"All right," Dr. Jetsetter is clearly now putting all of his brainpower on the subject. "Here's a possible plan. Let's say we have two teams: a fire and fury team and a dark and sneaky team.

"Team Fire and Fury should strike at a nearby, viable military target. I think there's a tobacco factory nearby, but maybe there's a better option, since cigarettes could eventually do our job for us against the Nazis. They just take a little bit too long. At least damaging the operation may demoralize the bastards if they can't get a smoke.

"Hopefully, Fire and Fury draw in any nearby Nazi forces, at which point Team Dark and Sneaky make for the artifact at the church.

"We still need a good insertion and evac plan, one that has an added option not involving Mr. Off Ramp there in case he buys the farm at some point (just saying kiddo)."

"Cigarettes sharpen the intellect and calm the spirit, friend Jetsetter, so THAT is a good reason to take them out of their hands. I like your plan."

Yeah that plan makes sense, so anybody have any ideas how to take card of transportation?

In reply to Dr. Jetsetter (msg # 110):

Off Ramp stares at the scientist for a bit. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence Doc. You are not gonna need any heart medication for this trip, are you?" He smirks at the Genius.

"Anyways, having a back plan for evac might be a good idea. I am almost 100% sure I can get us inside-especially if everybody wants to not use me to get the city and country in the first place." He grumbled.

"Unless someone has an alternate means of transportation, it would seem that our only two options are Off-Ramp and an airplane," Nocturne suggests.

"Stealing an aircraft should not be beyond our abilities, but we first have to find one. We should make sure we know where the three closest airfields are."

"So if we fly in, are we parachuting down, or can you do that, Off-Ramp? Or are we risking landing?"

In reply to Nocturne (msg # 114):

"I can make it there in 3 jumps, maybe 5 if you want to avoid Germany. From where we are standing." He said. "That's like 3-5 minutes if we want to be careful."

This message was last edited by the player at 23:28, Sun 24 Sept 2017.

Red smiled" who needs a plane when you have a 40 foot dragon. I can take all of you on my back if required but please don't make it a habit I'm not some work horse I am a regal noble creature....or so they keep telling me at high command" he added with a chuckle

Igor strokes his chin as he listens to Red speak. "Big red dragon would be big red target, yeah? Can you... make invisible? Somehow keep from nazi trackers?"

Agent Mullalley listens to all the ideas thrown about by various team members as does the Brigadier. She holds her hands out to still the storm of voices around her; "OK easy easy, stand down everyone. Thank you. OK those are all some great ideas but we do have a plan to get you in there. Like I said earlier we have operations going on to air-drop supplies to partisans. We fly transports in low once they are past air support range. The team can be on one of the transports and Off Ramp could gate everyone down into the Carpathian Mountains. That should put him close enough to try and view the location remotely and move the team in. While taking out a cigarette factory is a nice distraction idea with the possibility of Black Sun special ops, including sorcerers, it would be best to have team at full strength not split-up. Certainly any gadgets that Dr. Jetsetter can cook up would be handy once you are all in."

OOC: One thing I forgot, everyone has one permanent Competency Die and three Temporary Competency Dice to add to their characters. The original players as a reward from the last mission and the new people because I like keeping everyone at the same advancement....consider it from past exploits.

Permanent Competency Dice can be kept in the Competency Dice pool and refresh after every mission. They can also be used to improve Resistances, Aptitudes, or Powers as well as buying Boosts/Advantages or buying off Complications/Disadvantages. Purchases of additional dice in a Power, a Boost to a Power, a new Advantage, or a new Power should make narrative sense and be reviewed with me beforehand. It is also important to note that a 5D cap on Resistances and Powers remains, going to 6D once players get to the 24D hero level (currently at 21D).

Temporary Competency Dice only go into the Competency Dice pool and will only be usable in the next mission, disappearing afterwards as opposed to refreshing like a permanent Competency Die.

"Not to be a wet blanket," Nocturne replied, "but does your gate ability automatically compensate for angular momentum, Off Ramp?"

"It would appear that it does, somehow, for otherwise whenever you gated from one location to another, you would have the same momentum and direction as the previous location. The surface of the earth moves at roughly 1,000 miles per hour."

"The plane will be traveling about 200mph when the supplies are dropped. If we gate to the ground at that time, will we still have that same momentum? I don't relish taking a 200mph tumble to the ground!"

He wasn't even sure his magic could let him deal with that. No doubt, though, that the dragon could handle it. He didn't yet know the others well enough to say whether they could.

In reply to Nocturne (msg # 119):

"Ahhhh...I don't think so?" He said, not sounding sure at all. "Its not able to handle anything more than 800 pounds or so, but when I have jumped through I keep going to the other side...but when I was falling once I did manage portal out of it in order to land without killing myself."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Thu 28 Sept 2017.

OOC: So for Off-Ramp's teleportation/gate ability it certainly takes into account the rotation of the Earth. As far as gating to the ground I would say it would be a unopposed roll vs. a difficulty of 12 to get the gate set up to counter the additional velocity. Range isn't an issue since the plane will be well within his teleportation distance even taking into account the movement of the plane. He could scout the landing location with Remote Sensing before opening the gate.

"So you can do some sort of 'remote sensing'?" Nocturne asks Off Ramp. "What kind of range have you got with that?"

"It'll be a big help when we gate to the ground... wait a minute. We're flying there on a cargo transport, right? Is there room enough for Red Dragon? For that matter, can the plane handle the weight?"

"Also, when you create a gate, how big will it have to be to accommodate Red Dragon? I'm just worried that if it's big enough for Red, how much of the plane will disappear into it as well?"

"Sorry to sound so pessimistic... I just try to anticipate problems ahead of time so that we aren't surprised when we start. The way I look at it, there'll be enough other problems that we can't anticipate... no reason not to eliminate the ones we can."

"Another thought just occurred to me as well. When  you create a gate, Off Ramp, how much control do you have over where it appears on the other end? If you create a portal on the plane that is right at floor level, will the portal at the other end be at ground level? Can you control it that much? And while we'd be traveling at 200mph on the plane, will the portal at the other end also be traveling that fast? In other words, will it move with us, or can you fix it in place... meaning that the actual distance will be constantly increasing as we continue to fly?"

In reply to Nocturne (msg # 122):

Off Ramp rolls his eyes. "Red Dragon can turn human whenever he likes. Which means both the plane and me can handle his weight. My scrying portal has the same range as my normal portals, allows me to see in the dark and get radio transmissions through it, as well as normal hearing. I can also have two way conversations with someone on the other end. And finally...stop worrying so much! If my powers where instantly lethal to anyone transporting through them I would have killed myself months ago!"

"Sorry. New here," Nocturne replied. "Didn't know Red Dragon could actually shape-change or if it was just using an illusion."

"That will sure be a surprise if someone captures him!"

Based on code names and appearances, he could only hazard a guess at that the others could do. Chen Zen appeared to be a martial artist... judo stuff. He wondered if there were any other neat tricks he could do.

He wasn't sure if Dr. Jetsetter was really as old as he looked, or if it was just some sort of disguise. He could also be old on the outside but still young and spry on the inside... under that old appearance.

Flamethrower's abilities seemed self-explanatory, although it remained to be seen what kind of control he had. He'd once witnessed a building burn down--that was completely uncontrolled.

The Arch-Crone was a puzzle. Appearance and her words indicated she might have mystical powers just like he did.

Agent Mullalley and the Brigadier close out the rest of the briefing and direct the team to meet up topside for transport to the airfield. Once there the team boards one of the transport aircraft and shortly afterwards the planes take off in a loose formation, flying low to the ground. Escort aircraft join the convoy as the transports reach the coastline and the whole formation flies across the Channel. Flying into Occupied France and following the French/Belgian border the team is informed by the crew that the escorts will have to return to England once the convoy reaches the vicinity of Karlsruhe in Germany due to range issues.

As stated partway through the flight as the convoy approaches the vicinity of Karlsruhe the escort aircraft jettison their drop tanks and wheel around to return to the airbases along the English coastline. The transport planes continue on a straight course towards Czechoslovakie and one of the crew comes back to the hold where the team is gathered and waiting; "OK so we are now over Germany. We were told that you will all be leaving before we reach our rendezvous location. The Carpathian Mountains are not far away so whatever your plan is it should happen soon. Good luck and Godspeed to you all!"

OOC: Sorry about the LONG delay but here we go. I need two rolls from Off-Ramp; one for his Remote Sensing and one to open the gateway safely in the desired location. Both rolls are against a difficulty of 12 (Very Hard).

In reply to The Battleteller (msg # 125):

Off Ramp made the portal-looking at it as if it was a TV screen. Once he was sure it was clear of the enemy or anyone who may spot them-moving its view point like a camera with sound and radio reception, then he would step aside. "Ok, I need to go through last or it will close." He said, and gestured to everyone else.

OOC:
16:55, Today: Off Ramp rolled 19 using 5d6 with rolls of 3,5,4,5,2.  Remote sensing.
16:56, Today: Off Ramp rolled 15 using 5d6 with rolls of 3,2,5,1,4.  Teleport.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:58, Mon 06 Nov 2017.

Off Ramp creates his viewing portal and scans through it. He locates the area of the mountains and then opens up a gateway. Holding the gate open he ushers the other members of the team through. As each person goes through one moment they are on a rumbling, moving plane and the next they step into an area of rocky outcroppings and brush in the mountains with the daylight starting to wane. The smell of pine trees and other mountain plants fills the air as does birdsong from various locations. Stepping through last Off Ramp appears through the gate on the ground and it closes behind him. It is like they were never on the plane and no one felt the slightest difference going from the speed of the plane to complete stillness.

Captain Doyle stepped through the portal and into the forest his machine gun ready for action.

As soon as he was through he moved away and set up a forward observation point while the others followed.

He might in reality be a court foot long dragon but he'd been in enough wars in his long life time and been an officer in the British army to know what to do in a combat zone so he took point and kept watch for any enemy activity.
He stayed in human form keeping his true identity hidden until needed,

In reply to Red Dragon (msg # 128):

Igor follows the Dragon's lead, scanning the surroundings for escape routes, possible hiding places and signs of danger. He's grateful that, for now at least, the group is more in his element than the Crone's. He shudders slightly, knowing that before long her withered skin will become his.

Despite assurances to the contrary, Nocturne was prepared for a jolt upon landing on the other side of Off Ramp's portal, and was very surprised to find that there was none. It was just as if he'd taken a step on the plane.

There was one drawback to the portal, though--it couldn't let them see in all directions at once. The area had looked clear, but without more intel on German operations in the area, that could be misleading.

As Doyle and Igor scouted out the surroundings, Nocturne just crouched down to minimize his profile against the background, and looked around the immediate area. In particular, he was looking for potential cover, hiding places, and anything that smacked of human activity--trails, old campfires, cut down trees, etc.

Flamethrower moves out, keeping his flames dark ... for now.

Off Ramp looks around, obviously arriving last and checks to make sure everything is kosher. Then he creates another scrying portal back into the plane. This was very useful to command, because he could select one person to communicate with, who could also see and hear him and his location-as well as get radio signals if need be. Off Ramp did not even need a radio to 'hear' the communications.

"We are all here, sir. Is there anything else we need before heading out?" He asks. The best part of his 'portal communication' is that he never had to worry about the Germans accidentally overhearing it. Unless of course there where standing right nearby of course...

(OOC-Its been a while. Remind me of the mission again?)

OOC: The team is supposed to try and stop Black Sun operatives from retrieving artifact that bestows magical powers upon those it is used upon. It is purportedly located at the Sedlec Ossuary in Sedlec, Czechoslovakia. I am going to open up a proper mission thread so further posting can happen there...

link to a message in this game

It had taken all of their muscles to roll the Turbobike (which is just slightly larger than a motorcycle) up onto the aircraft before they took off. Dr. Jetsetter had visions of launching it out the back of the transport and firing it up on the fly (done once, sort of successfully, in an emergency).

As the portal opened, Dr. Jetsetter and Acie started shoving the Turbobike toward the opening, like a bobsled. Just before hitting the portal, they both jumped on, Dr. Jetsetter's thumb on the ignition just in case they needed another mid-flight start.

At which point, they rolled smoothly onto the Carpathian mountain trail. Acie clenched onto the Doctor tightly, his head tucked down, until he realized that the danger had passed, at which point he straigtened up, climbed off the turbobike, brushed the wrinkles out of his uniform, and grunted.

"Well, I'll be jiggered," Dr. Jetsetter looked around. "That actually worked."