Re: The NEW Vanguard TEAM UP! Haunt Issue #14 with special guest star Steeplejack!

Steeple_jackuk Thu Oct 27 2022, 20:11

DavidMcMahon wrote:"You're better at moving earth than I am, Steeplejack. Why don't you tunnel to the Grail and I will distract the cultists," The Haunt offers. "I will hide until I think you are close to the Grail and need a distraction to steal it, then I will summon my Fog to hide in and blast them all with my subsonic fear blast."

Steeplejack nodded, but then added "Just don't get killed or magic back in time, we haven't finished with Advents meddling so we need one another"

Diving off to one side, where he could start to move the earth without drawing attention, Steeplejack began to move earth around him as he dug into the earth, looking to zero in on the grail as he went down, along and then up to where it was positioned. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but if he could move the whole altar to a level below the cave above, and fill the hole after he could grab the grail and maybe even begin to turn the tables. But knowing how convoluted this whole escapade has been, he had his doubts.

Sj

Admin Thu Nov 03 2022, 18:41

OOC Earth Control 10 + 2d12+0 6,9+0 = 15 (25) vs
OV4 + Time Dilation 6 + 2d12+0 5,12+0 = 17 (27) = Fail!

REMINDER (to me) Time Dilation for Steeplejack 6, Haunt 4

Steeplejack concentrated... and once more that strange 'lost in time' effect fogged his mind again!

The Earth seemed to move... then 'hopped' back into place almost instantly!

Furrowing his brow he tried again...

OOC Earth Control 10 + 2d12+0 9,4+0 = 13 (23) vs
OV4 + Time Dilation 6 + 2d12+0 5,4+0 = 9 (19)
+3 (to 13EV) vs RV4 +TD6 (RV10)= 3RAPs which moves 4APs volume of Earth (about 15 cubic feet) up to 80' away

Concentrating and putting his hand on the floor Steeplejack concentrated, shutting his eyes and letting his power flow into the rock and soil... Once more the time dilation fought against him and he poured more of his energy into the ground. Time itself was fighting him. He shouldn't be here, shouldn't be able to do the things he could do, it shouldn't be possible to fight against the machinations of Moriarty and his villainous Genius Cadre... but it was!

The ground 'peeled' apart around him in the corridor, smoothly and as if a perfect bore hole was being drilled with the excess earth and rock moving out to line the walls and floor along the corridor.

Still, he was only standing in a hole up to his chest.

This might take a while...

OOC with the Time dilation, rather than make fifty rolls I'll just do three rolls and take the middle roll for each and work out how long it would take to tunnel say, 50-100' under the chamber and up beneath the Grail.

Haunt is going to find it tough going to stay hidden with the Time Dilation thing. Is he going to wait until SJ comes back with a thumbs up from his tunnel or try to get in place then wait?

DavidMcMahon Thu Nov 03 2022, 20:48

The Haunt will stay hidden using his abilities to blend into the wall and wait for Steeplejack's signal. He will send a finger down into the tunnel with the hero and let him "pull his finger" to let him know when its time to rock 'n roll! Rolling Eyes

Admin Tue Nov 08 2022, 21:57

It took time.

Steeplejack fought every inch with his ability to displace Earth and rock. He even had to stop and go back for a torch from the wall. Though he had many abilities seeing in the pitch black wasn't one of them!

With sweat running down his face mixing with the dirt Steeplejack forged on. Metre by metre earth and rock moved behind him and back up the tunnel lining the walls.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably around a quarter of an hour of intensive digging - and failing thanks to the time dilation - he figured he might have gone far enough.

A probing finger with an eye on the end - not looking weird at all! - poked about like a worm. When it formed a mouth and spoke "need to go further" Steeplejack realised it was Haunt using his amazing abilities to speak and see remotely like a camera on the end of a line.

He nodded, sighed, concentrated and ploughed on.

=========

Haunt recalled his finger.

Holmes and the others were strapped to stone slabs, their shirts removed and daubed red sigils painted on their chest. No guessing what the red was from - it wasn't paint.

Using his probe on the end of a stalk eyes he looked down from amongst the stalactites at the scene below.

A star in a circle - pentagram - with the team on slabs strapped down. They were comatose but alive as far as he could tell. Some spell had rendered them unconscious. Cloaked and hooded figures - dozens of them - chanted and swayed and it was impossible to tell who was Moriarty and the others they'd been following. Thankfully these things couldn't be rushed but he was aware time was running out. With his genius level intellect it was no problem to estimate the distance required to dig under the centre of the room, though it made things trickier to add in the curves and bends of the tunnel Steeplejack had mad. His friend hadn't gone far enough. Unfortunately the strange time dilation effect had made things harder for both of them but more for Steeplejack it seemed.

He glanced at the cave entrance. Where was the guard who...?

The guard reappeared in the cave entrance. Oh no! Had they seen the tunnel entrance? Was this whole plan about to come crashing do...

The guard pulled their hood back and a pair of blood red eyes looked up into the darkness where Haunt hid. Mina!

With hood back in place she stood ready to assist. Though her abilities were far beyond those of an ordinary human she was in the company of demi gods, people who could move mountains, defy physics, perform the impossible! Eager to atone and perhaps end her cursed existence she would do anything to help even if it cost her own unlife status...

=========

Another probing finger moved down the tunnel.

It was longer this time and the genius mind of Haunt (OOC anything of 5AP or more would probably cruise through every Mensa test) did some mental calculations...

OOC Int 8 + 2d12+0 6,11+0 = 17 (25) vs
OV6 + time dilation 4 + 2d12+0 1,4+0 = 5 (15)
+4 (to EV13) vs RV6 +TD 4 (RV10)=3 RAPs

RAP Results:
1) The distance dug is in the right direction
2-3) It's within 3m of the spot that would come up directly in the centre of the large pentagram in the middle of the captured heroes and where a plinth is set where the Grail will be placed.

Haunt gave it his best guess. Steeplejack was close but... the chanting was getting higher, louder! A large group of dozens of cloaked and hooded 'acolytes' filed in from another cavern in two lines and the gathered dozens in the cavern moved aside slightly for them as they made their way to the centre.

The chanting even sounded wrong... dark... evil.

There was magic in the air, dark sorcery, it positively crackled! Haunt knew he'd have to be careful. Magic was a powerful unpredictable force. Not all of these acolytes would be 'masters' but with the time dilation affecting the heroes they wouldn't have to be!

Dare he ask Steeplejack to dig a little further or was it time to make ready and come up underneath the Pentagram in the next few minutes...?

Steeple_jackuk Thu Nov 10 2022, 13:40

Admin wrote:There was magic in the air, dark sorcery, it positively crackled! Haunt knew he'd have to be careful. Magic was a powerful unpredictable force. Not all of these acolytes would be 'masters' but with the time dilation affecting the heroes they wouldn't have to be!

Dare he ask Steeplejack to dig a little further or was it time to make ready and come up underneath the Pentagram in the next few minutes...?

OOS What do you think David? Without the grail, we are left to fend for ourselves against magic and neither of us is going to come out of this unscathed if we do that, therefore my feeling is we have to get the grail, or everything we've done thus far will be for nothing. However, I may be missing something, not least of all the fact that our friends could end up being killed before I get there. Heck at the rate I'm moving earth, they could also die of old age Anyway what do you think? I'm happy to go with your call on this one.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Fri Nov 11 2022, 18:10

The Haunt turns a couple of fingers in each hand into old fashion telephones, one for Steeplejack and the other for Mina, extending out to her and showing her how to hold it so all three of them could talk to each other. Stretching and shapeshifting can be wonderful things, when he remembers what he can do with them.

"Steep! Things are heating up here. You are still a bit short of the Grail. Maybe you got a few minutes to get that last bit done, maybe you don't. Our friends seem to be about to be sacrificed. I'm going to hold until the last second and then attack. Mina is here with me now. So here's what I want you to do, Mina, when I bring out my fog and hit everyone with my Fear Aura, you run into the room and try to get our friends free. The fog should help hide both you and Steeplejack from most of the folks in there. I imagine that there will be some who can see through it though but hopefully they are the minority."

"Steep, if I have to move before you reach the Grail, you are going to just have to pop out of the ground where you are and grab the Grail and go. My finger will point the way so you don't get lost in the fog. The plan, everyone, is to grab the Grail, grab our friends and RUN AWAY! We will fight them again another day."

"Ready?"

ooc: Was having a brain fart and couldn't think of anything to write until now. Sorry about that.

The NEW Vanguard TEAM UP! Haunt Issue #14 with special guest star Steeplejack! - Page 3 Bellwa10

Steeple_jackuk Sat Nov 12 2022, 14:47

DavidMcMahon wrote:"Ready?"

ooc: Was having a brain fart and couldn't think of anything to write until now. Sorry about that.

OOC:Oh don't worry David, sometimes I feel so stumped by something that Paul puts before us that I need a few days to think through what on earth I am going to do by way of response. :-)

Steeplejack, knowing his friends weird morphic abilities, didn't even blink when the telephone appeared. Knowing something so truly uncanny must be him he didn't even question picking it up to answer. Having heard Haunt's plan he affirmed his own readiness to go for it. He hoped that his powers would yet overcome this strange time dilation and not let them down at the last. Yet Haunt's power of fear might just be enough to turn the tide if the cultists could be made helpless by it. It was a big if, one he would rather not take until his own plan to try and steal the grail from under them failed. But he would give it one last try seeking, with all he had to push through the barrier that seemed to be against him to overcome and retrieve the grail. It was key, without it, the cultists would be on the back foot. So getting it wasn't something he wanted to give up doing lightly.

OOC: Paul, do I have any hp if so can I use them to off set the dilation affect and go for a devastating roll, with the HP necessary to weigh a little more in my favour. Say enough for me to use 3 extra rolls for cause and effect?

sj

Admin Wed Nov 16 2022, 15:29

OOC
Haunt has 181HP
Steeplejack 69HP

Thanks for your patience chaps. This year has been a humdinger and not in a good way.

Back to game stuff:

Dave - As we can see a single extra die costs 6HP. It gets progressively more expensive the more dice you buy and to me the cost after 3 dice/21HP gets a bit much - I'd rather take my chances with the dice I have than burn through 30+ HP but it depends on how desperate you are.

Is Steeplejack going to try and dig those extra few metres or come up where he is through the floor and stumble around in the fog? Aura Of Fear is not a problem. Haunt can exclude Steeplejack and Mina (and presumably their friends Holmes, Watson and Co.) from that without an issue but the Fog blinds everyone apart from the spooky chap in white with the cowboy hat and cape.

With the time dilation AND the Fog, you may have serious issues and need spectacular rolls to find the Grail in the cavern with so many (presumably) panicking sorcerers running about... I'm assuming Steep, Mina and Haunt are still conversing on Haunt Telecoms

Mina whispered "My ... accursed senses tell me that all of these hooded people are mostly humans but there are some - like me - amongst them. Beware! I am new to this but elder, more experienced Vampyres have different 'gifts' granted by the 'Dark Kiss' as I understand it. The more powerful the sire, the greater the gift I expect." she muttered, amazed by the fact she could speak to and hear down the contraption Haunt had manifested.

She watched the crowd and heard the chants, feeling uncomfortable. "We do not have long to save your friends..." she advised. "What is my role? I can... wait here to help guide them out or go in there and... I would hope... help to free them?"

Haunt explained her role and Mina whispered "Understood. I'll make for them and hope for the best..."

DavidMcMahon Wed Nov 16 2022, 18:44

ooc: The Haunt is going to keep a stretched out finger with Steeplejack, pointing the way to the Grail, once he pops up out of the ground - that assumes he isn't fighting for his life when that moment comes. So the Fog shouldn't be too big a problem getting the Grail and getting back into the hole. Of course, Steeplejack may roll spectacularly and wind up under the place where the Grail is and have the whole thing just drop down into the hole without him needing to come out of it like a Groundhog checking to see if winter is going to end soon. Razz

Wait, do you guys anything like Groundhog's Day where you are? Or is it just a North American thing?

Admin Wed Nov 16 2022, 19:27

OOC Groundhog day is your thing thought the movie is an all time classic. We don't need an overfed beaver to tell us we'll have a lousy and long winter, it more or less blurs into our Autumn and Spring. Despite being mild for a week or so in November it's not stopped raining for a week where I live.

Steeple_jackuk Thu Nov 17 2022, 15:25

Admin wrote:[color=#0000ff][i]OOC
Haunt has 181HP
Steeplejack 69HP

Haunt explained her role and Mina whispered "Understood. I'll make for them and hope for the best..."

OOC: OK I am going to spend 26 HP two die on attack and 2 on effect to try and snag the grail and if that fails well go with whatever comes our way as best I can. If we can't snag the grail then I will come up and follow the pointing digit of Haunt and see if I can still grab the grail and disrupt the ceremony. Giving the others chance to grab the rest of our companions.

Sj

Admin Mon Nov 21 2022, 11:31

OOC We only spend HP on Acting Value these days. You are in effect buying more dice to roll for your 'aim' whilst your Effect is the 'size of your bullet' so to speak and doesn't change. You can go for a Critical Blow or Devastating Attack or their none combat equivalents Go For Broke (various levels) which makes it harder to hit but you strike (if you are successful) where it hurts the most.

I'll assume you spend 21HP on Acting and buy three extra dice. Normally this would be a non event but that +6 Time Dilation penalty is a doozy and is really playing havoc with your abilities!

Earth Control 10 + 3 Dice + 5d12+0 5,8,3,8,2+0 = 16 DOUBLE plus 2d12+0 6,7+0 = 29 (39) vs
OV6 + Time Dilation 6 + 2d12+0 11,5+0 = 16 (28)
+5 (to EV15) vs RV6 + TD6 (RV12)= 3 RAPs Success.

STEEPLEJACK HP48

Using Haunts' hand/finger as a guide Steeplejack took his best guess.

The Earth resisted as it would not normally do! He grunted with the effort and made a slightly larger area than he had been doing. This wasn't going to work, he could tell. There was no point in... NO! They were running out of time! Holmes, Watson, the others, were going to DIE!

This was on him! Haunt couldn't do everything on his own - he was just as affected by this... this time dilation problem as Steeplejack was!

'Suck it up! You got this 'old man' ' he thought to himself. An image of times past, days in the Executive. Friends gone, a career and personal life but always lacking something. A challenge, the thrill... the need to help others.

He needed this. He had this.

With a thrust of his hand Steeplejack caused an eruption of soil upwards in the cavern! Rock broke apart as easily as a child digging in the dirt and there was a CRASH! of dirt, rock and dust as the cavern above collapsed downwards into a shallow hole!

In the confusion, noise, shouting and outrage Steeplejack moved forwards. Cultists were struggling in the dirt. A shattered stone pedestal, broken under its own weight, had held the Grail.

It was an innocuous cup, nothing really to look at. Plain, and yet so symbolic, so ... legendary and projecting such a sense of... actually it didn't whatever black magic had been wrought on the artifact had dampened its powers!

Steeplejack grabbed the cup up. His arm tingled but other than that clouds didn't part, angels didn't sing and 'heaven rays' didn't shine down. He needed to get it away from this place!

The Cultists in the hole clambering out of the rubble saw him and shouted! There were three of them and Steeplejack looked up at the hole into the cavern. More than a dozen peered in.

"The GRAIL!" roared one. "GET HIM!" he screeched!

=========

Haunt chose that moment to spew out his Fog! He blanketed much of the cavern but was some way short of covering any large area...

OOC 8AP volume isn't small but nowhere near required to fill a cavern. According to the internet a 10' by 10' room is 800 cubic feet and Haunt pumps out 250 cubic feet...

He could, however, focus what he had on the hole Steeplejack had made. His friend had - probably with Haunts help - guessed right where the Grail was and created a hole in the centre of the cavern!

Now it was wreathed in thick cloying mist!

Next, Haunt summoned up his 'Aura of Fear'...

OOC Rather than make dozens of rolls against 60 rank and file cultists I'll make three and apply a low/medium/high effect to 20 each. Bear in mind the time dilation might mean a low and even a medium effect is practically nil! Mind you if all three rolls are triples you might be in luck! Let's see...

2d12+0 8,3+0 = 11 LOW
2d12+0 11,3+0 = 14 MEDIUM
2d12+0 4,11+0 = 15 HIGH

Pretty close and no real bad rolls as such. Let's see what the resistance is to those with a similar check pitching low/medium/high against each other...

2d12+0 12,12+0 = 24 BOOM! Double plus 2d12+0 3,8+0 = 35 (I'm guessing this will be 'High')
2d12+0 11,2+0 = 13 MEDIUM
2d12+0 11,1+0 = 12 LOW

Assuming the rank and file cultist is somewhat exceptional to grasp the concepts of the magic they wield and/or a Vampire they will have stats in the 5-6 range. Let's go with 5 Int/6 Mind. Bosses are higher.

Aura of Fear 10 + 11/14/15 gives 21/24/25 (Low/medium/high)
Cultists OV5 + Time Dilation 4 + 12/13/35 gives 21/22/44 (Low/medium/high)

Aura of Fear EV10 + 0/+2/FAILED vs
RV6 + Time Dilation 4 (RV10) gives 0 RAPs (fail) 2 Raps (20 'medium' cultists run off screaming) and 0 Raps (fail)

Twenty cultists shriek, the horror of their own imagination turned against them! Whatever they feared was unleashed! Their hopes, dreams, shattered, their lives undone, found out and they were soon to die in horror, terror and despair!

The rest of the Cultists scoured about. Some moved in the swirling fog, others dug at the soil. Some looked around, up... THERE!

Some pointed into the darkness high in the top of the cavern to where the white garbed Haunt stood out - if you had but eyes to see and the mind to look!

"THERE! INTRUDER! GET HIM!" barked one. Foreign languages replied and the Cultists started forming shapes with their hands, calling on incantations of a long dead language and summoning powers that man was not meant to know about!

Into this Mina held her hood over her head and hurried to where Holmes and the others were strapped to stone slabs awaiting their goodly life blood to flow onto the Grail and there be drunk to initiate a dark rite that would summon powers so evil mankind would burn their eyes out to gaze on them!

OOC You are about to be attacked/blasted by multiple magic blasts. This will hurt. A lot. Superheroes wouldn't normally run from a fight but i would suggest unless you can fend off Magic blasts that are boosted with a time dilation you seriously consider an alternate course of action other than 'I wade in with my fists' !

DavidMcMahon Wed Nov 23 2022, 03:12

ooc: Just a quick post before I'm off to bed. Got a 4 day weekend ahead of me, Thanksgiving. So I hope to catch up on everything during that time. And lock down your characters for Project GI Joe. Make sure all those nasty points were spent correctly since I was doing a variation of the character creation rules. And yeah, The Haunt, one of these many days is going to have to raise his Fog up to 13 or more. One of these days.

anywho! The PLAN [heh!] is to dive into the fog, help Mina grab our friends, slab and all if it is quicker and not too heavy and can fit into the hole, and dive into the hole and RUN AWAY!
Part B of the PLAN [double HEH!] is to use his Stretching/Shapeshifting/Strength to collapse the entrance to the cavern, once they get out of the hole and collapse it ala Sampson and his bringing down the temple. Part C of the PLAN [this all assumes Part A worked so we can go to Part B and C] is to then collapse the tunnel if the previous collapsing doesn't work.

He plans on using the Impact Absorption of his stretching powers to help absorb the damage of tons of rock collapsing on him. He's not trying to collapse the cavern, just the entrance so that they can't easily follow us. He will then ooze himself out of the rubble to collapse the tunnel, if it hasn't happened already or Steeplejack didn't seal it up after we all got out of the cavern with our friends and the Grail.

That only leaves the really powerful ones who can turn into smoke or air or something who could ooze out of the collapsed entrance and follow us. Or maybe the Grail in good hands now will drive them away. sunny

Off to be now.

Steeple_jackuk Thu Nov 24 2022, 12:27

DavidMcMahon wrote:ooc: Just a quick post before I'm off to bed. Got a 4 day weekend ahead of me, Thanksgiving. So I hope to catch up on everything during that time. And lock down your characters for Project GI Joe. Make sure all those nasty points were spent correctly since I was doing a variation of the character creation rules. And yeah, The Haunt, one of these many days is going to have to raise his Fog up to 13 or more. One of these days.

anywho! The PLAN [heh!] is to dive into the fog, help Mina grab our friends, slab and all if it is quicker and not too heavy and can fit into the hole, and dive into the hole and RUN AWAY!
Part B of the PLAN [double HEH!] is to use his Stretching/Shapeshifting/Strength to collapse the entrance to the cavern, once they get out of the hole and collapse it ala Sampson and his bringing down the temple. Part C of the PLAN [this all assumes Part A worked so we can go to Part B and C] is to then collapse the tunnel if the previous collapsing doesn't work.

He plans on using the Impact Absorption of his stretching powers to help absorb the damage of tons of rock collapsing on him. He's not trying to collapse the cavern, just the entrance so that they can't easily follow us. He will then ooze himself out of the rubble to collapse the tunnel, if it hasn't happened already or Steeplejack didn't seal it up after we all got out of the cavern with our friends and the Grail.

That only leaves the really powerful ones who can turn into smoke or air or something who could ooze out of the collapsed entrance and follow us. Or maybe the Grail in good hands now will drive them away.

Off to be now.

OOC:Depending on what happens with Haunt, whether he joins us down in the hole and we make an run for it (he could transform into a great earth moving digger for instance) and we get out, or I stay. But with the grail in hand, we need to get back to England to restore order and post haste.

Admin Tue Nov 29 2022, 11:49

Pandemonium reigns!

The cultists are in uproar but there are so many of them that they trip, impede, block, distract and otherwise get in the way of each other!

The language is one not easily recognised but the intent is clear. "THERE!" "GET HIM!" "ATTACK!" as they pour towards the Haunt who is a white streak moving across the cavern to the fogged area...

Haunt reaches the slabs where his companions are restrained and with no difficulty starts to shred the straps holding them down. Leather was no match for a man who could his fingers into scalpels or who could use pure strength to tear leather like the thinnest paper!

Holmes was coming to and grasped the situation immediately. "Carter!" he declared. "You are a sight for sore eyes but... these eyes can't see much beyond the end of my nose!"

As he struggled free of the bindings he turned to the others. "Watson! He's in a bad way! He's been bitten!" hissed the Great Detective. "Anjali! Starky, Savage, where is Mina? And Carter, bless him, the fellow needs..."

Shaking his head he hissed "Holmes! Calm yourself! If Carter assaulted the cavern that means... our Friend Gibbs cannot be far behind, for the two are inseparable and nigh invincible! I suspect that Gibbs has secured the Grail and this is the rescue attempt but... obscured by the fog it sounds like we are surrounded on all sides! Carter and Gibbs would not attempt such a plan if there were no escape route and given their abilities... I deduce..."

Holmes slid off the slab...

...into the hole Gibbs crouched in nearby with the Grail!

The fog was much lessened here and despite the dirt and grime Holmes recognised his comrade immediately! "Gibbs! My heart is gladdened by the sight of you old chap and..." he glanced at the Grail "You have secured that which we sought to recover! THAT is the priority! If all else fails someone MUST escape back to England with the cup, all other considerations are unimportant!"

Haunt spun, slashing through Starkys' restraints. He in turn shook the 'fog' from his senses and took the leather strap, wrapping and twisting it before grabbing a rock from the loosened floor and letting fly with a suddenly improvised sling!

"Aiiiieeeee!" came a scream from the fog somewhere. Starky grinned and quipped "I hope that was one of theirs, not one of ours! Carter! Is that you? This fog has that ghostly air about it which you can summon at will, man!"

Anjali stepped up "Into the hole Mr Starky!" she declared. Pointing to where Gibb was crouching and pushing Starky in that direction he muttered "I say! Women aren't normally so pushy where I come from!"

Anjali shook her head and darted into the fog! Before Haunt could stop her or call out she morphed, changing shape and appearance to resemble a cultist!

Watson was the problem. He'd been drained of blood and was pale as death, literally. Unresponsive as Haunt sought to bring him around he knew the Doctor would have to be carried out.

"Here, man." said Captain Savage "You saved our lives, it's only fair we should help with the burdens!" he said as he took Watson up in his powerful arms and headed for the hole in the ground.

Gibb turned.

His Danger Sense, blunted by the time dilation that had thwarted his every step, seemed to be trying to warn him of something...

OOC Danger Sense 10 + 2d12+0 4,11+0 = 15 (25) vs
OV2 + TD 6 + 2d12+0 5,11+0 = 16 (24)
+1 (to EV11) vs RV 2 + TD6 (RV8)=3 RAPs

Steeplejack is warned of danger but not the exact direction or cause of the warning. All he knows is that it is MORE powerful than Haunt and Steeplejack and the Victorian Adventurers combined!

Suddenly a voice rung out as the adventurers moved through the fog to the hole.

"YOU THINK YOU HAVE WON!" came a clean crisp clipped accent.

"Moriarty!" hissed Holmes.

"BUT YOU HAVE ALREADY LOST! YOU SEE, I HAVE MADE A PACT WITH POWERS YOU CANNOT FATHOM! GREAT OLD BLIND THINGS THAT YEARN TO REACH FROM THE DARKNESS AND CLAIM SOULS TO FEED ON AND TORMENT, AND I HAVE PROMISED THEM SUCH! That starts... with YOU!" he cried out.

"BACK! BACK minions, as I call on the Dark Powers at my command to clear that fog and reveal our foe, such as they are!"

A wind starts to whip up in the cavern...

OOC You have freed the adventurers, Anjali is amongst the horde of cultists, Mina somewhere at the Cavern entrance. Savage carries the prone form of Watson and Starky is improvising weapons from whatever he lays his hands on! Holmes is in the tunnel with Gibb/Steeplejack and Haunt is outside having freed the adventurers.

Something is happening... Flee or Fight...?

DavidMcMahon Tue Nov 29 2022, 19:15

"Fell, let Moriarty deal with a disappointed old death god," The Haunt tells everyone, showing them down and through the tunnel. Hopefully, Mina will dive into it before he gets to the cavern entrance to collapse it.

Steeple_jackuk Wed Nov 30 2022, 08:41

Admin wrote:Something is happening... Flee or Fight...?[/i][/color]

Steeplejack didn't like to run from a fight, but the best hope they had was to get the grail back to where it belonged and safe from the clutches of those here who might seek to use it for their own nefarious ends.

OOC: I am not happy about running, because I think Moriarty won't let us get away anyway, however I can see the expediency of trying, besides which we'd need some additional help against this thing, help we don't have among ourselves. I'm not all that keen on playing magic users so this is the bane of my heroes lives when I face it. So we might need to run, and get help as I think its unlikely that Moriarty and his allies will let us get far.

However I'd ratehr fight a fight away from this ground, as I think its clearly favouring them. I've got another thought about how we might defeat Moriarty but we shall see what happens if we try to escape first.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Wed Nov 30 2022, 10:18

ooc: Running, at the very least, will keep the cultists away from us so we only have to deal with a death god and Moriarty if and when they catch up to us. tongue

Admin Fri Dec 02 2022, 13:23

The adventurers stumble, crawl, run and don't look back as they entered the hole leading to Steeplejacks tunnel.

Though low (about five feet high and a few feet wide) the tunnel was straight and made no distinction of whether the passage had been through rock or soil. No machine cut have carved through the earth this precise!

Holmes declared "Amazing!" as he fished out a match to light the way and held it up so that Captain Savage who carried Dr Watson could move past him, albeit having to breathe in some.

The rag tag group moved on underground whilst Haunt maintained the fog over the the entrance to the hole.

Mina waited in the tunnel with her cultist robe on and hood pulled back. Three cultists armed with pistols were at her feet, one of which was lying in a pool of blood around his neck. The lady looked unapologetic. "They sent guards and will want to know what happened to them. We don't have much time."

She turned away when Watson appeared in Savages' arms. The Captain gave her a cold look but otherwise ignored her.

Holmes seemed wary but patted her on the side of the arm. "Good work my dear. We need to get out of here. Do not tarry!"

Mina looked suddenly doubtful. Steeplejack caught the look and realised that she planned to stay and fight cultists off to give the adventurers time to escape, as penance for her actions and undead nature!

Sure enough she pointed out "They are coming!"

Haunt 'poured' into the passageway. He's seen. No, 'felt' something in the air. Something forming. It was big, evil and felt just... wrong.

Indeed, the cultists in the cavern felt it too as horrifying screams suddenly rang out - sacrifices for their blood god! They might have wanted a taste of ultimate power but there was a price to pay!

=========

Running through the corridors under the bowels of the castle Steeplejack turned to collapse the roof behind them.

He was only partially successful - the time dilation effect again.

Passing places where they'd been and ensuring no one was left behind they reached stairs and started up. The speed and dexterity of the supers ensured their passage was not slow and they thought they'd get out in one piece... until the walls, floor and ceiling of the ancient castle started shaking!

The steps started to collapse behind them despite Steeplejacks' efforts to maintain their integrity and Haunt gathered all those 'normals' (though could that term be applied to such as these?) up with a wide hand platform.

Moving through the lower level of the castle now the group found themselves standing in a shuddering ruin as the roof started to cave inwards!

Creating a dome of his own body Haunt shielded everyone as countless tons of stone and timber crashed down on top of them!

Then all felt it as the rubble fell on the impenetrable white dome... something evil had been summoned, and was here to wreak chaos on the world!

OOC Anything you want to do to prepare against the Cthulu esque monster Moriarty, Fu Manchu and friends have summoned? I was never much a fan or Call of Cthulu so going to do a bit of reading to see which beastie is appropriate...

Steeple_jackuk Fri Dec 02 2022, 20:57

Admin wrote:OOC Anything you want to do to prepare against the Cthulu esque monster Moriarty, Fu Manchu and friends have summoned? I was never much a fan or Call of Cthulu so going to do a bit of reading to see which beastie is appropriate...

OOC: I was thinking, how on earth are we going to face a creature of magic, we're going to get creamed. However one desperate thought I have is that the power of the grail (I'm not into the idea that artifacts imbibed hold power as if there is a sanctified version of magic - nonetheless we are in 4 colour comic code country so I will go with it ;-)) could be used in some way to fight against the wee beast. I am not sure if praying to God to use the power of the grail or combining it with our desire to rid the world of evil, and I appreciate we don't want a Mcguffin here, but we need something to help us esp me with the time Dilation effect. Note to self take a lesser penalty next time - if there is a next time affraid

Sj

DavidMcMahon Sun Dec 04 2022, 19:01

ooc: Get the others out of range as most would be a hinderance in the fight. The Haunt can stretch his arms and place them at the range of his stretching abilities. Holmes should probably be holding onto the Grail unless Steeplejack wants to try using it against the big bad.

PLAN A - Get Initiative and hit it as hard as we can!
PLAN B - somehow survive its first attack.
Exclamation

Steeple_jackuk wrote:
Admin wrote:OOC Anything you want to do to prepare against the Cthulu esque monster Moriarty, Fu Manchu and friends have summoned? I was never much a fan or Call of Cthulu so going to do a bit of reading to see which beastie is appropriate...

OOC: I was thinking, how on earth are we going to face a creature of magic, we're going to get creamed. However one desperate thought I have is that the power of the grail (I'm not into the idea that artifacts imbibed hold power as if there is a sanctified version of magic - nonetheless we are in 4 colour comic code country so I will go with it ;-)) could be used in some way to fight against the wee beast. I am not sure if praying to God to use the power of the grail or combining it with our desire to rid the world of evil, and I appreciate we don't want a Mcguffin here, but we need something to help us esp me with the time Dilation effect. Note to self take a lesser penalty next time - if there is a next time

Sj

Admin Tue Dec 06 2022, 22:04

The temperature changed.

It was colder, but the chill seemed to affect Steeplejack and Haunt in their bones. How was that even possible? Both were superhuman, immune to ordinary temperature extremes and environmental effects.

No. This was something else...

The rubble rose into the air as if a great explosion had gone off! Car sized chunks of rubble flew high into the air and kept going...

Indeed, gravity itself seemed... off... Some rubble slowed, spinning as if near weightless, others shot out beyond sight into the darkness of the night sky, still others hung motionless in the air...

"What... what has Moriarty done?" asked Holmes, stuttering as a great fear came over him.

Captain Savage pulled his gun out but the weapon fell from nerveless hands. "I... c...c...can't s...s...s...stop my t...t...t...teeth chattering." said the fearless adventurer. "What... what is happening?" he asked with vapour forming on his breath. The others were paralysed by fear and there came a green mist forming around their feet and boiling up into the air...

Something else rose up into the air. It rose up... and up... and up...

The NEW Vanguard TEAM UP! Haunt Issue #14 with special guest star Steeplejack! - Page 3 Cthulu-rising

The NEW Vanguard TEAM UP! Haunt Issue #14 with special guest star Steeplejack! - Page 3 Cthulu-rising

It was still rising and dwarfed Anjali as she raised a burning torch above her head, looking up and up...

"It's... it's so... Alien..." she said, somewhat ironic since she was an Alien herself.

The thing kept getting bigger... and bigger... and bigger...

Screaming could be heard elsewhere in the ruins - it seemed the Cultists thought they were ready for the appearance of an ancient evil such as this, but the human mind - whether living or undead - was never meant to deal with the ancient evil that rose above the ruins of the castle it now dwarfed...

DavidMcMahon Wed Dec 07 2022, 03:21

"Holmes! Gather everyone around the Grail. It may protect you somewhat from its ... influence," the Haunt snaps. "So what's the plan, partner? Hit it with everything we got and avoid being hit in return?"

Steeple_jackuk Wed Dec 07 2022, 09:02

DavidMcMahon wrote:"Holmes! Gather everyone around the Grail. It may protect you somewhat from its ... influence," the Haunt snaps. "So what's the plan, partner? Hit it with everything we got and avoid being hit in return?"

Steeplejack had, had a long run as a hero, considering the life style that came with inevitably putting oneself in constant danger. But there was a feeling that this, this might be the end. But something within him, strong and resolute like the very soil he stood on and could manipulate some how gave him strength. Something of the land, something of the world and perhaps more than that stood up in him at that point.

Evil couldn't be allowed to triumph even if it would cost him dearly. "Yes, I figure that is what we need to do."

OOC: OK I am with Dave on this, but I had a thought if there is some way that Moriarty is himself got a Achilles heel here? Is there some way that this is all tied to a piece of the land, some mystic symbol or some other property. Now the grail isn't in play, I wonder if something else is. And if disrupting that might bring this house of cards down. If not, then for now - it seems our only choice it to be the most annoying flies we can be before we're swatted.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Wed Dec 07 2022, 12:57

""Double team him, attacking simultaneously from two sides," the Haunt asks as he prepares himself.

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