Arctic_Princess

Rolled my first Warshade and Peacebringer yesterday

I'm looking forward to more fun with Kata - she's not ready for retirement just yet...

*sighs*

Well, on with the grind, I suppose....

Arctic Princess - Katana / Super Reflexes / Body Mastery

***

At the risk of going all Gwyneth Paltrow on you all, I would like to thank the folowing people for helping me get to 50:

Red Commissar - without him I never would have resurrected Kata from the graveyard of abandoned alts

The Telepath - for providing much needed company both IC and OOC

Plasmarch - for making me laugh out loud almost as much as RC

Dark Rose - a) for having a cool name and b) for being relatively sane

The rest of GG - for being nutters, angst-monkeys and very helpful (especially Ringmaster and ShadowGhost - their inexhaustible knowledge of things that happened years ago astounds me to this day)

Hot Head, Moondog, Demon of Darkness, Starlit Spirit and Mother's Love - for being great company during task forces and all-round good eggs

Right, that's all from memory.

Thanks also to everyone I've ever teamed with as Ionos and Ariadnee - without those 2 toons I never would have gotten AP to 50.

*uses up al available oxygen and collapses* - but a happy man nonetheless

[ QUOTE ]

An other point recently brought up was... character level. How does it factor in?

Solution:
indetermined...

seemingly the consensus is:
It's Security Level, the level of trust the city places in you, not the strength you have in combat


[/ QUOTE ]

Personally I concur with the idea of Security Level as a measure of your 'clearance' throughout the city. This works especialy well for heroes who are not 'combatants' in Game terms (i.e. the majority of Controllers and Defenders who aren't aggressive attackers, rather offering support.) Their good deeds have granted them security access to the major hotspots in the city.

My question is this: How do Nictus/Warshades fit into the scheme of being 'heroes' ? I have only seen Peacebringers used as RP'd heroes.

I know the game offers some explanation but, can Nictus really fit into a roleplaying environment considering that they are the 'natural enemy' of Peacebringers?

Dear Heroes,

My hero, Arctic Princess, requires the Spelunker, Unveiler and the one for defeating however many Paragon Protector badges in order to unlock three accolades

She is a lvl 49 Scrapper (Katana/Super Reflexes/Body Mastery) and her player (that'd be me then ) is much fun to team with.

This post is sort of a place to agree on times etc and possibly get other heroes who require some or all of these badges involved.

I look forward to replies

As long as a character is 25 or above then it matters little. AP has just dinged 49 (and I received my first ever accolade - huzzah!) - fun is the most important thing and, if you need Citadel for the TF Commander, then by all means bring along the character that needs it. Besides, Citadel is renowned for being a horrible TF in terms of repetition so any high-level characters can sidekick lower ones so that we can make the experience less time consuming.

Phew! Right, I'm off to see if I can ding 50 by 4pm ))

For someone who has said in previous posts that their artistic skills were lacking, this is bloomin' good

Keep up the good work Coston

((Right! - So far we've had a good response and I'm frantically pm'ing a few people to make them aware of the event.

Ar'cane - Spines/Inv Scrapper
Hot Flush - Fire/Fire Tank
Shen-Lung - Storm/Dark Defender
Luminous Phoenix - Peacebringer

Electrode, Dark Blasphemy and Nefarious have all shown interest too so we can decide on the best course of action on the day.

Looking forward to next week's TF guys n gals ))

Not sure about a nemesis but Arctic Princess has the same 'powers' although hers are down to training and a military background.

Feel free to play around with the idea - and at some point I must RP more - been terribly taken up with RL and the mad-dash to 50 when IG.

Calling all Hero Operatives

The Council are once again flexing their fascist muscles in the City! They must be stopped!

I, Arctic Princess, Minister for The Workers of Eastern Europe, once again urge all heroes with a Security Level of 25 and above to join me in Talos Island at 1050 hours on Saturday, 7th October 2006.

***

((As a fun precursor to Hess's Task Force, I thought we might like to go up against yet more Council goons...

But fear not! For those not yet initiated into this little group of heroes with far too much spare time on their hands, we have a lot of fun doing the Task Forces. In part this is due, I believe, to the fact that no-one I've teamed with (barring myself, naturally) has been a debt monkey

So, if anyone is interested then post your details (Character name, AT, Powers and SLevel) and, if we have loads of applicants, then we'll just have to have a few teams going!

For reference, AP (Kata) is a level 46 Katana/Super Reflexes Scrapper

Yay, well done Ves and Fridan

*claps until his hands fall off*

This is how I view Enhancements:

Magic - charms, little warding spells and all that jazz. For instance when my controller summons a steamy mist to cover herself and her allies then she is casting a spell. The effectiveness of this spell is reflected in her magical enhancements or chanting.

Natural - simply put they reflect a character's training and experience. Military Speed, for example, (and iirc, that's the one that reduces recharge time) reflects Kata's knowledge of combat so, naturally, she can get things done more efficiently and quickly during combat

Technology - Reflects an upgrade to equipment

Science and Mutation - these origins are the ones I have the most problem in justifying IC so I tend to fudge them a little . I rarely roll a Science hero because I can't justify their origin enough compared to the others. However, with Winterstrike, (who was created out of a cold-fusion reactor incident) she is a scientist when not fighting crime so she knows how to use the various chemicals to enhance her powers. In effect they are catalysts for her abilities and can be either administered via experiments, injection or used to create materials that aid in combat (an example would be creating tough body armour and the like)
With mutant characters I tend to create them in the current comic trend of mutants - people born with powers that manifest in the early teens and who are usually subjected to some sort of prejudice at various stages in their life. Enhancements here are more difficult to explain away. I guess as the character grows in level, their Secondary Mutations develop and they become more powerful.

***

My view on inspirations - Awakens are stimulants or even, in the most basic sense, smelling salts.
The rest are also stimulants and can be adapted for your situation as you see fit.

Right, well that was a much longer post than I originally intended! But you did ask...

Paragon Mutant Anti-Defamation League 'Headquarters' - Up 'N' Away Burger, Galaxy City - Friday 15th September, 2006 [12:10 pm GMT]

"Thank you for your time, councillor Connaught."

Rebecca disconnected the call and sighed deeply. She was vaguely aware of a faces looking at her - you see quite a large proportion of Up 'N' Away's clientele were metahumans so a woman wearing a baseball cap and a cheap, off-the-rack business suit, making phone calls whilst doodling designs for a poster was bound to garner interest. Rebecca absentmindedly wondered if any of the customers were mutants who had suffered prejudice, perhaps even more recently. Perhaps Rose's death was just another death in a city of heroes and villains and didn't matter all that much. Perhaps this Anti-Defamation League was a waste of time and she should start looking for a proper job.

Contacts had dried up - apparently nobody need care about the individual rights of mutants in the City and beyond. Freedom Corps had seen to that. Damned blanket protection policies - they even offered attractive pension plans for staff. Perhaps she should...? No! Out of the question. Besides, once they found out about Rose then no one would be likely to employ the sister of a drug trafficking killer.

Rebecca cursed herself for being this harsh on Rose, the blood relation who had wasted her talents on stealing and hanging out late at night with boys: The girl who had worried her parents stupid and had shown scant regard for anyone's feelings but her own: The girl who had run away and not been in contact for six years. This was the second time they had mourned the loss of Rose Adams.

Rebecca continued scribbling on the paper in front of her and listened to the street sounds outside. She heard a gunshot followed by a crackle of electricty and then some gangbanger flew past the café window followed by a gaggle of fresh-out-of-the-box heroes. Sirens in the distance provided the hook and the rhythmic thumping of the dishwasher and the counter clerks tapping keys was the base. Rebecca started to tap her spare hand's fingers on the formica table - she was getting kind of comfy here.

"'Scuse me, ma'am. Are ya gonna buy anything?" a too-muscly-to-be-real man tapped her on the shoulder then pointed to a sign above the stall. It read:

THESE SEATS ARE FOR PAYING CUSTOMERS ONLY!

Without word, Rebecca packed up her things and made her way out into the warzone that is Galaxy City.

People jostled her as she walked to the station to catch the monorail back to Talos. Rebecca looked up to see three flyers tackling a single Clockwork robot - they were like gulls, spewing cogs and bolts, so she automatically put her briefcase over her head and ran for the cover of a side street. The air was a little musty here - trash collection probably didn't even know this place exists. An old Crey Biotech poster was the only street decoration - even the guys who come round and put up posters for films and the like had missed this street off their list.

With no further sign of Clockwork robots or, indeed, gang members, Rebecca relaxed and took in more of the 'sights'. A few people in the distance, wearing suits, appeared to be enjoying their lunch break and a light breeze picked up, rustling leaves.

Then she was hit round the back of the head with what felt like a brick. Her laptop bag fell to the floor, spilling its contents of doodled-on paper, a selection of biros and, for reasons unknown even to Rebecca, a stapler. Luckily she wasn't in the financial league of actually owning a laptop. Before blacking out she heard a gruff male voice say,

"Think this is her?"

Then nothing.

Hello,

I'd like to gauge the reactions to using Kinetics/Sonic Attack (Defenders) and Sonic Attack/Kinetics (Corruptors)

My initial thoughts on the defender part is: I don't like standing around doing very little during battle. Possibly it's because I enjoy scrapping, secondly I've noticed that speed buffs and debuffs always save a team's hide from too much aggro (in my experience). Also I wanted to roll a character or two that didn't need a travel power at 14.
Plus with the damage resistance debuff and powers like Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift, I am hoping to have crazy fun later on with this defender.

On the evil, crusty flip-side I like causing a lot of damage with Sonics on big mobs (even at levels 1-6 I seemed capable of finishing off big groups of Snakes and the like), doing all the buffing/debuffing and then watching that beautiful word: SCOURGE! come up on screen.

Anyway, i have rambled long enough.

If anyone would like to post their experiences with the two builds then please do. I'm not looking for numbers per se, more anecdotal evidence from teams/soloing that sort of thing. Plus I think an outing of the two builds (Kin/Sonic x 8 = carnage = Sonic/Kin x8 ;P ) would be fun, crazy and epilepsy-inducing...

31 Bartock Avenue, Founders' Falls - Thursday 14th September, 2006 [11:13 GMT]

Rebecca Adams looked out of the window of her parents' house. The privet obscured most of the pavement but she could still see photographers and so-called journalists creeping around, trying to catch glimpses of the grief-stricken family. Her mother, Elizabeth, knocked quietly at the door and entered with a full tea tray.

"Are they still there, dear?"

"Seems so. I doubt we'll get rid of them before Hallowe'en. No doubt they'll jump at the prospect of turning Rose into some kind of monster for the kids to be afraid of."

Rebecca turned her back from the window and claimed a mug of steaming hot tea. Her usual preference was coffee but now anything hot - and sweet (she grabbed a couple of sugar cubes, most unlike her) - was welcome. Elizabeth responded in the only way she knew how, whenever she saw the dark moods sweep across her two daughters.

"Why don't you get some rest? It makes no sense to keep vigil here. Your father is worried about you."

"I'll be fine, mother. Thanks for the tea." Rebecca chewed her lip and wondered when the phones would start ringing. Not the journalists, nosy neighbours and old school friends who suddenly remembered the bad girl at school and wished that they had done more - but the 'other' callers. The ones who sometimes left threatening messages scribbled on driveways and threw bricks in windows. The ones she and her sister had protected their parents from for the past five years. Rebecca was unsure if she could stand up and face them alone, this time.

Elizabeth made her way back to the kitchen, glancing into the main parlour where her husband sat, disconsolately, in the gloom. He had taken to looking through the old photograph albums late at night. Elizabeth would find him in the morning, a picture of Rose as a little girl, pasted to his cheek. They said nothing to each other now, just like ghosts in different timestreams.

The phone rang.

Elizabeth instinctivley put down the tea tray and shouted down the hall, "I'll get it"

Rebecca dropped her mug of tea, scalding the front of her jean-clad legs. She cursed and ran to the phone, gesturing wildly with her hands to her mother that it would be she who answered and not to worry.

"Good afternoon, may I speak to Mr. Adams?" The voice was unfamiliar, but then they always were.

"No, I'm afraid he's out at the moment."

"Then may I speak to -- Mrs. Adams?" The voice sounded distracted, clearly not having prepared itself for the eventuality of speaking to the lady of the house.

"I'm sorry they're both out. Can I ask what this is about?"

There was a pause and Rebecca fancied she heard a sharp intake of breath.

"This is just a courtesy call. Eden Windows have asked me to tell you about their amazing new offer on all conservatories..."

Despite her sister having just died and what with journalists waiting outside the family home, Rebecca was relieved to find herself on the receiving end of a telemarketing call. Of course she didn't listen to a word that the poor man said but it was comforting to know that life was still very much continuing outside these four walls.

"...introductory offer of thirty per cent off all triple-glazed products. Eden Windows can assure you, the customer, absolute peace of mind when it comes to installation and their after-service guarantee lasts a phenomenal three years..."

Elizabeth made a gesture to her daughter, her face was a picture of concern. Rebecca placed her hands over the receiver and spoke,

"Relax. Nothing to worry about. It's just a cold-caller. Something about windows-"

A brick sailed through the front room window. The clatter of glass brought with it the sounds of the street outside. Both women rushed to the front room. The brick had been smeared with dog faeces by the look and smell of things. A 'Mickey Mouse' present tag had been taped to the brick. It was dirty and a little battered from its trip through the window. Elizabeth covered her mouth with her delicate hands, sunlight reflecting off of her glasses and watched as her daughter, seemingly in shock, bent down to see what was on the card:

DEATH: DESERVED

The perpetrator had printed the message in thick, red marker pen. Rebecca looked through the broken glass still hanging tentatively onto the frame. She caught sight of a flash bulb and saw red.

"What do you think you're doing out here, huh? Who did this? Who did this?!" She flapped her mucky hands at the gaggle of reporters, her face hot with anger and her eyes streaming tears. One man cleared his throat.

"We honestly didn't see much. Looked like some gangbanger type. Just a punk kid. He ran up to about here," the man indicated the privet hedge, "and lobbed the thing at your window. Look, we're really sorry. It happened so fast we didn't have time to react."

"Well, if you're so sorry then you can haul your butts outta here now. Now!!" Rebecca screamed at the crowd and turned to see her father standing quietly on the threshold of the porch. He said nothing but Rebecca sensed his anger and bewilderment and it made her want to punch the nearest lampost. She glared at the reporters and passers-by and went back inside the house. John Adams closed the door solemnly on the world outside his broken window.

So, it had begun. First a brick through a window then who knows what. It was time for Rebecca Adams, chairperson of the Paragon Mutant Anti-Defamation League to start the ball rolling her end. She had faced opposition like this before but never like this before - her own sister.

Rebecca knew that Rose hadn't been your archetypal, goody-two-shoes 'metahuman'. She never condoned the violence or the drug trafficking of course, but Rose was her older sister. And her sister, Rose Adams, was a mutant.

I think it's fair to include events 'in another guise'. With regards to the War on Terror, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. - The Rikti War embodies that for me. All the paranoia, fighting and loss.

However, Paragon has also seen the rise of narcotics-related crimes despite The Vindicators' War on Crime (i.e. regardless of what the History Plaques say, heroes and indeed villains are constantly fighting groups that deal in drugs) - even Longbow have now 'invaded' the safer spots of Paragon but people are still getting mugged.

So, I say, if there's an issue you'd like to rRP through then try scribbling a few things down and chuck out the raw ideas to fellow RPers (after all in some cases there are age-limits to consider) before having a crack at the idea in full.

As for 'little' things like books, movies etc. - why not make a few up? Sure, refer to comics but perhaps some rabid ex-CoT-guy-turned-politcian has just written a book about his experiences in Oranbega? The possibilities, as the recycling advert tells us, are endless.

[ QUOTE ]
On a side note, I will try to level Shen up to 25 in Striga, and hopefully I will be able to open up the Ernesto Hess Taskforce which you get it you complete the Striga story arcs. I have done it several times before and it is the polar opposite of bastion, lots of fun with varied maps and an interesting plotline.

[/ QUOTE ]

And just in case Shen doesn't get there, Kata has the Ernesto Hess unlocked. I've already completed it with her but, hey, like the man said it is a lot of fun ))

Naturally Kata can be persuaded to join in - I've been a bit of a social bunny IRL of late hence my regular absence from the statue. Time, place etc?

((Much more enjoyable than I thought possible. Thank you all those who came, saw and beat up the little doggies ))

Task Force Nova - Complete

((The next TF will be Citadel - I am intending it to be on Sunday, 1st October, 2006 starting at the usual time of 10.50am

I will put up the regular post but would like some feedback on likely participants, best times etc.

Also a great big thanks to Shen-Lung, who managed to scoop the Epitome badge for Kata.

As a re-cap, the following Heroes are now proud to call themselves Honorary Peacebringers:

Ana 'Firebrand' Mueller
Arctic Princess
Jawa Kkak
Magic Sun
Shen-Lung

and (rather confusingly may I add)

Starlit Spirit. ))

Crey Biotech Laboratories, Mercy Island - 2137 hours, GMT

The Rogue operative known as Midnight Rose has been captured and executed by Blue Alpha Wave division of Crey Biotech. Subject was found attempting to steal important research data into The RH Project.

Midnight Rose has been identified as one Rose Adams of 31 Bartock Avenue, Founders' Falls, Paragon City, USA.

Our metahuman affairs lawyers are on the case.

Subject was believed to be in the temporary employ of the E.V.I.L. organisation. Operatives are advised that retaliation may occur. All base security staff have been issued with orders to kill unknowns on sight.

Geoffrey Warner, Crey Biotech Public Relations Officer, Rogue Isles

((Well DemonD has withdrawn so... there is an extra place to make it an eight-person team - however, should others decide to join we can sort out possibly two Taskforcing teams like last time (Sister Psyche).

Keep on truckin' people ))

Nice and atmospheric Star Jewel - I think it's the kind of music that anyone could apply to their characters without being 'generic' - It made me think of Paragon or the Rogue Isles at night, heroes and villains putting on their costumes and going out into the World to do what they do best.

/e thumbsup

Also, despite only having read them and tried a few of the practice excercises once or twice, the Wizard books on 'How to draw...' are good.

As is Drawing & painting Fantasy Figures by Finlay Cowan (he of Pink Floyd album cover fame) - published by D&C.

Reminds me, I must get to drawing again myself. Nowhere near as accomplished as the artists on here but I like it - it's a very relaxing pasttime.

Current Roster

Ana 'Firebrand' Mueller
Freaky Shnyet
Demon of Darkness
Shen-Lung
Magic Sun
Arctic Princess
Double*
Primaxi*

It seems that we have a full team of operatives at the present time. I thank you all for your commitment to the tasks at hand.

I look forward to seeing you in Striga Isle on the 9th!

Kata

Tall, attractive Russian female, mid-20s, seeks athletic, caring male for companionship. Interests include martial arts, ballet, tightrope walking, meditation, classical music, syndicated American sitcoms and vodka. Ability to jog considered a bonus. N/S, no children or animals (either talking or non-sentient)

I usually hate to get all Valley Girl on these threads but:

Oh my gaaaawwwwd! You know that is soooo going to be my desktop wallpaper! Totally rad and faaaar out!

*Translation* - Wow! Keep up the better than good work Blackdove