Heroes of Millaine IC 2 - Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

[Zelphas]

Lucas accepts the visor and belt with a nod and a smile of thanks, smiling at the back and forth between Magnus and Prometheus. What I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak...

---

As the fight against the robots starts, Lucas holds back a wince. everyone was still in good health at the moment, but they weren't making much headway against the enemies. Lucas scans the room from the doorway, weighing the options and deciding where he could be most useful in the fight.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Stay out of the fight. Move to O7 if necessary to see into the room.

Standard Action: Analyze the battlefield. +1 Hero Point!

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 2

Let it never be said that Haptaran battle-bots weren't physically formidable; they withstood Luisa's attacks and broke Emily's vines. Beth's superpowered blows put some dents in them, but even with the assist from the four-armed breastplate she couldn't secure a solid hold, nor were either of her targets anywhere near ready to quite. Suzanne's icicle flurry, though, spread a good bit of damage around, and left two of the robots sparking and smoking as some sort of important mechanism was shattered by the high-powered icicles, proving there was no substitute for experience.

But none of the robots were down, and they pressed their attack, the two most heavily-damaged ones continuing to fire at Suzanne and Emily, this time with concussive blasts of sound rather than bullets, while the others maintained melee assaults on Beth and Luisa, Luisa's foes attempting to get a grip on her and tear her apart, while Beth's laid in with rending claws.

Spoiler

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Robot 1:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Luisa with Servo Strength at (1d20+6)[20], Deflected at (1d10+22)[24]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength or Dodge DC 20 vs. Fast Grab. Miss

Robot 2:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Emily with Sonic Suppressor at (1d20+6)[7]. On a hit, Will DC 20 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated. Miss

Robot 3:
Move: None.
Standard: Attack Beth with Rend at (1d20+6)[19]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Hit

Robot 4:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Suzanne with Sonic Suppressor at (1d20+6)[18]. On a hit, Will DC 20 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated. Miss

Robot 5:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Beth with Rend at (1d20+6)[7]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Miss

Robot 6:
Move: Nope.
Standard: Attack Luisa with Servo Strength at (1d20+6)[11], Deflected at (1d10+22)[26]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength or Dodge DC 20 vs. Fast Grab. Miss

Map

Current Status

All PCs are on turn.

[Capt. Infinity]

Both the robots would find themselves grabbing nothing but empty air, as Luisa Nym deftly jumps up and out of the way of their strikes, landing elegantly on top of one of the robots' heads. "Perhaps you misheard me." The android glares coldly at her robotic lessers. "I am built with a surplus of both Grace-" She pulls one leg far backwards, lining it up with the robotic cranium beneath her other foot. "AND POWER!" She whips her foot back down, straight into the skull of the one robot beneath her, hoping to kick it's head off in one clean move as she uses her inertia to backlflip back onto the ground.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Attempt to Feint the robot at -5: (1d20+10)[24]
Standard Action: Attack HR6 with Hasted Strikes, Power Attacking for 5, All-Out Attacking for 5. On a hit, DC 30 + Multiattack Toughness save against Damage. -5 to Deflect next round (Deflect +5): (1d20+10)[20]

[Llyarden]

Emily was better prepared for the robot's retaliation on the second time of asking and ducked as it fired at her. Not that the blast of sonic energy actually came within twenty feet of her, but, you know, progress.

Turning to see Beth assailed by the two robots she'd wriggled past, she spun and lashed out with another vine at the worse-injured one, binding it up and restricting its movements, before taking cover from the robot firing on her.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move: Into J11.
Standard: Aid Beth's next attack on HR5, accurate all-out attacking for 2: (1d20+6)[20] +5 to Beth's next attack on HR5.
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise.

Status: -2 to active defences.

[Hyperbolic sine]

The added defensive benefits of her flurry of blows proved invaluable, as Beth punched out of the way what would have otherwise been quite the crippling attack. Then, grinning at seeing Emily's vines restraining one of the robots, she took a moment to gather her strength and, with a battle cry, swinged at it with the force of a head-on collision with a train, threatening to send the Haptaran automaton flying and crashing towards its comrade on the other side of the room.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Standard: Power attack (4) with Awesome Blow on HR5 (+5 from Aid) at (1d20+5)[15], Toughness DC 31 vs Damage and Strength DC 26 vs being launched towards HR4 (to hit: (1d20)[20] Crit!, Toughness DC 36 vs Damage).
Move: Nah.

[Zelphas]

Lucas gazes over the battlefield, smiling as his teammates begin to turn the tide. His eyes bounce across the readouts in the visor, his enhanced intellect allowing him to read the information therein at dizzying speed. "Suzanne! Scene 24!" he calls out, referring to the scripted battle between the Heroes and the Recruiter after he and Copycat came face to face. The regular battle had been a blur of pain and controlled terror for Lucas, but the screenplay contained a rather cinematic moment where Waterworks bound the Angel in tentacles, then used the rebound to smash at the Recruiter. Suzanne had proven rather good at bouncing her ice shots off of targets in preparation for the scene, and what they have at the moment is a target-rich environment.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: None.

Standard Action + Hero Point: Direct Action. Suzanne gets a second Standard Action, without gaining fatigue.

[manwithaplan]

"Oh, that's what I'm doing, Lucas!"

Now on the ground and unharmed, Suzanne smacked another attack aside with her bracelets. Fighting was easy when you had shields; how did Copycat get hit so much when he had those, super speed, three kinds of armour and the ability to slow time?! If she had all the powers, she'd be way cooler than him.

She continued to twirl about, flinging her blasts at everything that hadn't already hit the ground or exploded.

Spoiler: Actions

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Seven minutes left on my break, I don't have time to format. Let's just say I'm doing what I did last turn, shooting at them in numerical order, then starting again from the top.

Attack (1d20+5)[25] for DC 25 Damage.
Attack (1d20+5)[24] for DC 25 Damage
Attack (1d20+5)[14] for DC 25 Damage
Attack (1d20+5)[10] for DC 25 Damage
Attack (1d20+5)[7] for DC 25 Damage

Attack (1d20+5)[9] for DC 25 Damage.
Attack (1d20+5)[23] for DC 25 Damage
Attack (1d20+5)[24] for DC 25 Damage
Attack (1d20+5)[21] for DC 25 Damage
Attack (1d20+5)[22] for DC 25 Damage

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 3

Following the deft avoidance of every attack against them, Luisa hammered her target with a crushing series of blows, leaving its frontal armor shattered and smoke and sparks pouring from damaged electronics. Emily's vines held Beth's target down, allowing her to hit it full force, putting another deep dent in its structure, though it managed to resist being sent flying into the other robot. With some guidance from Lucas, Suzanne bounced a barrage of icicles about the room, causing heavy damage. Only one of the robots wasn't spewing smoke and sparks freely now.

But Haptaran killbots were not programmed to either retreat or surrender. They pressed their assault, standing almost still as they lined up their attacks.

Spoiler

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Robot 1:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Luisa with Servo Strength, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[12], Deflected at (1d10+17)[24]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength or Dodge DC 20 vs. Grab. Miss

Robot 2:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Emily with Sonic Suppressor, All Out Attacking for 5, -2 for Cover, at (1d20+9)[15]. On a hit, Will DC 20 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated. Hit

Robot 3:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Beth with Rend, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[25]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Hit

Robot 4:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Suzanne with Sonic Suppressor, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[13]. On a hit, Will DC 20 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated. Miss

Robot 5:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Beth with Rend, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[17]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Hit

Robot 6:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Luisa with Servo Strength, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[21], Deflected at (1d10+17)[26]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength or Dodge DC 20 vs. Grab. Miss

Map

Current Status

All PCs are on turn.

[Llyarden]

Emily clapped her hands over her ears as the sonic blast hit, though this didn't particularly help. Staggering slightly, she tried to focus, the vines and plant matter that coated her body beginning to blossom with grass and flowers.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Was kinda waiting to see what happened to Beth, but with that crazy number of hero points I figure she'll probably be fine.

Move: Dazed.
Standard: Gather Energy for a hero point.

Will (DC20): (1d20+4)[9] Dice hate Emily just as much as Wilson.

Status: Dazed (W20), +1HP.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Perhaps the belt's generator had finally started to function at its best, or perhaps it was just luck, but this time the forcefield withstood both attacks. Beth, vexed by her little contribution to the battle compared to what Suzanne was doing, rained a frenzied flurry of blows on the two robots in front of her - fully intending to demolish them, even at expense of her own safety.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move: Guess I should give her something she can do with her move other than startling or, well, moving.
Standard: All-out (4) Power attack with Flurry of Blows HR3 ((1d20+7)[19]) and HR5 ((1d20+7)[27] Crit!), Toughness DC 28/33 vs Damage.

EDIT: I forgot the Multiattack penalty, the rolls should be 2 less.

Defended at 1d10+10 (I think. More, if I'm wrong).

[Capt. Infinity]

Luisa smirked with satisfaction as the robot in front of her began sparking violently. "It is good to see you finally facing facts. Now, allow me to hammer the point home." The android reiterates, before assaulting the Haptaran Warmachine with another flurry of blows.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Nah.
Standard Action: Hastened Strikes on HR6, Power Attacking for 5, All-Out Attacking for 5. On a successful hit, DC 30 Toughness save against damage. -5 Defence at the end of the round: (1d20+10)[25]

[Zelphas]

Lucas' eyes whir across the readouts from the visor, and he has to still his fingers from tapping out on an imaginary keyboard. Their armor is built to withstand direct hits, he comments calmly over the mental link, quietly kicking himself for forgetting about it in the first few moments of battle. Hit them at about a thirty degree angle on either side of the central weld, or a forty-five degree angle at the 'shoulder' weld, and their armor should be weaker.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: He's fine.

Standard Action + Hero Point: Direct Tactics. Intellect: (1d20+8)[16] +2 Bonus. This bonus is going to everyone's Attack checks next round.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 4

Though heavily damaged, the robots simply would not fall. Ilessian engineers oft disdained their Haptaran counterparts' emphasize on sheer mass and power, deeming such designs inelegant and inefficient. There may have been some truth to that, but there was no denying that the Haptaran designs had their benefits too, as the robots cracked and dented, but kept fighting on.

The ones engaged with Luisa kept hammering away, trying tocatch the far faster robot in their grasp. The ones fighting Beth changed tactics, waves of sound crashing down on the Cleaner as the robots fired their sonic suppressors. The other two focused their fire on Suzanne and her deadly flurries of icicles, both firing their main blasters at the ice controller.

Spoiler

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Robot 1:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Luisa with Servo Strength, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[25], Deflected at (1d10+17)[26]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength or Dodge DC 20 vs. Grab. Deflected

Robot 2:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Suzanne with Blaster, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[28]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage. Hit

Robot 3:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Beth with Sonic Suppressor, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[16], Deflected at (1d10+10)[19]. On a hit, Will DC 20 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated. Deflected
End of Turn: Beth has to roll Toughness DC 25 vs. the Secondary Effect.

Robot 4:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Suzanne with Blaster, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[26]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage. Hit

Robot 5:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Beth with Sonic Suppressor, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[16], Deflected at (1d10+10)[18]. On a hit, Will DC 20 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated. Deflected
End of Turn: Beth has to roll Toughness DC 25 vs. the Secondary Effect.

Robot 6:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Luisa with Servo Strength, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[20], Deflected at (1d10+17)[23]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Strength or Dodge DC 20 vs. Grab. Deflected

Map

Current Status

All PCs are on turn.

[Capt. Infinity]

Luisa dodged and deflected blow after blow from the hulking automatons, growing more and more impatient with their resilience. ~Imperfection verified. Attack pattern re-optimized for maximum damage. Thank you, Lucas.~ The android ends her sentence in a starkly more human tone, compared to the positively robotic analysis of the current situation. Evidently, certain old habits die hard, and this was more than true for Luisa's combat programming. Still though, it was most definitely progress.

"Perhaps a more cordial approach is required. Please cease this persistent denial?" The much nimbler robot faux implores of her enemy. It wasn't exactly wit, but hey, at least she's trying, right?

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Nah.
Standard Action: Attack HR6 with Hastened Strikes, Power Attacking for 5. On a hit, DC 30 + Multiattack Toughness save against damage. Defended this round: (1d20+10)[25]

[Llyarden]

"Hey!" Emily complained, as she was ignored entirely by the robots. "I am here, you know!" The vines that covered her body began to stretch out, uncoiling like snakes, and sprouting vicious-looking barbed thorns. "Well, fine. See how you like this!"

The vines lashed down at the more heavily-damaged robot facing Beth, striking at the weak spots Lucas had pointed out and attempting to bind the robot in place.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Extra Effort: Stunt from Plant Control. (Yes, I know I can stunt from the other random stuff as well but I can't think of anything useful to do with it.)
Thorn Lash - Damage 6, Secondary Effect, Feature (grab attempt on hit), Extra Limbs 5, Elongation 6, Quirk (Extra Limbs only), Enhanced Advantage (Improved Critical 1 (Thorn Lash), Improved Hold)
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack HR5 with Thorn Lash, power attacking for 5 with the temporary hero point: (1d20+4)[7]. On a hit, DC26 Toughness vs damage and DC...er, 26?...whatever one resists grabs with vs grab. You can tell I don't use the grapple rules very much, can't you?

Recovery (DC20): (1d20+4)[10]

Status: Dazed (W20), Fatigued next round.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Why. Won't. You. Friggin'. DIE?????" Beth shouted, angered and frustrated, keeping up her ferocious assult on the robots even as her belt sparkled some more. No matter how hard she hit, it was never enough. Was she really that powerless?

The fact that she, somehow, just punched away sound blasts, went completely over her head.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move: Dazed.
Standard: Power Multiattack (2) with Flurry of Blows HR3 at (1d20+6)[22] and HR5 at (1d20+6)[19], Toughness DC 28 vs Damage.
If the Aid applies only to one attack, then no Power Attack on HR3.

Deflected at 1d10+14.

[Zelphas]

Lucas allows himself a thin smile as the tide begins to turn in their favor. He remains silent, simply glancing over the scene and weighing the options.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Nope nope.

Standard Action: Survey the battlefield. +1 temporary Hero Point.

[manwithaplan]

Suzanne deftly raised the deflector she had previously thrown, putting the corresponding hand between her and one of her attackers. A few sparks escaped from it, followed by a puff of smoke, and no shield appeared to protect. Apparently it wasn't as capable for in-combat stunts as she had hoped.

She wouldn't admit it later, but the sound Suzanne made in response to the incoming blast was a drawn out squeal as she gathered up her ice armor, covering her whole body in a shell that was rocked on impact. She fell to the ground, getting back up just in time to take a second shot in the back. Forced back onto one knee, the next sound she made was more akin to a growl.

With four icicles in hand, she looked around the room and spotted four targets. The actor wordlessly flung her hand outwards, sending the projectiles all at once for the droids' weak spots, revealed just earlier by Lucas.

Spoiler: Actions

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Move Action: I'm good.
Standard Action: Once more! All-Out Power Attack 2.
HR1 Attack (1d20+11)[15] for DC 27 Damage.
HR2 Attack (1d20+11)[25] for DC 27 Damage.
HR3 Attack (1d20+11)[15] for DC 27 Damage.
HR4 Attack (1d20+11)[17] for DC 27 Damage.

Status: 2 Bruises, Fatigued.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 5

...But even Haptaran engineering could only take so much.

Luisa's heavy blows hit the weak spots Lucas had pointed out perfectly, breaking off the heavy armored plate of the robot she had been pounding on, exposing its vulnerable internal mechanisms. Emily's vines pried the robot's armor open well enough that Beth's next powerful punch smashed right through, even as she continued to batter the other robot. One of Suzanne's targets managed to take her icicle's to its armor, but she caught the other one just right, piercing its backup power generator. Three of the six machines collapsed into broken heaps.

The other three each picked one opponent who had dropped one of their fellows, and lashed out at them with rending sweeps of their vicious claws.

Spoiler

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Robot 1:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Luisa with Rending Claws, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[19], Deflected at (1d10+22)[28]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Really,

Robot 2:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Charge Suzanne and attack with Rending Claws, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+9)[11]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. robots?

Robot 3:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Beth with Rending Claws, All Out Attacking for 5, at (1d20+11)[16], Deflected at (1d10+16)[26]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Secondary Effect Damage. REALLY?

Map

Current Status

All PCs are on turn.

[Capt. Infinity]

And in that moment -that crystalline, shining moment- Luisa Nym learned a valuable lesson about the raw power of politeness. Dodging and weaving away from the remaining robot's strikes, the android looked in utter befuddlement at the scene before her. "I... Huh. I can't believe that actually worked. This merits further study. Excuse me. Would you kindly cease functioning, just as your friend did previously?" She asks completely honestly this time, raining another series of heavy blows on the Haptaran robot before her.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Nope.
Standard Action: Hastened Strikes on HR1. All-Out Attacking for 5, Power Attacking for 5. Defended next round at -5 defence. On a hit, DC 30 + Multiattack Toughness save against Damage: (1d20+10)[30] CRIT! Make that DC 40 Toughness against damage, since the Multiattack bonus is a foregone conclusion

[Llyarden]

Emily was so distracted by the rather odd turn of events that she entirely forgot about being angry at being ignored by the robots. "I don't...I don't know what to say to that. Erm..."

She looked to the other robot that Beth was fighting. "Would you mind awfully falling apart now?" she asked, lashing out with another group of vines.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack HR3 with Thorn Lash, all-out and power attacking for 2: (1d20+4)[6]. On a hit, DC23 Toughness vs damage and DC23 whatever-it-is vs grab. Politeness only goes so far.

Recovery (DC20): (1d20+4)[15]

Status: Dazed (W20), Fatigued, -2 to active defences.

[Hyperbolic sine]

As one of the robots finally fell under her punches, Beth felt both relief and excitement, as the proof that in the end all the efforts she put into training didn't go to waste made even more adrenaline surge in her blood.

"Please follow your buddy!" she said cheerfully at the auutomaton in front of her, forgoing defense to attack it with all the strength she could muster.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move: nah.
Standard: All-out (4) Power Attack (4) on HR3 with Awesome Blow at (1d20+4)[11], Toughness DC 31 vs Damage and (if it survives) Strength DC 26 vs Fast Grab.

[manwithaplan]

Suzanne finally stopped to catch her breath as the bots began to fall around her. She still had one more round of icicles preparing, ready to throw, and now she unloaded all of it on the one Haptaran bot that had charged her, deftly stepping out of its reach as she did.

"Take this!"

She hadn't had time to prepare quips this morning.

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Move Action: Get back from H2.
Standard Action: Yep, I shoot it with All-Out Power! Attack (1d20+10)[14] for DC 27+Multiattack Damage.

Status: 2 Bruises, Fatigued, -2 Defence.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Down went the remaining robots under a flurry of mighty attacks and/or polite requests! The battle was over, but the science was just beginning!

Maddox moved among the group as everyone caught their breaths, quickly healing any injuries received, his potent restorative powers even sufficient to recharge Beth's forcefield belt.

"OUT-SIDE has just about overpowered the frontal defenders. They should be breaching in under thirty seconds," Magnus reported. "Everyone ready to move?"

Spoiler

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Battle over. Everybody take a Hero Point.

I figured I'd leave in a pause rather than ushering you along to allow for RP.

[Zelphas]

Lucas wears a slight grin at the end of the battle. Perfect, a comedic moment; we needed that to offset the drama of the last scene, he thinks quietly to himself, before shaking his head wearily. I'm not going to be able to keep from storyboarding this, am I?

In response to Maddox, Lucas simply nods; he is ready to go, but he hadn't actually done any of the fighting. Besides, the director's position is behind the scenes; he doesn't need to insert himself overtly into the action.

[Capt. Infinity]

Luisa looks over the battle, mulling over the tactics used and possibly legitimately considering developing a martial arts style entirely predicated on complementing your enemy. But that was a question for later. Now was the time for action.

The free-minded android looks over to Madox and nods. "I am sufficiently recuperated. Let's get our friends back. Oh, and good job everyone, nice work out there." She added at the end. Evidently, adding a Public Relations subroutine into Luisa's morality coding wasn't as big a frivolity as the robot initially thought. Evidently, kindness could be weaponized.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Magnus led the way forward, heading to the stairs and...stopping cold before he was two steps down, holding up a clenched fist. He stayed very still for several seconds, before letting out a low curse and turning to the group. "More hostiles approaching the main building. Affiliated with neither OUT-SIDE or Haptarus, I don't think, but when they arrive OUT-SIDE's going to be fighting on two fronts." His eyes were dancing about weirdly, as if he were trying to watch a dozen different things at once.

"Arch smite it! Okay, Maddox, you and I are going to be needed up there to provide unit support. Mercy, Martin, I want the two of you to get to an ambush position. Once they're fully engaged with OUT-SIDE, you hit them, sow chaos. The rest of you, stick to the original plan and get the Heroes out of here. Let's move!"

Spoiler: If you guys want to move on immediately

Show

Maddox didn't seem...particularly happy with this change in plan, but both Mercy and Martin nodded and followed after Magnus, Mercy vanishing within three strides. Maddox cast a longing look down the stairs, before saying, "Be safe, and get them home!" and following after them.

There were no further guards in the escape tunnel, and it ended at another poor, helpless door. Beyond that minor obstructions was a large room that seemed set up almost like an infirmary. With several beds (and one bathtub) each beside a medical station, and occupied by an unconscious Hero. IV tubes (filled with some sort of clear liquid that was probably involved in keeping them unconscious) and some wires were connected to each of them, their heart rates, blood pressure, and the like displayed on the screens.

Unfortunately, the room was occupied by more than unconscious Heroes. Two women were standing guard over them. One was a pale, raven-haired woman whose tanktop and shorts allowed a clear view of the numerous scars riddling her arms and legs (and face, for that matter). The other, a hooded, leather-clad woman with a barbed scourge.

Spoiler

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Map

Initiative:
Lucas: (1d20+8)[20].
Suzanne: (1d20)[12].
Luisa: (1d20+20)[24].
Beth: (1d20)[1].
Emily: (1d20+4)[16].

Enemies: (1d20+12)[30].

[Llyarden]

Emily pushed herself up from the crates that she had slumped against at the end of the fight - in part because trying to channel as much energy as she had was draining, but mostly because the sonic gun had left her feeling a rather uncomfortable sense of vertigo. "I guess they knew we were coming after all?" she hazarded, taking a few hesitant steps that became less hesitant as she realised that her sense of balance was back to normal.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1

The scarred woman looked over the team with bleak disdain. "Don't tell me your OUT-SIDE brings civilians into their assaults," she said with a laugh that contained precisely zero mirth. "Begone from here, little Dreamers, lest you wind up getting hurt!"

She made a sharp gesture with that last word, and there was...pain.

Waves of wracking, nauseating pain, rolling through all of your bodies - for those who couldn't fend off the power, worse by far than any agony that your previously relatively-safe-and-peaceful lives could have ever prepared your for, like every last nerve ending in your body had been sliced in three and all three pieces were still trying to send signals to your brains. There was no flavor to this pain. It wasn't a feeling of burning, of freezing, of cutting, of impact, of crushing force. It was just a brute fact of the universe, agony on an almost elemental level.

The other woman, the one with the scourge, was silent. She just eyed the group a moment, and then lashed out with her scourge, the barbed cords elongating to try to grasp and crush all five of you with superhuman strength. That would have been bad enough, but for any who was constricted and pierced by the terrible barbs, their agony would be focused upon the points of injury with white-star intensity.

Normal people...should not have to endure this.

Spoiler

Show

Joslyn:
Move: None.
Standard: Wrack. Perception range area attack. Everyone give me DC 21 Will or lose Fortitude equal to the points you failed by.

Torturer:
Move: None.
Standard: Attack with Barbed Flurry, Multiattacking for 5. On a hit, Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage, and Strength or Dodge DC 22 vs. Fast Grab. If you are grabbed, also roll Fortitude (including any Weaken from Joslyn) DC 22 vs. a Cumulative Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated Affliction.
Lucas: (1d20+7)[8]. Miss
Suzanne: (1d20+7)[15]. Miss
Luisa: (1d20+7)[16]. Miss
Beth: (1d20+7)[19]. Hit
Emily: (1d20+7)[14]. Hit

These attacks are horrifically painful, especially to untrained combatants. It is your decision whether your characters can persevere in the face of this sort of pain. If anyone fails a resistance check against either or both of the Weaken or the Affliction, but are not Incapacitated, they may choose to flee or surrender to escape the pain. If they do, all other characters will receive a Hero Point.

Current Status

Map

All PCs are on turn.

[Capt. Infinity]

Unfortunately for the enemy Dreamers, Luisa Nym was anything but normal.

The pain that coursed through her was immediately brought down to a low twinge as the android forcibly lowers her pain receptors to negligible levels, providing her the respite necessary to dodge out of the way of the incoming scourge. "I may be a civilian now. But make no mistake, Pain Controller, I was once the stuff of your nightmares. And those instincts remain deep inside me. And right now, they are telling me several things. Like how the woman with the Scourge is a Summon with a masochistic reactionary attack and should be ignored in favour of you, that even failing that your area effects make you the primary initial target, AND they tell me that you favour your right side." She states, before rushing headlong into melee range of the raven-haired woman and unloading swift spinkick under her ribs, attempting to weaken the Pain Controller's physical fortitude alongside the strike. Even if she couldn't feel pain, that doesn't mean she can't bleed internally.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: Move into M4
Standard Action: Attack with Structural Integrity Compromise. On a hit DC 25 Fortitude save against Damage, and DC 20 Fortitude save against Weaken Toughness. Defending this round: (1d20+10)[14]