Re: THE NEW VANGUARD! HAUNT Issue #10 With special guest star STEEPLEJACK!

Steeple_jackuk Sun Jul 19 2020, 15:41

Admin wrote:OOC MULTI ATTACK Steeplejack AV13 + 3D M Arts + Roll(5d12)+0: 7,6,7,12,12,+0 Total:24 DOUBLE boom + Roll(2d12)+0: 2,4,+0 Total:30 fizzle (43) vs
OV7 + Multi 2 + 1D Acro + diff 3 + Roll(3d12)+0: 10,5,11,+0 Total:21 (33) +4 (to 14) vs RV5 + Diff 3 (8RV)=6 RAPs. Both bearded Man and Wand Man are DOWN and OUT

And Haunt is NO LONGER FROZEN! And he's up. Only stone man is on his feet...

Steeplejack snorted and added "Never liked the books anyway."

And then turned to stone face, "Oh so tell me your father worked in a quarry and what your Mother...worked there too? What are you anyway, stoneskin, some sort of geological sediment that got left alone too long? Steeplejack weighed in as he looked about to see if Haunt & Holmes were ok or not.

OOC: Same as before 3 DICE on attack to 2 defence, and go with Martial arts when the opportunity presents itself.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Sun Jul 19 2020, 19:02

Steeple_jackuk wrote:
Admin wrote:OOC MULTI ATTACK Steeplejack AV13 + 3D M Arts + Roll(5d12)+0: 7,6,7,12,12,+0 Total:24 DOUBLE boom + Roll(2d12)+0: 2,4,+0 Total:30 fizzle (43) vs
OV7 + Multi 2 + 1D Acro + diff 3 + Roll(3d12)+0: 10,5,11,+0 Total:21 (33) +4 (to 14) vs RV5 + Diff 3 (8RV)=6 RAPs. Both bearded Man and Wand Man are DOWN and OUT

And Haunt is NO LONGER FROZEN! And he's up. Only stone man is on his feet...

Steeplejack snorted and added "Never liked the books anyway."

And then turned to stone face, "Oh so tell me your father worked in a quarry and what your Mother...worked there too? What are you anyway, stoneskin, some sort of geological sediment that got left alone too long? Steeplejack weighed in as he looked about to see if Haunt & Holmes were ok or not.

OOC: Same as before 3 DICE on attack to 2 defence, and go with Martial arts when the opportunity presents itself.

Sj

No Fear Aura, let's just use the jackhammer attack I originally thought to use.

Admin Mon Jul 20 2020, 15:00

Haunt on Body 1/14 HP 5 Difficulty 11

OOC Haunt piles on his MAXIMUM attack with SIX extra dice from Weaponry and a pair of hammers for hands!

Dex 10 + Roll(8d12)+0: 5,11,3,9,5,5,2,12,+0 Total:10 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 7,3,+0 Total:20 (30) vs
Dex 7 + Roll(2d12)+0: 5,9,+0 Total:14 (21) +4 EV (to 19) vs RV10=9 RAPs. The Stone guy is on Body 1/10 and staggers away!

On his knees, staggering to right himself the Stone man faces against Haunt and Steeplejack and waves a hand. "No... no more... I yield!" and he backs into a corner though he doesn't power down...

Steeple_jackuk Mon Jul 20 2020, 16:33

Admin wrote:Haunt on Body 1/14 HP 5 Difficulty 11

OOC Haunt piles on his MAXIMUM attack with SIX extra dice from Weaponry and a pair of hammers for hands!

Dex 10 + Roll(8d12)+0: 5,11,3,9,5,5,2,12,+0 Total:10 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 7,3,+0 Total:20 (30) vs
Dex 7 + Roll(2d12)+0: 5,9,+0 Total:14 (21) +4 EV (to 19) vs RV10=9 RAPs. The Stone guy is on Body 1/10 and staggers away!

On his knees, staggering to right himself the Stone man faces against Haunt and Steeplejack and waves a hand. "No... no more... I yield!" and he backs into a corner though he doesn't power down...

Steeplejack waved at the giant, "I know we're all gentleman here, but I'm afraid you'll have to lose the stoneskin or my friend might take your actions as a faint to launch a last desperate attack or escape. Now we can't have that, can we? Besides which, you know you're beaten, so come now, show your true colours like a good sport and we will do the same!"

Steeplejack was still poised, beneath the calm demeanour, he waited aware that backed into a corner with a desperate mission in mind a man could try all sorts of tricks long before considering the most sensible option of surrender.

OOC: I'd like to see us question our friend, not least of all about Penny, the Grail and anything else they know that's going on esp Advent.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Mon Jul 20 2020, 17:02

"These fine folks are the Order of Protective Sorcerers or something like that. They've decided that they should be the ones to possess the Grail instead of the Crown, since they know better how to use it. After that, I imagine that they will try to take over the country since they know best how to protect it," the Haunt tells Steeplejack, scorn present in his voice. "Holmes and I originally came here to see if they would be interested in helping combat the evil we face and that was their response."

Admin Tue Jul 21 2020, 15:00

The 'stone man' looked reluctant but he'd been battered by a force he didn't know was even in existence and sighed. "Alright but I will probably..."

Thud!

He changed back to human form and collapsed on the floor in a heap! It seemed the damage carried over from one form to another!

The heroes walked to where he stood and Holmes got up, dusting himself down. "The Order of Protective Sorcerers." he stated. "Good to see you again Mr Gibb. The 'nick of time' sir, I applaud you. I have no doubt our ghostly friend here could have dealt with the entire group were it not for that gentleman" he indicated the Bearded Man "Having some remarkable ability to freeze him in his place."

"Misguided or do they have another motive?" asked Holmes.

He strode about. "I am a tiny man looking about in a land of Giants." he said with a glance at Gibb and Carter then at the superhumans on the floor. "Not only do I risk my life but my sanity. However, I feel in you two we have a chance, albeit a small one, to retrieve the Grail which shall, I trust, restore what passes for normality to our land. Time is wasting sirs! I suggest we find a way to give chase - that being enlisting the aid of Price Dakkar and his reputed marvellous undersea machine. We could wait for this motley crew to arise and question them but I suspect we would get more questions than answers. They are too dangerous to leave at our backs and they know of us now and what we can do. We are, if nothing, better than the enemy we face and I would feel scarred forever if we were to harm them. Therefore I suggest we take our leave and leave them to lick their wounds."

DavidMcMahon Tue Jul 21 2020, 20:46

"IF I knew what vessel they sailed on and what it looked like, I could fly us out to sea in search of it. Even a high speed boat wouldn't have gotten too far yet. It would be faster than the Nautilus. And I could use my abilities to see as far away as a telescope can. From the air, that's a lot of ocean I would be able to see," The Haunt replies.

"But if it is a submersible like the Nautilus, I would have no way to keep you from taking a swim in the ocean while I transform into a dolphin and try to use its sonar senses to find it. Then again, having a few extra hands when it comes time to fight would be nice too."

"Let's see, the Suez Canal has been open for a number of decades now, right? So they would probably head down the Atlantic to the Med to the Suez, through a couple of Gulfs then the Arabian Sea, then the Indian Ocean. But we do not know their final destination. China? Southeast Asia? India? Where would Fu Manchu go to do his ceremony sacrificing the woman he has kidnapped? Maybe Penelope could give us a clue?"

Steeple_jackuk Wed Jul 22 2020, 08:26

DavidMcMahon wrote:"IF I knew what vessel they sailed on and what it looked like, I could fly us out to sea in search of it. Even a high speed boat wouldn't have gotten too far yet. It would be faster than the Nautilus. And I could use my abilities to see as far away as a telescope can. From the air, that's a lot of ocean I would be able to see," The Haunt replies.

"But if it is a submersible like the Nautilus, I would have no way to keep you from taking a swim in the ocean while I transform into a dolphin and try to use its sonar senses to find it. Then again, having a few extra hands when it comes time to fight would be nice too."

"Let's see, the Suez Canal has been open for a number of decades now, right? So they would probably head down the Atlantic to the Med to the Suez, through a couple of Gulfs then the Arabian Sea, then the Indian Ocean. But we do not know their final destination. China? Southeast Asia? India? Where would Fu Manchu go to do his ceremony sacrificing the woman he has kidnapped? Maybe Penelope could give us a clue?"

Steeplejack moved over to the sorcerers and took from their hand's wands or any other things that they might have about their person. And stowed them away for safekeeping hoping to return to them to Thoth at some point. Then turning to the others he said, "I was very much under the impression that these fellows were on a boat, one aided by a supernatural or alien power. I've no doubt we can catch them up, but whether we could get aboard is another thing."

Then pausing and turning to Haunt again he continued, "Did you find out anything about Penny Harkness...I've no idea how she features in all this but she has a power that clearly is unaffected by the grail therefore must be an enemy of Advent!"

Sj

DavidMcMahon Wed Jul 22 2020, 14:02

"She is a seer of some kind," the Haunt replies, "she gets visions of the future, the present, places where danger lies, intent of evil people and such. I'm not sure what else she can do. Mr. Holmes? You have an opinion on our next step now that you got a better idea of what we can do?"

Admin Wed Jul 22 2020, 20:35

Holmes considered. "The enemy is a step or more ahead. They have left. Without knowing their true destination and how they are getting there, we are blundering in the dark. No, we shall stick to the plan. Even with your incredible abilities and the speed you can amass, I feel that Dakkar - Captain Nemo in other words - needs to be spoken to and enlisted."

"He is opposed to the British Empire but he has a vast network of resources that would be incredibly vital if turned to the cause of the British Empire." said the Detective. "We'll get back to Baker Street, rest and eat then change and I shall arrange for more dinner places at the banquet tonight."

"You may feel a need to rush, but there is someone else outguessing us here. Probably my old foe, James Moriarty though a number of pieces of the puzzle dance just out of view of my vision."

He looked about. "The Order of Protective Sorcerers may well know about all of this. These people have some explaining to do."

He left and made for the carriage.

OOC Anything you want to do or can we whizz along to the Banquet on the evening...?

DavidMcMahon Thu Jul 23 2020, 00:26

He left and made for the carriage.

OOC Anything you want to do or can we whizz along to the Banquet on the evening...?

Haunt is good for now.

Steeple_jackuk Thu Jul 23 2020, 12:52

DavidMcMahon wrote:
He left and made for the carriage.

OOC Anything you want to do or can we whizz along to the Banquet on the evening...?

Haunt is good for now.

OOC: Steeplejack would like to catch up with Penelope and make sure she is ok, and see her back home. I would wonder if she has a part to play going forward, I might like to also call in on Thoth and see that Mina is ok as well - depending on how time plays out.

Sj

Admin Thu Jul 23 2020, 19:16

Leaving the unconscious OOPS operatives in the pub, along with bewildered and frightened patrons, the trio got back in the carriage and headed off back to the church where Spring Heeled Jack waited and stood guard over the unconscious Penny Harkness.

Gibb sprinted over to her with the Vampire suddenly springing to his feet and challenging him, only to see Carter and Holmes entering too.

"Ohh! Mr Gibb! You have returned!" she gasped, smiling at Jack as he helped her up. "Every time I get those visions I find it difficult to stay on my feet!"

Holmes moved over "At ease Spring Heeled Jack. This is Mr Gibb. Like Mr carter he has remarkable abilities. He is a friend and I would suggest you curb your violent instincts. Though powerful you would be no match for him."

Spring Heeled Jack seemed to relax at that. "I'm glad. If the... beast... should ever take over and I fall victim to its lust for blood I would be glad to know that I could be restrained or ... destroyed... if it meant the saving of an innocent life. All the time I have had these abilities I have preyed on the life force of evil men who have done dark deeds. When the Grail was taken I increased dramatically in power but so did the hunger. Ms Harkness is truly a wonder. Around her my powers are diminished somewhat but so are my Vampiric instincts. I will protect her with my life and none shall harm her while I still live!" said the dark vigilante.

"Then you, too shall travel with us on a journey to cross the world and retrieve the grail." said Holmes. "For Ms Harkness shall be travelling with us and without her influence the lust for blood you fear shall take you over. "

"Follow us at a distance if you will Jack and you will not frighten the horses. When the sun sets you will be free to join us and attend an evening ball. I need to contact the host and ask her permission that I may bring extra guests but there will, I trust, be no problem."

"Our host?" asked Spring Heeled Jack.

Penny Harkness looked up at Holmes. "He means Queen Victoria." she said, smiling. "We're going to meet the Queen!"

=========

Stopping off at Thoth's house Carter and Gibb were admitted by Constanza

Gibb had explained that Mina Murray was a Vampire and that he had destroyed Jonathan Harker, a solicitor who had visited a Transylvanian nobleman named Count Dracula and escaped to get back to England but as a Vampire himself. He had infected his fiance and together they had murdered practically an entire street.

The curse of the Vampire had been ended there but Harker dying wish had been that some way to help or lift the Vampiric curse on Mina be found. Indeed Professor Thoths' assistant Constanza (who wore the form of the mule Codswallop in the wild west) managed to fish out a magic charm that quelled the Vampire's urge for blood. The beast, it seemed, was under control. For now.

The change in Miss Murray was remarkable.

From the creature, soiled and bloodied that Steeplejack had found she had been cleaned up and dressed and Constanza now presented her to the time travellers.

THE NEW VANGUARD! HAUNT Issue #10 With special guest star STEEPLEJACK! - Page 10 Mina-Harker-0

THE NEW VANGUARD! HAUNT Issue #10 With special guest star STEEPLEJACK! - Page 10 Mina-Harker-0

"I must thank you again Mr Gibb." said Mina as she approached. Carter and Gibb knew they faced a Vampire but with the magic charm that suppressed her abilities and bloodlust she was an ordinary woman, albeit one that was stronger and faster than an ordinary human and with a dark secret barely kept in check, but checked nonetheless.

"Constanza has told me of the quest that Holmes intends to undertake. The return of the Grail to this land is the only thing that may keep this ... thing.. inside me in check. Therefore I will offer my services to you as part of the company. Though my many Vampiric abilities are kept in check I do have other powers that I can call on since Jonathans' death."

"She can be most persuasive." said Constanza. "I shall, in your absence, continue to watch over London and try to manage the dark powers that threaten to be unleashed on the land, including the threat of Lyncanthropy. It would be easier if Thoth decided to turn up and do his part but he is still missing." she said, frowning.

OOC Hopefully that ties up Steepljacks loose ends. Okay to advance to the evenings' audience with Queen Victoria and the great, good, noble ... .and otherwise in the next Issue "Guess who's coming to Dinner?"

Steeple_jackuk Thu Jul 23 2020, 20:05

Admin wrote:OOC Hopefully that ties up Steepljacks loose ends. Okay to advance to the evenings' audience with Queen Victoria and the great, good, noble ... .and otherwise in the next Issue "Guess who's coming to Dinner?"

OOC: Absolutely nice show, ole bean ;-) - I'm loving this.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Thu Jul 23 2020, 20:19

"How are you at curing werewolves, Ma'am," Nick Carter asks after seeing what she did for the vampire. "There's a gal over at the Gypsy camp that has been cursed. They are trying to separate the wolf from the woman but could use any magical help in their endeavors."

ooc: She slipped my mind until you wrote the above. cheers

Admin Fri Jul 24 2020, 20:44

OOC Run out of time (long shifts and been fighting sleep all afternoon to try and get body clock something like for tomorrows 0500 start after this mornings 0245 alarm call ) but I can add this little bit about Mary Ann Nichols...

Penny Harkness frowned. "I'm not sure what it is that I do to be honest. I seem to have very little control over my powers but there does seem to be something, some... effect... that holds the darkness at bay against those people who actively want to fight it." she said as the carriage went back to Baker Street.

Sat opposite her Mina Murray nodded. "Indeed Miss Harkness your very presence appears to bolster this ... trinket..." she played with the trinket on a string about her neck. "I must confess even with this on there was an urge to resist but compared to without it... " she shuddered. "Now with you... backing it up so to speak, I feel almost.. human again." she said uncomfortably.

"I could visit Miss Nichols." offered Penny "And see if the effect is the same. If it is, then I suppose we'll be bringing Miss Nichols along with us as well...?"

"A motley crew indeed." smiled Sherlock Holmes, "But one that might prove absolutely vital to try and stop the plan being concocted by the most devious minds in all the world."

"For now Miss Nichols must trust to the Gypsies care. The morrow will bring a chance to visit on her and I hope we will have the means to give chase. Mr Carter I have no doubt can use his marvellous abilities to transport us but ... I feel our foes will have laid false trails, traps, attempts to waylay, delay and destroy us. The Grail will not be rushed. It is, I believe, tethered in some way to this land that has been its home. The ... science of it makes no sense and the mystical I found hard to get my head around but the Queens adviser, a man named Alexander Lucas, talked in ways that made my head spin. One part I caught onto was that the Grail is trying its best to remain tethered to this land. That means the further it gets away, the more like we are to suffer. Finally when that invisible tether 'snaps' there will be a ... violent 'snap' effect he declared. He was looking for a way to minimise that."

Alexander Lucas. A new name, or... or perhaps the one Thoth went under in this time period?

The carriage pulled up outside Holmes' house and the ladies got out first. "Chop chop!" said Holmes as he eyed Spring Heeled Jack in the shadows. "All will be dressed in the finest clothes I can manage to present in the time available. We may only have an half and a half, ladies, do your best though to me your beauty needs no embellishing."

Penny blushed and Mina smiled politely.

"Tonight should be an ... interesting evening..." said Holmes.

END OF ISSUE

HP Awards to come (and I haven't forgotten about Miss V and Lionheart either!)

Steeple_jackuk Fri Jul 24 2020, 21:48

Admin wrote:OOC Run out of time (long shifts and been fighting sleep all afternoon to try and get body clock something like for tomorrows 0500 start after this mornings 0245 alarm call ) but I can add this little bit about Mary Ann Nichols...

[b]END OF ISSUE

HP Awards to come (and I haven't forgotten about Miss V and Lionheart either!)

OOC: Brilliant mate, well done, especially with your shift patterns don't know how you do it.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Fri Jul 24 2020, 21:53

Cool Beans. Don't rush and get some rest, it helps the mind.

Admin Tue Jul 28 2020, 22:43

OOC Standard HP award is 29HP BUT you both chose a Difficulty 3 which boosts that up to 59HP because of time travel and everything having crazy consequences in the future and altering the timeline etc.

That equates to 177HP each added to your existing tallies of:

Haunt HP5 + 177=182HP

Steeplejack HP42 + 177=219HP

You guys need to decide if you fancy changing the difficulty level. Basically without upping the difficulty as you have done you'd have got maybe half, slightly less in terms of HP as you would have mopped the floor with everyone you came up against, so there is that to consider... I would (if I were you) go for four to six difficulty and hopefully you scrape through with a giant pile of HP to really up your characters. That said, you failed on some pretty (otherwise) easy stuff thanks to the Difficulty 3 so it's up to you.

I'm posting the next issue up in a few mins (when I finish writing it). The plan had been to get caught up but I have my youngest son over so we've been to a waterfalls/walk in the country today and playing Talisman (and getting beaten by a computer player on the crown of command grrrr) tonight, hence rubbish and behind on posting.

DavidMcMahon Tue Jul 28 2020, 23:03

I would like to raise both Animal Handling and Vehicles up to 5 each. Then keep the rest for the game.
The Haunt missed so many rolls that I thought were important that I don't think I want to go up to Dif level 4. So I think I will stick with Dif Level 3

Admin Tue Jul 28 2020, 23:21

OOC Animal Handling costs 40HP/point (so 120 to level 5) and Vehicles 50HP/Point so you may want to have a think on how you want to spend it...

DavidMcMahon Wed Jul 29 2020, 00:45

AK! Forgot there was a multiplier for his skills and such. Let's just go with one level added to each to make them level 3.

Steeple_jackuk Wed Jul 29 2020, 10:24

Admin wrote:OOC Standard HP award is 29HP BUT you both chose a Difficulty 3 which boosts that up to 59HP because of time travel and everything having crazy consequences in the future and altering the timeline etc.

That equates to 177HP each added to your existing tallies of:

Haunt HP5 + 177=182HP

Steeplejack HP42 + 177=219HP

OOC: I don't mind upping the difficulty to 4 and I'd like to know what you'd recommend I spend my points on Paul. I might not spend them now, given that I've just upped the difficulty and we might well be going into the heart of the storm and it may well be an uphill struggle but hey where would the fun be if it was always a walkover. So if you can make any recommendations that would be great. I'm not a min mixer, but one thing I really did without here was any kind of detective skills, or just the ability to be perceptive. Also given the way that things have been I am wondering if upping my skills in persuasion type of thing might be good. Sorry coming to this a bit late, not at my PC much today

Sj

Admin Wed Jul 29 2020, 19:33

OOC So Haunt would be on 92HP with Animal Handling and Vehicles both upped to 3. Will amend the Character sheet.

As for Steeplejack he's really agile and a great fighter but could hit a little harder so maybe Str +1 (to 11) for 135Hp (also includes Force Shield boost to 11) or Body +1 (to 10) for 90HP. Or more resistant to Magic Attacks (he's smart so pretty hard to crack with mental attacks with that 10 Intelligence) with a boost to Spirit (to 7) for 60HP and to Influence for 70HP (to 8 influence) for 130HP total.

Forget about boosting Dex without a whole bunch more points but that has to be on the agenda at some point as it's the most used stat in the game.

Steeple_jackuk Wed Jul 29 2020, 19:48

Admin wrote:OOC So Haunt would be on 92HP with Animal Handling and Vehicles both upped to 3. Will amend the Character sheet.

As for Steeplejack he's really agile and a great fighter but could hit a little harder so maybe Str +1 (to 11) for 135Hp (also includes Force Shield boost to 11) or Body +1 (to 10) for 90HP. Or more resistant to Magic Attacks (he's smart so pretty hard to crack with mental attacks with that 10 Intelligence) with a boost to Spirit (to 7) for 60HP and to Influence for 70HP (to 8 influence) for 130HP total.

Forget about boosting Dex without a whole bunch more points but that has to be on the agenda at some point as it's the most used stat in the game.

I like the boost to strength and force shield boost as that seems like two for the price of one (don't tell Boris - no calories in this ;-) So lets go with that.

Zip zippy'd day...

Sj

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