Time to put it out there.
"Do you want to be a superhero, Saka?"
"Oh--well--
"I wanted to be a secret agent. You know that my father was, and when we met that's what we did. Then we were working with the ninjas for a while in another world. We didn't do much of anything in that island world, and things were pretty quiet while we were training when John was with us, but then, for what were we training? It seems to me that the nearest thing to a secret agent in this world is a superhero--in fact, I would bet that most of their secret agents are superheroes.
"It beats being a lab assistant, anyway. Besides, one of the beauties of being a superhero is it's a part-time gig, and I can still be a lab assistant."
--M. J. Young
I look away from her and fold my forearms across my abdomen as if nursing a bellyache. After a moment, I stroke my chin with my hand thoughtfully. Finally, with a barely perceptible sigh, I make up my mind.
"Well, if that's what will make you happy, I'm not about to let you do it alone."
She smiles, a bit sheepishly.
"I really didn't want to twist your arm into something you didn't want to do," she says, "and I know that you're really doing some important stuff, going to school and all. But you've got to admit that sometimes it's a bit dull?
"Anyway, I'll start working on it. I'll talk to someone at Daedalus Corp about the motorcycles, and maybe when you see Icarus this weekend I'll talk with him about what we should do. Any thoughts, like what we should call ourselves, what sort of costumes, that kind of stuff?"
--M. J. Young
"I don't really mind what the costumes look like, as long as they don't interfere with what I do. Not restrictive or tight, no bright colors, absolutely no capes; for me, anyway. Whatever you want for yourself is fine."
"You're probably right about capes--definitely get in the way of both martial arts and gunplay, and unless they deflect bullets--which I don't imagine they can do--they're not going to be much help.
"My father was called 'Blade', but that's hardly an appropriate name for me; and I don't think that 'bullet' or 'gun'--well, call me stumped for the moment. What about 'ninja'? But then, we were both ninja, and it would be a bit odd to have the same name--and I think there are some ninja outlaws in this city, from what I've heard, or at least they pretend to be ninja."
--M. J. Young
"How about a Native American name, something like 'She's-Gonna-Get-Us-Both-Killed'?"
I smile into her glare.
"In all seriousness, though, the ninja called you Sorceress, but I've never been really fond of that name. Oh, sure, I understand why they gave you the name, the whole 'I can bypass security systems so well that it's like magic" but it only makes sense in worlds where magic doesn't exist.
"It'd be cute if our names went well together. How about you be Solitude and I be Quietude? Or you be Serenity and I be Tranquility?
"Or you be Solace and I be Silence? Yes, I know solace doesn't mean the same thing as silence at all. I was thinking more towards.. well, generally, in public situations, I prefer to let you handle everything, which makes me Silence.. and you're Solace, because, well..."
"... well, you know... I've found comfort from my otherwise empty existence in you."
(My 2@10 An mag forces me to go on seriously for some time thanking her for putting up with me and telling her how much she really means to me in spite of the way I act.)
"Also, you'd be bringing solace to the city, and I'd be bringing silence to our enemies.
"Of course, I'm up for any suggestions you might have."
"No--I really like Solace and Silence. We move quietly, help the destitute--it's perfect.
"And I promise to try not to get us killed."
Thus ends the discussion, and we will move forward over a few days. You are continuing to attend school, and to spend time with Kat at recess, and thus to prove the value of Reagan's theory of Peace Through Strength as bullies are at least extremely discrete about their bullying. Mariska reports that Daedalus Corp. is going to retrofit your motorcycles with antigrav systems and small jets for propulsion, rigged to the steering mechanism to pull the bike upward and in the direction the front wheel points. They'll use more fuel than just driving on the ground, but will run on standard gasoline.
If memory serves, you are expecting Kat over on the weekend, and also have plans to do some city patrol with Icarus. Anything I should know about those events?
--M. J. Young
-- And I'll apologize to Kat for the snow throwing off our Sunday plans, and politely explain that I'm unfortunately busy this weekend, but perhaps we could get together at some point during the week.
-- Kat is disappointed about next weekend, but says she'll ask her mom about whether there might be another time. Of course, mom's not too keen on her being out on school nights.
Way ahead of you. Icky Ris, Mariska, and I are meeting up Saturday night, so I'll meditate early (Alert Rest) in the hopes of being rested, then get nice and stretched before heading to meet him.
Using your Alert Rest you are quite well rested for the adventure. That is not a skill Mariska knows, but she uses the psionic meditation variant instead and is also well rested.
Icarus arrives shortly before sunset, landing on the roof outside your penthouse. Mariska heads out to greet him.
--M. J. Young
I go with her, but I intend to let her handle the talking with Icarus while I stand off to the side.
Since I presume we don't have any kind of more official costume, I'm wearing black and also wearing my ninja mask; I'm bringing my bag and my stick along -- the lajatang case should be in my bag, as well as several other peripherals for weapons such as the darts for the blowgun at my hip.
If I recall correctly, Mariska is not part of this particular venture, so she has nothing to grab and gets outside a moment ahead of you while you're picking up your gear. She's in the middle of a conversation which has not gotten far beyond the hellos, but she's already telling him that you've agreed to letting the two of you be superheroes, that she's going to be Solace and you Silence, and she wondered what she ought to do to get started on that, with costumes and stuff. Icarus, wearing his rather flashy costume, tells her that she should follow her gut on it, figuring out what sort of costume works for the image and powers you'll be using.
He turns toward you. "Ready? Do you fly, or do we work from the ground, and if so should I carry you down?"
--M. J. Young
Well --
I was actually supposed to meet him at Daedalus, but this is more convenient since it already happened.
As for Mariska,
"Whatever time is good for you. I'm pretty free on the weekends. It's up to her whether she wants to come or not," I glance at Saka, "But I can't really imagine her not coming if I'm going."
Is what I said. So, I can't really imagine her not coming, and I'd rather it was with me rather than tailing me.
***IC***
I'll try to use a Great Jump to get to another building's roof. Fall impact avoidance roll if the other roof is significantly lower.
(Wish me luck.)
In this manner I intend to travel through the city looking for baddies, climbing to higher rooftops should the need arise.
If I miss, it's time to try to catch myself with psionic flight -- failing that if I have time psionic levitation -- if all else fails, fall impact avoidance roll when I hit the ground, but I imagine by that point if Icarus doesn't manage to catch me I'll be in another world even if I had a perfect success on fall impact avoidance. As I recall, the building I live in has rather many floors.
***OOC***
I doubt Mariska has Heavy TK, but there would be no better time to learn it than when I was plummeting to my death, if she happened to consider the option. She's seen me use it before, but I don't know if you'd count that as an example bonus, as she wasn't reading my mind at the time to my knowledge; I thought I had taught her to fly at some point, but I could be mistaken on that.
EDIT: By "I don't know if you'd count that as an example bonus," I of course mean "I know it doesn't count but I hoped you would count it." Just thought I'd clarify my understanding of the rules for examples especially insofar as I'll be completely understanding when you discount my example. :P
I apologize for my forgetfulness on those details. I see that Mariska does have a 1@1 psionic flight, and that yours is 1@9; your Great Jump is 2@3, hers again only 1@1. Making jumps between buildings under Northgate rules should be simple for you ((2x2@3)+2@3+(2x10@)=89%).
Mariska, reluctantly, will stay behind on this trip; but she says she has work to do to prepare for next time.
"That's pretty impressive jumping," Icarus says. "How do you come by the ability?"
Things are pretty quiet for the first hour or so of your tour.
--M. J. Young
"You're staying here?" I'm clearly surprised, and a little worried about letting her out of my sight in spite of the fact that I know she can handle herself. I can handle her better. "Well, okay. Make sure the doors and windows are locked, and don't open them for any strangers, even if they seem friendly; by definition, anyone who wants to come in through the window is stranger. I should be back in the morning; otherwise, you know how to find me."
To Icarus, regarding my method of transportation, "Intense training. Anyone can do it, if they push the mind and body to their limit."
After an hour of just jumping around, I'm getting restless. "C'mon. I know that you know that I know that you know some seedy place where some not-so-law-abiding types tend to hang out. Why don't we be a little more proactive in our manhunt; you know, shake the branches a bit, see whose head comes tumbling out?"
"Which is why I'm not going," Mariska says. "I'm not near as good as it as he is, despite having spent some time practicing. I was hoping to have a flying cycle; then the other skills would be back-up if that failed."
To your suggestion of being proactive: "Interesting idea, but really, we'd have to catch them in the act at least of planning a crime, and much easier if we catch them doing it." But he does change direction.
A few minutes later, "I see something, in the alley below. Can you see what's happening?"
--M. J. Young
I consider clairvoyance, but dismiss the thought as not reliable enough to be worth the effort. I take a look down, and gauge the distance; if I think I can handle the drop, I'll use the fall impact avoidance. Otherwise, I'll climb down to get a closer look.
You could hurt yourself on that drop, but probably not seriously. It would be better to get a bit closer to the ground than the present seven stories up.
It's difficult to see from here, but it looks like a robbery, what's popularly called a mugging and in the police reports robbery with violence. One of the parties is holding something that gleams in the dim light.
--M. J. Young
...
If this is Silverblade again, I feel very bad for him; I spared him in our first encounter, but this time he may not be so lucky. Of course, gleams in the light could be a lot of things, but I want it to be a weapon, so that's what I'm calling it.
I'm trying to climb (1@10) quickly down to the altitude that I feel I can handle the drop (3@2). I'll appraise the mugger again when I hit the ground. Better safe than sorry, I'll take out my lajatang and set down my stick; whether the guy is costumed or not, I'd rather have the weapon on hand. Get in style Gazuntite (2@7), use panoramic awareness (2@3), muscle blocking (2@3), defense analysis (2@6).
If he hasn't noticed me, I'll use an improvise ranged weapon (2@4) on the mugger to get his attention. Or, shall I say, what's on hand that I can throw at the guy?
BBRA: Agility 2@3
BABL: 10@
(I actually have a question regarding weapon dependent styles, even though it doesn't apply to this particular situation. So, I realize that you can use any martial arts weapon with a style that is weapon-dependent as long as you have the skill with the weapon; improvised weapons used as a 7@6 Bod skill -- could you activate and use the style with the improvised weapons skills without using any specific weapon?)
(I actually have a question regarding weapon dependent styles, even though it doesn't apply to this particular situation. So, I realize that you can use any martial arts weapon with a style that is weapon-dependent as long as you have the skill with the weapon; improvised weapons used as a 7@6 Bod skill -- could you activate and use the style with the improvised weapons skills without using any specific weapon?)
<i>Taking this to the Multiverser Discussion forum on the new side, if that's all right with you.
Meanwhile, I don't know whether I have to this point detailed exactly how your fall impact avoidance works, and I've been doing this by the seat of my pants to this point, but let me propose something I can put on the paper and use in the future:
Reduces damage from falls and similar impacts (e.g., throws, pushes) by RS=DCxLevel
That would mean that on any successful roll, the first level character would reduce damage by one damage category, possibly as many as three; you, as a third level character, would always reduce damage by three damage categories, possibly as many as nine.
Reviewing the essentials of a fall, falls up to 5' are annoying, and each 10' increment above that adds a damage category (e.g., damaging to 15', dangerous to 25'). That also means that you could fall 25 feet and on any successful roll the damage would be eliminated; it would be annoying up to 35 feet. On a successful roll of at least 81, your -9DC would mean you could fall unharmed up to 85', 95' with only annoying damage--but you'd need a good roll.
I normally treat buildings as being ten feet high per story, more or less, so the fourth floor windows are about thirty-five feet above the ground. If you drop from the roof, that's about 80' up, doing obliterative+2DC minus whatever you get for your roll, which could be 3, 6, or 9 DC. A roll up to 50 would make it annihilating, and you would need an amazingly low damage roll to survive; a roll up to 80 would reduce the damage to dangerous, which would not kill you but could still hurt, and a roll greater than 80 would mean no damage.
Figure the windows of each floor are about the top of the drop for each category, and tell me how far down you're going to climb, or whether you have another idea.</i>
--M. J. Young
I will climb down to ~45 feet above the ground and drop from there. I will try to catch myself with levitation to float down if I have a chance before using fall impact avoidance.
You climb down to the level you want, then release, and catch yourself by levitation as you approach the ground.
It is a mugger with a gun; he has not yet noticed you. Icarus was surprised by your drop, and was racing after you, but caught himself when you caught yourself.
You are both about twenty yards from the mugger. Icarus looks at you for a cue.
--M. J. Young
I shrug in response to him. I'll leave the lajatang in my bag and set the bag down when I land.
Twenty yards -- 60 feet. Not bad. I'll get in style, Gazuntite, put up panoramic awareness, blind fighting (to negate any darkness penalty), muscle blocking, missile avoidance, and start to walk over, closing the distance. As soon as I feel he'll hear me without my straining my voice:
"Hey, you. Give me all your money, and I won't have to kill you."
Edit: sorry, I didn't realize how short a distance twenty yards was. I'll close the distance to ten yards before I speak.
Yeah, it's fine--I was trying to figure out where you would land that would be close enough to be where you would land but not so close that he would have to see you or hear you.
He spins toward you when you speak, swinging the gun your direction.
Icarus lands beside the original victim (and thus behind the mugger now), holding a hand up to suggest he keep quiet.
"What the? You do know I have a gun, right?"
I am envisioning you with the stick, even though you did not mention it in that post. Correct me if I'm wrong.
--M. J. Young
Oh -- of course. I kind of meant that when I said I wasn't using the lajatang, but you're right, I should say. Stick in hand.
"You're right, thanks for reminding me. That should sell for a good price on the black market. Hand it over, too."
We've established already that you can use improvised weapon bod skill to start a weapon oriented style; can you disarm an opponent with an improvised weapon? I'm considering developing a weapon-oriented ranged disarm skill, since I so frequently end up encountering opponents with ranged weapons. It's definitely possible to have a weapon-oriented ranged disarm skill (I cite the expert gunfighters in old western settings who shoot the guns out of their opponents' hands), so my question is whether I'd have to choose a specific weapon which I'll teach myself to disarm opponents with at range or whether it's possible to disarm with an improvised ranged weapon. I won't be doing this right now, however; I'm just asking.
To be clear, if you have a ranged disarm with weapon skill you can use any weapon, including an improvised one, to effect it.
If it is your purpose to improvise a ranged weapon for the purpose of disarming an opponent, that should be specified before the roll is made. I would not penalize the chance of success (since really any weapon would suffice), but I think that relative success should take into account the intended purpose of the weapon(s) available.
--M. J. Young
Hmm, true thought.
At any rate, he knows I'm here now, and I'm waiting for his response to my statement, "Give me the gun as well as all your money." If he still seems stunned, I'll add, "Your clothes, too. You can keep your underclothes, though; I haven't got a biohazard bag handy."
He laughs derisively and raises the muzzle toward you.
You have activated the style and said you will use your missile avoidance skill, and I am aware of these. I'm wondering whether you intend to take any offensive action, such as attempting to disarm him. If you are not, there is no initiative and he gets to fire at you; if you are, there will be an initiative roll for who acts first, and you will have the right to use a steal initiative skill to take the initiative if you lose that roll.
I also have to consider whether Icarus will react in any way, so there might be a GE roll involved, and that means I should probably ask what sort of reactions from Icky would be good or bad.
--M. J. Young
Oh -- I had thought that the missile avoidance skill was part of the combat round instead of the defenses phase, which was why I hadn't given an offensive action. I'm also using muscle blocking, panoramic awareness, blind fighting. If I am able to use an offensive action simultaneously while avoiding missles, I would like to try this weapon-based ranged disarm, so first I'll improvise up a ranged weapon.
I'm an initiative stealer so please allow me to act in turn.
Missile avoidance is a defense; it does not use an attack, although having a martial arts weapon in hand bonuses it.
There are several aluminum cans loose on the ground, and it is obvious to you that you could easily stomp these flat and spin-throw them something like shurikens for base annoying damage, RF1 probably to ranges of 3':8':20':40':+5/2'. There's also a couple substantial chunks of broken sidewalk, heavy enough to be base dangerous weapons, but with an RF 1/2 and ranges of 2':5':12':20':+5/1'.
--M. J. Young
I'll go for the soda cans. I want to try to disarm the guy with one.
With one smooth motion you leap on a can, crushing it into useful form, and hurl it with elegant spin to hit the gun right above the trigger guard, spinning off to hit the man's hand and causing the gun to fall to his right behind him.
"Ow," comes from his mouth, but he is not injured.
--M. J. Young
I'm going to walk over and pick up the gun, provided the mugger hasn't already gotten it. If he has, I intend to weaponless disarm him.
Mine. Or, actually, a present for my sister. "Got any extra bullets?"
You scoop up the gun before he can recover from his surprise. It's not really all that good a gun, a small snub-nosed revolver easily concealed, five bullets, probably twenty-two caliber. You'd have to be better with this than he likely is to do any real damage with it. It's only got four bullets in it.
He shakes his head, kind of stupidly.
--M. J. Young
I'll tuck this away in my bag for now, showing my lack of fear by disregarding him. If Icarus still hasn't said anything to the mugger, I'll ask the victim, "What do you think we should do with him?"
"Um--why are you asking me? I mean, what do you usually do with criminals--deliver them to the police, hang them in spider web with a sign on them, cause them to feel enough pain that they won't want to try this again?"
"I think it's his first time, ma'am," Icarus says. "He's asking your advice as a normal person, because he's going to become a superhero and wants to create his own style."
And with that, I'll need something on which to base a GE roll for her advice to you. Do you want to go the "Superman delivers them to jail" route, the "Spiderman leaves them hanging in web" route, or maybe there's a hero out there who messes with the minds of his captives so that if they even think about doing this again they'll get very sick or feel a lot of pain?
--M. J. Young
"Actually, I was asking what you felt would be a fair punishment for his crime. I'm giving you the opportunity to get even with him right here and now.
"Should he lose a hand? An eye? His freedom? His very life is in your hands."
I'd really rather if the victim was willing to forgive the mugger and let him go on his way, and least rather if what the victim wants to do is going to involve the police. Killing the mugger is pretty middle of the road.
"You want me to decide the punishment of my assailant?"
That seems to have been rhetorical confirmation of what you just said, but the victim is thinking.
"A moment ago, I was not sure I was going to live. That man was threatening me with a gun, and intending to take my valuables, possibly injure me, possibly kill me even if I cooperated. I really think that he deserves to be that afraid, that he should believe that he might be about to die.
"But I certainly can't ask you to kill him. I don't know whether he would have killed me; I expect that he would have hit me, but that he did not intend to kill me, only rob me. And I don't see any way that he can be made to feel as if his life was threatened if he knows you won't kill him. So I guess I can't really punish him the way I think he deserves, so I suppose there's not much point in punishing him in some other way--at least, I can't think of anything. I don't know what the police would do, other than ask me a lot of questions and let him go. So if that's your only question, you might as well let him go."
--M. J. Young
Smirk.
"I'll kill him, then."
I wonder if he's running yet?
If not, I'm taking out my lajatang.
I wonder if he's running yet?
If not, I'll get in stance and approach him and go for the killing blow.
But, I'll stop short of hitting him. Fair enough to let him think I was going to kill him.
Unless he's looking smug like he thinks he knows what I'm doing; in which case I'm going to try to use my foot sweep skill or whatever it's called, give him a couple pain attacks, and generally shake him up and make him think I'm killing him.
"I'll kill him, then."
Well, he's not really in a position to run--he's in an alley, between you and Icarus.
But he exclaims, "What?!" and turns toward Icarus. "You're not going to let him kill me, are you? You can't. You're supposed to be one of the good guys."
"Well," Icky says, "they've got a point. You threatened this poor citizen with a gun; it seemed you were willing to take a life to get a few dollars. If life is so cheap for you, why should it matter whether you pay with your own?"
"I didn't--I wouldn't--it was just--"
"But, if you really would not have hurt anyone, what was the point of having a gun? You certainly wanted your victims to believe you would kill them if they didn't cooperate."
He falls to his knees, weeping. "I never hurt anybody. I just scared them."
--M. J. Young