Welcome to Heroics. This thread is a splinter from the main storyline, following the Raven Team. The main thread can be found here:
Heroics - A Superhero RPG Adventure
Points, rules and game events will continue to be tracked in that main thread. This thread is only for the Raven Team to follow their mission. It intend to have a mod merge the threads once the separate missions are complete.
Raven Team Mission Brief
The Raven Team consists of:
Leader: Shane Starker
Gecklone
Ronnie Cordova
Sato
NineBand
Shane Starker sat aboard the transport chopper and reviewed his mission brief silently as they approached their target in Mexico. His teammates were strapped into their seats and had passed the hour in relative silence. The mission brief was printed on simple paper and in a manila envelope. Once opened it read:
Objective: Find and obtain the assistance of The Raven, supposedly hiding out in the Mexican desert.
Precautions: The Echelon criminal network is rumored to be seeking out The Raven as well, making it vitally important to find him first. They have demonstrated in the past that they are willing to use lethal force against any perceived threat, so proceed with caution and do not assume they will abide by any conventions of civilized warfare once engaged.
While the Mexican government is a member of the UN's Resolution on Superhuman Affairs, they have not been notified of your presence for this covert mission. Recent developments within their country mean this desert territory is currently under the control of metahuman drug cartels. Do not expect support from the local authorities if you are engaged by such forces.
Also note that The Raven is a powerful sorcerer with possibly thousands of year's of magical knowledge at his disposal. Do not engage him aggressively but be prepared for him to defend himself against intruders. He is a hunted, but powerful man.
Aurhorizations: You are authorized to use lethal force against Echelon or drug cartel forces, but avoid civilian casualties. Do not engage any Mexican authorities unless absolutely necessary and lethal force is forbidden in such a circumstance unless necessary for the survival of your team...
a hand-scrawled note appears in the margin here:
"This will impact your bonus Mr Starker. Do not test me on this. ~Chilon"
Equipment: You have been given a special transponder that is rigged to a powerful microbattery. Just one use will cause it to burn out, but it can transmit through any known scrambling or jamming technique known to the SHC. Once you have either obtained The Raven's services or come into contact with a force you cannot defeat, use the transponder to request extraction. You may choose to carry the transponder yourself to delegate it to another member of the party. Do your best to keep it safe.
You are also being equipped with MREs to sustain you during your desert mission, although we hope it will be short. You have been given single canteens with purified water. You will need to seek out water sources to keep those refilled as you travel through the region. It is spring in Mexico but water sources are scarce in the desert, so move quickly and maximize your resources.
Target: Our best mystics have detected some magical energies from a particular region in the desert. You must approach and search for The Raven's hide out. If he cannot be found, call for evacuation and new plan will be formulated.
As the chopper passed over a desert foothill, Shane spotted something black far off in the distance, moving quickly across the desert floor. He pressed his headset close to his face to talk to the pilot through a radio, a privilege afforded only to the leader of the team.
"Did you see that too?" Shane asked, fully expecting the pilot to say yes. They had quickly met before the chopper took off and Starker could tell that Chilon had hand-picked the guy to be agreeable to him. He was a war vet, a former mercenary and unlike everyone else he had met at the SHC, the pilot wasn't a super, just a soldier like himself.
"Of course I did," the pilot said. "Scanners picked them up about 30 seconds before they came into view. Three trucks, loaded with weapons. I have a red light to engage unknown forces so I'm going to have to set you down at your drop off point and get clear. If you need evac, you call, but the SHC wouldn't let me carry weapons on this bird over the border. You are on your own once I set you down."
The team unloaded quickly as the chopper touched down. This part of the desert as not as desolate as one might expect. There were rocky foothills, brush, cacti, even a few gnarled trees. This was the kind of place that would make a good hide out, for an ancient sorcerer or a band of drug dealers. Invaders were probably as likely to get bit by a rattlesnake or die from the elements as they were to find a secret hide out.
Shane handed over his headset as the last of the team hopped off the chopper. The pilot leaned in to give him one last bit of information.
"Near as I can tell from thermals, they have between 10 and 15 men and three trucks. They seem to be targeting the same area as we are, so they must be looking for whatever it is your team is looking for. Kick some @&$ and I'll buy you a beer in Tijuana after we're done. Die and I'll forget all about your sorry @#%."
With that the chopper took off and left the team to fend for themselves.
RAVEN TEAM CHALLENGE: The Grid
You are now in the Mexican desert and your job is to find The Raven's hideout. Fortunately, I'll be revealing it to you as soon as you actually come across it. But first, you have to play a little game. The desert you are searching has been broken into a nine-square, three-by-three grid that must be searched one square "per turn." It looks like this:
Each member of your team may attempt to search one square on the grid at a time. More than one member may search the same square if you wish to increase the size of your force in that location. You may wish to do this because the Echelon forces are ALSO searching the grid. They have an effective strength of six units versus your five units, although the actual number of soldiers may be higher than six.
If you meet their forces in a square, you will engage in forced combat and your allies may not assist you until the following turn. Of course, they may not WISH to help you if they think you can handle the fight on your own or if no one has found The Raven's hide out yet. If you have a smaller force in a square than the Echelon forces, you are likely to lose that square to them. This would be a very bad thing if that's where The Raven's hide out is! You definitely don't want their forces getting inside before you do. And trust me... you CAN lose this portion of the mission.
I will resolve each turn by revealing what you find there and then taking you through any combat sequences. Then we will begin the following turns.
Of course, this wouldn't be a real game unless we raised the stakes a little. So here's how this is gonna work:
So what's it gonna be? Let Starker tell you where to go? Cooperate? Or compete for more points in the game? Talk it over with your teammates in character and then lock in your final grid choice by posting:
Action: Square [NUMBER]
Once you lock in your choice, you may not change it. Good luck!
Heroics - A Superhero RPG Adventure
Points, rules and game events will continue to be tracked in that main thread. This thread is only for the Raven Team to follow their mission. It intend to have a mod merge the threads once the separate missions are complete.
Raven Team Mission Brief
The Raven Team consists of:
Leader: Shane Starker
Gecklone
Ronnie Cordova
Sato
NineBand
Shane Starker sat aboard the transport chopper and reviewed his mission brief silently as they approached their target in Mexico. His teammates were strapped into their seats and had passed the hour in relative silence. The mission brief was printed on simple paper and in a manila envelope. Once opened it read:
Objective: Find and obtain the assistance of The Raven, supposedly hiding out in the Mexican desert.
Precautions: The Echelon criminal network is rumored to be seeking out The Raven as well, making it vitally important to find him first. They have demonstrated in the past that they are willing to use lethal force against any perceived threat, so proceed with caution and do not assume they will abide by any conventions of civilized warfare once engaged.
While the Mexican government is a member of the UN's Resolution on Superhuman Affairs, they have not been notified of your presence for this covert mission. Recent developments within their country mean this desert territory is currently under the control of metahuman drug cartels. Do not expect support from the local authorities if you are engaged by such forces.
Also note that The Raven is a powerful sorcerer with possibly thousands of year's of magical knowledge at his disposal. Do not engage him aggressively but be prepared for him to defend himself against intruders. He is a hunted, but powerful man.
Aurhorizations: You are authorized to use lethal force against Echelon or drug cartel forces, but avoid civilian casualties. Do not engage any Mexican authorities unless absolutely necessary and lethal force is forbidden in such a circumstance unless necessary for the survival of your team...
a hand-scrawled note appears in the margin here:
"This will impact your bonus Mr Starker. Do not test me on this. ~Chilon"
Equipment: You have been given a special transponder that is rigged to a powerful microbattery. Just one use will cause it to burn out, but it can transmit through any known scrambling or jamming technique known to the SHC. Once you have either obtained The Raven's services or come into contact with a force you cannot defeat, use the transponder to request extraction. You may choose to carry the transponder yourself to delegate it to another member of the party. Do your best to keep it safe.
You are also being equipped with MREs to sustain you during your desert mission, although we hope it will be short. You have been given single canteens with purified water. You will need to seek out water sources to keep those refilled as you travel through the region. It is spring in Mexico but water sources are scarce in the desert, so move quickly and maximize your resources.
Target: Our best mystics have detected some magical energies from a particular region in the desert. You must approach and search for The Raven's hide out. If he cannot be found, call for evacuation and new plan will be formulated.
As the chopper passed over a desert foothill, Shane spotted something black far off in the distance, moving quickly across the desert floor. He pressed his headset close to his face to talk to the pilot through a radio, a privilege afforded only to the leader of the team.
"Did you see that too?" Shane asked, fully expecting the pilot to say yes. They had quickly met before the chopper took off and Starker could tell that Chilon had hand-picked the guy to be agreeable to him. He was a war vet, a former mercenary and unlike everyone else he had met at the SHC, the pilot wasn't a super, just a soldier like himself.
"Of course I did," the pilot said. "Scanners picked them up about 30 seconds before they came into view. Three trucks, loaded with weapons. I have a red light to engage unknown forces so I'm going to have to set you down at your drop off point and get clear. If you need evac, you call, but the SHC wouldn't let me carry weapons on this bird over the border. You are on your own once I set you down."
The team unloaded quickly as the chopper touched down. This part of the desert as not as desolate as one might expect. There were rocky foothills, brush, cacti, even a few gnarled trees. This was the kind of place that would make a good hide out, for an ancient sorcerer or a band of drug dealers. Invaders were probably as likely to get bit by a rattlesnake or die from the elements as they were to find a secret hide out.
Shane handed over his headset as the last of the team hopped off the chopper. The pilot leaned in to give him one last bit of information.
"Near as I can tell from thermals, they have between 10 and 15 men and three trucks. They seem to be targeting the same area as we are, so they must be looking for whatever it is your team is looking for. Kick some @&$ and I'll buy you a beer in Tijuana after we're done. Die and I'll forget all about your sorry @#%."
With that the chopper took off and left the team to fend for themselves.
RAVEN TEAM CHALLENGE: The Grid
You are now in the Mexican desert and your job is to find The Raven's hideout. Fortunately, I'll be revealing it to you as soon as you actually come across it. But first, you have to play a little game. The desert you are searching has been broken into a nine-square, three-by-three grid that must be searched one square "per turn." It looks like this:
Each member of your team may attempt to search one square on the grid at a time. More than one member may search the same square if you wish to increase the size of your force in that location. You may wish to do this because the Echelon forces are ALSO searching the grid. They have an effective strength of six units versus your five units, although the actual number of soldiers may be higher than six.
If you meet their forces in a square, you will engage in forced combat and your allies may not assist you until the following turn. Of course, they may not WISH to help you if they think you can handle the fight on your own or if no one has found The Raven's hide out yet. If you have a smaller force in a square than the Echelon forces, you are likely to lose that square to them. This would be a very bad thing if that's where The Raven's hide out is! You definitely don't want their forces getting inside before you do. And trust me... you CAN lose this portion of the mission.
I will resolve each turn by revealing what you find there and then taking you through any combat sequences. Then we will begin the following turns.
Of course, this wouldn't be a real game unless we raised the stakes a little. So here's how this is gonna work:
- If a player finds the hide out on their own, as the only unit in that square, they earn 3 points towards the MVP.
- If a player finds the hide out on their own, but must engage in battle with Echelon forces to secure the hide out. They will earn 1 point for finding the hide out and one point if they defeat the Echelon forces solo.
- If a team of players finds the hide out together, they each gain 1 point towards MVP.
So what's it gonna be? Let Starker tell you where to go? Cooperate? Or compete for more points in the game? Talk it over with your teammates in character and then lock in your final grid choice by posting:
Action: Square [NUMBER]
Once you lock in your choice, you may not change it. Good luck!
