I have not been able to concentrate on this game, and I feel like I am holding things up. I am going to drop out as I just don't seem to be into it anymore, and sticking around is not fair to the other players.
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I'm so sorry, I didn't even notice there was a post for me; I thought we were waiting on someone else... I must have either clicked on the post at some point and not read it, or the new post notice was glitching out as it likes to do sometime.
Arcfire downloads himself into Mr. Yashimoto Sr.'s phone at the first opportunity, and keeps a wary eye out for anything unusual.
Savage Worlds is far from perfect. I've noticed the same that at higher experience levels the power tends to even up, but by comparison I still find it more dynamic. It has a few quirks I dont really care for, but on the whole I have been having more fun with it. In M&M I've generally experienced that the most fun is in building the character; once you start playing it is mechanically monotonous. The Roleplay and the story can still be great, but having bland feeling mechanics is still a significant handicap.
Still here, more or less. Been having some personal troubles lately, but am not bothered by a slow pace. If I were to drop out, I think it would be from disenchantment with the system. Mutants and Masterminds is wonderful for how creative it allows you to be with character design, but in the end I find the Power Level mechanic makes characters feel too homogeneous; it never feels as though characters have strengths and weaknesses, so much as when it comes to a fight, all the characters are too predictably equal. It may sound like an odd complaint, but I actually like being really bad at something but particularly good at a specific task. In M&M, everyone tends to be so equivalent that all that is left is the fluff of exactly how they do the thing anyone else in the group could have done just as well. I've been playing M&M for near a decade now, but was recently introduced to a more unpredictable system in Savage Worlds, and find it so much more refreshingly unpredictable, that at times I have trouble getting excited about M&M. This is apropos of nothing, of course, just a thought that has been percolating in the back of my mind, as I am wondering if M&M has run its course for me. I feel the game has been well GM'd, it is just the system that feels lacking...
"Agreed. If he follows the usual pattern, Mr. Yamashito will plug in his phone before bed. I will reestablish my sentry position there, though I will be able to relocate to anywhere along the city power grid in an instant if needed for backup."
"Of course. It is the Law of the Conservation of Ninjutsu." "The level of skill in any group of Ninja is a finite constant. Therefore, the more ninja present, the more diffuse their individual skill, and the lesser the threat represented."
Arcfire sends another blast of lightning arcing towards the second Ninja.
Arcfire steps out from the cell phone in Mr. Yamashito's pocket, materializing in a cloud of sparkling energy in the space next to the three men. Pointing two "fingers" at one of the Ninjas, he unleashes a high voltage, low amp arc of electricity.
Arcfire transmits a voice signal to the others, "I believe I should maintain my cover for now. I will attempt to support you electronically, unless my physical presence becomes necessary. I will summon conventional authorities. It may disrupt or discourage the attackers." As stated, Arcfire sends an emergency signal through to the police and SWAT, with a JLA emergency code attached, so they know who is informing them. He'll report that a Limousine has been disabled and attacked by persons unknown armed with deadly weapons, and that it may be an attempted kidnapping or assassination. He'll leave the details of exactly who is being attacked vague, but will include the location information.
Make it a "Complication" as opposed to a Disadvantage. If it comes up, you get a Hero Point (or whatever this system calls them) for your trouble.
"I don't sleep; I don't have that kind of physiology. I do require some energy intake, but presuming Mr. Yashimoto regularly plugs in his phone, as most people do, I can draw the needed energy off the power grid."
"Yes, that would not be a problem. It also does not have to be a large or complicated device; I could just as easily inhabit something smaller, such as a cell phone or electric wrist watch. If it were useful, I could integrate myself into Mr. Yashimoto's personal electronics. I could therefore be with him at all times in case of an attack, but without anyone's knowledge. I would also be able to leave without leaving any sign of my presence, should the attack never materialize."
"This encounter was... enlightening. It highlighted the challenges of interacting with an environment I am unable to affect directly. While I could have constructed a body electrokinetically, that would have had a distinctly destructive effect on the source materials. I may need to consider building a default form from reasonably disposable materials, so to have it on hand without furthering the destruction we are trying to prevent with such encounters." "As for the senator, I may be able to sift through the available information by melding with the world wide web. I can go through vast amounts of information relatively quickly that way."
Now at least reasonably sure that the ship is safe from immediate threats, Arcfire merges with the control system, and pilots the otherwise unoccupied Yacht to the nearest Coast Guard marina for a proper police or other government agency inspection. Using the coms he signals the others, "This is Arcfire. There is no one remaining aboard the yacht, and no other immediate threats. With the passengers safely aboard the Javelin, and Coldwar escorting the prisoners to shore, I will take the Yacht in to maritime authorities for a full safety sweep. An investigation may also reveal or confirm what they were after here."
Unable to do much else at the moment, Arcfire buzzes through the yacht, looking for any injured or missed in the evacuation, or any other surprises left by the sub's crew.
It's all good.
Having him somewhat disracted by his equipment shorting out, Arcfire attempts to hit Black Manta with a current of electricity pitched to overwhelm his nervous system.
Arcfire desends down to a hieght of about 50 ft above the action. Then, with a moment of concentration, he generates a focused Electro-Magnetic Pulse, aimed at Black Manta and his submersible.
A miniature thunderclap lets out as Arcfire converts himself into a bolt of lightning, coming to a pause a half mile away. From there he strikes out again in lightning form, and then again, and again.
He reforms into his vaguely humanoid shape again as he arrives, hovering about 100 meters above the water, so as not to appear too close to the action.
"I am made of electricity, if needed I can travel limited distances through the air as a lightning bolt." "Recall how I mentioned I can create a mechanical body out of appropriate materials? If we have a vehicle we are authorized to use, I can also modify it for air or water use."
"Human interactions... are still a bit of a daunting prospect for me. I am fine introducing myself, but I'm not sure I'm up for more than that. I'm rather unsure how I will act..." His tone seems to suggest there is more to that than would be evident at first glance.
Yup. WhtKnt reopened the recruitment around a week and a half ago. There are four of us; check out the recruitment thread for details. Coldwar: Iceman Expy
The face of the electrical cloud shifts into a vague grin. "Ever touched a Van De Graaf generator in High School? Not a single shock, but more like an ongoing pulse of mini-shocks. I'm told the experience is... not exactly comfortable, but not painful either." He holds out his 'hand' to anyone daring enough to take it.
For the daring:
As he said, when you touch his hand, a series of continuous shocks crawl over your skin. All the muscles of your hand start to shudder and spasm, like they were hooked up to a bio-feedback machine. The 'hand' is of course not a hand, but there is something there to feel, and you still have the sensation of your hand being squeezed, as though another grip was meeting yours. Overall, the sensation is unpleasant, and you are relieved when it is over, but your hand feels none the worse for wear, except maybe a bit of left over muscle cramping. "As for electronics and such, I can certainly create a bit of static noise if I'm not paying attention; it's worse if I get excessively stressed or agitated, but I can dampen it pretty easily with concentration. None of your devices would be damaged unless I wanted them to be. Should the need arise, I can wipe a hard drive or memory stick at a hundred paces. Give me a reason, and I can generate an EMP that will fry every circuit in range. That being said, they are safe unless I don't want them to be, or I get really sloppy. Think of it like this; porcelain doesn't break just because someone with a lot of muscles walks into the room."
"Of course, there are questions about how to do the most good. One particle i read said that the Flash would do more good running on a treadmill connected to a generator in a poor area. Providing nigh-limitless power for a region would greatly improve their quality of life." But he shrugs, "On the other hand it would be quite dull."
Sweet. Looking forward to it.
While super heroes tend to be no strangers to unusual appearances, one of the newly introduced hero's looks pretty strange indeed. He appears to be a lightly glowing and sparking nimbus of energy, presently formed into the approximate shape of a man. With his presence, the air is filled with a mild scent of ozone, and a few hairs seem to be standing up on end from pretty much every scalp that has them. Of course, with a living shadow as a teammate, the new guy might just represent another side of the weird coin; light to Isokos' shadow, as it were. When he speaks, his voice sounds distorted, like the "music" played through a tesla coil. "I am called Arcfire. I am a life form made up of cohesive ionic energy. I can shock and zap things in just about any manner you care to name. However, as an electronic entity, I can also occupy and control almost any form of circuitry, computer, or electrically driven system. That gives me formidable abilities as a 'hacker', and I can activate or disable security systems easily, as well as navigate the most heavily secured electronic databases; as appropriate. I can transmit myself by any conductive pathway, such as power lines; even all the way across the planet, so long as I have an uninterrupted pathway. My ability to interact with the world in this form is... limited, so I often construct an electro-mechanical body out of available materials to facilitate those sorts of... physical interactions." "It's good to meet you."
Looks like there are three submissions that came together by the deadline. Let us know if/when you'd like us to join the discussion forum.
Here is the submission for Rigor Roctus, Arcfire: Electrical entity. Short Background: A team of three teams built themselves a Neural Interface system they Called the Arcfire System. During a regional Science Fair where they intended to get themselves some attention and mainstream backing. Of course, they were going to be breaking quite a few rules to do it, but winning the Science Fair wasn’t the point.
Toy Maker attacked the Science Fair, probably with his eye on one project or another, but during the attack, the Arcfire was damaged. Their power supply overloaded and exploded. All three boys were incinerated, and many others were injured. Toy Maker’s bot was damaged and he had to run, but empty handed. Over a few months, a new entity gained awareness on the internet. He was an amalgamation of the three Arcfire team members, and seemed to exist as energy only. Only when an emergency appeared, did he discover he could manifest in the real world. An office building where someone he used to know worked. He stepped into the real world, built himself a body out of office computers and scrap, and helped get the people to safety. When the JLA showed up, he was brought in for screening. A few months later, he is being trialed to a new team. Background:
Early November, Sophomore year. A few old friends and rivals were working together on a big project the regional Science Fair. They had developed the software and hardware to allow a remote operated vehicle to function in an urban environment, not unlike a drone, but much less militaristic. Their key achievement was what they were calling the Arcfire Interface; a neural feedback machine that allowed you to control a system at the speed of thought. Their system allowed anyone, even a member of the public, to operate a vehicle in real time, even working at high rates of speed. To prove the concept, they were probably going to be breaking a few rules, but they were counting on it being worth it. They'd be disqualified, but winning the science fair was not the real motivation here, getting noticed was, and sometimes getting called for more dramatic actions. Garrett Tiber had written the code, Alfonzo Mendez had built the hardware, and Inuou Ishikawa, as a competative racer, gearhead, and general video game nut, was their operator. If they could attract the right kind of notice with their demonstration, further developing their VR immersive remote control system into something massive. Taxis could be remote piloted, allowing for more passengers, medevac vehicles could go places too dangerous to send personnel, and most important to Inuou, race vehicles could go faster, and develop in ways that would not be safe for human operators. The demonstration was going great. Inuou was competing via remote link in a real race occurring at the same time, his bike rigged to operate via his control. They'd gathered quite a crowd when things went sideways. The Toy Maker crashed the fair in one of his giant robots. Afterwards, nobody is sure exactly what he was after, though it is possible it was their remote piloting system he'd come looking for. Part of their system involved using a significant power source to maintain the high intensity real-time connection with the controlled vehicle. Toy Maker's robot smashed into their rig as he burst into the community centre, sending the power system into a surge, and causing an explosion. A few dozen people were injured. Toy Maker's robot was damaged enough that he had to make an impromptu retreat, and probably only escaped because everything had happened so quickly there was never a chance for Super Heroes to show up. While most of the injuries were minor, a few bystanders had been hurt badly enough to need surgery or hospital time. Of the three boys however, little to nothing remained. The power surge had been intense enough to almost completely incinerate all three. Identifications were confirmed with dental fragments. The entity that would later be known as Arcfire became aware of himself sometime later. He existed within the expanse of the world wide web. For a while, he merely watched, as he could not remember how he had come to be, and did not know his purpose. Gradually, he found himself drawn to particular parts of the web that seemed familiar. Social media sites with faces he recognized, school website with pictures and videos of familiar places. Social clubs that seemed familiar. Over several months, he pieced his memory back together, and figured out what had happened. The power surge had overpowered their neural interface, and when their bodies were destroyed, their minds transferred along the link, into the web. For whatever reason, the three minds had merged; maybe because in all the internet, the three neural patterns were the only thing similar to each other; or perhaps it was just chance. At first they assumed they were trapped in the web, unable to touch the real world. They established some new online aliases, not wanting to hurt their grieving families showing up online claiming to be a lost loved one, but unable to prove it. It wasn't until a great enough motivator was present that they discovered they could leave the web. While keeping an eye on loved ones, they observed a bombing in an office building Garrett's sister worked in. Near structural collapse, a lot of people were going to be hurt or die. At that moment, Arcfire stepped out of the machine, and appeared in the office. He was a glowing cloud of electric energy, vaguely humanoid, but pure electrons and cohesive energy. He found almost immediately that in this form, his ability to interact with the world was very limited. Knowing what he did about controlling machines however… his power ripped apart several computer terminals, office chairs, kitchen appliances, and odds and ends, assembling into a rapidly constructed avatar. Moving around the building, he rescued the injured, shored up collapsing walls and floors, and repaired fire suppression systems. By the time Superman arrived, most of the people were safe. Superman took the unknown hero to the Justice League for a thorough debriefing. Now, a few months later, after counselling and thorough vetting, he has been put forward as a candidate for hero training. Still a bit confused, and adapting to his/their new existance, Arcfire is also enjoying some of the new challenges in his life. Still, he is troubled by the loved ones he left behind, and feels highly conflicted about contacting them, but feels duty bound to watch after them. Fluff is done, but I'm doing some fine tuning on the crunch. Few more points to spend, etc. |