An Adept In Action
Astrapé the Storm Adept (Level 4, Adept 3, Manifestation Control 2, Endurance 1) faces a locked iron gate blocking the party's escape. Pursuing guards will arrive in moments.
Rather than waste time with letting Merkel pick it or Cavil use brute force, Astrapé stretches a hand toward the gate, preparing to channel lightning through it.
She is Level 4 + Storm Adept 3 + Manifestation Control 2 = EL9. Melting it means overcoming a Level 6 iron lock with Heat Resistance 6 and Hardness 6, making it effectively EL18.
She blinks, swallows, and lowers her hand as she thinks. She could do it if she had time, but the guards are coming, and rushing might kill her. Damn it! Merkel puts a hand on her shoulder. "One thing at a time, As. You can't always flash to the solution. Sometimes you have to let the weather build a little, right?" He nods encouragement, and she smiles back.
Right. Build a charge. Find the path of least resistance… Where's the lightning rod here? She tries a Communion though it's not her forté, reaching out with her storm-sense, feeling the metal's conductivity, the moisture in the air, the gathering clouds above.
She's Level 4 + Storm Adept 3 + Communion 0 = EL7 to sense a weak spot. Always impatient, she rolls 1d[0-7] for a 3. The GM says neither Heat Resistance nor Hardness resists her probing, but the lock still rolls a 5, thwarting her. She spends a Luck Token for a best-possible Boost roll of 7. While the Lock's Level 6 applies to the whole gate, those pins have no special resistances. Her success creates a Boost of Weak Spot 2 (her 7 minus the lock's 5.)
She can't quite get the domains… She screams in irritation, but grits her teeth and the details resolve. The lock is well-made to resist picking… but the pins in the bar are cheap pig iron! She crows in triumph and assaults the pins with raw lightning. The thunderous flash doesn't melt them, but they're glowing red-hot and structurally compromised. That was a big bolt, though… She dances and shudders, but shakes it off.
Her previous EL9 + Weak Spot 2 = EL11 vs the pins' Level 6 will be easy! She rolls a 7. The pins resist with a 3 for a Melted 4… but she only has 3 Role ranks, so the overchanneled 4 points burn as they arc through her. She rolls Level 4 + Storm Adept 3 + Manifestation Control 2 + Endurance 1 = EL10 for an 8, more than enough to avoid Harm, but she still twitches a bit.
Another bolt slags the pins easily, the twisted bar sagging and falling off with a clang!
She arcs them again for another 3 that won't even require her to resist uncontrolled power. The gate resists at Level 6 — Melted 4 = EL2 with a 1, and the pins slag and run.
She slicks back her static-angry hair and snaps her fingers with a sparkling pop! as she turns back to her friends. Merkel and Cavil lower their hands and blink. Both seem to say something, but her ears are still ringing. If it's important they'll speak up. "Come on guys, the guards are coming!" She giggles as she pushes open the still glowing gate with a cloak wrapped hand and runs into the night, just as the rain begins.