I'll take the suit and cologne, leave the building, and draw the rune for Stoicism large somewhere where the people of the apartments could see it. Should help calm them down. Then book it. Is anyone going to drive the car back to the base? If so, ride with them.
Good grief, a member of the Coven actually helping people. You take the lids off a handful of highlighter pens, hold them in a fist, and draw a seven foot rune on the lobby floor: a series of broken concentric circles. Hey, looking at it makes you feel calmer.
You join the ever-expanding "sling your hook" party on the truck.
Hm... That gives me an idea.
Try to explain to the Recluse what he his and why this is happening (don't call him a "Recluse", though; call him an "Fateless" or something). Try to get him to calm down.
If he starts attacking me and hasn't been sniped yet, run away to the van and get inside.
If he has already been sniped and was mostly unaffected, explain to him that people are probably taking potshots at him because he's trying to murder people. Suggest that if he stops generating that storm/trying to hurt people, people might stop attacking him in return.
only one thing we can do at this point: kill the recluse.
Attempt to snipe the recluse with my pen knife's spell, and book it if it fails to hit a vital area and kill them quickly.
Derrick sets off towards the Recluse with violence aforethought, shoving his way past the panicked residents on the stairs, until he gets to the third floor. As he approaches the burning corridor, gale force winds rise up around him, air streaming in towards the Recluse's apartment. The corridor is almost completely destroyed: the floorboards are on fire and collapsing, the walls are practically nonexistent, and the ceiling is groaning dubiously. The winds are even stronger in such an enclosed space, rushing constantly backwards and forwards, while huge clouds of smoke obscure his vision.
Meanwhile, Sir Worthington rushes back up the fire escape and hurls open the doors, nearly thrown over the railings by the jets of air flying from the corridor. He pushes into the corridor, and is met with a wall of flame between him and his target. The Recluse staggers back and forth outside his apartment door, waving his arms wildly at the flames, which are leaping and swaying in the blast. He stands about twenty feet away as Derrick takes aim across an expanse of collapsed and charred floorboards.
Aim: 1+
0-
1Derrick manages to hit the floor underneath his feet with a magical projectile, slicing into it hard. The already burnt and weakened boards collapse at once, as do the walls and some of the ceiling, sending him down ten feet in a fiery torrent of wood and carpet.
Agility: 2
Derrick suffers superficial bruises and a broken leg, which is perhaps less of a problem than being trapped under a pile of rubble in a burning apartment building. Naturally, he's in a lot of pain now, but at least he's low enough to the ground to avoid choking for the time being. Might want to formulate an escape plan pretty soon.
Sir Worthington continues trying to reason with an enraged and chaotic demigod, neither of them noticing Derrick. He shouts something across the fire between them, but it doesn't matter what, as the Recluse isn't really listening. To his credit, the man is trying to put out the fires he started, not that it's working or anything. He's finally acknowledging and grappling with his non-pleasureable magical powers, which is probably doing a lot of crazy shit to his hormones and stuff right now, and he really isn't pleased to see the guy he just chased away with a cyclone of acid. The guy screaming at him six metres away.
Aim: 4
The Recluse raises his arm, and a silver distortion forms around it, like pre-colour film burning up in a projector. Then the distortion heads towards Sir Worthington at high speed, expanding out into a shock of compressed air that slams into the hapless witch like a freight train, hurling him through the fire escape and out the building at an incredible pace.
Agility: 5
The lucky tosser. Sir Worthington slams into the balcony railing legs first, one limb detaching at the hip and spiralling away, before he flips over and over through the air to land on the top of the fleeing truck, breaking quite a few of his remaining bones in the process. Naturally, he blacks out from the g-force and pain, but might just survive with sufficient medical attention.
Yup, we leaving.
Ah Fuck it, I'm out of here.
Ben watches the burning building with an appraising eye, eventually just shrugging and turning to Ellen "Eh, yeah, might as well skedaddle. We can steal his corpse later, or hell, just grab some homeless guy and stick them in the van. Bet Vince wouldn't know the difference, might as well try."
Just get in the van and drive off, taking Ellen if she wants. Maybe stop if we see some convenient isolated homeless dude.
The three of you pile into the van and drive off, Goethe hopping onto the back at the last minute, the doors still swinging widly. He notices Sir Worthington flying out of the building after being hit with a cavitation bubble, while everyone feels the thump as the body lands on the roof.
Ben and Jimmy manage to avoid any squad cars or fire engines with their combined experience in such matters, and the truck ends up in a fairly quite avenue a handful of streets away from the trouble.
Goethe T. Helle
Puissant fettle - 1
Ritual potency - 2
Runic sight - 1
Banal combat - 0
Aim - 1
Melee - 0
Agility - 2
Practicality - 1
Inventory: £25, clockface minus one hand, highlighter pens, two kitchen knives, empty molasses jar. Italian Dinner suit, half-empty cologne bottle
From the beast: one bone,
[Dog Collar Pendant][Molasses Clockhand Wand]
[Icecream Beast Blood Fur Chalice][Beast Remains Wand]
Runes:
Isolation: you never had many friends or allies, so are used to poor odds. +1 to rolls when outnumbered and alone.
Stoicism: a rune that calms those dealing with shock, tragedy or injury.
Perseverance: despite all the odds, you managed to kill a huge beast using nothing but hot syrup. Bonus to attack and extra damage to powerful or resistant enemies after several turns of combat or aggression.
Dwarven Weapon Storage: learned from a dwarf carrying a small armoury on his back. Increases load of weapons and tools that can be borne without being hampered or slowed down, or collapsing outright.
Puissant clots: 1
Puissance: 6/6
Name: Ellen York
Has a few teeth embedded in forehead. Blood on face.
Puissant fettle: 1
Runic sight: 1
Banal combat: 1
Agility: 3
Runes:Unending Avarice: you can tell which loot is the most expensive and tradeable instantly, and can grab it as well. Pearls, money, fur coats, expensive champagne, and all things glamourous are magically attracted to your questing fingers.
Wallfish: a rune derived from snails you particularly enjoyed eating with pearls and vinegar. Better at avoiding damage when in or heading for cover.
Inventory: Duct Tape, nettles, crocuses, thorns,
Thorny and gothic katana
[Broom] - Roomba wrapped in rusty barbed wire.
[De-thorned Rose Wand]
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance: 6/6
Name: Sir Worthington the Fourth
One leg too few.
Also major bleeding and broken bones. But the massive stump haemorrhaging blood is certainly the biggest problem right now.
Stats: Ritual Potency: 3
Practicality 3
Agility: -3
Inventory: £45,
[Glass Eye Pendant] [Paintbrush Wand]
{Financial Toad Demon Mucus}
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance: 5/5
Jimmy "Car bombs" Castanza
Slightly slowed by a heavy load.
Magical power boosted by Oligarchy rune.
Puissant fettle - 0
Ritual potency - 0
Runic sight - 3
Banal combat - 1
Aim - 1
Melee - 0
Agility - 0
Practicality - 3
Inventory: £25, very rusty saw, length of pipe stuck to block of concrete, highlighter pen
Bag of old gold coins
[Lightbulb Antenna Wand]
[Broom] - Bike handles for steering.
Runes:
Detonation: volatile stuff explodes or catches fire more when you're around it. You can't help it, it must be genetic. Written rune used to detonate volatile substances.
Dead Man Running: you escaped the wrath of a mafia boss. Higher chance of surviving things that should really be deadly.
Mafioso: a mafia hitman, you preferred not to let your targets know they were hunted until after they were spread over an area of three hundred metres. Bonus to carefully planned unexpected attacks.
Alchemical (definitely idiot) savant: you saw an alchemist's shop when wandering around London, and deluded yourself that you understood something of how it worked. Because of the nature of magic, this belief is now partially true. Use this rune to make substances a bit more useful or volatile when used in alchemy.
Trader: a rune that when signed signifies to people that you'd be a good guy to buy from and sell things to.
Reticence: a rune whispered to you by birds perched on phone lines, you can get information without giving away much about yourself.
Bethel: a rune that enhances and aids summoning performed where it is written.
Degeneration: you saw men turned into animals. This rune turns advanced things like steel bolts into crappy primitive things, like wooden bolts.
Entrance: a god tried to break into our world. You now have a +2 in breaking into magic places you shouldn't be messing about with.
Hiijacking: Sand crashed a summoning-party and inserted herself into the centre of the ritual. Things with this rune written on will be more central to events and will conduct more power and magical energy than they should by rights.
Hassle: a rune that allows you to deal more effectively with multiple threats, distractions and tasks at once.
Scrap-crafting: after making a wand with bicycle horns, you have improved at making stuff out of junk. And you were already great at making stuff out of junk.
Oligarchy: a rune revealed to you the first time you flew over London, spelled out in the twistings of the financial buildings and the houses of millionares. Increases your power according to how much money you have.
Punctuality: You're good at getting things done on time.
Puissant clots: 2
Puissance:5/5
Ben Breeze
Stats:
Puissant fettle - 0
Ritual potency - 0
Runic sight - 0
Banal combat - 4
Aim - 1
Melee - 1
Agility - 2
Practicality - 0
Inventory: knife, taser, handcuffs, police baton, stab vest, torch, incapacitant spray, and a first aid kit. All in sports bag
Also a bag of athames, a cooked leg (stored at Vince's place), a worn face-concealing hooded coat.
Four generous Roast Beef and Horseradish Sandwiches
Gunfarmer P90 (45/50) (in bag)
Discarded somewhere tophat and embroidered coat.
Puissant clots: 3
Puissance:5/5
Name: Sir Ritualington
DEAD
Ritual Potency: 3
Agility 3
Inventory: £50
[Wooden Cane Staff] - taken by police.
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance:5/5
Name: Derrick
Slightly slowed by a heavy load, and very much slowed by the fact that he has one broken leg and is trapped under a pile of rubble
Puissant fettle - 1
Banal combat - 2
Melee - 1
Agility - 1-2
Practicality - 1
Inventory: £40, scrap metal spike,
new katana and leather armor secured in crate
[Pocket Knife Wand] [Scrap Metal Shield Staff]
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance:5/6