Fortitude: +5
    Reflex: +6
    Will: +5

    Skills
    --------
    Concentration: +8 (+2 from Wisdom)
    Sense Motive: +8 (+2 From Sense Motive)
    Diplomacy: +8
    Disguise: +4
    Bluff: +4

    Feats
    ------
    All-Out Attack
    ChokeHold
    Eidetic Memory
    Improved Pin
    Connected - Daddy
    Improved Initiative x1 (+4 per rank)

    Weaknesses
    ------------
    Noticeable Telepathy Eyes Glow(-1pt)
    Noticeable Mind Control Eyes Glow(-1pt)

    Powers
    --------
    Telekinesis x8 (10 pts) (Alternate Powers: Telekinesis(x5, Area: 25ft Radius Burst, Selective 1pt)
    Telepathy x7 (14 pts) (Alternate Powers: Emotion Control, Illusion, Mental Blast(Full-Round & Distracting to bring it down to 2 per rank), Mind Control, Stun, 5pts)
    Esp(Vision) x5 (10 pts)
    Shield x7 (7 pts)
    Force Field x7 (12 pts) (Impervious x5)
    Gravity Control x5 (5 pts) (Perception. Flaws: Concentration, Full-Round Distracting)
    Mental Tansformation X5 (5 pts) (Memory)
    Confusion x5 (5 pts)
    Mind Switch x3 (6 pts) (Full action makes it 1 point per rank)
    Immunity (5 pts) (Requires Force Field. 1/2 cost per rank) (Life Support - 9 ranks, Immunity from telekinetic powers - rank 2)
    Flight x1 (2 pts) (Speed - 10 mph)

    Equipment
    ---------
    Tactical Vest (4 pts) (Equipment, +4 toughness)



    Spoiler: Roger McCrow
    Show
    Hydromancer (He didn't call him a hydromancer, just 'That Water Guy' to begin with.)
    ------------
    ((Out of work forklift operator who's been laid off due to budget constraints. Was on his way from a job interview when the bus was attacked.))
    Str 16
    Dex 12
    Con 16
    Int 10
    wis 10
    Cha 10

    Attack Bonus: +7
    DefenseBonus: +5 (0 flat-footed)
    Toughness: +6 (+2 Flat-footed)
    Fortitude: +6
    Reflex: +5
    Willpower: +4
    Initiative +1

    Grapple(Normal) +9
    Grapple(2nd Battleform) +19

    Skills
    -------
    Sense Motive: +4
    Bluff: +4
    Intimidate: +4
    Craft(Mechanics) +6
    Craft(Structural) +6

    Feats
    ------
    Power Attack
    DodgeFocusx5
    Defensive Rollx3
    All-Out Attack
    Choke Hold
    2x Improved Critical(Blast, 18-20)
    Improved Grab (When connecting with a melee attack, can automatically grapple.)
    Improved Pin (Opponents take -4 to escape pin.)
    Improved Grapple(2nd Battleform, Extra Limbs. Can act normally while pinning.)
    Takedown Attack (After knocking an enemy out in melee can attack again.)

    Weaknesses
    -----------
    -Weakness (Needs 4 Gallons of water Every 5 Hours, Major(-6pts)
    -Power Loss, Boost (Without water, -3pts Very Common)
    -Power Loss, Elemental Control (Needs Water, -3pts Very Common)
    -Power Loss, Battleform (Needs Water, -3pts Very Common)
    -Power Loss, Summon Minion (Need Water to Summon, Rare. -1pt)
    -Vulnerable Electric (-6pts Major)
    -Vulnerable Freezing (-6pts Major)

    Powers
    -------

    Immunity, Suffocation(Water) (1pt)

    Swimmingx1 (1pts)

    Super Movement(Water Walking) (2pts)

    Regeneration(Ressurection, Feat: Regrowth) (2pts)
    Regeneration(Disabled)x4 (Every 5 minutes, Only in Water) 2pts
    Regeneration(Injured)x2 (Every 5 minutes, Only in Water) 1pt
    Regeneration(Staggered)x2 (Every 5 Minutes, Only in Water) 1pt

    Supersense: Detect Water (Extras: Range, Free Action. 3pts)

    Leapingx4 (Flaws: Chained to Boost. 2pts)


    Gather Water
    ---------------
    Boost(Blast)x15 (Limited: Self only (-1). Extra: Total Fade(+1). Power Loss: (Needs Water)-3pts 12pts)
    Blast, adds(Autofirex10, Every +1 above Defense is +1 up to +5.)
    Blast, adds(Conex5)
    Lasts 15 rounds.


    Hydromancy
    -------------
    Elemental Control(x7) (11pts, Power Loss: (Needs Water)-3pts) (Alt: Suffocate, Blast, Obscure 3pts)


    Dehydrate
    -----------
    Drain(Strength)x8 (5pts Flaws: Distracting, Full-Round, Only useable on Organics. Drawbacks: Full-Power(Always Lethal, -1pt), Extras: Linked to Boost+Disintegration(+0), Ranged(+1). Power Feats: Slowfadex6(+6pts) Lasts 24hours)
    +
    Boostx10 (5pts Distracting, Full-Round, Linked to Drain+Disintegration)
    (Elemental Control(water)x5(Alt:Suffocate, Blast, Obscure) 5Rounds. ^chart.
    +
    Disintegrationx7 (6pts, Flaws: Distracting, Full-Round, Only useable on organics. Drawbacks:Full-Power(Always Lethal, -1pt), Extras: Linked to Drain+Boost.)



    Hydroform
    ------------
    Battleformx12 (24pts Full-Round Action, Continuous, Chained to Boost. Feats: Second Stage, 1pt)


    Battleform: Worth 60pts
    (As a full-round action, Chained to Boost(performed after boost is used) with a continuous duration, you gain the following benefits for 8 rounds.)
    Growthx4 (16pts)
    Regeneration Bruisedx3 Injuredx6 Staggeredx6, Disabledx4(19pts)
    Elongationx3 (3pts) +25ft
    Immunity, Fire/Suffocation (7pts)
    Insubstantial, 1 (5pts)
    Sensory Shieldx4 (8pts)
    Super Movement: Slithering (2pts)

    StageTwo: Worth 36pts
    (As a full-round action, performed after the standard Battleform with a duration of Sustained, you gain these abilities until the end of your normal Battle Transformation, in addition to your standard bonuses.)
    Growthx4 (16pts)
    Protectionx5 (Impervious, 10pts)))
    Regeneration Disabledx4(4pts)
    Extra Limbsx4 (4pts)
    Sensory Shieldx1 (2pts)


    Summon Minionx3(Extras: Fanatical, Permanent Duration. Flaw: Full-Round Action, Distracting 3pts Feats: Progressionx2(Up to 5 minions.) Mental Link, 3pts)

    Droplets
    (Tiny Sized) PL7
    Str 10
    Dex 14
    Con 10
    Int 4
    Wis 4
    Cha 4


    Attack +7 (Size=+2)
    Defense DC12 (Size=+2)
    Toughness +0
    Fort -
    Ref +2
    Will -

    20ft Movement Speed

    +6 Initiative

    Skills
    Stealth +10(Dexterity=+2, Size=+8)


    Feats
    Interpose (Can take the hit for an adjacent ally.)
    Improved Initiative

    Weaknesses
    Vulnerable Electric (-6pts. Major, Common)
    Vulnerable Freezing (-6pts. Major, Common)
    Weakness: Needs Water Once Per Hour(-6pts. Major, Every Minute.)
    Disability: Mute (-4pts)
    Disability: Illiterate (-1pt)


    Powers
    Insubstantial(Liquid) (1pt)
    Immunity(Lethal Physical Damage, Non-Lethal Physical Damage, Life Support, Will Saves, Fort Saves, Critical Hits, Aging) (112pts)
    Super Movement: Slithering (2pts)
    Speedx1 (1pt)
    Swimmingx1 (1pt)
    Alternate Formx5 (Flaws: Full-Action, Limited: Needs 5 Droplets. 5pts)

    Unarmed Attack: +7, DC15 Physical Damage





    Big Drip
    (Medium Sized) PL7
    Str 20
    Dex 14
    Con 10
    Int 4
    Wis 4
    Cha 4


    Attack +7
    Defense DC10
    Toughness +0
    Fort -
    Ref +2
    Will -

    30ft Movement Speed

    +6 Initiative
    Grapple +12

    Skills
    Stealth +10(Dexterity=+2, Ranks=+8)


    Feats
    Interpose (Can take the hit for an adjacent ally.)
    Improved Initiative
    Power Attack

    Weaknesses
    Vulnerable Electric (-6pts. Major, Common)
    Vulnerable Freezing (-6pts. Major, Common)
    Weakness: Needs Water Once Per Hour(-6pts. Major, Every Minute.)
    Disability: Mute (-4pts)
    Disability: Illiterate (-1pt)


    Powers
    Insubstantial(Liquid) (1pt)
    Immunity(Lethal Physical Damage, Non-Lethal Physical Damage, Life Support, Will Saves, Fort Saves, Critical Hits, Aging) (112pts)
    Super Movement: Slithering (2pts)
    Speedx1 (1pt)
    Swimmingx1 (1pt)
    Elongationx2 (4pts, Extras: Free Action)
    Blastx6 (12pts)


    Unarmed Attack: +7, DC20 Toughness (Within 15ft)
    Water Blast: +7, DC21 Toughness (60ft range)
    Last edited by Kid Jake; 2014-06-03 at 11:57 PM.

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
    At least we can say Kid Jake has style. And possibly is insane.
    My Campaign Journals

  3. - Top - End - #63
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Kid Jake's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Mayberry, NC
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Alright, I promised you a new session and I've finally got it written up. Roger/Mann is enjoying both sides of the rp spectrum and Fanboy wanted a similar chance so we've started inserting a second story into the games.

    Fanboy is playing Michael Stockton, a Wolverine/Deadpool knockoff that no longer remembers what fear feels like and must make a will save every time he's under stress or turn into mass murdering monster that doesn't stop until the source of his stress is dead or he's restrained. It's worth noting that he no longer carries a weapon of any kind (because of the major act of violence listed below) and he wants to go in a more heroic direction with the B story than they have with the A. We'll see how that works out.

    Spoiler: Michael and Mann, Prologue
    Show

    We flash back to five years ago in the mountains of Afghanistan. A younger, less battle hardened Mann and a fellow Army Ranger by the name of Michael Stockton are slinking through the mountains breathlessly. They're the last survivors of their unit , the rest having been picked off seemingly an eternity ago. They're wounded, underequipped and a long way from home when Mann suddenly spots about a dozen enemy combatants hovering around a covered troop transport.

    The weary soldiers decide that this might just be their way home and split up to attack the distracted Taliban from both sides.

    As Mann is making his way down the mountain however, he loses his footing and takes a tumble along with the rocks underfoot. He luckily lands behind a large rock, so the dozen assault rifles that bark in his direction mercifully miss him. Michael uses this opportunity to snatch one of the enemy soldiers by the throat and snaps his neck silently. Mann returns fire and manages to take out another of the soldiers.

    Michael opens fire into the backs of the distracted soldiers and kills several himself, however misses the soldier lounging behind the truck who takes this opportunity to pop out and shoot him with what sounds like a Dari curse. Michael collapses onto the ground in a pool of his rapidly pooling blood.

    Mann sees his friend go down and leaps his cover, opening fire with a full-auto burst and then using a hero point to use a second full-auto burst to mow down Taliban in his way. He charges across the distance between him and Michael rapidly, causing the man who shot Stockton to open fire on Mann instead of finishing off the wounded Ranger.

    Mann fires again and takes down Stockton's assailant, before using extra effort to blow through the remaining forces. Meanwhile, Michael discovers to his growing horror that his legs don't work. He can't move, he can't even twitch them and as Mann helps him up and drags him to the transport, Michael unloads his rifle into the corpse of the man who did this to him screaming about how the son of a bitch turned him into a cripple.



    Spoiler: Adoring Public
    Show

    Present day. McCrow and Fanboy are standing in The Hole, gawking at the state they've found it in. Fanboy's the first to point out that it's too late for them to do anything, they need to return to the park and start mind raping the survivors if they want to keep this quiet.

    By the time they get back to the park Agent Mann has already disappeared along with Tiffany, there's a massive bonfire already in progress and Bradley runs up excitedly. "You won't believe it. That Mann guy shot Tiffany in the head and loaded her into his car." the teen says. "Then he loaded all the survivors into quarantine and took off."

    McCrow and Fanboy exchange glances because this seems like something that can escalate quickly, but Fanboy is glad to hear that everyone is still in one place. It doesn't take Fanboy long to trick his way into quarantine and begin wiping memories; however to his dismay only about half of them are affected.

    They discuss what to do and McCrow asks if they have room for 60 people but Fanboy decides to try and discredit them instead. They decide to introduce themselves to the Mayor, but he had a front row seat to the whole thing and recognizes them immediately.

    He starts to voice his appreciation for saving his life when Roger blindsides him, pins him against the wall and growls. "You've seen what we can do firsthand, so when we speak you listen." he threatens and the Mayor agrees frantically. "This is bigger than you and your city, bigger than your constituents. Forget re-election, if you want to SURVIVE what you've seen you're going to do what we say."

    Fanboy steps in and mentions that they're still the good guys in this, that McCrow is overzealous but they're definitely not threatening anybody. They've just seen what happens to whistle blowers and need to stress the importance of discretion.

    Roger likes the way that sounds and acts like it's what he meant.

    Fanboy stresses that things are changing and that if the Mayor works with them he'll make sure the world will remember him as having a hand in it. The Mayor asks what they want from him and Fanboy has two demands:

    The first is that the Mayor is to hold a press conference and stress the lives saved by this group of mystery men instead of the massive death toll, as well as to denounce the evil Parks and Recreation department that gave birth to this horrible tree monster. (It took me a minute to process, but thought it was a hilarious gambit so I let them run with it.)

    The second is that if it comes down to it; he'll personally host their televised 'coming out party.

    The mayor agrees and Roger releases him with a smile. They tell the Mayor that they'll be in touch and remind him to make them look good and to downplay the 'not human' and 'government conspiracy' angle.

    As they're leaving their 'meeting' with the Mayor they're stopped by Bradley with a handheld radio. He explains that although it's only been a couple of hours since the attack, the stuff has went viral thanks in no small part to the presence of a tree monster denouncing the American government and then fifteen minutes worth of action packed audio where a group unidentified strangers stepped out of the crowd to save the day.

    Fanboy excitedly asks if they've got a fan page yet and Bradley turns up the radio. "Not quite, but there's lots of people that are calling in about you."

    They listen with a mixture of pride and terror as they listen to a police officer who says he was possessed by something and forced to run over a teenager (Bradley laughs at this one, remembering it fondly) and lost his job after his partner testified against him. They listen as an anonymous nurse says that several of her friends were murdered by the tree monster but two supposedly comatose strangers leapt to her rescue at the last second and if that wasn't enough, they brought down another superhuman rampage only a week later. Another girl calls in claiming that a young man carried her away from the creature calling itself Tree King while a creature made of water did battle with it.

    Fanboy finally turns the radio off and points out that it probably would have been a good idea for them to have invested in a mask at one point. Bradley/Duplex resists the urge to gloat.




    Spoiler: Representation
    Show

    The PCs call Parks up just in case he somehow doesn't know what's going on and he cuts them off by saying he knows what's going on. Or at least he hopes that's all there is to it, he really doesn't need more on his plate. They ask what the worse he's heard so far is and he points out that that'd probably be the part where he was CALLED OUT BY NAME as the reason behind a tree just killing 300 people and burning down half the city.

    Fanboys says that that's what he thought his least favorite part would be...

    Parks sounds like he's had the fight beat out of him and he tells Fanboy that his career is over. His decision not to immediately ship off everyone affected by the bus was already controversial one; but with it spiraling out of control like this he'll be lucky if he escapes jail time.

    Fanboy tries to ease his mind by saying that they're attempting to put the blame on Parks and Recreation since it's easy to see why a tree man would have something to do with them and Parks is dumbstruck, but thankful. He says that it might not make much difference, but McCrow and Fanboy need to get a lawyer; if Agent Mann is promoted they'll all be targets.

    Once they hang up Roger calls up Chavenski and makes some idle banter about how the Russian crime lord is doing. Chavenski is on his last legs, but being the eternal hardass he doesn't complain. Roger eventually gets around to asking if Chavenski knows any lawyers and the Russian excuses himself to look through his address book, returning in a moment with a name: Brian Weisner, a constitutional law specialist. They thank the Russian and ask if there's anything they can do in return; Chavenski says that he's heard the talk around the warehouse about Luvless and he wants to meet the guy because he believes it may be his only chance to be whole again. They say that they'll do what they can and go to meet their lawyer.

    Weisner's firm is one of the most prestigious in the city but when hears that Chavenski sent the PCs he throws a client out to avoid angering the city's most powerful and brutal crime boss. Weisner is a short, pudgy man in a $8,000 suit and immediately sets about trying to earn his fee. He asks the PCs why they're looking for protection from the government and they want to make sure anything that they say is confidential.

    Weisner laughs and says that he's worked with Chavenski before and has seen the bodies buried, he's not interested in being one of them. Roger's a little disappointed that he doesn't get to play Bad Cop (to Fanboy's confused bystander) and decides to showcase his powers to expedite things. He blows up a water glass to Weisner's surprise. Fanboy's eyes glow and he lifts himself and the pudgy lawyer off the ground with his telekinesis, but stops when the guy nearly has a panic attack.

    They explain everything that's happened since the bus and that their contact at the DHS believes they may be about to be imprisoned. Weisner listens intently but finally says that there's not much he can do considering they're literally walking WMDs and that they definitely fall under the perimeters of indefinite detention as outlined in the Defense Authorization Act.

    They're disappointed but he tells them that there are two ways he can see this going down in their favor: Strengthen their ties to the DHS and make themselves invaluable or become too public to take down without massive public backlash.

    Roger and Fanboy whisper that there's a third option, continue gathering up superhumans until they're just too powerful for the DHS to take down. However in the meantime both PCs want to take opposite paths.

    McCrow doesn't want to be held accountable for his actions by adopting a public persona, but Fanboy wants fame more than anything. They agree to explore all of their options for now, but Fanboy wants to take it a step further and asks Brian if he can get them in touch with a Public Relations guru to help soften their image. Weisner's never had much need for a PR guy, but tells them he'll ask around and see what he can dig up.

    Before they go they're told that they need some way to explain their growing fortune and they suggest setting up a shipping business to hide their activities on the docks and launder their stolen money. They give him a little more than a hundred thousand dollars to fill out the right paperwork and set something concrete up.

    Leaving the law office they decide that they definitely need to do something to improve their image, so they sit down to come up with somebody they know with the public's ear and that's when Roger snaps his fingers. "That reporter lady that we saved!"

    Fanboy perks up too but isn't sure if he can undo the memory wipe. Regardless, they decide that she's their best chance and head to the paper where she works to see if they can trust her.

    They find Elizabeth Ingles in a cubical typing up what's left of her story on organized crime and just as she asks what the hell they want, Fanboy grabs her head and manages to unlock the memories he buried. They're fuzzy and distant like they've been there the entire time, but the act of rewriting her brain leaves Elizabeth dazed and they use this opportunity to drag her into an empty room.

    "I..I remember you guys. You saved me at Floyd's." she half murmurs, coming out of her fog.

    "That's us." McCrow says with a smug grin, "And now we've come to give you the story of a lifetime."

    Elizabeth shakes her head "There's no point. Depaliamo is dead so the story's dead and since I'm not interested in being found in a ditch without any hands, I'm not pursuing the Russian angle."

    Fanboy shakes his head "No, bigger than that. Way bigger. WE were the heroes at the rally and we're in the center of a massive government conspiracy."

    Ingles is more than a little shocked and Fanboy asks if it never occurred to her to wonder how they took out an armed gang by themselves. She only remembers a nearly naked McCrow storming in with a bloody bat and demanding to know who she worked for.

    Fanboy smiles and lifts up a table and several chairs and has them dance around the room before setting them back down gracefully. She gawks in amazement and then looks at Roger. "What can you do?"

    Roger shakes his head "My power is messy trust me. If you want to keep the plumbing in your building you'll just have to take my word for it."

    Me and Fanboy's player burst out laughing at this and it takes Roger's player a minute to realize how that sounds and then he decides that McCrow doesn't care, he's not some dancing monkey to use his powers on cue.

    She settles down to hear their story and Fanboy laughs, saying that first he has some terms. She says that she'll have to hear them first and Roger explodes that it doesn't matter what their terms are, this isn't a negotiation. If she opens her mouth without their consent she'll be lucky if the men in dark suits are the first to get her and if she doesn't want the story there's fifty other people in THIS building alone that'd be willing to get on their knees and beg for it. She's shocked into silence and agrees to their terms unconditionally, not wanting her big break to get away.

    Fanboy tells her to get in touch with the Mayor and tell him that she's a mutual friend, he orders Ingles spin their story until people forget that people even died today (let alone three times as many as were actively saved) and to stress that the mystery heroes are the only reason the city's still standing. He points out that she'll be the only person allowed an exclusive so her story will have more weight than anything else out there. He tells her that once she does this they'll be in touch with the rest of the details, but that if she betrays them in the mean time she won't see them coming.



    Spoiler: Michael and Mann, Reunion
    Show

    Flashback to 3 years ago. Agent Mann has only been working for the Department of Homeland Security for six months but he's already considered a rising star and been assigned under Senior Agent Parks. He's been called into his superior's office and wastes no time showing up.

    To Mann's surprise and shock Michael Stockton is standing with Parks and smiles broadly when he sees his old friend.

    "You...can walk? I thought you..." Mann starts, and just shakes his head; shaking Stockton's hand and just deciding to be happy to see an old friend walk again.

    "They fixed me up." Stockton explains "Some experimental procedure meant to get me back to kicking ass and taking names. Look, they even gave me a name taking book." he says with a laugh.

    The two men chat for a moment before remembering why they're here and Parks explains that due to their previous relationship it makes sense to partner them up. Parks tells Mann to show the newly hired Michael the ropes and gives them a dossier on missing fugitive Behnam Sajadi, usually known by his alias Ben Snow, a notorious conman who's suspected of selling state secrets.

    Behnam's father is an Imam at a New York Mosque and Mann thinks it would be prudent to ask if Imam Sajadi has seen or heard from his son, so they set out; still reminiscing.

    Once they arrive at their destination they discover that there's a small service in progress and Mann suggests sitting in the back until things wrap up. Michael however shouts that they need to sit down, shut up and answer some questions. Mann stares at him with a pained expression like he'd just been struck, he can't believe how unprofessional Stockton is.

    The older man leading the service looks similarly shocked and asks what this is about. Stockton says that they're there for his peace of s*** kid and he needs to turn him over. Now.

    The old Imam accuses Stockton of blasphemy and nearly stumbles over himself in his rush to meet Michael and Mann in the aisle and demand the two leave. Michael flashes his badge and says that they're not leaving until they get what they're after; the old man starts to physically push Michael and the former Ranger responds by wrenching his wrist and nearly dislocating the man's arm. The old man shouts in surprise and repeats the Dari curse that Michael's assailant so many years ago uttered, Stockton nearly goes limp and his eyes seem to lose focus.

    Everybody stares in shock and horror for a moment before a look of absolute rage flashes through Michael's face and he flips the old man savagely, the sickening crunch accompanying the blow telling Mann without having to look that the Imam is dead. "Michael...what the hell did you do?" Mann shouts.

    Two men rush to the aid of their spiritual leader and Michael responds by punching one in the throat, removing a boot knife and sticking the second one in the chest. Mann grabs Michael's arm and attempts to wrench the knife from his grasp, but Michael has the same training as Mann and switches hands nimbly, and elbows Mann in the face; knocking him down and stunning him.

    Stockton leaps amid the terrified congregation and easily puts down the men who try to wrestle him to the ground so that their families might escape. Mann stumbles to his feet shouting for Stockton to stand down and puts a bullet into the head of his longtime friend to stop his unprovoked rampage. Mann stands over the corpse of his friend and the remaining congregation seems to calm down, until the bullet pushes itself out of Michael's skull to Mann's dismay and Stockton lashes out with a powerful kick that breaks Mann's leg.

    Mann goes to his knee screaming and Michael hurls his knife into the back of a fleeing girl, no more than twelve before delivering another kick to his former friend's chest that sends Mann backwards, blocking off the door.

    While Mann is stunned he watches in horror as Michael draws his sidearm and begins firing into the crowd. As the screams become quieter and quieter Michael's rage seems to dissipate and he seems genuinely confused, he glances around like he doesn't know where he's at. He turns around and starts to ask what happened to Mann when a bullet tears through his skull and lays him out flat.

    With only a handful of survivors sobbing and huddled over the bodies of their slain, Mann barely stands over the body of his twice dead partner and watches as the wound begins closing once again. Filled with disgust and rage he raises his pistol and opens fire into the corpse of his former friend again. And again, and again.



    Spoiler: Public Relations
    Show

    Present day. McCrow and Fanboy find themselves in the office of Marcus Finch, supposedly the best PR guy in the business. He's a tall redhaired man in an expensive navy blue suit and a reptilian grin. Weisner got the guy's name through a friend of a friend.

    Marcus asks the pair what they need his help with and Fanboy responds by raising himself into the air telekinetically.

    "Nice trick, but I preferred when David Blaine did it. Seemed more spontaneous." Finch says, lighting up a cigar.

    Fanboy sighs and lifts Marcus off the ground as well, eliciting raised eyebrow as the PR guy takes a deep drag off his cigar and nods. "Now this I like. We can market this."

    Fanboy drops Finch and decides to just explain their situation, he listens and nods and seems to take it in stride. Roger points out that Finch really doesn't seem to be very shocked by their existence and Finch respond's with something absolutely horrible that I can't post to the forums because I'm pretty sure it violates like all the rules, it was basically: "Once you *implicates himself in about eight different felonies in a single 2 second act* you sort of change the bar for weird." (If you want to know the exact wording PM me, but I stress that it was horrible and meant to be horrible. So let your imagination run wild.)

    Both of the PCs are absolutely shocked, Fanboy wants to leave but Roger thinks he's found his hero. He whispers to Fanboy "Look at it this way, instead of being in prison this guy is like the most respected member of his field; that alone says he knows what he's doing." Fanboy concedes and they hear him out.

    Finch asks what they want out of this relationship and McCrow says that he wants the public to love him; Fanboy says that he wants action figures and endorsement deals. Finch says that he can do that. The 'heroes' pay him $160,000 for an all-out PR campaign and he starts writing out notes.

    "Way I see it, if you want the public to accept you as heroes you need to get people that they already look up to to speak on your behalf. Do you have a police scanner? Good. Keep an ear out and start responding to as many penny ante crimes as you can, make sure you're visible! For some reason people really dig those fire and rescue guys so get on their good side and you're golden." Finch says helpfully.

    Fanboy points out that the NDA frowns on that sort of things and Finch explains that they're building a brand, not a face. Just make sure that he wears something easily recognizable and fashionable. Fanboy's already in the middle of putting together such an outfit, so he's ahead of the game.

    Finch tells them to make some public appearances and then get back to him after he's had some time to work on something. They agree and mention that they've already got the Mayor and an local reporter working on building their image; Finch congratulates them on taking initiative and says that he'll help co-ordinate their efforts from here on out.



    Spoiler: Planning and Plotting
    Show

    Fanboy and Roger return to the warehouse and decide to start planning for their 'coming out party'. They figure they're going to need an overwhelming force to convince the city they're the heroes they envision themselves as (I pointed out that a sentient tree monster attacking a visible politician and his supporters with an army of other tree monsters would have made a great opportunity, and they told me to shut up.) and there's only one man they know with access to that kind of disposable force. Depaliamo.

    Roger raises Depaliamo's prison from the bottom of the ocean and Fanboy prepares to take over Depaliamo's body himself, however when they open the container the once plump and defiant crime lord is an emaciated shell of his former self. His eyes can't adapt to what little light is in the holding cells after the sun has set and he blinks painfully.

    Depaliamo breaks down and cries, he apologizes for everything he's done and claims that it was just business. He offers the PCs all of his money, all of his men, even Johnny on the Spot if they'll just let him go. Fanboy laughs and says that he's been out of commission for a while, they've already got his money and Johnny needs a new nickname; unless The Spot is a wheelchair, Johnny isn't on it anymore.

    Depaliamo breaks down even more and offers do to anything if they'll just turn him over to the authorities. He doesn't want to go free, he doesn't care about power, he just wants to see the sun again.

    Now I must have done a pretty good job of begging as Depaliamo because Roger's player looks absolutely miserable. He's like 'That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. We broke Depaliamo...'

    McCrow decides that they'll move Depaliamo upstairs in exchange for a few concessions. Depaliamo will start off in one of the regular cells until he proves his worth; he must turn over all of his contacts and help with actually running their new business. Depaliamo agrees wholeheartedly, going from the most powerful man in the city to nothing more than an indentured accountant.

    Fanboy points out that if they put Depaliamo in the normal then Richard won't have anyplace safe to train, so they decide to outfit Richard's room with heavy duty insulation and targets to practice with. They both think that sounds like a plan, so they move Depaliamo and even give him a T.V.

    They explain the situation to Prophet now that they've got a chance to catch their breaths and discover that their resident information broker is suddenly agoraphobic. His close call at the courthouse is over and his powers function again, however he still refuses to leave his room and his usual paranoia has increased tenfold. Fanboy agrees that protecting Prophet from any future harm is of the utmost importanct and Roger adds a saferoom to his list of DIY projects.

    In the meantime Prophet shows the PCs what he's managed to pull up on Warren Davis, their number one suspect in the killings. The result is a four inch thick file of a 20 year veteran assigned to an airforce recovery team with every other word redacted for security purposes. If this is their guy, then he's more dangerous than they thought.

    McCrow decides that he's heard enough and decides to get a jump on his shopping if he's going to start upgrading the warehouse and leaves Fanboy to look after the place.

    It's about an hour after McCrow leaves that Agent Parks shows up, accompanied by two large men in black combat armor; armed to the teeth and a german shepherd. Fanboy instinctively gets nervous and asks "Am I going to The Hole? I'm going to The Hole aren't I?", but Parks shakes his hand and motions for the men to stay put.

    Agent Parks pulls Fanboy away from the eyes of his men and explains that Washington has came through, they realize that the problem here is more than a handful of agents are able to handle and they've sent men experienced with solving such problems, the specially trained Superhuman Containment And Recovery team. He asks if the PCs took his advice and Fanboy mentions that they've been talking to a lawyer. Parks nods and draws out what looks like a large pencil box from his suit jacket, opening it reveals two sleek grenades.

    "These things are still just experimental, they're rumored to be enough to short out a block. We don't know if they'll work on Luvless's tech, but they're the best we have to offer you." Parks says, closing the case and handing it to Fanboy. He then stresses that Luvless isn't some street punk to be handled like they handled John Hurt (Baritone), that his mind will change the world if applied properly and secure America's place as THE world superpower for centuries to come. Fanboy attempts to deny their involvement with Hurt but sees that Parks isn't buying it and says that he understands. Parks mentions that if he can turn over a superhuman of Luvless's caliber then his position will be secure once again.

    Fanboy suddenly realizes that this is his chance to fulfill a lifelong dream. "I'll deliver you Luvless, but I want something in return. I want him to build me something. I want a lightsaber!" the ubernerd demands excitedly. Parks agrees that he'll see to it himself and instructs Fanboy that if anyone finds those grenades; he doesn't know where he got them.

    Parks excuses himself and leaves with his entourage without any further fanfare.





    Spoiler: Taking the Stage
    Show

    The next few days are spent improving the warehouse, at some point Roger took Sandy aside and broke the news of her husband's death; though left out the part where he covered it up. Instead he says that he found out through his 'sources' and points out that her husband died because the killer was looking for her; that if he hadn't kidnapped her and the kids they'd all be dead. She breaks into tears and he goes back to insulating Richard's room.

    Fanboy finds out from Bradley that he's been taking night courses to try and make himself more useful to the team and when he stops in to replace the clones they discover that he can create nearly twice as many as before. Like everyone else, his powers are growing with use.

    During all this they receive a visit from Elizabeth Ingles asking for a Mr. McCrow. They freak out because they never gave her this address but meet with her anyway, she's obvious surprised and asks "You two are private investigators?"

    They're confused and she points out that she'd been doing some independent research concerning the serial killer and found out there were supposedly some P.I.s doing the same. She wanted to compare notes because she thought she'd made a break in the case concerning a connection to the bus hijacking, but they laugh her off and say that they've already got that much. She's disappointed, but mid-conversation they're buzzed by Prophet on the intercom and told that there's a hostage situation in progress in the lobby of a local insurance company. It's not superhuman related, but it's crawling with cops.

    The PCs grab Ingles in their mad dash to the car and drag her along for the ride.

    They find a police line keeping out a sizable crowd, Fanboy is in his new combat armor and a domino mask; Roger is wearing a hat. They park around the block and stroll up to the line, proclaiming that they're here to save the day. Naturally the police tell them that they're lunatics and they can't go in, but Fanboy takes a deep breath and purposefully violates the non-disclosure agreement for the first time. He hovers amidst a swirl of telekinetic energy and shocks the crowd to silence as he declares that none shall stand in the way of justice. Meanwhile, Roger rides a blast of water from a newly loosened fire hydrant over the crowd and lands in the doorway, adjusting his coat.

    Fanboy tears the doors off and they stroll in, two visibly shaken men are holding guns on eight terrified employees of the insurance company. One of the criminals points his guns at the heroes and says that either they sit down with their hands up or EVERYONE DIES! Roger responds by sprinting across the room and breaking the man's jaw with a haymaker, as the man starts to collapse he's grabbed by the collar by McCrow who throws him into front window with enough force to crack the glass, but not quite enough to shatter it. The second criminal is pulled twenty feet through the air towards Fanboy who easily tugs the gun from his hand and tosses him out the door and sends the guy rolling across the parking lot unconscious.

    McCrow and Fanboy stroll out as casually as they went in, though McCrow has a bloodied criminal thrown over his shoulder who he drops as soon as he reaches the police line.

    "What the hell are you doing!?" one of the cops ask, looking at the battered criminal.

    Roger holds out his hands so that the water flows to him and both he and Fanboy rocket away into the sky. "Your job." he shouts over his shoulder as he disappears.

    In reality however, once they get out of sight they make their way back to their car and text Ingles to get her ass back in. They sit in silence, twiddling their thumbs while they wait for their contact to walk the three blocks.

    They stop by Finch's office once the adrenaline fades and introduce Elizabeth to their PR guy, who's an absolute gentleman in front of company. He shows them sketches for a viral ad campaign he's about to introduce that hints that they've been watching over the city for years and arranges a photo shoot to get suitable 'grainy' pictures to peak the public's interest.

    They hash out some specifics when Finch notices the time and says that it's nearly six and they have an appointment to keep. Fanboy asks what he means and Finch mentions that they need to get to Fifth Street if they want to make the 10'oclock news. Fanboy asks what he means by that and he just grins. Fanboy probes Finch's mind and discovers that he's paid a homeless man $500 to jump off a building and a contact at the local news to make sure it gets major coverage.

    Fanboy is once again flabbergasted at this horrible bastard, but grabs McCrow to 'save the day' regardless. By the time they get to Fifth Street there's quite a crowd and two different news stations in the street below and a strangely well dressed homeless man screaming about his wife stealing his children and having nothing to live for. Fanboy lifts himself into the air to the astonishment of the crowd and as he gets close the jumper says in a much quieter tone "I guess you're the guy?"


    Fanboy sighs and nods and the guy screams "That's it, it's all over!" and leaps headfirst off the building. Fanboy barely manages to make the catch and lowers himself and his shill to the ground. He's mobbed by the reporters who clamor to ask who is is and he says "I'm the Fanboy. A fanboy for Lucas, a fanboy for Toryama..." then he looks directly into the camera with a practiced smile "A fanboy for justice." and then lifts off and into the night in a flash display of telekinetic force as McCrow just laughs and saunters back through the crowd.



    Spoiler: Super Physical
    Show

    Parks is obviously not pleased. He calls Fanboy the second it airs on the news and it sounds like he may be having a coronary. Fanboy's quick to explain that he's just trying to calm the public's fears about Tree King and that really...this is his lawyer's fault. But Parks is livid and keeps asking what part of the NDA said that it was their job to deal with the public?

    The PCs are eager to calm their only friend in the DHS and ask if there's anyway to make amends. Parks says that there's no escaping the fact that they've violated the agreement, but that several higher-ups are in town to run a few tests on the superhumans in custody; if they willingly submit to a series of tests it'll show the DHS that they want to cooperate. They agree and Parks sends a few guys to pick them up. (McCrow nearly refuses to go on the grounds that nobody's putting a finger inside him.) On the way there they have to be blindfolded for security, so Fanboy spends the ride probing the minds of the guards with telepathy; what he finds is disturbing.

    They have memories of a man made of living flame, burning hot enough to simply walk through walls; leaving destruction in his wake. They hosed the guy down with liquid nitrogen until the flame was extinguished and then beat him to death with clubs. Fanboy suddenly realizes what Parks meant by problem solvers.

    They drive for what seems like hours and when the blindfolds come off they discover that they're at The Hole, however it's different from before. The walls are white and sterile and the cells containing Johnny and the Beastman are built into the walls and stacked three high. Those black armored men are everywhere and Fanboy glances through another's eyes.

    He sees a teenage girl with tears in her eyes running for her life, the girl lays a hand on a computer and seems to digitize, entering the device completely. The man who's eyes he's looking for spins on his heels and bolts to the end of a hallway, bursting through the window and rapidly descending to the ground. He makes it just in time to watch the girl step out of the electronic lock which guards the grounds and look up at him with terrified eyes for a split second before the .45 slug tears through her brain. The only thought going through the man's head during the moment of the kill is that he can't believe he's going to have to stay late and clean this up.

    A pair of men wait for them as peer nervously around, one of them is a younger man in a lab coat; the other is a man in his mid 60's with the posture of a military man but no noticeable insignia.

    The man in the lab coat almost gushes as he introduces himself as Dr. Summers and thanks them for taking the time to help out with this study. He admits that before today he's never met one of them and thought that their existence was still only in the hypothetical phase. Fanboy does a quick scan of his mind once he moves on to shake McCrow's hand and finds out that Summers is telling the truth; obviously they wouldn't risk that sort of information with a telepath around. He does however pull a trio of names from Dr. Summer's head. Drs Heiner, Marcell and Gupta are the scientists in charge of his department.

    The military man doesn't introduce himself, he simply watches and Fanboy manages to get a glimpse of his mind as well: General Wilson, Warren Davis's former C.O. His will is strong however and Fanboy can't find anymore than that.

    The tests themselves are fairly lackluster and mostly involve an intense physical examination which Fanboy nearly fails much to McCrow's enjoyment, followed by an in depth questionnaire concerning their family history as they try to find out WHY they survived exposure where so many other people fail. Dr Summers is pretty frank that only about 30% of people exposed to the gas survive, the rest die from severe mutations.

    As they're wrapping up and heading towards a specially designed testing chamber Fanboy manages to read several more minds and he keeps finding the image of a fellow soldier who volunteered for the project but turned out to be unstable; so they executed him. And then did it again, and again. Hanging, bullet, lethal injection, electrocution, drowning and dozens of other execution attempts; when Fanboy pulls away it's not because he's reached the end, but because McCrow nudges him.

    They hook up a handful of diodes to their bodies and ask that they give a demonstration of their powers. Fanboy levitates a few things, showcases his force field and speaks telepathically and Summers seems absolutely entranced by the display and the results he collects from Fanboy's brain activity.

    Dr Summers asks Roger for a demonstration and McCrow tells him that he doesn't dance on command. They ask why he'd bother coming if he wasn't going to give a demonstration and he says it's because he wanted to see somebody stick their finger in Fanboy.

    They grow irritated and McCrow finally agrees. He holds his hands up for a moment while he searches for water and calls it to himself. It takes several moments but finally the ceiling above the room bursts and water floods everything, soaking the inhabitants.

    Dr Summers stares open mouthed at Roger as his clipboard floats away and rubs his temples. "Leave. Please. Just...leave."




    Spoiler: Michael and Mann, Epilogue
    Show

    Present Day. Michael Stockton is sitting in a particularly unsavory dive bar in the middle of Arizona, he's about twelve beers deep and it isn't even two o'clock yet. As he's sitting there four local sheriffs step in with shotguns drawn, accompanied by a man in a conservative suit and slightly receding hairline.

    The sheriffs quickly evacuate the bar of it's few patrons and one particularly surly bartender and then ask Agent Mann if this is the guy he's after. Mann nods and tells them to go outside and lock the door. They tell him that they were told to bring this guy in dead or alive and Mann loosens his tie as he tells them that that's exactly what he's going to do, they'll just be in the way.

    The sheriffs glance at each other but do as they're told and exit the premises.

    "F*** you Mann, can't you see I'm drinking?" Michael says with a snort.

    "Your country needs you Stockton, answer the call." Mann demands, approaching the bar.

    "I'm not one of Parks toy soldiers, I'm not that person anymore. Go back and tell him that." Michael retorts dangerously.

    "I know you're not a soldier Michael. You're an animal, and like an animal you're going to do your trick or get put down." Mann says, lashing out and grabbing the back of Stockton's collar. Stockton whirls around, breaking the grapple and tries to bring his beer bottle onto his attacker's head. Mann barely avoids the attack and delivers a powerful blow to Stockton's midsection, causing him to suck air.

    Agent Mann kicks Stockton in the stomach, knocking him back and breaking rib; however it heals before his very eyes just as Stockton flies forward with a knee and returns the favor. In a flash Mann has a knife in his hand and slices Stockton's face; blinding his target for a moment, but getting a blow to his jaw that jars his teeth and stuns him for his trouble.

    Stockton grabs Mann's knife hand and attempts to wrench the weapon free, Mann uses Stockton's own momentum to plant it deep in Michael's chest. Michael screams in rage and Mann watches the reason drain out of his former friend's face as something else takes over once again.

    The two men exchange blows and discover that they're evenly matched, however Mann's injuries continue to accumulate while Michael's are wiped clean each round. Michael flips Mann and tosses the agent several feet away into a groaning pile, but as Michael rushes in to finish him off he sees a gun in Mann's hand which barks twice and forces him to stagger back.

    Mann climbs to his feet and charges forward kicking Michael in the chest and thrusting him against the wooden bar. Stockton hurls a nearby bottle at Mann who dodges and fires twice more, using up the last of his hero points in the process.

    Michael looks like a horror movie victim, but despite his severe injures it takes only seconds for mortal wounds to disappear completely. Mann continues opening fire, but his former partner absorbs the bullets easily and only seems encouraged by them. Michael grabs Mann and attempts to disarm the gun, however it proves difficult and he settles for pinning Mann to the ground and raining down blows.

    Mann can't manage to get up and Michael looks like he may beat him to death as his own wounds are completely healed, however at the last moment Mann manages to free his gun arm and put a bullet in Michael's head. Michael stumbles back and Mann fires again, knocking him down. Michael attempts to stand up and gets another bullet, and then Mann uses extra effort to put another one in him. Michael's stunned so Mann takes another turn and another bout of extra effort to put two more bullets into Michael and watches the life drain out of his eyes.

    No time to savor the victory, Mann flips Michael over and places handcuffs on his bullet riddled corpse before taking a seat at the bar and catching his breath. In only a matter of seconds Stockton's eyes flare open and he starts cursing and struggling at his restraints. Mann drags the newly resurrected berserker to his feet, wincing at his own injuries as he does so.

    Mann pants as he leads his prisoner out to the shocked gaze of the sheriffs who've heard the whole thing and didn't expect ANY survivors. "I like this less than you do Stockton, but you've been re-accepted into the DHS."

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
    At least we can say Kid Jake has style. And possibly is insane.
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  4. - Top - End - #64
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    O_O
    Well, that was another good session, but boy did this get dark.
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    Quote Originally Posted by ThePhantom View Post
    O_O
    Well, that was another good session, but boy did this get dark.
    Yeah, the constant stream of murder was originally planned to be spaced out a bit more; but they all landed in the same session. On the plus side Fanboy's suddenly scared of the men in black now that he's actually met them so he's decided to skip his original plan to challenge the U.S. military to a pissing contest and try for subtlety.

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Well I do think it also helps to mention that the whole Michael kill mode thing is severe PTSD. Safe to say it's in part from combat service and part lingering emotional trauma from the DHS experiments.

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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Y'know I think that killing a fire mutant off screen so to speak is a bit of a waste when that would've given you three of four classical elements embodied by characters, and adding air wouldn't be that hard. You could have done a villain (either fire or air based) with the motivation of fusing somehow with Brick, McCrow and the the other potential element-character to become something greater, something glorious...

    With their powers combined they become Captain Planet!

    Or they become an insane elemental lord who thinks it's the incarnation of Gaia and that it deserves to rule the world.
    Sanity is nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mustafu View Post
    Well I do think it also helps to mention that the whole Michael kill mode thing is severe PTSD. Safe to say it's in part from combat service and part lingering emotional trauma from the DHS experiments.
    Yeah, plus the constant executions didn't really help.


    Quote Originally Posted by Grim Portent View Post
    Y'know I think that killing a fire mutant off screen so to speak is a bit of a waste when that would've given you three of four classical elements embodied by characters, and adding air wouldn't be that hard. You could have done a villain (either fire or air based) with the motivation of fusing somehow with Brick, McCrow and the the other potential element-character to become something greater, something glorious...
    I do agree that a less rapey Willy Pete type character could have been pretty cool and trying to Frankenstein himself together with McCrow and Brick would have been a neat; if Saw-like encounter. I may end up attempting a character like that in the future actually.

    I just thought a fire elemental guy sounded like the kind of superhuman that you'd have to put down to keep from getting out.


    Quote Originally Posted by Grim Portent View Post
    Or they become an insane elemental lord who thinks it's the incarnation of Gaia and that it deserves to rule the world.
    You just described Captain Planet again

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
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    Quote Originally Posted by kidjake View Post
    I do agree that a less rapey Willy Pete type character could have been pretty cool and trying to Frankenstein himself together with McCrow and Brick would have been a neat; if Saw-like encounter. I may end up attempting a character like that in the future actually.

    I just thought a fire elemental guy sounded like the kind of superhuman that you'd have to put down to keep from getting out.
    Oh I certainly agree that it's a good example of a super that can't be hidden, though if you ever want to bring it back then it could have phoenix like regeneration when it's corpse is exposed to flames, similar to McCrow and his water powered healing. Might make a good find if your PCs are ever in the place where dead mutants are being studied and have a lighter.

    I have to say I really like the way that the stuff with Mann and co is developing, it's coherent, understandable and makes Mann's hatred of supers make a lot of sense.
    Sanity is nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Grim Portent View Post
    Oh I certainly agree that it's a good example of a super that can't be hidden, though if you ever want to bring it back then it could have phoenix like regeneration when it's corpse is exposed to flames, similar to McCrow and his water powered healing. Might make a good find if your PCs are ever in the place where dead mutants are being studied and have a lighter.
    Not a bad idea and there's plenty of reasons that a place like that might end up on fire after a visit from the PCs. It could be especially hilarious if he's actually a completely reasonable guy who just happens to have an unstable power as opposed to McCrow who's a proven liability but at least looks human. His status as a 'villain' would basically be based on the fact that he isn't in Fanboy and McCrow's gang. The unassuming air guy would be the Captain Planet fan. Or even better, some loser with the power of Heart.

    Of course since my players have definitely started reading this now (McCrow's player pointed out that if you look up You're the Sidekick on google you get a picture of McCrow and Fanboy and Fanboy's player's been mentioning some of the comments to me.) it may be hard to surprise them with it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Grim Portent View Post
    I have to say I really like the way that the stuff with Mann and co is developing, it's coherent, understandable and makes Mann's hatred of supers make a lot of sense.
    It looks like it was planned all along, but Mann was originally superphobic just so he could mess with Stardust. We talked about it more once Fanboy decided to make a new character and thought it'd be cool if they had history together, so Stockton became one of the defining influences of Mann's life. It probably doesn't help that every other superhuman he's had contact with since then has been similarly awful.


    I'll also take the blame for the Reunion massacre because the end result, or at least Michael failing his will save vs PTSD, was scripted beforehand specifically to explain why Stockton is an ostracized drifter instead of being the DHS's top operative (almost all the skills of Mann, plus he's unkillable) and why his relationship with Mann is so bitter (best friend shot him in the head repeatedly for something he doesn't remember doing)

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
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    Quote Originally Posted by kidjake View Post
    Mann requisitioned some himself actually, he just hasn't found a place he cares to use them yet.
    Oy vey...

    In game terms he's exchanged almost all of his Defense for a higher Toughness save, so it basically takes a crit + power attack just to have a chance of scratching him.
    I figured it was a combination of Toughness-shifting and Impervious Toughness and none of the PCs have tried stunting or buying a Penetrating attack yet. But I suppose a total Toughness shift can achieve much the same thing.

    He's not so much an opponent as a particularly deadly puzzle
    The answer to the puzzle being "attack his Will save," yes? I can't imagine Brick not having a Fortitude nearly as high as his Toughness, which leaves that as the obvious hole in his defenses. And one that Fanboy acquired the ability to exploit not long after fighting him the first time.

    EDIT: Whoops, looks like I did the thing where I get to the end of a thread page and forget there's another page after it.
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    That's how wizards beta test their new animals. If it survives Australia, it's a go. Which in hindsight explains a LOT about Australia.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    I figured it was a combination of Toughness-shifting and Impervious Toughness and none of the PCs have tried stunting or buying a Penetrating attack yet. But I suppose a total Toughness shift can achieve much the same thing.
    He doesn't even have Impervious Toughness, he's just rocking something like a +20. It's basically impossible NOT to hit him thanks to size penalties, but he just doesn't care.



    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    The answer to the puzzle being "attack his Will save," yes? I can't imagine Brick not having a Fortitude nearly as high as his Toughness, which leaves that as the obvious hole in his defenses. And one that Fanboy acquired the ability to exploit not long after fighting him the first time.
    That's one answer. It'd definitely be easier to beat him down mentally than physically, but he's got a decent will save and affinity for hurling cars at things that manage to threaten him. Mann had a few ideas to turn him back immobile, but I don't want to go into too much detail and let him know which ones would work.

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
    At least we can say Kid Jake has style. And possibly is insane.
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    Quote Originally Posted by kidjake View Post
    Weisner listens intently but finally says that there's not much he can do considering they're literally walking WMDs and that they definitely fall under the perimeters of indefinite detention as outlined in the Defense Authorization Act.
    Not to get into too much detail and risk accidentally casting Summon Mod, but isn't the whole point of a Constitutional lawyer to keep it from being that easy?

    [Snippity snip snip snip]
    Ah, I see they're going for the villain with good publicity angle then. Well, brutal anti-heroes with connections to organized crime and good publicity, but still.

    He's mobbed by the reporters who clamor to ask who is is and he says "I'm the Fanboy. A fanboy for Lucas, a fanboy for Toryama..." then he looks directly into the camera with a practiced smile "A fanboy for justice."
    And the award for "Funniest Line in the Series" goes to...

    Quote Originally Posted by kidjake View Post
    He doesn't even have Impervious Toughness, he's just rocking something like a +20. It's basically impossible NOT to hit him thanks to size penalties, but he just doesn't care.

    That's one answer. It'd definitely be easier to beat him down mentally than physically, but he's got a decent will save and affinity for hurling cars at things that manage to threaten him. Mann had a few ideas to turn him back immobile, but I don't want to go into too much detail and let him know which ones would work.
    First off, what PL is Brick and what exactly are the trade-offs/power level caps in 2E? I'm starting to get the idea they work a bit differently than 3E (in which, for one thing, Fortitude and Will trade with each other).

    Secondly, how likely are your players to respect a spoiler box labeled "Don't open if you're one of my players" or some-such?
    Revan avatar by kaptainkrutch.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cirrylius View Post
    That's how wizards beta test their new animals. If it survives Australia, it's a go. Which in hindsight explains a LOT about Australia.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    Not to get into too much detail and risk accidentally casting Summon Mod, but isn't the whole point of a Constitutional lawyer to keep it from being that easy?
    Yeah, and he'll fight tooth and nail for them if it comes to that, but there's no real precedent for people in their situation and people have been held that were much lower threats to national security than they are; considering basically everyone is of less risk than they are. Their very existence is a state secret capable of ushering in a new cold war and they're most likely capable of leveling a city (maybe not all at once, but definitely in easily demolished chunks) if the mood takes them.

    There's probably more he could do for them, but I really wanted to get this particular avenue out of the way so that the PCs start getting proactive and let them know that this isn't going to turn into The People vs McCrow and Hamilton. If they want to convince the government they aren't a threat they're going to have to do it the old fashioned way: through spontaneous murder and well rehearsed lies.


    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    Ah, I see they're going for the villain with good publicity angle then. Well, brutal anti-heroes with connections to organized crime and good publicity, but still.
    They wanted to become heroes but figure that it's easier to stay bastards and just play saints on T.V.



    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    And the award for "Funniest Line in the Series" goes to...
    He thought it was stupid and corny but couldn't think of anything better to say. I assured him that that's the exact feeling he should going for in front of the camera.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    First off, what PL is Brick and what exactly are the trade-offs/power level caps in 2E? I'm starting to get the idea they work a bit differently than 3E (in which, for one thing, Fortitude and Will trade with each other). ?
    He's built at PL10 (One of only a handful that's currently built that high and the only one that's gotten screen time yet.) and I've not found any tradeoff limits so long as you don't go below 0, though I don't believe you can trade Fort/Will like that in 2e.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    Secondly, how likely are your players to respect a spoiler box labeled "Don't open if you're one of my players" or some-such?
    Not very, but I'll give it a try.

    Spoiler: Don't Read This If You're My Players
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    Spoiler: I'm Serious, Shoo!
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    Mann's current plan is to stage an ambush to bury Brick in cement again and then sink him in the middle of the ocean so no one will find him this time. He's asked how viable this is and I told him that he'd have to see for himself, but if he can pull it off it sounds like a pretty solid, if very direct, plan. Of course if he keeps kicking ideas around he may end up with something even more awesome/insane so I don't want him to get locked into one course of action.

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
    At least we can say Kid Jake has style. And possibly is insane.
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    Quote Originally Posted by kidjake View Post
    They find a police line keeping out a sizable crowd, Fanboy is in his new combat armor and a domino mask; Roger is wearing a hat.
    Until I have this clarified, I'm going to imagine he wears a different hat to every crime, just to mess with their branding.
    Spoiler
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    Awesome Iron Chef avatars by Neoseph7! Murkrow avatar of coolness by Introbulus!

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    Quote Originally Posted by banthesun View Post
    Until I have this clarified, I'm going to imagine he wears a different hat to every crime, just to mess with their branding.
    I found this while looking for potential police sketches of the pair and he got a kick out of it, so when it came time to 'suit up' he's like "I put on...my hat, that I found in Fanboy's glove box."
    Spoiler
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    Last edited by Kid Jake; 2014-06-05 at 11:03 AM.

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
    At least we can say Kid Jake has style. And possibly is insane.
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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Alright, we had another session last night and it proved fairly entertaining. We got a late start so it didn't seem like we accomplished as much as we usually do.

    I didn't get in until a little after four and actually stayed up until around 9 putting together the first draft which was much better paced and prettier, but a power surge lost all of that. So I took another three hours to put together a second draft and of course didn't learn my lesson the first time; so I knocked a book off my desk and lost all that again. Luckily third time was a charm and saving every two minutes turned out not to be necessary after all.

    Anyway, hope you enjoy another edition of McCrow and Friends.



    Spoiler: Hazing
    Show
    We pick up exactly where we left off with McCrow and Fanboy being escorted out of the new Hole by armed personnel. Fanboy and the majority of their escort are covered in the sewage that Roger thought would be funny to flood the room with, naturally McCrow himself is untouched.

    They're joined in the hall by Tiffany who had been in the middle of tests of her own when the order came down that the facility had been compromised and all 'guests' were to be expelled. McCrow is absolutely beaming with pride at all this.

    Before they're allowed to leave they're blindfolded once again, however Fanboy takes this opportunity to read the minds of his escort and remove the mystery altogether. Surprisingly this pristine government facility is located beneath a local shopping center, the last place anybody would look.

    The superhumans are loaded into a van once their blindfolds are secured and a pair of the black armored men join them in the back, then to their surprise they hear one of the men snap "Garm, up." and the whole van seems to sag as something massive leaps in with them, the smell of dog is powerful and they can feel fur pressed against them.

    They drive several minutes, but nowhere near as long as it took them to arrive at the new Hole the first time and then the van stops and they hear voices outside. The back doors of the van swing open and their escorts leap out as well. Fanboy is the first to remove his blindfold and what he sees is not encouraging.

    'Garm' is a massive beast, a mastiff with a head the size of microwave who's bulk nearly fills the van and he does not look friendly. Outside are four of the black armored S.C.A.R. troopers armed to the teeth. Each man holds an assault rifle at the ready and has a .45 strapped to his waist, some sort of baton strapped to his leg and a thick metallic tube slung on their back.

    Fanboy immediately raises his hands defensively while the other two raise their blindfolds to see what's happening. "What is this, some kind of hazing?" Fanboy squeaks out.

    "Not quite. General Wilson doesn't have the same patience for dissidence that the DHS's pet agent has." One of the men outside says with a smirk before a pair of them slam the doors and a voice shouts "Garm, seize!"

    McCrow is closest to the beast's head and the creature's jaws latch onto his thigh painfully, crushing bone and tearing muscle. Roger shouts in pain and but is drowned out as the heavy drone of weapons fire fills the air; bullets bounce around inside the van catching the PCs completely off guard. Fanboy gets his Force Field up before he's riddled with bullets, but Tiffany takes a glancing blow and McCrow takes about three bullets dead center. Garm doesn't seem to notice or care about the bullets that bounce harmlessly off of him.

    Roger grabs Garm's head in retaliation and focuses on the water inside the beast; willing it out of every pore and eliciting a whimper that frees his battered leg. Tiffany moves in, now in diamond form and buries one of her impossibly sharp hands into the superdog's spine. Garm flops onto his side spewing gore and barely twitches as the life leaves his body.

    With a wave of his hand Fanboy bursts open the doors of the van and hurls two men back into the alley where they've parked. The soldiers quickly regain their composure and fire as a single unit into the open van; Fanboy takes the brunt of the attack which stresses his Force Field to the limit.

    McCrow leaps out of the van as soon as the S.C.A.R. men stop to reload and busts one of them in the face with a haymaker. Tiffany dives hands first into a second man and begins tearing him to pieces. Fanboy snatches a third and uses extra effort to hurl the man skywards. The last loses his nerve and turns to flee.

    McCrow lets the man nearly escape before focusing on the water within and the other PCs watch in shock as the man seems to turn to dust before their eyes, leaving little but his armor and weapons behind.

    The three of them turn to face the man who McCrow had clocked and as they corner the man against the van McCrow suggests taking at least one of them alive to question. A frantic scream announces the return of Fanboy's plummeting victim and with a twitch of his hand the telepath stops the man's descent just inches above the ground. "We already have one." Fanboy says coldly.

    Tiffany gleefully drives her sharpened hand through the throat of the man still pressed against the van and holds him there for a moment while he tries to sputter out final words that never see the light of day. She removes her hand and sidesteps the blood fountain before helping McCrow strip the dead of their weapons and armor.

    Fanboy pries the truth from the last man's mind while they're on the move and discovers that Parks had nothing to do with the kill order, the S.C.A.R. operatives were under the direct command of General Wilson. The more Fanboy probes the more it looks like Wilson is going to be the man to watch.

    As more of a courtesy than anything they call Parks to let him know they've killed some of his men. Parks is so shocked that he can't speak for a moment and Fanboy explains that they were taken into an alley to be executed on General Wilson's order. Parks assures them that this didn't go through official channels, but warns that the general doesn't operate through official channels.

    They're warned to watch their backs and Parks asks that they try to avoid killing his dogs in the future as they're already a rare and dying breed. Fanboy says that they're going to put down anything that raises a hand to them but they'll try to be subtle about it.

    Then they throw the naked and blindfolded guard out of the van, give his ass a good shock with his confiscated stun baton and laugh as the man charges head first into a Walmart to the screams and exclamations of surprised customers.



    Spoiler: Refining the Image
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    The 'heroes' decide that if they're going to survive the coming s***storm they're going to have to escalate their press release. They call up their P.R. guy Finch and ask him to get to work on something, he tells them to give him a day or so.

    While they're waiting, they explain the situation to Prophet and he suggests that if they're going to get into a fight with the United States Government, it may be a good idea to upgrade the warehouse some more. Nobody has any grand ideas on what they should do, so they put that on the back burner.

    Instead, they spend the day chatting up Richard and the kid asks when they're going to actually get to training him. He points out that he's done quite a bit of work himself but that he's hoping for a more hands on approach. Tiffany suggests a sparring match to see what the kid can do and both McCrow and Fanboy shake their heads seeing as there's no way that this will end well. Richard is unbelievably dangerous, but ultimately an innocent. Tiffany is a psychotic. Either Tiffany doesn't take Richard seriously and she gets hurt or killed, or she takes him seriously and he gets hurt or killed.

    She finally convinces the pair that she knows how to hold back and that they're just going to have a friendly sparring match, so they head to the holding cell level and send Depaliamo upstairs while they prepare.

    Tiffany urges Richard to make the first move and the teenager takes a deep breath and focuses on drawing the energy to himself like he's done a thousand times before in the last week alone... He rolls a 1 on his willpower roll to control his power.

    Now the way I've got this set up, Richard has to make a DC18 Willsave every time he uses his power for it to activate as intended. Failure means that he can't direct the current so nothing happens, failure by 5+ means that he's overloaded with energy and it lashes out, failure by 10+ means that he goes critical.

    He goes critical.

    The entire warehouse goes dead as Richard absorbs its energy as his own, phones and electronics are completely drained as Richard is suspended above the floor in an electric coccoon. Richard tries to shout for Tiffany to run, but she's still convinced that she's invincible.

    An arc of electricity flares out and she rolls to see if she can take it. He crits, she rolls a 1. The force of the blow tears a Tiffany sized hole in the side of the warehouse and she's tossed out to sea unconscious and unprotected.

    Roger and Fanboy poke their heads downstairs when they hear the explosion and immediately retreat once they see what's happening. Fanboy projects his vision downstairs and discovers that Tiffany's missing. Roger pries up a grate and leaps into the churning ocean to find her while Fanboy basically just watches their basement burn. Once Roger returns and dumps the unconcious Tiffany on the floor he immediately sets to putting out the remains of his holding cells and assuring Richard that things could always be worse.

    They just start to get their backup generators online and recharge their phones when Fanboy gets a call from Finch who says that he's been trying to get in touch with them, that they've only got twenty minutes to make it to Meadowbrook Middle-school if they want to be heroes.

    Fanboy's jaw drops as he stares at the phone and they wake up Tiffany on the way.

    McCrow drives and just barely makes it there ahead of the police. Students are just starting to file out of the school as fast as they can and Fanboy repeats that he really doesn't want to work with this guy anymore. McCrow tells him that he's overreacting and that this probably isn't what it looks like.

    Fanboy calls Finch back and is told to go to the second girl's bathroom on the second floor and to wing it from there. He immediately responds by focusing his telepathy and attempting to find the guy that Finch has apparently hired to shoot up a school. The fact that he can't find anyone doesn't reassure him.

    Tiffany goes diamond, Fanboy slides on his costume and mask while Roger slips a random baseball cap on and pulls it down over his eyes.

    A fireman attempts to block their paths as they approach the school, but Fanboy simply telekinetically slides the man out of the way with an assurance that they'll take care of this. The fireman is stunned and doesn't say anything more.

    Fanboy rockets into the air using his new-found ability of flight, while Tiffany scales the bricks like a spider with her claw-like fingers and Roger taps a water main to fling himself to the second story. All three enter the building and fan out to find the bathroom.

    The bomb is easy enough to find, nestled in the only opened stall and the size of a large A.C. unit. It has a digital timer that's clicking down, less than a minute and a half left and the school still isn't done being evacuated!

    They start panicking and trying to figure out what to do when they see something that makes them give a collective facepalm. Once the timer starts to count down from 0:59 it immediately resets to two minutes. The three of them stare at each other and Fanboy sighs.

    "It's just meant to cause panic until we can 'disarm' it." he explains. However McCrow reaches down to fiddle with the timer and as he removes the panel a note falls out. The note explains that to detonate the bomb you just have to press the button under the panel.

    Fanboy demands out loud to know why the hell anyone would want to make this thing explode. "It has to be dramatic." McCrow explains, nodding thoughtfully. "So, who wants to push the button?"

    Fanboy sighs and rubs his temples. "I'll do it." he says, hoisting the bomb telekinetically and dragging it outside. McCrow rides a geyser of water to the ground and Tiffany just leaps.

    The crowd gasps and Fanboy notices that the television cameras have already started setting up. All eyes are on him as he presses the hidden button and flings the explosive into the air, where it explodes in a gloriously flashy display of fire and sound.

    The crowd is still gawking when Fanboy lands next to his fellow 'heroes' and flashes a smile to the cameras. "You could say I'm a FAN of safety." the young man says with a thumbs up.

    McCrow mimics the thumbs up and adds "And um...stay in school."

    Tiffany winks at a kid and finishes with "Now you have an explosive day."



    Spoiler: Superheroes and Russians and Poltergeists Oh My!
    Show

    They're still in the car when Roger receives a call that nearly sends him swerving off the road. It's Ben McCrow, his youngest son. He pulls off the road to talk and shushes Fanboy and Tiffany as they ask what's going on.

    They have a little small talk and Roger learns that his boy's graduated college, it's a bit of a shock since he hadn't realized it'd been so long, but he hasn't seen Ben since before the boy started highschool. Ben tells his father that he got the number from Franklin and just wanted to say that he's glad to hear things are looking up for the elder McCrow; he always knew things would turn out alright for Roger despite what his mother said. Ben then asks if that was Roger he saw on T.V. the other night in the crowd when that guy was trying to jump.

    Now McCrow can't remember if he did anything incriminating but says that he seems to remember something about that. Ben asks if that meant he got to see the Fanboy in person. Roger's a little dismissive but asks what Ben thinks of these new 'superheroes' and Ben replies that they're definitely different; if they turn out to be real it would be amazing. McCrow gets a little smug as they say their goodbyes and tells Ben he'll see him next month at Franklin's wedding.

    Back at the warehouse Fanboy checks in on Prophet and asks what their resident conspiracy theorist has turned up concerning those names. Prophet says that it's short notice, but he's been checking payroll records and has a list of doctors that have been drawing a government check under the names Marcell, Heiner and Gupta for the past five years.

    Spoiler: Names
    Show
    Marcell (Greggory Marcell: Physician, Laurinl Marcell: Botanist, Joseph Marcell: Radiation Specialist)
    Heiner (Henry Heiner: Surgeon, Frank Heiner: Ceullular Biologist)
    Gupta (Henry Gupta: Engineer, Jennifer Gupta: Psychologist, Sarine Gupta: Anthropologist)


    Prophet mentions that it's not much to go on, but Fanboy assures him that it's more than they'd have without him. Fanboy suggests focusing on Heiner and seeing if they can't eliminate one of those names; he wants to cut to the heart of this organization and see if he can't get some straight answers for once. Prophet says that he'll get right on it and Fanboy excuses himself to take an incoming call from Parks.

    Parks explains that he thinks he's got a bead on a new superhuman, but the reports don't seem to match up. He says that there is considerable activity in a local apartment building and they've evacuated the place under the guise of fumigation; but none of their teams have been able to bring the thing in. He asks that Fanboy take a look since there's not much that can get past a telepath and Fanboy agrees to help their only friendly contact in the government out.

    Fanboy heads downstairs to inform the rest of the team and meets McCrow on the stairs, still on the phone with Chavenski about handling a succession issue with the Russians.

    They quickly decide that the best thing to do is to split up and each handle a different contact's problem by themself. Tiffany decides to go with Fanboy; half because he was very adamant that he wasn't babysitting her and half because she thinks it might be fun to get a chance to fight and/or kill a different kind of superhuman.

    Fanboy and Tiffany arrive at the apartment and find it pretty well tented, but otherwise perfectly normal. They search the first floor thoroughly and find that while the whole place is pretty much a s***hole, it's no different than any other cheap apartment building. Tiffany however eventually notices what appears to be a fresh blood stain seeping through the ceiling.

    Fanboy projects his vision to the floor above and sees nothing out of the ordinary, so Tiffany does the next logical thing and sprays a barrage of crystalline shards into the ceiling to see if something's there. Blood rains down out of the new opening but seems to dry and dissipate shortly after making contact with them. Fanboy decides that the next floor might be worth checking out so he starts looking for the stairs leading up, Tiffany decides to just cut her way through the ceiling to save some time.

    As Fanboy steps out onto the 2nd floor he sees a glowing orb bouncing around inquisitively (hilariously, his first instinct was: "Wait, is it some kind of hard light construct type of orb? Because if this is some kind of Luvless trap then f*** this, I leap out the window and go home.") and attempts to make contact with it. The thing immediately bolts away from him and slams directly into a wall, disappearing on contact. He projects his vision through ESP to begin searching the apartments, but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. Although once he looks through his own eyes he does begin noticing the orbs out of the corner of his vision again.

    Meanwhile, Tiffany is following a growing trail of blood that leads towards the 3rd floor, where she meets up with Fanboy on the stairs. After taking her eyes off the trail to acknowledge Fanboy however, neither of them can see evidence of the blood having been there in the first place. As they approach the third floor they begin to hear vague whispers but can't make out the words.

    Tiffany sees one of the orbs bolt across the hall in front of them and into an apartment and though Fanboy tells her to ignore it she decides they should give chase. So they wait until the orb bolts across the hall a second time and then throw open the door it entered and rush inside.

    They're greeted by a twisted green skeleton bathed in an eerie green flame that shrieks and reaches for them. The fear is suddenly so powerful that the PCs trip over themselves to race back down the stairs and it isn't until they're nearly to the 1st floor that the feeling leaves them and Fanboy realizes he recognizes that technique. It's Emotion Control and he uses it himself sometimes.

    They still hear the skeleton shrieking upstairs so he decides to ambush the bastard and see what it's made of. They go to the apartment directly under the shrieking and Tiffany shreds the upstairs with a hail of crystal shards while Fanboy uses all of his mental might to pull down the entire upstairs. The skeleton tumbles amid the rubble, but seems to dissolve as it leaves its point of origin. As they watch it melts away and is replaced by a glowing orb that dances off once again.

    They determine that the closer they get to the source, the more paranormal their experiences will become so they head up through the new hole, genuinely intrigued. They continue searching the 3rd floor and learn to ignore the orbs and avoid the skeletons as best they can. They discover that skeletons only appear on the northwest side, so they assume that there's something there that they need to see.

    They find the stairs and head up another level and as they do so, Fanboy hears a voice say plainly in his ear "This is where you die."

    Fanboy spins around, searching for the source and Tiffany says that she neither saw nor heard anything, so it must be in his head. He decides that it's nothing more than a trick like he'd play, so he focuses his telepathy to find the source of the message. Surprisingly he finds that Tiffany is the only mind he can make contact with.

    They exit the stairwell into the 4th floor on their guard and they each hear a whisper say "We will wear your flesh home." accompanied by a rush of air that leaves two inch deep claw-like scratches along everything it touches, namely the walls. Their protective powers kept them from real injury, but they watch as the scratches along the walls begin to bleed profusely and a sound that alternates between a mournful sob and a manic laugh begins echoing down the corridor.

    They press on to the northwest portion of the building and as they approach apartment 4C they begin hearing something moving and scratching inside the walls, accompanied by more sobs and laughter. 4C itself looks as though there is something massive living in its outer walls and they bulge obscenely as whatever it is moves and shifts around, growling threateningly the whole time.

    Fanboy and Tiffany stare at each other for a moment and Tiffany kicks the door off its hinges with a single mighty kick. They enter the apartment and are surprised to see that it's pretty intact, though obviously abandoned. There's a noticeable film of dust over everything and a neighbor has been piling bills and other mail up by the door. They start going over the place when Tiffany points out the family picture on the wall and Fanboy stops in his tracks at the sight of a little girl and her parents smiling for the camera. "Oh....s***. It's one of THOSE ghosts." he says with a groan.

    Tiffany asks what he means and Fanboy says that he recognizes the family or at least the little girl. Her name is Maria Lucerta and she was on the bus with the rest of them, but unlike the others; she never woke up from her injuries. She was brain dead for months and then the serial killer snuck into her room and made her just regular dead. He decides to call out to her and no sooner does he say 'Maria' then a horrible roar echoes through the building like thunder and seems to originate from a nearby bedroom.

    He pulls open the door and finds a six foot skeleton similar to the ones he saw below, only this one still has meat hanging off the bones and the flames are real enough to cause immediate discomfort all the way from the doorway. "Maria, I'm here to-"

    Before he can finish his sentence a burst a flame flies from the skeleton's hand and knocks the wind out of him, he notices that his skin is bright red like he's been scalded but the Force Field holds and he survives. Tiffany steps into the room and averts her eyes, several small objects that have begun to spin about the room are harmlessly deflected by her diamond skin but the skeleton doesn't seem to notice her as she snoops around.

    It only takes a quick sweep for her to step out with a movie poster that depicts the very same skeleton that's in the room now; she shows it to Fanboy and he looks at it puzzled.

    "Hell on Earth 3?" he asks noone in particular. "So she's a cheesy horror fan. The hell is this then, some kind of solo LARP?"

    Tiffany just shrugs and points out that movies are sort of his thing. He agrees, rolls up the poster and hands it to Tiffany before taking a deep breath and heading back into the room. "I see you're a fellow cinemaphile." Fanboy says pleasantly. "Surprised you go for something like Hell on Earth though, my favorite was always-"

    He's ejected from the room by a pillar of green fire and lays groaning on the carpet trying to make sure his eyebrows are still intact.

    Meanwhile...

    Roger sits down with Chavenski at a nice, if low-key, restaurant and the wheezing crime lord admits that the Russian Syndicate may have outgrown him. Chavenski explains that his organization is currently in the middle of a restructuring/civil war and that three of his most valuable lieutenants have decided to challenge him for power. He admits than in his current state any one of them may be more than he can deal with.

    Roger apologizes but explains that they're legitimizing themselves and can't afford to be associated with Chavenski's business any longer. Chavenski points out that he's been more than fair when dealing with McCrow and Fanboy in the past and that he's been there when they needed him the most. Roger says that they've went beyond the call of duty for the Russians as well and Chavenski replies "Oh, I'm sorry. Which organ did you lose coming to save me?"

    Roger's (and his player's) mouth keeps moving for a second, but no sound comes out and he finally decides to concede the point that maybe Chavenski HAS gotten the shorter end of the stick in this relationship. He agrees to help but says that the Russians have to stop with the murdering and mutilation and the selling people and so on. Chavenski points out that he doesn't tell Roger how to run his business and Roger settles on asking that Chavenski stop dealing in human trafficking at least.

    Chavenski agrees and points out that it's one of his men that has caused the notable spike in white slavery in order to impress the bigshots back in the motherland. Sergei Reschkov has an honest to God army at his command thanks to his cutthroat dealings and more clout with the Syndicate's Russian contacts than anyone, himself included.

    McCrow gets the address of Sergei's storehouse and decides to make an example of this guy himself. He thanks Chavenski for the meal and tells the Russian that he won't have anything more to worry about after today, he'll make enough of a mess out of this guy that the others will fall into line.

    McCrow drives out to what basically amounts to a barn on the outskirts of town and watches the place for several minutes. In that short amount of time he sees nearly three dozen heavily armed guards moving about the perimeter and quite a few large men in overalls unloading and opening crates from a truck. He nods as though this is about what he assumed he was getting into and walks back to his car, opening the backdoor and tapping loudly on the large aquarium housed inside.

    "Wake up boys. Wake up now. Daddy needs some help." McCrow says with a knowing smile.

    Back at the haunting...

    Fanboy is sitting out in the hallway on the phone with Parks. "I can't read it's mind dammit, it doesn't have one! It's a f***ing ghost Parks, what do you want me to do? Do I look like Dan Akroyd? Do you have a proton pack hanging around somewhere that I don't know about?"

    Tiffany has been pacing the halls with a large bag for the past twenty minutes and Fanboy's learned to tune out her, the apparitions and the voices that keep getting more and more vivid while he tries to convince Parks he isn't crazy.

    "Look, the thing is disruptive as hell but it looks pretty stationary. Give us some time and I'm sure we can come up with something, I mean from what you've said it's been here for a week or more; I doubt it's going anywhere." Fanboy explains. Tiffany excuses herself as she steps over him and he ignores her, annoyed.

    "Don't worry, things are under control. I'll run it by Prophet at..." Fanboy stops and starts sniffing the air. "F***, s***, dammit! Parks, call the fire department!" he shouts as he bursts into the room and sees Tiffany shimmering amid the roaring fire she's created. Fanboy can't even summon the words but Tiffany looks so proud.

    "Let's see how SHE likes it!" Tiffany beams. Fanboy manages to snatch her up with his telekinesis and the two of them burst out the side of the building, leaving behind a growing wall of flame and a horrible moan that can be heard from blocks away. He knew bringing her was a bad idea...

    Back to McCrow...

    The barn is very nearly destroyed. Half-eaten corpses litter the yard and are piled eight high to form a barricade within the barn itself. Only five men still live besides Sergei and as the Droplets batter their way past the bodies of dead Russians they waste what little ammo they have left on the smiling, bouncing abominations.

    McCrow pushes past the corpses himself and stands before the terrified criminals, who are all the more terrified as the Droplets begin rubbing up against the stoic hydromancer like attention starved kittens.

    "Do what I say and you might survive." Roger says plainly. "Put your guns down."

    Three men immediately drop their weapons and attempt rush out the back way however the Droplets cutt off their escape and immediately latch onto their screaming victims, bringing them down and silencing them; taking far, far too long to finish the job.

    "McCrow didn't say run." Roger says sternly. "I just said put down your guns."

    The last guard drops his gun and holds up his hands to show they're empty. Sergei suddenly produces a pistol from his jacket defiantly and fires at McCrow who responds by holding out his arms and flooding the barn from a well outside. Roger takes a couple of bullets but is soon covered in a protective sheen of water and stands about 10ft tall.

    Sergei stops firing and begins shaking so hard he drops the gun. He tries to retrieve it, but Roger snatches him in one hand and crushes him against the wall.

    "What do you want?" Sergei manages to squeak out.

    "Not much. Just told my dear friend Nikolai Chavenski that I'd swat a bug for him." McCrow growls, applying a little more pressure and watching Sergei turn purple.

    "I didn't mean anything!" Sergei sputters, "It's just the way things work! It's the same way HE got his place!"

    "Are you sure?" McCrow asks. "Because I don't remember being friends with the guy he killed, and I know I'm not friends with you. Know how I can tell? You shot at me. Friends don't do that. Chavenski for example, has never shot me. So Chavenski doesn't know what it feels like to crushed into a fine paste and fed to my Droplets."

    Sergei looks like he's about to pop and just starts begging for his life with no regard for position any longer.

    Roger ***** his head. "You want to deal? Is that what you're getting at? Okay, how's this? You go and you tell the other a**holes that think they're going to take away what me and Chavenski have worked for what happened here today. You convince them with tears in your eyes that Chavenski's word is law and that their only chance at surviving another night comes from getting on their knees and apologizing and I'll let you go."

    Sergei nods his head but makes no sound. He ran out of oxygen for that long ago.

    Roger releases Sergei and the man sucks air violently, gulping like he'd forgotten the taste.

    With one massive, watery hand McCrow lifts Sergei back to his feet the the collar of his expensive suit and leans down to eye level. "Get this straight Sergei: Tried is not in my vocabulary. If the succession talks don't end TONIGHT I will personally take the three of you and shove each of you up the next guy's ass to make the scariest f***ing Russian doll the world has ever seen. If I ever see your face or hear your name after today in ANY context I will break your legs and leave you for the Droplets. Is all of this clear?"

    Sergei doesn't even respond, he just pisses himself then and there.




    Spoiler: Tracking Tree King
    Show
    Tiffany finds herself abandoned after the events in the apartment and is walking back to the warehouse when she gets a call from Agent Mann who tells her that he's sending a car, not to be difficult. She'll get her usual $5,000 consultation fee.

    Surprisingly she takes Mann's advice and soon finds herself in Parks' new office along with Agent Mann and an angry, restrained man that she doesn't recognize. Parks seems to be negotiating with the guy in handcuffs and says that he doesn't like having him back either, but until the Tree King is apprehended this is the way it's got to be. He offers Michael Stockton his freedom in exchange for service.

    Stockton pffts dismissively and hears that he's heard that before. Parks responds that he thinks a little over two years walking free is a more than fair deal considering the incidents he's had to cover up. Michael doesn't have any response to that and goes quiet.

    Parks tells Mann to unlock the cuffs and explains that they've been using the Bloodhound Laelaps to search for the Tree King but it hasn't been easy. Not only is Tree King's scent often lost amid the other plant life, but there are more than two dozen locations that Laelaps is completely convinced that Tree King is living in.

    Parks needs somebody he can trust to be thorough to scout these locations so he's called on Mann. Mann can't do it alone so Parks also included Tiffany and Michael, though nobody's enthusiastic about their inclusion.

    They follow the directions that Parks has supplied and arrive at an abandoned tenement building that looks like it hasn't seen an occupant for years. They search the place top to bottom, but there's nothing to find. So they decide to think outside of the box and head to the basement to start prying up the floorboards.

    They quickly find a whole section of flooring that's completely removable. There's a sizable hole in the ground that seems to lead into the sewers. Naturally they all leap down and start nosing around.

    Stockton finds a trip wire to the west and warns the others to stand back. He wants to see what sort of traps they've got rigged up down here so after Tiffany and Mann have backed up a bit he lays both hands on the wire and pulls.

    It takes them a moment to realize that they can hear the jingle of falling bells and Michael looks disgusted. "Really? It rings?" he asks with a snort.

    A clawed hand reaches out from the darkness and pins Michael against the sewer wall. He lands a solid blow against the creature's throat, however considering the throat is made of wood he doesn't accomplish much. Three more Tree Clones rush in from the west and two more rush from the east.

    Mann quickly draws his flashlight and pistol and begins choosing his targets, putting .45 holes in their foreheads which bleed sap. Tiffany manages to cut down two Tree Clones in rapid succession and Michael reverses his opponent's grapple before pinning the tree creature and breaking it's neck with a crushing elbow to the back of the head.

    Two more Tree Clones rush Michael but he manages use their momentum against them, tripping the first one and using the second one like a weapon to crack both of them at once. Tiffany steps forward and finishes them off.

    They take a moment to collect themselves and then investigate the western tunnel until they find a room lined with U.V. lights and about a dozen immature Tree Clones growing in planters. Mann and Michael exchange a glance and Mann tells Tiffany to burn it all. Since her character sheet always has at least 5 gallons of gasoline somewhere on it, she's more than likely to get the BBQ started.

    They go back the way they came in and follow the tunnel to the east, ambushing a group of Tree Clones hard at work tending to their growing brothers. Michael does a flying kick into one's back, snapping it like...well a twig. Tiffany slices clean through a second one and Mann puts two more down with judicious use of a hero point.

    The team takes a moment to actually investigate the room and Tiffany is surprised to discover that the growing tree creatures already have little faces. Naturally she cuts one off (to add to the mastiff pelt she stripped from Garm and a Russian...man part she pried off one of the sex slavers.) as a war-trophy. Mann orders everything burned and they continue searching the tunnels.

    They continue along at a brisk pace until Michael trips another bell trap. This one seems even louder than the last and suddenly the tunnels are filled with the sound of heavy bodies rushing to meet them.

    Michael moves to block off the southern tunnel, Tiffany stands ready to the west and Mann readies his gun to aid where needed. About 8 Tree Clones rush from the south and another 15 come in from the east. Tiffany lashes out like a swirling dervish and even the normally suicidal Tree Clones seem a little apprehensive about throwing themselves onto the chopping block. Mann opens fire into the wall of wood to the west and throws himself at the group to the south.

    One of the Tree Clones crits against Michael and Stockton fails his toughness roll majorly. The Tree Clone's claw is protruding from the back of Michael's torso and the reluctant agent attempts to stammer something out, but only manages to cough up blood. The Tree Clone hoists Stockton overhead triumphantly as he simply stops fighting.

    Mann turns to cover the south and puts a couple of bullets into the first Tree Clone to rush him, but Tiffany is already becoming overwhelmed to the east and things are starting to look bad. Tiffany punctures one of the gas cans she strapped to herself and douses herself and everyone near her in gasoline before setting fire to everything. The Tree Clones to the west roll surprisingly well and she does little more than piss them all off.

    Suddenly Michael wakes back up, still impaled by the gloating Tree Clone who's using this opportunity to give the 'You'll be ground to fertilizer.' speech. With one hand he secures the clone's wrist and with the other braces against its should before planting both of his feet directly into the creature's chest and pulling with everything he's got in him. There's a loud snap and Michael rolls to his feet with the creature's severed arm in hand, he uses his hero point to beat the thing to death with its own arm and Mann recognizes that Michael's gone, the rage is what's animating him.

    Mann uses another hero point to help put down two more Tree Clones and extra effort to get a third, Tiffany takes out another with her bladed arms and two more with the intense fire she's started. Michael uses the severed arm like a bat cave in another head. Within just a few rounds all of the Tree Clones to the south are dead and most to the west are as well. Tiffany is exchanging blows with the last flaming clone when Michael rushes her location, springboards off her back and (as he described it) delivered a 'Benoit Flying Headbutt' directly into the face of the last clone. Both of them lay there burning with their heads split open, however after about a minute Michael stands back up, holding his head and wondering what happened to his clothes.

    They press on and find several more labs loaded down with U.V. lamps, little Tree Clones and various chemicals and fertilizers. Tiffany starts spilling every chemical she can find over the trees, but Mann snatches one of the smallest ones up to bring back with them for study.

    Finally, after their searching they come across the motherload. A massive chamber converted into a nursery where nearly 20 Tree Clones are splintering their own bodies in order to plant more of their brothers. Mann gives a quick estimate of nearly 200 plants in this room ALONE. They sit there thinking for a moment when Mann suggests they just burn it all down.

    The other two look at him like he's and idiot, because of course they're going to burn it all down, but he motions to the rest of Tiffany's fuel and suggests making a giant molotov to alleviate the need for a battle here. They agree that's the way to go and it takes them less than a minute to rig something up.

    Tiffany tosses their concoction in a high arc towards the center of the room and Mann just barely manages to shoot it midflight; catching the entire room on fire at once. The Tree Clones roar with rage and try to rush them, but the fire is intense and they fail to even make it to the door before they're burnt to cinders.

    They search the tunnels once more to make sure there's none of these things left and that none of the equipment survived their ransacking and then they start to leave. Mann informs both Tiffany and Michael that they can't take specimens home with them and that he'll have to confiscate Tiffany's trophy and Michael's stolen arm before he can allow them to leave.

    Michael had basically forgotten he'd been carrying the thing around and tosses it into one of the roaring fires, but Tiffany tells Mann to kiss her ass. He points out that all it would take is that thing getting exposed to sunlight for all that they're working for to be undone, but Tiffany tells him that he's not man enough to take it from her.

    Mann reaches for his gun and the two stare each other down for a moment before Mann quickly draws his piece and shoots the wooden face itself, knowing that once it's no longer recognizable it won't function as much of a trophy and she should drop it. She's absolutely incensed and re-actively fires a burst of crystal directly at Mann's face in retaliation; Michael had been holding his action and springs into action, leaping in front of the blast and being laid open from crotch to gullet.

    Mann bolts up the ladder full-tilt and Tiffany leaps onto the ladder after him, however Michael snatches her by the leg and flings her across the room despite her increased mass. Stockton rushes up the ladder as well and Tiffany attempts to return the favor, however Mann uses power attack and the last of his hero points to buckle her over for a round, stunned. They slam the lid down on top if Tiffany and glance at each other breathlessly for a moment.

    Michael punches Mann directly in the nose and shouts "I can't believe you left me down there you a**hole!"

    Mann starts to respond until razor sharp pieces of crystal flies up between the floor boards, sending him and Stockton bolting upstairs and towards their car before she realizes she missed.





    Spoiler: Epilogue
    Show
    It's several hours later when Tiffany finally hobbles back into McCrow's warehouse looking like hell. She's obviously irritated and had to walk nearly eight miles to get home since neither Roger nor Fanboy answered her call.

    It looks like everybody's gathered in Prophet's security room so she heads up to see what they're doing. She sees a visibly upset Bradley pacing around and freaking out. Fanboy keeps telling him to calm down, that they're keeping him in the warehouse and locking things down until further notice but it doesn't seem to settle Bradley's nerves.

    McCrow asks if she's intends on disappearing every time she does something crazy and mimics a crying motion. She ignores his snide comment and asks what's gong on here. McCrow explains that Bradley got himself killed by the serial killer.

    Not the real Bradley, he explains. But several of Bradley's clones have been killed in an alarmingly short amount of time while running errands and none of them saw it coming. Everyone likes Bradley but as tragic as his death would be, the thought of the killer getting his power is scarier...

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
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  18. - Top - End - #78
    Orc in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Ouch... Having to write it three times must be really annoying.

    Nevertheless, this is amazing. Even though it seems less superhero and more horror. With the PC's as the monsters.

    And I must say that my favourite characters are McCrow and Agent Mann. (At first I thought that was his superhero name. Agentman. With the powers of... Agents?) Especially Mann, when he doesn't care how powerful someone is and still tries to order them around.

    It is also nice to see that at least Michael is not such violent criminal, like most of them.


    but Tiffany tells him that he's not man enough to take it from her.
    Really? telling Mann that he's not man enough? I guess now he hates here even more, for making this pun.
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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Quote Originally Posted by Orderic View Post
    Ouch... Having to write it three times must be really annoying.
    Yeah, although the second time I lost it was 100% my fault. I really should have learned my lesson the first time.

    Quote Originally Posted by Orderic View Post
    Nevertheless, this is amazing. Even though it seems less superhero and more horror. With the PC's as the monsters.
    Heh, thanks. I've actually said something similar about it occasionally turning into a horror movie to them, especially whenever Tiffany gets involved.

    Quote Originally Posted by Orderic View Post
    And I must say that my favourite characters are McCrow and Agent Mann. (At first I thought that was his superhero name. Agentman. With the powers of... Agents?) Especially Mann, when he doesn't care how powerful someone is and still tries to order them around.
    Yeah, Mann's player is constantly surprised that he survives the sessions. He says that he'd rather watch Mann die than to back down on something even once.

    Quote Originally Posted by Orderic View Post
    It is also nice to see that at least Michael is not such violent criminal, like most of them.
    Michael is Fanboy's attempt at a heroic character. The constant stream of trauma he's suffered due to the fact he can't just die despite the things they've done to him has given him literal inner demons, but he doesn't want to be a monster. Even when given the chance to requisition firearms he turned it down because he doesn't trust himself any longer.

    Also despite the fact that Mann's killed him about half a dozen times now Michael still thinks of him as a friend and wasn't about to watch him die if he could stop it.


    Quote Originally Posted by Orderic View Post
    Really? telling Mann that he's not man enough? I guess now he hates here even more, for making this pun.
    I don't think it's possible for Mann to hate her more.
    Last edited by Kid Jake; 2014-06-16 at 01:48 AM.

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    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    After getting killed the third time, I think you would get used to it. Did Mann already know that Micheal was effectively immortal? If so, that would mean that Micheal would know that he wasn't shot to end his life.

    I'm kind of wondering, what happened to the ghost girl? So the building exploded with fire, Fanboy and Tiffany jumped out. Did the ghost "die" or did the authoritys retrieve and take her away?

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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Quote Originally Posted by GorinichSerpant View Post
    After getting killed the third time, I think you would get used to it. Did Mann already know that Micheal was effectively immortal? If so, that would mean that Micheal would know that he wasn't shot to end his life.
    The first and second times he killed him he didn't, he just knew he had to stop him from hurting anyone else. The next time they met in the bar he did but we're working under the assumption that death is always extremely traumatic and unpleasant even if you know you're coming back. An apt analogy might be getting tazered in the testicles. Yeah you'll probably survive; but it never gets any better and if one of your friends did that to you even once would you still hang out with them? What if that had basically became their thing?

    Quote Originally Posted by GorinichSerpant View Post
    I'm kind of wondering, what happened to the ghost girl? So the building exploded with fire, Fanboy and Tiffany jumped out. Did the ghost "die" or did the authoritys retrieve and take her away?
    I've been referring to the ghost girl as Wraith in my notes, but I'm still waiting to find out what they're gonna call her. All they've(or rather Tiffany) managed to do is burn down the last place in the world she felt comfortable. So now, instead of a nice stationary haunting that they could have worked on when they felt like it, she's going to be mobile and vengeful.

    Spoiler: My Players Shouldn't Read This
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    Seeing as how she blames Fanboy and Tiffany for burning down her home, she's just going to move into theirs. The warehouse is about to get a helluva lot more interesting and I'm hoping that Tiffany is about to get her fill of fire .

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Quote Originally Posted by Orderic View Post
    Nevertheless, this is amazing. Even though it seems less superhero and more horror. With the PC's as the monsters.
    And apparently they don't react well to having the tables turned ("Let's see how SHE likes it!").

    It is also nice to see that at least Michael is not such violent criminal, like most of them.
    Yeah, um... He at least doesn't want to be, I'll give him that.
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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    And apparently they don't react well to having the tables turned ("Let's see how SHE likes it!").
    Yeah, they don't react well when things don't go their way. I'm pretty sure Fanboy has a Luvless phobia after their one bad encounter and the look on their faces when they found out that antagonizing a group of people specifically trained to kill them was a bad idea was absolutely priceless.

    Surprisingly though, neither of them even attempted to attack the main manifestation during the haunting. They just saw it, closed the door and were like 'Welp, we're done here. This neighborhood belongs to the ghost now, we'll tell Parks.' I'm not sure if it was because they didn't like the idea of fighting a murdered child or just (correctly) assumed that physical attacks wouldn't be able to affect it.


    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    Yeah, um... He at least doesn't want to be, I'll give him that.
    When he first pitched the character I thought he was just trying to out-McCrow McCrow to spite Mann, but Michael's becoming a pretty interesting character in his own right. I'm definitely digging the Jekyll/Hyde thing.
    Last edited by Kid Jake; 2014-06-16 at 07:07 PM.

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    Daemon

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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    THE WORLD DEMANDS MORE MUTANTS AND MORE MAYHEM!!!

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    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Heh, I'm looking forward to our next session too. We're trying to schedule another one, but having a hard time getting together. For example: McCrow's went to Tennessee until the end of the weekend to try and get a monkey, because of course he has; and Fanboy wants to do something non-game related next time we get together to include his wife.

    I'll try to whip up another B-Side session that focuses on the DHS if it takes too long to get Fanboy and McCrow together though.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kidjake View Post
    McCrow's [player] went to Tennessee until the end of the weekend to try and get a monkey, because of course he has;
    ...I've been reading some of your other posts in relation to McCrow's player and now I have a question and a follow up.

    Does he act in real life ANYTHING like his characters, and if so, HOW IS HE ALIVE?!?!
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    Quote Originally Posted by The_Werebear View Post
    ...I've been reading some of your other posts in relation to McCrow's player and now I have a question and a follow up.

    Does he act in real life ANYTHING like his characters, and if so, HOW IS HE ALIVE?!?!
    Roger's player is actually an extremely clean-cut, dependable, stand up guy. Unlike Roger he's very pleasant, helpful and likable, but is occasionally impulsive, never half-asses anything and takes great pleasure in doing stuff for no other reason than he can. A few examples:

    -He's started a tortoise farm in his backyard because he found a pair of of them at a petting zoo close-out sale. He's actually become something of a turtle expert since he's started and has baby tortoises incubating as we speak.

    -He once dropped $500 on a MUD so that he could ride around on a (text) cloud like Goku.

    -In the same MUD he enacted a two year plot to destroy an organization that ended with him being elected their leader, declaring himself God-King of the Swamp and eventually having to be taken down by the mods/gods themselves because he was single-handedly destroying a large portion of the game that they had no real way to fix. He's the only character to ever lose his class as punishment and ended up getting the class itself completely changed less than two months later because it was deemed too abuseable, all this because two members of the guild didn't get a joke/pun he'd made (2 years ago) and he just couldn't let that stand. If I could remember even half of the hijinks that he pulled during this period I think it'd put McCrow to shame.

    -He became an ordained minister so he could put Reverend on all of his business cards. (Can't run my mouth too much about that though, I did it too.)

    -He's been begging his girlfriend to give him a LARP wedding where they'd rent a picturesque little castle, have her and her friends/family plan a beautiful ceremony and then he and his groomsmen will raid the place dressed like orcs, trash everything and carry her away. She's understandably resistant.

    -Became a vegetarian for a while just to prove that he could do it if we wanted to.

    -Nearly bought a horse because he noticed a hitching post in his backyard and didn't want it to go to waste. Moved closer to town before he found one that he liked though.

    -Became a third degree black belt after rewatching DBZ as an adult. Actually has a custom orange gi with his particular school's symbol on the front and King Kai's on the back that he used to wear to demonstrations. Was working on a weighted version at one point but I think it proved very uncomfortable.

    -Went from 'sugar gliders are kind of cool' to 'check out my new sugar glider' ($1,200 investment) in less than a week.

    -At one point he briefly ran a Kelsey Grammer Impersonator Facebook page. For a small fee he'd give you the Kelsey Grammer Impersonator seal of approval on your product and a personalized review written as a Kelsey Grammer Impersonator. He looks or sounds nothing like Kelsey Grammer so if anybody had ever taken him up on the offer they would have realized he was just impersonating an impersonator. I believe the end goal was to get a response (preferably a cease and desist) from Frazier himself, but nothing ever came of it.


    Needless to say, he's an entertaining guy.
    Last edited by Kid Jake; 2014-06-28 at 12:42 AM.

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
    At least we can say Kid Jake has style. And possibly is insane.
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  28. - Top - End - #88
    Dwarf in the Playground
    Join Date
    Mar 2014

    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    First time playing Mutants and Masterminds with a couple of people who also haven't played before but tend to munchkin the HELL out of games. Example? Lots of power ranks into teleport (Self and as an attack) and having the limitation of visual...but also having the power of telescopic sight.

    We get into a fight in the arctic with aliens using ice shard guns with penetration, about 8 small, 3 larger, and one huge. fight for awhile when the teleport maniac says
    "I teleport one of the large ones 1/3 AU"
    "What's that?"
    "Astronomical unit of measurement and distance, basically a third of the distance to the sun...approximately that way (Points up and to the left)
    "....Jesus Christ Dude!"
    "Well that's the furthest I could logically see!"

  29. - Top - End - #89
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Sith_Happens's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Dromund Kaas
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Quote Originally Posted by kidjake View Post
    Roger's player is actually this guy:

    Fixed that for you. In before he does not prefer Dos Equis.
    Revan avatar by kaptainkrutch.
    Quote Originally Posted by Cirrylius View Post
    That's how wizards beta test their new animals. If it survives Australia, it's a go. Which in hindsight explains a LOT about Australia.

  30. - Top - End - #90
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Kid Jake's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Mayberry, NC
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: "Let's get this straight. YOU'RE the sidekick!" A Mutants & Masterminds Camp. Jou

    Hahaha, I think that's his end goal actually.

    Given his love of fine tobacco, poorly thought out schemes and elaborate costumes though I've always seen him more like this:

    Quote Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf View Post
    At least we can say Kid Jake has style. And possibly is insane.
    My Campaign Journals

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