Two days and 23 hours until the end of the world.
Vanguard continued
their desperate Quest against the coming of Cthulhu.
The third artifact of power had been located right in North
Jersey of all places. Stranger still, it
was in a large, exurban, public storage rental facility called “U Stor.”
It turned out the unit was rented by the Warlock and the Crimson Coven. About half of them teleported in
immediately and a fight broke out in a long narrow hallway! Avatar and Symbiote charged deep into
the Coven’s ranks as the rest of Vanguard searched for the artifact!
Mirage chuckled, “Warlock.
Why don’t you explain your grand strategy of hiding in plain sight? I for one
would love to hear it again.” The Englishman’s words dripped venom.
The Warlock
growled, “Silence, cur.” He turned to face Menagerie. “You. Druid. Alone among
Vanguard’s rabble, you have a prayer of understanding.
Against Cthulhu, there is no hope. The entire occult world knows there is little time remaining.
Were Cthulhu and the other natives of the higher dimensions to intrude upon
this plane of existence, it would dwarf every apocalypse ever imagined. Your
blundering interference here threatens to destroy this entire universe.”
“What are talking about?” asked Sentinel.
“Ah,” said the Warlock. “The
‘beacon’ attempts to see. You’ve squandered what time you had, ‘hero.’ You’ve
no chance to secure every artifact in these remaining hours. No one does. We
have but one desperate gambit left. We must sate the Beast the moment he enters
our dimension. We will glut him with souls.”
“Souls? What souls?” asked Menagerie.
The Warlock addressed
his fellow sorcerer with something approaching respect. “Souls the Crimson Coven
will sacrifice to him, in order to save the rest of the world. We will feed him
millions of souls to save billions of souls.”
“But that’s impossible,” said Menagerie.
“Not for me,” said the Warlock. “Using my artifact of power,
and all the ley lines of the British
isle, we will form a web of mystic energy. We will feed him the
population of Great Britain. If we transmit that soul energy at him all at
once, it will sate him, stuff him, glut him, and he will leave this plane,
appeased.
A regrettable decision. And one
not lightly made. But there is no other choice left. We are Earth’s only hope.
We will sacrifice one nation, to save an entire world.”
Sentinel said, “And to
save yourselves, you greedy, selfish…” ZOT! Sentinel flew at them and fired an energy
blast at the Warlock! It deflected off his sparking flickering mystic shields. ZZZzzzZZz
kkk-k-k!
The Warlock’s anger
returned in an instant. “Fool! You’ll destroy the world. The souls of Great
Britain will be devoured by Cthulhu one way or another. There’s no need for
everyone to die!”
“Least of all us, mate,” smiled Mirage.
Sentinel said,
"Great plan Warlock, because nobody ever eats
the leftovers the day after the Thanksgiving Meal, do they?"
“Simpleton!” snapped Warlock,
all manners forgotten. He shouted down the long corridor. “We are discussing
matters beyond your ken, despite the symbol upon your chest. The Great
Convergence is an event lasting mere hours. If we successfully drive Cthulhu
off, he will be barred from our dimension again for another millennia!”
Mirage jeered to Vanguard,
“Just because your bloody kind finds nobility in dying for a lost cause is no
reason to assume the rest of the world is happy to join you sanctimonious sots!”
Superstition tried to
reason with Vanguard: “I cannot beleef you would be zo cruel. You’d let ze
world die, condemn every soul on earth to agonizing death, because you do not
weesh to dirty your hands? Eef you lack courage to do what must be done, zhen
at least get out of our way!”
Demonoid chuffed,
“Enough talking! There’s only one thing these pansies understand!”
The misshapen monster charged at
Avatar, wanting to tear him apart, and missed! The myrmidon of mythology
skillfully dodged those claws born of hell.
Symbiote was still
blind! And he found himself cut off and surrounded by the supernatural
supervillians of the Crimson Coven… and the mocking cackle of the Witch. Trying
to guess her location by her hideous laughter, the scientific superhero reached
out to his front left, trying to grab hold of her, and accidentally grazed the
storage unit door next to him.
KA-FLANG! The touch transferred
all of Symbiote’s stored velocity into the big aluminum door, blowing it off
its hinges and hurtling it back into Unit 3209 at 180 MPH, smashing the unit’s
contents flat against its back wall!
The Witch shrieked
with malevolent delight at the wanton destruction, and the helpless hero. She
readied her walking staff to brain the blind superhero groping about before
her.
Menagerie had been
waiting for someone to open a path to the artifact. And no one had!
He had transformed his shape into
that of a cheetah and raced with all his speed to the area that Slate and
Slingshot had unsuccessfully attacked. His animal senses told him something was
wrong.
He sensed the artifact nearby, in
the darkness, inside a crate that was 3’ x 2’ x 2’ large.
Menagerie had thoughtspoken to
Archimedes: “I’m near the third artifact. We need to leave in haste.”
Soon, next to Menagerie, a bright white portal had opened.
The Mystic had cast a gate to bring Vanguard home.
Menagerie had thoughtspoken to
Vanguard: “Friends, the hole is
there. It is masked by Mirage’s illusion. I’m near the artifact! Within
unit 3219, the Mystic’s portal is open. Don't trust
your eyes. Follow me through the opening. If you don't, then cover my exit.
Your choice!"
But the rest of Vanguard couldn’t see it. To their eyes, the
wall and floor on the second level were still there!
Unable to open or carry the crate
in Cheetah form, Menagerie assumed the shape of Baboon!
(OOC: Changing his Agility from 24
to 15. The rest of his action continues later!)
The dark robed villain
still stared at Avatar in disbelief.
Pendulum said, “I
don’t rightly know. He should be frozen in time. If I can’t slow him, perhaps I
can speed him up. Age him 100 years!” The temporal wizard cast another spell at
Avatar.
And nothing happened!
The Warlock said,
“Fool. He is a living vessel for the power of the Proto-Pantheon! He’s immortal.”
Avatar couldn’t help
but smile.
He didn’t know Superstition had just then placed a bad
luck spell upon him. Had the probability-warping wench known how difficult it
would be to put a hex on one who was in step with the universe, and luckier
than a rabbit’s foot, she would have saved this feat for a time when Avatar was
balanced on the ledge of a skyscraper over a river of hot lava.
Avatar, harkening to
Menagerie’s thought speech, raced back to Unit 3219, slipped, due to some
impossibly bad luck, and flew right at its door! Or rather, right at Mirage’s
illusion of the door. Avatar passed through it, and fell down one story into
the dark storage unit below! CRASH! He landed on Menageries’ Baboon form, and a
nearby crate. CRASH! (OOC: 3 points
damage each, can’t be rolled with)
Avatar rolled off the
baboon that he didn’t expect to see and, in the white light of Mystic’s Gate, they
both saw that his impact broke open the wooden crate.
Inside the small crate, surrounded
in excelsior, was a black stone knife, the third Artifact of Power in
Vanguard’s quest to stop the coming of Cthulhu!
Avatar, a trained
archeologist, recognized it at a glance. It was a Mayan ceremonial sacrificial
dagger!
The man of myth knew the Maya were
an extinct Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully
developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its
art, architecture, and extremely advanced mathematical and astronomical
systems.
Established 2000 years before Christ, many Maya city states
reached their highest state of development from 300 to 800 AD.
During the 8th and 9th centuries, the Maya civilization fell
into a sudden decline and many of its greatest cities were abandoned. This
decline was coupled with a cessation of monumental inscriptions and large-scale
architectural construction. No universally accepted theory explains the catastrophic
Mayan collapse.
“Stop!” commanded the Warlock. He stood before the door
to Unit 3219. “Mirage, end this façade now!”
The illusionary door evaporated,
revealing the gaping maw that Slingshot’s hands and Slate’s eyes had carved
out. The Warlock stood in the jagged doorway next to Slate and looked down eight
feet at Avatar, Menagerie’s Baboon form, Mystic’s glowing portal, and the
sacrificial dagger of the Maya.
“What?” Avatar
said.
The Warlock
continued, looking through his mystic shields into the eyes of Avatar and Menagerie,
“Over a Millennia ago, the last Convergence occurred. Cthulhu attempted to
break through. The Mayans sacrificed themselves to Cthulhu to save the world.
And it worked. He devoured all their
souls. He destroyed the greatest civilization on Earth. An entire culture was eaten
alive and Cthulhu was appeased. The Mayans succeeded; the rest of the world
survived. Now we must succeed. For
the sake of our world!”
Avatar and Menagerie
felt the powerful will of the Warlock! In their minds, they felt their resolve
weakening. The Baboon picked up the black dagger with the aid of his opposable
thumbs, and lifted it up toward the Warlock. The Warlock reached his hand out
to take it and suddenly Avatar and Menagerie broke free of his spell! (OOC: Thanks to Menagerie’s Willpower
Defense, and Avatar’s Nobility of Spirit: +4 to save against evil mental
domination)
Avatar and Menagerie
shook off the Warlock’s influence and leapt into the Mystic’s portal with the
dagger! “EEEK! RAARGH!” snarled Baboon Menagerie as he disappeared.
Sentinel called out: "Vanguard,
follow Avatar and Menagerie. We're out
of here. I’ll help Symbiote. Go!"
Slate had seen
Menagerie disappear, and then the illusionary door disappeared! He'd read about this, but seeing it was quite
something different. Almost as if he was
stuck in some kind of loop, he continued to stare at the floor until he heard Slingshot
moving up beside him.
Slingshot still
couldn't see the piece of concrete in his hands, but he could feel its weight.
It was confirmed by the others and Mirage's disappearance. He turns to his son,
"Ethan, look out for Mirage, he's a slippery one. If you see him, pinpoint
him to me, I have something handy for him. He hefted the invisible concrete
floor slab with a smile.
Slate nodded to his
father. After some quick mental calculation factoring sightlines, placement of
all the illusions that were in this tight hall, Mirage’s craven nature, the
crimson gate’s former position, and the energy blast crossfire that had
occurred so far (and a successful Int save on %!), Slate said, “Dad, Mirage is
hovering just to the right of the Witch… near the ceiling.”
Slingshot hurled the
invisible slab with all his might. It was surreal, as if he was pretending like
a street mime might. It must have sailed over Demonoid’s head.
“Damn your eyes,” said a
disembodied voice.
SLAM!! There was a terrible sound
and the concrete ceiling to the right of the Witch crumbled and part of it
collapsed. THUMP! CRASH!
Mirage materialized from
invisibility. He was to the right of the Witch, under ceiling debris and
Slingshot’s newly visible floor slab. Mirage was unconscious!
Slate looked around
and realized that Clone had gone around the hallway. The scion of cyberspace
used his eye beams to disintegrate another portal through the back of unit
3219, through the unit behind it (3114) and into Clone’s hallway!
Holding one end of his rope, Slate
threw the other end through the holes and over the pit. He fastened his end on his side, and jumped
into the unit below, holding the rope loosely, riding it down to the unit
below! He landed next to Mystic’s Gate
and the remains of the broken crate.
He immediately pulled out one of
the high powered flashlights he brought for just such an occasion, and further
illuminated the room..., "I know it's no Avatar," He smiled at
Warlock, "But it'll do."
He then called up to Clone,
"Follow the rope, Clone."
Slingshot stretched
past Warlock and poured his malleable form down into the unit that held
Mystic’s Gate.
Slate and Slingshot
escaped into the portal, keeping the small spotlight pointed through the portal
to light the way home.
As the four Clones came to the intersection where they thought they would
be running into an enraged Warlock, but didn't, they all immediately stopped
and looked around for a second. Once the quartet of dynamic doppelgangers
finally realized that the Russian mystic had 'blown off' their challenge, one
of them turned to the others and said, " . . . well . . . this is awkward
. . .?"
Just as they were about to take
off down the hallway once again in an attempt to flank the 'Masters of
Malicious Magic', the 'Replicating Russians' suddenly saw portal carve itself
through the door to Unit 3114. A rope came and landed harmlessly at their feet.
Before they could even try to figure out what was going on with this, a
familiar voice called out to them, "Follow the rope Clone" - it was
Slate!
Each of the duplicates turned to
face the others as if to see what each of them was going to, when out of
nowhere one of them sighed heavily and said to the others, " . . . oh man
. . . I can see it now, this is so gonna hurt." With that the four Clones
all collided into each other as they all simultaneously lunged towards the rope
reforming into one Clone.
Clone swung down the rope into the
lower level unit, and leapt into Mystic’s Gate!
Only Lightning Strike, Sentinel and Symbiote remained. And the Crimson
Coven.
The Witch took aim
with her heavy staff at the back of Symbiote’s skull. Her intent was to kill
him just for the fun of it.
Suddenly, Symbiote was far out of
range!
Sentinel had extended
a thick tendril of solid, animate energy down the long hall, wrapped it around
the blind Symbiote, and reeled him in!
Lightning Strike had
been holding his action in case Vanguard needed a diversion or other aid in
escaping.
Pendulum said to
Warlock as the beginnings of a magic spell crackled at his fingertips, “You
want me to freeze time long enough for us to go through the gate with them?”
Demonoid barked,
“YES! I want to massacre those thieving cowards! Get back here, Vanguard!”
“No my friend,” said the
Warlock. “Stay your terrible hand. I have no desire to battle Vanguard in
Archimedes’ place of power. Let them hold my dagger. There will come a time
when even Vanguard realizes all is lost.
Then, they will contact us. Then, they may be finally ready
to do what is needed, as the Maya did before us, and the Atlanteans before
them.”
The Warlock addressed Strike, Sentinel and Symbiote. “We
await your inevitable awakening.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” said Sentinel as he flew past Warlock, down
into the lower storage unit and through Mystic’s Portal with Symbiote in tow. The portal shut behind them!
“When this is all over, we’ll be coming for you,” said Lightning Strike. “Until then, stay out
of our way.” He transformed into living electricity, exploded violently upwards
into the facility’s wiring, and was gone!
Vanguard’s new strategy
for the quest had worked! Mystic’s
portal brought them home, and Strike materialized next to them. Earth’s
greatest heroes were together again, back at in the Special Projects Room of
Vanguard Vault. And Vanguard’s extended family was there to greet them.
Shelley Harper squealed,
“Congratulations!” and gave Sentinel and Symbiote a big hug. Symbiote’s
vision returned!
Pendulum’s magical effect on
Avatar’s speed dissipated before the manifestation of Hermes’ power ended.
Nanite was relieved her husband
and son were both unharmed, and embraced them warmly.
Oracle allowed herself a small
smile.
Even CHESS Agent Drake shut off
the work tablet long enough to join the small celebration.
Doc Rocket studied the black Mayan
dagger and murmured, “Incredible.”
“Hey, watch where you point that
thing!” Sgt. Stone said to Doc. “It might be loaded.”
Doc handed the dagger to the
Mystic, who said, “I shall keep this safely in a nearby realm. Piercing the
veil to another dimension will weaken me.” He turned to address Vanguard, “But
I believe that I should be able to teleport you to the next Artifact of Power
in one hour.”
“Let’s be quick about et,”
harrumphed Archimedes. “Thar’s only two deys and 22 hours until the end of the
world!”
Above Vanguard Vault, the night
sky thundered and swirled with the growing power of the World Storm, relentless
and inevitable..
[OOC: Replies to any and all of
the above?]
This concludes Part One of the Doomquest of Great Cthulhu Saga! (a Vanguard comics mega event complete
with limited edition variant covers)
-------------------------------------------
OOC: Thanks everyone!
Please now answer the following four things:
1) If you wish to leave the game
for whatever reason, now is a pretty good time in terms of our story. But I sincerely
hope that none of you will leave. Those that stay, please continue:
2) Please vote on which artifact
location that the Mystic will gate you to next! If I can get this part done
sooner than later, that would help me out.
- The middle of
the Atlantic Ocean
- Northern
France
- The Lost Lands
in Antarctica
- Moscow (This
is assumed to be the Spear of Destiny, in the possession of the Soviet
Super Soldiers)
- Nevada desert
- Northern
California
- China
3) Please let me know anything
your PC wants to do or say for the next hour. It’s 1 am.
4) Experience Point Time!
Experience is awarded for:
Experience is awarded for:
-Battling the Soviet Super
Soldiers behind the Iron Curtain in the Lost Lab of Dr. Swastika! 250 points
-Not securing the Spear of Destiny
from the SSS! 0 points
-Battling and thwarting Black Bat
and destroying his Cadaverous Captains of Crime in Big City! 750 points
-Securing the Splinter Reliquary
of the True Cross from Black Bat! 250 points
-Battling and thwarting the Crimson
Coven in U Stor, New Jersey! 500 points
-Securing the Mayan Sacrificial
Dagger from the Crimson Coven! 250 points
The new totals: Current XP
XP Gained New XP Total Your Level
Avatar: 25,500 2,000 27,500 7, a new level!
Clone: 18,500 2,000 20,500 5, a
new level!
Lightning Strike: 28,500 2,000 30,500 7, no change in level
Menagerie: 14,500 2,000 16,500 5, no change in level
Sentinel: 28,500 2,000 30,500 7, no change in level
Slate: 4,000 2,000 6,000 3, a new level!
Slingshot: 29,000 2,000 31,000 7, no change in level
Symbiote: 25,000 2,000 27,000 7, a
new level!
Half of you gain a level,
mostly the folks that didn’t gain a level last story arc.
Avatar, Clone, Slate, and Symbiote get level advancements. Please see the house rules for
what that means (pasted below).
Also, please note:
Both Slate and Slingshot each have one previous Level Advancement saved (see
Issue 165).
If you didn’t gain a level, but still want to add a new ability, you may do so by
losing an existing ability, or gaining a new weakness, within reason. Up to
you.
Once I get all this in, I’ll
modify your sheets and begin Part Two of our spine-tingling saga-rama!
Thanks,
Jeff
Current Conditions at the end of the battle:
Avatar: Hit Points: 49, Power
Points: 60
Clone: Bodies: 1, Hit Points: 23,
Power Points: 59, Hit Point Pool: 23,
Lightning Strike: Hit Points: 39,
Power Points: 62
Menagerie: Hit Points: 18, Power
Points: 49
Sentinel: Hit Points: 30, Power
Points: 57, Creation Points: 116
Slate: Hit Points: 35, Power
Points: 62
Slingshot: Hit Points: 79, Power
Points: 90, Invulnerability: 8
Symbiote: Hit Points: 43, Power
Points: 78, Charges: 13
---------------------------------------------------
For them that needs ‘em:
Character Advancement Rules:
Every level, your character
improves his abilities. Here's how:
First, throw away the V&V rules on Inventing and Training. Use this instead:
First, throw away the V&V rules on Inventing and Training. Use this instead:
With every level increase, a
character may add 1/2 a Hero Point to their sheet.
You’ll recall that in character
generation, one Hero Point can buy a Super Skill (e.g.: Heightened Intelligence
A).
Two Hero Points lets you buy a
Super Power (e.g.: Flame Powers).
So a Level Advancement gain is equivalent to ½ of a Super Skill or ¼ of a Super Power. If you really want a new big, full-blown super-power, you may save up Hero Points until you can afford it. Or you may buy new weaknesses to help offset its cost. See below.
The ways that superheroes get new abilities include, but are not limited to:
a) Training to get better physical super-skills or stats.
Comic Book Example: the X-Men in the danger room, Captain America in the gym.
Stat point increase = (9-your new
level).
b) Studying to learn new skills, areas of knowledge, or even powers.
Comic Book Example: Wolverine learns Japanese, Batman was constantly studying to improve his skills, Doctor Strange studied to learn new magic spells.
c) Mutation of an unexpected nature. Makes the most sense with heroes whose powers are tied to their DNA, like mutants or ‘accidental scientific’ origin types.
Comic Book Example: Chemicals trigger a mutation in Beast’s DNA, giving him blue fur.
d) Discovery of pre-existing powers that are latent or otherwise hidden.
Comic Book Example: Invisible Girl is discovered to have Force Fields, years after her origin event.
e) Finding a new device, object, etc. These can also come with Weaknesses or future plot points.
Comic Book Example: Spider-Man’s Venom costume.
f) Invention of a brand new power. Usually works best with super scientist types.
Comic Book Example: Ant-Man becomes Giant Man by inventing Size Change Larger.
g) Receiving powers from another being. These too can also come with Weaknesses or future plot points that are not always pleasant.
Comic Book Example: Frankie Raye becomes Nova at the hands of Galactus.
h) Modification of an existing Super Power, usually through practice.
Comic Book Example: The Human Torch trains to go Supernova with his Flame Powers. Cyclops learns to create a wide beam blast that lets him target an area.
b) Studying to learn new skills, areas of knowledge, or even powers.
Comic Book Example: Wolverine learns Japanese, Batman was constantly studying to improve his skills, Doctor Strange studied to learn new magic spells.
c) Mutation of an unexpected nature. Makes the most sense with heroes whose powers are tied to their DNA, like mutants or ‘accidental scientific’ origin types.
Comic Book Example: Chemicals trigger a mutation in Beast’s DNA, giving him blue fur.
d) Discovery of pre-existing powers that are latent or otherwise hidden.
Comic Book Example: Invisible Girl is discovered to have Force Fields, years after her origin event.
e) Finding a new device, object, etc. These can also come with Weaknesses or future plot points.
Comic Book Example: Spider-Man’s Venom costume.
f) Invention of a brand new power. Usually works best with super scientist types.
Comic Book Example: Ant-Man becomes Giant Man by inventing Size Change Larger.
g) Receiving powers from another being. These too can also come with Weaknesses or future plot points that are not always pleasant.
Comic Book Example: Frankie Raye becomes Nova at the hands of Galactus.
h) Modification of an existing Super Power, usually through practice.
Comic Book Example: The Human Torch trains to go Supernova with his Flame Powers. Cyclops learns to create a wide beam blast that lets him target an area.
i) Also: Heroes may opt to
pay down their Weaknesses, eventually eliminating them!
Comic Book Example: The Thing’s Reduced Charisma, that had him acting as nearly a villain in Fantastic Four issues 1-50, is severely lessened thereafter.
Your new abilities should make sense with your character’s existing personality and motif.
Comic Book Example: The Thing’s Reduced Charisma, that had him acting as nearly a villain in Fantastic Four issues 1-50, is severely lessened thereafter.
Your new abilities should make sense with your character’s existing personality and motif.
Thanks!
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
OOC:
1) I ain't leaving. You're stuck
with me.
2) Let's go to the lost lands,
since it was the second most wanted location last time.
3) I expect that the location will
likely be that temple we saw. We need some form of protection against magic. Is
there anything available? I'm willing to put any effort towards that if I can
help. I don't see anything that my character can produce, but he'll assist,
even if it's just by giving powerpoints. Otherwise, I'll rest.
4) Booohooo!
I'll see if I can work on
something regarding my past and my tie to the Cthulhu mythos.
Stephane
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Thanks.
You better hurry on your
revisionist history. Events are going to overtake you soon. :)
Re: 4: Slingy saved his last Level
Advancement, fyi.
Best
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
OOC:
Yeah. I know. I'm tardy on this.
Since I busted my back this week, I have a lot more downtime, I'll see about
getting this one done by the weekend.
I know I kept it. I figured I
might use it as things unfold,
Stephane
--------------------------------------------------
Slate:
IC: Slate hugged his mother
warmly, flushed with the success of the team avoiding an extended battle with
the Crimson Coven. He quickly checked
his running program for updates on the locations he had programmed in his last
search parameters. He'll inform the
team of any updates/news, but I think he's still prepared for the next jump. When his father mentions the Lost Lands,
Slate gets excited.
He quickly downloads the mission
logs and debrief files from the teams past trip, and quickly does a search for
anything he can find about Echo, the Soviet Super Soldier of Sound that had
been abandoned in the temple when last Vanguard had visited. It had always bothered Slate reading the logs
how easily her team mates had left her...
OOC: Slate will save his level up
for now.
Jon
--------------------------------------------------
Symbiote:
OOC:
Even though Symbiote was about as
useful as mammaries on a bull in that last adventure, he wishes to
continue. ;)
1)
Yes, I'm still in. Thank you for
the opportunity.
2)
Hal votes for the Lost Lands of Antartica. He will go in "wearing" Zero G's
power template (still wanting to try that one out in battle) regardless of
where we go UNLESS the team votes for the mid-Atlantic. In that case, he'll go with Inhuman's
template.
3) During the next hour Hal will
simply rest.
4)
New advancement ability: Twice
now, Hal has been pretty effortlessly mind controlled by Black Bat. He doesn't like it. He'd like to increase his Charisma as a
possible buffer against that sort of thing in the future. In game terms, perhaps this could be Hal
simply deciding that with menaces along the line of Mighty Cthulhu in his face,
he simply doesn't have the time to be introspective and scientifically
inquisitive any more. He has to have a
single minded sense of purpose, and let nothing distract him.
Happy holidays, heroes, no matter
what flavor you celebrate. Looking forward
to saving the world in 2014!
Viva Vanguard,
Greg
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Thanks Greg.
Actually, Symbiote helped out more
than you know.
When he and Avatar knocked back
Demonoid and the Witch hard into their teleportation portal, it caused a log
jam/ pile up on the other side that prevented the rest of the Coven from coming
through and joining the battle.
Last time Vanguard fought the
Crimson Coven, they numbered 13. Having to only face six made a huge difference
in the outcome.
Re: Advancement: At your level,
that would be a +3 boost to Charisma.
If you prefer, you could buy
Willpower defense for Mind Control attacks only instead. Up to you.
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Symbiote:
OOC:
I'll do that instead, then.
Maybe it'll help with Hal's New York style meatball pizza addiction too.
Thanks, Greg.
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC: Sorry. There’s no defense
against that.
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
OOC:
Yea, not going anywhere...
IC:
THIS ISSUE - ADDITIONAL
DIALOGUE-INTERCHANGE (IF APPROVED)
“Simpleton!” snapped Warlock, all
manners forgotten. He shouted down the long corridor. “We are discussing
matters beyond your ken, despite the symbol upon your chest. The Great
Convergence is an event lasting mere hours. If we successfully drive Cthulhu
off, he will be barred from our dimension again for another millennia!”
And there is was again. His
symbol. Why did it seem everyone else knew more about its significance than
Kirk himself?
“That blade was used the last time
Cthulhu came into this world.”... The Mayans sacrificed themselves to Cthulhu
to save the world... Let them hold my dagger. There will come a time when even
Vanguard realizes all is lost. Then, they will contact us. Then, they may be
finally ready to do what is needed, as the Maya did before us, and the
Atlanteans before them.”
This information truly disturbed
Kirk. Two of the most advanced civilizations of their time sacrificing
themselves to stop Cthulhu. He needed to know more and there was no time in the
midst of their battle and departure for mind reading, so he appealed to the
Warlock’s greatest weakness, his ego.
Not hiding his concern and
summoning a degree of innocence in tone of the Sentinel of earlier in his
career Kirk asked, “Warlock, what are we missing here? We just have to prevent
someone from summoning Cthulhu, how is it the Mayans and Atlanteans failed to
do that? Why are you so sure we will fail and someone will perform the
summoning ceremony?” and hoped that the Warlock couldn’t pass up a chance to
show how much smarter he was than everyone else in the room.
If it seems Warlock is being
truthful Kirk would add, knowing Warlock really couldn’t pass up the chance on
this one, “My symbol Warlock, you referred to it earlier, is it connected to
these events?”
This interchange could be inserted
before:
The Warlock addressed Strike, Sentinel and Symbiote. “We
await your inevitable awakening.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” said Sentinel as he flew past
Warlock, down into the lower storage unit and through Mystic’s Portal with
Symbiote in tow.
As Kirk flew through the portal
looking back to be sure he had Symbiote safely in tow he could have sworn that
though his sixth sense, his energy sense, he perceived the symbol on his chest
emanating, glowing outward from within him. But surely it must have been his
imagination. Even so, he was beginning to wonder, “did he choose the symbol or
did the symbol choose him?”
Depending on what Warlock has to
say or doesn’t you can adjust but Kirk would say to Archimedes and Mystic, “Warlock
said the Mayans and the Atlanteans before them sacrificed themselves to satiate
Cthulhu. Is there any other information or legends as to why they couldn’t
prevent the summonings to begin with?”
ON THE NEXT LOCATION:
Kirk is still fine with Antartica,
but added, “in lieu of what Warlock said about the Atlanteans, if now for
Antartica then I say the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is the next location
after that... perhaps we’ll find some clues as to what happened with Atlantis
and the summoning of two thousand years ago that can help us today.”
As the team departs Kirk waits to
get a moment alone with Archimedes (if Menagerie still happens to be present he
will proceed) and points to his chest and says, “My symbol... it seems to have
more significance than I may have thought. When I asked him, Gramps never
indicated a significant reason for his choosing it. When I took up the mantle
he said I could change it, but in all honesty, the thought never crossed my
mind. Part of me has thought about digging deeper before, but that thought
always seems to get lost. I’m starting to wonder if there really isn’t
something more going on here. What do you think?”
Assuming nothing more important
comes up here to occupy the hour, Kirk will rest and run through his mental
training to prepare himself for Antartica as he remembered just being in that
inhuman alien temple presented challenges.
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
OOC: Here is my turn.
1) Yes, I am still playing. I made it through this year with working trying to fry my brain, next year should be better.
2) First choice, Lost Lands in Antarctica, then second is Middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
3). He will rest to regain PP and will meditate to bring Willpower to forefront. If Archimedes asks, he will stay listening to Sentinel's concerns about himself and his symbol. He will help his friend however he can.
4) No input required.
Best
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
OOC:
Please now answer the following
four things:
1) If you wish to leave the game
for whatever reason, now is a pretty good time in terms of our story. But I
sincerely hope that none of you will leave. Those that stay, please continue:
Leave the game?!? I just worked
out an entire revamp of Clone's personality with you - I've got way too much to
do there to just pull up stakes and hit the trail! No way - count me in!
2) Please vote on which artifact
location that the Mystic will gate you to next! If I can get this part done
sooner than later, that would help me out.
• The middle of the Atlantic Ocean
• Northern France
• The Lost Lands in Antarctica
• Moscow (This is assumed to be
the Spear of Destiny, in the possession of the Soviet Super Soldiers)
• Nevada desert
• Northern California
• China
I'm thinking that the Soviet Super
Soldiers; and God knows who else, will manage to pick up the artifacts further
away from the United States - so I would personally pass on those spots. I'm
also thinking; based purely on a gut feeling and what happened there the last
time we were near that place, that The Lost Lands Location may be 'The End
Game' location - so once again I'm feeling that this isn't the place to go.
Moscow? I don't really see the need to go there yet - just an opinion though.
So that leaves The middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the Nevada desert, and
Northern California - I would like to think that we could easily reach out to
something in our 'backyard', so I'm going to vote for The middle of the
Atlantic Ocean.
3) Please let me know anything
your PC wants to do or say for the next hour. It’s 1 am.
I'm intentionally going to keep
things simple with Clone's IC response for this issue and most likely in the
next several issues as well. For the next hour Clone will just sit in a
somewhat guarded position in a remote corner somewhere, keeping to himself and
remaining relatively quiet. With his multiple personalities all over the place
and the dominant personality being a loner type that survived for years on his
own and in hiding, I think this should be the way I play him for now . . . but
things will change.
4) Experience Point Time!
Jeff, I don't remember - did we
use Clone's next level advancement when we switched things around on him?
>CLONE’S IC RESPONSE<
OOC: Should Clone be asked his
opinion as to where to go to next.
IC: The visibly distant Clone
looked up from the secluded corner he sat himself in and said matter-of-factly,
"The Mid-Atlantic . . ." The 'Master of Multiplicity' then nuzzled
back into the niche he was rested in and just stared quietly back at the other
members of Vanguard.
OOC: Jeff, if you find you need
additional dialogue out of Clone please feel free to add whatever you think
works best for the story, or let me know and I'll do my best to get something
out to you asap.
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
--------------------------------------------------
Avatar:
OOC:
Middle of the Atlantic, too
Too much going on for me to put
much thought into it at this point.
Jeff, please do as you please with Avatar for this round.
Will think about the level gain
stuff and bounce things off of you later.
--------------------------------------------------
Lightning Strike:
OOC:
Hi,
Merry Christmas!!! Sorry for being so slow.
Strike has no plans to leave
Vanguard, at least until all of the artifacts are accounted for, and also is
not adding any new powers.
He votes to go to the Nevada desert
as it is the closest.
Short and sweet,
Tony
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
OOC:
Thanks guys.
Kevin, you didn't use Clone's
advancement ahead of time.
You gave up old powers, like his
sexy telepathy, to buy off old weaknesses.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Best
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Hey gang,
Attached are your updated
character sheets. Please check that I didn't make any mistakes.
Next issue should come out Friday
at the latest.
Best wishes for a healthy, happy,
successful new year to all of you and your families,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Slate:
OOC:
Jeff,
Can we add Patron to Slate? Power and Weakness
I know he's been hitting the vault
storage facilities regularly... You could wait for a climactic announcement
that the government now views him as a part of the team if you want... maybe
after they save the world from Cthulhu... if they save the world from
Cthulhu...
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Hi,
Yes.
I like the idea of it being
officially announced after the Cthulhu Quest.
Does that work for you?
Best,
Jeff
PS: Indy gear will be useful in
Lost Lands. :-)
Slate:
OOC:
Looking forward to it, and yep works for me. I'll keep thinking about it, by then I may want to transition his prejudice to unusual looks (he has his mother’s eyes...), or something like that...
Jon
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
OOC:
Hi Jeff,
Sorry for not getting back to you
sooner on this, but the holidays, work, and a bad case of the flu have made it
impossible to do just about anything even remotely connected to my own personal
enjoyment.
For Clone's next level I was
thinking about bringing back his empathy - would that be a 1/2 power or a full
power - I forget how we worked that?
“Heightened Senses: Empathic Link:
Clone and his duplicates share a vague empathic connection which in the past
has been used for a degree of control/coordination of the group. He has also
demonstrated that this connection can be used sort of like a homing device to
track dupes when they are close by, Range = Cha + Int inches.
Should Clone or one of his duplicates
die, the others would immediately become aware of it and feel a deep sense of
mental and emotional anguish, Range = infinite.
In no way does this ability allow
Clone or any of his duplicates to telepathically or empathically communicate
with each other or anyone one else, it’s simply an unconscious awareness of
each other’s presence, PR=0.”
If it’s a full power than I'll
hold on to this level up and apply it to my next level up to get Clone's
Empathic power back. Once he has that power back, Clone will try to get back
his Limited Telepathy.
“Limited Telepathy: Clones may
broadcast thoughts to other Clones via mental communication. PR=1 per use.
Range = 120” (Int x 10”). (Level Four Advancement)”
Happy New Year!
-Kev
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Hi,
Great.
"Empathic Link" can be
one level advancement.
"Limited Telepathy" will
be available later with another Level Advancement. Will modify your sheet and
re-send.
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
