Before we began our Mutants and Masterminds campaign, we wanted to test our characters a little to be sure we had a decent enough handle on character creation. It's rather a drawn out, complicated process and it seems easy enough to gank yourself with after all. Our GM whipped up a random list of the archetypes (both hero and villain) in the core rulebook and we each took a turn rolling one up to fight. The fights were one on one at first, then we had a team battle with our characters up against four randomly chosen npcs. The fights all took place in an aquarium (we used the Marine Aquarium map from the free Wizard's of the Coast D20 Modern web enhancement.)
First up was Johny's Character, Steel Storm, who could create solid steel objects, shoot them and use them as shields, among other little tricks.
STEEL STORM vs POWERHOUSE
Steel Storm and Powerhouse move around the aquarium looking for one another.
Powerhouse Notices Steel first and gains surprise.
Surprise round:
Powerhouse moves over to Steel and attacks but misses!
Steel Storm wins the Initiative.
1)
Steel uses Flight to get out of Powerhouse's reach and back off a bit. He uses Steel Snare on Powerhouse and hits. Powerhouse fails his Reflex save and is bound and helpless.
Powerhouse immediately makes a Strength check and breaks out of the Steel Snare. He grabs the nearby cash register and throws it at Steel Storm, missing.
2)
Steel blasts Powerhouse with his Steel Blast and hits. Powerhouse is staggered and stunned.
3)
Steel Blasts Powerhouse again and hits but Powerhouse is undamaged.
Powerhouse rips up the wooden counter next to him to throw at Steel Storm next round.
4)
Steel moves to partial cover of the corner nearby, then fires another blast at Powerhouse. He hits and Powerhouse suffers another bruise.
Powerhouse throws the wooden counter at Steel Storm, missing him.
5)
Steel fires a Blast at Powerhouse a third time but misses.
Powerhouse shuffles off, looking for something else to throw or a place to take cover.
6)
Steel pursues and fires again. He hits, dropping another bruise on Powerhouse.
Powerhouse moves into the Training Room. With the lower ceiling he hopes to force Steel Storm down to his level where he can smack him.
7)
Steel flies to the doorway but doesn't enter the room.
Powerhouse rips up a batch of flooring to throw at Steel Storm when he enters.
8)
Steel enters the room, fires a Steel Blast at Powerhouse and hits. Powerhouse is rendered unconscious.
Next up was my own character, She-Devil, who is a regenerating slam-fighter. (And she can fly!)
SHE-DEVIL vs SHAPESHIFTER
She-Devil moves through the aquarium looking for Shapeshifter, who's is in the form of a dolphin in the show pool
She-Devil's Notice is terrible, so when she enters the Marine Aquarium she fails to notice Shapeshifter (in dolphin form) in the pool. Shapeshifter sidles up to the steps to seize surprise.
Surprise:
Shapeshifter transforms into a Lion and attacks She-Devil but misses.
She-Devil wins the Initiative.
1)
She-Devil attacks Shapeshifter and hits. Shapeshifter is bruised but She-Devil's automatic grapple attempt fails.
Shapeshifter transforms into an Ape and attacks She-Devil. She-Devil is hit but suffers no damage.
2)
She-Devil attacks Shapeshifter again. She lands a solid blow and Shapeshifter is staggered and stunned. She-Devil elects not to bother grappling.
Shapeshifter is stunned and cannot act.
3)
She-Devil attacks Shapeshifter again while she's stunned and lands the blow easily. Shapeshifter is rendered unconscious.
Next was Ally's character, Mourn, who could go sort of invisibile, drain abilities and powers from other characters and infect them with crippling despair.
MOURN vs ARMORED MEGALOMANIAC (reduced to PL 10)
Mourn moves into the aquarium to find Armored Megalomaniac waiting for her.
Armored Megalomaniac wins the Initiative.
1)
Armored Megalomaniac monologues, attempting to Demoralize Mourn but fails.
Mourn immediately attempts Emotion Control (despair) on Armored Megalomaniac but also fails.
2)
Armored Megalomaniac elects to Blast Mourn and turn the confrontation into a running battle, since he can't Intimidate her. He hits and, surprisingly, knocks Mourn unconscious with one shot.
So, Mourn got her butt handed to her pretty quick. Our GM naturally gave her another chance to prove herself since we were just testing out our characters anyway. She draws Paragon for her opponent this time.
MOURN vs PARAGON
Paragon is waiting for her behind the counter inside the aquarium. When she enters he demands that she surrender...or face justice!
Paragon wins the Initiative.
1)
Paragon moves on over to Mourn and attacks, scoring a critical hit! Mourn is staggered and stunned.
2)
Paragon attempts a grapple on the stunned Mourn but amazingly enough, he fails.
Mourn shakes off the stun and activates her Concealment. She moves off to find a place to Heal herself.
3)
Paragon blinks a bit when Mourn mysteriously eludes him. He swings blindly at the spot where she was standing a moment ago and when that fails, calls out for her to surrender once more.
Mourn maintains her concealment as a free action and attempts to Heal herself of the staggered effect. She succeeds easily and drops the staggered condition.
4)
Paragon figures he's dealing with an invisible villain and uses his Quickness to pulverize a handful of the concrete wall next to him. With a handful of the resulting dust he sets out looking for Mourn, still advising her to surrender or take a beating for justice!
Mourn sustains her Concealment and uses Emotion Control to drop some despair on Paragon. He fails the Will save and is shaken.
5)
Paragon is shaken but not overcome so he tosses his handful of dust in a random direction, hoping to hit the invisible villain assaulting him. He fails to hit Mourn with it though.
Capitalizing on her success, Mourn hits Paragon with another Emotion Control (despair) but he shakes it off completely this time.
6)
At a loss for what to do in fighting this invisible assailant, Paragon retreats out the front doors hoping Mourn will follow (revealing her location when she opens the door).
Mourn moves to the front door and finds Paragon just outside of her Drain Ability range but doesn't take the bait. She hits him with another Emotion Control (despair) and he fails the check, shaken again.
7)
Paragon gives up on the doorway gambit (in despair, har har) and moves back inside, looking for Mourn. Since he walks right through her space he bumps into her and immediately attempts a blind grab. Landing it, he wins the grapple check as well and pins Mourn down for the round.
Mourn maintains the Concealment and hits Paragon with a Strength Drain, hoping to get loose before he can beat her up. Paragon, despite his high Fortitude save, actually fails the save and his Strength drops to 24.
8)
Aghast at his sudden weakening, Paragon maintains the grapple and smacks Mourn around a bit. With his reduced Strength he hits but only manages to bruise her.
Mourn retaliates with another Drain Strength, which Paragon yet again fails his Fortitude save against. His Strength now drops to 14.
9)
Realizing this invisible villain will continue sapping his Strength as long as he's holding her, Paragon attempts to maintain the grapple in order to throw her at something. This time his reduced Strength fails him and Mourn wins the grapple check.
Free from Paragon's pin, Mourn steps back and hits him a third time with Drain Strength. Yet again Paragon fails the Fortitude save and his Strength drops to 4.
10)
Weak as a child now, Paragon staggers for the door to escape and fight crime another day. Once through the nearby front doors he takes to the air and flies away, leaving Mourn to claim the win.
Finally, Michelle's character Tech Support comes up. She's a gadget girl and all around technical genius/inventor. She has a dual purpose sonic pistol, some light body armor and the ability to teleport.
TECH SUPPORT vs BRAIN IN A JAR (reduced to PL 10)
Tech Support enters the building and finds Brain in a Jar's illusion of himself floating on the other side of the counter (he's actually around the corner, relying on the illusion to draw her attention).
Brain in a Jar fails to detect Tech Support's presence and so she gets surprise.
Surprise:
As a move action, Tech Support attempts to hack into Brain in a Jar's computer systems with her Neural Datalink but can't find it (Brain in a Jar has no computer system). She fails to detect the Ilusion in the process.
Tech Support then Quick Draws her Sonic Pistol and fires a Confusion Beam at illusory Brain in a Jar. Though she hits Illusory Brain in a Jar is unhurt and Tech Support still fails to detect the illusion.
Brain in a Jar wins the Initiative.
1)
Brain in a Jar, now aware of Tech Support, Mind Blasts her. He hits and Tech Support suffers a bruise.
She Teleports off to the side in preparation for some tactical Teleporting.
2)
Brain in a Jar darts away and Mind Blasts Tech Support again, missing.
Tech Support fires another Confusion Beam at the illusory Brain in a Jar and hits again. There's still no damage and Tech Support again doesn't recognize the illusion. She Teleports away to set up a nice Turnabout spot.
3)
Brain in a Jar forms moves to cover in the entrance and moves the illusory Brain in a Jar in her general direction, hoping to draw her fire again.
Tech Support Teleports in, fires another Confusion Beam and hits. When there's no effect she finally recognizes the illusion. She stays put to Teleport around looking for the real Brain in a Jar next round.
4)
Brain in a Jar Mind Blasts Tech Support again but misses.
Tech Support uses Ultra-Hearing to try to detect Brain in a Jar's support tank but fails. She Teleports around, looking for Brain in a Jar and spots him near the entrance.
5)
Brain in a Jar Mind Blasts Tech Support again bit misses then scoots off for cover to rethink his strategy.
Tech Support performs a Turnabout Teleport and fires a Confusion Beam at Brain in a Jar. She hits but Brain in a Jar makes his save so there's no effect. She Teleports back to her original spot, still using Ultra-Hearing to track him.
6)
Brain in a Jar detects Tech Support with Mental Awareness, then attempts to Mind Control her but she wins the check. He moves off again, putting more distance between them.
Tech Support detects Brain in a Jar's location and performs another Turnabout, firing a Confusion Beam at Brain in a Jar, missing, then Teleporting back.
8)
Brain in a Jar fails to detect Tech Support with Mental Awareness so he moves and drops another illusory Brain in the Jar in the spot where he was.
He's still in range of Tech Support's Ultra Hearing and she detects him. She performs another Turnabout, firing Confusion Beam again but misses. Though this reveals to Brain in a Jar that she's tracking him somehow and the illusions have become useless.
9)
Brain in a Jar gets rid of the failed illusion, detects her location and attempts another Mind Control from where he's at. Tech Support fails the check and is under his control. Brain in a Jar orders her to toss her Sonic Pistol in the nearby Show Pool.
Tech Support, now Mind Controlled, tosses her Sonic Pistol over the wall in the pool.
10)
Brain in a Jar orders Tech Support to break the display tank in front of her.
Tech Support fails the check again and attacks the display tank unarmed. She fails to break the glass, however.
11)
Frustrated, Brain in a Jar orders her to try again (hoping to put her at a disadvantage and attack)
Tech Support fails the check again and attacks the display tank a second time. Again she fails to break the glass.
12)
Brain in a Jar tries one more time and issues the same order.
Tech Support finally breaks the Mind Control, detects Brain in a Jar's location and Tech Support Teleports into the pool, falls in and fishes out her Sonic Pistol.
13)
Brain in a Jar attempts another Mind Control from his location but Tech Support wins the check.
Tech Support steps over to fire a Confusion Beam with her recovered pistol and hits. Brain in a Jar fails the Will save and gets a "flee at top speed" result.
14)
Brain in a Jar dashes off at "all out" speed to get away from Tech Support
Tech Support can't detect him with her Ultra-Hearing, so she takes a guess and just Teleports in that general direction. Spotting him against the far wall she fires her Sonic Blaster and hits. Brain in a Jar is staggered and stunned.
15)
Brain in a Jar is stunned, unable to act this round.
Tech Support fires another Sonic Blast and hits, knocking Brain in a Jar unconscious.
Finally we come to...
The Big Team Battle:
Here we pitted our team against another four-unit randomly selected group of archetypes from the core rulebook, just to see how we stood up to them.
Steel Storm, She-Devil, Mourn and Tech Support
versus
Energy Controller, Martial Artist and two Paragons
Entering the aquarium as a group we find both Paragons, Energy Controller and Martial Artist politely waiting for us behind the counter. The GM had ruled against Tech Support formulating a Master Plan before the battle since we wouldn't know who we were facing until we arrived. Instead, we role-played a little and attempted a bit of Intimidation before going toe-to-toe.
Steel Storm successfully Intimidates Energy Controller and Paragon2
She-Devil Intimidates everyone but Energy Controller (who's already Intimidated)
Mourn hits Martial Artist with a Emotion Control (despair) and he fails his save
Tech support doesn't bother, since everyone on the other team is shaken for the next round already
Martial Artist attempts to retaliate with an Intimidation check of his own against our group but we all resist
Energy Controller tries to Taunt our group as well and we resist her efforts too
Initiative is rolled and we go to it, already having the advantage
Order of Initiative:
Steel Storm
Energy Controller
Tech Support
Mourn
Paragon1
Paragon2
Martial Artist
She-Devil
1)
Steel Storm decides to hit Martial Artist while he's flat-footed and nail him down. He fires off a Steel Snare and hits but Martial Artist makes his Reflex save and avoids the Snare. Steel Storm then flies off to the south to put some distance between them.
Energy Controller activates her Cold Field and fires an Ice Snare at Mourn. She hits but Mourn makes her Reflex save. Energy Controller flies off to the north to keep her distance as well.
Tech Support yanks a sleep grenade from her utility belt and tosses it at Martial Artist and Paragon2. Martial Artist fails his Fortitude save and is fatigued.
Mourn activates her Concealment and moves over by Paragon1. She attempts to hit him with a Emotion Control (despair) but he makes his Will save.
Paragon1 sees his opponent in She-Devil, so he charges her right off. He misses terribly anyway.
Paragon2 wastes no time getting out of the sleep gas cloud Tech Support dropped around him and charges her. He likewise fails to land a hit.
Martial Artist is fatigued from the gas and can't charge Steel Storm (who's in the air anyway), so he heads for She-Devil to pitch in with Paragon1. He hits She-Devil with a Stunning Attack which leaves her dazed for the next round.
2)
Steel Storm decides to go after Energy Controller and moves all-out around the administrative office area to take cover in the gift shop area beyond.
Rather than root out Steel Storm for a shot, Energy Controller heads into the mix to lend her support to the melee fighters. She zooms in and drops an Ice Snare on She-Devil, who can't make a Reflex save to avoid it.
Tech Support has a face full of Paragon2 and doesn't like that one bit, so she Teleports over by Mourn where she still has a good shot at everyone. She Quick Draws her Sonic Pistol and fires a Confusion Beam at Paragon2 to keep him from following her. She hits and Paragon2 fails his save but he lands the "attack user of confusion effect" result so she rather shot herself in the foot after all.
Mourn takes a five-foot step to put herself in range of Energy Controller, then slaps her with a Drain Flight Power attack. Energy Controller makes her save and isn't effected though.
Paragon1 decides to grapple She-Devil while she's dazed and lands the hit but fails the grapple check.
Paragon2 is under Tech Support's Confusion effect and heads right for her to bring the beating. He fails to land a blow when he gets there though.
Martial Artist attempts a Power Attack on She-Devil but the penalty causes his attack to miss. He steps back in case She-Devil breaks lose from the Ice Snare on her following round.
She-Devil promptly shakes off the daze from Martial Artist's previous attack and smashes out of Energy Controller's Ice Snare. With only Paragon1 at hand to maul she levels a blow at him that leaves him staggered and stunned. Her free grab leads to her winning the grapple check against him and she has him pinned.
3)
Steel Storm pursues Energy Controller back around to the north side of the front entrance but elects not to move any further after her when he spots Martial Artist from there. He fires a Steel Blast at him but misses.
Energy Controller decides to snare down Tech Support for Paragon2 and fires an Ice Snare at her. Tech Support is hit and fails her Reflex save so she's entangled.
Tech Support attempts to break free of the Ice Snare but fails. She then fires her Sonic Blast at Paragon1 but misses.
Mourn decides to turn her attention to Paragon2, who was kind enough to rush right up next to her and who'll likely start beating up on Tech Support on his next turn. Still concealed, she hits him with a Drain Strength but he resists it.
Paragon1 is staggered and still being grappled by She-Devil. He tries to break free but fails the grapple check and that's all he can accomplish this round.
Paragon2 shakes off Tech Support's Confusion effect but goes ahead with his plan to beat up on her anyway since he's already there. He rolls low and misses despite her being entangled.
Martial Artist still decides She-Devil is his best target so he goes after her again, taking a five-foot step to her and trying another Stunning Attack. Though he hits her, She-Devil shrugs off the stun attempt easily.
She-Devil uses her pin on Paragon1 to apply damage and ends up knocking him unconscious. She ignores Martial Artist moves right on over to Paragon2 so she can attack him and get him off Tech Support next round.
4)
Steel Storm moves a five-step in flight and takes a shot at Paragon1 with his Steel Blast, missing.
Energy Controller skips Ice Snares for a bit and simply blasts Tech Support with her Cold Blast but she misses her shot too.
Tech Support attempts to break free from Energy Controller's Ice Snare again and still can't manage it. Counting on She-Devil to handle Paragon2, she fires her Sonic Blast at Energy Controller and blows right through her Cold Field to knock her unconscious.
With things suddenly looking up for our team Mourn tries to secure victory by dropping a Drain Toughness on Paragon2, but he successfully resists it.
Paragon2 attacks Tech Support, hoping to take someone out and maybe level the playing field a bit. He rolls terribly and misses her. (The Paragons did pretty lousy in the fight, I noticed.)
Martial Artist performs a Move-by Action past She-Devil and makes a Power Attack at a full +/-5. He hits but still fails to damage her and continues on beyond her reach to stop behind Tech Support.
She-Devil takes her cue from Martial Artist and performs a full +/-5 Power Attack on Paragon2 but the penalty causes her to miss with her attack.
5)
Steel Storm is pretty fed up with missing everyone and drops back out of range to start a full-round Aim at Martial Artist.
Tech Support tries again to break free of the Ice Snare on her and finds out the hard way that she just can't pull it off, no matter how high she rolls. She fires her Sonic Blast at Paragon2 then, hoping to knock him out before he can smack her. Her shot barely misses him and she's still open for a beating when his Initiative point comes around.
Mourn realizes she's the last line of defense for Tech Support and drops another Emotion Control (despair) on Paragon2. She lands it but he again resists the effect.
Paragon2, having dodged the bullet from just about everyone so far, goes ahead with his unarmed attack on Tech Support...and misses again anyway.
Figuring that Tech Support is securely locked down in an Ice Snare and Disarming her is as good as knocking her out, Martial Artist makes the attempt and ends up snatching her Sonic Pistol away from her.
She-Devil attempts another Power Attack as before on Paragon2, landing the hit this time and promptly knocking him out cold. With that she moves off after Martial Artist to attack him next round.
6)
Steel Storm fires the Steel Blast he's been Aiming at Martial Artist, ready to finally hit something before the fight's all over. He misses badly and, fed up, decides to go to ground and start hitting people next round.
Tech Support gets the bright idea (smacking herself on the forehead for not thinking of it before) of trying to Teleport out of the Ice Snare rather than relying on her 10 Strength to break out. She promptly does so but barely manages it with the low power rank (still better than her Str). She pops up next to Martial Artist and tries to snatch back her Sonic Pistol. She fails of course but it was an entertaining try.
Mourn hits Martial Artist with an Emotion Control (despair) and finally manages to effect someone with it. He's shaken for the round on top of being fatigued from Tech Support's earlier sleep gas grenade.
Martial Artist hits Tech Support with a Power Attack and not only bruises her but stuns her as well.
She-Devil then attacks Martial Artist with a Power Attack of her own and renders him unconscious with one blow (barely!).
With that the fight is over and our side wins with only a couple of bruises to show for it.
Yeah, we're bad.
So after all that I figure we not only did pretty good with creating our characters but we probably must have munchkined here and there, considering how soundly we trounced four other characters at our own Power Level. Which is fine, since whoever GM's this thing will probably just toss Power Level 12 or higher bad guys at us.
Sounds like fun!
First up was Johny's Character, Steel Storm, who could create solid steel objects, shoot them and use them as shields, among other little tricks.
STEEL STORM vs POWERHOUSE
Steel Storm and Powerhouse move around the aquarium looking for one another.
Powerhouse Notices Steel first and gains surprise.
Surprise round:
Powerhouse moves over to Steel and attacks but misses!
Steel Storm wins the Initiative.
1)
Steel uses Flight to get out of Powerhouse's reach and back off a bit. He uses Steel Snare on Powerhouse and hits. Powerhouse fails his Reflex save and is bound and helpless.
Powerhouse immediately makes a Strength check and breaks out of the Steel Snare. He grabs the nearby cash register and throws it at Steel Storm, missing.
2)
Steel blasts Powerhouse with his Steel Blast and hits. Powerhouse is staggered and stunned.
3)
Steel Blasts Powerhouse again and hits but Powerhouse is undamaged.
Powerhouse rips up the wooden counter next to him to throw at Steel Storm next round.
4)
Steel moves to partial cover of the corner nearby, then fires another blast at Powerhouse. He hits and Powerhouse suffers another bruise.
Powerhouse throws the wooden counter at Steel Storm, missing him.
5)
Steel fires a Blast at Powerhouse a third time but misses.
Powerhouse shuffles off, looking for something else to throw or a place to take cover.
6)
Steel pursues and fires again. He hits, dropping another bruise on Powerhouse.
Powerhouse moves into the Training Room. With the lower ceiling he hopes to force Steel Storm down to his level where he can smack him.
7)
Steel flies to the doorway but doesn't enter the room.
Powerhouse rips up a batch of flooring to throw at Steel Storm when he enters.
8)
Steel enters the room, fires a Steel Blast at Powerhouse and hits. Powerhouse is rendered unconscious.
Next up was my own character, She-Devil, who is a regenerating slam-fighter. (And she can fly!)
SHE-DEVIL vs SHAPESHIFTER
She-Devil moves through the aquarium looking for Shapeshifter, who's is in the form of a dolphin in the show pool
She-Devil's Notice is terrible, so when she enters the Marine Aquarium she fails to notice Shapeshifter (in dolphin form) in the pool. Shapeshifter sidles up to the steps to seize surprise.
Surprise:
Shapeshifter transforms into a Lion and attacks She-Devil but misses.
She-Devil wins the Initiative.
1)
She-Devil attacks Shapeshifter and hits. Shapeshifter is bruised but She-Devil's automatic grapple attempt fails.
Shapeshifter transforms into an Ape and attacks She-Devil. She-Devil is hit but suffers no damage.
2)
She-Devil attacks Shapeshifter again. She lands a solid blow and Shapeshifter is staggered and stunned. She-Devil elects not to bother grappling.
Shapeshifter is stunned and cannot act.
3)
She-Devil attacks Shapeshifter again while she's stunned and lands the blow easily. Shapeshifter is rendered unconscious.
Next was Ally's character, Mourn, who could go sort of invisibile, drain abilities and powers from other characters and infect them with crippling despair.
MOURN vs ARMORED MEGALOMANIAC (reduced to PL 10)
Mourn moves into the aquarium to find Armored Megalomaniac waiting for her.
Armored Megalomaniac wins the Initiative.
1)
Armored Megalomaniac monologues, attempting to Demoralize Mourn but fails.
Mourn immediately attempts Emotion Control (despair) on Armored Megalomaniac but also fails.
2)
Armored Megalomaniac elects to Blast Mourn and turn the confrontation into a running battle, since he can't Intimidate her. He hits and, surprisingly, knocks Mourn unconscious with one shot.
So, Mourn got her butt handed to her pretty quick. Our GM naturally gave her another chance to prove herself since we were just testing out our characters anyway. She draws Paragon for her opponent this time.
MOURN vs PARAGON
Paragon is waiting for her behind the counter inside the aquarium. When she enters he demands that she surrender...or face justice!
Paragon wins the Initiative.
1)
Paragon moves on over to Mourn and attacks, scoring a critical hit! Mourn is staggered and stunned.
2)
Paragon attempts a grapple on the stunned Mourn but amazingly enough, he fails.
Mourn shakes off the stun and activates her Concealment. She moves off to find a place to Heal herself.
3)
Paragon blinks a bit when Mourn mysteriously eludes him. He swings blindly at the spot where she was standing a moment ago and when that fails, calls out for her to surrender once more.
Mourn maintains her concealment as a free action and attempts to Heal herself of the staggered effect. She succeeds easily and drops the staggered condition.
4)
Paragon figures he's dealing with an invisible villain and uses his Quickness to pulverize a handful of the concrete wall next to him. With a handful of the resulting dust he sets out looking for Mourn, still advising her to surrender or take a beating for justice!
Mourn sustains her Concealment and uses Emotion Control to drop some despair on Paragon. He fails the Will save and is shaken.
5)
Paragon is shaken but not overcome so he tosses his handful of dust in a random direction, hoping to hit the invisible villain assaulting him. He fails to hit Mourn with it though.
Capitalizing on her success, Mourn hits Paragon with another Emotion Control (despair) but he shakes it off completely this time.
6)
At a loss for what to do in fighting this invisible assailant, Paragon retreats out the front doors hoping Mourn will follow (revealing her location when she opens the door).
Mourn moves to the front door and finds Paragon just outside of her Drain Ability range but doesn't take the bait. She hits him with another Emotion Control (despair) and he fails the check, shaken again.
7)
Paragon gives up on the doorway gambit (in despair, har har) and moves back inside, looking for Mourn. Since he walks right through her space he bumps into her and immediately attempts a blind grab. Landing it, he wins the grapple check as well and pins Mourn down for the round.
Mourn maintains the Concealment and hits Paragon with a Strength Drain, hoping to get loose before he can beat her up. Paragon, despite his high Fortitude save, actually fails the save and his Strength drops to 24.
8)
Aghast at his sudden weakening, Paragon maintains the grapple and smacks Mourn around a bit. With his reduced Strength he hits but only manages to bruise her.
Mourn retaliates with another Drain Strength, which Paragon yet again fails his Fortitude save against. His Strength now drops to 14.
9)
Realizing this invisible villain will continue sapping his Strength as long as he's holding her, Paragon attempts to maintain the grapple in order to throw her at something. This time his reduced Strength fails him and Mourn wins the grapple check.
Free from Paragon's pin, Mourn steps back and hits him a third time with Drain Strength. Yet again Paragon fails the Fortitude save and his Strength drops to 4.
10)
Weak as a child now, Paragon staggers for the door to escape and fight crime another day. Once through the nearby front doors he takes to the air and flies away, leaving Mourn to claim the win.
Finally, Michelle's character Tech Support comes up. She's a gadget girl and all around technical genius/inventor. She has a dual purpose sonic pistol, some light body armor and the ability to teleport.
TECH SUPPORT vs BRAIN IN A JAR (reduced to PL 10)
Tech Support enters the building and finds Brain in a Jar's illusion of himself floating on the other side of the counter (he's actually around the corner, relying on the illusion to draw her attention).
Brain in a Jar fails to detect Tech Support's presence and so she gets surprise.
Surprise:
As a move action, Tech Support attempts to hack into Brain in a Jar's computer systems with her Neural Datalink but can't find it (Brain in a Jar has no computer system). She fails to detect the Ilusion in the process.
Tech Support then Quick Draws her Sonic Pistol and fires a Confusion Beam at illusory Brain in a Jar. Though she hits Illusory Brain in a Jar is unhurt and Tech Support still fails to detect the illusion.
Brain in a Jar wins the Initiative.
1)
Brain in a Jar, now aware of Tech Support, Mind Blasts her. He hits and Tech Support suffers a bruise.
She Teleports off to the side in preparation for some tactical Teleporting.
2)
Brain in a Jar darts away and Mind Blasts Tech Support again, missing.
Tech Support fires another Confusion Beam at the illusory Brain in a Jar and hits again. There's still no damage and Tech Support again doesn't recognize the illusion. She Teleports away to set up a nice Turnabout spot.
3)
Brain in a Jar forms moves to cover in the entrance and moves the illusory Brain in a Jar in her general direction, hoping to draw her fire again.
Tech Support Teleports in, fires another Confusion Beam and hits. When there's no effect she finally recognizes the illusion. She stays put to Teleport around looking for the real Brain in a Jar next round.
4)
Brain in a Jar Mind Blasts Tech Support again but misses.
Tech Support uses Ultra-Hearing to try to detect Brain in a Jar's support tank but fails. She Teleports around, looking for Brain in a Jar and spots him near the entrance.
5)
Brain in a Jar Mind Blasts Tech Support again bit misses then scoots off for cover to rethink his strategy.
Tech Support performs a Turnabout Teleport and fires a Confusion Beam at Brain in a Jar. She hits but Brain in a Jar makes his save so there's no effect. She Teleports back to her original spot, still using Ultra-Hearing to track him.
6)
Brain in a Jar detects Tech Support with Mental Awareness, then attempts to Mind Control her but she wins the check. He moves off again, putting more distance between them.
Tech Support detects Brain in a Jar's location and performs another Turnabout, firing a Confusion Beam at Brain in a Jar, missing, then Teleporting back.
8)
Brain in a Jar fails to detect Tech Support with Mental Awareness so he moves and drops another illusory Brain in the Jar in the spot where he was.
He's still in range of Tech Support's Ultra Hearing and she detects him. She performs another Turnabout, firing Confusion Beam again but misses. Though this reveals to Brain in a Jar that she's tracking him somehow and the illusions have become useless.
9)
Brain in a Jar gets rid of the failed illusion, detects her location and attempts another Mind Control from where he's at. Tech Support fails the check and is under his control. Brain in a Jar orders her to toss her Sonic Pistol in the nearby Show Pool.
Tech Support, now Mind Controlled, tosses her Sonic Pistol over the wall in the pool.
10)
Brain in a Jar orders Tech Support to break the display tank in front of her.
Tech Support fails the check again and attacks the display tank unarmed. She fails to break the glass, however.
11)
Frustrated, Brain in a Jar orders her to try again (hoping to put her at a disadvantage and attack)
Tech Support fails the check again and attacks the display tank a second time. Again she fails to break the glass.
12)
Brain in a Jar tries one more time and issues the same order.
Tech Support finally breaks the Mind Control, detects Brain in a Jar's location and Tech Support Teleports into the pool, falls in and fishes out her Sonic Pistol.
13)
Brain in a Jar attempts another Mind Control from his location but Tech Support wins the check.
Tech Support steps over to fire a Confusion Beam with her recovered pistol and hits. Brain in a Jar fails the Will save and gets a "flee at top speed" result.
14)
Brain in a Jar dashes off at "all out" speed to get away from Tech Support
Tech Support can't detect him with her Ultra-Hearing, so she takes a guess and just Teleports in that general direction. Spotting him against the far wall she fires her Sonic Blaster and hits. Brain in a Jar is staggered and stunned.
15)
Brain in a Jar is stunned, unable to act this round.
Tech Support fires another Sonic Blast and hits, knocking Brain in a Jar unconscious.
Finally we come to...
The Big Team Battle:
Here we pitted our team against another four-unit randomly selected group of archetypes from the core rulebook, just to see how we stood up to them.
Steel Storm, She-Devil, Mourn and Tech Support
versus
Energy Controller, Martial Artist and two Paragons
Entering the aquarium as a group we find both Paragons, Energy Controller and Martial Artist politely waiting for us behind the counter. The GM had ruled against Tech Support formulating a Master Plan before the battle since we wouldn't know who we were facing until we arrived. Instead, we role-played a little and attempted a bit of Intimidation before going toe-to-toe.
Steel Storm successfully Intimidates Energy Controller and Paragon2
She-Devil Intimidates everyone but Energy Controller (who's already Intimidated)
Mourn hits Martial Artist with a Emotion Control (despair) and he fails his save
Tech support doesn't bother, since everyone on the other team is shaken for the next round already
Martial Artist attempts to retaliate with an Intimidation check of his own against our group but we all resist
Energy Controller tries to Taunt our group as well and we resist her efforts too
Initiative is rolled and we go to it, already having the advantage
Order of Initiative:
Steel Storm
Energy Controller
Tech Support
Mourn
Paragon1
Paragon2
Martial Artist
She-Devil
1)
Steel Storm decides to hit Martial Artist while he's flat-footed and nail him down. He fires off a Steel Snare and hits but Martial Artist makes his Reflex save and avoids the Snare. Steel Storm then flies off to the south to put some distance between them.
Energy Controller activates her Cold Field and fires an Ice Snare at Mourn. She hits but Mourn makes her Reflex save. Energy Controller flies off to the north to keep her distance as well.
Tech Support yanks a sleep grenade from her utility belt and tosses it at Martial Artist and Paragon2. Martial Artist fails his Fortitude save and is fatigued.
Mourn activates her Concealment and moves over by Paragon1. She attempts to hit him with a Emotion Control (despair) but he makes his Will save.
Paragon1 sees his opponent in She-Devil, so he charges her right off. He misses terribly anyway.
Paragon2 wastes no time getting out of the sleep gas cloud Tech Support dropped around him and charges her. He likewise fails to land a hit.
Martial Artist is fatigued from the gas and can't charge Steel Storm (who's in the air anyway), so he heads for She-Devil to pitch in with Paragon1. He hits She-Devil with a Stunning Attack which leaves her dazed for the next round.
2)
Steel Storm decides to go after Energy Controller and moves all-out around the administrative office area to take cover in the gift shop area beyond.
Rather than root out Steel Storm for a shot, Energy Controller heads into the mix to lend her support to the melee fighters. She zooms in and drops an Ice Snare on She-Devil, who can't make a Reflex save to avoid it.
Tech Support has a face full of Paragon2 and doesn't like that one bit, so she Teleports over by Mourn where she still has a good shot at everyone. She Quick Draws her Sonic Pistol and fires a Confusion Beam at Paragon2 to keep him from following her. She hits and Paragon2 fails his save but he lands the "attack user of confusion effect" result so she rather shot herself in the foot after all.
Mourn takes a five-foot step to put herself in range of Energy Controller, then slaps her with a Drain Flight Power attack. Energy Controller makes her save and isn't effected though.
Paragon1 decides to grapple She-Devil while she's dazed and lands the hit but fails the grapple check.
Paragon2 is under Tech Support's Confusion effect and heads right for her to bring the beating. He fails to land a blow when he gets there though.
Martial Artist attempts a Power Attack on She-Devil but the penalty causes his attack to miss. He steps back in case She-Devil breaks lose from the Ice Snare on her following round.
She-Devil promptly shakes off the daze from Martial Artist's previous attack and smashes out of Energy Controller's Ice Snare. With only Paragon1 at hand to maul she levels a blow at him that leaves him staggered and stunned. Her free grab leads to her winning the grapple check against him and she has him pinned.
3)
Steel Storm pursues Energy Controller back around to the north side of the front entrance but elects not to move any further after her when he spots Martial Artist from there. He fires a Steel Blast at him but misses.
Energy Controller decides to snare down Tech Support for Paragon2 and fires an Ice Snare at her. Tech Support is hit and fails her Reflex save so she's entangled.
Tech Support attempts to break free of the Ice Snare but fails. She then fires her Sonic Blast at Paragon1 but misses.
Mourn decides to turn her attention to Paragon2, who was kind enough to rush right up next to her and who'll likely start beating up on Tech Support on his next turn. Still concealed, she hits him with a Drain Strength but he resists it.
Paragon1 is staggered and still being grappled by She-Devil. He tries to break free but fails the grapple check and that's all he can accomplish this round.
Paragon2 shakes off Tech Support's Confusion effect but goes ahead with his plan to beat up on her anyway since he's already there. He rolls low and misses despite her being entangled.
Martial Artist still decides She-Devil is his best target so he goes after her again, taking a five-foot step to her and trying another Stunning Attack. Though he hits her, She-Devil shrugs off the stun attempt easily.
She-Devil uses her pin on Paragon1 to apply damage and ends up knocking him unconscious. She ignores Martial Artist moves right on over to Paragon2 so she can attack him and get him off Tech Support next round.
4)
Steel Storm moves a five-step in flight and takes a shot at Paragon1 with his Steel Blast, missing.
Energy Controller skips Ice Snares for a bit and simply blasts Tech Support with her Cold Blast but she misses her shot too.
Tech Support attempts to break free from Energy Controller's Ice Snare again and still can't manage it. Counting on She-Devil to handle Paragon2, she fires her Sonic Blast at Energy Controller and blows right through her Cold Field to knock her unconscious.
With things suddenly looking up for our team Mourn tries to secure victory by dropping a Drain Toughness on Paragon2, but he successfully resists it.
Paragon2 attacks Tech Support, hoping to take someone out and maybe level the playing field a bit. He rolls terribly and misses her. (The Paragons did pretty lousy in the fight, I noticed.)
Martial Artist performs a Move-by Action past She-Devil and makes a Power Attack at a full +/-5. He hits but still fails to damage her and continues on beyond her reach to stop behind Tech Support.
She-Devil takes her cue from Martial Artist and performs a full +/-5 Power Attack on Paragon2 but the penalty causes her to miss with her attack.
5)
Steel Storm is pretty fed up with missing everyone and drops back out of range to start a full-round Aim at Martial Artist.
Tech Support tries again to break free of the Ice Snare on her and finds out the hard way that she just can't pull it off, no matter how high she rolls. She fires her Sonic Blast at Paragon2 then, hoping to knock him out before he can smack her. Her shot barely misses him and she's still open for a beating when his Initiative point comes around.
Mourn realizes she's the last line of defense for Tech Support and drops another Emotion Control (despair) on Paragon2. She lands it but he again resists the effect.
Paragon2, having dodged the bullet from just about everyone so far, goes ahead with his unarmed attack on Tech Support...and misses again anyway.
Figuring that Tech Support is securely locked down in an Ice Snare and Disarming her is as good as knocking her out, Martial Artist makes the attempt and ends up snatching her Sonic Pistol away from her.
She-Devil attempts another Power Attack as before on Paragon2, landing the hit this time and promptly knocking him out cold. With that she moves off after Martial Artist to attack him next round.
6)
Steel Storm fires the Steel Blast he's been Aiming at Martial Artist, ready to finally hit something before the fight's all over. He misses badly and, fed up, decides to go to ground and start hitting people next round.
Tech Support gets the bright idea (smacking herself on the forehead for not thinking of it before) of trying to Teleport out of the Ice Snare rather than relying on her 10 Strength to break out. She promptly does so but barely manages it with the low power rank (still better than her Str). She pops up next to Martial Artist and tries to snatch back her Sonic Pistol. She fails of course but it was an entertaining try.
Mourn hits Martial Artist with an Emotion Control (despair) and finally manages to effect someone with it. He's shaken for the round on top of being fatigued from Tech Support's earlier sleep gas grenade.
Martial Artist hits Tech Support with a Power Attack and not only bruises her but stuns her as well.
She-Devil then attacks Martial Artist with a Power Attack of her own and renders him unconscious with one blow (barely!).
With that the fight is over and our side wins with only a couple of bruises to show for it.
Yeah, we're bad.
So after all that I figure we not only did pretty good with creating our characters but we probably must have munchkined here and there, considering how soundly we trounced four other characters at our own Power Level. Which is fine, since whoever GM's this thing will probably just toss Power Level 12 or higher bad guys at us.
Sounds like fun!