TotMGV:G2: Return to Rio (Subplot)

[DragonRage]

"I POSSESS A DOCTORATE!" The armored man declares, "A DOCTORATE IN DOOM!  AND ALSO A DOCTORATE IN QUANTUM PHYSICS.  DOOM IS AS VERSATILE AS HE IS MAGNIFICENT!"  That clarified, Doctor Doom steps through his disc, and does not appear on the other side.  The disc vanishes silently, leaving you free to loot the room.

 

Items Gained!

Spoiler

Drop Shield

This heavy belt generates disposable shield generators using Vishkar hard-light construction technology.  It can protect your allies, but won’t last against focused fire.

Type:  Bauble

Res/Damage:  None

Weight:  8

Minimum Stats:  None

Special Qualities:

Shields Up:  You may spend an action to deploy a shield generator to protect up to 3 target allies.  The shield has hit points equal to your maximum hit points, but no resistance.  It lasts for 3 rounds, or until destroyed.  You can cover yourself with the shield.  The belt requires 20 rounds to generate a new shield, and it can only hold one at a time.  The shield generators will lose charge if kept apart from the belt, running out of power in 6 rounds.

 

Hellfire Shotguns

This ornate, skull-topped metal ring summons sawn-off shotguns coated with gothic decoration and Edgar Allen Poe quotes into the wearer’s hands with the flick of a switch.  Instead of reloading, one simply discards the hard-light weapons and generates a new pair.

Type:  Weapon

Damage:  1d6 + dex

Weight:  4

Minimum Stats:  None.

Synergy Threshold/Bonus:  Every 7 synergy you have increases the base damage by 1d6.

Special Qualities:

+1 Spookiness:  The sinister shotguns grant a 25% bonus to all opposed checks to apply mental or psychological effects to enemies.

Never Stop Shooting:  Once per combat, the wielder may ignore an effect that would prevent them from acting on their turn.

+1 Edginess:  The sheer edginess of the Hellfire Shotguns embarrass everyone except their one true master.  You get a 25% penalty on all opposed checks to resist mental or psychological effects.

 

Raptora Mk 6

This predatory, beak-helmed armor is equipped with jump jets and a powerful rocket launcher.  Watch the skies!

Type:  Armor

Resistance:  6 + dex/4

Weight:  6

Minimum Stats:  None

Syn Threshold/Bonus:  Every 4 synergy you have increases your dexterity by 1.

Special Qualities:

Jump Jets:  As a free action, you may activate your jump jets, evading the enemy action that would deal you the most damage before your next turn.  This action has a 5 round cooldown whether you are attacked or not.

Ultimate Charge 0/10:  Whenever you damage an enemy, you gain 1 ultimate charge, to a maximum of 10.  You cannot gain more than 1 charge per action performed.  Ultimate charge is retained until spent, but cannot be transferred from 1 person to another.

Barrage:  As a free action, you may activate this ability by spending 10 ultimate charges.  Until your next turn, your equipped weapon is replaced by Rocket Barrage, a weightless weapon that deals 10d6 + dex damage.  The weapon may target any number of enemies with its attacks, including basic attacks, but it must target at least 3 of them.  If there are fewer than 3 targets available, it still acts as though it were targeting 3 enemies.  The damage is divided evenly among all targets.  This ability requires 15 dexterity to use.  You cannot gain ultimate charge from using this ability.

 

Snowball II and Jacket

This thick, fuzzy jacket protects from the cold, but doesn’t ever let the wearer get overheated.  An adorable drone sits atop a self-refilling cylinder of cryogenic fluid strapped to its back.

Type:  Armor

Res:  4  (Increased against cold effects)

Weight:  3

Minimum Stats:  None

Syn Threshold/Bonus:  Grants a resistance bonus equal to your synergy against cold-based attacks.

Special Qualities:

Endothermic Mod:  A wearer with at least 5 intelligence can hook Snowball’s cryogenic fluid chamber to any gun or energy weapon, allowing it to deal cold damage.  Anyone damaged by a weapon affected by the Endothermic Mod has their initiative reduced by synergy/3.

Cryo-Freeze:  The wearer uses an action to activate Snowball’s emergency self-preservation protocols, and is encased in ice for one round.  While encased, the user is immune to all other friendly and enemy actions, but is healed for synergy + level HP and cleansed of a status effect or debuff of their choice.  While Cryo-Freeze is active, you may not use actions.  You need at least 10 intelligence to use Cryo-Freeze.  This ability has an 8 round cooldown.

Ultimate Charge 0/10:  Whenever you reduce an enemy’s initiative, you gain 1 ultimate charge, to a maximum of 10.  You cannot gain more than 1 charge per action performed.  Ultimate charge is retained until spent, but cannot be transferred from 1 person to another.

Blizzard:  You use a free action to launch Snowball into the air above your enemies, unleashing a storm of frost.  For the next 2 rounds, each enemy loses initiative equal to your synergy at the beginning of each of your turns.  If this reduction would reduce them to an initiative value that is less than 0, they are also stunned for their next turn.  Snowball will continue to freeze enemies no matter what happens to you.  You must spend 10 ultimate charge to use this ability.  This ability requires 15 intelligence to use.  This ability cannot generate ultimate charge.

 

[OOC:  You now have all the major loot items save the potential bonus rewards for the Sombra side-quest.  I'd strongly recommend deciding who gets what and equipping what you can before proceeding.]

Edited April 13, 2017 by DragonRage

[Code: PIRULUK]

Kagari cast a cursory glance over the equipment laid out before them. Nothing particularly caught her interest. The jacket was of no use to her, given that she was able to restructure herself to keep the cold out. The shotguns might have interested her, but they were far too gaudy. She was not a fan of the idea of something as tasteless as that floating around in her conceptual makeup. The shield seemed helpful, but again, it was a bit too ugly. Also difficult to coordinate. Belts and swimsuits hardly match well.

 

Having decided to leave these to others, she hung back and quietly contemplated what she could do with the revolver she had taken from the pile a couple days ago...

[StormLord]

Friedhold sighs softly as "DOOM" walks through the portal, he wasn't sure if he liked what just happened but there wasn't much he could do about it now.  "Ana, please tell me you know who he that man was.  Because he did not look like a Vishkar agent nor he didn't look like someone you would soon forget."  He then decides to look over the various R&D projects only to come to the conclusion that they all look like they were designed be five-year-olds.  Upon closer inspection the items seem like they may have genuine usefulness despite their looks, a self refilling tank of cryogenic fluid in particular seemed like something he could capitalize on.

 

Friedhold takes "Snowball II & Jacket" assuming that's alright with everyone else.

[Powder Miner]

Isobel looks over the loot and scratches her head through her bandanna. "Um... hum... besides the jacket, then, I don't really know what would be useful, and I guess I already have Mar's device so I'm decently equipped. Uh... I guess I'll pass? You guys take what you want. ...LOTUS, do you have any objections to this?"

"As much as it kills me to say this, no, I don't think we really would get a worthwhile return from taking anything ourselves. Look folks, if noone wants anything, I'm going to go and make suggestions. I don't know the function of that staff you're carrying, so I can't comment, but from what I'm gleaning from the data here, I think we should divvy up the data in this lab as such:

Shield should go to Sachi, she's by my estimation the most capable of taking a hit even unarmoured, and though I'm not one hundred percent sure how it works, especially in my present state, it looks like the shield's more effective with tougher people. 

The Raptora Armor would go to someone fast and strong, which by my metric might match Hikari. If it doesn't fit your magical performer shtick, just trade it away when we get back to the castle or something.

The World's Most Edgy Shotguns would I think fit best with Kagari but they... definitely fit a certain niche so those might just be taken to trade anyway. If you don't want what I've suggested and noone else does, just carry it for now. You'll probably be able to get something out of it if someone wants it."

 

[ElfCollaborator]

"Y-yeah, maybe I s-should take the shield. It'd make my job easier....I-I suppose....."

Sachi doesn't object at all, but she seems rather antsy.

[Twinwolf]

"I mean... a heavy assault rifle doesn't really fit 'magic performer' either." Hikari says, as she picks up the apparently raptor-themed armor. "And if you think about the whole 'wyvern rider' theme, it actually kinda fits. Ivory, you got this?" 

 

I've got it. It actually somewhat resembles the armor worn by high ranking wyvern riders, as far as I can recall. You won't have a problem using it. 

 

Hikari nods to herself. The Raptora armor is wreathed in a blue glow for a few moments, before fading away, waiting to be called for Hikari's use.

[Code: PIRULUK]

Kagari eyed the shotguns with distaste. She wasn't particularly a fan of shotguns, since they were weapons designed for causing excessive damage. And they were ugly. These shotguns, especially, suggested a complete lack of regard for appearances. How anyone could bear to use them was beyond her. She upturned her nose and remained in her spot against the wall. Let someone else have them. She wasn't going to sully her hands by touching them.

[Noir]

Venus

 

The only remote thing that had enraptured the artist's interest was the thick, wooly jacket complemented with a rather...odd metallic device of sorts. For whatever purpose such an unfashionable garb would serve Venus failed to comprehend -- as an artiste and an assassin, the jacket was too impractical, conspicuous, and above all unstylish. He seemed slightly thankful that someone else had chosen it before him, lest he be relegated to the limited choices of gear set out before him. Venus didn't even manage a moment of the twin shotguns that were proposed to the group -- any gun other than his own paled in comparison. Only Whisper, signature to his name and craft, and his art, belonged in his hand. Hers was the only song he would hear sing, the only brush Venus would paint with. He would take no less than perfection. 

 

Venus then turned his attentions on the staff the group had collected before the previous mission. Fastidious as the artist was, he decided it was best not to leave the place empty-handed. It seemed to the lightest object available, not taking excessive space in his sack now packed with belongings throughout his journey. No one else had also seemed to show any relevant attention to it as well -- without a word or resistance, Venus collected the staff, examining its distinct surface meticulously. Little the wand in his hand did to appeal to him, but he concluded that it would suffice. 

 

Venus takes the Caduceus Staff. 

 

 

[Powder Miner]

There was an irritated electronic sigh from the robot. "Come on, let's go people. Sachi, take the shield. It's more useful in your hands than in anyone else's. Isobel, just grab the damn shotguns. If noone else wants them then we can at least get something out of them later." Isobel began to speak up... "But--" ...but was promptly cut off by her own personal AI. "I'm not asking you to use them, Isobel. But we can grab them and we can sell them or trade them for something you'll use, since noone else seems to want to take that opportunity."

Isobel frowns, shrugs, and grabs the shotguns.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Powder Miner

[LucidRain]

"Okay, let us make haste, everyone! It is no secret that we are dealing with very dangerous people, and power that can fall into wrong hands! No time to lose!"

Wyvis looks at Isobel. "Isobel, do you have miss Sombra's equipment? It would be unwise to send her into battle without any way to defend herself."

[Powder Miner]

Isobel brings her hand to her forehead with an audible little slap. "Oh man, I forgot! Uh, yeah, I've got it. Here." Isobel walks up to the pink-haired hacker and hands her the pile of her stuff she'd been hauling. 

 

LOTUS speaks up as the handoff takes place. "Keep an eye on her, folks. Don't want to get stabbed --or in this case hacked-- in the back due to a lack of vigilance."

[DragonRage]

"Ah, thank you, mi amigo," Sombra sweeps the pile of stuff out of Isobel's arms, and swiftly dons first an armored vest, then a set of gloves set with claw-like fingernails, then a long, flowing, dark coat with purple highlights.  Several gadgets, including a compact submachine gun, vanish into the coat's voluminous pockets.  "Don't worry.  I won't try to run.  After all, we're friends, and friends watch each others' backs in hot zones, right?"

[Powder Miner]

"I'm not a Tactical Friendship Tablet, so I'm gonna tell you you're being more than a little presumptuous with that there statement. Help against presumably horrible eldritch beings is of course always appreciated, but this will not abruptly turn me stupid."

[StormLord]

After collecting his portion of the loot Friedhold looked around at the others bickering over what they were going to take themselves and sighed softly, they were lucky they'd made it this far and the chances of them making it out unscathed seemed slim at best.  Getting this small rag-tag group to work like a proper team(though the tower mission seemed to be going well) would take either loss to drive them together, or a miracle, but that was something he knew you shouldn't bother waiting for.

 

Friedhold shook his head, brought himself back to reality, back to the problems at hand.  He decided to look around the labs some more, looking for any interesting chemical or material samples, research notes, or any other fancy science stuffs.

[LucidRain]

"Ah, we mustn't be so suspecting of each other. I am sure Miss Sombra will do the right thing and aid us in our quest to break down this corporation. And if in the event she does make a mistake, I am sure we will be able to right her wrongs." Wyvis gives Sombra a reassuring pat on the back. 

I admit, this character looks rather sketchy. I must practice constant vigilance if I am to not be caught off guard. However, I must give her some trust, for that is only where teamwork may happen.

[DragonRage]

Friedhold canvasses the lab, discovering several gear pieces in varying states of disassembly.  However, he can't identify what they are, as none are anywhere close to completion, and their parts are scattered.  If he wanted, he could grab one and try to sort it out later.  That's when Lucio's voice sounds through the radio.

 

"We're taking heavy- aah!  Heavy fire!  Oh sh- Look out for that bastion, McCree!  Did that thing just sprout tentacles?!  Priority alpha, anybody on this frequency!  We need immediate assistance!  Vishkar's unleashed some freaky science experiments!  They're after the refugees!  We- Zarya, Winston, get that architech squad before they can set up!  Go!  We need help, now, or the civilians will be wiped out!"

 

Ana swears under her breath in Arabic, and nods to Genji, who immediately vanishes in a cloud of smoke.  "That's not good.  We need to get down there now!  I'll try to find a good sniping position in a more stable skyscraper.  The rest of you must protect the refugees.  It sounds like the Overwatch team is being buried in bodies.  They'll need reinforcements."

[StormLord]

Friedhold grabs the most complex and intricate looking project, favoring something small over something large.

After sweeping up the last few loose pieces of whatever he found Friedhold walked quietly over to where he had left the little girl playing, "Play time is over little one" he says while removing what seemed to be the sharpest small object she could find from her hands and shoving it in his pocket.  He then picked her up and set her on one shoulder, slung the Snowball over the other shoulder and started walking towards the door while addressing Ana "Is there anyway you could fly us closer to the fight before you setup for sniping?"

[DragonRage]

"Do you want to risk going through this building even more to get to the helicopter?" Ana asks, "The laws of physics seem to be slowly breaking down in here."

 

"I can teleport us safely out of the building," Symmetra adds, "I have a teleporter pad set up in Lucio's main base for use as an exit point.  According to Athena, Winston's AI assistant, it'll be a short walk from there to the battlefield."

[LucidRain]

"Very well - we must join our companions quickly. It seems as if these abominations are a threat to much of the city, if not stopped. Let us take the faster option." Wyvis nods adamantly to Symmetra. 

[Code: PIRULUK]

Kagari quickly took out the revolver she had nicked from the pile and glanced at it, before swallowing it in a single gulp. She felt that nice, tingly feeling of her body registering new material, then quickly shaped the data into something that was more useful for her.

 

Peacemaker consumed.

New Action Gained: Revolver Ass

 

Revolver Ass: Deals Nd4 damage to a target, where N = (1 + DEX/2). If an enemy has hit her with a melee action the previous turn, Kagari can choose to Unload against that enemy, giving the attack a 1.5x damage modifier and causing it to count as three distinct hits of equal damage. If Kagari chooses to Unload, she is Action-Locked for a turn.

[Powder Miner]

Isobel gasp and then turned to Symmetra, sudden determination in her eyes along with the horror. "Oh my God... we've got to go and help!"

LOTUS turns his facial expression into a ">:|" (like his normal neutral :| but more intense) and barks out a "If we're going to go, let's go! They sound too busy to provide us with any real intel, so we just need to go now before the situation deteriorates too far!"

Edited April 23, 2017 by Powder Miner

[StormLord]

Friedhold looks over to Symmetra and says "If you believe that would be the best choice so be it." then adds under his breath "I could use a positive experience with teleportation."

[DragonRage]

Symmetra sets up her teleporter, and you all pile through it, back to Lucio's main base.  From there, it's a short walk to the location of the Overwatch locator beacons.  LOTUS leads the way, using his mapping tools to keep the group on-course.  Symmetra tags along willingly, Sombra probably less so, though the hacker doesn't make a break for it.  When the group arrives, they come across a somewhat alarming sight.  The Overwatch strike team, consisting of Lucio, Zarya, McCree, Soldier 76, a gorilla with a lightning gun, Genji, and a humanoid robot who is somehow levitating, are slowly falling back before a horde of what look sort of like Bastion units, if said units were painted in Vishkar's signature purple and white, then covered in slime and tentacles.  The Overwatch agents are giving a good accounting of themselves, but are clearly outnumbered and outgunned.

 

Making matters worse, there are three distinctly different entities standing behind the hordes of corrupted Bastions.  A tank-like mech suit apparently made entirely out of teeth and eyeballs fires volleys of bullets at the strike team, and occaisonally sprouts a gigantic mouth to eat a particularly dangerous-looking projectile.  A velociraptor skeleton hovering in a grotesque parody of the Overwatch team's omnic ally surrounded by an orbiting halo of baseballs and beer cans belts objects from its halo at them.  A beer hat with the word "Bob" on it sits on his head.  And a bizarre mass of tentacles stuffed into cowboy cosplay for some reason tosses grenades and silverware at the Overwatch agents with the force of a railgun.  Whenever the Overwatch team looks to be rallying, these heavier units double down, keeping them busy long enough for the Bastions to gain the upper hand again.  If you could somehow engage these obvious Trespassers' attention or significantly thin out the Bastions with a surprise attack, the battle could quickly turn in your favor.

[StormLord]

"Well this is new." Friedhold said quietly as soon as the Trespassers came into.  He paused a moment to pull the girl off his shoulder and set her on the ground, before proceeding to fully equip the Snowball and attach it to his weapon.  After finishing he catches up with the group and starts examining the surroundings for high-ground, low-ground, defensive emplacements, escape routes, nearby empty buildings, convenient clusters of red barrels with "flammable" written on the side, really anything that could be remotely useful.

[DragonRage]

Friedhold finds no convenient barrels of explosives.  Really, who leaves those lying around?  He has no way of discerning which buildings are empty from his current position.  There are plenty of ways to retreat back into the city, though this battle seems to be taking place in an open, formerly forested area that probably used to be a rather nice park before it was shot up.  A few ledges and overhangs offer potential high ground, though anyone who went up there would be exposed to enemy fire.  And there isn't much in the way of cover; the only reason the group hasn't been spotted yet is that the enemy operators are rather preoccupied with the Overwatch team.