Arctic_Princess

Cheers for the extensive list Shadowe.

I copied it to Word, removed groups that already feature as major players in Task Forces (okay, I kept the Thorns in and I know the Sky Raiders feature heavily in one of the Strike Forces) and have a list of groups that fit the 'Level 25+' parameter:

Banished Pantheon
Circle of Thorns
Devouring Earth
Ghost Ship...um, Ghosts
Nemesis
Nictus
Sky Raiders
Tsoo
Warriors

A couple of the groups have things in common - and we all know that everything is a Nemesis plot.

The reason behind me doing this is to see what sort of mobs could be feasibly encountered by a mixed range of teams.
Carnies might just scrape in because, Redside, they appear from level 30 onwards.

Looking at the list I'd have to say I'm stumped as to what the storyline(s) might involve.

Oh and I think I may be drumming up some ideas for I14 regarding the BP and the Warriors - they're so unloved

Oh and Arachnos, Longbow and PPD also count. The Strategy guide naturally didn't feature them. Oh and Wyvern...um, little help here?

Also I've left out Malta, the Praetorians - although an Epic Praetorian battle featuring the 'new' Praetorian Arachnos (who don't have to be good just because the Freedom Phalanx are 'evil' in that universe) could be fun. I think it would give away a lot of later-game content for people who haven't gotten that far though, so I'm a little against the idea.

Not a huge fan of time travel - already got a fair bit of that what with Ourourobos, the Villain Patron Arcs, STF and even that nice arc for Heroes where Requiem sends you a letter.

Of course, Epic battles in Space are always fun... Perhaps the Heroes and Villains of Earth will discover another inhabited planet?

Oh and no Rikti please. For the love of all that is holy

Is there a list of mobs anywhere and the level ranges they spawn at? For instance, the Lost spawn from around level 10 to 29, Vazhilok from 1 to 20-ish iirc.

I've Googled and searched but cannot find a list anywhere.
Just thought it might help in coming up with suitable groups and therefore a suitable plot.

Midnight Rose - my first villain, unceremoniously deleted at level 32 when, for some reason, I found her unplayable. It sounded a bit ninja-like to me and the idea was that her first name was Rose, whereas the Midnight bit came from her time as a collector for the Tsoo. She'd turn up every midnight without fail and extract either money or blood.

After I killed her off it was about another 18 months until I recreated her as Ms Adams. I liked the notion that she was arrogant enough not to care if anyone found out who she was behind the mask.

Arctic Princess - I still have no idea where this came from. She's based (unconsciously at first) on a certain Russian spy-turned-'hero' (L'araignée noir) without the heavy accent. She was the first character I created after logging in and was deleted at level 6. Her costume was 'interesting' (she looked like a female 'Speed Racer' for reasons unknown to me). I Googled her and Arctic Princess is the name of an oil tanker.

Whirling Dervish - a case of mismatching name with country. I liked the idea of a hero who conjured up images of '...Arabian Nights' but then I looked up Whirling Dervishes and realised I had made a mistake - Dervishes are part of a religious ceremony in Turkey. Still, no one has PM'd me yet to tell me that I am blaspheming a sacred religious rite, although a Turkish guy did once /tell me to ask if I was Turkish.
I'm thinking of renaming her to her IG civilian ID - Manny Azeerah.

Ionos-Lord of Lightning

The italicised bit is the name I would have liked to have given him as a title. He was also deleted around the 32 mark. I was such a rubbish player then.
Ionos comes from Ionosphere and he was an Elec/Elec Blaster. Something vague about ionised particles had stuck with me (and may still be totally off) and I thought it was cool. I may revive him.

((oops, passed me by I'm afraid ))

"Very well." Ms Adams signalled to the waiter and instructed him that the pair would not be needing anything to eat.

"It should give me the chance to stop by my apartment and change. There's not much I can do wearing this dress." She lied.

"Tell me one thing before we leave - may I keep the blue pill? Only, there's the short-term problem of my involvement with Arachnos. I may have a use for it."

Ms Adams swallowed the red pill and looked straight at Alicia.

"Oh good, another test." She said dryly.

"I've heard the saying but then most of the people I fight don't live to know more about me." It was an arrogant remark but, in the relative safety of the restaurant, she thought she could get away with it.

"And I've heard of you, I think. Rumour mill, grapevine, that sort of thing. Don't you usually hang around with undesirables who do your dirty work for you?"

Ms Adams tensed again, partly due to the unpleasant sensation induced by the red pill but mainly because she thought she knew where this was going.

Ms Adams completed the deal with yet another smile and a handshake.

"So, do I take this now?" she referred to the pill.

"And do I get your name now? Or later?"

[ QUOTE ]

I can see why this would be good for kidnap misisons - but I don't see why someone would resist being rescued

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GG, some 'hostages' are being 'rescued' for the purposes of doing evil things to them afterwards... Muahahahahaha--*coughs*

Manny watched as the seeds took their effect. The barely conscious figure stirred a little but his breathing became more frequent. Manny was satisfied that he was now ready to be teleported out of there.

She reached inside her long coat and pulled out a mediport tag, carefully fixing it to the man's ankle. She sat down besde him and rested a hand on his shoulder before activating it.

"Find me at the University library in Steel Canyon." Were her departing words.

Ms Adams stared at the pills.

"One pill makes you larger..." she half muttered to herself and smiled again. A jumble of thoughts and questions littered her mind all fighting to the surface, hoping to be the one that would make it out.

"How much are you going to pay me for my services?" the assassin's eyes gleamed as she picked up the red pill.

A woman in a little black dress waved her new acquaintance over. She indicated the adjacent chair, "Do sit. And there's no need to worry in this place. I know the owner. We have an understanding."

Ms Adams handed a menu to her dining partner. "I recommend the Tusk'n Red to accompany the smoked haddock with lemongrass. It's Californian wine but don't let that put you off."

Ms Adams had already ordered a bottle of champagne and a surly waiter approached the table to pour out another glass. She raised her flute in a toast, "To change." And promptly downed her glassful in an unladylike manner. She smiled at her companion.

"To answer your question, or should I say questions, I couldn't care less about Arachnos. And I've always considered myself deeply concerned with the future." The answers were short and vague, but Ms Adams's face portrayed a 'concerned citizen' remarkably well.

She sat back in her chair, waiting for a reply.

"Seriously?"

Ms Adams eyed her surroundings, well aware that if she spoke out against her employers in the middle of their home turf she may well end up 'dealt with'.

"Listen lady, I haven't got time for your little pop quiz. I have an engagement this evening that I'd really like to keep."

Ms Adams stepped towards the woman in black and lowered her voice, "And I wouldn't want to lose my table at El Salvadore's fish restaurant in Sharkhead. Tables are so hard to come by as it is."

The green-clad woman maintained eye-contact, hoping that the hint she had dropped was picked up. She folded her arms and assumed an air of impatience, waiting for the figure to depart and let her on her way.

"Business?" Ms Adams remained on guard but the woman before her clearly wasn't from the Midnight Club.

She cocked her head to one side, "Sounds intriguing. But I already have gainful employment - and as far as I'm aware Arachnos are the only powers-that-be who pay top dollar for my... services."

She smiled underneath the mask.

"You seem to know my name, or part of it at least. So, who the hell are you?"

Manny was buffeted by Nurture's sudden urgent action to get past her. She tried to grab his arm to stop him from getting too close but he was far too nimble.

"Considering the extent of the damage, it might be better to try and mediport the, um, victim from here." Manny tried to assert herself.

Manny nodded, continuing on her way to the worst hit area of the unnatural storm.

Here and there rubble littered the cracked road. A few hundred yards out from the centre an upturned car lay, windows blown out. Luckily no sign of human casualty.

Then she caught sight of it - a gloved hand showing from behind a pile of debris. It wasn't moving but Manny thought she heard someone murmuring. She looked back to check that the boy, Nurture, wasn't about to stumble upon the scene.

"Nurture, stay back will you?" Manny turned her head to the flier, "I say, can you see it from up there?"

Manny lowered her head and clasped her hands together, saying a short prayer as much for her own benefit as for the unfortunate victim's.

“My, my. You people are so prompt when it comes to dishing out the vengeance. What was it? Ten minutes since I broke one of your operative’s neck?”

Ms Adams’s body tensed, ready to fight or flee depending on her adversary’s talents.

Beneath Spider City

A figure garbed in the black clothing preferred by members of the Midnight Club ran through the tunnels underneath Spider City, its face obscured by the hood of a cloak which billowed out behind it as it sprinted. The cause of the figure’s pace revealed itself a few moments later to be a group of spiderlings that clanked and sparked their way speedily through the tunnel.

The figure did not dare look back and was clutching something in its gloved hands – a box of some description, which glowed eerily with magical runes. The figure was fast approaching a crossroads in the tunnels and it made the decision to feint to the right before doubling back on itself and diving to the left where a few grille panels replaced the metal roof overhead. It had miscalculated the move as it careered into a wall a hundred yards down the passage. The figure, breathing heavily, now chose to turn around and face its dogged opposition – there was no sound of pursuit, no sight of the tiny yet savage spiderlings. Its shoulders sagged in relief and it slumped to the floor, hoping to blend in with the shadows cast by the poor lighting down here.

The figure’s attention turned to the box it had been carrying. The runes still emitted an odd light but nothing that might give the figure away to its enemies. Slowly, it felt its way around the box, trying to find a catch or indentation.

“Naughty, naughty.” A woman’s voice, very soft and light, caused the figure to freeze.

“Didn’t your mother tell you it was wrong to steal?” the voice laughed but there was no sign of its source. The prone figure remained silent.

“Aren’t you going to ask ‘Who’s there?’ ” Another laugh.

“It’s all right. Just hand me the box and I’ll let you walk away.” The figure remained resolutely silent.

“Cat got your tongue? Oh well, perhaps you’re more of a man of action?”

Suddenly, the figure was lifted by its shoulders up into a recess in the ceiling. It’s legs thrashed as its arms, dropping the box, tried to wrest itself from the creature that held it so tightly. The pressure increased and the figure, now proving to be a man very much in pain, howled.

Then the man dropped a little as arms encircled his throat, stifling his cry. During his last moments all his darkest fears rose to the surface so that when his attacker deftly snapped his neck with a sickening crack, it felt like blessed relief. The body fell to the floor and a moment later a lithe figure jumped down from the shadowy ceiling, landing silently. She was wearing an olive green bodysuit and looked no more imposing than the average hired goon, despite her recent activity. Her midnight blue hair reflected some of the dull light of the corridor and the lower half of her face was covered up which, in the shadows, gave the appearance of her having only half a face. The woman touched a button on her right arm and spoke, “Intruder apprehended and dealt with. Tell Scirocco’s men to be more careful with the vetting procedure next time.”

And with that, Ms Adams picked up the box and headed back to the vault it had been purloined from. High above, visible through the grilled ceiling, something dropped into the sky.

Manny blinked.

No sooner had the archer dispatched one of the robots then it seemed the whole lot of them had disappeared. A bundle of animated vines appeared at Manny's side, 'clutching' her bag.

"Well, well." Was all the older hero could muster. She surveyed the wreckage. "Seems this place could do with a clean up. Now where do you think the authorities rushed to escape the storm?" she mused out loud to no one in particular.

Manny looked at her colleagues in turn. "I'm going to search the wreckage, see if there's any clue as to why exactly this event occurred. I'd appreciate some help, especially if one of you happens to have a forensics lab somewhere in the city..."

Manny made her way to a crack in the road where she had earlier tried to halt the advance of the storm.

"Thank you, Nurture. Now," she stopped to consider the boys age and wondered if he would understand the concept of electrical conductivity. Two years ago she didn't understand it but then two years ago she had only just entered the world of the literate. Manny pursed her lips before continuing, "I think I have a plan for stopping those robots inside that storm. But it will only work if I am totally assured that no harm will come to you or your 'Mother'."

Manny caught the attention of the archer and the flying man. "Now, Nurture, there seems to be quite a lot of those robots. Do you think you could hold them at bay with those vines of yours? And if they were used to channel lightning at the robots, would it cause you any pain?" Manny smiled at the boy, hoping that the answer would be in the negative.

"That's very kind of your, um, Mummie." Manny replied as gently as she could. "My bag is on top of the building over there."

Just watching the archer made her tired but she was thankful of the assist and the reappearance of the man who had helped her previously was reassuring.

She turned back to the boy, "Tell me, would your Mummie mind if I tried something a little unusual?"

Manny careered down several flights of stairs and almost bounced out of the front door of the apartment block. She caught her breath and took in the scene:

The little boy had a strange air about him and whatever he had done in the time it had taken Manny to descend had caused something very metallic and far bigger than him to retreat back into the broiling storm.
The athletic archer was doing her best to dismantle the robot that had caught sight of Manny and the younger woman's close proximity to the thing meant that Manny wouldn't dare attack it with another lightning bolt. Besides, the archer seemed more than capable.

"Where's the man who lifted me to the top of the building I wonder?" Manny mused before deciding to run after the boy and try a combined assault on the fog enshrouded enemy.

The cracks in the road had hindered the progress of the storm but not stalled it completely. Manny cursed under her breath, "The bag! I've left my bag up there. Stupid old woman!" She would now have to channel magic through her, rather than using her props which always afforded her the use of a little extra energy. Channelling was risky for Manny - she could only utilise a small portion of energy at any one time so each attack would need careful thought and time.

She shouted to the boy, "Perhaps if we work together we might halt this unnatural thing? I'm Manny, by the way."

Manny had some time to react to the construct as it raced towards the building she was stood atop. She knew she had to keep distance between herself and it but from the look of things, the trail of destruction left by the storm and its inhabitants meant that no building was safe.

"I must get back down to street level." She spoke aloud, trying to gather her thoughts. Many years ago, when she was much nimbler on her feet, Manny might have risked launching herself from the edge of the roof and trying to summon an air current but her body had succumbed to the frailty of relative old age and she doubted she would finish the incantation in time.

The clanking of the construct grew louder as it drew away from the storm and headed towards her. Manny retreated to the roof access and tried the door - it was locked. Looking to the heavens she muttered a short prayer and pointed a finger at the lock. Moments later lightning struck the door and it burst open almost knocking Manny over. She hurried down the steep, narrow steps, hoping to get as close to the ground as possible before that thing caught up with her.

Manny found her feet and nodded to Nullman in gratitude. She was pleased to see the boy and the archer had retreated to a safer position too.

"Right, well the lightning bolt appears to have made no progress. Perhaps a little trench warfare to impede its path?"

Manny took out an embroidered, drawstring bag from within her shoulder bag. She loosened the strings and tipped out a handful of polished stones, each one totally different. The old woman studied them for a moment and decided on a silky smooth pumice. She held it up to the sky and began to chant in a language similar to Arabic. The stone appeared to grow hot but Manny kept her grip on it as its edges burned a coppery red colour. There was the rich, acrid scent of camphour in the air as she continued to chant.

Finally, she raised her arm higher and then forced the heated pumice to the floor where it exploded in a white cloud of dust. Cracks appeared in the road where the storm was fast approaching. Manny willed them to speed up but the physcial act of the road collapsing was out of her control now. She had merely given the concrete a push...

[ QUOTE ]
How does a level 1 enemy with a pistol differ to a level 50 with a pistol? Are they better shots, different bullets, some strange quantum effect that means a level 25 being shot by a level 1 with a pistol will take minimal if any damage even if they're a normal human with a bow, standing still, while a level 50 will leave them bleeding on the floor?

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The gun thing is one of the things I just plain ignore. If I'm playing as a character who just happens to be wearing armour and/or is 'invincible' then it doesn't matter so much.

If Kata were truly up against a band of Hellions, it would undoubtedly take a lucky shot/ shot at point blank to incapacitate her. She's not superhuman and no amount of Super Reflexes could avoid it.

Similarly being bludgeoned with a shovel, engulfed in flames, frozen solid, electrocuted, having to wade through quicksand... you get the picture - Kata should be dead as should quite a lot of heroes, villains and civilians. So, I just ignore the game mechanic.

PvP between consenting roleplayers is fun, but then I like to play the game for fun when it comes to things like that. If Kata went up against someone such as her old friend Red Commissar, he'd have shot her to pieces before she could even get near him with a punch most probably. IC though and the fight would not happen.

Having said all this, I noted from a couple of Open RP thingies that I always downplay Kata's abilities. Perhaps I should, just for fun, let her do some interesting backflips and chokeholds. She's capable of it - but I'd rather have her wearing body armour and raiding a drugs lab (the game mechanic, obviously, doesn't allow for her to have body armour without rolling a new char) or interrogating a prisoner than going all Onnatop (spelling?).

My 3.5 inf

((Apologies for the gap... my subs ran out o.O))

As the storm landed, Manny doubled her efforts at creating some kind of counter but the group of assembled heroes, plus one small boy, were running out of room.

Manny turned her head to the flying man, shouting over the din of all that hard weather, "Could you lift me up, take me to the top of the Vanguard building? I might fare a little better there."

She waited for the reply and turned her gaze to the lively woman with the bow and arrows. "Grab the boy! I doubt your sword will withstand the force of the air currents! In fact I doubt you will either!"

The rain lashed down and Manny, feeling the magical energies within her surging, summoned a seething mass of storm cloud. She brought her left hand down sharply and an arc of brilliant blue lightning descended towards the base of the storm and the source, she hoped, of those echoing footfalls...