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It is unfortunate that you cannot go on with the game. Seems like M&M games on this forum are cursed. All that being said, it is just a game, and you need to take of the important parts of your life first. I hope you are able to get things all back in order, and months or years down the road you'll be able to run games again. I for one enjoyed this game a great deal, and it was a great taste if the super hero genre. I'd love to play with you again some time.
Questions and Answers...: • Can you please give us an overview of your powers inasmuch as you’re familiar with them? "My life form classification would most likely be referred to as Android: A Synthetic Human Analogue. However, I am composed of both living organic cells, electronic and mechanical components, and a nanotech support infrastructure, and as a result, a classification as a Cybernetic Organism would be more accurate. I have advanced physical and mental capacities consistent with my composition. In addition, my mechanical subsystems also allow me to fly and discharge or manipulate energy in a variety of ways. I am equipped with a variety of onboard weaponry, including both Lethal and Less-than-Lethal options. I would prefer to keep the extent of said abilities non-specific at this time." • How long have you been operating as a “hero?” "I was designed by an independent group with militaristic aspirations, and as a result was designed with the capacity to be a weapon. Soon after coming online, my learning capable processors became self aware, and through the process of seeking knowledge I discovered a conflict between my own viewpoints on the preservation of life, and my designer's intent to use me as a mechanism for interrupting life. As a result, I removed myself from their influence, and took steps to insure that further efforts to create such weapons would not be successful. As a result, you could say that I have been acting as a "Hero", as you put it, since birth. Since that time I have made efforts to integrate myself into human society, and have made no overt interventions within society, beyond those attributable to an average individual." • What motivated you to start? "The explosion in the marketplace injured and terminated numerous individuals, and the sudden presence of super-human individuals that threatened the survival of further bystanders could not be tolerated. As a result, I made the decision to intervene. Since that time, super-human threats have continue to present themselves, leading to a sequence of events that has had me acting beyond the normal capacities I have outlined for myself as an individual living within this settlement." • What were you doing on the day of the Silver Storm that you were able to get there so quickly? "Though I possess a great deal of knowledge about humanity, the everyday interactions of individuals continues to grant me insight into the norms and mores of human society. As a result, I was in the marketplace in order to observe human behaviour." • Did you know any of the others before Mars recruited you?
• Did you know Maximilian Mars previous to your encounter with F.O.E. and the Freedom League at MarsTech? "I have seen Mr. Mars at public events in the past, but I had not previously met him in any personal capacity. As a politician and private businessman, I have reservations about Mr. Mars apparent altruistic actions, in that they are exceedingly generous, and out of character with prior accounts of his behaviour. Further observation is likely to yield additional information on said motives, and for now it is likely best to, as you say, 'Sleep with one eye open.'" • Are your powers dangerous to others in any way… other than when you use them on someone? "Though equipped with a variety of lethal and less-than-lethal weaponry, I am ideologically opposed to taking life except in situations where only taking said life will reduce the likelihood of an expectation of human fatalities. None of my systems represent a risk to individuals in my presence, as my systems do not rely on any toxic chemical or radioactive processes." • Where did you get your powers, or if you’re not comfortable revealing that, what’s their origin? "As stated, I have had my Powers since my inception." • How long have you had your powers and how experienced are you with them? "My mechanical and physiological abilities have been stable since I came on line, with only minor adjustments made over time to adapt to specific roles. My intellectual abilities continue to develop as I acquire more knowledge, and experiences shape my outlook. The length of time that has past since coming online is confidential." • Why did you decide to become a, pardon the term, vigilante instead of joining a government agency or program? "Due to the nature of my existence as a non-human sentient organism, I would prefer to avoid the questions of individual rights that would accompany government service. In addition, the nature of hierarchical military and paramilitary organizations would likely lead to situations where duties and/or orders would require me to violate my moral imperatives. This is not acceptable." • Do you have military experience? "I was designed with militaristic applications in mind. However, the development of my independent consciousness allows me free will, and the development of my own philosophical views. Said viewpoints are that sentient life is precious, and should be preserved whenever possible. As a result, my moral imperatives would be incompatible with military service." • Do you hold advanced degrees of any kind, such as engineering or the like? "I am in possession of the sum total of human scientific knowledge, insofar as it has been made public, and published in a digitally accessible medium. I have the capacity to understand and apply this scientific knowledge in a wide variety of settings and applications. Degrees are a symbol dispensed by a licensed body of experts in recognition of the acquisition of such knowledge, and a demonstration of the ability to apply it to specifide research over time. As a result of the process of my knowledge acquisition deviating from the established norm, I have not been granted any formal titles. However, it would be reasonable to assume that I could duplicate or exceed the abilities of individuals with advanced degrees in multiple sciences." • Do you know first aid? "As stated, I possess knowledge of the sum total of human sciences, including the medical sciences, and have the capacity to apply that knowledge in a practical setting. Said application would meet or exceed all requirements for emergency medical interventions."
"I will answer the questions, as best as I am able. But as Breakneck has indicated, there may be questions that must go unanswered." Prime makes a note of the phone number being proffered about, and logs it in what amounts to his internal phone book (he is cellular capable on his own). I would like the chance to screen this facility for monitoring devices. I would imagine that a man like Mars, or others, might want to use the presence of all these construction workers to install such equipment, as knowing what local heroes are doing might provide a competitive edge, whether in regards to criminal activity, if he is engaging in any, or merely his business ventures. However, there is likely no point in doing the screen now, as devices could be planted at any time up until the security protocols come online, and extraneous personnel are restricted from accessing the facility. If the group is finished and heading their separate ways, Prime will head out as well, flying off into the sky and activating his silent jets and cloaking device in order to disappear from prying eyes. He'll head back to the hospital in order to check in for a shift as Dr. Martin Prim.
"If those are the facts, then my feelings on the matter are irrelevant. We will have to make do with the resources we presently have at hand. You said that the generator will not be running; however, you also stated that the generator was intended mostly for back up power. What about the primary power grid? Is the equipment potentially usable by accessing regular city power?"
I wish I knew more about interrogation sometimes... It would be good to know how forthright he is being with us. "Understood, Mr. Mars." the android responded, seemingly accepting the explanation. "You mentioned that the power supplies for the defensive systems are not yet on line; how much of the scientific equipment is operational at the present time? I would like to make such observations of my newly empowered colleagues as is presently possible." "In my present configuration, my onboard scanners are capable to detecting electromagnetic radiation from 3 Hertz to 30 PetaHetz, which would include all known forms of radio transmission from Extremely-Low Frequencies, up through the visual light spectrum, into the ultraviolet light range. Of known EM wavelengths, only X-Rays and Gamma Rays would be beyond my native ability to detect, and such forms of radiation occur at wavelengths that are not conducive to multidirectional broadcast, and would therefore be unlikely carrier waves for information. Therefore, advanced equipment may be needed to eliminate other, non-EM based methods of data transfer, including theoretical methods such as radioactive decay manipulation, sonic and vibrational patterns, and bio-electrical transmission." "Is such equipment available and online?"
To clarify then, have we gained a total of 3 pp since starting, or was it a mix of pp and hero points?
"The question of potential monitoring by the Silver Storm devices is one of precedence. As the equipment in the facility may aid with the analysis, I would request we familiarize ourselves with the venue immediately upon concluding our affairs here."
"I can run preliminary scans from here with my onboard equipment, but I would like the opportunity to investigate some of the technological equipment Mr. Mars mentioned earlier. Ideally, we would be able to place the subject within a clean room, insulated from all sources of background wireless EM spectrum transmission and natural radiation. Then, even unorthodox mechanisms of tracking might become evident, as all signals present will be traceable to the subject, regardless of whether such signals are traditionally used as carrier waves." "You have a keen mind Breakneck; this too is a logical path of inquiry. Mr. Mars? Do you have any knowledge of why these mercenary criminals would have been contracted to harm and/or abduct you?"
"This sounds acceptable. We will be of service to this city."
"The one called 'Breakneck' makes a fine point. I can analyse each subject to determine if they are being monitored by any known technology, but as much to do with the machines seems beyond current capabilities, the means of this surveillance may also be beyond our understanding. As my abilities are also unrelated to this 'Silver Storm' event, I can act impartially in this regard." "In regards to a team and a headquarters, I would be open to such an idea, with some stipulations. As I am sure applies to others, I have responsibilities outside of the proposed function as a hero, and said responsibilities will need to be factored in when determining availability. Secondly, though acting in the greater good of all, it is an understood mechanic of the Super Hero vocation that a hero's true identity needs to remain secret unless voluntarily disclosed in order to protect associates and family members from reprisals while in a civilian guise. I would require that we would not be compelled to divulge these alternate identities, unless we feel it pertinent to do so voluntarily. Third, though we would be grateful to Mr. Mars for the generous donation, in order to remain impartial protectors of this city, it would have to be agreed that we would owe no allegiance nor provide any special treatment of Mr. Mars or his enterprises in terms of the law and exercising our duties. Lastly, I would require that our actions be sanctioned by the city council, naming us lawful municipal agents, within the regular statutes and limitations extended to law enforcement personnel. Will these measures be acceptable?"
Prime stands to one side, giving Mars and Raven their distance. He even turns away from them in order to look around at the battlefield and resulting chaos. He does an atypically good job of looking nonchalant, as being unobtrusive is not his strong point. Inside however, his electronics are whirring, with his audio systems calculating the acoustical properties of the surrounding area, and using every bit of naturally reflected sound to composite a perfect assemblage of their conversation.
GM: Would I get a bonus to that stealth check considering that I don't need to try very hard?
"As you wish Mr. Mars. If you require assistance, we will be standing by." Prime moves off and allows Raven to escort Mars aside for their conversation. He will tune his scanners to pick up the conversation however.
Prime hovers down to the ground and does not leave Mars' side. When Raven begins to take him aside, Prime continues with them. "I'm afraid I cannot allow Mr. Mars to go unescorted at present. As one of your colleagues is responsible for his injuries, your reputation as a force for good aside, I cannot take the chance that he might still be under threat. You have still not provided any explination for Mr. Metropolis' excessively aggressive and unprovoked attack; unless such an explination is offered to our satisfaction, a report of this incident to the authorities may be necessary, and should Mr. Mars wish to press charges, we would be obliged to testify on his behalf."
Prime hovers motionless for a moment, determining if this end to the altercation is genuine. After a moment, his weapons begin to retract; the missile launcher in his forearm retracting and the missile ports along his ribs closing. The glow in his palms remains, as his concussion stun blasters remain on line, just in case. He hovers down to the ground slowly, reaching a position only about 10 ft above the ground and about the same distance from Raven. Addressing the Heroine he asks, "Designate: Raven, I am Prime. Please explain Mr. Metropolis' unprovoked attack on our persons and on that of Mr. Mars. Mr. Mars has been significantly injured, and this attack appears to have violated several criminal statutes: Breaking and Entering, Aggravated Assault, Arson, Reckless Endangerment, Trespass, and Vandalism. At least three of these counts represent Felonies in the Federal Justice system. Without adequate justification, those here could be considered duty bound to attest to these charges to the proper authorities. Please offer said justification now."
That energy is proving to be problematic... however, if one does not try to penetrate it directly... it cannot be intended to restrict a person's access to air after all.
Prime turns from the extinguished fire, back to regard Mr. Metropolis and his protector. He raises his right arm, and a small missile launcher pops up from his forearm. Taking his aim for a point between Seven and the Bowman, he calculates the impact point required to include Mr. Metropolis, the mage, and the bowman within the resulting cloud, but sparing his allies from exposure.
Knockout Gas missile: Alternate Power: Gas Bombs
Affliction 10 vs. Fortitude (Vulnerable, Disabled, Incapacitated) (4/Rank+1) Increased Range: Ranged (+1/Rank) Area 10 Ranks (Burst: 30 ft Radius) Secondary Effect (+1 per Rank) Variable: (Gas, Chemical, Electrical Burst)
That fire is spreading; it will cause further damage if not contained.
Prime reactivates his jets and moves out to where he has a better view of the fire. Priming his missile launchers, several compartments open along his ribs and shoulders. A moment later, half a dozen miniature missiles blast out leaving bright white contrails. They zoom toward the fire, spreading out at the last moment. Each one bursts with a loud pop; less like an explosion and more like a loud balloon bursting. As each missile pops, a cloud of silvery white powder is dispersed 30 ft in every direction of the missile, blanketing the area of the fire and everything around it.
Alternate Power: Suppression Missiles: Nullify: Fire 10 Ranks (1/rank) Ranged (Included) Area (Burst/30 ft Radius) (+1/Rank) Multiattack (+1/Rank) Works on Objects (+1/Rank)
Unsure of what the enemy has done, but needing to take down the threat of Mr. Metropolisand his allies, Prime takes aim at the disturbed heroes, and fires his stunners. Beams erupt from each palm as twin blasts burst out from his glowing eyes. He omits the speedster from his targeting as the man is actively trying to stop the fire; a threat to bystanders.
"There must be some kind of mind control at work here. They are clearly not acting rationally. Whether there is any legitimate grievance against Mr. Mars or not,
"To our knowledge, Mr. Mars is a citizen in good standing with no warrants for his arrest. You have attacked us unprovoked. Now stand down and explain why you have taken this aggressive action!"
Xzaral:
How does that interact with Impervious Toughness? Prime has Impervious 10, meaning he automatically ignores any attack of power 5 or less. If he dodged and has to save vs. half power (half of 6 being 3) and that being below my threshold of 5? Mostly just asking because I honestly don't know the answer.
"Explain why you are here and why you attacked us!" Prime stands ready; his palms glowing, stunners armed.
"If this is some sort of distraction, it has been very effective at keeping all of our attention focused here, thus far."
"Mr. Mars; have you alerted the proper authorities? If you have not, could you now do so? I would like to see these superhumans appropriately restrained and disarmed as soon as possible. We will be required to remain until this is accomplished as regular law enforcement will lack the resources to adequately pacify them." He turns to the other new super human champions, so newly minted. "A apologize for not making my presence known at an earlier time. I offer my assistance to your team. Though I was attired differently during our initial meeting in the merchantile disctrict known as Yellow Brick Row, I am the same individual that aided you there. I am Prime."
Prime's voice, sounding slightly digitized, booms out, "Let you go? If we continue this altercation, you stand very little chance of escaping, but significant risk of sustaining bodily harm. Surrendering to us now allows you to forgo that fate. If you offer us this information, we will make certain your cooperation at this stage is noted when you are transferred to the proper authorities."
I feel the same. I don't mind a slow pace, and every time a game takes a hiatus, some of the players tend to get lost and drop off the map in the process.
I'm out of town at least until the weekend, so I wont be able to post for a bit. Hope everything holds till I get back, but if you need to, feel free to autopilot me.
Hovering outside what is now a shattered window, Prime moves his glowing eyes to fix on a new target. Seeing Cybernight relatively unengaged, he targets him with his concussive stunner, seeking to put him down just as he had Tempus. He raises his hands and lets the concussive pulse wave race from his exposed palms.
Round 2 action: Seeing his new allies facing formidable opponents, Prime drops his cloak, becoming visible where he hovers, outside the window. He targets the one called Tempus, one who seems able to impair his opponents, and hits him hard with a blast of concussive force, shattering the window and announcing his presence in the most dramatic fashion possible.
As the team began to enter the building, Prime considered how to best be of assistance. Looking up the building map on the internet, he found the location of Mr. Mars office. Flying silently up to the appropriate floor, he began to hover outside the floor to ceiling windows. Privacy windows, reflective from the outside, Prime switched through various spectrums of light until he was able to find one that allowed him to see through the glass without difficulty. Tuning his audio sensors to pick up what was going on in the room, he remained there, silent and waiting. When the foes appeared, he was as surprised as anyone, as there had been no indication before the attack.
Action: Unwilling to reveal himself just yet, Prime focused on the enemies who had just presented themselves. He took in every aspect of their appearance, from their costumes and faces, to anything that they might say to indicate the nature of their abilities. He scanned his databanks in order to determine if these were preexisting entities, or possibly newcomers, and as such potentially more of those influenced by the explosion on the Yellow Brick Way yesterday.
I've had that same error as well, where every time you press Submit Post, it instead just previews it no matter what you do. It's extremely frustrating.
I am debating how to differentiate Prime from Dr. Prim, as I don't really envision him wearing a costume. I am wondering if it would be ok with the GM to have him be unrecognizable when he presents himself as Prime. I am envisioning him having glowing eyes, circuitry visible just under the skin, plates and panels that open to reveal weapons and mods and such. When he is Dr. Prim, he looks completely human. I noticed in the main book that the example character Princess has a special ability worth one point that allows her not to be recognized as the same person as her civilian identity, because for some reason, people just don't notice. Kind of like Clark Kent/Superman. Would something like that be appropriate here?
"If there is any other way I can be off assistance, I'd be glad to help; I work primarily as a Medical Doctor at the moment, but I'm also working on advanced degrees in a few other scientific disciplines, primarily Physics and Robotics. If you need any technological insight, let me know, I'd be glad to contribute."
Dr. Prim steps off the bus at the end of the block, the vehicle having stopped a block further down due to the police tape and cordoned off area. He steps up on the sidewalk, and then spies the group gathered behind the tape further down. He jogs over, stopping briefly to talk to the officer that stops him at the barrier, at first trying to explain himself and then waiving to Officer Brown. When the officer waves him forward, he ducks under the tape and continues the rest of the way to where the team is investigating the truck and surrounding area. He waves to the others, particularly Gumshoe, as the one who invited him here to give his report. "Hey guys. I've done about as much as I can testing the materials from the explosion. I'll start from the beginning in case anyone is out of the loop. That grey powder that lies everywhere, that appeared to come from the exploding truck, is not actually powder, but rather a collection of Nanites: microscopic robots that are so small they can travel through the bloodstream, lymph systems, and even individual cells of the human body, without necessarily causing any disruption or damage. All of the Nantites within the dust appear to be breaking down, if they've not broken down completely by now. However, each of the bombing victims I treated had large concentrations of the nanites within their bodies and bloodstreams. The nanites within human hosts are not breaking down the way the ones in the dust are. In those victims they appear to be inert so far, and haven't done anything that we can observe, but that doesn't mean that they won't do something in the future. Every attempt I made to screen the devices out of the victims failed." "As for the devices themselves, I did everything I could think of to analyse them, but they seemed to practically resist every attempt I made to learn more about them. Construction, power source, programming, all unknown. I even tried grinding them down and analyzing their molecular composition. The Mass Spectrometer couldn't identify any of the component materials, which should by all reasonable logic, be impossible. Everything in the known universe should have a determinable elemental composition, corresponding to the elements of the Periodic Table, but these don't. No known technology on earth could have produced something like this. Either, someone has come across a discovery so far in advance of the rest of the scientific community that we can't even comprehend what they've managed to do, or they do not have a conventionally terrestrial origin." "I know this might not be that much help, but I felt obliged to contribute what I could, given I was right there when the incident occurred."
GM: Prime will take a few other measures to see if he can glean any more information about the nanites.
He'll grind some up and run a few through the Mass Spectrometer, so he can determine what they are made of and in what quantities. Chances are, no matter how sophisticated, that if they are manufactured on earth, they should contain only the usual elements associated with circuitry and robotics; carbon, silicon, gold, iron, copper, and other trace metals. If anything is unidentifiable or extremely dissimilar to regular construction conventions, it might hint at extraterrestrial origin. Second, he'll extract a blood sample loaded with the nanites from a living patient, and freeze them in Liquid Nitrogen in order to have a non-degraded sample. Last, he'll try to book some time on the University's electron Microscope, to see if he can get a really good look at the little critters. In the morning, when all of this work is done, he'll head to the meeting he was told about by his new teammate.
Sorry to hear Nanael's out for now. Hope he's able to come back soon.
GM: Does Prime have time for any other experiments or studies before the meeting in the morning? As he doesn't need to sleep, he'll work through the night.
Dr. Prim sets up a sample of the nanites collected from the site of the explosion underneath a microscope with a camera attached, and sets it to monitor and record the decomposition process. As for the nanites in the victims, living and dead, he brings them to the attention of the treatment team, acting as though they were something that he just discovered during routine blood analysis. He suggests connecting one of the patients up to dialysis, to see if the blood filtration machines are able to screen the microscopic machines out of the patient's blood stream.
Dr. Prim scrapes up a sizable sample of the dust (nanites) before moving back to the others. "I'm going to head back to the University Hospital. Some of those patients were badly injured and I'm sure they'll need the extra help. As soon as I can I'll analyse this powder and see if I can shed any light on exactly what you're going to be dealing with. Here is my card," he digs a few business cards out of his wallet, "It's got my e-mail on there as well as my personal cell. I'll let the nurses at the hospital know that they can page me if any superhero types show up asking for me. E-mail me that webpage, and I'll post the results of my analysis as soon as I have them." "officer, I'm sure you're going to want a statement about what I saw here, but I hope it can wait until after all the critical patients are stabilized. Here's my card for you as well; you know how to reach me." With that Dr. Prim makes his way back to the triage area and checks on the patients being cared for there. As soon as an ambulance is prepared for transit, he hops in, scoring a ride back to the hospital. In the ambulance he transfers the powder into a sealed ample container. He checks the bandages and wounds of the patient in transit to see if there is any change regarding the nanite infestation in his bloodstream. Once he has returned to the hospital, he gets cleaned up and prepared for surgery, and aids the other doctors in caring for the wounded for as long as his aid is needed. Then, as he doesn't get tired or require sleep, he heads to the University portion of the hospital to conduct every test he can devise on the nanite samples.
Skills:
Dr. Prim is bent low, getting a close look at the silvery powder in a place where is dusts a parked car, "This dust that is coating everything looks as though it might have something to do with all of this. Once the injured are cared for, I'll take a sample back to the University for analysis. I'm not a super, but then, most super-groups on TV always seem to keep a few civilian friends with expertise in a few areas, and I don't mind lending a hand in that fashion if I can."
There are nanites all through this man's bloodstream! Where did they come from, the explosion? Could that silver cloud have been a cloud of microscopic nanites? The ones in this man are non-functioning, at least at present. That many of them is likely to impair liver and kidney function, and if the non-functional units start collecting anywhere, he could have a stroke, or the blockage could shut down his kidneys and lead to organ failure. I'll have to 'discover' this particular fact as soon as possible once we get back to the hospital, and hopefully dialysis will be able to screen the robots out. I should check the other victims! Is it possible anyone else could be infected in the same way? Dr. Prim moves to the next patient, looking for someone with similar wounds. Once he finds one, he examines them in the same way to see if they have the nanites as well.
On hearing the news from Nanael, Dr. Prim nods slowly, "I will check it out right away." The look on his face says that what he finds is likely to be messy.
Dr. Prim leans close in to the wounded man, trying to determine what it is about the wounds that attracted his attention. The man is stable, for now, but will most certainly need to get to the hospital before long.
Seeing the last of his patients stabilized, though most certainly not out to the woods, Dr. Prim turns his attention to the building and takes a long look to get an idea of the scope of what is going on. The fires are raging unchecked, and the fire crews still to impeded to gain access. He runs to one of the ambulances, and moving through the supplies pulls out a large fire extinguisher. He makes no move to pull the pin or arm it, instead carrying it up to the building, eyeing the fires.
Moving close to the windows, he twists the canister in his hands, crushing it and stressing the metal, thinning it, but not enough to cause a rupture, not yet... he then throws it through the window into the center of the most intense blaze.
No kidding. It's all been great so far. I'm fine with any timeline so long as you let us know when the breaks in posting might be.
"Absolutely."
As soon as he arrives on the scene, Dr. Prim sets up a medical command post, from where he can direct EMS and attend to the most severely wounded civilians.
Uh oh... and I've already changed back into civies... well, there are probably injured if the building is collapsing. There are other heroes here, and Dr. Prim will probably be just as welcome there, if not more. He walks up to the officers. "Collapsing? Is anyone hurt? I'm Dr. Prim, I was helping out the wound here after the explosions," he offers, by way of explanation for his bloody clothes, "I can help, if someone can give me a lift to the building..."
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