OOC: Here is a placeholder message for JohnA1nut's new thread, GMed by Tadeusz.  :)

In reply to Tadeusz (msg # 1):

The eight-armed goddess with a necklace of skulls surveys you.  Whether with displeasure or favor, you cannot tell.  You saved one of hers, who had been ready to die.  You ate an ice cream cone that was tie-dyed by Stevie Nicks.  And the Soul Train was playing loud, but you got tossed off by a railroad bull, and landed among stiff, crackly pieces of grass in a field.

And then you smell clean dirt under your noise, and feel relief at getting away from the toxic air of that bizarre world of magic working cyberpunks and megacorporations.  You look up, and the Big Dipper is bright in the sky as is the Moon.

You're in a field, bounded by barbed wire, but heavily laden with growth, and ten feet away is a small tree growing amidst weeds, and pulling something down from that tree is a young deer.  Beyond it, you can see a herd of perhaps ten more deer.  Beyond them seems a thin road of aphalt??

I'm just wearing hospital pants. That bytes. Hope it's not too cold. Scriff my gear. Now I am looking for my armored coat.

What's around me? Where am I? Scriff vectors? Go to scriff vectors.

The temp is in the mid-sixties, and the breeze is just enough to raise the hair on your arms.  Its right on the edge of chill, and pleasant night.

You only track two scriff vectors, that are not far apart.  One seems to be moving widely as you move, while the other is not moving so much, so you go back to try to track the first.  Its your armored coat and such, and its stuck in a tree.

It takes about ten minutes to climb up the scraggly tree in the night, getting a few scratches, and get your stuff.

The other, paradoxically, is easier. You hike two miles down a road that is much cracked, and has large weeds growing out of the cracks until you spot your stuff sitting at an intersection of Bakersfield and 1470 roads.

In the distance you hear a scream more like a howl. It is clearly not coming from a human voice, and it echoes out over the empty woods.

Is my hammer glowing? The aura that lets me know magic works here. Is magic useable?

Gear up. Backpack, toolbelt, 50 revolver, hammer, etc. Try to find civilization. Look for a human settlement.

It glows brightly, and the ground seems to radiate a milder Chaos.  There is Order, but its deep underground in the masses of continental plates and in the sky winds overhead, but even those seem to have been touched by Chaos.

It almost makes you want to stagger, this whole world seems tilted toward Chaos.

You head further down the numbered road, and after a mile come to a burned out car on the side of the road.  Its still night.

Chaos!!!! GOOD!!!!!

Kneel down, try Chaos sight. Not Order sight. Chaos sight. I'm looking around to see what's what and where I am. I think Order sight might be too difficult here, but Chaos sight should be easier.

With Chaos sight...

You pick up lines of Chaotic energy curving over the horizon and dropping out of the sky.

You note the car is missing its bumper.

You sense a great source of Chaos to your left, which you realize is North.

Down deep in the Earth, a long way away, you barely detect the massive flows of Chaos, and to merely touch that superheated magma miles beneath the Earth leaves you shaking, and sweating.

With Chaos sight...

You pick up lines of Chaotic energy curving over the horizon and dropping out of the sky.

You note the car is missing its bumper.

You sense a great source of Chaos to your left, which you realize is North.

Down deep in the Earth, a long way away, you barely detect the massive flows of Chaos, and to merely touch that superheated magma miles beneath the Earth leaves you shaking, and sweating.

Okay, I didn't see anything particularly useful there.

Start walking until I find something I guess.

You pass a burnt out trailer.  Later a pair of burnt out homes.  And you've joined a wider road, four laned, and are passing a gutted Circle C.

There is a five thousand gallon gas tank shaped like a pound of frozen sausage, aka a pig, which is now bent to look like the letter L, and is sitting across the road from its home.  An upside down car is atop the gas station.

Its about an hour before dawn.

Okay, somebody let some Chaos loose around here.

Am I still Sam Jackson?

Wonder if I curried any favor for saving Skull Girl in the last world.... I'm not going to seek that god, but who knows? Maybe it might seek me.

Ever seen The Hunger Games, Catching Fire? Without spoiling it too much, a character redirects a bolt of lightning to cause Mass Destruction. I'm wondering if I could do that. Create something that would channel the world's Chaos into outer space.

Still looking for civilization.

Yes indeed.

Yes, you're still S.J..

Interest yes, favor is more problematic.  The entity does not have a normal human perspective on things.  Remember her servant was all dewey-eyed about the Destroyer.

The general idea seems sound, but the amount of Chaos is huge. Really huge.

You travel on, and dawn comes over the prairie....and the outline of a great metropolis ahead is seen by its shadow...and then the light hits it, reflects, and a stabbing light near blinds you.

But after a minute, it does away, and eyes watering, you can make out about twenty miles away the shining, metallic towers of a major metro.  But you've never heard of one formed of the same material, and all steel.

You can see great Order ahead, and even greater Chaos.

Try the Order teleporting. Last time I did it, it knocked me out for four days. But, how do I expect to get good at it if I don't do it? So, I believe I created an Order channel and added Chaos to it, to make something like a river to flow myself there. Try to land on top of a building. Maybe I'll be safe there for a while if I do pass out.

You gather up Chaos from around you....

And you notice more is coming down, and so you look up, and see a second sun in the sky.  Its small, and orange, and radiating Chaos.

And you establish a differential between one of the steel towers of Order and your buildup of Chaos, with you as the plug between, and the outlines of a tunnel about you.

It seems better, but...

You pour powerinto it, and .....pop. It collapses.  So do you. You wake up three hours later.  Still, you came closer than you had before.

You weren't quite clear where I am. Did I teleport? Where am I exactly?

You did not teleport. It was too hard to hold a stable jump tunnel.  So you passed out where you were.

You wake, and its still the morning.  The skyline looks kinda familar, but it seems to be made of solid steel.

Looks like I'm going hell-toe express.

Night is just falling as you pass the sign 'Welcome to Chicago'.  It and everything beyond it has been transformed into steel.  You do see a guard shack a quarter mile ahead, as the functional buildings of the city are still five miles ahead.

Next to the sign is letters carved into the four lane highway.  The letters are ten feet tall and a foot deep.  But you can easily pass between them.

"Welcome to Newcago."

Your feet are tired. And you can see the once paint, now steel ripple dotted lines down the center of the highway.

So concrete buildings are changed to steel structures? That's interesting.

Any sign of intelligent life?

Look for some food. After that, try to set up a blacksmithing shoppe, if there's no people around. I want to try to make a Chaos antenna to shoot some of this world's Chaos into outer space.

In the distance you see what used to be a tree, and is now a sculpture, as well.

You walk forward, and two guys in gray, with black trim, uniforms step out of the guard shack.  Both have some sort of energy carbine, held off-angle (not directly at you.)

"Hey, you're in Newcago.  Are you looking to immigrate?"  Said the gray haired one with the bushy mustache. "You need some water?"  He looks vaguely sympathetic, and after so many hours withoout a human face, its nice to see one, and with a Yankee accent, to boot.

"Uh, yeah, I'm looking to immigrate. And I could use some water. You mind telling me what happened here?"

But they're still cops and I'm still on a hair trigger.

"Bill." Says the mustached guy, and the younger one walks back into the guard shack, and comes out with a metal canteen full of iron tasting water.

Stamped on the outside is the following:
Water Canteen Mark 2; Factory 9; Worker 235; 2012 AD/13 AC

The water revives your strength.

"Old Chicago was going to pieces after Calamity.  There was talk of Detroiting by the Lord Mayor, and then Steelheart hit High Epic, and during his transformation turned Chicago into Newcago, and proclaimed his rule." The old guy says.

"I was ten when it happened, and let me tell you its a lot better now. We have water, electricity on alternating hours, safe houses, work, and while we're not cops, we're Protectors of the Peace.  If someone tries to steal or kill you, we can put a stop to that right quick." The younger guy says.

"And with Nightwielder, Firefight, and Sourcefield as his deputies, well Steelheart ain't gong to let some nutball like Obliteration into his town." The old man says, and then like its a war cry, he softly says. "Remember Houston."

"So where do I go to get a place to stay? And where can I get a job? Everything is metal. I'm a metalworker by trade. Where can I go to get a job?"

The old man shrugs.  He was expecting a response, but he seems to see you as potentially weird, and so weird behavior doesn't weird him out.  Weird hunh?

Bill goes back.  He has a clipboard made of steel.  You'll notice most things that can be are made of steel.  If something is mentioned just assume its steel unless its obviously not, like a blooming flower, not that you see anything like that.

You do see a flower, but its steel.

He takes down your name, skills, and asks if you have any relatives in town, or connections with other Epics or the Reckoners.  He makes a few more comments, shows it to Bill, who nods, and signs off on it without showing you the comments.

Its short and sweet.  He seals it in an envelope of steel with a lock.

Then he hands you an etched metal plate. Its a simple map.

"Follow this street, then this, and bow here at Steelheart's fountain, and you can get a drink and a water canteen there if you like, free of charge.  Then go to the right, and here. Anyone hassles you, show them the envelope.  Of course, if you do meet an Epic, do exactly what he or she says.  But, truthfully, its been a solid week since I saw Firefight fly overhead."

"That'll take you to In Processing South Center." Says the older guy.  He offers you his hand. "Best of luck, new citizen."

OOC) I knew I should have said something about this.


"What Calamity would that be? And Detroiting it? What does that mean? And who is Steelheart? Is he the king or something?"

After a while, hearing weird stories like this just kinda rolls off. That's why I didn't say anything. He said a bunch of stuff that didn't really make sense. So what else is new in The Verse?


"So what? Like 1-2 you have power, then 2-3 you don't?"

I've been in enough worlds where electricity wasn't even invented. Referee Magehammer likes teaching n00bs how to build electrical generators for just that purpose.


"So we got a bunch of Lords of War going at it? Something like that?"


"So what's an Epic? What do they look like?"

Whatever they are, they might want to consider doing what I say, not the other way around. Magehammer was bullied so much as a child, he doesn't take it now that he has the power to fight back.

OOC: I should have mentioned the orange star in the sky earlier. Oops.

He points a finger at a dim orange star in the sky.

"Calamity." The old man frowns, and  you can suddenly see behind his mask, and hear him whisper. "Evil Star" even as the words don't reach his lips. You can feel his hatred for a second, and it feels like this is related to your magics.

"Um, should we put him in the..." Bill asks, and you can see he's wondering if you're crazy.

"Detroiting...well even before Calamity, Detroit was falling apart, people left it to rot basically.  The Lord Mayor was fixing to kick out three fourths of the people and tell them to root hog or die.  At least that's what we hear."

And that undertone that is not spoken, you hear. "And since the Epics say it, it is the truth." There is bitter sarcasm in that tone.

"Steelheart, yes, you could call him the King.  He owns Newcago and everyone who lives in it.  If you ever see a seven foot tall man with steel skin and glowing bright enough to hurt your eyes, thats Steelheart."

Bill the younger guy nods at your electricity example.

"Yeah, its pretty nice. Sweet." He seems sincere. "....after all, most places don't even have electricity, cept maybe Babilar, and..."

Your Lords of War question has them blinking in confusion.

"Oh, he's one of those." Bill laughs.  "You're an Epic Groupie.  Yeah, Firefight is covered in flames, and Nightwielder has living shadow around him and  awhip, and I don't know what Sourcefield looks like, but I think she's a girl."

"Sounds like bags of fun guys. I'll be going now."

Try to find a metalworking shoppe where I can set up.

You were told to go to South In Processing Centre, near Steelheart Fountain, or are you just striking out on your own.

As you walk, you see a dozen kids, all dressed in loose grey pants and t-shirts, all with 'Age 8, School 19' on each kids back of the shirt, and each kid also has a name on the shirt.  They are walking quietly and swiftly, and no one is fat.  A teacher, also dressed similarly, but he has a belt, and a gray vest is guiding them.

You see another pair of Protectors.  No one else seems to have weapons.

You pass a crudely cut staircase down into the roadway.  Lights gleam from down there.

And you've come to Steelheart Square, err fountain.  A Twenty Foot tall man, doing the Captain Morgan (rum drink) leg held up by a crushed car statue in bright...silver?? stands in the midst of the statue.  The water comes from his hand, and fills the large fountain all about.

Several dozen folk nearby are gathering water.

Already, its only a half mile from the guard station, the buildings are 3-4 stories tall, and your feet already ache from the unyielding steel

I'll go to processing, sure. What's there?

Boys and girls, or just one gender?


HEHEHE always good to know.

Also, I'm going to try to turn some of that steel into black iron. Just find a small steel something or other and smack it a few times with the hammer and see if it changes into black iron.

There is a painted sign above a ground floor doorway.

You walk in, and startle two folk.  The young guy is leaning back on two legs, and has his boots on the desk, while the older blonde is studying her hand of cards intently.

Both sit up straight.

"Ah," The guys eyes flash toward the metal envelope.  "We can take that, and 'Welcome to Newcago."  His voice has shifted into a more trained and polished performance mode.  "I'm sure you have questions, and as a gift of Steelheart, your new overlord, Marie here can take your order.  Steak, fish, chicken....?  And my name is Judd. I or Marie will be glad to answer your questions, and get you orientated."

They both have gray uniforms with light yellow stripes down their arms and legs.

======================

The class was all boys.

=================

You were able to find a 'rock', and turn it into black iron after ducking down a narrow alley.  Its now in your pocket.

"I'll take steak and mashed potatoes with gravy. You got salads? A nice salad with ranch dressing would be great."

I'll pay with a diamond from my last world.

Keep my eyes open. I'm looking around to see what's what. Ask them if they know of any metal shoppes that are open.

And I can make black iron here. That's always a plus.

So the schools are segregated. Not sure why that's significant, it just is.

OOC) IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!
This message was last edited by the player at 06:00, Fri 13 Mar 2015.

The steak is large, if a bit tough.  The potatoes are good, and the gravy is runny and bland.  The salad has one grape tomato holding pride of place. There is plenty.  They get the same.

They shrug off your attempts at payment implying is a new citizen thing, but then their eyes grow wide at the diamond.

"Certainly, I know of four, uh, no three in th'e immediate area, and i'm sure there is, oh, ten more in the South Area.  I can take you around.  New citizens get lost easily around here." Judd says, making a note on a metal board.

OOC: Happy birthday.

Put a smattering of Order into the steak, make it nice and tender. Put a smattering of Chaos into the gravy, make it spicy.


"Keep it. I got a bunch of them."

Seriously, I'm giving them a diamond. A few days ago, that was a lump of coal. And I've got like 50 pounds of them.


"Yeah, do that. And show me where the boys' and girls' schools are. I might just apply to teach metalworking at one of the schools. I'm also an accomplished leather worker. That might be more appropriate for a girls' school. Either way, I'd like to see where they are."

Haven't you ever wanted to be a teacher?

You try that, but it makes things worse.  Curious, you try the reverse, Chaos in the steak, which breaks down the tough, connective tissues, and ages the meat makes it quite decent.  And Order in the gravy revives some of the broken down and overcooked molecules of beef fat so they actually taste like beef.  Its less runny, and still bland, but at least it tastes like beef gravy.  What it really needs is salt and black pepper.

+1@ Order/Chaos Use.

They look at each other, and then the two nod.  You can see they've agreed to this, and to keep it on the downlow.  They look back at you, and smile, and you realize you've just added two new 'friends' for certain values of that word.

It seems this place is more than a bit corrupt, but not hugely so.

Judd takes you around, and you see what he means.  Without trees (there are very few in potted beer barrels) and fabric awninss, and a lot of the other stuff, this city is like a steel skeleton almost, and its hard to decide if you're on 34th or 32nd.

In talking with Judd, you realize he has no idea of a leatherworking shoppe.  There are no cows or foxes, etc. in Newcago.

He shows you one shoppe, which used to be a kid's playground, and is now an open pit mine with a shopped on the side.  The pit goes down eighty feet, and is still steel.  The owner is dressed in gray with purple and blue stripes.

"Ian McGregor. I run this place according to the Laws. I can use strong backs to cut out steel, and I have several lathes and customizable presses if you are skilled at that.  I'll be straight with you.  I don't pay much.  Also, I don't expect you to risk life and limb like Campbell over on 29th, either.  And Stews...well, he's for the palace trade."

**FACEPALM** I should have known that!!!!!!




One constant in The Multiverse. Money talks!!! Good to know.



Add some Order to the trees as I pass them. Make them stronger and more sturdy. With so few, they should at least be strong.




"I think I'll pass on the job, thanks. That's not what I was looking for."

But ask my escorts to take me around to the schools. Both the boys and girls schools. Maybe I could teach metalworking at one of those.

Two Posts

Something I have often wondered. Order is things not moving. Chaos is things moving fast. So could I freeze or accelerate time? Freeze time for everyone else, so only I can move? Or fast forward through a day so it goes more quickly? Try that when I get a few. Try to freeze time for everyone but myself.

You see the trees darken in your Order sight, and new strength courses through them.  You stumble a bit after the third one, but quickly recover from the energy expenditure.

Ian shrugs, and turns back to his work.  Judd nods, and takes  you to a boys' school.

"Only men can teach mean, and so forth." He says as you walk through Street 33, School #8's doorway.  A guard is waiting, but he checks Judd's id, and hears the explanation, and lets you both in.

"Do not disturb the classes, but you can go where you want, and talk to who you want for an hour."

There are four classes, and six classrooms, all cut out of the steel below.  So you go down a flight of stairs to enter the school.

Electric lights blaze on the ceilings.

"Schools have light all the day. No brownouts." Judd says, noting our glance twoard the lgiths.  You see electric cable, which looks to your eyes as poor quality, and poorly done.

The classes teach basic math, English "Diagram the sentence 'Steelheart is our ruler.'", a weird kind of soccer which uses the walls and the ceilings, and requires padding partially from the bruising thumps and partially from the steel walls, and basic science.

There are eighty some kids in the school.

You consider the notiomn of freezing or acelerating time.  Theoretically, it seesm possible, but you'd need something to grab on to  to direct the energy of chaos or order.  Like when you create a tornado, you're hooking the energy onto the wind moleculres.

"There's steel everywhere, is there any copper? I actually know how to build electrical generators. I can convert the steel into magnets easily enough. Magnetic field running through a copper coil generates electricity. Maybe I could help with your electricity problem."

2@1 electronics.

To stop time, you need something to grab onto...... I somehow doubt staring at a clock would work. Go outside and try to grab sun shadows. You can see those move as time passes. Order them to stop moving. That's all I can think of. But I'd love to stop time. That's been a dream since I was a kid.

"I don't know." Judd says.  "I mean steel is free for the taking as long as you don't take it from some place people are using."

He leads you over to Stews, who has a clearly nicer operation than Ian's.  Stew also has a gold thread in his purple stripes.

"The purple stripes mean, he's one of the Thousand.  The gold wire means, one of the Two Hundred.  But you can be say a doctor and have a gold wire, and not have purple stripes.  Generally, if someone with purple or black stripes tells you to do something you should, as black is Protector or th elike, and Purple is the Thousand."  Judd explains soto voce as you both walk up to Stew.

"My friend wants to know about copper, sir."
"Eh, he does?" The man is very tall, kind of shaggy, and at least in his seventies.  Still he walks around on his own amongst the lathes and the well-fed and skilled workers, albeit a bit slowly.
"Why does he have a hidden supply?  When Steelheart transformed the place, he didn't get every bit of metal, sometimes we get theese nodules formed.  And I can always use more copper.  Its the in thing among the PYT's tis year."
He then deliberately focuses on you.

============================

Later, you try the sun shadows, after Judd is gone.  he does tell you that you can sleep for a week at the South Centre.

After a bit, you realize you're grabbing at the symbol of the thing, not the thing itself.  With a tornado, you attach Order and Chaos to the wind molecules, not to a drawing of a windy day.

You also get the feeling of great depths and vastnesses of Order and Chaos that you were not aware of before.  And some of this could possibly be channelled, and you would not need to privide all the energy for a spell on your own, but merely the pipe for it.  But even with this deeper awareness, time control seems fvery far away.

"So no copper? Thanks then."

I can stay in a room for a week. Go there and think about my time freezing problem.



That's precisely why I didn't think staring at a clock would work. It's a symbol of time, not time itself. I thought that shadows might be more a tangible representation than a clock though.

Focus on the moment. I want to drop an Order anchor into the moment. Problem is the moment keeps changing whilst I'm focusing on it. Drop an Order anchor into a moment. That's all I can think of. But I want to stop time for everyone but myself.

The room is a ten foot cube with an air vent, and tie down holes for the winter timedoor blankets.  The bed is a corn husk bag.

There is a chair of steel cut into an interior wall as is a small table.

You try but the anchor chain frays in your mind, and nothing happens.

And the next time, you almost have it.  The anchor holds, but you didn't consider what would happen with all that chaos.  It flows rapidly t hrough the area right around you.

Something happened, but you're not quire sure what.  Its not what you wanted.

Go outside, see if I can figure out what happened. Something obvious?

Whether or not I can, try one more time. I want to be able to freeze time. It's been a dream of mine for a long time. Can you imagine what you could do if you could freeze time for everyone but yourself?

Its nighttime, and the stars are clear overhead.

You cast out the anchor, and suddenly you're in a hurricane force wind of Chaos as all tabout you stills, and you're theh center of the moving chaos.  And the the strain is too much, and you black out.

When you waken, you're surrounded by several inches of rust in the same room.

So I went from outside to inside with no explanation? And the room around me is rusty? That's interesting.

Did you ever see Clockstoppers? They weren't freezing time, they were moving so fast that everything else seemed to stand still. That's the next best thing to freezing time. I could experience an hour in a matter of a few seconds.

Chaos myself up so that I can move so fast the rest of the world seems frozen. Almost as good as freezing time

The ceiling looks as if it has rusted away into nothingness.  Upon standing, you see the outline of your legs and bottom that is not rusted.

So you're still in what was your room.

OOC: Yeah, I saw Clockstoppers.

I should fix that. Order the ceiling back to normal. I don't want to imagine what they would charge me for damages.



Then you know what I want to do. Chaos myself up so that I'm moving like they were. To me, it will seem like I'm moving at normal speed, everyone else will appear virtually frozen, and to them, I'm moving around like a honeybee. Next best thing to freezing time.

You start this, and it feels like a lesser version of what had already happened.

And then a face the size of a semi rig appears over the top of the roof.  Its humanoid, and pale green, glowing, and keenly aware.

"Magehammer, do not be afraid."  And the voice is soft, but you can hear echoes upon echoes upon echoes, further and further and further away, of thunder.

"Would you...stop that please. You're giving me a headache."  He's clearly referring to your Chaos speed boost.

Looking up in wide-eyed wonder, trying to decide if I should go for a gun, rejecting that idea. It would be like shooting a BB gun at a Sherman tank.

I might drop to my knees.

"And uh, who are you?"

I'm pretty obviously scared, despite being told not to be.

'Don't worship me, Magehammer. I am not the Creator.  I am in the service of the Archangel Uriel, and this my duty is to stand watch over a dead world."

There is a somber melancholy in his tone.  He's not sad, but you expect he rarely smiles.

"I am Irdrigiel, an angel of the Lord of Hosts.  Also, basically a security guard on an empty warehouse."

"Okay, well if there's nothing here to hurt, why don't you want me doing my super speed trick?"

After that

"Do you want to work together? I get the impression this place needs a good fixing. We could work together on that."

I'm still trembling.

"It gives me a headache to look at it.  I could look the other direction later."

He reaches down and lifts you up, and up so that you're easily a thousand feet in the air.  Its gentle and smooth, and you're standing on the palm of his right hand.

You see that trees are breaking into the smooth circle of Newcago, but just at the very edges.  No lights, no people, but you can see what you think might be a bear ambling down an avenue.

"Magehammer, as a verser you cannot have children,  and as a Human, well, you're the only one alive on this planet.  You've voyaged two thousand years into your future with that spell, by mischance, I think.  Are you sure, 'fixing this place up' is what you want?"

My eyes bulge to the size of dinner plates.

"Woooow!!!"

Then I turn and look at this guy.

"So I didn't kill anybody though right? Just traveled into the future? That's good. So can you send me back? Or am I stuck here?"

If he can send me back, all the better. If not, I'll make the most of this. Having a world all to yourself can be fun too.

"I can send you back, the next time stepping stone is  in two minutes.  You will need to go back exactly 273 steps, any more, and Paradox.  Less, and well, Temporal Destabilization doesn't hurt that much when it kills you."

"Hey, dumb question, could you leave me here for a little while? I'd like to explore this world. And I can do my super speed trick and not endanger anyone but myself. You don't have to watch anything. It's just me. No reason to guard me. What do you think?"

"The gates back are two minutes to the power of two, and each gate is another power.  And you must be in Newcago."

He lowers you to the ground, and takes two long steps and is over the horizon.

In the dark, metal streets, you hear skitters and in the distance a hoot.  There are some vines trailing over buildings, so while trees cannot grow here yet...

Chaos myself up so I can run through this super fast. To me, it would feel like I'm moving normal speed though. I want to look through the city and see if there's anything left that might be of use. Weapons, ammo, food, money, blacksmithing supplies, or whatever the gods of Order and Chaos see fit to give me.

OOC) There's four gods of Order and Chaos. Three ten sided dice and an awesome referee.

You're moving through town, and are moving fast enough to avoid the lone ursine, and porcine herds, and to spot a snow leaopard eyeing you from atop a building as you pass.

You find a Protector 'rifle' but it doesn't glow.  You also find a double barrel shotgun that has been chromed so it resisted the rust.

You find ammo, but its spoilt.

You find one gold coin with the words 'Babilar.' on its face, and a woman as queen.
On the oppsite side is the Empire State Building.

You find a 'log' the size of a brick with the words 'Reckoner Heat Trap' on its side. Touch it, and it rapidly climbs in heat to 3000 degreees, and stays there for thirty minutes before cooling down.

You find three sheets of acid-free laminated paper.

"Targets" is one heading.
1. Steelheart,
2. Sourcefield??  Is she the one that gives the Protectors their guns?
3. Obliteration siting in Phoenix, Arizona. Another Reckoner team is still tracking him.
4. Magpie--believe her Epic weakness is recordings of her own rock and rool music.

The next two pages are detailed plans for killing a man with the ability to see a minute in the future, plus Level 3 Agility, and Level 2 Strength.  A name is not mentioned, but it all looks very professional.

Okay, I've had enough of this. Go back to NewCago and try to get that Epic to send me back in time. I sure hope the gods of Order and Chaos aren't expecting me to act on that assassination list I found. Creating temporal paradoxes with knowledge from the future has never been my forte.

I am grabbing the ammo though. Perhaps I can Order it back to functional.

So go back where dude was and send up a flare or something.

"Dude, send me back."

Act or not act, just keep me entertained.  :)

You go back to that part of Newcago (having never gone far from the city), and send up a flare of Chaos energy into the sky.  A moment later, the Angel Iridgiel, not an Epic, is standing next to you.

Its been twenty hours so far.

2 minutes to 2 --4  to 2--8---to 2---16----to 2 32---to 2--64....128.....256....512....1024...2048....

60 minutes into 2048 minutes.....32 hours and eight minutes or ...

"The next gate downstime is twelve hours and eight minutes from now."

Your ordering of the ammo cleans it up, and restores the gunpowder (which is tricky stuff having a lot of volatile Chaos in it).  It occurs to you, or you are reminded of it that Chaosing a gunpowder weapon should be relatively easy.  You now have forty shotgun shells of some level of mild unreliability.

OOC) Will try!!!!


And the double barrel. You didn't specify those were shotgun shells. I'll probably trade that to someone when I get back.

Until then, I'm just going to sit back and wait.

The way back is odd.  The angel anoints your eyes with a lotion, and then before it dries, you can see a stone hovering in the air in front of you.  You jump on, and there's nother, and a step to that.

And soon, you're just in the sky, not sure which way is up, and which is done as they've seemingly swapped several times.

A cold and cruel man's voice echoes out of the air.

"I hear you can turn off pain.  Which makes this really dissapointing on some level, but the sound of broken bones is the sound I like to hear, so I'll make do."

"Izzy an epic?"
"Dun't know, could be one of the Starry Ones."

More voices.

"....this is too dangerous, Jonathan." A woman' svoice.

I hope he's not talking about me. I don't think I can turn off pain. If they're reading my mind or anything, that's what I'm thinking.



Speaking out loud "I don't know. Am I?"



And the only thing I can think of is "Martha Kent?"

(Sorry, I've seen Smallville too many times.)

"What, what's that? "
"Run, its the Protectors..."

=============

A pause.
"What in the name of Sam Houston..." A thunderous voice, that of a man, but not a man accustomed to being interrupted.

=================

And then you're back in your room.

Looking out, the night seems as it was, and there is no rust on the floor.

Overhead, about two hundred feet up, you see a humanoid figure covering in flames, and flying across the sky...

I think I'll just keep my mouth shut. I'm dealing with things beyond my ability to comprehend here.



Pink Floyd comes to mind. "Home, home again. I like to be there, when I can."



So dude is gone. Go out and see if there's any gun stores where I can sell that double barrel and ammo. Maybe make a few new friends in the process.

You walk down one street, up another, go rightward, and leftward, and come to a giant hole in the ground where some buildings used to stand.  Next to it is an oversized solid steel plaque.

"THIS IS THE PLACE OF STEELHEART'S GLORY.  Here at 1st National Bank, he first revealed to the world the greatness that was himself."

A hundred yards to the right is Izzy's Gun Emporium which has 'by appointment only', but when you walk by, a skinny young guy comes hustling out.

"Yes, yes, we fix you up. Come in."

One of the voices I heard said "Izzy an epic" so I'm a bit wary about going into Izzy's gun emporium. But I'll go anyway.

"Gentleman, what will you give me for this fine piece? And what do you have to sell?"

As always, I'm looking for a BFG. (Big Freaking Gun)

Two guys, one with short buzzcut, and the other with frizzy hair both look startled.  Then they quickly hustle you into the back.

"Nice gun. I'm Izzy. Are you crazy? You're not a protector. Carrying a shotgun can get you in ...."  He looks at the other guy.

"Two years stirring with a long paddle in the sewage plant. I did it for a month. I burnt my clothes afterwards."

Izzy starts examining your gun.

"You know this looks just like....but no, this one is old. Real old.  If you want to carry, you got to carry concealed man, pistol, you know."

"One shot or multiple shots?" The other guy says.

"I pity the protector that tries to bring me in. It wouldn't be the first time I've killed a cop." Pause "Izzy the Epic?"

Just check for his reaction.


"Let me guess, you have another just like this, right? Check the serial number. Bet you a buck they match. Don't ask me how I got it."



"Just let me see what kinds of BFGs you've got, then we'll talk about that."

They both back up.

"Are you an Epic, sir?" they give you half bows, and you can see they are both clearly nervous.

"I'm not an Epic." Izzy says, although you can tell your asking him made him nervous.

"Ah, a Mr. Sanderson, across town, he has one that looks just like it.  Its the only chromed shotgun in the city."

"Um, sure,"
They lead you back, very politely, and scared into the back room where you see a number of guns on the wall.  Most are cheap, but you do see a M-203, a 30.06 with scope, and a .50 calibre Desert Eagle pistol.  The next largest pistol is a 10 mm Glock, and then a badly battered .357 magnum.

Chaos up a fireball and hold it in my hand for a minute, then put it out.

"What do you think? Am I an Epic?"

When I tried to use Order magic to convince someone I was a god, I got sick. I'm hoping that won't happen with Chaos magic.



"I ran into a guy that said 'Izzy an Epic.' Maybe he was saying 'Is He an epic.' Who knows?"



"Like I said, don't ask where I got it."



M-203 grenade launcher. And that reminds me that I've got two grenade launchers already......

"Well, let's just keep it simple. What I need is ammo. You got any AK-47 ammo? How about 9mm? Shotgun shells? We can work out a trade for those."

Its not a lie, and you're not sure if you're an Epic or not.  They, OTOH, are completely convinced.

"I'm no Epic, sir." Izzy says forthrightly.

They show you seven banana clips, loaded, and another four hundred rounds of AK, plus a 1000 nine mm, and 280 buckshot.

They take your first offer.  They are clearly scared to death of you.

"What exactly is an Epic? How can I know if I am one if I don't know what they are? Fear not though gentlemen. As long as you don't give me any trouble, I won't give you any."



I'll give them the shotgun and the ammo I've got, and one diamond for each of them. They would probably take just the shotgun, but I'm not out to rip them off.

And before I leave, I'm gonna load my AK-47. That is, if they don't object. It's still in my backpack with an empty 100 round drum. Load that, and when I get back to my room, trade the 50 revolver for the 9mm pistol, and I'm carrying that.

Before I leave though, "Where can I guy go to find a little trouble with the local law enforcement?"

"If you have superpowers, you're an Epic.  If you can resist being killed by a gun, you're a High Epic....if you're an Epic, you have the legal right to demand anything you want from anyone not an Epic.  It was one of the last laws the US Congress passed, after it became clear that fighting the Epics with the armed forces was impossible." Izzy looks puzzled.  His pal looks freaked. But both are very quiet, like mice before a cat.

They give you directions, and you go down one street, up another, and see a pair of protectors shoving around a baker's assistant who has several trays of hot croissants.

"Did you say I have the legal right to demand anything from anybody? Easier to lick boot than to fight back."

I just wish I didn't understand that mentality. Let's just say I've licked a few boots in my day.



Do my flame on trick. Walk up to them encased in fire.

"Gentlemen, I strongly advise you to let that guy go. And don't you dare run away from me. We goan have words, you understand me?"

Tell the protectors to spit shine my shoes. While they're still on my feet.

And the baker's assistant. "Give me a croissant with butter and you're free to go. I'll make sure these protectors don't give you any more trouble."

Then look down at them. "I really hate cops. I'm gonna make you wish you never laid eyes on that baker's assistant."

Not sure what I'm going to do to them yet, but it's a start.

They nod in agreement with your statement.  Izzy for a second might have a flame of fury in his eyes, but its quickly gone.  The other explains...

"What good are tanks against a man who can throw a tank?  Or against Obliteration,after he melted Houston?"

=======================

They start to run, and then stop, trembling.

The baker's assistant gives you what  you want, his hands shaking.  The two protectors spit shine  your s hoes with alacrity.

Okay, how can I make clear to these people that only the so-called protectors need fear me? I want to be a hero to the people and an enemy to the government. How do you do that?

"Hey, Baker's Man. Any thoughts on how I could do that?"

The baker's assistant stares, and then thinks...

"Um, just treat us like we matter, I guess. don't kill people just for annoying  you."

Other suggestions along the same line are given you by others in the street who come a bit closer, but still keep their distance.  Its like their is this circle twenty yards across and you're in the center of it, and no one dares cross it.

The protectors clearly want to be anywhere else but here.

This is gonna be fun!!!!

Ask around until I can find the all boys school. Go into the principal's office. Tell them they need to call an immediate assembly of all of the students in the school. Right Now!!!!

Then ask how many of the students at the school want to learn blacksmithing. They're in a city made out of metal, they should learn how to work it.

OOC) I was going to the all girls school to get some "servants" but Oak told me it would be inappropriate for WorldWalker.... NUTS!!!!!!

The principal requires one minor demo of your 'Epicness', and then instantly obliges.  The boys don't seem to  understand, but when you explain it to them...they cheer.  Apparently being outside and hitting stuff with a hammer is more fun than reading a badly written book on Steelheart's glory inside a stuffy classroom.  Go figure.

You do get asked numerous times what your Epic name is.

You start them hammering. A couple hours pass.

You've got a forge, and hammer out in front of the school, and they are very attentive kids.

+@1 Teaching.

And then they suddenly go as still as mice in front of a snake.

A man is striding down the street.  He walks and people dart from his path, but he doesn't notice them.

He's wearing a white jumpsuit, with a brown trenchcoat over it, with a fedora.  A pair of katana and wakishaysi are at his waist, and inside his jacket is some sort of autopistol that you can't see clearly.

His face...imagine the most stuck up entitled smug know it all, you've met, and multiply by four.

"I AM MAGEHAMMER!!!!!"

Is what I say in response.



Or just imagine Craig DelMatto (Boss at my first job. That was his permanent expression.)

Ask one of the boys "Is that Steel Heart?"

Either way, I'm ready to go flame on at a moment's notice.

Addressing the new Epic (Because he has to be an Epic even if he's not Steel Heart.)

"Howdy thar pard-ner!!!"

And I'm on the edge of going flame on.

"No, that's Bouncer."
"He works for Steelheart."
"Lets get out of the way!"
"Hide!"
"No, watch from  down the street."

The teachers and the kids scramble out of the way.

He stops and stares at you, puzzled.

The he shrugs.

"Come with me, now."  He orders with total assurance that ou will obey.

Flame on, raise my hands holding a fireball in each. I want him to know I can incinerate him at a moment's notice.

"Tell me what you want first. Then I'll consider going with you."

Here's to hoping I can intimidate him enough to talk first, fight last. Steelheart might need someone to join him. Best to not start a war...... yet.

He smirks.

And suddenly he not there.

pop-pop

One in front, another in behind. Another pop, and then a rushing wind, and you're lifted, and tossed spinning in the air, about fifteen feet above the roadway.  Now you're free falling.

Chaos up a wind to carry me. So I can fly. Probably need to put some Order into it to make it solid. Like an Order surfboard carrying me on a wind of Chaos. Fly around and look around for this BoJo.

When I find him, see if he can dodge incoming fireballs.

You're riding  your surfboard, and you see him thirty feet below you, smirking.

Fireballs hiss out.

And he dissappears suddenly, and you look around and see him forty feet down the street.  He raises his hands, and suddenly a powerful gust of wind hits your shields, but does no damage.  He looks dissapointed.

Call out to him. No fighting. Just talk. Make sure the kids and any school faculty can hear me. They might be faced with a choice of which Epic to follow.

"Dude, we better cut this out before those kids get hurt. I don't want any dead kids here. Why don't we just admit we're both bad boys and talk like two adults?"

Try to put myself between him and the kids. A few reasons. First, so I can protect them, and secondly, he might have a modicum of hesitation attacking me if it risks collateral damage. And it never hurts to be the dictator with the support of the people, as opposed to the dictator nobody likes.

But if he's not gonna listen to reason, I'm preparing the freeze the ground in a 180 degree semicircle in front of me. See if he can teleport himself out of the area of effect without getting his shoes stuck.

The teachers take the hint, and get the kids under better cover.  You hear a few cheers from the boys for 'Magehammer' and 'Smackham' and "Mage', but none for 'Bouncer'.  This gets them an  evil look from Bouncer.

Bouncer laughs at you.  He looks confident.

You run, and he 'blink' and 'blink' teleports to keep facinbg you.  He's fast.

You spread ice...and it goess wrong.  The ice is under your feet, and its slick, and you try to stand, and  you fall.  He hits you with an air blast, and you tumble over and over to fetch up bruisingly against a metal wall.

He's fast, he's Chaotic. Trying to slow him down with Order didn't work, so I'm going to pull his Chaos. Make him ssslllooowww dddooowwwnnn. Remove his speed Chaos.

How's that working?

Magehammer is doing this whilst laying down on the ice. I broke my leg slipping on the ice. I'm paranoid about walking on it.

The ice starts very slowly, and then takes off, but this is enough for him to teleport clear, to 'bounce'.

Meanwhile, unseen, you're trying to bleed off his Chaos...he noticeably slows, and so you tryi some more,    but he fights back with a grimace, and you're tossed out of contact with a shudder.  And then a bowling ball size rock is flying straight at you.

It appeared out of nowhere, and has bits of grass and mud still attached....

Chaos the rock so it explodes into harmless fragments the size of dust or sand.

Then keep trying to remove his Chaos, and add Order to him at the same time. I want him to become a statue. Removing Chaos and adding Order will slow him down. I want him to not be moving.

If I manage to pull that off, walk up and slap him in the face.

"Now do you want to talk like rational adults?"

A fireball forms...and you blast it to pieces ten feet in front of you.  Hot sand impacts your shield, and eats at it, almost like an acid.  A few kids are hurt a bit.

+@1 to Fireball for quick use.

You try to alter his Chaos/Order balance, but he resists succesfully.

He bounces to your right, and another ball of rock appears in front of him, and heads....its going to clearly miss you by going over your head....And then he's gone....and before you can look about, he's hit you in the back with a blast of wind.

This is getting tiresome. Throw an Order healing wave at the children he hurt. Just a wave of healing Order.

Then Chaos myself up so I can move at his speed. I'm gonna catch him and put him in the hurt locker.

Your first Minor Heal-Area Effect doesn't work, but the second does. 1@2.  And he knocks you skidding across the pavement with another air blast.

"Wheeeeee. You ain't nothing compared to the Bouncer, baby!"

You speed yourself up a bit.  And you're now about as fast as he is, but what's lacking is his powers seem to be instant effect.  Yours takes time to gather up the power.

But he does not seem to be aware that you're a bit faster so....

A bit faster than him? Good.

Walk up to him and give him a nice big hug. Whisper in his ear "I told you we should talk like rational adults but did you listen?"

FLAME ON!!!!! Fry him whilst I'm holding him.

You bear hug him, and 'oof', and the flame gutters and sputters on, and he tried to do something but a scream of pain in the midst interrupted it, and then he t-ported fifty feet down the street with you.

Your flame went out.

Okay, this time I'm going to do Chaos my body, surrounded by Order. That would encase me and anything I'm holding in ice. You know how Bobby Drake from the X-Men can cover himself in ice armor? That's pretty much what I'm doing here. Incinerating him didn't work, I wonder if freezing us will do better.

And I breathe a prayer to the gods of Order and Chaos. "Don't let me verse out. I want to stay here for a while longer."

What can I say? I like being one of the most feared creatures in existence.

The flames trickle on, and you both port, and the flames are extinguished again, and you're fifty more feet down the road.  He head butts your nose, breaking it, spattering blood.

"Let me go!" He screams, desperate, enraged, and still fighting.

Freeze him. Order him frozen.

You try to yank in a lot of energy from the environment, but it fails.  Still you flood him with Order, and he stumbles and falls.

He looks dazed, and is holding up one hand in a pathetic defense.

Pull blacksmithing hammer. Tell him "I told you we should just talk like rational adults."

Break his nose. Eye for an eye, nose for a nose.

"And tell your boss if he's got something to say to me, he can come here and say it himself. Now get lost!!!!"

Heal my nose, heal any kids that are still injured.

Addressing kids "Who wants to learn blacksmithing?"

"I'm sorry." He wobbles up, and staggers away.  Its almost like he's a different person, the way he walks.

Addressing kids "Who wants to learn blacksmithing?"

"Yeah!!" from two dozen boys who excitedly pile up as near to the forge as safe, and then a bit more.
A couple hours pass swiftly, and to your surprise the bell is ringing, and the Principal is saying hesitantly that this is the usual time to send the boys home.  The boys look worried too.
+@1 Animal Magnetism, Teaching.

"Raise your hand if you want to go home."

To all with raised hands "Go home."

"Raise your hand if you want to stay and blacksmith some more."

"Stay and blacksmith some more."

Pretty simple. What? Did they think I was gonna force them to stay?

That half seems what they were expecting.

You lose half the crowd, but the rest tend to be the better students anyways, although not always.

The principal in small ways starts to join in as well.

At a break for a few minutes, you notice a kid in an alley up the street. That is not unusual.  What is unusual is how he is very deep black in Order.

Addressing my students "We're gonna take a break for a minute."

Approach junior here. Just give him a friendly wave and a hello. See how he responds.

"Aaaaaaahh" They whine, and then suddenly shut up as they remember you're an Epic.

The kid is fourteen maybe, and he just stares at you with an intense, focused gaze.  There's no malice, just concentration, and intellect. And then carefully, he nods back, always evaluating.

"Aaaaaaahh" They whine, and then suddenly shut up as they remember you're an Epic.

The kid is fourteen maybe, and he just stares at you with an intense, focused gaze.  There's no malice, just concentration, and intellect. And then carefully, he nods back, always evaluating.

"You want some cheese to go with that whine?"



"Why aren't you over here blacksmithing kid? I'd like to see you step up to the forge."

With that level of Order, he might be able to make black iron. You never know.

But if he doesn't want to step up to the forge, I'll go back and help the other kids.

The principal laughs, but the kids stare at you until one asks...'what's cheese?'

Cautiously the Orderly kid comes over, and soon joins in.  He works well with the metal.

And night comes, and the principal very politely suggests that you come back th enext day,
'

"Principal, do you know what cheese is? Did it fall out of production or something? Get me some milk. I think I can make some for the kids."

A lot of Order with just the right amount of Chaos thrown in should do it.



"Good work kid."



"Will do. Teach these kids something useful for a change."

"Yes. I remember cheese. Mozzarella pizza. Ham and cheese sandwhiches. String cheese. Cheese dip." He's practially salivating.  The kids look bored.

"I was twenty when the Calamity Star rose.  A year after that, I ate my last piece of string cheese."  he looks bitter for a second, and then covers his face, but you hear like an echo...stupid Epics! I'd trade them all for a pepperoni pizza.  "We eat sufficient here in Newcago, thanks to Steelheart, there are no starvation, but ..." and the echo...no chocolate candy bars either.

He nods, and agrees to bring several gallons tommorrow.


The Order kid, his name is Robert, he nods, his eyes studying you.

And as the kids leave, night gathers like a shroud, and Robert turns back to you for a second.

"Nightwielder loves the shadows, Magehammer. Beware his whip."  And then he turns and runs.

"First, show me where to get milk. I think I can do it. Not sure yet. I want to test it first before I feed it to your kids."

Order to make it solid with some Chaos thrown in. Cheese is made with bacteria. So sickness Chaos I suppose. But I definitely want to test it first.

"So Principal, show me where to get milk. You might be rewarded with a piece of cheddar for your trouble."

And I'm letting his other comments go. Nobody likes the Epics. I understand. I wouldn't like them if I wasn't one. I wonder how many Epics there are.

Ask him. "How many Epics are there?"

Too many for me to wipe out?



"Thanks for the tip kid." I say as he runs off.

He shows you to a giant metal cave on the edge of town which is the barn for hundreds of cows.  Beyond the edge is the pastures.

The locals look suspicious, but then the principal talks quietly to one of their foreman, and a little black market deal is struck.  After that, everyone's good friends.  The rough hewn herdsmen and the somewhat staid and well dressed principal enjoying a quiet moment of mutual humanity.

"In Newcago?  There is Steelheart, Firelight, Newton, and The Gent who are High Epics.  Nightwielder and Sourcefield are just supposed to be Epics.  You took down Bouncer who was High Epic.  Newton is a lot of the time out of the city, trying to recruit wilderness Epics and create Steelheart's vision of a Great Lakes Kingdom of the Great, so...."  He shrugs and notes to himself 'I haven't broken the law yet.  After all, I'm just answering the questions an Epic has, and thats by the law'.

"So why don't you have any cheese? Or chocolate?"

But I'm going to start with about a cup of milk. Order to make it smooth and solid, sickness Chaos because I know bacteria is what makes cheese form up.

If it works and smells decent and everything, ask Principal if he wants to give it a taste.

And I'm ready to heal him if he gets sick.

Too many Epics to take down. That's just in Newcago. NUTS!!!

He sighs.

"I actually like to teach.  Not that I get much chance in that school.  Chocolate comes from overseas.  It requires farms in one country, ships passing many lands, refineries in another country, and then trucks to deliver it to all its many destinations, and then it requires customers rich enough to pay for all this."

"We have none of this.  The simplest thing...there are no trucks that drive from New Orleans aka La Bonnes Temp Swamp to Newcago.  Water Witch and Dawnlord got in a battle, she swamped the city.  And before you curse her, Dawnlord was a virus generatorwho was planning on culling humanity."

He shudders.  You make the cheese while he recovers. Then he tries it and goes on.

"It'd be easier with cheese, seeing as Wisconsin is nearby."

And then a voice out of the shadows...

"It sounds like someone is pro-Reckoner, not properly grateful for the kindness Steelheart has shown him." The voice is laughing, mocking, utterly confident, a cat playing with a mouse.  The principal turns mottled in his face in terror, and you can see his Chaos Order balance flailing about.

"I'm Nightwielder, and Steelheart wants to meet you, but I....well, I liked Bouncer, and you made him normal.  So I'll take you safe as houses to Steelheart, provided you come over here and kiss my boot."

.

"How's the cheese? Good enough for the kids?"



"I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Bouncer. If Steelheart wants to talk to me, he can come talk to me himself. I also strongly advised Bouncer to not fight me and just talk like a rational adult. And since I bounced Bouncer, what makes you think you can stand up to me?"

Then I crack the knuckles on both of my hands. "A whole school full of kids watched me kick the crap out of Bouncer. Do you want these fine gentlemen to watch me kick the crap out of you?"

Having the support of the people is never a bad thing.

Two posts

Referee, do not respond to this (yet) It's just so I don't forget this awesome idea.

Tomorrow have the kids blacksmith themselves each a small knife. Then I turn them into Black Iron.

Guess what Steelheart? I just gave 50 kids Chaos weapons.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:56, Wed 06 May 2015.

Nobody says anything, but you can hear the echo of what the workers would say...

"Shove his teeth done his throat."
"Kill him, and dump his body in the manure tank."

Nightwielder laughs, easily, maliciously.  he's having a great time.

"Good. Good. I really wanted to hurt you.  You took on Bouncer, yay for you little Epic.  I've taken on Saphire, Maniac, and DreadMax. Killed them all. " But not really, not DreadMax.

The night seems to have slipped into the barn, and lights are going out.

"You guys better not be talking about me there."

Of course not, they're saying that about whoever wins. But after I kick this guy's @$$, I'm gonna ask them who they were rooting for. Lying causes Chaos, so I'll know.



Order/Chaos. Like how the flame on Order keeps me cool while the rest of me bursts into Chaos flames. Same thing, except I'm producing blinding light levels. But I'm Ordered so I can see normally without getting blinded. This guy likes darkness huh?

So, LIGHT ON!!!!! Blind everyone. Especially him.

You try to bend the Chaos that way, and at first it doesn't work, then you try it another way, and suddenly you're surrounded by a fierce, brightly glowing light.  But even as you see a booted and cloaked and masked (black and purple) with a whip with a metal knife attached to it man appear cringing back in front of you, you realize something went wrong.

The light is glowing brightly, illuminating the room like ten times noon, and yet you don'[t feel any power drain from it.

Nightwielder turns to flee...

I don't see why that would be a problem, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough....



"Here, catch!!!"

Throw a couple 9mm slugs at him.

OOC) When are you gonna reply to your game?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:48, Wed 06 May 2015.

You shoot him in the back, killing him.

+@1 pistol use.

You're still glowing like a small star, so to speak.

Try to turn that off, but even if I can't:


Addressing the workers who were saying this:

"And, uh, who were you wishing this on? Who were you rooting for? Please tell the truth. Be advised that I can tell if someone is lying. If telling the truth will get you into trouble, try to imagine how much more trouble you will get into if you lie to me."

And I'm watching for lying Chaos.

I'm taking Nightwielder's whip. That's mine now.

You can't turn it off.

They are suddenly very nervous, and after a lot of apologizing, they get to the idea that they were rooting for either one of you.  They just wanted to see a painfully dead Epic.

Its a whip, but with a very sharp short dagger entwined into the end strands.  Twenty feet long, very nice construction.

I laugh hard at this. "Very good answer there boys. That's actually the answer I was hoping for."

I totally understand. No matter who won the fight, to them, it's one less Epic.

Ask Principal if he liked the cheese I made. If so, ask if the workers want me to turn more milk into cheese. Benevolent ruler with an iron fist.

Ask them, "And what can you tell me about Steelheart? Is he really steel? Would he be susceptible to a magnetic attack?"

When I get back to the forge, I'm going to build an electromagnet out of black iron. Ten times the magnetic attractiveness. Steelheart won't be so tough then.



HEHEHEHEHE!!!!! Start practicing, but mostly it's for show. Now I wish I would have taken something off of Bouncer. Wear the whip in plain sight outside my coat. Like wearing a sign that says "I defeated Nightwielder." Maybe the next Epic won't be so eager if he sees that.



That bytes. Well, I'm leaving now. Think Orderly thoughts. Think Order. That might help. Hope it turns off before another Epic shows up to my beacon wanting to fight.

Unless you stop them, they take Nightwielder's body, after looking in the pockets for loot, and tied a few bricks to it, and toss it in one of the manure tanks that holds about ten thousand gallons of the stuff.  The way they do it...suggests this is not the first time they've disposed of a body.

And you're still glowing, very brightly, eye-hurtingly (to others) so.

The principal nods.  "Its like a tangy mozzarella." He thinks.  "needs....needs salt. Yeah, they put salt in cheese."  The workers are going to agree with pretty much whatever you ask them, you being an Epic.  You can see how this could be corrupting, even if you don't have the Standard Epic Megalomania and Homicidal Impulses Package.

One guy saw him up close.

"Looked like glowing, faintly, stainless steel to me.  I mean kinda sorta. You know."

Others point out he can fly, and he can throw massive explosive power bolts.  His eyes are pink, glowing.

It takes a couple hours, but you have your electromagnetic black iron, and +@1 to blacksmithing.

Still glowing.

Its near midnight.

I'll take 10 gallons of their milk and make it into cheese for them. Any of them that wants some cheese, help themselves. It's always best to be the dictator with the support of the people.

I want a huge electromagnet. If Steelheart comes for me, I'll give him something to play with.

Go back to my room and try to sleep. Maybe sleeping will turn the light off. Blindfold myself if I have to.

When I wake up, go back to the school and get the kids out. Robert, the exceptionally Orderly kid first. Ask him "How would you like to be an Epic Robert?"

Give him an Ordered black iron nail.

"Robert, this is a magic wand."

See what he does with it.

For the rest of them, get them started making knives.

OOC) There's something I've been wondering about for a while. To do this in game would violate World Walker's policy, but I'm wondering about the world. Within the world, if an Epic wanted to go to the all girls school and select a harem of "Servant Girls" they wouldn't even try to stop him. Is that right? Magehammer would so do that.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:22, Thu 07 May 2015.

You have to blindfold yourself.  You still glow when you wake.

Its enough that normal humans are going to have difficulty being near you....

All I can think is put out lots of Order. Hope to cancel out the light.

You smoothly start generating Order, and then ramp it up rapidly.  The room flashes black then white, then black. And you're normal, but you have a serious headache, and its hard to see.

And then there is a massive flux of Chaos outside the door, to match the Order.  And then flames, in great sheets, and billowing waves pour into the room.

"I am Firelight!!"  You hear from beyond the fire and the smoke.

You smoothly start generating Order, and then ramp it up rapidly.  The room flashes black then white, then black. And you're normal, but you have a serious headache, and its hard to see.

And then there is a massive flux of Chaos outside the door, to match the Order.  And then flames, in great sheets, and billowing waves pour into the room.

"I am Firelight!!"  You hear from beyond the fire and the smoke.

That's the problem with being The Champion. Everybody and his brother wants to fight you.

Since I'm doing Order already, I'll let some Order out, put out the fires, then step out into the hallway.

"I AM MAGEHAMER!!!! What do you want?"

Order his flames out, freeze him solid. And don't forget to take a souvenir.

You also feel a connection, as if your Order drew Firelight's Chaos....

You lock up the oxygen in chains of Order, and the fire dies down to reveal a tall, braod-shouldered man covered in flame.

"You dead."

Flames gush out of his hands, and hurl toward you....

Order his flames out, freeze him solid. And don't forget to take a souvenir.

You smash his flames down with ease, and he flees up and back, burning a way through a blanket overhang.  You reach out to slam him, and there's something terribly odd about him, as if he's not really there... and the power flares....and you're ...

...Waking up...some one is patting you on the arm.

"Wake up, Mister.  Wake up.  They search for you."

Its the orderly kid, and you're blind, an dyou have a headache that would incapacitate a normal person.

Remove Chaos to heal. This isn't the kind of thing you fix by adding Order.



"Hey Robert. Who is searching for me? How long have I been out?"

Give him a black iron nail.

"Do you want to be an Epic Robert? This is a magic wand."

See what he does with it. That level of Order, he might be able to do something with it. Let's see.

You start using your powers, and you hit the ground, gasping for breath.

"O....kay. Um, the Protectors are searching for you.  Which is against the Law." He sounds indignant. 'Gent is directing them, and that's bad because he's got a one minute precog.'

"Wand...Lead me to Phaedrus."

He holds your arm as you get back to your feet.  He starts to draw you on your way, showing his Orderly nature by precisely and concisely telling you where to step.

"Two steps, and then up one step. long one step. Turn right. More right. Duck.'

I'm blind, but can I still use Order sight?

"How is that wand working for you Robert?"

OOC) And when will Tadeusz reply to his game?

Yes, and no way.  Trying to use any Order or Chaos makes you nearly pass out.

"It's strange. I'm not gripped by the crazy new Epics have, but I can sense a safe path. We have to stop....now go...turn right, staircasedown.  Its very tiring."

"Yeah Robert, I know what you mean. This magic wears me down. I'm blind. See if you can heal my eyes. Healing was one of the first things I learned how to do. But I can't do it right now for some reason. If you pass out, I can carry you out of here. It's either that or you're gonna have to fight the Protectors and the Epic that's coming."

I imagine I'd do better against them with guns than he would do with his new found Order magic.

"I ....have a problem, Magehammer." And he leans you against the wall. His voice is forbidding.  "I was seven years old when my father accidentally shot Steelheart, who my fatherloved.  See, my Dad believed in Superheroes.  They were going to come and show us how to be BETTER."

He pauses, and you can hear the cold wrath in the voice.

"My father loved Steelheart.  And he got repaid by being ripped in half.  I spent the next decade looking for ways to kill Epics.  Kill Steelheart.  Now i hold your life in my hands, and i don't know what to do."

Speaking seriously. "Let me tell you something kid. You want to kill me, go ahead and kill me. I'm giving you a free pass so it doesn't bother your conscience. HOWEVER!!!!! You would be killing the one and only Epic who can teach you to use that magic wand you've got. I can also help you get stronger in other ways. You'd also be killing someone that also wants to kill Epics, although probably not for the same reasons. Where I come from we have a saying. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' What that means is that I am your friend. So if you want to kill me, go ahead and kill me. But you will be killing your only possible protector and ally."

"On the other hand, if you want to have a protector and ally, then heal my eyes and we'll face this problem together. I can make you weapons much more powerful than that magic wand you've got. We'll take out the Epics together."

And then when they're all gone, we'll rule the world, but I'm not saying that to him.

He grunts in surprise.

"You're a Gifter, that's why I have these powers. Sourcefield and Comet are supposed to be Gifter's too."  But then his moment of revelation goes away, and the air turns cool.  He steps closer, not close enough for you to easily grab him, but you're pretty sure he's sizing you up for a one strike one kill.

Then he begins to murmur. And with greater and greater intensity, throwing himself into it.

"Heal. Heal....'  He never shouts but by the end you can hear groans in between the words, and lightning is jumping about in your head.

And then you can see.  He falls bonelessly.  He's almost not breathing.  After a minute, his breathing comes bsack to normal, but he's out.

You can feel that your powers are very fragile right now.  You could easily kill yourself by some of the normal things you do with them.

"Thanks kid."

Find a corner to sit in with a clear line of sight. Pull the AK-47 from the pack and sit down with the kid and rest. I'm in no shape to fight so find a defensive position. Anyone that tries to sneak up on me is just going to walk into my line of sight with the AK-47. Just sit back and rest until Robert wakes up.

Time for GE rolls...

Three minutes later, one guy stumbles past your little spot, and almost gets himself killed, but then turns aside, and goes on shouting to his peers in the Protectors.

Twenty minutes later, a prepared looking guy steps out, and he's holding his rifle well...You fumble the shot, too tired, andthe gun slips from your fingers.  He hits you int the trench coat with a pulse of blue energy that hurts like scalding water.

He throws his hands up....

It occurs to you that the Protectors searching for you have had over a decade of training in doing whatever the Epic says....and they're obeying Steelheart, but probably everyone of them wishes he was at home right now.

Has to obey Steelheart, but doesn't want to battle Magehammer. I can deal with that.

I keep forgetting I also have psionics.......

"Just walk away. Tell your buddies this area is secure, no need to check it any further. Go home and hug your wife and kids."

And telepathically project into his mind horrors beyond measure. The worst bits of every horror movie I've ever seen.

"And if you don't, that's what will happen. You get me?"

It takes him a good ten seconds to stammer out a 'yes'.

Eventually, the night falls, and the search ends.  Robert wakes.  You feel thirsty, hungry, and still kinda fragile, but not so much as before.

New use psi.

"Robert, you awake? I'm dead thirsty, how about you? Something you can do with this magic is turn the humidity in the air into drinkable water. Why don't you try that? I'll try to support you while you're doing it."

I might even loan him my hammer to use for the attempt, if that would make it easier.

But I should have some food in my pack.

We need to find a safe place to rest for a while. Does Robert know anywhere? He's been trying to take out Epics, does he have a safe house anywhere?

"uMMM....yeah...ok...." He sits up, and yawns.

Then he picks up his wand, and pulls out a metal cup.  When he picks up the hammer, his eyes gowide.

He casts the spell, and its cold, clean water.  He does it again for himself. Then he's shaking a bit.

"I have a hidey hole, but..." he looks skeptical.  "Cometo my apartment.'

Its three stories up, and carved out of steel, but nicer than you expect.  Inside, along with some other things (bread, frozen hot dogs, milke, water jug full!!!!!) is an overstuffed folder with hundreds of pages of detailed notes of observational data and power theory, and rankingsof types, and  weaknesses...

There is no signof a weapon more than a knife.

Sit down and study this. Especially weaknesses.

"If all you've got is a knife, what were you planning to do to fight them?"

"The Reckoners track them down, and kill them, sometimes.  But they've never taken down a High Epic.  I wanted to meet the Reckoners..."

The weaknesses are divided into three groups.
1. Tactical weaknesses, such as Bouncer being less effective in a field of weeds as it limits his tporting.
2. Other limits like 'Bouncer can teleport at a maxium of sixty times  before needed to recharge, and a minimal jump time between jumps of .4 second.
3. Cancelling out weaknesses. None listed for Bouncer, but for Tri-strike, the presence of purple flowers, for Maximum Madness, Mozart music is theorized to cancel out there powers.

Its seems as if every Epic has their own peculiar kryptonite.

He shows you a couple plans for Dead Detroit, an Epic, with the ability to 'animate' dead beetles, how he would take him out wiht a knife.  Another with Pansy.  Both plans show serious thought, and planning.

"Well Robert, let's rest up here a bit. Practice with that wand. I'll help you. Maybe in a week or so, after we're better, we'll go Epic hunting. What do you think?"

Study his list. Find the weakest Epics. I'm probably a High Epic. Does he know how to contact these Reckoners? Maybe I could lead them against someone.

The idea here is to be a benevolent ruler with an iron fist. It's always good to be the dictator with the support of the people.

"I used my Adulthood Startout Fund to pay for this nice apartment with food for three months,,,,on that same idea.  I'd read, study, get ready..."

He's quietly enthused.

He's got Epics listed all over the US, or former US of A.

Allerjack, Powderhead, The Living Toad, and Destroy Cart seem to be a balance of close and weak.  None are in Newcago.

The definition of a High Epic is someone who can resist with good success a bullet by whatever means.  Your shields and healing probably qualify you.

As to the last, indeed.

"What are you doing to get ready? All I see here as far as weapons is a knife. Do you have any guns? I've got a lot of guns. I could let you have one."

Certainly some of these Epics could be taken down by a few bullets.



"Who are the Reckoners? Tell me more about them. Steelheart seems to be the Big Man on Campus. If we could raise an army of low Epics and Reckoners perhaps we could take him on."

Maybe they might accept a more benevolent ruler over Steelheart. Let the pawns go first.



So that's why dude changed his mind about attacking me when my coat absorbed his laser blast. Interesting.

But help Robert get some magic training. Maybe skip the week till my magic is back up to snuff. Then go back to the school and blacksmith with the students. Make Robert an Order hammer.

He has plans for contacting the Reckoners.  He has a good thirty pages of analysis on them, and on their target choices, and he seems to think that The Gent, who is a precog High Epic in Newcago was their next most likely choice.

He doesn't have a gun.  Guns, except for Protectors, are illegal in Newcago.

He agrees that he's low on firepower, but he argues that in order to take on Epics, intelligence and careful planningis far more important.

He nods.  He has considered raising an army.  In fact, he has a list of choices for the job.

Robert is happy to learn 'magic'.  What do you teach him first?

"How do you take on a guy who knows what you're going to do before you do?"



"Are guns illegal for Epics? Because that's what you are now Robert."

Ask him if he's got a heavy hammer. A sledgehammer or some other that would be suitable for blacksmithing. Maybe I can change it into black iron for him.



"A gun never hurts."

I think I've got an M-16 and some more pistols. Not on me of course, but I'll give those to him.



"Let me see that."

What's it say?



"You made it rain. Try freezing it into ice. That's gotten me out of a jam or two."

"One minute out.  So you draw a big circle of doom with him in it,  You wait realy stealthy, and then oncehe's in....you draw in the circle.  Make all his choices to be lethal choices, until finally you get him."

It sounds incredibly difficult to manage.

"No." He takes the gun,and thoughtfully racks it, and checks if its loaded.

"I can get one." He says.  He does not have much in the way of possesions.

He takes your weapon with a sudden, flashing smile.

more later....

He gladly takes the higher firepower, although he disses the M-16 a bit.
"Okay for shooting deer, okay for wounding men,not so good at Epics who tend to be tougher than normal guys.'

A hundred miles westof Newcago is a small, copper mining town run by Glasswelt with a couple hundred miners and their families in the town of Morrissey's Bend.  Arc  works for her, but by all accounts she abuses everyone....She is said to have been a kickboxer, and a serial arsonist if you ticked her off.  She was in jail at Calamity.

That's his theorized army.

Arc can throw moderate bolts.  He can 'inhabit' copper.  He can 'jump' magnetically.
Glasswlt can heat a man to melting glass temp, and weld pieces of glass togetehr, she is thoughtohave several other powers, and to be High Epic.

After several tries he starts dropping piles of ice on the floor.

"Where do Epics go when they're wounded? Is there an Epics hospital? I'm a trained medic. Maybe I could try to get into a hospital. Taking them out when they're already weakened might work too. Surreptitious strategy."

What does he think?

(Doing Therapy)

Two Posts

Can I freeze time? Everyone else is frozen, but I can still move? Not accelerate myself to speeds faster than time, freeze it time for everyone but me. Pull up all of the Chaos in a given area, then push out Order like it was going out of style. That would stop all movement of any kind. Maybe even the movement of time in a confined area.

If I could freeze time for 61 or more seconds, then Dude's 1 minute precog is useless. By the time he saw he saw it coming, he'd be frozen in time. Wouldn't matter. I just walk up to him, and that's that.

Try that. Does Rob have a pet? A caged rodent? A goldfish or something? Try to freeze time in a small confined area like a fish tank or animal cage. Good a place to start as any.

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 14:36, Tue 09 June 2015.

"Hospital? No."  He acts like this is a weird idea, and then it sparks a thought.  "Oh, Bandaid....yeah, he's in Florida...supposed to be able to heal almost anything.  Or that's what I've heard...you understand from that far away we're talking friend of a friend of a friend heard something."

He frowns.  And then shakes his head. That's the best he's got.

Your freezing time idea sounds like it would work, but you'd need a major source of energy to tap into.  Doing this spell on your own personal energy would kill you quick.

I think we should just skip the week. I'll stay here or wherever Robert thinks is safe, and he can do whatever he wants. I need to get my powers back.

Looking for a source of Order. Maybe Order sighting out the window if it's not too strenuous. But skip the week and rest up.

I love this magic, but I'm looking forward to the day when I'm strong enough that it doesn't wear me out like this.

(Doing Therapy)

The week passes, and your student gets considerably better.  You feel strong and well rested, and know much more about Newcago and Post Calamity America.

You gain plus two to your teaching skill.

But you realize that your magic does tend to have certain limits.  Its rough on the body, and to do something really awesome, you need to tap into an outside source of Chaos or Order.  On the plus side, your magic is well suited to massive power displays.

OOC: The Easthorn Mountains were raised by tapping into the magma chaos.  The world weather was changed by Kresten the Black by twisting the jet streams, but this almost killed him and his wife who were both three at level casters, and injured their skill and healthfor th erest of their life.  Also, the City of Fairhaven was melted by magic.

You're getting better at using large volumes of magic.  Your environment is soaked in Chaos as the orange light of the Calamity Star carries Chaos.  But you need Order for your time magic.

Go back to the boy's school, teach them blacksmithing. Make Robert an Order hammer.

Order sight periodically for a source of Order. But I'm doing this openly. Bring on the Epics.

Robert loves his new hammer, even more than the wand.  And it takes you about three minutes to find a massive source of Order....Newcago itself is a massive chunk of steel.

Some guy comes running up to you.
"Magehammer, ah," pant "Uh, The Gent is coming. He's walking up the road, ah, six, maybe five blocks away.'

The kids scatter, except for Robert who hefts his hammer.

"Robert, what's the stats on The Gent? What's his thing? Weaknesses? Speak quickly boy!!!"

So steel is Orderly? I'll have to remember that.

"The Gent. Male, White. Acrobatic. Can precog one minute into the future.  Likes to hear himself talk.  Considered a High Epic.  Specific Weakness is unknown.  Known to be arrogant and lazy due to his thinking his power protects him.  Does not use weapons.  May have some minor superstrength in the Class D range."

He rattles it off quickly.

"Best tactical suggestion for a quick combat is to seek an open area, and use as many grenades as possible."

A Class D power is weak.

OOC) I'm wondering how the referee is going to handle that one minute precog.

IC) "Robert, let's wait for him to show up. See what he wants. Maybe he doesn't want to fight. It's possible."

But prepare to draw Order from the steel around me to freeze time. If I can freeze time for 61 seconds, then by the time he sees it coming, it will be too late for him to do anything about it. Freeze time for everyone but myself. So I can move but no one else can.

Except for that one minute precog, it sounds like Magehammer could take this guy with his bare hands.

His hair is neat, and he's dressed in a suit, tie, wingtips, and a trenchcoat.

'Good evening, Magehammer.' He speaks from about ten feet away.  Robert is still holding his hammer, and almost hyperventilating.

Give Robert a sideways glance. "Robert, draw some Order. It'll calm you down."

Then addressing the Gent. "Okay, did you come here to fight or do you want to talk like a civilized human being?" Show him the whip I took "I've already defeated Nightwielder and a few others. Do you want to go, or do you want to talk?"

But he already knew I was gonna say that.......

Robert breathes in, and you see a black haze seem to swirl around him, and dive into the solid steel of Newcago so as to root him in place.  He seems calmer, more solid, and yet more dangerous all at once.

"I like to talk. Could be because before Calamity, I was the state's best salesman for high-end cars, two years running." He smiles. "Makes me different than the average High Epic." But at the same time, behind the easy facade, you see the same arrogance of a High Epic.  He's better at hiding it.

"Now, you've made quite the commotion. What do you want?"

"What do I want? I want to replace Steelheart as the Big Man On Campus. I want to overthrow that tyrant and replace him with a different tyrant. That being myself. The way I see it, you have two choices. Join me against Steelheart and maybe, just maybe, you'll be put into a better position of power. Your other choice is to fight me and die. Because you will die if you fight me. So what's it gonna be? Join me or die?"

Preparing to draw Order to freeze time.

He laughs, and says..."I require a better deal than that.  I know where Sourcefield is hiding."
He walks forward a few steps.
He sidesteps, and Robert moves, but then halts.  He sidesteps again, and a bolt of black order flies past his face, originating with Robert's hammer.
"A lot better deal.  Maybe a co-regency. You and me, partners."

"Cut that out Robert."

"Tell me more Gent. And stop advancing on me. No need to be invading my personal space here."

"Sourcefield is a Gifter, like you are, but he only has Gifter powers.  He provides the power cells for the Protectors, and the electricity for the city of Newcago.  He's not much of a fighter, being a pure Gifter."

He pauses, gulps.
"Steelheart is another matter. I've considered attacking him, and in every future I saw, I died."

"Gifter? What? Somebody that gives gifts? You see I made him that hammer. Robert's an Epic now too."

What's Gent's level of Order? I'd rather raise an Order army than a Chaos army. At least here....

And check for Order levels in others. Especially the boys at the school. Anyone else with high Order?

Still speaking to the Gent. "I know how to make electricity. Easy. I can take that over. Do you think Sourcefield would join or fight?"



"Was I in any of those futures?"

Could change things.

OOC) Just once, I'd like to rule an entire world. I've been mayor of cites. But I want to rule an entire world. Benevolent ruler with an iron fist.

(Doing Therapy)

"Gifters are able to give others superhuman powers, temporarily."
He explains.

Gent is more CHaos than Order, but he does have a frame of Order that encases him.

There are a couple lads with more Order than Gent, but no one nearly such as Robert.

"Sourcefield. Heh. He's going to do whatever the man with the power says to do.  You can't really blame him.  He doesn't have an offensive power.  But he's useful, so Steelheart gives him a big house, and servants, and guards."

He shakes his head.

OOC: Its possible here, but frankly unlikely.  Steelheart's really tough, but they are a dozen in the USA equally as tough.  Now granted, you have a lot of advantages since you're not an Epic, but an Order/Chaos Mage, but then that has its own limits too which they don't have.

Probably next world is one without magic, tho'....

OOC) Sorry it's taken so long to post. I really have no excuse for it. I just didn't feel like it.

IC) "So what do you guys think we should do here?"

OOC:  Sometimes I get that way too.

Gent smiles.

"What say I tell you where Steelheart is, and i wander off because I did not find you..."

Robert snorts.

"Yes Gent, tell me where Steelheart is."

And once he tells me, attempt to freeze time for 61 seconds. By the time he sees it coming, it will be too late for him to react.

"Sorry Gent, I don't need the competition."

A few good whacks with the blacksmithing hammer ought to take care of him. Then search him for a suitable trophy to take.

"On the Observation Deck of the Chrysler Building, looking at us now." He says, smirking, and then you grasp for Order, sinking your mind into the mass of megatonnes of steel that is Newcago.  Above you, Calamity beams down Chaos, and far below you, you feel the Chaos of the Earth's magma, but here, now, is a vast reservoir of Order.

Its cool, soothing, serene...

You feel Robert join you, offering his help even though he does not know what you're doing.

And time stops.

Two hits with the hammer, and Gent is very dead, his skull caved in.

He's got a nice wristwatch, and leather gloves....

Take the watch. Order flight to the top of the Chrysler building and Chaos some electricity into it. But it's Ordered Chaos. I'm trying to magnetize the top of the building. Trap Steelheart up there.

Creating ordered chaos is much more powerful, and you do so, and its like a pair of roaring streams inside your head that are trying to rip you in two.  And then click, and it works, and the power floods out...only to realize you did it wrong.

You're attached to your hammer, and your hammer is magnetically attracted with massive force to the Deck. Suddenly you bolt forward, not under your control.

A brilliant purple splash ligh flares behind you, exploding chunks out of another skyscraper.  As you get closer, you see a seven foot tall man with glowing purple eyes, with the attitude of "I am the king" standing on the deck.

OOC: Yep that was a botch.  And you're right that Claire Danes did not helpthe oview much.

I guess I'll have to do this, what is expression? Old Fashioned Way. Glad I'm carrying the 9mm and not the 50 revolver. The 9mm is all aluminum, the bullets are brass, copper and lead. So it's not magnetic at all. On the other hand, I have doubts about whether or not it could hurt Steelheart, but there's only one way to find out.

"Hey Steelheart, say hello to my Little Friend!!!!"

Empty the 9mm at him.

You have one hand attached to the hammer, and the hammer is attached to the Observation Deck floor.  You are standing on solid steel, and the whole building doe not sway, instead it hums since its one chunk of steel with empty holes for office spaces from before the transformation.

Using your other hand, you let fly, and three bullets hit Steelheart.  One bounces in a richochet just past your left leg.

"Little indeed." He sneers.  "Come on, Magehammer, is it?  The way you blasted through my forces, I thought you were going to be tough.  Interesting."

He doesn't attack.  Instead, he makes his right hand glow purple.  Its strongly Chaotic.

Can I let go of the hammer? Is it still stuck?

If it is still stuck and I can't let go, can I kneel on my trenchcoat so it's insulating me from the deck and then electrocute Steelheart? Kneel on the trenchcoat so I'm not touching the deck and fry Steelheart. Can I do that?

You and the hammer are still stuck, and although you try hard the free Chaos in the area seems to be moving toward Steelheart, and his control.  He points his hand casually, and you see death in his smile.

KZZRAPPPP!!

A bolt of purple light tears at you, rips up the roof, tosses you and the hammer and about five thousand pounds of roof steel skyward, and then earthward.  You're tumbling free, amidst dust and hundred pound chunks of melted steel.  Your kevlar coat looks to have two large holes in it.

He did not hit you dead on.  You feel like two NFL linebackers tackled you.

Am I dead or about to be? Let it happen. Twas fun whilst it lasted.

OOC:Maybe. Steelheart is dangerous.

You are falling to your death from a hundred story skyscraper made of solid steel, right now. About four short turns till fatal impact...

OOC) Okay, I thought I was dead already.

Order flight back up to Steelheart. "You Gonna Pay For That Buddy!!!!"

Chaos him to rust down to nothing. Rust him to dust. Rust dust hahaha. Chaos Steelheart into rusty nothingness.

You drop ten stories before you link enough air molecules together in order bonds to fly.  Dodging a chunk of steel the size of VW bug, you rise to the surface, and draw in massive Chaos...

The most obvious source for the amount of Chaos you're wanting is the star, Calamity.

And you suck it in....

Hello. The voice is in your head.  Its neither male nor female, and definitely not human.I am the one the Children of Adam call 'Calamity'.

And pour out Chaos fire, and Steelheart dives off the skyscraper in a shining streak that takes him a hundred yards away where he stops and rotates to face you with a smirk on his face.  A twenty yard wide circle of the tower turns to rust and then falls into the floor below it.

"Hope the norms are getting a good look at this.  It will save problems in the future if they see how invincible I am."

And yet, like an undertone, you hear Steelheart telling himself that he is invincible.  He's killed this guy, and that guy, and ...

So we're both flying?


"Nice to meet you Calamity. How about a little help?"

Another Chaos rust blast. Be prepared to move it with him. If he starts moving right, move it with him.

You're both flying.  He seems to have purple energy swathing his feet which is holding him up.  You of course, are riding an air surfboard.

Do you want to be an Epic? Calamity replies.

You gather in the chaos strongly, let loose, and the wind catches you, and you rip off the top of the Sears Tower with your blast.  Steelheart bellows out his laughter which echoes about the city.  Tauntingly he draws in the purple energy around his hand.

"This is going to hurt."

You can see he is playing with you.  He's so arrogant that he's basically walking in a foot race.

"Uh, yeah!!! What can you do for me?"



Throw up an Order shield. I'm ready for him!!!

Is Steelheart Ordered or Chaos? Maybe I'm going about this all wrong. Maybe I should try to him him with Order instead.

Draw Order from the steel. Try to overpower his Chaos magic with it.

"This....." You hear, and its like a lightning bolt cleaves your skull.  You drop, and then suddenly when you realize you have, you lift back up, surrounded by a ten yard wide field of red lightning.

Steelheart shoots you, and his beam scorches your chest, and you .....eat the pain, and you're whole.

You can't see Order or Chaos, but that doesn't matter because all you want to do is kill.  How dare this idiot stand in your way?  How dare the puny humans below you not bow down to kiss the ground as you walk by?  Don't they know who, don't they know what you are?

You are a High Epic.

OOC) I bet this is how a lot of versers would start to feel after a while. The indigs are just toys for their amusement. The torture, murder, arson etc of indigs would become meaningless to them. I think Magehammer would end up like that, if he's not already.

IC) I'm just gonna fly straight at Steelheart, arms outstretched and give him a hug. Then Flame On, hot enough to melt steel.

You grab him, and he screams in agony as the red lightning surrounds him, and arcs from his mouth and eyes.  You try to Flame On, but Chaos and Order don't seem to exist.  Steelheart thrashes, and accidentally shatters your right shoulder.

It hurts, and then you swallow the pain somehow, and your arm is whole.

OOC: Right now, its worse. You WANT to slaughter.  Good thing the one closest to you, who you really, really want to slaughter is someone who's repeatedly volunteered for vengeance.

"Okay flick stick, we'll do this The Hard Way!!!"

Still holding him with my left hand, start bashing his face with my hammer.

And I'm chanting "DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY!!!!" With every blow I make.

Broken nose. Smash. Scream of pain.
Scrape cheekbone.
He crushes his hand on your arm. Or tries to. Massive charley horse in his forearm.  Look of panic in his eyes as red lightning leaps from them.
He ducks his head right. Miss. He ducks his head left. Miss. He chuckles evilly.
He puts his other hand on your jacket, and fires a pulse burst. It shreds and catches on fire. Your coat is now thoroughly on fire.
Smash in the jaw.
Smash in the cheekbone as he yanks his head back, but not far enough.
You're screaming 'Destroy" and he's screaming "AAAAARGGGGGH" in rage and pain.

Order/Chaos magic isn't working so I can't put my coat out. Strange that it's burning considering it's fireproof..... But I do know even water will burn under the right circumstances, so I'm not contesting it at all. I'm probably only vaguely aware of it, actually. I've been in this kind of rage before. Psychotic rage? Yeah, it's real thing. Been there done that. The rest of the world doesn't really exist, except for the target of your rage.

I can't imagine anything here would be changing my course of action though. So, hammer blow, chanting "DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY!!!!!" with every strike.

DESTROY!!!!

You spin his head to the right, denting his face.

DESTROY!!!!

You flatten his nose again.

DEST...

He grabs you by the jacket, and flings you backwards to smash into a skyscraper.  You are dazed and falling, and over at least a dozen bones are broken.  But it put the fire out.  And you 'eat' the pain, and heal, and then you're flying, but Steelheart is diving straight down toward you....

Wait till he's like 5 feet from me, then free fall. Let him smash into the side of the building, then I come back up. I'm behind him, and he's between me and a building. Or to put it a different way, between a hammer and a hard place.

"DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY!!!!"

You freefall, and he bends into the curve a quarter second later, and grabs your jacket with both hands while you are still dropping.

Gentle push with hammer.
Smack, knocking out  a  tooth.

He tries to crush your arm, but the jacket resists.

Bam. The hammer slips out of your hands...

He grins at you with a chilling and wide smile even as you both race head first toward the ground.

I built an electromagnet just for this. Telepathy Robert and tell him to switch it on. Steelheart should be drawn to it.

But try to fly. Pull away from him. Get a few yards away and blast him with an explosive from my double barrel shotgun.

What happens?

Its....Its not working!...Its not...

And suddenly Steelheart is yanked away from you, and you fling him further with your hands in a quick fumble.  A baffled look on his face, and you are slowing, as the winds hook up together underneath you...

Boom.

The shotgun goes off. You've managed to hit the ground with your shotgun blast.

A purple blast of energy from his hand slams you in the chest....

So the magnet did attract him. Good.

Concentrate on getting to the ground in one piece. Retrieve my hammer and whatnot.

"Robert, help me add Order to that electromagnet. We'll crush him in his own body."

That's the idea. Make the magnet so powerful that it crushes Steelheart's steel body on itself.

You don't have Order.  But you swallow what pain you're feeling, and suddenly your body is whole, and without injury,  and surrounded by a ball of flickers of red lightning.

Robert summons Order, and for a second he glows...Black. Then he passes out.

"You've got a Pain Generating Field around your body.  And it seems if you can bear the pain of healing, you can heal from even major injuries in seconds. And you have a very high pain threshold.  Plus, I think that's telekinetic flight, which suggests the pain and healing are some form of TK as well."  Steelheart pauses.

"You aren't blasting me with the hammer anymore. Odd. Anyways, i think I'll call you Paineater."

And then his right hand starts to glow purple.

"I'll inscribe it on your tombstone."

This is driving Magehammer nuts that he can't use his Order/Chaos magic. He can't figure out what to do now.

Eh screw it. I'll do it, what is expression? Old Fashioned Way.

Pull the AK-47 from the backpack. 100 round drum. AK-47 rounds are light armor piercing by their design. Let's see if he can stand up to that.

"SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!!!!"

You spray him, struggling to keep the barrel down, but it seems easier somehow, and each bullet is covered by red lightning.  Over a dozen hit, and hammers him to his knees.

You reset your grip, hang on for dear life, and fire another thirty. He weaves at the last second, and only a few hit him in the legs.

And then you go for another...and he shoots straight up and away...after a few seconds, you realize he's not coming back.  He's boogieing out of there.

You have twenty five bullets left.  And he looked in severe pain, and he had lots of dimples all over his shiny chest.  You've been hit by a couple richochets, but you heal yourself.

However, you still feel rage, and there are people near you, including Robert....

"Where ya going sweetheart????"

I'm going to try to chase Steelheart. I know this rage I'm in all too well. If I can't chase Steelheart, someone innocent will suffer, and I can't have that.

So take what little focus I have left and pursue Steelheart. Hammer in hand. Sling the AK over my shoulder.

I can't seem to throw Order/Chaos, but I can seem to throw red lightning. Try to throw that at him. Still using the hammer as a focal point for it. Throwing it from the hammer.

OOC) Did I ever tell you that, years before you even took over my game, God told me that you would give me the name Magehammer? I had a vision of it years before you even took over my game.

OOC: I'll tell my wife...its interesting.

You soar after him, but he's faster than you.

But just as you're about to descend on the crowd's below like an angry god, you see him land on the roof of a sports stadium.  He's clearly hurt, and he's not looking behind him.

I can't seem to throw Order/Chaos, but I can seem to throw red lightning. Try to throw that at him. Still using the hammer as a focal point for it. Throwing it from the hammer.

Lightning flares out, and Steelheart arcs his back in agony.  He steps up, each step shaking the whole dome like it was jello instead of solid steel.  And then the whole dome goes, cracks spreading faster than you can see, shattering the whole dome with a booming screech that knocks the wind from your lungs, and sets your ears to ringing.

You see Steelheart go down in the midst of this.  He dissapers fromt sight.

As if speaking to a child of single-digit age:

"Hey Steelheart, come here baby."

Follow him. Make sure he's dead.

(Doing Therapy)

Down amongst the chunks of steel roof, you see Steelheart half buried under a block the size of a small battle tank.

You're surrounded by many tons of blocks and metal rubble on all sides as the whole roof of the dome caved in.  The walls are vibrating as well with a singing tension that whines loudly through the air.

Fly out. Once I'm clear, demolish the whole building. Bring it down on top of him. Red lightning until it's a pile of rubble.

Then take off. Go somewhere with nobody around. I don't want to be near anyone in the state I'm in.

You shake the city as you turn a million tons of steel into a large pile of rubble.  You're pretty sure Steelheart is dead.  After all, your bullets hurt him, and the difference between a bullet and a ten ton block landing on you is immense.

You fly out of the city, and for the next hour, you're filled with hatred and rage, but then it subsides, and you're left with the typical emotions of a normal High Epic.

Arrogant. Smug. Willing to kill someone for an accidental insult.

But the MUST DESTROY NOW is gone.

+@1 to Willpower.

So what's around me? Where am I?

Sorry.  You are a few miles from town in a bit of pleasant meadowland on a hillside with a creek below you, and below that the remnants of an Interstate Highway, now sprouting trees in the middle of the asphalt.

I'm gonna be trying to use this new High Epic power. See what all I can do. Throw lightning, check. What else can it do? Out here where no one can get hurt. Not that I would care if one of these impudent mortals did get hurt. But best to not stir up too much trouble.

So see what else I can do. And of course I'm still trying to use Order/Chaos magic.

You throw lightning that is damaging with the hammer.
You throw lightning that causes pain.
You can create a ten foot wide sphere of pain causing lightning.
You can fly.
You can, if you make a Willpower roll vs. the pain, heal yourself.

That's the extent of the powers.

You struggle to see a glimmer of the Order/Chaos, and when you do, you're startled by how Chaotic you've turned, and you feel as if the High Epic powers are slipping away.

Try to use some Order magic. This has been confusing to him. Draw some Order from the forest and the plant life around me. I need to get my Order level raised.

You see black clouds raising together overhead.  And you feel a great imbalance inside yourself, which the trickles of Order only seem to encourage.  And the Paineater powers seem to slide further away.

I want them to slide further away. There's nothing there I can't do with Order/Chaos magic.

Fire lightning into the air. A beacon for all to see. Dump some of this Chaos off.

And lightning comes back down in response, but its black lightning.  And when it hits you it feels as if the world shakes.

You fall down as if dead.

Some time later, you wake with the sunrise.  Around you is twenty acres of burnt black woods.

And there is something odd, something....

And its not that you have Order/Chaos back....

And you look up, and the orange 'star' Calamity seems visibly dimmed.

::Well done, Magehammer.:: You hear Calamity's voice in your mind.

+@1 to Order/Chaos Use.

Thinking back "Uh, is that good or bad?"

I don't know enough here. Calamity might have wanted to dim.

Thinking again "What exactly did I do? Did I do something wrong?"

"The people of this world grasped for power without responsibility, and so I was sent to give them what they desired."  A long pause.  "As a punishment."

"By turning back from their evil choices, you have brought them some measure of mercy.  Already over a hundred of the weaker Epics have lost their powers."

And since Magehammer doesn't get his power from Calamity, he will be completely unaffected. I'm about to be the only Epic in the world. (evil laughter)

"So, uh, what can I do to dim you more? If that's what you want and I can do it, I'll be happy to oblige."

Just don't tell him why!!!!

"Find the Reckoners, and help them.  Help the normal humans to be responsible."

"Explain more."

"The problem for which the people of this Earth were punished was they sought power without responsibility.  So they were given what they desired.  And thus Epics and High Epics who have power and can do whatever they will, and the suffering caused by choosing poorly.

The Reckoners seek to make the Epics to pay.  And if the normal people will choose aright, then my curse can be lifted from this Earth."

So I need to go find Robert and see if he can hook me up with the Reckoners.

Start walking back to town. Walking, because I'm sure I still need to cool down.

But this is gonna be awesome. I'm gonna be the only Epic left in the world!!!!!! Well, me, Robert, and anyone else I give a weapon to.

As you approach town, you see Robert standing at the edge of the steel road in front of two hundred armed Protectors between two large warehouses.  A few hundred other people are scattered nearby, some looking as if they were ready to run.  And your first thought is to get a weapon out, but then Robert leads them in a cheer, that if not sincerely enthusiastic is sincerely afraid, and hence quite loud.

"Long live Magehammer! Ruler of Newcago!"

Returning their cheer "An may Steelheart rust to dust!!!!!"

Getting closer to Robert "What do you think we should do now Robert my boy?"

I'll listen to what he says. I'm a benevolent ruler with an iron fist.

OOC) I hate the restrictions on this site. What Magehammer would REALLY do now is go to the all-girls school and..... (Fade to Black)

"Um.....you need to find Sourcefield."

OOC: And I don't really want to hear your darker fantasies.

Also, you wanted to be a ruler.  Well,  here's your chance.  Robert's a kid remember.  Smart, educated, very orderly, but still not an adult.

Ferengi Rules of Acquisition 299.  "Whenever you exploit someone, it never hurts to thank them. That way, it's easier to exploit them the next time."



"No, WE need to find Sourcefield. Who is he anyway? But first, let's celebrate."

Turning to the crowd. "Let's throw a party. Steelheart is gone. That calls for a celebration. I want food made. I want music playing. I want revelry and dancing. Let's get this party started!!!"

"He's the gifter who provides electricity, and powers the Protectors weapons." Robert says.

A party starts.  Its a bit awkward.  They're not used to parties, let alone street parties.

A Protector officer asks if he can send some of his men to get their girlfriends or wives.

"Sure, but I get the first "dance" with them......"

After the party, get some sleep. Then get Robert to tell me where Sourcefield is.

After some consideration...

You're talking to a girl in a corner, and then all of a sudden you hear thunkthunkclickthunkclick click BOOOOM.

Grenades come sailing through the air as the Protectors have realized you're going where even Steelheart had not gone.

====================

Next world.

I thought about Somewhither, but while it does not break the PG levels for sex for this game, the opening sequence of torture easily hits R, so I'm going to have to go with another world.  I've done too many worlds with magic, need to do one without it.

And if you liked this world, let me reccommend 'Steelheart' by Branden Sanderson.

Not surprised that the Protectors took out Magehammer. Just surprised it took them so long.

I don't think I said it, but I fixed my trenchcoat with magic at some point. You said it got holes ripped in it. I magically fixed that at some point.