UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

[TheRavenIs]

Ok now I really, really, really like this. Straight Arrow has to be a real good guy....I'd have done the same thing toward Blue Jay and Howler.

Bill your players are so lucky. I sometimes wish you were my GM.

[hooligan x]

Super fun, but still no pictures?

[teh bunneh]

Still no pics. Sorry. But there should be some next week! :

-----
During the Hel prison break, the alien horror known as Slug managed to escape, using the body of Intel Officer Major David Corinth. It stole a Mjolnir and flew into the heart of a massive storm pounding the area. The plane was later tracked to the city of Bujumbora, in the African nation of Burundi.

Unfortunately, UNTIL does not have a presence in that country, which is in the throes of a civil war, and the local authorities are reluctant to allow unfettered access to their nation. However, due to the emergency circumstances, the UN Security Council authorized UNITY to enter the country and find Slug. However, the team was under strict orders not to get involved in the civil war.

The mission was simple: secure the stolen Mjolnir jet before the Burundi government takes it apart, and capture or kill Slug. Lethal force in the creature's apprehension has been approved – no one will bat an eye if the team doesn't bring it back alive, but they have been instructed to recover the corpse. Major Bec gave them one last instruction before they left: "If the locals give you any crap, don't put up with it. Don't hurt anyone, but don't put up with requests for bribes, threats, or anything else. Your mission is too serious to delay due to third-world corruption or bureaucracy."

UNITY Team C delayed the mission for as long as they could, due to New Man's injured condition. They figured they would need his powers, but he was still recovering from surgery. However, after four days Intel began asking some very pointed questions and Straight Arrow relented. Intel also insisted on sending an officer from their division – Major Tré Aries – to make sure that neither the Mjolnir nor Major Corinth revealed any UNTIL secrets.

Aries was a tall, lean Frenchman with a goatee. He was impeccably dressed, his uniform completely spit-and-polish, and he stood very, very straight. The heroes got the impression that he was all business, with little time for chit-chat or other niceties. He had been stationed in Africa for many years, and speaks the local language. New Man, being the suspicious type, read his mind and found that the man was pretty much as he seemed, though he fully intended to report on every aspect of the team's behavior to his superiors.

Ifrita did some research into the area they were about to drop into. She learned the roots of the war are complicated and go back at least 200 years (to the time of the slave trade). One of the larger tribes feels they have been historically oppressed, but they haven't been doing well in the war. The UN has refused to get involved, saying both parties have to work this out for themselves. The rebels control the north part of the country, which is sparsely populated, heavily forested, and almost completely rural. There are few roads in the area, and no airports. Bujumbura is the capital with a population of about 30,000. It sits on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. The heart of the city is colonial in design, containing a market, a mosque, a cathedral, a stadium, and several museums. All of this is surrounded by a sea of tin and thatch-roofed houses. The local languages are Kirundi, French, and Swahili.

When the heroes entered Burundi airspace, they were challenged and told to turn around. The team snickered to themselves. "What are they going to do?" New Man asked. "Send a couple of poorly maintained Soviet-era MIGs after us?" Straight Arrow informed the tower that they were landing, like it or not. On arrival, UTC was met by a large contingent of armed soldiers escorting three official-looking government people.

Straight Arrow wasn't in a mood for mucking around. He demanded that they give up the Mjolnir jet. The official (Mr. Ndayizeye, the Foreign Secretary) was very sorry to report that they could not give up the stolen plane. "It landed illegally in our country and is being searched for contraband," he said. "Also, there are other things to consider – important things like landing fees, storage fees, and of course, the cost of guarding the jet from looters and the like."

New Man, still in considerable pain from his injuries, also wasn't in the mood for playing games, so he rifled through the man's mind. He learned that the Mjolnir was being kept in a hanger not far from the runway, where technicians were trying to get into it. He informed Straight Arrow, who ordered Red Dragon, Aurora, and the UNTIL troops (along with Major Aries) to secure it.

The troops guarding the hangar were unusually brave, even when Red Dragon showed them his "war face." However, once he pulled out his sword and cut the barrels off their rifles, they saw the error of their ways and fled. The technicians working on the plane were much easier to frighten off. The team quickly determined that the locals had not yet managed to get into the Mjolnir, so UNTIL secrets were still safe.

Meanwhile, back on the runway, Ndayizeye was having a fit, shouting about how these "Oh-so-smart westerners look down on us like we were nothing but a bunch of bush-monkeys." Suddenly, in the middle of his rant, he grew quiet and cooperative. Straight Arrow looked over at New Man, who merely smiled enigmatically. Straight Arrow shook his head – he didn't really want to know.

Aries ordered one of the UNTIL pilots to check the plane and prep it for take off. There is an UNTIL base in Johanesburg, which they could fly it to. The rest of the team had to locate Corinth, so they split up and started asking questions of the locals.

Ifrita heard rumors around town that the rebels were planning something big. The government was very tight-lipped (even going so far as to confiscate all copies of the local paper and close down its offices), but people who've trickled down south in the last few days say that the borders are all sealed, and anyone who's gone north hasn’t returned. Everyone feared the rebels were planning a major offensive.

Major Aries learned that a new public works project had begun in the north of the country. From all reports, it sounded like they were clearing forest and starting a huge strip mine in the mountains.

Straight Arrow and Thich learned that a white man in a uniform had come through here about four days ago. As soon as he arrived, he rented a jeep, paying cash. The guy who rented him the jeep had trouble remembering the event, but Thich managed to talk him into revealing what he knew. The rental guy said that they headed north, even though it is dangerous to go that way. The white man hired the rental guy's nephew as his bodyguard-slash-translator-slash-driver. The old man hasn't heard from them since they left and doesn't know when they are coming back – but he does worry about his nephew. Thich promised that the heroes would try to bring the nephew back in one piece.

It sounded like Slug went north. Once the second Mjolnir was safely off the ground, the heroes hopped into their jet and headed towards rebel territory. Thich thought it might be a good idea to pinpoint the exact location using UNTIL's spy satellites, so Aurora got on that job. She couldn't find any spy satellites in the area, but she did find a weather satellite to peek through. Resolution wasn't very good, but it did look like someone was digging a large pit or something in the middle of the jungle. Now the heroes had a vector.

But it wasn't as easy as all that. As soon as the heroes got past government-controlled territory, they began taking heavy fire from the ground. Unbelievably heavy fire – missiles and flak of incredibly advanced technology (standard shoulder-fired SAMs couldn't possibly lock on a jet with as much ECM as the Mjolnir). Blaster fire criss-crossed the sky as explosions rocked the ship. Straight Arrow did his best to keep the plane in the air, flying over miles of flak-darkened territory.

But as he tried to land the ship, one of the missiles chasing the plane managed to clip a wing. The plane spun crazily in the air, tossing everyone around like ragdolls, before finally crashing upside down in the jungle. Thanks to Straight Arrow's remarkable piloting ability, no one was permanently hurt (Thich used his Tibetan magic to heal up the UNTIL agents' bruises, cuts, and strains). Red Dragon jumped out and heard vehicles approaching the area. The Mjolnir was scrapped, so Straight Arrow set the self-destruct sequence and the team bailed out into the jungle, moving as quietly as they could to avoid attracting local attention.

The jungle was thick, humid, and filled with the sounds of distant gunfire, machinery, and strange night animal calls. However, the rebels were easy to avoid, and soon the heroes found themselves just outside the strip mine.

It was a huge pit, nearly half a mile across. Bulldozers and digging machines were working overtime, and hundreds of laborers toiled without cease. The heroes estimated that the pit must've been a hundred meters deep. Guards stood over the Pit at regular intervals, watching the jungle but not paying much attention to the workers. The heroes noticed that the guards and workers were blank-faced, eerily silent, and incredibly focused on their tasks.

New Man attempted to read the mind of one of the guards and found that he was under the influence of a very powerful domination effect – his mind and his body were not his own. Wisely, the psionicist decided not to try to break the guard out of his trance.

Ifrita noticed a small cave or mine on one wall of the pit. As the heroes watched, a group of natives, bound hand and foot, were herded into the cave by a team of guards. The natives obviously did not want to go in, but they were beaten and shoved down by the guards, who then wandered off.

The heroes wanted to get down there, but there were too many people around to do it quietly. Red Dragon noticed a large dump truck getting ready to drive down into the pit. The heroes cautiously jumped into the back of the truck and rode it down, then jumped out and ducked into the mine before anyone spotted them.

The mine entrance opened up into large, empty chambers strewn with boulders and debris. It was very hot and very humid in there; condensation dripped from the ceiling and formed puddles in the floor. Straight Arrow spotted another exit in the back of the dark cave, and the heroes started to head towards it. Then Aurora noticed that there were people – or something very much like people – hiding among the boulders. She called out a warning and the heroes instantly formed a defensive perimeter around New Man, who was beginning to get a terrible headache.

Then the heroes spotted them – eight men and women, wearing dirty, torn clothing, their eyes glowing, climbed out of the darkness. The battle was fierce but short – the well-coordinated heroes made mince-meat of the Worm-possessed humans.

Once the fight was over, Red Dragon noticed something about one of the unconscious forms. It was moving! As he watched, a hideous, grey, worm-like creature oozed out of the person. The samurai reacted immediately, cutting the worm to pieces before it could attack or escape. The rest of the heroes all checked the other bodies and found the same thing happening to each of them. The heroes killed all the Worms before they could escape.

Thich checked the bodies and found that most of them were still alive, though hurt badly. He used his magic to heal them as best as he could, then left them all still unconscious in a secluded corner of the cave. The Slug was not here, so heroes had to continue on.

TBC!

[Hermit]

Good Stuff, Bill.















(What, you want a sonnet praising it or something?"Good Stuff" covers it )

[hooligan x]

I'd rep this fun episode, but I'm saving all my rep for the Mod Contest. What a shameful plug!



















Oh, and Vote Hooligan!

[TheRavenIs]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to keyes_bill again.

[teh bunneh]

(What, you want a sonnet praising it or something?

Well... yeah... kinda...

"Good Stuff" covers it )

[Redmenace]

I've been catching up on this thread recently. Your initial write up was clear that China and Russia were different than the real worlds but the last recap seems to be showing the U.N. is very much so as well. They seem to have a lot more clout, operating without having to get one of the superpowers to fund and or supply military muscle.

Am I right in guessing that they are the power equivalent of a firstworld nation, atleast?

PS good stories

[Kyle A.]

The UN in your game also seems to be a worthwhile and effective organization as opposed to the real world.

[teh bunneh]

Yes, the heroes live in what could be called a "Tri-polar" world -- the US, the Soviet Union, and the UN. The United Nations has its own armed forces (with a much more robust mission than the Real World's army), and a large superhero wing to back it up.

There is still a lot of bureaucracy that the heroes have to deal with, and their mission briefings almost always include the words "Don't hurt anyone, don't get involved in the local politics, and don't start an international incident!" But for the most part, the UN in this world plays a strong role in international politics.

[teh bunneh]

Here's some "off-line" stuff I sent to Lonewalker/Straight Arrow just before the jailbreak...

-----
Straight Arrow & Team Omega

Simon hopped off the bus and hurried across the street, sheltering his face from the ever-present Scottish rain. He walked around the back of the empty petrol station, where the loo and the public phones were.He picked up the phone, inserted a handful of coins, and dialed the number. He heard the quiet buzzing of the phone on the other end ringing. It rang, and rang, and rang, ten times, fifteen, before Simon finally hung up. Another dead end, he sighed.

"You certainly picked the ****-end of nowhere, mate," a voice behind him said. He spun around, his combat-honed instincts kicking in, and saw three men standing before him. One of them he recognized – Midnight, the black-clad martial artist who Team C had fought on Yggdrasil. The other two he had never seen before -- one, a blond fellow in an expensive trench coat and cheap sneakers, smoking a cigarette; the other, a thin young man with long hair and sharp features, wearing a black jacket and fashionable dark shades. It was hard to focus on the young man, as he seemed to continuously flicker in and out of sight, like a ghost in an old film.

"I told you he'd call, mate," the blond man said (with a Cockney accent), grinning. "You need to learn to trust me."

"He'll trust you as soon as he understands you," the young ghostly man laughed (his accent sounding very southerner to Simon).

"Which means never," the Brit said, carelessly tossing his cigarette to the ground.

Midnight raised a hand to silence his companions. "We need to talk," he said to Simon.

"I imagine we do," Simon answered.


His reflexively analytical mind was already working. These three had arrived very quickly and quietly. They likely had some sort of teleportation device linked to a communications tracer. Was it the same device as the Bifrost system? Did these Omegas develop the technology on their own? Or did they borrow it from UNTIL's research department? Or did they leak the info to UNTIL in the first place?


Midnight was very likely the intruder in Simon's London home who had warned him to think about which 'side' he was on. The Cockney fellow looked and sounded like the mysterious assistant Simian Fury had mentioned meeting during the Eurostar case. Simon wondered how many other times Omega members had assisted UNITY in secret ways. Were they responsible for Red Dragon's strange 'tip' about GRAB in Mexico City?

"I'll start with my questions," Simon said aloud, "And I have plenty."


He motioned for the three men to follow him as he walked slowly down the deserted street. He wasn't sure where to start so he decided to ask all his questions at once.

"First, I want to know whatever you can tell me about this." He flipped out the card with the black omega symbol on it. "What is Omega and why does it exist? Second, why did you break into Yggdrasil? And using Grond for mercy's sake! Third, what do you know about an alien threat to Earth and UNITY Team A's fight against it? And fourth, why are you even willing to make contact with me? What interest do you have with my team's casework?"

“You are a regular Chatty Cathy, aren’t you, mate?” The Brit laughed. “I can answer your last question, at least. He contacted you because I told him to. Would’ve gotten a hold of you earlier if I’d had my druthers, but it’s a question of trust, innit?” He hooked a thumb at Midnight. “He don’t trust anyone.”


“And why did you trust me?” Simon asked.


“It’s what I do, mate,” he said. “I see the patterns below the surface. You shoot people with arrows, I can tell the truth about the world. Not as handy in a dust-up, I admit, but still. It has its uses.”


Simon stared that the blonde for a moment, then looked back at Midnight. “And the rest?” he asked.


“We went to Yggdrasil for two reasons,” he said. Simon thought he could detect a very faint Russian accent in his otherwise perfect English. “One was to make sure UNTIL didn’t know more than it should about us. The second was to make sure you did.”


“That disk your girl dropped?” Simon asked.


Midnight nodded. “We left it for you to find.”


Simon bit his tongue. He wasn’t sure if he should mention that UNTIL Intel had the disk now. “And why Grond? Do you know how many people could’ve been killed?”


“What better way to get y’all’s attention?” the young man asked.


“We might need him later,” the Brit said.


Midnight glared at both of them. “It was a calculated risk,” he said.


Simon was beginning to grow angry at this careless disregard for the lives and property endangered, but he kept his ire in check. “I’ll ask again,” he said. “What is Omega, and why does it exist?”


“If you read the disk,” Midnight said, “You already know most of what’s important. Team Omega was founded by Mentiac, some time after the Alien War. UNTIL was being infiltrated by aliens and alien sympathizers, and the infiltration was spreading. He feared that it had already taken control of the highest levels of the organization. His warnings fell on deaf ears. And that’s when he found me.


“We formed UNITY Team Omega, with the same mission but different operating parameters from the other team. Access to UNTIL Intelligence and technology, but completely off the books and no contact with UNTIL command or the other team – so we wouldn’t be corrupted by the alien influences that permeated the organization.”


The young man spoke up. “Yeah, but these days we’re completely independent. It got too hot for us, staying on the grid like that. Now no one knows we all exist. ‘Cept you, of course.”


“So your mission now is, what?” Simon asked. “To watch the watchmen?”


The Brit snickered as he lit up a cigarette. “Oh, it’s worse than that, mate,” he said. “If our suspicions are right, it turns out that there aren’t any watchmen to watch anymore.”


Simon blinked at him, not comprehending.


“You’ve got aliens on your team, mate,” the Brit said, taking a long drag of his smoke. “Team Bravo is practically crawling with them. And Team A? No one’s seen or heard from them in weeks. We’re on our own here, mate, and the ****e’s about to hit the fan.”

Simon took a long moment to digest what he had just been told. He didn't like what the Cockney was implying. Now he was glad he had spoken to his teammates outside of regular UNTIL channels. Still, some of it smacked of paranoia; he wouldn't be dragged down just yet.


"Are you certain there's no one in UNTIL we can trust?" he asked, "Rock Steady is the only alien I know of in the other UNITY teams and he's been stalwart and trustworthy thus far. As for my own squad, while I may not always trust their discretion, I have no doubts about their loyalty."


Simon paused for a moment, thinking. "When you speak of the 'aliens' who have infiltrated UNTIL, I'm assuming that you're referring to the Mon'dabi and their minions. You may know some of this already, but I've learned that there are other species that have also opposed the Mon'dabi. How much do you know about these other beings?"

Before any of the three could answer, Simon added, "And incidently, do you have any specifics regarding this infiltration? If there are enemies among my commanders and comrades, I'd like to know who is who...rather than just assuming everyone is not to be trusted."

Shortly after this, someone on Team Omega noticed that Straight Arrow was still wearing his LOKI tracking device, and they immediately teleported away without further words...

[teh bunneh]

Two new players joined the game. I gave them NPCs to play (Gazelle, and African heroine, and Tank, my GMNPC) to let them try us out/let us try them out. It seemed to go pretty well, and they were invited back.

-----
Immediately after the fight with the Worms was over, Major Aries contacted the team. "One of the African heroes has just arrived," he said. "She wants to help; shall I send her down?" Straight Arrow granted permission, and a few minutes later, the Kenyan heroine Gazelle arrived. She told them that she had come to learn what the rebels were up to (rumors have been flying ever since they closed the borders), and she found this strange pit mine. Investigating further, she discovered Major Aries' team hiding in the jungle. UNITY quickly briefed her on what was going on, and the newly-enlarged team headed deeper into the cave.

The cave descended precipitously into the earth, deeper and deeper. It was very hot and wet in there, and the darkness was oppressive. Eventually, the cave opened up into a huge cavern, bigger than a stadium. Strange, flowing, nightmarish buildings sprouted up like mushrooms from the floor. At the center of it, the heroes saw a dull, blood-red glow. New Man used his mental senses to "look" around, and found a large concentration of hostile, alien minds near where the glow as coming from.

UNITY approached cautiously, but somehow the Worms were alerted to their presence and tried to ambush the heroes. It was a short but brutal fight; the alien-infested humans dropped under the heroes' considerable firepower. The heroes killed the Worms as they tried to escape from their hosts' helpless bodies.

The heroes moved quickly towards the red glow. Thich Nat Han saw it first – a hoard of people lined up around a huge, glowing, red gemstone. The Slug (no longer Corinth at all) stands nearby, with his hands on the gem. A handful of Worm-infested humans stood guard nearby. The people were forced up to the gem, one at a time.

Another fight broke out. New Man and Thich Nat Han tried to yank the Wormstone away, but were unsuccessful. Straight Arrow fired a grappling arrow at it and managed to drag it away from the Slug – who unsuccessfully tried to maintain control on the stone with his own powerful telekinetic abilities.

Red Dragon charged the Slug and stabbed him in the chest, saying a quick prayer to the Buddha for the soul of the former UNTIL agent that the monster had taken. Ifrita rushed into the fray and pounded the Slug into a wall. Tank (with a little help from Thich Nat Han) came to help subdue the alien as well. Ifrita hit it again and again until it dropped to the floor, and Red Dragon finished it off – he didn't want the souls of his companions sullied by the spilling of blood.

The rest of the Worms continued to fight fearlessly, but were overwhelmed by UNITY and were soon defeated. New Man telekinetically wrapped the gem in cloth and then placed it into a box that was lying around. The humans began to wake up as if from a fever dream, not knowing where they were or what they were doing here.

Major Aries contacted the team and said that the workers around the pit were acting much the same way. He managed contact the nearest UNTIL HQ for backup, and LOKI was sending a clean-up group from Team B to help.

UNTIL had a big job ahead of it. They had to clear out all the alien technology that the rebels got from the Worms, which of course meant that UNTIL would have a presence in Burundi, whether the local government liked it or not.

After clean-up was well underway, Major Aries asked to speak with the team – in private. Straight Arrow turned off his LOKI beacon and told the rest of the team to do likewise. "I was very impressed with your performance here," Aries said. "I assure you that my report on this mission will be most favorable."

The team was skeptical, but he continued. "I'm sure you've noticed this already, but despite your efforts, UNTIL Intel has been labeling most of your missions as "Qualified Successes," or even "Failures." Before this mission, I took advantage of the four days of down-time to look at your records. I was quite certain, judging by the basic reports I'd seen, that you were a group of incompetent bunglers (no offense meant!). However, upon reading the full reports, I found the truth to be just the opposite."

"Wait a minute," Straight Arrow interjected. "I wrote those reports myself, and they were checked out by Major Bec. How could they read that poorly?"

Aries nodded. "As I said, the full reports were favorable."

"Then what's the big deal?" Straight Arrow asked. "Our higher-ups have access to the full reports, don't they?"

"Of course," New Man said. "But do you think they're going to read the full 60-page report, or the 2-page summary?"

Red Dragon agreed. "There's probably a lot of bureaucratic inertia," he suggested. "That's why we keep getting training missions."

"And that's why Team D gets promoted while we're stuck on alien bug duty!" Aurora griped.

Major Aries nodded. "It seems, my friends, that you have enemies in Intel. Enemies who have been tarnishing your record of service. For what purpose, I do not yet know. Nor can I say who has been doing this. But I give you my assurance that I intend to get to the bottom of this. Tampering with service records is a personal pet peeve of mine. Do you know anything that you can tell me that might help my investigation?"

Straight Arrow thought about this for a moment, then told Aries that he didn't know anything – but if something came up, he would let the Major know. Red Dragon thanked the man for his concern – it looked like someone was finally on their side.

About that time, two heroes from Team B showed up – Gadget Man and El Picaro. While El Picaro was holding a "mas macho" contest with Red Dragon, Gadget Man asked Ifrita if he could talk to her for a minute. The two of them stepped aside and exchanged a few words before Gadget Man toddled off to assist in the disassembly of the alien technology.

Straight Arrow put in a request for a week of downtime for the whole team, and UNTIL Command quickly approved it (after all the paperwork from the African mission was complete, of course). Next week: The south of France and Monte Carlo!

[teh bunneh]

And what did Gadget Man and Ifrita talk about? well...

Gadget Man and Ifrita:
Gadget Man has found some really worrying things lately, and he wanted to talk it out with someone he trusts. Since Ifrita was his teammate, he thought he'd chat with her for a while. Also, he confided, he spoke to Myrmidon a while ago, and the team leader said that only people with powers that stem from the magical world should be trusted – and Ifrita fits into that mold.

He's been working on linking LOKI with PRIMUS' computer databases. It's pretty much all that he's been doing for the last two months or so. He was chosen for the project because he knows a lot about how PRIMUS operates (having once been a member). The funny thing was, he had been assigned the project even before the Goodkind Defense of the World Act was signed! He assumed that UNITY was simply hopeful that it would come through.

Now that the final barrier has been crossed, he's been working overtime on the project. The thing that's been troubling him is that PRIMUS put up a lot of very sophisticated firewalls around their system. His ex-wife was always a stickler for security. But that isn't what's troubling him – he actually approves of this (despite the fact that it's his ex- doing it). The problem is that UNTIL command has ordered him to break the firewalls. Even more troubling is that they've told him to do it secretly, without alerting PRIMUS to what he's doing. This seems like terribly unethical behavior to him, but (he sheepishly admited) it's not like he can say no to his superiors.

Then he changed the subject. "Do you know anything about shapechangers? Are there any shapechangers on UNITY?" Yes, Ifrita allowed. Both Inque and Tigerhawk on Team A are shapeshifter). "I think we need to keep a close eye on them. The reason I say this is because," he leans in to whisper, "I've had a lot of access to LOKI's databanks lately, and I found out something interesting. Interesting and kind of frightening, too. Apparently, the Wraiths – the aliens that supposedly no one's ever seen? – are shapechangers."

"I told Myrmidon about this stuff and that's when he told me to be very careful and not to tell anyone else. That's why I'm telling you about it. Um," he looked sheepish again. "Don't tell anyone else, OK?"

He continued, apparently glad to have someone to talk to. "UNTIL's got all sorts of data on the aliens. Where they came from, what they wanted with Earth, all sorts of stuff. It's all double-plus secret-handshake extra secret. They've got it all stored in separate databases, apart from all the other info. I doubt even LOKI's main personality module knows about half that stuff. I'd like to find out more, but the problem is, I don't have access anymore. Right after I talked to Myrmidon about this stuff, most of my clearances got revoked because the project was almost finished and I didn't need it anymore… which was true, I guess."

"So now they've got me down here, dismantling alien technology. Life is good!"

He seemed rather distracted (which isn't unusual), and as soon as the conversation was over he wandered off toward some interesting-looking piece of hardware as if the conversation never happened. El Picaro came over and asked Ifrita what Gadget Man was talking about. She shrugged and deflected the question. "He sure is annoying, isn't he?" El Picaro asked. "I wouldn't pay any attention to him if I were you. He's loco."

[Cardinal]

Keyes Bill -

This continues to be must see...err... web stuff... no wonder I never went into marketing.

Anyway, I just wanted to add my voice to the countless others telling you how much I've enjoyed this. Keep it up!

I know that Lonewalker posted Straight Arrow. Any chance we can see some of the other characters?

Great job!

Cardinal

[teh bunneh]

I've asked the players to send me the most recent updates for their characters, so I'll try to remember to post 'em.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a piccie of the Slug & the Sluggettes vs. UNITY Team C in the depths of the underground Slug City!

At the bottom of the screen is Ifrita. To her left is Aurora. STanding on top of the mushroom building is New Man. The black figure (unpainted as of yet) on the left is Thich Nat Han. The black figures in the upper right corner are the human-possessed Worms. The painted figures are hapless humans being sent to their dooms. The dice box represents the pillar on which the gem had rested (before being stolen by Straight Arrow, not pictured here -- the rest of the team is behind the mushroom building).