Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Avengers Accelerated: Hope is Lost (part 4/5)




Joss has six players who want to participate in a supers game, called Avengers Accelerated, that uses the Fate Accelerated Edition rules. They've finished three exchanges in the conflict so far. The participants are TonySteveClintNatashaBruce, and Thor. Joss's adversary character is Loki, backed up by the invading Chitauri force (created as a character using the Fate fractal). New York City is also built as a character.

I'm using FAE stats for all the Avengers, posted here. The sheets include aspects, approaches, and stunts.

You can reread Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 of the session, or continue to Part 5.

During the last session, nobody took any new stress. Joss spent 2 Fate points from the GM's pool, and Bruce spent 1 to transform into the Hulk. Bruce created an aspect, Always Angry, while other members of the group reinforced and invoked their existing aspects. Loki also created Chitauri Reinforcements, and added a new supporting NPC.

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Joss: "Thor, you went last. Who's up?"

Thor: "New York City can go."

Joss: "Okay. New York doesn't have much offense yet, but they're going to try and overcome Chitauri Reinforcements. You see armored Humvees and soldiers pulling up and deploying in the streets. Several of them open fire on the Chitauri. The police radioed in with Steve's instructions, so they're going to be assisting civilians where they find them. They succeeded, but at a serious cost - the reinforcements are no longer after you guys, they've cornered a pocket of civilians trapped in a bank, and they have a bomb! Steve, you're up. If you can inflict two stress on the Chitauri, the troopers who have them pinned down will be neutralized."

The New York City character's Overcome action came at a cost. Joss doesn't have a specific mechanic for this, so he hands Steve something to do that's in line with his previous actions - protecting civilians.

Steve: "Yeah, alright. I'll head into the bank, charging into melee with them. I tumble in, tossing a shield at the one with the bomb, then kick an overturned table into two more. I'll throw one over the rail, and tell everyone to clear out - I'm Rallying New York. The Containment Strategy is helping here because the Chitauri are an isolated team and don't have a backup team, sharpshooters or snipers to pin me down."

Joss: "Sounds good. With that invocations, you inflict your two stress. Their bomb goes off, but you duck behind your shield just in time and are knocked out the window. The remaining Chitauri in the bank are down for the count. You come down hard on a car outside. Thanks to your invocation, nobody panics - they saw Captain America in action! The soldiers start escorting the civilians out as soon as it's safe. And a brief interlude.."

Joss: "On the Helicarrier, Fury hears from the Council that a nuclear strike has been ordered on Manhattan, right where you guys are fighting. Fury is refusing to do it - he has faith in you guys."

Steve: "Okay. Clint set Tony up pretty well last time, what magic can he work for us again?"

Clint: "I'm going to take another shot at Loki. He's Scepterless and Running, so he's in the air - probably chasing after Natasha, so can I say that I get a sneak attack on him while he's focused on shooting her down? And I'm spending a Fate point to invoke Arrows For Every Occasion."

Joss: "Sounds good. You inflict some stress, and he's going to take a Moderate Consequence. What do you have in mind?"


Clint: "He's a god, maybe, but he's on a flying machine, and I want to out-sneak that son of a bitch. I shoot an arrow, he catches it 'cause he's so awesome, but as it's right there in his face it blows up - one of my explosive arrows - and takes out the hover-bike. It blows up, he crash-lands right into Stark Tower in a humiliating pile. How about Shot Down In Flames - literally and metaphorically? And I want Bruce to go next. Let's finish Loki off."

Joss: "Excellent! Loki's downed, and you got some much-needed payback. Clearing up the opposition also lets Natasha land safely next to the portal generator, so she can do whatever she wants on her action. Bruce, what do you do?"

Bruce: "I'm gonna come smash into Loki, and knock him through the glass into the tower! Then I'm going to give him the beating of his life."

Joss: "Okay. He's spending a Fate point to invoke I Can Talk My Way Out of Anything and Thor's Overlooked Brother as a defense - he's a god! He'll try and cow the Hulk through intimidation and sheer presence."

Bruce: "Oh, he shouldn't have done that. Double shots of Always Angry, and he was Shot Down in Flames. Plus I'll spend a Fate point on Strongest One There Is. He may be a god, but I'm the Hulk."

Joss: "Alright. You beat the ever-lasting tar out of Loki, Odin's son, brother of Thor, god, and would-be heir to the throne of Asgard. He takes a serious Consequence and some stress."

Bruce: "Puny god!"


Joss: "Loki makes a quiet whining noise on the ground. He's got a stress box or something left, but screw it, he'll concede."

Bruce: "Yeah! I'll leave him there and get back to the Chitauri. Natasha is on the roof, so she's up next."

Joss: "Okay. Natasha, you landed on the roof in a roll and came up ready for anything - and what you found was Dr. Selvig, apparently unharmed and back to his old self."

Natasha: "Wonderful. Can he tell me how to shut down the portal device?"

Joss: "You guys have tried blasting it, but he explains that when building it, he apparently put a failsafe in - the scepter's energy, the Tesseract energy, and the protective force field are all the same, so the scepter should be able to shut it down. Thor knocked the scepter out of Loki's hands earlier, and Selvig is looking right at it. You can spend your action to go fetch it and be ready to use it."

Natasha: "Okay, I'm doing that. Any roll?"

Joss: "Nah, you just do it. This conflict is almost over, so that'll set up the next part of the adventure. Who's up next?"

Natasha: "Thor and Tony can wrap up the Chitauri."

Thor: "I'll throw the hammer around some more, and probably tackle one of those big Leviathan things. Those guys are great!"

Tony: "I'll help out. Hey Joss, we can't cut through their armor very easily, so I'm invoking Weak Spot again - I want to make like Jonah and dive right into its mouth, cutting it open from the inside!"

Joss: "Your rolls are good enough that the Chitauri reinforcement character goes down. Congratulations! The conflict is finished, but the Battle of New York isn't over with. Some narration.."


Joss: "On the helicarrier deck, a fighter jet scrambles. Fury's been cut out of the loop - the pilots are taking their orders directly from the Council. Just as it starts to take off, Fury comes out with an RPG!"

Tony: "I bet it's powered by Fate and on Kickstarter already."

Joss: "Funny guy. A rocket-propelled grenade launcher. He shoots the bird down on the deck, but there's a second jet. So you guys have one nuclear warhead coming towards New York. The portal is still open, and the Council wants to deal with it by any means necessary - there are still plenty of Chitauri around, after all. Tony, Fury contacts you personally to let you know it's on its way. You have three minutes."

If New York City had been Taken Out, Joss would have brought in Thanos to survey the wreckage of New York City and engage the Avengers. Fortunately they averted that catastrophe, but they must still deal with the nuke - and stop the Chitauri invasion at the source.

Steve: "Alright. Then on the ground, we'll still be fighting off the Chitauri, trying to draw their attention away from Natasha and Steve so they can deal with the portal and the nuke."

Joss: "Sounds good. In fact, everyone's going to take a pounding, - the Chitauri are desperate, and more of them are going to come through that portal unless stopped. They gang up on Hulk, bombarding him with laser fire from their hover bikes. Clint, a bunch of Chitauri have finally noticed you, and they come at you. You're out of arrows! Steve, a lucky shot hits you in the gut, but your super-soldier constitution is tougher than that and Thor helps you to your feet."

Clint: "I probably shot one of them point-blank, so I'd grab that last arrow out of his chest and use it as a grappling hook to jump into one of the buildings or something. Since you hurt everyone else, let's say I go through the glass window of the high-rise and have to lie there for a few."

In Fate, the fact that the characters are all under assault can simply be part of the narration, meant to emphasize the real drama. In this case, Joss is reminding the players that the Chitauri are still a threat and that closing the portal is their next and most important goal.


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Stay tuned for the final session of Avengers Accelerated!

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