After the invasion

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After the Invasion is a Play-by-Post game run by JeStor, using Mutants and Masterminds Third Edition.

Setting Introduction

Earth is alone no more. Alien forces were poised to unleash a massive invasion again the Earth and her people. The heroes alerted to the incoming forces were prepared to go out swinging, as powerful as they were the odds were stacked heavily in the invaders favor. As the ships breached the outer edges of the solar system, hope came in the form of ambassadors from two allied alien forces. With their planets next in line they'd had to reveal themselves sooner than they wanted, in the hope that three planets now allied would be able to stand against the impending alien invasion. The friendly aliens had wanted to gradually cement relations and do things in a relaxed manner over time. This wasn't to be.

Earth's mightiest heroes joined the two other forces and they met the invading fleet far out beyond Neptune's orbit. The augmented band of Earth's superheroes were able to beat back the invading force and establish a perimeter out by where the battle had taken place. This didn't mean the fighting was over, the invaders were routed not destroyed. The victors wait for the other shoe to drop and for the invaders to return. This doesn't mean life has stopped, this was also eight years ago.

In the last eight years something's have changed a great deal and others have not. The influx of new alien technology while heavily controlled by government, military, affiliated corporate partners and various super groups, has made medical science, communication, travel much different than before. With the new tech, some don't want to wait and various villains and criminal organizations have tried to get their hands on what they can. Some have been successful, but those success have been few.

Space travel and travel on Earth itself has changed and is now faster and cheaper. With space travel, and the fact that Earth isn't alone in the Universe...some of the nastier villains have left for green pastures, so have some of the heroes. Earth now is part of a network of three planets who are dependant on each other to keep things safe. The scope of the area now needing patrolling and protecting is huge. Many of the most powerful heroes spent much of their time out far from Earth defending the perimeter, preparing and improving existing defensive systems etc. The alien allies have wormholes, so travel between planets is possible.

These changes have put pressure on newer heroes, existing heroes to raise their game. Heroes who once might of protected a city, might have to divide time between multiple cities. Evil doesn't sleep and villains seized on the power vacuum and pushed back while the most powerful heroes were off planet. Thankfully, heroes can be called on to work in concert with each other and things are back at where they were pre-invasion. Most don't count on this lasting for long, the new technology and brand new worlds (not to mention existing enemy alien forces out there...somewhere) shine too brightly for those deceitful in nature to ignore.

The Aliens

The Slee and Non are the two friendly allied alien races. The Slee are multi-limbed and snakelike with superior spacecraft the more proficient with weapons, tactics and combat. Shorter lived and quick breeding the Slee are the far more numerous of the two.

The Non are large slow-moving telepathic and have advanced wormhole technology. Very, very intelligent and a gentle people they have the more advanced technology - although they occupy the non-violent end of that stream.

They were rather reluctant to approach Earth and "reveal" themselves, but they didn't have much in the way of options and needed the help of the powerful Earth heroes to have any chance to fend off the third alien race. They were likely next after a successful Earth invasion and felt they'd no choice, but to make contact and hope that Earth's heroes would help. First contact was made with the Royal Guard (England's most powerful superhero group - Majesty, Highland, Claymore, The Crown, Battalion and The British Lion) Lead by Majesty, she was the one who put the aliens in contact with and set up meetings with UN (which now has much more power) smoothing the way for a three-way alliance against the impending invasion.

The Harad are humanoid, looking much like humans save for all black eyes and six digits on the hands and feet. They're what sci-fi novels have imagined in the many invasion scenarios, merciless, savage, well-trained, well armed. People with a distant homeworld hungry for more, moving across the galaxy - conquest after conquest. The armed forces exist like a nomadic horde like the Mongols, moving on sending the spoils back behind them to home...until eight years ago.

The characters

The PCs are PL 8 and built on 135 points.

Pillar

Name: Pillar

Real Name: Roger Goren

Concept: Powerhouse / Martial Artist

Origin: Endowed / Trained

Background

Roger Goren is a skilled martial artist with superhuman strength who was trained and empowered by Andrew "Andy" Yuss, a fugitive Haradi scientist. When Roger was an undergraduate working on his degree in urban planning and criminology, Roger was severely beaten at a homeless shelter where he was volunteering. He awoke under the care of Yuss, who was masquerading as one of the homeless at the shelter. Yuss agreed to train Roger and use his alien science to empower him to do good and promote justice. However, while Roger thought this meant fighting crime, Andy somehow alerted the UN to Rogers existence. After several frustrating arguments, Roger agreed to work for the United Nations Rapid Response Team. He is now known as Pillar.

Abilities

Superhuman Capabilities

Pillar's physiology draws strength from gravitational field, granting him superhuman strength and durability. Additionally, Pillar can create several gravitational effects, including a shockwave, the ability to jump extreme distances, and the ability to increase the weight of others.

Researchers believe Pillar will lose his superhuman abilities if we is in the weightlessness of space, outside the gravitational reach of a planet. It is unclear how his physiology would react to a artificial gravity, such as those found on alien spacecraft. Some scientists are also curious what would happen if he found himself in a substantially higher gravitational field, such as the one around Jupiter. Any answers to these questions are highly speculative at this juncture.

Trained Skills

Pillar is trained in a fighting style that Andy calls "Vazkrat" or "Groundlock". It primarily focuses on a strategy of grappling an enemy in a way that either leads to a various incapacitating holds, or putting the opponent in a position to be struck while prone or grappled. This combined with his powers (see below) make him a formidable opponent in hand to hand combat.

Additionally, Pillar is college educated in urban planning and criminology. Response Team strategists hope this set of skills will be useful for managing cities and populations before and after superhuman or alien events.


Addendum: Andrew Yuss

aka Andy, Coach Andy, The Trainer, Antaeus (possible joke on the Yuss' part)

Andrew Yuss is an alien ally of Pillar. He is a Haradi exile, and is considered dangerous and unreliable. Yuss is the sole source of information regarding his background. Consequently, many do not believe it is entirely accurate.

Yuss was part of the Reclamation Corp, the division of the Haradi military charged with salvaging and reverse engineering alien technology for use in the Eternal Conquest. Yuss' specialty was cosmo-vitalism: the study of how the lifeforce of organisms interacts with other natural forces of the universe. Yuss fell from grace when a military officer attempted to cheat Yuss and the Reclamation Corps out of the spoils of a conquest. He was then imprisoned before escaping in a small spacecraft loaded with vitalistic technologies, both Haradi and reclaimed.

Fleeing Haradi space, Yuss came to the backwater system Sol. He took the role of a homeless man as he studied the society around him. He was confused and amazed how how martial glory was not the defining virtue of contemporary western society. After a few years on Earth, the Battle of Neptune occurred. Yuss decided he could help vitalistic technologies to "build" a superhero to help with the war effort. He thought Goren was of the right temperament, and Yuss saw an opportunity to enlist him to the cause when Goren was injured defending some other homeless. Yuss created a treatment for Goren involving a series of solutions Goren drank over eleven days that aligned Goren's life force with gravitational fields.

Yuss claims his only motivation was to help with the war effort, as he does not believe Earth deserves what the Harad will do to it.

Stats

Motivation: Do Good (protect the weak)

Complication: Relationship (Coach Andy)

Complication: Gravity-Dependent Powers

Power Level: 8

Point Total: 135


Abilities

Cost: 44

STR 8 (Unenhanced 3, 10 for lifting up to 25 tons)

STA 8 (Unenhanced 0)

AGL 3

DEX 4

FGT 7

INT 2

AWE 2

PRE 1


Powers

Cost: 51


Gravitic Strength (Cost: 12)

  • Enhanced Strength 5 [10]
    • Permanent
  • +2 lifting strength [2]


Gravitic Durability (Cost: 27)

  • Enhanced Stamina 8, Impervious, Permanent [24]
  • Protection 1, Impervious [2]
  • Immunity: High Pressure [1]


Gravity Control - 5 Different Effects (Cost: 12)

Gravity Sense - Senses 8

  • Accurate, Awareness, Penetrates Concealment, Ranged, Radius <8 total ranks>
  • Pillar has the ability to have perceive anything with mass within his sphere of awareness. This includes a general idea of size, mass, & motion. Details such as color, faces, emblems, etc. is not something he can perceive.

Gravity Drag – Affliction 8

  • Alternate Effect
  • First Degree: Hindered & Impaired (-1 speed, -2 on checks), Second Degree: Immobile, Ranged, Distracting, No Third Degree

Gravity Wave – Damage 8

  • Alternate Effect
  • Area: Line (6’ X 30’), Limited: Both Pillar and targets must contact common solid object or surface <-1/Rank>

Gravity Pull - Move Object 8 (6 Tons)

  • Alternate Effect
  • Limited: Vertical Only

Personal Gravity Release - Leaping 4 (500 feet)

  • Alternate Effect
  • Affects Others

Advantages

Cost: 13

  • Assessment
  • Close Attack
  • Equipment: Smartphone (camera, computer, comlink, phone, video)
  • Fast Grab
  • Improved Grab
  • Improved Hold
  • Improved Initiative
  • Improved Trip
  • Instant Up
  • Move-by Action
  • Prone Fighting
  • Startle
  • Takedown

Skills

Cost:17

  • Acrobatics: 1 / +5
  • Athletics: 1 / +9
  • Close Combat (Unarmed): 0 / +8
  • Expertise (Urban Studies): 6 / +8
  • Insight: 7 / +9
  • Intimidation: 8 / +10
  • Perception: 7 / +9
  • Ranged Combat: Throwing 1 / +5
  • Tech 2 / +4

Offense

  • Initiative +7
  • Armed: +8
  • Unarmed: +8
  • Throwing: +5
  • Unarmed damage: 8

Defense

Cost: 10

  • Dodge: 4 / +7
  • Parry: 0 / +7
  • Will: 4 / +6
  • Fortitude: 2 / +10
  • Toughness: 0 / +9 (Impervious 9)


Abilities (44) + Powers (51) + Advantages (13) + Skills (17) + Defenses (10) = 135