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

Inside the cloud Haunt saw what they were doing - in moments it wouldn't matter if they couldn't see him - the cloud he was in would be sliced up by thousands of rounds of high calibre ammunition!

Frostbite used the opportunity to duck inside the craft.

Inside his fog the Haunt bellowed out an unearthly laugh, "You fools think mortal weapons can hurt the Haunt of Justice? Fire away and see how little I care!"

ooc: Actually, I'm not sure he is tough enough to survive it so .....

Using his fog he will move to one of the closest craft, one of the ones Frostbite is not in, he will basically get to the edge of his fog as it covers a small portion of the craft and ooze his way in, fog and all, while still leaving as much of the fog outside as he can..

But war, war was his forte, his art, not just on the ground although did had to admit he did enjoy it emencely but also tacitly. His old dad schooled him on it well even from the first time he could read, training him almost if the old man knew that one day Steve would be thrown into this situations but how if he didn't know that Steve was going to sign up. He only signed up when his parents were missing presumed dead and that was mostly out of rage.
Rage always got the better of him. Rage overridded his emotions at time even when he knew what to do tacitly. But rage and anger can also be an allie, it can fuel you when a foe lest expects it like NOW....

With a nod of his head towards yeoman the duo zeroed in towards frostbite in a pincer movement to assist his team mate.
Yes rage can be good and fighting.....well fighting just feels right....for the greater good obviously

smaug wrote:With a nod of his head towards yeoman the duo zeroed in towards frostbite in a pincer movement to assist his team mate.

OOC: Don't you mean Lionheart, you were above the trees looking at the oncoming forces pounding their way to the mansion. Frostbite and Haunt are some distance away in the air tackling the craft?

Sj

Lionheart decided that the best defences was a great offence. No point in waiting for these guys to get the upper hand. As he assumed that Yeoman and Sentinel would zero in on the laser fire, Lionheart took this as a cue to circle around and start to dart in to pick off the aliens from behind.

OOC: So points on Str, dodging and speed hopefully that means I can dodge away from stray shots fired at me.

Lionheart figured if he darted in smacked one soldier into another and got out again, before the others could react he'd start to create confusion. If he kept going around the circle and doing it randomly then he'd create even more confusion so that when Sentinel and Yeoman hit from above they'd stand a better chance of not being fired at as they came in.

Meanwhile, Frostbite touched the console beside him to lunch Frostbot aboard and got ready to freeze the beings in front of him to their seats.

OOC: Frostbot to take control of ship as I fire Ice at the Pilots and freeze them in situ.

Sj

OOC Initiative Good Guys 1d10 → [5] = (5) Bad Guys 1d10 → [6] = (6) Good guys go first. Only with a low roll for good and high for bad will they win initiative.

Haunt seeps into the vents of the craft he flew near after venting yet more fog near the craft

Contending with all manner of turbulent air feeds and wind blasts, it would take a short while for him to penetrate the inner hull of the craft, but at least he was secure in the knowledge that the thousands of rounds being hammered out by the five flowing vessels were being wasted as they chopped into the cloud Haunt had left behind!

=========

Frostbite wasted no time in setting Frostbot loose on the craft even while he blasted Ice at the two pilots in their seats!

OOC Ice Production is used as a snare. Multi Attack, from behind, with surprise. 2d10 → [3,9] = (12) Success. 6RAPs Both are reduced to 1 Dex

The Pilots didn't cry out in surprise! One simply turned its head to the side and started to struggle against the bindings.

'Interfacing... connection. The encryption being used is advanced. It was no match for my superior technology however.' boasted Frostbot. 'These creatures are command be a complex string of coded orders hard wired into their brains. They are, essentially, cyborgs. Dead organic material - humans - integrated fully with machine parts. They retain some memories and skills whilst their brains retain the capacity to store huge amounts of information and adapt to situations on the fly. Attempting to break into their code. Curious. The firewalls are comprehensive but I would have expected more of them. This is almost *too* easy'

=========

Lionheart diverted his energies into raw speed and strength!

He knew Yeoman and Silver Sentinel were approaching, so figured he'd shake things up a little with darting in, laying down the smack and zipping out again, at speed!

Choosing his target he was a blur of motion, moving in and delivering what he hoped would be a telling blow!

OOC 2d10 → [6,3] = (9) Hit (just). I need to rejig Lionheart to squeeze more bang for buck out, same for the others. Not more powerful, just more versatile and doing the same things (and maybe a few bits more if I can free points up for skills) for less points. With that in mind for the best effectiveness I left Dex at 9 and Strength up to 15. When the rejig is done (this week) he'll be able to up his Dex and his speed/flight will raise at the same time (linked with increase as well as decrease).In the meantime Lionheart delivers a solid blow to the armoured form of the cyborg with 7 points of damage, putting one on 2/9 Body.

CLANG!

The sound rang out in the darkness and the effect was instant! Wild firing of energy beams at the blur of motion that was Lionheart as he sped between trees and ducked into cover!

=========

Yeoman sped down and shouted "Tally Ho!" whilst laughing his head off!

OOC 2d10 → [4,2] = (6) Miss.

And swooped back up, having flailed ineffectually and only narrowly missed being caught in the criss-cross fire of laser energy that flashed out as tracer in the darkness!

"Not my finest hour so far" he muttered. "Still, if they have a strong sense of smell, maybe I'll be able to take them out with the stench of my soiled costume..." he grumbled even as laser bolts flashed out past him!

=========

Silver Sentinel swooped in behind Yeoman but was mindful of his equipments limited duration...

It would revert to a form of liquid metal after a couple of minutes he figured, so he didn't have long!

He brought his wrist blaster to bear and wondered how effective it would be. With that in mind he shrugged and gave it his all!

OOC Sentinel goes for a Critical Blow which sacrifices accuracy to do more damage. 2d10 → [5,8] = (13) Hit, 11RAPs...

KABOOM!

Suddenly there was a huge explosion as the cyborg Sentinel targeted was struck by a powerful beam from the flying hero! A small mushroom cloud went up, lighting the night sky and flattening some trees, setting others alight!

"Hey mate!" shouted Yeoman. "Steady on! We're the good guys! I don't know where you came from but we don't kill people here unless we can help it!"

In amongst the fire and thick blinding smoke in the forest there were circular blue glows appearing, discs around 3' across hovering a few feet off the floor! They looked like shields - had these robots, having been attacked, decided to go on the defensive?

Sentinel glanced at his blaster, then frowned behind his mask. Surely he'd not hit it THAT hard? As far as he knew it was a blow meant to disable, not to destroy, so why...? He pondered what the enemy would come up with next...

OOC And... we'll have to wait. It's their attack next - update later on. Have to hit the sack...

Progress:

Lionheart injured one (2/9 Body)
Frostbite immobilised two in a craft (and Frostbite is digging around the crafts computers)
Haunt is infiltrating another craft but needs to do it the hard way as he doesn't have dispersal
Yeoman missed
Silver Sentinel hit and killed one apparently. There was an explosion and thick black smoke spews up from the forest.

Admin wrote:

Frostbite

The Pilots didn't cry out in surprise! One simply turned its head to the side and started to struggle against the bindings.

Moving from the wall to the Pilots, Frostbite gave them another blast, to stop them from causing further harm. He wanted to make sure that there were no failsafes as well. Wouldn't do to be caught in some nasty booby trap. His thoughts were interrupted as Frostbot spoke up.

Admin wrote:'Curious. The firewalls are comprehensive but I would have expected more of them. This is almost *too* easy'

Frostbite suddenly realised something might be amiss, and signalled to his versatile partner, "Beware its not some sort of trap to lure you in and capture. We're dealing with a sophisticated enemy here and we'd best be careful not to assume anything until we know more. At the first sign of trouble you know what to do..."

Meanwhile back on the ground, Lionheart looked on at the glowing discs, unlike Frostbite or the others he'd seen sophisticated technology, different kinds of cybernetic enhancements and other such strange science. He wasn't surprised that these 'men' might well have fail safes and if it was the same organisation that he'd already encountered, he knew they played for keeps.

Readjusting his mental focus, he sped in again, seeking to continue to keep the soldiers off guard and where possible let friendly fire do the work for him. He to was aware that the floating discs might prevent his from making the assault a second time, in which case he'd have to improvise, flipping over them, or using some other means to get at the enemy, if it proved so.

OOC: Ok same as before, strength and speed. As to swapping points around and optimising that is fine, given the characters rationale and why play with a character that is less than optimised. If he is a evolving specimen of genetic perfection, he should be working well across all his powers. I'll leave it to you though Paul, as I am horrible at doing this sort of thing. In truth I hate reading rules, because they read like rules. I'd prefer to just get in and play ;-), so thanks for sorting this out. I wouldn't have the foggiest if I am honest with this DC/BoTH Rule set.

Sj

OOC: Yeah you were right Dave i was ment to say lionheart, sorry.

When sentinel has a spare minute can he use his metal morphing powers to find out any info on the foes we are facing like percentages of metal, strength of material etc. Would mind sometime a bit more powerful or more reliable and maybe find were these goons come from.

OOC No worries about the rules Dave. Honest, all you guys have to do is state actions and I'll interpret as best I can within the rules. It breaks down to Action value (like the characters Dexterity or Power) vs Opposing Value (Dexterity for physical attacks, for example) and roll 2D10. The one roll determines how well the character does not just in terms of success, but how successful.

One of the robotic creatures took aim at the blur that was Lionheart...

OOC 2d10 → [3,9] = (12) Success. Lionheart is struck for 3 points of damage...Lionheart is on 7/10 Body

Lionheart was fast... but his blow which had battered one of the robots to its knees meant that his speed was compromised. He was peak human, faster than just about any human being... but not quite superhuman. Even so, with his abilities switched to superhuman speed it was tricky dodging laser fire! His forcefield took the brunt of it, and 'lightning' played across his body, causing him to grunt in pain!

=========

Silver Sentinel swooped over the canopy of the trees and saw - at the last second - the light flash of a laser beam heading towards him!

OOC 2d10 → [6,9] = (15) Success Sentinel takes 4 points of damage. Silver Sentinel is on 6/10 Body.

The blast was deadly accurate, and CLANGED!!! from his chest and shoulder... The suit was dented and he spun to the left, spiralling before he managed to right himself. It would take a more powerful blast than that to put him down, but he'd seen Lionheart shot and his friend was virtually impossible to draw a bead on - these things, whatever they were, knew what they were doing!

OOC to detect the metal content of the enemy would take a DICE action. You get only one DICE action a round which is usually used to attack with. You can of course choose to use it to try and ascertain whether you can affect these things, but a better bet would be to try and manipulate the metal (if any) in or on their bodies anyway. If there's metal there, great. If not, well, at least you know now. Sentinels most powerful attack at the moment is his Energy Blast, but (potentially) his metal manipulation powers might be more effective. You'll know when you try...

=========

"Watch out metal head!" shouted Yeoman as he soared through the air...

"Damn! There's loads of these things! Watch out and ...wait... damn!" he shouted, seeing several bolts fly in his direction.

OOC 2d10 → [8,8] = (16) DOUBLE plus 2d10 → [9,1] = (10) Yeoman takes 11RAPs damage leaving him on 1/12 Body!

Yeoman cried out, swooped down, crashed into a treetop and disappeared from view!

=========

Haunt reformed having snaked his way through a maze of tunnels and conduits...

He became a white 'pool' that grew up to become a humanoid form again. Haunt looked about. He was in a hold area where racks lined the walls on either side, which were of a height and shape that would suggest they held or housed a humanoid form of some kind. Up front there were two pilots. Haunt saw only the back of their heads and their shoulders as they fired thousands of rounds into the cloud...

The heads were shaven the skin mottled and pale. Scars criss crossed the head and in parts it looked like some kind of intrusive surgery had been performed. As if they could sense someone watching them, one of the pilots started to turn to look back from the cockpit into the hold, to where Haunt stood...

==========

Frostbot chatted amiably 'I don't believe that there is any cause for.... skrrzzzz.... crackle...'

Frostbite saw the pilot turn... and gasped! Pale skin, green and purple in patches, as if badly bruised, criss crossed by scars and stitching... Eyes that had been removed and replaced by camera implants... lack of fear... anger... surprise... whatever else this nightmare creature was, it was clear it was dead... and yet not dead! Frostbite had seen the like before - on the moon base of the nazis in the past!

He raised his hand to further encase the pilots in ice, then was flung back and out of the vessel as it started to nosedive into the ground! His incorporeal form started after the jet, then he shuddered...

'The computer system of the vessel left weak firewalls going INTO it's systems' stated Frostbot, 'But erected multi level rotating encryption walls behind as I got deeper into it! In short, a trap! By destroying the computer system in a crash they intended to 'purge' the system of the virus - me. I would not die - I am a computer program. However, there is a significant period of memory rebuilding before I can be used effectively after such an incident.'

Frostbite knew then that the mind or minds behind this attack were devious, and deliberate. They were able to adapt and control their forces from afar and come up with strategies to counteract anything the Vanguard might come up with, seemingly!

OOC Status:

Lionheart is injured (7/10 Body) - he can see at least one target
Silver Sentinel is injured (6/10 Body) - he can see at least one target
Yeoman is injured (1/12 Body) - Yeoman cannot be seen - he crashed into the treeline and presumably to the forest floor
Haunt is aboard one of the aircraft - one of the pilots is turning round to look at him...
Frostbite is floating free of the aircraft he was in because it took a sudden nosedive and he was incorporeal, so simply phased through the hull when it reacted too quickly for him to move, plus he'd already acted (iced up the pilots) that round.

You're up, new round...

By the way, options:

If you want to go on the defensive, you can DODGE instead of attacking.
You can attack MULTIPLE FOES but each extra target after the first increases the difficulty when attacking and reduces damage
I'll suggest more if appropriate to your actions...

OOC: Ouch .....oh well what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger right....right?
Im unsure on sentinels range for his metal melt as i don't want to use a blast more of a arc as i don't want to inadvertently effect my own team. I would also like to try for a arc in the direction of that target as there maybe others that are unseen.

IC: Sentinel was still on approach, flying in toward the assailant in a relatively straight line as a bee line wouldn't normally involve a bee with a heavily dented suit of armour.

Admin wrote:Lionheart...

OOC 2d10 → [3,9] = (12) Success. Lionheart is struck for 3 points of damage...Lionheart is on 7/10 Body

Even so, with his abilities switched to superhuman speed it was tricky dodging laser fire! His forcefield took the brunt of it, and 'lightning' played across his body, causing him to grunt in pain!

=========

OOC: Hmm not used to that, normally my dodging ability is so great I can dodge with minimum effort. But it does at least make the game a lot more challenging.

Lionheart wasn't best pleased that he'd been tagged. In truth he also wasn't used to it, never before had he been so easily hit, when he was moving at speed. Time to change tac, weaving in and out of cover he went to grab one of the guards and smash him into another. If he could get his weapon off him, he also though it might be useful against the others.

============

Admin wrote:Frostbite knew then that the mind or minds behind this attack were devious, and deliberate. They were able to adapt and control their forces from afar and come up with strategies to counteract anything the Vanguard might come up with, seemingly!

Frostbite drove himself forward, if he could come into range of the craft, before it crashed he might be able to retrieve Frostbot from the craft. He didn't want to do without 'him' since it was only by means of his onboard friend that he was able to stay in touch with Wandafar.

He also had to wonder where they'd 'park' the craft? Was it going to crash into the ground or ontop of the ongoing melee his friends had got into. Might Frostbite need to warn them, if it already wasn't obvious?

OOC: Ok try and retrieve Frostbot...

Sj

The heads were shaven the skin mottled and pale. Scars criss crossed the head and in parts it looked like some kind of intrusive surgery had been performed. As if they could sense someone watching them, one of the pilots started to turn to look back from the cockpit into the hold, to where Haunt stood...

Not yet accepting the idea that he is looking at zombies, the Haunt tries his Aura of Fear on them and then summons up his fog.

ooc: For now, summoning his fog when he fights is going to be a standard action for him in order to hide his shapeshifting and stretching abilities. Plus, having something attack you out of the fog when you can't really see it is a lot spookier than being punched by a fist that stretched across the room.

Injured, Silver Sentinel nonetheless goes on the offensive!

OOC Metal Manipulation (change metal objects shape) has a range of 9 APs (half a mile) and Magnetic Control (Move/bend/repel metal) Sentinel has a range of 11APs (2 miles), same with metal attraction/repulsion. Metal Manipulation attack... 2d10 → [8,8] = (16) DOUBLE plus 2d10 → [5,9] = (14). 30 total... Yep, that'll do it...

He soared towards the enemy, seeing brief glimpses of metal and plastic clad forms through the trees. They looked like robots... and, well, robots he knew how to deal with!

With a thrust hand he changed the robotic form into a cube of metal, with the organic parts encapsulated within! One second it was a powerful robot like creature firing energy blasts at the flying figures in the sky, the next it was immobile, a perfectly formed cube and a prison of sorts... He gasped - no living creature could survive such a transformation!

No living creature... his heart sank. Hadn't Sentinel - and the others - seen enough 'dead men walking' on the moon in the past? Had their past come back to haunt them?

OOC Silver Sentinel completely takes one of the creatures out of the fight.

Lionheart knew the changes to his body would again take some getting used to...

It wasn't that he'd slowed down, as such, rather that the enemies he dealt with now were that much faster and more powerful than those whom he'd rung rings round both in the time altered Nazi present and in 1940. He was no longer top dog, not the most powerful superhuman on the planet!

Still, powerful enough!

Switching to speed he shot forwards, a blur of motion! Ahhhh... this was more like it! The way his powers had changed, he could opt for speed, strength, powers or a mixture but to be stronger in one area meant weakness in another.

OOC Assumed he's using Superspeed 13 which bumps his Dex up from 9 to 13. He's performing a sort of multi attack - using one against the other. Normally you'd need a grab (dice action) and throw, but I'll assume he's using speed and momentum so perform it as a multi attack for ease. 2d10 → [3,3] = (6) DOUBLE plus 2d10 → [3,9] = (12) 18 total.

Lionheart saw the glowing energy discs were in fact shields affixed to the arms of the robots - it was still an easy matter to use his speed and blindside them, mind!

OOC 8 RAPs damage each, leaving both on 1 Body.

Using his martial arts skills, he smashed both into one another after racing around to come at them from an unshielded direction! Without a sound they crashed into one another and tumbled to the floor... Despite wires being exposed and an awful dark greed liquid pumping down their front or from broken panels, the creatures started to stagger to their feet! They weren't robots, more like some kind of cyborg...

And all of Lionhearts superhuman senses could tell these were dead things - there was no need to hold back in this fight!

OOC Two badly smashed (on 1 Body each) Zombie Drones here...

Frostbite swooped down and placed a semi solid hand on the craft...

Making contact with Frostbot, who in turn gave a report. 'It's possible to stop the craft from crashing by initiating the auto pilot. Please hold'

Frostbites eyes widened - what on earth was the ... what, friend, robot, program? What on earth was it playing at? The craft left him behind with its greater speed and dived towards the floor!

At the last moment it pulled up, skimming the trees and hovered vertically, holding station above the tree tops and blowing the upper branches about.

Frostbite felt a presence within his mind again. 'The Craft is 'parked', so to speak, on auto pilot which cannot be overridden, save by us. The creatures in there were part robotic, part organic, though it was clear they had been dead for some time. The ultimate disposable killing machine? Bullets do nothing to it, and mental attacks by such as Lionheart would have no effect! If the others are facing these things they may need help.'

OOC Frostbot is back on board with Frostbite. There are four other craft firing blind into a cloud of Haunts fog. Back some distance away (a couple of miles) Lionheart and co. are battling the robot zombies. One of the craft is unaccounted for, and may have taken a more circuitous route to get to the mansion.

Haunt turned on his fear aura...

And frowned beneath the mask as the creatures ignored it - perhaps they were incapable of feeling fear! Instead they moved forwards faster than a dead thing might normally be expected, clanking with cybernetic parts now clearly distinguishable on their dead bodies!

Haunt vanished into the fog - with his primary weapon ineffective, another hero might found themselves in trouble, but Haunt had more than one trick up his sleeve!

OOC and so have they - they can sense the living, even if they can't see them...

They blundered into the fog, but seemed somewhat confused. Whilst they could sense the presence of a living being, without their eyes they were somewhat hampered in their attempts to actually catch said being, which Haunt was thankful for!

OOC They attack anyway, at a penalty...2d10 → [9,6] = (15) MISS and 2d10 → [5,4] = (9) MISS. Haunt is more dextrous and the Fog really helps.

The interior of the craft was shrouded in thick inpentrable fog now, but it was reasonably compact and it might only be a matter of time before these things got their hands on Haunt! What would be his next move...?

The interior of the craft was shrouded in thick inpentrable fog now, but it was reasonably compact and it might only be a matter of time before these things got their hands on Haunt! What would be his next move...?

Using his Omni-Arm power, the Haunt forms two giant anvils with his hands and tries to bash both zombies.

actions: Multi-attack, I guess
ooc: Btw, who is flying the plane!?!?!?!?

Admin wrote:Lionheart knew the changes to his body would again take some getting used to...

The changes were getting easier and there was nothing like combat to grow accustomed to his powers and abilities.

Admin wrote:And all of Lionhearts superhuman senses could tell these were dead things - there was no need to hold back in this fight! OOC Two badly smashed (on 1 Body each) Zombie Drones here...

Registering the fact that he was fighting a techno zombie, of sorts, meant Lionheart was mindful not to try and use his Psi powers. It was brute force and speed that would win this. However he was aware that the tec that hung off a human frame, made them deadly. Even badly beaten the two creatures he'd downed could be capable of a lot of harm, having no choice and seeing what was at stake. Lionheart raced in once again.

He looked for some sort of power pack, hoping that in pulling the power he could stop them dead, only really dead!

OOC: Ok best finish these two off in the most expident manner I can. If that means hitting them both and calling that ripping out power packs or just ripping out wiring such as they can't be used, reanimated or restored whilst the rest of the battle goes on so be it. I want to make sure I don't turn my back on something that might yet do us more harm. Once I've had a chance to dispatch these two I'll once again try a similar tactic on the next two.

Sj

Admin wrote:Frostbite

OOC Frostbot is back on board with Frostbite. There are four other craft firing blind into a cloud of Haunts fog. Back some distance away (a couple of miles) Lionheart and co. are battling the robot zombies. One of the craft is unaccounted for, and may have taken a more circuitous route to get to the mansion.

With Frostbot back on board, Frostbite was able to signal to Wandafar. Giving him just the facts he made quick mention that they were missing an enemy craft and that Wandafar ought to be aware that the real threat might be with that. All this might well be a distraction, albeit a powerful one.

After giving Wandafar warning, Frostbite knew he had a difficult choice. The other craft would soon realise their foes had left and make haste to catch them up. That might mean the team on the ground were vulnerable. It would also mean that their enemies, were also in one place. Something that they might be able to use to their advantage, despite the evident danger.

His mind made up, Frostbite watched the overlaid telemetry and once again restoring his dispersed form shot off in a straight line for the others.

OOC: Right attack whatever I can. Just out of interest, would appreciate you advice on this. If I use dispersion to 'sink' the zombots into the ground - a) can I do that and b) is it a useful and effective use of my powers. Or is it easier to just to coat them all with my ice attacks? Not sure what is best here, so appreciate some tactical advice. Which I then wish to carry out as my next action, after arriving.

Sj

Haunt wondered who was flying the plane even as he formed two ghostly white Hammers from his hands!

OOC Good question. 'No one' is the answer, but they had been hovering and firing hundreds of rounds into the cloud Haunt left outside, only for the hero to go all sneaky like and creep in through an engine exhaust vent

Haunt slammed his hammer fists together, clapping the Zomborgs between them hopefully!

OOC Omni Arm is incredibly potent for Haunt. He uses Dex 9 Str 13 for his attack. That said a multi attack makes things harder (+1 OV/RV) and haunt will need a decent roll to tag both of these guys... 2d10 → [8,5] = (13) Not bad. A hit. 7 RAPs damage leaving both on Body 2.

WHAM!

The zombie robots clattered into one another, despite being much faster and more agile than Haunt might have expected! They rose, and attacked him with open hands... and the palms opened up with a sphincter like aperture in the centre and blasted energy beams at the hero!

OOC Team attack. 2d10 → [1,3] = (4) Miss 2d10 → [9,6] = (15) 6 RAPs damage leaving Haunt on Body 5/11

An energy beam lanced out and punched Haunt - hard - in the chest! Haunt flew backwards, crashing into the rear wall of the craft! Extricating himself from broken panels he realised in these close quarters his foes had the advantage - he needed to take them down - before they nailed him!

OOC More of the same or is our hero trying a different tactic?

Lionheart used his amazing speed to deliver ultra fast karate chops to his enemies, then searched for some means to disable them!

Though they appeared to be moving in slow motion he knew they were many times more agile than an ordinary human. Whoever had put these things together had paid particular attention to the weaknesses of the undead, namely slow speed and limited intellect. Instead these things ahd a plan, and tactics, and seemed to be targeting each of the heroes individually. Yeoman had seemingly gone down already, and doubtless they thought Lionheart next!

OOC Taking a chance, going for a multi attack and a critical blow... With 13 Dex from superspeed, that means an 11 or more... 2d10 → [9,8] = (17) POW! 10 damage apiece!

Hundreds of devastating karate blows made up for a seeming lack of weakness in the enemies armour and with a blur of motion Lionheart tore into them, puncturing the battered steel and plastic and grabbing handfuls of tubes and wires! With a wrench he yanked them free of the bodies and saw dark liquids spew forth, the 'Zomborgs' staggering and dropping to their knees...

OOC 2d10 → [3,7] = (10) Success

DANGER! Lionhearts eyes widened as he recognised the 'Zomborgs' for something else, besides what he already knew... they were walking bombs!

And both exploded!

OOC 2d10 → [9,7] = (16) HIT for 7 RAPs damage 2d10 → [1,9] = (10) MISS

With incredible reflexes Lionheart leapt through the air backwards, twisting as he moved... the explosions went off at the same time, and fire enveloped the hero, lighting up the forcefield around him! A bright bulging orange flare spread out a hundred yards in each direction, blasting trees down in the first dozen or so yards and licking around them for the rest of the way!

The others in the air saw a huge ball of fire swirl into the air, followed by black smoke and flames! In the wake of the blast a large crater was left, blackened and charred with fallen trees about and burning bushes everywhere!

Amidst the rubble... the blackened figure of Lionheart!

OOC Who is knocked out - just - on zero Body. He won't be out for long as he has regeneration, but things just got harder for our heroes... Lionheart is on Body 0/10. I'll use this 'opportunity' (once more afford by a very lucky dice roll though the bomb blast was powerful, and certainly powerful enough to destroy a small army of conventional forces. It would have flattened tanks and incinerated ordinary soldiers, for instance. Lionheart just needs to wake up and grab a change of clothes...) to update Lionheart. I'll try to better represent the powers he had in the previous game as it seems apparent that his main feature - that of being able to avoid incoming blows and dodge with apparent ease, has been somewhat 'nerfed' (if that's the correct phrase) and he's as easy to hit as the others, which isn't right (or at least not right based on what went before). Higher Dex, I think. Will take a look at the options.

Lionheart took out two Zomborgs

OOC Team attack. 2d10 → [1,3] = (4) Miss 2d10 → [9,6] = (15) 6 RAPs damage leaving Haunt on Body 5/11

An energy beam lanced out and punched Haunt - hard - in the chest! Haunt flew backwards, crashing into the rear wall of the craft! Extricating himself from broken panels he realised in these close quarters his foes had the advantage - he needed to take them down - before they nailed him!

OOC More of the same or is our hero trying a different tactic?

ooc: Owie! Ow! OW! OW!

Actions: more of the same and hope I win!

Frostbite (through Frostbot) sent a message to Wandafar...

"...You're in danger. One of the craft is missing. There are five here when there should be six..."

A crackle on the line, then "yes, ve hef vun vessel closing in. Zey hef not responded to 'ails so I vill shoot zem down. Ve cannot risk this place being destroyed as many of ze villagers vill die also!" exclaimed Wandafar. "Vait! Vot is ...skrrrrzzzzz crackle...."

Silence.

OOC With regards dispersing other objects, Frostbite can't do that unless he has the 'use on others' advantage which is extremely expensive. At any rate it would incur an attack based on the body of the ground (soft earth less harmful than solid rock for example) against the body of the target. If the target wins, they would 'push' the molecules aside but then find themselves subject to a kind of entangling attack with the body of the ground acting as the grappler. It's a moot point as the power would be horrendously expensive with the advantage but something I can look into if Frosty really wants to do that kind of thing.

He needed to help the others - including Wandafar - fast!

Swooping like a ghost through the shell of the ship he passed through the hull of the next one. Instantly his presence seemed to be known by the 'Zomborgs' on board who turned in chairs and rose to their feet! Ignoring their outstretched hands he thrust a hand into a console set on a wall.

"This will suffice. Please wait." said Frostbot.

The Zomborgs were getting closer, and raising hands... Apertures opened in the palms...

"Please Wait" stated Frostbot again...

The Zomborgs were closer still, only feet away now and levelled hands at Frostbites head!

"Apply your cold power!" stated Frostbot.

With the zomborgs about to fire, Frostbite pumped freezing cold ice out from his hand!

An apparently innocuous valve opened by Frostbot in a non essential part of the ships controls was suddenly subjected to near absolute zero temperature, and coolant froze in the pipes!

Instantly the engines revved up to a scream, and Frostbite soared from the craft as...

KABANG!!!!!

It exploded behind him, sending shards and wreckage outwards in every direction and sending a smoking ruin to crash into the moors far below!

OOC Frostbite has a choice - go help the guys on the ground, Haunt in another craft, take on another craft in the sky or go back to the mansion and see what happened to Wandafar...

Haunt pounded away... this would be close!!!

Swinging the two mighty hammers he hoped to flatten both 'zomborgs' before they dropped him with those powerful laser blasts! Still attacking from within the confines of his fog he knew it was do... or possibly die! Again!

OOC 2d10 → [1,9] = (10) Haunt MISSES! (by one!) 2d10 → [10,4] = (14) Energy blast hits Haunt (with teamwork) for 4 RAPs. Haunt is on Body 1/11! 2d10 → [1,7] = (8) MISS!

Haunt swung out with his mighty hammers... and missed both targets as they smoothly moved to the side!

His enemies fired wild and 'blind' in the fog, though there was method in their madness as they each covered a small section of the inside of the fog filled craft! And Haunt, having ducked and dodged a stray blast, jumped away from another deflected blast - into the path of a laser blast!

This crashed him back against the hull again! This was it! One more hit like that and he was down!!!

The OV/RV of an attempt to see through the fog
using one of these Powers is equal to the Character's APs of
Power. Any attacks made by Characters within the fog receive a
+2 Column Shift modifier to the OV.

ooc: Just wanted to make sure that the OV/RV was being used for them to spot me and the column shift to hit me.

action: Gallant last attack! Same again.

Admin wrote:Frostbite

OOC With regards dispersing other objects, It's a moot point as the power would be horrendously expensive with the advantage but something I can look into if Frosty really wants to do that kind of thing.

OOC: Ok for now that would be a no. Clearly although the game is balanced it still does have issues, I'd agree Lionhearts dodge powers, which were a signature move alongside his speed and mental powers, seems nerfed - that is definitely the right word. To be honest if it helps the hightened senses can go and I'd rather better defensive abilities to dodge. I appreciate its that teh game works differently, and dice rolls and all - but what a difference this set of rules makes. When was the last time Lionheart was hit, let alone knocked out???? Still it does act as a wake up call to make us aware that, "We aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto!"

Frostbite was aware that this enemy was not afraid of collateral damage, the creatures ability to explode on 'death' made them fearfully difficult to fight at close quarters or with anyone nearby. If it was true that the creatures in some way were adapting to their opponents, with sophisticated counter equipment it would mean that they were all in much deeper trouble than they realised.

Leaving the others would surely leave them defenceless, Wandafar might be in deep trouble, but he was inventive Frostbite had to hope he'd come through. If he left the others, he knew they'd be in trouble. The last telemetry showed Lionheart and Yeoman down, badly. Haunt in trouble also and only Sentinel and himself currently able to fight. If they captured the others, they'd either make them into more of these Zombies, but with powers undreamed of, or just dissect them for a way to learn how to improve their own forces. Frostbite couldn't leave his team mates, Wandafar had to manage on his own, till he could be sure the others were able to fight on.

Moving to Haunt's last known position, within the craft he had attacked, Frostbite flew down and spoke to Frostbot, "Ok we are going to have to take out these craft, before first they are our main threat. Get ready to do what you did before, but open a door for Haunt to get out as we go for his craft next! And don't let yourself get trapped!"

Frostbite felt like an old nag, but he didn't need Frostbot to be gone any longer than was necessary. They had still to many opponents to take down with every chance that they might have underestimated their opponents strength.

Sj