Incarnation (IC Thread)

[baixiwei]

It's another beautiful summer day in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Well, too hot for some people's taste, but there's still a moderate flow of tourists from the mainland, many of them just off their cruise ships in the morning and headed back there by evening, wandering in search of souvenirs, street food, and shade. The locals go about business as usual, only some of which relates to tourism, and kids out of school for the summer run rampant in the streets. Cargo ships move slowly in and out of the San Juan Bay, and crystalline waves lap gently against warm beaches not too far from the city center. All in all, another day in paradise. What could go wrong?

Please place your character in or en route to or from San Juan, Puerto Rico! Tell us a bit about exactly where you are and what you're doing. Vacation? Business? PR opportunity? (Hopefully everyone here knows as little about Puerto Rico as I do, and so won't be noticing the mistakes I'm sure to make, if I haven't already done so.)

[timothy]

Papa Legba
Condition- Content

James Street took a healthy drink of his cold 'dragon punch'. He'd never been much of a drinker, but lately he'd developed quite a taste for rum. And the icy cold punch with it's blend of juices, ginger and citrus rum was a perfect drink to relax in the sun with.

The thin, bearded old man was, as always, looking dapper in his khaki shorts and tropical shirt. He wore a comfortable-looking pair of sandals and topped the outfit off with a broad-brimmed panama. An ebony cane, it's silver handle shaped like a dog's head, leaned against his lounge chair.

After drinking, he habitually curled his waxed mustache as he leaned forward, scanning the beach. His grandson, Jamey, was talking to a pair of college-aged girls. James smiled. The kid was better looking than his father and grandfather combined. Must be from his mother's side of the family. James smiled proudly, the young man had just graduated college and would be going on to law school in the fall.

James leaned back, adjusting his hat to shield his eyes. He almost hadn't come along when James Junior invited him to join their family vacation. His daughter-in-law, Kim (who was currently enjoying a day of shopping with her husband and James' 18 year old granddaughter, Micah), had convinced him by pointing out that San Juan had numerous historical sites and museums.

The trip had been wonderful, so far. Good food, spicier than he was used to, but, somehow, it just tasted right. An amazing tour of the Fortaleza. And, today, cold rum on a warm beach.

James took another hearty drink, emptying his glass, before leaning back and letting his eyes close. As he slept, he dreamed of a crossroads and a laughing man with a dog...

[Lord Fell]

Paramour

June 26, 2012
So, I went a little bit quiet on you guys, and I'm sorry about that. I got a couple of emails worried that I'd gotten myself killed trying to be a hero. Of course, I also got an email that made me use my brains for something other than tempting zombies. This dude pointed out that my old blog would make it easy for someone to track me down. This explains my new hosting. I've been assured that my new set up makes it pretty much impossible to track me, thus protecting my secret Identity. I'm told I need one of those.
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June 29, 2012
The question that most often plagues my in-box is "what's it like being a superhero?" with "what kind of super stuff can you do?" as a close second. From what I know about my own story, and those weird dreams I had, I kinda know that I'm a goddess. I mean an actual immortal; I've got memories of a time when mankind barely used tools. I don't know that I want to totally tip my hand, but I can sort of alter reality. It sounds impressive and it is. Also... I've said before and I still believe it to be true. I have gained the power of Venus. That means that I'm so very, very attractive, and I'm so very, very persuasive. I stopped a purse-snatching by stepping in front of the bad guy, and asking him to give the purse back and apologize. He did it. Immediately. I tested the upper limits of my persuasion. I walked into a travel agency, sat down at the man's desk, and said "I need a vacation." So... he gave me one. I'm going on a Caribbean cruise. The should have internet, I'll keep you updated.
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July 3,2012
Here's something that's been bugging some of you. If I'm so sure that I've gained the power of Venus, why aren't I running around calling myself Venus? Why Paramour? Well, I guess that's a fair question, and it kind of weighs on my mind. For me, there's no question where my power comes from, but I don't really understand the relationship. I have godlike powers, I know that I channel the eminence of the ancient (but timeless) Roman Goddess, so why not call myself Venus? For me it's comes down to the word "undisputed." If an entity showed up, that was clearly more "Venus like" than I am, I know she'd be super pissed off at me. I know this, for certain, because that's exactly how I'd feel. If some upstart shows up, starts talking about how she's the "true Venus" there's going to be a throw-down. It'll be Living Deity versus Sad Pretender, Immortal-a-Mortal, smack-down. Venus would not tolerate a pretender, and neither will I... which is funny, because before this all started, I don't remember being Queen Bitch.
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July 8th, 2012
Happy 4th, sorry I missed it... well, this ship is loaded with American passengers, we had a 4th, but I meant giving my loyal followers my Independence Day Blessings. Anyways... flew down to Miami. Boarded a ship, and set sail. Stopped in the Bahamas for shopping and Surf'n'Turf. Beautiful!!! Slipped between Cuba and Haiti and ended up in Jamaica. Kingston Town, mon! Honestly, I'm not doing anything interesting but totally spoiling myself. I'd update you, but you don't need to know how many Tequila Sunsets I can drink, or how many times I can hit the spa. The answer is obvious: lots. Landing in Puerto Rico tomorrow. I understand they have bananas.

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Ronni stepped out onto the gangplank in the tiny purple bikini the Texan had insisted on buying her. He saw her in it, nearly broke his belt buckle, and then hauled out his wallet. She had a knit cotton shopping bag over one shoulder, and a pair of stilettos. A sash tied around her waist covered the velcro belt that held her money clip (which she had no intention of using) and her cell phone. Once on terra firma she lifted her sunglasses and glanced around.

[Aerlock]

Vulcan
Sheet
HP: 1
Condition: Reflective/Relaxed/Sore

Well Miles, could you have seen this life coming 5 years ago when Mrs. Schwartz, your High School Guidance counselor asked you where you saw yourself in 5 years? Nah, a champion track star with very good chances of getting onto the 2012 Olympic team like you were, never could have expected it to be a good day when you are able to move without the cane. You never could have expected to have your leg shattered in a hit an run car accident. you never could have expected to be unlucky enough to get that quack on the end of his triple shift in the ER. You never could have expected to spend 18 months in physical therapy just trying to learn to walk again. You certainly never could have expected to win that much cash in a malpractice suit against that quack and the circle jerk outfit he worked for.

The cash was nice but no amount of money will fix the nerve damage that's so bad you can barely walk straight without a cane. Its a good thing you turned out to be so good at running a business. Dad always said never put all your eggs in one basket. That's why he made sure you could make a sick engine purr. If it wasn't for being able to lose myself under the hood of a car I don't think I would have survived never being able to run again. That old junk yard turned out to be a blessing. The money lets me live comfortably, its easy work, and I get to spend all day up to my elbows in grease and car parts or banging away on the anvil in the forge out back.

*ding* *ding* *ding* "Ladies and gentlemen the captain has turned n the seat belt sign in preparation for landing. please return your tray tables and seat backs into an upright and locked position. We will be coming through the cabin one more time to collect any trash you may have left. Thank you for flying with us today and enjoy your stay in beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico."

Wha?! I guess I was dozing a bit. Well, I guess its time to stop day dreaming and reliving bad, old memories. It's been four years since the wreck and Miles my man you're in pretty good shape for a never was star runner thats all washed up at the ripe old age of 23. *twinge* Rubbing his leg Miles continues his internal, one sided conversation. Damn airplanes, even first class never has enough room to stretch out my leg. At least I'll be on the ground soon and I can get this "working" vacation going. Hah! "Working" vacation my lame foot, Miles you can can hardly call it working when you're only gonna be in that junkyard for half a day at most and spending the next 6 days on the beach. Whatever I hope this guy has a collection of junkers that's even half as impressive as some of the stories claim. Rubbing his face and doing his best to use his hair and his Authentic, Almost Exact Replica, Imitation, Wanna-be, Indiana Jones hat to help cover some of the scars on the side of his head and face, Miles prepares himself to land. This is also gonna give some time to process the idea that I'm now the living embodiment of the powers of Vulcan. Why I was chosen other than the passing resemblance of a lame leg, less than beautiful face and a penchant for hitting hot metal with hammers, I'll never know. It was getting to be too much at home though, every time I picked up the hammer or turned a wrench I got that mental double vision, like I had someone else sitting inside my head watching my every move and listening to every thought.

Miles Davis (really! his parents loved the original Miles' music. a lot!) is coming into San Juan to meet up with a local junk yard owner that according to online sources has several of the parts his restoration clients are looking for. This owner is quite difficult to track down in any way other than face to face.

Miles has been imbued with the powers and some of the knowledge of Vulcan, Roman god of the Forge and the Hearth. He doesn't know why or how it happened, just that it has. He's using his quest for rare used parts as an excuse to take some tome off from his hobby/job at his junkyard.

Edited for clarity.

[Plan B]

Thor

Thor lazied on the lilo, drifting across the pool, half napping considering the future, he'd either developed godlike powers or become completly delusional. He figured in either case it was best to take a break and figure it out, well at least the take a break part had worked out well. The dreams had become more vivid too, of mead halls, of faces he half remembered but could never place, of fire and ice. For now sun and mai tias.

[baixiwei]

GM Post

As the day drags on, the summer heat begins to feel more oppressive. Everything moves a bit more slowly, as if carrying a heavier burden than usual. The bustling city manages to seem almost still and quiet, sounds muffled slightly, barely managing to reach your ears through the thick humid medium of the air. Only as if from a great distance can you hear the voice - the officious, articulated voice of a media announcer, coming from a radio or TV somewhere nearby - talking about, of all things, the weather.

"... has now issued a hurricane watch - I'm sorry, a hurricane warning across the entire island. Experts say that this storm arose with unprecedented speed and, according to satellite imagery, may still be expanding. Residents are advised to ..."

The sky pulls your attention away from the broadcaster's voice. In the time it took to listen to a brief snippet of news, a dark mass of clouds have covered the sky. Then comes the wind, building up incredibly quickly from the hint of a gust to a shrieking banshee's wail that tears through the streets, picking up anything that isn't nailed down and hurling it around with careless abandon. Then comes the rain, pouring from the sky like someone opened a faucet. Then comes the chaos and screams of people scrambling for shelter.

While the storm is going on, everyone outside has movement speed reduced by 2 rank, acrobatics or athletics check DC 20 to reduce this to 1 rank; perception checks are at -5 and everything is Partially Concealed to visual and auditory senses.

Legba

The beach is inundated in moments as the storm sweeps the ocean towards land. Through the driving rain James can make out his grandson grabbing the arm of one of the college girls and pulling her up the beach. Kim, he vaguely remembers, was somewhere further up - safe for the moment, but maybe not for much longer. Down in the water, several swimmers are visible, tossed helplessly to and fro in the suddenly violent waves. Further out to sea, he thinks he can see a huge wave building in height as it sweeps towards land.

Have a hero point for the threat to family.

Paramour

The docks are almost instantly covered in water and as slippery as ice. The deck of the ship from which she just disembarked pitches visibly. Ronni thinks she sees an elderly woman and two other - no, make that three - passengers stumble hard against the guardrail, then flip over the side to plunge into the water below. Then she's surrounded by a herd of panicked tourists rushing for land. In the press of bodies she can no longer see the passengers who fell, or barely even move for that matter.

Vulcan

Miles is in a taxi on the way to his hotel when the storm hits. Moments after the news broadcast comes in over the taxi's radio, sheets of rain are sweeping across the streets that have suddenly become as dark as twilight. Miles's taxi driver, young and inexperienced, slams on the brakes, just about the worst thing to do in this situation. The car skids wildly and slams into a lamppost. Miles is unhurt, but the driver appears knocked cold. A loud honk draws Miles's attention: through the driving rain, he can make out a cargo truck bearing down on them, apparently also skidding. Impact is moments away.

Have a hero point for the immediate threat to your personal safety.

Thor

Thor's relaxation is rudely broken by the tadio announcement and the wind and rain that follows quickly on its heels. The few other hotel guests that were in the pool manage to make it to the side and out of the water without a problem, and those that were on their side, though in a near-panic, are too few to be dangerous to each other. Then Thor hears a loud crash, metal against metal, from somewhere near the front of the hotel. He can't see what's happening from where he is, but from the yelling it sounds like there's been an accident.

Thor, you're in the same place as Vulcan - the accident I refer to is described above, so you can make use of that description if you somehow get there.

[timothy]

Papa Legba
HP- 2
Condition- Fatigued

As the sudden storm rises, James looks about. Taking in the situation, he reaches over and grasps his cane. There is a sudden flare of thread-like energy tendrils in swirling skeins of black and silver, and the old man is gone.

He appears again, standing straight and strong at the water's edge. He raises his cane high above his head.

"Bondy, give me strength!"

The black and silver threads burst from his cane, spinning madly, reaching out farther and farther. When they fade, the old man leans suddenly on his cane, nearly falling and breathing heavily with exertion.

The beach and ocean around him, as far as the eye can see is suddenly deserted.

Powerstunting dimensional travel ae:burst up to the max I can with the pts in the array. That takes the ae:burst up to a 2 mile radius (!!!). Going to send them all to my HQ.

Suddenly, everyone on the beach and in the water find themselves in a large clearing in the middle of a tropical island. There are large tables laden with fresh fruits and candies. Bottles of wine, rum and soda are in tubs of ice.

A tall man, impeccably clad in a white suit, smiles happily.

"Please, be welcome. You will be safe here until the storm has passed."

[Lord Fell]

Paramour

As the disembarking tourists panic and start to surge, Ronnie clings to the railing. In her high heels, she has practically no control, so she kicks them off and steps down onto the icy deck. The first problem she had to deal with was the crush of bodies. It made things difficult to concentrate, and they could hurt themselves or each other... in fact, they probably had already. There was an easy solution to that problem, she would just ask everyone nicely to be more considerate.

"Excuse me, everyone! Safety first! Walk don't run. One hand on the rail, one hand on the person next to you. Everyone helps everyone!" As an afterthought, she adds "I love you all!"

Persuasion (1d20+20=32)

Paramour had seen the family fall from the ship's railing, and they were her next concern. The raging sea made her wish she had Neptune on speed-dial, but a living goddess in her own right could surely enact a simple rescue. Did she not will herself into existence, rising from the ocean on a bed of foam? All that, and a clam-shell too. Leaning over the railing she extended her hands towards the spot the people had fallen. The air around her came alive with a sparkling crystal light and the scent of flowers as her Divinity was revealed. She couldn't see where the people were, they were already underwater and the driving rain made it impossible to see very far. However... the old tricks are the best tricks.

Paramour wills into being a bed of foam, it is half a foot thick, 20 feet wide and 100 feet long. She centers it on roughly the spot the people fell over board, but about 50 feet below the waves... then she brings it to the surface, and then towards the shore. The foam, despite it's delicate pearly appearance can support 25 tons. She'll want to do all this fairly quickly, so she can see if she managed to rescue everyone.

[baixiwei]

GM Post

Legba

Standing alone on the eerily empty beach, James' ears fill with the scream of the wind and the roar of the waves. One wave in particular draws his attention, much closer now than when he caught a glimpse of it just before. It's taller than he thought - a few stories high at least, stretching as far as he can see in both directions given the rain. His heart sinks as he realizes that those in the shops and cafes lining the shoreside will not be safe either - maybe not even those in further in the city. Somewhere behind him sirens are sounding, belatedly, emergency services are surely scrambling desperately to react ... looking at the dark mountain of water looming over him, rushing towards the shore with terrible inevitability, James knows that whatever they do will not be enough.

A selective area movement power might be problematic as an attack power but I am OK with using it to save civilians. And take another HP for that, by the way.

I am placing you at Escambron Beach, at the northeast corner of San Juan.

Paramour

"Excuse me, everyone! Safety first! Walk don't run. One hand on the rail, one hand on the person next to you. Everyone helps everyone!" As an afterthought, she adds "I love you all!"

Just to clarify, I think you're on the dock, not the deck, and it's not icy, it's just slippery like ice, because of the water. Let's see, persuasion is at -5 because of ambient noise, so that's 3 degrees of success, that will change their attitudes from unfavorable to favorable.

A semblance of calm returns to the passengers immediately around Ronni: they stop short at her words, something like awe in their eyes, and proceed along the dock at a hurried pace but in a more organized way. The calm spreads, as those pushing against the backs of those she's influenced see that order has been restored, and themselves fall in line. The ship's crew manages to keep everyone walking down the gangplank without anyone else falling in ... as long as the ship doesn't pitch again.

Paramour wills into being a bed of foam, it is half a foot thick, 20 feet wide and 100 feet long. She centers it on roughly the spot the people fell over board, but about 50 feet below the waves... then she brings it to the surface, and then towards the shore

Hm, 20 feet wide still gives some chance that due to inaccuracy or movement of the water you might miss someone (of course, too wide would also have its risks, like running into other ships) ... <roll roll roll>.

Have a HP for saving civilians.

The bed of foam rises majestically out of the seething water, with three bedraggled passengers on top. Ronni knows she looks good for the cameras that must be capturing this from the streets, as she turns, gracefully guiding the foam bed towards dry land.

But there are no cameras pointing at her from there - in fact, no one is looking in her direction at all. They're all looking the other way, into the city. The reason why is quickly obvious: the streets are covered in water, sea water apparently. It's only a few inches deep here, but it looks to be washing in from further north where, as best as Ronni can make out, it's already a feet or more deep. In short, the streets are already flooded and soon to be impassable. Drivers are abandoning their cars and everyone in the streets is running for buildings, trying to get as high up as they can.

A huge gust of wind blows a sheet of rain in her face and she almost loses control of the foam bed.

I need to lay out the geography a bit here. You're in the [url="upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Old_San_Juan_Ship_Dock.JPG"]San Antonio Canal[/url], where cruise ships dock. The canal stretches east-west along the south end of Old San Juan. The water is coming from the north, apparently having washed in from the open sea north of Old San Juan, which by the way is at the north end of the city. This is obviously the same wave referenced in Legba's post.

[Doleth]

Raiden
HP: 1

The storm raged on the city as if to purify it from all the corruption and arrogance brought by a constant stream of ignorant tourists while I remembered the events that cause my witnessing of this local apocalypse. I was at my office, in the rotten core of New York, waiting for work to turn up, smoke filling the room from my cigar, the papers filled with the usual filth with barely a mention of the criminal outfit I had taken down as Raiden the night before, when the fidgety man entered. Taking the offered drink, he confessed that he suspected his wife, a real knock-out, slept with her boss, the usual rich playboy type and wanted me to follow them on a business venture in San Juan.

With distaste, I took the job, needing the cold hard cash and beside, the smooth sand was a welcome change from the grimy concrete. Keeping the money offered for the ticket needed to get there, I outran the plane even as I made frequent stop on my way, taking less than 2 hours to reach my destination. The job turned out to be a waste of my time, as the woman's relationship with her boss was strictly professional, though I suppose I could sell the footage from the boss's room to some dirty website cantering to voyeur if money get too tight.

Fate had other plan for me then remembrance on this day, as the weather grew ever more violent every tick of the clock. Quickly hiding in the cockroach infested bathroom of the dockside mall I had found myself shopping for souvenir, I trade my tacky shirt and hat for the kimono and conical hat hiding in my bag, the uniform I used when Lord Raiden, the god of lighting, was needed.

Stepping out of his hiding spot dressed as Raiden, Max, electricity crackling from his eye, jumped into action. Grabbing and donning a pair of electrician's glove from the hardware store in the mall, the speedster ran towards the nearby dock and on the sea, intent on getting anyone he found out of the water. Seeing a large cruise boat, Raiden started circling it, looking for people who had fallen overboard so he could bring them back on board. Once this area seemed clear, he planned to do the same to the next occupied boat and so on until the dock was clear.

Acrobatic check to run at almost full speed: 1d20+15=30.
Perception Check to find people: 1d20+7-5=8

[Plan B]

Thor

Thor was brought out of his grumbling by the sound of metal hitting metal, a sound in Thors experience that usally left someone a mess. Weathering the incoming storm he zipped towards the ground feet touching the ground to change direction habitually.

Seeing the car wrapped around the lampost containing the slumped over cab driver, Thor leaped infront of incoming truck planting his hand on bonnet and his feet on the ground. Its now or never

Interposing the truck hitting the taxi.

[Aerlock]

Vulcan
Sheet
HP: 2
Condition: Shaken up

Get moving you fool! The driver isn't going to save himself! Miles shakes his head to clear it and jumps out of the taxi. That truck is coming right for us. If we don't get the car out of the way it's gonna become an even bigger accident. Thank the gods that this taxi is an old classic, this would never work on one of the newer plastic cars. He grabs the bumper, lifts the front of the car off the ground, reaches underneath and grabs the frame. Don't fail me now leg! Lifting the car over his head Miles moves as fast as he can to the side of the road away from the careening truck just as another figure plants itself between the oncoming truck and where the taxi was just sitting.

I'm power stunting an Alternate Effect of STR 5 (Limited to lifting, for a total effective STR of 10 (25tons lifting)) off the built in Damage effect of his STR as described in the Strength Power Profile.

[baixiwei]

GM Post

Thor and Vulcan

Miles manages to make it out of the taxi and, with a surge of effort, lifts the vehicle over his head, but as he stumbles towards the sidewalk it becomes clear that he isn't going to make it in time - not with his leg in its current condition. He curses the accident once again, and prepares to make a split second decision - either throw the car out of danger, or make a barricade out of his own body - when someone else does the latter.

The power stunt is OK, but shouldn't you be either Fatigued or down a Hero Point as a result? I'd be giving you another one now for your bum leg, except you turn out to be safe after all.

A blonde, bearded, musclebound motorcycle biker type falls, apparently, straight out of the sky, directly into the path of the skidding truck. It slams into Thor at almost full speed, the hood and engine crumpling around him like paper. The back end of the truck lifts slightly in the air and there is a sound of groaning metal, but in the end the truck does not flip over, instead slamming back on to the ground and rotating a half circle around Thor before skidding to a stop. The driver is bleeding from a cut on his forehead where his face hit the dashboard, but he does not seem badly injured. He is, however, trapped inside the cabin - there's no way the door is opening given the truck's current condition. Thor smells gasoline.

It would be damage DC23 but your impervious lets you ignore that. You were pretty lucky that nothing happened to the truck driver ... luck of the dice. Get one HP for heroic action, not that you were in any danger .

[Lord Fell]

Paramour

Ronni sighs. Her bosom heaves. "I think the safest place to be in a flood is on a boat, don't you? Back on board everyone. Walk! Hold the Rail! Hold your neighbour!" Paramour gently removes a man's hands from around her waist. "That's sweet, but it doesn't apply to me. I'm a goddess."

People should still be favourable, and more rolls will only push them towards Fanatical anyways...

Ronni can see a blur of motion, someone moving through the throng of people, helping the fallen and the unsteady. With no real cue to interact with this force of nature, or perhaps a local god, Ronni leaves it alone for now. I need to get a better vantage, and get some shelter if I'm going to function.

With a wave of her hand, Paramour places herself on a pavilion of pink-veined marble, which she causes to rise high above the milling pedestrians. Sheltered from the storm, she looks out towards the canal.

Perception (1d20+3=17)
Paramour can make 1000cubic feet of structure at toughness 10. Can she see the source of the weather?

[timothy]

Papa Legba
HP- 3
Condition- fatigued

The beach is cleared as best I can. Better get back to the city center and see how else I can help.

In a swirl of black and silver, the thought becomes reality.

James stands nearer the center of the city, water swirling around his legs. Looking around, he sees a city descending into chaos.

Momentarily ignoring the frantic crowds, James scans the area, desperately hoping for an inspiration, a plan to avoid the destruction and loss of life he fears is inevitable.

It is then he spots the strange structure of pinkish stone. In a flash, he is there.

The woman who stands in the pavilion is unspeakably lovely, easily the most beautiful creature James had ever seen. Sweeping his hat off, he bows deeply.

"Hello, child. I am Papa Legba."