"Necessary Evil" - supervillains save the world!

Game Master ZenFox42

"That makes sense to me," Fortune says. "Do we have any special ways of locating the shipment? I got some esp that sometimes gives me some insight on things, but I'm not sure I could work it without being close to the action. I can sometimes read minds so if I could get close to a leader, I might be able to pick something up, but it's risky as sometimes people notice when your hacking into their minds."

Six nods at Hellion. ”Agreed, a small hit on their supply chain will give us more information and send them a message at the same time with less chances of hitting their full defenses head on. As Fortune says though, we don’t know where the action is taking place.”

So, three votes for hitting the shipment before it gets delivered. Done.
How do you all want to go about finding out what ship it's on, and when it's arriving? It'll eventually require a Networking roll (check the Core Rules if you're not familiar with it), but what do you do in-game to get there?

If Rashomon explains his tactics out loud, Kathrine would inform him that access to the gang's sanctuary is heavily guarded, and so if *anyone* who's not a higher-ranking gang member is found inside, they would just attempt to kill him. He'd have to be invisible to not alert the gang. But the rules say that with superscience you can use "passive powers for five rounds instead of three." So it sounds like the most time he'd have to investigate would be 30 seconds. I'd allow that you could spend another Benny to "maintain" the invisibility, so with 4 Bennies he could have 2 minutes to look around (and be Benny-less during the combat). If you wish to discuss this, let's do it in Discussion.

You can assume he spoke his ideas out loud to the group. I forgot how short lived the superscience devices are; useful in combat or single interactions, not so much outside of them.

Given the restriction, he could probably come up with a time-compression device of some sort, using the equivalent of super speed to search the whole site within the few rounds allowed. It would probably not be subtle, but he'd be long gone by the time they tried to do something about it.

Also presently back at the base, Rashomon logs into the local systems, and starts trying to cross reference vessels coming into port in the time frame the gang appears to be expecting their shipment. He'll hack in if necessary to get the crew manifests of ships in right time frame, as well as longshoremen at the relevant docks, and cross reference those with known associates of the Black Vipers gang (He'll write an algorithm that scans the records for anyone sharing a surname, marriage record, common address, common employer, common cell block, or arrested on the same day and location as any known Black Viper members).

Research: 1d4 ⇒ 31d6 + 1d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + (6) + (5) = 17
Hacking: 1d4 ⇒ 31d6 ⇒ 2
Free Reroll: 1d4 ⇒ 31d6 ⇒ 5

He then shares any information gained with the rest of the team over the radios.

Altho no one (including me) said so, I think we can assume everyone's been back at the base for the bulk of the previous discussion.

Rashomon - for future reference, hacking into computer systems and/or writing programs to do that use the new-to-SWADE Hacking Skill. In the future, if you wish to do what you just did, you'll have to put points into it and use it instead of Research.

Rashomon discovers a ship that he considers the most likely one to contain the contraband cargo. It arrives in three days.

Anyone want to talk about plans to "acquire" the shipment in advance, or wait until you get there to see what the situation is, or both?

I figured a lot of the data he was looking for would be publicly available, and he'd only need to hack in for the names, and maybe not even then. I figured Research was more applicable, but his roll would be the same in either, so you can mentally bump his Research roll down to the Hacking one if it makes more sense.

"Ships are all GPS located these days. If we wanted, we could investigate the vessel at sea. We'd have the same issues regarding stealth and such, but getting too and from would be no issue with a well placed portal."

Raising an eyebrow, Six says, ”That is convenient, but if things go sideways, could you get us out of there just as easily?”

The rules are vague on whether this would work or not. There is no specific text that says a Superscience device can only be activated by the creator. It also doesn't say that you have to use it right away.

"Easily, as long as I am conscious. I may be able to rig up an exit device that could be used in case of an emergency; transporting the team back to a predetermined location. Probably somewhere near the warehouse, but no in it, just in case it fell into the wrong hands. I could rig it to be useable only for a short window of time as well, so it would deactivate if lost."

”Then we will just have to keep you breathing then. Let’s do this.”

Fortune waits for the information to come through and then waits for a plan to develop. She's not a strategic thinker, so she's better once she has an objective and can work toward that. In the meantime, she studies her Tarot deck and contemplates spells she might cast.

Hellion smiles at what Rash was able to get from his search.

"Any way you could get us the plans of that ship model? I mean either way we need to decide if we're going to try and do this quietly. I think if we get in and check the cargo first we'll have plenty of time to decide weather it's too bad to bring into port. Or if it's like medical supplies and the such. Either way we should probably not kill anyone, even if the gamg is a bunch of bastards."

"Layouts for commercial vessels are usually available on the manufacturers websites. It won't show modifications or retrofitting, but for the basic layout, bridge, crew quarters, engine rooms and such, they should be accurate."

Rashomon - would your "exit device" be made with Superscience? In which case, you'd have the same problem with how long it would last...

ALL - please vote whether you want to board the ship at sea, or just take the cargo once it's been unloaded onto the docks, or don't care, thanks! Fortune doesn't care, and I know VeeSix has already voted for, but that might change based on Rashomon's answer to my above question.

Teleport is an instant power, so the duration doesn't really matter. What I'm thinking is that he creates a device as a backup, using Superscience. The device is built, but not activated. It would be designed for a single use, transporting everyone touching it to a predetermined location (probably an alley a few blocks from the warehouse). In the description for Superscience, it doesn't say it has to be used at the time it is created, nor that the inventor is the only one that can activate it. It's a GM call as to whether this is an acceptable use of the power or not, though I do think it fits well within Super Hero conventions.

His plan is to teleport the group to the ship via portal, they investigate, then he creates another portal to get them away. If he gets disabled, the group activates the device, taking everyone back near home.

Worst case scenario of course would be if Rashomon is disabled, and the device is damaged or doesnt work, the team steals a lifeboat, and gets back to the island slowly, or when Rashomon wakes up, he locates them by GPS, and teleports them back home.

Looking around the base, Rashomon thinks aloud over the coms, "We should consider building a reception room, with extra defenses, to teleport to and from. That way if anyone finds a way to follow us back, they are not already inside our base."

”Fair enough, but that’s probably a project for another time. We have actionable knowledge now. Let’s get to that boat, see if we need to send some stuff overboard and then get back. If it gets to the docks, we may have more than just the crew of the ship to contend with.”

Six is ready to get to the ship and intercept it before it makes dock.

I think that's a fine plan and we've got ways out if things do go a bit south

"Yeah, we've got a day to get ourselves ready so everyone rest and gear up. Hopefully it's not a slugfest... but if it is we'll bring the pain."

Rashomon (and everybody) - please see Discussion...

Angel agrees that intercepting the vessel at sea is probably the best option.

(In my best Columbo voice) "Just one more thing" - I think the destination of the portal device should be set at casting by the caster, not when it's used.

Hellion doesn't have much to do in terms of getting ready and no stranger to getting ready to go into a serious high fatigue situation she does her best to rest up and get a decent meal in a few hours before they plan on moving out.
Otherwise she lounges in the main room, jamming out to the music on an old CD player.

Six, who almost never tires, sees that the rest of the crew are pretty much ready to go. He tests his armor’s straps and his weapon and nods at them. ”I will be practicing until it is time to go.” He takes a snack from the fridge and chows on it as he heads to the practice area.

The Places you've been issue is actually super easy to deal with when using portals, especially in this case. He looks up the coordinates, opens a pinhole portal at that location, and looks around for the ship, once he spots it, he opens the portal closer, confirms the name a reg number then opens the portal in a location the team can jump onto the ship from.

Portals are powerful enough, I'm going to say that it's got to be a place you've physically seen in person. Portaling to a set of co-ordinates also incurs the -4 penalty. Even if you've seen the ship, you could only portal to a place on its exterior without a penalty, but there may be people on-deck, so you'd want to portal to somewhere inside the ship, which incurs the -4 penalty.
Also, if portals were "clear" (you could see the other side from your side), you could tell what's going on on the other side in advance, so the portal is "black" so that you have to take your chances when you step thru.
And, once you stick any part of your body thru the portal, you can't pull it back, you can only move forward.

By that same logic he could just, go through the portal see the ship as he splashes into the water open one back to base no penalty, then one to the ship deck since he saw it also no penalty. So it sort of begs, what's the difference between doing what he's doing and doing the thing anyway, at least when it's not oops you ported into a fight and have to get out in turn order I guess? Rash if you wanna port inside with no penalty and don't mind getting a little wet. Port out to the ocean spit it, come back then take Hellion with you to the water just outside the boat. She'll lift you up to a window and stick to the side so you can get us a portal with no penalty both ways.

I know a lot about science and how the world works, so even "magical" things have to make some common sense to me. If you open a portal in the ocean, wouldn't the destination be flooded with water? ;)

Also, if portals were "clear" (you could see the other side from your side), you could tell what's going on on the other side in advance, so the portal is "black" so that you have to take your chances when you step thru.

That's pretty much the point of portals. I'd argue that is a massive and unnecessary nerf of portals. It eliminates about two thirds of the tactics I'd planned to use them for.

I know a lot about science and how the world works, so even "magical" things have to make some common sense to me. If you open a portal in the ocean, wouldn't the destination be flooded with water? ;)

I would totally agree with this. Of particular issue would be pressure differentials. If you opened a portal to a mile underwater, the jet of seawater that came out would be blasting at about 7000 psi. By the same token, a portal to outer space would cause a sucking vacuum (though I don't think this would be as impressive as in the movies, as it is only 1 atmosphere to 0, instead of the 1 to 500 difference mentioned in the seawater example. Could lead to some interesting tactics, but you would probably have to be pretty desperate to try, given the potential number of ways for it to go wrong. Both would also have to be long range portals, which is harder to pull off in combat.

However, I don't think Hellion was suggesting we open a portal under water, but rather at sea level, and jump into the water.

A jet of high pressure water would be a potent weapon as long as the one creating the portal is not standing in front of it. It could also be used to draw all the air out of a chamber using the vacuum idea. Put a portal to deep in the earth and you get lava flow. If you learn the location of a vat of acid, then a portal to that could send acid spraying out the other side. These may be okay, but they do affect the potency of the portal and might justify nerfing it to limit such things.

Let's take this to Discussion...

So, what's the plan?

If Rashomon needs to portal to the location to look around, Hellion will go with him. That way he could just tp us both to the side of the boat, she can cling on and lift him up to a window so he could tp inside and then open one to base for the others to join. But until the discussion about portals is settled or at least temporarily settled just sort of waiting on the mode of transportation to uh.. transportate(yes I know that's not a word but it sounded funny)

Does anyone on the team fly? That would be the best way to scout, and lay eyes on the boat before opening the portal.

Fortune can cast a spell to fly. That would be one less spell she can cast. I don't have my copy of the rules with me, but she can whatever she can get for 13 PP is what she can do in terms of speed and duration.

For 12 SPP, you could fly at 240 MPH, but remember a passive Super Sorcery effect only lasts for 5 rounds...
Just curious, what do you mean by "one less spell she can cast"? Super Sorcery doesn't require preparation, AFAIK.

Let's just go with the two teleports Rashomon suggested in Discussion, and get on with it.

Focus: 1d8 - 2 - 4 ⇒ (6) - 2 - 4 = 01d6 - 2 - 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) - 2 - 4 + (4) = 4

Presuming we are probably going at night.

Rashomon opens a portal, trying to make his calculations just right, aiming it between a few of the cargo containers secured on the deck. GM's call how close he gets to his target.

Rashomon looks about, scanning for any obvious witnesses, and then if clear, steps, hops, or drops through, depending on where the portal is relative to the ship.

Notice: 1d4 ⇒ 31d6 ⇒ 4
Free Reroll from powers: 1d4 + 1d4 + 1d4 ⇒ (4) + (4) + (1) = 91d6 ⇒ 5

Stealth: 1d4 + 1d4 ⇒ (4) + (1) = 51d6 ⇒ 4

Assuming that gets us in? If so

Stealth: 2d8 ⇒ (8, 4) = 12
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Hellion drops onto the deck with Rashomon her combat boots barely making a sound, as her supernatural nature muffles the landing. She looks around for any approaching thugs before moving.

Notice: 1d6 ⇒ 2
wild: 1d6 ⇒ 1
yeowch

"Alright so, time to find our prize groups of two? Probably hidden in plain sight honestly."

Rashomon - regarding accuracy, AFAICT (Can Tell) I think it was Hellion who first said something about ending up "near" the target (that is, in the ocean) if something went wrong. But Da Rules say "If the caster wishes to teleport to a previously unseen location, he rolls at −4. Failure means the character does not teleport and is Shaken, or Stunned with a Critical Failure."
So even if you've never seen the target, a Success means you land exactly where you visualized. (I personally think that's too easy, that maybe a Raise is needed in this case to land perfectly and a Success moves you some distance from your target, but I'm done changing the rules for a while...)

Since it's at night, Rashomon's Notice is at -4, which is still a Success.
Within his field of view thru the portal (which only covers a small part of the ship), he sees a few scattered crewmen not close to his location.

I'm assuming that the Stealth roll implies that you went thru the portal, and are moving around on the ship. That's at +4 from Darkness, so you're fine so far.
Rashomon and Hellion move around the ship un-noticed (so far).

Hellion (and everyone) - I ask all my players to please re-roll all Aces until they stop, due to the way Paizo's dice system works. Just for future reference...

Is everyone coming thru? If so, please roll Notice-4 (since you don't know what the others have seen) and Stealth+4 to move around.

Six quickly follows Hellion through, unsure about this whole sneaking around thing, but he tries anyway, not really sure where he is going yet.

Stealth, Darkness: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 61d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
8 for Stealth

Notice, Darkness: 1d8 - 4 ⇒ (4) - 4 = 01d6 - 4 ⇒ (2) - 4 = -2
I don’t see nuthin’

Angel is next through.

Stealth: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 Wild: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Notice: 1d6 - 4 ⇒ (1) - 4 = -3 Wild: 1d6 - 4 ⇒ (3) - 4 = -1

For 12 SPP, you could fly at 240 MPH, but remember a passive Super Sorcery effect only lasts for 5 rounds...

Just curious, what do you mean by "one less spell she can cast"? Super Sorcery doesn't require preparation, AFAIK.

She is limited by the number of bennies she has. So she can only cast a certain number, usually 3 plus whatever the refresh amount is.

Just before the adventure starts, Fortune reminds everyone she has mind and object reading abilities that don't require a spell. She has to touch the person or the object, however.

Fortune's usual wardrobe has lots of black in line with her Goth tendencies.

Notice: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Modifier: -4
Result: 5 - 4 = 1

Stealth: 1d4 ⇒ 3
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Modifier: +4
Result: 3 + 4 = 7

She has a flashlight at the ready, although she won't use it unless it's pitch black. She has a red bandana wrapped around the lighted end to dim the light, providing just enough light to see a few feet around her. She starts with the flashlight off. Is there any moonlight or other sources of light so we are in dim light, not real darkness?

She can give herself heightened senses for a few rounds if needed.

Fortune prefers to stick close to Hellion, but she'll pair off with whomever if someone suggests a different grouping.

Rather than wait for the group to debate and decide the pairings, how about : men and women? There's an odd number of people, and that makes it 2 and 3 respectively.

Fortune - thanks for the explanation. So you start with 6 Bennies on a refresh! It's a moonless night, so -4. -2 in the immediate area (2") of your muffled flashlight.

ALL - I'm envisioning a ship full of large metal cargo crates (like you see in the TV shows), with some stacked upon others. No one's said how you're going to recognize the crate with the gang's shipment in it yet...

Rashomon will go with both groups (3/3), as well as having a third location back at the base, monitoring to coms, and keeping track of weather, commercial traffic bandwidths, and coast guard activity.

Hacking: 1d4 ⇒ 11d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + (2) = 8

ALL - I'm envisioning a ship full of large metal cargo crates (like you see in the TV shows), with some stacked upon others. No one's said how you're going to recognize the crate with the gang's shipment in it yet...

We tracked the shipment to this ship, so presumably we have at least the container/manifest number.

The Rashomon at the base speaks over the earpieces, so no one on the ship has to speak aloud, "Start checking the inventory numbers, see if you can see a pattern to how the cargo containers were loaded. I would imagine they'd be loaded in a particular order to make unloading make more sense to the longshoremen. If there is no obvious pattern to how they're loaded, we may have to find the cargo manifest, or ask a crew member. Keep in mind, crew aboard the ship may or may not be criminally involved.
Be wary of danger, but try to avoid causing harm unless attacked."

Six looks at Hellion in the gloom. ”So, any idea which one of these is ours, or do we start opening them one by one?” Then an idea pops into his head. ”Fortune? You can ‘see’ things right? Can you see into the containers at all?”

Fortune touches a nearby cargo container and concentrates.

Focus: 1d10 ⇒ 9
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Object reading just requires Fortune touch an object and make a focus roll: Success: she gets a vague impression of the information she’s looking for. With a raise, the information is more clear.

Fortune senses construction machinery.

To avoid having Fortune make many rolls, let's just say that between having people check for the crate ID number and her checking them with Object Reading, the right crate is found in :

How long?: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 3) = 9 minutes.

Everyone roll Stealth again, twice (at +4 for the darkness).

Angel stands by, waiting for Fortune to do her thing. She is alert for any sounds of trouble as she waits.

Stealth: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 Wild: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Stealth: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 Wild: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 Ace!: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Notice: 1d6 - 4 ⇒ (2) - 4 = -2 Wild: 1d6 - 4 ⇒ (1) - 4 = -3

stealth+darkness: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
wild+darkness: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
I think that may be a raise?
stealth+darkness: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
wild+darkness: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Hellion sticks to the crates as she searches ubderstanding that people rarely look up, and since she doesn't have to worry about silly things like horizontal surfaces, even then she keeps crouched as she manuvers around the sides of the crates.

"Any eyes on the prize? Think between Six and I we can carve into the proverbial can."

"Bingo!" Fortune says at the decisive crate check. "Definitely dark stuff in here."

Stealth: 1d4 ⇒ 4
Stealth, Ace: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Modifier: +4
Result: 4 + 2 + 4 = 10

Stealth: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Modifier: +4
Result: 3 + 4 = 7

Still waiting on rolls from VeeSix and Rashomon, but the cargo doors are locked, and the metal is reasonably thick, so trying to hack your way in will create a lot of noise...