Everything starts here, in Chicago, in this new job and with some new possibilities.

[OOC] Please see questions in PM.  Then give a little of what you are doing through your day.

The sound of a low droning beeping alarm woke him with a low groan.  Not because he was sore or anything like that.  He just hated waking up, especially when his body felt like it needed quite a bit more sleep.  He blearily looked about, confirming what he already knew, to see he'd crashed in the little bedroom he had in his main lab facility.  The timer/clock on the wall had several displays, two of which were more like timers.  One indicated he'd been asleep for 7 hours and 13 minutes, pausing as he slapped the button to show he was awake.  The other clock was paused at 92 hours and 1 minute.

Seeing the second number caused a tired smile to crease his tired face even as he stood and stretched.  92 hours wasn't bad to crack the portable anti-gravity system for the suit.  The grappling micro cable system had been a good idea, especially when combined with the Van der Waals bonding system instead of a hook, for moving about.  Except that in testing, it turned out to make his back sore as hell!  He'd reinforced the armor of course but... It was just another reminder that he was very, very human and not built for some of the crazy antics heroes did.  So, back to the drawing board.  But finding an alternative movement system for the armor had at least let mind focus on just one problem.  Of course, he'd gotten lost in that fugue state for a few days but everything had a cost.  He still needed to crack a miniaturized reactor or better energy storage given the anti-gravity's power requirements...

It took a bit of effort, which was not helped by his slowly wakening state, to pull back from that line of thought.  That was the big problem; his mind never stopped working at advanced problems.  Constantly working, breaking down ideas, designing. Later, he thought, forcing himself fully awake.  He couldn't afford to get lost down another fugue state.  He was supposed to meet his mother for lunch in an hour.

He had enough time to get a little exercise in.  He wasn't some kind of physical prodigy either.  He'd put in a lot of effort over the past couple years to get in fairly good physical shape; well, enough anyway.  Unlike the martial skill, which was so easy for him to learn and absorb, it took time and effort to keep his body in good shape.  Dean couldn't really afford to slack off.  Especially not when he was about to don the suit for the first time (outside of testing anyway).

After a bit of exercise, he cleaned up fairly quickly.  Checking his appearance a final time to make sure everything was as intended, he headed for the exit.  He'd put in a quick appearance at work, passing through really.  It was enough to be seen moving about to maintain the illusion.  Then a quick lunch with mom.

And then...a final test of the suit systems!  It had taken a few years of careful planning and work to get here.  But, now, finally he was just about ready.  He couldn't help but smile at the anticipation and excitement!

The appearance at work is uneventful; it seems it is much the same everyday.  Dr. Steve Jennings seems to pay little attention to you and his assistant (Margery) even less.  The list of small tasks is waiting for you when you get there.  It is a total of two hours of busy work; items that are not up Margery's non-existent technical ability and arguably need care.  But for you, still busy work. It is a few orders for chemicals that need to be exact and timed correctly, an automated test on two samples of some liquid (those will run for a few hours) and correspondence with a few other researchers at the BSA.  They just need a few pieces of information from the doctor, but the information needs redactions.

***

Lunch with Mom is uneventful.  In her own soft way, she pries a little and nags a little.  It has been a while since you have seem some of the family.  She does congratulate you on your job, again.  She is happy that you have found something; it seemed like it would take forever to get out of the house.

***

The test results are done when you get back.  Although interesting, nothing surprising.  The new synthetic oil seems to have gotten a little better at protection (and when you think of RPMs, even micro-fractions count) and the new synthetic grease fighter (lifter...is that what he keeps calling it?) is the same as the last 10 results.

There is a follow-up request from the researchers at BSA.  You'll have to give that to Margery.

It took a little bit to work the data report.  It needed a little tweaking to help lead them in a new, correct, direction.  The chemical properties they were working on would, with a little nudging on his part, was going to eventually lead to a pseudo-arimid compound though would completely replace kevlar with a vastly superior product.  Dean was using an advanced form of the compound in his armor actually.  He figured, given the occassional dead end that he had to let them hit, the base line replacement would be ready to go in 5 years or so.  He had to filter down his tech somehow so the companies he owned would make a tidy proftic while expanding human knowledge base at an acceptable level.

He forwarded the test data report and handled the requests and busy work without complaint.  A couple hours a day wasn't that big of a loss given the cover it provided his plain old, average smart college graduate civilian identity.  He made it seem like far more than a couple hours as well, not to mention, he usually skipped days pretty regularly.  Not that they noticed.  Being "loaned out to multiple departments" worked out ridiculously well.  And since he owned the whole damn thing, it was ease to keep that going.

Finishing up, he grabbed his stuff and left his 'cover job' so he could get to his real work in his private lab.  And while messing around and creating new toys was great.  He was ready to try putting it to use somewhere outside his lab.  He was as ready as he could be after all this time.  Sure, he could stay in the lab even longer.  But really, he was just eager to get out and put some of it to use.

[OOC] It sounds like you are going 'on-patrol'.  Please confirm.  Also, give us a little about your lab look and if you do anything prior to leaving, if that is the next move.

The facility, in many ways, looked a lot like a large concrete bunker.  Mostly because it was built in a similar way.  A good 100’ plus below the high tech industrial complex above, his lab was just one section of a few substories he had built and hidden.  The lowest floor held the power plant, air/water/waste recycling and all that.  There was a sections for bedrooms and the like.  Those were almost entirely empty since he never really got around to doing anything with them outside of a couple beds and such.  There was a fairly large area set aside for testing and training in various conditions.  It got quite a lot of use as he tested out the various designs he came up with, not that there was ever an incident.  He was too careful for that.  Towards one side was a, mostly, empty area besides a slightly raised platform; his transportation bay he supposed.  There was even a ‘command center’ filled with monitors and computers and all of that.  It was a rather extensive and impressive hidden base really; it had taken several years to build.

But to Dean, the most important part of the place was the lab.  It was certainly where he spent the most time.  The large room had numerous long tables in the center, each one dedicated to some design and project he was working on.  Various machines for fabrication, chemical synthesis and numerous others littered the place.  The whole setup was rather modular, designed for the tables as well as some of the smaller machines to be moved about for better access for the necessary work for a given project.  And of course there were numerous screens and computer terminals scattered about for monitoring as well as keeping him connected to the main computer hub.

There was a rack, off to one side, that held the latest iteration of his suit.  He’d been upgrading the core concept regularly ever since he started building it.  It would likely never be truly done as continued to develop new options.  He just installed the newest option too, despite not being 100% ready to use.  Damn power requirements.  Still, better to have it if needed than not have it and need it.  All in all, he rather liked the look of it too.  He still needed to make some modifications for modular parts.  Maybe even a nanotech disassembler... Focus Dean, he thought to himself before he got too distracted.

He ran the Knight Wolf suit through a final set of diagnostics, the engineer in him never truly satisfied.  Double checking the multiple and redundant command systems took a few minutes to go through as well.  Dean could don and remove the suit rapidly if needed; he built the thing with quite a lot of features as well as redundancy.  But right now, for the first official time, he made sure his movements were slow and methodical.  He was savoring the moment really, taking his time.  It wouldn't always be the case.

After everything was set and sealed, Dean took a moment to make sure the scanner was active and the computer system was monitoring police channels as well as forwarding the usual data to the suit.  Turning on the safeties, safeguards and security was also going to have to become a habit as he departed in costume too.  With a nod to himself, Knight Wolf walked towards the transport pad.  He was confident in the design and tech he came up with but...better to start small and safe.  He really wasn’t sure the suit (or himself for that matter) was ready for something over the top.

Setting the coordinates and activating the stealth suite, he could feel the anticipation and excitement growing inside.

OOC:
Yes, he is intending to go on patrol as his “debut”.  But was planning (though who knows) on starting ‘small’ and not jumping into the deep end right away.  Looking for minor crimes, gang stuff, drug dealings and smuggling kind of things.  He’d have already figured out where the common ‘hot spots’ were so would head straight there.  His main goal, besides stopping small crimes/keeping people safe would be to gather information, track dealers back to their source kind of thing.  That’s the plan anyway.

The night is nice...maybe cool, if not for the suite.  All functions are normal as you head to the 'hunting grounds' on the South Side.  The police radio does squawk about something at the lake front, but that is confused and seems to be bigger than you want currently.  It sounds like there are at least three combatants and some are flying.

Changing to a the local precinct frequency, you immediately hear about a car chase about 3 miles away, a house fire and two calls for a disturbance at Mount Greenwood Park.  It is a little further away, but you could be done quick enough.

[OOC] We should decide on where you building/base is located in general.  'Down town' or outside the high rent areas??

Materializing atop a secluded section roof, he let the suit sort information.  Synching the data with his gps, he mapped out the fastest route to the closest.  Turning he sprinted for the edge of the roof.  Kicking off the ledge with the enhanced musculatar of the suit (with a little bit of gravity negation, mostly to test out the boosting properties), he launched himself off the roof, his mad grin hidden behind the faceless mask.

After he hit the apage of his arc, the grapple system targeted the optimum spot.  With a tiny finger motion to trigger the command, he fired the left grappler.  Shooting out, the tiny mesh cord hit the wall where it stuck firmly with a powerful molecular bond.  The downward motion suddenly turned into a powerful swing.  If it wasn't for the skeleton reinforcements, the manuever would have hurt.  As it was, all Knight Wolf felt was a forceful jerk as his momentum changed.  As he swung upwards and approached the next apoge, the right grapple system locked on...  It was ridiculously fun and certainly far faster than running!



OOC:
I was picturing one of those industrial/office/medical park type areas.  Located outside of town/in a burough (don't really know area well), on larger plot, several buildings sharing same access road kind of thing.

Just an fyi, if it sounds bad/his help might be needed, he'd still respond even if it was not his intent/original desire.

With the teleporter, it would only take a minute to get anywhere in range.  *shrug*

I'm not sure which of those is closest.  Car chase since it was mentioned first?
 Going to closest and then on to next, if still needed.

The computer quickly displays the four events by distance.  The car chase is getting closer.  If you had to guess, they were heading toward I-94.  You are currently moving through Englewood/West Englewood area.

1. Car chase (two police cars in pursuit, coordinating by radio)
2. House fire is Auburn to the south.
3. Lake Front (Northerly Island is north east...downtown)
4. Mount Greenwood Park is far south side (a third call has now come in for that event)

[OOC]
The West Loop area starts to hit bigger buildings and more space, but they are still not 'big'.  Think 5-8 story buildings, brick, and with maybe 15 offices per floor.  If you go just outside of Chicago, you are talking Melrose Park (bigger footage and a lot of places, think warehouses).

OOC:

Then previous statement works just fine.  Intercept car chase first.  I'm pretty darn fast I think, even using the new system as just boosting.  Plan is just to disable the car (or passengers) with sonic waves (stunning if possible; don't want to kill anyone) and take off.  Then switch off and head for house fire.  If it would take more than a minute or two to get there using conventional means (swing/jump/speed), will charge up teleporter to get there since it'd be faster at that point.

Likely to skip #3 (or re-prioritize after car chase) depending on new data as things continue.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:35, Tue 08 Dec 2020.

You have no problem moving into the path of the car.  A full sized SUV is coming down Marquette, east bound.  There are now two police cars in pursuit.  The road is not totally clear, but the sirens are echoing off the buildings and people seem to have cleared the street.  Your scanner has other police cars incoming, but they are at least a minute away.  They will be able to hit I-94 southbound before those cars get here.

[OOC] Although trying to outrun the cops, 'they' are not erratic and do not seem to see you.  They are coming right down the right line like a good criminal.  Give me an idea how you are setting yourself up.  You OP will be 4.

Landing lightly from the last swing, Knight double checked to make sure the stealth suite was active.  Moving forward a bit, mostly to make sure he had the optimal shot, he brought his arms up in anticipation.  Modulating the waves, he made sure it matched the tires and the engine in order to prevent anything else from being injured.  In theory, the vehicle should seize up and screech to a halt given what he targeted.  As soon as the vehicle came into sight, the sound roared out towards it...

OOC:
Ok, I have no idea what I'm doing.  ;)

So, I'm invisible (but if have to drop it I will).  Firing the area affect selective sonic bean (think that means it was a cone?) to just bring the car to a stop.  That's the intent anyway.

20:30, Today: Knight Wolf rolled 7 using 2d10 ((3,4)).

That sucked!  I have no idea what I add but I can have a great skill I guess so that's helpful.

[OOC] Take a look at page 149 and Trick Shot.  It seems to match the closest to what you want to do.  "Disable car without harming people...."  The other option would be Pulling Your Punch, but I feel Trick Shot is a better fit.  This makes the shot more difficult by +2 Column Shifts (a.k.a. CS).  Take a look at that and tell me if you still want to go that way.

You can stay invisible.  There is no concentration check and it does not "drop" when you attack.

Mindstrike (Jobe) has been playing for a long time and can help too.

As you are learning, think about this and let me know if you want to change what you want to do.

OOC:

No, that makes sense I guess.  Shifting the area/size of the attack area to just hit the car and not hurt them.  *nod*

So, if I have a Skill of 8 AP, how does that affect what I roll?  Does it affect Acting row value or the total of what I rolled?

[OOC]

Part A -
So a moving car that is not at full speed and is staying relatively regular (speed, direction, lane, etc.), I put at a 5 Opposing Value (OV).  You would use your DEX as the Acting Value (AV).  But, since you are trying a trick shot, we need to adjust the difficulty of the shot by 2 column shifts (see Action Table on page 351).  So, instead of being a 5, the OV becomes 9 (two column shifts to the right).  You roll 2d10 and give me the total.  If that number is greater than the number shown at the cell/intersection of 6 (your AV) and 9 (the OV), you succeed.  If your roll is higher, you move to the right until the number shown in that row is HIGH than your total.  You count these column shifts and remember them.

Part B -
We then move to the Result Table on page 352.  The body of the SUV is 7.  That is the Resistance Value (RV).  You are using your Sonic Beam, which has a 9, so this is your Effect Value (EV).  If there are NO COLUMN shifts from part A, the damage done to the SUV is the number shown in cell/intersection of 9 and 7.  If there were column shifts, you move to the left for each one, and do the damage indicated by the new position in the row.

As this is an attempt to damage just the SUV, there is no other change.

Please note, if you roll doubles, roll again and add all the dice to the total.  This is cumulative as long as you roll doubles (double 4 + double 7 + 10 = 32).  If you roll double ones, you fail immediately.  As this is a trick shot, I will have to decide if you miss completely or harm more than the car.

Does that make sense?

OOC:

Ok, so the original OP you said was 4 (a few posts up).  Here you put it at 5.  Not that it matters are we move 2 to the left.  So the target number was an 11 and became a 13 as you moved the OV to a 5.

So, unless there is something I'm missing like aiming or multiple actions, I think I missed (as I rolled a 7).  Even with using the mod skill of 8 instead of dx, still miss by a good margin.

[OOC]You are right, it is 4.  Sorry.  I knew I had thought about it and juggled it a little between 4 and 5, but I didn't remember settling.

You are correct, you do miss and do no damage.  Since is was NOT double 1s, it is not a critical failure and you only miss.  So your are correct.  You seem to understand what is happening.  We good to continue?  I'll be on later today for another update.

Yep.  Good to go for now!

The wave courses around the SUV, but it does not have the expected affects.  The SUV jostles some, but continues moving.  You can see the two people in the front seem extremely surprised.  It continues moving in the same direction.  From where you are, you could do another action before them move past you.

[OOC]Although rattled, you do not seem to think they have any idea what is happening.

Knight scowled inside his helmet and made a mental note.  He clearly needed to tweak the targeting software!  Doing some quick mental math as they pulled up even to him, he fired once more...

OOC:

Ok, take twi.

So, I THINK my target is a 7.

09:10, Today: Secret Roll: Knight Wolf rolled 8 using 2d10 with rolls of 5,3.

Despite my continual subpar rolling, I think that's a hit?

I think that's only 3 damage...

Seriously think I need to redo my design.  It seems super ineffective. :\

The SUV rocks from side to side and makes some terrible noises, but continues to move.  The swearing can be hear from inside the car.  The police cars are about 30 yards behind the SUV.

[OOC] You go the results right.  I don't think you have an issue with what your armor is, but you did have two below average rolls.  And as you play, you'll see where it excels.

Turning to keep his arm pointed at the car, Knight kept the sonics blaring...


OOC:
Well, yes I can't roll for squat; that's generally true regardless of the game. ;)  But I did hit and was expecting it to actually be effective.  It's stronger than a assault rifle (from what you said), affects an area so all 4/whole car really (specifically not trying to kill people was the point; car getting wrecked was good) and I aimed/tricked shot/whatever to hit tires and it didn't do much at all.  Was expecting more I guess.  Need to ponder book/what expectations/how to improve things a bit.

Anyway, target 7 for the trick/target still.  Or is it an 11

08:09, Today: Knight Wolf rolled 11 using 2d10 ((10,1)).

So, that's 2 stages higher I think if it was a 7.  Or just base if it was an 7.

So that means my base is 3 dam.  But the 2 column shifts make it a 6 I think?

[OOC]You were targeting just the SUV.  It has a good Body, hence why it didn't just up and stop when hit.  I should have noted that along with the 'rocking and rolling', it had actually slowed.  But, this round, your calculations are correct and it does land flat on its underside as all underbody gives out.

It is time for you to roll initiative.  You have no reason to think anybody knows what really happened.

[IC]The SUV hits the road hard as the undercarriage gives out.  It lands on its belly and grinds to a stop; sparks shooting everywhere.  The men in the car have become animated and panicked.

Tracking the screeching wreck as it slows to a stop, Knight modulated the sonic waves to shatter the glass and give everyone inside one hell of a screaming headache.  Hopefully those inside would be disabled with time to spare as the cops rushed the car.

Once he was certain those inside were doing little but clutching their ears, Knight checked the data feeds to see the status of the other issues.  He took two steps and leapt away.



OOC:

Nope, you're right.  I could have sworn I said I targeted but I must have forgotten to do it!

Not sure what the target is now, given it's stationary and they're inside.

12:31, Today: Knight Wolf rolled 11 using 2d10 ((7,4)).

Just intending to stun/disorient them as cops rush in.  I might be invis but I'd assuming people can hear the sonic waves even if they might not be sure as to the exact point of origin.

And heading to next priority.  If it'll take more than minute or so to get there, will just teleport there as it'd be faster.

[OOC]I need you to roll initiative.  I assume you win, but there can always be a surprise.