Marcus Impudite

It's been a couple of weeks since the incident detained in WWYCD?: One Night At The Opera..., you and your associates have be monitoring Ezekiel Blackthorn off and on in that time. This time Blackthorne and his personal assistant/paramour Miss Westlake are in the parking garage of the Blackthorn Enterprises building, leaving for the evening. As they are walking to Ezekiel's black BMW, a man in a trenchcoat with a noticable French accent approaches them, saying "Hold it right there, Blackthorn." Blackthorn looks at Miss Westlake and says, "Go wait in the car, my dear." As she does so, Blackthorn looks the stranger in the eye, smiles coldly and says, "D'Artagnan, I had a feeling that was you I sensed." "Enough small talk," the man snaps as he pulls a rapier from under his coat. "We're not on holy ground this time." Blackthorn raises an eyebrow. "Very ambitous, coming to face me yourself. It's a pity your old friends aren't still around to see this." Giving the top of his gentleman's cane a twist, Blackthorn unsheathes a 23" mirror-polished steel blade. The two of them begin to duel. WWYCD?

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Dude, a cadre of IRS auditors is on their way to my house, what the Hell am I going to do now? A: Of course it'll work, I saw this on an episode of NUMB3RS last week.

Re: WWYCD?: One Night At The Opera... Keeping things fresh: Further investigation of Ezekiel Blackthorn and his background turns up a very old newspaper clipping with a photograph of his great grandfather, Ezra Blackthorn, from the year he founded Blackthorn Enterprises (chose a date appropriate to your campaign timelime). One of your party remarks about the "striking family resemblance." Indeed, other than the minor differences in clothing and hair style, the two are identical and you are taken aback when you notice that Ezra and Ezekiel Blackthorn both have the exact same tiny scar just above the right eye brow.

A performance of The Phantom Of The Opera is scheduled for tonight at the campaign city opera house (insert appropriate reason for your character being there or nearby, or if your character is the sort to jump into action quickly, all of the following is on a surveillance video he/she is being shown after the fact). Most of the city's luminaries are in attendance, most notably Ezekiel Blackthorn, President and CEO of the British multinational Blackthorn Enterprises and heir of the company's founder, Ezra Blackthorn. Tall, athletic, and handsome in a sinister sort of way, there are many rumors circulating that Blackthorn is the true identity of an apex level "big bad" in the campaign world, though a number of his friends and business rivals have baulked at the idea, saying that Ezekiel's worst sins are nothing more than having some creative accounting done for him during tax season and carrying on an ill appropriate relationship with his nubile personal assistant, Miss Westlake. As the evening's performance concludes, Blackthorn and the lovely Miss Westlake are walking to his limo when a thug with a .38 snub nose springs out from the nearby alley and accosts them. "Alright rich boy, fork over your wallet and the lady's little pretties," He gestures with the gun at expensive jewelry Miss Westlake is wearing. "And I might not have to put a bullet in ya." Blackthorn says, "Be gone, or I'll make you rue the day your questionable parentage begot you." The thug sneers, "Why you tea sucking little prick, I oughta..." Before the thug can react, Blackthorn grabs his forearm and squeezes hard, digging in his fingertips. The would-be robber drops his weapon with a yelp and a grimace of agony. Blackthorn, leaning in almost nose to nose with the thug, then says, "What is it you Americans say at a time like this? Oh yes, I remember now: 'go play in traffic.'" Still trembling as Blackthorn lets go of his arm, and having visibly wet himself, the thug turns and runs. Without looking, he darts out into the street right in front of an oncoming bus, with messy results. Miss Westlake gasps and faints, Ezekiel picks her up with an eerily nonchalant expression and carries her to the limo. WWYCD? (for those with the sensory abilities, Blackthorn has an aura of power far greater than what any mortal man would have, even a corporate CEO)

Say you got a character who maintains a Secret Identity but who is also of such a high power level (i.e. HUGE total character cost) that, while being outed would still be horribly inconvient for him, it would not be so bad that it merits the Major level of severity. Would it be reasonable to take the Social Limitation at a 10-point value (Frequently, Minor) or would that be a trifle cheesy?

For some time, you and your team had to contend with a demon you knew by the name of Russel. You and the others had tangled with him on and off over the course of a year, always thwarting his evil schemes but never quite suceeding in capturing/destroying him--Ol' Russ was usually smart enough to know when to cut and run. Unfortunately for Russel, he eventually got into fight with a demon far more powerful (not to mention far more evil) than himself and was destroyed, though before he went down he managed to weaken the other demon enough that you and your team finished it off in short order. Or at least, you thought he had been destroyed. About a week later, you are startled to find what appears to be Russel sprawled unconscious on the doorstep of the team's base (or if you don't have a team base, some other appropriate location). A team member with the requisite sensory abilities is able to confirm that it's him, but something is different. Although he still has the same personality, memories, and knowledge, his powers are gone and he no longer even reads as a demon. It's like his demonic nature had somehow been stripped away, and indeed, he now registers as fully human. WWYCD?

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What's MightyBec's Identitifying Quote? A: Hastert, Hastert, Hastert

Re: Answers & Questions Q: So, how'd you like last night's Six Feet Under? A: "COME BACK HERE, SO THAT I MAY BRAIN THEE!"

Re: Opinion: EuroStar Kinda off topic, but did anyone else notice Menton has the Distinctive Features: Mutant disad and Mentalla doesn't? Was this an oversight, or does little sister have some ability to conceal her mutancy that her brother lacks? As for Mentalla vs. Gravitar, I'd say Isabella's best plan of action would have been to use Pushing and her Power Skill to give her some extra dice of Mental Illusions and create the illusion that Takofanes, Dr. Destroyer, or big bro just happened to show up...

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Your mother's sisters were touring the Hersey's factory when it exploded? Are they okay? A: See, this is exactly why they say "don't try this at home."

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Will you come quietly, Mr. Libby, or do we have to take you by force? A: "Rocky Mountain High, Colora-" Blam! Blam! Blam! "DIE YOU SON OF A *****!!!!!!!!!!!"

Re: Champions Jargon

Re: Champions Jargon Cigar-box Funneral: burial of the remains of someone who ended up Tomato Sause. CMANP ("Character Must Acquire New Pants"): Said after one's character is on the recieving end of a VERY effective fear-based PRE Attack.

Re: Champions Jargon Cluster F***ed: When a character takes such massive STUN/BODY after being hit by three or more different attacks simultaniously they either end up as Tomato Sause or in a Persistent Vegitative State (PVS). Example: "Wow, VIPER agent #2 just got cluster f***ed by Brickboy's haymaker, Zapper's EB, and Slasher's HKA." Tomato Sause: When a character's BODY goes so far below -30 that they had to have been oblitorated. aka "Red Mist", "Splat!", and "Shower of Entrails" Persistent Vegitative State (PVS): When a character's STUN goes so far below -30 that it's unlikely he/she will be back above 0 STUN by the time that evening's session is over. see also Sleeping Beauty below. Sleeping Beauty: A character whose STUN is so far in the negative he/she can't possibly recover enough within one century game time to awaken. Often the result of being Cluster F***ed. Players of such character (female PCs in particular) often whistle "Someday my prince will come" while writing up a new sheet or retrieving an Understudy from their folders. Redheaded Stepchild: Any character with ridiculously low defenses and/or CV. Said characters often end up as Tomato Sause or Sleeping Beauties. Understudy: An alternate character perpared just incase current active character killed or ends up in PVS or as a Sleeping Beauty.

Re: WWYCD: The Halloween Party From Hell... Happy Halloween! :

While raiding a mystic villain's lair, you are trapped in a room with a gilded mirror standing in the center (the doors close and lock tight, and wards have been cast upon the room to prevent more exotic means of escape such as Teleportation, Desolid, etc.). Suddenly, your reflection leaps from mirror with a wicked leer on his/her face (BTW, it's a magical mirror, so for those who might say "my character's a vampire, he/she has no reflection in mirrors" they do in this one). It is then that you are told that you must defeat your doggleganger (he/she has all the same abilities as you but is your polar opposite morally) to get free of this room and, as is often with traps like this one, if your doppleganger defeats you, you will be sealed within the mirror and your doppleganger will be set free to wreck havoc. What tactics do you use to beat your mirror self? Will the fight end with you or your doppleganger going free? WWYCD?

Re: WWYCD: The Halloween Party From Hell... Boo!

Re: WWYCD: The Halloween Party From Hell... For Amanda and Terror'Khan try this link Freakshow can be found in the Millennium City book on page 119. If you don't have the book, he's basically a punkrock-looking dude who's obcessed with slasher movies and thinks he's the "avatar of fear". Devilfire is one of my characters who I reply as on most WWYCD threads.

It's Halloween Night in Campaign City, and your character has been invited to a costume party in the grand ballroom of a fancy hotel downtown. Even though it's Halloween, the evening thus far has been oddly uneventful (usually this is one of those nights when things get "interesting"). When you first arrive at the party, there are no obvious signs of potential trouble, but later in the evening you spot Greg Anderson (civillain ID of quasi-demonic supervillain Devilfire) dancing with his girlfriend Rhea. Greg is wearing a pirate costume and Rhea is dressed as Yeoman Rand from ST:TOS. Over by the refreshment table, a fellow who looks alot like Freakshow (see Millennium City) is clandestinely spiking the punch with a vial of luminesant green liquid while munching on one of those bat-shaped cookies. As if you don't have enough to worry about already, you then bump into Amanda from WWYCD: Bride Of The Shadow Lord dancing with a man who could only be Terror'Khan himself in human guise (Amanda is dressed as a Spanish dancer and His Spookiness is dressed up as Zorro). And on top of it all, there are plenty of innocent costumed guests who could get caught in the crossfire if things suddenly get hairy. WWYCD?

Over the course of a few months, you and your associates have been recieving anonymous tips over the phone that have helped you systematically dismantle a major criminal organization in your campaign city, leaving only the big boss and his inner circle at large. Finally, the tipster came through with the location of their safe house and the bust goes down without a hitch, but one thing still sticks out in your mind. When the question of the tipster's identity came up in the phone converstation, his only reply was to laugh bitterly and say, "When you see that no good snake, give him a message for me: tell him his old pal Nick said this is payback for Bangkok and that I'll see him in Hell. He'll know what your talking about." The tipster then hung up. After the bust, you find out the crime boss in question did at one time have a partner by the name of Nick, who disappeared 10 years ago in Bangkok and was beleived to have met with foul play, though nothing was ever proven. Tracing the call leads you to a payphone downtown, and the member of your group with the appropriate sensory abilities tells you he/she is sensing a residue of ectoplasm on the phone's handset and keypad. As if you need further proof, a check of surveillance footage from a nearby store's security camera shows no one entering or leaving the phone booth during the aproximate time the call took place. WWYCD?

Re: Tomb Raider Hero Thanks again to all who posted.

The alarm goes off a the [insert Campaign City Here] Metropolitan Museum. You and your party arrive just in time to find the Egyptology exhibit has been robbed, though strangely enough the theives passed on an assortment of exceptionally valuable artifacts (all of which would have fetched top dollar and been easily fenced on the blackmarket) to steal a mummy--sarcophagus and all. Acording to the currator, little is known about this particular mummy other than the fact that it was buried unceremoniously in an unmarked tomb deep in a seldom-traveled part of the Egyptian desert and the x-rays taken at the university showed it to be the remains of a female. After about a week, during which the same theives/cultists appeared to be gathering spell components for a necromantic ritual, a new supervillainess makes her debut--weilding powerful, Egyptian-themed black magic (think Tekofanes, only a smokin' hot chick). WWYCD?

Re: What Would Your Character's City Be Like? Devilfire's city would be much like Sunnydale (a.k.a. "Sunny-Hell") from the Buffyverse; sunny and superficially peaceful during the daytime, and a hotbed of bizarre and dangerous supernatural activatity at night.

Re: WWYCD: Foxbat The Mighty! Go home and acquire new pants.

Re: Tomb Raider Hero Thanks nolgroth, I'd have a look at the file and let you know.