[IC] The Twelve Stars [4e]

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Current Map (https://www.dropbox.com/s/vz6g7i83thgmxx3/Office%20Interior.png)


These are Twelve Stars as far as you know them;

Earth;
Capital: Silverstone
Atmosphere: Standard
Gravity: Standard
Technology: Varied
Uarii: Miranda
Earth is a wonderful planet. The Uarii leader, Miranda, is a benevolent leader, and has been since she's been in rule. Some places are very high tech, and some places are primitive tribal villages.

Silverstone, it's capital, is much like a space port. With advanced rocket-planes, breathtaking skyscrapers, and a diverse culture, people flock from around the planet for both business and pleasure. Just on the outskirts are some tribal villages.

More to come on the other stars as you discover them. :)

[Alan_Pehnereas]

There are two main branches of magic that's broken down into scientific study;

Biomagenics;
How each being works in such a way that it has the ability ot use magic.

Elemental Studies;
There are two main branches of Elemental Studies;

World Elements;
There are fire, water, earth, stone, air, and electricity. You may learn more than that eventually, but it's not something commonly discussed

Sub-Elements;
"wut" - Shamgar001


I'll be adding more as your characters learn more.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Only PCs and obvious plot characters will be posted. If you feel like someone is important, I will list their information here. I will not post seemingly unimportant people here unless you ask me to - which you should, because some of these 'seemingly unimportant people' may be key to the plot. ;)

The PCs;
I'll start posting this when you meet IC. Makes sense, right?

The Uarii;
These are essentially the philosophers of the Twelve Stars. Rather than having a religion following a god, a person has a philosophy and follows a Uarii. Each Uarii leads a Star as they see fit. Each Uarii is given the gift of an incredibly long lifespan. It is unknown how they manage to live for decades, yet they do. However, they are, strictly speaking, mortal.

Miranda;
Jurisdiction; Earth
Philosophy; "Peace through strength."
Biology; Female human.
History; Has led Earth with a strong militarized government. The people are generally happy here.
Solstice;
Jurisdiction; Andromeda
Philosophy; "Fairness, Equality, Justice. Everyone should have a chance."
Biology; Unknown.
History; Unknown.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Here is where I will post links to different information you may want to keep handy. Just give me the link to what post(s) you want to keep handy, and what you want to call that link. I'll even categorize them.

This is your Handy Dandy Notebook, in other words. :)

[Alan_Pehnereas]

This is where the history of the world will be placed as you learn about it. (I'm planning on having a bit of this come into your knowledge pretty early on so you don't feel like you have no idea about this world).

In the beginning, there was only one Star, and it was called Perfection. Something happened, though, and those stars were split into the Twelve Stars we have today.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Silverstone is a busy, bustling city. Some areas are rundown ghettos, low on tech. Hell - some people still settle their battles here with primitive knives and pistols.

Other areas, closer to the heart of the city, are much more advanced. Huge skyscrapers fill the skyline. Bright lights and signs everywhere. Business buildings. Posh hotels. Some buildings are recreational or living spaces. Almost whatever you could think of, there's a building that fulfills those needs. There are still market stalls on the city square. Also important, there are police forces everywhere trying to keep the peace.

Just on the outskirts are primitive tribal villages. Keeping close to the city provides natural light for hunting at night. And though they don't believe in the way of technology, doesn't mean that they may not take advantage of some things that they cannot change. Some of these villages are farther out, and some are further in. But all of them can still see the the heart of Silverstone.

Wherever it may be that you're standing, you can see the Central Tower. It's the tallest of the towers - must be hundreds of feet taller than the others. Whenever it's cloudy, the clouds even cover the top of this glassy-steel structure.

But speaking of sight; what do you see? Where are you, and what might you be doing?

[sournote103]

Dusty was sitting around the abandoned warehouse that currently served as his impromptu lodgings. He didn't really enjoy sitting around a warehouse all day, but when one is a stuffed animal, one learns to make due without any money (or anything that costs money). Part of him thought that if the current rate at which people contacted him about mercenary work (which is to say absolutely no one) continued, he might have to just suck it up and get a day job (and deal with all the odd looks that a plush toy walking around the city would get) to pay for some basic things like an apartment (even a small one, given his size) and a phone. It was a good thing for him that he didn't need to eat or drink anything (he was worried about that for a while after finding himself in his new body), since he would have long since starved by now. Of course, the boredom of sitting around an abandoned warehouse all day had nearly killed him anyway, so that was becoming something of a moot point.
The sound of a rat skittering across the floor broke Dusty out of his musings (or stupor, depending on your point of view). Excited by absolutely anything at all happening, Dusty couldn't help but bark at the rat and chase it around for a while, before he managed to collect himself and reprimand himself for doing something so childish.
If only something were to happen to break the boredom...

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Crashes. Booms. Some sort of explosion in the distance.

The sounds of roaring flames echo down the streets. Screaming.

[sournote103]

Well, that definitely counted as something alleviating the boredom.
Dusty wasted no time in rushing to find the source of the din, his desire to remain inconspicuous be darned. It struck Dusty that once the situation was less desire, the image of a plush dog running down the street to save people would be incredibly comical, but as it stood, Dusty was focused on figuring out just what caused those explosions and why people were screaming.

[Tegu8788]

Malga

Departing from the shuttlecraft that brought him to this Earth, Malga peered out from behind the visor of his helmet at the thronging crowds around him. He simultaneously thought how tasty and how innocent the mass was. Closing his eyes and tilting his head slightly, he tries to push the thoughts around into a conclusive idea, when he is thrown off his feet.

The shuttle, taking off again to return to the mothership, had exploded in midair. The initial blast was rough, the shockwave sending him flying forwards, when burning shrapnel from the nose of the craft punctures a refueling tanker, creating a secondary explosion that makes the armored man spin in a corkscrew. The tanker's fuel lines trigger a series of explosions, denoting a number of small transports and cargo vessels. Burning metal raining down from the sky, Malga activates his shield, and using it to lessen his fall, he rolls several times before he comes to a stop.

Standing, he channels energy into his shield, projecting it's defensive field as far as he can, blocking some shrapnel from hitting those terrified people nearby. Instinctively, his eyes glow a pale yellowy green, and a nearby couple's wounds heal, standing and running to help others. Seeing a cargo vessel on fire, somehow Malga knows that the protocol of that kind of damage is a lockdown, but given the huge twisted metal barb skewering the ship, the fire would soon spread.

Rushing forwards, he channels the energy from his shield into his free hand, a glimmering beam of solid light coalescing in his fist. A single sweep mid leap cleaves the canopy off, allowing the trapped crew members inside to escape. Unfortunately, he finds himself in mid-air, and flying towards, the last vehicle attached to what is now a smoking wrecking of a refueling tanker. It happens so fast, Malga is barely able to comprehend the words Mine and Copper before he is thrown back over the cargo vessel by an enormous green fireball. His head slamming against the tarmac, he skids a dozen feet, looking up at the now cleared sky, watching the smoke trails dissipate. "Ow." is all he can think to say, before he blacks out.

[shamgar001]

The reverberations from the exploding ship shook the iron dumpster in which Orzion Hyasin had been sleeping. Damn; he has just fallen asleep. The other person in the foul-smelling vessel -a dwarf, Orzion thought, but it was hard to tell- was still fast asleep. Probably still strung out on noxie; he certainly smelled like it. Or maybe he overdosed. Orzion leaned over and confirmed that the other was still breathing. He was. Orzion gathered his meager possessions and jumped out of the dumpster. Fortunately, this one had been recently emptied.

Orzion was curious about the source of the explosion, but he couldn't see it from the alleyway. He took a large plastic bag from his backpack and pulled out his relatively clean monk robes and donned them. He also found his wooden staff, also protected with a plastic cover. Removing the wrapper, he held it in his hands and took a second to focus is mind. The power of the universe flowed though his body and he felt revitalized. Feeling ready for discovery, he stepped out of the alley.

The sky was bright with fire and intense with heat. People were screaming and running around like decapitated fowl. It was difficult to make sense of the scene. He didn't know much about spacecraft, but he guessed the weren't supposed to be on fire like that.

[sournote103]

It didn't take Dusty long to find the flaming wreck of a spaceship in the middle of the city. He figured that police and EMTs could probably handle anyone injured outside the ship, but inside, where things were likely a bit more cramped, someone of Dusty's stature would have an easier time maneuvering than most. He quickly found an entrance, and worked his way in, looking out for any signs of life and calling out to anyone still alive and capable of answering.

Perception check, should it be necessary - [roll0]

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Dusty, having a hard time seeing through the smoke, can't seem to see or hear anyone on the inside. Oddly enough, there aren't many seats. You can make out there there's a single flight chair in the middle, and a whole bunch of other things. If you didn't know better, you might even say that this ship had no pilot!

While on the inside, you can't seem to understand or see why the ship was on fire in the first place. It's almost like it wanted to catch fire or something. However, that would be preposterous, yes?

While on the inside, you can hear the screams of civilians on the outside. Maybe that's where the real danger lies?

[sournote103]

Not seeing anyone in need of help within the ship, Dusty worked his way out and tried to find anyone trapped or injured who might need assistance.

Perception - [roll0]

[Alan_Pehnereas]

As you exit the ship, you can't see immediately anyone in danger. Everyone seems to be screaming simply out of fear.

But what does immediately catch your eye is some wreckage about a block down - some part of the ship has appeared to crash into Central Tower.

[sournote103]

With no one seemingly injured here, Dusty focused his attention on the other part of the ship, and made his way over to it with as much haste as he could muster.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Malga starts to open his eyes, waking to the yelling of a woman.

"Get everyone out of here, now! I can't have these people hurt!"

Her blonde hair somewhat blows in the wind, and she's wearing some sort of red fancy garments. However, it becomes apparent that she's not yelling at you, but rather at a group of what appear to be soldiers.

"And get down to Central Tower! There might be more civilians in danger down there!"

Meanwhile, at said tower, Dusty arrives to see that the spacecraft itself has crashed into the skyscraper. While the other ship seemed big, this one was even bigger. The previous one must've been nothing more than a pod.

Somehow, the building seems stable. However, you can hear screams and other odd noises coming from inside the trashed tower.

[sournote103]

Dusty hardly even hesitated before rushing in to try and save whoever might be trapped or injured in the tower.

perception [roll0]

[shamgar001]

Orzion heads toward the ship. He knew that it was probably dangerous to do so, but he might be able to help some people who were trapped under debris. His odd appearance often caused others to dismiss him, but he had yet to meet a being who, when trapped beneath an iron beam, did not appreciate a telepath. On his way over, he is caught off-guard by the sight of a small fluffy creature rushing to the site of the crash as well. Stranger sights had beset his eyes.
Orzion sees that their paths will soon intercept, so he does not deviate.

"Fluffy one! What has happened here?"

[sournote103]

Dusty glanced back at the Kalashtar. He thought for a moment before saying, "Not sure! A ship crashed into central tower, and people might be hurt!" and taking off once more toward the crash site.

[shamgar001]

The creature didn't seem to know much about the situation, yet it still knew more than Orzion, who elected to follow, keeping his eyes peeled for anything.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

The both of you can see the largest amount of wreckage on the third floor - or at least what's left of it. Inside, you can hear a few passengers screaming for help. However, out on the street, you can see what appears to be three or four Kobolds.

Kobolds, like most intelligent races in this system are living in harmony, somewhere. However, that somewhere definitely isn't here. Silverstone - or Earth itself - is not known for being one of their homes.

[sournote103]

The kobolds, however odd, could wait until after people stopped screaming. Dusty did little more than give the kobolds a second glance before trying to find a way into the wreckage.

[Tegu8788]

Malga

Slowly shaking his head, he taps the back of his helmet until his HUD comes back online. The screen quickly feeds him relevant information, and he struggles to stand, using the rubble behind him to prop him up. Servos whirring, he takes a few uneasy steps forward, before finding his feet again, and running of to aide/feed/help/devour/protect the fleeing mass. However, something unusual catches his sensors. Apparently, a stuffed animal was running towards a group of kobolds.

Suddenly his mind flashes back to stories of enchanted toys entertaining small children, while simultaneously he sees memories of shady dealing with kobolds in return for access to private documents. A deep breathe, and he is able to clear the images. Something about the kobolds strikes him as peculiar, and a voice in the back of his mind yells at him DOES NOT BELONG!

He squares off, using his sensors, he tries to gather any intel he can on the strange group, and what, if any, connection they might have with the crashed vessel.

Perception [roll0]

[Alan_Pehnereas]

These are not ordinary kobolds. Malga can see that this is an adventuring group. The blonde woman who's been commanding the guards is also commanding this group. Whoever these kobolds are, they are, it appears as though they are a mercenary group working for her. If there is any connection to the crashed vessel, you can't see it.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Dusty can see that the wreckage is in what used to be the third floor, and there's no immediate way to get up there. With the desire to save the people inside, one of the kobolds launches a chained grappling hook into the building, right where it appears the crash is.

"They might be up there, ma'am," the kobold states. He seems cautious about going in.

Just as the kobolds prepare to start heading up the ladder, there is some rumbling.

[sournote103]

Not seeing a direct way to the crash, Dusty assessed his options. On the one hand, he could enter the building and try to work his way up, or, on the other hand, those kobolds had just provided him with a very nice means of entrance to the building. He wasted little time in running over to the kobolds and saying "Hey do you mind if I use this to get into the building? Thanks." Without waiting for a response, Dusty started climbing the chain, figuring apologies could wait until anyone injured in the crash was safe.

Not sure if this would be Acrobatics or Athletics. So I'll just roll both:

Acrobatics [roll0]
Athletics [roll1]

[tbergman92]

Frost Beifong ran out on the balcony, pushing through the crowd of gawkers gathered as he attempted to reach the railing.

"What happened?" he asked those he pushed past. However, none appeared to have any idea of what was going on.

I guess I've got to figure everything out myself... Frost thought as he pushed through the final line of people standing between himself and the view of the Central Tower before him.

Momentarily stunned at the sight of the crash spread before him, Frost noticed that there were many fires spreading throughout the crash site.

"Well, I guess I'd better do something about that." He grinned with excitement as he climbed up onto the ornamental railing in front of him--ignoring the stares of the people, now more focused on him than the crash below. Winking at a particularly attractive woman, he uncapped a water bottle kept at his side for just such occasions, and leapt off the edge of the balcony with an apparently ornamental flourish of his hands. As he fell, the water solidified into an icy slide under his feet. He laughed gaily, and continued the motions of his hands--the water unfreezing behind him and flowing to the front of the slide to be refrozen again. Frost guided the slide down to the hole in the side of the building, nimbly leaping off the ice and landing silhouetted by the fires in the building. Absentmindedly, he waved his hands and warmed the ice, pulling a stream of water up into his water bottle, capping it again.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Entering into some sort of office space in the third floor of Central Tower, you can see the wreckage space.

I'm going to post the map at the top of the IC as soon as the damn thing uploads to Dropbox. As soon as it is, please pick a spot near the bottom where you'll enter for the encounter.

Tegu and Shamgar - if you don't join in the combat right away, that's fine. There may be some other things around just as worthy of your time. Either way, I'll adjust.

[sournote103]

Dusty looked around the area for anyone who might be injured or otherwise trapped.

Perception- [roll0]

[Alan_Pehnereas]

The first thing you notice, oddly enough, is that there seems to be no flames. At least... None that you can see.

Just as you're walking toward what appears to be the wreckage, there's a loud crash.

Go ahead and pick your starting spot on the map, and ROLL INITIATIVE! :D (At least for Frost and Dusty)

[tbergman92]

Frost looks around the room to see what's around as he steps out of the opening. About to relax his guard, he senses something is about to happen. He uncapped his water bottle again, shaking his head at his habit of closing it--always right when it was most likely to be needed.

Perception Check: [roll0]
Starting point: C7.
Initiative: [roll1]

[Tegu8788]

Malga

Seeing the number of different parties heading to the third floor, some more dramatically than others, Malga marches into the building, activating the internal lift. The structural damage had caused limitations to the general public, but fortunately, the coding algorithms that overrode such locks in his home system worked on this dirtball as well.

That was enough to get him to the third level, but not to get the doors open. Activating his energy weapon, he slices his way through the outer door, kicking his way in. Instantly he feels a buzz in the back of his mind, an instinct, a feeling of deja vu he's never experienced before, that clearly tells him there is some kind of danger nearby.

Start in A0
Initiative: [roll0]

[shamgar001]

Orzion steps around Dusty and looks from behind a desk in the room, ready for anything.


Initiative: [roll0]
Start in E6

[Alan_Pehnereas]

The four of you can see that no one appears to be immediately in this room. They may be inside the wreckage, or they may have crawled out into the other rooms. There are some relatively small flames inside the room, but it's the ceiling that seems to be burning much more intensely.

But before you can begin to search the wreckage, four of these four flames seem to sway back and forth before growing and taking a humanoid form. Obviously hostile, these dancing flames begin to move toward you with intent to burn.

Dusty, being quick to react, is able to take advantage of the situation.

ENCOUNTER BEGIN!
Intiative;

24 Dusty (Sournote) in B5
23 Dancing Blue Flame in G2
20 Orzion (Shamgar) in D6
15 Dancing Yellow Flame in H5
14 Malga (Tegu) in A0
10 Frost (Bergy) in C7
8 Dancing Red Flame in C1
8 Dancing Orange Flame in D7

[sournote103]

Figuring that two people near the flaming creature nearest him could likely handle it easily themselves, Dusty formed a weapon and shield fore himself and made his way over to another which none of the other people there seemed particularly close to.

Free action - using Shape Mind Weapon to make a short sword and a heavy shield
Move action - move to G5
Standard action - Mind-Piercing Strike on the yellow flame

Attack roll - vs. Will
Damage roll - [roll1] damage

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Dusty slices the yellow flame, which partially wisps away before regaining itself.

Yellow flame resists 2 damage, takes 13. Resist 2 against Dusty's attacks.

Behind the plushie materializes a bluish flame, which attempts to singe his fur that's-probably-not-really-fur.

Blue Flame;
Move; to F5,
Standard; MBA
Attack - [roll0] vs. AC
Damage - [roll1].

I will be posting the map update tomorrow. Someone's gonna be teaching me how to use a better map editing than the copy-paste crap I'm doing. My apologies.

[shamgar001]

Orzion assessed the flames and came to the conclusion that they were hostile. Seeing that the nearest was apparently focused on the shifter, he took advantage of the distraction and deftly moved into an advantageous position. He struck the air to the side of the flame with his fist and released a burst of energy, shoving the flame aside.


Move: Shift to E7
Standard: Savage Rend against the Orange Flame
Attack vs. Reflex: [roll0]
Hit: [roll1], and I forgo the forced movement.

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Orzion's burst of energy releases nothing more than hot air - quite literally. The orange flame flickers with no damage taken. Worse off, it seems to have understood what the kalashtar attempted, and knows how to better defend in case it is struck next time around.

The orange flame gains resist 2 against Orzion's attacks.

Meanwhile, the yellow flame attempts to burn Dusty.

Standard Action;
Flame Tongue against Dusty.
Attack - [roll0] against AC
Damage - [roll1] fire damage.
No minor or move taken.

[Tegu8788]

Malga

Seeing the small doglike creature surrounded by flames, Malga finds himself shimmying around the nearest active fire, and rushes in. He drives his energy weapon forwards, supercharging the emitter to make the blade flare and pulse with brilliant light. "It seems fate has thrown us together. Let us vanquish these flames, TOGETHER!" He pauses for a moment, wondering, Where the hells did that come from? His confusion at his sudden outburst throws off his aim.

Move: A1-A2-B3-C3-C4

Minor: Song of Serendipity
Effect: Until the end of the encounter or until you use another bard at-will attack power, your skald’s aura gains the following effect: Each time you hit an enemy with a basic attack, one of your allies in the aura gains a +2 power bonus to his or her next attack roll before the end of your next turn. (Dusty)

Standard: Charge to E5
Attack: [roll0] vs. AC
Hit: [roll1] radiant damage, and one enemy adjacent to the target takes radiant damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (2).
Special: You can use this power as a melee basic attack.

Feature: Pact Reward
Whenever your aura is inactive, you gain a bonus to the damage rolls of your attack powers. The bonus equals your highest ability score's modifier (5).

Free: Holy Smite
Trigger: You target an enemy with an at-will weapon attack power.
Effect: The target takes radiant damage equal to 2 + your Charisma modifier (5). If the triggering attack hits, the target is also dazed until the end of your next turn.

Edit: Wanna prep for the next round, first time he can, he will.

Shield of Devotion
Immediate Reaction Close burst 5
Trigger: An ally within 5 squares of you takes damage from an enemy attack.
Target: The triggering ally
Effect: The target regains hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier or Charisma modifier (5). Until the end of your next turn, you gain a +2 power bonus to your next attack roll against the enemy that damaged the target.

[tbergman92]

Frost, confused by the flames ability to move and attack, is slow to respond.
Well. I should have seen this one coming...

He begins the forms with his hands, and the water in his bottle quickly flows out and solidifies into an icy staff in his hand. As it solidifies, he turns to the orange flame and, whips the suddenly liquid staff into the center of the flame, and around it to wrap around the kalashtar's arm momentarily, giving him a surge of power by charging his Ki. The whip uncurls and flows back to solidify in Frost's hand.

"Have a boost, friend!" Frost said in the general direction of the humanoid on the other side of the flame.


Minor Action: Waterbending: Forms Water from water bottle into staff.
Standard Action:Water Whip (Flowing)
Line 2 (Orange Flame, Orzion)
Ally: Orzion: Gains a +3 to Next attack.
Enemy: Flame:
Attack vs. Reflex: [roll0]
Hit: [roll1]
Free Action: Speak

[Alan_Pehnereas]

Malga's blade slices cleanly into the flame - or as cleanly into a flame as possible anyway. Its tips and wisps die down a little, showing that it's not quite as strong as it was when it entered. Turning its body and twisting its shape, the flare tries to keep composure against Malga's attacks.

Blue Flame is now bloodied and dazed, and has resist two to Malga's attacks.

Dusty, feeling more prepared to react, gets a small boost of self-efficacy.

Dusty gets a +2 to his next attack.

The red flame moves like a waltz toward Malga, attempting to disable the foe to his fellow flame.


Move action;
Move to D4.

Standard Action;
Flame Tongue against Malga.
Attack - [roll0]
Damage - [roll1] fire damage on hit.


Meanwhile, Frost's water whip against the orange flame is enough to make it lose its mojo, and Orzion's Ki gains mojo.

Orange flame takes 6 damage. Orzion get's a +3 to his next attack.

The orange flame, burning with rage, takes out his anger issues on Frost. After all, that freak just burst his mojo.

Standard Action;
Flame Tongue against Frost.
Attack - [roll2]
Damage - [roll3] fire damage against frost.

[tbergman92]

Frost, seeing a weakness in the flow of the flame as it misses him, points it out to the Kalashtar, improving the effectiveness of his next attack.
Flowing Strike
Trigger: Orange Flame targets me with a melee attack.
Effect: The effect depends on whether the attack hits, or misses.
Miss: Choose an ally within range or yourself (Orzion), they gain a damage bonus to their first attack against the attacking creature equal to your Dexterity modifier (+4) until the end of your next turn.
Special: You may not affect the same creature with this power more than once in the same round.

Orzion Gains a +4 to damage on first attack against the Orange flame until the end of my next turn.