TotMGV:G2: Return to Rio (Subplot)

[StormLord]

Friedhold pulls his left hand back behind his head and you hear the whistling sound of rushing air.  Then with a twisting, flicking, motion he throws a ball of wind and force at TILT that creates a small explosion on impact powerful enough to send her staggering back into the wall and nearly deafen those standing nearby.

 

 

I use "Sonic Blast" it deals [Int](6) sonic damage and knocks her prone, -2 Eve(2/16).

 

Prone enemies lose defensive bonuses from abilities like "basic defense", and lose dodge bonuses(at GM's discretion) until their next turn, abilities with multi-turn activation are also interrupted.

Edited April 6, 2017 by StormLord

[Code: PIRULUK]

Kagari staggered back, feeling the effects of the hammer blow. A large hole was in her side, where the hammer had hit her. Allowing it to close itself over, she narrowed her eyebrows and stopped singing Knight of Firmament. She liked the song, but it wasn't what was needed at the moment. Genji and that pretentious guy in the mask seemed hurt pretty badly. It was okay for her to take damage, since she would just reform, but humans tended to be less fragile. She snapped her fingers and her dress shimmered, changing colour schemes, the fabric changing to a black one, lined by green trim. Her hair turned a bright yellow, and a cute white ribbon appeared on her head, at odds with the darker outfit. Then she sang another song, a short one this time.

 

 

As she sang, Genji and Venus would feel a vague sense of comfortable discomfort as renewed strength entered their bodies.

 

Kagari stops singing Knight of Firmament. She switches songs to Paradichlorobenzene. Venus and Genji heal for 1d4 + 4 hp each.

[Twinwolf]

Dia on Genji

(2d4+SYN healing)

[Powder Miner]

Isobel smiles gratefully at the Vishkar guards before she leaves the barracks; that had gone even more well than she could have possibly envisioned. She didn't have to kill anyone. Once she left with Wyvis, she spoke to LOTUS, obviously feeling smug. "That's what I thought I was doing. I knew there was no way all these guys deserved to get blown up like that..." "Yeah, yeah... don't get counting on luck like that. It gets people killed." Though this dampens her enthusiasm just a little, Isobel is still incredibly happy that things turned out as well as they did, and she marches proudly towards the elevator with Wyvis.

[DragonRage]

Team Roof

 

Kagari changes tunes!  Venus and Genji regain 5 HP apiece.

 

Bridgett fires her mighty Mithral Buster, dealing 42 damage!  The force is so great that TILT is knocked backwards several yards despite her heavy armor!

 

Venus fires a magical bullet that heals him for 6 HP and deals 18 damage.  The bullet actually punches through the invisible helmet that TILT is wearing, nicking her neck on its way out.

 

Session activates!  Hikari blasts away at TILT, dealing 11 damage

 

Ana pulls out a grenade, yanks the pin, and bounces it off of TILT’s head, covering the lunatic, Kagari, and Venus in yellow fluid.  Kagari and Venus each recover 12 HP.  TILT yells in surprise and slight pain.  Nanoboost is charging…

 

Genji performs several insulting gestures in TILT’s general direction, before diving for cover.

 

Hikari uses Dia on Genji!  Genji is healed 14 HP.

 

TILT attempts to do… something.  None of you are sure what, because it doesn’t seem to work.  “You bastards!  How dare you keep me from restoring my health?!” The armored woman screeches.  Ana gives her the finger.  “That’s it!  Time to die!  HAMMER DOWN!”  TILT brings the hammer up, and she slams the hammer down.  Everyone except Kagari and Friedhold take 10 true damage and are stunned.

 

Friedhold fires off a sonic blast, dealing 6 damage.  TILT staggers backward, collapsing against a nearby wall.  “You cockblocked my ult!” She exclaims, sounding somewhat concussed. “And where the fuck’s my team?  Everybody knows you follow up on a hammerdunk!  This is bullshit!  This team sucks!  You know what?  I’m rage-quitting!  Have fun dying without your tank, losers!”  Then, she smashes herself in the face with her own hammer.  The orange glow vanishes immediately, and the ooze sigils and her hammer evaporate in puffs of purple vapor, which seals the holes Venus and Hikari’s bullets put in it before dissapating.  The corpse inside disappears into thin air, before the armor’s helmet flickers into view.  Then, the machine’s torso unfolds, opening up invitingly to reveal the padded interior and controls.

     

 “Crusader Mark III online,” a cool, vaguely feminine voice states from a speaker inside the hulking armor.

 

You have defeated Vishkar CEO TILT!  Items acquired!

Spoiler

Prototype Caduceus Staff

The original, in the hands of one of the most skilled medical professionals in the omniverse, is said to be able to bring back the dead.  This one isn’t quite that powerful, being a Vishkar knock-off, but its usefulness cannot be exaggerated.

Type:  Weapon

Damage:  1d4 + synergy

Weight:  6

Minimum Stats:  10 Synergy

Synergy Threshold/Bonus:  Every 2 synergy you have increases the amount of HP you restore with any healing or status removing action or effect by 1.

Special Qualities:

Healing Stream:  You may attack allies with basic attacks with this weapon.  If you do, all damage dealt is dealt as healing.  You need at least 10 intelligence to use this ability.

Ultimate Charge 0/10:  Whenever you restore someone’s hit points, remove a status effect, or remove a debuff from someone, 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.

Resurrect:  You can bring allies back from the brink of the void with this ultimate ability.  You must spend an action and 10 ultimate charge to activate it.  All allies who were reduced to 0 hit points since your last turn immediately gain 10% of their maximum HP, and lose a wound of their choice.  You may only use this ability on characters with 0 hit points, and only if you have at least 20 intelligence.  You cannot gain ultimate charge from using this ability.

 

Crusader Armor

This heavy, powered, rocket-boosted armor is reminiscent of castles, German tanks, and medieval gothic full plate.  It looks rigid and imposing, but its flexible internal components can adapt to any wearer.  The armor’s paint is infused with nanites, to display the wearer’s coat of arms and other personal touches.

Type:  Armor

Res:  10 + int/4

Weight:  14

Minimum Stats:  None.

Special Qualities:

Powered Exosuit:  The armor’s hydraulics grant the wearer a strength bonus equal to level/2.

Barrier Field:  The armor’s left arm contains a barrier field projector.  The generator produces a powerful shield with no resistance, and hit points equal to 3 times the user’s intelligence.  Whenever the wearer uses an action that protects an ally, the barrier field activates until their next turn.  All damage dealt to the wearer or that ally hits the barrier first, and only affects the wearer or the ally they are defending if it breaks through.  When not in use, the barrier regenerates hit points equal to the wearer’s intelligence plus their level every round.  If the barrier is broken, it cannot be used for 5 rounds.  However, it still regenerates during that time.

Rocket Charge:  When the wearer uses an action that involves charging a single enemy, the armor’s rocket booster activates, pinning the unfortunate victim until they can be crushed against the nearest convenient surface with a rocket-boosted body slam.  The charging action deals 50% more damage, and stuns the victim for a round.  This ability has an 8 round cooldown.

 

Team Basement

Wyvis, Isobel, LOTUS, and Sachi enter the elevator shaft again, where the gravity is still wonky.  Since there isn't anything for them to do on the lower floors, they start walking upwards.  As they travel, a chill wind sweeps through the shaft, piercing all clothing as it freezes them to the bone.  Yes, even LOTUS.  However, even as they begin thinking of ways to seek shelter, the wind abruptly vanishes.  The cold too, albeit more slowly.  Soon enough, that distraction aside, the group makes it to what LOTUS is reasonably sure is the 13th floor, assuming some weirdness hasn't mucked up his mapping.  There isn't a door on this level, but perhaps something could be done to breach the wall...?

[Powder Miner]

When the wind blows through the shaft, Isobel lets out a surprised squeak, instinctively crossing her arms over her chest before realizing that she isn't gonna warm herself up much over her apron, so she slips her arms under her apron, walking with her arms huddled to herself. 

 

LOTUS' reaction is a lot more, uh, emphatic. "What the FUCK was that?! I'm already tired of this extrasensory bullshit. When we find whoever the wise guy is who's doing this, I hope we kick his ass."

[ElfCollaborator]

Sachi looks at the wall, frowning. Here they were, near wherever they were supposed to go and now they had the cold and no visible way out to deal with.

"I.....don't s-suppose any of you can p-punch through that wall?"

Edited April 7, 2017 by ElfCollaborator

[StormLord]

Friedhold walks over and checks on his teammates before getting on the radio and saying: "Team Basement, we've taken care of the second threat, but the CEO's body seems to have umm...disappeared.  No one is badly hurt so we're going continue making our way down the building."  He then starts checking the many doors in the room for a way out.

[LucidRain]

Wyvis tries to take shelter from the wind as it pierces through even Wyvis' padded armour. "Careful, friends! Here," Wyvis brings out a torch, and after a couple tries, lights it with a flint and steel, and hands it to Isobel, who seems to be suffering the most. "Be careful not to burn yourself, however."

Wyvis arrives at the wall on the 12th floor, and shakes his head at Sachi's question.  "Hmm...no, I don't have the means to break through solid walls, unfortunately. It seems that there must be some sort of hidden mechanism to unlock a chamber." Wyvis then scouts the room for anything that might look like it would open a door or hint a mechanism of some kind.

[DragonRage]

Team Roof

Friedhold finds a staircase and an elevator that go down.  It seems the non-euclidean geometry that funneled Kagari and Genji to TILT's office vanished with her demise.

 

Team Basement

Wyvis feels around the elevator shaft, and (dex 22 vs 20) finds a nearly imperceptible seam in the wall where he suspects a door might be.  LOTUS' scanners are able to confirm the door's presence, and the AI uses a dummy program, on a quarantined internal emulator just to be safe, to disable the motors holding the doors in place.  Good thing they weren't high security, because he did not want to hardline or go wireless in a place where Sombra, God Programs, and who knows what else is mucking about in cyberspace.  With the motors offline, Wyvis and Sachi are able to muscle the doors open.  Inside lies a guard station, with no guards, and behind that six small, barred cells.  There are numerous sentry turrets all over the rooms, but they sense the group's Vishkar ID cards and do not open fire or sound an alarm.

 

Two of the cells are occupied.  The first contains a woman the group recognizes as Symmetra.  The second holds someone none of you know:  a young latina girl, perhaps 18 or 19, with smudged, dark make-up, very long, glowing fingernails and a rather memorable purple mohawk.  Symmetra doesn't react to you, as you have enough Vishkar uniforms on to look like a change of the guard, but the teen's eyes pass over the group's nonstandard gear before she slides up to the bars, eyes wide and pleading.

 

"Hey there, amigas," She calls out, in a tone that's probably meant to be friendly, though there's a bit of a biting edge under it.  "I always wanted to have some friends who were good enough to infiltrate Vishkar and not get caught."  Symmetra visibly perks up at that assessment, giving the group a second look as the punk girl keeps talking.  "So why don't you do your new friend a favor and spring me out of here?  I'd have gotten out of here already, but some pendejos have been locking me out of the system.  I'd be real impressed if it wasn't keeping me stuck in a cell.  So you think you can help out a friend?  I'm sure I could find a way to make life easier for my new best friends in the future..."

[LucidRain]

"Sure thing, madam!" Wyvis says cheerfully as he approaches the cell. "That is, after all, why we are here."

He takes off the guard and is about to try it on the electronic lock, but stops short. He imagines Visrii's voice pointing out something he never thought of before.

Hey. Isn't it weird that Command never told you about this? If this girl is one of the team, then wouldn't they have you to rescue her too?

...though Wyvis didn't like to leave someone in possible peril hanging, this was a valid point. It was always safe to check, anyhow.

"Uhh, sorry, madam. We were never informed of you in such a condition. Excuse me for this, but we will need to quickly check with Command. Can you please tell me your name?"

Edited April 8, 2017 by PigeonOfAstora

[StormLord]

Friedhold opens the elevator doors to check and see if the gravity is normal before waiting for the team to catch up.

 

If it IS normal: He simply makes his way over to the stairs and starts walking, and walking, and walking.

If it ISN'T normal: He (and I'm assuming the others)climb in, through, or around the elevator into the shaft so they can make their "decent".

[Powder Miner]

LOTUS chimes in. "Yeeeah, gonna need to know who you are, like we said. Base caution here."

 

Isobel moves gently over to Symmetra's cell, walks up to the bars, and taps the symbol on her communicator to show it off to the Indian woman: the Overwatch logo. "...hey. We came to help."

[DragonRage]

Team Roof

The gravity in the elevator is wonky.  The shaft wall that the door is in is 'down'.  This does at least make it easy to climb down, which Friedhold does.  The elevator car appears to be absent.  As he and anyone who feels like following him travel downward, the doors in the 'floor' do their best to open at just the right time to dump them on the floor.  However, this trick only works once, and Friedhold is able to make it to the 30th floor labs, or any other floor he'd like, without losing more than his dignity.

 

Team Basement

"Ah, you are in the presence of Sombra, hacker extraordinaire.  You've probably never heard-  You've heard of me," Sombra sighs, "Well, even if I'm a prisoner, can you at least take me with you?  Vishkar hasn't checked on us in over a day now, and I'd rather be in official jail than die of thirst in here.  Oh, and get my coat from the gear stash in the guard house?  I really like that coat...  Unless you think I could be more helpful to you free?  I'm certain I can make it worth your while."

 

"You're with Overwatch?  Thank goodness.  I knew they would come if they could, but Vishkar's security measures are quite formidable.  I designed many of them personally," Symmetra informs Isobel and LOTUS.  "Please, we must retrieve my equipment from the locker in the guard post, and proceed to the 30th floor.  Ordinarily, I would suggest we leave as soon as possible, but Vishkar's experimental technology cannot be allowed to remain in their hands.  Something strange is happening.  I am sure you have seen it.  Unfortunately, the labs have been attempting to replicate a piece of technology called a chronal accelerator.  If it were damaged or altered by the events, I shudder to think what might happen to everyone and everything in the area.  Possibly in the city.  Additionally," The former Vishkar agent grimaces in distaste, "We may need to take Sombra with us.  We'll need to crack the lab's computers to learn how to safely transport the accelerator."

[LucidRain]

Wyvis lights up at the name. "Ah, I see! I am honoured to meet you, miss Sombra. Of course we will aid you." Wyvis unlocks the prisons with the guard key-cards, and then hands Sombra and Symmetra a flask of water with a smile. "It is important to stay hydrated, especially when making an escape out of a dangerous place such as this!"

Disturbing the flow of time...? That sounds quite the danger. It is true, we must not allow such dangerous devices in these people's hands.

Wyvis brings up the radio and addresses Team Roof, hoping they had finished the fight with the upper guards by now.

"Team Roof, we have successfully rescued Mrs Symmetra and Ms Sombra on the 12th floor. We have also been informed that there is a chronal accelerator within this building, and it is of high importance that we take it off Vishkar's hands. Shall we rendezvous at the 12th floor before moving on? These labs sound like they are quite dangerous." 

[Noir]

Venus

 

Venus was grateful that he had managed to maintain considerable injury during the scuffle with the mechanized lunatic as before despite the prior injury that might have proved to be a hassle before. Now guided by the team to an odd elevator, Venus follows Friedhold down to where he had landed. 

[StormLord]

Friedhold stops short of the door into the labs and responds to Wyvis on the radio "We're approaching the 30th floor entrance now, would you like us to continue...hmm...'down' to your location or wait here?"  Friedhold cautiously starts inspecting the area around the door into the labs for traps before continuing, "The gravity in our elevator shaft seems to also be rather strange.  There is the possibility that we're using the same elevator shaft as you, if so then regrouping should be strait forward, if not we could also try a coordinated attack on the 30th floor from multiple entrances."

[Powder Miner]

"We're on the 13th floor, not the 12th, Wyvis. It's my opinion that we should just group up and strike at once. Our team took care of the guards in the barracks, and it's pretty clear that whatever entity is toying with this tower has completely ruined security everywhere else in the process. There's no more need for stealth at this point -- all other objectives are achieved, after all. So instead of splitting up, I say we just meet up outside floor 30 and make a singular attack force, then power our way into the lab and deal with what we have to deal with. Keep an eye on Sombra while we do, by the way. I don't think we have a whole lot of reason to trust her."

[StormLord]

After he finished looking for traps with nothing to show, Friedhold takes a minute to sit down and lean back against the other wall of the elevator shaft while waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.  Something was making him feel uneasy, something was out of place, it wasn't the killing, he'd killed, stabbed, shot, electrocuted, plenty of people before it was nothing new to him.  So he sat, and closed his eyes, and listened to the world around him.  He heard nothing of the city below(though that was to be expected), he heard the sounds of the roof team, moving and figeting about, he also heard a feint, whistling, or whispering sound, this was unexpected and surprised him, he guessed it might have been the wind whipping around the tower but it felt more ominous than that, lastly he started to hear the sound of footfalls against metal, slowly they got louder and louder, until finally he opened his eyes and looked "down" the shaft to see the basement team "climbing" up to them.  He stands, and greets them.  Then after talking about anything not said over the radios he motions that they get down to business and enter the labs.

[DragonRage]

30th Floor Labs

Friedhold pushes through the elevator door along with anybody else feeling brave and curious, and finds himself in a large, open machine shop.  Some of the heavy tools he recognizes, and a lot he's never seen before, but the finished products are easy enough to spot.  A fuzzy-collared blue and white jacket, entirely inappropriate for the climate outside, sits on a manikin.  A thick, metal cylinder is affixed to its back, with several hoses leading off that don't seem to be attached to anything on the other side.  Standing next to it is a suit of plate armor in Vishkar white and purple, equipped with a predatory, beaked visor and short, mechanical wings on its back.  On a nearby table, a thick belt with some kind of gadget attached to it sits next to an ornate, silver ring with a skull on it.

 

Oh, and a man in gunmetal-grey plate armor and a green cloak is striding towards a glowing green disc floating in mid-air, a white harness with a blue glow in its center clasped in his right hand.  He turns towards the group, and though his visor is down, his body language is of mild surprise and moderate annoyance.  "HEROES!" He exclaims in a heavily synthesized voice, "DOOM HAS NO TIME FOR YOUR PETTY MEDDLING.  GROVEL BEFORE DOOM OR BE GONE WITH YOU!"

[Code: PIRULUK]

Kagari lifted an eyebrow.

 

"Doom? Really? What kind of name is that? Like, I get that you want to be all menacing and scary and so on, but honestly 'Doom' is just such a... I don't know, boring name. Couldn't you have gone with something like 'Vice' or 'Dharvesk' or something?" A thought occurred to her. "Oh, wait, don't tell me Doom is your given name? Damn, that's unfortunate. See, this is why being an amorphous blob is good. I don't have to worry about little things like names. Seriously though, you should consider changing your name to something a little less cringeworthy."

[LucidRain]

Wyvis followed Friedhold inside, to be greeted by this Doom fellow. He seemed to be rather aggressive, that was for sure. But Wyvis still hoped that he could reason with him, so there was to be no more bloodshed. If they were lucky, then maybe the basement team could get out of this building without a fight at all...and they'll still have to protect the prisoners from harm, that was a priority as well.

"Hello, Mr Doom, my name is Wyvis of Nivinuxis, and I am here to retrieve the chronal machine from this organisation's possession, so that we all may be safe from harm.

The chronal machine, as you no doubt know, is highly unstable. The machine if damaged could cause horrific destruction on all scales, for all sides.

Please, allow us to take this machine, and let us both depart without harm."

[StormLord]

Friedhold steps to the side to allow Wyvis to speak.  He holds his shotgun up on his shoulder in a non-threatening position and his left hand falls down beside him showing no outward signs of power.  Then he waits and begins calculating, thinking of the different places the fight might go, where to shoot or avoid shooting, where this man might dodge to, where he could dodge to, and if the man had any signs of old injuries or weaknesses that might be exploited.

[DragonRage]

"HA!  HA!  HA!" The armored man's laugh sounds incredibly fake, but there's an air of sincerity to it that makes anyone who cares think maybe he actually laughs like that.  "YOUR BANTER IS NOT OF THE QUALITY THAT DOOM HAS BECOME ACCUSTOMED.  BUT FEW CAN MATCH THE MOUTH OF THE MAN OF SPIDERS, SO DOOM CHOOSES TO APPRECIATE YOUR ATTEMPTS TO MAKE DOOM FEEL AT HOME, RATHER THAN CRUSHING YOUR FEEBLE SELF-IMAGE.

 

"OF COURSE DOOM KNOWS THAT THE CHRONAL ACCELERATOR MUST NOT REMAIN HERE.  DOOM IS REMOVING IT FROM THIS PLACE.  IT WILL BE SAFE FROM THE CREATURES FROM BEYOND THE VEIL INSIDE CASTLE DOOM.  BAH, DOOM HAS NO TIME TO PLAY WITH YOU.  TAKE THIS WORTHLESS TRINKET, AND PERHAPS IF WE MEET AGAIN YOU SHALL BE WORTH DOOM'S TIME."   The armored man tosses a small, metal bracelet, which bounces off Wyvis' forehead, before turning back to his green disc and walking toward it.

 

Spoiler

Doom Widget

This bracelet has a charm shaped like the mask of Doom.  It glows a faint, sickly green in the dark.

Type:  Bauble

Res/Damage:  None

Weight: 2

Minimum Stats:  5 synergy

Syn Threshold/Bonus:  For every 6 synergy you have, your primary attacking stat is increased by 1.

Special Qualities:

Know Your Doom:  You may spend a round monologuing to everyone in earshot about your magnificence.  If you do so, you receive a 50% bonus to all numerical spell effects you produce that you wish to receive the bonus.  This bonus does not stack with itself.  It lasts for 2 rounds.

Doom Ignores Your Farcical Balancing:  All of the wearer’s action cooldowns are reduced by 1 if they have at least 10 synergy.  If they have at least 15 synergy, their cooldowns are reduced by 2 instead.

 

Friedhold is able to deduce that "Doom" is heading for the portal, that his armor restricts and weighs him down enough to make dodging bullets unlikely, and that he doesn't have any obvious physical weaknesses.

[LucidRain]

Wyvis tries to catch the bracelet, only to drop it, have it bounce back up, hit his forehead again as he leant down to grab it and roll away. Wyvis awkwardly chases it across the room and is finally able to retrieve a completely harmless bracelet, before returning in front of the group.

He bows courteously in front of Mr Doom. "Of course, Mr Doom. We shall all meet in due time. May you fare well in your endeavours." 

Though Mr Doom didn't seem like a very modest man, he didn't look like an evil person either. He'd have to trust this man in keeping the chronal accelerator safe and out of harm's way.

Wyvis looks down at the bracelet.

I can sense some kind of latent arcane force here. Perhaps it must be of use to spell casters. Visrii could use this.