Smorgasbord Gamma [M&M3e]

[Sojobo]

http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/512/overrides/denali-central-alaska-range-morning-clouds_51242_600x450.jpg
Flying Over the Alaska Range Mountains
Skytech Private Jet

Its nice being a rich genius.

Being rich meant that the private jet Thomas Wright - aka Skybolt - was flying in was as spacious, luxurious, and tastefully appointed as a penthouse apartment in Crescent City.

Being a genius meant the jet was running on advanced aeronautical and antigravity technology, making it twice as fast and thrice as fuel efficient as any other jet on the planet. And it wasn't even Skybolt's best design.

But this wasn't a pleasure flight... Iron Cardinal had noticed an absurdly convoluted but elegant attempt to digitally alter company records. The alterations were meant to disguise the fact that a mothballed Skytech prototype had been transferred out of storage without authorization.

The prototype was an incomplete graviton reactor core - incomplete because Thomas had realized years ago the device would be too inefficient and too dangerous to actually build. And someone had stolen it, someone who was currently attempting to hack Skytech databases for the plans to finish the reactor.

Thomas is fairly certain it was the terrorist group Crucible Corp, the rogue arms and technology dealers wanted by the United Nations, up to their old espionage tricks again.

Iron Cardinal was not making it easy for them to find the plans (not that the perpetrators realized they had been discovered), and had traced their location here... to the middle of nowhere in the frigid Alaska Range Mountains.

Good thing Iron Cardinal couldn't feel cold anymore, and the Skybolt MkIV had great insulation.

Intro posts yadayada.

Skybolt, roll 2d6.

On a 7-9, pick one: the stolen prototype can't accidentally explode; the stolen prototype can't be activated; the stolen prototype can be remotely disabled from 50 feet away. On a 10+, pick two. On a 6 or less, the prototype is not only unstable, it'll explode before the day is out, causing catastrophic ecological damage.

Iron Cardinal, roll 2d6.

On a 7-9, pick two: you've located where the thieves/hackers are currently located; the thieves/hackers haven't noticed your attempts to find them; the thieves/hackers haven't stolen the reactor plans. On a 10+, all three. On a 6 or less, they managed to hack YOU.

[Emperor Ing]

Whoever it was that was doing this, they were good. There as even a rather elegant attempt at taking over the terminal from which the attack was being observed as it happened. Fortunately the intelligence attached to that computer was far too sophisticated for any human to possibly overtake. This hacker was also good, being able to cover their tracks behind numerous proxies.

He's good but the Iron Cardinal is better. Who better at it then what amounted to a sapient computer, after all?

However when the signal was bounced back through the hacker's servers, it lit up like a christmas tree the IP addresses of all the servers the hacking was being made through. Tracing that signal was a trivial task. All that was needed was to find which IP address the signal ended at. There were two candidates, and since there was a zero likelihood the hacker was operating from within Skytech itself, that left some remote location in Alaska which when IP-mapped and combined with satellite imagery, left them with only one location.

The only drawback was that the tracing, without a doubt, tipped them off to the fact that they were being counter-hacked. However the Cardinal was careful, and calculated the probability to be extremely unlikely that they thought their IP Address was recorded.


Able to discern their specific location
Prevented reactor plans from being stolen
[roll0]

[fireinthedust]

You know, it's a funny thing: I've got millions of perfectly good prototypes out there, and they go after one I mothballed. What is it they thought they were doing?! The Portotype Museum is the most heavily guarded part of Skytower, and they put "transferred" on the file when they were stealing it. Insult to injury! I mean, the museum, it's a black hole that nothing leaves. That's why I put a black hole-generator in it, so it wouldn't get out. Idiots.

Skybolt made some adjustments on the anti-grav discs on his arm with a tiny screwdriver-drill that vanished into his armor a moment later. With a whirring of servos, the chain of discs throughout his armor glowed a blue-light.

Shiney!

[roll0]

[fireinthedust]

let's get this show on the road. Those idiots probably have no idea the generator wasn't as failed as I let on in the file. If they turn it on, it could generate more than just a gravity field: it could generate an event horizon, a miniature black hole that, given enough time, could suck the entire planet, the solar system, even our sun into its gravitational crush. I'd have destroyed it myself if the singularity inside it wouldn't have done just that. Why do they always go for the blasted "offlimits" vault?

[Emperor Ing]

Unlikely. The Iron Cardinal remarks. They have the device but not the plans to it. They will have no clue how it works, and are unlikely to discern how to activate it. I must ask why you would have a device that uses a singularity as a component, boss.

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt grins sheepishly. Honestly? Sometimes I can't help myself. Why do we do anything we do? Why put your brain in a robot body? I figured it'd be a neat way to power something, maybe I could miniaturize it for the Mark V suit, break my own limits. Seemed like the next logical step for my tech, at the time... and maybe down the road it will be. What it's not going to be is a plaything for some nutjobs.


He gets up. His suit is mechanical, but very closely moulded to the shape of his slim body. It's a very light steel with blue highlights, and the energy cells and lines on it are the same cool blue used in science fiction movies for space propulsion. Moving his arms around, the design is very flexible, very light, almost weightless.

He seems perfectly at home in this plane, its bulkheads designed to look like a cross between the surface of an iPad and the white room from 2001: a space odyssy. Verious images and shapes pop up on the touch-screen walls, numbers crunching from around the world, dozens of data streams computed on every black, shiney surface. He touches a few points on the walls, and touchpads meet his fingers, altering, dismissing and calling up more data-points.

So do we have a fix on them?

[Sojobo]

Iron Cardinal does indeed have the perpetrators' location nailed down, though to get precise coordinates he did have to lower his masking protocols; whoever the hacker is, he or she or it knows you know where they are.

Regardless, the thieves' last transmissions seem to be emanating from within a mountain down in the Alaska Range - you will be flying over it shortly. It must be some cave complex.

Preparations? Plans?

[Emperor Ing]

The mechanical man looks at Skybolt awkwardly, the lenses that are one of his four glowing green eyes audibly whirring, focusing in. A "fix" on them? I calculate a 98% probability Crucible is not scheduled for maintenance at this point in time. I do have the geological coordinates of their base, and your jet has told me we are seven minutes and thirty two seconds from passing over it. Satellite imagery reveals no above-ground structures, suggesting they are operating either in a vehicle not present at the time the satellite passed overhead, or an underground facility. Entrance location unknown.

The Cardinal was already standing up. Or rather the equivalent of it, as it's never entirely clear when he's using his legs or not, or even if this body even has them. The only part that's really visible underneath the red and grey cloak is the head. With its four glowing green lens-eyes staring dispassionately through the dark metal box, it is coupled with the network of prehensile mechanical limbs that end with similarly glowing green lenses and small mechanical claws. The being hovers over to the exit of the plane, readying himself for a skydrop.

I propose we remain in visual and audio proximity at all times and begin a grid-pattern search for indications of any kind of artificial intervention into the ecosystem.

[fireinthedust]

"Let's get started. I'll have the pilots maintain a perimeter for us until we need evac. No sense getting them into trouble with us. I'm going to check my hacks and sensor sweeps, see two things before we go: first, maybe there's geological surveys that can guestimate cave systems here. Alaska has a lot of oil digging, and somebody somewhere has it on record. Second, one of those orbital satellites definitely has a deep-penetration scan for geo-surveys. If Crucible hacked about to hide their stuff, these scans would still show cave systems. Save us time looking for surface entrances, and we really can't spare a second."


ooc: you need us to roll, or spend a hero point? Otherwise, we're scouring the countryside by eye.

[Emperor Ing]

I suppose not. The Cardinal agrees. His mind then enters the computer attached to his brain, its internal eye gathering geological survey data, seismograph charts, topology reports, satellite imagery, and just about everything he can find and transplant onto a three-dimensional projection generated from software rendered in such a way only he can see.


Technology check to use geographical data to discern unusual features and/or caves in the mountains
[roll0]
Perception check to notice said features and/or caves
[roll1]

[fireinthedust]

Ooc: ditto.

[roll0] technology to find the info
[roll1] science to analyse it and deduce the location

[Sojobo]

Nuh-uh, no "dittos" allowed. :smallbiggrin: There always has to be a description of what you are doing to justify the rolling of dice. If you don't do it in the fiction, you don't do it mechanically. And while we're at it, Emperor Ing could you please put dialogue in quotation marks please?

Technology is for when your goal is to hack computers, build stuff, disarm stuff, understand technology, etc. Now, what you guys are attempting to do - find details about the location - is under the purview of the Investigation skill, not the Technology skill.

But in this case there's no point in trying to make it difficult to find your culprits, and you did roll ever so high, so...


Iron Cardinal, your trawling of geographic and topological databases indicates that there are a series of large caves at the base of a mountain dead ahead of you. Its within the area that you triangulated to be the location of the hackers/thieves, so its your best bet. And sure enough, you find what appears to be the entrance to an underground installation.

http://i.imgur.com/m34QFb6l.jpg

Skybolt instructs the pilot fly a holding pattern far enough away from the location to avoid trouble, but close enough to zip in to retrieve you if there IS trouble.

How do you approach?

[Emperor Ing]

Cardinal has a computer in his head :smalltongue:


"Found it. Possibly." The Cardinal responds, projecting a three-dimensional image of the mountain range onto a holographic 2D screen he projects from his hands. The image depicts the Jet as a blue dot in the sky, with a red dotted line arcing down into the ground. Where it ends, the screen zooms in, showing a rough picture of a clearly artificial entrance with geological coordinates depicted on the side.

"It seems obvious enough, I would dare say too obvious. But it is our best lead at the moment. I say we skydive in."

[fireinthedust]

Sjkybolt taps into the data interface on his jet and pulls up a proper hologram that everyone can see.
"Hmmm... it's really simple, entrance to underground lair, blah blah blah. What I'm worried about is that they'll have some rather strong defences... And we didn't build any earth-digging equipment for this. The second they know we're there, they'll launch some defence equipment for us. We'll have to hit them hard and fast, before they get a chance to fight back, and before they can grab the prototype and run."

He taps the picture on the wall, and the two pilots appear: they look for all the world like Zoe Saldana and Alice Eve, and both are wearing the Skytech Industries flight suits (tough material, all-environment protection, grey in color with blue or red stripes denoting rank and/or department). "Captains: we're ready to move in. Start an alpha holding pattern and wait for my signal. Depressurizing now. Skybolt out." He switches off the screen.

Skybolt stands up, his faceplate coming down over his mouth. He punches a spot on the wall, in a circle that appears for his hand, and the side of the jet opens up.

"oh before I forget!" He moves his hand in the air like he's selecting a song from an ipad. Moments later a familiar song blasts over the com.

"LET'S ROCK AND ROLLLL! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz3Cc7wlfkI)"

Skybolt leaps out of the jet and soars towards the entrance, his blasters charged and ready for action.

[Emperor Ing]

"A little cliche'd but it will suffice." The mechanical being remarks before leaning out the jet, setting his antigravity generator on standby to allow the force to take its hold, sending him plummeting towards the Earth, calculating time and distance of arrival to the ground so his antigravity generator will re-engage just in time to land him safely on the ground.

[fireinthedust]

"it was that or Kenny Loggins, big guy."

Skybolt prepares to blast the door when he gets in range, so he can soar through and shock-and-awe any defenders: his blaster start to whine as they power up.

[Emperor Ing]

The fact that Skybolt has his blasters visibly pointing at the door in addition to the energy spike the Cardinal is detecting from within creates only one conclusion from the Cardinal.
Don't blast that door! He says suddenly.
If you wish to inform them of our presence I would suggest intercepting their radio frequency and informing them directly rather than triggering the alarm no-doubt wired to their door.

Furthermore, am I to believe you have never heard of Hans Zimmer?

[Sojobo]

Both of your onboard sensors are going wild with nearby wifi chatter, naturally coming from within the mountain complex. A few things are pretty clear: 1) they know you are here; 2) they do not like this fact; 3) the command "RELEASE THE HOUNDS" has been executed.

It doesn't look like you guys are going to be alone for much longer.

[Emperor Ing]

Forget what I said before. Blast that door to slag.

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt charges in flight, blasting through the door.

IOC: in an airport. Will finish soon. Roll. = 1d20+10

[Sojobo]

Just gonna move things along. Skybolt, hang on to that thought.


It seems that, despite the totally desolate snow-capped location, Crucible had prepared for interlopers. You managed to surprise them so they could not prepare for you, but their first line of defenses make their presence known.

Mechanical hatches beneath the snow swing open, and out pad the "hounds" - robotic wolves, clearly the designs of brilliant but disgraced ex-Skytech employee Dr. Manuel Zeri aka the roboticist supervillain, Dr. Menagerie.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_rp_35_4224.png

There are four of them... a much larger black one and three smaller white paneled ones. Panels on their chassises swing open and missile launchers and energy weapons of all sorts are brought to bear, pointed at you.


Roll for initiative.

The larger Alpha Wolf is at initiative 10; the smaller white Wolves are minions (Constructs, Dodge/Parry 10, Toughness 6) and are all at initiative 5.

[fireinthedust]

consider it held.

Initiative: 1d20+3

I'm making do through an ipad and tendinitis, no notes or books.

1d20+10

Skybolt pulls up short of the wolves, estimating their leaping range at thirty meters or so. Yes, they can fire missiles, but he's got no firepower in a fist fight.

"they knew we were here! I thought we were past their sensors... We've got to make this fast, every second delay gives them time to move the device. Can you take them over?"

His blaster let out shots meant to take them down, leaving it to his suit to help him dodge their missiles

[Emperor Ing]

The Cardinal detects movement, then registers the profile of numerous cyber-wolves coming out of the ground to try and stop them. Fortunately the mechanical man is able to re-engage his anti-gravity generator before coming into range of their melee capabilities while simultaneously engaging his hard-light projector to surround himself in a luminous yellow sphere crackling with energy.

"<Fools!>" He immediately blurts out at them in a language only machines can understand. To Skybolt it sounds like a quick burst of white noise. "<You are being sent to your deaths to protect criminals who stole catastrophically unstable technology. Stand down and you will not be harmed!>" The last sentence rings especially harsh for the black wolf. Less of a sentence and more of an override command is being run through its systems like a virus, bringing its systems under the control of the Cardinal.


Init
[roll0]
He wins, basically. :smalltongue:

And Iron Cardinal will be using his Mind Control power on the Alpha Wolfbot.

[Sojobo]

Lacking sentience, the wolfbots are incapable of responding in anyway except for wireless bursts of machine code. However, your attempt to override the large black wolfbot's command protocols is taking some effect - it twitches and stamps from foot actuator to foot actuator as its core processes are caught in a logic loop.

Rolls here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15336374&postcount=5) The Alpha Wolfbot got a 12, two degrees of failure, so it is Stunned.

Skybolt's targeting computers had anticipated the Alpha Wolfbot to circle around for a better firing solution on Iron Cardinal (with probability 95%), so when it instead stood stock still, the blaster shot hit empty air - where the Wolfbot would have been.

The smaller white wolfbots, however, begin loping about in the snow and fire a multitude of laser shots at the two heroes.

The Alpha Wolfbot can't act, it is stunned. Rolling to overcome the stun, DC19: [roll0]. Still stunned next round.

The White Wolfbots go next:
Two Team attack Skybolt and one attacks Iron Cardinal.

Rolls here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15336427&postcount=6)

Skybolt
Team attack: first wolfbot hits, base laser Damage 10; second hits with 1 DoS, +2 Damage. Roll Toughness DC27

Iron Cardinal
Attack hits, Damage 10. Roll Toughness DC25

[fireinthedust]

[roll0] first attack

[roll1] second attack

No copy of the rules handy but: do my advantages or powers help me dodge this stuff?



"gah! Evasive action! Divert power to shields!"

Skybolt dodges and weaves, trying to roll with the laser blasts, so they don't saw off his arms.

[fireinthedust]

Both strikes hit, and score his armours paint, sending display lights in his suit haywire and sending up sparks.

[Emperor Ing]

The Cardinal calculates a distinct probability these missiles will do significant damage, but another likelihood his forcefield and metal plating will be sufficient to absorb the blasts.

And while it does absorb significant damage, enough of the missile blast penetrates through the hard-light sphere to harm the Cardinal directly, compromising a chunk of his plating integrity. It is fortunate that he can no longer feel pain, but that doesn't save him from his HUD being loaded up with alerts and warnings.


[roll0]

[Sojobo]

Just to recap, Skybolt fails his Toughness save by only 1 degree of failure, so he's at -1 Toughness (or I guess ripley is just calling them bruises so I will too).

Iron Cardinal fails his Toughness save by barely 2 degrees of failure, so he has a Bruise and is Dazed (you only have a Standard Action instead of a Move and Standard Action this coming round). You guys go next, then the Alpha Wolfbot remains Stunned, then the minions.

[Emperor Ing]

The missile has a lot more kick than the Cardinal could predict, so he spends a lot of energy attempting to reorient himself from being knocked around. In the meantime, he calculates the position of his targets. He could get all three of the smaller wolves but that will harm Skybolt too. He settles for just two of them.

With this course of action, he unleashes a burst of arc of lightning from his hands. To observers, it will appear as though this massive bolt of electricity struck the ground, with arcs spreading to the wolves, overcharging them with electricity. In truth it's one of the Cardinal's most esoteric devices, as what it actually does is place an opposing charge over an area, before the Cardinal fires a burst of the opposing charge from an electrical coil attached to his mechanical wrist, with power routed from his inbuilt fusion power source.

To the wolves, though, they both just got blasted with an overwhelming amount of electricity.


[roll0]
Attack with Ball Lightning.

[Sojobo]

The Wolfbots are fast - Dr. Menagerie's designs are no slouch - but they aren't faster than electricity. As they try to lope out of the path of Iron Cardinal's electrical onslaught, they are nevertheless caught. There are loud pops and sizzles as the high voltage fries their intricate control circuits, and two of the white paneled Wolfbots collapse into the snow, smelling like ozone.

When you attack with an Area attack, you don't have to roll - it just automatically hits. Instead, the defenders roll Dodge to try to halve the effect rank, so here we go:

Minion Wolfbot Dodge checks, DC19.
1. [roll0]
2. [roll1]

Then Wolfbot Toughness checks, either DC24 or DC20.
1. [roll2]
2. [roll3]

They both make their Dodge checks, but even with the reduced damage the Wolfbots flub their rolls and are destroyed.

Skybolt is up.

[fireinthedust]

WooT! On my way home, but there's a computer in the lobby: thank all that is right and good in the world!

Skybolt is going to sizzle one of the hounds while secretly wishing he'd added more weapon powers to his blasters (area effects, stuns, hypno rays, etc.).

[roll0]



"A little scorched, but still good. wow, and I thought Wagner would have broken their will to fight! Next time I go on an away mission with you, Iron Cardinal, remind me to take the stealth plane instead of the luxury science liner. I've decided the variables here heavily favour me not getting any time with anomolous readings. Dang it!"

Skybolt dives in and out, dodging more laser shots, and zaps at one of the remaining robots.

[Sojobo]

Skybolt's laser carver cuts right across the last white-clad Wolfbot, cutting through it from stem to stern. It falls apart neatly into two wolf-shaped pieces, sizzling in the snow.

All that is left is the black Alpha Wolf-bot, still paralyzed by Iron Cardinal's invasive subroutines.

When we hit a lull, I'll let everyone retool their sheets because rarely does anyone ever get their builds down the way they want the first time around (except me :smallcool:).

Anywho, your attack hits the last minion.

Wolf Toughness check, DC25.
[roll0]
Boom, headshot.


*brrrrrrrmmmmmm*

The snowy landscape suddenly begins to rumble, the entire mountain trembling. Small drifts of snow break loose and are sent tumbling, and as you look up, you can see the entire mountain peak thousands of feet up has opened like the petals of a giant rock flower, the peak having been artificially built around a gigantic iris or portal. Slowly, the barrel of some absurdly huge cannon-like device is lifted up through the iris, pointed directly up toward the heavens.

The gigantic device's unsheathing is causing more minor tremors, triggering the beginnings of an avalanche! A wave of white cascades the mountain, building as it falls, heading straight towards you.

The massive device isn't Dr. Menagerie's style - he is more into huge armies of zoologically inspired robots.

Oh yeah, avalanche. You both get a HP - make a DC25 dodge check (evasion applies) or take DC23 Damage and be buried under snow (Mass 8 to move, immobilized - you guys are basically life support immune so there are no other effects).

[fireinthedust]

[roll0] Skybolt uses his evasion to avoid the massive avalanche as best he can.


Skybolt dive-bombed that last wolf, soaring up to it so fast it had no time to react... and sliced it cleanly in half!

Now the snow rumbled off the mountain in a massive wave, a frozen tsunami so large it would engulf even the aerobatic expert. It was too close at the start to simply avoid by veering left or right. Add to that the canopy of trees that could block him if he attempted to fly direct up, and he was basically caught in an icy trap, unable to soar at full speed without hitting something hard. Evasive action!

Skybolt launched his boosters, keeping up with the wave, then began a series of rolls to avoid the trees. Left! Right! Left! Roll! A break in the tree cover up ahead, he flared his boosters... would he make it?!

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt hit the tree at the clearing. hard. With his groin. The snow swept over him, pulling him under like a surfer caught in the undertow of a great wave, end over end.

[roll0]

Also: oy, all that great writing.

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt brooded only momentarily on his vanished dignity. This was because a thought occurred to him: His new armor design absorbed an impact of 16,000mph directed soley at his groin, plus the crushing force of an avalanche!

"Dang I'm good!"

His mental commands channeled through the neural interface of the suit's helm. A pulse of the tractor beam surrounded him, lifting the snow a away. A moment later his boosters ignited, and like a spark Skybolt flew once more into the air.

"Okay, let's get going."

[Sojobo]

As you deal with the millions of tons of snow and debris crashing over you like a tidal wave, the giant, long barreled device has fully protruded from the flowered mountain top portal. A steadily increasing hum begins to fill the arctic mountain air.

Still waiting on Iron Cardinal.

[Emperor Ing]

The Cardinal detects major movement, culminating in him noticing the avalanche just as it begins to overwhelm him. He is quick and attempts to get out of the way, but he is still overwhelmed. However the hard light projected by his forcefield absorb the force of the snow, sweeping it around him.

He rises up as well. Confirmed, Boss. You are good. He then looks up at the rising spire.
What do you say we drop down right on top of them?

Fine, fine. I'm still sure i'm gonna fail.
Dodge
[roll0]
Toughness in the event of fail (which is pretty much certain)
[roll1]
edit: Holy crap, did I actually not take damage?!

[fireinthedust]

"Well, looks like we can skip going through the front door! Let's rock it up to that opening and see what's going on; and who all is behind this heist. If they've hooked the singularity up to some ray gun, they could, I dunno, generate crushing gravity effects within solid objects: satelites, asteroids, even the ISS2!"

He wastes no time before soaring towards the opening in the mountain.

[Emperor Ing]

That is what I was thinking. He says, following to the mountain, hoping to slip through the opening.

[Sojobo]

As the two heroes begin flying up the height of the mountain stronghold, more panels slide open, hidden along the mountain side. Several reveal gun emplacements that begin firing upon you, but you are too quick and easily able to dodge their firing solutions. The guns continue tracking you though, firing walls of projectiles, and require your constant movement.

The gun emplacements will hit you for Damage 8 if you fail any Dodge resistance check by 2 degrees or more (5+), but otherwise do not act. Think of it as Reaction Damage 8 (triggered when you fail).

Other panels are flight doors, and out streams a veritable black cloud of robotic condor fliers that flock and swarm all around you, their screeching the sound of mini jumpjet engines. They are all individually too small, and their armament - low calibre ballistics - too weak to hurt you, but there are so many of them that its hard to maneuver or see.

The entire zone is affected by an Environment effect: -2 Speed, -2 to Perception, -2 Dodge, -2 to Ranged Attacks. Killing off a sizable number of the robotic condors (say, via Area Effects) will remove this effect for the round, but if the flight doors are still viable the condors will just keep coming.

And then halfway up the mountain, Dr. Menagerie's true aerial guardians reveal themselves. Launching directly from the open portal at the mountain's top, three gigantic winged gunships modeled after raptors and eagles soar into the aerial chaos. Skybolt recognizes the design: Tengu.
http://i.imgur.com/Y6aIhyKl.jpg
"I dzid not know vhen you'd show up, old friend," comes Dr. Menagerie's thick, impossible to identify accent from loudspeakers mounted on all of his robotic minions. "Like you my Tengu? I fixed chassis problem, no thenks to you!"

In the chaotic arctic air, the Tengu lock extensive weapons systems on you.

The Tengu are NOT minions, and are not affected by the condors or the guns (obviously). They will act on Init 15. Roll for initiative, and if you beat 15, go ahead with your action.

[Emperor Ing]

Even one of these robot birds would be expensive to produce but such an enormous swarm is nothing short of remarkable. Regardless he has to consciously turn down his audio input as the sound of hundreds of guns firing ineffectually at and into his forcefield is more than a little irritating.

When the gunships enter his field-of-view, the digitized mind is able to reason that not only is his (and Skybolt's) maneuvering hampered, but so is theirs. As such he immediately runs the process of creating an opposing charge in the field around the gunships. This man has far too much free time. Iron Cardinal remarks.

Init
[roll0]

And how many gunships can I hit with Ball Lightning?

[fireinthedust]

Hoo boy. Was thinking you'd mistaken us for Alpha with the Tengu... and was wrong.

Initiative:

Dodge for the Missiles [roll]1d20+10-2

Attack on the robot-bird-swarm door(s?) with a well-placed blaster shot: [roll1]

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt wastes no time on the Tengu-class attackers, but instead defensively rolls around the guns towards one of the doors in the mountain. "get those swarms, I'll close the doors! Another diversion, they're playing for time. Maybe we can skip past this, enter through the gun doors?" he says during one pass where he flies close enough to Iron Cardinal to speak directly.


Hoping I'm allowed to single-target blast the doors (didn't fix the area protection, so I don't have an area blast power for the swarms).

Regardless, can I try to see if there's a way in through the gun turret doors themselves? Maybe we can avoid these Tengu.

Perception on the doors: [roll0]

[Sojobo]

Apologies for the big delay: work and fun tend to interfere.

Iron Cardinal: Attempting to hack the Tengu is a possibility; however, considering their importance you expect that Dr. Menagerie himself will oppose or try to counter any hacking attempt (with his massive Technology skill thats comparable to your own).

You can try to hide behind Tengu, since they are so large: as part of your Move action, you can make an Acrobatics/Dodge/Movement power check (your choice) against the Tengu's Dodge: if you succeed, you'll have an amount of cover depending upon your Degrees of Success. Of course, any cover a Tengu provides you also provides cover for the other Tengu.

Skybolt: You don't have to roll to dodge the cannon fire: they only kick in if you fail future Dodge checks (vs. anything) by 2 degrees of failure or more.

Skybolt can't tell if the gun emplacements - if destroyed - lead further into the complex or not, but you do notice they aren't positioned that close to the gigantic device protruding from the mountain and powering up right now.

Regardless, he strafes a flight door as the stream of robotic birds keeps pouring out - hitting the doors is like trying to throw a pie against the side of a barn.

Iron Cardinal, your technopathic senses are tingling - there is a huge amount of computer and network traffic going on in the mountain, most of which is encrypted, but you can tell that hacker you wrangled with before is attempting to download the graviton reactor plans once again. Parallel to that, a process is counting down within the mountain - "Etheron Particle Beam Powering Up." You have no clue what that means or when it will be finished "powering up," but the hum of the gigantic device is steadily filling the arctic mountainside air.

The flight doors are ridiculously easy to hit, and are considered Defense 10 and Defenseless, which means you can make routine attack checks (take 10). If you choose to roll, your attacks are automatically considered Crits, so the Damage DC is 30.

The flight doors are tough though: it only fails by 2 degrees of failure and takes -1 Toughness (it can't be Dazed). To destroy the door, it must fail a Toughness check by 3 degrees of failure.

Iron Cardinal, you're up. Sorry again!

[Emperor Ing]

No, those gun emplacements go nowhere. I'll clear you a path but you won't get far with these things riding you. Go, i'll keep them occupied. He says this while attempting a rather risky maneuver. He drains the magnetic charge from one of the farther-away gunships, then outputs a dangerously high-powered charge from his own power source, well beyond his own safety parameters. The entire cloud is bathed in white light from the tree-trunk thick lightning bolt for a brief moment, vaporizing the mechanical birds in its path and striking the Gunship with a truly brutal charge.

The Cardinal then follows along the path, enveloped in his incandescent yellow hard-light field, avoiding clumsy fire from the turrets and the targeting filters of the gunships. He then attempts to get within punching distance, grabbing the side of its hull with his mechanical limbs and attempting to use it as cover from the third gunship.


Electrical Blast: Penetrating Ranged Damage 9 targeting one of the farther Tengu
Attack
[roll0]

And move to just to the side of the Tengu and use it as cover against the other Tengu
Anti-Gravity: Flight 6,

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt decides to hold off on destroying the doors for now, seeing that they're tough enough that it would eat up valuable time they just don't have to spare.

"We go in as a team, I might need you to shut down their computer."


Skybolt circles back around, and targets one of the Tengu with his tractor beam: his intent is to hurl it into one or more of its comrades, either damaging them or distracting them for Iron Cardinal's follow-up strike. The beam generator hums, sending out the glowing rings of the tractor beam along the shaft of light that aims it.




Tactor Beam (move object grapple/throw/thing) attack on Tengu: 1d20+10 DC25

Was going to run in, but I don't want him getting ganged up on while I take on an uber villain alone.

[Sojobo]

With the cloud of robotic birds covering lines of sight - and no doubt synchronized to the Tengu's flight path - it was surprisingly difficult to get a firing solution on the gigantic jet-sized robots; Iron Cardinal's electrical blast goes wide (though it fries a number of robo-birds as it streaks through the chaos).

IC's attack misses. You didn't roll your movement power, so I did it for you with my evil obsidian D20: your Movement check beats the Tengu's Dodge check for 1 Degree of success -> you have Partial Cover, meaning any Tengu (other than the Tengu you're hiding near) will have a -2 circumstance penalty to hit you, but you have a -2 circumstance penalty to hit them unless you use Indirect, ricochet, etc.

Skybolt whizzes through the cloud of robo-birds and activates his suit's tractor beam capabilities, hoping to snag one of the giant Tengu. The gigantic robot strains in the grasp of your mastery of physics but is securely pinioned by electromagnetic forces.

Your roll didn't parse, not sure why. Generally, once a post has been made, the roller won't work anymore, so you have to get the rolls right on the first try. Pretty annoying if you ask me.

Anywho, I rolled for you: you hit. The Tengu makes a DC20 Strength check to oppose and it fails by one Degree - it is Grabbed, which means its Hindered and Vulnerable.

The Tengu that Iron Cardinal is buzzing around deploys its proximity defensive systems - a pulse of plasma that radiates from magnetically shielded ion ports all over its hull. In other words, the Tengu's skin lights on fire, turning the air around it into a ball of superhot plasma.

The plasma aura is an Area Damage 8 Effect.
Iron Cardinal, make a DC18 Dodge check. Remember, if you fail a Dodge check by 5+, you also take Damage 6 from the gun emplacements, or DC21 Toughness.

If you succeed, make a DC19 Toughness check for damage. If you fail the Dodge check, make a DC23 Toughness check for damage.

The other two Tengu, noting that Iron Cardinal is too close to one of its compatriots, focus their fire on Skybolt. They cut the sky with chain-linked machine guns, shooting through holes in the robo-bird flock.

One Tengu misses, the other hits Skybolt. Make a DC23 Toughness check.

[fireinthedust]

Would I be right in thinking that I've got a -1 modifier to all rolls due to that one failed check earlier? That would make most pertinant rolls +9 instead of +10, right?

Toughness check: [roll0]

[Sojobo]

Yup, right now I have both Skybolt and Iron Cardinal down at 1 Bruise, or -1 Toughness. Bruises only effect Toughness checks on Damage.

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt tumbles out of the way, this time successfully deflecting the railgun fire off the surface of his force field. It is a mixture of feats of both technological supremacy and extreme aerial acrobatics; adding to that, Skybolt uses the tractor beam on the third Tengu to pivot around, maintaining his hold. He reaches the extreme of his flight path, then super-charges the pull on the beam to absorb the movement, overcompensate, and then pull the mass through the air. He launches the snared Tengu at its fellows, hurling it through the air.

Having grabbed that one Tengu, does that mean i can throw it at other Tengu? What should I roll? I'm assuming 1d20+9 (ie: +10 move object -1 for bruised).

If I can't hit the others with it, can I at least try to put it in a position to mess up the aim of the others, sending them into disarray?

Tractor Beam Throw [roll0]

[Emperor Ing]

Detecting the increase of proximity temperature in addition to the plasma radiating from the gunship, the Iron Cardinal banks a distance away, hoping to get as much distance between himself and the gunship as possible.


First dodge
[roll0]

Toughness vs gun emplacements (if rolled a 6 or lower)
[roll1]
Wait, I have Impervious Toughness 6. Can those guns even hurt me?

Toughness vs Plasma Burst
[roll2]

[fireinthedust]

still here, I know we are all busy. Gamma rocks! Hooah

[Emperor Ing]

The guns don't seem to hurt him all that much but the plasma does erode yet a bit more of his armor plating. The compromising of his structural integrity is starting to get uncomfortable but he is still at 99.82% power. Regardless he takes the opportunity to fry the tengu he's hiding behind at pretty much point-blank range.


Crap, I just realized you're waiting on me. :smalleek: Apologies.

Electrical Blast on immediate Tengu
[roll0]
additional effects may or may not be in effect due to proximity and the fact that the plasma blast may have cleared up the vulture cloud

[Sojobo]

Despite their size, the Tengu are formidable fliers. Skybolts attempt to tractor beam toss his captured Tengu into another met with great resistance, while Iron Cardinal's electrical barrage was deftly met with a barrel roll.

The three Tengu unleash a barrage of missile and laser fire in a pyrotechnic display that would make the American Fireworks Association drool, but both Skybolt and Iron Cardinal manage to evade the worst of the attacks, emerging from the conflagration with only minor surface metal scorch marks.

Both of your attacks miss; Skybolt, you still have the Tengu you have Grabbed.

I rolled a 3, a 5, and a 2 (in a row) for my Tengu attacks. ROFL, obviously they all missed.

Your actions, but some new info to factor into your tactics....

As you reassess your situations, your sensors go haywire for a brief moment as both visual and audio sensors are overloaded by a bright flash and a horrendous screeching noise. Slowly, through the static, you finally regain visual and audio feeds.

The gigantic cannon-like device on top of the mountain had powered up and discharged - it was now emitting a gigantic beam of energy, at least 50 feet wide, of scintillating, multi-chromatic light straight up into the sky. Skybolt, a quick assessment indicates the energy stream is unlike anything you've ever encountered before in, like, ever.

Iron Cardinal, with your attention understandably focused on the Tengu the last couple of moments, that hacker you wrangled with before was left without opposition - he or she or it has successfully retrieved the graviton reactor plans. Things can't be good right now.

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt hummed and haw'd as the robots dodged his throw, and sighed when the energy canon started firing its beam inot the sky.

"Hrmm, y'know, I think we've passed the point of reasonable discourse. Keep at 'em, I'm doing something drastic!

Keeping his lock on the Tengu, he spun it around and around, finally releasing it on a vector aimed at the giant beam of energy.

"Up, up and awaaaaaay!"

After it's launched, Skybolt soars along behind it, letting it clear a path for him to the opening.



Throwing this robo-turkey at the beam. If it hits, I'm hoping to disrupt it.

[roll0]

After that, I'm using my speedster-level speed to follow and fly through to the opening.

[Emperor Ing]

Boss, stop fooling around! The Cardinal exclaims to Skybolt, We're out of time! We got to go now!

With that he sends an opposing charge down the length of the gunship, and moving at full speed to the laser mountain thingie.


Attack Roll
[roll0]

The Affliction attack against mechanoids.

[fireinthedust]

"Stop fooling around? Cardi, don't you see it? Do you realize this is the exotic energy I wanted to check out in the first place?! talk about lucky: the army of robots with the stolen black hole AND the anomalous readings, all in the same place: we must be the luckiest guys/former guy, on the planet! Think of the time saved! Switch on your sensors and you'd better store every particle of this data for when we have time to analyze. And start sending me those readings I know you're doing, we're no use having communicators if we don't bloody communicate.

"Stop fooling around he says. I'm saving the day! Now hold off those robots while I go to the control both and shut down everything I can: the beam, the guards, everything. If you can make your way up here, follow me. We don't have time to waste out here, we need to move fast fast fast!"

Skybolt whizzes along behind the Tengu he launched at the beam. When he gets in range, he flies inside the mountain, preparing to sabotage any controls that look important.

[fireinthedust]

Skybolt likewise remembers to turn on his own sensors to read the data on this strange energy type.


Can I try a "well informed" roll? I know it's normally about people, but I've also got a +20 bonus to science checks, which would include comic book science. He's got theories about exotic things like psionics and magic, so could he guess at what the energy could be?

[roll0]