The Nightmare of SIDE IC 2 - Exit the Matrix

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1

The God-Emperor himself had come to retrieve Tara to further who knew what unspeakable plans. It was, objectively and by every measure, time to get serious!

And Avery, Arch bless him, threw a pie in his face.

I mean, his laser eyes vaporized it before it got anywhere near him. But still.

Wraith ghosted in, coming up against one of the Destroyers with a heavy blow that put a dent in its armor, but Haptarus didn't deck their troops out in all that metal for the aesthetic (or, well, not just for the aesthetic, anyway). The attack didn't even budge the Destroyer. And then Wraith was gone, vanishing into the snow so thoroughly that even the tactile scanners of the Destroyers couldn't pick him up.

And then Captain Ilessia came swooping in, unloading a swarm of missiles over the enemy force. Tara raised a shimmering barrier to shield herself, and there was a flickering spherical vibration in the air around the God-Emperor as a forcefield absorbed the blasts. Two of the Destroyers also managed to come out unscathed, their massive armor a match for the high explosives. A third took minor damage. But the one Wraith had attacked had a chink in its armor, and the rockets blew that into a gaping hole.

Which gave Aidan his opening. Empowered by Prophet's blessing, his disintegrating powers blazed brilliantly as he made his quick attack-run, utterly consuming the massive suit of powered armor, leaving the soldier within no defense against his punch. Down went the first of the Emperor's guards, in the opening seconds of the battle.

Kate pointed her hands at the hostiles, and with a tremendous exertion of power opened another portal to deep within the earth, sending yet more lava exploding out over the plateau. Tara and two of the Destroyers plunged through it, one of the Destroyers coming out with moderate burns on its suit, the other weathering it okay. The lava flowed around Tara harmlessly.

The last Destroyer and the God-Emperor himself were not so quick to react. The Destroyer's armor held, though the molten lava damaged it, and both were encased in molten rock.

Well. For a moment, anyway.

After that moment, there was a brief purple glow in the molten rock between Tara and one of the Destroyers, and suddenly a wash of brilliant purple plasma came blasting through, expanding outward into a powerful wave that fell upon the four heroes nearest. When it faded, the God-Emperor stood, still unharmed, in the newly-minted hole in the wall, the suit's sculpted mouth open, trailing a few streams of violet smoke.

"Did you honestly think you could trap me?" the God-Emperor asked as he stepped out of the dome, the other Destroyer hastily following behind him. "That is absolutely adorable! BWA-HA-HA!"

"Don't underestimate them!" Tara warned sharply. The God-Emperor cast her a brief, kinda petulantly annoyed look, but Tara wasn't really paying attention to it. With Arcanis's staff again in hand, she wasted no time in channeling her potent ritual magic through it. Blazing shields of arcane power flared up around the villains, while another of Tara's classic, searing bolts of lightning shot forth to chain among the heroes.

"I would never," the Emperor answered snidely. "Captain Ilessia. I'm so glad you could join us!" he added, snapping his fingers.

The three Destroyers took to the air. One of them fired its gun-arm at Aidan, while the other two rocketed towards the BODES towers, swinging those odd hammer-like devices. On impact, they detonated with explosive shockwaves, aiming to send the towers toppling into the sea!

"Well, not so much me, really. More an associate..."

"ROOOOOOOOOOOK!"

The voice of Count Eduin Aubernon boomed over the battlefield, as the Red Terror came soaring in, landing upon the plateau in a spray of snow. Weirdly enough, there was someone standing astride the mech's shoulder. Garbed all in black and clinging to the mecha with half a dozen tentacles that...abruptly flowed back into his body as he leaped down to the ground. By the time he hit the ground, his skin and clothing had gone completely snow white.

He looked straight at Wraith, drawing and firing a pistol at him in a single move. And then he moved in a blur, seeming to almost become one with the snow.

Spoiler: Detect Dreamer Powers

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Weirdly, although this guy clearly just flip shapeshifted, you do not sense any Dreamer powers.

Spoiler: Assessment, to save time

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Spoiler: The Red Terror

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Spoiler: DC 10

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PL 15.

Spoiler: DC 15

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1-point Damage shift, 5-point Toughness shift.

Spoiler: DC 20

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Immune to Fortitude. Half immune to Uncommon Resistances. All stats at PL.

Spoiler: Rickert Rhuem

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Spoiler: DC 30

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PL 12.

Spoiler: DC 35

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4-point Attack and Defense shift, excluding Toughness-resisted Area and Perception attacks.

Spoiler: DC 40

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All stats at PL.

Spoiler

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Hey guys! Guys! I figured out how to balance Rook being added to this encounter! And by "balance" I mean literally anything but that exact word!

Everybody take a Hero Point for the combined impact of Rook's I Will Have My Vengeance and Wraith's Best Served Cold Complications.

The God-Emperor:
Free: Reconfigure Nanotech. 4 points for the Penetrates Concealment Vision from Sensor Suite, the rest into Nanoweapons.
Move: Into AF14.
Standard: Plasma Breath. Kate, Prophet, Rook, and Avery, give me Dodge DC 25 for half, Toughness DC 30/25/23 (full) or 22/17/16 (half) vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness Linked Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled Affliction. If you fail the initial Dodge save, you get hit by the full force of this massive plasma attack, and the Damage is resisted by Defense instead. Since the barrier can't make a Dodge save for half, the square that is at the base of the cone takes Defense-resisted Damage and is Destroyed automatically.
Kate: Dodge: (1d20+12)[14]. Toughness: (1d20+12)[20]. Dodge: (1d20+12)[32]. -5 Toughness, Dazed+Impaired
Move-by Action: Into AD14.

Tara:
Free: Augmentation using the Staff of Arcanis.
-32 points to Link the Deflect from Ritual of the Flawless Shield to Ritual of the Gathering Storm.
-16 points to add Secondary Effect to Ritual of the Flawless Shield.
-2 points for let's say Enhanced Flight 1.
EDIT: -0 points to make it regular Area since I totally both forgot and didn't notice it was Targeted.
Move: Nah.
Standard: Ritual of the Gathering Storm. Kate, Prophet, Rook, Avery, give me Dodge DC 26 for half, Toughness DC 31/23 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 26/18 vs. Vulnerable/Stunned. Tara, The God-Emperor, and all three Destroyers are Deflected at 1d20+26 (-1 per point of Toughness above 16) for two rounds.
Kate: Dodge: (1d20+12)[23]. Toughness: (1d20+12)[29]. Fortitude: (1d20+12)[32]. Bruised and Dazed due to above

Destroyer 1:
Move: Through the hole and then to AO10.
Standard: Gun Arm on Aidan at (1d20+10)[13], Deflected at (1d10+23)[25]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 24 vs. Weaken Stamina. Miss

Destroyer 2:
Move: Into AW17.
Standard: Attack the eastern BODES tower with Blast Arm, All Out Power Attack for 5, at (1d20+10)[30]. On anything but a natural 1, Toughness ((1d20+10)[22]) DC 39 vs. Damage, and if it fails to beat DC 34 the Linked Move Object is sufficiently powerful to send it toppling into the ocean. In this case, since Aidan's on the other side of it, he risks getting rather crushed or even swept along; Dodge DC 22 for half, Toughness DC 27/21 vs. Damage, Strength or Flight DC 22/16 vs. also being launched into the sea, and if you are launched Strength or Dodge DC 22/16 vs. being caught beneath the tower as it sinks. The freezing ocean requires Fortitude DC 20/15 vs. Damage Linked Cumulative Fatigued/Exhausted/Incapacitated each round of exposure. Wrecked

Destroyer 3:
Move: Into C17.
Standard: Attack the western BODES tower with Blast Arm, All Out Power Attack for 5, at (1d20+10)[21]. On anything but a natural 1, Toughness ((1d20+10)[28]) DC 39 vs. Damage, and if it fails to beat DC 34 the Linked Move Object is sufficiently powerful to send it toppling into the ocean. Wrecked

The Red Terror:
Standard: Blast some fools over at the naval battle.
Aubernon Standard: Same.
Move: Arrive.
Aubernon Move: ROOOOOOOOOK!!!!!!!

BODES Towers (if either are still standing):
Reaction: Border Defense Laser at the Red Terror. Toughness DC 30 vs. Damage. The Red Terror is too heavy to be affected by the Linked Move Object and is immune to the Affliction.
Toughness if needed: (1d20+20)[22], (1d20+20)[27].

Rickert Rhuem:
Free: Reconfigure Tactical Shapeshifting to Feature 10 (Master of Stealth [All Senses]).
Move: Leap down from the Red Terror's shoulder.
Reaction: Perception with +5 circumstance for Benefit 2 (Combat Awareness) at (1d20+27)[33]. If that fails, on his Second Chance to Detect Hidden Foes he will use Ultimate Effort (Perception), giving Wraith a Hero Point. Wraith take a Hero Point
Standard: Attack Wraith with SIDE-arm, Power Attacking for 4, at (1d20+12)[23]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27+Multiattack vs. Secondary Effect Damage.
Move-by Action: Stealth out at (1d20+20)[36]. Just misses. Yay for Defense shifts!

BODES Towers (again, if either are still standing):
Standard: Artillery Barrage. This can hit the Red Terror, the God-Emperor, and Tara. On a hit, Toughness DC 31+Multiattack/26+Multiattack vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. On a miss, Homing 3. I'll roll these OOC if either are up since the odds are kinda against them.

All PCs are on turn.

[Hyperbolic sine]

To be honest, Aidan thought key defensive emplacements would be built a little more sturdily. He didn't have a lot of time to be disappointed, though, because while he dodged BODES fragments more enemies joined the fray, making the situation even more hopeless. They couldn't afford a single mistake.

Tara's ritual of protection made increased the difficulty one more step...but fortunately, one Destroyer left himself open by destroying the tower, so there was still a chance to take them down.

Spoiler: OOC

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Routining Assessment for 31.

Move: Close with D2.
Standard: Accurate Attack (4) D2 with Focused Disintegration at (1d20+14)[24], crit on 30+; Defence DC 19 (after Half Immunity) vs Damage, Mobility DC (1d20+17)[18] vs Trip.
Move-by: AN23.

Deflected at 1d10+23.

[Thokk_Smash]

...Okay. OKAY. Things had changed. Not entirely, but Wraith's priorities have definitely been altered.

He digs deep within himself. "Y'know, Tara? I'm glad that first punch didn't knock you out," he yells out with a sneer. His gauntlets change and shimmer once more as he resettles his weight. "'Cause there's dozens more ways to make you hurt before we take you in!""

With a burst of speed, he rockets at a diagonal, his ghostly form flickering in front of the mech to throw it off-balance for Rook's next attack. Then he settles himself into the snow and focuses, waiting for the inevitable attack from his true target--Rickert Arch-damned Rheum.

Spoiler

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Free action: Swap to Forgotten Combat.

Standard action: Demoralize Tara, +5 for Wraith Reputation, using a Reputation Success to bypass her Fearless: (1d20+26)[43]

Move-action: On a diagonal to his current location.

Extra Effort: Aid Rook's next attack at the Red Terror, (1d20+14)[32] +5

Extraordinary Effort: Ready an action to attack Rickert when he makes his attack. (1d20+14)[16] vs DC 25 Damage, DC 20 Will vs Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless, DC 20 Strength vs Move-Object Grab. Miss, will probably HP re-roll after I wake up tomorrow Re-rolled here, total 27

Move-by action: End turn in N23.

Status: Fatigued, Incapped by Fatigue next round, presumably Deflected by Prophet
HP: 7->6
Luck: 2/2 to re-roll attacks against Wraith

[SuperCracker]

Rook thrust a finger in the Emperor’s direction. “My fist. Your face. It’s happening.” BOOM! As the Red Terror landed on the battlefield being ridden by… something. “In a minute!” Rook corrected himself before shifting to face The Red Terror.

It was time to see if Lena’s new engine would work. Burning within his chest, where a human’s heart might be, the reactor flared up. Rook’s golden pupils started to glow blue amidst the black background. Blue lines of energy pulsed throughout his robotic body.

And as soon as Wraith gave Rook an opening...

“LET’S GO AUBERNON!”

Rook let loose on the Red terror with one punch, two punches, three punches, and then his arms and fists turned into a blur of hammering, overwhelming strikes made at superhuman speed.

Spoiler

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Attack stats are in the ooc.

[Dodgeson]

"I guess you're not hungry huh?" Avery quipped at the God Emperor and was almost immediately rummaging around in the depths of his trusty bowler hat for a reload when he was suddenly thrown off of his game by the appearance of not only Captain Ilessia (!!) and his good buddy the Red Terror.

"Rook, long time no see!" He said, charging through the air towards the towering mecha, he might have not have been much use last time they tangled, but he'd gotten a lot better since then, this time it was going to be different! "Don't take this personally or nothin' but I'm not really a fan of your plus one here."

An enormous can-opener was already in his hand by the time he'd finished talking and he set about slashing wildly at anything he could reach, he might have not have been as fast as the good captain but between his own determination and a loose relationship with the laws of physics he wasn't exactly a chump either.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Move to Z12
Free Action: Set Variable to Damage 12 (Multiattack) Linked to Affliction 12 (Impaired/Disabled, Toughness)(Multiattack)(Limited Degree)
Standard Action: All-Out/Power Attack +5 at the Red Terror (1d20+12)[28] DC37/32+Multiattack Toughness if that hits
End of Turn: Regeneration removes a Bruise

HP 5
Status Fatigued/-5 Defence/Bruised x1

[Dorni]

Prophet blinked at Rooks sudden entrance. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised given that he was also facing off against Tara, Haptarus, and the Red Terror. This day couldn't possibly get much weirder. Or more dangerous. Although he could do something about the latter.

Caleb offered another prayer to the Dream and the light enveloping him turned warm and sheltering, clinging protectively to his allies.

Spoiler

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Move: Nah
Standard: Prayer of Protection. Allies are Deflected at 1d10+23 and gain Evasion II. Allies are Healed at (1d20+3)[15] One degree

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 2

Aidan rushed one of the Destroyers, but Tara's barrier absorbed his attack without harm. Wraith and Rook assailed the Red Terror, causing only little direct harm to the mighty mecha, but Rooks hammering blows managed to shatter its deflective forcefield outright, leaving it in an incredibly vulnerable position.

Avery and Kate immediately moved to capitalize, although as Avery moved in, one of the Destroyers charged in, obstructing his path and engaging the cartoon Hero directly. Avery's mighty can-opener left gouges on the smaller suit of Haptaran powered armor, but it was far from defeated.

Kate blinked back a ways to make area attacks a bit harder. Without Kyton's chains to back her up, her trick from last time wasn't really plausible, so she went with the old staple of hurling her offensive portals at the Red Terror. Irksomely, a shiver from the cold fouled her aim some, but she still gouged some holes into the mech and damaged some of the electronics within.

Now with shields up, Tara could go to work.

In the previous battle, not to mention when her clone had been fighting, her strategy had been to try to mitigate the advantage of numbers with area attacks. That was a solid strategy, but it came at the cost of spreading her power out. The heroes had weathered it well. Now that she had allies on hand, she could count on them to keep up the pressure, while she did what she did best - provide support.

The first priority...well, it was obvious. Tara knew better than anyone the value of a dedicated support power. Although she could hardly imagine even this team overcoming the force that the Emperor had brought with him, she knew better than to underestimate them, and pointedly reminded herself that even if they didn't win, if they could just hold on long enough that Ilessia's military could mobilize sufficient forces, they wouldn't need to. No Dreamer, however powerful - not her, not even the Emperor of Haptarus - could enter open battle against the full might of a modern country's military and come out victorious. She had to win this as quickly as possible.

And that meant taking down her opposite number. If her team had the constant stream of healing, shielding, and augmentative powers she could provide while her opponents lacked their own bolstered defenses and recovery, victory would be swift.

She tapped the Emperor with Arcanis's staff, an aura of white light flaring up around him as she channeled her augmentative power into him, before swooping around to face Prophet directly. "Darryll had a lot of respect for you, you know that?" she asked in a voice that may have sounded conversational if it weren't for the simmering anger and hurt underlying it.

"I'll make this quick," she said simply, and unleashed a wave of magic in an effort to first shatter his defensive powers, and then strip them entirely away.

Aubernon hardly seemed to care about the damage his mech was suffering. He had eyes on one foe and one alone. He came at Rook hard, taking full control of his mecha, superseding its autonomous combat programming. It wasn't necessarily the most common option for a mecha pilot. An ace like Aubernon would usually use his own skill to supplement the combat programming and powerful weapon systems of his mech. In this case, though, Aubernon used the mech's size and power to support his own combat skill.

He wanted to crush the soldier who had humiliated him with his not-so-bare hands.

He lashed out, several quick testing strikes, before coming in hard with a clapping attack from both sides intent to injure, concuss, and grab hold of his foe.

Down on the ground, there was a brief blur in the snow revealing the position of Rickert Rheum as he took a shot at Wraith. This time, instead of his basic sidearm, he fired from a specialized Haptaran weapon. Called a Dream-Killer, the rifle fired shots with bullets that gave off a power-disabling radiation.

The goons, with the towers disabled, went into the fray. The one who had intercepted Avery struck back at the Hero with a slash of its blade arm. The one that Aidan had targeted returned the favor, firing on the IN-SIDE agent with its gun arm. The last flew at Kate, blade arm leading in a strike to impale.

The God-Emperor, infused with the augmentative power of Tara Ellens, spent a moment gazing over the battlefield. And it was Good.

And then he pulled a massive firearm off of his weapon-wings, one which made a rip-roaring god-awful noise that might have meant little to these heroes, but may well have sent shivers of dread down the spines of a different team.

And even over the horrendous noise, the God-Emperor's laughter rang out loud and wild as he unleashed a spray of matter-annihilating bullets from his antimatter minigun. "AHHHH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!
I LOVE THIS PART!!!"

Spoiler

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Tara Ellens:
Free: Augmentation on the God-Emperor. Antimatter Minigun gains two more applications of Cone Area and gains Secondary Effect. And sure let's duplicate five ranks of his Regeneration outside of his array, why not?
Move: Into U17.
Standard: Attempt to Counter Prophet's Deflect with Ritual of the Broken Dream at (1d20+14)[16] vs. (1d20+12)[19]. Fails!
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Attack Prophet with Ritual of the Broken Dream at (1d20+14)[17], possibly Deflected at (1d10+24)[26]. On a hit, Will DC 26 vs. Cumulative, Progressive Powers Entranced/Stunned/Transformed. Miss!
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers, Deflect goes up again.

The Red Terror:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Pilot Enhancement System on Count Abernon. Power Strike gains two ranks, and both the Damage and Move Object gain Multiattack.
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise.

Count Aubernon:
Move: Meh.
Standard: Power Strike on Rook at (1d20+16)[18], potentially Deflected at (1d10+22)[28]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29+Multiattack vs. Damage, you're immune to the Affliction, and Strength or Dodge DC 24+Multiattack vs. Grab. Miss!

Rickert Rhuem:
Standard: Attack Wraith with Dream Killer. If the Deflect is down he'll Power Attack for 4. (1d20+12)[15], potentially Deflected at effective (1d10+20)[22]. On a hit, Toughness DC 23 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 18 vs. Cumulative Powers Entranced+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled/Incapacitated+Transformed. DCs increase by 4 if the Deflect is down. Miss!
This triggers Wraith's Readied action, which hits. Toughness (DC 25): (1d20+8)[11]. Will (DC 20): (1d20+12)[15]. Dodge (DC 20): (1d20+16)[26]. Staggered, Impaired+Vulnerable
Move (if not Dazed or Grabbed): Reposition and Stealth at (1d20+20)[40]. Like the one good roll the enemies get all turn and it gets negated.

Destroyer 3:
Move: Meh.
Standard: Attack Avery with Blade Arm at (1d20+10)[29], potentially Deflected at (1d10+22)[26]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29/24 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Both effects carry a Secondary Effect. An actual hit for a blessed change!

Destroyer 2:
Move: Meh.
Standard: Attack Aidan with Gun Arm at (1d20+10)[20], Deflected at (1d10+23)[30] (+1 if Prophet's Deflect is up). On a hit, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 24 vs. Weaken Stamina. Hard

Destroyer 1:
Move: Into D10.
Standard: Attack Kate with Blade Arm at (1d20+10)[26], potentially Deflected at (1d10+24)[33]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29/24 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Both effects carry a Secondary Effect. Nope
Kate Toughness: (1d20+12)[25].

The God-Emperor:
Move: Enjoy this.
Standard: Attack with Antimatter Minigun. Everyone but Aidan is in the area. On a hit, Toughness DC 30+Multiattack vs. Concentration Secondary Effect Damage (the SE doesn't apply until he stops concentrating).
Avery: (1d20+15)[34], potentially Deflected at (1d10+22)[27]. Hit. +2 Multiattack.
Prophet: (1d20+15)[18], potentially Deflected at (1d10+24)[32]. Miss
Wraith: (1d20+15)[21], potentially Deflected at (1d10+24)[28]. Miss
Kate: (1d20+15)[27], potentially Deflected at (1d10+24)[33]. Deflected
Rook: (1d20+15)[27], potentially Deflected at (1d10+22)[29]. Deflected

All PCs are on turn.

[SuperCracker]

Prophet’s shield protected Rook from Aubernon’s counter-attack. Rook’s new cyborg body quickly adapted to the changing situation, losing its unyielding armor in favor of the nanites repairing themselves. “Avery! How are you? I’m not a big fan of his either.” This whole conversation occurred while Rook reigned down punch after punch after punch, and he continued doing so, scoring minor damage but keeping the mech off-balance.

Having regained his own footing, Rook jumped back and ignited his repulsors, flying backwards to try and make Area of Effect attacks that much harder. From the shoulders of his ARMS unit popped two small cannons mounted on articulated limbs. They trained onto the Red Terror and started blasting, unleashing a non-stop torrent of ammunition – small slivers of metal propelled at such force that they were as effective as bullets.

Rook could see the Emperor being juiced up by Tara. Frack.

Fortunately for Rook, Prophet’s shield kept the Emperor’s super gun from being quite so super right now.

Spoiler

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Dazed ends.

Standard Action for Machine Gun Blows, see ooc.

Move action to move.

Free action to switch to Liquid Metal. Regen 1 bruise.

HP to recover fatigue.

Surge for extra standard action.

Free action to swap to Autocannons.

Standard to fire Autocannons, see ooc.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Aidan surveyed the battlefield while he dodged the heavy projectile, noticing with a wicked satisfaction that the Task Force was managing to maintain the upper hand, despite the overwhelming odds.

For now, at least. One wrong step could cost them the entire battle, so being overconfident wouldn't do; he had to seize every chance he could, including multiple enemies lining up perfectly.

Pushing his muscles to the limit, he moved so fast as to appear like he teleported besides the Destroyer - all in order to gather those few precious seconds he needed to gather power and unleash, instead of the usual barrage, a powerful disintegration beam.

Spoiler

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Aidan
Free: Switch Maneuvers array to Teleport.
Free: Teleport to AY17.
Free: Switch to Erosion Beam.
Move+Standard. Erosion Beam on D2, Tara and Rickert. Toughness DC 26/21 vs Incurable Damage and Incurable Weaken Toughness (non-stacking).

On a hit (should I even bother?), Weaken DC +5 (capped at -14, though I don't think they can fail that hard anyway):
D2 (1d20+6)[18]. M
Tara (1d20+6)[15].e
Rickert (1d20+6)[22].h Actually a hit. Nice.

Deflected at 1d10+23.

Declan
Sue the Emperor for copyright infringment.

[Dodgeson]

Avery yelped as the God-Emperor's weapon punched him full holes, he'd been bashed, stabbed, shocked and burned, and that was just with the Taskforce but antimatter was a new one for him.

"Do you mind? Honest the nerve of some people..." He complained to the Destroyer that had just introduced him to the business end of his sword arm "Take a look around chump, you aint even the third scariest guy in a tin suit, wait your turn. I guess big E don't hire you for manners huh?"

Sure he wasn't in the best shape right now but in front of the God-Emperor was not the time to be letting people see you sweat, and more importantly maybe his banter would give him an opening as he thrusted his can opener toward the Destroyer.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move:Dazed
Free Action: Set Variable to Damage 12 (Affects Objects, Alternate Resistance:Fortitude)
Standard: Attack D3's Armour (1d20+12)[25] I think he gets a Dodge save if this hits...?
End of Turn: Regain a point of Toughness and Regeneration removes a Bruise

HP 5
Status Fatigued/-2 Toughness/Bruised x2

[Thokk_Smash]

A vicious sense of satisfaction surges in Wraith when he feels his blows hit home on Rheum. And he has a particularly feral smile when he sees Foxglove's focused beam rip and tear at Rheum's body. With that same feral grin, Wraith flies closer in order to pound Rheum into the snow before he shoots back closer to Foxglove. When he touches down, if someone notices him, they would see him seeming to flicker in and out of existence.

Spoiler

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Move: Into Close range of Rickert

Standard: Attack Rickert with Forgotten Combat, AoA/PA for 5, (1d20+14)[20] vs DC 30 Damage, DC 25 Will vs Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless (non-cumulative), DC 20 Dodge vs being Grabbed. @Quellian, if he goes Incapped from this, does the Grab auto-succeed since Rheum isn't conscious to resist it?

Move-by Action: Into AH23. Free action Stealth: (1d20+22)[38]

Free action: Swap to Forgotten By The World. He has Concealment (Limited [Doesn't conceal position]) and half-Immunity to Area and Perception-range attacks.

Status: Fatigued, -5 Active Defenses
HP: 5
Luck: 2/2 (to force re-rolls against Wraith only)

[Dorni]

Tara's magic clashed against the light of the Dream. It should have been over just as quick as Tara's declaration. Tara commanded incredible, overwhelming power. Power that dwarfed Prophet's on any rational scale. More than enough to crush his blessings. But Tara wasn't testing his power. She was trying to strip him of the Dream, and that was a contest that pit her magical might against Prophet's faith. And that was a contest that wasn't rational.

Mighty as Tara's magic was, the Dream's light held firm and it was Tara's magic that shattered. Her magical follow-up, expecting to find Prophet's defense exposed, instead clashed with that light and was also turned aside.

Prophet gave Tara a long stare. At least as long as one could afford to in this pitched battle. "I know," He answered regretfully. "Did he ever tell you that while you were scheming, he and I met several times? It's true." He hadn't revealed those meetings to anyone but Kate out of concern about the more militant members of the task force but, but now was well past the point for such a consideration.

"Even with the number of times we clashed, he was willing to meet under truce. He never lost his capacity for reason, and he knew full well what he was doing was wrong. He knew it and accepted it. Even when he threatened my church." More than a little anger crept into his voice at that. "Everything he did, he did out of love for you. And as monstrous as his actions were, I respected that about him. Even his final words were about you."

"But you? A Gifted augmentor, a prodigy ritualist, one of the most powerfully Gifted on the planet... And now you have no one. Not one relationship that isn't about your power or what you can offer them."

Prophet raised a hand and cleansing light poured out over the battlefield. Where it met Tara's augments there was a hiss.

"Our Gifts don't make us who we are, Tara. They merely make us more of what we are already. Without your power, what are you?"

Spoiler

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Move: Nah
Standard: Prayer of Purification. Counter Tara's Augments at (1d20+17)[34]
Linked Healing on allies at (1d20+6)[9]. This healing is Restorative 3.

And now I prepare myself for Tara's wrath.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 3

Rook unloaded his autocannons on the Red Terror, point-blank and with shields down. There weren't too many human-portable weapons that could present a meaningful threat to a full-scale mecha, but then again the term "human-portable" was something of a technicality when it came to the Dreamtech armaments Rook was equipped with. Shot after shot forced the mecha back on its heels, punching dents into even its heavy armor.

Aidan's disintegration beam vanished some of the destroyer's armor. Tara tanked most of it but she lost about an inch-long chunk of her arm for her troubles. Rickert, though...Rickert had a bad day. The physical reinforcement of his body provided by his Spiritual Energy kept him from being disintegrated outright, but the injured traitor took the shot full in the chest and basically had the whole front of his body flayed.

Avery went in hard for the Destroyer's armor with his mighty can-opener, and he might well have wrenched the mail apart, but Tara's shields were still up and turned his attack aside.

Rickert, only resisting the urge to scream at the agony from his injuries through disciplined will, suddenly vanished. But it...it wasn't the same sort of vanish as before. There was a flicker of movement and he was kinda yanked off into the snow and just gone, so completely that one might be forgiven for forgetting he had ever actually been there...

Prophet's power stripped away Tara's augmentations, although it only did a partial job of healing the damage Avery had sustained.

With Tara's shields up Kate's offensive repertoire wasn't exactly optimal. But with the sort of power that was being thrown around in this battle, she had other options. Kate gathered her power, and waited for her moment.

A snarl twisted Tara's features as Prophet withstood her power and had the gall to speak of Darryll. But she barked out a sharp laugh at his final question. "You're asking me that? Me? Of all people! You are the one who worships your own power, priest of the Dream! I am who I have always been from the day the head of your church decreed I should be separated from my family and exiled from the only home I had ever known! I am the inevitable result of their bigoted policies. I am the answering cry of thousands of grieving children! I AM PARADISIA'S DOOM! The powers are nothing more than a means to that end!" Tara slammed Arcanis's staff against the ground, summoning forth another wave of shielding magic even as she hurled a barrage of lightning bolts straight for the priest. She had been planning to just telekinetically launch him away but decided you know what no she'd really rather just kill him.

Spoiler: Insight DC 26, Prophet gets a +5 circumstance bonus from Precognition

Show

Well yeah Prophet got her angry. She's working herself up to something big. Tara will use Inspire 5 next turn!

Now, it wouldn't be accurate to say that the God-Emperor had seized on the same tactic and took it upon himself to implement it. Much more precisely, he noticed three dudes all in a row and was all "Hey BILLIARDS!" and now here we are. Setting the antimatter minigun back in his wings (kinda wasting the fact that the augment beat the counter but whatever he can do that later), he pulled out a massive hammer and charged Avery, the roar of a jet engine exploding over the battlefield as he swung the rocket-powered hammer at the Technicolor Titan with more than enough force behind it to send several people flying at once. Meanwhile, the suit of armor on the suit of armor got layered with some more armor, because seriously this is just how Haptaran engineering rolls.

The Red Terror was...not exactly in what one might call a good position, but Count Aubernon refused to be humiliated again. He went at Rook with everything he had, aiming to put the cyborg down before his autocannon could punch through his mecha's armor. Rocket after rocket launched from the mecha, hammering down on Rook almost as fast as the Ilessian super-soldier's bullets fired at the mech.

The Destroyers kept up their assaults, Kate and Aidan coming under attack by their heavy blade arms, while the one dueling Avery tried to lock the Hero down with its chain arm.

Spoiler

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Kate:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Ready an action to use Noneuclidean Pathing to Deflect the first targeted enemy attack that hits at (1d10+21)[28]. On a success, Redirect it at the attacker at (1d20+11)[18].

Tara:
Free: Augmentation on self. Remove Create from Ritual of the Flawless Shield, add Secondary Effect, and add Linked Damage 16 (Multiattack, Secondary Effect).
Move: Meh.
Standard: Ritual of the Flawless Shield. Tara, the God-Emperor, the Red Terror, and Destroyer 1 are Deflected at 1d10+26, minus one per point of Toughness above 16. Prophet is attacked at (1d20+16)[23] for Toughness DC 31+Multiattack vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Hit. Reflected by Kate. Reflect misses.
End of Turn: Fails to Regenerate an Incurable Bruise.

The God-Emperor:
Free: Swap Nanotech array to Nanoshell.
Move: Into AA13.
Standard: Attack Avery with Rocket Maul, All Out Attack for 5, at (1d20+15)[24]. On a hit, Toughness DC 35 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 30 vs. Dazed/Stunned, and Strength or Flight DC 30 or be launched into Rook at (1d20+15)[27]. The Affliction and Move Object are Contagious (the Affliction only during the attack, but regardless of the initial target's save against it specifically), so if Rook is hit he rolls the same and may be launched into Prophet at (1d20+15)[18]. If Prophet is hit he rolls against the same and gets launched Distance Rank 18 to the west. Hits Avery. Hits Rook if Avery fails to resist. Misses Prophet. Hit. Reflected by Kate. Reflect Deflected by Tara.
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Avery give me Toughness DC 32 vs. Damage.

The Red Terror:
Aubernon Move: Nah.
Aubernon Standard: Aid the Red Terror's next attack at (1d20+16)[17]. Joke
Red Terror Move: Dazed.
Red Terror Standard: Attack Rook with Rocket Gattling Cannon, Power Attacking for 4, at (1d20+10)[11]+Aid (Rook is within the mech's reach so Aid applies to the Ranged attack). On a hit, Toughness DC 35+Multiattack vs. Secondary Effect Damage. Boss

Destroyer 1:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Kate with Blade Arm at (1d20+10)[21]. On a hit, Toughness ((1d20+11)[26]) DC 29/24 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Both effects have a Secondary Effect. Hit. Bruised.

Destroyer 2:
Move: Into AX17.
Standard: Attack Aidan with Blade Arm at (1d20+10)[21]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29/24 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Both effects have a Secondary Effect. Forgot to roll the Deflect but it'll beat that.

Destroyer 3:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Avery with Chain Arm at (1d20+10)[24]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage, Highest of Dodge, Parry, Strength, or Speed Rank DC 24 vs. Cumulative Vulnerable/Defenseless/Paralyzed and Physically Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled/Incapacitated+Unaware. Avery continues to absorb everyone's bad luck for this fight, evidently. He's a trooper. Hit. Interposed by Interceptor.
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Avery give me Toughness DC 29/24 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Note that although Prophet's Healing failed to remove any Damage Restorative still set your Toughness back to full.

All PCs are on turn.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Well, that all was how it was supposed to go anyway. The reality was somewhat different.

Standing nearly six and a half feet tall with a heavily muscled build. Dark of skin and hair and eye. Military buzz-cut and closely-trimmed beard. Attired in a form-fitting suit of blue and silver material that could have served as armor if any attack that was meaningfully able to threaten him wouldn't have blown straight through it. And of course, the long black cape. It was unmistakable to any Verdanian who paid even the tiniest bit of attention to the news. The iconic image of the Regional Commander of the Verdania Hero Cops, Barrett Anderson, the Interceptor.

There was no flash of light. There was no burst of energy. There was no portal offering a glimpse into where he had been before. With nothing but the slight pop of air being displaced, he was suddenly there, standing between Tara Ellens and Prophet, his stare boring into her in silent accusation as she raised the staff that had belonged to his friend.

"That is not yours," he intoned in a stentorian voice, lunging with both hands before Tara had a chance to work a single spell, grabbing the staff and with the fluid grace of a former SIDE operative, wresting it physically from her grasp.

Her invocation of her persistent rituals interrupted, Tara's shield went back up, but no lightning came with it. The God-Emperor's hammer went through one of Kate's portals halfway to Avery and came back out from his right, but Tara's barrier turned it aside.

As the Destroyer lunged at Avery with its chain-arm, Interceptor did what Interceptor does.

And then he was gone. And Arcanis's staff with him.

[SuperCracker]

Rook didn’t dodge away from the Red Terror’s rockets. He stood his ground and dug in, firing a hailstorm of bullets into Aubernon’s mech. The ARMS system was designed to allow Rook, a humanoid cyborg, to fight a giant mech and stand a chance of winning. Not just any mech though… the Doc had rebuilt Rook for the express purpose of destroying the Red Terror once and for all.

DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA.

A visual representation, if you will.

Spoiler

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I’d posted before that Rook was moving out of fireball range, which probably puts him out of the mech’s reach fwiw.

Free: Regen a bruised.

Move: Nah.

Standard: Continue concentrating on the Death Star Laser Autocannon attack.

Free: Switch Liquid Metal to Hardened Metal. Impervious is back up.

[Hyperbolic sine]

The thing about heavy blades is that they're, well, heavy and blades; it's pretty hard to reorient the sharp edge mid-swing, while, on the other hand, pushing on the flat side can easily disrupt the attack.

Of course, intercepting a blade and pushing it away isn't nearly as easy as writing that makes it sound...but for Aidan, it was usually child's play, and this time hadn't proved any different.

"Ah, too bad." he said as he pushed the weapon away from himself - and exploited the pushback to circle around the Destroyer. Sometimes I wish I had Avery's penchant for witty combat banter he offhandedly thought as his hand shot forward, threatening to impale the Haptaran soldier through the heart, before once again putting some distance between them.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Agile Feint D2 at 30.
Standard: Focused Disintegration on D2 at (1d20+8)[10] 21, crit on 24+. On a hit, Defence DC 21 vs Incurable Damage (Penetrating). If the Feint succeeded, -4 to hit/+2 DC.
Free: "Teleport" to AV 15. If by some miracle the Destroyer gets Incapped, then to AF17 instead.

Deflected at 1d10+23.

[Dodgeson]

The most dangerous man on Aranth bore down on Avery and then in a flurry of action he was completely unharmed, he loved it when that happened, more importantly though was exactly what kind of high tech death weapon had just been helpfully intercepted by one of Kate's portals. Breaking in to a grin he cast aside his ineffectual can opener and practically leaped in to the air in glee, pulling a familiar sight from out behind his back as he came down on the God Emperor.

"Oh buddy did you ever pick the wrong guy for a hammer fight!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: Move to AA14
Free Action: Set Variable to "Acme Mallet" Damage 12 Linked to Affliction 12 (Impaired&Dazed/Stunned&Disabled, Fort)(Cumulative, Extra Condition)(Limited Degree)
Standard Action: All-Out Attack +5 at the God Emperor (1d20+17)[19] DC27 Toughness & DC22 Fortitude if that hits
End of Turn: Regeneration removes a Bruise

HP 6
Status -5 Defence/Fatigued/Bruised x1

[Thokk_Smash]

For a brief moment, Wraith feels a satisfaction he hasn't felt in far too long a time. With his hand around the traitor's throat, he raises his other hand to his comms. "Tsuki," he says with a vicious smile. "I need an extraction at my coordinates." He rattles off his current coordinates, and focuses his power into a different shape than normal. When Tsuki appears, he gives her a significant look. "Get him to your mother first," he says, away from his comms' mic. "She'll know who it is."

After Tsuki zips back off, Wraith calls out, "And we are the end of your ambitions, Ellens! All that you've achieved will be boiled down to a ten-by-ten cell for the rest of your life!" He readies himself, and then aims his strike as her magical defenses fall. He's turned his power outward instead of inward, seeking to shroud her from her allies' sight and hearing.

Spoiler

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Free action: Spend a Tai/Tsuki success to get Rickert out of here and into the loving care of Bethany Huntington.

Free action: Power Stunt off of Ghost In The Machine: Concealment 12 (All Visual, All Auditory, Attack, Selective, Distracting, 6 Ranks Limited to increasing Resistance DC, Improved Critical 4, Precise, Insidious [Power Detection], Inaccurate), Immunity 20 (Area Attacks, Limited [Half-Effect]), Flight.

Move action: Demoralize Tara, spending a Reputation Success to bypass her Fearless, -5 for Move, +5 for Reputation: (1d20+21)[39]

Standard action: Ready an Action to attack Tara with the Power Stunted Attack Concealment, AoA/PA for 5, Crits on a 16+, (1d20+12)[31] vs DC 27 Will vs having any overt actions Concealed from her allies (thanks to Precise, Wraith will basically troll Tara by editing out any Inspire-looking actions). Crit! DC 32 Will vs being Concealed from her allies

Status: Vulnerable, -5 Defenses, Fatigued, Exhausted next round
HP: 5
Luck: 2/2 (Limited to re-rolling attacks against Wraith)

[Dorni]

"That's right, Tara. Your powers didn't change who you were. You're still who you have always been. You never grew past being an angry child going on hateful rants online, screaming about how the pain you felt meant that 'just sinking Paradisia back into the sea is too good for them, they need to be hunted down like animals'. You were offered help, support, and community; and if they wouldn't share your fury you turned on them too. That's all you are, Tara. A raging child who never grew up. Paradisia's Doom indeed."

Spoiler

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Move: Still don't have a use for them.
Standard: Prayer of Protection. Allies within Area [Perception:Visual] are Deflected at 1d10+23, are Healed at (1d20+3)[11] One Degree, and gain Evasion 2. The Deflect portion of this carries Secondary Effect.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 4

Rook may have had the Red Terror right where he wanted it, but to be fair, that only went so far against a mecha. Even Rook's artillery-caliber bullets could only do so much damage to the thing so fast.

Aidan's target may have been weighed down by its heavy armor, but servos and thrusters did help make up for that. It managed to lunge away from his strike, avoiding the damage.

The Cartoon Hero went hammer-to-hammer with the God-Emperor of Haptarus. The golden suit of doubly-armored powered armor brought its own hammer back around in a fluid parry, rocket-maul meeting cartoon mallet head to head with a shockwave of impact that left neither harmed. "Oh-ho-ho, you are very brave! Hey! Ellens! Isn't he brave?" the God-Emperor retorted, sounding sincerely (if bombastically) amused.

Tara Ellens, at the moment, was not interested in Avery's antics. Just rude is what it was. The man goes out of his way to be entertaining during battle the least you could do was pay a little attention. Wraith did something and Tara done with thised at it so hard that it evidently had no effect.

Kate blinked away from her attacker and let loose another volley of portals. The new angle of attack caught the Destroyer off-guard, giving it no time to dodge them all. The armored suit was slashed open in several places, and blood flowed out, clearly showing that Kate had caught the soldier within and injured it badly.

WHOOSH! In a blur of super-speed, Tsuki came zipping onto the field, spent her entire allotted Quickness ranks just, like, gawking at what her uncle had gotten himself into, and grabbed Rhuem and zipped off to take him to her mother.

Wait.

To take him to her mother.

After she had just seen what sort of trouble her uncle had gotten himself into.

After he had told him family about the Death Curse.

...I'm just saying, it was a good thing that Wraith was sending her Rickert on a silver platter. It might, might, manage to spare him his sister's fury next time he saw her. Might.

Tara, seemingly growing increasingly unhinged as the heroes not only continued making headway against the Haptarans, but under Prophet's steady words of judgment, shrieked in frustration as Interceptor appeared and blinked away with Arcanis's staff. "You want rage, priest?" she spat, power blazing up in her eyes. "Then have it all! Kill them! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!!!"

Nothing...happened.

Tara seemed kinda wrong-footed by that.

Count Aubernon continued doggedly focusing on Rook. He came in hard, once more taking direct control as he charged Rook and made a rapid series of attacks. This time, though, he recognized that Rook wasn't going to just go down immediately...and he also understood that his mech couldn't hold out forever against that sustained assault. So Aubernon struck not for maximum damage, but for maximum advantage, analyzing the defenses of those around him to learn how to get around them later.

The destroyer that Kate had injured was hurt, but not down, and fired back immediately with its gun arm. The one that Aidan was fighting took a swing with the weird mace-like blast arm; even if Aidan proved agile enough to dodge it, the explosion it unleashed would not be so easily avoided! The one that had tried to duel Avery knew better than to risk kill-stealing from its Emperor, so it just went ahead and tried tacking Prophet with its chain arm. Why not?

The God-Emperor faced Avery squarely, raised his hammer high...and fired laser eyes straight at him. Right, like he was going to play fair. Please. Man had a reputation to uphold. He went ahead and took the opportunity to sweep the beam down towards Wraith, which seemed like an obvious thing to do given that he was visible for a blessed change and had left himself badly open.

Spoiler

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Tara:
Move: Whatever.
Standard: Invoke GM Fiat for Inspire 5! However, since she's concealed from her allies, nobody benefits. Since this effect does not hinder any PCs, no Hero Points are awarded, but her 1/scene use of Inspire is expended nonetheless. Well done.

The Red Terror:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Pilot Enhancement System. Lead the Attack gains three ranks, adds Multiattack to Damage.
End of Turn: Regenerates a Bruise. Will to recover from Defenseless: (1d20+15)[30]. Nope

Count Aubernon:
Move: Pilot the Red Terror into Close range of Rook.
Standard: Attack Rook with Lead the Attack at (1d20+15)[23], Deflected at (1d10+23)[33]. On a hit, Toughness DC 31 vs. Damage. Either way, Rook and Prophet both give me Dodge DC 25 for half, Will DC 25/17 vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless and non-stacking Weaken All Defenses. Rook's penalties only apply against Count Aubernon, Prophet's against Tara. The

Destroyer 1:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Kate with Gun Arm at (1d20+10)[19], Deflected at (1d10+23)[32]. On a hit, Toughness ((1d20+11)[24]) DC 29 vs. Damage, Fortitude ((1d20+11)[28]) DC 24 vs. Weaken Stamina. Dream
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Kate gets Toughness ((1d20+11)[19]) DC 29/24 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Thinking she's gonna reroll that.

Destroyer 2:
Move: Into AV16.
Standard: Attack Aidan with Blast Arm at (1d20+10)[23], Deflected at (1d10+23)[31]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage. On a miss, Dodge DC 22 for half, Toughness DC 27/21 vs. Damage. Protects

Destroyer 3:
Move: Into V13.
Standard: Attack Prophet with Chain Arm at (1d20+10)[11], Deflected at (1d10+23)[32]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage, Prowess DC 24 vs. Vulnerable/Defenseless/Paralyzed and Physically Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled/Incapacitated+Unaware. You

The God-Emperor:
Move: Sweep the Beam.
Standard: Attack Avery and Wraith with Laser Eyes. Perception Range attack. Defense DC 30 vs. Damage (since this is an Area attack Wraith the DC is only 23 for you). Note that your All Out Attack penalties, and Wraith's Vulnerable, do apply to this resistance check as they were intentionally taken. Seriously the whole "tank your defense from behind a Deflect" move doesn't work in final boss fights.

All PCs are on turn.

[Thokk_Smash]

Only belatedly does Louis realize that his current situation isn't exactly great from an outsider's perspective. Especially a relatively unblooded Hero like Tsuki. He hopes she doesn't give too bad of a picture to Bethany. But, really, everything's going fairly according to plan. She'd known they'd have to face Tara sometime. Granted, the Emperor of Arch-damned Haptarus showing up was not at all expected, but so far, so good.

Still, he'll have to do some damage control after this. He didn't mean to worry anyone.

Wraith turns back, feeling his strike land against Tara, his mind already spinning with tactics--

BZZT

A cold hand grips his heart, one entirely separate from the gaping hole now present in his lower chest.

"That's it."

Wraith drops to his knees, one hand going to his chest dumbly.

"The fires are nice."

"B-Beth...Ser...ena..."

"DIE."

The world naturally forgets the sound of Wraith's body slumping onto the frozen ground. Only one breath betrays any sign of life within the forgettable body.

[Dorni]

Spoiler

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Standard: Blessing of Healing on Wraith: Healing (1d20+10)[29]. This effect is Secondary 7, Restorative 5, Persistent. 4 Degrees
Move: -

[Hyperbolic sine]

Indeed, Aidan managed to avoid the blast-arm - by slipping right past the weapon at it swung down - and indeed, the explosion wasn't avoided as easily; in fact, it wasn't avoided at all.

Still, his coat managed to dampen enough of the impact for his Dream-enhanced constitution to handle, and by exploiting the debris as cover and the force itself as propulsion, he once again circled behind the Destroyer - and then circled some more, this time lunging from the side before retreating into cover.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Agile Feint D2 at 30.
Standard: Focused Disintegration on D2 at (1d20+10)[29], crit! on 26+. On a hit, Defence DC 21 25 vs Incurable Damage (Penetrating).
Free: "Teleport" to AN8 (30 Mobility to boost speed if necessary).

Deflected at 1d10+23.

(Yeah, I don't know why I rolled at +8 last round. Not that it mattered.)

[Dodgeson]

The God-Emperor's lasers lanced through Avery, leaving him with a perfectly circular hole in his chest, he wasn't that phased by it, this sort of thing happened to him all the time and Brava had done worse before. More importantly, just to prove that there was no end to the depths to the literal worse person on Aranth would sink, the God-Emperor had brought lasers to a hammer fight!

"No hold a minute here! Do the words hammer fight mean nothing to you?! You think this is gonna slow me down?!" He ranted, wildly gesturing and indignantly shoving his arm through the chest "The gloves are com..."

Suddenly he snapped out of it as something caught his through his new convenient porthole, he wasn't the only one who had caught the God-Emperor's attention, and saying that they hadn't fared as well as him was an understatement.

"Wraith! Hold on buddy I got y-!"

And then thanks to Caleb he was right as rain...Avery blinked a few times, what was he doing? What the heck were the paddles in his hands for? Oh right, God-Emperor.

"CLEAR!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Dazed
Free: Set Variable to Damage 12 Linked to Affliction 12 (Impaired&Vulnerable/Stunned&Disabled, Fort)(Extra Condition, Secondary Effect)(Limited Degree)
Standard: Attack the God-Emperor (1d20+12)[17] DC27 Toughness & DC22 Fortitude if that hits
End of Turn: Regeneration removes a Bruise

HP 5
Status Fatigued

[SuperCracker]

Meanwhile, over in Captain Rook’s neck of the woods, it seemed to be a stalemate between two of the Doctor’s Inventions. Rook was pouring offense into Aubernon, who responded by trying to jockey for position. Neither attempt worked out too well.

Rook stepped forward, since Aubernon had closed into melee range, and jumped on top of the cockpit, aiming his cannons down and firing point blank into the Red Terror.

Spoiler

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And I’m tapped for describing ongoing automatic fire.

Needs. More. Dakka

He gets hit again with the concentration effect.

No movement.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 5

For a briefly scary moment, Wraith went down.

But Caleb Wey had already beaten Darryll's Death Curse once. He called upon the power of the Dream, and though the Death Curse was a persistent, tenacious, insidious magic...it wasn't exactly designed for immediate dominance through raw power. It tweaked probability, it altered fate, it made the subject trend towards entropy.

It didn't really...have anything for enough raw unfiltered healing power to completely repair a bloody gaping hole in a matter of moments.

The Haptaran powered armor may have been bulky and brutish, but evidently whoever was piloting the suit fighting Aidan had some serious skill. Once again, all of Aidan's fancy maneuvering came to naught as the Destroyer kept just inches ahead of his disintegrating touch.

Avery swung his paddles, and the God-Emperor just laughed merrily, slapping them aside. "You do realize who it is you are dealing with, right? I have battled some of the best-trained, most powerful military Dreamers your country can field and won. You are nothing but a glorified Rescue Ranger. Honestly. I know Ilessia is very proud of its Heroes, but normally they know better than to send one into a real battle!"

But the battle wasn't a complete stalemate. Rook's constant barrage of artillery-caliber bullets, powerful as it was, just wasn't making headway against the Red Terror's nanorepair technology. With bullets proving ineffective, Rook went with the tried and true strategy of even more bullets! The Ilessian Military Handbook couldn't be wrong! And indeed, validating decades of established military doctrine, the additional firepower punched through the Red Terror's armor, and blew apart its primary power generator.

And in that moment, before Aubernon could switch to secondary power, Kate turned her attention away from the Destroyer she had been fighting and hurled one of the biggest portals she could throw. It took the stalled mecha's head clean off.

Fortunately, a Haptaran battlemech was designed to survive a decapitation! While several important computational components were stored in the head, there were redundancies build throughout the mech in case of just such an issue. Those aside, the head mainly just contained a power generator, but it was intended primarily as a reserve. The mech could operate on primary power only at 96.5% effectiveness!

...Oh. Wait.

With a plateau-shaking crash, the Red Terror toppled to the ground, inert.

Aubernon came rolling out, protected from the mech's destruction by the cockpit forcefield. He looked absolutely livid.

And with his mech disabled, the former Count Aubernon raised his two bare fists and started moving towards the miracle of cybernetic Dreamtech that had just (with a bit of an assist) brought down a full-scale mech in open combat.

"No."

The God-Emperor did not shout, but his voice could be heard throughout the battlefield.

"There is now a piece of proprietary Haptaran military technology lying on foreign soil, so I am afraid we no longer have the luxury of indulging ourselves in amusing banter and personal grudges." The bombast of the God-Emperor was simply...gone. In its place were coldly calculating instructions, spoken firmly but with nearly zero inflection. "Aubernon, lead the attack. Destroyers, coordinated assault with chains followed by blade. Ellens, try to tip the battle in our favor with mass mind control."

"All forces engage and neutralize the healer with extreme prejudice."

Aubernon gritted his teeth in a furious scowl. "First I make sure you can't get back up. Then you die," he told Rook, before darting over toward Prophet, coming in with hard strikes targeting the most vulnerable points on the body - exactly how you had to hit if you meant to cause appreciable damage to a powerful Dreamer without any powers of your own. As he attacked, he called orders, directing his allies to strike for enemy weaknesses.

The three Destroyers followed up, the two who had been battling Kate and Aidan swooping in at Prophet with their chain arms, trying to grab him around both arms and hold him out defenseless while the one who was already engaging the priest lunged in with an attempt to impale him on its blade arm.

All in an effort to leave him open to a lethal finishing attack from their Emperor as he pulled another of his massive weapons from his wings. There was a flash brighter than several suns as a head-sized depleted uranium shell fired at near-relativistic speeds from the God-Emperor's nuclear cannon.

Tara was let's just say not exactly prone to taking orders, but even she did not brook the Emperor's commands. That they made some degree of strategic sense may have also been a bit of a factor. She gathered her power, took to the air, and launched what looked like a glowing blue chain down, zipping along the field and snaking unerringly around each of the Heroes. The chain wouldn't restrict movement, but would bind the will to dance on Tara's strings.

(Somewhere back in Verdania, Kyton sat up in bed, awakened by the vague sense that he was missing something, and then he shrugged and went back to sleep.)

And then, with a scream of tremendous exertion, light not so much blazing in an aura around her as shining out through her skin, Tara drew on every ounce of her power and did it again!

The God-Emperor nodded as his minions followed his instructions, before looking to Avery and commenting conversationally, once more with the gregarious aspect of his armored, quasi-religious persona, "You were saying about the gloves?"

Spoiler

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Aubernon:
Move: Out of the wreckage and into Close range of Rook Prophet (T13).
Standard: Attack Prophet with Lead the Attack. He will use the portion that requires an attack roll to Aid Destroyer 3 at (1d20+16)[29]. Prophet (being the only one in 30') give me Dodge DC 22 for half, Will DC 22/16 vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless vs. Destroyer 3 and Weaken All Defenses vs. the God Emperor. +5

Destroyer 1:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Charge into T12 and use Chain Arm to Aid Destroyer 2 at (1d20+8)[22]. +5

Destroyer 2:
Move: Into V12.
Standard: Attack Prophet with Chain Arm, All Out Attack for 5, at (1d20+15)[28]+Aid, Deflected at (1d10+23)[32]. Hit thanks to Aid
On a hit, Toughness DC 29 vs. Damage, Prowess DC 24 vs. Cumulative Vulnerable/Defenseless/Paralyzed and Physically Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled/Incapacitated+Unaware.

Destroyer 3:
Move: Attempt to Startle Prophet using Shock and Awe to reduce the penalty to -2 at (1d20+12)[17]. He can't fail that one.
Standard: Attack Prophet with Blade Arm, All Out Attack for 5, at (1d20+15)[27]+Aid, Deflected at (1d10+23)[33]. On a hit, Toughness DC 29/24 vs. Damage Linked Weaken Toughness. Both effects carry a Secondary Effect. Miss even with Aid unless Prophet is Vulnerable or worse by this point.

The God-Emperor:
Free: Swap to Nanoweapons.
Standard: Attack Prophet with Nuclear Cannon at (1d20+15)[33], Deflected at (1d10+23)[24]. On a hit, Toughness DC 30 vs. Incurable Damage, Fortitude DC 25 vs. Impaired/Disabled/Dying and Weaken All Abilities. If rendered Dying, the DC is increased by the Affliction rank (so, it becomes 30). ...Turns out the God-Emperor has Improved Critical 4, so that's actually a crit.
Move: Demoralize Avery at 27.

Tara:
GM Fiat: Fatigue negated. The party gets a floating Hero Point.
Move: Into the air so she can see over that barrier of hardened magma and all.
Standard: Augmentation on self. Ritual of the Opened Mind gains Perception Range (Limited to Close) and Shapeable Area 3 (Limited to Chaining Lines).
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Ritual of the Opened Mind. Everybody give me Will DC 26 vs. Cumulative Entranced/Compelled/Controlled. Failure on this save also imposes Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless, but Tara chooses when these penalties apply.
Kate Will: (1d20+11)[29]. Hard no
EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT - Additional Standard Action: DO IT AGAIN!
Kate Will: (1d20+11)[22]. Entranced+Impaired+Vulnerable. Taking suggestions on if she should reroll this.

All PCs are on turn.

[Hyperbolic sine]

As soon as the Destroyer he was fighting moved to obey the Emperor's orders, Aidan dashed in pursuit - and his quick and somewhat erratic movements, designed specifically to throw off various kinds of mental "aiming", once again proved their worth against Tara's ritual.

"All forces protect the healer with even more prejudice, then. he murmured after reaching Prophet's side, then lunged at the injured Destroyer - and then, instead of going through with the thrust, he opened his palms, spun on himself, and unleashed a point-blank barrage of pure energy. If quality wouldn't do, then quantity would.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

HP to remove Fatigue.
Free: "Teleport" to U12.
Move: Agile Feint D1 at 30.
Free: Stunt Disintegration Multibarrage: Damage 10 (Incurable, Targeted Burst Area, Selective, Multiattack, Str Discount, Alternate Area [Cone]), Loses Maneuvers Array. {26}
Standard: All-out Power Attack, on a hit Toughness DC 30+Multiattack vs Incurable Damage. Crit on 28+.

D1 (1d20+12)[17]
D2 (1d20+12)[25]
D3 (1d20+12)[32] Crit.
AU (1d20+12)[17]
GE (1d20+12)[17]

EE: Do it again.

D1 (1d20+12)[16] *
D2 (1d20+12)[26]
D3 (1d20+12)[13] Miss.*
AU (1d20+12)[23]
GE (1d20+12)[19]

*might reroll either of these, depending on the results of the first attack. Also, average roll of 8.5. Yay. Forgot stunting is already an EE. Can't do this.

-5 Active Defences, Foxglove and Prophet Deflected at 1d10+19.

[SuperCracker]

Rook jumped as the portal sliced off the head of the mech, putting some distance between himself and the falling monstrosity. He landed on the ground, raising his fists as Aubernon began to approach. It was time to finally end this once and for all. Something about this moment felt like a turning point in the battle. The Emperor seemed to sense it as well. Then the man gave his orders – to kill Prophet.

The Haptarans dogpiled Prophet. Rook could only realistically intercept one of those attacks, so he had to make it count. Seeing the God-Emperor himself pulling out one of those weapons told him exactly which attack that would be.

Rook’s thrusters were already kicking in as the Emperor was pulling the trigger. The flash of light lit everything, obscuring Rook’s movement across the battlefield. But by then, he had planted one foot into the ground as he neared Way, digging in and stopping his movement in front of Prophet. He pivoted on his foot and planted himself directly between the healer and the shell. Rook’s arms and hands formed an incomplete circle. The shell came slamming into Rook, who miraculously caught the shell in his arms and against his torso. The armored plating of his mid-section cracked noticeably, with error messages pinging…

But he was standing. And so was Prophet. Rook tossed the shell aside, his hands smoldering from the effort.

“He was saying the gloves are off.”

Rook dug deep into his heart and flooded his reactor with power. The problem with attacking The Emperor and Tara had been the armored jack-booted thugs getting in the way. The Emperor was right… it wasn’t the time for grudges. It was the time to win. Aidan took down two out of the three Destroyers, with one stubbornly remaining. Yet he was open… and Rook was on the attack.

The cyborg closed in quickly, his right hand reaching back for a telegraphed punch. Blue energy flared out within his grasp before he closed his fist around it. The Doctor told him that a hero’s big attack needs a big name… and he’d heard that Kenta kid did this sort of thing all the time.

“PLUS. ULTRA!”

And Rook punched with all his fury, an enormous shockwave blast of force produced from the punch itself, whether it finds its mark or not.

Spoiler

Show

Move towards Destroyer 3.

Attack with Plus Ultra. All-Out Attack for 2. Power Attack for 5. – (1d20+12)[15] for DC 34 toughness, DC 29 weaken toughness, both with secondary effect

[Thokk_Smash]

Wraith's body jerks as he sucks in a deep breath. He takes a single moment, a fraction of a second, to just appreciate being alive. Then he grips his pocket knife in a death grip and explodes into action. The knife spreads into gauntlets over his hands and arms, and the Dreamtech metal burrows under his skin to literally draw as much energy as it can hold. Wraith will be using all of it--he can feel the healing energies still coursing through him, just waiting to be used. It'd be such a waste for there to be nothing for them to heal.

Electricity crackles in Wraith's very blood, searing through his body as he approaches the God Emperor. In total silence Wraith brings to bear strength and power far beyond his normal limits in response to the Haptarans' attacks. Knuckles torn, bones breaking, Wraith pulls away after six full seconds of full-out assault on the most dangerous man in the world. He slips into everyone's blind spots as he tries to put some distance between himself and the melee. White healing energies course through his veins in an attempt to stymie the self-destructive actions Wraith had just put himself through.

Spoiler

Show

Free action: Power Stunt off of Unkie Wraith's Pocket Knife: Strength Damage gains Multiattack, Secondary Effect, Side Effect 2 [Damage DC 30 Linked Weaken Toughness DC 25]), Incurable; Affliction removes Limited Degree, Gains Extra Condition [Entranced/Compelled/Controlled, Limited {Entranced can be ignored if he utterly forgets Tara's existence, Compelled/Controlled can only be used to force the GE to forget why he came here}], Cumulative, Multiattack, Secondary Effect, Side Effect 2, Insidious [Power Detection]) Linked Deflect 14 (Reduced Range [Close], Secondary Effect, Side Effect 2)

Free action: Spend an HP to negate the current Fatigue.

Move action: Fly into Close range of the GE.

Standard action: Attack with the Power Stunted Forgotten Combat, AoA/PA for 5 at (1d20+14)[18], DC 30+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage, DC 25+Multiattack Will vs Affliction. Attack rerolled in OOC for 27 Toughness vs Side Effect: (1d20+10)[28] Bruised

Extraordinary Effort: DO IT AGAIN! (1d20+14)[30], DC 30+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage, DC 25+Multiattack Will vs Affliction. Full Multiattack Toughness vs Side Effect: (1d20+10)[21] Bruised, and Dazed, -5 Toughness

Move-by Action: Fly into D11.

End of turn: SE Healing 1: (1d20+10)[11] Removes 1 Bruise, Toughness Restored
SE Healing 2: (1d20+10)[13] Removes 1 Bruise, Toughness Restored

Status: -5 Defenses, Deflected at 1d10+19, Exhausted next turn, Stealthed at 31 per OOC
HP: 3 -> 2
Luck: 2/2 to force rerolls against Wraith

[Dodgeson]

"Of course I know you are dink." Avery kept up the banter even as the Emperor started getting serious (which in and of itself was terrifying because it implied that he was only messing around before), the tide was starting to turn for them and if Avery survived this he was going to have one hell of a story for Brava.

"But here's the thing, I'm a Hero, I throw myself up against monsters and runaway robots and psycho Dreamers every day. Sure you might be a little bigger and those things your goons are wearin' might be a little shinier, but to me, you're just another wack-job."

Maybe mouthing off to the God-Emperor wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do right now but he was hoping that it would at least keep him from notice the ever growing shadow that he was standing now right under.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Free: Set Variable to Perception Damage 12 (Area:Burst, Selective)(Limited:Close Range Only, Limited:Requires Move Action to Charge)
Standard+Move: Attack all enemies DC27 Toughness vs Damage

HP 4
Status Fatigued/Demoralized