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Convergence: LHAC

Lighthearter

President of the United States
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
Messages
3,357
Location
The West Wing
"We're moving to Oak Grove" they said...whatever the reason your family pulled up stakes, it certainly wasn't good enough. Calling this town a cesspit is unfair to cesspits. Crime is rampant, the kids at your high school are mean at best, and the teachers are every bit as foul. Your fondest wish for the last months has been to go back to the place you can't help thinking of as home, no matter what your family says.

Then the Letter. Bearing the symbol of an oak tree, it addressed you by name and told you to visit the Grove Oak at the center of town at a specific date and time(no surprise, it was midnight...why is it always midnight?). Against your better judgment, you went. Maybe you knew the others you met there at the Grove Oak, or maybe they were strangers to you. That part's not important.

What's important is that while you were there, something happened. Something that gave you superpowers...

***

Yes, this is a superhero AC. Some things never change.

The character sheet is relatively simple(Ah! The dreaded S-word!).

Name: Your character's RL name.
Codename: Oh, we're using our made-up names? This is your superhero title. Bear in mind that we are beginning the game with the Event that gives you powers, so showing the origin of your title in your character's behavior is possible. This also means you will NOT have your superhuman abilities in the very beginning, though I hope to move through the Event fairly quickly.
Level: Starts at 1. You gain a level for every mission you attend, not via XP(we don't do that here). Why have levels at all, then? It's an easy way to keep track of how many additional stat points and feats you should have.
HP: You start with 10HP, plus 2 for every point of CON. 0HP equals incapacitation.
Stats: You begin with 5 points in each stat, plus four. Every even-numbered level, you gain +1. You cannot increase a stat past 10 pre-Feats, or go below 1.
-STR: Strength. Governs Melee hit chance and damage.
-CON: Constitution. Governs Melee block chance.
-DEX: Dexterity. Governs Ranged hit chance and dodge chance.
-INT: Intelligence. Governs power hit chance and dodge chance.
-WIS: Wisdom. Governs ranged damage.
-CHA: Charisma. Governs power damage.
Feats: You begin the game with 2. Every odd-numbered level, you gain +1. Custom Feats are allowed.
Spoiler :
Training Montage: Nice and simple, you get +1 to a stat of your choice. Can be taken multiple times.
Super Strength: +2 STR
Swift: +2 DEX
Unbreakable: +2 CON
Genius: +2 INT
Wise Beyond Your Years: +2 WIS
Silver Tongue: +2 CHA
Phlebotinum Barrier: Gain the ability to generate defensive barriers and shields. CANNOT be intentionally used offensively.
Training From Hell: +3 to all melee combat rolls(defenses, attacks, damage.)
Phlebotinum Projectile: Gain a ranged attack of your choice. Power is modified by INT. Weapon by DEX.
Sleight of Hand: +3 to all lockpicking, pickpocketing, etc.
Keen Eye: +3 to all perception rolls(spot, search, listening, etc).
Wonderful Toys: Gadgets! Number to be determined based on gameplay balance, but three is a good number. Negotiated with GM.
Marksman's Eye: +3 to all ranged combat rolls(defenses, attacks, damage.)
I Am The Voice: +3 to all social rolls.
Diviner: Gain the ability to see things: things that are, things that were, and some things that have not yet come to pass. CHA.
Healing Hands: Now you can heal allies! Or enemies, if that's your thing. Modified by WIS.
Sorcerer Supreme: +3 to all magic/power rolls(defenses, attacks, damage.)
Empath: Modified by CHA. Gain the ability to read the thoughts and emotions of others just by touching them.
Up, Up, and Away!: Gain the ability to fly!
Significant Sense: Modified by CHA. You'll sometimes get hints on plot direction from the GM, in addition to a +1 boost to all defensive rolls.
Fortune Favored: Once per session or in-game day, whichever comes first, gain the ability to declare any one action a guaranteed critical success.

Bio: This is where you add in your description, your life story, etc. Who is your character? You don't have to give the whole truth if there are some elements you want to keep hidden, even to me(unless there are things I can do based on that knowledge) but here's your chance to outline who you are. Why did you go to the Grove Oak?

Due to the nature of the game, I require that all characters have some degree of superpower, even if it's very subtle(I would accept a character with a very high stat claiming their power is an explanation for how their stat got to be as high as it is, for example.)

I think that's it. We'll run in LHACchat on Thursdays, at 5PM EST, unless anyone objects(that time is negotiable). Hope to see you there!
 
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Name: Kana Shiina
Codename: Roulette
Description: Short cut black hair often accentuated with decorative clips. Typically wears pastel colored dresses.
Level: 5
HP: 40
Stats:
-STR:
7
-CON: 5
-DEX: 8
-INT: 1
-WIS: 5
-CHA: 10
Feats:
Bad Luck Tag - Roulette can create a tag of bad luck on a target. Its victim suffers a -5 penalty to all rolls until they are able to transfer the tag to a new victim by making a successful attack roll against them. The tag will remain in effect until the fight is over.
Fickle Lady Luck - At the start of a mission Roulette rolls a 1d4, the result is the amount of pocket crits that must be used in the mission. However, an equal amount of pocket nega-crits are created that the GM will take control over to apply at his discretion. When both the player and the GM wish to declare a crit on the same roll, the positive crit overrides the nega crit.
--Upgrade: Roulette now rolls a 1d6 to determine number of pocket crits.
Lucky Days - Roll 2 dice and take the highest for the next 3 turns, 20s are treated as 19.


Bio:
Twin sister of Hana Shiina.

The sunny day to her sister's overcast skies. Kana would be described by many as whimsical, or ditzy, but always too cheerful for it to be seen as annoying by her peers.
 
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Name: Hana Shiina
Codename: The Countess
Description: Long straight black hair with bangs that frequently cover her eyes. Wears earrings that are barely visible. Typically wears dark colored clothing with red accents.
Level: 10
HP: 65
Stats:
-STR:
12
-CON: 5
-DEX: 8
-INT: 5
-WIS: 1
-CHA: 10

Feats:
Bloody Lust:
Hana makes a bite attack and chooses between HP recovery and a stat boost. If HP recovery, Hana recovers HP equal to 50% of damage done to the target. If stat boost, Hana gains +1 to all stats, target gains -2, and no damage is dealt.
Trance: Can spend an action gazing into someone's eyes, causing the target to enter into a trance. Target is unable to target anyone but Hana until attention is broken (such as Hana looking away or being damaged).
Charming Defense (Work in Progress name): Can use CHA instead of CON to defend against attacks from entranced enemies.
Training From Hell: +3 to all melee rolls (attack/damage/dodge).
Sorceress Supreme: +3 to all power rolls.
Super Strength: +2 STR.

Bio: Twin sister of Kana Shiina.

The salt to her sister's sugar. Hana would be described by many as dark, or brooding, and secretly a very, very hopeless romantic.
 
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Name: Louis Leroy
Codename: Paragon
Gender: Male
Description: Louis is tall, pale, and his dark hair seems to be in a state of perpetual disarray. However, his once-thin frame is no longer noticeably lacking in muscle, and he stands straighter and more confidant then the slouched young man who never lifted his eyes from his phone. When masquerading as Paragon, his old blue hoodie has been replaced with a proper costume, much the same dull blue colour as Snitch, but trimmed with Silver and Black.
Bio: Louis' childhood has been largely independent of his parents, who have both worked full time, and as a result he has often found himself making use of his phone as a primary source of entertainment. This tendency was only increased with the move to Oak Grove; where the phone was his main lifeline of contact to his old friends in Midsizeville, and he has largely avoided the prospect of friendships in his new locale. This state of affairs has made the sudden appearance of a large tree right in the middle of the screen both inconvenient and disconcerting, especially as it and the message beneath it seem not to respond to attempts to remove them from their place. There seems to be only one remaining option to regain control of the phone: to follow the instructions within, but fate seems determined to sever him from his old ties, and soon his phone will beyond all recognition...

Level: 10
HP: 73

Stats:
STR: 12
CON: 9
DEX: 4
INT: 12
WIS: 3
CHA: 5

Feats:
Super Strength: After more than a month working with his powers, Louis is getting noticeably more capable at applying them.
Unbreakable: Nowadays Louis more commonly treats physical violence as an act of friendly camaraderie than as hostility.
Genius: Somebody couldn't come up with any better feat ideas.
Training From Hell : Despite his slight frame, Louis has become stronger since the incident, and has faster reactions.
Sorcerer Supreme: Since the duel Louis has been giving much more attention and practice to his power and it's potential applications.
Snitch: A 'phone sized' chunk of dull blue metallic material that shifts shape and size at will, and returns itself to the owner's hand upon going more than a few meters from them.

DT
 
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Name: Miloš Nikolić
Codename: Velvet Paladin
Description: Was a fairly normal, Southern European looking person before the incident. After the incident, his skin took on the texture (but not appearance) of smooth velvet, a pair of fleshy pseudo-antennae sprouted from his temples, & oral papillae grew inside his cheeks (connected via a series of ducts to slime glands in his chest cavity). He hides the skin texture by avoiding direct skin contact with others & the antennae by growing out his hair & always wearing headgear of some sort.
Level: 10
HP: 75
  • STR: 1
  • CON: 10
  • DEX: 7
  • INT: 10
  • WIS: 1
  • CHA: 12
Feats:
  • Phlebotinum Projectile- Onychophora slime isn't harmful to humans, but the eldritch mysticism that will give him his powers will alter the slime such that it is infused with harmful occult energies.
  • Significant Sense- He was initially disappointed to find that his antennae did not enhance his normal senses, but the limited precognitive abilities they impart will more than make up for it.
  • Diviner- The minor extrasensory abilities of his antennae have progressed into full-on foresight. And also hindsight.
  • Sorcerer Supreme- With practice comes potency & skill, and Miloš has had lots of practice recently.
  • Abstract Anatomy: Can squeeze though gaps normally too small to fit through; ex, under a door or through a narrow pipe, without taking any damage or other penalties. Also gives extraordinary flexibility
  • Silver Tongue- Endgame is the time for the best boosts, and boosting CHA helps me the most
Bio: Born in Serbia; his family immigrated to America when he was 3. Spent most of his life in Pennsylvania before his family moved to Oak Grove. He knew listening to the letter was a bad idea but was so unbelievably bored he decided to go anyway. Before he went, he visited the onychophorans at the local vivarium, and got slimed when he accidentally spooked one. He managed to clean most of it off, but unbeknownst to him some was still clinging to the back of his hair.
 
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Name: Samantha Pearson
Codename: Lass Kicker
Gender: Female
Description: Sam is a somewhat tall girl, above average for most her age. Her naturally blonde hair she keeps cut short and dyed a deep shade of purple, more out of rebellion than anything else. She typically wears a battered pair of jeans and a tank top.
Bio: Samantha didn't want to come to Oak Grove. Sure, her life back in New York hadn't been all sunshine and roses, but people at least knew to mind their own business. She could go about her day in relative peace, with only her mother's nagging to disrupt it. But of course, her mother, Caroline, just HAD to uproot their entire family and bring them out here to some damn flyover state, all because of some "business opportunities". Her perfect sister, Vanessa, fit in right away, of course, all fake smiles and batting eyelashes, knowing exactly who's rear end to kiss to get ahead. Which left Sam to deal with the cliques and bullies, the boys and girls who thought they could push her. Thankfully, a swift punch to the nose deterred most of them, and those that weren't, soon found they had gotten more than they bargained for. It didn't make her any friends, but it meant she could do what she wanted without harassment from her peers. Which in this town seemed to amount to loitering and, ironically, picking fights.
Level: 10
HP: 71

Stats:
-STR:
10
-CON: 8
-DEX: 5
-INT: 4
-WIS: 12
-CHA: 2

Feats:
-Training From Hell: +3 to all melee combat rolls (defenses, attacks, damage.)
-Healing Hands: Now you can heal allies! Or enemies, if that's your thing. Modified by WIS.
-Empath: Modified by CHA. Gain the ability to read the thoughts and emotions of others just by touching them.
-Aura of Intimidation: May use Strength in place of Charisma for powers and Charisma checks involving intimidation
-Keen Eye: +3 to all perception rolls(spot, search, listening, etc).
-Wise Beyond Your Years: +2 WIS
 
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It might have been a noncombat mission, but it wasn't quiet: Sam's sister was a jerk, her mom assumed the group were druggies...and Micah showed up to reveal that the gunmen from last week were members of a secret society known as the Order of Absolution, the militant sister order to his own Order of Restitution. He also revealed that the cultists worshipped an Entity of planar energy trapped in the Grove Oak, and its influence is what caused the city to be a crime-ridden hellscape...and creates the vast majority of superhumans. But he also confirmed that the players were not touched by its influence as far as he can tell...and no one is sure how you gained your powers. The team refused to join Micah's order when pressed, which leaves the team hunting for the Blind Lunatic while being pursued by Purifier and the Order of Absolution, and possibly under threat from Micah and the Restitutionists as well. Not to mention the Lovecraftian monster imprisoned at the tree. What a day, huh?

Everyone is now level four! +5HP and a stat point...I recommend spending them. The next mission is going to be intense and unforgiving, so come ready for a fight.
 
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Mission Four, complete! The Blind Lunatic attacked the school, and the Orders of Absolution and Restitution responded, fighting each other and the Lunatic...until Purifier killed the Lunatic. The Restitutionists are beside themselves with grief, but Purifier was impressed by the team's decision not to stop her. She invited them to a meeting at the Grove Oak, where she revealed her plan to unite the Orders through a ritual duel, and her wish to have the PCs represent Absolution in that battle in exchange for her support rather than enmity.

The choice now: Purifier wants the team's help supporting her claim to the united Order's leadership, but Micah would likely be overjoyed to have your backing instead. Sable wants to find a way to reconcile the Orders that doesn't involve violence, and Jeremy thinks this is an opportunity to defeat both Micah and Purifier, ending both Orders' threats and opening the city up for your operations without having to worry about crazy secret societies.

How you proceed is entirely up to you.

Everyone is now Level Five, so another 5HP and a new Feat. Next mission will be back on the regular Thursday schedule next week, so I'll see you there!
 
Well, we do have a fair preponderance of characters with 9+ CHA, so Sable's plan should be pretty much a free win if we want it, even though Louis is rather sceptical In-Character. Teaming with Micah seems like the most logical 'combat' option; we only have to fight one of the Orders, and Restitution is unlikely to mess with us much if they take control. That said, I think Micah rubbed everyone who was present for his offer the wrong way, so even though it makes sense, Louis is unlikely to argue for it. If Jeremiah's plan puts us in control of both Orders then it's highest risk for highest reward, if not the main reason to go for it is essentially not trusting either of the Orders to play ball. Louis thinks it's probably doable, but that the underlying logic is more alarmist and confrontational than he thinks is reasonable.

By comparison with the other options, teaming with Purifier seems like an incredibly illogical choice. Absolution is inherently more likely to turn on us than Restitution, and we have plenty of firsthand evidence of how trigger-happy they are. If they win, the likelihood is that we're going to be pushing the boundaries of what they find acceptable with all these hippy 'no-killing' ethics superheroes are supposed to have, and we might have to make uncomfortable compromises to keep them on side. That said; it's the option that is most likely to get us support in the 'protecting town' role, since they are already in line with that basic premise and we'd only be arguing the exact methods. Also, call him crazy if you will, but it seems to Louis so far that Purifier is more personally agreeable than Micah, what with her willingness to compromise with us and apparently being willing to give life advice to Sam. Threatening him twice with a gun is just, you know, par for the course with people in this town apparently. At least she understands the importance of codename discipline. :p

Also, Kinich, you were right that Purifier was Veronica.

DT
 
To be completely honest, my instinct is to say, "Why get involved in the first place?" Though I can answer that with two statements. On a meta-level it would be bad form for us to not engage with the plot set up by the GM, and in-game someone, I'm not going to name names, spilled the beans on who we are though honestly I expect Purifier would have found out anyway. Either way the chance of her seeking vengeance if we sit on the sidelines I'd rate high, though unlike the rest of you Patchy and I live on a military base! So it's more a you all problem.

Sable's plan is far, far too optimistic for Hana to get on board with it. We aren't going to solve a decades (?) long dispute by being nice. By the same token, taking both out has a high risk of failure so she's unlikely to get on board with that either. Which leaves siding with one of the groups. I wasn't there for the micah session so I don't have the same hesitance you all have, and he's far nicer person it seems? Though if we side with him that magic spell thing better be absolutely binding otherwise we are in pain. Siding with Purifier out of fear is possible, but it runs the risk of them turning on us in the future unless, as mentioned, the spell thing is absolutely binding.

So overall I'd rate my IC preference: do nothing > micah >= purifier? > peace and love > take both out with the do nothing probably cut OOC because yeah that would be a bad move

Edit: On second thought, putting purifier lower because I realized the obvious RP potential of never forgiving her for shooting Kana.
 
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Well, Kana is entirely convinced that Purifier is being honest about not wanting to bother us if we join her side. I don't recall her hitting it off that well with Micah when he made his pitch, so there's that too. All that being said, Kana is not a fan of fighting either so she'd prefer to use Sable's plan to try and solve the issue even if her only plan for how to go about doing this is bumbling about and hoping her luck carries her through to the end.

In character though, Kana is pretty pliable and will likely go along with whatever Hana picks after saying her piece about peace and love.
 
So here I guess is where I outline Sam's thinking on the four options ahead of us.

1) Diplomatic solution: I don't think I need to explain that Sam isn't a fan of this one. She isn't the most diplomatic of people, to begin with, and seeing as how they've been fighting for so long, it seems sceptical a bunch of random nobodies will be able to convince them otherwise.

2) Support Micah: While Micah may seem like a positive choice what with the not killing everyone, the whole wanting to tag us and control our movements left a sour taste in her mouth. The fact that they also seem to worship any and all empowered is a bit disconcerting, when you look at people like the Blind Lunatic.

3) Support Veronica: I think Sam would back the plan to support Veronica in this duel. I don't think I mentioned it last mission, but when Sam empathed Veronica, the one big thing she got from it was that Veronica was being completely honest in her promises. As far as Sam is concerned, making sure the five of us stay safe is a major priority, and backing the Absolutionists, to her, seems like the best option. In addition to that, there are some personal reasons that Sam would want to support her, regarding Veronica and Vanessa, so she may prove quite insistent on that.

4) Take on both factions: This plan seems like it is doomed to fail. The only two outcomes seem to be killing everyone, which would be a monumental task and one she doesn't think we can even do, or; taking over the leadership, which isn't even a guarantee that it'll happen, and could easily result in just angering both factions and uniting them against us. EDIT: On second thought, if it came to it, Sam might go along with this plan, given how she normally acts towards potential threats. The only thing giving her pause would be Veronica. Not because she is afraid of what she will do, but because of the personal connections with her sister, Vanessa. So her support would come very begrudgingly.
 
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With that, Mission Five is complete! The team decided to aid Purifier in a ritual duel, sending two of their best and brightest(or, Hana and Louis since those weren't available) into the ring to battle Micah and his second, while Sam and Kana assisted from the sidelines. Veronica is now in complete control of both Orders, and invited the team over to her house for a pizza party next mission to celebrate...even if Sable had another encounter with the archer-chick from the cult. How did they know where to look for the team...were they even looking for the team? Too many questions...

Everyone levels up, you should know the drill. Even-numbered level, so add a stat point and your HP. I'll see you next week!
 
The final RP is complete. It's time to face the Entity down.

ALL CHARACTERS SHOULD BE AT LEVEL 10. Make all necessary adjustments. This means you should have, in addition to your starting Feats, Stat Points, and HP.:

+50HP
+5 Stat Points(Pre-Feats)
+4 Feats

I would like the grand finale to take place on a weekend evening so everyone can be present. I would like to run it this Saturday, the 30th, at the usual time, but in the event that is a problem, I'm willing to talk alternative dates.
 
Okay, tonight won't work for several reasons. I'm willing to run on any night this week except Tuesday, including next Saturday or Sunday. I would like everyone to be there for the grand finale, so if you could all chime in about what you can and can't do, that'd be great...but if we can't work anything fantastic out, I'll revert to Thursday as usual.
 
I still have work at nights, so if we run on a weekday I'll either have to leave before the halfway point has passed or we'll have to start really early.
Weekend nights should be fine; I'm usually free all day on Sundays, but I can't be here before 2ish EST on Saturday the 6th since I'm donating platelets then.
 
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