Jade Hood and Stone Fist issue #3 (System tryout)

Agent Chayne breathed a sigh of relief, then flipped open a side window in the cockpit. "Man! Sure is hot out there!" Truth told his sweat came from having to fly a long distance, land at another airfield to top fuel up, then finally come to a halt at an airfield outside Cairo.

Mary mopped her brow, then put a brave face on. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one..." she muttered. Chayne was about to reply when the Diplomat came forward to the cockpit. "Have we finally landed? My nerves won't take any more, the plane is a shambles and the drinks cabinet has run dry! I'll have the Embassy send a car out to take you to wherever you wish to go. I still have a job to do, but thanks to you and your friends, Agent Chayne, I can get on with it. What will you do next?"

Mary had the answer to that. "The museum. We'll pick up the trail there!"

"Wait a sec." said Chayne. He sniffed at his own armpit, then Marys. "Maybe you should check into a hotel first. I have some cleaning up to do here." he said referring tot he trussed up goons. They either knew nothing or weren't talking, but Chayne had tried everything he'd known, which wasn't something Mary had wanted to see.

She turned to jade Hood and Stone Fist, both dishevelled and messed up from their exertions. "Cartwright can wait a couple of hours then. We need to freshen up."

Chayne shrugged "here ya go." and handed over a thick bundle of notes. "Check in at the Cairo Chalice Hotel. I will see you there later on. Look after this." he handed over the sachet of seeds to Jade Hood for safekeeping. "They are just seeds to me, but I reckon you guys will keep 'em safer than I will."

==========

The Taxi ride was slow going...

The streets were choked with pedestrians, flies buzzed about the place, and heat was oppressive, as was the noise. "I'd kill for a bath!" muttered Mary. Jade Hood settled back in the back of the Taxi, looking outside. The various cults that safeguarded the chemicals that created the superhuman powers had failed, it seemed. This Baron Bloot, and the resources at his disposal, had secured several of the elements and needed only a few more to complete their plan.

Stone Fist thought about more pressing matters. "We're being followed" he said. "Two cars back."

Jade Hood turned. Men in coats and hats - unusual given the desperate heat and humidity - did indeed seem to be following them! Mary looked back, then turned to the Taxi Driver. "How soon till we get to the Hotel?" she asked.

No answer, then the Taxi turned off down a side street, where shadows from buildings on either side were casting darkness on the car, giving a respite from the sun, and revealing another problem. Vermin, of the human kind, coming out of the shadows! The Taxi stopped, and the man turned, giving a gap toothed grin. "Big money to deliver you!" he said, levelling a gun at Mary!




OOC you're sat in the back of a cab, the taxi driver has a gun pointed at Mary, and there are around a dozen goons coming out of the shadows of the alley towards the car! As well as that, another car is not far behind and soon to enter the entrance to the alley!

I PM'd Victor but got no answer on whether he'd like to join in. With Dave E away till Thursday this issue will be on the backburner to a certain extent (I'll update it every couple of days and NPC Jade Hood if need be) so there's still time to jump in for anyone else.

I've got a plan to handle this. A cunning plan, M'Lord! But I will wait until tomorrow night to post it. In case Victor actually does join us and actually does send you some emails to set up a character.

DavidMcMahon wrote:I've got a plan to handle this. A cunning plan, M'Lord! But I will wait until tomorrow night to post it. In case Victor actually does join us and actually does send you some emails to set up a character.

OOC: Ok am back, so lets hear the plan Dave. And Paul as regards to the protocol or effort points all sounds fine to me. I think its a practical and sensible suggestion to keep things moving along better.

Sj

Stone Fist casually puts his hand on Mary's knee and then strokes her calf.

"Boy!," he grins, "it's a good thing this guy is pointing his gun at the only person in this car who is actually bulletproof, though she forgets that from time to time. Isn't my friends? She will easily take the bullet and you and I will take him before he can fire again!"
actions: Bluff the guy. Try to get him to move the gun away from Mary and either towards me or Jade Hood. The moment he does or it seems he is going to pull the trigger, use my strength and grip on her lower leg to yank her down towards the floorboards and away from the muzzle of the gun. Then it will be a race between me and Jade Hood to see who takes him out first.

OOC Apologies for the delay. With the kids off school even my supposed free time (when everyone has gone to bed) isn't sacred, as evidenced by last nights toddler interrupted fiasco at 1am...

Anyway, bluffing is an Aura (4 in Stone Fists case) vs Intelligence (2 in this goons case) made slightly harder (+2) because he doesn't believe people are bulletproof and thinks anyone will say anything in a tricky situation - after all, he would.

If you didn't see the rule changes with regards spending effort points. You can cover yourself with an IF... THEN ... statement (from my old BASIC programming days). Example: IF my Bluff check comes up with a roll of 10 or less, spend 2 effort points to gain an extra D10 for the check. Using effort points in this way costs nothing if your roll doesn't qualify for the condition (you roll 11 or more) but costs double points if you do roll 10 or less and need the effort point.

Another example:

Jade Hood comes up against Baron Bloot. Dave E states that IF Baron Bloot clobbers me for 2 damage or more, add two extra effort to resistance. If the Baron then misses, no harm done, and JH keeps his effort points. If he gets struck and damage for a total of 2 or more points, JH spends 4 effort points and adds 2D10 to his resistance. Hopefully that'll stop the ugly brute from battering our hero into next week!

You can of course spend effort points before the dice are rolled, which costs 1 for 1d10. Doing it this way means you spend a point which might be wasted if your initial dice roll was high, but might save a point if it was lousy and you wanted to add effort points. Your call. With that in mind I'll assume the following statement for Stone Fists bluff attempt (you can change this if you want):

IF the bad guy rolls higher than me use 2 effort points to add an extra D10 to my check.

Roll of 14 + 4 Aura for Stone Fist (18), Roll of 4 + 2 int + 2 difficulty ( for bad guy. No effort points required, 4 successes.

"What?" laughs the goon nervously. Though his command of the English language was admirable, his brain was having difficulty translating what he'd heard into fact. "You say she's bulletproof? We told that you tricky guys, make sure to shoot if any trouble. Told you no ordinary guys. Ok, I shoot YOU then!" He swivelled his gun towards Stone Fist!

OOC You two are due upgrades. I will come up with some suggestions, then pick one each. In the meantime we have Initiative and Action declaration. Any effort points you want to spend before dice are rolled? Also declare actions - you have a goon inside the car, and half a dozen outside, closing in...

Admin wrote:OOC You two are due upgrades. I will come up with some suggestions, then pick one each. In the meantime we have Initiative and Action declaration. Any effort points you want to spend before dice are rolled? Also declare actions - you have a goon inside the car, and half a dozen outside, closing in...

Jade Fist moved with his customary lightening speed, one moment his hand was empty the next a glimmering star of metal was present before it was suddenly shooting the shot distance to the man's gun hand.

OOC:
ok throwing star to disable the gun hand and get him to drop it, if the dice aren't high enough spend two effort points to get the accuracy, if however they are not needed then let them fall onto damage, if again necessary. That way Stone Fist can get a punch in without risk of the bullet hitting him or ricochetting off and hitting Mary or me.

Sj

Punch the guy in the face.

OOC ok, we have... Initiative...

Roll 11+CS11 (Jade Hood) (22)
35 (Doubled!) + CS9 (Stone Fist) (44!)
8+CS6 (Goon in car) (14)

Stone Fist flings a fist first...

Attack Roll 27 (Doubled!) + CS9 + brawling 3 (39!)
Defence for goon Roll 13 + CS6 (19)
Damage is 7 Accuracy + Strength 5 + hard Skin 1 + Roll 10=23
Resistance for Goon Roll 11 + Body 2=13. He loses 10 Health Points and is K'Od

Moving faster than Jade Hood thought possible for such a big man, Stone Fist leaned over and SLAMMED a fist - hard - into the goons face! The man exploded through the windshield and slid across the hood to land some fifteen feet away in the dust!

The six goons advancing on the car checked their strides, then took a tighter grip on their weapons (clubs, knives, brass knuckles) waiting for the small group to get out of the car.

OOC Jade Hood is yet to act - does he want to attack the Goons outside the car or do something else?

What would the level of tough skin give him exactly? Would he be pretty much bullet proof with that? I'm not really looking for that but being able to absorb some of that killing damage would be nice. The lower end damage would bounce off but hurt and higher end damage would go in but reduced kind of thing.

Strength is also nice.

How about improved senses? See better. Hear further. See at night. Taste poisons before ingesting too much. Smell enhanced. Something like that.

Does a Sunday Punch still exist in this game system we are trying out? Basically doing Haymaker damage with the battlecry kind of thing - Hulk Smash! It's Clobberin' Time! Being able to do an extra die or two of damage once or twice in a combat. Or once every three rounds or something like that? Kind of live up to his name and have his fist actually turn into something like stone that would punch harder for a round.

Those are my first thoughts.

"If you wait," Stone Fist tells Jade Hood, "I will use a door as a shield against their guns. I will charge them and you can attack from above or behind them."


ooc: Or you could just as easily go through the hole in the window shield and climb up and over before he does that. or whatever.

I'm also liking what I'm hearing about Victor's character and hope you two iron him out soon and bring him in. It ought to be fun from what he is telling me about it.

Admin wrote:[color=blue]OOC Options time...

Jade Hood 2 points on Martial Artist OR

OOC:
For what its worth I like Jade Hood as the street level guy - I realise Stone Fist might start to outstrip me but I want him to keep pace the way Batman can with Superman. So lets go for the Martial Arts, but I do see him progressing in all his other skills and getting new ones - certainly recent events would have illustrated how he could have gained a piloting skill or driving, but its also things like stealth or lock picking or perception etc. Out of interest where did we put the Character sheets?

Now as to the attack, it seems to make sense that Stone Fist should use the car door, whilst he charges from the front I'll take the other door, use the car as a shield and use those readied shots on the goons who look to be the biggest threat, or else the ones toward the back. Again should my accuracy or damage rolls need it, please add some effort points to get me in there effectively.

"If you wait," Stone Fist tells Jade Hood, "I will use a door as a shield against their guns. I will charge them and you can attack from above or behind them."

Seeing the wisdom of his plan, Jade simply nodded as Stone Fist opened the door, pulled and charged at the men, whilst he laid down some covering fire, in his own inimitable way.

Sj

OOC Started posting this afternoon, interrupted and 8 hours later, here I am again Anyway, link to the other thread with existing sheets is here. 2 points on Martial Arts means Jade Hood won't miss too often. As for Stone Fist:

He's got Tough Skin 3, which slows bullets down. A gun does around 5 points of damage (plus accuracy on top) so having 5 Tough Skin on top of his Body of 4 means that he'd pretty much ignore all but the most accurate shots unless he gets a lousy roll.

Strength=inflict more damage and become truly superhuman being able to lift over a ton with ease.

Improved senses would expand his options, for sure, and add to Perception when looking for stuff. Only problem is that there is no 'catch all' improvement to senses. Instead, you'd pick a sense (vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste) and it would be upgraded. It would combine with your Perception score in cases where the enhanced sense would help. Trying to see a far off object with an increased sense of hearing would be a failure etc.

You can deliver a 'Critical Blow' for a penalty of -4 to hit and +6 damage. The benefit definitely far outweighs the penalty, but if you don't hit, that bonus doesn't do much for you. If you really want to throw caution to the wind, you can opt instead for a Devastating Attack. This applies -8 to hit but +12 damage. I'll be making a list of combat options for you to play with.

Stone Fist grabbed hold of the door, intent on tearing the hinges away in a dramatic show of strength, then using the door as a shield!

OOC This is a Strength (5) vs Body of the car (5) with a single success required. Target is 10 + 5=15 so you need a roll of 11 or more. Roll is ...9

Stone Fist struggled with the door, which groaned and creaked, but stayed resolute! Meanwhile the thugs closed in! They brandished clubs, knives and brass knuckles, and Mary squealed "What are they doing? Somebody! Do... we surrender!" she squeaked.

Jade Hood grinned "We don't have to resort to that option just yet!" he said and patted Mary on the shoulder before spilling out of the car with throwing stars at the ready!

OOC I will assume you use 2 effort points for an extra die if your attack falls short. Jade Hood tosses a throwing star at range 1 towards a guy with a club. CS11 + Martial Arts 7 + roll 1,7=26. Defender has CS6 + Roll 11=17. Hit, 3 accuracy plus Strength 3 (thrown weapon) plus Throwing Star (3) + Roll 4=13 vs Defenders resistance Body (0 vs killing attack) + Roll 7=7. 6 damage, goon left on 2/8 health.

The goons see their wounded companion falter, then rush in!

OOC you have 3 goons on each of you... Initiative Jade Hood CS 11 + Roll 25 (doubled)=36. Goons CS6 + Roll 15=21. Jade Hood goes first. Against his goons, Stone Fist gets CS9 + Roll 8=17. Goons get CS6 + Roll 8=14. You both go first. You can move and attack in the same round, so can move up to the thugs. You both have three thugs on you and if you want to attack all three at once its possible. You attack vs the highest CS and Resistance, and apply a modifier based on how many opponents there are (-4 to hit -4 damage). Any damage you do manage to inflict will be applied to all three of them though. Your call.

ooc: I think I will go with Stone Fist slowly mutating becoming more and more superhuman over time with his whole body. So let's start enhancing his senses. Vision first since it is the primary sense we use. Hearing, Smell, Touch and Taste with the later points. Then improving other abilities later.

If Stone Fist's goons are grouped together in a narrow alley, will use the classic wrestling move of a flying body slam against multiple opponents. Put a point into attack and one into damage.

Admin wrote:OOC you have 3 goons on each of you... Initiative Jade Hood CS 11 + Roll 25 (doubled)=36. Goons CS6 + Roll 15=21. Jade Hood goes first...You both go first. You can move and attack in the same round, so can move up to the thugs. You both have three thugs on you and if you want to attack all three at once its possible.

Seeing how outnumbered they were, Jade only hoped his accuracy and prowess would hold them back long enough to give them pause for thought. If they started tumbling like nine pins, then they may not need to fight to the bitter end. But making them loose heart, required something extra. As Stone Fist Barrelled forward, Jade Hood did the same. Only making a huge leap at the end to spin and strike out at all three of this opponents in a spiralling arc as he sailed around them.

OOC:
Ok so use new improved martial arts to go for the attack again use effort points to aid accuracy (no more than 2) then if there are any left over use them on damage - again only if the rolls are insufficient. I want to try and scare them off, not having to beat them bloody to the ground.

Sj

okay with those choices, in order of development: Ultra Vision, Telescopic Vision, Microscopic Vision and then True Sight. Maybe Thrmal vision much later on but I think the other four cover what would be considered possible for him. So Ultra Vision first.

OOC Both on 5/5 Effort points. Stone Fist is using 1 on attack 1 on damage to tackle three of the goons at once. Jade Hood is using the IF he misses THEN use 2 effort points to add 1d10 to Attack with Martial Arts against all three thugs.

The thugs have CS6 and both characters suffer -4 to hit and -4 damage with their attacks as a result of trying to nail three each. A single roll is made against the highest CS and Body of the thugs (all Body 2, so no problems there).

Stone Fist vs 3 Thugs...
ATTACK CS9 + Brawl 3 + Roll 8,5,3 (choose 8,5) -4 = 21.
DEFENCE of thugs CS 6 + Roll 5,1 = 12
Hits for 3 Accuracy
DAMAGE is 3 Accuracy + 5 Strength + 1 Hard Skin + Roll 6,9,6 (Choose double 6 and roll again) + Roll 10,7 -4 (multi attack) = 34
RESISTANCE of Goons is Body 2 + Roll 7,7 (Double) + Roll 8,3 = 27.
All three thugs take 7 Health Points of damage, leaving them on 1 Health Point each.
Stone Fist is on 3/5 Effort Points

Jade Hood vs 3 Thugs...
ATTACK CS11 + Martial Arts 7 + Roll 4,4 (Double) + Roll 8,8, (Double) + Roll 10,7 - 4 (multi attack) = 55 (!)
DEFENCE of Thugs is CS6 + Roll 3,1 = 10
Hits for 15 Accuracy
DAMAGE is 15 Accuracy + Strength 3 - 4 (Multi attack) + Roll 10,2 = 26
RESISTANCE of thugs is Body 2 + Roll 8,1 = 11
All three thugs take 15 damage each, but as Jade Hood isn't trying to kill them, they take 8 damage apiece and we'll say the extra 7 points goes towards increasing the time before they can make a recovery check (normally 1 hour, now 8 hours)
Jade Hood is still on 5/5 Effort Points thanks to that roll...

Stone Fist more or less leapt through the air to crash into the trio of goons coming at him! He barely felt their heads crack into his body and grinned as he saw them reel, spitting teeth and blood! One moved in - he butted him, sending him back! Another made to swing a club - a punch doubled him up! The third was kicked squarely between the legs! Stone Fist turned to see how his partner was getting on and to see if he needed help - he needn't have worried!

Jade Hood was a blur of motion, ducking blows and jabbing with fists and open hand! He slammed his ankle into knees and chopped onto the neck as first one, then another and finally the third went down into a neat pile one atop the other!

Mary got out of the car and muttered "Wow!" before she turned to Stone Fist "Look out! They are getting up!"

Stone Fist turned, flexing his fists, but the three goons, spitting teeth and groaning, had had all the fight knocked out of them! They dropped their weapons and backed up against a wall, hands up in surrender.

Jade Hood moved over. The men were terrified! What had seemed to be an easy job - mug some tourists - had turned into a complete rout!

OOC your call. You need to get to your hotel, but can take the unconscious cabbies car (and gun) if required, and if one of you can speak Egyptian... oh, that'd be Mary Any questions you want to put to these guys, or happy to go on your way?

JADE HOOD
5/5 Effort
12/12 Health

STONE FIST
3/5 Effort
17/17 Health

Admin wrote:[color=blue]OOC [i]OOC your call. You need to get to your hotel, but can take the unconscious cabbies car (and gun) if required, and if one of you can speak Egyptian... oh, that'd be Mary Any questions you want to put to these guys, or happy to go on your way?

JADE HOOD
5/5 Effort
12/12 Health

STONE FIST
3/5 Effort
17/17 Health

OOC: Gotta say that was sweet, two doubles!

Turning to Mary, Jade Hood said, "I think we'd best make good the opportunity to question these men? Can you see what they know?"

OOC:Assuming that the fight really is ought of them, I suggest we just let them go, once we've found out all we can. Grab the cab, ditch it a block away and walk the remaining distance to our hotel. Or perhaps book into another hotel, if we're clearly expected. Might be good to throw off those on our scent?

Sj

"I bet they were just paid hoods," Stone Fist puts ins. "Probably don't know much at all. But we could find out where they were hired and what the person looked like who did the hiring. That might or might not help."

Mary looked wary, but the fight was gone from the thugs. Stone Fist had roughed them up so badly it was clear a stiff breeze would blow them over!

"All right." she said, took a deep breath, then spoke in fluent Arabic.

(translated from Arabic) "Who are you, who hired you, and what were you to do with us? YOU!!" she pointed at one. A sullen looking fellow smiled, then spat blood on the floor at her question.

OOC I assume Stone Fist to play marys goood cop/bad cop game?

Stone Fist strode over, ignored the mans cowering, then hoisted him into the air with one hand, backhanding him across the face with the other! He slumped, deeply unconscious and was tossed onto the pile of thugs Jade Hood had collected.

The other two glanced at the pile, then at Stone Fist.

Then they started jabbering as fast as they could!

Mary frowned, trying to make sense of it "They were hired this morning. A local hoodlum called Alhad Marktoum who arranges things for people, knows the people to sell to, and pays well for no questions asked work. They were told to watch for someone fitting our description at the airport, then their buddy in the cab would drop us off and they'd pound us into mush. From there they were to take us to Marktoums place at the docks. They describe it as a building with a faded green sign, and no one goes near it."

She shrugs. "I still need that bath, but if you want to head down there, maybe one of these gentlemen will drive us." She turned to ask one, then fished out a couple of dollars to wave at them. Both men immediately volunteered and she turned to her friends "We have a volunteer, or two if you insist, though I think one would do. It might be an idea to get out here before this Marktoum fellow decides to find out what the hold up is."

OOC your call - find a place to hole up and rest or head over to Marktoums place. With a simple tap the other goon can be put to sleep for a few hours or released, but he might warn Marktoum about what's happened.

"I think you getting our rooms while we go see this Marktoum might be a good plan," Stone Fist said with a frown at the two conscious men. "If we move fast enough, we might catch him and get to ask him a few questions. If we are too slow, he will slide down a hole and we won't be able to find him again. What do you think, my friend?"

DavidMcMahon wrote:"I think you getting our rooms while we go see this Marktoum might be a good plan," Stone Fist said with a frown at the two conscious men. "If we move fast enough, we might catch him and get to ask him a few questions. If we are too slow, he will slide down a hole and we won't be able to find him again. What do you think, my friend?"

Jade Hood thought for a moment, someone clearly knew they'd be in town and their description, would Mary therefore be safe on her own? "I think in the interest of your safety and as you are only Arabic speaker, you best come with us also. But just hang back till we, know things are safe."

OOC:
Don't think we can trust Mary to her own devices. Lets go check out this Marktoum together.

Sj

JADE HOOD
5/5 Effort
12/12 Health

STONE FIST
3/5 Effort
17/17 Health

The strange group huddled in the car, Mary sat in the back on one side, Jade Hood in the middle and a goon at the other. Another goon drove and Stone Fist sat beside him, giving his best glowering meance laden stare.

Around 20 minutes of driving through the most chaotic, sprawling mess of roads clogged by people, camels, horses, the odd pushbike and odd car or truck, they arrived near the docks.

The man in the back wailed, speaking quickly. Mary frowned then said "He says the warehouse is over there." She pointed to a ramshackle looking building with a faded green sign off the quay.

OOC Perception check, SF 13 Rolled, JH 19 rolled. Both made it, JH saw it first. 2 more checks to go till effort point recovery.

Jade Hood saw a head bob over the wall of the flat roof, clad in burnoose. Probably a lookout or sniper of some kind. Mary continued, oblivious to the danger of a guard on the roof. "He says he and his friend should be released and that they will never bother you again. He swears on the souls of his ancestors and the children borne of his three wives. Three? Why that's terrible! How can they allow such things! I think you guys should take them out of the car and beat the stuffing out of them! I'll bet the wives don't even know... why it's just..."

Jade Hood rolled his eyes. Stone Fist looked out the window. Bright sunlight blazed down, and they weren't exactly dressed to blend in, nor did their appearance fit the profile of local. Several plans presented themselves. They could find a way to the back of the building, dump the car and walk to the front, swim across the harbour to climb out just in front of the building and hopefully the sniper would miss them, or... he glanced at the two hapless goons and pulled a face. He'd not had a bath for a day or so, and he smelt better than these two... still, when in rome...

"Here's my plan," Stone Fist said to Jade Hood. "I jump out of the car and smash through the gate. You take out the guy with the rifle before he shoots me. Then we charge everyone in there and beat the stuffing out of them until we find our guy."

He smiles at the two of them. Seeing Mary's horrified expression, he relents a bit and shrugs.

"Unless you can think of a better idea?"

Aghast, Mary glances at jade Hood then Stone Fist. "You two don't do 'subtle' do you?" She shook her head then continued. "We have these two" and she nodded at the two terrified goons in the car. "Perhaps they can be of use if they can be forced into being trustworthy. or we could, you know, go up to the gates and knock, then ask them why they want to kill us. I suspect we already know - the powder - but finding out who is paying them and where we can find them, and what the Professors role in all of this is, should be the priority, I'd have thought. Unless you like hitting people with guns and dodging bullets of course, in which case I'll stay in the car. I'll know its safe when the building collapses into a heap."