A sane person with great power in the world of Worm. What all will you change?
Celestial Warlock Quest (D&D 5e/Worm Crossover)
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Pre-Prologue
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hello Sufficient Velocity, I am a long time lurker, first time poster. The premise of this quest is that you will be playing a person in the universe of Wildbow's Parahumans who gains the powers of a celestial warlock from 5e D&D. The exact knowledge of your patron and the nature of your patron will be a mystery (how did a D&D celestial end up in the multiverse of Worm? What type of celestial is it? Is it a celestial, or just a sapient shard?). Don't expect these questions to be answered in the near future, if at all. Feel free to theorize, though. : D
The overall structure of the quest is that your character, (which you will be voting on in the next post) is tasked with redeeming, arresting, or if absolutely necessary killing, every villain in the city you live in. Thus, the quest will have a defined end point (either with you dying, or succeeding).
On to how I plan on doing some things:
If you are at all interested in some of the back-end mechanics of how I will be doing some of this stuff, this is the inspiration for the mechanics of the other parahumans powers. For your character I will attempt to translate the mechanics of 5e into the real world.
As an example: for the purposes of translation four HP from D&D is 1 lethal wound in weaverdice. 0 dots is a stat of 4, 1 dot is an eight, etc.
HP and damage
Explanation 2 in this link is how I think of HP in D&D. I understand that in 5e the explanation of HP is: "Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck". I am pointing this out so that you all know that I understand that is the case. I don't want anyone to get on my back for doing things "wrong" in regards to the PC.
Feel free to ask questions! If it is a question I have already answered I will post the page that it is answered on. If this quest does really well and goes on for hundreds of pages I may just say it is already posted and trust the other questers to find it.
Omakes will get a reward based on the quality of the work. As this is my first quest I may end up tinkering around with how that all works.
I plan to close the voting on any chapter one week after I post said chapter, or when it gets ten votes, whichever takes longer (I reserve the right to change this). I intend to have the following chapter out within at least a month. (I'd like to say faster, but I can't commit to that. I will try to have them out a week or two after the voting closes.)
Lastly, as an experiment with voting, where do you all want the quest to take place?
[ ] Aurora, Colorado
[ ] Seattle, Washington
[ ] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aurora is interesting in that it is within 10 miles of Denver (Dept 21), so you will have to worry that if you are too effective the villains of Denver may come over to fill the power vacuum. With that in mind this is still the easiest option.
Seattle, one of the most northern bastions of power for the Elite. This interstate crime group has many favors and much resources to throw at you. When anyone can owe them a favor, who and how much can you trust? This is the medium option.
Philadelphia is a big city with strong heroes and villains. As the #5 department of the PRT, the villains have risen to match. With a long history of mercantile uses of superpowers and a cape scene of heavy hitters, inertia will be your biggest problem in making change. This is the hardest option.
The overall structure of the quest is that your character, (which you will be voting on in the next post) is tasked with redeeming, arresting, or if absolutely necessary killing, every villain in the city you live in. Thus, the quest will have a defined end point (either with you dying, or succeeding).
On to how I plan on doing some things:
If you are at all interested in some of the back-end mechanics of how I will be doing some of this stuff, this is the inspiration for the mechanics of the other parahumans powers. For your character I will attempt to translate the mechanics of 5e into the real world.
As an example: for the purposes of translation four HP from D&D is 1 lethal wound in weaverdice. 0 dots is a stat of 4, 1 dot is an eight, etc.
HP and damage
Explanation 2 in this link is how I think of HP in D&D. I understand that in 5e the explanation of HP is: "Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck". I am pointing this out so that you all know that I understand that is the case. I don't want anyone to get on my back for doing things "wrong" in regards to the PC.
Feel free to ask questions! If it is a question I have already answered I will post the page that it is answered on. If this quest does really well and goes on for hundreds of pages I may just say it is already posted and trust the other questers to find it.
Omakes will get a reward based on the quality of the work. As this is my first quest I may end up tinkering around with how that all works.
I plan to close the voting on any chapter one week after I post said chapter, or when it gets ten votes, whichever takes longer (I reserve the right to change this). I intend to have the following chapter out within at least a month. (I'd like to say faster, but I can't commit to that. I will try to have them out a week or two after the voting closes.)
Lastly, as an experiment with voting, where do you all want the quest to take place?
[ ] Aurora, Colorado
[ ] Seattle, Washington
[ ] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aurora is interesting in that it is within 10 miles of Denver (Dept 21), so you will have to worry that if you are too effective the villains of Denver may come over to fill the power vacuum. With that in mind this is still the easiest option.
Seattle, one of the most northern bastions of power for the Elite. This interstate crime group has many favors and much resources to throw at you. When anyone can owe them a favor, who and how much can you trust? This is the medium option.
Philadelphia is a big city with strong heroes and villains. As the #5 department of the PRT, the villains have risen to match. With a long history of mercantile uses of superpowers and a cape scene of heavy hitters, inertia will be your biggest problem in making change. This is the hardest option.
Last edited:
Prologue-1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You find yourself gently floating in the midst of the void between stars. Despite the situation, all you feel is a warm contentment. No cold fear, hot anger, or muddy confusion. Lazily looking around, there is nothing near you; only the endless dark and glimmering stars in the far distance.
...
......
..........
You are unsure of how long you have been floating in that empty space. After both an eternity and a single moment, a star forms, blinding you.
After blinking the sunspots out of your eyes, you find yourself now able to hear. This dream-like logic makes perfect sense and you simply bask in the glory of the sight in front of you.
Now surrounding the star there is a ring-like sea of red gas, stretching vast distances in every direction. Swimming, flying and teleporting through this sea is a zoo of diverse winged beings. Some seem humanoid, if giant and with skin of bronze, gold, or alabaster. Others have three extra animal heads and an extra pair of wings. Some remind you of an orrery, with rings inside of rings, all of them lined with eyes and wings.
The one thing that links them all together is that they seem to be singing, chanting and crying in some melodic language. Hearing this choir calms you into a state of bliss. You realize that you could listen to this forever. Even after a million, million years you still wouldn't get tired or bored of it.
One the members of this choir, a humanoid creature with skin glowing bronze, veers off from the Dance-Without-End and flies towards you. It is difficult to gauge distance in this celestial scale but, with each beat of its massive wings you think it must be finally getting close. By the time it is within a few hundred feet of you, you feel as though you would need to crane your head to look at it in your normal body.
"Greetings and salutations. I am Kabaiel," the being thunders.
"It's an honor to meet you, I am-"
[ ] -Robert Cordato."
You grew up as an only child. Your parents Matthiew and Linda were encouraging, helping to foster your intellect and curiosity. You did theater and excelled in academics as you grew up. Because of your hard work, you have yet to find a problem that can't be solved. Earlier in the year you just finished university at La Salle University with a dual Bachelors in Entertainment and Psychology.
[ ] -Carson Bailey."
You were a hyperactive kid, and have a younger brother named Travis. You switched between private and public school as you grew up. Your dad died of cancer when you were fourteen and in the wake of that your mom showed you what strength really is. This caused you to step up as an ambassador between the different cliques in school. Your athleticism got you a swimming scholarship for a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Hussain college.
[ ] -John Bradley."
You grew up in the Boy Scouts with a constant drive feeling you had something to prove. Your father loved to hunt in the Allegheny National Forest and when you were old enough he would bring you along. That respect for nature and the outdoors stuck with you leading you to pursue the job of a park ranger. You have a job as a Park Ranger in Wissahickon Valley Park.
[ ] -Marshall Fraser."
You have two older sisters and a younger sister. Growing up in rural West Chester Pennsylvania you were the peacemaker in a chaotic house. That "training" meant that you were a natural diplomat in forming teams in school. As such, you became the tennis team captain all throughout high-school and into college, leading your teams to victory and consoling them after defeats. Now that you are out of school, you are living in Philadelphia with a job set up as a guard at a museum.
...
......
..........
You are unsure of how long you have been floating in that empty space. After both an eternity and a single moment, a star forms, blinding you.
After blinking the sunspots out of your eyes, you find yourself now able to hear. This dream-like logic makes perfect sense and you simply bask in the glory of the sight in front of you.
Now surrounding the star there is a ring-like sea of red gas, stretching vast distances in every direction. Swimming, flying and teleporting through this sea is a zoo of diverse winged beings. Some seem humanoid, if giant and with skin of bronze, gold, or alabaster. Others have three extra animal heads and an extra pair of wings. Some remind you of an orrery, with rings inside of rings, all of them lined with eyes and wings.
The one thing that links them all together is that they seem to be singing, chanting and crying in some melodic language. Hearing this choir calms you into a state of bliss. You realize that you could listen to this forever. Even after a million, million years you still wouldn't get tired or bored of it.
One the members of this choir, a humanoid creature with skin glowing bronze, veers off from the Dance-Without-End and flies towards you. It is difficult to gauge distance in this celestial scale but, with each beat of its massive wings you think it must be finally getting close. By the time it is within a few hundred feet of you, you feel as though you would need to crane your head to look at it in your normal body.
"Greetings and salutations. I am Kabaiel," the being thunders.
"It's an honor to meet you, I am-"
[ ] -Robert Cordato."
You grew up as an only child. Your parents Matthiew and Linda were encouraging, helping to foster your intellect and curiosity. You did theater and excelled in academics as you grew up. Because of your hard work, you have yet to find a problem that can't be solved. Earlier in the year you just finished university at La Salle University with a dual Bachelors in Entertainment and Psychology.
[ ] -Carson Bailey."
You were a hyperactive kid, and have a younger brother named Travis. You switched between private and public school as you grew up. Your dad died of cancer when you were fourteen and in the wake of that your mom showed you what strength really is. This caused you to step up as an ambassador between the different cliques in school. Your athleticism got you a swimming scholarship for a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Hussain college.
[ ] -John Bradley."
You grew up in the Boy Scouts with a constant drive feeling you had something to prove. Your father loved to hunt in the Allegheny National Forest and when you were old enough he would bring you along. That respect for nature and the outdoors stuck with you leading you to pursue the job of a park ranger. You have a job as a Park Ranger in Wissahickon Valley Park.
[ ] -Marshall Fraser."
You have two older sisters and a younger sister. Growing up in rural West Chester Pennsylvania you were the peacemaker in a chaotic house. That "training" meant that you were a natural diplomat in forming teams in school. As such, you became the tennis team captain all throughout high-school and into college, leading your teams to victory and consoling them after defeats. Now that you are out of school, you are living in Philadelphia with a job set up as a guard at a museum.
Prologue-2
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"-John Bradley."
"Well, Jonathan Bradley I must ask: the world you are from is a broken place, are you willing to take on the burden of repairing it?"
"Of course, but I can't, or-or I suppose I can't do more than I am. I try to be a helpful and giving person, but despite what I have, that isn't enough."
"That charity and dedication to good is why you are being offered this power." At that, the being plucks a glowing feather out of its wing and presents it to you. This glittering feather is near the same size as you. "To prove the nature of your soul my creator has decided to give you some minor powers to begin with. If you use them in a righteous way then they will grow."
Bubbling up from the depths of your soul, you begin to chant an oath as you grasp the feather between your arms.
At that, you wake.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pick 2 cantrips from the following:
[ ] Chill touch
Representing a colder side of your patron, this ability will let you manifest the cold of the grave as a hand on an enemy nearby. If it is able to cling to them, while it lasts, if they have a regeneration power this chill will inhibit that power, in addition to removing some of their life force.
[ ] Eldritch blast
This will allow you to shoot a beam of crackling energy to an enemy in sight. It is unlikely that they will have any resistance to this projectile.
[ ] Mage hand
You can create a spectral, floating hand nearby. If you focus you can use it to do anything that you can do with your regular hand.
[ ] Minor illusion
Using a bit of fleece this power will let you create a small and harmless illusion.
[ ] Prestidigitation
This is a catch all for minor magical effects. Things like a temporary small mark on a surface, a faint odor, the ability to put out a candle from a few feet away.
[ ] Write-in for: Blade ward, Friends, Poison Spray, True Strike
(The write in spells are ones that I don't see as being particularly useful/in character for John, but I am open to hearing convincing arguments. As an example, I don't see how Poison Spray makes much sense for a celestial warlock, but feel free to convince me.)
Pick 2 spells from the following:
[ ] Armor of Agathys
This will create a barrier of cold that will manifest as armor. Anyone who strikes the armor from nearby will be hit by a retaliatory strike, as long as the armor lasts. It will last until either an hour passes or it gets hit with a mighty blow.
[ ] Comprehend Languages
This will allow you to understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear. You also understand any written language that you see, but you must be touching the surface on which the words are written.
[ ] Expeditious Retreat
This will allow you to sprint at near double speed for a while, only requiring a bit of focus.
[ ] Heavenly Rebuke
If a nearby creature harms you this will allow you to respond in kind, with a flare of fire. For people without durability enhancement it is likely to be lethal. With that in mind a target can dodge out of the way of some of the blast
[ ] Thunderwave
This power will allow you to create a wave of thunderous force to sweep out in a nearby cube. People will be hurt and perhaps pushed away and unsecured objects within the area of effect are automatically pushed 10 feet away from you.
[ ] Unseen Servant
This will allow you to create an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command. If you command it to perform a task far away from you it will disappear.
[ ] Witch Bolt
This will allow you to create a beam of crackling, blue energy which lances out toward a creature nearby, forming a sustained arc of lightning between you and the target. You can cause this lighting to continue to strike at the person
[ ] Write in: Arms of Hadar, Charm Person, Hex, Illusory Script, Protection from Evil and Good
New powers that you gain either way:
Healing Light
With a bit of focus you can provide a soothing light to heal the wounds of those around you. This pool of energy will start small but will grow with your experience.
Cantrips
Sacred flame-
You can call down a pillar of holy light to judge your foes. They may be able to doge out of the blast, but as long as you can see them you can try again.
Light-
Should you have something that was glowing when it was alive, perhaps a firefly, glow worm, or jellyfish, you can cause another object you hold to glow for some time.
Spells.
Cure wounds-
Should you need additional healing energy this will let you heal nearly any wound to the skin, muscles, or organs of an individual.
Guiding bolt-
If even greater smiting power is needed, this bolt of divine wrath will give you that power. Even if the foe still stands, you or an ally can rush up and the attack will be magnetized to your foe.
"Well, Jonathan Bradley I must ask: the world you are from is a broken place, are you willing to take on the burden of repairing it?"
"Of course, but I can't, or-or I suppose I can't do more than I am. I try to be a helpful and giving person, but despite what I have, that isn't enough."
"That charity and dedication to good is why you are being offered this power." At that, the being plucks a glowing feather out of its wing and presents it to you. This glittering feather is near the same size as you. "To prove the nature of your soul my creator has decided to give you some minor powers to begin with. If you use them in a righteous way then they will grow."
Bubbling up from the depths of your soul, you begin to chant an oath as you grasp the feather between your arms.
"I vow I will act with Wisdom.
I will understand the world and people around me.
I will learn from the mistakes I make.
I will plan and prepare for the future.
I vow I will act with Justice.
I will grant mercy to those I have defeated.
I will give compassion to those in pain.
I will dispense judgment on those who have gone too far.
I vow I will act with Forbearance.
I will be patient, for time is no-ones fault.
I will be valorous, for fear is the mind-killer.
I will persevere, for what is right is rarely easy.
I vow I will act with Restraint.
I will have moderation, for I must be clear headed at all times.
I will forgive, for hate helps no-one good.
I will have humility, for arrogance is a subtle corruption."
I will understand the world and people around me.
I will learn from the mistakes I make.
I will plan and prepare for the future.
I vow I will act with Justice.
I will grant mercy to those I have defeated.
I will give compassion to those in pain.
I will dispense judgment on those who have gone too far.
I vow I will act with Forbearance.
I will be patient, for time is no-ones fault.
I will be valorous, for fear is the mind-killer.
I will persevere, for what is right is rarely easy.
I vow I will act with Restraint.
I will have moderation, for I must be clear headed at all times.
I will forgive, for hate helps no-one good.
I will have humility, for arrogance is a subtle corruption."
At that, you wake.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pick 2 cantrips from the following:
[ ] Chill touch
Representing a colder side of your patron, this ability will let you manifest the cold of the grave as a hand on an enemy nearby. If it is able to cling to them, while it lasts, if they have a regeneration power this chill will inhibit that power, in addition to removing some of their life force.
[ ] Eldritch blast
This will allow you to shoot a beam of crackling energy to an enemy in sight. It is unlikely that they will have any resistance to this projectile.
[ ] Mage hand
You can create a spectral, floating hand nearby. If you focus you can use it to do anything that you can do with your regular hand.
[ ] Minor illusion
Using a bit of fleece this power will let you create a small and harmless illusion.
[ ] Prestidigitation
This is a catch all for minor magical effects. Things like a temporary small mark on a surface, a faint odor, the ability to put out a candle from a few feet away.
[ ] Write-in for: Blade ward, Friends, Poison Spray, True Strike
(The write in spells are ones that I don't see as being particularly useful/in character for John, but I am open to hearing convincing arguments. As an example, I don't see how Poison Spray makes much sense for a celestial warlock, but feel free to convince me.)
Pick 2 spells from the following:
[ ] Armor of Agathys
This will create a barrier of cold that will manifest as armor. Anyone who strikes the armor from nearby will be hit by a retaliatory strike, as long as the armor lasts. It will last until either an hour passes or it gets hit with a mighty blow.
[ ] Comprehend Languages
This will allow you to understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear. You also understand any written language that you see, but you must be touching the surface on which the words are written.
[ ] Expeditious Retreat
This will allow you to sprint at near double speed for a while, only requiring a bit of focus.
[ ] Heavenly Rebuke
If a nearby creature harms you this will allow you to respond in kind, with a flare of fire. For people without durability enhancement it is likely to be lethal. With that in mind a target can dodge out of the way of some of the blast
[ ] Thunderwave
This power will allow you to create a wave of thunderous force to sweep out in a nearby cube. People will be hurt and perhaps pushed away and unsecured objects within the area of effect are automatically pushed 10 feet away from you.
[ ] Unseen Servant
This will allow you to create an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command. If you command it to perform a task far away from you it will disappear.
[ ] Witch Bolt
This will allow you to create a beam of crackling, blue energy which lances out toward a creature nearby, forming a sustained arc of lightning between you and the target. You can cause this lighting to continue to strike at the person
[ ] Write in: Arms of Hadar, Charm Person, Hex, Illusory Script, Protection from Evil and Good
New powers that you gain either way:
Healing Light
With a bit of focus you can provide a soothing light to heal the wounds of those around you. This pool of energy will start small but will grow with your experience.
Cantrips
Sacred flame-
You can call down a pillar of holy light to judge your foes. They may be able to doge out of the blast, but as long as you can see them you can try again.
Light-
Should you have something that was glowing when it was alive, perhaps a firefly, glow worm, or jellyfish, you can cause another object you hold to glow for some time.
Spells.
Cure wounds-
Should you need additional healing energy this will let you heal nearly any wound to the skin, muscles, or organs of an individual.
Guiding bolt-
If even greater smiting power is needed, this bolt of divine wrath will give you that power. Even if the foe still stands, you or an ally can rush up and the attack will be magnetized to your foe.
Last edited:
Prologue-3
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Upon waking up you stretch and feel an odd tightness in your chest. Still half-asleep you roll over and check your alarm clock. After noting that it is three minute before your alarm will go off, you sit up, scratch your chest and turn off your alarm.
Absentmindedly, you feel something hard under your shirt. It isn't until you start to get dressed and see something metallic embedded in the skin of your sternum that you wake up fully. At first glance it seems to be a tattoo or necklace made out of gold. Your finger traces the spiral, and feels the pulsing, puckered skin around it.
Is it embedded in me? you think to yourself in shock.
You dig into the skin around the spiral and try to pull the gold wire out of you, which causes a freezing pain to spider web across your body. A few drops of blood seep out from under the gold.
Well ... I probably shouldn't do that again, you think dryly in a boneless heap on the floor.
By the time you recover from the pain, the area around the spiral has scared over. You sit up and can see the tissue on your chest slowly growing over the gold, like a time-lapse of a plant creeping along the ground.
It is at this point that you remember the vivid dream you were only just in. What exactly was it? You've never heard of a crisis point like that, adding to the confusion, you had been sleeping, not doing anything noteworthy. You weren't like Comet, trying to break a world record and gaining a dash power in the process.
After calming down, you get up and start to make eggs while you think. You know that if you have powers like that angelic being said, you won't be able to stand idly by, while your city falls apart around you. If that dream really was your crisis point then you can't go to the hospital to get the weird gold thing in you, looked at.
Now that you can feel the energy coalescing inside of yourself and a sense of anticipation, what will you do next?
[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----Sell ( )
-----Work ( )
[ ] Rest ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How I am going to give the quest a bit of structure is through an action system. You get five actions to represent the time you are spending outside of obligations over the course of a week. You can put any number of actions into an option, creating different results. Sometimes investing heavily in an option will mean the chance of failure goes down, other times it means the success (if achieved) will be even better, and certain goals simply require a flat number of actions.
---Action---
This category broadly covers interaction with villains. If something happens here, there is a good chance of you entering a combat encounter.
Patrol
This action is you going out into the city (presumably costumed), and looking for crimes to stop. You need to pick a zone of the city to patrol in.
Task
The task action is your character attempting to complete a mission. Whether it is a drug sting, working with the Protectorate against a villain, or protecting a figure from assassination, all of these would be under the umbrella of "Task".
Scout
Scouting refers to the act of in-person investigation. These are the sorts of things that can't be researched online and you need to do in person scouting to find out.
---Network---
Networking in this context is about building up a rapport with a group or individual. Building favors and increasing reputation in the cape scene. Certain actions you can take will lower your reputation with certain factions, thus you can think of reputation as a social currency.
Protectorate
The largest, most well funded, and strongest single faction in the city. Networking with them could involve: handing over criminals you have captured, agreeing to patrol specific areas, and giving them a better idea of your powers.
Corporate
Corporate heroes are a mix of crime fighters and celebrities. Networking with them could involve: informing them of criminal groups that these heroes are equipped to stop, healing them after battles or increasing their PR.
Other
Other is the catch all for any other group in the cape scene. Independent heroes, Rogues, or even villains that you are trying to redeem.
---Research---
Research is any form of investigation that does not pose a risk of putting your character in danger. Looking through the internet, browsing a library, or conducting tests on your powers.
Learn about factions
This is intended to let you fill out the factions section of the character sheet. The corporate heroes, protectorate heroes, independent and part time heroes, the rogues and gangs of the city.
Self
This is intended to let you learn about your own powers in more detail. If you want concrete hard numbers, doing this will give them to you.
Individuals
If you want to discover something about a specific person rather than a whole group this is the action you want to take.
---Resources---
Anything involving money is under the umbrella of resources.
Buy
If you want to buy something that could affect your wealth tier, this is the action to take.
Sell
If you gain something that you want to sell, this is the action to take. Whether it is some type of power generated object, tinkertech, or something you have legally acquired that you don't want, this will let you sell it.
Work
Everyone has a day job, and this is to represent you taking extra shifts. Based on the number of actions invested this will give a chance of increasing your wealth tier.
---Rest---
If you need to recover from something (exhaustion, status effects, ect) this will let you do that, in some cases it will provide a bonus to that roll. Additionally, when you get the necessary XP to level up, this will let you.
---Write-in---
If there is anything that doesn't fit in the categories above, or you want to do something super specific, this is the option for that.
Absentmindedly, you feel something hard under your shirt. It isn't until you start to get dressed and see something metallic embedded in the skin of your sternum that you wake up fully. At first glance it seems to be a tattoo or necklace made out of gold. Your finger traces the spiral, and feels the pulsing, puckered skin around it.
Is it embedded in me? you think to yourself in shock.
You dig into the skin around the spiral and try to pull the gold wire out of you, which causes a freezing pain to spider web across your body. A few drops of blood seep out from under the gold.
Well ... I probably shouldn't do that again, you think dryly in a boneless heap on the floor.
By the time you recover from the pain, the area around the spiral has scared over. You sit up and can see the tissue on your chest slowly growing over the gold, like a time-lapse of a plant creeping along the ground.
It is at this point that you remember the vivid dream you were only just in. What exactly was it? You've never heard of a crisis point like that, adding to the confusion, you had been sleeping, not doing anything noteworthy. You weren't like Comet, trying to break a world record and gaining a dash power in the process.
After calming down, you get up and start to make eggs while you think. You know that if you have powers like that angelic being said, you won't be able to stand idly by, while your city falls apart around you. If that dream really was your crisis point then you can't go to the hospital to get the weird gold thing in you, looked at.
Now that you can feel the energy coalescing inside of yourself and a sense of anticipation, what will you do next?
[ ] Action
-----
-----
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----
-----Work ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How I am going to give the quest a bit of structure is through an action system. You get five actions to represent the time you are spending outside of obligations over the course of a week. You can put any number of actions into an option, creating different results. Sometimes investing heavily in an option will mean the chance of failure goes down, other times it means the success (if achieved) will be even better, and certain goals simply require a flat number of actions.
---Action---
This category broadly covers interaction with villains. If something happens here, there is a good chance of you entering a combat encounter.
Patrol
This action is you going out into the city (presumably costumed), and looking for crimes to stop. You need to pick a zone of the city to patrol in.
Task
The task action is your character attempting to complete a mission. Whether it is a drug sting, working with the Protectorate against a villain, or protecting a figure from assassination, all of these would be under the umbrella of "Task".
Scout
Scouting refers to the act of in-person investigation. These are the sorts of things that can't be researched online and you need to do in person scouting to find out.
---Network---
Networking in this context is about building up a rapport with a group or individual. Building favors and increasing reputation in the cape scene. Certain actions you can take will lower your reputation with certain factions, thus you can think of reputation as a social currency.
Protectorate
The largest, most well funded, and strongest single faction in the city. Networking with them could involve: handing over criminals you have captured, agreeing to patrol specific areas, and giving them a better idea of your powers.
Corporate
Corporate heroes are a mix of crime fighters and celebrities. Networking with them could involve: informing them of criminal groups that these heroes are equipped to stop, healing them after battles or increasing their PR.
Other
Other is the catch all for any other group in the cape scene. Independent heroes, Rogues, or even villains that you are trying to redeem.
---Research---
Research is any form of investigation that does not pose a risk of putting your character in danger. Looking through the internet, browsing a library, or conducting tests on your powers.
Learn about factions
This is intended to let you fill out the factions section of the character sheet. The corporate heroes, protectorate heroes, independent and part time heroes, the rogues and gangs of the city.
Self
This is intended to let you learn about your own powers in more detail. If you want concrete hard numbers, doing this will give them to you.
Individuals
If you want to discover something about a specific person rather than a whole group this is the action you want to take.
---Resources---
Anything involving money is under the umbrella of resources.
Buy
If you want to buy something that could affect your wealth tier, this is the action to take.
Sell
If you gain something that you want to sell, this is the action to take. Whether it is some type of power generated object, tinkertech, or something you have legally acquired that you don't want, this will let you sell it.
Work
Everyone has a day job, and this is to represent you taking extra shifts. Based on the number of actions invested this will give a chance of increasing your wealth tier.
---Rest---
If you need to recover from something (exhaustion, status effects, ect) this will let you do that, in some cases it will provide a bonus to that roll. Additionally, when you get the necessary XP to level up, this will let you.
---Write-in---
If there is anything that doesn't fit in the categories above, or you want to do something super specific, this is the option for that.
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Discovery-1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Before anything else, you decide you need to understand just what you can do.
Since you have the day to yourself, you start with testing the "Mage Hand" ability. After all, you aren't in the habit of keeping around enemies and you would rather not destroy your apartment. Without even having a clear idea of the process, you instinctually go through the song and dance of casting the spell.
The physical portion is halfway between an interpretive dance and signing a sentence in sign language. The verbal part of the casting is in a language you don't know, but whatever the words are, you speak in a sing-songy poetic style. Once you complete the process, forming in a swirl of cyan light is a translucent hand. You can feel a thin tether connecting it to you, like some kind of extra phantom limb.
The first thing you test, is to see how fast you can move it. In contrast to the ponderous bobbing, the hand is able to keep up when you jog around your apartment. It must be able to fly at around eight miles an hour then. Next you see how dexterous it is, and anything you are able to do with your own hands you are able to do with the phantom hand. Opening doors, writing, even chopping vegetables for your lunch. After an hour of experimenting the hand disappears. In that time you learn a few of the limitations of the hand.
For whatever reason if it gets more than thirty feet from you it vanishes. If you try to lift too heavy of an object, the hand simply fazes through to the other side. When you try to make two, the older hand no longer exists the moment the newer hand is formed.
Once you are satisfied with the discoveries you have made with the first ability, you phone your brother to get a firefly. While you both have an interest in nature, the directions your lives have gone, and the way that interest has expressed itself is different. For you it became your profession, for him it's his hobbies; gardening, fish, and the pertinent hobby in this case: insect collections.
"Hey bro, this is John. How much would it bother you to give up a firefly," you say.
"Well," he starts. "The season ended not too long ago, so I would have to wait until next year at the minimum. At the very least I would need to know it is going to a good cause."
"Are you free today?" you ask.
"If need be I can come over, I assume you want me to bring along the real reason you want me to come over," he says with a fake pout.
"Ahh, you saw through my lie," you say, shaking your fist in mock anger. "Yeah, also if you could bring along some tools I will message you, that would be awesome."
"If there is no particular delay I will be there in fifteen minutes," he says.
"See you then."
"Bye."
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Clad in cargo shorts with pockets filled to near bursting, a plain t-shirt, and thick rimmed glasses, is your baby-faced younger brother. Panting from ascending the flights of stairs to your apartment, he unslings his backpack onto your couch and collapses next to it.
"So," you start awkwardly. "I think I triggered in my sleep."
"What?" he yelps.
In response, you create the spectral hand. Your brother sits up and begins to examine it.
While he starts looking at it you say, "I have no clue how it happened. It's not like I am having a hard time, or even that I had some great accomplishment."
He looks up to you and you can see his mind churning behind his eyes.
"Yeah, that's why I asked for those tools, the next power I want to test is light based," you continue.
While he is mulling this information over you get out the box that has the firefly in it and grab the ambient light meter. He silently follows you into the guestroom that you outfitted to block all the potential light.
The first few tests that the two of you do are in near silence, with only the rustling of your moving around and the chant that is required to create the light. The light provides a consistent output of between two-hundred forty and two-hundred seventy lumens.
After a few of the tests your brother speaks up. "How are you…really."
"I'm-," you instinctively want to say you're fine, but that isn't quite true. "-Confused? Excited? Nervous? I don't really know yet."
"Part of the reason I asked, not just because you are my brother and I love you," he says. "But also because from the classes I took, the types of powers like this tend to have more negative trigger events. "
"Powers like this?" you ask.
"Ones that have conditions," he clarifies. "I mean, you need a lightning bug and some kind of invocation?" he finishes incredulously.
"Yeah, I never took any of the parahuman studies classes," you say.
"You know," your brother ventures, "the PRT has way better testing facilities."
"I am considering talking to them, even if I do though, I want to have a better idea of what I can do. That being said, I'm not certain that I do want to join them full time. I need to think about it. Let's get started on the offensive powers."
The two of you spend the next couple of hours trying to activate your "eldritch blast" and "sacred flame" powers. You start by seeing if you can call up and hold the energy in your hands, to no effect. Next you try to target a cast iron pan that you prop up onto the wall, when that doesn't work you print out a picture of Bacchus and tape it to the pan and try that. Then, you try seeing if range is the problem, both seeing if you need to be closer or further away. You try to see if emotional changes would affect anything. The last idea that seems plausible is that you need to be outside, which you are not comfortable testing at the moment.
Frustrated and disappointed, you decide to move on to testing "Armor of Agathys". You splash your front with a cup of water then you reach deep into your being and grab the orb of power that until now you didn't notice. Clenching it, you direct the resultant explosion of power into a protective cold. In the real world, you and your brother see a frost crawl up the wet part of your shirt. For some inexplicable reason, the spectral frost that hardens your shirt doesn't feel particularly cold to you, despite the forming mist.
Your brother taps one of the formed ice spikes, "what does it feel like?"
You think for a moment, "it is a bit stiff, and slightly cold but not uncomfortable."
"You said, it protects from attacks and retaliates with another strike?" he asks.
"No, you are not attacking it," you say exasperated.
He shrugs and says, "well, if you say so." He then grabs out of his backpack several types of thermometers.
"What is the temp?" you ask.
After a moment he says, "minus ten?"
"Really? I would think it is warmer, it barely feels like fifty degrees," you say. "I mean, I know it has to be lower than thirty-two degrees-wait." Even before you say anything you know the answer, "-do you mean Fahrenheit or Celsius?"
"Celsius, of course," he says matter-of-factly.
You wipe your hand down your face and declare, "I'm not switching to Celsius."
"I made peace with the fact that I am the only sane one between us a long time ago," he responds, deadpan.
"Alright Mr. Sane, which one of us is gainfully employed. A correct answer gets you some pizza."
While the two of you have fun spending time together (and eating pizza), more progress is made in discovering anything else about your new powers. As you wait to see how long the "Armor" lasts, you can feel the orb of power inside you slowly reform. Not long after the armor melts off, it fully reforms. You test the healing power on yourself with little effect. That proves that the orb takes about an hour to reform. Once there is little else to discover, you let Joel head back to his homework.
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It is a few days later when you find out something new. You are in your office and a fly is buzzing around your face. It has avoided your swats for the last half hour so, making sure that none of your coworkers are nearby you try to blast it. A bolt of white plasma-like light arcs to the fly leaving no trace behind. Sitting there in shock, you simply stare at where the fly once was.
As the adrenalin rush fades, you finish your reports for the day then head out for a final patrol. When you find yourself in a secluded area, you experiment with using both "eldritch blast" and "sacred flame". You don't hurt any animals intentionally, and there seems to not be any collateral damage, even though the blasts are much larger than any of the targets.
Eventually, you establish that all of the offensive abilities that you have only affect the intended living creature. Additionally the blast works from much further away; over one-hundred feet in fact. It is during this time that you hear a distressed whining noise. You follow the noise to its source and find the matted fur of a small animal under a log.
You lift up the log and the whining picks up to a harsh squeal. There is a sickening wet noise as, what you now see is a rabbit that was partially impaled by part of the log, slides off the log onto the ground with a muffled thump. You reach down, touch the animal and infuse it with healing power. It softly glows with blue-white light, and you watch as the wound in its side scars over. Before you can check it any more, the newly healed rabbit jumps off into the park.
[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----Sell ( )
-----Work ( )
[ ] Rest ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whew, that ballooned out more than I expected (when I started, I was worried there wouldn't be enough). Now that this is in the meat of things I will probably be taking more time to write these. For now, I should be able to have them out within 1 week of the vote closing, but that may not always be the case.
Since you have the day to yourself, you start with testing the "Mage Hand" ability. After all, you aren't in the habit of keeping around enemies and you would rather not destroy your apartment. Without even having a clear idea of the process, you instinctually go through the song and dance of casting the spell.
The physical portion is halfway between an interpretive dance and signing a sentence in sign language. The verbal part of the casting is in a language you don't know, but whatever the words are, you speak in a sing-songy poetic style. Once you complete the process, forming in a swirl of cyan light is a translucent hand. You can feel a thin tether connecting it to you, like some kind of extra phantom limb.
The first thing you test, is to see how fast you can move it. In contrast to the ponderous bobbing, the hand is able to keep up when you jog around your apartment. It must be able to fly at around eight miles an hour then. Next you see how dexterous it is, and anything you are able to do with your own hands you are able to do with the phantom hand. Opening doors, writing, even chopping vegetables for your lunch. After an hour of experimenting the hand disappears. In that time you learn a few of the limitations of the hand.
For whatever reason if it gets more than thirty feet from you it vanishes. If you try to lift too heavy of an object, the hand simply fazes through to the other side. When you try to make two, the older hand no longer exists the moment the newer hand is formed.
Once you are satisfied with the discoveries you have made with the first ability, you phone your brother to get a firefly. While you both have an interest in nature, the directions your lives have gone, and the way that interest has expressed itself is different. For you it became your profession, for him it's his hobbies; gardening, fish, and the pertinent hobby in this case: insect collections.
"Hey bro, this is John. How much would it bother you to give up a firefly," you say.
"Well," he starts. "The season ended not too long ago, so I would have to wait until next year at the minimum. At the very least I would need to know it is going to a good cause."
"Are you free today?" you ask.
"If need be I can come over, I assume you want me to bring along the real reason you want me to come over," he says with a fake pout.
"Ahh, you saw through my lie," you say, shaking your fist in mock anger. "Yeah, also if you could bring along some tools I will message you, that would be awesome."
"If there is no particular delay I will be there in fifteen minutes," he says.
"See you then."
"Bye."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clad in cargo shorts with pockets filled to near bursting, a plain t-shirt, and thick rimmed glasses, is your baby-faced younger brother. Panting from ascending the flights of stairs to your apartment, he unslings his backpack onto your couch and collapses next to it.
"So," you start awkwardly. "I think I triggered in my sleep."
"What?" he yelps.
In response, you create the spectral hand. Your brother sits up and begins to examine it.
While he starts looking at it you say, "I have no clue how it happened. It's not like I am having a hard time, or even that I had some great accomplishment."
He looks up to you and you can see his mind churning behind his eyes.
"Yeah, that's why I asked for those tools, the next power I want to test is light based," you continue.
While he is mulling this information over you get out the box that has the firefly in it and grab the ambient light meter. He silently follows you into the guestroom that you outfitted to block all the potential light.
The first few tests that the two of you do are in near silence, with only the rustling of your moving around and the chant that is required to create the light. The light provides a consistent output of between two-hundred forty and two-hundred seventy lumens.
After a few of the tests your brother speaks up. "How are you…really."
"I'm-," you instinctively want to say you're fine, but that isn't quite true. "-Confused? Excited? Nervous? I don't really know yet."
"Part of the reason I asked, not just because you are my brother and I love you," he says. "But also because from the classes I took, the types of powers like this tend to have more negative trigger events. "
"Powers like this?" you ask.
"Ones that have conditions," he clarifies. "I mean, you need a lightning bug and some kind of invocation?" he finishes incredulously.
"Yeah, I never took any of the parahuman studies classes," you say.
"You know," your brother ventures, "the PRT has way better testing facilities."
"I am considering talking to them, even if I do though, I want to have a better idea of what I can do. That being said, I'm not certain that I do want to join them full time. I need to think about it. Let's get started on the offensive powers."
The two of you spend the next couple of hours trying to activate your "eldritch blast" and "sacred flame" powers. You start by seeing if you can call up and hold the energy in your hands, to no effect. Next you try to target a cast iron pan that you prop up onto the wall, when that doesn't work you print out a picture of Bacchus and tape it to the pan and try that. Then, you try seeing if range is the problem, both seeing if you need to be closer or further away. You try to see if emotional changes would affect anything. The last idea that seems plausible is that you need to be outside, which you are not comfortable testing at the moment.
Frustrated and disappointed, you decide to move on to testing "Armor of Agathys". You splash your front with a cup of water then you reach deep into your being and grab the orb of power that until now you didn't notice. Clenching it, you direct the resultant explosion of power into a protective cold. In the real world, you and your brother see a frost crawl up the wet part of your shirt. For some inexplicable reason, the spectral frost that hardens your shirt doesn't feel particularly cold to you, despite the forming mist.
Your brother taps one of the formed ice spikes, "what does it feel like?"
You think for a moment, "it is a bit stiff, and slightly cold but not uncomfortable."
"You said, it protects from attacks and retaliates with another strike?" he asks.
"No, you are not attacking it," you say exasperated.
He shrugs and says, "well, if you say so." He then grabs out of his backpack several types of thermometers.
"What is the temp?" you ask.
After a moment he says, "minus ten?"
"Really? I would think it is warmer, it barely feels like fifty degrees," you say. "I mean, I know it has to be lower than thirty-two degrees-wait." Even before you say anything you know the answer, "-do you mean Fahrenheit or Celsius?"
"Celsius, of course," he says matter-of-factly.
You wipe your hand down your face and declare, "I'm not switching to Celsius."
"I made peace with the fact that I am the only sane one between us a long time ago," he responds, deadpan.
"Alright Mr. Sane, which one of us is gainfully employed. A correct answer gets you some pizza."
While the two of you have fun spending time together (and eating pizza), more progress is made in discovering anything else about your new powers. As you wait to see how long the "Armor" lasts, you can feel the orb of power inside you slowly reform. Not long after the armor melts off, it fully reforms. You test the healing power on yourself with little effect. That proves that the orb takes about an hour to reform. Once there is little else to discover, you let Joel head back to his homework.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is a few days later when you find out something new. You are in your office and a fly is buzzing around your face. It has avoided your swats for the last half hour so, making sure that none of your coworkers are nearby you try to blast it. A bolt of white plasma-like light arcs to the fly leaving no trace behind. Sitting there in shock, you simply stare at where the fly once was.
As the adrenalin rush fades, you finish your reports for the day then head out for a final patrol. When you find yourself in a secluded area, you experiment with using both "eldritch blast" and "sacred flame". You don't hurt any animals intentionally, and there seems to not be any collateral damage, even though the blasts are much larger than any of the targets.
Eventually, you establish that all of the offensive abilities that you have only affect the intended living creature. Additionally the blast works from much further away; over one-hundred feet in fact. It is during this time that you hear a distressed whining noise. You follow the noise to its source and find the matted fur of a small animal under a log.
You lift up the log and the whining picks up to a harsh squeal. There is a sickening wet noise as, what you now see is a rabbit that was partially impaled by part of the log, slides off the log onto the ground with a muffled thump. You reach down, touch the animal and infuse it with healing power. It softly glows with blue-white light, and you watch as the wound in its side scars over. Before you can check it any more, the newly healed rabbit jumps off into the park.
[ ] Action
-----
-----
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----
-----Work ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whew, that ballooned out more than I expected (when I started, I was worried there wouldn't be enough). Now that this is in the meat of things I will probably be taking more time to write these. For now, I should be able to have them out within 1 week of the vote closing, but that may not always be the case.
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Discovery-2
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Now that you have an idea of your power, you want to get an understanding of the heroes in your area. Your old second hand laptop is good enough for a bit of searching. You start your search with Yahoo! looking for Philadelphia hero teams. After scrolling past a bunch of ads for the Protectorate you find the homepage for Forthright.
They proudly display their six team members with flattering snapshots of them in staged poses as a side banner on the page. The first member is a tall and lithe man in a sprinter's pose. He has a skintight mint green costume with yellow highlights, red knee and elbow pads, and a red and yellow helmet. On the center of his chest is a stylized image of a meteor impact.
The second banner is a younger fellow with an amber colored fire proximity suit and a bulky pulp sci-fi helmet. He has his arms crossed and his chin raised as though he finds the idea of the photo shoot beneath him.
The third member is a tall and buff man with the build of a lumberjack. His pose is an exuberant thumbs up. His costume is heavy armor that seems to be made from wood, with an overall boxy theme. His mask has a painted grin and crinkled eye holes.
The fourth member is an out of shape guy wearing slacks, a light gray smock and a vertically split drama mask. One half of his mask has the smile of Thalia, the other the frown of Melpomene. He is molding clay with an intense focus in the picture.
The fifth member is a woman with dark paramilitary gear. She has a half-mask covering the bottom half of her face and some kind of tinker-tech gauntlet on her left hand that goes up to her elbow. She is posed staring down the camera.
The last member is a man with a deep blue bodysuit with purple swirls, glasses, and utility belt. He has a contemplative stance with his chin on his hand.
Once you scroll down to the profiles, you see that the first hero is Comet, the second is Incinerate, the third is Protector-crate, the fourth is Terracotta, the fifth is Over-watch, and the sixth is Insight.
The current leader of the team is Comet, a hero that you are vaguely familiar with. On the page are links to his brand of sneakers, a health bar food line, and several different types of sports wear. You know of him as someone who grew up here with a rather public trigger event. He was once a professional sprinter that when he managed to break a long held record gained his powers. His power is a burst of fire that rockets him forward and when he impacts someone while doing that he can explode. He was one of the founding members of the team back in '03. If he is the current leader who was the original leader?
One of the other founding members is Over-watch. She has a type of laser vision that can't miss her targets as well as giving her perfect 20/20 sight. The gauntlet is a grapple gun that is an entire arm brace to reduce the stress on her joints. Compared to the rest of them she has far less branded merchandise: only a type of special grip combat boots and the action figures that all of the team members have.
Insight is the final founding member of Forthright. He has some kind of thinker power that lets him learn more about people that he sees in-person. From both what's unstated on the website and when you search PHO, there must be some reason why he goes out on missions rather than staying at base and looking at camera feeds. That is the reason you assume his power only works in-person. The persona of Insight leans into that ambiguity to give him a mysterious vibe. He has some brand deals for phone lines as well as glasses frames.
Protector-crate joined the group back in '06, he can create three-foot cubes that make nearby enemies stumble, and if someone hits the cube it has a retaliatory strike. Despite his large size you find him to be a non-threatening jokester. In fact, he has a comedy special that is for purchase on the website.
Terracotta became a member in '09, he has the ability to animate statues. You assume there is some kind of limiting factor, whether it is a number based limit, time based, or volume based. He has art supplies, a snack food line, and the standard action figures. As the artistic creative type, he has a reputation for being a dramatic diva.
Incinerate is the newest member of Forthright, having joined late last year. He creates translucent orange force fields that he can choose to flare into fire. Unlike the rest of the team he is presented as impolite and grouchy. As the newest member his only special merch line is a joke burn cream.
After looking through the Forthright website and browsing the PHO article on these members you scroll down looking for any other teams. You manage to find that there is one other hero team in the city. The "Philadelphia Phighters" are a smaller and newer group that have their headquarters in the west side of the city.
Unlike Forthright, their website doesn't have any pictures of the members of the team. It is far more basic and, while you try to think of a better term, it all comes across as well … amateurish. They do have a staff section which includes four heroes: Trainer, Ooze, Static, and Scout.
The PHO article on the team has much more information. Unlike the rest of the members, Trainer is strictly a non-combatant thinker. He has some kind of power that makes him better at teaching people. Additionally, the more he teaches someone about a certain skill the better he gets at it. His costume is stylized to look like a tweed professor's outfit and a domino mask.
Ooze is the main muscle of the team, you aren't sure if he is a monstrous cape, a shapeshifter, or something else. His cape form is an emerald humanoid shape of goo. He can shoot out some of his mass and pull himself hundreds of feet, as well as hold up part of a building with his strength. From what you can gather he is both rather uncommunicative and unable to speak.
Static has a light blue bodysuit with white plates sewn into it. Her power is that each time she hits someone that person builds up a charge that she can spend to either hurt that person or make herself briefly faster. Static is the battlefield commander for the team and has a well regarded, professional reputation.
The final member of the team is Scout. His power is shrouded in secrecy, some of the theories include: a vision based teleport, one minute precognition, spawning off invisible clones, or a perception field. His costume is a deep purple ninja costume with a rope belt and a cutout for his eyes. To match his power, his cape persona seems to intentionally cause theory bait.
With your head spinning after all the newfound information you search for any other teams in the city. Aside from the Protectorate and the two you already found there doesn't seem to be anyone else.
Once you are finished you look up from the computer and realize that it is dark outside. You had spent nearly all day researching. As someone that had trouble focusing in school, this ability to sit and think for so long is something you have little experience with.
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On your next day off you prepare to head over to the PRT headquarters. To disguise your identity you wear your old paintball outfit. Something that you hadn't needed in years, since highschool, now that you think about it. You pull on the thick cargo pants and wool jacket, as well as the tinted paintball helmet. You look at yourself in the mirror in the hallway near the door to leave your apartment. You feel a mix of excitement and embarrassment, excitement because you are about to officially talk to the PRT about being a parahuman, embarrassment from the comparative slapdash costume of yours.
Either way, you take a deep breath and head out into the city. It isn't a long walk to the city center, only half an hour and even then you are able to walk slowly enough that you arrive professional and non-sweaty. The PRT headquarters being in the part of the city with skyscrapers and highrises only gives it more gravitas.
The bottom floors are much more glass, whereas the next thirty are the standard mix of steel, concrete, and glass. The shield of the PRT is emblazoned on the front of the building. You can see the atrium of the building is mostly empty with a few guards on the opposite side.
With your heart thudding in your chest, knowing exactly how many ways this can go wrong, you step into the building. The air has a climate controlled feel, and looking over to the guards you can see them beginning to tense, just in case you are a new villain.
You go to the secretary behind a large rounded counter, trying to project an aura of nonviolence. As you get closer to the young man you can see him finish his work and look up at you. He has a crew cut, is clean shaven and is wearing a suit. He looks like a WWE wrestler with a banker gimmick.
Once you get near to him you say, "Hi, uhh, I'm a new parahuman and wasn't sure about the way to let you know about me."
"Thanks for coming by," the secretary replies. "Are you willing to wait for someone higher up to come by and talk to you?"
"I've set aside most of the day for this so as long as it isn't too long," you finish with a chuckle.
The secretary types on his computer for a few moments then looks back up to you and says, "If you don't mind, someone will lead you to a meeting room where you can wait."
At that, you see one of the two guards walk over to the two of you and he says, "Follow me sir."
He leads you through a door on the back of the atrium, down a hallway to an elevator. The two of you spend thirty seconds awkwardly waiting, listening to the jazz until, *ding*. The security guard then leads you to an open door. Inside is a long wood table with an unopened water bottle, eight metal and felt chairs, and a projector hanging from the ceiling. You sit at one end of the table, the full wall window on your right, the open exit door on your left, and facing the projector.
"Our parahuman outreach representative will be with you in ten minutes," the security guard says before leaving.
You wait in the room, looking around for a camera. This seems like the perfect opportunity to lull someone into a false sense of security, get them to lift up their mask and drink some water. The only problem with that idea is that you can't find the camera! You don't want to look suspicious so you stare out the window.
After a few nervous minutes waiting in the room, a suited woman walks in through the open doorway. As she puts her papers down at the table you get a chance to look at her. With curled blonde hair, a warm smile with laugh lines, and a light touch of makeup to look professional, you can easily imagine her as someone's cool mom.
After settling in she gives a little wave and says, "Hi, I'm Cindy, what would you like me to call you?"
In hindsight it seems obvious that you should have prepared a cape name, but at the moment your mind just goes blank. Internally freaking out, you rack your brain for something good. "How about Vicar, for now?"
"Does that name have any particular meaning for you?"
"Well," you start, thinking. "It has a bit of a miraculous theme to it, which matches my strongest power."
"Could you show me something you can do? We've had people claim to be parahumans for attention."
"Sure!" You create the mage hand and have it pick up the water bottle then unscrew it.
"Great! Now that we know you're a parahuman, do you want to join the Protectorate?" She asks.
"I have a few questions, actually," you say, somewhat shocked it was that easy.
"Ok, ask away," she says enthusiastically.
"My first question is in regards to part-time work, I mean- when do you guys do that sort of thing?"
"While we definitely would rather parahumans join us full time, and we can offer some incentives for that sort of thing; we do have close to a dozen heroic associates here. Some are distrustful of authority and need to be eased-in to joining, some have other obligations like kids to take care of, and some are going through college full time," she finishes with a helpless shrug.
"Thanks for the info, you mentioned incentives?" You prompt.
"Well, we have a full training facility and gym, a great salary that starts at thirty bucks an hour for probational members and goes up from there, a stipend for if you want to take career related classes in your free time, and most exciting of all… health insurance!" She ends with exaggerated cheer.
"I'll keep that in mind, I had one other question: I also have a situational healing power. Is there something I need to do to get that certified for use, or can I just start healing people?"
When you start to mention a healing power you see her eyes widen slightly. "Well if you'd like, we can get that process started as soon as you finish this," and she gets out an extra packet of paperwork, covered with a folder. "If you would like, you can look that over at home, or we can go through it here."
"I think I'll look it over at my place, thanks for the offer though," you say getting up.
She stands up opposite you and says, "Thank you so much for stopping by, here is the main application form and if you'd like I can lead you back out."
You follow her back to the atrium with your paperwork, then begin the walk back home.
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[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----Sell ( )
-----Work ( )
[ ] Rest ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
They proudly display their six team members with flattering snapshots of them in staged poses as a side banner on the page. The first member is a tall and lithe man in a sprinter's pose. He has a skintight mint green costume with yellow highlights, red knee and elbow pads, and a red and yellow helmet. On the center of his chest is a stylized image of a meteor impact.
The second banner is a younger fellow with an amber colored fire proximity suit and a bulky pulp sci-fi helmet. He has his arms crossed and his chin raised as though he finds the idea of the photo shoot beneath him.
The third member is a tall and buff man with the build of a lumberjack. His pose is an exuberant thumbs up. His costume is heavy armor that seems to be made from wood, with an overall boxy theme. His mask has a painted grin and crinkled eye holes.
The fourth member is an out of shape guy wearing slacks, a light gray smock and a vertically split drama mask. One half of his mask has the smile of Thalia, the other the frown of Melpomene. He is molding clay with an intense focus in the picture.
The fifth member is a woman with dark paramilitary gear. She has a half-mask covering the bottom half of her face and some kind of tinker-tech gauntlet on her left hand that goes up to her elbow. She is posed staring down the camera.
The last member is a man with a deep blue bodysuit with purple swirls, glasses, and utility belt. He has a contemplative stance with his chin on his hand.
Once you scroll down to the profiles, you see that the first hero is Comet, the second is Incinerate, the third is Protector-crate, the fourth is Terracotta, the fifth is Over-watch, and the sixth is Insight.
The current leader of the team is Comet, a hero that you are vaguely familiar with. On the page are links to his brand of sneakers, a health bar food line, and several different types of sports wear. You know of him as someone who grew up here with a rather public trigger event. He was once a professional sprinter that when he managed to break a long held record gained his powers. His power is a burst of fire that rockets him forward and when he impacts someone while doing that he can explode. He was one of the founding members of the team back in '03. If he is the current leader who was the original leader?
One of the other founding members is Over-watch. She has a type of laser vision that can't miss her targets as well as giving her perfect 20/20 sight. The gauntlet is a grapple gun that is an entire arm brace to reduce the stress on her joints. Compared to the rest of them she has far less branded merchandise: only a type of special grip combat boots and the action figures that all of the team members have.
Insight is the final founding member of Forthright. He has some kind of thinker power that lets him learn more about people that he sees in-person. From both what's unstated on the website and when you search PHO, there must be some reason why he goes out on missions rather than staying at base and looking at camera feeds. That is the reason you assume his power only works in-person. The persona of Insight leans into that ambiguity to give him a mysterious vibe. He has some brand deals for phone lines as well as glasses frames.
Protector-crate joined the group back in '06, he can create three-foot cubes that make nearby enemies stumble, and if someone hits the cube it has a retaliatory strike. Despite his large size you find him to be a non-threatening jokester. In fact, he has a comedy special that is for purchase on the website.
Terracotta became a member in '09, he has the ability to animate statues. You assume there is some kind of limiting factor, whether it is a number based limit, time based, or volume based. He has art supplies, a snack food line, and the standard action figures. As the artistic creative type, he has a reputation for being a dramatic diva.
Incinerate is the newest member of Forthright, having joined late last year. He creates translucent orange force fields that he can choose to flare into fire. Unlike the rest of the team he is presented as impolite and grouchy. As the newest member his only special merch line is a joke burn cream.
After looking through the Forthright website and browsing the PHO article on these members you scroll down looking for any other teams. You manage to find that there is one other hero team in the city. The "Philadelphia Phighters" are a smaller and newer group that have their headquarters in the west side of the city.
Unlike Forthright, their website doesn't have any pictures of the members of the team. It is far more basic and, while you try to think of a better term, it all comes across as well … amateurish. They do have a staff section which includes four heroes: Trainer, Ooze, Static, and Scout.
The PHO article on the team has much more information. Unlike the rest of the members, Trainer is strictly a non-combatant thinker. He has some kind of power that makes him better at teaching people. Additionally, the more he teaches someone about a certain skill the better he gets at it. His costume is stylized to look like a tweed professor's outfit and a domino mask.
Ooze is the main muscle of the team, you aren't sure if he is a monstrous cape, a shapeshifter, or something else. His cape form is an emerald humanoid shape of goo. He can shoot out some of his mass and pull himself hundreds of feet, as well as hold up part of a building with his strength. From what you can gather he is both rather uncommunicative and unable to speak.
Static has a light blue bodysuit with white plates sewn into it. Her power is that each time she hits someone that person builds up a charge that she can spend to either hurt that person or make herself briefly faster. Static is the battlefield commander for the team and has a well regarded, professional reputation.
The final member of the team is Scout. His power is shrouded in secrecy, some of the theories include: a vision based teleport, one minute precognition, spawning off invisible clones, or a perception field. His costume is a deep purple ninja costume with a rope belt and a cutout for his eyes. To match his power, his cape persona seems to intentionally cause theory bait.
With your head spinning after all the newfound information you search for any other teams in the city. Aside from the Protectorate and the two you already found there doesn't seem to be anyone else.
Once you are finished you look up from the computer and realize that it is dark outside. You had spent nearly all day researching. As someone that had trouble focusing in school, this ability to sit and think for so long is something you have little experience with.
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On your next day off you prepare to head over to the PRT headquarters. To disguise your identity you wear your old paintball outfit. Something that you hadn't needed in years, since highschool, now that you think about it. You pull on the thick cargo pants and wool jacket, as well as the tinted paintball helmet. You look at yourself in the mirror in the hallway near the door to leave your apartment. You feel a mix of excitement and embarrassment, excitement because you are about to officially talk to the PRT about being a parahuman, embarrassment from the comparative slapdash costume of yours.
Either way, you take a deep breath and head out into the city. It isn't a long walk to the city center, only half an hour and even then you are able to walk slowly enough that you arrive professional and non-sweaty. The PRT headquarters being in the part of the city with skyscrapers and highrises only gives it more gravitas.
The bottom floors are much more glass, whereas the next thirty are the standard mix of steel, concrete, and glass. The shield of the PRT is emblazoned on the front of the building. You can see the atrium of the building is mostly empty with a few guards on the opposite side.
With your heart thudding in your chest, knowing exactly how many ways this can go wrong, you step into the building. The air has a climate controlled feel, and looking over to the guards you can see them beginning to tense, just in case you are a new villain.
You go to the secretary behind a large rounded counter, trying to project an aura of nonviolence. As you get closer to the young man you can see him finish his work and look up at you. He has a crew cut, is clean shaven and is wearing a suit. He looks like a WWE wrestler with a banker gimmick.
Once you get near to him you say, "Hi, uhh, I'm a new parahuman and wasn't sure about the way to let you know about me."
"Thanks for coming by," the secretary replies. "Are you willing to wait for someone higher up to come by and talk to you?"
"I've set aside most of the day for this so as long as it isn't too long," you finish with a chuckle.
The secretary types on his computer for a few moments then looks back up to you and says, "If you don't mind, someone will lead you to a meeting room where you can wait."
At that, you see one of the two guards walk over to the two of you and he says, "Follow me sir."
He leads you through a door on the back of the atrium, down a hallway to an elevator. The two of you spend thirty seconds awkwardly waiting, listening to the jazz until, *ding*. The security guard then leads you to an open door. Inside is a long wood table with an unopened water bottle, eight metal and felt chairs, and a projector hanging from the ceiling. You sit at one end of the table, the full wall window on your right, the open exit door on your left, and facing the projector.
"Our parahuman outreach representative will be with you in ten minutes," the security guard says before leaving.
You wait in the room, looking around for a camera. This seems like the perfect opportunity to lull someone into a false sense of security, get them to lift up their mask and drink some water. The only problem with that idea is that you can't find the camera! You don't want to look suspicious so you stare out the window.
After a few nervous minutes waiting in the room, a suited woman walks in through the open doorway. As she puts her papers down at the table you get a chance to look at her. With curled blonde hair, a warm smile with laugh lines, and a light touch of makeup to look professional, you can easily imagine her as someone's cool mom.
After settling in she gives a little wave and says, "Hi, I'm Cindy, what would you like me to call you?"
In hindsight it seems obvious that you should have prepared a cape name, but at the moment your mind just goes blank. Internally freaking out, you rack your brain for something good. "How about Vicar, for now?"
"Does that name have any particular meaning for you?"
"Well," you start, thinking. "It has a bit of a miraculous theme to it, which matches my strongest power."
"Could you show me something you can do? We've had people claim to be parahumans for attention."
"Sure!" You create the mage hand and have it pick up the water bottle then unscrew it.
"Great! Now that we know you're a parahuman, do you want to join the Protectorate?" She asks.
"I have a few questions, actually," you say, somewhat shocked it was that easy.
"Ok, ask away," she says enthusiastically.
"My first question is in regards to part-time work, I mean- when do you guys do that sort of thing?"
"While we definitely would rather parahumans join us full time, and we can offer some incentives for that sort of thing; we do have close to a dozen heroic associates here. Some are distrustful of authority and need to be eased-in to joining, some have other obligations like kids to take care of, and some are going through college full time," she finishes with a helpless shrug.
"Thanks for the info, you mentioned incentives?" You prompt.
"Well, we have a full training facility and gym, a great salary that starts at thirty bucks an hour for probational members and goes up from there, a stipend for if you want to take career related classes in your free time, and most exciting of all… health insurance!" She ends with exaggerated cheer.
"I'll keep that in mind, I had one other question: I also have a situational healing power. Is there something I need to do to get that certified for use, or can I just start healing people?"
When you start to mention a healing power you see her eyes widen slightly. "Well if you'd like, we can get that process started as soon as you finish this," and she gets out an extra packet of paperwork, covered with a folder. "If you would like, you can look that over at home, or we can go through it here."
"I think I'll look it over at my place, thanks for the offer though," you say getting up.
She stands up opposite you and says, "Thank you so much for stopping by, here is the main application form and if you'd like I can lead you back out."
You follow her back to the atrium with your paperwork, then begin the walk back home.
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[ ] Action
-----
-----
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----
-----Work ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
Last edited:
Discovery-3
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Once you get home and take off your improvised costume, you collapse onto the couch. Taking a moment to collect yourself before going through the thick packets of paperwork that you received from the visit.
Flipping through the main one, you are shocked by how much the PRT offers "junior" members. Even starting out would get you over double the amount you make working at the park. After spending a year at the department it would rise to nearly three times as much (over one hundred-thousand dollars a year!).
After getting some pens, you sit at the kitchen table and begin going over the paperwork. Quickly, you realize based on the phrasing that the PRT must assume any new parahuman has the mindset of a wounded, frightened animal. In this introductory pamphlet there are few required sources of commitment; only opportunities for the PRT to provide a good impression.
In the over thirty page booklet there is a few required bits of information: cape name, costume, powers, method of contact. There are also a few bits of additional optional information: if you would like to apply as a hero or rogue, if you will work in an S-Class crisis, if you have an area you would prefer to stick to.
Once you have an idea of the main packet you switch over to the healing brochure. Inside, it outlines the three step process for getting a healing power PRT certified. The first step is going into the PRT labs and using the power under observation. Once they have established that here are no unknown side effects, you can move on to step two. That involves using your power on willing volunteers under the direction of civilian doctors. From what you can gather from what's unsaid, this seems to be intended as a check to make sure the PRT isn't overstepping its bounds.
All in all, it seems a bit frustrating, but with a sigh you mentally concede it makes sense. Before you turn the paperwork in, there is a bunch of stuff you need to get. A burner phone and a put-together costume seem like a good start.
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The first place you stop by is a military surplus store. You pick up some spare ceramic plates and a large, olive-green, ballistic overcoat. While you are there, you also pick up some gloves, boots, and pants.
Due to this being the first roll of the quest, I gave you advantage. The rolls are:3 and 10, with a bonus of +3 that only gets you to 13 which is not enough, sorry. Resource goes down by one. As long as you have a job, it will go back to 3 eventually.
At the checkout stand, you ask the graying retiree, "do you know anywhere I can get a custom jacket?"
"Morroni does good work, and could probably make whatcha need."
As he finishes ringing up your purchases, you thank him for the recommendation. When you see the total, you swallow. Well, I can't do this again any time soon.
Once you have everything you need from the surplus store, you go to an electronics shop and buy a burner phone with two-hundred minutes on it. You then call the PRT main number from a park bench.
"This is Kelly with the parahuman response team front desk, department four-A, what can I do for you?" The bubbly voice rattles off.
Speaking in a deeper register, you say, "Recently I came to your office, my name is Vicar, I wanted to schedule a healing test."
You can hear some papers rustling on the other side. "We can have it ready for business hours on Wednesday, Saturday, or Monday. "
"This Wednesday would be best, can I also drop off the paperwork then or do I need to do it ahead of time?" You ask.
"I think it would be fine if you just bring it in with you," she answers. "Anything else I can help you with?"
"No, that was it, thank you for your time," you say with finality.
Now that that has wrapped up, you want to get in a meeting with the Philadelphia Phighters.
You dial the phone number listed on their website. After nearly two minutes of waiting an old man answers, "hello?"
"Is this the Philadelphia Phighters?" you ask.
"I am the only one here right now, can they call you back?" he says.
"I'm a new parahuman, Vicar and would like to organize a meeting with the team to see about joining," you say.
"Why don't you come by on Monday, the boss usually has that day open," he offers.
"If that will work, I can make it then," you say. "Thank you for your time."
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You pull on the completed outfit. Assembling it in its entirety gives things a greater weight somehow. You take a deep breath and head down to the PRT office. You aren't sure whether it is your imagination, or if people are staring at you as you walk through the city.
When you make it to the lobby, you can see that a tour is about to start. A high-school class is milling around, with a few teachers seemingly trying to herd the students. You skirt the edges of the group and get the attention of the person at the front desk.
This time, the secretary is a serious looking woman with dark hair and well pressed clothes. For a moment some instinctual concern begins to bubble up, it seems irresponsible to have a ready made hostage at the front desk, but as she turns over to greet you, you can just barely see a concealed thigh holster on her leg.
"Blindside will be with you in a moment," she says, seeing your arrival. "Mister Smith will lead you to a waiting room and take your forms."
One of the PRT officers walks over to the two of you and leads you into a waiting room. You hand him the two booklets and take a seat. He kicks open the door stop to leave the door open on his way out.
It is only a minute or two of waiting before someone glides into the room. Blindside, you can only assume, has a navy blue karate gi with tranquilizer guns holstered under each arm. Covering the top half of her face is an extended domino mask that goes up to her hairline and leaves her eyes in shadow.
As you stand up and shake hands she says "Hi, I'm Blindside, it looks like I am going to be your escort today. If you wouldn't mind following me, we're going to the testing center."
She leads you through several hallways to an elevator. While you wait she says in a lighthearted tone, "I get a burst of speed each time someone misses me and I'm really good with these." She taps the two tranq guns on her side, "what about you?"
"I have a baseball sized disintegration blast, a sky flame spear, minor telekinesis, and the most relevant, a healing touch," you respond.
"That's an impressive spread," she says. "Sounds like you'll be able to do a lot of good."
"I hope so," you say as the two of you step into the lab.
Inside you can see three researchers, one is looking in a microscope making notes on a clipboard, one is currently operating a whirring boxy machine, the last stands up from a desk with a cage of unmoving mice in it.
"Blindside, Vicar I assume, welcome!" the scientist says.
"Ah, yes," you say, shaking his hand. "And you are?"
"Doctor Andy Lawson. Anything you need before we start?"
"No, I think we can get started," you reply.
After summarizing your powers for him and going over legal liability (basically if you are found out to hurt/mind control someone with your healing and you have lied about it, the PRT will prosecute you), the doctor goes over to the cage of mice and takes one out, he uses a scalpel to make a small incision in it and holds it steady for you.
"We made sure that they were unconscious for ease of testing," he clarifies.
Feeling the warm fur and steady heartbeat, you release a bit of healing energy. Underneath the trickle of blood the incision site knits back together cleanly, not leaving any mark other than the exterior blood.
The scientist places the newly healed mouse into a separate container for later analysis, after wiping the blood out of its fur. "Alright, now that that is done, are you ready for step two?"
"Yeah, I do want to remind you though, I can only heal one more time today," you mention.
"You said that you can do so again after some time, correct?" he asks.
"If you are willing to wait, then I could push for a third heal," you offer.
"I can show you to the shooting range while we wait," Blindside mentions.
"That sounds interesting, only if you don't mind, of course," you say.
The doctor interjects, "why don't you discuss this while we head to the medical bay?"
The three of you head to the elevators. On the way you mention that your powers only seem to work on living things, so the shooting range targets might not be helpful.
"We might be able to get one of the wards to help out," Blindside says. "Cerberus, Synergy, or Paladin could help. "
"As long as it isn't taking them from something important, that sounds great," you say.
Once you make it to the specialty sensor room in the medbay, you can see a fit man in bed with his leg in a cast.
Andy goes to a terminal and says, "Brad are you ready?"
The man props himself up and Brad(?) says, "this the guy doc?"
"Yes, we are testing to see the constraints of his parahuman ability."
You see Brad scan you from top to bottom. He then clears his throat and says, "This is corporal Brad Porter, code eight-two-six-one-three-nine-five-eight."
You finish waiting for them to complete the procedure, then you reach out and grab his hand. Once you finish activating your powers and feel the healing energy enter him. The corporal gets an odd look on his face.
"This feels fuck'n weird, " he mutters.
"Really, how?" you ask.
"The rest of me feels way better and my leg is the same."
"It seems that bone fractures are, in fact, not able to be reformed with your ability," the doctor remarks.
The scientist and officer then go through a health checklist while Blindside leads you to the gun range.
There is no one else at the range when you show up. "While you were talking with Doctor Lawson, I organized some training with Paladin," Blindside says with a chuckle. "He was doing homework upstairs, so he seemed excited for an excuse to head down here."
"Are you sure you should be encouraging that," you say with over the top sternness.
You both laugh and a teen in a grey bodysuit walks in. When he enters the room dozens of shiny metallic plates slide into existence, interlocking around him. He reaches out his hand, some plates receding or extending to allow the movement.
"I'm Paladin, good to meet you," he says in a surprisingly deep voice.
"Vicar, and the pleasure is all mine," you respond.
"So, Paladin, this guy has powers that only work on living things," Blindside starts. "Since your power makes you basically invincible, you're the safest person to spar with him."
At that, you look at his armor with new eyes.
"What's the plan boss?" he asks.
Blindside continues, "for the first spar, why don't you just start at the end of the range and see if you can get to Vicar here before he can hit you?"
It takes a minute for Blindside to activate the change in the range rules (ie. don't shoot when there is a person down range). You steady yourself and begin.
Paladin starts by sprinting at you with a surprisingly soft gait.
Attack Roll is: 13 with a plus 5 bonus is a hit! The damage roll is: 7
When he is two-thirds of the way to you, you manage to get one of your disintegration blasts off. Only focusing on running, for this exercise, Paladin is unable to deflect and it solidly hits the armor on his chest. The three of you are able to see a basketball sized patch of a gray jumpsuit emerge from under the armor.
Paladin pauses fifteen feet from you and Blindside. The heroine walks up to him and you can hear Paladin say quietly, "I can't grow the plates like normal. It's like when I try'n shift it into my shield."
"Try covering the area a few times, see if that overcomes the barrier," she responds calmly. She then spins around to face you. You can see Paladin extending plates from the surrounding area to cover the hole you made, then quickly the plates get sucked back into where he extended them from.
"Did you know of a null-trump aspect to your powers?" she asks in a carefully flat voice.
"Um, no. If that is what this is, I'm truly sorry. I don't have very many safe ways of testing out my offensive powers, I mostly know the broad strokes," you say, regretfully.
"Hopefully this is just a weird power interaction, or odd loophole," Blindside says with a sigh.
"Boss, this is getting easier, I think it's just gonna to take some time," you hear Paladin say over the scraping of plates
"Alright, thanks for your help, you can go back to your homework, I'll log this," Blindside says.
Paladin gives you a nod as he passes by.
After that bit of excitement Blindside gives you a bit of an introduction to the PRT threat assessment process, while you wander back to the medical bay.
This time the patient in the hospital bed is unconscious, the doctor is still there, however. He closes the door to the room with the patient in it and says, "I received some rather peculiar results from the tests."
"What did you find?" you ask impatiently.
"On corporal Porter's leg, the torn muscles, skin, and ligaments are all healed and seem normal. It is only the bone that is fractured, even then, the surrounding tissues should provide a natural brace. Of course, we are not going to send him out any sooner, even though his recovery time should be shortened by at least a week or two."
After a pause he continues, "the next patient, Susan Thompson, has a gunshot wound from a shootout with the Hombres. In addition to the main puncture wound, she has a perforated large intestine. We planned on sending her to the general hospital, but if you can heal her before then, that would make things much simpler."
You wait for Blindside and the doctor to walk to the observation room, then reach out and touch the agent's arm. You feel the healing energy cascade from your core, down your arm, and into her. In her unconscious state, the agent's breathing evens out.
Blindside chats with you for a bit, in the nearest waiting room, while the on-site medical professionals analyze agent Thompson. Before you leave you find out she has a clean bill of health and they are keeping her overnight for observation.
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A few days after your meeting with the PRT you put on your costume and walk down to the office of the Philadelphia Phighters. You find a one story building that seems more like it would house a dentist, rather than a superhero.
Glancing at the security camera you walk into the waiting room. Inside an old man is hunched over his desktop and he looks up at you.
"Hi, uhh, I'm here to meet with Trainer?" you say awkwardly, stepping from one foot to the other in the cramped waiting room.
The man unfolds from his napping position and grunts out, "wait here".
He gestures to the two folding chairs then shuffles out of sight.
You sit and wait for a minute and Trainer comes out from around the corner. He is a brown haired man in a tweed suit, his identity hidden by a simple domino mask.
The older man walks around the two of you and sits at his desk pretending to be busy.
The tweed suited man claps his hands together and says, "I'm Trainer, you're the potential recruit?"
"Uh, yes. I go by Vicar, " you confirm.
"Well Vicar, would you follow me around the corner here, to my office?" he asks.
You follow him into a larger room behind the foyer. There is a large desk with a sprawling desktop computer, behind it is a large stained whiteboard. In front of the desk is a weathered rolling chair.
The two of you engage in some small talk which leads to you giving a brief description of your powers.
"-and uh, yeah that's about it," you finish.
"Most of my role in the team is financial, unlike the rest of them, my power is not very useful in the field. Instead, I get paid to teach high-end clients, then I use that money to pay for the building, our lawyer, and the custodian that you saw outside. The insurance and wages are provided from a mix of merchandise sales and a stipend from the local government," he stops giving you a chance to ask a question.
When you make a noise to continue he says, "If you sign on with us I can offer a competitive wage as well as a bonus once the financial aid kicks in. The bigger benefit however, is that we work locally. Unlike the PRT who work all over the city, we stick to the heights."
You pause to think it over, then say, "Thanks for the offer, and I am happy to work with you, but for now I think I am going to stay on my own. This is the phone I'm using for cape stuff," you say, handing him a piece of paper.
You can see he's a bit disappointed, and though he tries to hide it, a bit relieved.
"Well, let me at least give you a run down of the gang situation in the area. We mostly deal with the Drug Runners and sometimes the Revolution."
[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----Sell ( )
-----Work ( )
[ ] Rest ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ohhhhhhhh man.
I have no idea why this was as hard to write as it ended up being. This is the first section of the chapter, later I will add: the rest of the spar with paladin, the final bit of healing, and meeting with Trainer / the Phighters. And I suppose the choices. Next time it is going to be a shorter wait and shorter chapters.
Also feel free to discuss things with one another and ask questions. No one has posted the pun from the prologue by the way, so that is still open.
8/18/21 Edit: Now that you have a costume and some intel your options have opened up. There is three zones in the map that you can now patrol (without needing to scout first) due to agreeing to the medium option.
Lastly, there is some things that I am deliberately leaving a mystery, some things that I will answer when asked (but not volunteer), and some things that I have legitimately forgotten or think I have said. Feel free to ask questions!
Flipping through the main one, you are shocked by how much the PRT offers "junior" members. Even starting out would get you over double the amount you make working at the park. After spending a year at the department it would rise to nearly three times as much (over one hundred-thousand dollars a year!).
After getting some pens, you sit at the kitchen table and begin going over the paperwork. Quickly, you realize based on the phrasing that the PRT must assume any new parahuman has the mindset of a wounded, frightened animal. In this introductory pamphlet there are few required sources of commitment; only opportunities for the PRT to provide a good impression.
In the over thirty page booklet there is a few required bits of information: cape name, costume, powers, method of contact. There are also a few bits of additional optional information: if you would like to apply as a hero or rogue, if you will work in an S-Class crisis, if you have an area you would prefer to stick to.
Once you have an idea of the main packet you switch over to the healing brochure. Inside, it outlines the three step process for getting a healing power PRT certified. The first step is going into the PRT labs and using the power under observation. Once they have established that here are no unknown side effects, you can move on to step two. That involves using your power on willing volunteers under the direction of civilian doctors. From what you can gather from what's unsaid, this seems to be intended as a check to make sure the PRT isn't overstepping its bounds.
All in all, it seems a bit frustrating, but with a sigh you mentally concede it makes sense. Before you turn the paperwork in, there is a bunch of stuff you need to get. A burner phone and a put-together costume seem like a good start.
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The first place you stop by is a military surplus store. You pick up some spare ceramic plates and a large, olive-green, ballistic overcoat. While you are there, you also pick up some gloves, boots, and pants.
Due to this being the first roll of the quest, I gave you advantage. The rolls are:
At the checkout stand, you ask the graying retiree, "do you know anywhere I can get a custom jacket?"
"Morroni does good work, and could probably make whatcha need."
As he finishes ringing up your purchases, you thank him for the recommendation. When you see the total, you swallow. Well, I can't do this again any time soon.
Once you have everything you need from the surplus store, you go to an electronics shop and buy a burner phone with two-hundred minutes on it. You then call the PRT main number from a park bench.
"This is Kelly with the parahuman response team front desk, department four-A, what can I do for you?" The bubbly voice rattles off.
Speaking in a deeper register, you say, "Recently I came to your office, my name is Vicar, I wanted to schedule a healing test."
You can hear some papers rustling on the other side. "We can have it ready for business hours on Wednesday, Saturday, or Monday. "
"This Wednesday would be best, can I also drop off the paperwork then or do I need to do it ahead of time?" You ask.
"I think it would be fine if you just bring it in with you," she answers. "Anything else I can help you with?"
"No, that was it, thank you for your time," you say with finality.
Now that that has wrapped up, you want to get in a meeting with the Philadelphia Phighters.
You dial the phone number listed on their website. After nearly two minutes of waiting an old man answers, "hello?"
"Is this the Philadelphia Phighters?" you ask.
"I am the only one here right now, can they call you back?" he says.
"I'm a new parahuman, Vicar and would like to organize a meeting with the team to see about joining," you say.
"Why don't you come by on Monday, the boss usually has that day open," he offers.
"If that will work, I can make it then," you say. "Thank you for your time."
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You pull on the completed outfit. Assembling it in its entirety gives things a greater weight somehow. You take a deep breath and head down to the PRT office. You aren't sure whether it is your imagination, or if people are staring at you as you walk through the city.
When you make it to the lobby, you can see that a tour is about to start. A high-school class is milling around, with a few teachers seemingly trying to herd the students. You skirt the edges of the group and get the attention of the person at the front desk.
This time, the secretary is a serious looking woman with dark hair and well pressed clothes. For a moment some instinctual concern begins to bubble up, it seems irresponsible to have a ready made hostage at the front desk, but as she turns over to greet you, you can just barely see a concealed thigh holster on her leg.
"Blindside will be with you in a moment," she says, seeing your arrival. "Mister Smith will lead you to a waiting room and take your forms."
One of the PRT officers walks over to the two of you and leads you into a waiting room. You hand him the two booklets and take a seat. He kicks open the door stop to leave the door open on his way out.
It is only a minute or two of waiting before someone glides into the room. Blindside, you can only assume, has a navy blue karate gi with tranquilizer guns holstered under each arm. Covering the top half of her face is an extended domino mask that goes up to her hairline and leaves her eyes in shadow.
As you stand up and shake hands she says "Hi, I'm Blindside, it looks like I am going to be your escort today. If you wouldn't mind following me, we're going to the testing center."
She leads you through several hallways to an elevator. While you wait she says in a lighthearted tone, "I get a burst of speed each time someone misses me and I'm really good with these." She taps the two tranq guns on her side, "what about you?"
"I have a baseball sized disintegration blast, a sky flame spear, minor telekinesis, and the most relevant, a healing touch," you respond.
"That's an impressive spread," she says. "Sounds like you'll be able to do a lot of good."
"I hope so," you say as the two of you step into the lab.
Inside you can see three researchers, one is looking in a microscope making notes on a clipboard, one is currently operating a whirring boxy machine, the last stands up from a desk with a cage of unmoving mice in it.
"Blindside, Vicar I assume, welcome!" the scientist says.
"Ah, yes," you say, shaking his hand. "And you are?"
"Doctor Andy Lawson. Anything you need before we start?"
"No, I think we can get started," you reply.
After summarizing your powers for him and going over legal liability (basically if you are found out to hurt/mind control someone with your healing and you have lied about it, the PRT will prosecute you), the doctor goes over to the cage of mice and takes one out, he uses a scalpel to make a small incision in it and holds it steady for you.
"We made sure that they were unconscious for ease of testing," he clarifies.
Feeling the warm fur and steady heartbeat, you release a bit of healing energy. Underneath the trickle of blood the incision site knits back together cleanly, not leaving any mark other than the exterior blood.
The scientist places the newly healed mouse into a separate container for later analysis, after wiping the blood out of its fur. "Alright, now that that is done, are you ready for step two?"
"Yeah, I do want to remind you though, I can only heal one more time today," you mention.
"You said that you can do so again after some time, correct?" he asks.
"If you are willing to wait, then I could push for a third heal," you offer.
"I can show you to the shooting range while we wait," Blindside mentions.
"That sounds interesting, only if you don't mind, of course," you say.
The doctor interjects, "why don't you discuss this while we head to the medical bay?"
The three of you head to the elevators. On the way you mention that your powers only seem to work on living things, so the shooting range targets might not be helpful.
"We might be able to get one of the wards to help out," Blindside says. "Cerberus, Synergy, or Paladin could help. "
"As long as it isn't taking them from something important, that sounds great," you say.
Once you make it to the specialty sensor room in the medbay, you can see a fit man in bed with his leg in a cast.
Andy goes to a terminal and says, "Brad are you ready?"
The man props himself up and Brad(?) says, "this the guy doc?"
"Yes, we are testing to see the constraints of his parahuman ability."
You see Brad scan you from top to bottom. He then clears his throat and says, "This is corporal Brad Porter, code eight-two-six-one-three-nine-five-eight."
You finish waiting for them to complete the procedure, then you reach out and grab his hand. Once you finish activating your powers and feel the healing energy enter him. The corporal gets an odd look on his face.
"This feels fuck'n weird, " he mutters.
"Really, how?" you ask.
"The rest of me feels way better and my leg is the same."
"It seems that bone fractures are, in fact, not able to be reformed with your ability," the doctor remarks.
The scientist and officer then go through a health checklist while Blindside leads you to the gun range.
There is no one else at the range when you show up. "While you were talking with Doctor Lawson, I organized some training with Paladin," Blindside says with a chuckle. "He was doing homework upstairs, so he seemed excited for an excuse to head down here."
"Are you sure you should be encouraging that," you say with over the top sternness.
You both laugh and a teen in a grey bodysuit walks in. When he enters the room dozens of shiny metallic plates slide into existence, interlocking around him. He reaches out his hand, some plates receding or extending to allow the movement.
"I'm Paladin, good to meet you," he says in a surprisingly deep voice.
"Vicar, and the pleasure is all mine," you respond.
"So, Paladin, this guy has powers that only work on living things," Blindside starts. "Since your power makes you basically invincible, you're the safest person to spar with him."
At that, you look at his armor with new eyes.
"What's the plan boss?" he asks.
Blindside continues, "for the first spar, why don't you just start at the end of the range and see if you can get to Vicar here before he can hit you?"
It takes a minute for Blindside to activate the change in the range rules (ie. don't shoot when there is a person down range). You steady yourself and begin.
Paladin starts by sprinting at you with a surprisingly soft gait.
Attack Roll is: 13 with a plus 5 bonus is a hit! The damage roll is: 7
When he is two-thirds of the way to you, you manage to get one of your disintegration blasts off. Only focusing on running, for this exercise, Paladin is unable to deflect and it solidly hits the armor on his chest. The three of you are able to see a basketball sized patch of a gray jumpsuit emerge from under the armor.
Paladin pauses fifteen feet from you and Blindside. The heroine walks up to him and you can hear Paladin say quietly, "I can't grow the plates like normal. It's like when I try'n shift it into my shield."
"Try covering the area a few times, see if that overcomes the barrier," she responds calmly. She then spins around to face you. You can see Paladin extending plates from the surrounding area to cover the hole you made, then quickly the plates get sucked back into where he extended them from.
"Did you know of a null-trump aspect to your powers?" she asks in a carefully flat voice.
"Um, no. If that is what this is, I'm truly sorry. I don't have very many safe ways of testing out my offensive powers, I mostly know the broad strokes," you say, regretfully.
"Hopefully this is just a weird power interaction, or odd loophole," Blindside says with a sigh.
"Boss, this is getting easier, I think it's just gonna to take some time," you hear Paladin say over the scraping of plates
"Alright, thanks for your help, you can go back to your homework, I'll log this," Blindside says.
Paladin gives you a nod as he passes by.
After that bit of excitement Blindside gives you a bit of an introduction to the PRT threat assessment process, while you wander back to the medical bay.
This time the patient in the hospital bed is unconscious, the doctor is still there, however. He closes the door to the room with the patient in it and says, "I received some rather peculiar results from the tests."
"What did you find?" you ask impatiently.
"On corporal Porter's leg, the torn muscles, skin, and ligaments are all healed and seem normal. It is only the bone that is fractured, even then, the surrounding tissues should provide a natural brace. Of course, we are not going to send him out any sooner, even though his recovery time should be shortened by at least a week or two."
After a pause he continues, "the next patient, Susan Thompson, has a gunshot wound from a shootout with the Hombres. In addition to the main puncture wound, she has a perforated large intestine. We planned on sending her to the general hospital, but if you can heal her before then, that would make things much simpler."
You wait for Blindside and the doctor to walk to the observation room, then reach out and touch the agent's arm. You feel the healing energy cascade from your core, down your arm, and into her. In her unconscious state, the agent's breathing evens out.
Blindside chats with you for a bit, in the nearest waiting room, while the on-site medical professionals analyze agent Thompson. Before you leave you find out she has a clean bill of health and they are keeping her overnight for observation.
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A few days after your meeting with the PRT you put on your costume and walk down to the office of the Philadelphia Phighters. You find a one story building that seems more like it would house a dentist, rather than a superhero.
Glancing at the security camera you walk into the waiting room. Inside an old man is hunched over his desktop and he looks up at you.
"Hi, uhh, I'm here to meet with Trainer?" you say awkwardly, stepping from one foot to the other in the cramped waiting room.
The man unfolds from his napping position and grunts out, "wait here".
He gestures to the two folding chairs then shuffles out of sight.
You sit and wait for a minute and Trainer comes out from around the corner. He is a brown haired man in a tweed suit, his identity hidden by a simple domino mask.
The older man walks around the two of you and sits at his desk pretending to be busy.
The tweed suited man claps his hands together and says, "I'm Trainer, you're the potential recruit?"
"Uh, yes. I go by Vicar, " you confirm.
"Well Vicar, would you follow me around the corner here, to my office?" he asks.
You follow him into a larger room behind the foyer. There is a large desk with a sprawling desktop computer, behind it is a large stained whiteboard. In front of the desk is a weathered rolling chair.
The two of you engage in some small talk which leads to you giving a brief description of your powers.
"-and uh, yeah that's about it," you finish.
"Most of my role in the team is financial, unlike the rest of them, my power is not very useful in the field. Instead, I get paid to teach high-end clients, then I use that money to pay for the building, our lawyer, and the custodian that you saw outside. The insurance and wages are provided from a mix of merchandise sales and a stipend from the local government," he stops giving you a chance to ask a question.
When you make a noise to continue he says, "If you sign on with us I can offer a competitive wage as well as a bonus once the financial aid kicks in. The bigger benefit however, is that we work locally. Unlike the PRT who work all over the city, we stick to the heights."
You pause to think it over, then say, "Thanks for the offer, and I am happy to work with you, but for now I think I am going to stay on my own. This is the phone I'm using for cape stuff," you say, handing him a piece of paper.
You can see he's a bit disappointed, and though he tries to hide it, a bit relieved.
"Well, let me at least give you a run down of the gang situation in the area. We mostly deal with the Drug Runners and sometimes the Revolution."
[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----
-----Work ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ohhhhhhhh man.
I have no idea why this was as hard to write as it ended up being. This is the first section of the chapter, later I will add: the rest of the spar with paladin, the final bit of healing, and meeting with Trainer / the Phighters. And I suppose the choices. Next time it is going to be a shorter wait and shorter chapters.
Also feel free to discuss things with one another and ask questions. No one has posted the pun from the prologue by the way, so that is still open.
8/18/21 Edit: Now that you have a costume and some intel your options have opened up. There is three zones in the map that you can now patrol (without needing to scout first) due to agreeing to the medium option.
Lastly, there is some things that I am deliberately leaving a mystery, some things that I will answer when asked (but not volunteer), and some things that I have legitimately forgotten or think I have said. Feel free to ask questions!
Last edited:
Discovery-4
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"So, the Drug Runners. A bunch of robbers, druggies, and smugglers. While they're not a big group, our current guess is around ten or fifteen unpowered members, they do have three capes," he then opens a drawer in his desk and pulls out three folders.
Lifting up the first and sliding it over to you he continues, "Trip is one half of the muscle, he has a power where whenever someone hurts him, they get taken out of the fight. Hallucinations, paranoia, passing out. One of the few upsides is that he doesn't seem able to control what the effect is. PRT has him labeled as a Brute three, did you get the lowdown on their rating system?"
"Yeah, Brute means its a strength or durability power and the three means that a civilian can't deal with it," you respond.
"Close, while the Brute rating means that he has some form of strength or toughness enhancement; the rating has more to do with the broad tactics on dealing with the villain in question. In this case, with Trip you prioritize other villains and restrain him. If you don't hurt him, he's no more dangerous than any other gang-banger."
As he's talking you open the folder and see pictures of a man mid fight. You can only assume it is Trip. He has a dirty green bodysuit with overlapping chrome plates covering his torso and arms. In some of the other pictures you get a better glance of his face and can see it is covered by a yellow mesh.
Under all the pictures are a stapled together book of criminal history. You can see close to twenty tabs on the side separating the main incidents he has been involved in. Flipping through it you see charges of assault with a parahuman power, murder, manslaughter, drug related crimes, plain ol' assault, smuggling, and a bunch of accessory crimes.
You put the folder down and say, "that makes sense, anything else?"
"Not about Trip. The second villain in the Runners is called Taserface," Trainer says, making a face at the name. "Despite the name, he normally has the taser integrated into his arm. He's a Changer that can integrate non-tinker tech electric devices into his body. His PRT rating is Changer four with a Blaster three and Striker two, sub ratings. Can you tell why?" he asks.
"Changer because he's always armed, Blaster from the taser, uh, Striker because the PRT wants to be sure Taserface doesn't get ahold of a foam sprayer? You say uncertainty.
"The first two are right, the last one is mostly because he keeps a melee weapon added to his off hand. While the foam sprayer could be a concern, Taserface's power seems to take too long to activate to be nearly as big of a problem as the regular weapon."
After putting the Trip folder away you open up and take a look at the pictures of Taserface. His entire costume seems to have been spray painted twice, neither time with any primer. His helmet, spiked pauldrons and breastplate, are mostly gold with patches of exposed red underneath. At a few places the base metal is even visible. One arm ends mid wrist with an electric chainsaw attached, the other arm has fingerless gloves and each exposed finger has a brass prong jutting out of inflamed skin. His crime file seems to be nearly identical to Trip's.
"Lastly," Trainer continues. "Territory is the presumed leader of the gang. He is able to animate non-living objects, when shot instead of being damaged the object seems to lose animation. Thus, he's been given the rating of Master five."
"Because that gives the PRT free reign to use stronger, lethal ammunition on his minions?" You guess.
"Exactly, lethal ammo causes more damage, draining the objects of vitality quicker," he says. "Another thing, he has a Thinker two sub-rating. By completely draining an object it gives him some form of postcognition in the area around the object."
The last folder has pictures of a slim man in a dirty gray duster. His brown vest, gray shirt and brown pants are covered in dozens of belts and tightened ropes. He has the same gray gloves as his duster and brown boots. Under a wide brimmed hat you can just barely see a red half-mask covering his mouth and nose. His rap sheet is near the same as the others, aside from some charges of invasion of privacy.
"He animates the ropes and belts to trip up pursuers," Trainer offers.
"Thanks for the information and... the… training," You trail off.
"I assumed you wouldn't mind if I sped this up," he responds with a grin. "My power should make sure this sticks in your mind."
"Thanks again, I hope we can catch these guys soon," you say on your way out.
Mind awhirl you begin the long walk home.
Once home you confirm the details that Trainer told you. What you find lines up with what he said, though you wouldn't have noticed the through lines without having it clearly laid out to you. When that is finished you start to research the Haitian Revolution.
You discover the members of the gang you hadn't heard of before are:
Hard-On---Changer/Brute 1
His power seems to be the ability to grow a sort of chitinous plates all over his body. When he does so on his hands, it turns them into heavy clubs. His costume is a set of plates covering his face, a green wide collared jacket, a black muscle shirt and cargo pants.
Bouncer---Mover 2
She gets a stacking, short speed boost each time she kicks off from a wall. Each kick-off lasts for about eight seconds and increases her speed by around ten miles per hour. At an observed incident, she sprinted out of a building at minimum speeds of a hundred miles per hour. Said building promptly exploded.
Her costume consists of a black jumpsuit with a purple skirt and webbed jacket over top. Her purple mask covers the top half of her face but leaves her afro exposed.
Rage---Brute 1-3
He is a Brute with a minor durability increase and the more hurt he becomes the stronger he gets. His costume is rather minimalist, a cheap t-shirt, green camo pants and a black bandanna covering his face.
Withdrawal---Striker 2
Each second of skin to skin contact causes the equivalent tiredness of one hour of wakefulness. While in a head to head fight this is not particularly dangerous, her power can be used to cause people to stay asleep indefinitely, or cause hostages to to pass out without risking brain injury.
Her costume is a coal gray bodysuit under a sickly green dress with slits up both sides (for maneuverability you presume). She has a mask that is green close to the eyes and fades to gray near the edges.
Dope---Tinker 3 (Brute 3)
Dope is a Tinker that specializes in chemicals. He uses a dart gun that has a variety of potential concoctions like: a mutagen that causes fleshy growths to immobilize foes, a form of temporary night vision, or his signature strength and durability enhancer. His claim to fame is that he has produced several vats in the gang's territory that constantly churn out that last serum. On unpowered gang members it is enough for the PRT to count them as brute one's (called the Wreckers), on him however it is far stronger.
His costume is a navy blue leather outfit with matte gray pauldrons and a harness with his load-out of concoctions. Often he will have a set of thick, electric blue tubes leading from a tank on his back into his mask.
Snapshot---Blaster 2-5
It takes you a while to understand Snapshots power, a few diagrams helped. At any time she can pick a point in space and a target, her projectile; a shard of glass, flies out to the point in space. During that time the projectile can be destroyed, but once it reaches the point she picked it becomes invulnerable and races towards her target. The further the point she picks is from her, the stronger the hit against her target will be.
Her costume is a red bodysuit, with tactical armor plates sewn in. She has off-white gloves, boots, and mask. Her mask includes what you guess to be some kind of tinker-tech goggles built in.
Cougar---Changer 6 (Thinker 3)
Her power allows her to shift parts of her body into a feline form. This can give her enhanced senses (getting her Thinker rating), claws for climbing or cutting, and muscles to increase strength. Your first guess is that her power doesn't account for her costume (based on its design), but you are able to find a video of her changing back from mostly animal, and her leotard is fine.
Her costume is a black and orange striped leotard with a line of brown fur around her chest. Her mask covers the top half of her face with the image of her namesake, leaving room for her ponytail out the back.
Burn---Shaker 4
Her power allows her to send out a pulse of orange light that covers anyone within range. She then can send out a pulse of blue light. The faster someone is moving while covered in the orange light when the blue light impacts them, the worse the explosion is. Her costume is a cyan undersuit, with orange shorts, jacket and visor.
Slink---Mover/Stranger 5
His power allows him to fold into a coil of gelatinous material. While like this he can stick to walls or ceilings as well as move through openings that aren't water tight.
His costume is a black bodysuit with a fuchsia starburst on the chest that meets on his back. The mask has a fuchsia bevor reinforcing the lower half, otherwise it is the same black as the rest of his costume.
Additionally, you find the ratings of the members you already knew of:
Maman Brigitte---Master 5
Onyx---Brute/Trump 8
Remit---Brute/Mover 3-8
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The area that Trainer gave you the debrief about is a part of the city you have spent little time in. Of course, you have been on that side of the city a few times, but if you are going to be doing "cape things" there you want to get more familiar with the community.
On one of your days off you fill a day pack with: food and water, toiletries, and wool socks. These tend to be the most appreciated by the homeless population near where you normally volunteer, so you buy them in bulk.
When you go out on a walk past the river, seeing the crumbling overpasses, the hastily patched roads, the unfilled gouges from cape fights; it all reminds you that there is much work to do. If you want to help the city rise to the place of equity you know it can be, you have a long way to go.
Stepping up to an old woman pushing a full cart along the street, you say, "Hey Agnes, I have some new socks for you."
Holding up one of the gallon bags, you get a bit closer. She looks up at you and gives a gummy smile.
"John, it's good to see you," she says, as she opens up the bag and starts organizing the contents into her cart.
Agnes is a regular at the soup kitchen. You're not sure of her life story, she's never been one to share anecdotes. At the very least, she's been going to the kitchen longer than you've volunteered there.
"Now that I'm in an office job, I'm trying to get a bit more walking in. Anything I should be aware of around here?" You ask.
"Yer not dumb enough to be out here after dark, right?"
You nod and she continues, "other than the no-shit stuff, leave the area if you see someone with a solid color armband, it means that someones about to pay for protection."
"Anything else?"
She finishes tying down the cover over her cart and looks up at you, "Yer a good kid, don't get into that kinda stuff."
"I'd like to know this stuff so I can avoid it," you say defensively.
After that you politely thank her for her time, and move on.
Over the course of the rest of the day during your walk you come across a few more beggars on street corners. You offer them all a packet; some tear up in gratitude, some politely take it then ask for cash, others take issue with the form of help and scream at you.
A few that seem like they could use it, you direct towards the homeless shelters and the food banks you are aware of. You answer any questions they have and if you don't know the answer to something you give them directions to those you think would know.
By the end of the week you have a decent sense of the pace of the city. It's a large area, everything is spread out with few dead ends. The Runners have a few dealers that operate out of the parks, the Revolution most often in this area operates a protection racket.
Pick 5 actions to take, with the number of actions per choice between parentheses.
[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----Sell ( )
-----Work ( )
[ ] Rest ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second bit of this is going to consist of you looking around/scouting out the part of the city you have info on. I'd love to hear some discussion on the capes presented. Are things plausibly clear? Do their powers, names and costumes make sense?
When I get some guesses on the powers of the Revolution capes I'll edit in their powers. I don't want it to feel like I'm holding content hostage, but I do want to give y'all opportunities for discussion. If I am erring too far please let me know.
Lifting up the first and sliding it over to you he continues, "Trip is one half of the muscle, he has a power where whenever someone hurts him, they get taken out of the fight. Hallucinations, paranoia, passing out. One of the few upsides is that he doesn't seem able to control what the effect is. PRT has him labeled as a Brute three, did you get the lowdown on their rating system?"
"Yeah, Brute means its a strength or durability power and the three means that a civilian can't deal with it," you respond.
"Close, while the Brute rating means that he has some form of strength or toughness enhancement; the rating has more to do with the broad tactics on dealing with the villain in question. In this case, with Trip you prioritize other villains and restrain him. If you don't hurt him, he's no more dangerous than any other gang-banger."
As he's talking you open the folder and see pictures of a man mid fight. You can only assume it is Trip. He has a dirty green bodysuit with overlapping chrome plates covering his torso and arms. In some of the other pictures you get a better glance of his face and can see it is covered by a yellow mesh.
Under all the pictures are a stapled together book of criminal history. You can see close to twenty tabs on the side separating the main incidents he has been involved in. Flipping through it you see charges of assault with a parahuman power, murder, manslaughter, drug related crimes, plain ol' assault, smuggling, and a bunch of accessory crimes.
You put the folder down and say, "that makes sense, anything else?"
"Not about Trip. The second villain in the Runners is called Taserface," Trainer says, making a face at the name. "Despite the name, he normally has the taser integrated into his arm. He's a Changer that can integrate non-tinker tech electric devices into his body. His PRT rating is Changer four with a Blaster three and Striker two, sub ratings. Can you tell why?" he asks.
"Changer because he's always armed, Blaster from the taser, uh, Striker because the PRT wants to be sure Taserface doesn't get ahold of a foam sprayer? You say uncertainty.
"The first two are right, the last one is mostly because he keeps a melee weapon added to his off hand. While the foam sprayer could be a concern, Taserface's power seems to take too long to activate to be nearly as big of a problem as the regular weapon."
After putting the Trip folder away you open up and take a look at the pictures of Taserface. His entire costume seems to have been spray painted twice, neither time with any primer. His helmet, spiked pauldrons and breastplate, are mostly gold with patches of exposed red underneath. At a few places the base metal is even visible. One arm ends mid wrist with an electric chainsaw attached, the other arm has fingerless gloves and each exposed finger has a brass prong jutting out of inflamed skin. His crime file seems to be nearly identical to Trip's.
"Lastly," Trainer continues. "Territory is the presumed leader of the gang. He is able to animate non-living objects, when shot instead of being damaged the object seems to lose animation. Thus, he's been given the rating of Master five."
"Because that gives the PRT free reign to use stronger, lethal ammunition on his minions?" You guess.
"Exactly, lethal ammo causes more damage, draining the objects of vitality quicker," he says. "Another thing, he has a Thinker two sub-rating. By completely draining an object it gives him some form of postcognition in the area around the object."
The last folder has pictures of a slim man in a dirty gray duster. His brown vest, gray shirt and brown pants are covered in dozens of belts and tightened ropes. He has the same gray gloves as his duster and brown boots. Under a wide brimmed hat you can just barely see a red half-mask covering his mouth and nose. His rap sheet is near the same as the others, aside from some charges of invasion of privacy.
"He animates the ropes and belts to trip up pursuers," Trainer offers.
"Thanks for the information and... the… training," You trail off.
"I assumed you wouldn't mind if I sped this up," he responds with a grin. "My power should make sure this sticks in your mind."
"Thanks again, I hope we can catch these guys soon," you say on your way out.
Mind awhirl you begin the long walk home.
Once home you confirm the details that Trainer told you. What you find lines up with what he said, though you wouldn't have noticed the through lines without having it clearly laid out to you. When that is finished you start to research the Haitian Revolution.
You discover the members of the gang you hadn't heard of before are:
Hard-On---Changer/Brute 1
His power seems to be the ability to grow a sort of chitinous plates all over his body. When he does so on his hands, it turns them into heavy clubs. His costume is a set of plates covering his face, a green wide collared jacket, a black muscle shirt and cargo pants.
Bouncer---Mover 2
She gets a stacking, short speed boost each time she kicks off from a wall. Each kick-off lasts for about eight seconds and increases her speed by around ten miles per hour. At an observed incident, she sprinted out of a building at minimum speeds of a hundred miles per hour. Said building promptly exploded.
Her costume consists of a black jumpsuit with a purple skirt and webbed jacket over top. Her purple mask covers the top half of her face but leaves her afro exposed.
Rage---Brute 1-3
He is a Brute with a minor durability increase and the more hurt he becomes the stronger he gets. His costume is rather minimalist, a cheap t-shirt, green camo pants and a black bandanna covering his face.
Withdrawal---Striker 2
Each second of skin to skin contact causes the equivalent tiredness of one hour of wakefulness. While in a head to head fight this is not particularly dangerous, her power can be used to cause people to stay asleep indefinitely, or cause hostages to to pass out without risking brain injury.
Her costume is a coal gray bodysuit under a sickly green dress with slits up both sides (for maneuverability you presume). She has a mask that is green close to the eyes and fades to gray near the edges.
Dope---Tinker 3 (Brute 3)
Dope is a Tinker that specializes in chemicals. He uses a dart gun that has a variety of potential concoctions like: a mutagen that causes fleshy growths to immobilize foes, a form of temporary night vision, or his signature strength and durability enhancer. His claim to fame is that he has produced several vats in the gang's territory that constantly churn out that last serum. On unpowered gang members it is enough for the PRT to count them as brute one's (called the Wreckers), on him however it is far stronger.
His costume is a navy blue leather outfit with matte gray pauldrons and a harness with his load-out of concoctions. Often he will have a set of thick, electric blue tubes leading from a tank on his back into his mask.
Snapshot---Blaster 2-5
It takes you a while to understand Snapshots power, a few diagrams helped. At any time she can pick a point in space and a target, her projectile; a shard of glass, flies out to the point in space. During that time the projectile can be destroyed, but once it reaches the point she picked it becomes invulnerable and races towards her target. The further the point she picks is from her, the stronger the hit against her target will be.
Her costume is a red bodysuit, with tactical armor plates sewn in. She has off-white gloves, boots, and mask. Her mask includes what you guess to be some kind of tinker-tech goggles built in.
Cougar---Changer 6 (Thinker 3)
Her power allows her to shift parts of her body into a feline form. This can give her enhanced senses (getting her Thinker rating), claws for climbing or cutting, and muscles to increase strength. Your first guess is that her power doesn't account for her costume (based on its design), but you are able to find a video of her changing back from mostly animal, and her leotard is fine.
Her costume is a black and orange striped leotard with a line of brown fur around her chest. Her mask covers the top half of her face with the image of her namesake, leaving room for her ponytail out the back.
Burn---Shaker 4
Her power allows her to send out a pulse of orange light that covers anyone within range. She then can send out a pulse of blue light. The faster someone is moving while covered in the orange light when the blue light impacts them, the worse the explosion is. Her costume is a cyan undersuit, with orange shorts, jacket and visor.
Slink---Mover/Stranger 5
His power allows him to fold into a coil of gelatinous material. While like this he can stick to walls or ceilings as well as move through openings that aren't water tight.
His costume is a black bodysuit with a fuchsia starburst on the chest that meets on his back. The mask has a fuchsia bevor reinforcing the lower half, otherwise it is the same black as the rest of his costume.
Additionally, you find the ratings of the members you already knew of:
Maman Brigitte---Master 5
Onyx---Brute/Trump 8
Remit---Brute/Mover 3-8
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The area that Trainer gave you the debrief about is a part of the city you have spent little time in. Of course, you have been on that side of the city a few times, but if you are going to be doing "cape things" there you want to get more familiar with the community.
On one of your days off you fill a day pack with: food and water, toiletries, and wool socks. These tend to be the most appreciated by the homeless population near where you normally volunteer, so you buy them in bulk.
When you go out on a walk past the river, seeing the crumbling overpasses, the hastily patched roads, the unfilled gouges from cape fights; it all reminds you that there is much work to do. If you want to help the city rise to the place of equity you know it can be, you have a long way to go.
Stepping up to an old woman pushing a full cart along the street, you say, "Hey Agnes, I have some new socks for you."
Holding up one of the gallon bags, you get a bit closer. She looks up at you and gives a gummy smile.
"John, it's good to see you," she says, as she opens up the bag and starts organizing the contents into her cart.
Agnes is a regular at the soup kitchen. You're not sure of her life story, she's never been one to share anecdotes. At the very least, she's been going to the kitchen longer than you've volunteered there.
"Now that I'm in an office job, I'm trying to get a bit more walking in. Anything I should be aware of around here?" You ask.
"Yer not dumb enough to be out here after dark, right?"
You nod and she continues, "other than the no-shit stuff, leave the area if you see someone with a solid color armband, it means that someones about to pay for protection."
"Anything else?"
She finishes tying down the cover over her cart and looks up at you, "Yer a good kid, don't get into that kinda stuff."
"I'd like to know this stuff so I can avoid it," you say defensively.
After that you politely thank her for her time, and move on.
Over the course of the rest of the day during your walk you come across a few more beggars on street corners. You offer them all a packet; some tear up in gratitude, some politely take it then ask for cash, others take issue with the form of help and scream at you.
A few that seem like they could use it, you direct towards the homeless shelters and the food banks you are aware of. You answer any questions they have and if you don't know the answer to something you give them directions to those you think would know.
By the end of the week you have a decent sense of the pace of the city. It's a large area, everything is spread out with few dead ends. The Runners have a few dealers that operate out of the parks, the Revolution most often in this area operates a protection racket.
Pick 5 actions to take, with the number of actions per choice between parentheses.
[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----
-----Work ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
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The second bit of this is going to consist of you looking around/scouting out the part of the city you have info on. I'd love to hear some discussion on the capes presented. Are things plausibly clear? Do their powers, names and costumes make sense?
When I get some guesses on the powers of the Revolution capes I'll edit in their powers. I don't want it to feel like I'm holding content hostage, but I do want to give y'all opportunities for discussion. If I am erring too far please let me know.
Last edited:
Discovery-5
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Now that you have a good grasp of the pace of your part of the city, you want to get a bit of experience with patrolling and being out in your cape identity. As such, you organize a ride-along with the PRT.
On one of the days you have off, you head down to the PRT office in the center of the city. You get a few odd looks with your costume, but the cold and the fall chill means that most other people who are out and about are also bundled up.
You step into the main lobby and are hit with a wave of heat from the climate control desperately trying to keep up with the weather outside and the cold leaking in from all the windows. You can see the secretary at the front desk has on a jacket over her shirt.
You walk over to her and say, "Hey I'm Vicar, uhh, I was going to go on a ride-along patrol?"
"Yes, Staunch will be meeting up with you in meeting room 3," she answers.
"Alright, anything else, or should I just go over there?" You ask.
"One more thing. Here is a hard-copy of the results of your healing tests," she says handing you a manila envelope. "When you want to begin the next phase of your certification, bring this to one of the hospitals in the city and they will get you started."
Taking the envelope and placing it under your arm you say, "Thank you and have a nice day."
The secretary says the same as you walk over to one of the doors leading further into the building.
Inside meeting room three is a man sitting at the table. He's wearing a silver bodysuit under a pair of jeans and white muscle shirt. Covering the top half of his face is a helmet sculpted or forged to look like the upper half of the head of a roaring lion. The bottom half of his face is covered by a salt and pepper beard/mustache combo.
As you walk in, he smiles and stands up, you can see that despite his age he is both tall and well built. He reaches out and gives you a firm handshake. "Welcome to the Protectorate, my friend."
"Thanks, I look forward to learning from you," you say, a bit off balance.
He leads you through the hallways, talking as he goes. "You're going to be riding with McKay's team, while I'm in my Law-Keeper armor."
He stops and types a passcode into a touchpad. You follow him inside the base's underground vehicle bay. Parked are five vans, each with the PRT logo proudly emblazoned on the side. On top of each of the vans is the standard green and white lights, along with a rail and hatch system used for mounting containment foam sprayers.
Next to one of the vans is a set of cerulean power armor sitting in a resting position with the knees folded up to the neck of the suit. The bottom half of the head of a roaring lion is loosely placed on the neck of the armor. One hand of the armor is placed flat on the ground, the other is gripping the shaft of a giant warhammer. The warhammer is one headed, the same color as the armor, and on the back has three soot-marked jet engines.
You stand there awkwardly as Staunch puts on his armor. He starts by clicking the bottom half of the helmet into place; attaching it to the part of the helmet he already has on. After that, he presses an indistinguishable part of the shoulder armor that releases the front chest piece with a pneumatic hiss. Mechanically, he strips off his shirt and jeans and with a flexibility that surprises you, he slips into the power armor. Dots of power briefly flare throughout the power armor before stabilizing when Staunch attaches the front chest piece. All in all the entire process only takes five or so seconds.
In a slightly digitized voice he asks, "how familiar are you with the PRT system?"
At your confused look he continues, "as-in how we do patrols, chain of command, shit-uh, stuff like that."
"Well, chain of command would be you, then the leader of the squad, then the officers, right?"
Staunch makes a so-so gesture with his oversized gauntlets and responds, "officially, McKay is higher ranked than me, but because I've been around the block enough, the squaddies tend to take my advice."
"About the patrol, it's basically just driving around keeping an eye out for crimes, right?"
"Wrong. It's all about comforting the public, about showing them we're people just like them."
You mull over his answer. While most of what you hear about hero patrols is the heart pounding action, it makes sense that what makes up more of a patrol is public relations. The more unseen capes are from the general public, the easier it would be to other them, and dehumanize them.
"Of course if we see an obvious crime going on, we aid the PRT officers then contact the police," he continues.
On that note, a squad of troopers walk into the vehicle bay.
All five of them are clad in the typical outfit for PRT officers: Kevlar shirt and pants, ceramic plates, the reflective full face plate attached to a black helmet, and a rugged body-camera attached to their chest.
The one in the lead gives you a firm handshake and says, "I'm staff sergeant McKay, Vicar right?"
"Yeah, thanks for letting me tag along," you say.
Indicating to each of the other officers in turn, he says, "this is private O'Neil, containment foam specialist Michaelson, private first class Anderson, and private first class Brady. If I need to handle something, listen to them. Understood?"
"Yessir."
"Any questions before we head out?" Staunch cuts in.
"Just the one: could we stop by the children's hospital? You say, holding up the paperwork.
The sergeant looks over to Staunch, unable to see either of their faces; you can only guess as to what they communicate in the instant.
"If we don't run into any villains that should be alright," McKay decides.
The officers pack into the van, grabbing out their firearms. The con foam specialist checks the foam container and sprayer. Meanwhile the sergeant gives you a brief rundown of how to operate containment foam grenades.
Once ready, everyone except Staunch packs into the van.
You mostly observe the patrol, while occasionally asking questions. All in all, its surprisingly uneventful. To accommodate you, they project the comms system through the vans speakers, in addition to their personal Bluetooth. Every few minutes Staunch updates the team, telling cheesy jokes, and relaying positions.
Aside from the check in points; where the team parks for a while and keeps an eye out, the patrol is just driving through city traffic.
Once you make it to the hospital the troopers park and wait outside, Staunch does an impromptu meet and greet, and you drop off the paperwork (with an agreement to set up a healing test later).
During the second half of the patrol McKay asks what your experience of being a cape has been like. The conversation flows from there, to why you decided to be a hero, eventually landing onto the topic of the Protectorate.
"While I'm not a fan of the back-room politics involved, and the profiting off of destructive fights leaves a bad taste in my mouth, the organization does a great deal of good nationally and internationally," you lay out.
"In a big picture sense, sure, but what about the personal scale?" he asks. "Back-up, info, training, funding, it'd free you up to do this sort of thing full time-assuming you don't already," he adds quickly.
"The thing is that as of right now, most of my abilities have a long cooldown, the ones that don't aren't meaningfully better than a dude with a gun, no offence."
"As of right now?-sorry I shouldn't pry," McKay apologizes. "Even so, during the rest time you can study and do training right?"
"Sure," you concede. "Also on the personal scale, well, I'm not entirely sure that I want to commit to an organization with strict timescales and hierarchies. I get that for a group that size, scheduling and ranks are needed, I just have to decide if giving up on the flexibility of independence is worth it. "
"I'm glad that you're thinking about this seriously," he says.
"Of course, thanks for letting me ride along," you say.
After that, the rest of the ride along is uneventful.
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Once you have set up a healing session at the hospital, you head over there after work. Waiting outside one of the side doors is a male nurse in full scrubs. Seeing you he gives you a brief on the situation.
"Normally we would have to doing some paperwork, acclimation to our processes here, and some classes, but we got a kid on the way with critical blood loss," he says, opening the door and grabbing some hand sanitizer. "Some of the folks over in legal are talking with the parents about getting release forms signed."
The responsibility that you have accepted, for the first time really hits home. If you aren't able to heal this child then they will either die, or in the best case scenario have a long recovery time and permanent scarring.
While walking to the emergency room you introduce yourselves to each other. "I'm Ethan and I'm going to be your liaison around here."
"I go by Vicar," you respond.
"If it isn't too personal to ask: why?" he says.
You take a moment to collect your thoughts then say, "it's a reminder. I never want to forget that I need to act as a representative for the poor, the forgotten and the downtrodden. There are too many stories of people forgetting themselves once they find success, tales of how easily power can be abused. I never want that to be me."
The rest of the walk to the emergency room is made in solemn quiet.
The emergency room that you are brought to has a thick smell of antiseptic. On the gurney is a small child, six or seven years old, with his face covered in bloody bandages. One of the doctors walks up to Ethan and says, "the parents gave permission for experimental treatment. "
"Is there anything else you need?" Ethan asks.
"No," you say, stepping forward to the kid. You reach out with a trembling hand, knowing that if this doesn't work… you don't want to think about what would happen.
Pressing your hand into a patch of exposed skin on his neck, you release the wave of blue-white healing energy and watch as the bleeding stops.
Someone nearby asks if anything else needs to be done and you numbly shake your head. Seemingly the next instant the kid is surrounded by medical professionals and you are nicely, but firmly led out of the room.
The parents are nervously waiting outside the door, the father pacing and the mother wringing her hands.
"How is he," the woman pleads.
"I stopped the bleeding," you say, noticing afterwards that Ethan is trying to subtly get something across to you. In your overwhelmed state you can't quite parse what it is. Once you regain focus into the conversation you see the woman crying into her husband's chest.
One of the doctors steps out from the room behind you and says, "your son is fine. We're just going to finish cleaning him up then you can come in and see him."
The father grabs your hand firmly and says, "thank you, thank you so much."
"Of course," you say, still trying to regain your balance. Before your healing power seemed near useless, never getting to see its strengths. Now though, you get it, your power is great for triage, that's the type of healing you should be focusing on.
The two parents rush into the emergency room, and Ethan leads you over to one of the hospital's break rooms.
"Now that the first bit of excitement's over, here is the first booklet," he says, holding out a safety manual.
The two of you spend the next few hours going over medical disclaimers, legal information and hospital procedure.
You go to bed that night buoyed by the warmth of having saved a life.
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Near the end of the week you take your last day off, and head over to the PRT for another patrol. This time it is going to be a walking patrol with two heroes: Archetype and a newly transferred hero named Newton. Knowing that your feet are going to be killing you by the end of it, you preemptively take some aspirin.
It's a cold and clear fall day outside and you take a moment to appreciate the lack of cloud cover. You make your way down to the PRT office, jogging at times to warm up. The front door people are starting to recognize you at the headquarters, so the one currently on shift lets you right in.
You walk straight down to the meeting room that you have been to a few times now. Inside is who you assume to be Newton. He is lounging on a chair in his full costume; a pink bodysuit, attached navy blue plates and an angular gunmetal gray helmet covering the front of his face and leaving his shaved heavily scarred head exposed.
"Hey, uhh, I'm Vicar, I assume you're Newton?" you venture.
"Yeah," he says in a higher pitch voice than you would expect based on his buff appearance.
You wait a minute in case he has anything else to say, when there is nothing forthcoming you ask, "are we going to meet up with Archetype?"
"Yup," he bluntly says.
Getting the message that he doesn't want to talk to you, you pull up a chair and start going through the supplies you keep in your utility belt. First aid/trauma kit, fifty feet of cord, protein bars, water bottle, pocket knife, baggie of fireflies, some blindfolds and gags (most movers need line of sight, some masters need to speak).
After going through your stuff, you spend a bit of time evaluating your core. The intangible orb of spectral energy that you have now had for a while. A trick that you have been experimenting with is expending the ball, tracing the energy down your arms to your fingers so you can use the power instantly. So you begin the process and once you get to the point of no return with the energy tingling in your fingers, you instead force it back up your arms, and coil it into ball form.
On the fifth or sixth time going through the process, a blur of green light hovers into the room. In your head you hear a peppy feminine voice, hi, I'm Archetype, are you the new guy?
You try thinking to her, yeah, I'm Vicar.
After getting no response, you repeat it out loud.
You hear in your head again, cool! My thing is that I have three power sets that I switch between every day. I can't have the same power for two days in a row. What about you?
"I've got two types of blasts, a weak telekinesis, a triage heal that works once a day, and a few other minor powers."
Wow! That's a huge spread, I have a Brute power that makes me slow, a Thinker power that makes me vulnerable and this one that makes it hard for me to communicate.
"You seem fine to me?"
Well, I am only talking to you, I can't project to more than one person at a time, and even then, it's only 'cus you are looking at me that I can project to you at all.
"Alright that makes sense, what about you Newton?"
"I've got a Brute force field and when it gets hit, it powers up my gravity control. Any questions or can we go?"
Before you can really think about it, he takes your silence as affirmation and gets up and starts walking to the door. You notice that he walks in an odd way, perhaps it's the armor?
The two of you walk out the door and Archetype flies behind you. On the way outside Newton slings an oxygen tank onto his back without a word. While you all make your way through the complex he attaches a heavy duty tube from the top of the tank to his mask.
Seeing your look he says, "In case of a crisis, my effectiveness is more important than pride."
Archetype projects to you, Newton has permanent lung damage, to try to combat it she tries to improve her heart, but sometimes she can't get enough air anyway.
Well, it seems Newton is a woman, it's a good thing you didn't say anything related to that before finding it out.
Right as you are leaving the PRT headquarters you hear a loud rumbling and feel the ground shake. Looking around wildly, a block or two away you glimpse a cloud of cement dust billowing up into the air.
The three of you start running/flying over to the location. Newton activates his-her air tank and contacts the main office. Archetype blurs past the two of you flashing through the dust cloud.
You hear Newton take a deep breath from the air tank and yell over the roaring of the chaos around you, "stick with me, we're on discovery and recovery."
Before making it to the building you have a moment to think, what sort of approach do you want to make to any villains you find?
Options: (Pick 1)
[ ] Aggressive
-Use your strongest blast and try to blitz them.
Pro: This will almost certainly take whoever it is down.
Con: This will only leave you with a single heal.
[ ] Defensive
-Use Armor of Agathys to give yourself more time and perhaps an extra hit.
Pro: You are squishy, especially to Brutes, this will hurt them and make you tougher.
Con: Ranged enemies won't be hurt by this, also it leaves you with one heal.
[ ] Diplomatic
-Try to reason with them or, failing that, stall the villain.
Pro: Requires the least commitment, and can keep a villain around until the PRT gets here.
Con: Takes the most time thus allowing victims to stay in dangerous positions.
[ ] Other
-Write in.
Pros: Up to you.
Cons: Requires writing, personal investment, and creativity.
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This is the first half of the chapter, the second half will consist of some healing at the hospital and a second patrol with the PRT. Also, next half of the chapter will lead into the first combat encounter >: )
12/2/21 Edit: I decided to put in the hospital scene as a reward for anyone who checks this out early.
12/23/21 Edit: DONE.
On one of the days you have off, you head down to the PRT office in the center of the city. You get a few odd looks with your costume, but the cold and the fall chill means that most other people who are out and about are also bundled up.
You step into the main lobby and are hit with a wave of heat from the climate control desperately trying to keep up with the weather outside and the cold leaking in from all the windows. You can see the secretary at the front desk has on a jacket over her shirt.
You walk over to her and say, "Hey I'm Vicar, uhh, I was going to go on a ride-along patrol?"
"Yes, Staunch will be meeting up with you in meeting room 3," she answers.
"Alright, anything else, or should I just go over there?" You ask.
"One more thing. Here is a hard-copy of the results of your healing tests," she says handing you a manila envelope. "When you want to begin the next phase of your certification, bring this to one of the hospitals in the city and they will get you started."
Taking the envelope and placing it under your arm you say, "Thank you and have a nice day."
The secretary says the same as you walk over to one of the doors leading further into the building.
Inside meeting room three is a man sitting at the table. He's wearing a silver bodysuit under a pair of jeans and white muscle shirt. Covering the top half of his face is a helmet sculpted or forged to look like the upper half of the head of a roaring lion. The bottom half of his face is covered by a salt and pepper beard/mustache combo.
As you walk in, he smiles and stands up, you can see that despite his age he is both tall and well built. He reaches out and gives you a firm handshake. "Welcome to the Protectorate, my friend."
"Thanks, I look forward to learning from you," you say, a bit off balance.
He leads you through the hallways, talking as he goes. "You're going to be riding with McKay's team, while I'm in my Law-Keeper armor."
He stops and types a passcode into a touchpad. You follow him inside the base's underground vehicle bay. Parked are five vans, each with the PRT logo proudly emblazoned on the side. On top of each of the vans is the standard green and white lights, along with a rail and hatch system used for mounting containment foam sprayers.
Next to one of the vans is a set of cerulean power armor sitting in a resting position with the knees folded up to the neck of the suit. The bottom half of the head of a roaring lion is loosely placed on the neck of the armor. One hand of the armor is placed flat on the ground, the other is gripping the shaft of a giant warhammer. The warhammer is one headed, the same color as the armor, and on the back has three soot-marked jet engines.
You stand there awkwardly as Staunch puts on his armor. He starts by clicking the bottom half of the helmet into place; attaching it to the part of the helmet he already has on. After that, he presses an indistinguishable part of the shoulder armor that releases the front chest piece with a pneumatic hiss. Mechanically, he strips off his shirt and jeans and with a flexibility that surprises you, he slips into the power armor. Dots of power briefly flare throughout the power armor before stabilizing when Staunch attaches the front chest piece. All in all the entire process only takes five or so seconds.
In a slightly digitized voice he asks, "how familiar are you with the PRT system?"
At your confused look he continues, "as-in how we do patrols, chain of command, shit-uh, stuff like that."
"Well, chain of command would be you, then the leader of the squad, then the officers, right?"
Staunch makes a so-so gesture with his oversized gauntlets and responds, "officially, McKay is higher ranked than me, but because I've been around the block enough, the squaddies tend to take my advice."
"About the patrol, it's basically just driving around keeping an eye out for crimes, right?"
"Wrong. It's all about comforting the public, about showing them we're people just like them."
You mull over his answer. While most of what you hear about hero patrols is the heart pounding action, it makes sense that what makes up more of a patrol is public relations. The more unseen capes are from the general public, the easier it would be to other them, and dehumanize them.
"Of course if we see an obvious crime going on, we aid the PRT officers then contact the police," he continues.
On that note, a squad of troopers walk into the vehicle bay.
All five of them are clad in the typical outfit for PRT officers: Kevlar shirt and pants, ceramic plates, the reflective full face plate attached to a black helmet, and a rugged body-camera attached to their chest.
The one in the lead gives you a firm handshake and says, "I'm staff sergeant McKay, Vicar right?"
"Yeah, thanks for letting me tag along," you say.
Indicating to each of the other officers in turn, he says, "this is private O'Neil, containment foam specialist Michaelson, private first class Anderson, and private first class Brady. If I need to handle something, listen to them. Understood?"
"Yessir."
"Any questions before we head out?" Staunch cuts in.
"Just the one: could we stop by the children's hospital? You say, holding up the paperwork.
The sergeant looks over to Staunch, unable to see either of their faces; you can only guess as to what they communicate in the instant.
"If we don't run into any villains that should be alright," McKay decides.
The officers pack into the van, grabbing out their firearms. The con foam specialist checks the foam container and sprayer. Meanwhile the sergeant gives you a brief rundown of how to operate containment foam grenades.
Once ready, everyone except Staunch packs into the van.
You mostly observe the patrol, while occasionally asking questions. All in all, its surprisingly uneventful. To accommodate you, they project the comms system through the vans speakers, in addition to their personal Bluetooth. Every few minutes Staunch updates the team, telling cheesy jokes, and relaying positions.
Aside from the check in points; where the team parks for a while and keeps an eye out, the patrol is just driving through city traffic.
Once you make it to the hospital the troopers park and wait outside, Staunch does an impromptu meet and greet, and you drop off the paperwork (with an agreement to set up a healing test later).
During the second half of the patrol McKay asks what your experience of being a cape has been like. The conversation flows from there, to why you decided to be a hero, eventually landing onto the topic of the Protectorate.
"While I'm not a fan of the back-room politics involved, and the profiting off of destructive fights leaves a bad taste in my mouth, the organization does a great deal of good nationally and internationally," you lay out.
"In a big picture sense, sure, but what about the personal scale?" he asks. "Back-up, info, training, funding, it'd free you up to do this sort of thing full time-assuming you don't already," he adds quickly.
"The thing is that as of right now, most of my abilities have a long cooldown, the ones that don't aren't meaningfully better than a dude with a gun, no offence."
"As of right now?-sorry I shouldn't pry," McKay apologizes. "Even so, during the rest time you can study and do training right?"
"Sure," you concede. "Also on the personal scale, well, I'm not entirely sure that I want to commit to an organization with strict timescales and hierarchies. I get that for a group that size, scheduling and ranks are needed, I just have to decide if giving up on the flexibility of independence is worth it. "
"I'm glad that you're thinking about this seriously," he says.
"Of course, thanks for letting me ride along," you say.
After that, the rest of the ride along is uneventful.
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Once you have set up a healing session at the hospital, you head over there after work. Waiting outside one of the side doors is a male nurse in full scrubs. Seeing you he gives you a brief on the situation.
"Normally we would have to doing some paperwork, acclimation to our processes here, and some classes, but we got a kid on the way with critical blood loss," he says, opening the door and grabbing some hand sanitizer. "Some of the folks over in legal are talking with the parents about getting release forms signed."
The responsibility that you have accepted, for the first time really hits home. If you aren't able to heal this child then they will either die, or in the best case scenario have a long recovery time and permanent scarring.
While walking to the emergency room you introduce yourselves to each other. "I'm Ethan and I'm going to be your liaison around here."
"I go by Vicar," you respond.
"If it isn't too personal to ask: why?" he says.
You take a moment to collect your thoughts then say, "it's a reminder. I never want to forget that I need to act as a representative for the poor, the forgotten and the downtrodden. There are too many stories of people forgetting themselves once they find success, tales of how easily power can be abused. I never want that to be me."
The rest of the walk to the emergency room is made in solemn quiet.
The emergency room that you are brought to has a thick smell of antiseptic. On the gurney is a small child, six or seven years old, with his face covered in bloody bandages. One of the doctors walks up to Ethan and says, "the parents gave permission for experimental treatment. "
"Is there anything else you need?" Ethan asks.
"No," you say, stepping forward to the kid. You reach out with a trembling hand, knowing that if this doesn't work… you don't want to think about what would happen.
Pressing your hand into a patch of exposed skin on his neck, you release the wave of blue-white healing energy and watch as the bleeding stops.
Someone nearby asks if anything else needs to be done and you numbly shake your head. Seemingly the next instant the kid is surrounded by medical professionals and you are nicely, but firmly led out of the room.
The parents are nervously waiting outside the door, the father pacing and the mother wringing her hands.
"How is he," the woman pleads.
"I stopped the bleeding," you say, noticing afterwards that Ethan is trying to subtly get something across to you. In your overwhelmed state you can't quite parse what it is. Once you regain focus into the conversation you see the woman crying into her husband's chest.
One of the doctors steps out from the room behind you and says, "your son is fine. We're just going to finish cleaning him up then you can come in and see him."
The father grabs your hand firmly and says, "thank you, thank you so much."
"Of course," you say, still trying to regain your balance. Before your healing power seemed near useless, never getting to see its strengths. Now though, you get it, your power is great for triage, that's the type of healing you should be focusing on.
The two parents rush into the emergency room, and Ethan leads you over to one of the hospital's break rooms.
"Now that the first bit of excitement's over, here is the first booklet," he says, holding out a safety manual.
The two of you spend the next few hours going over medical disclaimers, legal information and hospital procedure.
You go to bed that night buoyed by the warmth of having saved a life.
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Near the end of the week you take your last day off, and head over to the PRT for another patrol. This time it is going to be a walking patrol with two heroes: Archetype and a newly transferred hero named Newton. Knowing that your feet are going to be killing you by the end of it, you preemptively take some aspirin.
It's a cold and clear fall day outside and you take a moment to appreciate the lack of cloud cover. You make your way down to the PRT office, jogging at times to warm up. The front door people are starting to recognize you at the headquarters, so the one currently on shift lets you right in.
You walk straight down to the meeting room that you have been to a few times now. Inside is who you assume to be Newton. He is lounging on a chair in his full costume; a pink bodysuit, attached navy blue plates and an angular gunmetal gray helmet covering the front of his face and leaving his shaved heavily scarred head exposed.
"Hey, uhh, I'm Vicar, I assume you're Newton?" you venture.
"Yeah," he says in a higher pitch voice than you would expect based on his buff appearance.
You wait a minute in case he has anything else to say, when there is nothing forthcoming you ask, "are we going to meet up with Archetype?"
"Yup," he bluntly says.
Getting the message that he doesn't want to talk to you, you pull up a chair and start going through the supplies you keep in your utility belt. First aid/trauma kit, fifty feet of cord, protein bars, water bottle, pocket knife, baggie of fireflies, some blindfolds and gags (most movers need line of sight, some masters need to speak).
After going through your stuff, you spend a bit of time evaluating your core. The intangible orb of spectral energy that you have now had for a while. A trick that you have been experimenting with is expending the ball, tracing the energy down your arms to your fingers so you can use the power instantly. So you begin the process and once you get to the point of no return with the energy tingling in your fingers, you instead force it back up your arms, and coil it into ball form.
On the fifth or sixth time going through the process, a blur of green light hovers into the room. In your head you hear a peppy feminine voice, hi, I'm Archetype, are you the new guy?
You try thinking to her, yeah, I'm Vicar.
After getting no response, you repeat it out loud.
You hear in your head again, cool! My thing is that I have three power sets that I switch between every day. I can't have the same power for two days in a row. What about you?
"I've got two types of blasts, a weak telekinesis, a triage heal that works once a day, and a few other minor powers."
Wow! That's a huge spread, I have a Brute power that makes me slow, a Thinker power that makes me vulnerable and this one that makes it hard for me to communicate.
"You seem fine to me?"
Well, I am only talking to you, I can't project to more than one person at a time, and even then, it's only 'cus you are looking at me that I can project to you at all.
"Alright that makes sense, what about you Newton?"
"I've got a Brute force field and when it gets hit, it powers up my gravity control. Any questions or can we go?"
Before you can really think about it, he takes your silence as affirmation and gets up and starts walking to the door. You notice that he walks in an odd way, perhaps it's the armor?
The two of you walk out the door and Archetype flies behind you. On the way outside Newton slings an oxygen tank onto his back without a word. While you all make your way through the complex he attaches a heavy duty tube from the top of the tank to his mask.
Seeing your look he says, "In case of a crisis, my effectiveness is more important than pride."
Archetype projects to you, Newton has permanent lung damage, to try to combat it she tries to improve her heart, but sometimes she can't get enough air anyway.
Well, it seems Newton is a woman, it's a good thing you didn't say anything related to that before finding it out.
Right as you are leaving the PRT headquarters you hear a loud rumbling and feel the ground shake. Looking around wildly, a block or two away you glimpse a cloud of cement dust billowing up into the air.
The three of you start running/flying over to the location. Newton activates his-her air tank and contacts the main office. Archetype blurs past the two of you flashing through the dust cloud.
You hear Newton take a deep breath from the air tank and yell over the roaring of the chaos around you, "stick with me, we're on discovery and recovery."
Before making it to the building you have a moment to think, what sort of approach do you want to make to any villains you find?
Options: (Pick 1)
[ ] Aggressive
-Use your strongest blast and try to blitz them.
Pro: This will almost certainly take whoever it is down.
Con: This will only leave you with a single heal.
[ ] Defensive
-Use Armor of Agathys to give yourself more time and perhaps an extra hit.
Pro: You are squishy, especially to Brutes, this will hurt them and make you tougher.
Con: Ranged enemies won't be hurt by this, also it leaves you with one heal.
[ ] Diplomatic
-Try to reason with them or, failing that, stall the villain.
Pro: Requires the least commitment, and can keep a villain around until the PRT gets here.
Con: Takes the most time thus allowing victims to stay in dangerous positions.
[ ] Other
-Write in.
Pros: Up to you.
Cons: Requires writing, personal investment, and creativity.
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This is the first half of the chapter, the second half will consist of some healing at the hospital and a second patrol with the PRT. Also, next half of the chapter will lead into the first combat encounter >: )
12/2/21 Edit: I decided to put in the hospital scene as a reward for anyone who checks this out early.
12/23/21 Edit: DONE.
Last edited:
Discovery-5-1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The two of you rush across the street, your heart beginning to pound. You try to breathe through your mouth to lessen the acrid sting of cement dust. Sirens blare in the distance and you strain your ears to hear survivors in the wreckage.
8 + 2 is a total of 10, not bad, but not great.
As you get through the initial blastwave and near the high-rise, Newton starts leading you to a partially collapsed doorway. Inside is an old man on the ground, in a widening pool of blood. You step into help and Newton's arm bars the way.
In between deep breaths she explains, "first rule of first aid: don't become another victim."
While opening up your first aid kit you study the room and find no threats. Once you're ready to help, you step in and start dressing his head wound.
Once you're done, she grabs him and gently carries him out the front of the building. As she passes you, she whispers, "look at the leaking on the bricks. "
You follow her back out of the building. When she disappears into the smoke you step to the side of the building and notice a trickle of acid dripping down from the third floor, landing with a hiss on the concrete below.
Your instinct is to head back into the ruined building, you know that there are more people stuck in there, possibly even in life threatening danger. The trail of acid however confirms that villains are what caused this, and you need to wait for your ally to come back, whether it is Newton, or Archetype.
Swallowing thickly, knowing that when either returns you're about to head into a fight, you splash the front of your costume with a bit of water and harden it into spikes of armor.
Taking the moment to center yourself, you hear screeching of tires over the general chaos and several sets of sirens trailing behind it. Billowing towards you is a wave of lightish green gas, carried on the wind.
Stalking out of the clouds of ash and dust, Newton says, "Archetype's acting as a messenger n' scout. She let me know where the EMS station was. "
You nod then step into place behind her, as the two of you head into the ruined building.
The two of you make your way to the first stairwell and she continues, "I have to give you the option to back out."
You can't tell if you're imagining the disapproval in her voice, either way it doesn't change your resolve, "I've got my armor applied, and there's almost certainly more people in here, lets go.
She gives you a nod and leads up the stairs. Under her breath she says, "since I'm more experienced, and a Brute, I'll be taking point."
"Understood. Do you know who that could be, up there?" You ask.
"Either the villain upstairs is a new one, or its Melt," Newton takes a deep breath from her air tank, pausing on the landing of the stairwell you are climbing.
"I'm not familiar with Melt. I assume he has an acid power, but that's about it," you offer.
"She's a bit of a small-timer, the group she's a part of are The Destroyers. They collapsed the Woodhaven overpass a few weeks ago."
You remember hearing about that, a group of villains brought down the overpass in the north side of the city, blocking off the highway for days. It turned out that the destruction was a distraction for the Argonauts to pull off mayhem elsewhere. You hope that the heroes can deal with whatever else is going on in the city. You just need to look after those in this building.
Interrupting your thoughts Newton continues, "she makes acid flows, I'll distract her and power up, you hit her from range."
After getting your affirmation for the plan, the two of you head deeper into the building. As quietly as you can, you both creep into the upper floor. Following the hissing, you both stop outside of the door where the drip of acid came from.
20! Nice!, that's a total of 22.
Sneaking over to part of the floor that had collapsed, you stick your head outside the building, glancing into the next room. You can't get a clear look in the room with the villain, but you see that the floor on the other side of the door is weakened.
You creep back to Newton and relay the discovery. She takes it in, processes for a moment and says, "alright, I'm gonna jump past the weak point, and get in her face, you stay in the doorway and take potshots, got it?"
You nod, and begin the incantation. Everything else seems to happen in a blur:
Newton busts through the door and jumps over the weak point of the floor.
You let loose your eldritch blast as soon as you see Melt.
10 + 5 is a 15, which is a hit, roll 1d10 for damage, which is a 6. With 6 hit points that is enough to knock her out, but not outright kill her.
Almost magnetically, the blast strikes the green and black clad supervillain.
Newton rises with fists up from the roll she used to bleed off the momentum from her jump.
Melt crumples to the ground.
Newton rushes forward to restrain Melt with a set of cuffs.
After restraining her, Newton checks her pulse. You hold your breath, Newton gives you a thumbs up, then slings Melt over her shoulder. Letting out a shuddering sigh, you question how close you came to accidentally killing Melt.
Using her super strength, Newton jumps back over to you and, perhaps accidentally, bonks Melts head on the doorway as she carries her through.
The two (three?) of you head back through the ruined building down to the EMS station. You pass through the settling dust, and see a street full of EMT's, Police, Firefighters, and PRT troopers. Seeing all the people coming together to help in the emergency, fills your heart.
Near the back of the PRT van, Staunch is standing in his power armor next to a pillar of foam.
When you get close you hear him ask, "Is that Melt?"
You wait for Newton to answer and when she doesn't, you say, "Yes, as far as we know."
Once she reaches the van, Newton dumps Melt onto the ground. You try to muster up concern for the villain, but despite yourself you can't.
After unloading her cargo, Newton walks to Staunch and asks, "What's next?"
"Dampen and Clearsight are helping the fire team. Some of us are on protection, if the Argonauts try to break out The Destroyers." Addressing you directly he asks, "Can you head over to the EMT's? You've already gone beyond the call, but if you have any healing power left can you lighten their load before you go? Either way, you've already saved lives today and I hope your willing to come back to base with us"
"Of course," you say simply. "Though I may not go back to base with you."
Heading over to the clump of ambulances, you find someone who looks to have some authority and say, "I'm a triage healer, so can you direct me to someone hurt?"
A bit confused, he glances to Staunch in the distance, who nods. The EMT leads you to the back of an ambulance where there is a middle aged man laying on a stretcher with bloody bandages around his torso.
You reach out and touch his forehead releasing the healing energy.
Roll 1d6, which results in a 5.
You say, "he should be fine when he wakes up."
The EMT leads you to an empty stretcher and asks you to sit. He starts asking you questions about the effects of your ability. You answer him to the best of your knowledge, and in the midst of your discussion you start to crash. He drapes a blanket over your shoulders and lets you know that he needs to see to other patients, but you are free to stay there until one of the heroes comes to get you.
You take a minute for the shakes to stabilize, then force yourself back to your feet. Heading back to the smoking building you step up to some of the firefighters and say, "hey, uhmm I have decently ranged telekinesis, is there anyone trapped that I can bring stuff too?"
Coming to a split second decision, the lead firefighter says, "Dan here, will take you to one of the fire-trucks."
He turns to one of the other firefighters and directs him to get one of the first aid kits and lead you to the three clumps of trapped people.
The first two clumps you are able to ferry help to, without much issue. The third has two people: a woman that had woken up sliding off of rebar impaled through her, and an unconscious man pinned under some rocks.
While your bobbing mage hand brings first aid to the woman (who you discover is named Kelly), Dan the firefighter gives her directions. Where to stick to in their hollow, the best ways to use the supplies you are getting them. During this process, the three of you hear a crashing and grinding noise come from above, and the pitter patter of debris in the hollow in front of you.
Everyone freezes in a primordial reaction to the shifting building. Once things settle back down, you finish the final lap of supplies.
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Seemingly both a minute and a few days you stumble out of the ruins for a final time. It is much darker in the day and a softly glowing Archetype floats in front of you. She thinks at you, Do you want to come back to the PRT office?
Snapping into awareness you say, "No thanks, I think I'll head home."
We've got showers, with hot water, you hear in a sing-songy thought.
"No thanks, I just want some sleep, and to get out of my costume," you say, trying to cover up your bone-deep exhaustion.
If you're sure, I'll let everyone know. Uh, one final question, we're trying to nail down where something happened. Did you have a brief out of body experience?
"No, not that I noticed, sorry," you say, tiredly.
Alright, well, thanks for your help, here's to hoping we have a more boring patrol next time.
"Thanks," you say, walking past the caution tape line, heading home.
Pick 5 actions to take, with the number of actions per choice between parentheses.
[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----Sell ( )
-----Work ( )
[ ] Rest ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
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Assuming nothing bad happens, you are going to get your first XP next turn. Woo!
8 + 2 is a total of 10, not bad, but not great.
As you get through the initial blastwave and near the high-rise, Newton starts leading you to a partially collapsed doorway. Inside is an old man on the ground, in a widening pool of blood. You step into help and Newton's arm bars the way.
In between deep breaths she explains, "first rule of first aid: don't become another victim."
While opening up your first aid kit you study the room and find no threats. Once you're ready to help, you step in and start dressing his head wound.
Once you're done, she grabs him and gently carries him out the front of the building. As she passes you, she whispers, "look at the leaking on the bricks. "
You follow her back out of the building. When she disappears into the smoke you step to the side of the building and notice a trickle of acid dripping down from the third floor, landing with a hiss on the concrete below.
Your instinct is to head back into the ruined building, you know that there are more people stuck in there, possibly even in life threatening danger. The trail of acid however confirms that villains are what caused this, and you need to wait for your ally to come back, whether it is Newton, or Archetype.
Swallowing thickly, knowing that when either returns you're about to head into a fight, you splash the front of your costume with a bit of water and harden it into spikes of armor.
Taking the moment to center yourself, you hear screeching of tires over the general chaos and several sets of sirens trailing behind it. Billowing towards you is a wave of lightish green gas, carried on the wind.
Stalking out of the clouds of ash and dust, Newton says, "Archetype's acting as a messenger n' scout. She let me know where the EMS station was. "
You nod then step into place behind her, as the two of you head into the ruined building.
The two of you make your way to the first stairwell and she continues, "I have to give you the option to back out."
You can't tell if you're imagining the disapproval in her voice, either way it doesn't change your resolve, "I've got my armor applied, and there's almost certainly more people in here, lets go.
She gives you a nod and leads up the stairs. Under her breath she says, "since I'm more experienced, and a Brute, I'll be taking point."
"Understood. Do you know who that could be, up there?" You ask.
"Either the villain upstairs is a new one, or its Melt," Newton takes a deep breath from her air tank, pausing on the landing of the stairwell you are climbing.
"I'm not familiar with Melt. I assume he has an acid power, but that's about it," you offer.
"She's a bit of a small-timer, the group she's a part of are The Destroyers. They collapsed the Woodhaven overpass a few weeks ago."
You remember hearing about that, a group of villains brought down the overpass in the north side of the city, blocking off the highway for days. It turned out that the destruction was a distraction for the Argonauts to pull off mayhem elsewhere. You hope that the heroes can deal with whatever else is going on in the city. You just need to look after those in this building.
Interrupting your thoughts Newton continues, "she makes acid flows, I'll distract her and power up, you hit her from range."
After getting your affirmation for the plan, the two of you head deeper into the building. As quietly as you can, you both creep into the upper floor. Following the hissing, you both stop outside of the door where the drip of acid came from.
20! Nice!, that's a total of 22.
Sneaking over to part of the floor that had collapsed, you stick your head outside the building, glancing into the next room. You can't get a clear look in the room with the villain, but you see that the floor on the other side of the door is weakened.
You creep back to Newton and relay the discovery. She takes it in, processes for a moment and says, "alright, I'm gonna jump past the weak point, and get in her face, you stay in the doorway and take potshots, got it?"
You nod, and begin the incantation. Everything else seems to happen in a blur:
Newton busts through the door and jumps over the weak point of the floor.
You let loose your eldritch blast as soon as you see Melt.
10 + 5 is a 15, which is a hit, roll 1d10 for damage, which is a 6. With 6 hit points that is enough to knock her out, but not outright kill her.
Almost magnetically, the blast strikes the green and black clad supervillain.
Newton rises with fists up from the roll she used to bleed off the momentum from her jump.
Melt crumples to the ground.
Newton rushes forward to restrain Melt with a set of cuffs.
After restraining her, Newton checks her pulse. You hold your breath, Newton gives you a thumbs up, then slings Melt over her shoulder. Letting out a shuddering sigh, you question how close you came to accidentally killing Melt.
Using her super strength, Newton jumps back over to you and, perhaps accidentally, bonks Melts head on the doorway as she carries her through.
The two (three?) of you head back through the ruined building down to the EMS station. You pass through the settling dust, and see a street full of EMT's, Police, Firefighters, and PRT troopers. Seeing all the people coming together to help in the emergency, fills your heart.
Near the back of the PRT van, Staunch is standing in his power armor next to a pillar of foam.
When you get close you hear him ask, "Is that Melt?"
You wait for Newton to answer and when she doesn't, you say, "Yes, as far as we know."
Once she reaches the van, Newton dumps Melt onto the ground. You try to muster up concern for the villain, but despite yourself you can't.
After unloading her cargo, Newton walks to Staunch and asks, "What's next?"
"Dampen and Clearsight are helping the fire team. Some of us are on protection, if the Argonauts try to break out The Destroyers." Addressing you directly he asks, "Can you head over to the EMT's? You've already gone beyond the call, but if you have any healing power left can you lighten their load before you go? Either way, you've already saved lives today and I hope your willing to come back to base with us"
"Of course," you say simply. "Though I may not go back to base with you."
Heading over to the clump of ambulances, you find someone who looks to have some authority and say, "I'm a triage healer, so can you direct me to someone hurt?"
A bit confused, he glances to Staunch in the distance, who nods. The EMT leads you to the back of an ambulance where there is a middle aged man laying on a stretcher with bloody bandages around his torso.
You reach out and touch his forehead releasing the healing energy.
Roll 1d6, which results in a 5.
You say, "he should be fine when he wakes up."
The EMT leads you to an empty stretcher and asks you to sit. He starts asking you questions about the effects of your ability. You answer him to the best of your knowledge, and in the midst of your discussion you start to crash. He drapes a blanket over your shoulders and lets you know that he needs to see to other patients, but you are free to stay there until one of the heroes comes to get you.
You take a minute for the shakes to stabilize, then force yourself back to your feet. Heading back to the smoking building you step up to some of the firefighters and say, "hey, uhmm I have decently ranged telekinesis, is there anyone trapped that I can bring stuff too?"
Coming to a split second decision, the lead firefighter says, "Dan here, will take you to one of the fire-trucks."
He turns to one of the other firefighters and directs him to get one of the first aid kits and lead you to the three clumps of trapped people.
The first two clumps you are able to ferry help to, without much issue. The third has two people: a woman that had woken up sliding off of rebar impaled through her, and an unconscious man pinned under some rocks.
While your bobbing mage hand brings first aid to the woman (who you discover is named Kelly), Dan the firefighter gives her directions. Where to stick to in their hollow, the best ways to use the supplies you are getting them. During this process, the three of you hear a crashing and grinding noise come from above, and the pitter patter of debris in the hollow in front of you.
Everyone freezes in a primordial reaction to the shifting building. Once things settle back down, you finish the final lap of supplies.
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Seemingly both a minute and a few days you stumble out of the ruins for a final time. It is much darker in the day and a softly glowing Archetype floats in front of you. She thinks at you, Do you want to come back to the PRT office?
Snapping into awareness you say, "No thanks, I think I'll head home."
We've got showers, with hot water, you hear in a sing-songy thought.
"No thanks, I just want some sleep, and to get out of my costume," you say, trying to cover up your bone-deep exhaustion.
If you're sure, I'll let everyone know. Uh, one final question, we're trying to nail down where something happened. Did you have a brief out of body experience?
"No, not that I noticed, sorry," you say, tiredly.
Alright, well, thanks for your help, here's to hoping we have a more boring patrol next time.
"Thanks," you say, walking past the caution tape line, heading home.
Pick 5 actions to take, with the number of actions per choice between parentheses.
[ ] Action
-----Patrol ( )
-----Task ( )
-----Scout ( )
[ ] Network
-----Protectorate ( )
-----Corporate ( )
-----Other ( )
[ ] Research
-----Learn about factions ( )
-----Self ( )
-----Individuals ( )
[ ] Resources
-----Buy ( )
-----
-----Work ( )
[ ] Write-in ( )
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Assuming nothing bad happens, you are going to get your first XP next turn. Woo!