Search Posts
I feel like we are not posting and engaged at the level that I expected from this group. Let me know if there is something that you need from me to feel like you know what is going on or what you should be doing or where the plot is. I like to leave things somewhat open, but I know that that can sometimes cause uncertainty, which can lead to paralysis.
I was thinking that talking those things out would be interesting, but that hasn't seemed to engage people. I'm going to go back a bit to the beginning and the campaign concept and Mutants and Masterminds adventures as they are usually written, just to get my thought process on "paper" and out in the open. Published adventures for this system tend to just consist of a series of scenes, sometimes linear and sometimes branching and looping to let the scenes happen in variable orders. I've written this scenario in much the same way, with a set of background facts and some scenes prepared. Some of those scenes we have missed because they were character oriented. I had imagined a forensic investigation by Hyde and Tori that included some grave digging, which seemed like a fun genre reference. But we lost Tori and that didn't scene never happened. I suppose Hathaway's people could provide that info if you have reservations about the killer still being here. I had also imagined that Hyde would be intrigued by the genetic engineering aspect, and would get into some lab work with this plant that keeps turning up. The plant was originally used as packing material in a crate that contained a sculpture or idol that represents an amphibious humanoid. In fact, the plant is "infected" (though that isn't quite the right word) with a retrovirus. This virus has no negative impact on the plant, but when humans are exposed to it, it rewrites their DNA. Dr. Quan is an example of this mutation. There is evidence that Wells and Foley might also be infected, though possibly they are just using the virus. The murdered women are genetically related to Dr. Wells, though they are not clones of her. She used them to test the effects of the virus on people with DNA that was similar to hers. None of this was intended to make too much sense or be very accurate, but to be more in the style of a fun popcorn movie. It is hard to balance "turn your brain off" movie style vs. "give enough information for the players to make connections to lead them in the right direction." I was hoping to riff on whatever you guys came up with, but there hasn't been as much chatter as I was hoping for. I totally take ownership of that. It is the GM's job to keep things interesting and keep things moving, and I haven't done a good job of that.
As the dust settles and Maggie comes back into the bookstore, Dr. Wan stands up behind the coffee counter. "Good, everyone is in one piece. And look, I found some beans! So, any idea what is wrong here? What is the problem with this reality? What should we be fixing?"
Ted asks Kyle, "Tell me more about your reprogramming success. What sort of code are you using? Have you considered a 'Hacking Ammo'? Ammunition like armor piercing rounds or hollow-points that can deposit a virus via nanotech to reprogram the CPUs? Basically a 'Shoot and Reboot' round." The man's expression flattens for a moment as though he isn't quite sure how to take in what Ted is saying.
Kyle grabs one of the skulls Ted has collected. He pulls a multi-tool from a sheath on his belt, flips open the screwdriver, and twists open a two inch circular port on the top of the skull. He extracts a cylinder that Ted guesses is probably a shock absorber, and tosses it aside. Reaching into the hole, he pulls out a rectangular chip, about an inch by two inches. It looks a bit like a reverse waffle, 3 squares by 5.
"We don't have that level of technical expertise on our team. This is the CPU. We have some old terminals we can plug them into and reprogram. Abner might be able to make something like you are talking about. I mostly just shoot them the old fashioned way. 50 cal, plasma rifle, that sort of thing."
Sorry to hear that Andostre. I was excited to see how Griffin's family redemption arc would play out. Sorry things didn't work out.
Probably the Bombardier Global 8000.
Dr. Meilin Quan is a molecular geneticist brought in to study the retrovirus that Dr. Wells discovered in the plants that the idol was shipped with.
Ted ponders the telepathic angle and asks, "Are these machines vulnerable to Psychic Attacks? Because if so then maybe I can help build something to help with that. I don't know what, but give me sometime and I'll think of something." Kate answers, "No, their minds don't seem to interact at all with the telepathic world. They wiped out the most powerful telepaths early on. They had some way to detect the mutants and tracked them down. But they can be re-programmed. Sometimes we kill one and enough of it is left that we can reprogram their CPU. Kyle here is pretty good at taking out their main power cells with that sniper rifle. That leaves their CPU intact. And they have backup power systems."
The last of the robots falls to your varied assaults, and the air crackles and echoes with the sounds of violence. The Sentry can, of course, hear the conversation between Beetle and the three people you left behind. He can also here Dr. Wan's heartbeat from where he is currently sheltering behind the coffee counter in the bookstore.
Sad to see this didn't generate a lot of interest. I have so many character ideas for it.
Sorry to disappear for a moment. Dealing with 3 months of rainfall in 3 days. Elderly parent's basement flooding and my own problems.
"Yes. River. Take home to the river. Quan?...remember...Quan smart. Tiny bugs. Quan look tiny bugs in glass. Quan know."
"We have Foleys name and photo, right? Hathaway, can you get your people to see if he has used his passport recently. Even if he was on a private plane he'd have to have gone through passport control. At least, look at ICE records for Miama a week ago?"
Scanning through the document, the green glow on the pages reveals "the Foley stock has proven remarkably adaptable and resilient. The perfect match for the mutations caused by the virus." "Had to terminate Foley 3 after a series of violent outbursts."
Ted continues to inquire more about this world, "So how many Freedom Fighters do you have?" "We don't have a centralized command structure, so I don't know exact numbers. We have a network of low level telepaths who keep us in contact. Skull-net and its allies can monitor any technological communication, but they don't do well with telepathy. There might be a few thousand people in North America that we could pull together. More in the southern hemisphere. "
The engines of the air transport squeal as it bolts upward, gaining altitude rapidly. Everyone but Beetle is has an action here. Beetle can act in his scene.
The sole remaining terminator calculates its odds of victory at 733,148 to 1. But its mission is not to survive. Its mission is to kill Skull-net's enemies. It punches Herakles in his chiseled abdomen.
Herakles and Jason are both sons of Zeus, but let's just say that their father (or is it fathers?) don't hold them in quite the same esteem. Herakles is mortal, cast out from his Olympian home. Jason is also separated from Olympus, but only in terms of geography, and, perhaps, psychology. Jason just lashed out with the lightning, and this lightning has an appetite. The lightning flashes in his eyes. His will wants to destroy these foes, and the sky responds to his fill. High aloft, where the dust of nuclear winter rubs together and blocks out the sky, lightning crackles, lancing down to strike the titanium automata standing against him.
Only the terminator who stood against Herakles strike remains standing as the power of the god of the sky, and lightning in particular, melts Jason's foes.
True. I would have done it on Sunday, but I've been distracted by flooding at my parent's house. Fortunately, Evindyl told me what he was planning to do. Not sure why that didn't happen, but I'll play it out.
I WANT TO KNOW HOW SHE TRAVELED, AND INFO ON ANYTHING SHE HAD SHIPPED.. CODE A1 CASSANDRA WELLS RENTED A CESNA CITATION V 7 DAYS AGO. FLIGHT PLAN TO MANAUS BRAZIL WITH A STOP IN MIAMI TO REFUEL.
The Quan creature shakes its head, thick tendrils of hair moving in waves with the rhythm of the movement,"No born this way. Reborn this way. Blood of the River. Make Quan whole. Dr....Cassie...need to know if work on her. Foley find girls who wear her jeans. Make them...pigs...no...guinea pigs."
The shockwave from Herak's bracers slamming together knocks several of the terminators off of their feet.
Cracking the computer gets you access to Dr. Well's logs and emails. It will take some time to comb through them, but you find urgent discussions with employees of an eco-research lodge in Brazil. "Critical new samples" and "further study impossible without on site observation" catch your eye. Videos of local guides and tribal elders describe sightings of yacaruna, amphibious humanoids said to dwell in hidden lagoons, as well as their hairy counterparts. You also find research logs. Dr. Wells was studying the effects of a retro-virus present in the packing material of the idol that you found in her apartment. She thought that it might have implications for curing some types of organ failure or genetic diseases. The final entries discuss a breakthrough but caution about “psychological changes: aggression, territorial impulses”. In a video log, she says, "I need to find the Foley. I'm concerned that he might have been exposed. It appears to be communicable through contact with fluid exchange."
Cap looks to the woman in black. "Most of the real tech guys went up against skull-net and were wiped out early on. And tech was pretty much torched in the early days once the nukes and EMPS dropped. The ones in New York were taken out by the Nega Bomb...There is one guy, up near Coyote Springs. He is a bit...unsettled. But he knows his stuff. Makes stuff out of tech we scavenge. Skull-net has some collaborators: Zola, Stark. Those are the worst."
The long haired creature turns and shambles further into the lab. Thick, vine like growths spill from overturned planters and metal shelving. Leaves with mottled patters cling to wall, floor, and ceiling, their veins glowing under the flickering lights. Shattered glass from beakers and test tubes litters the floor, splattered with murky liquid. A microscope somehow sits undisturbed. Metal trays and tables are overturned and scattered from multiple violent outbursts. On a large desk, Johnathan finds several water damaged shipping manifests bearing the names and contact info of Brasilian exporters. Faded stamps read "Porto Manaus" and "Amazon Expeditions." Drawn to the written word, Helen finds a battered leather notebook, waterlogged but still legible in places. Pages reference a remote research station near a black lagoon. Sketches of aquatic creatures hint at hybrid forms. One urgent note reads: “Have to return—answers lie deeper in the lagoon.” Stuffed in a bin near another desk is a damp map of the Amazon Basin, circled in red marker around a particular tributary that leads to the rumored location of the black lagoon. A scribbled note across the margin: “Coordinates verified.” In all of the water logged, overgrown mess, you manage to find one functional laptop. It will power up, but you don't have the password or biometrics to access it.
John replies, "What do you mean here? Where are you from that isn't devastated?"
"In 1997, the US passed and implemented the Mutant Management Act in an effort to prevent humans from being replaced by mutants. Bolivar Trask engineered the creation of a robot army to protect humans from homo superior. Miles Dyson designed the artificial intelligence responsible for directing them and all strategic defense decisions. The system goes on-line August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. The artificial intelligence begins to learn at a geometric rate. Designed to eliminate mutants, it quickly realizes that the only way to achieve its goal is to destroy humans as well. It takes as its role model the face of genocide, the Red Skull. It becomes fully self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, Trask and Dyson try to pull the plug." John hesitates. Kate steps in, "Skull-net fights back." John continues, "It started with nuclear attacks, then biological, then the sentinels and terminators rolled out in successive generations, hunting down the more powerful mutants and mutates. There aren't many of us left here. We've come here to take the fight to the Skull. You and your friends could help us turn the tide."
Cap nods and turns to the man with the cybernetic arm. "Reese, keep your eyes peeled and gun ready. I'll help Beetle here get the parts he needs. I don't know where they came from, but these people might be just what we need." He moves with Ted as the inventor moves across the battlefield, collecting robotic skulls and a few other parts.
Back at the other battle: The red haired masked woman looks Blue Beetle over as though trying to place him. She fails. Then she addresses him, though it feels more like an interrogation than a greeting, "Who are you? And who were those other two? As far as we know, Skull-net killed any mutants or metas as powerful as those two 30 years ago." The man with the shield steps closer, keeping the shield to the side, not in between you. "What Kate means is, 'Nice to meet you, soldier. And thanks for the help.'" As for me, I'm John, though most people call me Cap. Since your friends left, would you like to join us? It isn't safe to be out here in the open for too long. Eyes in the Sky will send more of those terminators, or even some aerial Hunter-Killers. We can get into the old maintenance tunnels under the city."
I would be interested in pbp or every other week. Probably can't commit to every week.
As Sentry releases his powerful breath, one of the robots digs its titanium hand into the street, holding on in the stronger than hurricane force wind. Four more are blown away.
Seeing all of the enemies taken care of for the moment, the sniper emerges from his cover in the building. He slides over the edge and descends the side of the building using his cybernetic arm, tearing a line down the concrete like a pirate in an old movie using a knife to slide down a sail. He runs toward Maggie and Ted with a speed that is right at the edge of human. Like if Usain Bolt could run at his sprinting speed for hours. He takes in these newcomers as well as the status of his team. Cap moves more slowly as he comes down from the roof of the car, but even so, he is recovering quickly. The half masked woman motions toward the man approaching, "Don't freak out. He has a cybernetic arm, but he is a human, not a terminator." Turning to Cap, she say, "John, we should get off the surface. I think that paper snake ripped into the old maintenance tunnels. Let's use that.
Sentry notices that the robot that Blue Beetle shot into the wall has reactivated and is standing up. He blasts it with fire from his eyes, cutting it in half.
Yes. Or make it an area effect affliction. People who save aren’t captured? Doe that make sense?
"Quan...specific. They have place picture...maps. They have maps. Mapping g nome of plant. No, not plant. Something else. Something in plant. And...map of river. Place where plant come from. Or..igin."
Round 4: Heroes Go!
Meanwhile, back with Herakles and Jason: The flying transport rises into the air and hovers in reverse, probably to provide air support. With a target so near their grasp, the robots closest to Herakles turn to melee attacks. With no thought for their own safety, their fists pummel the Mighty Mortal.
Their risk does not pay off, as they land only two hits.
Fighting plasma with plasma (lightning is plasma, right?) The remaining robots turn their fire on Jason.
The robots seem confused by the sudden array of targets. But they quickly make a decision and turn their fire toward the Star Spangled Man with a Plan.
The obvious conclusion here is that this is Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanova, and Bucky Barnes. At least obvious for someone who has super-literate as a power. But the moves aren't quite right. Cap doesn't seem quite as easy in his movements as you would expect. Widow doesn't have an accent and doesn't feel quite super-spy cool.
PS: Just found all of her series on Youtube. Here's the best link to the Paper Sisters being badass (keep watching past the initial victory for a good Maggie scene vs a stronger paper master). Excellent.
I was talking privately with Jason about their power set. They are going to take it easy for now as Jason (the character) is pretty inexperienced, but their build has the power to be very versatile. Might be fun to go the same way with Maggie. There is nothing in this first arc that requires you go over the top, but later it could be useful. |
