I agree with Chronogeist, there's no reason why you can't take a bashing laser beam. Photons do exist partially as particles and thus have mass and thus convey force (a la solar sails) and the effect on the target does not need to be lethal even though it may cause tissue damage, it could manifest as sunburn or 1st and 2nd degree burns which disable the opponent with pain.

Have your character treat it as a directed stun style attack fot the purposes of his use of the power.

Just make is a bashing Q-Bolt. I don't see how that is more unrealistic than (for example) Green Lantern's/Quasar's solid light constructs.

Alright, I'm convinced. Bashing it is. Thanks for the advice.

Sorry, just got rid of my messages... Can everyone send me their character sheets in PMs again...

And yes, Bashing is fine... Novas can do some interesting tricks with fundamental universal powers. Being able to condense photons mass wouldnt be the strangest... "He punched me with a lazer..."

So...

Multigate, X, Dark Mind, Richter 10, Android and Joshua North... did I miss anyone?

I have X's sheet currently (I did a mass PM purge so I lost a few sheets)

Also, Im going with the original version of shockwave... its not really a damage dealing power to living targets... its a knockdown attack and, effectively, an area attack to structures.

(Login here, in character-account)

Elena Álvarez de la Rosa a.k.a. "Glowbe"

Appearance: The first impression that Elena gives is "cute", not impressive, and rather plain for a nova, but nice to look at nevertheless. She's also small, not much more than a meter sixty, and looks young, barely twenty, although you know she must be closer to twenty-five. Soft, tanned, freckled skin, and soft wavy hair left relatively unstyled, simply falling down her back. She wears minimal or no makeup, and small, unassuming pieces of jewelery. She look genuinely humble, even in her expressions, the most common of which is a small, warm smile, something that is rather rare among novas.

Personality: Good at being nice, following orders, getting on with people and occasionally cheering people up, she lacks initiative, authority, decision-making. She's someone you want to have around, although fitting into a definite support role.

Background: Elena talks willingly enough about her past, although she warns beforehand that "it's rather boring". Born in Spain, but studied Medicine in the US through a scholarship, threw herself in front of a truck to save a kid, and then joined Utopia. Not very spectacular, especially not how she tells it, as if it could've happened to anyone.

Powers: Glowbe can create spheres of glowing, gelatinous matter, either for protecting herself or other, immobilizing people or things, hurling them at people or simply for shedding light. She's also rather more resistant to damage than a normal nova, although not that much. She also has a knack with languages, but it's doubtful that that is an actual quantum expression, and she claims to have been good with languages even before she erupted.

Further Details: Elena is known to be good friends with T2MAm nova Shard (non-canon nova, with the power to manipulate and create crystal, apart from moderate MSocials), it's quite possible that her rapid progress, both in the control of her powers and her career in the Project, in what has barely been a year since her eruption, is largely based on Shard's tutelage and patronage. It's even rumoured that she was admitted onto this team only because of a recommendation from the Tomorrowite nova.

Siggismund Auerbach a.k.a. "Firedrake"

Appearance: ‘Siggy’ is six foot, five inches, and must weigh well over 200 lbs, thanks to his broad shoulders. He looks to be pushing fifty, and moves with the measured pace one associates with ‘old people.’ Out of doors, he is almost never seen without some sort of casual suit, generally a tad out of date, and he often wears a bowler hat to cover his balding head, which is otherwise quite prominent, as is his hook-like nose. Everything about him seems just a little too big for the rest of him. He’s got too much forehead, too much nose, too wide a chin, etc. When he smiles, which is surprisingly often, his *teeth* look too big. And when he shakes your hand, his hand is large, dry and hot, and he squeezes just a little too hard, which comes off as either deliberately intimidating or just ‘showing off’ or overcompensating for his obvious age. The fringe of hair remaining to him is pale white, but his skin is just a shade darker than typical for someone of his Swiss heritage (his coloration being less Germanic and more Gallic, a native would say).

Personality: Siggy is a paradox. He’s obviously old, and rambles on about the Second World War (he never abbreviates it as ‘WWII’) and how he moved to post-war America from Switzerland and intolerably boring stuff like investment portfolios and credit reports and speculative financing. And yet he’s physically competitive, and can be seen in a wife-beater and sweat shorts jogging around the quad, or pumping iron in the gymnasium (steadfastly avoiding the fancy machines and going for the free-weights), or playing a spirited (if not terribly skilled) game of racquetball or walleyball with other people. He’s also got a bit of a reputation for making stuff up to get rid of people that he finds bothersome, like claiming not to be a Nova at all, but something else, something older than humanity.

Background: Siggy has been a banker, a teacher, a private investigator, and, most recently, managed a credit bureau, in his long life, and anyone adding up the years of his various tales will quickly conclude that he isn’t fifty-something, he’s seventy-something, or perhaps even eighty-something. He’s been married, for decades, and widowered, for decades since. He’s had a full life, and near what for most people is the end of the story, a whole new chapter has opened up.

Powers: Siggismund is obviously superhumanly fit, for a man pushing eighty, and his body generates enough warmth to not only keep him warm in any climate, but for him to project a blast of flame from his mouth. But this is just the ‘warm-up,’ when he truly engages his power, a rippling golden-green field of force rises up out of his body in the form of a humanoid dragon, with him still visible at the center of this oversized ‘anima banner.’ Fully manifest, the exoskeleton of force is nine feet tall, and has a wingspan stretching eighteen feet from wingtip to wingtip. Claws, fangs, spines and edged tail, all bits are pointy (although he seems to have no control over the tail…) and dangerous, and inside this energy field, he is well-protected, and able to exert tremendous strength, as well as fly on crackling wings of raw quantum.

Further Details: ‘Siggy’ is known to be on poor terms with the Utopian research staff, and it is from them that he has picked up his ‘reputation’ as a compulsive liar, since he long ago grew impatient with their endless tests and started to make up all sorts of improbable stories in response to their questions.

Kyle Aarons: Android

Kyle is 23 years old and just under 6 feet tall with brown hair cropped in what might be seen as a messy or longish-on-top "high and tight". Since his eruption his skin has changed to a type of Hi-Liter Blue and his Irises perpetually radiate light like a neon sign(typically red). He stands rather upright, shoulders back, eyes front and falls into the relaxed 'parade rest' of the American Air Force when conversing casually.

His left ring finger seems techno-organic in nature, moving very naturally but composed primarily of gold, it can extend some six feet. The nail flips open to reveal a multipurpose instrument which can be used to interface with most man-made devices as well as inject some form of "poison" (currently believed to be a silicate based DNA or RNA substitute). Android is also capable of using his Quantum signature to (inexplicably) influence a targets Gamma brainwaves (Those associated with higher mental activity) and propagating Theta Brainwaves (Those commonly found in hypnagogic states).

He's never more than a few feet from a cell phone or OpNet terminal and he perpetually surfs the Net.

Kyle prefers to be called Android when the "Eufiber's on" and Aarons when it's not. For the most part he just seems glad to be there. He lives in Project U. housing with his baseline wife Janice (a rather bright and attractive latina woman, total nova-phile), he drives an economy company car and invites co-workers to his home for barbecues every weekend.
He wouldn't strike you as very "warm" but when he's on a roll he can be the life of the party.

Ok Id like to start very soon...

Looks like the team is X, James North, Multigate, Richeter 10, Glowbe, Android, Firedrake and Dark Mind

Any last requests?

How about an extra 30 Nova Points

Jack doesn't have cipher and his background is fairly public so I'm just going to post it. Note that since most of his background is DeVries rather than Utopian some Utopians may have mixed feeling about him.


Background: Jack grew up upper lower class. He was also lazy and the local schools sucked. He coasted through high school with a winning smile and little work. Then he got his high school girl friend (Ann) pregnant, they got married, and 5 years later he found himself working 100+ hours a week on 3 dead end jobs. His high school class reunion had really rubbed his noise in this. Other people were making things of themselves. The brains had gone to college, the idiot class president had gotten a football scholarship and was now starting a company, everyone else was doing great.

Life sucked. Day in, and day out, there just wasn't enough time for him to do anything and he needed to be in 4 places at once. One day after the 2nd day of a killer headache, he was late on most of his bills, late for work, had to get his son (Jack Junior) to a doctor, his car broke down, and the stress of it all gave him a nervous breakdown, and he erupted. He took his 4 year old son to the doctor, he went to work, he took a day off, and he went back inside to sleep, all without a car.

Jack's eruption gave him the ability to be at several places at once, and the ability to warp to anywhere he wanted. He also became a new man. He was stronger and smarter than anyone from the 'good old days'. This time he was going to do it right.

When the job offers started coming in he chose on the basis of money and furthering his education, and that choice was DeVries. He sat in on every class that was offered at the same time he provided transportation to other elites. He learned how to read and write in several languages, he learned about science, and all the stuff he didn't get the first time around. In the beginning several of his clones got killed on various missions.

For someone with no defense and no offense, Jack was well thought of inside DeVries and DVNTS. Warpers are useful and he wasn’t a glory hound. Although weak, he also didn't need projecting because he didn't especially care if he got killed (generally he issues teams Clones and they act as proxies.) Jack's presence was a huge tactical advantage and meant no boring slogging through a swamp or anything similar. Everyone was always a moment away from medical attention, food, a hasty evac, more ammo, or a warm bed.

On a typical day he would wake up, clone himself 4-6 times, send 1 off on a (quick) mission (usually transport), 4 train, 1 to stay with his family, and the original rests, works out, or manages his clones by absorbing and recreating them. On the field, Jack wears a plain white mask. He frequently worked for DeVries rather than DVNTS and came very close to being support personnel rather than a real elite, the difference being he was frequently on the front line. Jack was also one of those guys that other elites eye in the bar and think of increasing their rating, and on four separate occasions Jack was killed in combat. Very far down the elite list, Jack had yet to kill, or even injure, a fellow nova. Or at least that was the case until 2008.

In 2008 Jack was caught on N! using a ‘new’ power. On the field, a rival elite who name translated as "the Golden Demon" grabbed Jack and flew straight up with him, with the intention of using his signature move, "the Demon drop". During the fall, Jack transformed into a mirrory creature and put his hand through the other elite's chest. Both of them were killed when they hit the ground, although this was less of an issue for Jack than for Golden.

In theory Jack has been with DeVries for about two years, but he’s had the training and much of the experience of someone who’s been there much longer. His finances reflect this, his Eufiber was taken off of someone on the battle field from a fight were they died and the Jack-Clone didn’t.

Quite recently Jack left DeVries after his son asked some questions about what he did and he realized he was embarrassed to answer. Basically he did some self searching and decided that if he didn't need the money, and he wasn't doing it for the glory, then why was he doing it? He quit, and a bit later signed up with Utopia.

Personality: Jack is very easy going and at times still quite laid back.

Appearance: As his icon. He’s good looking but not to the extreme levels of some novas.

Press Release: "Well, first of all, Jack wasn't really a merc, he just worked with them. That's why he was so far down the list. His only 'kill' was an accident where both parties died. That was the first time he'd ever used that power and he hadn't known he'd had it."

"Further, DV steals employees from PU all the time. Turnabout is fair play and hopefully this is the start of a trend. We are glad that Jack has finally realized how destructive the whole elite phenomena is to the planet and decided to do something about it."

Unspoken: With the death of Slider we are glad to welcome a warper into the ranks.

That's Joshua

and yes, another 30 nova points sound great.

I finally got a code name. I got tired of everyone assuming that I could manipulate ice just because I went by my last name.

Looks like we got ourselves a good looking team here, it should make for a very interesting game.

So when do we start?

So, uh, not a game-related question, but how does one make an Avatar? I've made one that suits the character on the Avatar sidebar, but it never seems to save it or associate it with my account.

The FAQ says that the option would be on my Edit Profile page, but no such option exists on my Edit Profile page, with the only Avatar-related section asking whether or not I want to 'Hide Avatars of Other Users?'...

Do I have to reach 'Nova' posting rank before that option opens up to me?

Under Interactive there is a link that says Avatars. Go there and and then post the image in the OOC Forum in the Avatar thread. One of the mods will then upload it. I'm waiting on mine

Cool, thanks!

Edit to add, yikes! Way too technical for this dinosaur. Thanks for pointing me to the right forum, tho!

Sorry to post late guys. Weekends are minimal net access for me and I hadn't realized we'd started.

I want to let everyone know that I'm about move a very long distance and might not be able to post for a few days.

Good luck with the moving and re-set-up. Just helped someone move this weekend, so it's fresh in my mind what an amazing disruption it can be.

Thank you. Hopefully, I'll be able to post one more time tomorrow before my computer goes on a truck and I get on a plane.

Best of luck

I'm a little confused, are we off to the side of the stage or were we milling about behind the curtain this whole time?

What he said. Are we in front of the audience now or do we have to walk on stage from the side?

Sounds like stage fright to me.

You guys were off in the stage waiting area (the green room, if you will), you are now walking on stage

Heya, gonna be gone until Sunday night, long weekend thingie. Siggy has no intentions of speaking publically (despite being pretty chatty one on one...), and will go along with the group if stuff happens before then.

Hi eveyrone. I'm back and made my statement. Hopefully, I didn't hold things up to much.

If anyone is curious the influence for much of Halo's speech is Gabriel Conrad's speech from "The Dead" by Jame Joyce. I read it on the plane so it's fresh on my mind.

So clinging to Firedrake are two Jacks, X and Richter, yes?

I think so.

I don't have my book handy so I don't know what my totals would now be with Growth active, if somebody can post was each dot provides I will update my stats.

Soak wise the only effect is you get +1 Stamina (or Mega-Stamina if you are at 5) per dot. In addition you also get +1 Health level.

Assuming you have one dot of growth (12' foot), a stamina of 5, and one dot of mega-stamina, the effect would be +0/+1 soak (from moving to mega-stamina 2) and +2 Health levels.

That doesn't sound like much until you count the +2 strength per dot... and your movement goes up.

Thanks,

+1 Lethal soak? Sweet that's doubled from Resiliancy

+1 Health Level (bruised I think?)

+2 Strength, Puts Richter at Mega-Str 5

+1 Lethal soak? Sweet that's doubled from Resiliancy

True.

+1 Health Level (bruised I think?)

It would indeed be Bruised, but remember that's probably +2 (+1 from Growth itself, another +1 from more Mega-Stamina).

Enjoy it while it lasts.

I'm going to hold off on posting again until you can integrate my planned actions from the last post, namely; hucking a large chunk of pavement at the chaingun and activating growth.

I'm going to be on Vacation for the next week and a half but I will try and chech in every couple of days and post as time permits. If need be move on without me assuming that Richter will tank for X and Firedrake.

The 2nd dot of mega stamina provides another point of bashing soak not lethal:

Mega Sta

1 1B/1L
2 2B/1L
3 3B/2L
4 4B/2L
5 5B/3L

He's right. I don't know what I was thinking.

So... as often happens in a large group, the gears grind slower with absence until they seize up... which seems to be happening now. If people arent into this, can you let me know so I can make an "active" and a "semi active" group... thus those who want to keep things moving wont be penalized because their team-mates arent responding?

Sorry, I should post something about Jack watching the group at work. Right at the moment, I just think it best for Jack to stay in reserve. He could make a gate and move the workers to another country, but we'll need them to fight the fire after the terrorists are beat. Similarly, with the widespread chaos I have the feeling that something will pop up that requires us to intervene and we'll need to be warped to or away from it.

With 7 versions of him around I'm just terrified we'll burn through all his juice and run out just as it hits the fan.