Trimountaine Defenders

[Professor Fosfoor]

Adam asks the GM:

[SBLOCK]Which villians are currently at large? I would want to sort them in order of who I think is most likely to go on a crime spree if he finds out that ShadowGal is gone.[/SBLOCK]

 

[Daphna_Llassa]

for Adam

[SBLOCK]
There is a lot, so here are the top 5:

John Dunkirk - anarchist, likes to blow up government buildings.

Jericho - small gang leader. Drugs, armed robberies, protection schemes.

Catherine Love - cat burglar

Bill Hess - armed robbery

SuperNova - super villain. Powers of light.

[/SBLOCK]

 

[Professor Fosfoor]

There is a tasteful painting in the breakfast nook that is easily visible from where everyone is sitting at the table. I don't know the Baron's tastes, so I won't specify what the painting depicts. But, whatever it is, it flashes twice, and then goes black. Suddenly, the following text is displayed on the black background.

Pretty much anyone we've ever fought would be happy to see ShadowGal leave. But, I've narrowed it down a bit. My calculations indicate that the following 5 people are 98.756425890% most likely to be the top contenders, in order of probability:

1. John Dunkirk. Anarchist. Tried to blow up City Hall, and the local IRS facility.
2. Jericho. Gang leader. We've foiled him in Armed Robberies, Protection Schemes, and Drug Trafficking.
3. Catherine Love. MeeeeeeOW! My personal favorite cat burglar of all time.
4. Bill Hess. He tried to hold up the Trimountaine City Bank, among other attmepts at armed robbery.
5. SuperNova. Big bad super villian. His powers are light-based. Not surprisingly, he and ShadowGal didn't really hit it off too well.
   

Without more information, I don't think we can accurately guess who's going to move first. I think we'll need to get out there and put our ears to the ground.

Further, I think we need to include Ice Cream Guy in this. The poor schlub wants to help out - we ought to let him step up a little.

-Adam



​

 

[Daphna_Llassa]

for Adam
[sblock]
Anticipating your next question:

John Dunkirk - whereabouts unknown. Disapeared during his last explosion attempt.

Jericho - in city. stopped reporting to parole officer last week.

Catherine Love - was thought to have left city till you spotted her at the fundraiser.

Bill Hess - seen in city. Still reporting to parole officer.

SuperNova - last spotted out of the country, but he travels fast.
[/sblock]

 

[ericpat]

We should expect to be tested once it is known that she is gone.

"I agree. I've been meditating on this. I'm certain we will be tested, I’m also confidant that we are prepared for the trials ahead. We should continue our individual pursuits, should the occasion arise that requires our intervention, we can respond appropriately."

"I’ve also thought, that perhaps we should not all arrive together for the next incident. That way we can continue the illusion that ShadowGal hasn’t left. If, instead, we arrive sequentially it might appear that the situation was resolved before we all needed to show up to deal with it."

"Additionally, I could create the illusion that ShadowGal was there with us – " Victor gestures sharply, and a half-foot tall illusion of ShadowGal appears in his palm. "Unfortunately, my illusions are purely mental constructs; they will not appear on camera."

"I could, potentially research a new spell or ritual that would fool cameras, but I'm not sure that the effort is necessary."

There is a tasteful painting in the breakfast nook that is easily visible from where everyone is sitting at the table. I don't know the Baron's tastes, so I won't specify what the painting depicts.

OOC: Feel free to pick stuff like this on your own. If I think it's wrong, I'll squawk, and you can edit.

A simple still-life painting is probably appropriate for the breakfast nook.

Further, I think we need to include Ice Cream Guy in this. The poor schlub wants to help out - we ought to let him step up a little.

"Adam, feel free to call Duane and talk with him about this, but what he really wants is to mix it up with supervillans, and I don't think that's a good idea at this time. I like Duane, I don't want to see him hurt."

 

[Professor Fosfoor]

The painting display fades and is replaced with:

Further analysis causes me to re-order my estimate of probabilities. Here is my current estimate, along with their locations:

1. Jericho. Stopped reporting to parole officer last week. Probably still in the city. The concatentation of this and ShadowGal's departure last week seems like an odd coincidence.
2. John Dunkirk. Disapeared during his last explosion attempt. Could be blown up, could be in hiding.
   
3. Catherine Love. I thought she had left city. However, she showed up at the fundraiser yesterday wearing a deliciously low cut emerald green dress.
   
4. Bill Hess. Still reporting to parole officer. He's been seen around the city.
   
5. SuperNova. Last spotted out of the country, but he travels fast, so who knows?

Baron: Unfortunately, I think your estimate of Ice Cream Man is largely correct. However, he will not be sidelined forever. At some point, he'll ignore our wishes and face off against someone. Our best bet is probably to let him face someone who won't kill him.

 

[Professor Fosfoor]

Phineas says:

Baron, I don't understand your reasoning. Why would our showing up sequentially provide the illusion that ShadowGal is still around?

I think our best best is to use that illusion of yours. If it doesn't show up on camera, who's to say that that isn't just a new power the SahdowGal has cultivated? If we are pressed on the question, we can claim that she has become concerned that too much media time will "compromise her secret identity". Since she has no secret identity, they will fruitlessly expend their efforts looking for a secret that does not exist, rather than realizing the truth.​

 

[ericpat]

Baron, I don't understand your reasoning. Why would our showing up sequentially provide the illusion that ShadowGal is still around?

"Well, if the three of us arrive en masse to thwart the nefarious plans of the villans, it will be obvious that we are acting as a team that ShadowGal is no longer a member of. If, instead we arrive one-by-one, it could appear that the situation was handled without the need for her to intervene, but that she would have arrived if the battle lasted longer."

I think our best best is to use that illusion of yours. If it doesn't show up on camera, who's to say that that isn't just a new power the SahdowGal has cultivated? If we are pressed on the question, we can claim that she has become concerned that too much media time will "compromise her secret identity". Since she has no secret identity, they will fruitlessly expend their efforts looking for a secret that does not exist, rather than realizing the truth.

"There is one other issue with the illusion: I will have to concentrate on it for it to perform actions. While I'm doing so, I'll be unable to perform any actions myself. Also, if I need to cast a different spell, the illusion will wink out of existance."

 

[Professor Fosfoor]

"Well, if the three of us arrive en masse to thwart the nefarious plans of the villans, it will be obvious that we are acting as a team that ShadowGal is no longer a member of. If, instead we arrive one-by-one, it could appear that the situation was handled without the need for her to intervene, but that she would have arrived if the battle lasted longer."

Ahh...that makes perfect sense.


Regarding your illusion of ShadowGal. Perhaps it would best serve if she were seen flying around the city? She need not show up to any of the fights, she simply needs to be seen by people in the city at various times of the day. By how much distance can you control this illusion? Could you have her flying from the docks, to the zeppellin if it were, say, above City Hall? I think those sorts of highly visible but limited trips would go a long way to keep her in the City's mind.

 

[Greybar]

"I am reluctant to surrender a tactical advantage on an enemy by intentionally staggering our arrival. Enemies that we have handily defeated with ShadowGal will require our full efforts without. I do like the idea of the staged appearances."