Mavnn

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Hi Storn, I dropped you a note on the 29th re: two possible character commissions - I was just wondering if you received it? It would have come from a warwick.ac.uk account. Thanks, Michael

Yeah, Hojo's not individually more powerful than Sephiroth, but he can call upon the resources of Shinra - along with his 'experiments'. The unknown hunter really is more powerful than Sephiroth, and is the same unknown hunter as on Nemo (the PC's character sheet). He will remain unknown for the moment for plot reasons . ...not to mention the fact that I haven't given him a name yet... Good catch on the leaping distances, though. Michael

I'd go with XDM, Usable Against Others to steal the soul in the first place and then Summon (Specific Creature, Only from my subconscious) to get them back. Stick 'em in a multipower or something. It's a brutally broken power... for example, this is also how I'd build omega beams. YMMV Michael

Yeah, I was aware of the 'Surbrook' version (although I think that particular write-up is by Max Firth sp?). I wanted a slightly more powerful version for my own game, however, and one who used my house rules (buying a mana reserve for materia, etc). I wanted a version to whom dragons really are just a minor irritation . Hmmm... both the stretching and the jenova mind control are good calls. The stretching I'll probably stick in, the mind control will be slightly different from the video game version - different plot and all - but should be there. I should probably stick desolid on there as well... Michael

OK, so my Final Fantasy 7 game is progressing nicely. So I decided that it was time to stat up Mr. Bishinon himself, the guy with the bare chest, Sephiroth. The main reason for this is that I need some idea of what I'm scaling towards, so I can give everything else suitable levels of states. In the rules I'm using, characters do not have to pay for the abilities materia grant them, but they do have to buy the Endurance Reserve to run them off, so that might explain some strangeness on the character sheet. Other than that, what do people think? Anything blatent I've missed? Any comments? As far as power level goes, I've mainly gone from the fact that Sephiroth considers a lesser dragon an enemy beneath this contempt (who he dispatches with ease) in the first cut screen we see him in. So I decided I needed a write up would could easily defeat a lesser dragon from the besteriary, and defeat a greater dragon without too much difficulty. Despite his stats, I view him as more of a martial artist than a brick, so I have no problem with the fact that his attacks out weigh his defenses. Michael BTW - This is a first draft write up. I in no way guarantee points costs/totals are accurate in any way what-so-ever. Sephiroth Player: NPC Val Char 50 STR 30 DEX 40 CON 25 BODY 23 INT 23 EGO 35 PRE 24 COM 21 PD Totals: 30/r14 21 ED Totals: 30/r14 8 SPD 18 REC 60 END 70 STUN 6" RUN 0 2" SWIM 0 2" LEAP 0 Cost Power 23 Mana Reserve: Endurance Reserve (200 END, 20 REC) Reserve: (20 Active Points) REC: (10 Active Points); Only While In Deep Sleep (-2) 30 Movement Multipower (30pt) u3 Gravity Means Nothing to Me I: Leaping +30" (32"/64") u3 Gravity Means Nothing to Me II: Flight 10", x8 NCM (10"/80") u3 Reality Bends to My Will I: Teleport 15" (15"/30") u3 Reality Bends to My Will II: Teleport 6", Megascale 1"=1,000km (Scaleable) +1 1/4, Safe Blind Teleport (+1/4) 5 Naturally Tough Skin: Damage Resistance 5/5 26 Masamune: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 4d6 (6d6 w/STR) (vs. PD), Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2) (90 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Min 20 (-1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2) 6 Fast with a Sword: Missile Deflection (Bullets & Shrapnel) (15 Active Points); OAF (Focus (Big Sword); -1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2) Cost Skill (Skills with 0 cost are 'Everyman' skills, that all characters get for free) 0 Acting 8- 3 AK: Midgar (INT-based) 14- 1 AK: City of the Ancients (INT-based) 8- 3 Breakfall 15- 0 Concealment 8- 3 Conversation 16- 3 Deduction 14- 3 KS: Mako Creatures 14- 3 KS: Ancient Knowledge (INT-based) 14- 3 KS: Strategy 14- 3 Oratory 16- 3 Paramedics 14- 3 Persuasion 16- 0 PS: Soldier 11- 3 Seduction 16- 0 Shadowing 8- 3 Tactics 14- 3 Teamwork 14- 0 TF: Custom Adder, Small Motorized Ground Vehicles [Notes: Custom Mod is Everyman Skill] 32 CSL: +4 w/Combat 12 CSL: +4 w/Swordsmanship 10 CSL: +5 w/Missile Deflection 20 CSL: +8 w/Materia, Only to Increase Effect (-1) Martial Arts Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Soldier Swordsmanship 4 1) Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 2) Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 60 STR to Disarm roll 4 3) Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 5 4) Lunge: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, -2 DCV, +2 DC Strike (6 1/2d6K) 5 5) Slash: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, +2 DC Strike (6 1/2d6K) 4 6) Slice: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, +1 DC Strike (6d6+1K) 5 7) Stab: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, Strike (6d6K) Martial Arts Cost: 34 Cost Talent 18 Combat Luck (9 PD/9 ED) Total Character Cost: 570 pts. Pts. Disadvantage 25 Hunted: Hojo 11- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish; Extensive Non-Combat Influence) 15 Hunted: Unknown 8- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish) Example Materia: Firaga, Icaga: 16d6 EB (20d6 w/dedicated CSLs), 24 END Curaga: 8d6 Heal, 24 END Ultima: 20d6 EB, Area of Effect: Radius, Selective, 30 END Barrier: 50% Resistant Physical Damage Reduction, 6 END/Phase, Takes an attack option action to activate (choose END to be spent at the time) Shield: 50% Resistant Energy Damage Reduction, 6 END/Phase, Takes an attack option action to activate (choose END to be spent at the time)

I always thought 'Doc' Smith's attitude to women was interesting. He was obviously effected by the prevailing attitudes of this times, but if you read through his stories (not just lensmen) there are numerious strong female characters. The Red Lensman, the daughters of Kinnison, the women in the Skylark books. It's been a while since I've read family d'Alambert (sp?) but I seem to remember some strong female's in that too. They do have a habit of screaming and fainting at the slightest provocation, I admit, but if you notice they only do that as long as it's an option. The moment they really have to do something they just get on with it. Michael

This kind of game would depend a lot on what 'Stage' of lensman you wanted players to have available. Stage 1 lensmen are pulp heroes with some unusual abilities, second stage lensmen are superpowered mental powerhouses (and physical, depending on race) while stage 3 lensmen are just plain insane in power level. In all cases for equipment needs to be powerful enough to make up for the differences in physical abilities among the races. Kinnison is frequently massively outclassed in physical strength and toughness, but give him a delamiter and some armour and he'll take out anything that moves. Michael

This is how I would do it - you only have one real arm (small Phys Lim), and the replacement is a focus and takes damage using the focus rules. Michael

Well, to be fair I think for them it's normally used for physical and energy DR, where you can reasonably expect to find a very wide range of damage. For MD, it's expensive, but if you think about it it multiplys the effectiveness of MD by 2. So with a +1 advantage, it's increasing the cost from 30 pts to 60 pts. Effect from points spent on MD = +30 MD Effect from points spent on MDR = x2 Current MD So the benefits balance if you have 30 points of MD, while if you have more you're better off buying MDR, and if you have less you're better off buying MD. This assumes in both cases you've already brought Damage Reduction that works after defenses. With a +1 1/2 advantage, you're looking at the break even being 45 MD, which does seem a little high. I still think that it looks a reasonable costing for the physical/energy version, though. Michael

The Global Guardians website lists the following house rule additions for Damage Reduction. They reckon it's a +1 1/2, which sounds about right and has probably been play tested (I doubt the house rule was made up on a whim - it was probably for a specific character). Michael Damage Reduction: * Affects Non-Damaging Attacks (+¾): With this Advantage, the Damage Reduction reduces the effects of attacks which normally cause no damage (such as Flash attacks) if the attacks match the character's special effect. Example: Sunlight Man, a light-wielding character with Damage Reduction, would apply his Damage Reduction to any Flash attack whose special effect was bright strobes of light. * Damage Reduction can be applied first, before any applicable defenses, as a +1½ advantage.

Heh. In one of the Druss books (Druss the Legend, I think) there are two people watching Druss fight in a massed melee. One of them comments (heavily paraphased, it's been a while): "How has the man survived this long? He doesn't seem to defend himself at all." The reply: "His defense is that anyone within reach is already dead. And he has a longer reach than most people." I once built a fantasy NPC who was just supposed to be just that scary, so I added the construct: RKA 3d6K, Continuous (+1), 0 END (+1/2), AE 2" (+3/4), Selective (+1/4) [157 AP], No Range (-1/2), Must Be Aware of Target (-1/4), Only Up to Damage and Reach of Wielded Weapon (-1/4) [78 RP]. He normally carried a great axe with 1" Stretching with which he did (you guessed it) 3d6K damage. So, once he was in 'combat mode', if he noticed you coming within 1" of him, he could hit you immediately. And then on his turn, he could hit everyone within 1" without using an action! So he could still defend himself will dishing out insane quantities of damage to anyone who came anywhere near him. Or, if he was in a bad mood he could just smack you a second time. (He had some general combat levels and several PSLs to hit specific locations for when he wanted to kill people really dead). Unfotunately the campaign never got off the ground, so the players never saw him in action. They also never saw him get poisened the next night so that they'd have to try and take his place as the hero's of the nation ;-). Michael

Calm in Kalm? The inn was nice, and Nemo took advantage of the moment to relax on the bed. It turned out that Aeris was richer than she looked, and had been more than happy to hand over to Nemo and Tifa the payment they'd been promised for recovering her from Shinra - as well as paying for their stay in the inn. Nema had almost forgotton that he was suppose to have been paid for that, and it felt good to have some money to his name. Tifa and Aeris had set off into town to do some shopping - Tifa was still wearing the jump suit she'd put on to go and recover Aeris, which they had decided was a bit too noticable. Nemo was aware he'd need to pick up a change of clothes at some point (if just because he didn't want to smell too much), but had decided to take some time off first. Something was vaguely comforting about Kalm, and it seemed to wear it's name well. After a moments rest, Nemo got up and took a shower before crawling under the covers of the bed and falling asleep, his sword within easy reach. Nemo's sleep was deep and peaceful, until the sound of shattering glass woke him with a start. He rolled to his feet out of the bed, grabbing his sword as he rolled and glancing regretfully at his armour and boots - he was going to have to fight without them on this occassion. Standing by the window was one of the men in black, short sword in right hand, the gleaming metal of a throwing spike glittering in his left. Even as Nemo finished coming to his feet, more of them poored through the window into the large room until seven men stood before him. The man at the back glanced round the room. "She's not here. Kill the man - we'll get her when she gets back." He gestured, the only one of the seven without weapon in hand, and the other six moved forwards in a mixture of fighting stances. "Just. Great." Nemo growled out. "You guys. I don't suppose you'd tell me why you want to kill Aeris would you? We can fight at the same time?" he said as he attacked the nearest enemy. His sword swung up in a perfect arc, catching the nearest ninja in the chest and leaving a long bleeding scar. The man slumped down to his knees, down from pain and shock, but Nemo didn't think he'd stay there long. A hail of shurikens span towards him from one of ninja, one of them ripping open the sleeve of his top, and then the remaining four sword bearing ninjas were clustered around him, swords lashing out from all directions. Nemo span and duck, sparks flying as swords clashed. So far only his clothes had suffered damage, but the three long rips in his top told him he was relying heavily on his luck. He vaguely noticed through the melee that the larger man at the back hadn't moved, but was still standing by the window with his arms crossed, leaning casually on the wall. The furious melee continued, steel whistling through the air in gleaming arcs - and a single spray of blood as Nemo's sword connected with a second ninja. The wound didn't look serious, however. Meanwhile, Nemo's clothes were looking much the worse for wear, and scratches covered his upper body. The first ninja to have been hit was back on his feet already, looking worse of the blow, but back on the attack once more. Nemo was impressed by his determination. "Oh, you people just exist to irritate me don't you." Nemo said as he drew on his magical reserves. Leaping up to the leader of the ninja's, Nemo summoned the Blue Guardian in a burst of ruby light. Typhoon opened his eyes just in time for to see the foot that smashed into his face, carrying him back into a sword wielding ninja. The ninja leader looked to be smirking behind his face mask as he placed his foot back on the floor. "You more resourceful than I expected." He commented to Nemo. Typhoon levitated back to his feet, looking deeply pissed off. His eyes flashed green for a moment and then a beam of blue energy erupted out of his hands at the ninja leader, who calmly side stepped. The wall behind him blew out into the street, icicles forming on the rubble as it fell while the rest of the ninja's tried to dog pile onto Nemo while he was distracted by the casting. The first clean blow of the battle landed on him and he cursed in frustration - the wound wasn't deep, but it hurt like hell and enough of them would take him down. Before he could recover himself to launch attack of his own, the ninja leader started whipping throwing knives out from his clothes and hurling them in rapid succession - 3 of them struck home on Typhoon, two of them leaving gashes as they glanced off his blue, icey skin while the third stuck solidly in his flesh. Typhoon grunted in pain. "Bastards!" Nemo cursed. His sword lashed out, and cut one of the already injured ninjas down - that was one opponent down for the count. But there were still five of them on him and as the dance of steel continued he was caught by another blow. Like before, it wasn't serious, but he was starting to feel groggy from the cumulative effect. In their own little melee to one side, the ninja leader and Typhoon exchanged blows - the ninja landing a punishing axe kick that smashed Typhoon to the floor once more while easily dodging the return claw swipe. Nemo's frustration grew as he was kept at bay battling the swordsmen while the leader drove his fist deep into Typhoon's solar plexus and then, as Typhoon began to fold over the blow brought his foot smashing down on the back of Typhoon's head with shattering force. The floor boards under Typhoon's prone body groaned and bent under the force of the blow. The only thing to give him any satisfaction was the first ninja he'd wounded much earlier in the fight - the mans wounds had obviously caught up with him, and with a drunken leap he hopped out of the window. By the sound of his landing, he hadn't managed to hold it together long enough to reach the ground safely. As Typhoon drifted into unconsciousness, his body flashed red and dissappeared. "Utter bastards!" Nemo repeated. Nemo's sword dropped low to the ground as he brought it round, beginning to trail a thin stream of white light. Then, as the blade came round further, Nemo's limit break kicked in with force. "UPWARDS SPIRAL!" The blazing trail of light span out through the room in a tightly coiled rapidly expanding spiral, ripping the beds to pieces, demolishing the ceiling above Nemo's head and even taking out the floor under their feet. The ninja's were smashed outwards with violent force, crashing in to the walls around the room and rebounding to fall through the gaping hole to the ground floor below. Nemo took the fall with grace and landed lightly on the balls of his feet in front of the stunned inn keeper, while the ninja leader managed to rebound off the wall and land in an unsteady crouch. The rest of the ninja's lay still on the floor, blood oozing out around their prone bodies. Not letting go of his advantage, Nemo sprang towards the ninja, lashing out with his sword, but even injured the man was still fast, spinning to one side as the blade flashed past. "You realise you just made this personal, don't you?" said the ninja as he casually sidestepped a second blow. "Really? What a shame." Nemo said sarcastically, "You were out to kill one of my friends, moron. It was already personal." "Not for me - just doing my job. Now, if you want to get personal with my employer..." The black man lashed out three times, his fist clenched in a 'phoenix eye' with one knuckle protruding. Nemo felt two sharp bursts of pain from pressure points in his upper chest and managed to dodge to one side of the third blow. "Believe you me, I'd love nothing more than a little personal chat with your employer." Nemo said with a feral grin as he prepared to attack again. "Pity you'll never get the chance then," said the ninja, ducking under Nemo's sword and then smashing his fist into Nemo's face. Everything went red, and when his vision came back he was lying on the floor on his back. He barely had time to register the foot dropping towards his face before it hit. Then everything went black...

Return to the Sunlit Lands The four of them carried on swiftly through the caves, aided by Typhoon's almost instinctive knowledge of the cave layouts. The inhabitants of the caves made way from them with deep respect, and the wounded Blue Lion came to find them as they made their way to the surface, nuzzling Typhoon until Aeris healed most of it's massive injury with yet another Cura. Nemo's quick mental tally made him realise that Aeris most have access to twice as much mana or more than he did to keep up this level of spell casting - an impressive feat given his combat training and mako infused stature. As they walked, Tifa brought up something that seemed to have been troubling her for a while. "Nemo... did you fight down when we sparred?" "Apart from not using attacks that would have been lethal with even a practice sword, no. Why do you ask?" Nemo responded. "I've seen you fight several times now, and I just wanted to check something. I don't know if you've noticed..." she looked across at him, "...but you seem to be getting stronger. Your fighting style is becoming more refined, which might be explained by knowing about your amnesia - but you seem to be literally, physically stronger as well. You were handling your sword in that last fight in a way that you just didn't seem capable of when we were fighting that Turk guy." "Rude," said Aeris. "Really?" Nemo asked, "I hadn't noticed any difference myself, I did think I was being remarkably lucky in that last fight though. Have you noticed any difference in me Aeris?" He asked. "I'm not a fighter, Nemo. I haven't noticed a change in your abilities, but I've only seen you in two fights and I know little about fighting. Tifa, on the other hand, is a well known and respected martial artist with years of both being trained - and teaching others. I would think if any one was going to notice, it would be Tifa." "Well, I'll take your word for it." he said to Tifa. "I have no idea what whould cause it to happen though. If you could keep an eye on me and how I'm fighting I'd appreciate it." He finished. Tifa nodded. "I'm sure it's there, and I'll keep an eye out to see if it continues. But your a pretty good fighter already - if you're improving at this kind of rate in the course of days, you're going to be one of the best in very short order." "As an aside," Tifa continued, "your fighting style seems to be becoming more 'formal' as well - in the first sparring match we had, you seemed to be fighting on muscle memory and reflex. By the time we fought Rude, he noticed you were Soldier trained by your style. In that last fight... you were beginning to look like you were using the forms and kata of the Soldier style. I still think you're fighting on muscle memory more than knowledge, but you look to be remembering something by fighting." "Sounds like a reasonable explaination. I still can't remember my training, so muscle memory would be logical. I doubt I'll be quite as good as you suggest though. I've seen the best fight, and he could wipe the floor with several of me." Nemo said. Tifa didn't look convinced. The group continued their journey out of the caves, and after some brief checking around by Nemo of their location, set off towards the small town of Kalm. Typhoon resumed his gem form before they set out, and Nemo was aware of the red gem sitting mounted in his sword. It was odd to think that his friend was in there somewhere. They were getting quite a collection of materia now, he reflected. The Fira and the Summon in his own sword, Tifa appeared to be packing a Cure/All combo, and he was carrying a Barrier and what he thought was an Ica in his pocket. Aeris had already displayed use of a Cura and a Shield, and the magical might to back them up, but he wasn't sure what the gems were mounted in for use - or if she had any more. His musing was interrupted by Tifa. "Nemo... you're talking about following Sephiroth. What are we going to do if we catch up with him?" "Good question. I'm hoping he'll be able to tell me more about my past, and if he's against Shinra now, then I think that it might be worth seeing if he'll talk to us." Nemo sighed. "It is a long shot though. He may not be willing to talk to us. He may assume I'm working for Shinra, he knows I used to. If we do locate him I'd better go and talk to him alone. Even all of us together couldn't take Sephiroth, and if he get's angry then it's only my head on the block." Nemo said. "Oh and if either of you can think of a better idea than chasing Sephiroth, let me know, cause I really wouldn't mind hearing one." He finished. Tifa looked at Aeris who shrugged. "Away from Midgar is good enough for now," said Tifa. "Hopefully they'll work out we didn't do it at some point and we'll be able to go back." "I wouldn't hold out too much hope, even if they work out we didn't kill the president, they still want us for a jailbreak." Nemo said. "It may be a while before we can go back, and I for one, need to find out who the hell I am." Tifa gave him a quick hug. "Hey, don't worry. We'll find out what's happened to you." "I hope so, though I suspect it will not be easy. Your confidence is reassuring however. Thankyou." Nemo said sincerely. "Well, if it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing now, would it." Aeris grinned at Tifa's enthusiasm. "True." Nemo said. The trio walked in companionable silence for a little while before Nemo spoke again. "Why would Sephiroth want to kill President Shinra?" He said out of the blue. "What does he get out of it? Not power, Shinra corp. goes straight to Rufus now the president is dead. Revenge? But revenge for what?" Nemo shook his head in confusion. "Sorry." he said, sheepishly to the others. "It's been bothering me." Tifa shook her head. "It doesn't make any sense to me either. Sephiroth was the Shinra poster boy for the war - powerful, handsome and utterly dedicated to the cause. Of course, maybe if we knew where he dissappeared to, that might help answer the question." Aeris frowned as if thinking of something. "I wonder what stage things were at when he rescued you, Nemo. If he'd found out something during the war that changed his views, I don't think Shinra would have revealed his change of heart if they could have avoided it. Maybe he wasn't working as a Shinra fighter at that point, but had some other agenda. Once he rescued you and Typhoon unconscious, he could have taken you anywhere." "Fair point. We know that Shinra was using those black ninjas recently to help set up the serial killer story and capture you." He said to Aeris. "If they were using them when Typhoon and I were attacked by them it would imply that Sephiroth was working against Shinra even back then. Though why Shinra would have wanted to kill us I don't know." "I don't know if the man in black was from Shinra," said Aeris doubtfully. "Shinra don't want me dead - if they did, they would have killed me by now. Hojo wanted a legal excuse to take me away that he could use both with the locals and with the rest of Shinra. Whoever the assassin was, and whoever sent him, I don't think they expected me to live through the experience." She shivered at the memory. "He was definately doing his best to kill me." "I see. That means we have at least three groups of people to keep an eye out for." Said Nemo. "Shinra, Sephiroth, and the black ninjas. For some reason I doubt that we have to worry about Sephiroth working with either of the other two groups, but Shinra and the black ninjas might well be connected in some way." Nem shook his head in frustration. "The ninjas are the wild card. We need to know who they work for and what they want." "Well, from what you said about the attack on you and Typhoon, it sounds like they had some connection to Wutai. But I have no idea why they would attack me, if that's the case," said Aeris. Tifa was looking thoughtful. "I agree they don't seem Shinra's style - Shinra would just have used Soldier's dressed in black. Master Zangan did once speak of a group who used their martial arts prowess to develop their stealth and infiltration abilities. He said their chi mastery was great, but that their moral fibre was more lacking. He was using them as part of an example of why chi mastery shouldn't be an aim in and of itself - it doesn't make you a better person, it just gives you better tools. He didn't say much, but he did mention that they hire themselves out to the highest bidder most of the time. Which might explain why they could both work for Wutai during the war, and attack Aeris now. But why someone should hire them to attack Aeris I don't know." "They might not have been hired to attack me specifically," Aeris responded. "Remember there were a spate of murders in Midgar, all of materia users." "So, why would someone want to kill all the materia users in Midgar?" Nemo asked. "They'd never be able to get all the members of Soldier, so what would the purpose be? Unless they were just collecting materia for themselves or their employer." "Maybe they were looking for specific materia," said Tifa. "Aeris seems to have some more esoteric materia than you'd get by mugging a random soldier. Although why they wanted the 'grow pretty flowers real quick' materia I don't know." "Maybe that isn't all it does." Said Nemo. "It might be able to do other things that we aren't aware of. On the other hand, I can see people being interested in materia that could make crops grow faster, heathier and more plentiful. Could make someone rich." Aeris shook her head at the last. "I'm afraid it's not that powerful - it only effects a single plant at a time, and the effect only lasts for one day. I've been practising for years and I can only help about 20 plants a day. Great for bringing some colour into Midgar, not so good for growing crops." As they walked, the town of Kalm had come into view and the group were now drawing closer to the inhabitation. "Ah. I don't know about you two, but I see a comfortable bed in a hostelry of some sort in my near future." Nemo said with a smile as he saw the town ahead. Well, no action in this post, but Nemo's starting to get a chance to ask some of those questions that he's been waiting to ask. Speculation and comments are welcome from those reading along - given it's a solo game, I'm happy for Tim to get some inspiration from the peanut gallery given he doesn't have any other players to bounce ideas off of.

3rd stage lensmen are immortal Michael

Looks great fun . I haven't spotted any gaping problems rules mechanics wise, and given it looks like it's mainly a plot device anyway, I don't think that's too important. I would have no problem at all giving something like this to my players - the only thing that would even slow down the decision is the warp cannon, but it doesn't seem to amazingly over powered, so I'd probably let it slide. Michael

Dawning of the Light The Blue Guardian struggled slowly to his feet, wincing at the wounds across his body. "Tempest?" he asked, and with that one word Nemo collapsed to the ground, his sword clattering abandoned to the stone cave floor beside him. Tempest opened his eyes as he felt rain pounding down on him. Just for a moment, he had the strangest feeling he should be somewhere else - but it faded quickly as he surveyed the forest around him with practiced, professional eyes. There was nothing obviously wrong, but his instincts told him that his enemy was still out there. The man beside him seemed to agree. "Tempest, we've got company." The man's voice was low and level. Strangely, it took Tempest a moment to remember Typhoon's name - but as soon as he had, it fit as naturally as a glove. The man was tall and broad shouldered, and had a two-handed sword the twin of Tempest's own drawn and ready. His eyes showed the tell-tail signs of Mako infusion, and his blonde hair was cropped to a military buzz. Both of them wore the uniform armour of Soldier's special forces unit with practiced ease. Memories flowed easily through his mind - they had been hitting a Wutai unit behind enemy lines, depending on surprise and superior skill to cause heavy damage before pulling back. The hit had gone to plan, and the team had split up into pairs as planned to evade persuit as they left. But now, something was following them... something or someone that neither of the two had been able to get a clear sighting of, despite their Soldier training. "Whoever they are out there, they're damn good." Tempest said under his breath while scanning the area they were moving through. The two of them continued on towards the pick up point, scanning the trees as they went. Tempest reckoned they were about half a mile away from their destination when the first shuriken came flying in. Reacting on instinct, Typhoon batted the projectile out of the air with his sword. Tracing the path of the projectile back, the two of them spotted a figure in black readying a second throwing star - and now that they knew what they were looking for, they rapidly began to spot more and more of them, leaping from tree to tree through the forest after them - silent as shadows, black as the night, their faces covered by hoods and black cloth masks. They seemed both familiar and yet new to Tempest, but one thing was clear - they were heavily outnumbered by those he could see, and there were probably a lot more of them he hadn't spotted yet. Shaking off the feeling of deja-vu, Tempest settled into a battle stance. "My, haven't we become popular all of a sudden" He said, idly to Typhoon. Typhoon grinned. "Bit too popular if you ask me. I wasn't especially planning to make a heroic last stand today - race you to the pick up point?" "You're on." Said Tempest as he started running, still on guard for any attack. The two of them plunged on through the forest, each taking a side to cover with the ease of practiced team work. Tempest slipped easily into the rhythm of a long distance runner, covering the distance with calm precision. They never even saw the trap unto it was sprung. Some how, a contingent of the black clad figures had managed to get ahead of them, and as they burst into a clearing, the rain of shuriken started, darts of steel flicking out of the rain in flashes of reflected moonlight. Both of the the men brought their swords round in parrying arcs before them, ricocheting projectiles off in all directions - but there were too many, too fast. Behind him, Tempest heard a nasty gurgle from Typhoon and the sound of a body falling to the floor. Warm blood trickled down him from several wounds. And then... ...he was standing in a forest glade, the night dark and raining. Lightning flashed down nearby, impacting close enough that the ground beneath his feet shock. He was bleeding from several wounds, and twisting back and forth in the middle of the clearing trying to look in all directions at once. In the forest around him, black shapes slipped back and forth, and then suddenly, as the next lightning bolt hammered down, the shapes leapt into the clearing as one. 6 figures, all clothed in black, carrying short straight edged blades. Moving in lazyily crossing circles, they surrounded him, slowly closing. He knew that he wasn't good enough to take all of them, and with the calmness of imminent death he raised his sword into fighting position one last time. And then, down from the sky plummeted his dues ex machina. Sephiroth dropped, hair billowing behind him, Masamune outstretched in his hand with materia studded around it's hilt. There was a flash of green... ...and as the glow of the healing spell faded, Nemo/Tempest found himself looking up into the gentle eyes of Aeris. Beside him, Tifa was shouting at the confused looking guardian. "What have you done to him!" She yelled, fists raised in front of her again. Nemo/Tempest smiled back at Aeris, before attempting to stagger back to his feet. "Well, that was educational." He said to himself as he levered himself upright. "He didn't do anything to me Tifa. He just triggered some bad memories that I'd forgotten, that's all." Nemo/Tempest turned to the blue figure. "I thought you were dead. Why are you blue and homicidal instead?" Nemo asked him. "Hey, I'm not homicidal. I think." Typhoon rubbed his jaw in comtemplation and nearly sliced himself open with the icey blue claws on his hand. "Damn it! Anyway, I don't have a clue. Last thing I remember, we were in a forest getting chased by some ninja dudes and then I got hit in the throat by a piece of metal. I have some vague memory of Sephiroth dropping out of the sky, and then everything going green." He looked down. "Then I wake up in some weird glowy mako spring, with a blue body bleeding anti-freeze and feeling battered as hell." "Cura," said Aeris. The guardian's wounds closed immediately. "Er... thanks. Tempest - what the hell is going on?" "I'm not entirely sure. I'm reasonably willing to bet that Hojo has something to do with the reason you're blue and formerly homicidal, but beyond that all we know for certain is that president Shinra is dead, and in all likelyhood he was killed by Sephiroth." Said Tempest/Nemo. "We were trying to get outside the city through these caves when we ran into you. You said something about not letting us defile this place then you attacked." Tempest/Nemo smiled. "We gave you a good kicking, and when you regained consciousness you were making sense again. Like old times really." he said with a small chuckle. "Nemo," said Tifa. "Why is this guy calling you Tempest? And what's this about Hojo?" Tempest ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "He's calling me Tempest because it's my name." He said quietly. "Until he said it just now, I couldn't remember what my name was." Tempest looked up at the three others in turn and then looked away again before continuing. "A few days ago I woke up in the Sector 7 train station waiting room. I couldn't remember anything relating to myself before that point. Hell, I had to find a mirror just to learn what I looked like. I could remember skills, I knew I could fight, I had my sword and armour and I could remember current events up to just after the war finished. So I gave myself a name, and I went out to find mercenery work. I knew I had to have been in Soldier because I recognised the glow in my own eyes, but I didn't think going to them for information would be safe. I've been remembering bits and pieces in flashes over the last few days. I remember all sorts of stuff about Shinra training and tactics. I remember being experimented on by Hojo, that's why I was so interested in getting Aeris out of there. I remember the last mission Typhoon and I were on during the war. We were making our way out to the extraction point when we were attacked by a group of ninja. All dressed in black, all with short swords and shuriken. We were losing, Typhoon here caught a shuriken to the throat, and then, just as we were about to be overwhelmed, Sephiroth arrived and took them out. I don't remember anything after that until a few days ago." Tempest paused for a moment. "As for Hojo, if he got to me, then he could have gotten to Typhoon, and I don't know anyone else who does experiments with mako infusion that could have caused him to change blue the way he has." Tempest stopped and looked up at the others waiting for their reaction. Tifa managed to look both surprised and as if pieces were falling into place at the same time. "So that's why you had the skills and the knowledge - but not the rep. And why you were willing to help rescue Aeris for so little money." She paused as Typhoon fell bonelessy to the floor. "Hey, that's exactly what you did when he mentioned your name!" Aeris stood looking at Nemo calmly. Tempest moved over to check on Typhoon. As he was doing so he looked up at Aeris. "You don't appear too surprised by all this?" Aeris tipped her head to one side slightly as if considering. "No, not really." She smiled. "I'm not really sure how mercenary swordsmen are supposed to act so I have very few expectations." Typhoon groaned slightly, and sat up as Tempest knelt down beside him. "You just had to remind me, bro, didn't you? I remember Hojo now. Not something I really felt the need to be reminded of. I just wish I could remember anything else... now that I've had a moment to catch myself - the only things I can remember are that last run through the forest and some flashes of being in a tank in a lab." "I know one thing, though." He continued, "I didn't have this body in the lab. It feels... different. And it has overlays of something more primal in my mind, too. I feel an urge to protect this place, and the mako springs in general. It's as if I'm driven to protect the planet in some way. I'm also become instinctively aware of knowledge about myself - I know that I can project icey bolts of energy, and that if I'm taken out of a high mako area I'll quickly die. This is really, really, weird." "I could never work out whether the memories of Hojo are from before or after that mission. I can't imagine I'd continue to work for Shinra after they put me through that though." Tempest shook his head. "Wait, you can't leave here?" he asked Typhoon. "He seems to have become an esper," said Aeris. "A creature of magic. I can't see how it's possible, but if it's true the only way for him to leave here would be to place himself in a summoning materia. At that point he would be able to travel, and could function briefly in the world outside when fed mana by who ever carried the materia in a slot. I'm not sure if we'd be able to communicate with you while you are in the materia," she said to Typhoon, "it's not something I really have any experience of. Of course, next time we came to a high mako area - poof, you'd be able to operate independantely again." "Not exactly the greatest of news. The question is, how the hell did you end up like this in the first place? But I don't think there is any way to answer that right now." Tempest looked at the others. "So. What do we do now? Firstly, Typhoon, do you want to do what Aeris suggested? And secondly, Where do we head for once we get out of Midgar? Any suggestions?" Typhoon considered for a while. "I don't think I want to stay here, now that I'm lucid. It's not like there's anyone to talk to, and going indefinately without company wouldn't be any fun at all. Being put in a materia doesn't sound too much fun either, but it sounds like I might be able to communicate with whoever carries me - and even if I can't, I'll at least be able to spend some time with people when we reach high mako areas." "As to where we go next, I can't really help with my memory so crippled. I remember the basic geography, but not any personal details." Tifa shrugged. "I'm afraid I'm a city girl at heart, and have been for most of my adult life. My home village is a long way from here." Aeris nodded. "I've never left Midgar before - I'm afriad I can't help you much." Tempest's memories of the area were surprisingly detailed when he thought about it. He soon realised why - his military training seemed to have included an analysis of likely ways of Midgar being attacked, and the corresponding defenses. Unfortunately, the topographical knowledge of the area didn't seem to be answering any of the questions he had about where. Small villages dotted the surroundings, but he remembered very little of them apart from the fact that Shinra's military rated them as 'expendable' in case of attack - the people would be given instructions to evacuate to Midgar. "We'll head to Kalm." he said. "It's small enough not to have any Shinra troops stationed there, and large enough that we won't cause a stir. We should be able to stock up on provisions too. Then we need to try to work out where Sephiroth went, and what the hell he's up to." Tempest turned to Aeris and Tifa. "I think I'll carry on using the name 'Nemo' for now. I don't know if there are people looking for 'Tempest' and I'd rather not find out the hard way." Tempest, now Nemo again looked back at Aeris, "Aeris? How do we go about putting Typhoon here in a materia?" he asked. "We ask him to change into a materia. If he has actually become an Esper, he will be able to do it at will. Alternatively, we could beat him to the point of death and it would happen as an instinctive response - but I don't think that would be a good idea." She beamed at Typhoon. "Damn straight." Typhoon replied under his breath. "You'd probably best show us how it's done then." said Nemo, smirking as he spoke. "Then we should get out of here and head for Kalm." Typhoon shrugged. "Lets see what happens. You got a free slot on that sword of yours to strap me into?" Nemo made certain that only the fira materia was attached to his sword before nodding once. "Ready and waiting." He said. Typhoon walked over to Nemo and looked at the sword doubtfully. "Well, here goes nothing." There was a flash of red light which swiftly contracted towards the materia slot on Nemo's sword, leaving a gleaming red crystal. There was a brief pause, and then all three of them saw the red veins in the cave withdrawing faster and faster towards the central pedastal, leaving a dazing pure blue-green light. Within moments, the red taint was gone, and a green gem lay on top of the pedastal. "That seemed to work, though we appear to have an unexpected byproduct." said Nemo as he wandered over to the pedestal. "Anyone care to place a bet on this being some kind of ice materia?" he said as he picked it up. *Are you there Typhoon?* He asked silently in his mind. There was a brief pause and then Typhoon reappeared in a burst of red light. "Could you hear me?" he asked. "No. Could you hear me?" Nemo responded. "No, not a thing. It was odd though... I didn't feel constrained at all while I was in the gem. It felt very natural." Typhoon glanced down at the slot on Nemo's sword. "You don't mind if I don't change till we get near to the caves exit though, do you?" "Of course not." Said Nemo. "It's rather a shame we can't talk while you're materia, having voices in my head would have been amusing." Nemo looked at everyone. "All ready to move? We should get out of here as soon as we can. Once we are outside the city it will be much harder for them to track us." he said.

Hey! I like the idea of Comliness that does KB. Although I'd probably buy it as some kind of NCC No range explosive energy blast, does no damage, only effects socks... "I'm so good looking I'll knock your socks off!" Michael

Yes. These are in fact forms for Tifa to use in my FF7 game Michael

I don't know if any of you remember NSG's excellent Wheel of Time martial arts forms (a search for Wheel of Time should bring them up), but I was thinking of creating something similar for a pbem game I'm running. Below is the martial maneuvers available to the character in question in games mechanics terms, what I'm looking for is descriptive 'forms' that she can use in character for descriptive purposes. So instead of using a punch w/levels in OCV, she can unleash the 'Flower Greets the Dawn' form upon her opponent. I could (and will) make up descriptions on the spot, but I think it would be nice to have some consistant flavour bits. I've included some starter ideas below, both in the hope that others would find them useful for their own flavour, and also in the hope that others would add more. BTW, the character who will be using these forms can be found on this thread. Zangan-Ryu Martial Arts 4 1) Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 2) Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 25 STR to Disarm roll 4 3) Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 5 4) Flying Kick/Roundhouse Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 6d6 Strike 4 5) Punch/Elbow/Knee: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 5d6 Strike 3 6) Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 3d6 +v/5, Target Falls 3 7) Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 4d6 Strike, Target Falls Martial Arts Forms: Flower Greets the Dawn (Offense) Maneuver: Punch Skill Levels: OCV Notes: Series of rapid hand feints followed by a single punch (Defense) Maneuver: Block Skill Levels: OCV Notes: Active beating aside of attacks Tail Brushes the Ground (Offense) Maneuver: Legsweep Skill Levels: DCV Notes: Defensive maneuver that keeps the fighter low to the ground (Defense) Maneuver: Dodge Skill Levels: DCV Notes: Low stance used to evade high attacks Moon Crescent Kick (Offense) Maneuver: 'Roundhouse Kick' Skill Levels: DCs Notes: Requires a half-phase acrobatics roll before the attack, bonus to OCV. Attack is a backflip connecting with both feet (Defense) Maneuver: Dodge Skill Levels: DCV Notes: Backflip away from attack Rising Storm Circle (Offense) Maneuver: Flying Kick Skills Levels: DCs Notes: Aerial spinning kick that connects with great force (Defense) Maneuver: Dodge Skills Levels: DCV Notes: Acrobatic leap over a low blow Inviting Embrace (Offense) Maneuver: Throw Skill Levels: OCV/DCV equal split Notes: 'Embrace' a limb that is reaching towards fighter, and toss opponent to ground (Defense) Maneuver: Block, Throw Levels: OCV/DCV equal split Notes: As above Bird Flies the Nest (Offense) Maneuver: Disarm Levels: OCV (Defense) Maneuver: Disarm (with held action) Levels: OCV Michael

Just a rambling comment on the game so far. Never underestimate your players luck. You would not believe how lucky Tim is being in this game - and I'm doing all the (electronic) dice rolling at my end. He rarely gets hit despite largely ignoring defense, smacks his opponents with great regularity even when he has the lower CV, and occassionally pulls out the most extreme damage rolls (that final blow to the guardian was 22 BODY/88 STUN on a 4d6+1K attack) when he needs them. Tifa, on the other hand, comes across as being the incompetant damsel in distress, despite the fact that on paper she is actually the better fighter - faster, does as much damage and has a martial arts package. Doesn't seem to help her, though. Never mind... Anyway, hope you're enjoying the story so far. For those of you who are interested, the Guardian used the Lesser Demon stats from the HERO Bestiary. The only change was to remove his damage shield. I was expecting him to give them a better fight... Michael

I still think I had the simplest upgrade to 4th ed (250pt) seeker. Give him 75% Resistant damage reduction, Energy and Physical, with the 'Luck based' disad. 80pts. Add 4 levels with DCV or HTH, or mixed to choice. Michael

Caves of Light The party of three moved quickly through the caves, picking tunnels almost at random while trying to move in a constant direction. Flashes of movement around them let them know that they were under observation, but mostly whatever creatures were down here were staying away. The eerie light lent a strange sheen to proceedings, and while it was beautiful Nemo could begin to feel it preying on his nerves. The only person who seemed unaffected was Aeris, who still looked completely calm and unconcerned. Continuing forward, the three of them emerged into a large cavern, high ceilinged and about 30 meters across. In the strange light and the reflective surfaces, Nemo moved forwards a few meters before realising three things. Firstly, there appeared to be no other exits from the room. Secondly, two large birdlike creatures were circling up above them in the cave. And finally, there was a disturbing growling noise coming from the tunnel behind them... Nemo moved into the middle of the cavern and turned to face whatever was making the noise. "Looks like the upper end of the food chain has caught up with us. I suspect we're going to have to userp it's position." He said with a grim smile as he drew his sword. A large cat prowled out of the cavern entrance. Easily as large as Nemo, the strips on it's sides match closely the colours of the cave rock. Overhead, a piercing cry like an eagles rang out, and Nemo got the strange impression that the three creatures would all ally against them. He locked eyes with the cat while a mexican stand off began to build. A soft voice whispered in his ear. "Careful of the Blue Lion. They're tough, but they have a weakness to energy attacks. The Thunder Birds are much more vulnerable to physical attacks, but they might rely on their lightning strikes and not come within range." Aeris appeared to have some knowledge of the caves denisens. Beside him, Nemo could feel Tifa tense for combat, and half turn to cover his back from the birds. "Everyone ready?" Nemo asked as he charged up his magic. The Blue Lion bounded forwards at the first sign of the magic, rapidly covering the ground between it and Nemo. At the same time, one of the birds plummeted down towards Nemo from behind. With a loud cry, Tifa lept to meet it, her out stretched foot hammering into it 3 meters above the ground. There was a nasty crunching of soft bird bones, and both dropped back down to the ground, Tifa landing neatly on the balls of her feet while the bird bouncing to a halt at her feet unconscious. The bird's companion screamed in rage, and a power bolt of lightning arced out of it's body down to the floor, missing Tifa as she twisted aside. Nemo continued powering up the Fira spell as the lion closed, beginning to wonder if he'd made a mistake in trying to supercharge it at this point. As the lion reared to bite, the spell finally went off. The Blue Lion sensed the release of the spell at the last moment and abandoned it's attack to twist to one side as the immense bolt of flame roared past it. Had it paused to examine the impact crater in the wall behind it, it wouldn't have regretted it's decision. Tifa, always alert to an opponent's distraction, chose that moment to step in and boot it in the side, but the lion was still twisting and it's thick hide robbed the blow of it's power. Nemo ignored defense and finesse, swinging his sword in a mighty overhand strike that concentrated on nothing but raw power. Fortunately for him, the Blue Lion was sufficiently distracted that it didn't see the blow coming. The sword cleaved through flesh and bone, leaving a gaping scar through the creatures rib cage, a huge but not deep wound. It looked like it might be fatal, but Nemo didn't have time to look more closely as a second lightning bolt slamed down from above. Nemo's hair stood on end, partly from the closeness of the strike, and partly from Tifa's scream of agony as she collapsed to the cave floor. "Cure," came a calm, reserved voice from beside him, and the green healing glow hit Tifa before her body had fully settled to the floor. Her eyes snapped open and she shook off the effects of the blast, nodding in thanks to Aeris. Between the pain of it's wound and the numbers against it, the lion decided this wasn't the best meal available and ran, leaving a wide trail of blood as it fled back through the door of the chamber. Nemo growled and looked up, then pointed his sword directly at the flying avain. The flaming bolt of a Fira spell struck the thunderbird dead on, incinerating it before it hit the ground. Nemo turned to Tifa, "Are you ok? That bolt looked like it hurt." He asked as he put his sword away. "Yeah," she said nodding, and catching her breath. "To both." She turned to Aeris and smiled, "Thank you! I really needed that." Aeris smiled a bright beaming smile. "No problems. I'm not a fighter, but I like to think I can help out regardless." "I don't think anyone here is going to disagree with you on that one. I'm glad to have you with us." Said Nemo with a smile. "Let's get our breath back and then move on. This obviously isn't the way out." "Thank you!" Aeris grinned at Nemo, who was reminded of just how beautiful both his companions were. "My pleasure." Nemo replied with a grin of his own as he sat down to recover for a moment. "Aeris?" Tifa asked. "Yes?" "You seem to know a lot about the creatures down here, but you said you'd never come far into the caves. How did you learn about them?" "I dream about them." Aeris smiled at Tifa. Nemo raised an eybrow, but didn't comment, allowing Tifa to respond. "Dream about them?" Tifa tried to keep any hint of emotion out of her voice. "Yes. I frequently dream of the caves and their inhabitants. Sometimes there are people in the dreams fighting in the caves, which is where I learnt the vulnerabilities, sometimes I just watch the creatures living their lives. They don't need to eat, you know, living this close to a Mako source and having mutated this far. It gives them much more time to play than normal animals, and makes them much more peaceable towards each other." As Aeris spoke the party continued on down a tunnel, sloping further down underground. "I've always wondered why they're so aggressive to outsiders, though. They seem to have no violence with in the society of the cave, no fighting or aggression towards each other. What makes them so defensive about outsiders that they won't even try to reason or communicate with them?" "Maybe they've learned to fear humans." Nemo said. "After all, this is just the sort of place Hojo would love to come to get specimens for his experiments. His work involves mako infusion, and these creatures would give him information on the effects of long term mako exposure. If there are other entrances to this place he might have found one." Nemo paused. "On the other hand, the creatures may just be highly territorial." He shrugged and turned to Aeris. "Do you have any other interesting dreams?" He asked, smiling. "Yes." Aeris stated. "But I don't remember many of them. I'd dreamt of the train a few weeks back, so I knew I didn't have to be worried about you hurting Rude badly, or me being taken to the upper city. Most of the dreams don't seem to be about the future, though. Some of them are about the past, some of them I have no idea. And some of them seem to just be dreams." "I don't remember my dreams." Said Nemo. "I've yet to decide whether that is a good thing or not." Nemo turned to look at Aeris. "Shinra will probably send the Turks after us you know." "That will be the least of our problems," Aeris said with a smile. "They're loyal enough that they will obey the order to come after us, but they will not want to hurt me, and by extention my friends. Oh, they'll try and stop us alright, but as long as we don't try too hard to kill or maim them it shouldn't get too nasty." The tunnel they were in curved round sharply to the right, and Nemo began to notice a reddish tinge to the crystals of the walls, and the light they were giving out. It reminded him of something, but as normal he wasn't able to place what. "I'll bear that in mind next time we meet them." Nemo said. "The crystals are becoming more red in colour here, I wonder what causes the colour change." he pondered idly as he walked onwards. Aeris stopped to examine them a bit more closely. "I'm not sure. Normally, I would expect the blue colouring to get stronger and stronger as we moved towards the centre of the caves. Sometimes tending towards green if the Mako source is a Magic materia spring. But red... I wasn't expecting this. But then I've never been to a materia spring - my knowledge is based on tales told and dreams dreamed." "Well, if that's the case, maybe it's a summon materia spring, they're red after all." Suggested Nemo. "In any case, let's be careful, this doesn't feel right" "But it can't be!" Aeris was adamant. "Summon materia don't grow in the springs, like other materia. They're created when a esper choses or is forced to place their power at anothers command so that they can leave a high Mako area." Nemo was sure were the knowledge came from, but on reflection he knew this to be true. The tunnel was growing redder now, but all three of them knew that this was the only tunnel that carried them further in the right direction. Tifa was looking even more unhappy than when she first entered the tunnels. "In which case we should be on our guard." Said Nemo. "I have a bad feeling about this place." He finished, looking uneasy. The tunnel behind him collapsed in a roar of falling rock, a cloud of dust billowing over the three of them. Nemo coughed a little and quickly looked for the two ladies. "Are you two ok?" He asked. "Yes." Aeris' response was swift and calm. "Unhurt." Tifa's response was equally quick, but she didn't sound happy. "I don't think that was an accident," said Aeris, looking pointedly down the tunnel towards the redder areas. "Yeah." said Nemo. "I got that impression too. My guess is that there is something nasty a little ways ahead." Nemo shook his head and unsheathed his sword. "Shall we go and find out what it is?" he asked. The party moved forwards down the tunnel, all three of them wary and ready. As they moved forwards, the tunnel grew redder and begin to widen slightly, and then suddenly expanded into a large cavern about 50 meters in radius. In the centre of the cavern a natural pedestal of rock thrust out of the floor, and something from Nemo's hidden past told him that this is where the materia would form in a Mako spring. In the centre of the room was a figure with arms crossed and eyes closed, his chest slowly rising and falling. He could almost have been asleep had he not been floating in a vertical position a meter above the pedestal. Humanoid in shape, his features seemed slightly blurred, and despite a complete lack of clothes he lost no modesty. His skin and long hair were all different shades of blue. Nemo found him disturbingly familiar. As they entered stepped into the cavern, his eye lids snapped open, and they saw that where his eyes should be were only glowing pits of green the colour of magic materia. "You should not have come to defile this place." The voice echoed with power, filling the whole huge chamber with ease. His hands uncrossed, and as he opened his palms in front of him blue energy formed spheres above his hands. (Ice magic,) thought Nemo. "We didn't come here to defile anything." Said Nemo. "We just want to get out of the city above. If you can point us to an exit, we'll get out of your way." "Too late for that now, human! You should not have come to this place!" The spring guardian raised both hands in front of him and let loose a stream of blue energy at the party. Nemo jinxed to one side as the beam of energy lanced out towards him, but he realised even as he did it that the guardians accuracy wasn't up to the task at this range. The impact of the beam into the cavern wall lead him to believe that continuing not to be hit would be wise, however. Beside him, Tifa took advantage of the guardian's distraction to explode forwards like a sprinter coming off the blocks, covering almost half the distance across the cavern in a straight line dash, beforing slowing to a more reasonable pace as the guardian began to charge a second bolt. Aeris, calm and slightly smiling even in the middle of a fight, reached out and touched Nemo as he came back up out of his dodge. "Shield," she said, and Nemo felt the magical protection form around him. He was surprised by the level of power he felt her put into the spell - it would last for some time. The guardian let loose with a second beam of energy, but Tifa slipped past it like a boxer slipping past a punch and continued to close the range. Nemo charged forwards as the Guardian unleashed yet another blast at Tifa, who continued to weave her way forwards through the hail of fire. Tifa's progress was being slowed by her weaving and twisting, but the distance was closing fast. Noticing the icey claws protruding from the Guardians fingers, Nemo was wondering if this was a good thing. Cursing his lack of Mana in his mind, Nemo launched himself forwards towards his opponent, covering nearly 14 meters in a single, bounding arc, while Tifa continued her more cautious approach. Then as Nemo's feet hit the ground, the blue figure finally moved. Upright, and with it's legs still crossed at the ankles, the figure sped forwards through the air towards him, clawed hands spread wide. "You will die for entering this place, human!" stated the blue skinned figure as he attempted to dismember Nemo, who ducked to one side and brought his sword swinging round in a blow that would have eviserated a normal man instantly. There was a nasty grating noise as the blade connected, like metal on rock, and the impact shuddered up through Nemo's shoulders. Looking surprised, the Guardian was flung backwards a good 4 meters by the blow, but managed to roll to one side as Tifa leapt over with a dropping axe kick and lash out in response with his claws. The claws bit deep into Tifa's flesh, and with a grunt of pain she folded up around the wound and collapsed to the floor. Smirking, the Guardian levitated back up to his feet, and beckoned Nemo towards him. Grimly silent, Nemo leapt forwards and swung his sword down in a mighty blow. Unfortunately, the Guardian was ready this time, and barely moved as the sword ploughed into an ice formation on his shoulder. "You'll have to try harder than that, meat," said the Guardian, grinning evilly. The Guardian lashed out once more with his claws, and Nemo lent to one side as they whistled past. "Pot, kettle..." Nemo muttered under his breath with a strained smile. His sword came whistling round again, scoring a ringing blow on the floor. Tifa twitched slightly as she lay curled up on the floor, and Nemo was vaguely aware of Aeris getting closer behind him. Nemo sidestepped yet an other claw blow and then saw his opening and struck. The blow was true, an all-out two-handed swing that caught the Guardian squarely across the center of the chest, carrying him in a high arcing flight to land 14 meters away. To Nemo's side, Tifa took the opportunity to stagger to her feet, and then cast 'Heal' on herself. The cut across her stomach closed immediately, leaving unmarred skin under a tear in her top. "He is so going down." Her voice was low and dangerous. The guardian levitated upright once more, a large but shallow gash across his torso slowly leaking a thick, blue liquid. "Die!" he hissed, the icey blue lashing out once more at Nemo and catching his shoulder armour. The force of the blow twisted him slightly to one side, but did no real damage. "I think not." Nemo grated out as he charged back at the creature. The guardian slide smoothly to one side of the charging swordsman, and his clawed gleamed in the red light of the cave. Nemo was aware of Tifa not following him, and Aeris seemed to have moved up to join the bar maid. Nemo winced in pain as the gleaming claws slash across his chest, leaving a thin, bloody gash. Behind him he heard the sounds of Tifa moving back up to join the fray. The three combatants circled, the Guardian and Nemo lashing out at each other as Tifa moved in to try and grasp the blue monster. At the last moment he twisted to one side, not allowing himself to be immobilsed. The furious melee continued, the guardian knocking aside Nemo's sword and then burying his claws in Nemo's gut causing excruciating pain. Desperate to stop Nemo being struck down as he fought down the pain, Tifa grabbed the guardian - only to learn something else about him. The guardian's supernatural strength enabled him to break free of Tifa's grip without being slowed down. Nemo tried to lurch to one side as the next blow came in, but was too slow, catching another scar across his upper arm. The guardian raised it's hand for a finishing blow, but was distracted by a solid kick in the small of the back. The guardian span on Tifa, lashing out with yet another raking blow that caught her shoulder, spinning her away from the combat. Furious rage laying across her face, she kipp-uped back to her feet and headed back towards the fight. Through the pain and the rage, Nemo felt his spirit flooding up within him, filling him with power... "I'm going to make you pay for that!" Growled Nemo as he prepared to attack again. Light erupted out of Nemo's sword as he brought it up, bleaching the whole cavern with brilliant white light and smashing in to the Guardian's jaw with the force of a freight train. Blue ichor splashed in an arc as the guardian was flung across the cave into the far wall with bone shattering force. There was a brief pause as the guardian lay still, and then he twitched, starting to lever his body back into a sitting position. Nemo stared in amazement. A blow like that would have left a normal man in two seperate pieces. "Did you have to knock him so far?" said Tifa as she took off at a sprint towards the guardian before he could recover his poise. "My apologies." Said Nemo as he followed her. The Guardian looked up, blinking at the two charging figures. His face looked different, and more familiar somehow - and then Nemo placed it. His eyes had faded from solid green of a magic materia, to human mako infused eyes. "What the..." the figure started scrambling to his feet and then stopped as he caught sight of his blue tinged body. "I've gone blue!" Nemo paused in his charge, and settled into a wary, ready stance. "Are you ready to talk now?" he called out.

I always liked the approach of Morden in Babylon 5. "What do you want?" You'd be surprised by player responses sometimes, and how unsharp they can be on occassion. I once played an NPC in a larps session who offered PCs what they _really_ wanted. In exchange for a unspecified favour of his choice, at the time of his chosing. The oath would then be mystically bond. Out of the 20-30 people there, 3 took up the offer with qualification or haggling. I was, to say the least, shocked. Especially given that the guy was a) willing to deal fairly if asked (he struck genuinely mutually beneficial deals with several people), and fairly obviously a demon worshipping evil vampire had they bothered to think about things for even a moment. Rather fortunately for the three characters involved, someone else ambushed the guy and killed him on the way home, having realised who he was. Michael

The Empress . (A (very) powerful psychokinetic from Surbrook's Kazei 5 universe)

With the description given, is there anyone this guy can't effect? Even the best of heroes is going to have a negative response to something at some point - and then blam! Perminant mind control. How about using normal mind control (rather than NND), but basing the level you need to achieve on how evil the target is rather than how averse they are to the action being suggested. Has the right flavour, and favours the PCs (assuming they're heroic) so they're not going to complain too much. And it means that his loyalest minions will be the people who started off evillest. (Is it a word?) Michael