Spectrum's Comments: The Crusaders have been lured to the Appleton Mall by a band of villains. But for what purpose?
Crusaders #40 - "The Appleton Affair: Part Three"
In the main concourse of the Appleton Mall, Firestar's group goes to the offensive.
Strongbow tumbles forward and strikes Silvar in his unmentionables. The attack hurts Silvar, but not as much as suspected. He is an alien after all.
Silvar strikes back, sending the Navaho warrior sliding back on the waxed floor.
Lord Liberty moves toward the conflict, his scanners in operation.
Lord Liberty - "Warning! I detect someone hiding in that shop off to the right!"
Daigon - "Blasted, tin man! Now you die for the greater glory of the Nether Lord!"
His cover blown, Daigon soars out of the store and punches Lord Liberty. Liberty is stunned from the blow.
Firestar spins and blasts Daigon.
Firestar - "Boy, talk about ugly!"
'Star's aim is true and she blast Daigon out of the sky and into a hot dog cart.
Nightengale sends a mind blast at Daigon, but misses.
Volcanon - "You dare to turn your back to me?! Learn the error of your ways!"
A blast of lava erupts from Volcanon and violently collides with Firestar. She rockets back across the mall and into the Leather Shoppe. She is unconscious before hitting the floor.
For those who notice, Daigon staggers to his feet. With disgust he pulls the hot dogs stuck to his spiked mask off.
Volcanon stands in the center of the area, gloating.
Volcanon - "Hahahahah!!! Alright, who's next?"
Group Two
T-Storm lets loose with his transformation attack and hits. However, it appears to have little effect on Dark Seraph, other than annoying him.
Dark Seraph - "I shall destroy you!"
Seraph releases the girl and takes to the air, borne by his incredibly dark wings. He lands a punch on T-Storm, but does little damage.
Shadow sends a blast of Darkfire Azalin, but it too has little effect.
Azalin - "Foolish mortal. You don't know what you are dealing with."
He raises a gloved hand and a bolt of energy is fired from each finger. Shadow manages to dodge two of the bolts, but the others find their mark. Each attack stings a little, but the overall effect is nasty.
With the girls away from the villains, Dragonman casts a spell. A glowing energy shield now surrounds them. He then moves them to safety. Nightstalker pops his claws and takes a swipe at Dark Seraph. His aim is true and he draws blood. Seraph snaps, his rage growing to a berserker fury.
Dark Seraph - "By the lords of darkness, I shall destroy you all!"
His hands reach toward the heavens.
Dark Seraph - "I summon the Deathstroke!"
And, high up in the sky, a gigantic bolt of energy summoned by Seraph, makes a rapid descent towards his foes...
Group Three:
Partially aflame, Darkwave raises his right hand. A grappling hook is shot out and he rises into the air.
Demonfire - "You won't get away that way!"
A concentrated blast of fire scorches Darkwave. He looses his grip on the rope and plunges back into the inferno.
Off to the side, the Tigress studies her attacker. In a swift motion, she stands and delivers a quick punch to Leech. He is visibly hurt by the blow. Leech makes a halfhearted attack at the Tigress. It misses and she strikes again. Leech collapses into a translucent pile on the floor.
While blasting Darkwave, Ranger managed to get out of the fire and is now closing on the villainess.
Ranger - "Let's see if you can take it, hot stuff!"
Ranger delivers a flying kick to the midsection, stunning her. His follow up puts Demonfire down.
Having disposed of the villains, Ranger and Tigress try to spot Darkwave. But it seems clear that he is beyond their help....
GM Notes
Looks like things are getting hot and heavy! Will the mall survive?
Hero Status:
| Name | Stun |
|---|---|
| Darkwave | RIP |
| Firestar | -40 of 37 |
| Lord Liberty | 3 of 30 |
| Ranger | 17 of 35 |
| Shadow | 7 of 35 |
| Strongbow | 13 of 29 |
| T-Storm | 19 of 29 |
Shadow, 'Star was unable to hear your telepathic message. However, Nightengale was able to pick it up. She sent back that things weren't too good at their end either.
Spectrum's Comments: Wave goodbye to Darkwave. Or should that be burnt-to-a-crisp wave?
SUBJ: Ranger FROM: Deslock 12/10/89 S#: 96489
"Darkwave, may you find peace."
- I never got to know Darkwave, and now he's gone. What... Trouble. -
"Come on Tigress, there's nothing more we can do here. The other groups have run into unexpected trouble. The Mall's sprinklers can take care of this."
That said, I'll head off toward the nearest of the other groups. As I approach the area, or the sounds of battle, I'll go into stealth mode and attempt a sneak attack on the enemy.
SUBJ: NIGHTSTALKER - Malik (R) FROM: NightStlkr 12/10/89 S#: 408310
Malik's jaw drops to the ground.
"HO...LY SH*T!! TAKE COVER, GUYS!!!"
If NIGHTSTALKER has time, he'll attempt to grab Dark Seraph and slam him down to the ground with full STR. Then he'll try and take cover.
If there's no time for this, He'll just dive for cover.
After Seraph's Deathstroke, Malik will go back after the demon; his tactics depending on how far away he is...
If he's close enough to get to Seraph quickly, he'll engage him in HTH (normal punches w/Energy Stimuli still at full activation) If he's too far away, he'll keep half-moving his way up to Seraph (via Flight), using the other half-move to fire Power Bursts at him (or block/ dodge if Seraph is obviously attacking first).
(As all ways: Levels are in OCV).
SUBJ: WHAT!!! DARK SERAPH!! FROM: Nain 12/10/89 S#: 86346
"I'm attacking Dark Seraph!!!! AGGGH!"
If I can I will Teleport as far away as I can, hopefully into a store. If I can't, I will dive for cover as far as I can with a decent chance of success.
If I am still around, I will half teleport to some cover if possible and change to the entire pool to: transformation-clouds: 3d6, 1/2 end (79pts.)
I will then blast Dark Seraph till the end of the turn, abort to dodge, block or dive for cover as necessary. If he still hasn't transformed, all point to teleport, I'll go see if I can help the others.
Spectrum's Comments: Not sure what that was about. Maybe he had a bad encounter with Dark Seraph in another game. T-Storm also holds a most unusual honor as well. I used his character sheet on 2 other characters! Why make new when you can recycle old!
SUBJ: dragon man= FROM: Wild dan 12/14/89 S#: 127262
i will poly to a red dragon hopfuly my scales will hold and att with fire breath
SUBJ: STRONGBOW (R) FROM: AREION 12/16/89 S#: 794949
Rolling back to his feet, STRONGBOW shakes off the effects of SILVAR's blow.
"WELL STRUCK, Silverskin!!! You are truly a warrior worthy of my battle skills!"
His mind racing, STRONGBOW notches an arrow and lets it fly towards his silver plated adversary.(MP s3 Levels to DCV) STRONGBOW will do his best to keep his distance, using his Speed of the Deer to half move away, and fire another arrow. If SILVAR appears to be mortally wounded at any time, STRONGBOW will resort to his Coup Stick and Strength of the Bear once again.(Levels back to OCV)
If attacked by VOLCANON or DAIGON, STRONGBOW will retaliate using a Tomahawk bolt (MP s1, if there's another villain with range, SB will be sure to get their hex within the area of effect too, but the attackers hex will be the target. If not, then just heavily saturate the attackers general area)
SUBJ: Lord Liberty FROM: REM9 12/16/89 S#: 413965
"Your efforts are futile Daigon. My armored skin has just been improved on by our leader Firestar. Now the only thing that may penetrate it is the heat of a sun. Please surrender now or I will have to initiate my battle sequence programming. It would be most painful."
Assuming that Daigon does not surrender (hey what can I say Lord Liberty is gullible) Lord Liberty will dodge his way up to Daigon, while keeping his sensors on Volcano. He will make his back a very tempting target. If it appears that Volcano will take him up on the offer, Lord Liberty will try to dive out of the way at the last minute, letting Daigon take the brunt of the blast. If however, Volcano is to smart for this, Lord Liberty will continue up until he may deliver a martial Punch on Daigon.
SUBJ: T-Storm FROM: Nain 12/16/89 S#: 85119
(Wait a minute, I a man not a mouse. A hero, not a coward! I have to stand and fight and help my companions!)
So, instead of running away after his ineffectual attacks on Dark Seraph,
T-Storm will: Blow him away!
Literally. Pool to 10d6 eb, KB only (-1&1/4), 2* KB (+3/4), 1/2 END(cost 45pts.)
10" Teleport (20pts.)
2d6 NND (life support: breathing and cold), linked to wind blast.
This is of course assuming I survive his attack.
SUBJ: Tigress FROM: T1GRESS 12/17/89 S#: 111156
Hearing the explosion nearby, I will move over to that fight, sticking to cover as much as possible. If I can get close enough to the fight without being noticed, then do a sneak attack from hiding on the big, ugly guy with the wings. (Get as close as possible while using stealth and concealment and the superleap the remaining distance and attack from behind).
Crusaders #41 - "The Appleton Affair: Part Four"
With Dark Seraph's Deathstroke hovering over their heads, the newer Crusaders act.
T-Storm summons up a windstorm and blows Dark Seraph further into the mall. Nightstalker takes to the air and flies after the villain. Shadow flies off, trying to get away from the blast. Dragonman's form shifts and radically grows. Before everyone's eyes, a large, 32' long and 16' wide, red dragon appears.
Azalin - "Interesting."
Azalin makes a series of gestures and teleports down the corridor.
The energy explodes through the ceiling and strikes the spot indicated by Dark Seraph. Energy ripples out from the explosion, pushing everyone away.
In the dragon form, the blast does little damage to Dragonman. His great size also shields the girls from any damage.
The blast engulfs T-Storm, but he emerges virtually unscathed. Nightstalker and Shadow are far enough away to not take any damage.
T-Storm renews his assault on Dark Seraph. The villain seems more angered than damaged. He flies at T-Storm and after a brief of exchange, knocks Storm out.
Nightstalker flies in and fires his Power Burst. Already weakened from the other attacks, Seraph goes down.
Elsewhere, Shadow fires another blast of Darkfire at Azalin. It does little damage, but knocks the villain back. Dragonman locates his target and prepares to breath.
Azalin - "Our objective is complete. The mage is now ours. This battle is futile. Consider yourselves fortunate. I may not be so kind the next time our paths cross."
Azalin makes a gesture and disappears for good, just ahead of a blast of fire.
A moment later, the Tigress enters the scene sprinting.
Tigress - "I heard an explosion..."
With the situation under control, the young women thank their rescuers. They introduce themselves as Michelle and Sylvia.
Michelle - "You were all wonderful in driving those monster away!"
Sylvia - "Our heroes!"
At the second battlefront, Strongbow notches an arrow and fires. His aim is and the shaft embeds itself in Silvar. Wounded, Silvar grabs another bench and throws it at Strongbow.
'Bow dodges and fires another shaft. Again his aim is true and Silvar goes down.
Elsewhere, Lord Liberty closes in on Daigon and calls for his surrender.
Daigon - "The servants of the Nether Lord never surrender!!"
Daigon hits Lord Liberty with a flying kick, knocking the android out.
On the other side of the battle, Nightengale draws a mental bead on Volcanon. Her mind bolt hits Volcanon, stunning him for a moment.
Volcanon - "Nice try! Let's see if you can take this!"
Volcanon fires off a burst of lava and blasts Nightengale back. She is unconscious from the vicious attack.
Volcanon - "Hahaha!!! What a bunch of wimps!"
Unnoticed in the background, Ranger arrives on the scene. Enraged over the attack against his fiancée, Ranger rapidly closes the distance to Volcanon. He does a flip in mid-air and kicks the villain in the back of the head.
Ranger - "No one does that to her!"
Volcanon is taken completely by surprise. The fiery villain is knocked forward, into the fountain. Upon contact, steam erupts around him. When in it clears, Volcanon is unconscious.
The intense heat from contact with Volcanon almost made Ranger loose consciousness. Regardless, he really got a hot foot!
The battle is now over. With the exception of Darkwave, there were no serious injuries. Everyone who was knocked out is now conscious. PRIMUS has hauled the villains away.
It is only in the aftermath that anyone realizes that the Sorceress is missing!
GM Notes
A quick search reveals that the Sorceress is nowhere to be found. Nightengale minds scans for her, be she is not within the mall.
Everyone is awake and can post.
SUBJ: Ranger FROM: Deslock 12/19/89 S#: 119359
After giving Volcanon his steam bath, I'll hop over to where Nightengale lies. Seeing that she's all right, I'll check on the others and the state of the mall.
"Who was the last one to see Sorceress? I'd like to look over the area she was in prior to her disappearance, although I don't really expect to find much, considering how Azalin made his exit. Perhaps PRIMUS will be able to pry some info out of those other goons."
SUBJ: NIGHTSTALKER - Malik (R) FROM: NightStlkr 12/20/89 S#: 436387
"HHHOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLLLL!!!"
Malik lets loose an echoing wail as his Power Burst strikes down the villainous Dark Seraph.
"ALRIGHT!!! That was some very nice work, guys..." He takes time out to give his buddy Shadow a HI-5. He turns to Tigress upon her entry.
"Hey, Tigress. Where 'ya been...you missed all the excitement." It's apparent that NIGHTSTALKER is getting a little cocky.
"Whew...I always feel better after a good fight. It really gets my Phantorian juices flowing..."
To the two women:
"Awwww...it was no sweat, Babes. It's just all in a day's...er...NIGHT's work. But,if you lovely ladies are in need of any further assistance, just let me know." Malik gives them an alluring look.
::Getting back to business::
"We'd better go see if any of the others need a helping hand." Malik blows each of the ladies a kiss goodbye and takes to the air.
SUBJ: Ranger FROM: Deslock 12/20/89 S#: 105770
"We've no call to celebrate, Nightstalker. One of our members, Darkwave, was burned to death in this battle. Another has been kidnapped. I wouldn't say we've fared too well here."
SUBJ: The Shadow (R) FROM: BLK NINJA 12/21/89 S#: 10860
"Damn! So that's what the scum where talking about when they left! I should have sensed it, but I was too busy trying to waste the demon! Nightengale, are you sure you've checked everywhere? Who was the last to speak to her? This was obviously planned by them, for some reason, yet unexplained. Well, since everyone is okay, except Darkwave.......I suggest we get mounted up. If possible I think we should go after them. Meaning, we will get to go to our favorite place Stalker...the Netherworld. We'll need to open a door, or portal. Gale, can you pull that off? I can assist with my abilities. What do you think Fire?"
::To go or not to go, that is the question. I leave the answer up to Fire. If we are going, I mentally prepare myself (it's a pretty mean place) for the journey. It's been a while, the evil world......maybe not as bad as limbo, maybe.::
"Well?! I'm ready!"
::I await the next move::
Mail From: BLK NINJA Date: Thursday 21-Dec-89 04:24 EST
I don't want to sound like I'm telling you what to make us do, in my post, but it just seemed to me the thing we would do if one of our members where captured. Actually, once, Areion and my old team (New Eden), once went into a dimension like the netherworld to save Nightstalker from a creature name NightMare. I just thought I'd bring that up.
Spectrum's Comments: ::sigh:: Shadow's making a whole bunch of assumptions here based on things that happened in other games, using a completely different set of rules. He's also treating those characters from that game that are also in this game as being pals and friends when they just recently met. Just because something happened in a different game doesn't mean the same thing is going to happen here. Never assume.
SUBJ: dragon FROM: Wild dan 12/21/89 S#: 440754
:i change back to human form:
Shadow i think you are right we must go after them i will go with you but i must take care of something first :realsting shield spell from ladys there you go lady you are safe now :turns back to shadow and wait for his decision
SUBJ: Lord Liberty FROM: REM9 12/23/89 S#: 451754
"Firestar are you injured? Your wounds from the last battle were deep; let me check you over before you arise to make sure that nothing is broken. It appears that the villains we fought were merely a decoy which while we were fighting them, they kidnapped the Sorceress. (Somebody call He-Man. Sorry guys just could not resist that one)
Are you well enough to travel?"
While this conversation is taking place, Lord Liberty will scan Firestar's body with his X-Ray Vision to make sure everything is in the proper place.
SUBJ: Firestar
'Only my pride, Lord Liberty, only my pride. I'll be all right, but there are other matters that take precedence. The fate of Darkwave is deeply regrettable. Let's see that the Sorceress doesn't end up the same way.'
'From my many talks with the Sorceress, I've learned that she was on the run from DEMON, a criminal organization. In fact that is how she originally encountered Equinox, the team the Crusaders merged with many weeks ago. In fact, Equinox encountered a DEMON Priest, called a Morbane, by the name of Hieronomous. He had Dark Seraph and Demonfire aiding him at that time. It is my contention that DEMON cooked up this ploy to draw the Sorceress out into the open so that they could kidnap her. As I recall, she turned invisible as the battle began. That was the last time she was seen.'
'You might be correct, Shadow, about this Netherworld. However, it seems to me that we should pursue more earthly explanations first. It is possibly that someone spotted them leaving? Perhaps some of the captured villains might know where they're destination is? Nightengale, with her psi powers should be able to manage this.'
'This whole thing was one big set-up. Talk of this Nether Lord might also be a red herring. But, the question still remains: What do they want with our teammate?'
Spectrum's Comments: As always, Firestar was the voice of reason.
SUBJ: TIGRESS FROM: T1GRESS 12/23/89 S#: 37725
"I may be able to help somewhat in locating the Sorceress. If I can locate her scent, I should be able to follow it, or any of the others involved to the source. Or at least give us an idea where she was taken. As long as they didn't us some sort of teleport or something. I also might be able to persuade one of the captured ones to give us some info, if you catch me meaning..."
I then go about searching the area around the main entrance for the scent of the Sorceress and wherever it should lead.
Crusaders #42 - "Trail of the Sorceress"
The Crusaders have successfully defeated the villains at the Appleton Mall. But not without a price. Darkwave was killed in the battle and the Sorceress was kidnapped!
Tigress - "I might be able to track the Sorceress if I can pick up her scent."
Firestar - "It's worth a shot."
The Tigress sniffs around the entranceway to the mall. After a few moments she finds her scent.
Tigress - "I've got it! She went off that way!"
Firestar - "Lead the way, Ti. Ranger, Nightengale and Strongbow, stay here and question the captured villains. Perhaps they might know a thing or two.
Ranger - "Will do."
Firestar - "Everyone else follow the Tigress!"
The Tigress makes her way across the mall towards the far side.
Shadow - "Strange, there appears to be no sign of a struggle."
Lord Liberty - "Perhaps she knew the people she went off with?"
The trail leads outside.
Tigress - "She went into a vehicle of some type. Perhaps a van. They drove off that way."
Firestar - "Perhaps we can borrow a vehicle of our own?"
After borrowing a police cruiser, the search continues.
The trail leads to an airstrip 1 mile away. There, a parked van is found. The Sorceress scent is in the van.
Tigress - "They changed vehicles here. I'm not picking up her scent anymore."
Firestar - "You did a good job. At least we know more now than we did before."
Upon returning to the mall, notes are compared.
Ranger - "We managed to learn a few things of importance. Gale?"
Nightengale - "While Ranger talked to the prisoners, I scanned their minds. Some of them were more than willing to talk."
Ranger - "We couldn't get Daigon to shut-up!"
Nightengale - "You were right Firestar, DEMON is behind this. Most of the villains were hired to lure us here and rave about this Nether Lord character. It appears that they used Mind Control to lure the Sorceress away. Once she turned invisible, she just flew away. None of the villains know exactly why DEMON wants her. But we did learn the location of the DEMON base they trained at. Perhaps they took the Sorceress to this base?"
Firestar - "It's a lead at least."
Nightengale - "The base is underwater. A location 70 miles North of Long Island Sound."
Firestar - "Underwater? Marvelous..."
GM Notes:
Now what? Will you travel to the DEMON base or do something altogether different?
SUBJ: dragon FROM: Wild dan 12/25/89 S#: 84751
GM 1 question: Can my breath water spell be used for the whole group or just me?
If it can be used, I will cast it when we get there with Fires order
I will change when we get there if there is room to a bronze dragon and attack with lighting if attacked.
SUBJ: Firestar
'Underwater, huh? Great, just great...'
Come on, kid, pull yourself together. A little water never hurt anyone...
'Uh, looks like we'll have to go check this place out... Does anyone else besides DM have the ability to breath underwater? That will be important in determining how we assault the base. As I recall, the old Crusaders had quite a bit of equipment. Perhaps we'll find something else to help us out. At the moment, my plan is to travel to the site of the Demonbase, scout it out and then determine a plan of attack.'
Comments? Suggestions?
In spite of her brave appearance, you can see that the prospect of going underwater seems to frighten her.
GM Notes:
It is possible to cast Water Breathing on the rest of the team. However, the more people affected by the spell, the shorter the spell will last. It is possible that spell will give out before team could reach the base.
Once back at the base, Felicity will point out that the Crusaders have a small jet/submergible. It can hold up to 6 people.
SUBJ: T-Storm FROM: Nain 12/26/89 S#: 22227
(Geez, that hurt. But I fought Seraph and I still live. (Sounds like a T-Shirt) But one of us died!! Maybe this isn't my business.)
"Well I can't breath underwater but I could whip up a storm to give us cover going in. I might be able to make a whirlpool, but I don't know if my powers extend to water. I don't know if they will necessarily work underwater, but i will try."
Mad if my weather powers don't work underwater, I'll stick to t-port, transformation and gravitic.
SUBJ: NIGHTSTALKER - Malik FROM: NightStlkr 12/27/89 S#: 99392
"Breathe underwater...HECK; I don't even have to breathe AT ALL, Hotstuff. I guess that makes me a prime candidate for this mission, huh?? Well, I'm Ready, Willing, and Able...you just say the word, Boss-lady."
Whatever Firestar's plans turn out to be, NIGHTSTALKER will follow them to the letter.
SUBJ: Tigress FROM: T1GRESS 12/27/89 S#: 429716
"Well, I don't mind the water terribly, but I certainly can't breath the stuff! I'd much rather ride in this submarine-thingie."
"Once down there, though, I should be able to locate the Sorceress, easily enough. Provided she's there..."
Spectrum's Comments: Next time: The Crusaders raid the underwater DEMON base and find-- well, that would be telling! Stay tuned!