Day of the Octopus OOC

[Thane of Fife]

As for Loki, I could direct Loki for one turn. I would like to have him try to create an asset. The asset being an illusory spiderman which can be leveraged by other heroes to distract villains.

You can direct Loki if you like, but I think he already did that (though it's a temporary complication on Mysterio rather than an asset). If you want him to make it into an asset, you can have him take that action.

I think I will have Hercules is going to try to save some hostages. Maybe pull off the bank safe door have some hostages sit on it, kick the collapsed door, and have the hostages sled away to safety.
Posting soon.

There are some benches and other furniture about you could use for such purposes, but the actual vault is below ground and not readily available from where everyone is.

Okay, Sleeper sees me attacking one of the hostages (clever), but do I know I've grabbed one of them by mistake?

Yes, Kaine is aware that he's grabbed a hostage. And you can assume he has not roughed up the hostage to the degree that he would have roughed up Mysterio, regardless of what Sleeper sees.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

And just to make matters worse, Mysterio will create an illusion that Kaine is attacking the hostage, acting as a complication on Sleeper if he does anything other than try to save the poor fellow.

Which of course Sleeper is going to do, while having flashbacks to M’lanz. I’ll try to have Sleeper coat the hostage in an ‘invisible force field’ and pull the poor guy away from Kaine.

That said, I’m not entirely sure what I need to roll for it. Do I bring in Stress/Complications from Mysterio who is making the illusion or Kaine who is manhandling the hostage?

I think we've been leaning toward a posting scheme of You guys roll reactions, you guys roll actions, you post IC about what you're trying, I roll reactions, I roll actions, I post IC about what the villains are trying. Before I make an IC post about the results of your actions, would you prefer to use a scheme of You guys roll reactions, you guys roll actions, I post IC about what the villains achieved, I roll reactions, I roll actions, you post IC about what you achieved?

I guess I don’t really have a strong preference, I’m still trying to get the hang of what dice to roll and what the results mean. My thought is that we can always switch things around later if it doesn’t seem like it’s working.

(That said, Kareeah_Indaga, I generally don't care if you want to post reactions for NPCs. Maybe be more careful about the named characters like Electro and Mysterio, but you're welcome to decide why the hostages aren't cooperating if you like - or I can do it if you prefer.)

Okay, thank you! Some DMs are fine either way, some flip out, and I didn’t want to make an assumption that would cause problems.

[Thane of Fife]

Which of course Sleeper is going to do, while having flashbacks to M’lanz. I’ll try to have Sleeper coat the hostage in an ‘invisible force field’ and pull the poor guy away from Kaine.

That said, I’m not entirely sure what I need to roll for it. Do I bring in Stress/Complications from Mysterio who is making the illusion or Kaine who is manhandling the hostage?

You're probably inflicting a complication on Kaine (even if it's just distracting him or something), though you could also be attacking him directly. Most likely, you will want to pick dice for your total and effect in a way that isn't maximizing the impact on him, though, and that's fine. But you wouldn't see any effects from stuff on Mysterio (if you're going after Kaine like this).

[DammitVictor]

Kaine is going to attempt to dodge Electro's lightning, invoking My Brother's Keeper as a d4 for trying to carry the waterlogged bank teller with him.

Next action: I'm going to attempt to web the hostage to the ceiling (reduce Doom Pool) unless Sleeper beats me to it.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

You're probably inflicting a complication on Kaine (even if it's just distracting him or something), though you could also be attacking him directly. Most likely, you will want to pick dice for your total and effect in a way that isn't maximizing the impact on him, though, and that's fine. But you wouldn't see any effects from stuff on Mysterio (if you're going after Kaine like this).

Okay, how does this look?

Affiliation – Solo: d8
Distinction – Spawn of Venom: d8
Power(s) – Klyntar Symbiote: Superhuman Reflexes d8, Shapeshifting d6 (Multipower)
Specialty – Combat: 2d6
Complication/Stress – Soaking Wet Hostage: d...4? Since I'm obviously trying not to hurt the hostage in the process?
Asset – None

[Thane of Fife]

Kaine is going to attempt to dodge Electro's lightning, invoking My Brother's Keeper as a d4 for trying to carry the waterlogged bank teller with him.

Next action: I'm going to attempt to web the hostage to the ceiling (reduce Doom Pool) unless Sleeper beats me to it.

Sounds like a plan.

Okay, how does this look?

Affiliation – Solo: d8
Distinction – Spawn of Venom: d8
Power(s) – Klyntar Symbiote: Superhuman Reflexes d8, Shapeshifting d6 (Multipower)
Specialty – Combat: 2d6
Complication/Stress – Soaking Wet Hostage: d...4? Since I'm obviously trying not to hurt the hostage in the process?
Asset – None

So, I think Electro has used up the Soaking Wet Hostage complication, and it's no longer available for you to use (but if it was, and you used it, you would use it at full D8 strength). The hostage may get in Kaine's way for dodging Electro's attack, but after that, he should be able to get over the problem pretty quickly.

Also, what's the justification for the Spawn of Venom distinction? You may very well have one, I'm just asking.



On a somewhat related note, Plaids, since Hercules is in the bank, now, you can ditch the Mass Confusion complication. Herc is now in a less confusing area.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Also, what's the justification for the Spawn of Venom distinction? You may very well have one, I'm just asking.

• Racial memory of Kaine inherited from Venom (second-hand, from Peter’s perspective of course, but present)
• Parental pressure to be a hero
• Flashback to somebody else (in the previous case, M’lanz) being in danger of dying in a fight with a bad guy when Sleeper went to save the Venom symbiote from Tel-Kar

And I don’t remember if we nailed down whether or not Sleeper is invisible to Kaine’s Spider-sense as with Peter, but if he is, then that too.

[DammitVictor]

And I don’t remember if we nailed down whether or not Sleeper is invisible to Kaine’s Spider-sense as with Peter, but if he is, then that too.

Pretty sure we agreed he'd be invisible to Kaine's Spider-Sense. Likewise, Sleeper probably knows just about everything Peter knows about Kaine, though that isn't a whole bunch.

[Thane of Fife]

• Racial memory of Kaine inherited from Venom (second-hand, from Peter’s perspective of course, but present)
• Parental pressure to be a hero
• Flashback to somebody else (in the previous case, M’lanz) being in danger of dying in a fight with a bad guy when Sleeper went to save the Venom symbiote from Tel-Kar

Ok, sounds good. That said, do note that you may want to roll to defend yourself against Mysterio before committing to an action - if you can see through the illusion, you might want to do something different.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Ok, sounds good. That said, do note that you may want to roll to defend yourself against Mysterio before committing to an action - if you can see through the illusion, you might want to do something different.

Thank you, I didn't realize I should do that.

Affiliation – Solo: d8
Distinction – Spawn of Venom: d8 – What with him being a well-known Spider-man villain, I am making the assumption that Spider-man faced Mysterio either before or while wearing the Venom symbiote, and/or Venom has faced the man at some point, and by extension Sleeper has some inherited knowledge of his tricks and tactics.
Power(s): …I guess I could say Sleeper is using his chemokinesis to track everyone’s body chemistry and figure out the hostage’s body chemistry is wrong for supposedly having the stuffing beat out of them, but that seems like a stretch to me given how chaotic everything is at the moment so I’m going to leave it off.
Specialty – Covert: d8
Complication/Stress – Since this roll is specifically defending against Mysterio, can I use the Spider-man illusion (illusionary Spidey breaking Mysterio’s concentration on the hostage illusion)?
Asset – None.

[Thane of Fife]

Thank you, I didn't realize I should do that.

Affiliation – Solo: d8
Distinction – Spawn of Venom: d8 – What with him being a well-known Spider-man villain, I am making the assumption that Spider-man faced Mysterio either before or while wearing the Venom symbiote, and/or Venom has faced the man at some point, and by extension Sleeper has some inherited knowledge of his tricks and tactics.
Power(s): …I guess I could say Sleeper is using his chemokinesis to track everyone’s body chemistry and figure out the hostage’s body chemistry is wrong for supposedly having the stuffing beat out of them, but that seems like a stretch to me given how chaotic everything is at the moment so I’m going to leave it off.
Specialty – Covert: d8
Complication/Stress – Since this roll is specifically defending against Mysterio, can I use the Spider-man illusion (illusionary Spidey breaking Mysterio’s concentration on the hostage illusion)?
Asset – None.

I'm not sure that Covert really seems applicable here, but you can definitely use the Spider-Man illusion complication on Mysterio.

Edit: You can use the complication, but that would mean rolling Buddy or Team (because you're getting help from Loki).

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I'm not sure that Covert really seems applicable here, but you can definitely use the Spider-Man illusion complication on Mysterio.

Okay I gotta ask, if figuring out the hostage has been disguised and things are not what they seem doesn't fall under Covert, what does it fall under?

[Thane of Fife]

Okay I gotta ask, if figuring out the hostage has been disguised and things are not what they seem doesn't fall under Covert, what does it fall under?

If you were investigating a crime scene and trying to figure out that someone was disguised and things weren't what they seemed to be, or if you were in a fight with Chameleon and trying to pick out who he was disguised as, then I think I would agree that Covert is the right specialty. Trying to see through one of Mysterio's illusions on the fly seems more like Psych to me (that's why I've been using Psych in his dice pool rather than Covert).

I'm not dead set on that and could be talked out of it.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I'm not dead set on that and could be talked out of it.

Sure, I'll give it a shot.

If you were investigating a crime scene and trying to figure out that someone was disguised and things weren't what they seemed to be

But that's exactly what I'm doing. Kaine and the hostage have been disguised as attacker and battered victim. (And incidentally the bank is even a crime scene, albeit a crime in progress rather than after the fact.)

Trying to see through one of Mysterio's illusions on the fly seems more like Psych to me (that's why I've been using Psych in his dice pool rather than Covert).

I'd think Psychology would be less deception specifically and more knowledge of behavior in general. So while I can absolutely see Mysterio using it to help his illusions, I would think it would be more 'I know if I put up a flashy display over here, people will go look at it, and not pay attention to other stuff' or 'I know if I'm fighting Spider-man and I shove someone off a building before I flee, he will go to save that person 100% of the time rather than chase me.' But if this version of Mysterio was an actor he could then also use it to determine 'if I put a nudity scene in my new play, it will draw more of the 20-50 crowd but there won't be any families showing up.'

I guess what I'm saying is I think there's some overlap between the two.

[Thane of Fife]

Sure, I'll give it a shot.

Ehh, go ahead and use covert.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Ehh, go ahead and use covert.

Thank you!

20/d8 (or I believe I could do 17/d10, but I don’t know if there’s a reason to do one over the other on a resist?) for Sleeper vs. 11/d8 from Mysterio, I think that’s a success for Sleeper.

Assuming that’s the case, I want to have Sleeper inflict Physical stress on Mysterio by using Invisibility to sneak up on him and then attack him with Superhuman Strength – and if I can I’d like to spend a Plot Point to add an effect die and hit Electro too, by throwing Mysterio at him.

And if I'm wrong and Sleeper did not successfully resist, I'll try to save the hostage instead.

Also are Complications single-use, like Assets? If so I want to apologize to the rest of the group for using up so many of these things and still not managing to do more than fail to attack another PC.

[Thane of Fife]

Thank you!

20/d8 (or I believe I could do 17/d10, but I don’t know if there’s a reason to do one over the other on a resist?) for Sleeper vs. 11/d8 from Mysterio, I think that’s a success for Sleeper.

Yes. The main reason you would go for one over the other is the size of the reaction die. If you had a total of 4, for example, you could put the D10 as your effect die and it would reduce the effect of the complication because it's bigger than Mysterio's effect die.

Assuming that’s the case, I want to have Sleeper inflict Physical stress on Mysterio by using Invisibility to sneak up on him and then attack him with Superhuman Strength – and if I can I’d like to spend a Plot Point to add an effect die and hit Electro too, by throwing Mysterio at him.

That sounds good, except that I don't think you should include invisibility because

a) I think that should go through as a stunt or by creatig an asset, and
b) Mysterio's sonar gizmos and any ligering smoke seems like it would pretty seriously dampen the benefits of being invisible, anyway.

Also are Complications single-use, like Assets? If so I want to apologize to the rest of the group for using up so many of these things and still not managing to do more than fail to attack another PC.

I'm honestly not sure. The rules seem a little contradictory about whether complications normally last for one use or until the situation causing them goes away. For now, I'm leaning toward Yes, they only last for one roll.

But they're there to get used, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Plaids]

I am thinking of having Hercules ferry some hostages out on some of the furniture in the building.
I the roll would something like

d8 affiliation: Team - given all the heroes packed together in one area.
d8 distinction: Glory and Honor. - A heroic reputation would help gain peoples' trust
d12 power: God like Strength - To better the hostages on furniture
d? asset: Spiderman illusion - Convincing people it is safer to escape with Hercules than remain in the bank with the villains.
d8 stunt - Using superhuman leaping to get away from the conflict.

I don't know if or how successful Loki's attempt to make an asset went.

[Thane of Fife]

I am thinking of having Hercules ferry some hostages out on some of the furniture in the building.
I the roll would something like

d8 affiliation: Team - given all the heroes packed together in one area.
d8 distinction: Glory and Honor. - A heroic reputation would help gain peoples' trust
d12 power: God like Strength - To better the hostages on furniture
d? asset: Spiderman illusion - Convincing people it is safer to escape with Hercules than remain in the bank with the villains.
d8 stunt - Using superhuman leaping to get away from the conflict.

I don't know if or how successful Loki's attempt to make an asset went.

I rolled the doom pool (see the rolls thread) and it looks like Loki failed to make an asset (but Kaine has succeeded in reducing the doom pool).

But your roll there looks fine (but remember to spend a plot point for the stunt).

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I am thinking of having Hercules ferry some hostages out on some of the furniture in the building.
I the roll would something like

d8 affiliation: Team - given all the heroes packed together in one area.
d8 distinction: Glory and Honor. - A heroic reputation would help gain peoples' trust
d12 power: God like Strength - To better the hostages on furniture
d? asset: Spiderman illusion - Convincing people it is safer to escape with Hercules than remain in the bank with the villains.
d8 stunt - Using superhuman leaping to get away from the conflict.

I don't know if or how successful Loki's attempt to make an asset went.

If you can wiggle it in I think Kaine's Undivided Attention Asset never got used.

EDIT:

Yes. The main reason you would go for one over the other is the size of the reaction die. If you had a total of 4, for example, you could put the D10 as your effect die and it would reduce the effect of the complication because it's bigger than Mysterio's effect die.

Thank you! I’ll keep that in mind for next time.

That sounds good, except that I don't think you should include invisibility because

a) I think that should go through as a stunt or by creatig an asset, and
b) Mysterio's sonar gizmos and any ligering smoke seems like it would pretty seriously dampen the benefits of being invisible, anyway.

Okay, then how does this look?

Affiliation – Solo: d8
Distinction – Spawn of Venom: d8 – same justification as before, I’m assuming some inherited knowledge of Mysterio’s blind spots, how well he can take a hit, how far he’ll fly if thrown with force…
Power(s) – Klyntar Symbiote: Superhuman Strength d10
Specialty – Combat: d8
Complication/Stress – None
Asset – None

EDIT AGAIN:

FYI - Christmas shenanigans begin for me this week, starting Tuesday I will have limited availability through most of the rest of the end of the year.

[Thane of Fife]

Ah, I'm sorry - I missed that you'd edited this last post.

What you have there seems reasonable.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Ah, I'm sorry - I missed that you'd edited this last post.

What you have there seems reasonable.

Sorry, I try to avoid double-posting when possible. Also, posted in the IC.

[DammitVictor]

Sorry that I've been out-of-touch... my primary work computer has been out-of-commission for over a month, and juggle my backup devices has been problematic. (Especially when some of them have been broken, too.) Should be improving in the near future.

[Plaids]

Sorry that I've been out-of-touch... my primary work computer has been out-of-commission for over a month, and juggle my backup devices has been problematic. (Especially when some of them have been broken, too.) Should be improving in the near future.

That's fine with me. I have been taking a break from posting while enjoying the holidays. I think some other players have been too.

[Thane of Fife]

Sorry that I've been out-of-touch... my primary work computer has been out-of-commission for over a month, and juggle my backup devices has been problematic. (Especially when some of them have been broken, too.) Should be improving in the near future.

Yes, I was having some computer difficulties myself, albeit not like that.

That's fine with me. I have been taking a break from posting while enjoying the holidays. I think some other players have been too.

But yes, also, I think everyone's been on the downswing due to the holidays.


I've just made some rolls in the rolls thread to respond to Sleeper and Hercules. Hercules will be able to evacuate about a third of the hostages. Before I go on and make villain moves, Kareeah_Indaga, do you want to spend a plot point to activate Mysterio's Glass Jaw limitation? That would step up the stress you deal to d12 (d8 effect, stepped up for beating my total by 5 and then stepped up again for the limitation). Not quite a one-punch knockout, but close. (You can also take back the plot point you tried to spend to target Electro, because that failed before you would have been able to spend it).

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I've just made some rolls in the rolls thread to respond to Sleeper and Hercules. Hercules will be able to evacuate about a third of the hostages. Before I go on and make villain moves, Kareeah_Indaga, do you want to spend a plot point to activate Mysterio's Glass Jaw limitation? That would step up the stress you deal to d12 (d8 effect, stepped up for beating my total by 5 and then stepped up again for the limitation). Not quite a one-punch knockout, but close. (You can also take back the plot point you tried to spend to target Electro, because that failed before you would have been able to spend it).

Yeah, since I can't hit Electro let's do that. Might as well hit Beck as hard as I can.

[Thane of Fife]

Posted. Electro is trying to blast Hercules to inflict physical stress. Total is 10 with an effect die of D4.

Mysterio is trying to inflict a complication of Imperiled Hostages on Kaine and Sleeper. Total is 13 with an effect die of D6.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Doom: 4D6, 1D8
Electro: D10 Physical Stress, D8 Emotional Stress
Mysterio: D10 Meddling Illusory Arachnid Complication

Did you find clarification on the Complication rules over the holidays then? I thought it was just a mis-type for Physical Stress but you said after the limit that would be a D12, so I'm seeking clarification.

[Thane of Fife]

Did you find clarification on the Complication rules over the holidays then? I thought it was just a mis-type for Physical Stress but you said after the limit that would be a D12, so I'm seeking clarification.

No, I just forgot to add the physical stress to the list. I think that complication is lingering from earlier, but I may be forgetting that either you or Kaine used it.

[Plaids]

I think Hercules just failed to resist Mysterio's illusion but did resist Electro's lightning. I don't know what failing to resist Mysterio's illusion will inflict.
I think I'm going to either try to reduce some doom or save some more hostages. If no one else has ant ideas for Loki I think I will have him make a complication to slow down the villains or an asset to help save hostages or take down villains.