Metal Angel #3

Solo Gaming Appreciation Month

Metal Angel #3

After the last session, Metal Angel has brought the wounded Scarlet Wing home, and is surprised by a mysterious voice. Who is the voice and what do they want? To find out, I turn to the prompt. The next one is The Emperor.

Father who embodies our spiritual ideals, our ethical codes, a god of inspiration and sudden creative vision, a revelation of the truth. Self-sufficiency, authority and ambition which drives us to achieve and the discipline and foresight necessary to accomplish our goals. The father within us also fosters self-respect, because it is this part of us which can take a standpoint from which to meet life's challenges. Responsibility as power, his strength can create and build. Pioneer, adventurer, urge for action, self-confidence and recognition, executive power, success, optimism, fulfillment of wishes.

A good number of previous prompts from Loom of Fate (CRGE) indicated a plot thread was coming to a close. I decide that in this scene Metal Angel will start getting those answers, and then moving forward. I decide, based solely on the description of the Emperor, that the mysterious voice is an old, semi-retired hero who had been working with Scarlet Wing.

Metal Angel spun around, his wings smashing a lamp off a nearby table. Standing in the kitchen was an older man, but one with the build and confidence of a much younger one. “Is she…” the man asked, his voice trailing, fearing the worst. “She’s alive, but hurt. She’s needs help,” Metal Angel said. The old man grabbed a bag that had been laying near him on the floor. It looked as if he had been ready to leave just as Metal Angel arrived. He bent over Scarlet Wing and began treating her injuries. “She doesn’t look good.” “I’m sorry,” Metal Angel could barely get the words out. He knew how hollow they sounded. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. It’s just with everything happening, and the smoke and flames. I was just trying to get to a man…” “It’s ok,” he said. “I watched most of it on the YouTube. I know you were after the ‘cop.’” “You knew? Did she? Why did she stop me?”

Why indeed? Now I turn back to the Loom of Fate and try to figure out what is going on, and where it might lead.

Does Metal Angel recognize the man? 40, No. I’ve already established that Scarlet Wing was “involved” with the robber/cop, but was it a real relationship, or were they playing each other? Did the two of them have a real relationship? 53. Yes. Did she know he was one of the robbers? 97. Yes, and Unexpectedly…Six Degrees. Six Degrees means that there was an “a meaningful connections forms between two…NPC’s.”  I’m not sure what to make of this yes, so I leave it aside for a moment. Is the guy actually a cop? 36 No. Based on what they no, were the robbers actually “setting up” new metahumans? 17. No, and… Ok, I think I have a decent idea for how things are going now.

             

“It’s…complicated” the old man said, as took care of Scarlet Wing.  “Scarlet…well, I guess you know her civilian name, don’t you? You know where she lives anyway. Kelly here was dating this fellow. They’d only been together a short time, but the two were head over heels for each other.” He smiled wistfully, “young love and all that.” With a shake of his head, he continued “They didn’t know each other all that well, and Kelly sure didn’t know what his supposed ‘Uber’ job actually involved him being the getaway driver for a group of robbers. I believe you all have met. Well, one day their job took them to the office that Kelly worked at. They were after a bunch of Bearer Bonds they had stored in the company safe, and they shot the place up real good. Kelly went down, like a number of others. This fella, Dominic Perry, was outside when it all happened. Didn’t even know she was shot up until you got involved, and the cops through the book at all of them. Once he found out that she was hurt, he was ready to flip and tell the DA everything they wanted to know. Before that happened, though, their lawyer got involved, got everyone to shut the hell up and just tore the DA’s case to shreds. They used everything, from the use of a ‘vigilante’ in their capture, to failure to properly Mirandize, to even stuff like “mind control” and “alien influence brought on by the weapons.” It was a joke, but the real damage was the evidence. Somehow, all the evidence from finger prints to the weapons was either damaged, or lost. The cops had to let them all go. “Dominic met up with Kelly, confessed everything to her. He was amazed that she had survived, and that she gotten powers. He wanted her help to take the crew down. Sounds like they’ve figured out that a number of people hit by the weapons have gotten powers, and they figure they should get some too.  He’s been a double agent. Feeding us information about the crew, while telling the crew that he’s “monitoring” Kelly here, trying to figure out how she got her powers. It’s his excuse for all the time they spend together. That’s why she wanted to stop you. And now you’ve beaten up this guy’s girl on a damn viral video.” “I’m…I’m sorry,” Metal Angel said. “I didn’t know. I just wanted to talk to him.” “I ain’t blaming you kid, but you did us in a bit of a bind.” “Looks like I messed things up, but I still want to help. What do you need?”

Metal Angel now picks up Scarlet Wings quest to stop the robbers from using their weapons to turn themselves into supervillains.

The next prompt is The Tower. Here’s the description:

This is a powerful instinctual force emerging from the unconscious, stronger than the will's efforts to repress it, collapse of old forms, inner and outer structure, of false or outgrown values, masks, costumes in a play to impress the audience, structures we build in the outside world to embody our incomplete selves. The tower represents achievement, authority and protection is now in a state of breakdown and dissolution. Let go of fear and the survival instinct to face the unknown implies the fall, ruin, punishment and loss, imprisonment and danger. But it also means freedom from stagnation and restriction - a spiritual healing force. This break-through will result in changes occurring in outer life.

Not only does the Tower seem to indicate a location, but also the “collapse of old forms” and the emergence of new.

I could turn to the Loom of Fate, but I have a pretty clear idea in my head. The robbers have gathered in a ruined building on the outskirts of town. Some have been working to replicate the effects of the transformation, others have been doing general research and information gathering. There’s a bit of a split between committing to the experiment vs just keep robbing with the alien tech. When Dominic shows up, he tilts the balance. He not only wants payback for Scarlet Wing, but the rest now think that they’re about to be discovered anyway. They decide to move forward with the experiment. By the time Metal Angel shows up, the transformation will be complete. 

Now, I turn back to the Loom of Fate to help me work out some details.

How many villains are there? I assumed the gang has 5-10 members, or 1d6+4. I roll, and get a 4, so 8 total members. Have they gone through with the procedure? 88. Yes, but…none of them fully understand how to use their new powers, so they will only use the most basic tactics. Do they all go through with the experiment? 07. No, but… The others still have their high tech weaponry. What percentage of them go through with it? 60%. So, 5 of them. Is there experiment successful? 76. Yes

I turn to the Heroes Unlimited GM’s Guide to round out the villainous crew.

To make things easier, I decide that the three non-transformed villains use the same stats.

Name(s): Barlow, Payton, Blake Attributes: IQ 9, ME 9, MA 9, PS 17, PP 12, PE 10, PB 9, SPD 22 Hit Points 14, SDC 55 Hand to Hand: Basic. # of Attacks: 3. Parry +1, Dodge +1, Damage +2, WP Knife, Auto Pistol, E. Weapon. Equipment: Advanced Armor: AR 16, SDC 180. Ion Blaster: 4D6 damage.

There are five left who underwent the experiment. To make things easier, I decide that they will have a 50% chance of either developing 1 Major and 1 Minor Superpower, or 4 Minor Powers. I decide that two of them are “enforcers”

Name(s): Benjamin, Chet Attributes: IQ 9, ME 9, MA 9, PS 28, PP 12, PE 11, PB 9, SPD 22 Hit Points 17, SDC 95 Hand to Hand: Expert. # of Attacks: 4. Parry +3, Dodge +1, Damage +13, WP Knife, Auto Pistol, E. Weapon. Equipment: Advanced Armor: AR 16, SDC 180. Ion Blaster: 4D6 damage Superpowers Benjamin: Manipulate Kinetic Energy: Protective field, half damage from kinetic attacks. Heightened Sense of Smell Energy Expulsion: Light (2d6 damage, +3 to Strike) Supervision: Nightvision Chet: Mimic: Can copy the powers of another. Including Metal Angel’s Wings, and Metal Form (AR 17, SDC 800) Body Weapons: create weapons from their body, 3d6 damage.

Next up is Dominic. For him, I use the “Driver” base.

Name: Dominic Attributes: IQ 9, ME 9, MA 9, PS 17, PP 14, PE 10, PB 9, SPD 22 Hit Points 13, SDC 150 Hand to Hand: Basic. # of Attacks: 4. Parry +2, Dodge +3, Damage +2, +1 to Strike, +6 Initiative WP Knife, Auto Pistol, E. Weapon. Superpowers Sonic Flight (ram attack 1d4X10, counts as two attacks) Heightened Sense of Hearing

Then we have the “safecracker.”

Name: Kirk Attributes: IQ 9, ME 9, MA 9, PS 16, PP 16, PE 10, PB 9, SPD 22 Hit Points 12, SDC 45 Hand to Hand: Basic. # of Attacks: 3. Parry +1, Dodge +1, Damage +1, +1 to Strike WP Knife, Auto Pistol, E. Weapon. Superpowers Bend Light Radar Supervision: Ultraviolent and Infrared Alter Physical Body

Finally, the “Boss.”

Name: Raynard Attributes: IQ 16, ME 16, MA 17, PS 20, PP 16, PE 15, PB 12, SPD 15 Hit Points 19, SDC 86 Hand to Hand: Expert. # of Attacks: 4. Strike +1, Parry +4, Dodge +4, Damage +5, WP Knife, Auto Pistol, E. Weapon. Superpowers: Darkness Control Heightened Sense of Taste

I feel like this is going to be a short fight…

Solo Gaming Appreciation Month 2017 http://sologamingmonth.com/ Base Game: Heroes Unlimited, Second Edition. Story Structure: Zero Tarot Oracle: +Zach Best’s Conjectural Roleplaying GM Emulator Other Tools: BOLD, Universal NPC Emulator, and The Everyone, Everywhere List #SGAM                       #SGAM2017