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  1. - Top - End - #271
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Not entirely sure myself.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Suzie kicks her hoverboard into motion, gliding up into position above the crab person, Waiting for just the right moment after Slapdash's mighty punch to throw it off balance before firing her cryo gun down at it, attempting to create a dome of thick ice around it.

    Spoiler: Catch the Crabman!
    Show
    [Ice Maker] (Create 10 (Continuous, Innate)) At the crab person. (1d20+10)[17] to trap him in a dome of ice. Person-Sized-Enemy-Crab gets a DC20 dodge save or he's trapped in ice.
    The attempted return!

    Nexus Character: Ary

    Quote Originally Posted by Bookboy View Post
    Well, I was counting on you for someone. If you don't have a spare character, I start to get worried.
    Here're a bunch of old avatars made for me
    Spoiler
    Show


    Sig space limited so credits to the creators of my avatars

  2. - Top - End - #272
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2012

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Slapdash's mighty fist bounced off of the shell of the monstrous crab, the creature shattered Suzie's ice prison before it had even fully formed with a single swing of its oversized claws and Damian's claw raked across the beast without so much as a scratch, this was no ordinary crab that stood before our heroes but a mighty living war machine forged by ancient Lemurian spellcraft!

    "Then the storm shall scour your impudent city from the Earth!" The squid-woman hissed towards Caleb, throwing her arms forward and calling a circle of swirling dark runes in to existence in the air in front of her before spitting a thin line of black ink towards them. As the ink passed through the arcane marks it turned in to a veritable torrent, imbued with powerful dark energies...wait where had the witch gone?

    With its mistress nowhere to be seen the crab beast lashed out at the nearest of the annoyances that surrounded it, trying to catch Slapdash in its enormous claw and squeeeeze him inside his metal suit.

    Meanwhile underwater the tentacle beast that had attempted to ensnare Genesis just kind of floated there, licking its wounds.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Squid
    Standard: Attack the Defenders of Tomorrow with Dark Ink, Trinity, Genesis and Slapdash make a DC20 Dodge Save then a DC20/15 Will Save vs Impaired&Vulnerable/Disabled&Defenseless with Secondary Effect.
    Move: ???

    Crab
    Standard: Attack Slapdash with Snap (1d20+6)[23] DC29/24 Toughness Save vs Damage & Weaken Toughness if that hits. Hits
    Move: Nah

    Tentacle Beast
    End of Damian's Turn (Man, Rend has a lot going on): Toughness vs DC20 [roll]1d20+11[roll] Gosh darn it, Fortitude vs Impaired/Disabled (DC20) (1d20+10)[23] Resists
    End of It's Turn:Will to Overcome Stunned (1d20+10)[17] Nope

    Defenders are on turn!
    Last edited by Dodgeson; 2018-01-21 at 08:59 AM.

  3. - Top - End - #273
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Quellian-dyrae's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    CA
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    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Nadia blinked as the crab dude took the full force of the Defenders of Tomorrow and didn't even flinch. "Did that actually just happen?"

    The triplets brought their wings around to shield themselves from the dark ink. Whatever magic it had been imbued with was no match for the angelic power that infused their wings, but you know, it managed to get their feathers kinda oily. So we'll call it a draw, I guess.

    As the crab lashed out, Amy rushed forward, getting between it and Slapdash and blocking with her arm. The crab's claw struck...and didn't do more than lightly squeeze her, its crushing force held off entirely by Trinity's barrier.

    "Hah! Lady, please! This storm shall maybe manage to moisten our city a bit while we knock you out, and then you'll turn it off for us and/or tell us how to turn it off. It's like not even gonna be a thing."

    ~...While they're knocked out?~

    ~It...I mean, there will be an intermediary time period during which they wake up in our custody, I guess. Look I'm taunting the villain, not registering an official day's schedule with the press. I left some things out.~

    ~Okay then.~

    ~My way was snappier!~

    ~...Ow.~

    ~...That was not supposed to be a pun.~

    Caleb and Amy went back in against the crab-man, each of them jabbing an imperious finger at it, flooding it with a pointed blast of Faith and Love that would leave it awed and humbled by its foes, and unwilling to resist them, while Nadia hurled a shield up over the group.
    Caleb and Nadia flew off then, establishing some distance and with their eyes shining with silver and blue light as they scanned for the vanished squid-woman. Assuming they spotted her, one of them would call out her position, and the other alert their allies if she moved or cast.

    Spoiler
    Show
    Free: Reconfigure Decoordinate. Weaken Toughness and Will 10 (Will) Linked Deflect 10 (Cloud Area, Selective, Limited [10 or less as 10], Reduced Range [Close]).

    Standard: Triplecast, attacking the crab-man, Power Attacking for 4, at (1d20+6)[14]. On a hit, Will DC 24 vs. Weaken Toughness and Will. All allies in 15' are Deflected at 1d20+10 (min 20), -1 per point Toughness exceeds 10, and the effect will repeat for those who remain in the area next round. Selectively not including themselves in the initial instance so the superior SE isn't overwritten. Should hopefully hit due to the Vulnerable of being Visually Unaware, or if not well at least we know it has super-senses

    Move: Establish some distance, enough to not all get caught in Area 1 anyway.

    Free: Swap to Coordinate Senses. Vision gains Counter All Concealment, Counters Illusion, Extended 2, and Rapid 2.

    Free: Assuming they can now see the squid-woman, alert the rest of the team to her position. They'll also alert if she moves or attacks, to hopefully ensure nobody gets caught Vulnerable.

    End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Deflected at 1d10+16.

    Current Status: Normal, Deflected (1d10+16), SE (W17).
    Last edited by Quellian-dyrae; 2018-01-21 at 03:09 PM.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  4. - Top - End - #274
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Griffon

    Join Date
    Mar 2012

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Slapdash readjusts as his fist bounces off. Right, giant crab... direct attacks might not make much sense. Well then, how about... He reels back as the huge claw reaches for him, only for Amy to jump in the way. "Uh... thanks," he mumbles awkwardly.

    Slapdash shifts slightly, seeing if he can line up the crab man and the... wait, where'd that squid person go? All right, nevermind; he just shifts to ensure none of his allies are caught in the blast. The speaker at the center of his chest begins to glow, before blasting the crab creature at point-blank range with a blast of psychic chaff that should strip away at the crab's basic functions.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Move Action: Shift to make sure only the crab is getting caught in Mind Scream.

    Free Action: Switch to Mind Scream.

    Standard Action: Mind Scream on the Crab (and a 60 ft cone behind it). Dodge DC 20 for half, Will DC 20/15 vs. Weaken All Abilities.

    Status: Fine.
    Originally Posted by Xefas:
    "I need the Goblins in phalanx arrangement. Sky Blotters in the back! Swissles? Assume the Swizzle Stick Formation! We're going in!"
    What Pokemon am I?
    Spoiler
    Show

  5. - Top - End - #275
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Not entirely sure myself.
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    Male

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Stupid crab, you're coming back with me, just accept it already!

    Suzie changes a few settings and takes a slightly different approach to capturing the crab

    Spoiler: Crabcicles!
    Show
    [Cryo Spray] (Affliction 10 (Vulnerable/Defenseless/Paralysed)(Cumulative, Secondary Effect), Enhanced Trait 10 (Dazed/Stunned)(Limited Degree, Limited to Physical Actions)) On Crab monster.
    (1d20+10)[26] to hit for DC20 Dodge Save vs Vulnerable&Dazed/Stunned&Defenseless/Paralyzed with Cumulative and Secondary Effect
    The attempted return!

    Nexus Character: Ary

    Quote Originally Posted by Bookboy View Post
    Well, I was counting on you for someone. If you don't have a spare character, I start to get worried.
    Here're a bunch of old avatars made for me
    Spoiler
    Show


    Sig space limited so credits to the creators of my avatars

  6. - Top - End - #276
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2012

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Physically the monstrous crab creature may have been a powerhouse but several flaws in the war beast's design quickly made itself apparent. Whilst it's claws were deadly when turned against an enemy or trying to shatter anything that would try and cage it they were clearly not designed to wipe deadly venom from its sensitive eyes. The monster creature flailed helplessly around as Caleb and Amy's blast of potent emotions flooded it's primitive mind and left it reeling, perfect prey for the psychic chaff from Slapdash's chest speaker, without so much as a hiss or a snarl it simply froze up, it's brain almost on the edge of shutting down entirely.

    The Spring's needn't have engaged their divine senses as the squid woman reappeared almost instantly, diving off the side of the boat and in to the raging waters beneath, but this wasn't the last our heroes had seen of the witch. Seconds later an enormous pair of tentacles reached out of the water and latched to either side of the ship before beginning to drag it down in to the depths!

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Squid
    Move Action: Dive in to water
    Free Action: Change Form Shifting array from 'Squid Girl' to 'Squid Monster'
    Move-by Standard: Grapple the Boat
    Move Action: Keep swimming!

    Crab Monster
    End of Turn: Recover 1 Will/Toughness, Recover 1pp from All Abilities (7 points)

    Tentacle Monster
    End of Turn: Recover from Stunned (DC20) (1d20+10)[11] Do not mess with Genesis

    The Defenders are on turn!
    Last edited by Dodgeson; 2018-01-31 at 03:16 PM.

  7. - Top - End - #277
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Quellian-dyrae's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    CA
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    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    "Oh you punk!" Nadia groused as the squid-woman-turned-monster went after a more vulnerable target: the boat.

    "Suzie! Do you think you could freeze enough ice to buoy the ship?" Amy yelled. She wasn't quite sure of the logistics there but it seemed like an option that should be on the table anyway!

    For their parts, though, the triplets went for the tentacles, Amy summoning a blade of pink light to try to cut one away, while Caleb reached unleashed a blast of Faith through a second, aiming to send the pulse of sudden awe all the way down to the squid-monster's brain. Nadia followed a similar course, channeling the power of Hope in an effort to distract the squid from further incoming attacks.

    With Crab Dude fumbling around with gunk in his eyes, they figured he could be left to his own devices for the moment at least. Priorities, and all.

    Spoiler
    Show
    Well, lets see if these tentacles are susceptible to attack!

    Move: Fly over to some tentacles.

    Free: Activate Decoordinate. Damage 10 Linked Affliction 10 (Dazed/Stunned; Will; Multiattack, Limited Degree) Linked Weaken Parry 10 (Will).

    Standard: Attack the tentacles with Triplecast, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, at (1d20+10)[11] 29. On a hit, Toughness DC 30 vs. Damage, Will DC 25+Multiattack/25 vs. Dazed/Stunned and Weaken Parry.

    Current Status: -5 Defense this turn.
    Last edited by Quellian-dyrae; 2018-01-31 at 10:14 PM.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  8. - Top - End - #278
    Ettin in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
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    Male

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    "Seriously?" Damian complained as tentacles splashed up out of the water and onto the boat. "Really committed to the whole 'to the depths' thing, aren't you?" He took off again, following the tentacles back to their source and lashing out with his own tentacles, intending on wrapping around the squid-woman and preventing her from dragging the boat down.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Move: Shapeshift to Extra Limbs 5, Regeneration 5, Immunity 1 (Drowning), Aquatic Winged Flight 3.
    Standard: Attack squid-lady with Constrictor, Power Attacking for 5: (1d20+5)[14]. DC30 Toughness vs damage and DC30 Strength/Dodge vs grab on a hit. (This targets Parry).

    Status: Still wet, but otherwise fine.
    "Follow the moonwalking Nosepass!"
    "Can you put the lich in a box?"

  9. - Top - End - #279
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Griffon

    Join Date
    Mar 2012

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Seeing the crab freeze up, Slapdash turns towards the new swarm of tentacles attacking the ship, sighing slightly. He lifts up his left hand, one nozzle glowing purple-white as a barrage of orbs pour from its end. The orbs swirl into the water and down, whirling around the tentacles attacking the ship until they detonate as close to their source as they can.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Move Action: Nah.

    Free Action: Switch to Cluster Bomb.

    Standard Action: Cluster Bomb on the Squid Monster, All-Out Power Attacking for 5. (1d20+10)[24] On a hit, Damage DC 30+Multiattack; on a miss, Homing 1.

    Status: -5 to Active Defenses.
    Originally Posted by Xefas:
    "I need the Goblins in phalanx arrangement. Sky Blotters in the back! Swissles? Assume the Swizzle Stick Formation! We're going in!"
    What Pokemon am I?
    Spoiler
    Show

  10. - Top - End - #280
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    Not entirely sure myself.
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    Male

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Well, Yeah. I cooouullld. But what if the crab gets away while I do it! I mean this is my one chance...

    She looked at the crab, to the boat, to Amy, and then back to the crab.

    You stay where you are.

    Her hoverboard started diving down towards the water level as she messed with the cryo gun again, attempting to freeze a thick layer of ice below the ship to keep it away from grab happy tendrils.

    Spoiler: Ice, Ice, Suzie.
    Show
    [Ice Maker] (Create 10 (Continuous, Innate)) To create a thick block of ice under the ship.
    The attempted return!

    Nexus Character: Ary

    Quote Originally Posted by Bookboy View Post
    Well, I was counting on you for someone. If you don't have a spare character, I start to get worried.
    Here're a bunch of old avatars made for me
    Spoiler
    Show


    Sig space limited so credits to the creators of my avatars

  11. - Top - End - #281
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2012

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    As it turned out the only thing that turning in to a giant squid had really achieved for the witch was making her a bigger target for our heroes. Trinity's blade barely nicked its rubbery hide but the combined powers of hope and awe left her wide open for Damian. Beneath the waves the source of the tentacles struggled and strained against the shapeshifters grasp but in the end for all the fire and fury it was able to bring to bare it was unable to match match him, which is when Slapdash's spheres detonated right by one of its enormous eyes.

    Up on surface all this came to was brief flash of light beneath the waves and the tentacles grappling with boat going limp, with Suzie stabling the boat with a thick layer of ice between it and the still roiling waters and the crab monster still flailing around helplessly on deck the battle was well and truly over, the witch reverting to her humanoid form in Damian's grasp only served to solidify this fact.

    ((In the word's of Kenny Rogers, sometimes you gotta know when to fold 'em, everybody gets an HP))

  12. - Top - End - #282
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Quellian-dyrae's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    CA
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    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    "WOO! And what!" Nadia cheered as the triplets fluttered back to land on the boat. "Awesome lockdown game, all! And...sun!" she said, making a flourishing gesture at the sky with her hands.

    ...

    ...

    "Okay, but admit it, it would have been awesome if it had worked."

    ~It is, I think, telling that the squid-woman was wielding magic in that battle. It is likely this storm is supernaturally induced, rather than technologically,~ Trinity pointed out.

    ~Sounds reasonable. Got any sage advice on Atlantean storm magic?~ Caleb asked as he flew over to the blinded crab-man, laying the Curse of Faith upon him so as to pacify him for the time being. Even blind, he was extremely physically powerful. No sense risking he might accidentally hurt someone with his flailing.

    ~Wait, they didn't say anything about being from Atlantis. Did they?~

    ~No, but Atlantean storm magic sounds cooler.~

    ~Sold.~

    "Amy, when Damien comes up, what do you think about castigating the squid woman? We need information on how to stop this storm as quickly as possible, and getting her drunk on compassion seems like the best option available to us." He was speaking primarily to Amy, but he did so aloud. The triplets' powers swayed the mind and manipulated the emotions. That was a lot of power for any individuals to have, and it carried a corresponding amount of responsibility. Now, at the lower end, the emotions they induced would impair and hamper, but wouldn't compel. And they were largely positive emotions; the target might not be happy about it in the aftermath, but they weren't harmful. The triplets would use them freely in battle. Outside of battle, they considered them morally equivalent to handcuffs; you don't just slap them on people willy-nilly, but yes, there were situations where they were absolutely warranted.

    But their powers could go further than that. Amy could full a target with so much love for her that it would eagerly obey her every whim - just as Caleb could induce so much faith in him that a target would obey his commands as unquestioningly as if they were the word of God, and Nadia could fill a target with so much confidence in her that it was dead certain that any order she gave would be to its ultimate benefit to follow. But to abdicate a target's free will so completely was a far more morally questionable action. There's not really such a thing as harmless mind control; if you need that level of control to get someone to do something, you're probably trying to force them to do something completely against their nature, motivations, or self-interest. No matter how pleasant it may feel in the moment, the feelings would expire and those subject to them would have to live the rest of their lives with the memories. That wasn't something they'd do unless it was absolutely necessary to save lives, and even then, only if there were no other viable alternatives. It was better than killing or torture, but only barely.

    But there was a middle ground, where the feelings could influence actions without abdicating will. Overwhelming the target with so much emotion that it could hardly conceive of certain options, but still giving it freedom of choice. Even this level of mental influence they approached with caution, but Caleb could potentially push a target to do what it truly believed in regardless of any consequences or justification, and Nadia could fill a target with such pure hope that it couldn't conceive of downsides to anything it wanted to do. At the end of the day, those compulsions remained true to the target's own beliefs and desires, but they were nonetheless risky. It was hard to truly know what a person really believed or desired deep down, and even discounting the unpredictability, inhibitions exist for a reason. Only in the movies does being absolutely true to yourself without any regard to circumstance or consequence always turn out to be a good thing. It wasn't an option they used when they had alternatives.

    Amy's version of that level of castigation though...well, it was somewhat more palatable. It overwhelmed the target with compassion. It would virtually blind them to the possibility of not helping others, and to solutions to problems that would lead to unnecessary harm. That was still a powerful coercion which could absolutely carry long-lasting consequences if not used with care. But if people were in peril, turning those who would otherwise hurt them to helping them...it was an option reserved for exigent circumstances, but not necessarily a last resort.

    That said, Caleb knew the strength of his own convictions, and he also knew that as deeply as he may have buried it (and as much as Amy and Nadia might argue the point), he had more darkness in him than his sisters. He did not go without noticing that when the possibility of pushing their powers was raised, it was usually by him. He was more likely to feel that mental influence was appropriate than his sisters, and while that did not make him wrong, when you are dealing with that level of responsibility, it's not a decision you make in secret or unilaterally. He wouldn't ask Amy to do it without giving the rest of the team the opportunity to weigh in.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

    World of Aranth
    M&M 3e Character Guide

  13. - Top - End - #283
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    Not entirely sure myself.
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    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Hopefully I can get Crab boy back to the beach house soon and into some makeshift containment while i make a proper holding cell for him.
    Oh, they're going to regret laughing at me about this.
    Last edited by metakirb; 2018-02-14 at 06:49 PM.
    The attempted return!

    Nexus Character: Ary

    Quote Originally Posted by Bookboy View Post
    Well, I was counting on you for someone. If you don't have a spare character, I start to get worried.
    Here're a bunch of old avatars made for me
    Spoiler
    Show


    Sig space limited so credits to the creators of my avatars

  14. - Top - End - #284
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Griffon

    Join Date
    Mar 2012

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Slapdash blinks in surprise, then looks down at himself. No injuries, no burns, suit intact... this is kind of weird. He shakes his head and refocuses on the mission at hand. "Uh, didn't the squid woman mention a... 'Great Mother', or something, who wanted tribute? If I had to guess, I'd bet that's what's causing this storm."
    Originally Posted by Xefas:
    "I need the Goblins in phalanx arrangement. Sky Blotters in the back! Swissles? Assume the Swizzle Stick Formation! We're going in!"
    What Pokemon am I?
    Spoiler
    Show

  15. - Top - End - #285
    Ettin in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
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    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Damian's tendrils retracted back into his body as he emerged from the water (spraying everyone, but it wasn't like they weren't wet already) and rather unceremoniously dropped the squid-woman on the deck as he landed just in time to hear Caleb's suggestion.

    "What." It barely even had any intonation that might have qualified it as a question. "I'm sorry, the ----ing angel is suggesting controlling someone's mind? Or do you expect us to believe that she's -" he gestured to the squid-woman "- going to stop with the whole 'drown everyone' thing just because she's feeling a bit happier?"

    He paused for a moment or two. If it had just been Caleb suggesting doing the mind control personally, he might have carried on arguing, but...the simple fact was that he trusted Amy, probably more than he did the other two - and in any case it wasn't exactly her fault that Caleb had brought up the idea. "Doing it in a fight is one thing, sure. And hell, if you have some control lingering around after a fight then maybe using it's just...I dunno, logical or whatever. But going out and turning someone with independent thought into a love-drunk slave...you guys are supposed to be the heroes. How would you feel-" and he looked directly at Caleb "- if I came along and poisoned Amy with some venom that'd make her follow me around like a lovesick puppy, just because there might be something she could do that might help people?"

    He sighed. "Look, we've still got that scanner, and we ain't where it's pointing us yet. If we get there, and between the five of you you can't find a way to stop the storm, then maybe we oughta think about that kinda ----. But it should be a last resort. Not something we want to do just 'cos it's more convenient."
    "Follow the moonwalking Nosepass!"
    "Can you put the lich in a box?"

  16. - Top - End - #286
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2012

    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    "Suzie! Cover your ears! D="

    Buddy Ball gasped at Damian's coarse language, a port opening on his underside and enveloping Suzie's head to form a hi-tech hearing guard, blocking her ears and protecting her delicate sensibilities.

    "Please watch your language Mr Damian, Suzie is present! D=<"

  17. - Top - End - #287
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    Not entirely sure myself.
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    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Gah!

    Suzie flailed at the unexpected bubble.

    BB! I kinda need to hear this conversation!

    Managing to free herself from the bubble, Suzie looks over to Damian.

    I mean, yeah, we've still not made it to the origin point yet, and I get where you're coming from. But... Survival isn't always pretty,
    you know? At the end of the day, isn't it our lives versus theirs?
    The attempted return!

    Nexus Character: Ary

    Quote Originally Posted by Bookboy View Post
    Well, I was counting on you for someone. If you don't have a spare character, I start to get worried.
    Here're a bunch of old avatars made for me
    Spoiler
    Show


    Sig space limited so credits to the creators of my avatars

  18. - Top - End - #288
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Quellian-dyrae's Avatar

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    Default Re: Defenders of Tomorrow IC

    Caleb's posture and expression didn't change throughout Damian's retort, but inwardly...yeah, it hit him. How could it not? Caleb's greatest strength may have been his conviction, the strength of his beliefs, but that didn't mean it didn't have downsides. Such as when it applied to the belief that he wasn't as good as his sisters, that he was so badly damaged inside that he could have easily been a terrifying villain, were it not for their influence.

    Amy and Nadia were aware of those fears and, while they rejected the premise out of hand, they still took pains to avoid doing anything to reinforce it. If they felt Caleb was taking things too far, they'd pull him back gently. He'd never really been called out like that, never been given that kind of evidence in support of his darkest beliefs.

    He wouldn't argue Damian's points. Perhaps he could have; he hadn't exactly verbally explained the specifics of what he was asking, and Damian's expectations seemed to be a bit further down the road than what he was intending. But he was cognizant of the fact that trying to mince words when it came to high-level mental influence wasn't likely to make his point, and beyond that...well. Truth was, he'd rather have Damian calling him out if he was crossing the line than not.

    All he said was, "It's an option we have available, and lives are on the line. I at least wanted it to be on the table." Because even if he believed the suggestion might have been dark, that didn't mean he believed it was wrong. Although he could admit in the privacy of his own thoughts (a privacy which was available to him, even if it took slightly more conscious effort to achieve than for most) that that was, in the end, the problem.

    Now, Nadia wasn't exactly super-fond of the whole inter-party conflict thing. So she of course chimed in to try to diffuse the tension. "Two things," she said lightly, with an irreverent, jesting grin. "First, this is Amy we're talking about. I mean, let's be real here, if there was a chance that she could be doing something to help people, it wouldn't take mind control poison to make her do it. I'm just saying. Second, ...is that actually something you can do? Just, you know, for future tactical considerations, and all."

    Caleb may have been keeping his thoughts and feelings from their psychic link, but that didn't keep Amy from getting a sense of them through simply knowing her brother so well. It did actually prompt a spike of reflexive, protective anger towards Damian, but that was quickly quelled. He was just trying to do the right thing. She couldn't begrudge him that, and he did not have the information to be aware of the impact his words could have on Caleb. It was, perhaps, something worth telling him about, but not now.

    Amy was pretty keenly intuitive though, and she did have the sense that Damian didn't really trust Caleb. She didn't want to exacerbate that, but the truth was, in this situation, she more agreed with Damian than with Caleb. He might have taken his objection further than she would have, but she didn't think it was time for that yet.

    So she approached Damian, and said gently, "That's not what Caleb was suggesting. I can...basically flood a target with compassion. They're still in control of their actions, but...basically it's like their conscience drowns out everything else. I know that's kinda semantics, but the truth is our powers influence the emotions and behavior of others. It's all semantics past that, and all we can do is try to draw the line in a place where we can do the most good while causing the least harm."

    "That said...I don't think we're at the stage where we need to go that far."
    She looked to Suzie, and added, "With the evacuations and stuff, I don't think lives are in immediate peril. I believe we have enough time to explore other options." She said it a bit quietly, and not with complete certainty. She was fairly sure, but she knew there was a chance she was wrong. If lives were lost because they had foregone a reliable means of gaining information, all the ethical reasoning in the world would be cold comfort to Amy.

    That thought terrified her, but that alone would not change her decision. If she used her powers to compel compassion then, it would not ultimately be for the purpose of saving lives. The true motivation behind the choice would have been to quell her own fear of hypothetical future guilt. And whatever justifications she wove around it would not make it any less wrong.

    So she faced the squid-woman directly. "Magic like this would take more attention than Mother Hydra would care to spend, yes?" she asked, as Trinity shared what he knew about Lemurian (~Really, Caleb, just because it's magic doesn't mean we have to act like this is some fantasy world!~) weather magic. "So it's safe to say that she has some underlings performing a ritual to keep it up, or some artifact sustaining it. We are going to stop it, one way or another. You've seen what we're capable of. Please, tell us how to stop it while causing the least harm and disruption to Lemuria." Amy didn't explicitly make any threat of vetoing a refusal with compassion-drunkenness, but hey, it's not like the squid-woman hadn't heard the prior conversation.

    Spoiler
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    I kinda wish I had more leverage, but whatever let's give Persuasion a shot anyway: (1d20+20)[24]. That feels about appropriate to the amount of leverage I have

    And Insight to Evaluate any reply: (1d20+15)[26].
    Last edited by Quellian-dyrae; 2018-02-20 at 03:07 PM.
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  19. - Top - End - #289
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Damian gave Buddy Ball and Suzie something of a disbelieving look for a moment or two before Nadia distracted him. "Yeah, I can," he replied sharply. "But don't expect me to unless we really ain't got a choice. And you don't get it," he added, turning to Amy when she'd finished her speech to the squid-woman.

    "I know you're trying to do the right thing." His voice was a little gentler when he was talking to Amy than it had been previously. "And yeah, making her just give us a little information isn't exactly a massive deal. But that ain't the point. When you're being forced to do something that you never would...knowing that it's not you that's doing it, knowing that you're just a bystander, and there's nothing you can do...that's a mercy."

    "And you're suggesting taking that away too."
    "Follow the moonwalking Nosepass!"
    "Can you put the lich in a box?"

  20. - Top - End - #290
    Ogre in the Playground
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    "Nooooo! Put me back on, people are using swears! D=" Buddy Ball struggled in Suzie's grip, it was his job after all to protect his inventor whether that was from bullets, lasers or bad language.

    Meanwhile the squid woman lay sprawled on the rain-slick deck and listened Amy's kind and gentle words for a moment before she spat oily black ink right in the angel's face, it was safe to say that she hadn't gotten through to her.

    "I would sooner die than betray my mother, air-breather!" She hissed at her.

  21. - Top - End - #291
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    Amy...wasn't entirely certain she agreed with Damian's perspective. Or, perhaps more precisely, she wasn't sure that it quite applied in this situation. A psychic compulsion that was so subtle that the target didn't recognize it as a compulsion even after the fact, so that they knew what they had done but not why they did it, would have been in some ways worse than a compulsion the target was aware of and powerless to prevent. Maybe, anyway. If it forced them to do something completely against their nature, to hurt someone they cared about, and then left them to deal with the guilt...yeah, that was horrible. She wasn't sure it would be universally worse though, compared to the violation of having your free will usurped entirely. That could be traumatic even if you were forced to do something harmless.

    Amy didn't really believe that their powers went as far as either thing. They induced emotions. Overwhelming emotions, yes, which would take an extremely strong will to ignore. But she couldn't lock a target in a prison of its own mind and control it like a puppet, and neither would a target have any doubt, in the aftermath, that its emotions had been artificially induced. It was still mind control, but Amy did take it as given that it was about as nice a form of mind control as you could get.

    None of which she actually said to Damian. Because none of it actually mattered.

    Because see, Amy was pretty sure. She went off of what Trinity had explained about how their powers worked, and her own observations of the effects from previous uses, and her general understanding of how such powers operated in general. But she had never been subject to mind-controlling powers herself, their own or others. That was why her viewpoint was couched in "maybe" and "believe" and "take it as given". She had a strong intellectual certainty, but did not have first-hand experience.

    But Amy was an extremely empathetic and intuitive individual. And she could hear it in the wording he had chosen and in the tone he spoke them in. Damian was not arguing hypotheticals, he wasn't debating arcane semantics. He was speaking from experience.

    And for Amy, at least, that fact made him impossible to argue with on this subject. She looked at him with mute sympathy for a moment, trying to come up with something to say.

    Before she could manage it, she caught a face full of ink.

    Caleb and Nadia narrowed their eyes and each took a step forward, silver and sky blue light shining in their eyes and hands. The Springs siblings may have been hosts to an angel, but they were still human, with all the flaws and foibles that condition came with. And there were few ways better to prove that than offering harm, threat, or insult to their twins. But Amy threw back a blocking arm to stay their advance, wiping the ink from her face with her other hand and fixing the squid woman with a measured look.

    "Very well," she said. If she wasn't going to resort to mind control out of fear of guilt, she certainly wasn't going to out of annoyance or frustration. Doubly certainty, given what she now believed about Damian. "We'll deal with it ourselves."

    "Amy-" Caleb began to argue. It wasn't that he didn't know what was going through his sister's head, but that didn't mean he agreed with her conclusion. The squid-witch's flat refusal, with lives at stake, had more than convinced him that his first instinct had been correct. Amy had offered an alternative to using her powers to compel her and she literally spat her mercy back in her face. For her part in creating this storm, for her refusal to assist in stopping it, to compel her to do the right thing now was absolutely the least of the punishments she justly deserved.

    "We still have other options. Pacify her. Nadia, see if you can get someone with fast flight or something out here to pick them up and secure them while we check out the source. If we can't find a way to stop the storm ourselves, we can fly back and try the alternative."

    She looked at Damian, and said in words that carried the tone of a promise, "Last resort only."

    Spoiler
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    I don't have Connected, but I'm down to spend an Emergency Services success or something if it can speed along getting these guys secured so we can move on. Unless anyone else has any ideas, of course.
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  22. - Top - End - #292
    Ogre in the Playground
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    "Yes, go to our mother." The witch mocked Amy, sniffing the air as the angel host explained her plan to the rest of the team "You will make worthy sacrifices...well some of you anyway." She grinned maliciously, flashing her pointed white teeth.

    A quick word in the right ear from Trinity would bring a collection team battling through the harsh weather conditions to secure the witch and her crab beast minion, taking them to be held until they could be tried for their crimes (or just held in the case of something as mindless as the crab beast) it would seem that the Spring siblings' reputation held more than a little sway in certain areas.

    Even with Mother Hydra's minions dispatched our heroes could obviously not rest easy just yet, they still had to deal with the source of the weather itself and according to the device created by Suzie and Slapdash it lay beneath the waves directly below them...

  23. - Top - End - #293
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    Well, that was inconvenient, though not entirely unexpected. Trinity's mighty angelic powers didn't exactly lend themselves to water breathing, but given they had Suzie and Trevor on the team they elected to assume that would not be a particular problem. For the moment, though, the siblings went over to the side of the ship and peered down into the water, their eyes shining with light, to see if perhaps they could get a look at whatever or whoever was influencing the weather.

    Spoiler
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    Activating Coordinate Senses. Vision Counters All Concealment, Counters Illusion, and is Extended 2 and Rapid 2. Routine Perception for 20, -1 per 1,000 feet of distance.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

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  24. - Top - End - #294
    Troll in the Playground
     
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    Slapdash looks over the edge of the boat into the water, then at the screen marking the source of the storm. Then he glances at the engine room. "Four minutes... and, uh, make sure the owners of the boat billme for whateverIdissasmble--" In a flash, Slapdash is in the engine room of the boat, his suit folding back into a backpack for ease of movement.

    Slightly less than four minutes later, Trevor is back on the deck of the ship, his suit once more in place. In his hand are several identical devices that look like a mixture of gas masks and snorkels, made out of bits of rubber and metal. "These, uh, should let us all breathe, for long enough to see what's going on at least."

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Slipshod Rebreather: Immunity 2 (Suffocation Effects).

    4 of them = 8 PP. Planning stage plus build stage = 40 hours, which with Slapdash's Quickness shortens it down to slightly less than 4 minutes.

    (In reality, Slapdash made 6 of them, but since Trinity counts as one character it comes out to only 8 PP total).
    Originally Posted by Xefas:
    "I need the Goblins in phalanx arrangement. Sky Blotters in the back! Swissles? Assume the Swizzle Stick Formation! We're going in!"
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  25. - Top - End - #295
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Damian met Amy's gaze for a few moments, though whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the witch's taunts. So instead, he just nodded to Amy and crouched down in front of the witch, his arm splitting into a multitude of tendrils. "Nah," he said, as one tendril snaked around the witch's neck. (He was working on the assumption that a chokehold would knock her out just as well as it did most other people, but if it didn't there was always the option of lifting her up and smacking her into the boat a few times.) "Here's what's gonna happen. By the time you wake up, you'll be in a jail tough enough to hold you, and this stupid storm will be gone. And you can have all the time in the world to reflect on the fact that you failed your precious 'mother.'"

    He watched Slapdash's manic inventing with a slight raised eyebrow. "And...how the hell are we meant to know what he's pulling to bits?" he asked the others in an undertone, though his expression was more amused than anything else. He did use the rebreather offered to him, though, despite the fact that until this point he'd been sporting gills on his neck. No sense in wasting his powers, after all.

    And, unless the triplets saw another mass of giant tendrils or some other threat below the waves, he proceeded to turn his feet and hands webbed and then jumped into the raging sea.

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Shapeshift to Immunity 2 (Cold, Pressure), Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation [Aquatic]), Senses 3 (Low-Light Vision, Vision Counters Concealment [Sediment]), Swimming 8.

    Using Slapdash's provided rebreather.
    Last edited by Llyarden; 2018-03-05 at 06:13 AM.
    "Follow the moonwalking Nosepass!"
    "Can you put the lich in a box?"

  26. - Top - End - #296
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Staring down in to the sea the Springs siblings would find that the ocean below them was eerily deserted, except for the still comatose tentacle creature slowly floating towards the ocean floor where what parts of the Locker that had stayed behind when the undersea prison was torn in to the sky still lay. Running through these modern day ruins was an enormous crack running along the sea floor and leading deeper in to the earth, unfortunately beyond that was just darkness for even the angel's enhanced vision.

  27. - Top - End - #297
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    "That's one of those things I file under 'Suzie'll know' and happily stay away from," Nadia answered Damian wryly.

    "Sweet!" she said not long thereafter, as Trevor passed out the rebreathers. "Looks pretty much clear below. There's a chasm down there that looks like a good target for where we're going," Nadia said, fluttering up to dive down before Amy grabbed her ankle.

    "Um, BB, do you have like a...storage container or something? For our phones and commlinks?" Amy thought about these things. She assumed that, being able to project forcefields, immersion would not be a particular problem for Buddy Ball itself.

    ...Although yeah she...might have regarded Trevor's rust-covered suit with a bit of trepidation. But surely if he felt it would have trouble under water he'd say something, right? Surely.

    Regardless, after storing their electronics (either in Buddy Ball if allowed/possible, or somewhere in the ship if need be) the triplets put on the rebreathers and dived into the water.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

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  28. - Top - End - #298
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    BB, Did I install the upgrade to your forcefield for atmospheric settings?

    No, you got as far as water proofing me before you heard the ice cream truck. =/

    Oh yeah... totally worth it. Rebreather it is. At least you can be waterproof storage for everyone.

    Suzie grabbed her rebreather and jumped in after the triplets.
    The attempted return!

    Nexus Character: Ary

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    Well, I was counting on you for someone. If you don't have a spare character, I start to get worried.
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    Sig space limited so credits to the creators of my avatars

  29. - Top - End - #299
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Down in to the wild and icy waters our heroes went (Sidebar: I just checked the rules for cold, good lord they're toothless), swimming and/or being towed towards the enormous crack in the ground where the Locker once stood. As they swam in to the crack and went deeper in to the earth they would get the feeling that they were being watched and indeed those with senses that still functioned in the inky blackness of the crevasse would see strange humanoid figures peering out at them from caverns carved in to its surface as they passed.

    Eventually the confines of the crevasse opened up in to smooth round chamber with a large bone white temple in its centre. At the top of the temple's steps a pair of headless suits of armour holding tridents stood either side of the entrance.

    "Non-shall pass!" The tridents swing in front of the door with a clang as a eel-like heads extend from the suits.

    "Identify yourself!" The other hissed.

  30. - Top - End - #300
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    Physically wings weren't great for water travel but you know what physically wings weren't great for beings of human mass. Angel magic. Physics could shut up. The triplets flew through the water more slowly than through the air, but still fast enough.

    Although the problem with all your power coming from one source was that you couldn't do everything at once, and seeing clearly in the darkness would take energy that was going to actually moving at a decent clip. As they made their way down, Caleb took a breath from the rebreather and then shifted it aside for a moment to ask, "BB you think you can turn some light on the subject?".

    Either way once they got to the temple the light would shift from their wings to their eyes, giving them a clearer view of their surroundings.

    "We're the Defenders of Tomorrow," Caleb said to the eel-guards, interspersing statements between breaths from the rebreather. It was kinda awkward but did the job. The odds of talking these guys down weren't great but hey they'd give it a shot. "There's a supernatural storm threatening our city, and we've tracked it here. We mean to put a stop to it. May we enter for parley?" Caleb hadn't revised his stance on negotiating with terrorists, but if they were more diplomatic than their people on the ship had been maybe they could convince him to withdraw the label.

    He'd be honest though, he wasn't betting on it.

    Spoiler
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    Persuasion: (1d20+20)[32].

    Assessment on the eel guards: (1d20+15)[24].
    Last edited by Quellian-dyrae; 2018-03-14 at 02:44 PM.
    A role playing game is three things. It is an interactive story, a game of chance, and a process in critical thinking.

    If brevity is the soul of wit, I'm witty like a vampire!

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