Wings Over the Pyre - March 10th, 2006

07:13 am - Head-Shots For Fun and Profit

More inspiration turned to serve This Present Darkness:

Sniper Overwatch
"God, we need some support here." "Roger."

Abilities
• 5 Steel-Jacketed Bullet
• 1 High Perch
• 2 Telescopic Sight
• 3 Riflery
• 4 Concealment

Styles
• 2 Headshot
• 3 One Shot, One Kill
• 1 Glint Off the Scope

Free Conflict
• Event: Sniper line of sight is broken.

Notes
Sometimes everyone needs a bit of backup. Whether its a group of carefully positioned military snipers with state of the art hardware and carefully trained spotters, or just a guy up in a clocktower with a deer rifle, the concealed sniper is less of a who and more of a what. Sometimes they're on the side of the angels, like when a SWAT team needs a guy behind a window holding hostages put down fast, sometimes he's rolling with the Devil, like when the good guys are pinned down behind whatever scraps of cover they can find and know that jumping out means taking a bullet.

Of course, the sniper in your back pocket's only good so long as he keeps line of sight. Sometimes the target moves out of the way behind something big and heavy, sometimes the sniper's flushed. Whenever that happens, you're out of luck. For now.

Inspiration for this came from reading entirely too much Sin City tonight, and thinking about one of the movies I really felt the most directly engaged in of any, Sniper. Why did such a lousy 3rd tier movie engage you so, you ask? Because it knew what it was, and what it was, it went after with a cold blood-thirstiness, just as a sniper is supposed to.

Of course, you know the sniper most portrayed on TV; its not the crazy in a bell-tower with a thirty-ought-six. Its the police sniper, tucked away up on top of a distant multi-story building, muttering impatiently into his radio, "I don't have the shot ... Hold it ... One second ..." And then *bang*, there's a detonation and a zip and someone goes down with a neat little hole between their eyes.

I love that.

By and large, the heroes aren't snipers, though. Its just a little antiseptic. A little too hands-off. No, the heroes enter into an environment created by the sniper, for or against them, a situation that's defined by the parameters of the absence of the actor in the environment. In movies, they may jokingly refer to their sniper overwatch by the code-name "God," but that's not so far off thematically. The sniper is omnipresent, until he's not present at all. He's all seeing until he's blinded. He hurls lightning bolts from high atop the holy mountain. The heroes exist beneath and below the sniper, whether he's on their side or gunning for them.

So, Sniper Overwatch written up for Capes. I can't wait to use it.

Current Mood: creative

05:04 pm - Narrative Roles

- You Are The Apt Mind
"I know that. And that. And yes, that
too."

You have brains, and you are not afraid to show it.
Your intellect and intelligence may have
others constantly asking for your help with
things that take a lot of thought or are
difficult puzzles. Academic values are held
highest in your opinion, and you may also
have a bleak view of humanity. You may find
trouble dealing with emotional issues,
however - as they are illogical and
inunderstandable. Your friends consist of
intelligent and intellectual people to
challange you and continue your mental
growth. Even in the easiest of times, you are
not afraid to show anyone just how much you
know.

Which Classic Story Role Do You Play?
brought to you by Quizilla

Current Mood: complacent