The NEW Vanguard! Frostbite Issue 1 - "Frosty Reception"

'No living thing' he thought.

"Great Scott as if normal zombies weren't bad enough" exclaimed the dented hero.

OOC: sentinels favourite attack....an all out one. The metal manipulation was quite successful so the same thing again to all known zombies nearby unless somehow they can fight there way out of there cube like prisons then i would like the cubes to crush them. Sounds a bit dark i know but Steve knows only to well these things nearly need to be ripped limb from limb to be stopped

Admin wrote:OOC Also Ryan (Dunecat) Lionheart usually did his own solo thing so there's a good chance Stormbreaker will still be the agile guy in the group...

OOC: Yeah... as for Lionheart going solo, on occasion, bring it on. He always did fly behind the lines, even if he was the point man for the team.

Sj

Feeling the fight ebb and flow, Haunt tried to maintain a semblance of cool and mystery even as he knew the next blast could drop him like a stone!

Swinging his mighty white hammer fists again, the hero tried to make his blows count!

OOC AV9 vs OV7 +1CS from Multi attack, so target is 11 or more... 2d10 → [8,7] = (15) Success! 8RAPs damage apiece...

Boom! BANG!!!

Haunt smashed the zombie cyborgs to the floor, where they twitched and sparked...

Something, some... instinct, warned him a split second before what happened next...

The Zomborgs exploded!!!

OOC Kaboom! A pair of attacks... 2d10 → [4,4] = (8) DOUBLE plus 2d10 → [1,9] = (10) = 18 total and 2d10 → [2,1] = (3) MISS. From the explosion that hit, Haunt takes 11RAPs damage. This is enough to drop him to -10 Body! Haunt is dying and will lose a further 1AP body per 15 minutes unless he receives medical attention! HOWEVER, his Regeneration (5) grants him a recovery check - but not for an hour and it'll need a decent roll to keep him alive... let's hope his new friends find him first! On another note it's those doubles again which are really putting the cat amongst the pigeons. The 'bomb' effect of these Zomborgs would normally hurt Haunt but wouldn't be sufficient to KO him without a very good roll. Cue a very good roll... :shock:

=========

Frostbite, Sentinel and Yeoman saw a massive explosion in the sky as one of the craft disintegrated, showering wreckage in every direction!

OOC 2d10 → [4,5] = (9) Frostbite 2d10 → [5,5] = (10) DOUBLE plus 2d10 → [4,6] = (10) (total 20) Silver Sentinel 2d10 → [10,4] = (14) Yeoman Perception checks. Silver Sentinel identifies Haunt amidst the rubble in a tattered and burning (at least the cape is at any rate) costume as he tumbles from the sky towards the moors below! Yeoman sees 'something' but cannot tell who or what it is from here (it goes down a mile or so away from the battle the others are having in the woods) and Frostbite doesn't see anything save for the explosion and wreckage spread across the sky before it rains down...

Silver Sentinel, locked in battle with the Zomborgs, turns as the others do and sees a flash of white, tumbling and spinning amidst the distant wreckage of the aircraft that had dropped the Zomborgs off. Before he can cheer, he realises that it was Haunt who was falling from the craft!

Yeoman, extricating himself from bushes and feeling somewhat the worse for wear, knows another hit like the one he took will take him down! He'd already been humiliated tonight and knew it would be the final straw for him to go down first... He'd almost been relieved to see the speedster flattened, but knew it was somewhat churlish of him and that he would risk his own life to go check on the man and get him to safety. He called out "What was that? Someone wanna check on it?" He couldn't be sure but he thought he saw *something* in the wreckage distant. It was dark, and details were hard to make out, but the explosion had been spectacular and lit up the sky like a bonfire night...

=========

'Another one down' thought Frostbot... Then a cold shiver passed down his spine...

'The vessel that just exploded matches the last know location of the metahuman known as Haunt' stated Frostbot!

Frostbite blinked, seeing fire, smoke, wreckage and the remains of the smashed craft tumbling towards the ground! Of Haunt he could see no sign - had he been killed? Could he be killed? Was he the spirit he seemed to be or a mere mortal like the rest of them?

There were two craft remaining, and these two started up in the direction of the Mansion, distant. If Frostbite was going to keep up with them he would have to push his flight to the limit!

OOC 'Pushing' Automatic actions (like Flight, Strength for lifting, other Automatic powers that don't normally need a die roll) takes a Dice action and has a target number of 11 or more. If you hit or beat the target you get extra points to add to whatever you pushed for that round. If you fail, the power 'burns out' and drops to zero for an hour (or less if you have regeneration). Just a heads up.

Current status:

Lionheart - Knocked out
Haunt - knocked out and bleeding, falling amidst the burning wreckage of the ship he was in. He is on the cusp of death - at -10, and at -11, he dies!
Yeoman - Yeoman is on 1/12 Body having taken a walloping. He intends to get Lionheart out of harms way but knows a single blast will take him out
Silver Sentinel - just waiting on a decision on one of the options I gave Ross, PLUS Silver Sentinel clearly saw Haunt amidst the wreckage of the ship crashing to the earth!
Frostbite - Intangible but he's seen these powerful robots dismantle his allies! Does he chase the two remaining craft across the sky towards the distant mansion or swoop back over to help his friends?

Things might look bad but... heck, yes they are. No one said it would be easy being a hero though! The team has taken as much of a battering in this one fight as they did over years of fighting in WWII with the old GH ruleset. I wouldn't normally blame the dice, but they have been crazy with the doubles. Blame Invisible castle, not me...

ooc: So the explosion was killing damage and not bashing damage? From what little I've read of the rules, most attacks are bashing damage unless stated to be killing. Of course, knockback and falling damage are automatically killing damage.

Well, I do have two Hero Points when I started the game. So how about a Last Ditch Recovery to eliminate two RAPS of damage, putting me at -8? That will give me 45 minutes to die in!

And unless a PC has the medical skill, he will have to use first aid unskilled and so far the negatives to make a roll are pretty high. Of course, if I hit the ground, I'm dead since falling damage is killing damage.

A Character who is attempting Unskilled Use must substitute his Link Attribute for the APs of the appropriate Skill and add +2 Column Shifts to the Ov and RV of the action.

Confused by the first aid rules but I think my OV/RV is my total damage, which is 21 or 19 [if last ditch is allowed but 19-21 is the same table], +2 column shifts which I think puts it in the 25 to 27 opposing value table which means someone with a 7-8 Int is going to need a 32 to save me and that is only for a short time before I start dying again. I think first aid said something about how many over the needed AP you make it by gives you that many RAPS of time before they start bleeding again.

I see why the rules say even most villains won't kill because then heroes are free to do the same to them and they prefer jail to dead.

Admin wrote:Frostbite - Intangible but he's seen these powerful robots dismantle his allies! Does he chase the two remaining craft across the sky towards the distant mansion or swoop back over to help his friends?

Things might look bad but... heck, yes they are. No one said it would be easy being a hero though! The team has taken as much of a battering in this one fight as they did over years of fighting in WWII with the old GH ruleset. I wouldn't normally blame the dice, but they have been crazy with the doubles. Blame Invisible castle, not me...[/i][/color]

OOC: Whilst I would agree with you regarding the dice, it just goes to show that doubles make a fight go from predictable to incredible swingy. Moreover not sure how you 'balance' an encounter to make it 'fair'.

Not sure how you can prevent characters dying, under these rules as a result. As a bad/good set of dice can take the options away from characters and players making good tactical decisions and offering valid ideas to help them and instead puts things entirely in the realms of chance. I'm all for dice, playing their part. But its also a RPlaying game and for me that element of story should triumph over the rules, every time. Dave's character looks like he is already dead if he hits the ground, not a great start and one that makes it hard to invest in characters if death is more likely. I like challenge, I like it when characters are pushed to their limits, it makes for interesting story. I also like planned death, noble sacrifice, that is a great way to see out a hero, but death otherwise feels pointless - especially at the hands of the dice. Not sure what we do about this, the chance of death and us having to all abide by it makes the threats more distinct, but unplanned death can also seem pointless! I trust you Paul, to make this work without guzzumping the rules. I don't see its not the rules that are at fault, but the way doubles play out results that can make even a trivial encounter deadly.

Also Dave has done a great job of reading up on the rules. I however am not so well versed ;-)

Frostbite knew that the mansion and possible the whole village might be threatened, but so was Haunt. However without regrouping the heroes was fairing less and less well against their foes. Chasing the craft whilst the others remained vulnerable might be fruitless. Besides he couldn't tell the others what to do, nor guarantee that they'd go to the site of the explosion. So with a deep sigh, he raced toward the site of the explosion, determined to see if Haunt was ok, and to then team up with him, before regrouping with the others to prevent the craft from doing more harm. Since the mansion, was clearly their true target.

OOC: Ok rescue Haunt, try to revive him, help him, and get him and the others to ignore the remaining zomborgs for the moment and concentrating on regrouping at the mansion...

Sj

OOC: Ah. Ok how far away is haunt? Am i fast enough to reach him in time with my current suit on? Forget the zombots for a minute we could have a man down. He could be haunt for real in a minute.

OOC In my last post didn't have time to add that yes, there is the emotional attachment to characters to bear in mind too. The characters in the Vanguard have been active for years (for the most part) so killing them off with one high (i.e. really crappy) roll will seem somewhat churlish. That said, Haunt WAS on 1 Body when he decided to press on with the attack anyway.... The Zomborgs are, one on one, less of a challenge for the Vanguard than you might expect - your early successes show that. The nasty surprise (where they explode) makes them far more a challenge, and one that the Vanguard will (or might, at any rate) be better prepared for in the future...

Yeoman saw the distant explosion and muttered a curse. Nonetheless he looked to where Lionheart was down and sped there as fast as he could...

Laser beams criss crossed through the night sky as the Zomborgs took aim, but Yeoman landed, scooped up the fallen form, albeit somewhat haphazardly with a shouted "Sorry!" as Lionheart trailed through the air by a leg behind Yeoman as he took off again, laser fire chasing him all the way!

Frostbite soared towards the burning wreckage, seeing that it would hit the ground before he could get there. He heard the flaring sound of Silver Sentinels boot jets and knew that Steve Jenson would be there at near enough the same time thanks to his superior speed.

As the heroes closed in, the wreckage hit the ground with a CRASHHHH!!!!

There was another explosion, and fragments spiralled through the night sky as small fires burned all over. There was no way anyone could have lived through that. It was clearly all over for...

The pair stopped, hovering, as they saw a sooted and dirty form clad in white amidst the framework of the smashed craft. He was bodily intact, and the pair landed together. Frostbite crouched to take Haunts pulse whilst Sentinel moved burning wreckage aside to clear the area some.

'Life signs are unsteady but given the circumstances, remarkably stable. An ordinary human being would have been incinerated by the crash.' stated Frostbot.

Frostbite scooped Haunt up, determined that no man would die on his watch, even one who seemed to have already died and come back from the dead!

Yeoman soared from the sky with Lionheart in his arms. "We need to regroup!" he said. "These things have the advantage of numbers and surprise - who knew they were walking bombs? Best thing I can suggest is regroup at the mansion. If we have any way of hitting these things from a distance or putting them down without putting them out - and therefore triggering a bomb - we should use it. This guy seems to be ok, though he was hit pretty hard by an explosion. I don't really care much, but figure I'd ask anyway - how's the creepy guy? That explosion was huge - I thought he'd be a goner for sure!"

Laser fire criss-crossed through the sky and Yeoman looked back. "At least those guys aren't able to fly or we'd be in..."

The trio watched as the Zomborgs leapt across the forest, closing in on the crash site and eager to continue the battle!

"Ahhhh come on!" spluttered Yeoman. He fell silent for a moment. "I count ten. There might be more. What do you guys think? I'm banged up, but if I can get a few good hits in I might take a couple with me."

It was true - Yeomans' costume was shredded for the most part, his face only partially covered by what remained of his mask and cuts and bruises were clearly visible. Even so, it was obvious that Yeoman was superhuman tough, and also drove home the fact that these 'zomborgs' were very, very powerful. The Vanguard had not long been in this time era, and already they'd made powerful enemies!

OOC the Zomborgs move pretty quick, but will still be a minute or more away from the heroes who can fly faster. The Zomborgs aircraft can be seen in the far distance heading towards the mansion at supersonic speed. Haunt is on -5 Body, Lionheart on 0 Body. Both have regeneration so might not be down for as long as you might expect. Haunt gets another recovery check in an hour (instead of a day) so while he is bleeding/dying the chances are that a reasonable recovery roll in an hour will see him stable. The mansion will have medical facilities that will speed that process along, plus of course you lost contact with Wandafar so they may be in trouble. On the flipside leaving these Zomborgs out here could have unforeseen consequences...

Admin wrote:OOC the Zomborgs move pretty quick, but will still be a minute or more away from the heroes who can fly faster. The Zomborgs aircraft can be seen in the far distance heading towards the mansion at supersonic speed. Haunt is on -5 Body, Lionheart on 0 Body. Both have regeneration so might not be down for as long as you might expect. Haunt gets another recovery check in an hour (instead of a day) so while he is bleeding/dying the chances are that a reasonable recovery roll in an hour will see him stable. The mansion will have medical facilities that will speed that process along, plus of course you lost contact with Wandafar so they may be in trouble. On the flipside leaving these Zomborgs out here could have unforeseen consequences...

Frostbite spoke quickly, "To the mansion, there is little point in assuming that they don't know its strategic value and besides there are innocent lives at risk there. Lets move it."

And with that, he hefted Haunt in his arms and shot off in the sky making best speed to the mansion.

OOC: Don't know who has the biggest speed boast, but whoever it is, out of Sentinel and Yeoman should alert Wandafar, since there seems to be a communication black out otherwise.

As Frostbite soared into the air, he couldn't help but wonder if the Zomborgs would follow or if they had some other sinister plan. He couldn't wait to find out and taking them down with the heroes so badly damaged was going to get them all in trouble, or even killed. Yeoman was right they had to regroup at the mansion.

OOC: Ok trying to keep things moving here, I doubt anyone is going to be silly enough to do their own thing when we've all taken a pounding so easily. So hopefully we can regroup at the mansion and keep this moving along, before you take off on your hols ;-).

Sj

ooc: Hey, Wandafar has vibratory powers! Guess that is Vibe and Sonic Beam in DC Hero rules. Probably can go intangible too as that was a power I was working up to him having, being able to vibrate his own molecules ala the Flash. So maybe he can vibrate them all from a distance and cause them to explode!

And if the Haunt had died, he might actually have come back as a real Haunt!

Or I could make up a brand new hero that I was thinking about while driving back to the office -- Captain Viso!!!!!!
All vision powers: Telescopic, Thermal, Laser/Heat, Energy Blast via eyes, Flash, Full Vision, Microscopic, True Sight, Ultravision, and X-Ray



Biggest change in our game is the fact that energy blast powers, which were a dud in Golden Heroes/Squadron UK, are actually pretty darn good in DC Heroes. If we had all had ranged attack powers, these Bombies would have been toast. Something to remember if somone wants to later develop a new power.

OOC: Thanks for this Paul, maybe with my leave coming up I might get a chance to read the rules. I wish I could get them printed, I hate reading pdf's on a computer. Anyway, is good to see what is still outstanding, there is a lot going on, which is a great thing. But hoping that we can get to the mansion, regroup and find out what we can from there.

And Dave yes you are right, had we thought to utilise energy attacks we might have been more effective. Mind you sentinel does have an energy attack and Frostbite does as well, hmmm, something to bare in mind.

Sj

Wandafar
Brilliant Scientist - Mechanical
Contacts - Government
Skills - Computer Knowledge
Energy Attacks - Vibration
Precision - Energy Attack
Sense Energy Fields
Larger - heavier version



His powers are natural or actually the result of mutation. What I can remember of his origin, he was a passenger or scientist on-board either a space passenger liner or an exploration ship that had some kind of catastrophic failure and piled into a life boat and wound up on Earth, having no idea where his civilization in space was since he wasn't a pilot or navigator or astronomer. The Larger-Heavier Version came from him coming from a heavier gravity planet and his shorter size due to that as well. The other powers came from the weird energies his body was exposed to when the ship was in the process of breaking up and the space engines going wild.

He was actually intended to have low level super-strength since he came from a heavier planet [just like Superman!]. In DC Hero Rules, he would eventually have a 7-8 Strength. Probably a 9-10 Body - denser. He would probably have the Genius advantage. Guess his skill would translate into Scholar - computers. He would have the High Connections- Government advantage or did until this recent history came about.

Down the line, intangibility was planned for him using his vibratory powers on himself to do so.

His suit was basically the low level padded or armored suit instead of the thinner more flexible costume that you got to choose when you started the game.

"Just get them out of there, I'll hold those blighters back then catch up, I'll be right behind you just go".
Sentinel spat as he once again formed his iron clad helmet back over his stern face.

IC: That's what friends do, its what a hero would do

smaug wrote:"Just get them out of there, I'll hold those blighters back then catch up, I'll be right behind you just go".
Sentinel spat as he once again formed his iron clad helmet back over his stern face.

IC: That's what friends do, its what a hero would do

OOC: Hey Ross, help Paul out, what does this actually mean Sentinel does in game terms? I mean Paul's good, but even he isn't a mind reader ;-).

So will Sentinel metal morph em, or blast them from on high - I suspect that later might be better. But you probably want to suggest what you do if...so Paul can factor in contingencies. ;-)

Sj

OOC: Get up high as im hopping these critters can fly like me then melt the suckers down.......hopping is the key word

OOC So Sentinel wants to take on a dozen or so of these things on his own whilst Frostbite/Haunt and Yeoman/Lionheart get back to the Mansion? Brave? Yup. Foolhardy? Well... maybe... Silver Sentinel has the most effective chance of taking these guys out with his command over metals now that Lionheart is down/out. Haven't forgotten about that either. Will come up with something to better represent his ability to get out of the way of stuff.

Yeoman looked at Silver Sentinel "Mate, I don't know you from adam, but you're bloody bonkers if you think I'm running and leaving you here to fight those things! Sod that!" he spluttered, laying Lionheart down gently and making clear his intention to draw a line in the sand, so to speak.

He turned to Frostbite "If you're anything like the Frostbite I know, you'd remember that I don't desert my mates, and never leave anyone behind - no matter how daft they are! I'd suggest you take him..." he pointed to Lionheart "and the clown in the white cowboy hat back to the mansion. Get Wandy to sort them out and get back out here. I'm staying if he's staying, and that's that!"

Frostbite glanced at Sentinel and Yeoman. Two men from different times, both stubborn and brave to a fault. Unfortunately they were outgunned and outnumbered in this fight. Were Haunt and Lionheart still on their feet a better plan would have been to attack from a distance and let the things explode harmlessly - or even take a few of their own out whilst the heroes stood back and watched the fireworks show. By splitting their numbers they made things easier for the Zomborgs - they'd probably overrun Sentinel and Yeoman then come for the others at the Mansion - assuming Wandafar, Retribution and Bulldog hadn't already gone down.

There was a choice to be made, and with the Zomborgs getting closer, it would have to be made soon!

OOC Lionheart heals at an increased rate - but the others don't know that. It would be cutting it fine, but he *might* be back on his feet by the time the Zomborgs get here. They will be shooting as they get closer though, so it's a big risk. As for Yeoman and Sentinel, it's not exactly 'dissension in the ranks' rather two hard headed heroes standing their ground and determined to buy time for their friends to escape - at any cost it seems. Silver Sentinels suit will revert to liquid metal/harden into a blob of silvery scrap soon, but there's still time for him to do some damage - or he can renew it. Your call guys - stay and fight, get back to the mansion, or even... surrender?

Admin wrote:There was a choice to be made, and with the Zomborgs getting closer, it would have to be made soon!

OOC : As for Yeoman and Sentinel, it's not exactly 'dissension in the ranks' rather two hard headed heroes standing their ground and determined to buy time for their friends to escape - at any cost it seems. Silver Sentinels suit will revert to liquid metal/harden into a blob of silvery scrap soon, but there's still time for him to do some damage - or he can renew it. Your call guys - stay and fight, get back to the mansion, or even... surrender?

Frostbite wanted to argue, wanted to point out that Steve was letting his heart lead, not his head! Clearly Sentinel's power over metal, remained as potent as ever. Maybe he could take down the Zomborgs? But, and it remained a big but, the ships with their superior firepower, remained the much greater threat.

Although Sentinel and Frostbite were no longer in the army, so Frostbite couldn't pull rank, he could at least give it one last try and get Sentinel to reconsider.

"Steve think about this, those things won't be a real threat to us up above! Not like their ships that are free to attack the village. And unless Wandafar can protect them or surrenders the villagers are in real danger, not to mention Lionheart and Haunt. Unless Wandafar has some ace up his sleeve, the mansion is where we need to take our stand."

Frostbite didn't wait for a response, there wasn't time. Grabbing Lionheart and Haunt he took off into the air, seeking to fly as a fast as he could to the mansion, whilst the others made their own decision.

OOC: Hope that is ok, after all its not for me to tell another player what to do, but I do want to point out that, so far as I can see, there seems to be little to gain by sticking around whilst the village and villagers are threatened and two of our own are in need of attention. Thats all...

Sj

OOC It's a few miles to the mansion (12APs distance) which at Frostbites 8APs speed takes 4APs (1 minute) of time. Not long after that for Lionheart and haunt to get a recovery check.

Frostbite said his piece then scooped up the limp forms of Haunt and Lionheart before taking off for the distant mansion.

Yeoman watched him go then turned to Silver Sentinel. "Just you and me mate. We're outnumbered, outgunned and we can't get in too close or those things will go off in our faces like bombs. What's the plan?"

=========

Frostbite soared across the night sky, knowing every second counted.

Clearly this had been a planned attack. Who were these... people? Things? With advanced technology far beyond anything he, as a 1940s era American, knew about, they had an advantage over him. How many more tricks might they have up their sleeve? Of course, Frostbite had encountered futuristic and alien technology in his time which would be on a par or beyond that which he'd seen in this time era. He was a man out of time - all the people he'd known and loved would have died decades ago, and there was no word from General Wynn, Forbes, Dawson or Major Steed. He recalled others who had fought and died in the War, and glanced at Lionheart and Haunt. They wouldn't die, not on his watch anyway.

OOC Frosty can continue at his 8APs (200mph ish) speed or try and 'push' it to get a speed boost. NOTE: a push usually needs a roll of 11 or more and if you fail, your Flight is dropped to zero for an hour (or however long it takes you to recover if you have regeneration or pay hero points for a desperation recovery). I'll have to resolve Sentinel/Yeoman/Zomborgs before Frosty gets to the mansion at his current pace, so you might have to hang fire on posting till Ross catches up.

Admin wrote:OOC Frosty can continue at his 8APs (200mph ish) speed or try and 'push' it to get a speed boost. NOTE: a push usually needs a roll of 11 or more and if you fail, your Flight is dropped to zero for an hour (or however long it takes you to recover if you have regeneration or pay hero points for a desperation recovery). I'll have to resolve Sentinel/Yeoman/Zomborgs before Frosty gets to the mansion at his current pace, so you might have to hang fire on posting till Ross catches up.

OOC: Might as well carry on. I won't risk pushing it - you know me and dice, until I get some hero points to spend off setting my bad dice rolls. So assume I am taking evasive manoeuvres, reaching out with Frostbot to get to the mansion, or the ships and doing my best to hang low and out of sight.

Sj

"He's right i'm thinking with my heart. We have to get back too, strength in numbers and all that. Im up for a good fight as much as the next man but frostbite has always kept a cool head....so to speak".

By this time the zombots were coming in thick and fast, frostbite was indeed right Steve may be able to take out the weak zombies although they had numbers in there favour but the ships obviously could pack a hell of a punch.

Steve and yeoman quickly found there feet and were catching up in no time although sentinel wasn't totally happy about leaving the battle field but at least they didn't leave anyone behind. The enemy will just have to wait for another to be defeated but what were they goals, if any and would they find there way to the public?

The relentless, silent cyborgs leapt through the air and landed in the forest, running full tilt and taking flight with another powerful leap again and again.

They saw their enemies disappear into the night and reported back to their masters, but didn't give pause or break stride in their pursuit...

=========

Yeoman turned to Silver Sentinel as he soared through the air "It's not just a suit of steel you've got mate. I'm willing to bet your balls are made of the same thing. You're crazy... but I can live with that. Even so, I'm in no fit shape to take more than a hit - those things pack a wallop. You'd have been on your own in a few seconds I reckon and we'd have both been in a mess, to put it mildly."

The pair blasted after Frostbite and started to catch up quite quickly, for both were faster fliers regardless of whether Frostbite was carrying anyone or not. As it was, Frostys superhuman strength made his burdens weightless, but he felt a need to consider their health and well-being. The mysterious Haunt had been caught in multiple close quarter explosions. In theory he should be dead, blasted to smithereens. In reality he looked banged up, bleeding, so that meant he was a mortal despite his claims, but he was also a hero, and that could not be doubted.

'Suggest you turn around' said Frostbot in Frostbites head. He did so and saw the flare of boot jets in the darkness. Frostbite didn't slow down - Sentinel would be quick enough to catch him he reckoned. Yeoman would probably be alongside, hopefully.

=========

A minute or so later the battered group neared the village of Caer Alwyn which was shrouded in darkness

On a hillside there was burning rubble, and the group quickly ascertained that the craft which had attacked the mansion had been subjected to an assault by Wandafars' countermeasures - rocket launchers, laser guns and EMP rays, amongst others. There was only one downed ship though, and though it was gutted, that meant there were two more out there.

Closer still to the mansion, and the grounds looked chopped up, like a war zone. The place had defences that were designed to hold off a large scale assault by conventional forces, but the attackers were far from conventional. One of the aircraft jutted from the smashed roof of the mansion whilst another lay burning in the grounds of the great old house having crashed and ground a great furrow into the vast manicured lawns and gardens. Everywhere rocket emplacements were tangled and twisted, smoking and otherwise destroyed. Others were intact, but pointing down, inactive.

As they neared the mansion the team could see people coming out of their homes and looking up in fear and wonder at the great house that overlooked the village from its prominent position on the hill set above Caer Alwyn. Many times they'd seen and heard strange things from that place, but it was not from fear they looked now at the ancestral home of the family that had long supported the village through every lean time imaginable, rather, it was concern. Regardless of the secrets the place held, the villagers were fiercely loyal to the St John family and would fight, aye, and die, for their Lord who'd given so much and protected them when all else seemed lost.

The group slowed as they came to the boundary wall of the great house. The walls were a dozen feet high, topped with spikes and bordering gardens that stretched out a quarter of a mile from the house itself, in every direction. The sculpted and carefully tended greenery was churned up and in some cases burning. The smashed aircraft in the roof burned and caused concern that it might spread the fire. The other plane was half buried in the lawn having crash landed, but flattened a number of defence systems with it. That accounted for the aircraft, but what of the occupants? Worse was to come - the bulk of the forces, having landed outside of the village with the intent of making a sneak attack, had been fought off for the time being by the Vanguard but would soon arrive on the scene.

OOC Rolls for recovery checks...

Lionheart 2d10 → [8,8] = (16) DOUBLE, plus 2d10 → [3,1] = (4) = 20 total. Lionheart recovers and is on full (10) Body
Haunt with 5 regeneration will get one in about 58 minutes, but the machines inside the mansions cave network can help with that. However, to stop the bleeding will need a check vs 16 OV/RV (the amount of damage haunt has taken). The RAPs of that will determine the length of time that bleeding has been stopped for. At the moment Haunt will lose 1 body every 15 minutes. If Lionheart wants to use his Medicine (First Aid) it's currently at 8APs. To have a chance he will need to push his Intelligence with Adrenaline surge (which Medicine is linked to). A roll of 6-10 means that his Intelligence boosts to 18 (Reed Richards might have 13 Intelligence, for example) A roll of 11=19APs, 13=21APs, 15=22APs, 18=26APs and every +3 or so (it goes to +4 and +5 the higher you roll) to the roll after that gives +1AP.

Hope that isn't too crunchy and I will assume that Lionheart, once brought up to speed, does just that, treating Haunt in the shadow of the wall on the outside of the mansion grounds whilst the others watch for signs of the enemy.

Adrenaline Surge - Int - Roll 2d10 → [9,7] = (16). Lionhearts Intelligence boosts to 22 points and his medicine jumps from 8 to 22.

His first aid check is 22 vs 16, so roll 2d10 → [10,1] = (11). That gives 11RAPs. Haunts bleeding has been stopped for 2 hours (11APs of time). That means he is at -5 Body and will remain so until he gets a recovery check. Your best bet to get him back into the fight is to use the machines in the caves, but you need to get him there first.

Lionheart, having only just woken himself, sits back from treating Haunt.

He'd accessed his incredible PSI Energy and boosted his intelligence to unimaginable levels. It had been childs play to press on certain pressure points of Haunts body and stop the bleeding. Though pressure points had been mapped by scholars over the centuries, Lionhearts incredible knowledge meant that by applying a certain amount of pressure to certain points for the exact amount of time required meant the human body would help itself in ways mankind did not, would not know for at least another hundred years. Lionheart himself didn't know - the Intelligence boost wore off as soon as he'd used it, almost, but his job was done.

He stood and and looked at the others.

"For someone who was blown up you don't look in bad shape mate." said Yeoman, who looked ragged and somewhat beaten up himself. "I'm not gonna pussyfoot around. The shrimp, the saddo and dog breath are in there and in danger. I might not like some of them that much, but they ARE my friends and I'll be damned before some crappy zombie robot blows them up, even if it means I go down in the trying!" he sucked in a lung full of air and tensed, ready to fly over the wall and confront whatever danger waited for them. "Who's with me?"

He looked at Silver Sentinel - who had only seconds left of the time before his suit would dissolve, Frostbite, untouched but concerned for his team mates, and now Lionheart, who stood near the prone form of Haunt, whose condition had been mostly stabilised.

OOC The defences may still be active. There may be zomborgs active in the grounds. There is a crashed aircraft jutting from the roof of the mansion and another that has crash landed on the lawn and gouged a 100 yard long furrow out of Justin St Johns world class lawn. He won't be happy. Wandafar, British Bulldog/Winston and Retribution are in the caves below the mansion. The way in is either to go through the mansion or find the hidden entrance. Which is hidden. Or for those who can pass through solid rock, go straight down. Over to you.

OOC: Is there anyway sentinel can boost the defences as he believes staying and fighting in a now concentrated force is best....oh and a change of attire might best 'suit' *cough* him as well.