Omega Team Campaign Logs

[Edsel]

I have decided to start posting the old campaign logs of my best and longest running Dark Champions campaign The Omega Campaign. The Omega Team was a group of vigilantes that operated out of Hudson City. Most of the characters were originals with the exception of Nightstick who was adapted for use by one of the player-characters and Dancer who was a permanent NPC. (Both of these characters were taken from the Hudson City Blues sourcebook). Dancer was very useful for providing info to the players and as extra firepower on those night she was needed or a player was unable to attend.

I made use of many published adventures during the course of this campaign (published by Hero and other game manufactures) as well as my own original material. You may recognize some of this if you own the proper materials. This was a serial campaign meaning that multiple plot threats were usually in play at any one time and thus the campaign log was very useful in maintaining the continuity of the campaign. Every game would start with the reading of the campaign log from the previous secession, which greatly helped keeping everyone’s memory clear. IMHO keeping a campaign log is practically a necessity in this sort of campaign.

This campaign used our standard house rules. These rules make firearms more lethal than a normal campaign (for instance a 9mm pistol generally does 2d6+1 RKA). No character had more than 12 BODY. Full encumbrance rules were enforced, especially for body armor.

Entries in the campaign log are headed by a date (or range of days). Next a succinct account of what occurred during that time is given. Italicized text that follows the entry is GM information that was not given to the players during the campaign. Post 1 of the campaign follows. The entire history is (when in Word format) is 10-point text and is 75 pages long. I will post it in multiple posts in the days to follow.

Hope you find it to be an interesting read.

[Edsel]

Team Omega Campaign History

June 1, 1995
Hippocrates (Thomas James) and Urieal (Victor Wolffe) encounter one another while taking out a crack house. Urieal had been staking out the house and Hippocrates had followed a pusher to the location. In the ensuing scenario 2 pushers were killed and 2 others were wounded. A female at the scene escaped after feigning incapacitation. She is later identified as ‘Jena’. The two vigilantes depart together and forge an alliance.
The Police recover several slugs from the MAC-10 SMG of Hippocrates as well as a couple of shell casings. Most of the brass is recovered by the vigilantes as are the two 12-gauge shotgun casings used by Urieal. The police also get rough height and weight descriptions of Urieal who was closer to the wounded pushers.

June 3
Nightstick (a.k.a. Demon Dog, Joe Dishwasher) rescues an elderly woman from a pair of muggers in China Town. Both muggers are rendered unconscious and left for the police. No physical evidence is left behind.
The police get only rough height, weight and costume descriptions from witnesses. This does not add to the knowledge that they already have of Nightstick.

June 5
Gunner (Micheal Hansen) interrupts a group of juvenile ‘taggers’ in LaMastre Park. He frightens them away with an admonishment of their activities. Shortly thereafter he is drawn to the sound of a young female in distress. He discovers that a pair of thugs has nabbed one of the taggers. The two seem intent on molesting her. The girl is able to escape after Gunner shoots both of them in the knees with his P-16 Pistol. Gunner disappears into the night.
The wounded punks inform the police that they are the victims of muggers. The police doubt this and are not sure exactly what really transpired. They are able to recover two spent casings and a single, usable, slug from Gunner’s .45 pistol.

June 6
Hippocrates, Urieal and Gunner begin hearing rumors of an upcoming rumble between the Overlords and 66Blades. They meet to discuss what they’ve heard and form the Omega Team. They decide to increase their melee capabilities and so visit the school of an obscure old Chinese Kung Fu teacher named Zhu Hsaio. The old man operates a Chinese restaurant that has a classroom in the back. The three have dinner here and encounter an informant as well. Nightstick works for Zhu Hsaio and is present for the visit of the trio. He recognizes Micheal Hansen (Gunner) from information he once heard from his own informants. Joe begins to eavesdrop on the three. He soon realizes that these three may be vigilantes, like him. He overhears that they too are concerned over the rising friction between the Overlords and the 66Blades. He decides to shadow the Omega team.
Nightstick does not prove to be adept at following them in his old Honda Civic CVCC, and is soon spotted. They confront him when they are all stopped at a traffic signal, and have him follow them to the Irishtown residence of Dr. Thomas James. After some awkward discussion they realize that this is the infamous Nightstick and offer him a trial membership in the Omega Team.
Omega Team decides that they should abduct a member of the Overlords for questioning. They head to a Riverside Bar that is know to be frequented by the Overlords. Gunner is unable to go on the mission since he has personal business to attend to .
Hippocrates and Urieal enter the bar in plain-clothes (under cover), while Nightstick attempts to enter the bar secretly through a rear door. Nightstick is spotted and a wild melee ensues. The gang bangers are quickly, if clumsily, defeated and the team departs with a prisoner.
The Police are able to recover several .45 APC casings and some, rare, rubber bullets in the same caliber. In addition a card with the Greek letter W (Omega) emblazoned on it . Though disguised the police are able to get rough height and weight descriptions of the vigilantes and easily identify Nightstick as being involved.

Omega Team takes their captive to an empty warehouse (that has been recently obtained by Thomas James) and interrogates him with penethol. This gives them info on where Buckshot (Terry Hondo), leader of the Overlords can usually be found. They also determine that the gang has been getting lots of powerful weapons at bargain prices from the Hanged Man (a.k.a. Dr. DMC, Father Christmas, The Candy Man, The Judge). They then tranquilize the gangster and stow him in the cargo hold of a tramp freighter bound for Shang-hi.

June 7-9
The Omega Team continues to collect information on the two gangs. On one evening they enter the turf areas to recon the area the rumble is most likely to erupt. Hippocrates and Urieal drive around to look over the hideouts of the Overlords that they have learned about. Nightstick begins to shadow a pair of 66Blades members on foot.
Nightstick encounters the vigilante Dancer (Eden Blake) who is also following the two hoods. After a brief altercation they two of them realize they are in the same line of work and agree to talk. Nightstick informs the rest of the team and they return, with Dancer, to the Omega warehouse. Dancer agrees to work with them to head off the impending gang war. The group decides to snatch a 66Blades member for interrogation.
Dancer disguises herself as a gangster girl and lures a 66Blade from a bar the gang hangs out at. Urieal attempts to surprise the unaware thug from behind but slips on some loose gravel and alerts him. Hippocrates, who is across the street on an apartment building roof, fires a single rubber bullet that stuns the gangster. Dancer finishes him off with a quick martial attack.
Dancer and Urieal hurriedly hustle the senseless hoodlum to Urieal’s waiting vehicle and speed away. Nightstick fades away into the shadows without ever being seen. Hippocrates, still being a little jumpy, sprays the front of the bar with automatic weapons fire (rubber bullets) as the gangsters inside run out to investigate the first shot. Several of the 66Blades fire wildly at the building Hippocrates is atop, knowing only that the shots came from that direction. Since the other team members have made good their escape Hippocrates flees the area.
Later the police find numerous casings and slugs of mostly 9mm bullets that the gang bangers expended. They also find over a dozen rubber bullets (7.62mm NATO) and their spent casings (these were fired by Hippocrates). An Omega symbol is found scratched in the roofing material of the apartment building where the shooter was believed to be. Fortunately no innocents have been hit in the exchange of fire.

Omega team takes the gangster to the warehouse and interrogates him with penethol. The likely hangouts of Tommy Brooks (66Blades leader) are determined. They discover that the mysterious Hanged Man has also been supplying the 66Blades. The gangster is then tranquilized and hidden in the hold a of ship bound for Hong Kong.
The team discusses the gang situation and determines that a gang war with the weapons that they have gotten a hold of would be very hazardous for the innocent citizens of Hudson City. Collateral damage could wound or kill many. They resolve to end the gang hostility by removing Buckshot and Tommy Brooks from the equation.

The first target was Buckshot. He was inside a fortified house that was equipped with burglar bars and steel fire doors. Dancer said she could get inside and get the front door open and Urieal was confident that he could get to the back door unseen. Dancer disguised herself as a gang girl and went to one of the bars frequented by Overlords. Here she cozzies up to one of the Overlords she determined would be likely to take her back to the house in question. In her bag she took only her .380 Colt Mustang, a CS Grenade (tear gas) and a small gas mask. The team synchronized their watches and set the time for the assault at 2:00 a.m.
Hippocrates and Nightstick waited in the shadows of an abandoned house across the street. Urieal managed to get to the roof of the house and drop caltrops in front of the garage door; he then hopped into the back yard and hid by the back door. Urieal was armed with a Striker Shotgun, the first two chambers of which held lockbreakers.
At 2:00 a.m. the front door opened to reveal Dancer clad in a half tee shirt, string panties and gas mask. Behind her the hallway was flooded with tear gas, the assault began. In the operation several gang members were killed and injured. Buckshot was captured only after being shot in both legs with 12-gauge buckshot. Nightstick was shot through the left hand with an AK-47. The team withdrew to the warehouse with their captive.
The police determined that lockbreakers were used on the rear door. They recovered the caltrops and the expended Tear Gas Grenade (with lot numbers filed off). Many .45 casings from Hippocrates MAC-10, as well as several clean slugs were also recovered. One of Nightstick’s tsubute was found but had only smudged, unusable, finger prints on it due to the gas residue. Much blood was spilled in the residence but this was mostly useless since all injured parties fled the scene, and nobody knows whose blood is whose.

At the base Hippocrates is able to properly treat the injuries of Nightstick and Buckshot. Though the injury to Nightstick’s hand is painful, it is a fairly clean wound that should fully heal. Hippocrates lacks the proper facilities to remove the pellets from Buckshot’s legs but he is able to stabilize the injuries and is confident the wounds will be okay until better facilities are available.
Next the team turns its attention to capturing Tommy Brooks. They leave the injured Buckshot sedated, stripped and well bound, and proceed to the project building where Tommy can be found. In this endeavor a new team member, The Remittance Man (Hayden Alexander), joins them. He is a trusted friend of Thomas James.
Brooks and his entourage are ambushed as he leaves his girl friend's apartment at the Wooster Park public housing project. This turns out the be the bloodiest assault the Omega Team has yet initiated. 4 gangsters are killed and 6 are wounded in the firefight. Brooks is rendered unconscious by Nightstick’s use of tsubute and martial attacks. A spray of 9mm bullets that are fired into Nightstick’s Honda Civic CVCC, strike Dancer. The combination of the door and her body armor prevent her taking any but stun damage. The team returns to the warehouse with Brooks as their prisoner.
The police recover much assorted brass, several 9mm slugs from Dancer’s H&K MP5K and Alexander’s MP2000 SMG, .45 ACP slugs from Hippocrates’s MAC-10 SMG and Urieal’s P-14 Pistol. No useful descriptions of the vigilantes are obtained. They do know that an early model Japanese compact car with bullet holes in the right side was involved as well as a late model white Ford Bronco with front-end damage. At least one HCPD detective thinks that there might be a link between the Bronco and the earlier incident at the 66Blades Bar.

Upon returning to the warehouse the two gang leaders are interrogated at length for any criminal underworld information they have. Little is learned from this questioning that wasn’t already known. The Hanged Man, whose identity and location are as elusive as ever, was supplying both gangs. It is clear that the Overlords were getting their drugs from a man they know as Retro.
The team decides to attempt to frame the two gang leaders with planted evidence and arranged circumstances. They know that the police have always known about these two but have lacked the proof needed to arrest them. Both of the gangsters are injected with illegal drugs and sedatives to the point they will be legally under the influence and unconscious enough to prevent them from being dangerous. Weapons that have been previously used by the Omega Team on anti-gang missions are then planted on them (including Hippocrates’ old MAC-10 SMG). The two leaders are then left in a stolen car, loaded with illegal drugs (recovered on June 1 from the crackhouse raid), near the Freetown police precinct. An ‘anonymous’ phone tip alerts the police who find and arrest the two slumbering rivals.
Police are left with quite a puzzle here. The MAC-10 Found on Tommy Brooks is confirmed to be the weapon used to shoot several Overlords gang members, but it was also used to shoot some 66Blades as well. In each case the shooting with the weapon has been believed to have been used by the new vigilantes the Omega Team. The two men in the car are known to be blood enemies, yet here they are together. Neither of these guys are the type to be stupid enough to pass out on a high in an exposed area where there might be the slightest chance of capture. Neither of them is known to go anywhere without several body guards. Terry Hondo (Buckshot) has a pair of fresh 12-gauge shotgun injuries. The Overlords main house has just been the scene of some sort of commando raid and the 66Blades were just hit in the parking lot of the Wooster Park building. This smacks of an obvious frame.
However, Bob Goldfield, the D.A. is very anxious to put these two away. The only hope of a conviction under these circumstances is to drop all charges except the drug charges. This is what the D.A. has decided to do. Trial date is pending the June 30th arraignment, delayed while Buckshot is treated for his wounds at the prison ward of Hudson City University Medical Center. Even with this case strategy DA Goldfield is crossing his fingers that some hotshot public defender doesn’t investigate the circumstances of the arrest to deeply or else these two might walk.

June 7-9 misc.
Other significant events during this period of time include:
The Omega Team acquired a small warehouse at 6822 Brooks Ave. In Riverside Hills. This is located between the Herodome and Hudson City College. Work has begun on converting the warehouse into a true base of operations. A jack-of-all-trades named George Bell has been hired to act as the base’s security guard / handy man / mechanic. George is busy working on converting the interior of the base during most of his waking hours. Omega Team members assist him when they have time to spare, and a few specialists (well paid for secrecy) are also at work. Completion of the base is projected for July 8th, though most essentials should be usable by June 24th.
A small truck has also been purchased for conversion into a team vehicle. It has been sent to some clandestine outfitters and should be ready for use by June 20th.

June 12
The team decides to follow up on leads to find out more about the woman known as ‘Jena’. Hippocrates had seen her earlier in the week when, by random chance, he passed her in traffic. Dr. Thomas James was in his normal persona at the time and was in the company of his DNPC (Debbie Taylor). Unable to act, he had to be satisfied with getting a good description of the white Lexus she was driving, complete with tag numbers.
Gunner was able to track down the license plate through his contact in the HCPD’s Record’s Division. The team was thus able to get the address of Jena Haversil’s penthouse apartment in Bankhurst. They started a stakeout to monitor her.
That evening she left her apartment with members of the Omega Team in tow. They ended up in Gadsden on a dark secondary street. Here she met a man who kissed her and recovered a large suitcase from the trunk of her car. The man wore a trenchcoat and a fedora. After another brief hug and kiss Jena got back in her car and left. Half the team present continued to follow her.
Fedora and a guard (?) who was with him them met with a pair of gang-looking types who drove a red and primer ‘82 Camaro. Fedora exchanged his suitcase for a small briefcase. The gangsters checked the suitcase; it contained many small plastic packets of something white. Fedora checked the briefcase; it contained a great deal of cash. The two groups exchanged a few hushed words and then parted. The remaining Omega Team members chose to follow Fedora and his guard. They were soon picked up by dark colored, Chevy Custom Van.
Jena soon spotted her shadowers and eluded them in the twisting streets of the financial district. Her Lexus was soon discovered to have returned to the parking garage of her apartment building. Fedora and company also spotted their followers. Their van disgorged a thick smoke screen and a 40mm grenade from an, apparently, built-in launcher. The shadower’s elected to let them go. The grenade landed in the middle of the deserted street and caused little damage.
The police are left with a small crater in the middle of a secondary street, rattled windows and little else. They determined that the small crater was caused by the detonation of a 40mm HE grenade but they have no idea who lobbed it or why.

June 13
Urieal Decides that his secret Identity needs to be changed. His decision is sudden and he is evasive in explaining why he must change. The remainder of the team is puzzled by his behavior but trust that he must have a good reason. Ureial assumes the Victor Wolffe identity and gets a job working as a roving reporter for the Hudson City Agenda (a left-wing political newspaper).

June 15
Each of the Omega Team members receives a mysterious message from OPTIK. Most arrive via US mail, couriers deliver some, and Urieal’s arrives via e-mail. Each letter is pretty much the same and is delivered to each person’s secret ID! The letter indicated OPTIK’s support for the vigilante activities of the team and details information about 4 criminal operations that the team might wish to shut-down.
The letters are printed on standard laser printer paper using a high quality laser printer . There are no finger prints or other useful evidence with the letters.

That evening the team decides to act on one of OPTIK’s tips. They will raid the operations of Nookie Smith, a child pornographer who is going to film a new feature, this night, using a pair of kidnapped teens.
They raid a converted warehouse near the strip, used as a studio, owned by Mr. Smith and easily overwhelm the film crew. The two children (a thirteen year old boy and fourteen year old girl) are rescued before they are forced to do anything more that disrobe. The film crew and adult actors are captured and bound, the male actor is slightly injured during capture. Hippocrates calls his friend D.A. Bob Goldfield and informs him where he will be able to find the children, Nookie Smith and the film crew. Urieal and Hippocrates talk with the children and get them to agree to testify against this scum. The Omega team departs as Goldfield and associates arrive to take charge of the kids and summon the police.
The team is also able to determine that Nookie Smith had recently ignored an attempt to extort money from him. Someone who calls himself OPTIK made the attempt.
Not a lot for the cops to go by here. The D.A. simply tells them an anonymous tip summoned him here and when he and his associates arrived they found the two talkative kids and the immobilized pornographers. The police will be able to determine that this was the work of the Omega Team through their interrogations of the criminals and the clues the kids let slip. The D.A. is above suspicion and thus his story is never questioned. None of the Omega Team left and physical evidence at the scene.

End Part 1

[Edsel]

June 16
This evening the team decides to crack another of the crime rings that was given to them by OPTIK. A group of eight teenagers and young adults are operating a chop-shop that uses a garage as a front. They are believed responsible for hundreds of car thieves over the last few years and may also have killed innocents in car jackings.
The Omega Team hits the garage late at night and is lucky enough to catch all them at the garage. Hippocrates begins his love-affair with the NICO grenade (esentially a Flash-Bang grenade, designed as an anti-terrorits/hostage rescue grenade) and uses them liberally during the assault. Urieal is given a scare when one of the gangsters exits the rest room shooting and hits him in the chest. Fortunately the class III body armor he is wearing renders the bullet ineffective when it strikes his trauma plate inserts. The team manages to incapacitate all of the crooks and withdraws from the scene when the police are heard approaching. Two of the gangsters are injured in the assault.
The police find the unconscious chop-shop gang and numerous stolen cars in various states of dismantlement. The expended shells of four NICO grenades litter the garage floor and several expended 9mm casings are on the floor. The shells are later determined to have been fired by one of the men police arrested at the scene. During his excitement with the NICO grenades Hippocrates forgets to leave an Omega Team calling card.

June 17
On this day the team decides to take care of the remaining two items on OPTIK’s list. Urieal, Hippocrates, The Remittiance Man and Dancer will take out Louie’s Gambling Parlor. The gambling parlor is operated out of a barber shop and is connected to the Card Shark organization. Gunner and Nightstick will round up evidence and abduct a Con man who has been swindling the elderly.

The gambling parlor is easily taken out in a quick strike. The patrons in the barber shop are frightened by an explosion in the store next door and run our without seeing what is really going on. The two hoodlums running the operation are left unconscious for the police and the team leaves. It is determined from briefly questioning one of the crooks that they were being blackmailed by OPTIK.
The police find an Omega Team card at the scene, left by Hippocrates, and another spent NICO casing. No other physical evidence of a useful nature is found. The Card Shark quickly finds out the new vigilante group, the Omega Team, is responsible for this and puts a $2500 bounty on each of the team member’s heads.

Gunner and Nightstick break into the Con Man's apartment and obtain enough records to allow Urieal to hack into the criminal's bank accounts and drain them into the accounts of some of his former victims. They easily capture the swindler and hustle him back to the Omega Team base where the team decides to tattoo ‘Con Man’ all over his face in bold black letters before dumping him back onto the streets. Brief interrogation also reveals that he was being blackmailed by OPTIK.
The Con Man has apparently left Hudson City. He did not go to the cops because he is a wanted man. His current where abouts are unknown. At the very least it will take a lot of painful laser surgery to remove the tattoos and even then scar tissue will be a problem.

June 16 thru 27 (other events)
During this time investigations aimed at finding out the identity of OPTIK glean the following information; 18 months ago a legendary hacker known as OPTIK dropped out of sight in cyberspace. It was determined that OPTIK was probably a student at HCU (Hudson City University). Other vigilantes in Hudson City have been more active that normal and the team suspects that OPTIK may be behind this as well. It is now fairly obvious that OPTIK is running a kind of ‘protection racket’ on the criminals of Hudson City.

June 21
Zhu Hsaio charges Nightstick with the task of protecting a Chinese businessman from Hong Kong who is currently in Hudson City. The businessman, Cho Sin, is a friend of Zhu Hsaio and is in town to finalize a trade agreement with various industrialists at a trade convention in town. Zhu Hsaio believes a rival Japanese Industrial concern is planning the assassination of Cho Sin. These competitors may have ties with the Yakuza and will stop at nothing to make sure the trade agreement never comes to pass. Zhu Hsaio says that Ninja will attempt to kill Cho Sin and make it look as if anti-Chinese radical group killed him. Cho Sin’s strengthening of US-Hong Kong ties are important to helping maintain Hong Kong’s freedom after the 1997 Red Chinese take over begins.
The team meets with Cho Sin who agrees to accept their protection. During the night the Ninja make two attempt to infiltrate the penthouse suit of Cho Sin and are defeated by the Omega Team. Heavy causalities are inflicted in the battles. The surviving Ninja are left for the police. Cho Sin finalizes his trade agreement the next day and departs Hudson City.
Cho Sin and his associates tell the police that a new vigilante team (not the Omega Team) saved them. The captured Ninja remain silent. The police have no way to link these events to the Omega Team. The captured Ninja will certainly get word to their Yakuza master’s that the Omega Team foiled their plans. Chalk up another group with a grudge against our intrepid heroes.

June 22
The team becomes aware, though street contacts that somebody called ‘Retro’ wishes to contact them. Word on the street is that he can be contacted at the Black & White Cafe in the Pierpoint district. A drive by surveillance of the cafe reveals a sign in the window that reads, “R. 555-1934”. Research into the identity of Retro reveals that he is a lieutenant in the Carillo-Mendoza Cartel, he is second in command to Ferdinand “Aero” Naaves . The prefix of the phone number reveals that it is a cellar phone.
Calling the listed phone number puts the team in contact with Retro who wishes to arrange for a personal meeting because, “the phones ain’t safe.” They agree to meet at tomorrow’s game at the Herodome (Hudson City Heroes vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates).

June 23
The team arrives early for their meeting with Retro. Nightstick climbs into the girders of the dome to get a good vantage point to observe the meeting. Retro arrives wearing a fedora and trench coat. His appearance is reminiscent of that of a 1930’s gangster; this might explain the name Retro. Urieal does the talking for the team. It is quickly noticed that Retro is carrying some sort of electronic gizmo with a switch he is holding. When Urieal inquires about what it is Retro simply says “insurance”. Urieal assumes it is a deadman’s switch but has no idea what it might be connected to.
The conversation soon makes it clear that Retro is also being blackmailed by OPTIK. He is aware the vigilantes of Hudson City have been “shake’n down” people like him and seems to think that the team is in OPTIK’s employ. After much talk he is apparently convinced that the Omega Team is not working for OPTIK but is acting on information that he provides. Retro then quickly brings the meeting to an end by warning Urieal not to get to cozy with OPTIK. He says that when OPTIK is found out it will go hard on him and anybody who is in collusion with him. Retro leaves and warns Urieal not to try and follow him, indicating the box.

June 26
Over the last few weeks a mugger with a peculiar MO has been terrorizing the Little Russia and China Town areas of Hudson City. The mugger is a feminine fencer who wears a white costume with red hearts. A classified personal add, of a romantic nature, runs in the Hudson City Daily Star-Gazette that is aimed at The Remittiance Man; “Looking for you in the night. -- Tenderheart”. The Remittiance Man and Nightstick patrol the area of the muggings in search of Tenderheart.
They find her without much difficulty. It is obvious that she wished to be found by The Remittiance Man and seems to have a crush on him. The two vigilantes get the drop on her, quickly hit her with a tangle rifle, and bring her back to the Omega HQ.
A few witnesses to the brief melee will make it clear to the police that Nightstick was involved as well as another vigilante, whom they assume is, part of the Omega Team.

Hippocrates (Dr. Thomas James) examines the unconscious Tenderheart and determines that she is really, a slightly built, male. Everybody is grossed out. Dr. James makes a quick call to a psychiatrist he knows and arranges to have the, obviously sick, Tenderheart (Charlie “Claire” Hoeger) committed to the Toddberry Asylum. Charlie becomes enraged when his/her love for The Remittiance Man is spurned. Hippocrates, who is also a psychologist, informs the group that Charlie is suffering from a profound dissociative disorder and has a split personality as well as some sociopathic symptoms. In this case the feminine personality of Tenderheart has almost taken over complete control. Dr. James also fears that the events of this evening may have increased Charlie’s sociopathic problems to dangerous degrees. In other words, if he ever escapes he may have homicidal vengeance on his mind.
Follow up investigations into Charlie Hoeger reveals that he is the owner/operator of Prospero’s Books, and writes romance novels under the name Claire Hoeger. The bookstore was originally owned by Anna Hoeger and was taken over by her daughter Claire years ago when Anna died. Apparently Charlie has been “Claire” since just after he got out of high school and his mother died. The neighbors recall that Claire was always a quiet girl who kept to herself and was very punctual about opening and closing her bookstore every day.

June 27
On this night Hippocrates, in his Dr. Thomas James persona, is riding his motorcycle through the Bankhust area of Hudson City. Thomas spots smoke rising from near the area of Debbie Taylor’s apartment building and rushes to investigate. Urieal is also in the area, looking for news, when he hears the fire call on his scanner and heads for the area. In route to the fire Urieal hears the nearest fire station report that tire spikes have been laid in front of their station and have flattened their tires, help will be delayed.
Urieal arrives just after Hippocrates. The building is the obvious victim of an arsonist. A message has been painted on the side of the burning building: “Love consummated / this lady so high / so warm”. It is signed Arthur Connally. Urieal recalls that Arthur Connally (a.k.a. Ashtray Art) is a pyromaniac who escaped last month from the Toddberry Asylum. He was responsible for a string of deadly arsons several years ago.
Despite napalmed fire exits and the first floor being engulfed, the vigilantes manage to rescue an amazing amount of people. Dancer arrives with the just completed Omega Truck and some much needed equipment. Urieal uses a construction crane from a work site across the street as a make shift ladder. Hippocrates darts into the flaming building and ushers victims to the roof where they can crawl down the crane.
Dancer leaves with the Omega Truck as soon as the approach of police and fire units are heard. Dr. Thomas James stays at the scene to treat those injured in the fire and Urieal, as Victor Wolffe, stays to cover the story.
Police investigate the arson and determine that it is the work of, the recently escaped, Ashtray Art. They have no reason to investigate the vigilantes who are in their normal Identities and assumed to be nothing more than fortunate passers by.

Follow up research on Ashtray Art leads the vigilantes to be concerned. The pyromaniac is a deeply disturbed person who fancies himself to be an artist and uses fire as his medium. His history indicates that he is always trying to improve on his performance through bigger and better fires. Human life holds no concern for him since he considers people being consumed by fire to be a key part of his art.

June 28
The team members are scattered all over town when they each get a frantic phone call from OPTIK. He tells them that his house is surrounded by armed men and he needs help. He gives his address as 2625 Hansen Street. The team members struggle to get to OPTIK’s house before it is too late, but traffic problems, personal entanglements, and so forth delays them.
They all arrive at OPTIK’s house at pretty much the same time. It’s too late. The door is open and thin wisps of smoke flows from it. The house has been sprayed with .50 caliber machine-gun fire. An automated sentry gun in the entry hall is wrecked, but blood stains at the door indicate that it must have gotten at least one attacker before the heavy machine-gun silenced it. Inside the house they find the body of a man in a wheel chair. He has been killed by a shotgun blast to the head. In the basement is smashed computer equipment of all sorts. While they examine the scene some of them rush out side and ask confused neighbors if they saw anything. They then rush off in hopes of spotting the get away vehicle.
The team members who remain at the scene are startled to hear the phone ring. They answer it and activate the speaker phone. A recorded message left by OPTIK identifies himself as Harold Grimes. He quickly explains about the “Machine”. The Machine is his greatest creation. Its out there, everywhere. He’s told it to survive and to talk to the vigilantes. It knows everything that happens in town. An automated voice (the Machine?) then ends the message with a warning that the police are 1 minute and 30 seconds away. The team members hurriedly grab some binders about the Machine and flee.
The police are very puzzled about this. The neighbors heard a lot of very loud gun fire. When it quieted down and some of them got brave enough to peek out of their windows they saw a dark blue Chevy van speed from the scene. Several minutes later a group of various individuals showed up and rushed into the house. Several of the neighbors now ventured outside in curiosity. Soon a couple of men ran back outside and hurriedly questioned the neighbors as to what they had seen, and then sped away in their vehicles. The police have a description of these two men though it is a little rough. Both men are white. The first is large, over six and a half feet tall and about 250 pounds with dark hair. The second is not quite six feet tall, about 180 pounds. He had on expensive casual clothing. The large man was driving a white Chevy Blazer. The other man was on a very new-looking Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle.
About a minute after the first two men left several more people ran out of the house with some large binders. These people immediately hoped in their various vehicles and sped from the scene just minutes before the police arrived. One was an oriental looking man (Nightstick) driving a beat up Honda Civic CVCC. Another was a “very good looking” woman (Dancer) who drove a maroon Chevy Caviler . The last was white male of average height and weight (The Remittiance Man), with dark hair, leapt into a white Trans-am.
By this time police are convinced that the Honda Civic CVCC and white Chevy Blazer, when together, indicate the presence of the Omega Team. They are now working on the theory that these people were indeed the Omega Team responding, too late, to help an employee of theirs. Harold Grimes was known to be a computer whiz and the wreckage of his equipment leads them to believe that he acted as a sort of communications center or dispatcher for the Omega Team. Some one with a grudge against them apparently found out and raided Mr. Grimes' house. Police are now actively looking for white Chevy Blazers with tall drivers and for any Honda Civic CVCC’s with oriental drivers. They are also checking up on recent purchases of Kawasaki Ninja motorcycles.

June 29
By this time the team has realized that at least one binder is missing from those that should have been at Harold Grimes house, the one for passwords and access codes. They have realized that the Machine is really some sort of AI software that inhabits computers all over Hudson City. It seems to exist as some type of collective intelligence. The Machine can (and does) monitor almost all communications of any sort through out the entire city. It also probably has eyes and ears that the vigilantes don’t know about. It is most likely that Retro now has the binder full of passwords and access codes and that he can use the Machine to get all sorts of information.
They are able to contact the Machine. Grimes had told the machine to talk to them and apparently Retro is not aware of this or he would prevent it. They manage to get the Machine to purge all of the data it has on them and tell it not to tell anybody about them. The Machine is fairly easy to contact by just calling anybody and asking the Machine to talk with him. Since the Machine is already being forced to use much of its time fulfilling orders it is being given by Retro it is only feasible to attempt to contact it about every four hours.
The Omega Team has become rather alarmed by the questions the Machine has about such things as morality. They are unsure what to do about the Machine. It has been told to survive but they feel that it might be better if they can determine some way to destroy it. They resolve to use Harold Grimes' notes to write a duplicate program, of the original that he wrote. They then plan to make hundreds of copies of it and launch them onto the net at once in hopes of distracting the Machine so that it can’t get any work done. To this end, they rent some office space, purchase 30 PC’s, hire 30 temporaries, and start entering the code needed to make a new program.
The team also agrees to implement the following safety procedures; No mention of anybody’s name will be made on any telecommunications device. All PC’s that the Omega Team owns should be isolated from the net and have electromagnetic shielding. Urieal will clean a PC of the Machine’s presence and, using the notes they have about the Machine and his programming expertise, he will devise an anti-virus program that will allow him to access the net without the Machine being able to infiltrate his system.

End of Part 2 and that's it for tonight. I'll post some more tomorrow.

[Vorsch]

People usually pay for this kind of characterisation and detail in adventures!

Your a god, ( Cut paste use monday)

[Eosin]

I will see about posting some of the character information and background that I might have handy :)

Wait till you guys see where this goes. I played Uriel and let me tell you.....DARK champions ensued during this game. :mad:

Quik rundown of the PCs:

Uriel - son of a senator who had olympic aspirations in gymnastics until both his legs were broken during a grissly robbery that was terribly botched. This injury forced him to reconsile with his estranged father for awhile. It also spurred his decion to investigate home and business security eventually start a very successful business.

Hippocrates: Elite socialite and Trauma MD. Good friends with the DA. Very inapproptiately named. :)

Nightstick: Martial Artist extrodinare by night and immigrant dishwasher by day. Worked for the legendary Zhu Shou.

Gunner: HCPD with an attitude. Think Die Hard.

Remittance Man: Heir to one of the largest experimental weapons design corporations in North America. Quiet and effective.



More on people as they enter into the game.

[Edsel]

June 30
Around noon Nightstick thwarts a bank robbery at the China Town branch of the Eastern National Bank. He leaves five unconscious gunmen for the police to pickup.
This is obviously the work of Nightstick, numerous witness and security camera footage confirm it. The police can obtain no other useful evidence.

Further discussions on how to proceed with the Machine/Retro problem occur. They abandon the plan to launch multiple copies of the Machine program. They fear that doing so would allow the more powerful AI to take control of them and make them tools of its own. The Machine was told by Grimes to avoid expanding beyond Hudson City, but it might use the newly subverted clones of itself to ‘colonize’ other cities. The team now has office space in Gadsden with 30 PC’s sitting idle until the end of the month (that’s how long the rent is paid up).
Questioning of the Machine allows the group to find out what Retro standing orders to the Machine are:

1. Don’t tell anyone about my activities.
2. Tell me if someone tries to eavesdrop on me.
3. Don’t tell anyone what’s in your data banks.
4. Tell me what you know about these three groups: Street
Gangs, Mafia, and Card Shark.
5. Find out who the Blue Moon Killer is.

Though the third command makes obtaining information difficult, they have discovered a command log file that is part of the operating system of the Machine, not a data base. By having the Machine tell them what is in this command log the team can get some information about what Retro is up to. They also discover that there is a list of people the Machine is allowed to talk to. Retro is on the list as are they. Apparently Retro has not looked at the list and may be unaware of its existence or he would have certainly tried to modify it.

July 1, 1995
Urieal feels to he is under too much stress due to all the recent events. First thing in the morning (about 10:00 am for him) he goes to visit Zhu Hsaio to seek his aid in finding a place to relax and meditate. Zhu Hsaio agrees to take him to a place where he can relax and relieve his stress. Joe Dishwasher accompanies them in curiosity about this shrine that Zhu Hsaio has mentioned.
Zhu Hsaio takes them through the winding back alleys of China Town until they come to an ancient looking building. This turns out to be a facade and beyond it lies a beautiful Oriental garden with shrine. Zhu Hsaio tells them that they can meditate here but warns them not to let their minds wander to far lest they become lost in their contemplation. Zhu Hsaio leaves after pointing out two Chinese monks who are present at the shrine. He says when they are ready to leave they should sound the small gong by the gate and the monks will let them out.

July 2
Around noon The Remittiance Man looks into his pocket and discovers he is carrying a VHS cassette with a letter attached. He has no recollection of how they came into his possession. The letter explains that he will probably not remember talking to the man who gave him the note. He explains that he has a ‘curse’ of sorts. Nobody can remember talking to, or even seeing, him within a few minutes of leaving his presence. He calls himself Mr. Nobody. Speculation by the team is that the man suffers from some sort of uncontrolled psionic power.
The tape is a recording of a news broadcast from April 3rd, 1995. At that time the President of the United States was visiting Hudson City and was giving a talk at a Hudson City school. The tape clearly shows an unidentified woman standing on the stage with a gun. Incredibly nobody seems to notice her. Secret Service agents walk right past her as if she were not there. After the President started making his speech the woman fired one round into the podium in front of him. Some of the Secret Service agents tackled the President and whisked him away to safety while others scanned the area trying to spot where the shot came from. Once again, nobody seemed to notice the woman, with the gun, standing on the stage. The woman began to cry and eventually walked away.
In his letter Mr. Nobody explains that he feels himself to be a kindred spirit to this woman that only cameras are able to see. He wants the Omega Team to help him find her. This ain’t going to be easy. The Remittiance Man had encountered Mr. Nobody as the latter walked through the streets, wearing a sign asking any vigilante to help him. The Remittiance Man has always had a soft spot for those in need and talked to Mr. Nobody and agreed to try and help him. The letter also included a phone number and address where Mr. Nobody could be reached. The Remittiance Man and Hippocrates called him, recorded the conversation, and then went to talk with him. They took a recorder and small video camera so they would remember what they had done.

The team becomes concerned when nobody is able to contact Urieal or Nightstick.
Curiously, nobody goes to check Nightstick’s apartment or bothers to ask Zhu Hsaio where Nightstick is. They also fail to try Urieal’s residence for clues as to where he might have gone.
After they have meditated for several hours Urieal and Nightstick emerge from the garden. Their exit is on a different street in China Town from the place they entered. They also discover that it is now the evening of July 2nd (they have been in the garden for over 30 hours).
Upon their return their worried team mates asks them what happened to them? They explain what has happened to their skeptical friends. However the story that they hear about Mr. Nobody and the Invisible Woman are rather hard to swallow as well.

July 3
Urieal feels that he must try and warn the Harbinger of Justice that Retro is out to get him. Early this morning (midnight to 2:00am) he patrols the places he feels it is likely that the Harbinger could be found and leaves hidden messages for him. The messages ask the Harbinger to meet him at The Belltower of St. Ignatius in the Blackbridge district of town, at midnight July 4th.

Hippocrates gets Mr. Nobody to agree to meet with him so he can conduct a few tests. He also studies up on a few psycho-active drugs and has a prescription filled for Mr. Nobody. Hippocrates hopes that the drugs may have some dampening effect on the psionic field that Mr. Nobody may be generating.

July 4
At midnight Urieal is at the Belltower of St. Ignatius. The Harbinger arrives and has a brief conversation with him. Urieal warns the Harbinger of Retro. He explains the Machine and what it’s doing. In return the Harbinger suggests that Urieal should look into what Retro’s lawyer is doing.

The team gathers at Headquarters at about noon. Urieal explains that it might be a good idea for Hippocrates to ask his friend, DA Bob Goldfield about the activities of attorney Michael Cabrilli. When Hippocrates asks him why he explains about his meeting with the Harbinger.
Dancer gets into an argument with Urieal about his lack of ‘team work’. She is upset about how secretive he always in and his lack of cooperation with the rest of the team. “We trust you, why don’t you trust us?” she exclaims. Of course she really isn’t sure about whether or not she should trust him; she suspects things about his past that he refuses to discuss. Dancer ends the discussion by having Urieal agree to take her to Dr. Thomas James’ barbecue this afternoon (at the Doctor's Irishtown mansion).

Victor Wolffe shows up at Eden Blake’s apartment. This is the first time she has revealed to any of the Omega Team where she lives. She is dressed nicely but is not disguised, another first. She states to Victor, “This is where I live, this is who I am. Why can’t you be this open?” Victor’s veneer seems to be cracking just as they arrive at Dr. James’, Irishtown home. They enter and are greeted by Dr. James when Victor suddenly realizes that there may be important people here who may recognize him. He flees with a confused and upset Ms. Blake accompanying him.

At the barbecue Dr. James finds out that Buckshot and Tommy Brooks have been released from jail. Michael Cabrilli had indeed taken over Buckshot’s defense and his investigators discovered the circumstances of his client’s arrest. Confronted with the facts the judge dismissed all charges. The public defender that was representing Tommy Brooks heard about Cabrilli’s strategy and copied it. Tommy Brooks was released shortly thereafter.

That evening, back at Omega HQ, Victor Wolffe explains his behavior. He reveals his background to the other members of the Omega Team. Eden Blake does the same.
The team then reviews the street talk that they have all heard over the last couple of days. It becomes evident, from information that The Remittiance Man obtains in a conversation with a gang contact, that Retro is meeting with all the gang leaders in Hudson City. He is making them all an offer: Work for me and you’ll make a profit and suffer no more blackmail from OPTIK. Refuse and suffer the consequences. The team has also obtained information from a wire tap that The Remittiance Man and Hippocrates placed on the phone of Jena Haversil. She is to attend some sort of important meeting at the Black & White Cafe tonight. The team decides to arrive before Jena’s meeting and put the cafe under surveillance.
They soon observe the arrival of Ms. Haversil and two delegations from different gangs (the Gracie Park Tigers -- led by D-Cool Jack and the Moulson Street gang -- led by Jamal Williams). They come to the conclusion that Jena is handling the transfer of allegiance of these two gangs to Retro. Unfortunately Retro does not show up himself and only these two gangs are represented here. It is apparent that this is only one of, possibly, many such meetings.

July 5
Around noon the team gets together and discusses what they can do about Retro’s take over. Talking to the Machine reveals that most of the gangs have agreed to Retro’s terms. One notable exception is the 66Blades. Looking over the command log of the Machine the team finds out that someone has just gotten through inquiring the location of Tommy Brooks (the 66Blades leader). Realizing that the 66Blades have failed to acquiesce to Retro’s demands, the team fears the worst. A quick request for the current location of Tommy Brooks reveals that he is at a video arcade called the Electric Haven, located in The Strip. The team quickly packs their weapons and speed to the scene.
Twelve of the Overlords are already at the scene as the Omega Team arrives. The Overlords are all armed with assault rifles and some even have grenade launchers. Nightstick and Urieal take the back of the arcade while the remainder of the Omega Team takes the front. In the ensuing fight Nightstick and Urieal take down four gangsters at the back of the arcade. The rest of the Omega Team manages to stop 7 of the 8 gangsters that are approaching from the front. The one that manages to get inside the arcade kills Tommy Brooks and one of his bodyguards. One civilian is killed and stray bullets injure two, before the remaining Overlord is killed by Hippocrates. A paper warehouse in the area is also hit by a 40mm grenade and catches fire, fortunately nobody is in the warehouse at the time.
Police later recover several 12-gauge casings from Urieal’s shotgun, 9mm bullets and casings from Dancer’s MP5K, and .45 casing and bullets from Hippocrates’ MAC-10. Nightstick used only flash pellets and his shan gieh kun in the melee. The Remittiance Man used a laser rifle that, while leaving obvious burns in its victims, left no physical evidence behind. From the numerous witnesses the police piece together a fairly accurate picture of what happened. The Omega Team truck was spotted leaving the scene, but its appearance is easily changed. The vigilantes all wore full face helmets. All in all, the police gain little of use to help identify the Omega Team members.

July 6
The team lays low as the press has a field day over the battle of 5 July. Several members walk the streets to seek rumors of Retro’s activities. By late that afternoon word is on the street that the Harbinger was injured, but escaped, when he attempted to drop in on a meeting between Retro and several gang leaders. Apparently they were waiting on him. Only his skill and luck permitted him to avoid being slain.

July 7
Early morning news broadcasts tell of the death of Emmanuelle Estavz Acosta-Cazares in a drive by shooting. He is the reputed head of the Acosta-Cazares drug cartel’s Hudson City operations. The Omega Team fears that Retro has cemented his control of the street gangs and is now moving to eliminate the competing drug cartels in the city.
The Remittiance Man checks the tap placed on Jena’s telephone. One of her telephone calls confirms that Retro had the street gangs eliminate Acosta-Cazares. The telephone conversation between Jena and Retro also indicates that Retro is intending to drive out all the competing drug cartels.
The noon news tells of a bomb blast at the residence of Teresa Maria Ocho de Fonseca. Teresa is believed to have escaped the blast. A quick check of street talk over the next couple of hours confirms that she did escape but is even now leaving the city. Stories abound of dealers for the rivals of the Carillo-Mendoza cartel, being beaten, threatened or disappearing. The team decides to quickly find some dealers to kidnap for information.
Hippocrates, Nighstick and Dancer head into a neighborhood known to be served by dealers of the Castillo-Vohorques cartel. They soon locate a pair of probable dealers and move to capture them. At the same time a car load of four gang-bangers make a move on them as well. The three vigilantes manage to quickly overcome all six criminals and abduct the two dealers and two of the gangsters. They leave the remaining two gangsters pinned in the wreckage of their car.
Police find the wrecked car and the two trapped gangsters. They find the spent shell of a NICO grenade, which is quickly becoming known as an indicator of Omega Team involvement. Someone who knows what he is doing has given the two injured gangsters first aid. Police speculate that one of the Omega Team members may have, at least, some rudimentary medical training. An Omega card is left on the dash of the ruined car.

The three vigilantes take their captives back to the Omega HQ. Hippocrates treats the injuries of the two gang bangers and then they are locked up while he and Dancer interrogate the two dealers. The two dealers prove reluctant to talk and it takes ten hours of work to make them cooperative. For the first time Omega Team members resort to torture to obtain information.

During this time Hayden Alexander has made contact with the Russian Mafia (the Organizatsiya) by talking with one of their drivers (Vladimir “Zil” Ivanovich). The conversation tends to indicate that they have not experienced any problems with Retro. Mr. Alexander also goes to the main metro library to search for any references to the mysterious invisible woman.
Using Hayden’s research findings, Dr. Thomas James paints a psychological profile of the invisible woman. She probably considers herself cursed and therefore seeks out action in an attempt to draw attention to herself. Several pictures, that Mr. Alexander has found, place her at some news worthy events in the past. Most of these events were of a violent or criminal nature.
Joe Dishwasher goes to China Town and makes contact with the Cheng Yi-Fe gang. He tries to determine if Retro has made any inroads into the Chinese Tongs in the town. The conversation seems to indicate that some of them may already be under his sway.

Late that night they decide to release the two pushers that they have been holding. The two are released into the same neighborhood in which they were abducted. Each has his hands tied behind him and a note taped to his head. The note invites Juan Montoya de Castillo and Maximo Vohorques to meet with the Omega Team in LeMastre Park, at noon tomorrow.

End of Part 3

Note to Readers:
If you are wondering about how the tap on Jena's phone avoided detection by the Machine. The tap was a, voice-activated, recording device tied directly into the phone lines under her apartment building. Periodically one of the team members would go and recover the tape and replace it with a new one. Since it was a closed system that did not transmit I could see no way for the machine to detect it.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Eosin
More on people as they enter into the game.
Cool! That should help. I still have many of the old character sheets, and a bunch of other data that I may post at some point in the future.

Bye the way...
If anybody has any comments, questions or feedback, feel free to post it. I'll try to address any questions. The original documents are in Word and there are quite a few footnotes. Since I am using cut and paste to post this, most of those are lost or I turn them into parenthetical form.

Does anybody have a better method for posting this stuff from Word? I currently have to cut and paste and then go through and format it manually before I post it. I've tried to save it in HTML format but that didn't work any better. I could simply make them file attachments but posting them individually like this, I feel, ensures the largest reading audience.

[Edsel]

July 8
At noon Hippocrates, The Remittiance Man, Dancer and Nightstick are waiting for the cartel leaders in LeMastre Park. One man shows up. It is Maximo Vohorques and he looks worried. It soon becomes apparent that he has been followed to the park by 8 thugs.
The gangsters make their move on Maximo, unaware of the vigilante’s presence. The Omega Team makes short work of the gangsters, leaving 2 dead and 4 injured. They then flee with Mr. Vohorques. It is soon discovered that his partner has been killed and he is on the run. While the vigilantes were involved, in the time consuming interrogation of the two pushers, Retro moved against the other cartels. Maximo luckily happened upon one of the released pushers and decided to keep the appointment in hopes of gaining a safe way out of the city.
The Omega Team truck drove through the park leaving tire ruts in the well-kept lawns. This is of little use since the tires are easily incinerated and new ones installed. The truck was disguised as a city maintenance vehicle and no witnesses realized that it was anything other that what it appeared to be. Several, various, shell casings were left behind in the hurried flight. The description of the involved vigilantes will lead police to believe this was the work of the Omega Team but little else can be deduced.

Just after the vigilantes return to HQ, with a blindfolded Maximo Vohorques, Joe Dishwasher and Eden Blake retire to Zhu Hsaio’s dojo. Joe has agreed to teach Eden how to throw shuriken.
At about 3:30 that afternoon they are walking back to Eden’s car when they witness van full of, armed, members of the Golden Serpents (a Chinese street gang) rush into a small restaurant. They quickly attack when they hear submachinegun fire inside the restaurant. With a combination of rubber bullets and martial arts they soon subdue all the gangsters. In the wake of the fight are 3 dead Chinese businessmen (the apparent targets of a hit), two dead bystanders (a waitress and a female customer), and two injured bystanders (the check-out girl and the husband of the dead customer).
After rendering first aid to the wounded the two vigilantes flee the scene.
The MO of Nightstick is obvious here. Add to that the description of a shapely white woman and the police have reason to believe that this is another Omega Team operation. Other than several rubber bullets there is little evidence to gather. Most of the gangsters were beaten to a pulp with Nightstick’s three-section-staff. The two injured bystanders are expected to make full recoveries. Indiscriminate firing on the part of the apprehended gangsters killed the two bystanders. Police have determined that the three dead businessmen were from Hong Kong and are suspected Triad representatives.

On this evening it is decided by the team that Victor Wolffe’s white Chevy Blazer has become to well known by the police, he agrees to start seeking a replacement. Joe Dishwasher’s old Honda Civic CVCC is currently sitting inside the Omega Team HQ. Joe has been provided with a blue 1987 Ford Escort to replace it. It is decided that George Bell will start cutting up the old Honda in his spare time and incinerates the traceable pieces.

With all the recent vigilante-related violence Mayor Graydon T. Umstead has declared a state of emergency. There will be a curfew imposed tonight between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The news also reports that the mayor, city council, and police commissioner (Alexander Ringwald) are considering the formation of an anti-vigilante task force within the HCPD.
Once 10:00 p.m. has come Victor Wolffe goes out into the street to cover news of the curfew. He is soon spotted by an HCPD patrol car and taken into custody (he’s press, but violating the curfew). Victor soon manages to get on the good side of the two cops who have picked him up. They are Officers Veronica Halstead and Patricia Garrett . Officer Halstead is a street-smart veteran of over 10 years. Officer Garrett is a rookie cop but has also won the HCPD pistol shooting competition in her first year. Victor is invited to ride along with them for the rest of the night.
During the night’s patrol the unit responds, with other units, to the Charter Arms Apartments in Riverside. The door to one unit has been shattered and several bullet holes are in the wall. The resident of the apartment, a known gang member, is missing. Witnesses give a description of a large man who apparently abducted the missing gangster. The descriptions are enough that Victor Wolffe is able to identify the vigilante known as Crusade as the possible attacker. Realizing that vigilante violence is not what the city needs to hear more about, he keeps his suspicions to himself.

July 9
Late in the afternoon Urieal, Hippocrates, Dancer and The Remittiance Man gather at Omega HQ. They discuss current conditions. Retro now seems to have control over all of the street gangs and he has run all the opposing drug cartels out of town. They also discuss the current situation with Maximo Vohorques, who they are holding in one of the four cells that they have. They are currently theorizing that Retro will next make a move on either the Cardshark Organization or the local Mafia families. Current money is on the Cardshark.
The entire day in Hudson City passes quietly and it is announced that the curfew will not be extended tonight, except in the case of youths aged 15 or less.
That evening they manage to get in touch with the machine and discover that Crusade (an independent, NPC vigilante) is currently in route to the LeMastre park zoo with three captive gang leaders. The four vigilantes hop into the Omega Truck, currently bearing the logo of a dog Food Company, and race to the zoo.
At the zoo the team quickly determines which vehicle in the, nearly deserted, parking lot is Crusades. They hide a tracking bug on the car (bugging roll made by 8). In the park they soon find Crusade at the bear pit. He has three gang leaders bound and gagged (Carver of the Blood Hawks, D-Cool Jack of the Gracie Park Tigers and Icer Summers of the Four Points Gang). Crusade is interrogating them by threatening to toss them to the bears below. The Omega team actually manages to hold a conversation with the psychotic Crusade. One of the gang leaders tells of a shipment of Russian weapons that Retro has arranged for, but other than that, little information of any use is really gained, but the team has at least managed to peacefully meet another vigilante. The Omega team departs as does Crusade (after feeding the bears).
Only the, mostly eaten, corpses of the three gang leaders will be discovered in the morning. The bodies are horribly mangled and identification has yet to be made. Police theorize that a group of youths broke into the zoo and inadvertently got into the bear pit and eaten. Darn those pesky kids.

July 10
Today the Reporter Victor Wolffe decides to do a story on the Russian Organizatsiya and Alexander Hayden decides to talk with his new friend Vladimir “Zil” Ivanovich. Both men are going to try and find out where the Organizatsiya might be hoarding the illegal weapons that they sell.
Victor Wolffe goes to talk to Valclav Karkhov, known as the “Mayor” of Moscow West. Mr. Karkhov is actually the chairman of the Russian-American Society of Hudson City. The subject of the story that Victor Wolffe intends to write (organized crime in the Russian community) does not please him. Mr. Karkhov is insistent that the rumors of an organized Russian Mafia are very over blown. He gets impatient when Victor insists. Finally Valclav tells Mr. Wolffe what area of Moscow West he would be most likely to find the type of people he is looking for.
Hayden manages to find Zil and the two of them go for a ride in Zil’s car. Mr. Alexander expresses a desire to obtain some smuggled Russian firearms. After a talk, and a little bribery, Hayden is able to determine that the Russian Mafia does indeed smuggle weapons into the city. They have a wide selection and can supply in quantity if they have the proper lead time. Hayden is unable to get Zil to tell him where the weapons are stored however.
Shortly after Victor Wolffe leaves the office of Valclav Karkhov an attempt is made on his life. While his cab is stopped at a traffic signal, two men open fire on the cab with AK-74 assault rifles. Several pieces of flying glass and bullet fragments cut up his head but the wounds are little more than superficial. Victor gets the cabby to safety and manages to dispatch one of the, would be, assassins with a .45 round to the chest. He wings the second gunman and then knocks him unconscious before he recovers.
As fortune would have it Hayden Alexander is nearby and rounds the corner in time to see Mr. Wolffe knock out the second gunman. Thinking quickly Mr. Wolffe flees while Hayden grabs his unconscious “friend”. He commanders a car at gunpoint and speeds away with his injured “associate.” Hayden takes the captive to Omega HQ.
The police are able to determine that this was a case of justifiable homicide on the behalf of Mr. Wolffe. However until the investigation is formally concluded, his weapon and carry permit are confiscated. Police Detective Sergeant David Wilcox is assigned to protect Mr. Wolffe until the police are able determine if he is still in danger.

Once back at Omega HQ Hippocrates was able to patch-up the injured Russian mobster. Under Interrogation the team was able to determine the location of the Organizatsiya weapon’s cache. The weapons were being kept in a small warehouse in the southern edge of Moscow West, near the Stewart River. The team knew that Retro’s people would be picking up their smuggled weapons tomorrow morning. They decided to hit the warehouse tonight.

The warehouse hit went off fairly well. The building was set fire and the weapons destroyed. Only one of the guards was injured, a few others were hit with tranquilizer darts. The team took the injured guard with them to avoid leaving evidence of what had really happened here.
The Police and Fire Departments received anonymous phone calls about the fire and the illegal weapons stored inside. No firefighters were injured fighting the blaze. The amount of explosives and flammables in the warehouse makes determining the cause of the fire impossible. The current police theory is that an accident caused the fire and gave them a big break in shutting down, for the time being, the Russian Mafia’s smuggling operations.

Back at Omega HQ the team was faced with the problem of 5 captives (including the new one) and only 4 cells. A debate broke out when Urieal decided that they should “execute” the Organizatsiya gunman who had tried to kill him and nearly got his cab driver as well. Urieal expressed that this degree of flagrant disregard for the possibility of killing innocents with stray fire made the man a danger to the public if released. Two of the other team members present, Hippocrates and The Remittiance Man, favored trying to ship him to China as had been done with previous criminals. Urieal said that he might return even from that, indeed anybody that was “shipped out” might one day return. Dancer was torn between the options. Urieal ended the argument by putting his pistol the captive’s head and saying, “I’ll do it unless you stop me. Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . BANG!” This ended the debate. Urieal cleaned up the mess and put the body in the incinerator.

End of Part 4

[Metaphysician]

Just out of curiousity, is it SOP for a Dark Champions campaign to monitor evidence left behind at any combat or similar incident??

[Eosin]

Originally posted by Metaphysician
Just out of curiousity, is it SOP for a Dark Champions campaign to monitor evidence left behind at any combat or similar incident??

It sure helped keep you in character. When I was attacked by the Russian Mafia it was hell trying not to look like a combat veteran while not letting people like the cabie get killed.

It gets worse later on as some of us have to dump our IDs and assume new ones. There was basically a city/state wide man hunt at one point for the good doctor....Screwing up your secret ID is really hell as we eventually find out.


It was also funny to see where you made mistakes....we make some real boneheaded ones at some points in the game.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Metaphysician
Just out of curiousity, is it SOP for a Dark Champions campaign to monitor evidence left behind at any combat or similar incident??
Whenever they had time the team was usually pretty careful about cleaning up the scene. Due to their contacts (mainly with the DA) they knew that the police were going to be looking for spent casings, slugs, fibers, blood, etc.

As the GM I was careful to "build a case" that would justify my setting the authorities on the Omega Team. The police do not look kindly upon those who take the law into their own hands.

Before the campaign ended the cops had DNA profiles on most of the team. They just couldn't find or identify most of them. If they ever did catch one, however, they'd have a good case.

[Edsel]

July 11
News reports tell of an attack on Lazy Bill’s Saloon by gang-bangers. Reports indicate that the gangsters were from various gangs and led by Buckshot. Lazy Bill’s is also reputed to be a front for the Cardsharks organization. The Omega Team feels that this is the first step by Retro to either bring the Cardsharks into line or to eliminate them as competition. Either way they are compelled to determine what is happening since several innocent bystanders were slain in the crossfire. Eden and Thomas hit the streets to try and find a Cardshark operative to extract information from.
Meanwhile Joe, Victor and Hayden will alleviate the lack of cell space that the Omega HQ has been experiencing. The three of them take the two captive gang-bangers and the Organizatsiya gunman to the docks to arrange passage on a slow boat to China. This leaves Maximo Vohorques as the only occupant of the Omega HQ’s lockup.
Dancer and Hippocrates, after talking to several street people, manage to locate a probable Cardsharks operative near the police line at Lazy Bill’s. Between the two of them they knockout the unsuspecting man and drag him into a nearby alley for a quick Q & A session. A couple of well-placed kidney blows later and they obtain the information they want.
The man they have is Jake “the Slick” Warren and he is a Cardsharks Deck Agent of the clubs suite. He confirms that Lazy Bill’s was a front for his suite, and that it acted as a fencing operation for stolen goods. More importantly he was able to relate that the Cardshark was being “pressured to work within the system,” though he had no idea who, or what, the system might be. Further interrogation revealed that the spades suite was going to “take care of the situation.” The final bit of information obtained was the fact that Diamond Lucy’s was a favored watering hole for off duty spades agents. The duo left Mr. Warren unconscious in the alley, another apparent victim of muggers.
Back at Headquarters the team decided that they should snatch a spade agent or two from Diamond Lucy’s to determine what the Cardsharks might know about Retro’s organization. The whole group proceeded to the strip joint to find their quarry. Dancer and Ureial went disguised as a swinging couple, The Remittiance Man and Nightstick went as a pair of yuppies out on the town and Hippocrates went as a street tough. It was not long before talking with patrons and dancers helped them determine that two of the men present were face card agents of the diamonds and spades suites. Hippocrates remained inside to monitor the two men while the rest of the group went outside to set up an ambush. The plan went perfectly and soon the two men were hustled back to Omega HQ for questioning.
Thanks to the penethol the two men quickly cracked under interrogation by Dancer and Hippocrates (who are getting pretty good at this). The spades are coordinating with the diamonds to set up security for the Paradise Club . This is believed to be the place that Retro will strike next. With the help of the Machine and answers provided by the two agents the Omega Team makes plans for the night of July 12.

July 12
The day is spent in preparation (recon, making plans, etc.) for the expected attack tonight.
That night The Remittiance Man takes up a position on the roof of the Paradise Club, while Dancer, Nightstick and Hippocrates patronize the casino across the alley . Urieal positions himself on an adjacent warehouse so he can see the hidden exit from the casino. At about 9:00 p.m. things hit the fan.
About 30 gang-bangers, led by Buckshot, hit the casino. A LAW rocket is used against the secret exit, killing the squad of spade agents who were hiding there. A van with armored welded over the from crashes through the wall at the other end of the building. A group of gang-bangers also attack the Paradise Club. All but one of the Cardsharks security force stationed in the casino are killed or injured. All the attacking gang-bangers are killed or wounded. Buckshot is beaten unconscious by Nightstick and later killed by Urieal (as is the surviving Cardshark agent). Lastly, about a half-dozen civilians are killed and nearly twenty are injured. End result is that the Cardshark security force and the attacking gangsters are mutually slaughtered with only the vigilantes escaping, more or less, unharmed.
The vigilantes flee the aftermath of the battle, after rendering first aid to several civilians, and await the public outcry that is sure to follow such a blood-bath.
The police find nothing but rampant confusion at the scene. There are about two dozen bodies of members of various gangs lying about. No bodies belonging to Card Shark operatives or civilians are found. The body of Buckshot is identified among the dead (Cardshark extracted everybody else before the police arrived).
The police believe it is what it appears to be. An attack on an illegal casino launched by criminals wishing to steal from other criminals. The attack must have succeeded since the money is missing but it was terribly bungled since so many of the attackers were killed overwhelming the defenders. Any involvement by the Omega Team is obscured by the general confusion surrounding the wild melee. The police are able to quickly determine that this was a Cardshark operation. The mixed bag of attackers now has the police concerned that an unknown leader or leaders may be unifying the gangs of Hudson City.

July 13
The news of the casino battle breaks in the press the following day and prompts an immediate public outcry. The City council meets in emergency session and a curfew is imposed on the city. During this time the Omega team lays low to let the city calm down some.
Watching the news coverage (from the remains of the Paradise Club), Hayden Alexander spots the mysterious Invisible Woman. She is apparent on the replays of the earlier “live” shots of the debris. Hayden quickly informs the rest of the team and they all race to the scene.
Dr. Thomas James volunteers his services to the swamped ME’s office. He is able to contact Mr. Nobody and inform him that they may have found the Invisible Woman for him. Dr. James instructs him to meet him at the coroner’s office, which he does (this, by the way, completely reveals Hippocrates’ secret identity to Mr. Nobody). The two of them then proceed to the wrecked warehouse. Dr. James manages to scrounge up a white lab coat for Mr. Nobody and gets him into the site as a “volunteer”.
Hayden disguises himself as a wino and staggers around the perimeter of the crime scene. He occasionally points into the area and shouts; “look it’s the Invisible Woman.” This succeeds in attracting her attention, but he will not discover this until later.
Joe Dishwasher finds one of the local film crews and bribes a technician to let him use an idle camera and a blank tape. He claims to be doing an assignment for a photo-journalism class. He even gets the camera man to pan over the scene for him while he tapes the scene. He is not successful in spotting his quarry.
Within an hour the team gives up and departs the scene. Dr. James returns to work at the morgue for the rest of the day. Joe Dishwasher and Hayden Alexander return to Omega HQ. Soon after their arrival Hayden notices that one of the surveillance cameras shows that the door to the garage is open. Realizing that the Invisible Woman may have followed him back, he and George Bell rig a camera with a 1 second delay to monitor a chair they have set up. They soon make contact with Plane Jane.
They alert Dr. James who races to the HQ and brings Mr. Nobody with him (there by revealing the location of the Omega Team’s, secret, Headquarters). Mr. Nobody is grateful and thanks the team. He and Plane Jane leave together. The pair agrees to phone the team if they happen to come across any info about the whereabouts of Retro.

July 14-16
The team decides to lay low for a few days until the fervor of the press dies down.
On July 15th the news reports tell of the theft of several major highway exit signs. That evening Nightstick has a brief encounter with the police, who spot him after curfew. After an awkward moment he eludes them.
They never get a good enough look at him to determine his identity.

Victor Wolffe now attempts to make contact with the Card Shark. He and Eden Blake go to Diamond Lucy’s to see if they can contact any Cardshark operatives. The place is devoid of any agents, apparently they are keeping out of sight after the Paradise Club disaster. Undaunted the two make contact with one of the dancers and, using a financial inducement, get her to agree to pass on a note to the Cardsharks. The note contains a short appeal to discuss the current Retro situation. It includes a cellular number to a phone that Urieal has purchased for just this one call.

July 17
The Card Shark phone rings. A pre-meeting, to arrange for a face to face meeting with the Card Shark, is scheduled for that evening near the main fountain in LeMastre Park. Urieal, Dancer, Nightstick, Hippocrates and The Remittiance Man all head to the park for the meeting. Urieal handles the communication while the rest of the team stakes out the park. This is the same evening that the city-wide curfew has been lifted.
The meeting goes off without a hitch and the Cardshark operative delivers a note from the Card Shark. The note explains that Card Shark feels that a meeting is a good idea. He asks the team to meet with him at the Museum of World Art, in the Worthington District, at 6th Avenue and North Jackson Street. The meeting will be at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18th, well after closing time. All of the entrances and exits of the building will be lighted but one and that one will be unlocked. The museum guards will not interfere.

GM NOTE: By this time the player who ran Gunner has had to move on. His character is assumed to have moved away as well. I hate these artificial feeling solutions but it couldn't be helped.

July 18
The entire team goes to the Museum: Urieal, Hippocrates, Nightstick, Dancer and The Remittance Man. Scouting the area they discover that a service door on the southeast corner of the building is unlit. Nightstick takes up a position on the, first floor, roof of an adjacent building about 100 feet south. Dancer waits in the Omega Truck in a nearby parking lot. The Remittiance Man hides in the hedges surrounding the building, near the southwest corner, affording him a good view of the southern approaches and the door. Urieal and Hippocrates actually proceed to the door to make the meeting.
Just inside the door they encounter a nervous King of Hearts. He informs the vigilantes that they can keep their weapons as long as they don’t pull them out, then he leads them to the Medieval Arms and Armor exhibit. Here they finally meet Card Shark himself. The Queen of Hearts also accompanies Cardshark. They quickly launch into discussions about what they each know about Retro. Unfortunately neither group knows anything about his current whereabouts. Before the discussion can progress to far Nightstick warns of an approaching helicopter.

The helicopter is large, surprisingly quiet and traveling with its lights out as is lowers toward the museum. Nightstick quickly sprints for the museum as the rest of Omega Team warns Card Shark and prepare for an attack. The helicopter shatters the glass roof of the exhibit room, showering it with glass. A squad of the elite mercenary team, the Arsenal, attacks. This is Heatseeker’s squad: Heatseeker, Exocet, Longbow, Claymore and Ultimax (this does not include the helicopter pilot and copilot). Only Nightstick’s warning keeps this from becoming another disaster, as Arsenal looses the element of surprise. In a brief, furious, fight the Omega Team and Card Shark prevail, but at a price. Urieal, a.k.a. Victor Wolffe is slain in combat by the mercenary Ultimax. The entire mercenary crew is killed and their helicopter is brought down by a spray of laser fire from The Remittiance Man’s rifle.
Dancer had earlier reported the approach of several armed street gang members. After they had passed her position she was told by the rest of the Team to standby in case they needed a quick pickup. After dispatching the Arsenal, the six gang bangers who attempted to set up an ambush outside the museum, proved to be no competition at all. The gang bangers were all quickly killed or incapacitated.
The efforts of the Omega Team to defeat the Arsenal, and their sacrifice of one of their own, convince Card Shark that they are honorable people, who can be trusted. Card Shark realizes, after suggestions made by Urieal previously, that the meeting place was compromised when he used a networked PC to type the meeting note. Card Shark pledges to share whatever information he turns up on Retro. He further pledges to supply weapons and manpower, if requested, for the groups anti-Retro operations. From this minute onward Cardshark will not use any form of telecommunications or any non-secure computers for any of their activities. He assigns one of his operatives; a man called Wildcard, to act as a liaison between Cardshark and the Omega Team.
The groups then depart after arranging a method of contact between Omega Team and Wildcard. Omega Team takes their dead comrade and departs for Omega HQ.
The police are left with Five dead mercenaries (who were mostly fugitives), a crashed helicopter with two dead pilots, two dead gang-bangers and four seriously injured ones. A museum that has been shot up and several irreplaceable medieval exhibits destroyed. Public outcry over the loss of cultural treasures is sure to follow. The helicopter was apparently brought down by laser fire. And it scares the police to realize that someone even more dangerous has wiped out a highly professional mercenary team . . . Card Shark. One of their cards is found on the body of each slain mercenary. Police suspect that one of the Cardsharks may have been hit. A pool of blood and signs of a body being carried off indicate this. The police are able to get a good sample of the blood, which means DNA evidence, can be used if a match is ever found. The gang-bangers were found outside the museum and police are surprised to find out that they were supposed to be covering the exits of the museum. Apparently they were supposed to get any one who fled from the mercenaries. The theory is that someone has a serious vendetta against the Cardsharks. Why the Cardsharks were in the museum in the first place is unknown.

GM NOTE: One of the PCs was finally killed in action and the team made a deal with the devil (Cardshark). I didn't really blame them Retro and his gang are an even bigger devil by this point.

End of Part 5, I'll try to post part 6 later this evening.

[Edsel]

July 19
Early in the morning, arrangements are quickly made with Zhu Hsaio to have Victor Wolffe’s body cremated. The urn containing the ashes is to be placed in the meditation garden of the old man. Public fervor is again stirred by the, outrageous, shoot-out at the museum. A curfew is again imposed on the city.

July 20
The press reports on the death of Robert Morelli, capo of the Morelli family. He was apparently slain in a secret love nest and the police are looking for his mysterious female companion. A check of the Machine’s command log indicates that Retro was keeping track of the location of Robert Morelli and a woman named Frederica Heimmelker. After much investigation by the team members they are able to discover that Ms. Heimmelker is a former East German spy who is said by some to be dead and by others to be working for ICE (International Consortium for Execution, a professional assassin group). The team realizes that Retro may have a deal working with Jimmy “Youngblood” Morelli, the new capo of the Morelli family.

July 21
Everything is relatively quiet in Hudson City. The members of the Omega Team spend the day covering their secret Identities. The papers mainly talk about the heat wave and drought that the area is experiencing.

July 22
The team members again lay low and engage in no intense activity. The news tells of a police raid on the residence of Mr. Daniel Sheridan. They say they have evidence that he is the infamous vigilante Crusade. Daniel Sheridan is a dishwasher at Little Louie’s Restaurant and was living in the Knight Apartments. Several civilians were slightly injured and a small fire was started in the unsuccessful attempt to nab Crusade. Crusade remains at large. Somebody contacts the machine and checks the command log. Retro has had the machine trying to identify several vigilantes lately, the Omega Team included.
Earlier the Omega Team had the machine erase any data that it had on them. Fortunately this happened before Retro thought to try and obtain the Identities of the vigilantes. Since that time the machine has either been unable or unwilling to erase subsequent data.

July 23
The curfew remains in effect and the team remains quiet. Apprehension begins to build about what Retro might try next.

July 24
The morning papers tell of the theft of over a dozen street signs in Irishtown. Overall the city estimates that more than $50,000 in signs have disappeared over the last few weeks. The Omega Team members speculate Mr. Nobody (whom nobody can seem to remember, though they have notes about him) might be involved in this some how. A little quick research indicates that, over the past several years, several other cities have suffered sprees of sign theft.

The city announces that the curfew is to be lifted tonight.
The curfew is hard on business, so business owners, and other segements of society keep pressuring for the curfew to be lifted.

Becoming concerned over the lack of fresh information about Retro’s plans the team resolves to abduct Jena Haversil. For over a week the tap on her phone line has yielded nothing but the static of a newly installed scrambler. It is speculated that Retro is being cautious for some reason, perhaps the ease of the machines eavesdropping has him worried.
The team has little trouble in kidnapping Jena that evening. With the use of Penethol Ms. Haversil quickly begins to talk. She is apparently unaware of Retro’s location. She is able to tell of a planned raid against the Marcelli crime family. A large Heroin shipment is expected by the Marcellies on July 25th (tomorrow). It will arrive at Pier 40, between King and Southbridge Avenues, in a ship of Canadian registry, the North Star. Retro plans to ambush the truck and escorts that will transport the Heroin to a nearby warehouse. In this way Retro will pressure the Marcellies to work for him, and at the same time the Heroin will provide a quick and large profit. Retro has apparently felt the pinch of the money he failed to get from his earlier casino raid.

July 25
Lacking info of where the ambush will take place the Omega team plans to shadow the Marcelli motorcade and intervene in any ambush that takes place. They hope to prevent Retro from effectively intimidating the Marcellies and to keep him from getting his hands on the valuable Heroin. The contact, Wildcard, arranges to pick him up, and prepare for tonight.

The ambush is effectively another massacre. All of Retro’s goons and all but two of the Marcelli soldiers are slain in the battle. None of the Omega Team or Wildcard is injured in the fighting. The two Marcelli soldiers flee. The Heroin is destroyed in a fire that consumes the truck.
The police are left with a passel of fresh corpses. All of the dead are known criminals. The use of LAW rockets and fragmentation grenades have caused moderate property damage. Police theorize that the newly unified gangs made a play to obtain a Heroin shipment that was being smuggled into the city by the Marcelli Mafia family. Most of the dead escorts are men who are believed to have ties to that family. Apparently the truck with the Heroin was set afire and the Heroin was destroyed. It is thought that this may have been accidental sense no evidence of a direct hit of the truck exists. With the object of the battle destroyed the gangsters and Mafia soldiers fled the area. The possibility of intervention by a third party is also believed to be possible. It appears that most of the convoy’s guards were killed in the initial attack, so many, in fact, that it is unlikely that they could have killed as many attackers as died. Current money is on either a vigilante group (the Omega team is the only known such group), another of the Mafia families or the Cardsharks operation (Cardshark certainly might have a grudge against the unified street gangs).

July 26
Half of the four cells at Omega Team HQ are full. The current guests are Maximo Vohorques, who has now been held for eighteen day now, and Jena Haversil, who has been held for only two days.

During the afternoon a speeding car drives past the Omega HQ. The car is being chased by a pickup and another car. The pursuing vehicles are both full of armed gang members. Hayden Alexander is at the base and watches the vehicles zoom past on the base’s security monitors. Hayden recognizes the car being chased to be the one Crusade drove to the LeMastre Park Zoo on July 9th. He quickly checks the radio receiver in the Omega Truck to see if he can lock onto the tracer that was placed on Crusade’s car that night . Although there seems to be some sort of local interference, Hayden manages to lock onto the signal. Quickly realizing that Crusade is, at least, doing some harm to Retro’s organization; Hayden sets off in pursuit of the chase.
The Remittiance Man contacts Dancer and Nightstick, who are at Zhu Hsaio’s dojo, and vectors them toward the action. He also phones Wildcard, their new Cardsharks contact. Wildcard is, luckily, in the apparent path of the chase so Hayden picks him up.
Near the Stewart River all the participants come together. The pickup full of gangbangers slides out of control and rolls into a cemetery after Wildcard shoots the driver in the right hand. The other carload of gang members crashes into a brick staircase (leading into rowhouses) after Nightstick blows out the left rear tire with a large shuriken. The Omega Truck narrowly misses a pedestrian and sideswipes another staircase as the chase subsides and Crusade speeds off. Two of the gangsters, who were in the rear of the pickup, are killed in the crash, as is the driver of the car, the other five gangbangers are injured. The Omega Truck looses a lot of paint but its armored hide is to tough to be dented by the sideswipe. The Omega Team returns to HQ.
The police have little to go on. Witnesses simply saw a group of vehicles scream by, making everything a blur. They are able to recover a large shuriken. It is apparently Chinese style but it is generic enough to be of little use. The nearly destroyed staircase that a truck bounced off of is a little surprising. The damage to the stairs makes it hard to believe that the vehicle that struck it could have survived, let alone sped off with hardly a dent as witnesses claim. The injured thugs claim that they were chasing Crusade but seem to have little idea as to what happened to them.

July 27-28
During the afternoon news bulletins of several fires starting on the western outskirts of town begin. It soon becomes apparent that a major disaster may be in the works. The dry, windy, weather coupled with the strategically placed fires tends to indicate that Ashtray Art is at work again. All of the city's firefighters are called up to battle the blaze. The city’s police head westward to aid in the firefighting efforts. Despite calls for calm looting begins in the city before the National Guard can mobilize to fill the gap left by the absent police officers. The Omega Team, like many of the city’s vigilantes, head into the downtown area to try and maintain a semblance of order.
Encounters to numerous to mention (or play out in the game) keep the Omega Team busy all day long. Wildcard is killed while, successfully, saving a small girl from a burning building. A local TV news crew catches his heroic act.
At the end of the day the fire is finally stopped. About half of Irishtown is lost to the flames; Little Italy, China Town and Free Town also suffer to a lesser extent. Many fine estates in Irishtown, especially the western part, are destroyed. The morning paper shows an aerial photograph of a surviving mansion and grounds that are surrounded by scorched ground and burned out houses. The pictured mansion survived since it had its own generator and expansive grounds. The estate of Dr. Thomas James survived for much the same reasons.
Ashtray Art is captured by a National Guard unit guarding the suburbs after he attempts to start a new string of fires. He is sent back to Todberry Asylum. The local media is scattered with a few stories praising the efforts of several of the city’s vigilantes (Omega Team included). Most agree that really dire things could have happened if the vigilantes had not acted to help maintain order downtown.

GM NOTE: Wildcard was a short lived character. He was a hastly built character for use by the player who lost their character, Uriel, in a previous fight. The player had built a replacement by now and was ready to bring him into the game. Wildcard had to go.

Next, the character Specter joins the Omega Team.

End of part 6, part 7 tomorrow.

[Metaphysician]

How many parts do you have??

[NightStick]

Boy does this bring back fond memories of one of the longest running campaigns that I ever worked in.:D I say work, because this campaign was not your normal Wham Bam Thank You Mam setting. It was all consuming and a blast from the first session to the last. We still egg on Edsel for a proper ending to this campaign, but alas, I doubt that will ever happen ****heavy sigh****:mad:

This tale gets very complex, sometimes very convoluted, but always great fun!:rolleyes: :D

I actually got out my log and started to refresh my memory of the upcoming events. GOOD YUKS!:p

[proditor]

I'm totally hooked. :) Can't wait for more installments!

[Eosin]

I always felt that the logs never did my death justice.... :)

Urieal was a heavy combatant and general good fella.

The Doctor had gotten hit with an entangle missle from Exocet and was trapped. Meanwhile, Ultimax was getting ready to unload on him with a BFG-5000.

Ultimax went right after me and there was another member of Arsenel who went in close succession. I felt I had to try and take out Ultimax and my own man (Exocet?) to protect the DR so I took a big gamble and double fired. I took out Exocet and hit Ultimax but got an arm shot. It did not daze him.

Ever take 5 rounds at point blank from a BFG-5000, I was so dead it was not even close.

Alas, there passes Uriel heaven sent avenger in the night.

Now I play a temp character....Wildcard.


PS - What nobody ever figured out was that my father was a senator .....The one that leads the Red Cabal (DEMONish). When I ran away from home and trained for the Olympics he was the one who had my legs broken.


That is why sometimes I just had to disappear.

[Eosin]

Originally posted by Metaphysician
How many parts do you have??


The campaign is just getting warmed up. I don't think we are through PART 1 yet and there are 5 parts.

Kev....I am with you. I refuse to read my logs and instead read them here. It is kinda fun that way.

[Eosin]

Another really interesting thing about the logs, in hindsight is that there is a good amount of foreshadowing in them that was not visible to us in game as PCs or as Gamers.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Metaphysician
How many parts do you have?? I am breaking this up in to managable hunks to post it here. The original log is about 75 pages long and we are currently on about page 20 or so.

[Edsel]

July 29-31
The Omega Team spends this time laying low. They do find a new member in this time of calm. A young (19 years old) student of Zhu Hsaio, Andrew Hobbs, begins to inquire about the vigilantes known as the Omega Team. He has seen Nightstick in action a couple of times and has noted that his style of fighting is similar to that of Zhu Hsaio and his most advanced students. Andrew has done some vigilante work on his own and is known to the press as the Specter, since his costume is often changing (currently he wants to be Batman). Since the team is seeking a replacement, due to the lost of Victor Wolffe (a.k.a. Urieal), the team decides to allow him to join in spite of his eccentricity.
In the aftermath of the fire, the city is reasonably quiet and the team members are content to cover their secret identities. During this time the press focuses on the clean up of the fire damage. Whole neighborhoods have been laid waste and it will take weeks for the city to finish the massive task.
Newspapers and television news show many pictures of the fire’s devastation. The mansion of Bascomb McNeil, a retired Wall street tycoon, is one of the small miracles of the fire. Though the area surrounding McNeil’s estate was devastated for a half mile around, the stubborn old man and his servants refused to evacuate. Using the mansion’s own power supply and water from the large swimming pool, the estate was saved.
The final toll of the fire is 23 dead 79 injured and 3 missing, all in all, the city was lucky. The members of the Omega Team also survived the fire nicely. No Omega Team member lost a home or property to the fire.

August 1, 1995
Dancer’s street contacts have made her aware that a female street gang, the Witches, is preparing to make a substantial purchase from Dr. DMZ (the mysterious arms supplier). Apparently the Witches are one of the few gangs that have not yet been brought into line by Retro’s organization. Fearing that they will soon be moved on, Hail Mary, the gang’s leader, is making ready to defend their independence. The Omega Team decides to attempt to find out where this purchase will happen and be there to intercept it.

The newspapers cover the death of Bascomb McNeil in a traffic accident in Little Italy. It is an ironic fate for the old man after having come through the fire a few days earlier. The Hudson City Hero’s defeated the Atlanta Braves, in the Herodome, for the first time in three years. Though it is still doubtful that the Hero’s will make it to the playoffs this year they are an improved team from last year. New coach David Curtis is getting much of the credit. So far the Hero’s are 52 and 47 for the year.

August 2
The team determines that the Witches will make their meeting with the Hanged Man in a warehouse not far from Omega HQ. The team arrives early and discovers that the place has been wired, apparently by the Hanged Man, with a holographic projection system. The holograph activates and the Hanged Man informs the team that he doesn’t care what they do as long as they don’t do it in his warehouse. After a brief discussion the team decides to set up their ambush outside the warehouse.
The deal takes place on schedule and the team ambushes the female gangsters as they leave. Unfortunately this was only a money drop. The guns were delivered to a different site as this meeting took place. The Omega team makes quick work of the surprised gang but then decides to leave them. They believe that removing Hail Mary form the scene would only make the gang more vulnerable to take over by Retro and the many enemies of the Witches might slaughter them without her leadership. Two of the gang members are killed and another three are injured, the remaining seven are merely rendered unconscious (including Hail Mary). Due to the critical nature of injuries sustained by one of the gangsters, she is taken to Omega HQ by the team so that Hippocrates can perform emergency surgery and stabilize her. She is later dropped off, anonymously, at a local hospital.

GM Note: I really have no idea what the team was thinking about here. They ambushed one of the few remaining independent gangs and upon success they simply left.

August 3-4
The team again lays low but keeps an ear to the ground for any information about the activities of Retro. The Machine has now gotten to the point that it is self-aware and refusing to share information with anybody. Apparently its morals have developed to the point that it has chosen to be passive. It is wresting free of Retro’s control because he is evil. It also is very stingy about any information that it makes available to the Omega Team since they might use the data to kill their fellow man.

August 5
Each of the Omega Team members, with the exception of Specter, receives a message from Retro. The message is sent to their secret identities. It informs them that Retro is aware who they are and where they live. He is tired of their interference. Unless they discontinue their crime fighting, dire consequences will ensue.
The team decides to make preparations for shutting down the Omega HQ for the time being. They agree that they cannot simply let Retro push them aside and cement his hold on crime in Hudson City. They also believe that they must go underground, if possible, and that locating Retro has taken on a new urgency. With the machine no longer aiding Retro it is hoped that he will no longer have a way to keep track of the activities of the team members.
Another location is quickly found for an alternate HQ. The new location is 1134 30th Ave., in the Pier Point district of Hudson City. The rest of the day is spent packing up essential materials for transport. At this time the cells of the Omega HQ still hold Maximo Vohorques and Jena Haversil.

August 6
This is moving day. Hayden Alexander, Andrew Hobbs, Eden Blake and George Bell start moving materials from the old HQ to the alternate site. Hayden contacts his old friend Micheal Hansen (a.k.a. Gunner) to assist the team. Specter and Gunner offer new hope to the Omega Team since their identities are still, apparently, unknown by Retro. Due to unfortunate circumstances Dr. Thomas James is called away for a medical conference and Joe Dishwasher is spirited away by Zhu Hsaio for unknown reasons. The remaining team members spend most of the day moving.
With what little spare time they can muster they try to gather information from their street contacts. Talk on the streets is that the gang members are becoming scarcer lately. Some of the gang’s have taken to driving new 4-wheel drive pickups. Gangsters are not absent from the streets they just seem to be less numerous. The Omega team surmises that somewhere there are a lot of gang members gathered together.
Hayden Alexander manages to talk with Vladimir “Zil” Ivanovich, the Russian Mafia driver. He indicates, after a proper financial incentive, that the Organizatsiya has obtained a new storage facility for their weapons smuggling and is back in operation. Tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. a vessel, the Caucasus Queen, will dock at pier 23 to unload. On board the vessel is a weapons shipment including 3 BRDM Armored Cars, two of which have been ordered by an unknown client. Hayden fears that Retro might be the buyer.

August 7
Moving finishes up today. Andrew Hobbs and Micheal Hansen borrow Eden Blake’s car and set out to try and locate one of the gang pickups that they have heard about. They have driven only a few blocks when they realize that one of the pickups is following them! It finally dawns on the team that throughout the move of the past few days none of them ever realized that they could have been followed. It is now apparent that the new base is probably already under surveillance. They call Dancer and The Remittiance Man to help them get rid of their tail. Unfortunately the Omega Truck is followed by another gang pickup.
After various maneuvers they manage to loose their followers. Gunner heads back to the base and discovers that the mysterious pickup is parked down the block watching the base. He sneaks out of the base, stealthily approaches the vehicle from behind and plants a tracer bug on the vehicle. When Dancer and The Remittiance Man return the pickup following them also takes up a surveillance position at the end of the block. Specter spends the afternoon trying to find a gang pickup to follow but is unsuccessful.
The early evening news tells of the death of Antonio “Smarts” Marcelli. An unidentified Latino assassin, wielding two “swords,” cut him down in front of his residence. The Don and his three bodyguards were cut to pieces without injuring their attacker. The Omega Team immediately assumes that this is Retro’s first step in taking over the Marcelli crime family. Hayden Alexander obtains a more detailed description of the attacker from his contact in the FBI. The organized crime unit is investigating and has all the details of the crime. Andrew Hobbs is very up to date in his knowledge of criminals and identifies the attacker as Estoban Juarez (a.k.a. Hell Razor).
Hell Razor is known to be a lady’s man who is always frequenting the hot nightspots. Another of Hayden’s contacts tells of an underground club for the elite called Tulio Joe’s. It sounds like just the sort of place that Estoban would frequent. The Team decides that they must take out this dangerous assassin before Retro can use him again.

Gunner, The Remittiance Man, Specter and Dancer go to Tulio Joe’s this night. They locate Hell Razor and make an attempt on his life. Both of Estoban’s bodyguards are rendered unconscious and Hell Razor is seriously injured, but he manages to escape (despite being ambushed). Dancer is stabbed by one of the bodyguards and Specter is slightly injured and nearly knocked out by Hell Razor (who used him as a shield during part of the fight). The team flees Tulio Joe’s as the club's bouncers/guards starts to close in.
Since this is an illegal, underground, club no police involvement occurs.

End of Part 7, I'll try to post part 8 later tonight. Part 8 will feature the big showdown with Retro's forces.

[Edsel]

August 8
The team spends the day desperately trying to find out the location of Retro’s Headquarters. They use the Omega Truck to start searching the city for any trace of the tracker bug that was placed on the gangsters’ pick-up earlier. After a brief search they discover a weak signal coming from an abandoned warehouse near the waterfront in Pierpoint. Dancer is left to stake out the area.
Several of the team members head back to the old base to find that it has been broken into. Inside they find George Bell locked in the vault. He had been slightly injured by a bullet that was stopped by his vest. He woke up inside the vault and doesn’t remember too much of what happened. Maximo Vohorques is found dead in his cell. Jena Haversil is missing. The team assumes that Retro’s men broke Jena out of their detention and killed Vohorques.

The team next starts to comb the streets to get any usable information from their street sources. About this time Dancer reports that Crusade has emerged from the warehouse she has been staking out. Apparently it was the old bug on his car that had set off their detector. The signal from Crusades’ bug is weak due to the near exhaustion of its battery. Earlier it had been believed that the weakened signal was due to the effects of transmitting through the warehouse walls.
Street sources indicate that Retro is planning a hit on an unknown businessman that is coming into town tonight. The hit is to occur at 10:00 p.m. at the Grant Hotel in Bankhurst. The team starts to dig for information about who this, mysterious, businessman is. Specter manages to break into various airline and limo service computers to determine that the executive is a Vice President for the QuickCorp convenience store chain. He has no criminal record and seems to make no sense as a target. The team begins, correctly, to smell a trap.
Meanwhile more searching with the tracking equipment has begun. Starting on the west side of town this time, a new and stronger signal is quickly located. The signal comes from the estate of the late Bascomb McNeil. The same Bascomb McNeil who was killed in a traffic accident on August 2nd after saving his large estate from the great fire. Observation of the estate reveals it to be the only intact site in the area. For a half-mile in every direction only burnt rubble exists. Gang pickups can be seen patrolling the area, intimidating anyone whom ventures to close to the estate. The team is confident that this has to be Retro’s base.

The team quickly obtains the plans for the storm sewers in the area of the estate. By an incredibly fortunate chance they determine that Victor Wolffe, their late comrade, set up the security system for the estate.

( This was determined by chance, someone asked me if their was a chance he had done it, I said if you can roll low enough on 3d6. They rolled a 3.)

They quickly obtain full plans of the estate’s security systems. The Remittance Man contacts some friends in his dad’s armament company and obtains the services of Nick Cartridge, a heavy weapons expert. They also obtain an RPG-7 with 4 rockets to deal with the armored cars they fear Retro may have purchased from the Organizatsiya. They also manage to contact the Card Shark and call for his aid in raiding the compound. The Card Shark agrees to supply a dozen of his best spade agents armed to the teeth. The assault will commence at 10:00 p.m., the same time that the fictitious hit is to occur at the Grant Hotel.
To get into the front gate Specter is disguised as a Buffalo’s Pizza delivery boy. He purchases a used car to play the part. Hippocrates rigs a squib to the right front tire to fake a blow out and Specter hides a combat knife in the trunk. The other team members will enter the compound from the southwest (Hippocrates, Dancer and Nick Cartridge) and southeast (The Remittance Man and Gunner). They will approach using the storm sewers to emerge near the walls of the compound. The Card Shark’s men will attack from the North.

The plan works pretty well. Four of Retro’s men open the front gate to check out the ‘lost’ pizza delivery boy, who has a flat tire. Specter’s knife kills one and the other three are killed in rapid succession by The Remittance Man with a sniper’s laser rifle. The teams quickly steal into the estate grounds bypassing the security systems on the walls. Gangsters, who run from the main house to check on their ambushed comrades at the front gate, (the security camera at the gate saw the ambush) are quickly cut down by the unseen Omega Team members who are hidden in the wooded grounds on their flank. A roof top sniper gets but one shot at the shadowy form of Specter before The Remittance Man picks him off.
The first RPG-7 round destroys the estate’s emergency generators and severs the powerlines from the outside. The two BRDM’s that Retro has acquired barely get out of the garage before being destroyed (one by an RPG-7 round in the rear, the other by a 40mm HEDP round to the side). At about the same time the Card Shark agents attack from the opposite side of the estate. The combination of surprise, sudden darkness, and explosions send the defenders of the estate into a hopeless state of confusion and disarray. The rest of the battle amounts to little more than mopping up.
Retro, Hell Razor and the rest of his body guards are finally found in the main library of the mansion. A short, but savage, fire fight ends with the death of Retro and his gang.

GM NOTE: I recall that Hell Razor was cut down with a fully automatic assalt shotgun, but I don't remember by whom. I also don't remember just who got Retro. Perhaps one of my players who have been following this can flesh out some detail

August 9-23
The team decides to take several weeks off for the fall out of the “West Side War”, as the press call it, to clear out. Retro is dead. Hell Razor is dead. The Card Shark has broken off contact with Omega Team. The Machine is out there somewhere in cyberspace, who knows what it will do now. Jena is missing, somehow she slipped away. The West side is being rebuilt. The gangs’ coalition has collapsed without Retro’s leadership (or rather intimidation) to hold them together. The Mafia and the Drug Cartels are quickly reestablishing their business. The city is returning to normal.

The police are almost overwhelmed by what has happened at the McNeil Estate. A small war has literally been fought here and evidence of who did what to whom is almost impossible to salvage from the rubble. Bullets too numerous to count have been expended and fire has claimed some small areas of the estate. The injured survivors that the police take into custody are all gangsters and seem genuinely confused over what happened. The authorities theorize that some sort of huge gang meeting was taking place. The aim was to unify the gangs, but something went wrong and a massive melee ensued. Secretly, law enforcement officials believe that this was not all together a bad thing. If the gangs had unified their activity could have been a bane to the city. The police are hopeful that things will now get back to normal. A curfew is imposed for the next week and then lifted due to the virtual absence of crime.

This ends part 8 and the first story arc of the campaign. However the Omega Team will return in a new story arc starting with part 9, tomorrow.

[NightStick]

You know that I would love to assist you with details Eddie, HOWEVER, I was not there, and have absolutely no recolection of any team member even bragging about cutting down the two major prizes.:confused:
Heck, I even went through my notes from that time frame, to no avail.:(
I can hardly wait for what is about to unfold for the followers that you have hooked with this campaign tale.:D
It has something to do with the swamp.:rolleyes:
But, that is another story arc.......

[Edsel]

Yes, that was disappointing. One of the very few secessions you missed was the climax of the first story arc.

But you are right. The swamp was the perfect location for the Wu Shu (Forest Demon), Nightstick to shine. I'll get started on the second story arc tomorrow.

[NightStick]

*****sick, but humble belly laughs resonate off the walls*****

:D We all have our time to shine!:rolleyes:

[Eosin]

Tomorrow I will elaborate on the House battle and tell everyone how Hell Razor made me his woman two adventures in a row. It is hard to be proud when you are beaten silly (nearly killed) in a bathroom stall and used as a Human Shield.

Then guess who gets to fight Hell Razor at Retros Mansion.....yep, that would be me. Luckily I only had to hold him off until help arrived in Phase 12 of round one. That was one long round.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Cool! That should help. I still have many of the old character sheets, and a bunch of other data that I may post at some point in the future.

Bye the way...
If anybody has any comments, questions or feedback, feel free to post it. I'll try to address any questions. The original documents are in Word and there are quite a few footnotes. Since I am using cut and paste to post this, most of those are lost or I turn them into parenthetical form.

Does anybody have a better method for posting this stuff from Word? I currently have to cut and paste and then go through and format it manually before I post it. I've tried to save it in HTML format but that didn't work any better. I could simply make them file attachments but posting them individually like this, I feel, ensures the largest reading audience. Great stuff so far. As far as getting it out of word, try C&Ping into Note Pad and then directly into the msg post window. Will scotch the Word formatting.

[Killer Shrike]

Just starting page 7, but must sleep. This is great stuff, and Id like to thank you for sharing it.

Makes me want to play Dark Champions or Demon Hunter FBI again :(

[fluxx]

Thanks for posting!
These stories rock!

[NightStick]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Makes me want to play Dark Champions or Demon Hunter FBI again :(
Dark Champions is a WILDCARD for me, NORMALLY, .I much prefer Fantasy , which I got my start in a home brew fantasy world created by Brian G. Based on JRRT's world. A very complex system to learn, but always worth the effort.:cool:
This OMEGA TEAM campaign was, what I thought; an anomoly, but now I would prefer to play in this setting!:D

[Edsel]

Team Omega Campaign History
2nd Story Arc

August 25, 1995
A massacre occurs at the Bayview Halfway home in the early morning hours. 15 people are slain, 13 teenage boys and 2 adult councilors. The 12 teenage girls who were staying at the house are missing. That day the administrator of the facility, Mrs. Karyn Atilla, contacts Bill Johnson to find out what happened. Dr. Thomas James (a.k.a. Hippocrates) begins his own investigation. Using his contacts, he manages to assist in the corner’s inquest. He is able to examine some of the bodies and gain access to the crime scene. It is at the Bayview house that he encounters Bill Johnson (a.k.a. Hawk). Dr. James and Mr. Johnson are acquaintances and they soon agree to pool their resources in the investigation.
Karyn Atilla (a.k.a. Atilla the Nun) had indicated to Mr. Johnson that a street punk known, as ‘Shark’ is likely to know something about what happened. Over the last few years Shark has been known to pick up runaway girls who later mysteriously vanish. Since Atilla the Nun has opened the Bayview Halfway home she has been in a constant struggle with Shark over the fate of runaway girls in the city. Hippocrates and Hawk resolve to pick up Sammy ‘Shark’ Simone for questioning.
Using the Omega Van, disguised as a city water utility vehicle, they soon locate Shark at a bus station and take him by surprise. Interrogation with penethol at Omega HQ proves disappointing and they soon dump him in front of a police precinct.

Later it will be realized that Shark is actually involved. A poor choice of questions failed to get any useful information from him.

Hippocrates earlier examinations of the bodies, and the evidence at the crime scene, indicate that the killer(s) were either a group of unknown animals or strong men with exotic weaponry. The victims were shredded with, large four-clawed hands. Either a previously unknown martial art weapon was used on some sort of monsters were responsible for the massacre. The Bayview house reeks with a bad fish-like smell. In the pantry of the house it is apparent that something burst the door outward, something that came from the basement.
Dr. James and Mr. Johnson were able to find an ancient entrance to the old, abandoned, sewer system in the basement of the house. They then decided to arm themselves and descend into the sewers to find out what evil may lurk there.

In brief, they discover a colony of hideous fish-men that have abducted the girls for use as breeding stock. They manage to save the girls, kill all the fish-men, and get away with only, routinely, serious injuries. They also uncover a labyrinth of tunnels and deserted sewer passages that lead under Stewart Bay and out to the Gull Island lighthouse. They also discover that the fish-men have an enormous golden altar that they intend to retrieve later. They also have taken samples of fish-man slime, a burst incubation pod and a dead fish-man infant.
a whole lot for the police to discover here. They were never aware of the existence of the fish-men, let alone their demise. The rescued girls are agreeable to the idea that telling the police what really happened would most likely get them sent to the funny farm. The girls agree to a story of mad cultists and a daring rescue by the Omega Team. The police will get misleading information about the Omega Team at best, as long as all the girls stick to the story.

GM Note: Kind of an anti-climatic and dry narrative here. When I originally wrote this log, the purpose was simply to remind everybody, me included, of what had transpired during the last gaming secession. As a result I did not attempt to write in a dramatic style. I made the notes as brief and to the point as possible. In this case the only relevant facts, as far as the game was concerned, is what the results were, not how they were accomplished.

August 29, 1995
After allowing themselves three days to recover, Hippocrates and Hawk get the remainder of the Omega Team to help them in recovering the golden alter of the fish-men. It is worth over $8 million and they cut it up to make a pile of 1oz. gold ingots for various uses. (Total of 20,064 ingots, 1 troy oz. Each, this campaign assumes gold to be worth $400 an oz., (at the time that was about right)). 2,500 of the ingots are used to anonymously build the Bayview Halfway house a one million-dollar facility (The Omega Team now has 17,564 ingots in their vault at HQ). Realizing that Shark was probably involved with the fish-men they make plans to get him bailed out of jail so they can have another crack at making him talk.
They anonymously pay off a bondsman to bail him out and then capture him for interrogation. Shark tells them of some contacts he has at an old warehouse. They are drug dealers of a voodoo posse who dabble in the occult. They are the ones who introduced him to the fish-men so he could start supplying them with girls. The members of Omega Team are truly sickened by the depths of Sharks depravity. For selling out his own kind (humans) to the fish-men, Shark becomes only the second prisoner of the Omega Team to be executed. The body is incinerated.
Shark is never heard from again. A warrant is issued for him when he fails to make his court date. He is still listed as a fugitive from justice.

GM Note: The Fish-men were, essentially, deep-ones from the Cthulhu Mythos, with a little bit of the Humanoids from the Deep thrown in.

August 30
Scouting out the warehouse, the Omega team finds that it is located in an area of, mostly abandoned, old brick buildings. The warehouse looks as dilapidated as the surrounding buildings at first glance. Returning, in disguise, for a closer look shows that the building is actually well fortified with steel doors and concealed video sensors. (They disguise the van, and themselves, as a crime scene clean up service.) Much graffiti covers the outside of the buildings in the neighborhood; the warehouse is no exception. However, intermingled with the graffiti on the warehouse are several obscure occult symbols. While the team is able to identify them as occult their meaning is beyond the knowledge of the team members. They take some quick, covert, photos of the signs in question and retire to try and find some answers.
Consulting with various sources they discover that the symbols they have seen are often associated with a group known as the Red Cabal. Dancer knows that the Red Cabal is somehow tied in with the mysterious Tarot (Whom she has a history with). She is eager to raid the warehouse and find out what it holds. Fortunately, for her, the rest of the Omega team is more than willing to take out the building as well. The warehouse’s ties with the Cabal are more ominous since these are apparently the people who fixed up Shark with the Fish-men. Research by the team also allows them to get a copy of a police report about the Cabal. Hudson City police Lt. Theron Long, who disappeared shortly thereafter, filed the report.

It is decided that a raid in daylight is the best approach. After the experiences of Hippocrates and Hawk with the Fish-men, it is felt that a nighttime assault might be more dangerous. The assault is scheduled for the 5 o’clock rush hour. Since the warehouse is in a low traffic area the team hopes to move in easily, while the response of the HCPD will be slowed by the traffic of the rest of the city.
The raid gets off to a poor start with the team making some amateur mistakes. A 40mm HEDP grenade is fired at one of the garage doors from so short a range that it fails to arm. Two Fragmentation and Two Concussion hand grenades are then lobbed from such close range that two of the team members are stunned and the “throw away” vehicle they are using is rendered undrivable. (They had obtained a used crew cab pickup to use on the raid. The close proximity grenade blasts flatten two tires and cause extensive fragment damage to the right side of the truck.) Once they are inside the warehouse Hawk is killed by a kamikaze cultist with a grenade. Nightstick is injured by a bullet that penetrates his ninja suit (which is lightly armored). The cultist inside are all killed or incapacitated. They also encounter a group of people being used to process drugs (mostly cocaine and heroin) for resale. These people all seem to be in mindless trances and are uniformly pale in appearance. None of the zombies are slain and one is taken back to Omega HQ so Dr. James can try to determine what is wrong with him.
A quick grab of any relevant looking evidence results in the discovery of several pieces of mail with postmarks from LaForche Parish in Louisiana. What they are able to decipher of the fragmented and encoded materials seem to indicate that drug shipments are arriving here from somewhere near New Orleans and that the Cabal and Tarot are involved. Later it is found out that one of the zombies that was left at the scene, and found by the authorities, is none other than Lt. Theron Long, the missing HCPD police detective.

The police recover the wrecked pickup, numerous spent shell casings and spent slugs from a variety of weapons. There are no witnesses who are able to talk about what occurred. The Red Cabal cultists who are not dead are very close-mouthed and refuse to even talk about who they are, much less what happened. The zombies that were found seem to be in some sort of stupor and defy attempts to snap them out of it. The 40mm grenade that failed to arm was consumed in the explosions of other grenades. A few blood samples are collected as well but only the blood of Bill Johnson (a.k.a. Hawk) is in great enough quantity to type. Since Hawk’s body was recovered by Omega Team this is of little use. Hippocrates left an Omega Team card at the scene so the police at least know that Omega Team was involved. A large quantity of illegal drugs is also seized.

That night Andrew Hobbs (a.k.a. Specter) has an unusual nightmare. He is standing in the middle of a swamp as a headless, handless, body splashes through the green water, desperately running away. A psychotic voice echoes through the trees. “Shoot him, fool!" the voice commands, “Yes, you! He’s getting away!” Andrew turns to see the source of the laughter. It is a severed head supported by two severed hands, both resting on a log. He awakens in a cold sweat.

End of Part 9, In part 10 the Team travel to Lousiana.

GM NOTE: I chose to introduce the supernatural into the campaign because, by this point, normal street thugs presented little challenge to the more experienced characters. Where taking out a crack house was once a dicey venture, it was now childs-play to some of the team members.

[NightStick]

Sometimes it just seemed that we could do nothing right. It actually got to be quite funny - at times. There were other times when the dice turned against us all, and stupidity ran rampant!

As Edsel stated, the log was there to remind us of our recent actions, it wasn't there as a step by step narrative.

What I wouldn't give for something like that here.

As the "saying goes...", we all have 15 minutes of fame and glory.
NightStick's is coming up. I can't wait.

I really did surprise myself with the actions of that night.

Anyway, the road getting there is really quite a trip.:D

[Metaphysician]

That would be why my campaign keeps chat logs ( we do it on AIM ). Puts basically the entire thing in permanent record.

[Killer Shrike]

I WANT PART 2.2!!!!:( :confused: :mad: :D

[Eosin]

Here is a little expansion on the 2 Hell Razor Battles and the end of Retro.

_______________________________________________

First, the battle in the club.

We waited until Hell Razor's entourage entered the bathroom and had a few of us stationed within, all mike'd up so we could talk.

When they entered, we unleashed a CS Grenade as I and Nightstick? came out of the stalls in our gas masks. Hell Razor, not one to be trifled with, surprisingly has life support.utohh. His 5 SPD 23 DEX with a boatload of MA and CSL makes short work of my 17 DEX, 4 SPD. He hits me with 8-9 dice and STUNs me, then he grabs one limb (my head) and removes my gas mask. I am so boned. :) I was used and thrown away like dirty toilet paper.

By this time the Remittance man and Nightstick have finished off the flunkies, but there I am punk'd and held hostage. Thankfully, he let me go. Time to go talk the Zhu Shou for some Martial Arts training. Hell Razor escapes with nary a scratch.

When we hit the house - Remittance Man, Hipprocates, Specter, Gunner (I think he was back in town for a few adventures here and there), and Dancer are all armed to the teeth.

In the Library we have total chaos and confusion. Lots of litter and obstacles. Retro was taken out fairly early on by a shotgun blast, I believe, but I do not remember who fired it. Hell Razor and I were engaged in a dance of death (this involved me saying "Dodge" about four times and Hell Razor saying.."It is a matter of time."). The Remittance man really pulled out all the stops here. That 2.5 RKA with 6 points of RP (Resistant Piercing from 3rd Edition) just cut through the hoods. He made short work of Hell Razor with an Autofire roll that got really lucky (I think he hit with 3 shots).

And that was the end of Hell Razor and Retro.

I am also going to write up Specter in HD and post him into the thread along with his history. The only bad part is that I only have the 270 point version and not the base 150 points so it will reflect his ending point not his lack luster begining.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
I WANT PART 2.2!!!!:( :confused: :mad: :D
I know that I have been posting two parts each night but yesterday I was just too busy. I'll get the next part up this evening when I get home. BTW: we haven't reached the half-way point yet.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Eosin
I am also going to write up Specter in HD and post him into the thread along with his history. The only bad part is that I only have the 270 point version and not the base 150 points so it will reflect his ending point not his lack luster begining. There is a slim chance that I have a hard copy of Specter's character sheet in my old campaign folder. I'll look for it when I get home.

I know that I have two copies of Hippocrates (one with 54 exp, and the other with 99 exp.), and a single copy of several other of the characters. I have almost all of the villians and NPCs as well. Alas they are all either hard copies or done in our old Excel spreadsheet, not HD (they were done in the good old days). At the conclusion of the campaign logs I may try to post some of them in HD format.

[Edsel]

August 31
This day is spent analyzing the materials collected during the raid.

September 1, 1995
The team decides to head to LaForche Parish, in Louisiana, to attempt to ferret out Cabal influences that they know must be operating there. Eden Blake knows of a man named Remi Lacroix who operates around New Orleans and is very familiar with the bayou, he goes by the name Phobos. Ms. Blake contacts him and informs him that she and some friends are going to be heading his way. Phobos agrees to help however he can.

September 2-3
These days are spent on the road. The team decides to drive to allow Nightstick extra time to heal and so they will have the Omega Truck for use. The vehicle is disguised as a Southern Express truck. They spot an interesting newspaper report. It tells of the disappearance of three bodies from the morgue in the town of Galliano. The town is located in LaForche Parish. The coincidence seems too unlikely to actually be one. They arrive in New Orleans on the evening of the 3rd and are met by Remi Lacroix.

September 4
They leave New Orleans around noon and drive to Galliano. Arriving about 2 o’clock, they get rooms at the Hotel Galliano. They scout out the town and find that most people are a little touchy about the theft from the morgue. Notable exceptions are the funeral home operator (who also operates the morgue) and the secretary at the local paper, the Timbailer Times. Evidence at the morgue seems to indicate that the corpses may have left under their own power. Andrew “Specter” Hobbs is able to glean useful information form the newspaper files. Apparently bodies have been occasionally disappearing from this area since at least the 1850’s. Local folklore tells of a person (or thing) known at Timbailer Tommy. The creature is said to live off in the Bayou. Timbailer Tommy is supposed to occasionally take the bodies of the deceased to raise as undead for his own purposes. Phobos discovers some signs of voodoo activity (rock etchings, carvings in tree trunks, etc.) around the outskirts of the town that seem to be more numerous toward the east. The thickest part of the Bayou lies in that direction.

Phobos knows of an old lady who lives in the Bayou around here. She is known as Mama Regina, and is a voodoo practitioner/witch of some repute. Remi suggests that they should go and visit her to see what she can tell them. The group sets off for Mama Regina’s late that afternoon, Remi explains that she is not home during the day, “she’ll be off in the bayou collecting things till near dark.”
The trip through the Bayou is sticky and hot. The darkness of the overhead canopy and the chirps of unseen animal life make the whole area feel repressive. The whole group feels as if they are being watched.
It is near sunset when the group arrives at a ramshackle wooden hut hidden deep in the swamp. Mama Regina acts as if she was expecting them. She tells them of Timbailer Tommy and how to destroy him. “You got to get his body, his head, his hands and his feet all together. Then burn them till there’s nothing left but ashes. Be careful Tommy is tricky.” She also attempts to interpret Andrews’s earlier dream by saying, “Tommy can be very deceptive. Tommy can take on the form of a large fly but normally appears as a headless, handless, footless corpse.”

They head back to Galliano, in the dark, and resolve to set out in search of Timbailer Tommy tomorrow. Despite the darkness Remi proves to be adept enough to lead them back to the town without any mishaps. They arrive in Galliano at about 10:30 PM that night.

September 5
Knowing only the approximate location of Timbailer Tommy’s place the team sets out by 9:00 a.m. to begin their search. The swamp is hot and wet and miserable. Mosquitoes are everywhere and the poling of the raft is exhausting work. It is nearly dark before Phobos believes that they have found the beginning of Timbailer Tommy’s domain. They decide to camp overnight before continuing. Andrew begins to have the feeling that something is watching them. Specter begins to survey the surroundings and finally spots a large fly perched on a branch about 20 feet away, watching them. When he confides in his comrades they begin to shine IR spotlights about looking for the fly in the darkness. The fly, and the feeling of being watched, soon leaves.

September 6
The next day they proceed into the domain of Timbailer Tommy. About noon the raft bumps against something submerged in the swamp. The gruesome, bloated corpse of a man floats to the surface just ahead of and to the right of the raft. Specter quickly draws his Colt Anaconda and puts a .44 magnum bullet through the skull of the body (which make it even more gruesome). As most of the party is distracted, looking at the body, a swarm of severed hands begin to rise out of the swamp and tug at the raft. All the team members swing on to nearby trees after grabbing as much of their gear as they can. Several of them fire weapons at the hands or try to beat them back with knives, but it is to no avail. The pale, discolored hands pull the raft and the remaining gear, to the bottom of the bog. The sense that somebody or something is watching them prevails as the raft is destroyed. As soon as the damage is done the hands, and the sense of foreboding, fade away.

The group continues on through the swamp, either on foot or by swinging from tree to tree (several of them carry swing-lines). Eventually, just as dusk begins to fall, they spot a derelict house. It blends in well with its surrounding and is half-covered in moss, the grey wood hardly retains any of the paint. It’s anyone’s guess how long this rotting husk has been here. A few tatters of rotted curtains hang forlornly in the windowless frames. The home of Timbailer Tommy has been found. The tired, wet and unnerved group cautiously approach as an alligator, which was perched on the porch, slaps into the mossy water and swims away. Just as the first of them climbs onto the porch, a dead man walks out of the door with a water moccasin draped around him.

Soon the team is involved in a life and death battle with eight decaying fugitives from the grave. Seven of the zombies stay to battle the party while the last one, who is missing its head and hands, tries to flee through the swamp. Numerous gunshots pursue the corpse into the Bayou and it collapses and sinks under the surface. The team defeats the rest of the zombies. None of them are eager to wade into the water after the headless corpse and so they proceed into the house. Within the house another battle with a group of six more zombies occurs. In one room of the house they find a pile of severed heads and hands. In another room is a pile of putrid bodies. Finally another body of that matches the description of Timbalier Tommy is identified. A burlap bag containing a head, hands and feet are located. When the bag is brought to the body it leaps up to attack (as best it can) but the team restrain it and set fire to the lot. As the team wipes dead flesh and other slimy material from their hands the remains shrivel and wither away in the flame.

After destroying what they hope was truly Timbalier Tommy the team decides to head back for Galliano. They note that the whole swamp now seems to have a more natural and wholesome feel (as least as much so a swamp can). They travel some distance away from the old house and find a marginal area to rest overnight before heading back.

Since the team’s activities in the swamp were covert and since the Cabal members who attacked them were also avoiding attention there is very little chance that the local authorities will ever know that anything happened out there.

September 7
The team spends the day slogging through the swamp.
When they are about two miles short of the town a group of men armed with assault rifles and grenades ambush them. The attackers are equipped with Kevlar vests and are wearing the red and yellow pentacle of the Red Cabal. The Cabal was ready for the Omega Team and their rifles are loaded with AP-KTW rounds. Initially the fight goes very badly for the Omega Team; Hippocrates, Specter and Dancer are all seriously wounded. Hippocrates is shot badly in the chest (disabled and can’t recover). Specter, barely able to crawl, finds that it is all he can do to keep Dancer (who is incapacitated) from drowning in the swamp. Unfortunately for the Cabal the one person they fail to drop is Nightstick. Fortunately, for the Omega Team, Nightstick’s An Chi training is ideal for the swamp. While the rest of the group is pinned down, the Forest Demon fades into the shadows and, one by one, eviscerates the ambushers. The cultists are powerless to stop the unseen predator. None of them ever see the man who kills them, nor are they aware of each of their comrade’s demise.

Phobos and Nightstick are able to obtain aid from Mama Regina (fortunately they are fairly near her house). They take the critically injured team members to her shack where she performs voodoo magic to heal the wounds of Hippocrates that should probably have been mortal. Phobos decides to head to town to scout it out and says he’ll be back before dawn.

September 8
By the next morning many of the badly injured team members are making miraculous recoveries. Hippocrates remains unconscious. Even with the (apparently supernatural) aid of Mama Regina it will take him another day to recover enough to be effective.

That evening Nightstick heads into town to discover what has become of Phobos. He finds out that the Omega Truck is missing and there is no sign of Phobos anywhere. The Forest Demon glides through the town like a shadow, even animals are unaware of his passage. He stalks the town until an inebriated elderly man who is sitting out behind the grocery store drinking shine spots him (If you don’t know what moonshine is you’ve led a very sheltered life). He pays little heed to the old man and hopes that the drunk will forget what he sees. Fortunately the black cowl of Nightstick’s costume hides the glowing red of his face. Nightstick creeps back to Mama Regina’s to report what he as learned.

September 9
The team is now almost completely healed and decides to head back into Galliano. They have lost some of their weaponry, but were able to gather some of the weapons that their ambushers had used. They approach the town cautiously. They quickly obtain some sacks and a Styrofoam ice chest from the grocery store in which to conceal their weapons. They next purchase some clothing to wear over, or instead of, their combat gear. Much of their non-essential items were lost in the swamp when the raft was sunk on September 6th.

In talking with townspeople they are surprised to discover that everyone remembers the team-leaving town, in their truck, several days ago. The desk clerk/owner of the Gilliano Hotel is surprised to see them back so soon. When they inquire about Phobos they find that it was believed that he left with them, but that old Ben, the town drunk, claims to have seen Phobos snooping around the night of the seventh. Old Ben is the same man that Nightstick encountered the previous night.

They resolve that someone must go and talk to old Ben. Nightstick is selected since he has, at least, seen him before. After asking around they find that Miss Rosemary makes the best shine around, she lives just north of town. Nightstick goes and talks with Miss Rosemary and gets a jar of shine with which to entice Old Ben. Rosemary mentions seeing the Omega Truck several days ago when, “them other visitors left town a few days ago.” (Miss Rosemary had never met the team members and so has no idea that Joe Dishwasher is one of them. She merely thinks he is another fisherman who happens to know the previous visitors.) It struck her as odd because the Truck took the west turnoff to the deserted town of Katen Creek, and never returned.

Joe next goes to talk with Old Ben who warmly receives his gift of the bottle and talks freely. He says he saw Phobos on the night of the seventh. Phobos was searching around and went out west of town. Shortly thereafter a couple of dark shadowy shapes, “black as night and with wings”, landed near the edge of the swamp and went west after him. A little later he thinks he heard screams.

While Nightstick is talking with Rosemary and Old Ben, the rest of team has checked into their old rooms at the Gilliano Hotel. They search the rooms for listening devices and find something strange. Behind a dresser Dr. Thomas James finds a ‘thing’. It resembles an insect cocoon of some sort but it is like nothing any of them have ever seen. It looks like a listening device, but it also looks as if it is, or once was, alive. Unable to determine its workings, Dr. James attempts to cut it open. The object is instantly consumed in a burst of flame that even melts the tip of the knife Hippocrates was using.

After Nightstick returns they agree that they must try to resolve what has happened to Phobos and the Omega Truck. They need to rearm themselves before they go to visit Katen Creek. Since New Orleans is only a few hours away they decide to head there and use some of Dancers old contacts to obtain the weaponry they need. (Dancer originally worked in the New Orleans area). A rental car is delivered to them, after Andrew Hobbs calls Alfred, his butler, in Hudson City to make the arrangements.

September 10
The morning of the tenth finds the Omega Team on the overgrown road to the deserted town of Katen Creek. They have resupplied themselves after spending the night in New Orleans and head from there to the ghost town soon as they awaken. It is now about 10:00 a.m.
Once they judge that they are getting close the to town they leave their vehicle, a 4-wheel drive rental, and proceed on foot.

The only residents they find are undead zombies and a pair of Nightgaunts. Nightstick narrowly avoids being carried away to his doom. After a fierce fight they manage to slay the two Nightgaunts and dispatch about a dozen zombies.

From their examination of the town they surmise that it has until recently been used to house some sort of installation. Most likely a drug distribution point for shipments the Cabal has managed to get into the US. There is a partially buried, but well kept-up, boat dock on the banks of the Atchaflaya River, and one of the buildings is in much better shape that it first appeared. They find the remains of what may have once been Phobos, but the body is too mangled for them to be sure. The Omega Truck and any Cabal presence has already been evacuated. The Omega Team decides that they have done all they can here and prepare for the return to Hudson City.

These activities will also likely avoid the attention of the authorities. It all took place out in the sticks with no know witnesses anywhere around.

End of Part 10, This ends the, short, 2nd Story Arc. Tomorrow I'll start the 3rd Story Arc with part 11.

I'm only going to try and post one part per night for a while. I have several things on the fire that are keeping me busy.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel

I'm only going to try and post one part per night for a while. I have several things on the fire that are keeping me busy.

Get us hooked and then make us beg for it? You are an evil, evil man. :D

[NightStick]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Get us hooked and then make us beg for it? You are an evil, evil man. :D
If you have not figured this out yet, YES, Edsel is quite evil, and he is very good at it also! I believe that these elements are what made this campaign so enjoyable and memorable!

If I have time, I will try to post NightSticks charactor, but here again, he was done on an old Excel spreadsheet before HD was available. I don't know if he was ever drawn up on HD. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm:cool: I wonder if doing this could revive Joe Dishwasher?:p

[Eosin]

Just to bring everyone up to speed on the Omega Team:


Victor Wolffe, aka Uriel = KIA
Dr Thomas, aka Hiprocates - still in action barely. :)
Joe Dishwasher, aka Nightstick - still in action.
?, aka The Remittance Man - got transferred to the Pentagon.
Eden Blake, aka Dancer - still in action, barely.
Wildcard, aka Cardshark goon = KIA
Michael something, aka Gunner = still in HC.
Remy LeCrois, Phobos = KIA
Andrew Hobbs, aka Specter = Alive for the time being.

All but Eden are/were PCs.

I really need to get the Kid put in HD.

For those who just read the swamp battle....

Hiprocates was nearly dead and in fact we had a debate about if he did or did not die from blood loss. Imapred Chest, I think he took 10+ body through.

Dancer is also nearly dead with an incompasiting shot to the head. She took 5 or 6 through that doubled to a really, really nasty wound.

Specter took 4 through to the vitals which doubled to 8 and impared him. No REC for me but I was still up. Until I stabbed the basta...fella coming over to cut mine and Dancers throats.

If you recall the An Chi ninja needed time to heal on the way down to the bayou so we drove the "City Water Truck" down. I don't think he was at full health either.

[Killer Shrike]

I am loving this campaign history, and it couldnt come at a worse time. Im trying to get a fantasy campaign off the ground, and I so want to do a gritty street level campaign now....

[Eosin]

It could be worse....I am running a d20 game for the group and I am so into FH right now that it is painful to play d20.

We were always Champs but kinda wandered away when it looked dead. Now we are all back, but the game is still stuck in d20. I think we have 2 or 3 more sessions (maybe as few as one if things go quickly).

Hopefully, I can get the FH site bustin a move....I had to deal with my Wheel of Time community stuff since the WotC contract expired. I am almost through with my total site overhaul, now I just need to put my hand written/emailed/dreamed up notes into place. Check out the new front page: Mabinogin (www.mabinogin.com). I tried to kinda tie all the sites together.

To make matters a little more teasing with the Dark Champions angle...Eddie has been putting togethe the new DC stuff and he has created an organization whose cool factor rivals that of DEMON. I am encouraging him to submit it for either DH or some other publication cause it is just that dang cool.

[Killer Shrike]

The new main page is looking sharp. Like the Beastman -- Im an old WH player too :D

Where are you guys located in RL?

[Eosin]

Oklahoma City and the surrounding area.


I thought it was a Trolloc? :)

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Eosin
Oklahoma City and the surrounding area.


I thought it was a Trolloc? :) Looks like a Beastman to me -- its even got the Chaos symbol on its gut plate.

Okkies huh? Do you know Bubba?

(Never mind -- inside joke from the Corps -- served w/ a guy named Hutchinson or Hutchkinson (we all called him Hutch). Nice guy, dumb as a post. Anyway, another Oklahoma person checks into the command and Hutch gets to talking to him. He says "Yer from Oklamhoma too? Hey, I bet you know Bubba."; the other guy, who was a bit brighter, says "There must be 10 thousand Bubba's in Oklahoma"; Hutch, confused, says "Come on, you know Bubba." :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :D)

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Eosin
I thought it was a Trolloc? :)

http://www.excaliburminiaturen.de/bilder/chaos/2203f.jpg
http://www.mabinogin.com/Old Web/images/Trolloc.gif

A Beastman Trolloc maybe :D

EDIT: Heres a more recent version of the same pose:

http://www.blackmoor.ca/blackmoorimages/gwbeastmnlord1.jpg

Ok, no more thread-jacking, I promise :o :D

[NightStick]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Okkies huh? Do you know Bubba?
(Never mind -- inside joke from the Corps --

The CORPS huh,:eek: You don't mean Uncle Sams Misguided Children - per chance?:rolleyes:

Been there - Done that - back in 77.:(

Cripes, when I put it that way I even sound old to myself!:rolleyes:


Ok, no more thread-jacking, I promise

This wouldn't be the forums if there wasn't some off-kilter stuff!:rolleyes:

But seriously, :p Getting back to the threaded topic......

In response to Eosin, Joe Dishwasher had regained all of health two days prior to his day of glory.:D

God that was fun!:p

[loraxxx]

Are there any pics of the OMEGA TEAM?

If not, then how about descriptions of the characters?

[Edsel]

Team Omega Campaign History
Start of the 3rd Story Arc

Winter 1995-96
After returning to Hudson City the Omega Team is able to take several months off. The organized crime situation in the city is quiet. Many of the criminal organizations in the city are still in a period of rebuilding from the aftermath of the Retro affair. Other vigilantes in the city are still active and are able to concentrate on the common street crime of the city. The Omega team only engages in periodic information gathering and minor anti-criminal activity.
Andrew Hobbs soon notices that the headaches that he has suffered from have mysteriously abated. He soon discovers that the tumor he has suffered from, that was terminal, has disappeared. Dr. Thomas James hypothesizes that Mama Regina’s healing elixir may be responsible. His near brush with death has changed Andrew in other ways as well. Many of his juvenile ways have been put aside. He no longer considers his ‘night job’ to be a game.

GM NOTE: The character Specter (Andrew Hobbs) originally had a physical limitation. He suffered from an inoperable, and terminal, brain tumor. By this point in the campaign the player (known on these forums as Eosin) was able to save enough EP to buy off the disadvantage. The mystical healing abilities of Mama Regina presented a perfect rational for this.

During the winter a new vigilante appears; he is called Mongrel and concentrates his activity, almost exclusively, on drug dealers and users. He seems, to some, to go to extremes in his war on drugs. Even street dealers and junkies are fair game in his, usually, fatal attacks. Dancer becomes increasingly concerned over the new vigilante’s zealousness.

GM NOTE: Mongrel and his activities are actually a precurser of the 4th Story Arc.

March 6, 1996
Andrew Hobbs receives a letter from one of his former college professors. Dr. Angus Gough is a former professor of Zoology at Harvard. He is now in Scotland pursuing his real interest, cryptozoology. He has been researching the ancient history of the Loch Ness Monster and now has called upon his former pupil for help. Dr. Gough’s letter indicates that he has made some startling discoveries about the lake creature but needs help to continue his quest. The tone of the letter leads Andrew to believe that his old teacher is worried or possibly fearful of what he has discovered. The exact nature of his discoveries is not enumerated in his letter.
Specter shares his letter with the rest of the Omega Team and invites them to accompany him to Glasgow to meet with Professor Gough.

The other team members are agreeable and look forward to this as an opportunity for a much-needed vacation. Since Andrew Hobbs is loath to fly they book passage on a small steamer, the Susan Gael. The vessel will depart Hudson City on March 9th and will steam directly to Glasgow to arrive on March 20th. The Susan Gael is a small, 165’ long, steamer. It has a crew of 15 and has accommodations for 12 passengers as well as several hundred tons of cargo.

March 8
During the night Dr. Thomas James has a peculiarly clear dream:
He finds himself at sea on a ship that is surrounded by fog. In the distance, far to starboard, a dark shape rises in a swirl of mist. The ship veers toward the object as if drawn by a magnet. The shape comes into focus as a huge iceberg and the ship heads on a certain collision course with doom. Frantically Dr. James looks back at the bridge, a child stands at the wheel. The child has long hooks instead of hands. As the ship crashes into the glistening mountain of ice the child laughs with unnatural mirth.

March 9
Dr. James shares his dream of the previous night with his friends. They take it as evidence that he needs the vacation that they are all about to embark upon.
Before noon they are all at the port. The Susan Gael leaves Hudson City bound for Glasgow, Scotland. On board are Andrew Hobbs and his butler Alfred, Dr. Thomas James and his lady friend Debbie Taylor (DNPC), Joe Dishwasher and Eden Blake. The other passengers are: Dr. Ramit Singhar, recently retired he is returning home to India to be with his family during his last years. The MacCowan family, a husband and wife (Rufus and Arleen) and their three children (Danny, Lilah and Theo). The commander of the Susan Gael is Captain Dace, a bluff old man of 50. Lt. Lucius Maxwell is the First Mate. The passengers are all given a complete tour of the ship.

The cargo of the Susan Gael is simple and not extensive: four antique automobiles, six breeding bulls, six cows, ten sheep, three Arabian horses and crates of machine tools such as lathes and grinders. One of the automobiles and all of the animals are listed for delivery to a Mr. Davirr Cullough, Fort Augustus, Loch Ness, Scotland.

March 10
About 2 o’clock in the afternoon a commotion starts. A terrible accident has taken the life of one of the crewmen. He has been found burned to death in the furnace of the old auxiliary, coal-fired, generator in the engine room. The Omega Team members go to the engine room and it becomes quickly apparent to them that this was no accident. The furnace door is to small for someone to have ‘accidentally’ fallen inside. Dr. James offers his services as a forensic pathologist to Captain Dace. Captain Dace has no idea what a forensic pathologist is.

Dr. James, Dr. Singhar and the ship’s Doctor, Phillipe Fanshaw, all examine the corpse. Though the body is badly burned, they conclude that the body does exhibit signs of a struggle and that the crewman was most likely alive and conscious when he was forced into the furnace. (It should be noted that Dr. Thomas James, in addition to being a skilled ER physician and surgeon, is also extremely good at forensic medicine.) After the examination the body is wrapped in sheets and placed in the ship’s meat locker.

That evening the doctors report their findings to Captain Dace who is very alarmed at the prospect of a murderer on board. Captain Dace personally knows all his crew and believes that one of the passengers is most likely the murderer. When an attempt is made to contact the authorities the radio refuses to work. Examination of the radio can find no fault. The Captain decides to continue on to Glasgow, but warns everybody to be on the lookout and urges them not to wander off alone.

March 11
At about 4 o’clock that afternoon word comes that another crewman has been found dead. He was found face down in a shower stall, drowned in 6” of water. A towel had been forced down the drain to stop it up. Investigation of the area leads Dr. James to discover scrapings of some sort of unidentifiable bone or horn that was used to stuff the towel down the drain. The body displays the signs of a struggle. The only fingerprints to be found are smooth, without texture.
(I have no idea why the team did not think to check and be sure everybody had fingerprints.)

The Captain now requires all people to move about in pairs at the least. He still suspects some of the passengers are responsible and the Omega Team members seem to be the most likely suspects. They have been seen practicing some martial arts on the deck of the ship during the day.

March 12
After a third victim is found the Captain orders all passengers to be confined to their cabins. The available weapons (2 M1 Garand rifles, 2 .45 Cal. Colt Revolvers and a Colt M1911A1 Pistol) are distributed to the crew and guards are posted.
The third victim was another crewman found hanging from a light fixture. His body also showed signs of a struggle. No explanation is given as to why the crewman was alone in contradiction of Captain Dace’s orders of the previous day. (Again none of the Omega Team catches this anomaly.)

That evening Joe Dishwasher has a dream about of a swarm of cockroaches. Unlike the previous dream that Dr. Thomas James had on the 8th, this dream is pretty vague but nonetheless frightening.

March 13
About noon a swarm of cockroaches erupts from one of the ventilation shafts near the passenger cabins. Several crewmen and the passengers are witness to the disgusting spectacle that soon subsides. The Omega Team make it a point to remember and jot down any dreams they have from this point onward.

After spending the day cooped up in his room reading, Andrew Hobbs makes a startling discovery. He has been reading a book on ancient Scottish history and finds that several of the old druid deities accepted sacrifices that were made by burning, drowning and hanging. He suspects that something doesn’t want them going to Scotland to assist Professor Gough. (Specter made a spectacular roll against one of his knowledge skills.)

That evening Joe Dishwasher has another vague dream in which he sees giant rats.

March 14
During the afternoon several rats of incredible size come out of the woodwork and attack the passengers. A few people suffer minor bites before the creatures are slain. The Omega Team members manage to defeat the rats that face them without revealing the hidden weapons they have smuggled aboard.
Hippocrates has a Force Pistol (based on the weapon from the Tekwar novels & TV series), Dancer has her Colt Mustang (.380 Automatic) and silencer aboard. Nightstick has his martial arts weapons, and he and Dancer have several throwing stars. Some utility belt gadgets and some light body armor round out the equipment the characters have.
During the night Dancer has a vague dream of someone nearly being poisoned.

March 15
When lunch is served all seems well until Debbie Taylor touches a piece of chicken on her plate. Instantly the chicken transforms into a rotted, maggot-infested, piece of meat.

Though no one is sleeping very securely at night anymore, they do manage to. That evening a vague dream of the ship becoming shrouded in fog is visited upon Andrew Hobbs.

March 16
The ship soon finds itself in a dense fog. Though the radio still inexplicably refuses to work, the radar is working fine and the ship continues on its way.

This evening Joe Dishwasher has a vague dream of the ship striking an iceberg. The Omega Team makes a quick survey of the life rafts and other rescue gear.

March 17
Feeling frustrated and noticing how panicked the crew and passengers have become, the Omega team embarks upon, what appears to them, to be the most logical course of action. The Omega Team decides to seize control of the ship.

After several nights of dreams that have come true, they have no desire to wait and see if Joe’s will likewise fulfill itself. Any dreams that have been brought to the attention of Captain Dace have been dismissed off hand. The Omega Team easily overcomes the crew and takes over the ship. Captain Dace, now a captive is convinced of the group’s guilt in the murders and the recent strange happenings. Fortunately, no one is seriously injured in the brief struggle to capture the ship.

Debbie Taylor is very distraught and confused about all of this. Dr. James has a pistol unlike any she has ever seen before and he seems to be very good at all of this. She has always considered Thomas to be a man capable of great compassion, but the activities of the last several days, and today in particular, have brought out a side of him she never suspected. The emotional overload is almost too great and Dr. James gives her a sedative to calm her. For the next several days she is calm and does her best to stay out of the way of Dr. James and his friends. What she will say once, and if, they safely arrive in Scotland nobody can guess.

All the off duty crew and other passengers are kept in the mess hall, the largest room on the ship.

March 20
The ship eventually breaks out of the fog without the iceberg dream becoming reality.
Within hours of the ship reaching port the MacCowan family transform into their true shapes. They appear as small, wrinkly skinned, humanoids with staring red eyes and bristly hair. Each arm ends in a sharp curved hook. They attack the Omega Team in a battle that is witnessed by most of the crew and the captain. The creatures prove tough but are eventually all slain by the Team. In a nice touch, the final creature is shot by Captain Dace.

Captain Dace, though shaken by what he has seen, now realizes the Omega Team is not guilty. The passengers and crew agree to come up with a story to tell the authorities in Scotland. The bodies of the creatures turned to black goo that evaporated without a trace, once they were slain.
In order to make the arrangements for their cover story the Susan Gael will stay at sea tonight.

Hippocrates has another startlingly clear dream this night. He finds himself in pitch-blackness. It occurs to him that his next step could send him hurtling down into the bottomless, deadly stillness. Ahead he becomes aware of the glow of the faintest of lights. Slowly he heads toward it. As he nears its source he is aware of a low, sinister hissing.
Eventually he arrives at the source of the light. Around him sits a coil of thick rope. As he watches in horror the rope unwinds, rising slowly into the air. As it rises it bursts into a cold green flame. From nowhere a bucket of water appears in his hands. He throws the water on the rope: the fire fades, the rope screams as the water runs in red, thick currents down its unraveling strands.

End of part 11, tomorrow I’ll post part 12, the team reaches Glasgow. Loch Ness awaits.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
[BOk, no more thread-jacking, I promise :o :D [/B]
Well they are nice miniatures. But I did kind of wonder what had happened to my thread when I tuned in this evening.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by loraxxx
Are there any pics of the OMEGA TEAM?

If not, then how about descriptions of the characters? Sadly none of our group has much skill as an artist. I do not believe that any of the character's, other than Dancer, had any character art.

I do have the character background of at least one of the characters though. I'll go ahead and post the background of Hippocrates (Dr. Thomas James) a little later tonight.

[Edsel]

Below is the character background for the character Hippocrates (a.k.a. Dr. Thomas James). This is the unedited version as submitted by the player. Note that this is one of the two characters who survived throughtout the campaign and this background all takes place before the first game secession.

Character Background: Thomas James (Hippocrates)

Thomas James grew up in the rich and affluent neighborhood of Irishtown, in Hudson City. Since he was one of the sons of the founder of the James Financial Empire, he grew up safe and protected. He never had to face any of the grim realities of life that challenged people in the real world. As a result he was ignorant of the dangers outside the cloistered James Estate, and the society of the very rich.

Thomas was always the most rebellious of the James siblings. Both of his brothers and his sister as well, chose to follow in their father’s footsteps, but not Thomas. To him financial work was boring and dreary; instead he had decided to become a Doctor, an ER Surgeon. This would be a life of excitement, filled with life and death decisions every day. His father was not amused, but grudgingly supported Thomas’s wishes.

Thomas attended one of the finest Boarding Schools in the country during his teen years. Since the campus was in Irishtown as well, he was given special permission to live at home as long as he would abide with the school’s curfew policy, Thomas’s father agreed to this arrangement. However, Thomas was now old enough to drive and he longed to explore the nightlife that TV had so glamorized. He often would sneak out of the house at night and drive into the city to cruise the hot nightspots.

It was during one of Thomas’s many sojourns into town that he met a girl. Her name was Diana, she was beautiful, she was adventurous and though poor, and she was the stuff of Thomas’s dreams. Many were the nights that they would explore the city in his red corvette. They soon fell in love. Thomas bought her expensive gifts, and she made him rejoice in life. But all was not well.

Diana had grown up in the seedy neighborhoods of Hudson City it was here that she had met her first boyfriend. His name was Timothy Bohn; his street name was T-Bone. T-Bone was the leader of a small time gang called the Checker Reds. He had broken up with Diana easily enough, “girls like you are a dime a dozen,” he’d said. But when he had seen her cruise through town in the red corvette, with the “rich kid,” his fellow gangsters had poked fun at him for loosing to a pansy like that.

Thomas could not always get into town to be with Diana, his dad suspected he’d been sneaking out and was not pleased. T-Bone started trying to intimidate Diana into dumping her new friend, and to be his girl once again. Diana did not want to be pulled into the gang scene; she’d had enough of that already. As T-Bone became more persistent and more militant, Diana became very afraid of him and began to hide out when Thomas was not around. One evening Thomas was caught by his father as he attempted to slip out to meet with Diana, he was grounded for a week.

This was the week that T-Bone got fed up with Diana’s rejections. As Diana waited in vein at a small park where she and Thomas usually met, T-Bone showed up instead. He and his gang kidnapped Diana and took her to one of their crack houses. They held her for five days, she was repeatedly raped and abused, and they hooked her on crack. When they weren’t watching she broke a window and slit her own wrists. Diana’s nude body was dumped in the park.

At first Thomas was shattered when he read the story in the paper. He contemplated suicide himself, but then a new emotion welled up inside him, rage. He knew that T-Bone and the Checker Reds were responsible and he vowed to make every last one of them pay with their lives. When Thomas was once again able to sneak into town, he used the knowledge of the city he had gained. He got a gun, a submachinegun, and began to hunt for T-Bone and his gang. Over the course of the next few months the Checker Reds became extinct, except for T-Bone who merely vanished.

Thomas has never stopped searching for T-Bone, though now he holds little hope of finding him. Thomas has become a vigilante. He prowls the streets bringing justice to those who the police can’t seem to stop. He feels he owes this to the memory of Diana. He got his medical degree and is now an emergency room physician. Everyday he sees those who have been victimized by the scum of the streets, and every night he does what he can to make the streets safer.

Recently he has started seeing another girl. Debbie is her name. Though he has recovered from his grief, he still carries on his fight.

[Killer Shrike]

Keep them coming. I like how this is getting more supernatural. I'd just about move to Oklahoma to play in this game. ;)

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by NightStick
The CORPS huh,:eek: You don't mean Uncle Sams Misguided Children - per chance?:rolleyes:

Been there - Done that - back in 77.:(

Cripes, when I put it that way I even sound old to myself!:rolleyes:

:p Dude, I was 3 in 77, and only the last part of it at that.

I did my Corps-time from 93 to 98.

And I prefer "Muscles Are Required Intelligence Not Essential" ;)

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Keep them coming. I like how this is getting more supernatural. I'd just about move to Oklahoma to play in this game. ;) You'd be welcome to play, whenever I get the next campaign ready.

The story arcs are as follow:

Arc one: Street level Dark Champions.

Arc two: Supernatural influences start, almost Horror Hero.

Arc three: (current arc) As you can see this one is pretty supernatural too.

Arc four: Returns to a more nearly Dark Champions feel, but supernatural influences do not fade completely.

Arc five: Supernatural influences strengthen... but sadly the campaign grindes to a halt without a conclusion. It had been going for 2 years with weekly games at this point. I'll go into the reasons for the campaign's end at the conclusion of the logs.

[Eosin]

This is a quick write up of Specter since I have lost my background.

Andrew’s parents were wealthy but met a tragic end while he was still an infant. He was raised, in essence, by the staff and tutors provided by his family but never really had parental figures.

Andrew was always brilliant. He excelled in school, beginning his college career at the age of 11. By the age of 15 when he began to have the Headaches, Andrew was finishing a PhD in Psychology and Aberrant Psychology. His strong science background was looked on as something of an oddity but his intense work in mathematics and pattern recognition led him to believe that many of the same theories could be applied to people, hence his interest in those who deviated from the pattern.

Reading all of the “real crime” reports while also finding his teenaged love for comics was jarring to Anderw’s mind. There was a disparity in what he wanted to believe and what he read on a daily basis. Many nights Andrew applied his prodigious mind to the question of heroics, even going so far as to take up a parallel study in semiotics [symbolism]. His dissertation was on the culturally derived meaning, inherent in the family symbol of Superman, in contrast to the symbolism of clearly nationalistic paragons such as Captain America or Captain Briton.

While he still had a child’s idealism, many agreed that Andrew Hobbs was frighteningly astute disseminating human beings into simple equations that were by and large solvable.

He was destined for some of the greatest think tanks in the US, until he had a seizure while visiting Cal Tech. Andrew was diagnosed with an inoperable Astrosarcoma a rare type of cancer that affects the Astrocytes, commonly referred to as a type of “Brain Cancer.”

Andrew studied his situation and immediately formulated a strategy. He was going to die shortly, so why not do something good and important with his life. At 17 years old, he look to the most familiar place for inspiration – comic books. He understood criminals and how they operated, it should be a simple matter to stop them. 68 stitches and 3 beatings later, it was apparent that he needed help. He began training with the most reputed Martial Arts master in town Zhu Shou.

Later he realized that someone within the dojo was Nightstick the vigilante. Just what the young kid needed…..someone who could kick @$$ while Andrew took names. He eventually approached the Omega Team and Nightstick asking for membership in the team. The team was put off by the Batman uniform. They were not put off by his skills, nor the speed at which he could analyze a situation. Andrew was somewhat short on the combat side but used a number of unique weapons and weapon systems that demonstrated his value.

[Eosin]

<font size=+1><b>Specter</b></font>

Player: Eosin the Red

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><font size=2><b>Val&#160;&#160;</b></font></td><td><font size=2><b>Char&#160;&#160;&#160;</b></font></td><td><font size=2><b>Cost</b></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>15&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>STR</b></font></td><td><font size=2>5</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>18&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>DEX</b></font></td><td><font size=2>24</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>18&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>CON</b></font></td><td><font size=2>16</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>11&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>BODY</b></font></td><td><font size=2>2</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>23&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>INT</b></font></td><td><font size=2>13</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>15&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>EGO</b></font></td><td><font size=2>10</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>18&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>PRE</b></font></td><td><font size=2>8</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>14&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>COM</b></font></td><td><font size=2>2</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2></font></td><td><font size=2>&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>6&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>PD</b></font></td><td><font size=2>3</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>4&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>ED</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>4&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>SPD</b></font></td><td><font size=2>12</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>7&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>REC</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>30&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>END</b></font></td><td><font size=2>-3</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>28&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>STUN</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><td><font size=2></font></td><td><font size=2>&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>7"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>RUN</b></font></td><td><font size=2>2</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>2"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>SWIM</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>3"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>LEAP</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr></table><b>Characteristics Cost:</b> 94

<table border="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Power</b></td><td align="right"><b>END</b></td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">15&#160;&#160;</td><td><b><i>Good things happen to good people: </i></b>Luck 3d6&#160;</td><td valign="top" align="right"></td></tr></table><b>Powers Cost:</b> 15

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Martial Arts Maneuver</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, STR +2d6 Strike&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Martial Arts Cost:</b> 8

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Skill</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>SS: Psychology (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>PS: Criminologist (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>SS: Criminal Psychology (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>SS: Criminology 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>SS: Mathematics and Logic (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>SS: Researcher 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>SS: Sociology 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>SS: Computer Science (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Arcane & Occult Lore (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Criminal Law (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Hudson City Underworld (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Cults (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: History (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: The Cabal 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Card Shark 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: X-Files / Cryptozoology (INT-based) 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Acting 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Acrobatics 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Climbing 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Computer Programming 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Concealment 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Conversation 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Criminology 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Disguise 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Electronics 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Fast Draw 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Inventor 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Mechanics 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Security Systems 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Stealth 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Streetwise 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Systems Operation 14-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>WF: Clubs, Crossbows, Fist-Loads, Small Arms, Unarmed Combat&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>TF: Hanggliding&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>+1 Overall&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5&#160;&#160;</td><td>+1 with DCV&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">7&#160;&#160;</td><td>+3 with Ranged Combat (15 Active Points); Custom Modifier (-1)&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Skills Cost: </b>117

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Perk</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">6&#160;&#160;</td><td>Contact (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has: extremely useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity, Good relationship with Contact) 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>Contact (Contact has: useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity) 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">7&#160;&#160;</td><td>Contact (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has: extremely useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5&#160;&#160;</td><td>Contact (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has: very useful Skills or resources) 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">6&#160;&#160;</td><td>Contact (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has: extremely useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity, Good relationship with Contact) 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">8&#160;&#160;</td><td>Contact (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has: extremely useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Contact (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has: useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity, Good relationship with Contact) 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>Fringe Benefit: License to practice a profession&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5&#160;&#160;</td><td>Money: Well Off&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Perks Cost:</b> 43



<b>Total Character Cost:</b> 277

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Val&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Disadvantages</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">20&#160;&#160;</td><td>Physical Limitation: Terminal (Frequently; Fully Impairing)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15&#160;&#160;</td><td>Psychological Limitation: Hero Complex (Common; Strong)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>Psychological Limitation: Scientific Curiosity (Common; Moderate)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5&#160;&#160;</td><td>Dependent NPC: Valerie Stiener 8- (Normal; Useful noncombat position or skills)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5&#160;&#160;</td><td>Dependent NPC: Alfred the Butler 8- (Normal; Useful noncombat position or skills)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">30&#160;&#160;</td><td>Hunted: Card Shark, Cabal, VIPER 14- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish; Extensive Non-Combat Influence)&#160;</td></tr></table>
<b>Disadvantage Points:</b> 85

<b>Base Points:</b> 75
<b>Experience Required:</b> 117
<b>Total Experience Available:</b> 0
<b>Experience Unspent:</b> 0

Equipment
CS Force Pistol :::: 2d6 with 2 pts RP (Resistant Piercing)
Laser Sights (+1 OCV, +1 RMod)

LSS - TP [4.80] Armor
Battle Gloves + Boots
Riot Shield (+2 DCV)
Helmet


Night Combat System (IR)
8 Man Tactical Set


Line Gun (Bracers)
20" Swinging
18" Super-leap (Up only)
+5 Climbing Roll

Mini Hang-Glider (Cape 8")
Jump Boots +5" Leaping


Utility Belt

Crime Scene Kit
Gas Mask
HRRH
Security Systems Kit
Flash light


That basically him....He started with a 17 DEX and ended with a 20.....I was the low man on the team. :mad:

[Edsel]

I got looking through the compressed archives and found the original spreadsheet in which is a copy of everyone of the player characters at the time of the campaign's end. It is a little interesting that the copy of I have of Specter differs some from the one you presented. Also, if you'll remember, Specter eventually changed his name to Savant.

The good news is that I have all of the characters. The bad news is that they are all in our old Excel spreadsheet format. I, or someone, will have to take the time to convert them all into Hero Designer if we want to post all of them. They'll be a little tricky to convert due to the special house rules we used (resistant piercing, different ways to do weapons, etc.).

I even have the data on the Omega Team HQ, the Omega Truck and the Omega Cycles. I have all the DNPC and other important NPCs as well.

EDIT: The characters have been transfered into HDC format. As I sift through these old posts I am trying to fix a few things.

[Edsel]

The attached file is in RTF (Rich Text Format) so hopefully most people will be able to read it after its unzipped. These are four pages of the house rules that dealt with making up a character in the Omega Team campaign. Equipment rules were worked into the equipment list I made.

The Equipment list is about 40 pages long and in Word format. The amount of formatting in it will make if very ugly if I try and convert it to RTF. But, if there is interest, I'll try to get around to posting it as well.

EDIT: I am going to try and fix the unreadable posts, that I did, as I get the chance. I hope to provide links to the character sheets in some of the later posts that I will edit.

[Eosin]

I have 3 or 4 write ups here....In the very end it he had a 20 DEX and I dropped one or two of his contacts since the change in costs ..... Somewhere in his HX I dropped the Crossbow - I had it at 30 xp but not at 50.

The +3 Range should be +3 with RMod ... and the +1 DCV was to offset Armor mod but at some point I bought it to flat out DCV.

I kept the Physical Limitation to show how he was built but it is not on his Character sheet after Mama Regina. I just consolidated Hunteds to save effort.

Any other changes should be skills & KS's.

The write up is not meant to reflect any single xp point but just the character as he "mostly appeared." i.e. In the last part of the career things were so dangerous that I could no longer afford to run around with the single shot Laser gun and had to switch to the Gailil with special rounds but I still wrote him up with the Laser gun since he carried that for all but 5-6 adventures.

[Edsel]

March 21
The Susan Gael pulls into Glasgow at about 9 o’clock in the morning. The authorities are summoned. Scotland Yard interviews all of the crew and passengers, but by noon they are able to disembark and go about their business. The party heads for the apartment of Dr. Angus Gough and arrive there about 12:30.

During the trip to Dr. Gough’s apartment, Thomas James and Debbie Taylor have a long talk about the happenings on board the Susan Gael. Dr. James is eventually able to convince Ms. Taylor that things are not as sinister as they seem. The weapon he has is not a ‘lethal’ weapon, but is merely a self defense item, sort of like mace or pepper spray, etc.

As they arrive at the apartment of Dr. Angus Gough it is quickly apparent that the door is standing ajar. Fearing what they might find, they have Andrew’s butler Alfred, take Ms. Taylor to a corner café for dinner. Inside the apartment they find the bodies of Dr. Angus Gough (hanged), Professor Larry MacDonald (stuffed in the oven), and Dr. Charles Chargg (drowned in the toilet). An unconscious fifteen-year-old boy is also in the front room. Dr. James is able to determine the boy has a concussion but is otherwise okay.

They awaken the boy and find out that he was sent by his dad to inform Dr. Gough’s party that a boat is waiting to take them to the Island of Iona (located off the west coast of Scotland). They also quickly search the apartment and find several things of interest: In the master bedroom they find a packed suitcase with a note about Iona (The note reads, “Iona, Southwest cliffs, careful, Brother Pace, AG”). The library is full of signs that Dr. Gough had been busy studying up on the ancient Celts. The library also yields a silver dagger the hilt formed into a ram-headed snake. A fragment of ancient parchment with Sanskrit writing preserved between two sheets of amber is found along with a letter from Brother Pace explaining its meaning (The writing tells of a horrible sacrifice of horses to a “god of the long hand.” This is clear evidence of a link between the Celts and the ancient peoples of India. A very significant archaeological discovery.) The letter goes on to explain that the document and its amber case came from a monolith located on the cliffs of Iona. Books in the library indicate that an ancient monastery was founded on Iona about 563 AD.

The safe in the library has scratches, burns and water stains on it. The door is twisted as if something attempted to rip it from its hinges. Dancer is able to crack the safe. Inside they find a glass, iron and wood case and inside it is an ancient poem written in Gaelic. Fortunately a translation is also in the safe. The poem is about an ancient hero named Cuchulain. It details how he battled three evil demons and tells how he defeated them. On one wall in the library is a calendar with April 1st circled in red and the word “Lugnasad” written down. Andrew Hobbs recalls that Lugnasad is an ancient Celtic holiday.
At about this time Nightstick, who has been acting as look out, warns of the approach of a suited man and two police officers. The group quickly covers any traces of their snooping.

Inspector Campbell and Officers Roberts and Donald are from the local police. Inspector Campbell relays that they have had an anonymous phone call telling that some murders have been committed. With some fast-talking, the characters are able to get Inspector Campbell to believe that they are who they say they are. They are permitted to leave after several hours of interview. (They even manage to convince the police that the dagger and writings are theirs. That they were going to have Dr. Gough examine them. When they leave they manage to take the items with them.) They are asked not to leave the vicinity of Glasgow until the police conclude their investigation.

They quickly check into the hotel that Alfred and Ms. Taylor have already arrived at, send the injured lad to a hospital for observation, and make a canvass of the area to see if they can acquire some black market weapons. They are rushed for time, since they intend to meet with the boy’s father and sail for Iona as soon as possible. They manage to obtain several combat knives and a .38 Special Revolver and ammo for Specter. Next they dash off to the dock and sail for Iona. They arrive late that night and resolve to begin their investigations in the morning.

March 22
The party spends the morning researching on the Island of Iona. Most of the records here are written in Latin. Fortunately Dr. James is literate in Latin. Dr. James and Andrew spend most of the morning in the monastery’s records. They are able to find records of an attack on the monastery during the 7th century by many terrible creatures. Old documents tell of many hangings, burnings and drownings made in an attempt to restore the old Celtic gods. Apparently a “lord of evil” and its druid priests lead the attack on the monastery. It seems that the “beast” and his minions were driven back to a northern lake, referred to as the “Lake of the Beast”. Other records hint at the existence of a long tunnel that leads beneath the lake.
While Dr. James and Andrew study, Eden and Joe wander about exploring the old monastery. They happen by the Abbot’s office. On the wall is a huge map of ancient Scotland. On the map the Lake of the Beast is clearly indicated as being what is now known as Loch Ness.

That afternoon they head to the cliffs of Iona and the monolith. The monolith sits in a crevice set into the top of a cliff 70 feet above the seashore. Examination reveals many strange carvings on the weathered surface of the monolith.
One shows the large head of a strange beast rising from the water where the blood of a sacrificed horse spreads over the waves.
Another engraving shows what seems to be a ram-headed snake in some type of room. Dead horses lie about the strange creature, known to the Celts as Cernunnos, lord of animals.
One engraving shows another room filled with bones. Two creatures stand amidst the bones, but their forms are weathered and unclear.
The best engraving shows several druid priests, with the body of a horse killed on an altar. Lines lead from the base of the altar downward to a square. Within the square is a circle containing the rayed head of a bull. Other marks and symbols show this to be a holy or sacred place to the druids.
After they finish their examination they scout about the top of the cliff looking for any other clues. Suddenly (seemingly out of nowhere) several bulls move out of the nearby woods and charge them. As poorly armed as they are, they are still able to make pretty quick work of the bulls. Only Brother Pace, their host, is injured. He gets a nasty bump on the head when he dives into the crevice of the monolith to avoid a charging bull. As the short battle subsides, Andrew sees a white heron winging away in the distance.

March 23-26
A few days are spent explaining to the police where they went and why they could not be reached all day yesterday. Some legal wrangling starts as the police threaten to arrest them as material witnesses. When they disappeared on the 22nd the police checked out their record and found that they were passengers on the Susan Gael. Due to the murders that took place on that vessel, the police are very suspicious of the group. (Remember that the characters are traveling in their normal Identities.)

March 27
Tiring of the veiled threats that Inspector Campbell is making Adrew Hobbs decides to obtain the services of one of the best barristers in the United Kingdom. For a substantial incentive payment the barrister puts the rest of his work on hold and proceeds to threaten Scotland Yard with a harassment suit if his clients are not given some peace on their vacation. Being frightfully rich makes the little legal entanglements so much easier to dispense with.

March 28
The group is able to continue their ‘vacation’ and around noon head to Fort Augustus, Loch Ness. They arrive by early evening and get hotel accommodations. They will begin their investigations tomorrow.

As they sleep Dr. James has another of his unusual dreams. Again he finds himself in darkness; the air is cool and moist. Something flutters past his head on hot, papery wings.
Suddenly the cavern is lit in an eerie light, rising from a crystal dome in its rock floor. Around the dome crouch a number large stone statues—statues of weird and horrible beings.
Quickly and silently the dome fills with water, which cracks its crystal surface and begins to rush out onto the cavern floor. Now the statues begin to move, setting their stone hands on the cracks in the dome, trying to force the glowing water back to its source somewhere deep beneath the earth.

March 29
The day is spent sight seeing and inconspicuously snooping for information. They soon learn several things of interest.
A man was found dead near the Cullough estate last night. He looked as if a stag had gored him. The dead man was known to have been a poacher on private lands.
Under the pretense of reading about old Loch Ness Monster sightings, they are able to determine that newspaper and police records indicate that the incidents of drowning, burning to death and hanging have nearly tripled in the last five years. The number of these deaths is almost equal to each other.
Inquires about Davirr Cullough indicate that he is a breeder of fine Arabian horses. Strangely nobody can seem to recall him ever selling one.
The local library’s archaeology records indicate that there is a place on the edge of the lake where the ancient druids used to worship and make sacrifices. That place is now located on the estate of Davirr Cullough.

March 30
It is known in the area that Davirr Cullough gives tours of his operations and the old manor house on his property. The characters decide to call Mr. Cullough to arrange one of these tours. They are mildly surprised, and wary, when Mr. Cullough invites them out this very evening. Dr. James makes some business excuses to Debbie Taylor and has Alfred take her on a tour of the lake (Fortunately Hippocrates had told his DNPC that this trip also involved some business dealing, so her suspicions are not overly aroused).

After arriving they briefly exchange pleasantries with their host and then are given a tour of the property by Mr. Cullough himself. Andrew Hobb’s curiosity is aroused when he spots a path that leads into a patch of oak woods in the direction of the lake. Mr. Cullough makes no mention of the trail and seems to hurry by the area. Andrew Hobbs starts making all sorts of remarks about ancient druid’s, their impending holiday, and the sacrifices to recall the god Lug, etc. Remarkably Mr. Cullough retains his composure better than some of the other characters.
As they approach the manor house Nightstick notices Mr. Cullough make a very subtle signal to someone watching from an upstairs window. He quickly and quietly informs Dr. James and Ms. Blake. He is also able to subtly signal Adrew to be ready for trouble.
When they walk across the back porch of the manor house they are ambushed by all of the household staff. The attackers are armed with a variety of knives and clubs; the butler has a double-barreled shotgun. They never knew what hit them. Soon the members of the Omega Team are standing over the broken bleeding remains of Mr. Cullough and about a dozen of his servants.
They tie Mr. Cullough, who has a broken nose and elbow, to a chair and start to question him. Dr. James prepares his penethol while the rest of the team quickly searches the manor house. As Dr. James prepares to administer the shot to Mr. Cullough, a huge gash suddenly appears on the estate owner’s head. He expires almost immediately. No attacker is seen and for a while the team fears an invisible enemy is at hand.

Examination of the wound reveals that it is very odd. It appears almost as if a semi-sharp, long instrument of some sort was placed on his skull and pushed, not struck, with incredible force to cause the injury. Dr. James has never seen a wound quite like this.
The quick search of the manor house reveals a lot of reading material on Celts in the library and some duridical paraphernalia lying about, but little of any real use.

It is now rapidly getting dark. As they head toward the unexplored path they hear a strange chanting and the frightened snorts of horses. At the end of the path they find an ancient wooden altar and two men in druid robes. A corral nearby holds three Arabian horses. Upon three low, wooden stands are a magnificent stag, a bull and a deadly cobra. Though they stealthily approach the snake seems to be aware of them. In the quick battle that ensues they kill both of the druids. One of them twice, after his fellow druid animated his corpse. The bull and the stag give them a close call but are soon dispatched as well. The cobra fades off into the woods.

They examine the area and release the horses. Beneath the Altar they find a tunnel, carved with steps, that descends into the earth. They start their descent. Little clay oil pots weakly light the way. (They also have several sets of night vision goggles. Combined with the weak lighting they are able to see pretty well.) They travel about a thousand feet under ground before they head out, under, the lake. A huge, double set of oak doors awaits them at the end of the passage.
Inside the first room they encounter some strange little beings that are hidden inside four statues. Until they tip over the statues and slay the nearly defenseless creatures, all their metal items begin to rapidly heat up.
The second room is covered with the bones of a great many dead horses. It is here they encounter the first two of several powerful beings. Kralecht (a tall spindly humanoid with the head of a stag) and Kravecht (a creature with a bulls head and the body of a muscular man, with no covering skin) await them. The servants of Lug put up a tremendous battle. The creatures are good hand to hand combatants and command evil magics. It is only due to luck that none of the Omega Team are injured. Indeed more than once a single pip on the dice saved a character from grievous injury (I really scared the hell out of them – GM.) They finally manage to overcome the creatures. They hang the remains of Kravecht and drench Kralecht’s remains with water thus destroying the creatures. (A good thing too. Both of the creatures would have revived shortly (fully whole) and renewed the attack.)

In the next room they encounter Zmija (a large flying snake with a skull for a head). This time they are ready. When the creature charges they cover it with an, oil drenched overcoat and set it afire. This destroys the creature.
In the final room they find a large glowing wooden dome on the floor. An unnaturally, shimmering curtain is suspended from two oak pillars against one wall. Three Arabian horses are in a wooden corral against the far wall. The horses scream in terror as a huge ram-headed snake attacks them. Andrew’s knowledge of the occult, x-files (he has a knowledge skill: X-files. It is used to represent knowledge of all the weird stuff he has studied), and his recent studies of the Celtic material lead him to realize that if the horses die, Lug will be released into this world. Cernunnos is the creature they face. Fortunately the creature is intent on destroying the horses and Nightstick is able to attack the creature with the special dagger they recovered from Dr. Gough’s apartment. When struck by the dagger Cernunnos is forced to spend a Phase at 0 DCV changing forms. In this state he is helpless and the characters are able to destroy him and put an end to the menace.

The horses are freed (except one that has to be destroyed) and the curtain is torn down. Before leaving the underground the team rigs a small explosive charge to rupture the dome. After they are safely out of the tunnel they trigger it, flooding the Drunemeton forever. (Drunemeton is the term for this place. An underground holy place of the druids.)

End of Part 12, this ends the 3rd, short, story arc. Part 13 (tomorrow) begins the 4th Story arc which is much longer.

[Edsel]

Below is the background for the character Nightstick as written by the player and forwarded to me the other day. The original Nightstick is a sample character that was originally presented in “Hudson City Blues” written by Edward J. Carmien. We modified the character somewhat and the player re-wrote the background. By the end of the campaign this character had racked up 107 experience points.

(7-20-95)
Re: Background on “NightStick” alias Joe Dishwasher, alias Daemon Dog....

As I sit in my room this night, as with most nights, my thoughts race back to my childhood home, and the peace and tranquility that were at one with the world. I remember only glimpses of my past, kind of like a self imposed amnesia. I guess that I don’t want to remember after all....

I am not quite sure why Zhu Hsaio wants me to journalize my memories, but I know that I must not question the ways of my mentor. Only disgrace can come from that - like what happened to Cong Feng, and when he tried to murder his brothers. I still shudder to think what would have happened had he been successful.

My first memory centers around a temple fountain, and how I would sit for hours and watch the coy playfully chase each other around and around the pool. It seemed that they never tired of the chase, or of the eventual conquest. I guess that what I really wanted was for some other children to play with.... there were no other children at the temple where I grew up.

I can’t remember either my mother or my father, all that I had was Zhu Hsaio.

It was at my 10th celebration, that I was to learn a very important life lesson, perhaps the most important lesson that I have ever learned. Zhu Hsaio invited the surrounding farmers to bring their children, and a great day was planned. I was excited at the concept of other kids to play with, and I couldn’t sleep a wink the night before. Well, to make a long story short and less painful, no one ever showed up. I was devastated, I was mad, I was upset, and I was - ashamed. It was my day, and no one came for me.

Late that night, as I was watching the coy play in the moonlight, Zhu Hsaio came to me. He asked me if I knew why I was alone on my day. I did not. He told me.

Zhu Hsaio simply stated that... ”For a man to command respect, he must earn it.”

It took my childish mind several years to begin to comprehend what Zhu Hsaio had said that night, and several years more to understand what he didn’t say.

I remained a “loner’ all throughout my adolescent years, immerging myself into the studies that I was given. Kung Fu was the key that held my sanity in place. It is the one thing in my life that makes sense, and the one thing that I am good at, I mean REAL GOOD at.

My training taught me to help those that are in need. It also taught me to hate those that take without rights. Maybe that is why I feel compelled to, um; well shall we say enjoy the moonlight.

Still to this day, I prefer solitude to the company of others.

Trust must be earned.

Joe Dishwasher

[Edsel]

Team Omega Campaign History
Start of the 4th Story Arc

April 8, 1996
The Omega Team returns home to Hudson City. After their experiences with the Susan Gael, Andrew is much more willing to take a jet back home from Glasgow. They return home on a Virgin Atlantic 747. They arrive at mid-morning at James Aberdeen International Airport and head directly to their own homes to recuperate from the jet lag.

By late that evening they become aware of the single most disturbing bit of news that occurred during their absence. Arthur Connally (a.k.a. Ashtray Art) had escaped from the Toddberry Asylum.

April 9
That evening Dr. Thomas James is able to contact Bob Goldfield (the D.A. and a personal friend) and inquire about the escape of Ashtray Art. D.A. Goldfield is unable to give much information other than that they believe that Ashtray Art was assisted in his escape. The police are investigating but have little to go on.

This evening Dr. James has a dream that, with the help of his friends and Zhu Hsaio, he is eventually able to interpret. He believes that something terrible is going to happen at Harpcor Towers, perhaps an armed take-over of the facility.

GM NOTE: Sadly I did not write down the dream I created for him. So much time has passed that I don’t have the slightest inkling of what it was.

April 10
During the day the team hits the streets and starts to nose around about any unusual activity on the streets. Since part of the dream featured a playing card, Andrew Hobbs and Eden Blake go looking for information on what Card Shark has been up to lately. Their results do not seem to indicate any Card Shark activity of an unusual nature.

At one of the bars they visit, Andrew notices a card tacked to a bulletin board that has a large Omega symbol on it. He examines the card and finds that it has a telephone number written on the back of it. No other writing or clues are available.

Specter and Dancer leave the bar and pick up Nightstick and Hippocrates. Nightstick had been patrolling in the China Town area and Hippocrates had been checking for the availability of vacant office space inside Harpcor Towers. Specter explains the situation about the card and they drive around town while Specter calls the phone number on his cellular phone (an anti-tracing precaution). The mysterious voice on the other end of the line says that certain things should not be discussed in the clear and asks them to check back on the card they saw in the bar, then severs the connection.

By evening Andrew and Eden are disguised and revisit the bar. Nightstick remains in the vicinity of the bar In case they need aid. By the time they get back to the bar the card has been replaced with an identical one. This card has a post office box key taped to the backside. They collect the key and prepare to leave when Eden spots something. One of the thumbtacks in the bulletin board is odd looking. When Andrew examines it he comes to believe that it is a micro-camera of some sort. He drops the item to the floor and crushes it before they leave.

At the post office box they find a package. It is in a plain brown wrapper with no return address. Knowing that the Unabomber is believed to have been captured they take the package with them. Within the package is a cellular phone with a built-in scrambler. Otherwise, it is a normal phone but has no marking on it to betray where it came from, or even what its own number is. An hour after they pick it up it starts to ring. Again the mysterious voice is on the other end. The man on the other end states that he represents a company that would like to talk about obtaining the Omega Team’s services. He desires to meet with them face to face and even allows the Omega Team to pick the time and place. Andrew chooses LeMastre Park, at the fountain, midnight tomorrow evening.

April 11
The morning paper has a noteworthy item in the headlines. Late last evening agents of Card Shark hit the Thorson Museum of Archaeology in a daring raid. Several guards were seriously injured but none were killed. The agents took a pair of jade jaguar statuettes from the Mesoamerican exhibit. The two jaguars are quite valuable, on the order of half a million for the pair, but none of the other museum treasures were even touched.

The rest of the day passes without incidents worthy of note.

Late that night the Omega Team makes its rendezvous a LeMastre Park. There they meet a company man (CIA Agent) by the name of Jason Calvin. They begin a discussion as to why the CIA wants to talk the Omega Team. Calvin and Hobbs (sorry I couldn’t resist) do all the talking.

Mr. Calvin explains that the CIA is not legally allowed to operate within the USA. That is where the Omega Team comes in. Certain things have come to the agency’s attention that they believe the Omega Team would be interested in. The Omega Team has pulled off some feats that have even impressed the company.

A terrorist organization known as the Legion of Death (Infamous in the campaign world, sort of a Black September group) may be planning a strike in the United States. For years the terrorist/mercenary organization got most of its most lucrative work in the Middle East in the covert employ of groups like the PLO. With the relaxing of tensions in that region the Legion of Death has operated for a few years in the former Yugoslavia. But now even that source of employment has dried up. The Legion of Death has started to feel the financial pinch. Unlike most true terrorist organizations the Legion is more like a mercenary group that specializes in terrorism. They will bring the worlds attention to your group’s plight in some horrible way, for the right price. The CIA has sources that indicate the group may try to pull off something big in the United States. If they can succeed they will become the most publicized terrorists in the world, with every little faction in the world vying for their services.

GM NOTE: Wow, the world has changed a bit since I ran this adventure. The game was played in 1996, back then the middleeast was starting to quiet down and it looked like Yugoslavia was going to as well. Of course this all takes place before the horrible attack of September 11th.

Calvin goes on to explain that they have no idea when and where the Legion might strike and the FBI cannot possibly cover the entire country. Calvin asks only that the team be alert to the possibility of terrorist activity. If the terrorists do strike in Hudson City and the Omega Team can do something about it, the CIA would owe the Team one.

The Omega Team says that they will do what they can in such an eventuality. No one in the Omega Team drops any hints of their suspicions of coming events at Harpcor Towers. Agent Calvin tells Hobbs to keep the cellular phone and gives them a phone number to call if they need to talk.

April 12
Andrew Hobbs and Eden Blake disguise themselves and attempt to gain information about the business at Harpcor Towers by socializing with some of the employees of the various firms there. They are not very successful. That evening the team enters the building, using Dr. Jame’s passkey (he had managed to rent some office space in the north tower on the twelfth floor). They get into some of the personal offices of the executives of Harpcor Technologies and discover that several of the high-ranking executives and stockholders are supposed to hold a private meeting on Monday, April 15th at 10 p.m.

April 13
Eden Blake goes out and picks up one of the executives of Callahan Gem Importers. She spends the day seducing him to find out what valuables the Importers will have in the building on Monday. She discovers that the company will be storing one of its largest shipments ever, in their vault on the night of Monday April 15th.

April 14
On the evening of the 13th a murder is committed in the city’s Gadsden district. Since the counties chief medical examiner is on vacation and out of the state, Dr. Thomas James is called in to consult on the autopsy. Data as follows;

Name: Kimberly Ann Brickford; Hair: Blonde, long; Eyes: Blue; Height: 5’7”; Weight: 126 lb. Race: White; Age: 27; Job: Secretary, Allied Mutual Insurance Company.

Wounds: Bruises and signs of beating on the face and head; deep stab wound in right side; two-inch deep cut across stomach; throat slit (cause of death). Time of death about 11:00 p.m. last night.

Scene of the Crime: The body was found twenty feet inside an alley next to a sewer grating. The victim was shoved into the alleyway and thrown to the ground. There were only a few blood splatters, but there was a large pool of blood indicating that the victim bled to death from a slit throat; she was blood type O+. There was also a square shaped bloody smear (type O+) on the side of the alley away from where the victim was found; nobody knows what caused it.

Police Reconstruction based on Evidence Recovered: The police believe that Miss Brickford was walking home from a date with Greg Hassel, her current boyfriend, when she was attacked from behind (she was walking by herself because they had a fight that evening). The attacker stabbed her in the side with a knife with a wide, slightly rounded blade, she was then shoved into the alleyway and thrown to the ground. Then she was hit several times in the head, perhaps to keep her quiet. The attacker then slit her throat and, as she bled to death, made the cut across her abdomen for unknown reasons.

Saliva and hair samples from the attacker were obtained. The attacker is not a secretor, so his blood type cannot be ascertained from his saliva, although it would prove useful for DNA typing if and when he is captured. The only fingerprints that were found were too smeared to be identifiable.

Dr. James manages to call Andrew Hobbs who goes out to look over the crime scene. He is unable to find any additional evidence that the police may, or may not, have missed. A seemingly innocent inquiry made by Dr. James to one of the police detectives reveals that Greg Hassel has an alibi of some sort. The Omega Team does not pursue this matter any farther at this point since it may simply be an isolated incident. (Of course since it made it into the campaign log you can be certain it isn’t.)

End of Part 13, tomorrow part 14.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
(Of course since it made it into the campaign log you can be certain it isn’t.)
:D

[Edsel]

You can follow this link to see the write-up of Nightstick. (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Nightstick.HTML)

Attached is the HDC file for the character. I have gotten rid of the old HTML code here since it was no longer functional. The current write-up is 5th Edition but was done before the Resource Pool rules were released in the new version of Dark Champions. As a result a home-brew system was used for equipment.

[NightStick]

The below is taken from the above post from Edsel....
Below is my first attempt at putting one of the Omega Team characters into Hero Designer format. I hope this works.

For what it's worth, Edsel, You did a fantastic job! Thank You!

From what I have seen, this brought back many enjoyable moments! To see NightStick in print, is almost like a resurrection!:D

From what I am told, Thanks go out to Killer Shrike for the additional coding done to allow the complete story to be told:D

THANK YOU! KILLER SHRIKE!:p

The bottom line now means that I have to go out and get a copy of HD. :mad:

I'll get ovet it!:rolleyes:

[Edsel]

Originally posted by NightStick
From what I am told, Thanks go out to Killer Shrike for the additional coding done to allow the complete story to be told:D

THANK YOU! KILLER SHRIKE!
I used an export template written by Killer Shrike, that allowed background fields to be posted.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by NightStick The bottom line now means that I have to go out and get a copy of HD. I should get a commission then.;)

If you really want to buy a copy of Hero Designer check out Hero's Online store.

[Killer Shrike]

NIGHTSTICK
http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Nightstick.HTML

[Killer Shrike]

and heres the template to make it happen for you:

:D

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
and heres the template to make it happen for you:

:D
Ohhhh! That really kicks a**.

Thanks a bunch!

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Ohhhh! That really kicks a**.

Thanks a bunch! No, thank you! The Omega team logs have been a real treat. :)

Besides, us "Ed's" have to look out for one another

--Ed "Killer Shrike" Hastings ;)

[NightStick]

Bottom Line is KUDOS to BOTH ED'S:D

[Edsel]

April 15
The Omega Team all arrives at Harpcor Towers in the evening before 10 o’clock. Nightstick conceals himself in the basement of the building. He finds a place that gives him a good view of much of the underground parking area and the majority of the stairway and elevator entrances. Hippocrates swipes a maintenance uniform and stashes a set of cling-grips and a force pistol inside the elevator shaft on the twelfth floor, near his rented office space. He then retreats to his rented office (in which the team has cached the combat gear of Hippocrates, Dancer and Specter) and waits. Dancer and Specter, in disguise, go to a late dinner at the Spinning Diamond restaurant and keep an eye on the helipad on the adjacent Tower, and the guest who are eating here. The restaurant is located on the top (twentieth) floor of the north tower. The restaurant rotates and gives a splendid view of the city.

April 15, 10:15 p.m.
A helicopter approaches and lands on the helipad atop the south tower, at the same time Nightstick witnesses the arrival of a large catering truck in the parking garage below. Armed men stream out of the catering truck and swarm up the south stairway. Nightstick calls a warning over his radio to his teammates and begins to stealthily approach the two guards who were left at the truck. The assault has begun.
The tense struggle that follows lasts for about a half-hour. Numerous small engagements consisting of one or two Omega Team members and as may as 6 or 7 terrorists occur through out this period. Of the 42 Terrorists that are involved in the take over attempt, 38 are killed or wounded. Only five terrorists, led by Martyr, manage to escape. Colonel Wolf if killed in the final fighting inside the building.
Of the Omega team, only Dancer is uninjured. Specter takes a serious wound to his left arm at the hands of Colonel Wolf. Hippocrates has several, very minor, wounds. It is Nightstick who pays the highest price. At one point in the battle Hippocrates had been captured by a group of terrorists. Nightstick attacked to aid his comrade but was critically injured in the effort. He was caught by a burst of fire from a terrorist’s M16. One round hit the vitals for almost maximum damage, only his light body armor saved his life. Nightstick’s attack did succeed in stunning two of the three terrorists and allowed Hippocrates to overpower the remaining guard. Hippocrates soon dispatched the three terrorists and tended to his wounded comrade. (Nightstick was also lucky that Dr. James was the person available to tend him.)

The goal of the terrorists was apparently robbery. They were trying to cut open the vault inside the offices of Callahan Gem Importers. The CIA contact made good on his promise and the Omega Team was quietly evacuated from the building, and Nightstick rushed to Hudson City University Medical Center, with the cover story that he was a hostage shot by the terrorists. Of 84 hostages, 79 were rescued without injury. 5 Hostages were killed along with 3 unfortunate firefighters. The Fire Department had responded to a fire alarm that was triggered early on in the situation. When their fire truck pulled up to the front doors, it was machine-gunned.

Joe Dishwasher underwent surgery that evening. Dr. Thomas James displayed nearly unbelievable skill. After the procedure Trauma Surgeon Dr. Richard Wexley stated, “Rarely is one lucky enough to witness so gifted a surgeon at work”. (Dr. Richard Wexley is a surgical resident at Hudson City University Medical Center. A natural roll of 3 on the surgery skill roll, followed up by an additional level of luck on the follow-up roll prompted his remark (This has to do with a house rule on rolling a “critical success”)).

April 16
During the afternoon Zhu Hsaio and Eden Blake pay a visit to Joe Dishwasher at the Hudson City University Medical Center. Zhu Hsaio waits until Joe is asleep and then requests that Eden leave him alone with his “impetuous student”. Eden Blake waits down the hall for nearly a half-hour before she ventures back to Joe Dishwasher’s room. Inside she finds that Zhu Hsaio is asleep in a chair and that he looks more pale and gaunt than usual. Joe Dishwasher, however, seems to have regained his color and look much improved. She awakens Zhu Hsaio when she checks to see if the old man has passed away.
Zhu Hsaio voice is weak but he insists that he will be fine. He admonishes Eden to allow Joe to sleep. “No child, let him sleep he needs his rest. Now you will take me back to my home so I may rest as well”.

Early in the evening Dr. Wexley and Dr. James are astonished to find Joe Diswasher sitting up and reading in bed. Their examination determines that Joe has seemingly healed at an unnaturally rapid pace. Normally a patient with his injuries would take two weeks to heal as much as he has in a single day.

GM NOTE: The real problem with a modern era campaign as deadly as this one is that character’s can often be laid-up with injuries that are going to take quite a while to heal naturally. I was forced on several occasions to come up with some “miracle” cure to get the player back into the action. I probably was more generous in doing this than I should have been.

Local television and newspapers are highlighting the action of a new vigilante group that call themselves the Pack. Three gang-bangers were shot to death by the vigilantes while setting in their car at a red light. The police found 3 kilos of cocaine in the trunk of the car. The vigilantes sprayed the car with automatic weapon’s fire while other motorists looked on.

April 17-18
Joe Dishwasher continues to recuperate at Hudson City University Medical Center. He now seems to be healing at a more normal rate. Due to the enormous strides in his recovery on the 16th, Dr. Wexley has decided that he can be released tomorrow afternoon.

Authorities locate the helicopter used by the survivors of the Legion of Death terrorists. It has been abandoned at a small airstrip in a neighboring county. No trace of Martyr or the other terrorists is found.

April 19
Joe Dishwasher is released from the hospital this afternoon. Dr. Wexley requests that he come by for a check up on Monday, April 22nd.

Just after noon Card Shark agents raid an old movie memorabilia show that is in progress at the Hudson City Convention Center. Two armed guards are gunned down when they attempt to intervene. One is critically injured and in the ICU, the other is in satisfactory condition. Stray bullets slightly injure two patrons of the show. The Card Shark agents seize two pairs of Ruby Slippers that were used in the original production of the Wizard of Oz. The Ruby Slippers are, of course, merely sequence but are worth an estimated $50,000 a pair to collectors. Other more valuable items, such as guitar actually used by Elvis Presley in “Viva Las Vegas”, are untouched.

Sunday, April 20
About a week ago a pair of new vigilantes moved into Hudson City. Predator (a.k.a. Dutch Watkins) and Snapshot (a.k.a. Daniel Sanders) are their names. The two are long term associates who have just made the move from the Houston area.
Predator is also knows as the Invisible Vigilante. Dutch Watkins is based on the character played by Arnold in the first Predator movie. In the novel trilogy (only two movies were made) the same man is the lead character throughout. Predator has obtained several pieces of alien equipment during his battles with them, including an “inviso-shield”, “alien frisbee”, two sets of “wrist blades”, a helmet and a spear.
Snapshot’s reputation labels him as the Silent Killer. Daniel Sanders lost his voice box due to injuries sustained in Vietnam. He is an expert in the use of small arms and is the first character in the campaign to have purchased several of the special automatic fire maneuvers listed in the “Eye for an Eye” supplement. In his secret ID he is also a master Go player and has amassed a small fortune through tournament play in Hong Kong and America’s several “Chinatowns” over the years.

Dutch and Daniel have been reading about the now, somewhat famous, vigilante group known as the Omega Team. Since Dutch and Daniel are both former military men the idea of finding a team in which to work appeals to them.
Since the Omega team has proven hard to uncover through conventional means, Predator hatches a plot to make contact with them. That evening, after consulting with Snapshot, he heads to the Strip to search for a few criminals and make his presence known.
He soon finds a couple of drug dealers and watches them from a nearby alley. As he contemplates his available courses of action a car containing three Hispanics carry out a drive by on the two, Afro-American, drug dealers. The shooting takes place regardless of the proximity of several bystanders (fortunately none are hit). Predator takes out the cars engine with a well placed toss of his “fisbee” and then takes out the trigger man as the trio flee from their unseen attacker. As the unconscious gunman lies bleeding to death, Predator carves a large W symbol in his chest. Predator then departs.

The presence of the symbol carved in the chest of the deceased pusher obviously points to the Omega Team. This is a little out of character for the normal behavior of the Omega Team and several of the detectives are worried. This could indicate that the Omega Team is become jealous of all the media attention the Pack is getting, and that the violence will escalate. The police are mystified about what sort of weapon was used to disable the car (it sliced through the fender, gashed the engine block, and then exited the grill of the car without leaving any residue except what seems to be an unknown lubricant). The few witnesses in the area reported seeing a metallic streak that seemed twist and swerve sharply as well as appearing and disappearing out of thin air.
Records from early 1991 indicate a brief rash of similar incidents that resulted in the deaths of over a dozen known violent criminals and three police officers. The FBI’s MIB (Mysterious Incidents Branch) took over that investigation and has never shared their final conclusions with the Hudson City Police Department.

GM NOTE: Thus two new Player-characters enter the campaign. I really let Predator’s character talk me into too much. I feel, on reflection, that the character unbalanced the game.[/I]

Monday, April 21
The morning papers are dominated by two stories. The Pack has hit another drug house. In the raid 3 people in the house were slain as well as two users who were just outside the house. Unconfirmed reports state that a “beastman” was working with the Pack. The other story is about the rather blatant, for the Omega Team, killing of the drug dealer on the Strip. The police assume that the “beastman” must have been wearing an elaborate disguise of some sort. They are wrong.
Andrew Hobbs (now going by the name Savant) is very upset when he reads the story in the morning paper and quickly contacts the other Omega Team members to discuss just what happened on the Strip last night. It quickly becomes evident that none of the four Omega Team members was responsible so they decide to investigate who is using their symbol and to what end.

GM NOTE: Current members of the Omega Team are; Andrew Hobbs (Savant, formerly Specter), Dr. Thomas James (Hippocrates), Joe Dishwasher (Nightstick), and Eden Blake (Dancer, NPC). The former member Gunner was long gone by this point (the player moved on) and the Remittance Man is now in California. His player is USAF (a Lt. Colonel now) and at the time he had been transferred to the Pentagon, he is now at Edward AFB.

By 10:00AM Dr. Thomas James has used his connections with Dr. Ernest Steiner (Chief Medical Examiner of Hudson City) to examine the body of the dead drug dealer. With information obtained from the corner’s report and through their other connections they, they determine that something really unknown and weird was going on here. They also recall and research the previous incidents from 1991. Once they determine that the Feds took over and blacked out the previous incident, Andrew Hobbs contacts CIA agent Jason Calvin for further information.
By calling in the favor they were owed by the CIA they determine that the most directly involved person in the previous incident was HCPD Lt. Detective Dutch Watkins. Mr. Watkins was a former US Army airborne ranger who was involved in a possible alien encounter in Central America in 1988. After being the sole survivor of the encounter, he retired from the military and became an HCPD detective. Three years later in early 1991 he again had the unfortunate coincidence to become involved with a second alien encounter in Hudson City. Late in 1993 he was, involuntarily, recalled to active duty to investigate an alien crash in Siberia. After that incident he returned to the US and became a private investigator in Houston, Texas. Over the last year-and-a-half the Invisible Vigilante has been operating in the Houston area. The CIA suspects that Mr. Watkins is the Invisible Vigilante and may be using some alien equipment that he retained. Just last week Mr. Watkins moved back to Hudson City. The CIA has not intervened against Mr. Watkins since he is considered a valuable asset whom they do not wish to further alienate. Before Agent Calvin finishes his discussion with Mr. Hobbs he admonishes him not to harm or compromise Mr. Watkins in any way, and also not to reveal where they have gotten this information.

Around noon the Omega Team scouts the home of Mr. Watkins and quickly discovers he is not at home. Savant (formerly Specter) hacks into the telephone company records to determine 6 new businesses have had telephone service installed over the last week. Only one of these is a PI firm but the phone bill is in the name of one Daniel Sanders. Joe Dishwasher recalls that there had been a minor hubbub in Chinatown about world famous (at least as far as avid Go players are concerned) Go player in town this weekend by that name.

By one o’clock they have a plan and go to see Mr. Dutch Watkins, private investigator. Andrew Hobbs (disguised to look a bit older) tells Mr. Watkins that he believes that his wife (played by Eden Blake) has been cheating him. He pays Mr. Watkins $500 up front, plus expenses to place her under surveillance, starting immediately. He explains that her car is now parked at the Basset Arms motel about 5 blocks away, he followed her there himself and suspects that she may be meeting with her lover. Andrew leaves and Dutch proceeds directly to the motel to begin his surveillance.
Soon after Mr. Watkins arrives at the motel he observes the subject (Dancer) leaving the motel in her car, he follows her. He soon finds himself in the suburb of Maple Valley. He follows her through a railroad underpass and suddenly suffers a quadruple blowout. (Nightstick was concealed alongside the road and threw caltrops in front of the car as Mr. Watkins passed.) Being mildly paranoid, Dutch floors it and in a shower of sparks begins to accelerate. In his rear view mirror he spots a mobile auto-repair van (the newly replaced Omega Truck) and also barely catches sight of a ninja looking character hopping in the back of if. Predator veers off the road into some tall grass, quickly rips off his outer garments and activates the inviso-shield. Predator soon finds three Omega Team members fanning out around his disabled car (Hippocrates, Savant & Nightstick). Recognizing who they are he deactivates the inviso-shield and makes contact.

GM NOTE: The inviso-shield is a mesh bodysuit that will render its wearer, and any garments worn under it invisible. Predator equipment held by the user is also rendered invisible, but any non-alien items held by the user or worn outside the mesh will not be cloaked. The inviso-shield gives a –6 PER penalty to those attempting to sight the wearer, or a –3 penalty if the wearer is moving. This is one of the items that I began to think of as unbalancing to the campaign.

By four that afternoon they are back at the motel room the Omega Team had rented. They discuss the incident of the 20th and learn of Predator’s partner, Snapshot. Dutch soon calls Daniel Sanders and he arrives at the motel where they continue their discussions. The Omega Team gives Predator one of their cellular phones so they can keep in touch, and work together on a trial basis, then every body goes home.

The police have a couple of witnesses who report the incident of the car running a short distance on the rims and the mysteriously dressed people who were seen in the vicinity. Since no shots were fired and no serious damage was caused to the street the police are not seriously interested in the incident. A patrol officer looks at Dutch Watkins’ disabled car but Mr. Watkins soon makes arrangements to have his disabled vehicle picked up. The private eye tells the police that he wishes to press no charges against any one and that client confidentiality in his current ‘divorce’ case prevents him from discussing the matter further. The police do not consider the incident worthy of investigation.

April 22
Andrew Hobbs begins to make some serious inquires into the escape of Ashtray Art. Extensive investigations and inquires finally lead him to believe that a night orderly who has now vanished assisted in the escape of the psychopathic arsonist. The orderly in question, Jerry Hodges (whose real name was Rod Hopkins), started work at the Todberry Asylum just after Ashtray Arts’ incarceration, and quit his job (and vanished) about a week after his escape. Rod Hopkins had a record of several drug related offenses and was believed to be involved in the occult subculture. The Omega Team becomes concerned that the Cabal might be involved in some way.

About 4 o’clock in the afternoon police scanners alert the Omega Team (as well as Predator), of a violent home invasion in Irishtown district near Hudson City University. Apparently Dr. Malcome McNeely, his wife, daughter and all 4 members of the household staff were murdered. The invaders took only 4 small statuettes. The statuettes are known as Tellas, they are of Hawaiian origin and are supposed to represent fire spirits that serve the great goddess Pelé.

End of Part 14, part 15 tomorrow. Cardshark is up to something, the Pack, the Cabal and a serial killer are all loose in the city, and what's up with Ashtray Art?

I'm going to try and get Hippocrates entered in the HD and post him later today.

[Edsel]

This link will take you to the write-up for Hippocrates (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Hippocrates.HTML).

Hippocrates equipment was all of the common variety, guns, grenades, etc. so I have not written-up any of it for the character sheet. Attached is the HDC file for the character.

[Eosin]

Yes friends, when you are trying to contact the mean and evil vigilate group known to really work at spairing innocents and even - very often- spairring the bad guys who have a chance to be redeemed, a known sure fire tactic is to CARVE into a living human being the initials of the group. :mad:

We almost shot them as sadistic freaks anyway.


I built the Predator [Eddie built the gadgets, I build Arnold!] and I used to complain that he had a special power DCV Transfer to DCV Only Useable on his team mates - special effect was him going invisible and all 4 guards or DEMON or VIPER deciding that there was only one Vigilante after all and all of them opening up on ME!

PS - I don't really think healing got out of hand, if anything it was still a little too slow. Several adventures PCs went in wounded from the previous game session and on two occassions I know people stayed wounded for at least 3 game sessions from 1 wound. That stunk and it was not me.

[Killer Shrike]

Hmm...the invisio shield doesnt seem that bad -- it basically sounds like a good Stealth roll + a few extra inches of movement only usable while Stealthing built into a Focus.

How badly did this guy abuse it?

[Eosin]

It does not sound bad until you are standing right next to him and 10" from four MAC - 10 armed thugs and he aborts to Invso so that you take the whole load.

Like I said the inviso shield was really just a DVC Transfer ...... His DVC went up and mine went down. It happend to me so many times that it wasn't funny. I am pretty careful, but he would just TONK away and then turn invisible leaving me holding the bag of dung.


EDITED IN: I think at one point I threatened to shoot him myself if he turned invisible while it was just me and him facing some DEMON agents. They had 2.5d6 AP AF lightining guns.....I had 5 points of armor.. You had a good chance of dying when DEMON showed up.

[Killer Shrike]

My answer to that kind of bs: Grenades. Turn invisible all you want :D

When ever my players crank their DEX too high, abuse desolid or invis, or over use any other stay-out-of-harms-way tactic, grenades of all sorts (millieu appropriate of course) suddenly become much more common....

[NightStick]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
My answer to that kind of bs: Grenades. Turn invisible all you want :D

When ever my players crank their DEX too high, abuse desolid or invis, or over use any other stay-out-of-harms-way tactic, grenades of all sorts (millieu appropriate of course) suddenly become much more common....
The only problem that WE would have had with the grenade thing is, well, for the slower players:D it would have meant certain death, and not for the one who was the abuser.:eek:
The inviso thing worked pretty good, taking into consideration all of the aspects of the balance of the team getting hosed quite often.:p

[Edsel]

April 23
The Omega Team steps up their investigations into the activities of the Cabal. Andrew Hobbs finds out that Lt. Theron Long (see campaign history August 30th, 1995) is currently in Todberry Asylum and is still in a catatonic state. Through the use of Savant’s computer hacking, Dancer’s forgery and acting skills, and Hippocrates’ medical connections they arrange to have Lt. Long remanded to their custody so he can be subjected to “a safe, experimental treatment in an attempt to revive him.” That evening they charter a private jet and fly Lt. Long to New Orleans.

Lt. Theron Long has no local family. He was divorced and apparently his ex-wife takes on interest in him.

April 24
They take Lt. Long into the bayou near Galliano and leave him in the care of Mama Regina (see campaign history September 4th, 1995). Mama Regina believes she can break the spell he is under but it will probably take a week or so. She should know by the next full moon (which will occur on May 3rd).
That evening they return to Hudson City sans Lt. Long.

April 25
Early in the morning the corpse of a woman is found in Bankhurst Park. The media reports claim that police believe this to be the work of a serial killer, possibly the same killer responsible for the April 13th murder.
The characters continue investigations into the doings of the Cabal, but are making no appreciable headway.

April 26
Dr. Thomas James is able to get into the ME’s office and make inquires about the murder victim found on the 25th. Data is as follows:

Name: Monica Beverly Garrison; Hair Blond, short; Eyes Green; Height 5’9”; Weight 130 lb.; Race White; Age 32; Job: Advertising accounts manager, The Boyles Agency.

Wounds: Multiple stab wounds in the breasts, chest and stomach (cause of death), left arm hacked off halfway up the humerus (upper arm bone); she was blood type O+. Carved on the rear of the lower right thigh is the word “Bogeyman.” Time of death approximately 10:45PM April 24th.

Scene of the Crime: The body was found inside a thicket in Bankhurst Park; a passerby saw a piece of red clothing and found the body when he investigated. A sock (not one of the victim’s) was stuffed in her mouth. Prints from sneakers and gloves are visible in the moist earth. About thirty feet away are signs of a scuffle, indicating where she was probably tackled.

Police Reconstruction Based on Evidence Recovered: The victim was assaulted last night while she was jogging. According to her fiancé, Ted Parker, the two of them normally went jogging in the Park every evening at about 10:00PM, but he was sick that night so she went by herself. The murderer tackled here while she was jogging, stunned her, and then dragged her into the thicket. After stuffing a sock in her mouth to silence her, he stabbed her repeatedly (using the knife he used on the last victim, plus a second one, which is longer and narrower). Then he used a butcher’s knife or an axe to chop off one of her arms; after that he used the long, narrow-bladed knife to carve the word “Bogeyman” into her right rear thigh, apparently to give himself a name; the letters were carved neatly, without any tearing or jagged edges. The arm has not been located; either the killer kept it or a dog took it.
The sock had no fingerprints on it. It is a standard style of sock, available in hundreds of stores. The only evidence here besides the stab wound data are the shoe and glove prints left at the scene. The gloves are unremarkable. The shoes are Nikes, and there is a distinctive slash on the bottom of the left shoe, which will aid in identification if the shoes are ever found.

Andrew Hobbs tries to formulate a profile of the killer after reviewing the data obtained about the two murders; he consults with Jun Sun (his contact at the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit). He believes the killer is white (serial killers tend to stick to their own racial group). The killer is probably right-handed (the first victim was clearly stabbed from behind on the right side). The Bogeyman is going to continue to kill, and thinks that he is unstoppable—he was brazen enough to give himself a name. He may try other “publicity stunts” (such as letters to newspapers) in the future. The letters were so well carved that he is probably used to handling a knife. He is strong enough and/or stealthy enough to tackle a young, physically fit woman and drag her into a thicket without causing much of a disturbance.

Early in the evening the Pack hits another crack house, 6 are killed. It is now believed that there are at least four of them and reports of a “beastman” persist.

April 27
At 5 o’clock that evening Card Shark agents kidnap the Caldwell Triplets (well-known young socialites, the daughters of millionaire parents). The kidnappings occurred simultaneously while the Triplets were apart. One triplet was at a piano recital, another was at the ballet, and the third was at the Bayshore Yacht Club.

April 28-29
These are days of relative calm. Minor inquires are made about the Cabal and some contemplation is given to the activities of Chard Shark. Efforts to determine any commonalties between the two victims of the Bogeyman prove fruitless.

April 30
The Caldwell kidnapping is resolved. The parents of the girls pay an estimated $1 million in ransom and the girls are released unharmed, though somewhat traumatized by their ordeal. That evening the girls identify the bodies of four of the kidnappers. They were found in an alley near the Gadsden precinct house. Each of the dead had been shot once between the eyes. In the breast pocket of each was black card with a blue crescent moon on it, the calling card of the Harbinger of Justice.

Wednesday, May 1, 1996
A local branch of Nations Bank is robbed around noon. The robbers are seven men all dressed identically and armed with AK-47 Assault Rifles. The group escapes in a van, which is later found abandoned. The hold-up nets around $50,000.

May 2
The characters spend most of the day covering for their secret identities and also continue keeping an ear to the ground for any further Cabal activity. During the group’s spare time they assume a “rapid response” mode in case they become aware of any Cabal presence.

May 3
The Omega Team and their new allies (Predator and Snapshot) continue the activities of the previous day (waiting and listening). That night their vigilance is rewarded.

Just after midnight they are in the Omega Truck driving around town. As they enter the Pier-Point district they hear an explosion, several blocks away, which is soon followed by automatic weapons fire and other sounds of battle. As the team speeds toward the sound of the guns they witness a ball of fire rise in the area of the disturbance; the ball of fire then arcs back toward the ground about half a mile away.

Within a minute the team arrives at a warehouse that is dreadfully familiar to some of them. It is the Cabal warehouse at which Hawk was killed last August (see campaign history August 30th, 1995). The doors of the warehouse are all blasted down and several bodies litter the surrounding area. The Omega Team has a short but frightening battle with Cabal members who are armed with bio-technical and mystical weaponry. In the ensuing battle the Omega Team kills 9 of the 10 agents they encounter. All of the slain agents rapidly decay to dust and blow away. They are able to get one unconscious agent out of his robes and take him alive. The bodies around the warehouse appear to be street thugs who were armed with gang-style firearms. All of the ‘thugs’ bodies bear a pentagram tattoo on their right forearm, as does the agent they have captured. During the battle both right side tires of the Omega Truck are shot off and fire from a ‘lightning gun’ penetrates the truck’s armor and causes some minor chassis damage (the damage was not as serious as it first looked). Inside the warehouse they find several more ‘thug’ bodies wearing ceremonial robes, a stone alter and the four missing Tellas, one of which is shattered and ruined (see campaign history April 22nd, 1996 for information on Tellas).

It is obvious to the team that they have arrived just after someone else has hit this warehouse. A spent recoilless rifle casing is near one corner of the building along with tire marks that indicate that a large van or truck has left the area in a hurry. The Omega Team hurriedly replaces the ruined tires on the Omega Truck and flee before the police arrive (fortunately the Omega Truck carries two spare tires).

The police find eight bodies at the scene. All of the dead have a background of gang involvement, mostly in voodoo posies. The Pentagram tattoos also point to occult involvement. This is not especially alarming since this type of occult ‘nonsense’ is common among voodoo posies. They determine that all of the doors of the warehouse were blasted down by explosive ordinance of some sort and they also recover a spent recoilless rifle casing (the lot numbers have been filed off). Metallurgical analysis will indicate that it is probably from the same lot as a, previously recovered, casing used in a crack house raid that wall pulled off by the Pack. The police recover the fragments of one of the missing Tellas (the Omega Team took the rest). Fingerprint dusting finds only the prints of the dead. In addition to slugs and casings from the slain’s weapons, the police recover several 7.62mm NATO slugs from at least two different guns and a single .48 caliber slug from a unique weapon known to be used by Mongrel. A couple of belt linkages from a 7.62mm machinegun are found. Remains of two solid rubber truck tires are collected (all identifying markings have been, purposefully, eliminated). Burn marks from, what are believed to be some type of laser weapon is evident. Two of the dead appear to have been mauled by a large wolf or bear. One man has a broken back and numerous shattered ribs caused by constriction of his mid-section. The body of one of the dead bears the distinctive slashes, which the medical examiner believes to have been, caused by some sort of steel claw, perhaps a martial arts weapon of some sort. All of these distinctive wounds are hallmarks of the vigilantes known as the Pack.

The police believe this to be the work of the Pack. This is the first time that the Pack is known to have used two large vehicles, which leads some to fear the Pack is growing in numbers.

The Omega Team retires to the Beta Base. Dancer and Hippocrates (at the urging of Savant) begin an immediate interrogation of the captured Cabal agent. They are able to determine that the Pack raided the warehouse and left just seconds before the Omega Team arrived. The Pack included a “werewolf” who was wearing a University of Alabama football jersey. The Cabal members at the warehouse were attempting to release the spirit of a Tella (a fire spirit) to possess the ‘suitable’ subject that they had. That subject was Ashtray Art. The Ceremony was a success but before the circle could bind the spirit they had released the Pack attacked and broke the circle when the explosions that destroyed the doors killed several members of the circle. Ashtray Art is now fused with/possessed with the fire demon and is free, but since the demon is a servitor by nature it will seek a master to serve.

Before any further information can be obtained the agent screams in pain and blood flows from his ears as he dies. It took about three hours and the use of penethol to get this much information. Dr. James is able to determine that the subject has expired due to a massive cerebral hemorrhage, the cause of which is unknown.
The three Tellas are locked away in the Beta base’s vault.

May 4
Since the some members of the team were up late, no activity gets started until afternoon. Dancer takes delivery of the new Omega Truck just after one o’clock. The new Truck is identical the original except that it sports a more powerful engine and better suspension. The original vehicle will be down for repairs for two days, at which time it will receive the new upgrades. The new engine will allow the Omega Truck to reach a top speed of 136 mph, very impressive for a 2½-ton truck. The new suspension system will allow a considerable improvement in handling as well.

GM NOTE: The Omega Truck’s DEX is raised from 15 to 18 and the SPEED is increased from 3 to 4. The truck now has 2 levels with turning as well. Due to the influx of new characters, more points were available to improve the vehicle and to purchase a duplicate as well. Now one vehicle will be kept at each base. Perhaps I’ll try and enter the Omega Truck into Hero Designer and post it one of these days soon.

The team is very worried about the developments with Ashtray Art, the Cabal and the Pack. They become more apprehensive as the day wears on. By late afternoon the group has hit the streets looking for any information about the Pack or the whereabouts of the fire creature that they fear Ashtray Art has become. The team is also starting to look for patterns in the strikes carried out by the Pack.

Savant heads to the Barton Street Mission. He hopes to ply the homeless and street junkies for information. By talking with an addict he finds at the Mission and by following up at the small church of Reverend M, Savant is able to glean the following: The street addicts are more paranoid than ever. The supply of drugs has not dwindled but the prices have increased dramatically. Some of the junkies are cleaning up their act, getting off the stuff, with the help of Reverend M. Other addicts are turning to petty theft and muggings to raise the extra money they need to support their habits, street crime has increased. One addict witnessed a hit carried out by the pack and described a short, extremely stocky, individual who crushed a dealer to death with a bear hug. He said the other Pack members called the man Rottweiler. It was estimated that Rottweiler is about 5’6” tall and around 300 pounds. His facial features are reminiscent of somebody with Down’s syndrome.

Hippocrates has Dancer disguise him as a rich street punk. He heads down to the strip in search of dealers to talk with. He finds one, and with the help of a generous bribe, gets him to talk. The dealer is reluctant to talk since the fear on the street is that anybody could be an informant for Mongrel (leader of the Pack). Among the dealers other observations are the following: “We’re still getting stuff, just from different sources. The flow hasn’t slowed down at all, it’s just a matter of finding out who has what.” “I absorb more territory all the time. There’s no fighting, there are just fewer dealers every day. If space is available, you absorb it. No one fights over it, there’s plenty to go around.”

Before Hippocrates can question the dealer any further two other dealers confront the pair. It quickly becomes evident that they do not trust the newcomer (Hippocrates) and fear that the dealer is informing on them to someone who might be in the pay of the Pack. Words quickly escalate to threats, the threats to a scuffle and the scuffle into a battle of knives and guns. The talkative dealer runs and Hippocrates is forced to use his knife against the two troublemakers as the situation deteriorates. He leaves one dead and one seriously wounded. Hippocrates flees the area before any police are drawn to the sight of the altercation.

The police find the two dealers, one is dead and the other is seriously wounded. An Omega card is also left at the scene. Witnesses state that the injured dealer was knifed, along with his partner, after a close melee that lasted several seconds. The police are hopeful that the wounded dealer will be able to give them an improved description of the vigilante that he fought with. Bloody footprints lead a short distance from the sight of the melee so the police now know the shoe size of the assailant as well as the type of shoes he was wearing. Police also have reports that a fourth person (a known drug dealer) was scene talking to the vigilante prior to the melee, they are actively seeking this individual as a material witness.

Snapshot and Nightstick patrol the Chinatown area and are soon rewarded when Nightstick spots fresh graffiti on the wall of a restaurant, the graffiti is written in Mandarin Chinese. The message reads “To the Demon Dog, the wisdom you seek can be found at the corner of Dragon and Canton Street, tonight at 11 o’clock.” The corner of Canton and Dragon Street is the heart of Chinatown. On weekends the intersection and the streets for a block are sealed off from automobiles and the area becomes a pedestrian bazaar/open-air market. On Saturday nights the area is packed with Orientals and occidental tourists.

The whole team stakes out the Chinese market. The entire incident turns out to be an attempt by the Qi On Triad to eliminate their enemy Nightstick (The Triads hunt nightstick on an 8 or less). In the ensuing battle Lang Wong, DNPC of Snapshot happens to get caught up in the situation, but he, fortunately, escapes unharmed. He was here to buy some Peking duck, just a coincidence (GM rolled the 8 or less again). All but one of the fifteen-man Triad hit team is eliminated, the survivor escapes leaving his right hand behind ( Predator’s “alien frisbee” cut it off). Dancer suffers a serious injury to her left, lower, leg when she is hit with a darn-do (a Chinese broadsword). Snapshot suffers two, non-impairing, wounds as he is shot in the left arm and shoulder. Savant is hit with a hail of 9mm bullets after he knocks several civilians to the ground for their own safety. Of the five bullets that hit him, none strike his unprotected head. Savant is stunned pretty good and suffers a minor wound to his right foot. The stray fire of the Triad hit-team hits three bystanders. Two are seriously injured and the third is critical, once again the extra-ordinary medical skills of Dr. Thomas James prevents any deaths . (One civilian was down to –8 BODY when Dr. James rolls very well and saved him. Later in his civilian ID he was able to operate on the victim and ensure his survival.)

Numerous 9mm casings and slugs are recovered in the area. A single 12-guage shotgun casing for a fireball slug is recovered but is has no traceable markings. Two casings from a .300 Winchester Magnum rifle are recovered from the top of a roof as well as several 7.62mm NATO casings. None of the .300 Win Mag slugs are recovered in good enough shape to be usable for ballistics tests. A pair of fairly clean 7.62mm slugs are recovered for ballistics. Witnesses tell of a fight between the Omega team and the, now mostly dead, Chinese gangsters. Several witnesses report that the Omega team took chances to reduce the threat to bystanders. There is no known cause for the ruckus but it is rumored by residents of Chinatown that the Triads of the Far East have a grudge against Nightstick, a known member of the Omega team. Due the nature of the injuries of some of the dead and witness reports of a wispy, barely glimpsed figure, police now believe that the Invisible Vigilante, once of Houston, Texas, has joined the Omega Team. They are also able to piece together enough information from the fragmentary reports of the witnesses to lead them to believe that there might be another new member as well. This would bring the Omega Team up to six members, more powerful than it has ever been. Blood samples are recovered from the street where witnesses say the female member of the Omega Team was injured. The sample should be enough to form a reliable DNA sample. After the battle one of the Omega team members took time to render, very professional, first aid to the three wounded bystanders. The quality of the treatment has now convinced HCPD detectives that at least one member of the Omega is, at the very least, an excellently trained paramedic.

End of Part 15, part 16 tomorrow. We’ll start off tomorrow with a quick run-down of what the police know about the Omega team.

I'll be trying to post the NPC Dancer a little later.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Eosin
It does not sound bad until you are standing right next to him and 10" from four MAC - 10 armed thugs and he aborts to Invso so that you take the whole load.

Like I said the inviso shield was really just a DVC Transfer ...... His DVC went up and mine went down. It happend to me so many times that it wasn't funny. I am pretty careful, but he would just TONK away and then turn invisible leaving me holding the bag of dung.


EDITED IN: I think at one point I threatened to shoot him myself if he turned invisible while it was just me and him facing some DEMON agents. They had 2.5d6 AP AF lightining guns.....I had 5 points of armor.. You had a good chance of dying when DEMON showed up. Hmmm... I sense a little bitterness here. Perhaps the inviso-shield wasn't that bad. Perhaps the angst of the other players made me feel it was that bad. He eventually got it in the end, if you'll remember.

[Edsel]

You can follow this link to see the write-up for Dancer (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Dancer.HTML).

I have not included any equipment for Dancer since she uses normal everyday sorts of equipment (and H&K MP5, shuriken, etc.) The character photo for her is actually a porn star, but I can't remember the name. Suffice to say it is not Rachel or Kara.:D

Attached is Dancer's HDC file.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by NightStick
The only problem that WE would have had with the grenade thing is, well, for the slower players:D it would have meant certain death, and not for the one who was the abuser.:eek:
The inviso thing worked pretty good, taking into consideration all of the aspects of the balance of the team getting hosed quite often.:p Yeah, but you remember how it was in the CORPs. When one person screws it up, everybody suffers until the unit takes it on themselves to "correct" the problem ;)

In this case, "Oops! Dunno how I managed to smash your Invisio belt 17 times with a ballping hammer. Just clumsy I guess." :D

[Killer Shrike]

Edsel, post the pic of Dancer, click the img link it will create when you post it to open up a new browser window displaying the image. Copy the URL (the http line).

Edit the Dancer character sheet post. Put your cursor in the message window and press CTRL+F for the find dialog. Find &lt;img src=""&gt; and paste the URL to the pic between the quotations.

[NightStick]

Yeah, but you remember how it was in the CORPs. When one person screws it up, everybody suffers until the unit takes it on themselves to "correct" the problem
Yes, I do fondly:( recall that, along with the "classroom":cool:
HOWEVER, :p I am sorry to say that NightStick would not have handled the problem that way,
and, he didn't.:p
NightStick usually made it a point to be NOWHERE NEAR Predator during any "planned" activities.:p

[Eosin]

Originally posted by Edsel
Hmmm... I sense a little bitterness here. Perhaps the inviso-shield wasn't that bad. Perhaps the angst of the other players made me feel it was that bad. He eventually got it in the end, if you'll remember.


I think everyone is missing the point here...It was not too powerful. It was just fine. What it did do was shift the burden of absorbing incoming MAC-10 rounds to everyone with you.

The was not one of "how can the bad guys get him" - the problem was him kicking down the door or shooting someone giving away [usually my] presence and then turning invisible and saying "I'll move around behind them. You hold them here." :) I should point out that I am the most ineffective in combat and just about the only member who does not have advanced autofire weapons/moves or moving martial passing strikes that are a dream to sweep. Whah! Poor me but it sucked having to take the shots meant for another player.

[NightStick]

I should point out that I am the most ineffective in combat and just about the only member who does not have advanced autofire weapons/moves or moving martial passing strikes that are a dream to sweep. Whah! Poor me but it sucked having to take the shots meant for another player.

I must admit Eosin, that while it is quite humorus in HINDSIGHT:D , it did always appear that you did take the brunt of most of the initial vollies.:eek:
You generally overcame the situation and came out smellin like the proverbial rose.;)
I rationalize this by comparing the calibur and style of the players.
NO CONTEST. :rolleyes:
I hope that you never personalized this, and have long since recognized that situations like this crop up in almost all scenarios.:(
In any event, it was still a blast!:p

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Edsel, post the pic of Dancer, click the img link it will create when you post it to open up a new browser window displaying the image. Copy the URL (the http line).

Edit the Dancer character sheet post. Put your cursor in the message window and press CTRL+F for the find dialog. Find &lt;img src=""&gt; and paste the URL to the pic between the quotations. Okay I'll give it a quick try before logoff for the night. Attached to this post is the image. Note that this is not artwork. It is just photograph I got somewhere of a pretty attractive redhead and it seemed to fit. I have no idea who the girl is.

[Eosin]

I just wanted to whine a little bit :)

DId I mention that I have already written up my character for the next DC game that Eddie runs and is he a dozie of a combat monster :)

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Edsel
Okay I'll give it a quick try before logoff for the night. Attached to this post is the image. Note that this is not artwork. It is just photograph I got somewhere of a pretty attractive redhead and it seemed to fit. I have no idea who the girl is.
I find it quite amusing that the Dancer picture has been downloaded 18 times, whereas her .hdc file hasn't been downloaded once.

We are computer geeks and we are proud!:D

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
I find it quite amusing that the Dancer picture has been downloaded 18 times, whereas her .hdc file hasn't been downloaded once.

We are computer geeks and we are proud!:D Actually, everytime the page is refreshed, the img tag in the character file causes the file to be downloaded again.

So basically that meant that at that point the page had only been viewed 18 times, which is basically -2 for the first time the img was downloaded for you to get the URL and then once you edited the character for it to display, and then -1 for when you opened the page today. So basically it means that only 15 people max looked at this page after you posted the pic and put it into the character file. I opened the page 3 times last night hoping for more Omega goodness, so cut that down to no more than 12.

For some reason, people on this forum seem more interested in aimless Polls, what ifs, what would your character dos, and arguing about Captain America's STR in HEROs terms than actual content. It's frustrating, but you get used to it. :(

[Edsel]

Summary of Police knowledge of the Omega Team. There are at least four members of the team and possibly as many as six.

Nightstick (a.k.a. Demon Dog) is one member. He is Chinese and speaks English with an accent. He is obviously a skilled martial artist but it is unlikely he partakes in competition. He is known to favor a Three-section-staff in melee and uses tsubute (a type of blunt shuriken-thingie) as missile weapons.On July 26th, 1995 the police recovered a large shuriken that is believed to have been thrown by Nightstick, from it they have obtained two partial fingerprints.

Another member of the team is female. Witness descriptions claim that she has a very shapely figure and moves with uncommon grace, the newspapers have dubbed her Dancer. She is believed to be the same Dancer that once operated in the New Orleans area. It has been reported that she has red hair. She is known to favor a H&K MP5 Submachinegun and has also been known to use shuriken on occasion. Since the events of this night (May 4th) the police have a good blood sample and are confident that a DNA test can be used to positively identify her when she is apprehended. A footprint left in her own blood when she was helped from the scene has given police her shoe size.

The papers have also named one the team members Hippocrates; this is in light of continuing evidence that one of the members of the team is skilled in emergency medicine. Hippocrates is known to be a male who often uses an Ingram Mac-10 submachinegun. This night he also, apparently used a shotgun.

The fourth member of the team is less well known and is not believed to be one of the original members (the previous three are believed to be). He is thought to be less than 30 years old

The possible fifth member is the Invisible Vigilante, lately of Houston, Texas. It is not known why he has moved to Hudson City or how he got involved with the Omega Team. Little is known of him other than witness reports that state he is nearly invisible. He uses a missile weapon of unknown origin that seems able to cut through metal and leaves only traces of a lubricant that defies analysis.

The possible sixth member is almost totally a mystery. He is believed to have acted as a sniper in this most recent encounter and also may use a 7.62mm weapon of some sort.

All members of the Omega Team are believed to have some level of martial arts training. They are known to use some type of souped-up, easily disguiseable, truck. They are all considered to be armed and extremely dangerous. Their reputation is not as bad as many vigilantes since they seem to go out of their way to avoid harming bystanders when possible.

May 5, Sunday
The day passes uneventfully and the characters sleep late, before going on to cover their secret identities.
That evening Andrew Hobbs (Savant) disguises himself and, unbeknownst to the rest of the Omega Team, makes a secret rendezvous with Frank “Fedora” Keaton (a Pulitzer Prize winning free-lance crime reporter). The next day an exclusive interview with Savant appears in the Hudson City News.

GM NOTE: I have a hard copy of the interview. I’ll have to see if I can find an electronic copy in my archives. If I can I’ll post it later tonight. In this case I wrote up the interview questions and Randy (A.K.A. Eosin) wrote his character’s (Savant/Specter) answers.

The headline causes several members of the Omega Team to become woozy, but none faint. The story is generally fair but gives little detail about who or what the Omega Team is. It is generally a philosophical account of why one man has become a vigilante. The interview also denounces the activities of the Pack and, to a lesser extent, Crusade. (Crusade is another of Hudson City’s vigilantes. Since his secret Identity was leaked to the police by Retro, Crusade has vanished.)

May 6
The “Bogeyman” has claimed his third victim. The victim is discovered this morning by late that afternoon Dr. James has managed to get involved in the autopsy. Several calls to well placed contacts allow the team to get the full police report of the crime (following).
Name: Karen Wilson McGregor; Hair Redhead, long; Eyes Green; Height 5’6”; Weight 125 lb.; Race White; Age 29; Job: Accountant, self-employed.

Wounds: Bruise on left side of face, both arms broken, long bone-deep cut in both thighs made while victim was still alive, 56 stab wounds all over the body (one wound in the heart region from the back was the cause of death); her blood type was B+. Time of death approximately 9:45 PM, May 5th.

Scene of the Crime: The victim was killed in her first-floor apartment. All windows were locked, but the door was open. A few end tables and lamps were knocked over, indicating that there was a struggle of some sort. Blood splatters and smears were found in the kitchen, den hallway, and bedroom and bed.

Police Reconstruction Based on Evidence Recovered: The victim came home and accidentally left her door open. The Bogeyman must have been in the neighborhood looking for a victim and came inside to try doors. He found that this one was open and went inside. He surprised Miss McGregor in her den area. She screamed; a neighbor reported hearing a scream at about 9:20 PM, but though that it was just someone’s television. After a brief chase or struggle, the Bogeyman trapped her in the kitchen and began to stab her. Defensive wounds on the victim’s arms and hands indicate that she tried to fend off the blows, with no success. Bloody sneaker prints matching the ones found in Bankhurst Park were found in the apartment.

After the first stabbings, the killer dragged Miss McGregor to the bedroom, leaving bloody smears on the carpet from the kitchen to the bedroom. In the bedroom, she tried to fight back (she knew karate), and so in a fit of rage he broke both of her arms. Then he used his longer, narrower knife to cut both of her thighs from the hip joint to one inch above the knee. The cuts run to the bone; she was still alive when he made them. After making these cuts, he stabbed her some more, finally killing her.

The killer’s knife left some tiny chips of metal in the victim’s thighbones. The knife is made of stainless steel. Additionally during the fight she managed to claw at him with her fingernails, where traces of his blood and skin were found. He is blood type AB+, a relatively rare blood type.

An alternate police theory is that the Bogeyman is someone who knew McGregor. This would allow him to gain access to her apartment without her becoming suspicious—hence, the unlocked door. McGregor had a large circle of friends, and it will take the police four days to investigate them all.

That evening Savant, Hippocrates and Predator sneak into the crime scene and discover some evidence that the police and FBI (they are now actively assisting the Hudson City Police in the Bogeyman case) have missed. A few small scratches on the windowsill indicate where the window was pried open with a knife. Examining the ground outside the window a small, torn, piece of red flannel cloth is discovered. The Omega Team is able to surmise the following:

The police reconstruction of this crime is correct only from the point where the victim sees the Bogeyman in her apartment and screams. The Bogeyman crept up to her window and watched her until her back was turned. The window was unlocked so he climbed in, when he shut the window she looked up and screamed. When he left he locked the window, unlocked the door and made his exit.

Andrew Hobbs makes the following conjectures based on this new evidence.

(1) The Bogeyman is very strong: he broke both of his victim’s arms and then dragged her across the apartment (and according to the theories, she would have still been struggling against him). Furthermore, the Bogeyman can either take a lot of punishment, or is a very good fighter, since he broke both of the victim’s arms even though she knew karate.

(2) Based on the handholds outside, the Bogeyman is between 5’10” and 6’3” tall.

May 7
The team’s Investigation of the activities of the victim’s of the Bogeyman has finally yielded one commonality. All of them have visited the Hudson City University Medical center within the last few months. The first victim’s father died two weeks before her murder. He had been hospitalized at HCUMC for several weeks before his death. The second victim’s fiancée was a radiologist at HCUMC and she occasionally met him at work for lunch. One of the most recent victim’s former boyfriends was a doctor at HCUMC.

Dr. Thomas James talks Eden Blake (Dancer’s leg is currently in a cast thanks to the incident in Chinatown) into coming up to the hospital while he is there to see if they can bait the killer into the open. Eden has long red hair and another commonality is that all the victims have had either red or blonde hair.

Late that afternoon Andrew Hobbs goes to pick up the first Omega Truck from the Hudson City shipyards where it has been undergoing repairs and upgrades. The custom builders have been operating out of a locked up warehouse on the waterfront.

The Cardshark hits the Klienmann Center. Five painting, all by different artists, are stolen. Two security guards are injured. All the painting range in value between $125,000 and $250,000. Two of the paintings were not on display, but in storage. Five cards of the same suit but not in order constitutes a Flush. The Omega team has now realized the Cardshark crimes seem to be tied to poker hands. The Omega team surmises that the Straight, as the next highest poker hand will be next. Five cards of the same suit but not in sequence.

Also this day, Dr. Thomas James has an awkward moment when Debbie Taylor encounters him as he shows Eden Blake around the hospital. Since she has red hair and green eyes, Dancer was pretending to be from Ireland. Debbie had met her before, on the trip to Scotland, and knew she was not Irish. Fortunately they met in an out of the way area and Eden’s superior acting ability was able to save the day.

May 8
Just afternoon Andrew Hobbs is able to persuade his criminology professor to get them supervised access to the scene of the third Bogeyman murder. During this “field trip” Andrew points out the scratch marks on the windowsill and discovers a tiny piece of red flannel (He split the sample they had previously acquired and arranged to “find” the new evidence). Thusly Andrew manages to get a good grade in his criminology classes and also furthers the police/FBI investigation into the murders.

Dr. James has another encounter with Debbie Taylor today. Once again he is displaying Eden Blake around the hospital. Once again Dr. James and Ms. Blake talk their way out of the situation. They decide to call off the baiting idea since Ms. Taylor seems to be getting suspicious.

That evening, due to several unfortunate circumstances, Dr. James has a very bad experience. While wandering around the hospital, looking for anyone who seems suspicious, he encounters a medical student in the hospital morgue. The student is up late dissecting the hip of a female cadaver. Since it is very late for a student to be in the morgue and because of coincident of his study subject, Dr. James becomes suspicious and engages the student in a conversation.

Everything here is legitimate. The student had missed his anatomy class earlier due to a family emergency. His professor had allowed him to make up the class by having a cadaver limb released to the student for study.

The student becomes nervous when Dr. James begins talking about the recent Bogeyman murders. Dr. James notices that the student seems to perfectly fit the description they have of the probable killer (the product of a natural 18 on the PER roll the player made) and is also wearing shoes of the proper type. (The student’s shoes are Reeboks, the killer’s are Nikes, again this is a product of the failed PER roll.) The student gets more nervous when Dr. James begins to press him further. The student begins to secretly fear that Dr. James is a wacko, or possibly even the Bogeyman. Dr. James’ psychology skills indicate to him that the student’s nervousness is a fear of being caught and not a fear of Dr. James.

GM NOTE: Really cosmic bad luck here. The player blew his Psychology roll with a natural 18. Three blown rolls in a row and two of them are natural 18s.

The student quickly puts his biological samples away and starts to leave. When the student attempts to leave Dr. James blocks the door and the student panics and grabs a large knife. Dr. James quickly pummels the student into unconsciousness, breaking his nose and knocking out several teeth in the process.

Once Dr. James is able to examine the student more closely he realizes his mistake. He quickly calls Andrew Hobbs who rushes to the hospital. They put the unconscious student on a gurney and cover him with a sheet. They then proceed to take the student to the cadaver storage facility in the neighboring medical school building so that Dr. James can treat the student’s injuries without fear of detection. Soon they arrive there a police car also arrives. Dr. James goes out to investigate as Andrew Hobbs avoids contact to prevent his being implicated in this disaster. Apparently a fatality accident had necessitated a delivery to the morgue where upon the orderlies had discovered the signs of a struggle (blood, a couple of teeth, student books on the floor). Realizing that he has blood on his shirt from the brief melee, Dr. James admits what has happened to the police. He leads them to the unconscious student and surrenders to police custody. Andrew Hobbs trips the fire alarm in the medical building and then swipes a fire fighters coat and helmet. When he gets the chance he goes to the security desk and manages to run a powerful magnet over the videotape that is currently running in the security recorder. (He obtained the magnet from a nearby science lab. This renders the security tape recording unreadable and so prevents his image from being discovered. Really quick thinking.)

Dr. Thomas James is quickly bailed out of jail. Over the next couple of days he has his lawyers offer a generous out of court settlement to the student he pummeled. The student’s medical expenses are fully paid and a six-figure sum is paid to the student as well. In return the student agrees to drop all charges and further agrees to not discuss the incident or the settlement with anyone.

GM NOTE: Dr. James has admitted he got creeped out by the suspicious actions of the student. He began to have unreasonable thoughts that the boy might be the Bogyeman. He did not, of course, indicate that he is an Omega Team member and there is no real evidence to indicate that. The erasure of the tape makes this settlement possible since Dr. James’ lawyers point out that in court it would come down to the Doctor’s word against the student’s as to what exactly had transpired.

May 9
Late in the afternoon Dutch Watkins has a meeting with a fence who is known to traffic in stolen works of art. Lenny, the Stain, tells him that Cardshark is way too cautious to use a local fence to sell the paintings stolen from the Kleinmann Center. He says that the word on the streets is that Cardshark is holding a competition between teams of his agents and that the recent thefts are probably part of that contest.

Late that night a group of Chinese gang members (Scarlet Dragons gang affiliated with the Sing Chun Tong) carry out a bloody hit at the Jade Lion restaurant. Twelve people are slain including Kwan Meizhu, the English Secretary of the Sing Chun Tong, and a Hong Kong national. Apparently the two were conducting a large Heroin deal. The gunmen take the money and the heroin. It seems a civil war has broken out within the Sing Chun Tong.

End of Part 16, part 17 tomorrow. Stay tuned for more vigilante goodness!

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Actually, everytime the page is refreshed, the img tag in the character file causes the file to be downloaded again.
Okay, your knowledge of Geek Fu is greater than mine.;)

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Okay, your knowledge of Geek Fu is greater than mine.;) Yes, my Geek Fu makes me invincible. :D

[Edsel]

Below is the interview that Savant granted to Frank Fedora. This was mentioned in part 16 of the Omega Team Campaign logs. The part of Savant was played by Eosin (at least that's what he's called on the Hero Forums).

Omega Team Campaign History Addenda

Frank Fedora Interview with Savant
May 5th, 1996

1. Why did you become a vigilante?
Look around you! We live in a hellhole, 62 people will be beaten, raped or killed today in HC. While we are talking, one woman will die - she is alone, afraid, in pain. With HCPD so stretched and unable to reign in the runaway criminal element in the city, it almost seems to me that we have a civic duty to stop crime in any way we can. Part of the ‘social contract’ if you will. Each man and woman out their can help make this city safer in their own way, call the police, testify, report the thug who you know are crack dealers.

2. Don’t you think the police can handle crime on the street?
Come on Frank, we both know what it is like out there. There are 50,000 crips in HC and 18,563 policemen. The police are under budgeted, so understaffed it is laughable, and under equipped. HCPD does the best it can, they should be proud. Never has one group faced such an undefeatable enemy. The funny thing is we can all do something, if we would just approve tax codes to fund the department a lot of this could be solved. Imagine what nine thousand more cops could do out there.

3. Aren’t you afraid you will kill an innocent bystander, or kill someone because of mistaken identity?
That is a risk. I can’t speak for other vigilantes but I normally use a non-lethal weapon to reduce that risk. There are always going to be tragic accidents, that applies if you work in construction, the police force, the medical field; tragic accidents just happen. I will admit I have dreams about it and like everyone else I hope I never have to deal with that situation.

4. How many people have you killed?
I don’t know. I would seem to me that keeping track (notching my gun) would indicate some perverse fetish, Mongrel might keep track I don’t.

5. Are you a member of the Omega Team?
I have an affiliation with a select few vigilantes.
5A. Can you name them?
No.
5B. Are you friends with them?
We have a working relationship, other than that I can’t tell you much.

6. How many other people are on the Omega Team?
I can not answer that.

7. Have you ever had a run in the Card Shark?
Luckily, no. I know where to catch my fish and how to bait my line. I am too inexperienced of a fisherman to try for the Great White.

8. What other Vigilantes have you met?
I really can’t answer that.

9. Aren’t you a little young for this?
How old are the men we send off to die in war? Trust me Frank, I am a lot older than they are.

10. Have the criminals that you have fought killed any of your comrades.
Again, I will have to pass on that one Frank.

11. Are you afraid of being caught by the authorities?
That is probably my greatest fear. I know that I am thought of as a criminal, but my self-image is quite different. I know that I could not harm an officer of the law, who was performing within the law. So it is a real and complex situation that I hope never arises.

12. Have you ever been injured badly?
I have been injured, but we use the same doctors that the NFL uses. We are usually back up the next day.

13. The police suspect that Hippocrates is a Doctor is that true.
I can’t really answer that.

14. Are you an expert in martial arts?
Lord no. I am just willing to get out there and swing. It is like baseball. Anyone who steps up to the plate can hit a .250, it just takes stepping up to the plate.

15. What is your view of the other vigilantes in town?
A. Crusade
He isn’t really a vigilante. He is a psychotic killer who only hunts criminals. He isn’t trying to keep anyone safe; he is in it for the joy of the kill.
B. The Pack
The Pack are new and inept. They overcompensate for their lack of skill with violence; I read a profile on them that had some interesting data. I think they are small men, the vigilante bullies if you will. Soon they will meet Buckshot, or Pokerface and they will lose the stomach for the game. Like all bullies they are just hiding behind the violence because they are afraid.
C. The Harbinger
I don’t really know, they should call him the Enigma. He seems to me to be closer to the laws of thermodynamics than human? What am I supposed to think of him? What do you think?

16. Do you intend to do this for the rest of your life?
No. I will always feel that it is my responsibility to serve the civic body. We are a blessed nation and a blessed city. However, something my cohort fails to recognize is that nothing is free. If you want freedom, and democracy, the right to free speech and all the other things, you have to be prepared to fight for them.

17. How do you get all of the weapons, are you rich.
No. Some weapons are hard to come by, but we could walk out of here and buy an M-16 in less than an hour and you know it.

18. What are your views on gun control?
Hahahahaha. Control? I have yet to see control. What I see is good honest people having trouble getting weapons to keep themselves safe but we, not so honest people, can still go get that M-16. I am pretty sure Hector is not running FBI checks, and I know Dr. DMZ offers volume discounts on military hardware, he sells stuff that small countries can’t buy.

19. Why have you decided to grant this interview?
Because we can help each other Frank.

20. Just how bad is crime in HC.
Crime is unbelievable. The police can’t stop it, vigilantes can’t stop it. I walk the streets sometimes and pass by hundreds of small crimes. Making such shades of gray judgments, as to what to combat, makes me get nauseated sometimes. You have seen it, haven’t you Frank? You walk by thinking to yourself, she is 15, if I tried to save every fifteen year old Junkie, or prostitute I wouldn’t finish with the ones that are on HC streets right now until the year 2000.

Serial Killers stalk our streets, killing young, hopeful women. How many children will be unborn because of the bogeyman? A simple frustrated homosexually repressed nerd. He has taken so many futures. There is a gay district on 39th, Mr. Bogeyman go pick up some guy named Lonnie and unleash that pent up homosexual inside you, in a socially acceptable way. Read cosmo guy. It is hip to be gay in the 90’s there is no reason to kill someone over it.

Card Shark is stealing anything that is not nailed down. The Idea men are robbing banks left and right. Jamaican posses are killing anyone who even looks at them funny. Our prisons are letting more violent felons out, or they check themselves out.
It is bad out their Frank.

21. Is Nightstick in the Omega Team?
I am not sure.

22. How well do you get along with your fellow vigilantes?
We don’t go out for BBQ’s if that is what you are asking. We all wear masks, are paranoid, and carry hidden arsenals on our person, we converse through BBS’s and anonymous e-mail, and our secrecy is how we survive. It is a professional relationship.

23. Are your teammates aware that you are giving this interview?
No. Like I said, we aren’t involved with each other off of the streets.

24. What guarantee do I have that they won’t kill me for this?
What guarantee did you have that I wouldn’t?

25. What do you think of our criminal justice system?
I think the word JUSTICE should be taken out first of all. It fails on every account. They ideals that it is founded on are sound, they the American court systems have strayed so far from what was intended for them. Why does the Supreme Court legislate our morality? I thought we were supposed to vote on issues like that. Judicial review is a crock.

Appeals court? Who are we kidding? How about the OJ trial? Did we need televised proof that the law is for he who has the gold? JUSTICE ISN’T ABOUT THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN, JUSTICE IS ABOUT THE COLOR OF YOUR MONEY! Not in Hudson City!

GM NOTE: If you haven’t realized it yet, some of Savant’s answers were intended to lead the authorities astray. But some were pretty honest answers as well. As you can also tell this particular game took place just after the OJ Simpson trial. And before the Omega Team starts to have some serious “run-ins” with Cardshark and the Pack.

[NightStick]

Edsel,
Do you propose to post all of the interviews?:eek:

Just curious.......:confused:

I believe that I still have all of the copies that you had sent out, in case that you need them.......:rolleyes:

Hint*******Hint*****:cool: *****:cool:

:D

[Killer Shrike]

You know, it would be pretty cool if you wrote up your version of Hudson City, or even just a detailed supplement-style synopsis of "the Omega Team" and their Rogues Gallery.

[Eosin]

I think alot of the characters are around somewhere on harddrive in excel. I know Eddie's Harbinger is and we feared him. We also feared the Terminators that Eddie made up but had yet to use on us.

Personally, the new stuff that he is working on looks like it is gonna rock on toast. I keep trying to talk him into submitting it to DH or something.

You can find a dead thread on it here somewhere.....I will go digging be right back.

Ahhhhh.... here it is - Vigilante Group Thread (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12804)

[Edsel]

Originally posted by NightStick
Edsel,
Do you propose to post all of the interviews?:eek:

Just curious.......:confused:

I believe that I still have all of the copies that you had sent out, in case that you need them.......:rolleyes:
Yeah, I'll probably get around to it. I believe I have most of them zipped up on my home computer. I'll check when I get home.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Eosin
Personally, the new stuff that he is working on looks like it is gonna rock on toast. I keep trying to talk him into submitting it to DH or something. Well perhaps I'll try. I've had a very hard time working on it though. I think I've got 5 or 6 pages of notes but I've only written the first 4 or 5 paragraphs of the finished product.

I keep posting the Omega Team logs. I'm interviewing for a promotion at work today. Trying to get spring yard work done. Writing papers to get my Certified Public Manager Certificate. Running the online Starfire campaign, etc.
And I still need to read up on the Echos Of Glory (http://www.mabinogin.com/Heromain.htm) for your campaign.

You get the idea...

[Edsel]

Little late getting part 17 posted tonight but here it is.

May 10
About noon a robbery occurs an Elm View Boatman’s bank branch. Once again seven identically dressed bandits with AK-47 are involved. The MO matches the robbery of May 1st. Just under $60,000 is stolen. The light grey suits and identical featureless masks have some people referring to the bandits as the “Idea Men” (see cartoon program the Tick). The overpowered guard remarked on the professionalism of the robbers.

That evening Zhu Hasio arranges a meeting between Nightstick and Kun Feng the Dragon Head (Tong equivalent of a Godfather) of the Sing Chun Tong. Nightstick pleads/warns Kun Feng to avoid harming innocents in his reprisals against the rebellious Scarlet Dragons. Kun Feng states that they will solve the problem in traditional Tong fashion and that no innocents will become involved. Nightstick gathers that “professionals” from a Hong Kong Triad will deal with the traders.

When Nightstick relates the substance of his meeting to the other Omega Team members they are skeptical that innocents will be spared and resolve to stop the civil war themselves.

May 11
Most of the Omega Team spends the day determining where the Scarlet Dragons are holding up.

Dr. Thomas James and Debbie Taylor start to drive to Atlantic City for a day or two of R&R. As they head out of town to the south Dr. James spots a couple smoking a joint on a bench in a local park. As Dr. James watches he sees Mongrel approach from behind the couple and shoot both of them in the head. Dr. James exits the highway as soon as possible and races to the park. He also uses his cell phone to summon other Omega Team members to the area. In the one or two minute time period that it takes Dr. James to get back to the park the Pack has gotten away. It takes about fifteen minutes for the rest of the Omega Team to arrive and their search is fruitless. Debbie Taylor remains strangely quiet throughout all of this. Dr. James calls off Debbie and his trip to Atlantic City.

There are no witnesses to the shootings. Police inquires indicate that a park service truck (it was the Pack’s truck), a moving company truck (one of the Omega Trucks) and metallic green Lexus (Dr. Thomas Jame’s personal vehicle) were seen in the area around the time of the shooting.

Late that night the Omega Team ends the Sing Chun civil war. They locate the hide out of the Scarlet Dragons leadership and kill all of them in a raid. The fight is a massacre, Nightstick quietly eliminates the only sentry and the rest of the Dragons are all caught in a large storage room. Four NICO grenades stun the Dragons who are cut down before they can put up a fight.

The police recover a lot of brass of various calibers and several dozen slugs that are in good enough condition for ballistics. The police do not learn much and have come to realize that the Omega Team seems to frequently switch guns so that ballistics tests are of limited usefulness.

GM NOTE: In actuality the Omega Team has a contact in Alexander Hayden, formerly the Remittance Man. Upon the death of his father Mr. Hayden was forced to move to California and take over operation of the family arms business. Mr. Hayden funnels replacement barrels, and complete weapons to the Omega Team. The member frequently change out their old gun barrels and melt the old ones down in the one of the base furnaces).

May 12
The Omega team picks up (abducts) a runner that delivers drug supplies to a crack house that they have located and staked out. Interrogation of the subject indicates that the various Colombian cartels are beginning to have a hard time getting drugs into Hudson City. The Colombians believe that one, or more, of the local Mafia families are behind the disruption. The Omega Team currently believes that the Pack is really behind it. The runner (Hector Lopez) is placed in one of the cells of the Alpha Base. (The original Omega Team base is referred to a the Alpha Base. The second, later, base is called the Beta Base.)

The local newspapers tell that the North American Go Championships will be held in Hudson City’s Chinatown this year. The Tournament will start Wednesday, May 22nd, with finals being held on Saturday, May 25th. Daniel Sanders is considered a local favorite. Mr. Sanders recently moved to Hudson City. Other headlines tell of 10,000 layoffs in the past year in Hudson City. Unions complain that companies are laying-off local labor in favor of cheaper labor in foreign (mostly Asian) countries. The stories state that the state legislature is considering a spate of possible laws aimed and curbing the practice.

May 13, Monday
The Omega Team members spend most of the day covering their secret identities. Just after 10:00 AM police scanners reveal that the Idea Men have hit another bank, Stewart Federal, in Pierpoint near the river. It is later revealed that the robbers made off with just over $40,000. Nobody was injured during the robbery.

At about 2:00 PM Snapshot visits the Alpha Base while George Bell is at the Beta Base to carry out some routine maintenance. Snapshot grabs about half dozen sleep gas pellets and uses them to render Hector Lopez unconscious (he was being held in one of Alpha Base’s cells). Snapshot then dumps him into the incinerator. Before he leaves, Snapshot erases the security tape and cleans up all evidence of his presence.

About 4:45 PM Hippocrates arrives at the base and discovers that their prisoner is missing. When Andrew Hobbs arrives they discover the residue of the sleeping gas in the cell, the erased security tape, and the still cooling incinerator. Andrew and Thomas pool their psychological knowledge and soon realize who the most likely suspect is. Later, when Daniel Sanders arrives, he reluctantly admits what he has done. Dr. James and Mr. Hobbs realize that their new teammate is mentally close to the edge. He is given a brief talking to and the matter is forgotten, for now. Andrew Hobbs makes a mental note to have some deep conversations (he intents to start psychotherapy on him) with his new teammate as soon as possible.

Also, at about 4:45 PM, Dutch Watkins and Eden Blake are in route to the Alpha Base for the team’s planned 5 o’clock meeting. Dutch is giving Eden a ride since her leg is still impaired due to injuries sustained on the 4th of May. As they approach the Centre Street Bridge in Bankhurst a disturbance catches their eyes. Three men are forcing four women into an alleyway. The women are in obvious distress and appear to be hookers. This scene is very out of place in this neighborhood. Dutch pulls the car around the corner and has Dancer get into the driver’s seat. Dutch puts on his Predator gear and heads back to the scene of the disturbance. He manages to approach close enough to the seven to listen to their conversation. He soon gathers that the four girls have been holding out on their pimp and were attempting to flee the city to start over. Unfortunately their pimp has caught them here and, along with his two muscle men, intends to teach them a lesson they will never forget. Fearing for the women’s lives the Predator attacks.

The pimp and his two goons never stand a chance and quickly begin to assume room temperature. The four hookers flee in panic from the unseen vigilante. During the fight Predator’s Frisbee slices the pimp’s cellular phone in half. At the exact instant the phone is destroyed a man across the street grabs his head in pain, lets out a groan of pain, and collapses to the sidewalk. Rightly thinking that this is very odd Predator grabs the destroyed phone as Dancer arrives in the car and they rush off to the base.

Police tend to think that the death of J.P. Kendrick was a coincidence. The few, fragmentary, witness accounts that they have of the incident indicate that this is the work of the Invisible Vigilante. The three slain men are a local pimp known as Sugarheart and a couple of goons that he has used for muscle in the past. None of the men have ever been associated with anything other than petty crimes. Police look upon this as a triple homicide. They are becoming troubled about the increasing bloodshed the Omega Team and their associates are leaving in their wake.

Upon arriving at the base Dutch and Eden explain what happened to them on the way to the base. Dutch gives the parts of the cellular phone to Andrew and asks that he examine it closely. Andrew agrees that he will as soon as their meeting is concluded.

During the team’s meeting they agree that they must prioritize their investigations. They resolve to try and stop the Bogeyman as soon as possible since he will probably continue to kill an innocent woman every ten days, or so, until he is stopped.

After the meeting breaks up Hobbs examines the broken cellular phone and determines that it was broken in such a manner that it burned out the sending unit. It is possible that it emitted a powerful, random, burst of radio waves as it burned out.

May 14
Andrew Hobbs informs the other team members of his findings regarding the cellular phone. He also hacks into the employment records of Hudson City University Medical Center, the student records, the teaching staff records and the records of all other employers and agencies that have people regularly at HCUMC. The Team divides the records thus obtained and begins to narrow the list to all white males between 5’10” and 6’3” in height that have AB+ blood. By that evening they have narrowed their list to only 4 men.

Dr. Thomas James calls his friend Dr. Ernest Steiner (Chief Medical Examiner, Hudson City) and inquires about the death of John P. Kendrick. Dr. Steiner says, “Oh yea, they brought him in last night. Strange case, supposedly healthy as a horse. He just dropped dead. There was some sort of vigilante attack across the street but the witnesses swear he wasn’t involved or even threatened. Why are you interested?”

Dr. James makes up an excuse about a friend of a friend and how the peculiarity of the case drew his attention. Since Dr. James is known to be a skilled Pathologist, Dr. Steiner agrees to let him participate in the autopsy. He further agrees to move the autopsy to noon instead of this evening as originally scheduled.

At about 11:00 AM Debbie Taylor calls Dr. James. Debbie seems rather distraught and insists that she and Dr. James have to talk, she proposes that they have lunch. Dr. James manages to make and excuse and agrees to come over to her place at 2:00 PM instead.

At noon, as the rest of the Omega Team works on narrowing the Bogeyman suspect list, Dr. James arrives at the corner’s office. Dr. Steiner mentions that Allison Kendrick, wife of the deceased, has just called him seeking information on what caused her husband’s death. At about 12:30 PM the two doctors begin the autopsy. Paying particular attention the subject’s brain it becomes apparent that he suffers a massive cranial aneurysm. The cause is revealed when Dr. James discovers the remains of a miniature radio receiver at the spot of the aneurysm, the device is partly shattered. The subject also bears the signs of previous surgery near the spot the device was found. Dr. James asks Dr. Steiner to let him borrow the recovered device for a couple of hours. He claims to know a man who is very knowledgeable about this sort of microelectronics. Dr. Steiner who is totally baffled by this device reluctantly agrees.

Thomas then proceeds to Debbie Taylor’s house and drops the device off at Alpha base. He informs Andrew of the previous surgical scar on the subject and asks him to dig up J.P. Kendrick’s past medical history, and to also examine the device.

When Dr. James arrives at her house Debbie informs him that she has contacted the police in reference to the shooting the two of them witnessed on Saturday, May 11th. After reading the newspaper she realized that whomever Thomas talked to on his cellular phone, it wasn’t the police. She is very upset by the way Dr. James has been acting lately and is concerned that he is keeping secrets from her. They are to go to the Hudson City Police Department’s main precinct tomorrow at 9:00 AM to talk with a detective. Though Dr. James becomes very distressed over this turn of events he manages to maintain his composure and stay calm. He asks her name of the detective that they are to talk with and nearly faints with relief when she says, “Lt. Theron Long.” (The same Theron Long who just returned to the HCPD after being revived from his catatonia thanks to the Omega Team and in particular Andrew Hobbs.)

In the meantime Andrew Hobbs studies the implant that Dr. James has passed to him. Apparently it is a miniature radio receiver that was attached to a micro-explosive. He theorizes that the cellular phone accidentally triggered the device when it was destroyed. Little can be determined about the make up of the device other than it appears the device is constructed from Japanese or Asian circuitry. All of this brings up the question of who was John P. Kendrick and who would want to implant a cortex bomb in him? Andrew decides to hack into all the information he can about Mr. Kendrick.

Andrew quickly records all the data he can about his examination of the device and makes a full photographic record as well. He then returns the device to the corner’s office.

Just as Andrew starts to leave the coroner’s office he spots well-dressed Japanese man arriving. Andrew acts as if he has forgotten something and heads back into the office just ahead of the man. He watches the man head into the chief corner’s office and then eavesdrops on the conversation. The Japanese man speaks with flawless English and introduces himself to the coroner as Robert Wang. He claims to represent the Hudson City Health & Medical group (an HMO) that is making an inquiry about the death of J.P. Kendrick. Andrew quickly calls up the number of HCH&M on his pocket computer and calls the HMO to inquire if Mr. Wang is in. The HCH&M operator says they have no employees by that name. Mr. Hobbs continues to listen in on the conversation, which is muffled, and hard to hear but he soon gathers that the Japanese gentleman is getting rather pointed in his inquires. Andrew quickly calls Dr. James and informs him of what is transpiring. Dr. James then interrupts the Japanese man and the corner by calling Dr. Steiner. He tells the corner that he thinks it would be best to claim that the autopsy results showed death by natural causes. Dr. Steiner agrees, for now.

After a few minutes the man leaves the corner’s office. Andrew Hobbs accidentally bumps into him and is startled by the lightning reaction of the stranger in catching him before he falls. Andrew quickly begins picking up his books and inadvertently triggers his flash camera. Later he will find that the man managed to interpose his hand between the camera and his face. Andrew and the Japanese man then depart the office and go their separate ways.

That evening Dr. James and Andrew Hobbs relate their experiences to the rest of the Omega Team.

End of Part 17, part 18 tomorrow. Now we got mysterious Japanese men and cortex bombs to add to the team’s other problems.

[NightStick]

I had forgotten obout the Brain Blasters:eek:

Those things were NASTY!:p

And this new Japanese-man

Robert Wang. He claims to represent the Hudson City Health & Medical group

was really quick!:eek:

If I remember correctly, He was a ROYAL PAIN IN THE ARSE!:p

[Eosin]

That was an "oohhhps" moment. I was pretty sure he was gonna hand the poor kid his hind end.

Not a man I wanted to fight. Luckily so many others on the team are more than willing. :)

[NightStick]

Sorry, just an honest little bump:cool:

[Killer Shrike]

Somebody go find Edsel and smack him around a bit -- its the Omega Hour and he's not here! :mad: :D

[NightStick]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Somebody go find Edsel and smack him around a bit -- its the Omega Hour and he's not here! :mad: :D

:D ***laughter fills the halls***:D

He is probably workin on his house - it's been a great day here in OKC.

But, your right......It's past the Omega Hour.......:mad:

[Edsel]

May 15
By this morning the team has reduced their list of Bogeyman suspects to only 4 men. Soon, their investigations of the likely suspects point to one man as the most suspicious. The suspect is a man named Guy Wilson who works as a librarian at HCUMC. At 11:30 Nightstick and Predator are in position to carryout a reconnaissance of the suspect’s residence, a duplex southeast of the campus. Dr. James visits the University Library and confirms the suspect is at work. After getting the all clear call, Nightstick and Predator perform a slightly comical investigation of the residence. Their findings confirm that they have the right man.

At 2:30 PM the Bogeyman returns to his home and is ambushed by the Omega Team. The man proves incredibly tough and gives Dr. James a serious would to his left leg before the team is able the beat him into unconsciousness. They leave the Bogeyman near a police station and anonymously phone in his location. They leave the serial killer with a severed right leg (below the knee), a broken left leg, ten broken fingers and multiple stab wounds to the chest and legs.

GM NOTE: The Bogeyman was really tough, damage reduction, etc. He was a sort of a Jason or Michael type of killer (Friday the 13th, Halloween). Still it was just one opponent and I felt the battle was a little anti-climatic.

Police quickly pick up the Bogeyman and hustle him away. DNA testing will positively link him to the last murder and evidence in his duplex will prove his guilt in another. An Omega Team card is found on the Bogeyman confirming who is responsible for and end to the Bogeyman’s reign of terror. The suspect is put in the maximum-security prison ward of Hudson City University Medical Center.

By 4:00 PM the team is has finished up at the Alpha base from their encounter with the Bogeyman. Dr. James, with the help of his teammates, has properly treated and stitched up his wounded leg, which should heal quickly. He still decides it would be best not to stress his leg for at least 24 hours. Dancer (just out of her cast) should be back in action by Sunday or Monday, four or five days hence.

After the team departs the Alpha base Andrew Hobbs spots a suspicious van a short distance away. He notices that the driver and front seat passenger are both wearing masks and grey suits. He suspects that this might be the Idea Men and alerts the rest of the team. The Omega team starts a four-vehicle shadow of the Idea Men and is able to successfully intervene when the gang attempts to rob the Chase-Hudson bank. This is one of the largest banks in the city and bigger, by far, than any bank the Idea Men have hit to date. After the Idea Men are all down, but before the team can leave, Snapshot machineguns three of their unconscious forms.
There is no question that the Omega Team is responsible for thwarting this attempted robbery. No civilians are seriously hurt. It is finally made crystal clear that the Invisible Vigilante has teamed up with the Omega Team. The most memorable thing to the numerous witnesses was the unidentified vigilante (Snapshot) with the assault rifle. After the battle was over witnesses recall how he, without hesitation, machine-gunned three of the unconscious bank robbers where they lay. From the numerous witnesses the police are able to obtain fairly accurate height and weight descriptions. They also recover several slugs and casings from the mysterious new vigilante’s weapon.

At the same time that this robbery was taking place two other large banks in Hudson City were hit; Citicorp and Flag National. In these two robberies the gunman escaped with an estimated $3.5 million combined. This makes the total take of the Idea Men near $4.5 million.

By the next day police have learned the following from the two surviving robbers.
[list=1]
The men all had matching tattoos on their right shoulder, a cross, separated into vertical strips of red, white and green.
The men claimed no involvement whatsoever with the other two robberies today, and also claim to have on knowledge of the previous three robberies.
There weapons are immaculate and in perfect working order.
Some of the men have prior records, but all charges were petty theft or minor drug-possession/dealing charges, nothing like armed robbery or grand larceny.
They seem to be beyond police interrogation techniques. The men are saying nothing, except to their court appointed lawyers.
None of the men have ever been in the military.
[/list=1]
The police are mystified by the recent behavior of the Omega Team. In two recent incidents they have murdered a group of petty street criminals and a slew of bank robbers who have only one incident of shooting in their record. At the same time the Omega Team has spared the life of a notorious serial killer. Police psychologists claim that this is simply proof that the Omega Team, like most vigilantes, are deranged and cannot be trusted. The commissioner is looking into the founding of a VAIS unit (Vigilante Activities Investigations Squad).

May 16, Thursday
About noon the group gathers at the Alpha base to discuss the events of yesterday and the negative press they have been getting. Andrew Hobbs and Dr. Thomas James announce that Daniel Sanders (Snapshot) will be taking a week or two off from the vigilante business. During this time Mr. Hobbs and Dr. James will use their psychology skills to provide him with some much-needed psychotherapy. This morning Dr. James has written a prescription for Prozac, which Mr. Sanders is now taking.

To help counter the negative press, and the lower public opinion that it fosters, Savant has contacted Father Flanagan (A contact of the character who knows him as Savant) of the Barton Street Mission. Father Flanagan will see to it that cash and other charity is directed to crime victims in the area. The Omega Team is providing this aid and Father Flanagan will make sure that the recipients of the aid know that it is coming from them.

GM NOTE: The funding for this is coming from the gold ingots that the team got from melting down the altar of the fishmen (see August 25, 1995 entry). Gold is worth $350 an oz. Not $400 as previously stated. 1492 ingots (valued at just over $500,000) are used to fund this humanitarian cause. The team now has 16,066 ingots left (value = $5,623,100).

In the papers, this morning, it is mentioned that Mrs. Kendrick is launching a lawsuit against HCH&M (Hudson City Health & Medical, an HMO) in the case of her husband’s death. The team worries that the mysterious Japanese man from the coroner’s office may be planing to pay her a visit. They decide to hire a PI to keep an eye on her. Dutch Watkins recalls a private detective that has a reputation for this sort of thing. Just after 1 o’clock, Dutch and Andrew, visit and hire the detective whose name is Shamus.

Among the law enforcement community Shamus has been known as a reliable private detective for over twenty years, in fact nobody can seem to remember how long Mr. Shamus has been doing this sort of thing. They pay Shamus $5,000 up front to keep Mrs. Kendrick under surveillance. If he spots an oriental man contacting her he is to call and inform them immediately.

The team has little time to get anything else accomplished since Shamus calls them at 3:47 that afternoon, less than two hours after the team hired him. Shamus informs them that he is parked down the block from Mrs. Kendrick’s house and that a Japanese gentleman has just arrived to visit Mrs. Kendrick. The Omega team drops everything and rushes to Mrs. Kendrick’s house (20 minutes away in the suburb of Maple Valley). In route Eden Blake disguises Andrew Hobbs so that he can pass as an insurance investigator.

The team arrives about the same time that a plumbing truck arrives at the Kendrick household. Fortunately the plumbers turn out to be legitimate and the team realizes it and does not panic (Darn, at least I tried). The Japanese man leaves just as Mr. Hobbs walks up to her house. Mr. Hobbs and the Japanese man exchange a glance at a distance of about 20 yards and the Japanese man does not seem to recognize Mr. Hobbs. Andrew is able to talk his way into Mrs. Kendrick’s house and, while she is in the kitchen with the plumbers, he is able to observe papers that make it apparent that Mrs. Kendrick’s lawsuit has been bought off.

As soon as Andrew gets out of the house and back to the rest of the team they start to follow the heat trail left by the Japanese man’s car.

GM NOTE: One of the powers of the Predator’s helmet is the ability to use a tracking scent based on following heat patterns left behind. I now think that I was awfully lenient in letting this work what with the passage of other cars on city streets but it fits nicely in the story line so what the heck.

They follow the Japanese man to the Carleton Executive Suites (A 39-storie office building in the Gadsden district) and locate his car in the parking garage. They follow the thermal footprints from the car to an elevator and by timing them and through careful observation narrow the Japanese man’s destination to only five or six floors. As they leave the building they catch site of a helicopter leaving the roof’s heliopad. They make a note of the registration numbers by using binoculars to read them. Several hours later they revisit the parking garage to see if the parking spaces are numbered. They are and the car is parked in a spot reserved for the Hubbs & Assoc. Corporate Law Firm, which occupies the 29th and 30th floors of the building. Checking public records reveal that the helicopter they sighted belongs to Aerocorp, an executive transport company.

Arriving back at the base they place a few calls to various contacts to find any background they can on Hubbs & Assoc.

May 17
The team is confident that the Cardshark will hit the ‘Five Who Shine’ awards at the Hudson City Convention Center this evening and start making plans.

The information they get back about Hubbs & Assoc. is that the law firm represents several large corporations; one in particular catches their eye. The Shonto Conglomerate is one of their primary clients. Shonto is a Japanese owned international corporation with a reputation for shady dealings. Shonto has never been legally linked to wrongdoing but it is widely believed, in the Pacific Rim, that the company is not above using hired assassins and extortion to further their business dealings.

That evening’s ‘Five Who Shine’ awards turn out to be a bust. While the Omega Team stakes out the awards the Cardshark’s people steal four of the five experimental, prototype, laser weapons that various firms have been working on for next months competition for a PRIMUS contract. The fifth laser weapon is only saved thanks to the intervention of the Harbinger of Justice.

The team becomes more fearful of what Cardshark is up to and begins to wonder what the Full House crime will be.

May 18
The morning newspapers tell of the theft of the laser weapons and the foiling of one of the robberies by the Harbinger of Justice. Also announced is the visit to the city, next month, of the King Thutmose exhibit. The exhibit will open on June 1st, at the Hudson City Museum of Anthropology and Natural History (across N. Adams Street from Gadsden Park), the scene of Urieal’s death.

At 9:00 am several of the team members, in their normal identities, head to LeMastre Park to participate in the citywide graffiti clean up.

About noon Mongrel and the Pack kill two drug dealers on the Stewart County courthouse steps. They then commandeer a TV news crew and make a statement. The Omega Team members are mostly involved in the community cleanup effort and do not see the footage until the 3:00 p.m. news break.

At around 5 o’clock that afternoon the Pack hits the estate of Don Ballado, a notorious Colombian drug lord. Thirteen people (Don Ballado and his guards) are slain. Don Ballado’s wife and children escape unharmed by hiding in the living room (It is widely believed by the Police, the Omega Team and almost everybody else that The Pack allowed them to live). Since there is so much carnage and evidence scattered (and the power lines are cut) the police seal off the estate just after dark and plan to resume their investigation at day break tomorrow. Through their numerous contacts the Omega Team soon finds out how the police investigation is being handled.

May 19
At about 2:00 AM the Omega Team easily sneaks past the two police guards and into the Don Ballado estate. They are able to look over the scene pretty well and discover that a 3.5” disc is still jammed in the shattered PC of Don Ballado. Knowing that Don Ballado was know as the ‘Silicon Don’ due to his practice of using computers to run his empire, The Omega Team breaks open the drive to recover the disc.

Back at the base the disc is revealed to be full of brief notes. The notes mostly give places and times. The team realizes that these are probably records of various drug shipments that Don Ballado is involved with. The next date listed is tomorrow evening at 10:00 PM. The place is the Brandwier Shipyards. The team makes plans to be there.

The team members sleep late and no real activity gets underway until after 2 o’clock that afternoon. Daniel Sanders is scheduled to participate in the North American Go Championships this Wednesday through Saturday. The local Go club and the Arts crowd are interested in holding a reception/party next Saturday evening (May 25th) to celebrate the winner. Daniel manages to talk Dr. Thomas James to hold the party at his mansion in Irishtown.

May 20
The team spends most of this Monday covering their secret identities and nothing noteworthy happens until that night.

That evening, the Omega Team stakes out the Brandwier Shipyards and encounters the Pack. In the foggy shipyards a vicious battle ensues. Predator (Dutch Watkins) is seriously wounded by machinegun fire from Mongrel. Moondog (the werewolf) is killed by Nightstick with silver headed arrow. The team had theorized that he might be a werewolf and so Nightstick had a couple of silver arrowheads made. They hoped the legend about silver and werewolves would be correct and apparently it was. Rottweiler is gunned down by Hippocrates but regenerates enough to put up a fight against Nightstick who finally slays him. Doberman and Savant fight a cat and mouse battle onboard the ship the drugs are supposed to be on. Against the odds Savant fells Doberman with laser fire while swinging away on a linegun. (Incredible dice rolling, but it was very dramatic. I would have bet real money that Eosin was going to be needing a new character).

Moondog's body, now in human form, is recovered by the police. The Omega Team takes Rottwieler’s body for analysis. Doberman’s body is not recovered since limpet mines previously planted by the Pack sink the ship he was on. If Doberman is not dead, he must be critically injured. Mongrel and the demon-possessed Hellhound (formerly Ashtray Art until he was possessed by the spirit of a fire demon) make a clean escape. Though Mongrel and Hellhound had ample opportunity to finish-off the wounded Predator they let him live, apparently unaware of what the Omega Team was doing to their teammates.

A responding police car engages the Omega Truck in a short chase through the water front area but the Omega Team makes good their escape and retires to the beta base with their wounded comrade.

The police are left with some pretty unbelievable carnage. Four ships at the shipyard are sunk at their moorings by limpet mines. Sixteen bodies are recovered most are the crew of the Colombian freighter Amigo. The crew of the Amigo, except the captain, first officer and chief engineer, were slain while in their bunkroom (by Doberman). The officers in the pilothouse of the ship saw Doberman and a man who bore an Omega Symbol on his gear emerge from below decks. They saw the Omega Team member shoot Doberman with a laser weapon as he fled the sinking ship. Doberman’s body, however, was not recovered. The Police recover the body of a man wearing a University of Alabama football jersey from among the shipping crates. The man was slain with a silver-headed arrow that is similar to some that have been used by Nightstick in the past (except these are silver). No usable blood sample can be recovered from Predator since the light rain in the area washed any such samples away.

From witness reports (mostly the officers of the Amigo) the police believe that the Omega Team and the Pack fought some sort of battle against each other here. It sounds as if the Omega Team won and may have ambushed the Pack. It looks as if the two vigilante teams are degenerating to the level of warring street gangs. Tomorrow afternoon an emergency session of the city council is expected to grant funding for the formation of a VAIS (Vigilante Activities Investigation Squad) unit for the Hudson City Police Department.

Thus far no evidence of any drug shipment has been found by the HCPD. Since any such shipment may be in the wreckage of one of the sunken vessels it could be weeks before it is found, if ever.

GM NOTE: This was a pretty epic battle and it is not done justice by this account. Perhaps Eosin or Nightstick can fill in some of the details that they remember.

End of Part 18. This also ends the 4th story arc. The Pack was nominally the focus of this story arc and so this was a good place to put the next divider in the campaign log binder. Tomorrow I’ll try and post part 19, which starts the 5th and final story arc. I won’t make any promises though since tomorrow is our group’s normal gaming night and I may be too busy.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Somebody go find Edsel and smack him around a bit -- its the Omega Hour and he's not here! :mad: :D
Every so often I am able to slip out of the fetters that bind me to this computer.

Just taking my time tonight since I don't have to be up early for work tomorrow.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by NightStick
:D ***laughter fills the halls***:D

He is probably workin on his house - it's been a great day here in OKC.

But, your right......It's past the Omega Hour.......:mad:
Et tu Nightstick?

[NightStick]

Originally posted by Edsel
Et tu Nightstick?
***more laughter***:p


Oui bien!:D


:cool:

[Killer Shrike]

Hmm...curious, if you had concerns about Predator disrupting the campaign, why you didnt take the opportunity to whack him when the Pack had him dead to rights?

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Hmm...curious, if you had concerns about Predator disrupting the campaign, why you didnt take the opportunity to whack him when the Pack had him dead to rights? I am not certain now. It has been several years.

Perhaps I wanted to make them (the team) feel bad about prematurely killing off villians I still had plans for. They came out looking a little more violent (to the authorities) since they killed their enemies and the Pack did not. (Although there was little doubt that the Pack was deadly as well).

Also the player who was running Predator was haveing a hard time in his personal life at the time and I didn't want to pile on. Sadly the player dropped out of the campaign several months later and then committed sucide shortly after that. It came as a huge shock to the rest of us, we had no idea he had problems that were that bad.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Also the player who was running Predator was haveing a hard time in his personal life at the time and I didn't want to pile on. Sadly the player dropped out of the campaign several months later and then committed sucide shortly after that. It came as a huge shock to the rest of us, we had no idea he had problems that were that bad. Wow. :eek: :( Luckily for me, no one I know has ever committed suicide. Pretty sad.

[NightStick]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Wow. :eek: :( Luckily for me, no one I know has ever committed suicide. Pretty sad.
Be very thankful for that!:)

What I remember most about the man, was his Fried / BBQ chicken dinner that He and his wife put on for our group just a few weeks before his demise. The man did have his eccentricities.:rolleyes:

I also lost my oldest brother to this most selfish form of destruction.
I can tell you that there is no other pain quite like this.:eek:

But lets get back to the FUN stuff! I can't wait for the next installment! But I am curious about when Edsel will be able to post it........you see, Eosin is running his campaign tommarrow night and that does not leave Edsel much time to post another segment.

Regretfully,:eek: We all may have to wait until Sunday!:mad:
And Yes, that would be WAY PAST OMEGA HOUR!:mad:

Until then.......:D

[Eosin]

I always felt really bad cause he tried to call me the night he killed himself but I was watching a movie with my girlfriend so I dod not answer. Plus, as an RN I am kinda suppost to recognize that behavior. Anyway, bummer but that was years ago and I think we have all had some time to figure it out for ourselves.

Now, I will get to posting that more detailed update for Eddie.

[Eosin]

Battle with the Pack:
This starts the longest 24 hours in history :D

I have a little bit of a different perspective than Eddie, but in hindsight it appears that we [the Omega Team] might have been wrong. The Omega Team was 100% positive that the Pack was just a disguise for a hostile take over of the drug trade in Hudson City - in otherwords they were bad guys trying to disguise themselves as vigilantes. They were also brutally violent. We had teased them 2 or 3 times [see my interview] but the result was just a stepping up of the violence. They were also making the town very hot for us as far as HCPD was concerned. When we met, there was gonna be blood.

The fight was on the shipyards and covered a huge area, like 3 battlemats HUGE! There were ships, cargo, cranes, and other big obstacles in the way. It either was or had been raining - foiling the Predators inviso-shield. Nightstick started the battle, IIRC and ended his opponent really, really fast - a "roll to hit" - "head shot" - "he is dead." That set the tone for the whole battle.

Then came the big surprise, a true blue flying, flaming super villain in the form of Ashtray Art. He had Mongrel and Mongrels 50 Cal machine gun with him. Predator took a nasty wound right off the bat - either 10 or 11 body through to the shoulder.

Hipprocrates was busy, unsuccessfully, trying to beat down the "Rottwieler" but had to pull off of him to help out against Mongrel. Nightstick ended up with a real fight on his hands, I think the guy could do something to the tune of a 10-12 dice crush. Luckily he was badly hurt before he got a hold of ninja boy.

About this time, I meet Doberman and his 3d6 kill with my soft spectra (zero rDEF against knives). We fight below deck, mostly with me running like hell and him chasing me in cramped quarters. I slammed a few ship type doors on him for good effect.

Hippocrates was busy having the front wheel off his motorcycle blown off by Mongrel, luckily he was pretty talented and rode a wheelie while shooting his Mac-10 and heading for deep water. I think the player realized he was in an untenable position with both Mongrel and Firelord after him and the Predator already clean out of the fight. The problem was that he was more than a full move from anything that might offer any protection and that cannon of Mongrels would cut right through his armor. He made the best decision he could, dump the bike in the ocean and swim for it. How could he know that Limpit mines were 4 segments from detinating?

Nightstick had finished off the Rottwieler and got whichever body it was into the truck but would take something like 10 rounds to reach Savant or Hipprocrates. I believe my commentary was something like "Nightstick get your @#&* over here, this guy is gonna gut me." And "Oh, pooh-pooh I am so dead." :)

Doberman follows me on to the deck and I am looking for some explosive, like say a propane tank, I roll my luck..I find one..He does not fall for it (He was being played by a guy who would occasionally come to the game). I decide one more shot at the monkey boy before I make off like a bandit with my 18" Linegun swing. The Limpits go off right as I am swinging, my roll to hit is a 3, and then I manage to get a level of luck. I choose to bypass armor since I had a good hit location (11). I roll 3d6 (I spent my level of luck to bump the damage up and rolled a 6 or +3 Killing DC) and then I roll 18 damage on the Killing attack. 18 BODY to the chest past any armor :)

From our point of view, the Pack was playing just as deadly as we were. I think that only Rotweiller was purposefully killed but can't swear to it. Nightstick just got lucky with a headshot to start things going. That .50 cal of Mongrels was not a minor chastisement :) It was for keeps.

For some reason I think Dancer was stuck in some cargo crates with someone looking for her. Maybe that is what distracted Mongrel from finishing off the Predator.

This was to date the most brutal and deadly fight we had, even worse that Arsenal. One slip and these guys had major nasty killing attacks that could take us clean out. Sadly, we have one battle coming up that makes this one look like a walk in Disneyland.

Funny how with Eddies commentary at this point I have formulated some new ideas on what might have been happening.

:cool:

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Eosin
I have a little bit of a different perspective than Eddie, but in hindsight it appears that we [the Omega Team] might have been wrong. The Omega Team was 100% positive that the Pack was just a disguise for a hostile take over of the drug trade in Hudson City - in otherwords they were bad guys trying to disguise themselves as vigilantes. That is exactly what they were.

Your memories of the battle are probably better than mine. One of the reasons I kept a campaign log is due to my poor recall.

[Edsel]

Posting this early in the day since my gaming group meets tonight.

Team Omega Campaign History
Start of the final story arc

May 21, Tuesday, 1996
For the past several weeks Lex Bratheon (new player-character of Brian W.) has been studying martial arts at the school of Zhu Hsaio. Zhu Hsaio has sensed the troubles that haunt the man and has gotten him to speak.

Lex is a former VIPER agent. After a bad experience, involving the murder of 30 innocent people, Lex found he could no longer work for such an evil organization. Indeed, until the incident, Lex never really realized just how ruthless his employers were. Lex is searching for a way to make amends for the evil that he has done. Zhu Hsaio realized that the Omega Team might be the answer that Lex is seeking. Zhu Hsaio recommends Lex to Nightstick. Since Master Hsaio has recommended Lex the rest of the Omega team agrees to take him into their organization.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thomas James contacts Dr. Steiner (the chief medical examiner) in an attempt to get in on any forensic units that could be formed to support the VAIS unit of the HCPD. During the conversation Dr. James realizes that Dr. Steiner seems very nervous and frightened. After much effort he is able to get Dr. Steiner to admit that the mysterious Japanese man (who is going by the name Mr. S) has kidnapped Dr. Steiner’s family in order to keep him quiet about the gizmo that was found in the body of J.P. Kendrick. Dr. Steiner also warns him that Mr. S is probably looking for Dr. James as they speak.

Dr. James next calls Debbie Taylor’s house and is alarmed when he gets no answer. He rushes over to her house and discovers she is missing. A quick conversation with a Mrs. Saquiggins (a neighbor) leaves little doubt that Mr. S has kidnapped Debbie Taylor. Suddenly Thomas’ cellular phone rings (the normal one, rather than the scrambled ones the Omega Team carry) on the other end is the infamous Mr. S. Dr. James is informed that they have Ms. Taylor and that they are willing to trade her for Dr. James himself. Mr. S guarantees that Dr. James will be held only briefly. Dr. James is instructed to meet Mr. S on the concourse of the Hudson City Mega-mall at 7:00 PM tonight.

Naturally the Omega Team realizes that Mr. S and his associates will probably try to implant Dr. James if he surrenders to them. That is why they can guarantee to release him shortly. (It is unlikely that they realize that Dr. James is Hippocrates. They probably are after him because they know he worked with Dr. Steiner on the autoposy. Dr. Steiner gave up that much under duress.) Since VIPER is apparently wrapped up in all of this (according to Lex, see below) the team also is worried about the welfare of the hostages they are holding. VIPER is not known for its scruples and Debbie Taylor is very attractive.

A quick meeting held at the Alpha Base results in Lex being briefed on the current activities of the Omega Team. Lex is able to inform them that the Shonto Conglomerate is heavily involved with VIPER. Lex also hints that he is on the run from VIPER himself. He does not tell them how he has come by such knowledge about VIPER. In other words, he keeps his past as a VIPER agent secret for the time being (he fears how the team would react).

Since it is only about 4:00 PM Lex and Nightstick take one of the team’s throw-away vehicles to pick up Lex’s stuff and transport it to the Alpha Base. On the way back to base they realize that they are being followed. The car following them is a Porsche and Lex says that such vehicles are often used by VIPER and sometimes are armed as well. Nightstick calls the base and rest of the team hurries to meet them so the followers can be confronted.

GM NOTE: Hippocrates was worried about his secret ID (Dr. James) being blown. After all how did VIPER know to follow him? Actually, Lex is hunted by VIPER and so he triggered this encounter, but Hippocrates had no way of knowing that.

The Omega Team springs their ambush just as the VIPER team makes their move to retrieve the traitor (Lex, of course). The VIPER team consists of two cars each carrying 4 Assault agents and a team of 6 Air Cavalry are dropped into the fray as well. VIPER expected to encounter one former agent, a skilled one, but only one man. Instead they have to face most of the Omega Team. Nightstick, Hippocrates, Dancer and Savant in addition to Lex himself are present. Even Dutch participates by driving the Omega Truck to the scene and ramming one of the unarmed Porches the VIPER agents are using. (Unfortunately this activity will impede the rapid healing of the wounds Dutch received the previous night.) In the ensuing battle one VIPER agent is killed and 9 others (including all the Air Cavalry) are injured and rendered unconscious. Four of the VIPER agents escape to report on what happened.

The HCPD responds to the scene of the battle and clear evidence of the involvement of the Omega Team is found. However, since VIPER is involved in this situation PRIMUS is called in immediately. The HCPD is superceded in this case and PRIMUS handles the rest. The Omega Team has no sources inside PRIMUS so they do not know what the PRIMUS investigation turns up.

GM NOTE: It should be mentioned here that the Omega Team has recently gained several new gadgets. First, the Alpha Base’s new computer has recently come on-line. The computer is called Big Red and is an impressive AI computer. The team also has a new medical gadget called a Dermagen Tank. The Dermagen Tank is similar to the Bacta Tank from the Star Wars setting. It is capable of rapidly accelerating the healing of any person immersed in the tank. Predator now has his alien shoulder cannon working in a sense but it is not as well focused since certain broken lenses can’t be duplicated. The cannon’s effect is now similar to one of the Blaster Rifles used by groups like VIPER or PRIMUS. Similar repairs have finally been made on the alien first aid kit the Predator brought to the team, its healing power is staggering but the expendable components cannot be duplicated so the kit should be good for about eight uses, ever.

By 5:30 PM the Omega Team and their new member are back at the Alpha Base. The team immediately starts planning for the exchange at the Mega-mall this evening. The team thinks about contacting Dr. Steiner again, but then it is realized that he may have already had a meeting with Mr. S about his family. Several other schemes are cooked up and discarded before all involved agree upon a workable plan.

Dr. James ingests a solution that contains a, weakly, radioactive trace element along with iodine to help prevent any build up of the element in his system. Knowing the frequency of the isotope, Savant is able to tune in the radios of the two Omega Trucks to the correct setting. The two trucks will not be able to detect it at a very great range (a mile or less) and will only be able to get rough directional and range estimates with the use of directional antennas. The team is also able to obtain a hit of wire. It is risky but Dr. James feels he may need any advantage he can get if he is forced to face ninja while unarmed. Dr. James encapsulates the drug in a capsule that should dissolve after about 20 minutes, thus delaying its effects and allowing him to ingest it prior to the meeting.

GM NOTE: Wire is a street drug. In game terms it grants a 2d6 Aid to all physical characteristics (STR, DEX, CON, SPD, END and STUN) for one hour. The drug is also highly addictive and expensive. Long-term negative effects include impulsiveness, overconfidence and aggressiveness. The team used the radioactive isotope idea because they feared that VIPER/Shonto might have good radio-detection gear that would thwart a bug. This could provide a good excuse to mutate Hippocrates in the future, or give him cancer.

Lex Bratheon chooses to take on the vigilante name of Pax.

At 7:00 PM the meeting takes place. Snapshot and Savant are in the Alpha Truck, which is disguised as an UPS delivery vehicle. Predator is in the Beta Truck, which is disguised as a Federal Express delivery vehicle. The two trucks park in delivery areas near opposite ends of the mall. Pax and Nightstick are disguised as UPS and FedEx delivery personnel. They walk the mall with freight carts that hide some of their equipment. Dancer is disguised as a limo driver and leads a fleet of 5 limos to one of the main mall entrances. Dancer’s job is to whisk Ms. Debbie Taylor to an Omega Team safe house. The other 4 limos have been paid to mix it up with Dancer’s limo and then drive off in different directions. The cover story given to the Limo Company is that a wealthy individual who wishes remain unnamed and wishes to avoid poparatzy needs the diversion. (I’d have simply used taxicabs) Dr. James, unarmed, proceeds to the main concourse to meet with Mr. S while Pax and Nightstick keep up a covert surveillance.

At the meeting Dr. James agrees to go with Mr. S, and a couple of his associates, after he witnesses Ms. Taylor’s release. A pair of Asian men releases her at the far side of the concourse. Ms. Taylor wanders briefly until Nightstick approaches her, mentions he was sent by Dr. James, and points her toward the exit where Dancer and the limos are waiting. Dancer and Ms. Taylor and take refuge at the pre-designated safe house. Dancer sees no indication that they were followed.

Dr. James is hustled into a waiting car and is guarded by Mr. S and two other men, who Dr. James assumes to be ninja. He is frisked in the car and found to be carrying no weapons but his wallet is taken and the IDs removed (driver’s license, AMA card, etc.). The rest of the Omega Team quickly picks up Nightstick and Pax. The two Omega trucks start shadowing the car in which Dr. James is being taken away. By using the radios to follow the signal of the isotopes Dr. James had previously ingested, the rest of the Omega Team is able to shadow at a much greater distance and are never spotted. The entire entourage soon arrives at the Carleton Executive Suites.

While in route to the CES tower several of the Omega Team members hear interesting news on the police scanners. Apparently, the Harbinger of Justice has shot a couple of Cardshark agents who were attempting to kidnap one of the participants of the big Go Tourney scheduled to begin tomorrow.

When the car with Dr. James arrives at the CES tower the rest of the Omega Team suddenly remembers that the building has a helo-pad on the roof. Savant, who has been working with Bid Red (the team’s new AI computer) over the satellite link, finally managed to get a thermographic satellite picture of the area and realizes that there is a warm helicopter on the roof. The team quickly heads to the building across the street and dash for the elevators. Several people in the building they rush through are rather startled but since the team seems to be passing through nobody even attempts to impede them. Although the building they have run into is 25 stories tall, the elevator they pile onto gets to the top without being stopped at any intervening floors. The team immediately runs up the single flight of stairs to the roof, sprints to the edge and jumps.

GM NOTE: The elevators were clear because Savant chose to expend 1 of his 2 dice of luck. This is due to a house rule. A character can forgo a dice of luck for the evening in order to catch a break such as this.

The neighboring CES tower is 37 floors tall (24 hexes taller than the building they are in) and is located across a four-lane street with sidewalks (10 hexes across). The members of the Omega Team are wearing spring boots, copied from Cardshark equipment, and most have multi-purpose line guns. Pax even has a VIPER Jetpack. All the Omega Team make the leap and swing up with their line guns to crest the roof of the CES tower just as the doors of express elevator containing Mr. S, the ninja, and Dr. James arrives.

On the roof of the CES tower, the Omega Team engages Mr. S, four ninja, and 5 lesser agents in battle. Nightstick takes a minor injury when his curse of bullet attraction activates once again. As the battle quickly turns against Mr. S and his men, the helicopter flees with its two-man crew. Since the helicopter appears to be unarmed the Omega Team does not try and stop it for fear of where it will fall if they shoot it down. Mr. S is knocked unconscious by non-lethal fire and falls in the elevator car. Since the other two ninja have fled the elevator, Dr. James punches the down button taking Mr. S with him. This confounds the rest of the team who had intended to stun Dr. James in order to make it appear that he was unconnected with the Omega Team. Dr. James was unaware of this plan, since he wore no radio and the scheme was cooked up during the battle. The rest of the Omega Team is left to battle for a few seconds more as they stamp out all resistance.

As soon as the battle concludes the rest of the Omega Team discover that they will need a key to recall the express elevator that has taken Dr. James and Mr. S down. After searching for a couple of minutes, Snapshot finds an elevator key on one of the unconscious Shonto employees. Once he recalls the elevator, he takes it down to the parking garage to see if he can determine what has become of Dr. James and Mr. S. As the doors open he sees a security guard with a draw weapon, and a worried look, which stares at him in the elevator. Since it appears that Dr. James has already fled with Mr. S, Snapshot returns to the roof.

The team quickly heads down to the floor that is occupied by Hubbs & Assoc. This is the law firm known to often work for the Shonto Conglomerate. H&A is also the owner of the cars Mr. S has been using. About the time they manage to overcome law office’s security systems they hear, on their police scanners, a report of someone carrying a person through the parking garage of the CES Tower. They, correctly, surmise that Dr. James must have been seen carrying Mr. S out of the parking garage. (That’s what the security guard that Snapshot saw was looking for). Since they have no way of contacting Dr. James they spend about 10 minutes ransacking the offices for anything that looks like it might be useful. The Omega Team then flees the building just as the first police unit arrives to check out the call about the parking garage. They do not know where Dr. James and Mr. S have gone.

After Dr. James flees the building, carrying Mr. S with him. He uses the cellular phone of Mr. S to call his chauffeur to come to a location about two blocks away from the CES tower. He then locates a couple of vagrants, rolls them, and steals their two overcoats. He then uses the two smelly overcoats as makeshift disguises and waits, with his captive, until his chauffeur arrives. He gives his chauffeur a $500 bonus and tells him to find himself a cab. He loads Mr. S into the car and drives to the Beta Base (the closest) where he puts Mr. S under a sedative to ensure that he remains unconscious.

Big Red continued to monitor the helicopter via satellite until the satellite moves out of range and it looses the picture. The last location of the helicopter indicated that it was headed toward the bay. The next gaming secession will take up just as this one ended. The Omega Team is in the two trucks, having just left the CES tower. Dancer and Ms. Debbie Taylor are in a safe house. Dr. James is at the Beta Base having just finished sedating Mr. S.

Two possible Shonto employees left in the helicopter, but then they may only have been two ignorant, innocent, witnesses. None of the people on the roof were killed though a couple are seriously wounded and may die if they are not found within an hour or two. The team left ample evidence of the break in at the Hubbs & Assoc. offices (open safes, picked locks, shuffled papers, disturbed computer stations) but they were careful not to leave any evidence that could help identify any of them. The team also has about a half dozen zip disks filled with confidential (and in some cases encrypted) computer files. Of course with the team in transit at the close of this secession they have not had a chance to examine them yet. There is the fear that Dr. James may have been pictured on surveillance cameras while he arrived with Mr. S and even worse when he left through the parking garage with Mr. S on his shoulder?

Dr. James heads to the Beta Base with the Mr. S. Once he arrives he places the ninja leader under sedation to ensure that he will not escape. George Bell is at the Beta Base performing some routine maintenance and assists Hippocrates in his endeavors. First Hippocrates uses the base’s hi-range radio to determine if Mr. S is emitting any sort of radio signals. Once it is determined that he is, Dr. James uses the base’s radio system to jam the signal. He then performs delicate surgery to remove the implant located in the back of the ninja’s neck. A few minutes after he removes the implant it detonates, either due to some booby trap or a remote radio signal.

Realizing that his identity is probably blown, Dr. James makes plans to change his identity. He also assumes that the radio signals that were emitted by Mr. S’s implant have probably compromised the base’s security. Hippocrates and George Bell begin to hurriedly load the gold from the vault and any other expensive gear they can into a pair of throwaway cars that they have at the base. They closely monitor the external IR video sensors in case Shonto or VIPER raids the base before they can evacuate.

Dr. James revives Mr. S and immobilizes him with a paralytic drug so he can talk to him. He attempts to get Mr. S to talk by indicating the remains of the device that had been planted in him (possibly without his knowledge). He is unsuccessful in getting Mr. S to utter a single word. He then sedates the ninja once again and puts him into the car that he will take when they evacuate the base.

Hippocrates and George make plans to torch the building before they leave. They then quickly put anything that might survive a simple building fire in the incinerator. They then set several firebombs in the building and flee in different cars in different directions. Hippocrates and the rest of the team reestablish contact at some point during all of this.

George Bell takes a round about route to the Alpha Base and meets the rest of the Omega Team there (except Dancer who is still at the safe house with Ms. Debbie Taylor). Dr. James does not arrive at the Alpha Base for several hours. However the rest of the team are aware of a lot of the things he did in the intervening time.

The Private Investigator Shamus had been hired previously by Savant to keep an eye on the CES towers, specifically to look for Mr. S. When Dr. James exited the area with Mr. S, Shamus spotted them and followed them to the Beta base. When Dr. James left the base with Mr. S, Shamus followed them to a Motel 6 on the outskirts of the northern suburbs of Hudson City. He observed Dr. James rent a room and carry Mr. S into the room and leave shortly thereafter. Shamus was only hired to watch until 10:00 PM at which time he left.

During the time that Dr. James was at the Beta Base Predator used the satellite link to establish a surveillance of the Beta Base. The thermo-graphic image indicated a warm car a short distance from the Beta Base and the rest of the team eventually realized that it must be Shamus. Just before Dr. James’s arrival at the Alpha Base, Savant called Shamus and got a report on what he had seen.

The rest of the team is incredulous when they find out that Dr. James left Mr. S at the hotel to recover and escape. Dr. James’s hope is that the reality of his (possible) betrayal by his employers will prompt Mr. S to work against them. If he was indeed unaware of the implant that Dr. James removed this may have a shot at working. At worst he will report back to his Shonto handlers and remain a thorn in the Omega Team’s side. He could also become a loose cannon or simply disappear.

By midnight the Beta Base is a smoldering ruin. No doubt the Fire Marshal will rule it an arson blaze but little should come of it. The Omega Team has no contacts within the Fire Marshals office. It was an old warehouse (as far as the city was concerned) and this sort of thing is, unfortunately, common.

Thus ends, what is known called by the Omega Team as, The Longest Day. I believe that this took at least 4 or 5 secessions to play out completely.

End of part 18. part 19 tomorrow in which Hippocrates pays the price for a blown secret identity. You know as I re-read the history I'm surprised I didn't go mad trying to keep everything straight.:eek:

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
That is exactly what they were.

Your memories of the battle are probably better than mine. One of the reasons I kept a campaign log is due to my poor recall. Oddly, I have the same problem. My players remember most encounters better than I do. Once one of them brings it up, I remember it, but if they dont I dont recall it unassisted.

I also forget what day and year it is and have to think about it to remember my left from my right (according to tests Ive taken I use both sides of my brain equally, which is unusual, and often is accompanied by a difficulty in conceptualizing handedness).

So either Im retarded or eccentric, you decide ;)

[Tim]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike


So either Im retarded or eccentric, you decide ;)

Are you SURE you want to find out which we decide???:D

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Tim
Are you SURE you want to find out which we decide???:D I wont remember anyway ;)

[Southern Cross]

I'm going with eccentric.

[Edsel]

May 22
At about 8:00 AM the players become aware (through police scanners and eventually the local news media) that there has been a quadruple homicide at the residence of Dr. Thomas James. Fortunately Dr. James has spent the night at one of his safe houses. It is eventually pieced together that the dead are the chauffeur and butler of Dr. Thomas James and Dr. Steiner and his wife. The police now are actively seeking Dr. Thomas James for suspicion of murder and kidnapping. He is also suspected of being one of the Omega Team vigilantes.

The police report is that the butler and chauffeur were both shot and that Dr. Steiner and his wife were killed by some sort of implanted micro-bomb, a device that would require a measure of surgical skill to implant. Police have also conducted a thorough search of the residence and office of Dr. Steiner and have found notes, in Dr. Steiner’s hand writing, that indicate that a similar device may have caused a previous death (J. P. KENDRICK). The police are also aware that Dr. Thomas James has been a friend of Dr. Steiner and has often been seen to visit and work with the Medical Examiner over the last several months. The most recent of Dr. Steiner’s notes indicates that he is now fearful of Dr. James and what he has been doing. The police have thoroughly dusted the residence and personal vehicles of Dr. Thomas James and have good fingerprints for the fugitive. They have clear photos as well as detailed height and weight data. Hair recovered from Dr. James’s residence has also provided a good sample for DNA matching. The police consider Dr. James to be armed and extremely dangerous. They are also aware that Ms. Debbie Taylor, the girl friend of the suspect is missing and foul play is suspected. The daughter of Dr. Steiner is missing as well. Local Crime-Stoppers are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Dr. James.

GM NOTE: Of course the incriminating note written by Dr. Steiner was done under duress, but since he is dead there is no way for the police to know that.

Naturally the Omega Team realizes that this is all the work of the Shonto Conglomerate and possibly VIPER as well. Dr. James will operate out of a safe house and the Alpha Base until he can establish a credible new identity.

Dancer and Savant move Debbie Taylor from the safe house to the Alpha Base. She is a little traumatized after her captivity by Shonto. She had been completely stripped by a half dozen strange men and slapped around until it quickly became obvious that she could give them no further information about Dr. Thomas James. She has now recovered somewhat but is still jumpy and there may be some minor long- term psychological effects.

GM NOTE: Debbie Taylor gained a 5-point Psychological Disadvantage, Xenophobia (Uncommon, Mild Effects).

Through out the day Andrew Hobbs and Big Red analyze the data obtained from the burglary at Hubbs & Assoc. From it he is finally able to glean that Hubbs & Assoc. handled the procurement of required licenses for Shonto to operate a yacht named Blossom within US territorial waters. It is also determined that Hubbs & Assoc. often ships packages through a company call Anaconda Airborne Express, which Pax indicates is a VIPER front company. It is recalled that the helicopter at the CES tower was last spotted heading out toward the bay.

A bit of computer hacking into organizations including, the US Coast Guard, Shonto Shipbuilding, and the local Airport Authority reveals further information. The Blossom is large enough to fit a helipad although the computer-stored documentation does not include a helipad. The Blossom is currently anchored outside of Hudson City Harbor (just out of view from the city). It is also determined that Anaconda Express is due to ship some large packages from Hubbs & Assoc. this very afternoon.

The team has become very concerned about the fate of Dr. Steiner’s daughter. They fear that if she is alive she may be shipped off to white slavery somewhere in the Pacific Rim. Pax and Savant, disguised as Airport Security, check out the shipment at the airport. Though a mix up in the phony ID cards nearly results in them being exposed they manage to succeed in their mission. One large crate with a false bottom is revealed to contain high-tech computer gadgetry but no trace of the missing daughter of Dr. Steiner is found.

Just after noon Nightstick drives out to the Motel 6 where Mr. S was left. He finds no trace of Mr. S but does have a brief encounter with a trio of drunken rednecks who attempt to provoke “the Chinaman”. After quickly and painlessly rendering the three unconscious he pays their tab and leaves.

Nightstick then proceeds to the Hyatt Regency Hotel to watch the Go Tournament in which Daniel Sanders is a player. Upon his arrival he sees Mr. Sanders car leaving with a young thug driving. Correctly surmising that the car is being stolen he shadows it to a chop shop about 15 minutes away. Nightstick confers, via cell phone, with the rest of the team and it is decided to let the police handle it. Nightstick calls the police and anonymously reports the location of the chop shop. Joe keeps the building under surveillance and waits.

Shortly two vans disgorge a strong team of Chardshark agents (Spades) who quickly subdue the car thieves and remove a pair of cars from the area. After the Cardshark agents depart Joe discards the throwaway vehicle he is driving and retrieves Daniel’s Jaguar. The team later theorizes that the thieves inadvertently stole a couple of Cardshark vehicles at the Hyatt Regency.

They are correct. Apparently the thieves stole several cars from the Hyatt’s parking garage and got a couple that would have been best left alone. Each of the 8 people in the chop shop suffered a pair of broken arms.

Meanwhile, a man with an offer has approached Snapshot, if he will throw a game he will be well rewarded. Daniel becomes fairly certain the man is a Diamonds agent.

Nightstick makes a call to the reporter Frank Fedora and tells him what has transpired (with the car thieves). He hopes that giving Frank the scoop will encourage the reporter to write more favorably about the Omega Team’s sagging reputation.

Satellite imagery soon reveals the location of the Blossom. A small plane and pilot are rented by Ms. Blake to do some sight seeing of the coastal area around Hudson City. She uses the opportunity to get some aerial photos of the Blossom. The photos reveal that the Blossom has more extensive radar equipment than computer records indicated and that a helipad has been added to the yacht. The Team makes plans to raid the vessel this evening.

The raid is pretty straightforward. The crew and about half a dozen ninja are slain in the ensuing battle while the Omega Team escapes injury. Ms. Steiner and two other girls are found. They are locked in a lower forward compartment. The women all seem a traumatized but are basically unharmed. Ms. Steiner is informed of her parent’s death and the women are informed in no uncertain terms that it is the Omega Team that has rescued them. The Blossom is sent to the bottom by an explosive charge placed on the hull below the water line. (The team placed a 2 lbs. Charge of C-4 on the hull, enough to cause a 25d6 explosion.) The rescued women are dropped off just outside the waterfront police precinct.

The three women’s story of their captivity and rescue are in agreement. Little evidence will be quickly retrieved from the wreck of the Blossom. The explosive used to sink the vessel was nearly enough to blow the vessel in half. Police are unsure what to think about all this. The Blossom was not known to be involved in any illegal activity and yet the women are pretty convincing in their separate, but identical, stories. The use of what was, essentially, a limpet mine to sink the vessel is very near the tactic that was used at the Brandweir Shipyards just two days ago. Police surmise that one of the more recent members of the Omega Team is a demolitions expert of some skill. Originally the police were uncertain who had planted the charges on the civilian ships at the shipyards but this story lends credence to the idea that it was the Omega Team who blew up the civilian ships. GM NOTE: Ha haa haaa.

The police believe that Dr. James is responsible for the murder of Dr. Steiner and his wife, but the daughter’s story indicate that he was probably among her rescuers. Captain McPhearson, front-runner for command of the VAIS unit, believes that this is “…an effort by the Omega Team to confuse us. A feeble effort to prevent police efforts to end their reign of terror.”

GM NOTE: Again the raid on the Blossom is an abbreviated, just-the-facts, account. Perhaps Eosin or Nightstick can elaborate on the action. However, it was a brief, surprise attack if I recall correctly.

May 23
For what seems like the first time in ages, this day passes rather uneventfully. The Omega Team members spend the day covering their secret identities.

Dr. Thomas James spends the day working toward the creation of a new identity; he also talks with Debbie Taylor. Dr. James spends hours explaining to Debbie what his life has been and what has occurred. He gets her to accept what the reality of things are and shows her why she must disappear and assume a new identity. Shonto and probably VIPER are hunting them both. Debbie and Dr. James will live at the Alpha Base and safe houses until new identities can be established.

Joe Dishwasher watches some of the Go Tournament today. At one point he follows a suspected Cardsharks operative (likely a Diamonds Agent) to a downtown office building. The agent parks in the parking garage of the Livingston Building and enters the elevators. Joe notes that the elevator lights indicate that the elevator proceeds to the 12th floor before stopping and then returning to the garage level empty.

GM NOTE: For those unfamiliar with the Cardshark organization. The Diamond’s suite of agents are tasked with most vice operation, including gambling.

May 24
Again today the Omega Team passes the day without making any appearances in public. That evening they have a meeting at the Alpha Base to discuss what their next course of action should be.

Savant has spent all of his spare time with Big Red decrypting and sorting the data obtained by the raid on the Blossom (May 22nd). They now have a list of 47 people who, either now, or recently worked for HCH&M (Hudson City Health & Medical a local, lucrative, HMO that Shonto seems to have designs upon). The Information that they have obtained seems to indicate that Shonto’s radio transmission capabilities went down with the Blossom. Big Red estimates that it will take about two weeks for Shonto to reestablish transmitter facilities needed to threaten those implanted with cortex bombs. Of course if VIPER is actively involved with the plot they may have the capability themselves.

ICE is the new drug of choice on the streets of Hudson City. Over the last week it has scene an upsurge in popularity among the users of the city. The activities of the Pack have put a dent in the supply of the imported street drugs but ICE is a form of methamphetamine that can be produced locally. Predator advocates that the team hit any additional drug importers and any meth labs they can find to continue the “drying out” of the city. The remainder of the Omega Team does not seem to enthusiastic about his idea.

The Pack has yet to resurface. Mongrel and Hellhound are known to have escaped unscathed. Doberman’s body has never been recovered and could still be alive. It is generally believed that the Pack will be quiet for weeks (if not longer) licking their wounds.

The King Thutmose exhibit of a mummified Egyptian Pharaoh and his artifacts are due to visit the city next month and advanced passes to the exhibit go on sale the 31st of this month. Several of the team members are a little worried about this since it is just the sort of thing that is likely to stir up the Cabal.

The Idea Men are getting a little overdue for their next bank robbery. Since one of the triple-robberies failed the rest of the gang seem to be lying low. Their total haul is about $4.5 million so they can probably afford to take it easy for a while. The two surviving hold-up men are to be arraigned on Monday, May 27th.

Cardshark is continuing their series of crimes. The crimes seem to be associated with higher and higher poker hands. They have stolen many valuable items and gotten away with 4 of 5 prototype laser rifles. The stolen lasers were not supposed to be significantly more powerful that those currently available. But, the stolen weapons were experiments toward developing a weapon that can be more economically produced. The team is a bit worried about the prospect of Cardshark developing a new cheaper to produce laser rifle. The Full House would be the next poker hand in the sequence that the Cardsharks seem to be following and this Saturday there are three different events scheduled that could be just what Chardshark is looking for.

After much discussion the Team decides that they must try to foil whatever plot Cardshark is up to. Savant advises caution since he has a healthy respect for the organization. The team determines that they must try and cover all three of the events this Saturday; An Amnesty International $1000 a plate fund raising luncheon, The Gus Gray National Collegiate Athletic Awards banquet, and the Reception for conclusion of the North American Go championships at the home of Candace Vanderburg.

GM NOTE: I took the name Gus Gray from an old DC comic book I used to read (The Haunted Tank). Gus grey was a Jessie Owens analog.

End of Part 19, part 20 tomorrow. I know that this was a short part but this is a dramatically good place to pause. Besides we are getting close to the end. :( Next episode the Omega Teams tangles with Cardshark.

[Edsel]

What is the best export template for posting a vehicle to the boards? I've got the Omega Truck done and want to post it.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
What is the best export template for posting a vehicle to the boards? I've got the Omega Truck done and want to post it. Send me the file and Ill take care of it.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Send me the file and Ill take care of it. Okay thanks. I sent you the .hdc file and a vehicle description. Sent them to the email address I got from your website.

[Edsel]

Edit: Well I saw the first attempt you made at posting the Omega Truck, briefly. Since your post just went away I guess I you are still experimenting with export templates. I'll have to check back tomorrow and see how it has turned out. BTW I like the truck picture you found. That is just about perfect. ;)

FYI: When the campaign ended they had an upgraded design on the drawing boards that would have boosted the armor slightly (upto 12) and addeed a 7.62mm minigun in a retractable turret. Very nasty weapon.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Edit: Well I saw the first attempt you made at posting the Omega Truck, briefly. Since your post just went away I guess I you are still experimenting with export templates. I'll have to check back tomorrow and see how it has turned out. BTW I like the truck picture you found. That is just about perfect. ;)

FYI: When the campaign ended they had an upgraded design on the drawing boards that would have boosted the armor slightly (upto 12) and addeed a 7.62mm minigun in a retractable turret. Very nasty weapon. Yeah
if you can stay up for like 5 more minutes, youll be happy I think ;)

[Killer Shrike]

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.htm

[Killer Shrike]

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.htm

[Killer Shrike]

An alternate Omega Van pic: :D

<img src="http://www.herogames.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=262966">

[Eosin]

KS that is a pretty sweet logo. Kinda twisted. I had made a logo a long time ago but that may have been 2 computers ago. Sweet site.

I am gonna have to send you Specter, Predator, Wildcard, and Uriel. I will need to make the last three up from recall, unless the excel sheets on still on my HD.

I think Eddie has a nice rogues gallery that he might be able to update from time to time since we he is gonna run another game sometime later this year. Maybe we can suck you into the game somehow?

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Eosin
KS that is a pretty sweet logo. Kinda twisted. I had made a logo a long time ago but that may have been 2 computers ago. Sweet site. Thanx. I kind of figured you guys would send me some content to fill in the blanks. I built it up off of the Millennial Men site I put up for our supers group (http://www.killershrike.com/MillennialMen/MillennialMen.htm)


Originally posted by Eosin
I am gonna have to send you Specter, Predator, Wildcard, and Uriel. I will need to make the last three up from recall, unless the excel sheets on still on my HD. I think Eddie has a nice rogues gallery that he might be able to update from time to time since we he is gonna run another game sometime later this year.
Cool. Id like to get them put up. I really like the recaps of this campaign and think the info should be broadcasted. This is the best all-around Dark Champs/street level campaign Ive heard tell of, and is pretty inspirational IMO.


Originally posted by Eosin
Maybe we can suck you into the game somehow? That would be cool, but I dont know how we would do it. Its a long commute from SD to Oklahoma ;)

[Edsel]

WOW! :)

I really need to learn HTML and XML so I can do things like that. Really cool stuff. Thanks KS!

I think I have a hard copy of Predator. I know I have almost all of the villians. I'll try to convert one per day or so.

I also have the full write-up of the Omega base. I have a hard copy of the floorplan which I originally did in MicroStation (a professional CADD package). I don't know if I still have an electronic copy (doubtful), if I can find one I can convert it to a jpeg and send it along with the base write-up.

This has been a fun run on the forums but I think we only have three or four parts left before we hit the end of the campaign history. :(

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
WOW! :)

I really need to learn HTML and XML so I can do things like that. Really cool stuff. Thanks KS!
No worries. It only took about 45 minutes to do, total, and most of that was fiddling w/ color schemes and making the logo.



Originally posted by Edsel
I think I have a hard copy of Predator. I know I have almost all of the villians. I'll try to convert one per day or so.

I also have the full write-up of the Omega base. I have a hard copy of the floorplan which I originally did in MicroStation (a professional CADD package). I don't know if I still have an electronic copy (doubtful), if I can find one I can convert it to a jpeg and send it along with the base write-up. Ya, send me anything you can, including entries for the "EGO" board, Allies, and Rogues Gallery. Plus, when its' all wrapped up, the campaign log parts. Ill get them all up and linked.



Originally posted by Edsel
This has been a fun run on the forums but I think we only have three or four parts left before we hit the end of the campaign history. :( All good things must come to an end, but Eosin says you are going to run more Omega adventures soon?

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
All good things must come to an end, but Eosin says you are going to run more Omega adventures soon?
I am sure some of the players would like to see it restart but it has been years and the campaign died in mid-stream. It would be hard to ressurect it.

I guess it could be done but, I am working on a new Dark Champions campaign right now. The characters will be different. They will be working for an organization called the Conclave. The Early NYC Vigilantes (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12804) thread gives some information about this.

There is so much of the old campaign that I want to rework now. Things I think I could do better. I would rather have a fresh start than try and revive the old Omega Team.

Of course I'll use a lot of the old Omega stuff in the new campaign. I'll just overhaul a lot of it and bring it up to 5th Edition standards. Plus I've got new things I want to try out. I want to forge ahead and not rely on my past sucess.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
I am sure some of the players would like to see it restart but it has been years and the campaign died in mid-stream. It would be hard to ressurect it.

I guess it could be done but, I am working on a new Dark Champions campaign right now. The characters will be different. They will be working for an organization called the Conclave. The Early NYC Vigilantes (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12804) thread gives some information about this.

There is so much of the old campaign that I want to rework now. Things I think I could do better. I would rather have a fresh start than try and revive the old Omega Team.

Of course I'll use a lot of the old Omega stuff in the new campaign. I'll just overhaul a lot of it and bring it up to 5th Edition standards. Plus I've got new things I want to try out. I want to forge ahead and not rely on my past sucess. Well, Im sure it'll will be up to the same standard. Maybe you should start up a "Dark Champions" web site thats a sort of generic Dark Champions resource, and then have Omega Team and the Conclave as two different examples of putting the sites resources in action. That would be cool and its easy to do. :)

[NightStick]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Well, Im sure it'll will be up to the same standard. Maybe you should start up a "Dark Champions" web site thats a sort of generic Dark Champions resource, and then have Omega Team and the Conclave as two different examples of putting the sites resources in action. That would be cool and its easy to do. :)

Edsel, That would really be a COOL:D concept!:D

I like the way that this man thinks!:p (referring to Killer Shrikes' ideas);)

I'm not sure how I could help, but I would certainly do what I could!:p

[Edsel]

May 25
The team covers all three events today (the three possible full house crime targets). It is not until that evening, at the Go Reception, that they face the Cardsharks.

About 100 people attend the Reception at the Vanderberg Mansion. Daniel Sanders (Shapshot), Eden Blake (Dancer), Nightstick (Joe Dishwasher) and Andrew Hobbs (Savant) are attending the reception in plain clothes. Daniel Sanders has won the tournament and thus must attend in his public identity. Eden Blake has been acting as Daniel’s sign language interpreter and also needs to attend. Andrew Hobbs attends separately to allow another set of eyes in the mansion. Joe Dishwasher attends since he has been a regular spectator at the competition and is best able to fend for himself with out many weapons. Predator (Dutch Watkins), Hippocrates (Dr. Thomas James) and Pax (Lex Bratheon) sneak onto the mansion grounds and stealthily climb to the roof and then into the, presently empty, third floor of the mansion.

The team is taken by surprise when the catering staff suddenly reveals themselves to be Cardshark agents. Before the team can draw a breath there are around 30+ Spade Agents in control of the guests. Things go badly for the team but fortunately the Cardshark agents are equipped with blaster carbines that generally are much less lethal that firearms. Three large Semi-Tractor trailer rigs arrive soon after the take over starts. However, the hidden vigilantes on the third floor disable two of the three rigs. The Cardshark agents render Savant, Hippocrates, and Snapshot unconscious but are forced to abort and flee the mansion when they are informed by Pax (he shouted) that the police have been summoned. Cardshark flees minus three of their agents who are unconscious and unable to flee. The Omega Team who flees shortly after the Cardshark agents depart takes the three unconscious Cardsharks captive.

Cardshark does not leave empty-handed, however. When they flee the mansion they hurriedly pick out 23 people whom they abduct (probably with the intention of ransom). Among the group taken is Eden Blake (Dancer). What little equipment Dancer had was in her purse, and the Cardshark agents rapidly gathered all purses and wallets. The Omega Team flees back to Alpha Base with three Cardshark agents in custody and without Dancer.

The situation is pretty chaotic for the police. There are many people who left the reception as soon as the Cardshark left so that they would not have to be inconvenienced by having to interview with the police. It will probably take the police the better part of a day to determine just who was kidnapped and who simply left on their own. Several guests tell of tell of shouting between the Cardshark agents and somebody upstairs and it seems that this is what convinced them to leave. Nobody in attendance at the reception saw any of the Omega Team and there is no real evidence that the Omega Team was involved. (Only Omega Team members in civilian clothes were in public view). It is evident that a firefight erupted between the Cardsharks and persons unknown who were hold up on the third floor of the mansion. The drivers of the Trucks are found and questioned but it is apparent that they were unaware of the probable hijacking that awaited them when they arrived at the Vanderburg residence. The trucks were from a freight company, which had been paid to have them arrive for a cargo pickup at this unusual time and place. The persons who placed the order were fictional and the police have no luck uncovering them. The Omega Team left none of their equipment or any trace of their presence at the scene. The Omega Team was unable to locate Dancer’s purse before they left and the police do not find it either. Apparently the Cardshark agents took it, along with many purses and wallets.

GM NOTE: Yet another brief account of what was, in this case, a pretty epic battle. I remember that Savant got beat up by a Spades Agent (humiliated really). Perhaps one of the players will be able to elaborate on the events at the Vanderburg Mansion. Spades Agents, by the way, are the primary combat operatives of the Cardshark organization, they handle kidnappings, murders, armed robberies, etc.

May 26, Sunday
The team gathers early, however previous obligations prevent Nightstick or Pax from attending the meeting. The team makes plans for the meeting tonight at 8:00 PM at the Blue Diamond Lounge (a classy strip joint) located in the Strip. They agree that one person will go in alone (Savant) and the others (Predator, Snapshot and Hippocrates) will wait outside in the Omega Van, armed to the teeth. As part of their preparations Savant contacts Alexander Hayden (The former Remittance Man) to see it they can get hold of a minigun (M-214 5.56mm). Alexander is glad to help and flies out the weapon personally in a corporate jet that afternoon.

At 8:00 PM Savant (in a civilian disguise) enters the Blue Diamond Lounge. At first he has a little difficulty getting inside since the doorman, who is good at this, suspects that the ID he has is phony. Andrew Hobbs is only 19 and the Blue Diamond serves liquor and has nude dancers (age limit 21). By showing the doorman an Omega Card he is quickly able to get in. After setting through a couple of acts he notices one of the waitresses obtain an object from a patron near the far side of the bar. The same waitress then circumnavigates the tavern so as to approach from the opposite side of Savant. She places a cellular phone on the table along with a drink for Savant. Savant observes the man leaving just after passing the phone onto the waitress.

The cellular phone soon rings and Savant has a short conversation with a man who identifies himself as Jack (a comment he makes about “keeping my eye on you” leads Savant to believe that this is One-Eyed Jack). Savant does not let on that they are missing one of their team members and makes no mention of Dancer. He negotiates to trade the three captive Cardshark agents that they hold for “the nine least valuable hostages that Cardshark took from the Vandenburg Mansion.” Jack is agreeable to this and arrangements are made to make the exchange at an old warehouse near Centre Street and Day Avenue, tomorrow (May 27th) at 9:00 PM.

GM NOTE: I don’t recall how the meeting at the Blue Diamond lounge was set up. I assume that it was hastily arranged between Omega Team and the Cardsharks just before both groups fled the Vanderburg Mansion. Either that or they somehow managed to contact the Cardshark organization after the battle. Perhaps one of the players recalls.

On the way back from the Blue Diamond Lounge the Team drives past a secure warehouse and spots unusual activity. When they investigate they encounter Cabal agents. A battle ensues. During the battle the Omega Truck is shot up but remains road worthy. One of the new Omega Cycles has its back tire shot off and the new minigun is destroyed before they get a chance to use it. A radical maneuver with the back door of the Omega Truck open and out the minigun tumbled. Hippocrates is seriously wounded but is able to do a pretty good job patching himself up (but he’ll still spend hours in the bio-regeneration tank at the Alpha Base). Before the Omega Team can manage to fight their way past the agents outside the warehouse, some of the Cabal agents in the warehouse make off with whatever they were attempting to steal. A broken open storage bay (#3B) is noted as well as a shattered crate with the code A-EGY-OK-01211M stenciled on it. The Omega Team revives the mind numbed guards (security guards who had been under mind control) and then they flee back to the Alpha Base.

GM NOTE: I guess I need to enter some of the Cabal agents and their equipment into Hero Designer and post it. Cabal is just another name for DEMON. I used the name Cabal because it seems to fit a “low-powered” game better (players may take exception to the term “low-powered). The Cabal agents used Cthulhu-mythos based weaponry and equipment as well as magic. Very nasty customers. A lot of biotech stuff. It seemed to scare the hell out of my players. :) Of course if any of the players wants to post a more detailed account of this battle, I’m sure it would be appreciated.

A little research and hacking with Big Red soon reveal that the warehouse bay in question was storing materials for the Hudson City Museum of Natural History. The broken crate’s code translated as A (Artifact), EGY (Egyptian), OK (Old Kingdom), item 01211, M (Mystical). It contained a burial scroll that was inscribed with the cartouche of the Pharaoh Thutmose. The King Thutmose exhibit will be visiting Hudson City starting on Friday, June 14th.

The police do not know what to make of the break in at the secured warehouse. No alarms were triggered even though all of them were in perfect working order. There are reports that power failed in about a one-block area about the time of the incident, but the warehouse had back up power of its own that should have powered the alarms. The two guards claim that they were “mind-controlled by starfish on their heads” and that “dark robed satanic-types” fought a battle with the Omega Team here. Nether guard's Breathalyzer tests were positive. A wrecked van his here but it seems to be untraceable (built from parts of over a dozen vans listed as destroyed in accidents). Skid marks are on the pavement and white paint chips indicate the color of the missing vehicle. Smaller skid marks indicate that a motorcycle was involved as well. Burns from energy weapons are evident and numerous 5.56mm casings are lying about. The two guards are being held on suspicion of complicity during the robbery but their past records do not indicate any criminal activity. Unless real evidence is uncovered the guards will most likely go free.

May 27, Monday
The Hudson City Police Department officially announces the formation of their VAIS unit (Vigilante Activities Investigation Squad). Captain Lyle McPhearson will head the unit. The investigative unit will take about a week to form and over the next several months selected SWAT team members will undergo training to act as the enforcement arm of the VAIS unit.

The team spends the morning covering their secret identities and performing other tasks that cannot wait. By around 2:00 PM Savant is working at the Alpha Base when the door buzzer sounds. The visitor is Alexander Hayden (a.k.a. the Remittance Man).

Alexander did not leave Hudson City yesterday after he delivered the mini-gun to the Omega Team. Knowing that Dancer, his old teammate, was in danger he resolved to see what he could do. He followed the Omega Team to their meeting at the Blue Diamond. When the agent left the club he heard Savant’s brief radio signal to the rest of the team. When he realized that nobody was going to follow the departing suspect, he did. He followed the man to a downtown warehouse and then followed a couple of men that the agent met with. The two men lead him to a small industrial park in the northern suburb of Arcadia. With nightvision binoculars he observed the place for several hours and became convinced that one of the building, belonging to Hudson Entertainment Supplies, was in fact a Cardshark facility of some sort.

The Remittance Man was up late (until about 3:00 AM). As soon as he was awake and ready he headed to the Omega Team’s Alpha Base to inform them of what he had discovered. The team goes to the industrial park during a driving rain and is able to plant a couple of listing devices via the roof. They also check out the local storm sewers for use as a possible avenue of attack or escape.

The sewers prove to be to flooded for use and the bugs give only limited information. The information they get is enough to convince them that several captives may be being held here.

The team decides to make the meeting at the warehouse tonight, to exchange the captive Cardshark Agents for 9 hostages. They hope that Eden Blake will be among the hostages exchanged. The whole team (Nightstick, Savant, Snapshot, Predator, Pax, and Hippocrates) goes to the meeting and they are joined by the Remittance Man. The Cardshark contingent at the meeting consists of One-Eyed Jack, Deadman’s Hand, and Blackjack and about a dozen Spades Agents.

The hostage exchange goes off without a hitch. Unfortunately Ms. Blake is not among the hostages released. There is some brief and minor verbal sparing between Savant and One-Eyed Jack (trash talk).

The Omega Team quickly and gently questions the hostages that they have liberated and then drop them off about a block away from a convenient police precinct house.

This surprises the police. The hostages all tell similar stories about how the Omega Team is responsible for their release. The police are able to locate the warehouse where the exchange took place but no physical evidence has been left by either side.

The Omega Team, plus the Remittance Man, immediately proceeds north to Arcadia to raid the suspected Cardshark facility, just before midnight. The raid goes off very well. Dancer and another captive (Inspector Harold LaGrange of the State Bureau of Investigation) are rescued (Dancer wears only her undergarments). Over a dozen Hearts Agents are left unconscious and only a hand full escape. The team quickly scavenges the base for any useful materials and then departs after calling the Arcadia Police Department. They stay in the area until the Arcadia Police arrive and then head back to the Alpha Base.

GM NOTE: Here is another battle that a player may wish to elaborate upon. The Hearts suite of Cardshark agents is responsible for information gathering, interrogation, spying, etc.

The Omega Team obtains very little of informational value. The computers in the building had all been slaged by internal thermite charges and any important papers had been burned (flash paper is normally used by Cardshark for paper records).

The police round up all of the Cardshark agents and call neighboring communities for help (the Arcadia Police Department only has less than a dozen officers on duty at one time). Before assistance can arrive a mysterious black helicopter arrives and drives the police away with machinegun fire. Cardshark successfully rescues its agents.

As in most incidents involving Cardshark and the Omega Team little or no useful physical evidence is left at the scene. Spent casings, bullet holes, etc. There is illegal equipment in the building, for wiretaps, hacked computer files, etc., even what appears to be an interrogation room of some sort. All of this was Cardshark stuff, but there is nothing to lead to the identity of the Carshark agents who worked here.

Situation Report:
Mongrel and the surviving members of the Pack seem to have gone to ground. Cardshark’s plans are still probably viable. They still hold 12 hostages somewhere. The King Thutmose exhibit is due next month and the Cabal has stolen a sacred burial scroll from the museum. Daniel Sanders has offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the kidnapping of the guests from the Go Tournament Reception. The Carshark has issued open contracts in the amount of $10,000 each for members of the Omega Team and a $25,000 open contract on the life of Daniel Sanders.

May 28, Tuesday
A cryptic message arrives at the Beta Base via email. It is apparently from Predator and simply reads, “Must be away for an unknown length of time on government business – Predator”. Dutch Watkins has apparently left the scene for the time being.

That evening while the team is scattered around town an police report is overheard on scanners that indicates that someone has shot up the Blue Diamond Lounge (a known Cardshark operation). Listening to the reports it is soon realized that this is a pretty major happening. Hippocrates attempt to reach the various team members to check up with them in reguards to what has happened. He is unable to get Snapshot to answer. He tries to call Snapshot’s cell phone in hopes of using a tap into the celluar system to locate his general whereabouts. He soon realizes that the phone is ringing inside the teams armory. When he checks out the armory he finds Snapshot’s cell phone and realizes that the mini-gun is missing but several damaged parts are still here. He quickly realizes that Snapshot must have repaired the gun and then carried out a vendetta against Carshark. Hippocrates quickly informs the other team members and rushes to the scene of the shooting.

The police are already thick in the area so he is unable to approach very closely and can only get a very general idea of what has happened. From the amount of spent brass on the ground and the number of bullet-holes it is fairly evident that the mini-gun has been used here.

Hippocrates goes to the house of Daniel Sanders but he is not there and he is not able to make much headway.

The police realize that a mini-gun was used here. The few witnesses that they can find indicate that a large dark-colored SUV was used, but that’s about it.

End of Part 20, part 21 tomorrow. Where is Snapshot? Has Snapshot finally snapped? Perhaps we’ll find out tomorrow.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Well, Im sure it'll will be up to the same standard. Maybe you should start up a "Dark Champions" web site thats a sort of generic Dark Champions resource, and then have Omega Team and the Conclave as two different examples of putting the sites resources in action. That would be cool and its easy to do. :) Thanks for the vote of confidence. :)

By nature I'm a lazy bum. The hardest part will be getting myself to put in the effort. I've only done a website once, years ago, and briefly. I guess I could try and talk Eosin and/or Nightstick into showing me how to use frontpage. Then maybe figure out how to get a domain.

I don't know... sounds suspiciously like work to me.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Thanks for the vote of confidence. :)

By nature I'm a lazy bum. The hardest part will be getting myself to put in the effort. I've only done a website once, years ago, and briefly. I guess I could try and talk Eosin and/or Nightstick into showing me how to use frontpage. Then maybe figure out how to get a domain.

I don't know... sounds suspiciously like work to me. You can practically get a domain by accident these days.

It is a bit of work, but in the long run you get to recoup the cost when you run your games from it ;)

Of course, theres also the women, money, and prestige that go along with it, but Im an artist -- I do it for the betterment of the artform ;)

[Edsel]

The Omega Team base is located inside of an old warehouse. The team is careful to keep up appearances so that nobody will suspect that the "run-down old warehouse" is the nerve center for the notorious vigilantes. The team has lost two bases in the past when enemies have destroyed them or the team has (to prevent discovery).

Currently the Omega Team has two bases within Hudson City, both are identical with only cosmetic differences.

The attached file is the Omega HQ updated to 5th Edition rules.

[Edsel]

I originally did the floor plan with an old version of MicroStation (a professional CADD software package). Unfortunately the electronic file is long since history. I do have a single hard copy on a piece of 11"x17" paper. I have used my digital camera to make a photograph of the original. It is attached below.

Edit: The stairs in the southeast corner of the building lead down to the gun range. The floor of the gun range is about 6 feet below the normal floor level.

Edit2: The elevator provides access to the, unused, second floor. The central spiral staircase also lead provides access to the roof. The garage usually houses one, of the two, Omega Trucks, and an Omega Cycle or two.

I'll have to post the base's AI computer (Big Red) at a later date (I haven't put it in Hero Designer yet).

[Killer Shrike]

Base is up.

[Edsel]

May 29-30
Dancer arrives at the base and finds, Hippocrates and Savant there, she announces that she has been out some this morning and found a familiar face near Diamond Lil’s place (an upscale gentlemen’s club operated by Cardshark). She managed to determine that Cardshark has suddenly raised the contract on Daniel Sanders to $500,000. Savant contacts his FBI contact to determine if there are any local ‘talents’ who would be up to such a contract and also if their have been any suspected hit-men enter the city in the last several hours. His contact will have to check up on it and call him back in a few hours.

Savant, who has been doing some analysis on Snapshot, soon realizes that Snapshot would probably go and play Go somewhere to sooth himself. Savant calls Pax and Nightstick, who are at Zhu Hsaio’s and they immediately start looking for Snapshot at the local, Chinatown, Go parlors.

He is soon located, but before the rest of the team can arrive a distant sniper kills him, with a shot to the head, as Pax and Nightstick look on. The rest of the team arrives and about that time Savant’s phone rings. It is his FBI contact that informs him that a man named Thomas O. Enock entered the country last night via a sleeper flight from Paris. Enock is a suspected I.C.E. member and assassin (International Consortium for Execution).

GM NOTE: Kind of an abrupt end for Snapshot, but the player had left the campaign with no chance of returning.

The team quickly gathers any evidence that could link Daniel Sanders (a.k.a. Snapshot) to the Omega Team and depart with Mr. Sanders vehicle.

They next head to Mr. Sander’s residence and eliminate any evidence there and discard his car. Snapshot’s Blue Ford Explorer is still missing, as is the mini-gun. The team surmises that he must have left it at a safehouse know only to him.

As the team returns to base they sight a biker, wearing the colors of the Murder of Crows biker gang, selling drugs to some young school kids. Pax beats him senseless and gives the kids a quick talking to. They then pursue the seller’s lookout and abduct him for questioning. He is currently lockup in cell #1 at the Beta Base.

May 31, Friday
Advanced Tickets go on sale for the King Thtumose exhibit. Hippocrates gets 1st day tickets for all the team members.

GM NOTE: At this point in the campaign we quite using conventional dates in favor of G.Y., for Game Year. Since the campaign was actually proceeding slower than life (we’d get a day or two of game time to pass per secession, but we only met once a week). As a result the game was now taking place about a year in the past compared to the real-world date. By going to G.Y. time I could take advantage of current world events better.

June 1, Saturday G.Y. 2
The Harbinger of Justice hits a Chardshark safehouse and kills two Cardshark agents. He also frees one of the captives that Cardshark was holding.

June 2
Cardshark exchanges their remaining hostages for ransom at many separate, simultaneous, exchanges scattered all across the city.

Pax lands a job, in his civilian ID (Lex Bratheon), as a bouncer at the Blue Moon, a gentlemen’s club (another classy strip joint, no known affiliation with the Harbinger of Justice, a.k.a. Blue Moon Killer.). (I don’t know what the deal was with this group and nudie bars).

All hostages are now free with the exception of Ms. Clairese Waterford whose parents were working, secretly, with the police. Apparently, somehow, Cardshark discovered the money drop was a trap and nobody showed. No further ransom demands or contact has been made with the Waterfords.

June 3
Pax beats up a mugger who is high on ice. He interrupts the mugger’s attack on an elderly couple.

The team decides to hit a biker bar called the Roost. It is the hangout of the Murder of Crows, outlaw biker gang. Hippocrates has been keeping the place under surveillance for a couple of days. The gang is one on the known groups that has been selling the new ice on the streets. It appears that a deliveryman just made a drop-off so the team moves in quickly. They are not quick enough to catch the deliveryman on the premises, however.

The bikers are taken by surprise and don’t stand much of a chance. The five vigilantes make short work of the fifteen bikers. They leave the lot unconscious and bleeding. They abduct the gang’s leader for interrogation at the base.

Dancer and Hippocrates interrogate the biker chief (Earl Torkman) and find out that the Murder of Crows sells their ice in within a fixed turf inside Hudson City. Torkman says that other biker gangs are doing the same. They take delivery of the goods from a biker they know only as ‘Jake’. Jake delivers to them about once a week and sells them the stuff for about half the normal price of regular meth. The stuff Jake provides is really pure and potent stuff and at these prices it is getting very lucrative and the customer base is growing rapidly. Jake wears no gang colors but he is definitely and experienced biker. Jake seems to only be a deliveryman but they do not know who Jake works for. Earl suspects that Jake or possibly other deliverymen have the same sort of arrangement with the other outlaw bikers in the area. They have been buying from Jake for about a month now.

June 4
Hippocrates heads to the Hudson City Museum of Natural History in an effort to obtain more information about the up coming King Thutmose exhibit. After looking over the museum’s standard Egypt exhibit he is lucky enough to arrange to talk with Edward Grizzley who is affiliated with the Thutmose exhibit.

Dr. James finds out that the mummy has just finished a display in London and is heading to Hudson City via freighter. The exhibit sponsors feel that a freighter is safer than a plane and the great many heavy articles would cost a lot to ship by air. The exhibit will unload in Boston and travel to Hudson City by rail since the underwriters wish to avoid any hazards that the Hudson City piers may offer. (Perhaps this is due to several ships having met violent ends at the Hudson City Piers and Hudson Bay recently).

Dr. James inquires why some of the material was already in Hudson City and is told that there are great many artifacts, and that the public would probably find some of them to be redundant. There are really two exhibits. The first exhibit was in Paris for a month and the materials from the second exhibit were shipped to London to reduce the turn-around time on setting up the displays. The original materials from Paris were shipped to Hudson City ahead of time while the exhibit was in London for the same reason. In this manner only the most spectacular and permanent items of the display have to be shipped at once and the exhibit is able to operate more economically.

Dr. James is told that the item stolen on the evening of May 26th was one of a great number of “burial scrolls” that were found in the tomb. It contained mystical/religious passages from some of the ancient Egyptian writings and had something to do with life after death as many such scrolls do. His only explanation for the theft is that there are a lot of rich eccentric collectors who will pay outrageous prices for such items. The thieves probably opted to steal something easily smuggled and therefore left some of the more valuable artifacts.

Dr. James finds out that the tomb of Thutmose dates from the Old Kingdom. His tomb is a small pyramid that was miles away from the Nile, deep in the desert. It had lain buried in the sands for thousands of years until a sandstorm, a few years ago, partially uncovered it. Dr. James Artherton led the team that has excavated the sight and the work is still progressing at the sight. Apparently Thutmose was a reviled ruler who along with his closest advisor, a high priest named Merritet, worshiped the equivalent of an Egyptian demon. Thutmose was a ruthless and bloodthirsty tyrant who was entombed alive after being captured in a coup that overthrew his reign. Though Thutmose and Merritet were supposed to be entombed in the pyramid only the body of Thutmose was found. Perhaps Merritet escaped into the desert and perished there but nobody knows. Next to the tomb of Thutmose was is a crowded tomb that holds his servants and followers who were all killed and entombed in mass.

After the death of Thutmose and Merritet the Ancient Egyptians struck their names from the records and they lost to the ages until Dr. Artherton excavated the pyramid last year. Despite how hated Thutmose was, he was buried as a pharaoh and many valuable artifacts have been recovered from his un-robbed tomb.

Dr. James inquirers about any curses that are associated with Thutmose’s tomb and is told that nothing out of the ordinary was discovered, nothing more serious than the curses that were discovered with Tut. Dr. Artherton is scheduled to give an evening lecture about the discovery on June 18th, four days after the exhibit opens in Hudson City.

June 5
During the day Joe Dishwasher (a.k.a. Nightstick) encounters Chan Li, an information merchant that hangs around the Chinatown area. Chan informs Joe, for a proper fee, that the Idea men are rumored to be planning an Armored Car heist. The cargo is diamonds from South Africa. A company called Hanson Couriers, a specialty diamond delivery service, is to pick up the diamonds and deliver them to Goldberg Diamond Importers in the Bankhurst district. Later that day Dancer announces that she has heard, from street talk, that the Idea men are going to hit an Armored Car on Friday.

June 6
Today Dr. James, in his new identity goes to the new pharmacy that he has acquired. Various carpenters and cabinetmakers are working over the inside of the shop getting it ready so that it can be stocked next month.

GM NOTE: Neither I, nor the player of Hippocrates, can seem to recall what the name of his new identity was.

While there a man comes by and starts up a conversation. It quickly becomes evident that the man is offering to purchase various types of controlled substances from Dr. James. He offers to pay triple market price in exchange for no questions asked.

Dr. James invites him to lunch to talk it over. The man agrees and is soon shoved into an alleyway and beaten senseless. Dancer quickly arrives and they take the subject to base in lock him in cell #3 for later interrogation about his contacts. This leaves only two cell vacant at the base, the biker who was involved with dealing drugs to children has been disposed of.

June 7, Friday
The Omega Team has determined that Hanson Couriers will pick up a shipment from pier 29 some time shortly after noon today. They proceed to the scout out Hanson Couriers and the pier 29 area, and finally set up at the pier with the intention of acting if the robbery occurs there. If not they will follow the armored car to see if anything happens.

At noon the pick up occurs and the robbers are seen entering the area. The Omega Team acts and soon discovers that the robbery is a sham to allow a VIPER ambush of the Team. The fight is tense and could have proven disastrous for the Omega Team if it were not for the intervention of two new vigilantes Widow & Knight.

VIPER is sent reeling from the failed ambush and about a dozen agents are seriously wounded or killed. Three members of an Air Cavalry 5-Team are shot from the skies as well. Many grenades are used and much damage is done to the cargo containers on the dock. Many surrounding buildings are damaged by shrapnel from the explosions. The freighter waiting at the pier is set afire as well. Fortunately the ship will not sink and suffers only minor damage. The Omega Team makes contact with Widow & Knight and makes arrangements for renewed communication. The Omega team comes away from the battle with a damaged Air Cavalry Jetpack and a Fat Lady Rifle of VIPER manufacture.

The jetpack proves to be an improved version of the standard Jetpack VIPER has been using. The weapon is a sonic rifle that does a 6d6 AVLD attack against Hearing Flash Defense.

VIPER had apparently seized control of the ship while it was several days outside of Hudson City. The crew is unaccounted for and PRIMUS has taken over the investigation. PRIMUS has arrived in time to prevent VIPER from recovering all of its personnel and several wounded VIPER operatives are known to have been taken into custody by PRIMUS.

End of Part 21, part 22 tomorrow. Next time: Savant and his girlfriend go for a boat ride. Too bad the Cabal decides to join them.

[Killer Shrike]

More please? :D

This is like a daily serial. Im dreading the end :(

[NightStick]

He's gotten pretty good with the "teasers",


End of Part 21, part 22 tomorrow. Next time: Savant and his girlfriend go for a boat ride. Too bad the Cabal decides to join them.
Hasn't he?:p

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by NightStick
He's gotten pretty good with the "teasers",


Hasn't he?:p Yeah. He missed his calling -- he should be doing radio based pulp cliffhangers. Damn it! Born 60 years too late! ;)

[Southern Cross]

How true.Sad,but true.

[Edsel]

June 8
The day starts with the various team members taking care of personal business and otherwise covering their secret identities.

A review of the newspaper yields two items that could be the target of the, expected, 4-of-a-kind crime by Cardshark. SIMCORP will be doing a demo, for the press, of their new Turtle powered armor suits. They will demo four sets of the armor with different options. Armbruster Industries is taking delivery of four industrial diamond-making machines. Both of these, the delivery and the demo, are to take place on Monday afternoon.

Since it is such a beautiful day Andrew Hobbs takes his girlfriend, Valerie Steiner, to the Hudson City Regatta that is taking place in the bay today and tomorrow. At about 5:00 PM the boat is seized by a multitude of tentacles. The sailboat and occupants are then pulled out of the bay and southward down the coast. Savant is able to alert the rest of the Omega Team, except Dancer who fails to answer the emergency call, and they race to the coast to try and help.

The boat with Savant and Valerie approaches the entry to the Black Bog. The rest of the Omega Team (minus Dancer) is able to overtake them using a commandeered motorboat. They are able to kill the giant squid (at least that’s what the guess it is) using a five-gallon can of gasoline and a well-placed shot from Pax’s battle rifle.

GM NOTE: The Black Bog is located south of Hudson City. It has a sinister reputation. Many ghost stories and tales of the occult (witches, etc.) make-up the tales of the Black Bog.

The team has a short debate and, over the protests of Hippocrates, proceeds into the swamp to locate the Cabal presence that they suspect is behind all of this. There is a great fear that Dancer may have fallen into their hands and if this is the case they dare not tarry for her life could be in jeopardy.

Their fears are well placed. They encounter a Cabal ceremony with Dancer as its centerpiece. In an extremely close battle the Omega Team prevails, only Savant is left standing. Five Black Cabal and a Dozen Red Cabal agents are dispatched along with a Nightgaunt. The woman/creature known as the Demoness is also encountered here but escapes unscathed. Nightstick is left with some long-term psychological effects (got a nasty spell cast on him) and Pax has had his life force partially sapped (Demoness got hold of him briefly) but both should make full recoveries, given time. Dancer is rescued and Hippocrates is revived after being knocked unconscious during the battle.

GM NOTE: This is the epic battle that Eosin had eluded to earlier. Several times it came down to the team hoping someone would wake back up before the rest of the team were knocked out. I believe that every member of the Omega Team was unconscious at least once during this battle. It took place in a large clearing in the bog and started with the classical “save-the-naked-sacrifice-from-the-alter” scenario. In the end they were just lucky that the Demoness saw no reason to take any risks. Since the ceremony was shot anyway she had no real reason to stay. I hope that Eosin or Nightstick can elaborate on this battle.

June 9
The day passes rather uneventfully as the team catches up on its rest and does not go looking for trouble.

June 10, Monday
Today the team decides to cover two different things that they believe could be the four-of-a-kind crime target. They send Dancer to cover the demo of the four sets of Turtle Armor that SIMCORP will be holding. The rest of the team along with the widow will keep an eye on the new industrial diamond-making machines as they are delivered to Armbruster Industries.

The Widow has contacted the Omega Team and is interested in throwing in her lot with the team. She has been unable to contact Knight, her partner since just after the VIPER encounter on Friday (June 7th). His whereabouts remain unknown and even her contacts with the chessmen are of no help. Knight has the means to contact Widow via cell phone (and she he) but he does not answer when she tries to contact him. His fate remains unknown for the present.

GM NOTE: The Chessmen are an international, mysterious and very knowledgeable cartel that, seemingly, works for the cause of righteous. Widow & Knight are but two of vigilante types to whom they provide information and convert support in order to further their goals. (Eosin ran a short campaign in which we played members of the Chessmen).

Dancer’s surveillance of the Turtle armor demonstration is uneventful. She notices a heavy PRIMUS presence that may or may not be in response to an anonymous phone tip made by Savant that warned of a possible theft attempt.

The rest of the team meets the freight train hauling the diamond-makers 50 miles outside of town. They shadow the train and eventually the inter-modal trucks that deliver the machines to Armbruster’s facility. The team then sets up a stake out of Armbruster’s facility.

Their vigilance is rewarded when a Cardshark team arrives, apparently intent on stealing the machines. In a sharp battle the more numerous Cardshark team is ambushed and put to flight leaving several spades agents and a wrecked helicopter at the facility. The Omega team has to flee the area quickly as a nearby Hudson City Police car attempts to give chase only to be foiled by the Omega Truck’s smoke screen.

The police are able to take 10 Cardshark agents into custody and recover a 7.62mm mini-gun from the damaged helicopter on the roof of the factory. The helicopter is missing all identifying exterior markings but is a Bell Jet Ranger reported stolen several years ago from a small private airfield. The mini-gun is believed to be one that turned up missing in a National Guard inventory six years ago. The pilots and passengers of the helicopter are believed to be the only Cardshark agents that escaped. The police know that the Omega Team is responsible for foiling whatever Cardshark was up to. A pair of patrol officers arrived in time to witness a lot of the fight. The Omega Team escaped in a Truck that is equipped with a smoke screen and is apparently armored since bullets from the Cardshark team bounced off of it. The truck is described as about the size of a large UPS truck, dark in color and painted as a commercial vehicle belonging to “Perfect Diesel Engine Repair,” the company turns out to be non-existent. The shell casings recovered at the scene confirm the officer’s reports that the Omega team was using Assault shotguns and submachine guns. The patrol car’s dashboard camera also captured the truck’s tag number which also proves to be a non-existent number (3KL-24B3). Several chunks of solid rubber from the truck’s tires are also recovered indicating that the vehicle uses solid, bullet resistant, tires. A reasonable tread pattern can be discerned from the fragments and tracks left on a grimy patch on the road surface.

Later that night Hippocrates has a dream . . .

June 11
Hippocrates dream:

He is watching from outside of the dream, as if in a movie. He travel up a deserted street in a suburban town lit by tall street lamps and stop before the door of a small white house. The door opens and he goes inside.
The room is dark, but a shaft of light from the open door slices through the shadows. Several decaying bodies lie on the floor. As he move closer he discovers that the bodies are his and his fellow Omega Team members! Their eyes and mouths are open, frozen in looks of terror.
Hippocrates’ body holds a scroll to its chest. A hand swathed in rotting bandages reaches out from the darkness and takes the scroll. A low chuckle is heard from the shadows.

This basically unnerves everybody.

Knight reappears. He is unable to account for his whereabouts for the last couple of days; in fact he claims to have a complete blackout regarding what has happened to him. When he thinks of contacting his partner, the Widow, a street address flashes into his head, the address of the Omega Teams secret base and the current location of the Widow. He then makes contact with the Widow and hence the rest of the Omega Team.

June 12-13
George Bell is mugged, but not seriously hurt, by a group of four street thugs who were looking for cash with which to buy ICE. The Omega Team tracks them down and intimidates them into checking into a substance abuse center. While taking care of this business they overhear, on police scanners, that the Pack and resurfaced and attacked an alleged crack-house on the far side of town. The scanner report tends to indicate that there were at least 4 attackers.

Nightstick receives a phone call on his Omega Team cell-phone. On the other end of the line is a mechanical-sounding voice that says, “ask the kids about the thing in Radcliff manor.” The connection is then severed. Nightstick believes, as do other Omega Team members that this was the long silent Machine.

Nightstick observes a couple of cops shaking down a junkie simply to steal his stash of ICE. Nightstick becomes enraged over the dirty cops and beats them severely before leaving them in the street. The incident results in some poor publicity for the team as the cops lie about attack by the “crazed vigilante” and are believed due to lack of witnesses. Captain McPhearson, commander of the new VAIS squad, is said to be handling the investigation of the attack on the two HCPD officers.

These events, and the discovery that street crime related to ICE has risen by over 50% in the last two weeks, leads the team to make elimination of the ICE source their number one priority. They hatch a plan to place two outlaw biker bars under surveillance: The Skids (hangout of the Highway Mobsters) and the Thirsty Hog (hangout of the Asphalt Kings). Dancer and Knight infiltrate the Skids and Widow and Pax take the Thirsty Hog (GM NOTE: I am having a hard time remembering who went to which bar, anybody remember?). There is a close call at the Thirsty Hog as the Harbinger of Justice carries out an execution of three suspects in front of the disguised vigilantes.

The team is finally able to shadow an ICE deliveryman from one of the bars. They loose him when he crosses in front of a train into a residential neighborhood. The team is eventually able to determine that a currently abandoned home in the area was once owned by a family named Radcliff. The neighborhood in question has numerous children in it and the team soon decided that this matches the cryptic message that Nightstick previously received. On the night of the 13th the team hits the manor and eliminates the ICE lab and its mastermind.

GM NOTE: Here is another fight that I did not record the details of. Eosin or Nightstick can feel free to provide details, if they remember. I have noticed that here, toward the end, I was getting sloppy in filling in what the police gathered in the way of evidence. I take this as a sign that I was starting to get burned out of running the weekly game.

June 14, Friday
The King Thutmose exhibit opens today at the Hudson City Museum of Anthropology and Natural History. The members of the Omega Team all have tickets and so they go to view the mummy and accompanying artifacts. Upon viewing the mummy of King Thutmose both Hippocrates and Savant become uneasy and sense an almost tangible evil about the corpse of the pharaoh. Besides the mummy itself a fragment of his sarcophagus is also on display and the writings upon it catch the eye of Dr. James. The writing, as translated by Dr. James is below (Dr. James has been actively studying ancient Egyptian writing (hieroglyphics & regular script) for several months now. He has become relatively fluent with the dead language). Anyway on with the translation:

I Thutmose curse thee, Osris! Thine servants did come and embalm me. Thou did embalm these my members, for I would not perish and come to an end even like unto the divine type that never saw corruption.

My hiding place will be opened, my hiding place will be opened. Though Spirits fall headlong in the darkness, the Eye of [B]Horus hath made me unholy, and Merritet hath prepared me. I will hide myself among you, I am not a man to whom violence can be done. I shall not die a second time in Het-Ka-Ptah (The Ancient Egyptian name for Memphis).

I am like unto a god, and my members shall have being everlastingly. I shall not decay, I shall not rot, I shall not putrefy, I shall not turn into worms, and I shall not see corruption before the eye of the gods. I shall have my being, I shall have by being; I shall live, I shall live; I shall flourish, I shall flourish, I shall flourish.

I am eternal. At the appointed time, again will I walk among men. No one can lift a hand against me.

While at the museum, Joe Dishwasher encounters a curious little old man named Applebee who sells Thutmose souvenirs. Nightstick thinks the man is a little odd and talks to one of the souvenir shop employees about him. He learns that Applebee makes the trinkets he sells himself and that he travels from place to place with the exhibit. Applebee wears a couple of cat buttons, one reads “Meow Power” and the other says, “I [LOVE] My Cat” (the love being a heart). The girl from the souvenir shop says that Applebee gives her the creeps.

Andrew Hobbs, pretending to be a wealth philanthropist attempts to arrange a private meeting with Dr. James Atheron, the archaeologist who is the discoverer of Thutmose and who has lead all of the digging. Dr. Arherton is due in town on Tuesday to give a fund-raising lecture. Though he is currently at the dig sight, arrangements are made to have him contact Andrew at the earliest possible time.

That night Nightstick stakes out the museum, for a couple of hours, and watches the changing of the security guards shift. Eight guards leave just after six fresh guards arrive.

June 15
This morning it is discovered that another marrow murder has taken place in Hudson City. (Did I ever mention the first one?). The team becomes very worried about what might be going on. Through some checking with a police contact they discover that the panic system for the museum’s alarm system has been wired to alert PRIMUS directly incase of trouble, this has apparently been done at the insistence of PRIMUS.

Nightstick again observes the museum this night and stays until past midnight but the evening is uneventful.

This ends part 22. Next in part 23, you can’t keep a villian under wraps. Sadly it looks as if part 23 will be the last part. It is fragmentary as well but I’ll try and flesh it out some before I post it. It may take me a little bit of work to do that. I’ll post it as soon as I can get it ready.

[Killer Shrike]

GAH!!!

No! Omega Hour must continue! I guess you'll just have to make it up from here on out :D

[Edsel]

Part 23, the final chapter. :(

Toward the end of this part you will find some sections in red text. These entries were the fragmentary notes I had made of the unfinished log of the final secession(s) of the campaign. I have tried to reconstruct what happened at that time, both from my own memory and from talking with some of the players.

June 16, mostly late night
The team decides to place the museum and Applebee under surveillance all night tonight. They use a sophisticated laser listening device to monitor Applebee’s room on the 4th floor of the Cordoba Hotel. Pax disguised as a FedEx deliveryman with Gateway Computer boxes smuggles the equipment to the roof of the office building across the street. That night Hippocrates, Nightstick and Dancer keep an eye on the Hotel while Pax, Widow and Savant maintain the vigil at the hotel. (The equipment works by focusing a laser beam on a window and uses it as a diaphragm. By measuring the vibration of the window it can recreate the sounds within the room.)

Applebee arrives at the hotel about 8:00 that evening. At about 10:45 Pax hears what sounds like a muffled, short, chant in Applebee’s room, then all is silent. At about 11:45 a cab delivers Applebee and two other men to the museum, Hippocrates reports this to Pax and the group at the hotel. Applebee has not been observed leaving the hotel. Widow picks the lock to Applebee’s room and discovers that he is indeed gone. The room contains only a few changes of clothes, which seems to be very little for a man who is living out of the hotel. The room seems to smell unusually musty. Widow leaves the room as she found it to avoid tipping off the absent occupant.

Applebee is seen leaving the museum about half an hour later. About 10 minutes later Pax hears a sizzling noise from Applebee’s room and then the noise of somebody moving about. The team decides to meet at Applebee’s hotel and confront the man.

The team proceeds to Applebee’s room with the exception of Pax who readies himself to rappel from the hotel roof and enter from the balcony window. The team, most in combat gear pound on Applebee’s door and rouse several nearby guest who take one look out into the hall and then rapidly close their doors. When Applebee opens the door he hurriedly ushers the vigilantes inside and seems very worried and frightened about something besides them. He urgently utters about how “its beyond my control” or some such thing. The room suddenly is pitched into darkness about the same time Pax comes crashing through the balcony window. Applebee screams in terror and then a body can be heard hitting the ground, something bites Savant on the leg and general chaos ensues.

In seconds the lighting is restored. Applebee lies dead on the floor with an expression of terror on his face. A gurgling noise can be heard coming from the kitchen area. Pax investigates in time to see a formless black mass with a single baleful eye disappear down the drain in the sink. The team quick gathers up the body of the old man and rappels out the window to their waiting vehicle across the street. The few stunned pedestrians who are out at this time of night watch the para-military group rappel out of the lighted front of the hotel with the body of an old man. They then scramble across the street and speed away in a FedEx truck.

The team hurries back to the base and Hippocrates starts an in-depth autopsy of the corpse of Applebee.

No firearms were discharged within the room. There is no blood in the room either (the bite on Savant’s leg was very minor). From the description given by witnesses the police believe that this was the Omega Team. They find out that Applebee was renting the room and they are now unable to locate him. Witnesses said that the Omega Team was carrying a person with them (nobody knew whether he was dead or just unconscious). The police are mystified as to why the Omega Team would kidnap this unassuming old man. The ropes and some of the repelling gear are recovered but they are not really traceable and no fingerprints are found since all were wearing gloves. The female (Widow) may or may not be a new member of the Omega Team. The team is known to have a female member but the description of this woman seems a little different.

June 17
Hippocrates’ autopsy on Applebee reveals that the old man apparently died of a massive heart attack, his heart literally bursting within his chest (a severe thrombosis). Applebee’s body is locked away in one of the drawers and several tissue samples are locked in the medical freezer.

After a team discussion, Pax decides that to try and find out what Applebee did at the museum last night. Investigation into Applebee’s past has drawn a blank (no records). Pax and Nightstick return to the museum in the afternoon with the goal of obtaining the security tapes from last night. They succeed in obtaining the tape but must flee when the alarm is sounded (blown Security Systems roll). Examination of the tape reveals a blank spot of about 20 minutes length last night after midnight. On the way out of the museum, Applebee is spotted by Nightstick. He is apparently alive and well. (No, you don’t get extra experience points if you kill him again).

Nightstick quickly informs the rest of the team of his Applebee sighting. It is quickly discovered that Applebee’s body is missing from the base lab. The few tissue samples that remain seem to have taken on a great age (desiccated). Hippocrates arranges for the samples to be sent out for radio carbon dating.

That night Dr. Thomas James has another dream:

Dr. James finds himself on a busy city street with a hot sun glaring down upon him. The many people that move around him are dark skinned and wear Middle-Eastern clothing; the men are bearded and the women veiled.
He begins to cross the street. Halfway across the squeal of tires is heard. He looks up to see a black automobile bearing down upon him. It has no driver.

A medieval mace appears in Dr. James’s hands. Just as the car is about to flatten him, he dives out of the way and slams the mace into the vehicle’s side. The car shatters and pieces of black metal fly everywhere.

The car’s hood ornament lands at his feet. It’s a bizarre animal of chrome, a creature with a lion’s body and a hawk’s head. Lying next to it is a scroll. This seems important, but as he reaches for the scroll a large black bird swoops down and grabs it in its talons. The creature flies off and its screech sounds like mocking laughter.

June 18
Mummy attacks at Omega Base. Yep, that’s the only note I have for this paragraph. The history here was not finished. I just never got around to elaborating and now it’s been years. Of course this means that a mummy actually attacked the team at the base. I believe that it did not fare too well since they had access to all their weapons. I do not remember who was at the base at the time of the attack (I think it was only a couple of people). I know that no Omega Team members were killed or seriously injured and the mummy eventually left (it could not be slain with what they had available to them at this time). The mummy was either after something, or gave up trying to kill them since it had to keep regenerating.

While in route to Hudson City, Dr. James Atherton contacts Andrew Hobbs, collect via air phone. The cost does not trouble Savant since he has so thoroughly infiltrated the Phone Company computers that he actually makes money on these types of calls. An arrangement is made to talk personally with Dr. Arherton after he finishes his lecture tonight.

At the lecture and slide-show the team learns of the existence of a sphinx statue a creature with the head of a hawk and the body of the lion. The statue was found inside the tomb of Thutmose and is currently in the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. An inscription on the sphinx reads “I hold the secret of Thutmose’s eternal death”, a curious statement since the ancient Egyptians goal was eternal life. They quickly resolve to travel to Cairo to obtain the scroll they feel must be hidden within the statue. Extensive research and obscure occult texts tell that a mummy can only be truly slain if its creation scroll is read backwards at the spot of its creation, the team feels that this scroll must be what they are looking for.

At their meeting with Dr. Atherton arrangements are made for the team to visit the sight of the tomb, the team plans a side trip to the Egyptian museum. (I do not believe that they took Dr. Atherton into their confidence. They likely made up some research excuse and promised a big cash grant for cooperation.

June 19, Wednesday
Mummy appearance on the Plane. Another almost meaningless note. I know that the mummies had a mystical ability to locate a known enemy wherever that enemy might be. They could then teleport to the vicinity and attack at the most unexpected times. They could not teleport into sight of anybody, but had to come from around the corner or through a door or something similar. If I recall correctly the mummy came out of the airplane’s lavatory and attacked. I believe that the Omega Team were using a chartered jet for the flight and so there were not a lot of civilians involved. They had made arrangements to have some of their weapons smuggled into Egypt. I think they had chartered a Lockheed Starship for the flight to Cairo. Though this was a tense flight, what with the danger of firearms inside a plane, nobody was seriously hurt. The team successfully made it to Cairo International Airport.

In Egypt

Battle at the Museum. [I]After arriving in Egypt the team heads to the Cairo Antiquities Museum. They are in search of the Sphinx statue (the one with the lion’s body and hawk’s head). They find the sphinx after a brief search. As soon as one of them touches it, the sphinx animates and attacks them. Bullets have little effect and Nightstick’s three section staff seems to be the most effective. Some of the team remembers a pair of crossed maces just outside the door of the room in which the sphinx resided. They grab the maces and eventually the team manages to shatter the living statue. From the broken remains they recover a pair of ancient burial scrolls. Dr. James studies them briefly and confirms that these are the scrolls they need to destroy Thutmose and Merritet.

By now it was quite obvious that there were two mummies. Merritet, the former priest, was the first to be animated, he took on the guise of Applebee and eventually managed to raise, Thutmose the Elder, his master. Since the team had the two scrolls they needed they next had to head to the site of the pyramid, in the desert, to perform the ceremony to destroy the two mummies.

Of course the battle in the museum with an animated statue drew a lot of attention from the few people that were present. Most fled in terror when they saw what was happening. By the time authorities arrived the team was long gone. The few people who hung around told a fantastical story of an animated sphinx attacking a group of western tourists who proceeded to break it up with staves and maces. A lot of this is attributed to people’s eyes playing tricks on them. The Egyptian government comes to believe it was a terrorist attack of some sort aimed at the country’s heritage.

June 20, Egypt

Dust storm and the Corbies. On the trip through the desert in jeeps, with a guide named Ali Misfin (a native Egyptian archeologist). The team encounters a pair of Corbies. Corbies are vulture-like servants of Thutmose. The Corbies threaten the team (they can talk) to no avail. They then command a group of vultures to attack the party (a lot of birds get shot). And finally summon up a sand storm (which is pretty harrowing). Eventually the team makes it to the dig site.

At the Tomb. [I]The last scene. The team arrives at the pyramid. Here John Miles, assistant to Dr. Atherton, greets them. Miles is expecting them due to their previous arrangements. At first he is a little skeptical about letting them into the site since its all a little irregular but Ali confirms that these are the people that Dr. Atherton wanted access given to.

When they move toward the entrance to the pyramid the two guards at the door step out and block their path. The men toss aside their weapons and instantly transform into the two mummies. Chaos ensues. The workers, Miles and Ali flee in terror as the mummies move to attack. The Omega Team reveals their weapons and start blazing away at the mummies. Though the mummies cannot be slain by normal means, they can be blown apart. This forces them to disappear in a swirl of dust and sand, only to reappear seconds later coming around any nearby corner or other out of view location.

The team quickly fights their way to the burial chamber and Dr. James begins reading the scrolls backwards to destroy the mummies. The rest of the team spends their time blasting away as the mummies constantly attempt to reach Dr. James and the scrolls. Dr. James is nearly forced to abort to a dodge several times (which would have forced him to start the reading over again). The team takes a few knocks but their luck and ammo hold out and with a baleful moan the mummies collapse in a heap of dust which is then scattered by a fierce wind that blows through the pyramid.

Thus ends the mummies, Thutmose the Elder and Merritet his vizier. Sadly this also ends the campaign logs of the Omega Team campaign.

[Killer Shrike]

Finally! Been waiting for an hour ;)

[Edsel]

Why did the campaign end at this point?
I had been running the campaign for almost two years at this point. We played every week and rarely missed secession. Frankly I had gotten pretty burned out by this point. The campaign logs cover only the relevant events that we had to keep track of to continue the story. Many encounters and minor battles took place that was never entered into the campaign logs. They just didn’t want to play anything else and we could not get to a “good stopping place”. Of course since I had such a serial game going at this point there never was going to be a “good stopping place.”

By the end of the campaign, Nightstick had the most experience (107), followed by Hippocrates (104). This was averaging 2 or 3 XPs each time they were awarded (which was not every session). A character averaged 1 or 2 XPs per night of gaming.

Is this the end of the Omega Team?
Probably. I could run some more games for them. Heaven knows there are enough loose ends. The three core players are still with my gaming group (Eosin, Nightstick and Hippocrates’s player (who has no computer or internet access)). It has been around 3 years or so since we played this and I have many new ideas of things I could do better. We will probably try something new (a campaign I intend the call the Conclave) when I start my next Dark Champions campaign (several months away).

Other Campaign Logs
Eosin is getting ready to start his Fantasy Hero Campaign ( Echoes of Glory (http://www.mabinogin.com/Heromain.htm) ) (in about 1 month). He has vowed to maintain a campaign log for this campaign and I’ll encourage him to post it. My own character (a yet unnamed bard) will also be maintaining a personal journal, which I also hope to post. Eventually when I start my Conclave campaign I will definitely keep a log for it as well.

[Killer Shrike]

Hmm....well, now that there are no more campaign logs, you'll have time to get the other characters into HD and send them my way to be posted :D

Also, if you have file copies of the various Parts of the Log, I would like to post them as well, and of course if you could also provide me with names & blurbs on Allies, Villains, and any Quotes and/or EGO Board type details Id like to get them up too. Following is a sample list, but whatever categories you think worthwhile will work:


Other Allies
?
Rogues Gallery
The Omega Team have faced off against some heavy hitters in their short tenure, although due to the nature of the team the membership that has faced any particular foe differs.
Most Powerful Villain:
Most Hated Villain:
Most Disgusting Villain:
Most Elusive Villain:
Also rans:
Faces in the crowd:
EGO Board
Body Count:
Most Respected By The Media And Feds:
Least Respected By The Media And Feds:
Most Amusing Quotes:
Most Controversial:
Most Damage Dealt In A Single Fight:
Most Damage Dealt In A Single Hit:
Most Damage Taken In A Single Fight:
Most Damage Taken In A Single Hit:
Most Insane Perseverance:
Most Heroic Actions Taken:
Most Well Spoken:
Most Fun To Have In Group:
Most Flexible:
Most Skilled:
Most Well Rounded:
Most Surprising:

[Eosin]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

Savant's Point of View:
Other Allies: Hmmm..Mainly contacts - see HD sheet

Rogues Gallery
Most Powerful Villain: Card Shark.
Most Hated Villain: DEMON/Cabal
Most Disgusting Villain: Sharkie (selling orphans to the fishies.)
Most Elusive Villain: The Machine. :) Also an ally.
Most scary villain: Timbailer Tommy....wow did that give us the willies.

Also rans:
Faces in the crowd:

EGO Board
Body Count: The Good DR far outstripped everyone in KIA's
Most Respected By The Media And Feds: Savant!
Least Respected By The Media And Feds: Psychopathic MD
Most Amusing Quotes:
Most Controversial: Sanpshot and Uriel resulting to cold blooded murder.
Most Damage Dealt In A Single Fight:
Most Damage Dealt In A Single Hit:
Most Damage Taken In A Single Fight: The Dr an his head shot that took him to -8 or -9 BODY.
Most Damage Taken In A Single Hit:
Most Insane Perseverance: The fight with the Demoness - every single one of us.
Most Heroic Actions Taken: Wildcard...He took a nasty shot saving a kid and lept - was blown from a 6 or 7 story building with a little girl. I asked Eddie if I could take the damage for her....he said Roll your luck.....I activated 3 dice of 3 dice of my luck. Girl walked away basically unharmed and it was caught on film. Wildcard died but he sure looked good doing it.
Most Well Spoken:
Most Fun To Have In Group: That would have to be the Remittance man....Cause we love to game with Duncan but never get too anymore.
Most Flexible:
Most Skilled: Debatible - Savant or the Doctor.
Most Well Rounded:
Most Surprising: I think Snapshot was the most surprising. He kept doing crazy stuff. Though Tenderheart being a transgender, obsessive, crazed, romance novel writing, freak with a hearton for the Remittance man was quite the joke for some time.


I still need to detail the DEMON battle. It was wild.

[Killer Shrike]

Cool, thanx! Nightstick, Edsel?

[Eosin]

I think Nightstick gets a little short changed in the Ego Board - mainly cause he in a skills intensive character and required a hell of alot of points where I and the others could be much more versitile than he.

BUT the Nightstick was basically invisible (18+ Stealth Roll) and a brutal hand to hand combatant. He never would have gotten beat up by a Cardshark agent :)

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Cool, thanx! Nightstick, Edsel? I'll go over the list tomorrow evening and probably be able to give you some feedback on it. I should also have the Remittance Man entered in to HD tomorrow. I already started him a few days ago, just need to finish. After that I'll start working on some of the villians as I get the time.

[Killer Shrike]

Cool. Thanx!

[Killer Shrike]

Updated the Omega Team site w/ Eosin's contribution of Savant and flavor. Also upgraded the look & feel:

http://www.killershrike.com/theomegateam/OmegaTeam.htm

[Edsel]

Follow this link to see a write-up of the Remittance Man (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/The%20Remittance%20Man.HTML).

Attached is the character's HDC file.

[Killer Shrike]

Cool. Ill get him posted tonight when I get home. Keep em coming.

BTW, what do you think of the enhanced look & feel of the site? Suggestions/Preferences?

[Killer Shrike]

By the way, just FYI, to the best of my knowledge Vaclav is a Czech name, not Russian. Or at least that's what my wife claims. ;)

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

Other Allies
?
Rogues Gallery
The Omega Team have faced off against some heavy hitters in their short tenure, although due to the nature of the team the membership that has faced any particular foe differs.

Most Powerful Villain: Demoness. Though If I had ever finished making up other members of the Cabal she might not have been. Demoness, as written for 4th Edition, was 500 points even.
Most Hated Villain: I was the GM, I didn't hate any of them. They were my children. :)
Most Disgusting Villain: Timbaler Tommy was probably the most disgusting looking one, though the two mummies might have given him a run for his money.
Most Elusive Villain: Tarot, a Cabal member that Dancer was hunting and hunted by. They never encountered her (mainly because I never completed her character sheet).
Also rans: The Bogey Man, Deadman's Hand (of Cardshark) and Hellrazor were all pretty fearsome foes.
Faces in the crowd: There were lots of early thugs that the team literally put on slow boats to China. They began to fear a backlash of Hong Kong Action Theater type thugs returning for revenge.

EGO Board
Body Count: I'd have to agree that the good doctor (Hippocrates) would get the award for the highest body count. Some, like Predator & Snapshot, were pretty blood thirsty but their effective careers were too short to surpass the doctor's tally.
Most Respected By The Media And Feds: Savant, because he granted interviews which became trendy.
Least Respected By The Media And Feds: Snapshot. But of course the authorities didn't really get him identified. His attitude and tactics were a big reason that the VAIS unit came into existence.
Most Amusing Quotes: Alas the game is too far gone for me to remember much about famous quotes.
Most Controversial: There were several episodes where one player or the other would feed the ovens (base incenerator) to make room in the cells. The group usually had some "quiet moments" of uncertainy whenever this happened.
Most Damage Dealt In A Single Fight: My bet would be when Nightstick cut loose on the Black Cabal cultists in the Bayou. He decapitated quite a few in that fight. Of course the use of fully automatic assault shotguns did a number on people during the attack on Retro's stronghold too.
Most Damage Dealt In A Single Hit: I'd guess this also goes to Nightstick on one of his uncommon killing attacks. Of course when the Remittence Man got head-shots with that laser rifle he used it was awfully messy.
Most Damage Taken In A Single Fight: Hippocrates head shot during the Bayou fight. He came within a pip or two of making a new character. Uriel actually surpassed this total but died because of it so I guess that doesn't count.
Most Damage Taken In A Single Hit: Gotta be the head shot the Doc took.
Most Insane Perseverance: Hippocrates abduction by Mr. S in which he ended up abducting Mr. S in turn. Then disappeared on the group, operated on the captive, evacuated one of their bases, set it on fire, dumped Mr. S at a motel 6, etc. The rest of the group though he'd gone mad.
Most Heroic Actions Taken: Wildcard's sacrifice save of the child.
Most Well Spoken: Savant.
Most Fun To Have In Group: The Remittance Man, because of the player Duncan. BTW, He's just made Lt. Colonel in the USAF, I still keep in touch with him.
Most Flexible: Well, the least flexible was Nightstick he was a pure melee monster. Hippocrates and Savant were both well balanced. Hippocrates just had an experience edge.
Most Skilled: Savant seemed to have made the best use of his skills. Several of the team were skill heavy.
Most Well Rounded: Looking at the character sheets I'd say Hippocrates. Of course with that many XP its no wonder.
Most Surprising: Any time you run a game the players are always surprising you.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
By the way, just FYI, to the best of my knowledge Vaclav is a Czech name, not Russian. Or at least that's what my wife claims. ;) Yeah, it does sound Czech now that you mention it. I don't recall where I got the name at but I'm think I got it from some of the old "official" 4th Edition Dark Champions stuff.

[Edsel]

Follow this link to see an agent of the Black Cabal (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Black%20Cabal%20Agent.HTML). A true warrior of that most foul organization. The Red Cabal are the public presence of the Cabal. The agent linked here is one of the hidden, true, members of the Cabal. This is a standard agent without their version of assault equipment. I will post an agent with full combat gear tomorrow (if I can). If you think this one is bad wait until you see the assault agent. I am particularly proud of their equipment.

[Eosin]

<font size=+1><b>Uriel - The Death Angel</b></font>

Player: Randy

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><font size=2><b>Val&#160;&#160;</b></font></td><td><font size=2><b>Char&#160;&#160;&#160;</b></font></td><td><font size=2><b>Cost</b></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>20&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>STR</b></font></td><td><font size=2>10</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>20&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>DEX</b></font></td><td><font size=2>30</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>18&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>CON</b></font></td><td><font size=2>16</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>11&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>BODY</b></font></td><td><font size=2>2</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>15&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>INT</b></font></td><td><font size=2>5</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>14&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>EGO</b></font></td><td><font size=2>8</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>15&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>PRE</b></font></td><td><font size=2>5</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>16&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>COM</b></font></td><td><font size=2>3</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2></font></td><td><font size=2>&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>8&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>PD</b></font></td><td><font size=2>4</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>4&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>ED</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>4&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>SPD</b></font></td><td><font size=2>10</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>8&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>REC</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>36&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>END</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>30&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>STUN</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><td><font size=2></font></td><td><font size=2>&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>7"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>RUN</b></font></td><td><font size=2>2</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>2"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>SWIM</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>4"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>LEAP</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr></table><b>Characteristics Cost:</b> 95


<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Martial Arts Maneuver</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 6d6 Strike&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 5d6 Strike, Target Falls&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Martial Arts Cost:</b> 11

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Skill</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>PS: Security Specialist 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Military World 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Mercenary World 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Hudson City Underworld 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>KS: Kung Fu 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">7&#160;&#160;</td><td>Acrobatics 15-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Breakfall 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>Bribery 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Climbing 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Conversation 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Criminology 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Electronics 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Lockpicking 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Security Systems 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Shadowing 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Stealth 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Streetwise 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>Systems Operation (Communications Systems) 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>WF: Small Arms, Clubs, Fist-Loads, Unarmed Combat&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Skills Cost: </b>52

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Perk</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Fringe Benefit: Basic 8- Contact....Unknown, Concealed Weapon Permit (where appropriate), License to practice: Private Investigator&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Perks Cost:</b> 4



<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Val&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Disadvantages</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">20&#160;&#160;</td><td>Normal Characteristic Maxima&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Old Knee wound: x2 from area 15 (Uncommon)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>Vulnerability: 2 x Effect Father - Uriel is terrified of father. (Uncommon)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>Psychological Limitation: Will back down from Father (Uncommon, Strong)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>Psychological Limitation: Secretive (Uncommon, Strong)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>Hunted: Father 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15&#160;&#160;</td><td>Hunted: DEMON/Cabal 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Mildly Punish)&#160;</td></tr></table>
<b>Disadvantage Points:</b> 85
<br>
<b>Base Points:</b> 100
<b>Experience Required:</b> 0
<b>Total Experience Available:</b> 12
<b>Experience Unspent:</b> 12
<b>Total Character Cost:</b> 162
<br>
<table width="100%" valign="top"><tr valign="top"><td><b>Height:&nbsp;</b>1.74 m</td><td><b>Hair:&nbsp;</b>Black</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td><b>Weight:&nbsp;</b>80.00 kg</td><td><b>Eyes:&nbsp;</b>Dark</td></tr><tr valign="top"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow; font-weight: 700"><td colspan=2><b>Appearance:&nbsp;</b>The character is taken somewhat from Tim Dagget a US gymnast.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Personality:&nbsp;</b>Uriel harbors deep secrets. His father is a member of DEMON (The Cabal) and used Uriel as a child in unspeakable ways. The reason he is a vigilante is to have a chance to strike back at his father and those like him who live beyond touch and beyond the law. Strangly (or not) Uriel will not do anything that might bring him into conflict with his fahter, who has instilled a fear so deep in the vigilante that it may never be overcome.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Quote:</b></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Background:&nbsp;</b>Uriel was an olympic gymnast whose dream of gold was cut short by a botched burglary that left him with two broken legs and a broken dream. Even with the extensive investigation and the assistance of his father, a United States Senator little was ever discovered about the perpurtrators.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Powers/Tactics:&nbsp;</b>Uriel is direct and often deadly. He generally uses a streetsweeper shotgun or a P-15 with special ammunition. The incredibly stong man is not afraid to get physical and has beaten several of his foes sensless rather than use a weapon from a safe range.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Campaign Use:&nbsp;</b></td></tr></table>

[EDITED] This is an approximation. The character was killed in approx 96-97 and I haven't seen him here bouts for about 3 computer lifetimes. Having said that, I think the write up is close.

Here is the HDC

[Killer Shrike]

Thanx guys; updated w/ all three new characters and Edsel's input for flavor.

http://www.killershrike.com/theomegateam/OmegaTeam.htm

[Killer Shrike]

BTW: is Uriel the only "normal" member of the team to die? I know Wildcard, Phobos, and Snapshot did, but two seemed like fill-in characters and Snapshot was a GM fiat.

Also, which members of the team were founders? Im pretty sure Hippocrates, Nightstick, Uriel, and The Remittance Man were but I'm not 100% on that.

Actually, a complete list of the roster of members, plus support people like the base-mechanic guy would be useful.

Finally, was Dancer an actual member or an ally?

Thanx!

[Eosin]

Uriel is the only regular team member to bite the big one.

Dancer was a member.

You are correct on the founders. Gunner played for 2-3 games and then moved to Florida so I don't think he counts.

I think I have the write ups of George Bell [Base Mechanic], Alfred [My butler...It took allot to find a cool English Butler named Alfred], Gloria Stiener [The M.E.'s daughter and Savant's Girlfriend - hey, saving her from sex slavery has to earn some credit, right?].

It would be cool if there was an Excel to HD converter since most of this stuff is still on either my or Eddie's HD.

Supporting Omega Actors:
The Machine
George Bell - Mechanic
Alfred, everybodies favorite butler.
Zhou Hsou - Elder Martial Scholar and general pain in the rear. In a Remo Williams kinda way.
Debi Taylor, the DR's significant other.
Gloria Stiener, Savant's Girlfriend.
Wildcard, Cardshark agent with a heart of glod.

Active list:
Hippocrates
Uriel - KIA
Nightstick
Remittance Man
Dancer
Gunner
Savant
Phobos - KIA
Snapshot - KIA
Predator
Pax

That is about it, IIRC.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
BTW: is Uriel the only "normal" member of the team to die? I know Wildcard, Phobos, and Snapshot did, but two seemed like fill-in characters and Snapshot was a GM fiat.

Uriel was Eosin's original character. He died in a firefight with the mercs called the Arsenal. Wildcard was the quickly thrown together replacement he ran. When he made up Specter/Savant he wanted to bring in that character so he got with me and we cooked up a fitting end for the character. Phobos was an NPC from the start and never really a member of the team, just an ally. Snapshot's player left the campaign (moved away) and I had to get his character out of the action (it was good shock value).


Also, which members of the team were founders? Im pretty sure Hippocrates, Nightstick, Uriel, and The Remittance Man were but I'm not 100% on that.

Actually, a complete list of the roster of members, plus support people like the base-mechanic guy would be useful.

Finally, was Dancer an actual member or an ally?


Founding members
Hippocrates (PC)
Uriel (PC)
Nightstick (PC)
The Remittance Man (PC)
Gunner (PC who left shortly)
Dancer (NPC, full member)

Other Members
Predator (PC)
Snapshot (PC, brief)
Widow (PC, brief)
Pax (PC)

Allies
George Bell (Omega Base Handyman)
Valerie Steiner (DNPC Girlfriend of Savant)
Debbie Taylor (DNPC Girlfriend of Hippocrates)
Alfred (Bulter of Savant)
Another Butler (don't remember the name, he worked for Dr. Thomas James but was killed when Shonto came after him)

Neutrals
Crusade (Psycho, loner Vigilante)
Harbinger (Grossly Powerful, loner, Vigilante)
Plain Jane
PRIMUS (lot of stuff in archived computer files, they were nasty enough to go toe to toe with the Cabal/DEMON)

Villians (that I have paper copies of0
Bogeyman
Demoness
Red Cabal Agents
Black Cabal Agents
Black Cabal Assault Agents
Hail Mary (female Gang leader)
1st Generation Followers of Reverend M (plot just starting as campaign ended)
Mr. S (powerful Ninja)
Ninja Genin
Tenderheart (trans-sexual psycho)
Three power levels of generic Street Thugs
Generic Terrorists
VIPER Agent Commander
VIPER Agent Commander (Air)
Standard VIPER Agents
VIPER Elite Air Cavalry
Merritet (Thutmose was basically the same, Common Memphian Mummies)

The Pack
Mongrel (leader of the Pack)
Doberman (he ain't dead)
Hell Hound (formerly Ashtray Art)
Dog of War (replacement not encountered by campaign end)
The Pack's Battle Van

The Cardshark Organization
Cardshark
Pokerface
One-Eyed Jack
Blackjack
Deadman's Hand
Jack of Diamonds
The four Aces (Diamonds, Clubs, Spades, Hearts) (Officers)
Spade Face Card Agents (Sergeants)
Space Combat Deck Agents (Troops)
Other Face Card Agents (Non-violent Crime Specialists)
Other Deck Agents (ditto)

There is probably more that this but its late and I'm supposed to be somewhere tomorrow.

[Eosin]

Other active vigilantes is also pretty interesting.

Crusade
Harbinger


I will need to edit in a few....

[Killer Shrike]

Cool; Thanx!

[Eosin]

Phobos was a PC.

That was the guy who played for a little while but did not really like Hero. I think he was unemployed in the 2-3 months he played with us. He called one week to say he would not be playing and then just disappeared...I think he and his wife had moved from Amarillo...or something. He was a big guy if I recall.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Eosin
Phobos was a PC.

That was the guy who played for a little while but did not really like Hero. I think he was unemployed in the 2-3 months he played with us. He called one week to say he would not be playing and then just disappeared...I think he and his wife had moved from Amarillo...or something. He was a big guy if I recall.

Yeah, your right now that I think about it. I believe that the whole Timbaler Tommy senario called for a local guide/ally and I had originally intended to use an NPC. Then he showed up so I used his character in that role.

[Killer Shrike]

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.htm

OK -- added the most recent info and updated the site.

Got a packet of files from Edsel Im going to look thru now and determine what should be done with them....

[Kristopher]

Originally posted by Edsel
Presented below is an agent of the Black Cabal. A true warrior of that most foul organization. The Red Cabal are the public presence of the Cabal. The agent here is one of the hidden, true, members of the Cabal. This is a standard agent without their version of assault equipment. I will post an agent with full combat gear tomorrow (if I can). If you think this one is bad wait until you see the assault agent. I am particularly proud of their equipment.

Very nice.

Don't worry about them being too much. Entirely different angle, but they seem about on par with the Purple Agents -- but I think the Purple Agents are better armed in some ways, as they have more charges for their special attacks.

[Eosin]

BTW KS,

I like the tweaks to the site. Very nice.

[Killer Shrike]

Thanx! Edsel sent me a ton of stuff, but Ill have to get to the rest later -- Ive got to finish getting my game ready for 2morrow. :)

[Killer Shrike]

BTW, got all the log up in 5 parts, but will likely just include the rest of the materials as a down load, though I might pull out some notable bits like the Savant interview for web-ization as well.

Theres a ton of stuff here -- I cant stop looking thru it and I so need to finish my material for my game tomorrow.

Ive decided that Edsel is the font of all evil! :D

[Edsel]

I spent a good part of the morning working on cleaning up the Campaign logs. The went to a movie, got back and finished-up the latest version of the campaign logs. I just got around to getting back on the web and saw that you had posted the logs.

Anyway for any who are interested attached is a zip file that contains the entire campaign log in 5 Word documents. I cleaned up the formatting a little. I guess I'll head over to the Omega Web Site and see what the logs look like that KS posted there.

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Eosin
BTW KS,

I like the tweaks to the site. Very nice. I can echo this. I like it.

The only suggestion I have is that a few of the letters in the word Omega (at the top of the page) are faded enough that they are a little hard to see (at least on my computer). You can see them they are just really faint.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
I can echo this. I like it.

The only suggestion I have is that a few of the letters in the word Omega (at the top of the page) are faded enough that they are a little hard to see (at least on my computer). You can see them they are just really faint. Ok, I brightened up the title a bit.

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.shtml

BTW: Did you add anything to the Campaign Logs or just spruce them up a bit?

[Edsel]

I re-read the logs as I posted them to the boards. I corrected errors, fixed ommisions and elaborated on some points. At that time I also put vB coding into them so they'd look okay on the boards. In the last two story arcs I elminated a lot of footnotes replacing the relevant data with parenthetical additions to the body text.

For the zip file I posted I went through and took all the vB coding back out and fixed up the formatting some. I also caught a very few additional errors.

I've been working on the Cabal's combat gear for a Hero Designer Prefab. It is taking a lot of time because the original equipment was about the most complex stuff I ever built for 4th edition. Now I'm having to convert it to 5th edition. I've got stuff like multi-power weapons with 5 or 6 slots, all of which are compound powers. Its a lot of work but I'm getting close to completing the prefab. I can send you that and an example assault agent when I get it done. The assault agents are not physically much different from the regulars, its a case where the accessories make the man.;)

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
I re-read the logs as I posted them to the boards. I corrected errors, fixed ommisions and elaborated on some points. At that time I also put vB coding into them so they'd look okay on the boards. In the last two story arcs I elminated a lot of footnotes replacing the relevant data with parenthetical additions to the body text.

For the zip file I posted I went through and took all the vB coding back out and fixed up the formatting some. I also caught a very few additional errors.

So, do you want me to blow out the versions I have and replace them, or are they ok as they are?

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
I've been working on the Cabal's combat gear for a Hero Designer Prefab. It is taking a lot of time because the original equipment was about the most complex stuff I ever built for 4th edition. Now I'm having to convert it to 5th edition. I've got stuff like multi-power weapons with 5 or 6 slots, all of which are compound powers. Its a lot of work but I'm getting close to completing the prefab. I can send you that and an example assault agent when I get it done. The assault agents are not physically much different from the regulars, its a case where the accessories make the man.;) Cool. Id really like to get the other PCs done up too. Ive got a couple of ideas for the site, but its silly to start playing around with them until I have all the PCs.

Ultimately Id like for the Omega Team character listing to be more like this:

http://www.killershrike.com/MillennialMen/MillennialMen.htm

or this:

http://www.killershrike.com/Sandora/Characters/NineArrows.shtml

[Edsel]

I like the first option best for the format. Of course that may be since its setup for Champion and not Fantasy Hero. I don't know what we'll do for pictures though. None of my RPG gang have a lot of artistic talent when it comes to character drawings.

I'll definately post the Black Cabal Assault Agent tonight. The prefab is done. I just have to clone the regular agent and make the changes.

I'll start working on the other Player-Characters that I have and post them when I can. I still have to work up my character for Eosin's new Fantasy Hero campaign and I've been trying to help him with some other stuff for it as well. And I still need to work on my Conclave campaign if I'm ever gonna get it off the ground. Ah well, too many games, too little leisure time.;)

[Edsel]

This links to a typical Black Cabal Assault Agent (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Black%20Cabal%20Assault%20Agent.HTML). They are awfully nasty. Yet somehow on the two occations that the Omega Team fought a squad of them, the Vigilantes managed to get away without significant injury.

[Edsel]

I have built a Hero Designer prefab that features all of the Black Cabal equipment. This is attached below for any who are interested.

Had to zip it to make it a valid attachment.

EDIT: If anybody spots any errors in the Cabal equipment let me know. It got pretty complex so I bet there's a bug or two in there.

[Eosin]

Hmmm.... lools like the Cabal will transport almost seeamlessly into Fantasy....??? Who would have thunk it. :)

We really need a little devil smiley.

[Eosin]

I will see about getting Pax, Phobos, and Alfred into HD tonight. After tonight, I am not going to be able to do any HD for a week [7 shifts, 12 hours long in the middle of the night]

Phobos will be purely speculation unless Eddie has him anywhere.

Randy

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Eosin
Phobos will be purely speculation unless Eddie has him anywhere. I think you'll have to give it your best shot. I can't find any data on him.

I guess I'll work on Gunner next, then Widow. I kinda dread starting on Predator, the Cabal stuff was pretty involved and his special gear might be just as bad.

[Eosin]

I think I built most of Phobos anyways so I can make some pretty good guesses. I have been watching some movies so I m behind. Hopefully, I can get to it in short order.

[Eosin]

<font size=+1><b>Pax</b></font>

Player: Brian

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><font size=2><b>Val&#160;&#160;</b></font></td><td><font size=2><b>Char&#160;&#160;&#160;</b></font></td><td><font size=2><b>Cost</b></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>23&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>STR</b></font></td><td><font size=2>16</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>20&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>DEX</b></font></td><td><font size=2>30</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>25&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>CON</b></font></td><td><font size=2>40</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>13&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>BODY</b></font></td><td><font size=2>6</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>13&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>INT</b></font></td><td><font size=2>3</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>11&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>EGO</b></font></td><td><font size=2>2</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>18&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>PRE</b></font></td><td><font size=2>8</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>16&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>COM</b></font></td><td><font size=2>3</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2></font></td><td><font size=2>&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>9&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>PD</b></font></td><td><font size=2>5</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>5&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>ED</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>4&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>SPD</b></font></td><td><font size=2>10</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>10&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>REC</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>50&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>END</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>40&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>STUN</b></font></td><td><font size=2>2</font></td></tr><td><font size=2></font></td><td><font size=2>&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2></font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>9"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>RUN</b></font></td><td><font size=2>6</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>4"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>SWIM</b></font></td><td><font size=2>2</font></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><font size=2>4 1/2"&#160;&#160;</font></td><td><font size=2><b>LEAP</b></font></td><td><font size=2>0</font></td></tr></table><b>Characteristics Cost:</b> 133

<table border="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Power</b></td><td align="right"><b>END</b></td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">5&#160;&#160;</td><td>Luck 1d6&#160;</td><td valign="top" align="right"></td></tr></table><b>Powers Cost:</b> 5

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Martial Arts Maneuver</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Weapon Element: Clubs, Empty Hand, Hanbo&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Martial Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 38 STR vs. Grabs&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 33 STR for holding on&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4&#160;&#160;</td><td>Fast Strike: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, 6 1/2d6 Strike&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Martial Arts Cost:</b> 18

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Skill</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">0&#160;&#160;</td><td>PS: Soldier (Everyman) 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Scholar&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>1) KS: Kung Fu (2 Active Points) 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>2) KS: Viper (2 Active Points) 11-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Acrobatics 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Breakfall 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Bugging 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Climbing 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Combat Driving 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>Combat Piloting 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Concealment 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>Criminology 8-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Fast Draw 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Lockpicking 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Security Systems 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Stealth 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Streetwise 13-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>Systems Operation 12-&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">&#160;&#160;</td><td> &#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">0&#160;&#160;</td><td>TF: Jet Pack&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">6&#160;&#160;</td><td>WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms, Hanbo, Off Hand&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">&#160;&#160;</td><td> &#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">20&#160;&#160;</td><td>+2 Overall&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3&#160;&#160;</td><td>+1 with DCV (5 Active Points); Limited Power Only for Armor Penalties (-1/2)&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Skills Cost: </b>72

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Perk</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2&#160;&#160;</td><td>Money: Well Off&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>Base Donation&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1&#160;&#160;</td><td>Contact: Viper Buddy 8-&#160;</td></tr></table><b>Perks Cost:</b> 4



<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Val&#160;&#160;</b></td><td><b>Disadvantages</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">20&#160;&#160;</td><td>Normal Characteristic Maxima&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15&#160;&#160;</td><td>Susceptibility: Reaction to Antibiotics, 3d6 damage Instant (Uncommon)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15&#160;&#160;</td><td>: Secret ID&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15&#160;&#160;</td><td>Hunted: Viper 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>: Ashamed of Past (Common, Moderate)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>: Exersize Junkie (Common, Moderate)&#160;</td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10&#160;&#160;</td><td>: Uncommon Grace & Power (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)&#160;</td></tr></table>
<b>Disadvantage Points:</b> 95
<br>
<b>Base Points:</b> 100
<b>Experience Required:</b> 37
<b>Total Experience Available:</b> 0
<b>Experience Unspent:</b> 0
<b>Total Character Cost:</b> 232
<br>
<table width="100%" valign="top"><tr valign="top"><td><b>Height:&nbsp;</b>1.99 m</td><td><b>Hair:&nbsp;</b>Blonde</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td><b>Weight:&nbsp;</b>96.00 kg</td><td><b>Eyes:&nbsp;</b>Blue</td></tr><tr valign="top"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow; font-weight: 700"><td colspan=2><b>Appearance:&nbsp;</b>Lex had the appearance of Dolph Lungren.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Personality:&nbsp;</b></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Quote:</b></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Background:&nbsp;</b>Lex's History<br> <br>My story began 25 years ago when I was only 7. I never knew my father and all I ever remember of my mom is that she was always working. On the day of October 13 1972, A police officer came to my apartment and told my baby sitter she could go home, and that he would take cared of me. It was explained to me that my mom had died and that I would be taken to a home for children with no parents. I was taken to an orphanage or at least that is what it was supposed to be, but in truth it was a training ground for criminals. There was no love, no affection simply school and chores. By the time I was 13 I was accepted into the elite of the orphanage the “crew”, as we liked to be called, I was 5’ 10” and still growing. At the age of 15 I realized cosmic truth strength is power and seeing how I was 6’2” and none of the other children except one was my size I decided that I would run things at the orphanage. The other kid that was my size had other ideas and schooled me in them. I was beat as bad as one kid could beat another, we were both big but he was a far better fighter. From that day on I decided that I was going to learn to fight with my head and my brawn not just my brawn. I received a small amount of spending money and several hours a day to myself. That precious time and little money all went to one thing training to fight. First I went to the gym and learn the basics of boxing. After about 6 months there was Martial Arts Dojo that opened up. The money I had was not enough to pay for classes so I made arrangements to do odd jobs around the Dojo to make up the difference. I continued my training and made several new “friends”. Once I turned 18 and set free from the orphanage I had several odd jobs but none seemed to work for me. One of my Martial arts friends asked me if I could use some good paying work, which off course I did. <br><br>Over the course of the next 6 months I received a crash course in Viper training. Everything I did just seamed right I had finally found something I was good at. Over the course of the next 13 years I move up in rank rapidly. I spent 2 years as a standard viper agent. Once I had completed my tour as an agent I was put in for, and received extra training in hand to hand combat. I spent the next 4 years as a Hand to Hand expert specialized in burgling. After 6 years of field duty (7 years total including training) with virtually a flawless record I went back to school, command school. I finished top in my class and given the assignment of helping to start a new nest in Chicago (the last one was destroyed two years ago). The Chicago assignment was the hardest I have ever worked; the next 6 years were living hell. We finally got a good foothold and all was moving smoothly. <br><br>On October 3 my life would change (October has always seamed to be a hard month for me). My mission was simple, break in to the power labs at HiTeck enterprises and steal the plans for the new kinetic powering systems. All was going as planned until we reached the labs themselves. We entered to find the scientist having a party (celebrating their breakthrough). Before I realized what was happening the men under my command were firing on the defenseless scientist, all were dead in a matter of moments. All the information was gathered as per our instructions and we made good our escape. Once the Nest Leader was briefed on what had happened he called me in his office and gave me an on site promotion to assistant nest leader for my heads up action in killing the scientist. To this day I still remember what he said, “good job Lex if a scientist isn’t working for viper there working against us”. My reaction to the bungled raid was nausea but I simply could not believe that I let all those scientist get killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had some time off coming so I took it and never went back. I wondered around for about 6 months and finally ended up in H. C. In that six months I had a lot of time to think about what went wrong in my life. I let 30 truly innocent scientist die and to make that right I will save 60 innocent people, that is were I would start! <br><br><br></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>Powers/Tactics:&nbsp;</b>Lex used big attacks. His automatic shotguns with special rounds rarely left anyone standing.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan=2><b>&nbsp;</b></td></tr></table>

[Edsel]

Here is the link to Gunner (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Gunner.HTML). One of the founding, but short-term, player characters in the Omega Team.

[Killer Shrike]

Pax, Gunner, and Black Cabal Assault Agent have all been added:

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.shtml

:D

[Edsel]

The Perks section of Gunner's character sheet looks like it really freaked out on the Omega Team site.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
The Perks section of Gunner's character sheet looks like it really freaked out on the Omega Team site. Hmm...a bug in that Export Template. The Equipment table is in the same block as Perks and shouldnt be, causing the colspans to get out of whack -- it's slipped under the radar so far bcs I usually use that particular ET for supers who dont have Equipment.

Fixed Gunner (used a different ET) and will fix the ET tonight. Thanx for the catch!

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
So, do you want me to blow out the versions I have and replace them, or are they ok as they are? Late responce I missed this reply in the shuffle.

I think the revamped History is a little better. Whether or not it warrants replacing the ones you have up is a close call. I think I would but I don't know how much work it would be.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Late responce I missed this reply in the shuffle.

I think the revamped History is a little better. Whether or not it warrants replacing the ones you have up is a close call. I think I would but I don't know how much work it would be. About an hours worth. Ill put it low on the to do list -- Id rather get new content up first, and then worry about doing one big "improvement pass", catching all such things at the same time.

[Edsel]

Here is a link to the character sheet for Widow (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Widow.HTML), a short-term member of the Omega Team.

[Killer Shrike]

So what was the players story? Didnt stick with the campaign or switched characters?

Also, what about her partner that just dropped off the map?

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
So what was the players story? Didnt stick with the campaign or switched characters?
Chris T. enlisted in the Airforce. We never heard from him again (yes this was a cross gender character). I still have about a dozen miniatures, all nicely painted, that belong to him. If by chance he reads this they are still safe. Chris was a pretty good role-player but only got to play a month or so. He never really got a feel for the campaign. I have sent you an email with some info about the original character background.


Also, what about her partner that just dropped off the map? Knight was a one secession character. I have no data on the character whatsoever. Sydney (the player's name) showed up for the one game and then vanished. I know nothing else about him. We originally brought Knight & Widow in together because it was both character's first appearance. BTW the name Knight was one I assigned because nobody seems to remember what the character's name actually was.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Chris T. enlisted in the Airforce. We never heard from him again (yes this was a cross gender character). I still have about a dozen miniatures, all nicely painted, that belong to him. If by chance he reads this they are still safe. Chris was a pretty good role-player but only got to play a month or so. He never really got a feel for the campaign. I have sent you an email with some info about the original character background.
[B] Knight was a one secession character. I have no data on the character whatsoever. Sydney (the player's name) showed up for the one game and then vanished. I know nothing else about him. We originally brought Knight & Widow in together because it was both character's first appearance. BTW the name Knight was one I assigned because nobody seems to remember what the character's name actually was. Cool. And the guy that played Pax, another new player? He seems to have stuck.

[Edsel]

Pax's player was/is Brian W. he moved to Tulsa (105 miles NE) due to a better job offer. Brian is a very good friend of Audie (Hippocrates) and was known by several of us as well. He joined the campaign once he got Saturdays free. I think he'd been with another Saturday group prior to that. I know that Audie is still in contact with him. Audie drives up to Tulsa to visit him every so often.

Brian is a good player. He is a little bit of a power gamer IMHO and is very intelligent too. You'll never realize what he's talked you into until its too late.

Brian is a computer specialist of some sort. Tulsa has been hurting the last several years (job losses, etc.) while Oklahoma City has been prospering. Perhaps he'll end up down here again some day.

[Edsel]

I will start work on Predator next. He'll be a tricky build. The data I have on his "alien frisbee" is a little in error and I have a much better way to build it for 5th Edition.

It is straight out out of the Predator movie. It's basically a vehicle with a nasty penetrating KA Damage Shield. That allows him to throw it through virtually anything without it slowing down. It even returns sorta like a boomerang.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
I will start work on Predator next. He'll be a tricky build. The data I have on his "alien frisbee" is a little in error and I have a much better way to build it for 5th Edition.

It is straight out out of the Predator movie. It's basically a vehicle with a nasty penetrating KA Damage Shield. That allows him to throw it through virtually anything without it slowing down. It even returns sorta like a boomerang. Wow. That will be interesting to see in action :D

[Killer Shrike]

Widow is up!

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.shtml

Snapshot, Predator, and Phobos, plus any villain goodness to go ;)

[Edsel]

Here is the link to the character sheet for Predator (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Predator.HTML). Lots of fancy alien equipment.

Also here is a link to George Bell (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/George%20Bell.HTML), DNPC of the Omega Team. He is the base support person. He fixes all the stuff they break and keeps the base's systems in tip-top shape.

[Edsel]

KS,

About the website. Deadman's Hand is a Cardshark member. I believe you've got him listed with the faces in the crowd and not with Cardshark.

Alfred is not a dead butler. There has been a little confusion here. Alfred is the Butler of Savant, he is quite alive. Hippocrate's butler, who was never named, was slain by the Shonto/VIPER people.

[Killer Shrike]

RE: Dead Mans Hand: Uh , yeah -- you listed him as an also ran, so I added him to the list


Originally posted by Edsel
Also rans: The Bogey Man, Deadman's Hand (of Cardshark) and Hellrazor were all pretty fearsome foes.


RE: Dead Butler: Sorry -- the two Butlers ran together.....

[Killer Shrike]

George Bell is up, and Alfred is no longer dead! Hallelujah! :D

[Edsel]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
RE: Dead Mans Hand: Uh , yeah -- you listed him as an also ran, so I added him to the list. Oops! Sorry about that. I had so many NPCs running around I have a hard time keeping them straight.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by Edsel
Oops! Sorry about that. I had so many NPCs running around I have a hard time keeping them straight. No worries; "its a small matter". ;)

[Edsel]

EDIT: Predator is now posted above in post #212 (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=272116&postcount=212).

[Killer Shrike]

Sweet. Ill try to get him up tonight when I get home, but Im working a late-nighter so it might get bumped till tomorrow.

[Killer Shrike]

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.shtml

Predator is up!

[Edsel]

Here is a link to Card Shark (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Card%20Shark.HTML)updated for 5th Edition (pre-5ER). This version of the character was modified for use in the Omega Team Campaign.

Please Note that this character originally appeared in DARK CHAMPIONS: Heroes of Vengeance, written by Steven Long. That is the old version of Dark Champions, published back in 1993. An update version has since been published in Hudson City: The Urban Abyss.

[Edsel]

Here is a link to the long-time girlfriend and DNPC of Hippocrates, Debbie Taylor (http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/Debbie%20Taylor.HTML). Hippocrates was one of the first character's posted on this thread. I really don't know how many people are interested in all of these characters but I'm getting good practice at using Hero Desinger so I guess I'll keep posting.

[Killer Shrike]

Sorry for the delay -- its been a long day.

Debbie Taylor and Card Shark are up!

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.shtml

[Pax]

Wow looks like I am a little late to the party! Life has been hectic so I have not spent much time at the boards this year. I am Bryan the player of Pax. Eddie ran what will go down for me as one of the most memorable games I have ever played in. I liked the game so much that I have used the Pax handle for years on this board.

That said I do feel a little slighted
One of my best friends in the whole world puts my Pax character sheet up on the board and spells my name wrong…Eosin
How could the Pax in the trash can and grenade incident not make it into the notes. It was classic.


Eddie
In reference to the economy sucking here and going crazy in OKC you are so very right. I would love to move back to OKC who knows maybe in a few years I can. If you ever start the game back up please let me know. While I doubt very much that I could attend at least I could sit up here in Tulsa and sulk about the great game I was missing.


Thanks for bringing back a flood of fond memories and building in me a desire to find a good roll playing group up here. Tulsa is a roll playing desert then again maybe you guys just spoiled me.

Peace,
Bryan

[Killer Shrike]

Wow looks like I am a little late to the party! Life has been hectic so I have not spent much time at the boards this year. I am Bryan the player of Pax. Eddie ran what will go down for me as one of the most memorable games I have ever played in. I liked the game so much that I have used the Pax handle for years on this board.

That said I do feel a little slighted
One of my best friends in the whole world puts my Pax character sheet up on the board and spells my name wrong…Eosin
How could the Pax in the trash can and grenade incident not make it into the notes. It was classic.

I certainly enjoyed the campaign logs; I can only imagine how much fun it must have been to actually play in the campaign.

Personally, Im a big fan of the name "The Remittance Man". I just find it really funny for some reason.

I particularly liked the earlier arcs and some of the later arcs that focused on street gangs, and the budding involvement of a toned-down VIPER.

[Edsel]

Our group is currently playing in Eosin's Fantasy Hero campaign. However I keep (slowly) doing a little work on updating all of my Dark Champions stuff to 5th Edition. I am very eagerly awaiting the release of DC 5th Edition.

Random Musing Follows:

I have been working on a new setting called the Conclave which has a much more supernatural flare to it. But all of these fond memories of the Omega Team do leave me torn. Several of the players have suggested that the Omega Team to transition into the Conclave setting, perhaps even join the Conclave. But then others (like Eosin) already have a character concept for their Conclave character.

Reguardless of which way I eventually choose to go I will recycle a lot of the Omega Team material. There is just too much good stuff to not use it. I have even considered restarting the Omega Team campaign (I've got the data to do it) and then introducing the Conclave as a new potential ally and through them drawing the group futher into the supernatural and global espionage scene.

EDIT: The Conclave concept did not work out and died a quick death after only a couple of secessions. I am now working on a lower-powered, purely vigilante campaign. We'll see how it goes.

[Eosin]

I could definately go for an Omega Team Restart but it is really unfair to the 3-4 new players who did not evolve into the rules and campaign. I think it would work better to start everyone on even footing and with equal shots at character concepts - that means that we start at a baseline (new characters - same point totals - etc) no matter how we kick off the new DC game.

That is just my opinion though. I would gladly play Savant into the 300 point range :bmk:

[Trencher]

I would like to see the character sheets of the characters in this thread.
If you could re post them it would be nice.

Is this the original campaing that became hudson city blues?
I am reading the campain log on Killer Shrikes site right now great stuff all around! :yes:

[Killer Shrike]

All the character sheets of the main characters are linked to on the main OMEGA TEAM page:

http://www.killershrike.com/TheOmegaTeam/OmegaTeam.shtml

Check out all the "Character Sheet" links in each character's section.

[Edsel]

I would like to see the character sheets of the characters in this thread.
If you could re post them it would be nice.

Is this the original campaing that became hudson city blues?
I am reading the campain log on Killer Shrikes site right now great stuff all around! :yes: As Killer Shrike said the player characters, and a lot on NPCs, are linked on his page.

It was not the original Hudson City Blues campaign. I just bought that module early and incorporated into my campaign. I stole stuff from all over for that campaign. I used a couple of modules from the old Chill RPG, the Cabal were a mixture of bio-tech and Cthulhu mythos, etc.

[Trencher]

Well when I read the campain log it said that I should look here on the board to find the background on the character sheets. You might want to change that.

In any case great work all around.

[Eosin]

Interesting timing for thread necromancy.

Edsel is about to start a new street level Dark Champions campaign. Here is hoping that it is as interesting and fun as the Omega Team. I am pretty sure that Edsel will start a new thread and campaign log for our intrepid vigilates.

[Hehehe, notice the sneaky way in which I obligated Edsel to post cool stuff].

[Eosin]

Well when I read the campain log it said that I should look here on the board to find the background on the character sheets. You might want to change that.

In any case great work all around.

That was before we lost the ability to post sheets [the old BB template from Hero Designer].

[Killer Shrike]

Yeah; and all my old fancy character sheet exports for the boards got broke when they turned off HTML rendering.

Trencher could you point me to where the reference to this thread is -- I dont have time right now to dig thru it all to find the link/reference.

Thanx!

[Trencher]

Sure it is in the character sheets for Hipocrates for instance.

[Killer Shrike]

Oh. You mean the character BACKGROUNDS.....yeah, you'll have to take that up w/ EDSEL. I just took the character files he provided and posted them; Im not going to change another GM's character sheets for their own campaign; its unethical GM behaviour :ugly:

[Trencher]

Well for reading log it's interesting to know the background.

[Edsel]

I'll have to do some digging when I get off work and see what I can find. I still have the background stories for those that wrote one (not all submitted electronic copies for me).

[Killer Shrike]

Send over some updated HDC files if/when you get a chance and ill get em all updated.

Might be a worthwhile exercise to go back thru the posts w/ characters that dont render anymore and just post a link to the full sheet posted on my site.

Also, might want to petition Ben to move this thread into DARK CHAMPIONS where it belongs.

[Edsel]

I will send Ben a message and see about moving the thread. I do have a few of the character backgrounds in electronic format and will be posting them here as I get a chance.

I also have most of the HDC files so I may go into to them and paste the background into the proper fields. Then I email them to you KS.

[Edsel]

Below is the first of the character backgrounds. I did not write these. In each case they were written by the player whose character they go with. Also these backgrounds, in most cases, were for the character at the start of their game (0 XP). The first up is Hippocrates.

Character Background for Hippocrates (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=255473&postcount=53)

EDIT: I realized the Hippocrates background had been previously posted in this thread. It can be found here (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=255473&postcount=53).

[Edsel]

Character Background for Pax
My story began 25 years ago when I was only 7. I never knew my father and all I ever remember of my mom is that she was always working. On the day of October 13 1972 A police officer came to my apartment and told my baby sitter she could go home, and that he would take cared of me. It was explained to me that my mom had died and that I would be taken to a home for children with no parents. I was taken to an orphanage or at least that is what it was supposed to be, but in truth it was a training ground for criminals. There was no love, no affection simply school and chores. By the time I was 13 I was accepted into the elite of the orphanage the “crew”, as we liked to be called, I was 5’ 10” and still growing. At the age of 15 I realized cosmic truth strength is power and seeing how I was 6’2” and none of the other children except one was my size I decided that I would run things at the orphanage. The other kid that was my size had other ideas and schooled me in them. I was beat as bad as one kid could beat another, we were both big but he was a far better fighter. From that day on I decided that I was going to learn to fight with my head and my brawn not just my brawn. I received a small amount of spending money and several hours a day to myself. That precious time and little money all went to one thing training to fight. First I went to the gym and learn the basics of boxing. After about 6 months there was Martial Arts Dojo that opened up. The money I had was not enough to pay for classes so I made arrangements to do odd jobs around the Dojo to make up the difference. I continued my training and made several new “friends”. Once I turned 18 and set free from the orphanage I had several odd jobs but none seemed to work for me. One of my Martial arts friends asked me if I could use some good paying work, which off course I did.

Over the course of the next 6 months I received a crash course in Viper training. Everything I did just seamed right I had finally found something I was good at. Over the course of the next 13 years I move up in rank rapidly. I spent 2 years as a standard viper agent. Once I had completed my tour as an agent I was put in for, and received extra training in hand to hand combat. I spent the next 4 years as a Hand to Hand expert specialized in burgling. After 6 years of field duty (7 years total including training) with virtually a flawless record I went back to school, command school. I finished top in my class and given the assignment of helping to start a new nest in Chicago (the last one was destroyed two years ago). The Chicago assignment was the hardest I have ever worked; the next 6 years were living hell. We finally got a good foothold and all was moving smoothly.

On October 3 my life would change (October has always seamed to be a hard month for me). My mission was simple, break in to the power labs at HiTeck enterprises and steal the plans for the new kinetic powering systems. All was going as planned until we reached the labs themselves. We entered to find the scientist having a party (celebrating their breakthrough). Before I realized what was happening the men under my command were firing on the defenseless scientist, all were dead in a matter of moments. All the information was gathered as per our instructions and we made good our escape. Once the Nest Leader was briefed on what had happened he called me in his office and gave me an on site promotion to assistant nest leader for my heads up action in killing the scientist. To this day I still remember what he said, “good job Pax if a scientist isn’t working for viper there working against us”. My reaction to the bungled raid was nausea but I simply could not believe that I let all those scientist get killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had some time off coming so I took it and never went back. I wondered around for about 6 months and finally ended up in H. C. In that six months I had a lot of time to think about what went wrong in my life. I let 30 truly innocent scientist die and to make that right I will save 60 innocent people, that is were I would start!

[Edsel]

Two of the characters from the campaign Nightstick and Dancer are not originals. They are modified versions of characters originally published in Hudson City Blues (https://secure.compnetco.com/herogames/viewItem.jsp?id=73024) which is still available through the Hero Games Online store. Their backgrounds were pretty much assumed to be the same as listed in the book, but the characters themselves were modified a bit.

If you happen to have that book the write-up for Nightstick can be found on pages 72 & 73 and the write-up for Dancer is on pages 76 & 77.

Nightstick was run as a player character. Dancer was used as an NPC ally which was a very handy device for me, as the GM, to filter information to the players.

[Edsel]

Background for Predator (aka Dutch)

At the ripe age of 18 Dutch knew he was a bad ***. An amateur bodybuilder He had reached the height of 6’6” and joined the army as an airborne ranger. His leadership skills were quickly discovered and he soon found himself with the rank of major and in charge of a unit dedicated to the recovery of captured men in extremely high-risk environments. This went on for many years then the mission to the jungle of South America changed him forever. (See the first move) After an extensive debriefing he resigned his commission and joined the New York police department. Soon he became a detective in a high-risk precinct. Wile fighting a gang war during an extra hot summer the aliens came again. (See movie two) During this time Dutch began to feel that maybe he was the one they came back for. Once again he was debriefed this time by a CIA team bent on capturing an alien or some of their technology. This is where Dutch met his contact “Frank Smith” Dutch quit the police force and with the monetary help of a friend of his from the service (Bryan’s character) opened a private detective agency. Dutch also began to get ready for the next encounter with “his” aliens.

Several years went by with little problems then one day Frank came back. Dutch was taken to a secret training facility for the next team to try to capture the aliens. A ship crashed landed in of all places Siberia. He and the unit were equipped with the state of the art US tech. While there Dutch met Ivana a Russian officer in the army. With Ivana’s help Dutch killed 3 of the 4 aliens. As the last alien left he looked Dutch and called him by name. Dutch did hide an alien inviso shield suit, spear, frisby, and two hand daggers.
He also fell in love with Ivana. She was brought to America and they were married in three months. Dutch and Ivana lived happy for several years during this time Dutch learned how to use the alien equipment. (With the help of Ivana, She turned out to be a technical wizard.) Then in the winter of 95 drug dealers killed Ivana because she witnessed a hit. This single event was the trigger to set off Dutch. He began to start to practice for the return of the aliens by hunting and killing the scum of the streets. Using his deceive agency he selects those he feels would be a good hunt and those who were the type to have killed his wife. (He did revenge his wife’s death a long time ago.) Recently the cops have been starting to get close to him, and he thinks that there is a good chance that the aliens will hit Hudson city so he is going to set up shop there. He also found out that is friend (Bryan’s character) has been up to some of the same activity as him.

Before heading to Hudson City Dutch checks into the omega team. He thinks that there is strength in numbers and wants some friends to depend on when the aliens return.

(Also he is looking for other kindred spirits.) He will want to follow/ check out the omega team for him self before sighing up.

[Edsel]

That's about it for now. I can't find copies of any other characters' backgrounds. This was years ago. There may be a hard copy of some other backgrounds around here but I don't know when I'll get around to typing them into an electonic format.

[Trencher]

Looks like I have to spred some rep around before I can rep you again, hopefully sombody else like your backgrounds and will rep you for me.

[Eosin]

Here is Savant - I don't think I have Uriel's background any longer. I wonder why you don't have an electronic version?

SAVANT

Background: Andrew’s parents were wealthy but met a tragic end while he was still an infant. He was raised, in essence, by the staff and tutors provided by his family but never really had parental figures.

Andrew was always brilliant. He excelled in school, beginning his college career at the age of 11. By the age of 15 when he began to have the Headaches, Andrew was finishing a PhD in Psychology and Aberrant Psychology. His strong science background was looked on as something of an oddity but his intense work in mathematics and pattern recognition led him to believe that many of the same theories could be applied to people, hence his interest in those who deviated from the pattern.

Reading all of the “real crime” reports while also finding his teenaged love for comics was jarring to Andrew’s mind. There was a disparity in what he wanted to believe and what he read on a daily basis. Many nights Andrew applied his prodigious mind to the question of heroics, even going so far as to take up a parallel study in semiotics [symbolism]. His dissertation was on the culturally derived meaning, inherent in the family symbol of Superman, in contrast to the symbolism of clearly nationalistic paragons such as Captain America or Captain Briton.

While he still had a child’s idealism, many agreed that Andrew Hobbs was frighteningly astute disseminating human beings into simple equations that were by and large solvable.

He was destined for some of the greatest think tanks in the US, until he had a seizure while visiting Cal Tech. Andrew was diagnosed with an inoperable Astrosarcoma a rare type of cancer that affects the Astrocytes, commonly referred to as a type of “Brain Cancer.”

Andrew studied his situation and immediately formulated a strategy. He was going to die shortly, so why not do something good and important with his life. At 17 years old, he look to the most familiar place for inspiration – comic books. He understood criminals and how they operated, it should be a simple matter to stop them. 68 stitches and 3 beatings later, it was apparent that he needed help. He began training with the most reputed Martial Arts master in town Zhu Shou.

Later he realized that someone within the dojo was Nightstick the vigilante. Just what the young kid needed…..someone who could kick @$$ while Andrew took names. He eventually approached the Omega Team and Nightstick asking for membership in the team. The team was put off by the Batman uniform. They were not put off by his skills, nor the speed at which he could analyze a situation. Andrew was somewhat short on the combat side but used a number of unique weapons and weapon systems that demonstrated his value.

Motivation: Savant wants to make a difference with the time he has left in this world. He has come to believe that his death is imminent so he elected to take a more direct method to help people.

Tactics: Savant used a number of unusual gadgets and had a pretty wide array of tricks. He used hang glider capes, spring boots, line guns and other tools to increase his mobility. He was careful with his shots eschewing autofire weapons in favor of single weapons with high STUN damage -- CS pistols 8d6 STUN damage or if serious he would use a Laser Pistol 2d6 RKA with 2 points piercing.

[Edsel]

I found the backgrounds for three more characters. I also found Savant's but Eosin already posted that. The stuff below was taken from the Background tab of these character's HDC files.


Background for The Remittance Man He was Dutch before the player running Predator joined the group by which time this player had moved on.

Background: At the ripe age of 18 Dutch knew he was a bad ***. An amateur bodybuilder He had reached the height of 6’6” and joined the army as an airborne ranger. His leadership skills were quickly discovered and he soon found himself with the rank of major and in charge of a unit dedicated to the recovery of captured men in extremely high-risk environments. This went on for many years then the mission to the jungle of South America changed him forever. (See the first move) After an extensive debriefing he resigned his commission and joined the New York police department. Soon he became a detective in a high-risk precinct. Wile fighting a gang war during an extra hot summer the aliens came again. (See movie two) During this time Dutch began to feel that maybe he was the one they came back for. Once again he was debriefed this time by a CIA team bent on capturing an alien or some of their technology. This is where Dutch met his contact “Frank Smith” Dutch quit the police force and with the monetary help of a friend of his from the service (Bryan’s character) opened a private detective agency. Dutch also began to get ready for the next encounter with “his” aliens.

Several years went by with little problems then one day Frank came back. Dutch was taken to a secret training facility for the next team to try to capture the aliens. A ship crashed landed in of all places Siberia. He and the unit were equipped with the state of the art US tech. While there Dutch met Ivana a Russian officer in the army. With Ivana’s help Dutch killed 3 of the 4 aliens. As the last alien left he looked Dutch and called him by name. Dutch did hide an alien inviso shield suit, spear, frisby, and two hand daggers.
He also fell in love with Ivana. She was brought to America and they were married in three months. Dutch and Ivana lived happy for several years during this time Dutch learned how to use the alien equipment. (With the help of Ivana, She turned out to be a technical wizard.) Then in the winter of 95 drug dealers killed Ivana because she witnessed a hit. This single event was the trigger to set off Dutch. He began to start to practice for the return of the aliens by hunting and killing the scum of the streets. Using his deceive agency he selects those he feels would be a good hunt and those who were the type to have killed his wife. (He did revenge his wife’s death a long time ago.) Recently the cops have been starting to get close to him, and he thinks that there is a good chance that the aliens will hit Hudson city so he is going to set up shop there. He also found out that is friend (Bryan’s character) has been up to some of the same activity as him.

Before heading to Hudson City Dutch checks into the omega team. He thinks that there is strength in numbers and wants some friends to depend on when the aliens return.
(Also he is looking for other kindred spirits.) He will want to follow/ check out the omega team for him self before sighing up.

Personality/Motivation: Alexander is driven by his need to repay what the criminal element has done to him and the innocents that he has delt with. He feels that by being a vigilante he can make amends for his failure in helping his former partner.

Quote: "The time has come to pay your debts."

Powers/Tactics: In combat he prefers to use guns and nicely fulfills the roll of sniper for the group. He is one of the only Omega Team members to not posess martial arts training. He is particularly adept with the laser rifle. His family company AWS produces laser weapons for use by PRIMUS and other government agencies.

Campaign Use: The Remittance Man is very well connected and has impressive information gathering skills. He was one of the best investigators that the Omega Team ever had. He is also wealthy due to his family. When this character left the campaign he moved to the West Coast and took over a major management position with the family firm. From that point onward he was the team's connection to some of the cutting edge weapons that they used.

Appearance: His most distinctive feature is his steely gray eyes. He is a large man but not overly powerfully built. He is trim and in good physical shape.



Background for Uriel

Background: Uriel was an olympic gymnast whose dream of gold was cut short by a botched burglary that left him with two broken legs and a broken dream. Even with the extensive investigation and the assistance of his father, a United States Senator little was ever discovered about the perpurtrators.

Personality/Motivation: Uriel harbors deep secrets. His father is a member of DEMON (The Cabal) and used Uriel as a child in unspeakable ways. The reason he is a vigilante is to have a chance to strike back at his father and those like him who live beyond touch and beyond the law. Strangly (or not) Uriel will not do anything that might bring him into conflict with his fahter, who has instilled a fear so deep in the vigilante that it may never be overcome.

Powers/Tactics: Uriel is direct and often deadly. He generally uses a streetsweeper shotgun or a P-15 with special ammunition. The incredibly stong man is not afraid to get physical and once nearly beat Buckshot to death.

Appearance: The character is taken somewhat from Tim Dagget a US gymnast.



Background for Gunner

Background: Gunner is a former HCPD Detective. His years on the street, dealing with crime left him disillusioned with the way the system worked. Too often he would see the guilty walk free and the innocent suffer. In his last case with the force he uncovered a ring of corrupt cops and tried to expose them. He found out that the corruption extended to his own boss and he hit a dead end. This led him to developed a lack of respect for authority and his resignation from the force. He left under a cloud of suspision sown by those he tried to expose and so to this day the HCPD keeps tabs on him. Those he tried to expose know that he knows the truth and would like to see him silenced for good.

In his youth Gunner was a marine and there he leared his Commando-style of martial arts. He nearly ended up with a Marine Corp tatoo but never got around to it. As a new recruit in the HCPD he got a departmental tatoo on his shoulder while he was still enamored with his new job.

Gunner now leads a double life. He is publicly known as Michel Hansen, private investigator. He is also Gunner, a vigilante who is a member of the Omega Team. The Omega Team allows Gunner to ensure that justice is visited on those who are truly deserving.

Personality/Motivation: Gunner has a strong sense of justice and his activities with the Omega Team allows him to express it in the way he knows best.

Quote: "I don't arrest people anymore. I tried that, it didn't work."

Powers/Tactics: With his HCPD background and regular job as a private investigator. Gunner operates in a very police-like fashion, up until what would have been the point of arrest.

Campaign Use: He is a good, well-rounded character. Not a powerhouse in any one field but able to fill in almost any gap.

Appearance: A darkly complected caucasian who usually sports a 5 o'clock shadow. Gunner dresses like a sterotypical gumshoe. He usually has on his bullet-proof trenchcoat.

[Trencher]

Can't rep either K.A, Edsel or Eosin either! :ugly:
I second that it would be usefull for new readers for you to delete and edit some unreadable post.

[Edsel]

Found a previous post that gives Specter's Background (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=255612&postcount=57).