Zortel

Snow in Surrey, leaving me trapped here and possibly unable to get to an appointment, or get home. \o/

British Weather, what would we do without you?

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maybe it doesn't actually matter what changes are introduced, provided that the participants are there to play in the right spirit.


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I tend to think of it this way: Even people who hate football and sports (Ie, me) can enjoy a kick about with their friends in a park.

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Aaaaarg, that damn thing with the slappy headed pain man.

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A sadistic Richard O'brian?

Januart 28th, 11am.

Zorielle Rolando looked out of her office window with a sigh. The Criminal Investigations Division of the IRS had arrived, Federal agents were all over the Towers going through records, and Vigilants were ordered to ship throug financial records from her home on Rolando Island.

"Zorielle, I hate to disturb you, but there is a situation in Unity Base, the Arcane Wing." BODICIA's voice came from the room.

"On my way, BODICIA..."

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"You have to let me look at those books." A black suited agent was saying to Madame Midknight as Zorielle arrived.

"Look, bub, I'd love to let you do that. Really, I would. But these aren't your usual books, the wards are there for a reason. It'd be completely irresponsible of me to let you touch them. Even MAGI say so."

"MAGI can look in their crystal balls and chant for all I care, I need access to that paperwork." The agent snarled at the pale skinned woman in purple. There were several other agents and a few Freedom Corps offiers in the Arcane Sanctum too.

"Go ahead, Jane. Let him see. He's been warned about the consequences of his actions, and still wishes to carry through." Zorielle sighed.

"Sure thing, boss lady." Jane nodded, taking a crystal out from her hat and touching it to a shifting pattern of runes. With a shimmer, the field around the bookcase disappeared, and the agent reached a hand towards a black leather-bound tome.

"I wouldn't-" Jane warned as he touched it, before sighing. The man let out a shriek of agony as his skin began to blister. Pulling his hand back, the book was attached to it still, his flesh disolving to smoke as he fell to the ground and writhed in pain. It took only half a minute, the Federal officers looking horrified as they saw. One moved to help, but Zorielle held up an arm, her expression firm.

"There's nothing you can do for him."

An eye on the front of the book suddenly opened, staring out with malevolance. "Grim and grey, the Warlock's Curse, another fool soon finds a herse. Eighty Eight souls, consumed by my might, twenty two more and I shall rule the night!"

"What... -is- that thing?!" A FC Officer said, looking away from the body.

"The tome of Nectambo, don'tcha know? You need to read it with specially prepared leather gloves... or just be dead." Jane grinned, picking the tome up and smacking her hand on its spine. "Back you go you stupid book, there'll be no more fools wanting a look."

"You let that man-" An angry IRS official began to speak.

"He had all the warnings and disregarded them. If one of the people here says something is a bad and dangerous idea then you people should take heed. We're providing you with all the information you're asking for. Don't push your luck or hospitality."

With that, Zorielle turned and left the chamber.

It hasn't updated to reflect this. Heck, perhaps there could be a mission in there that instead of helping Flower Knight, you help her fight off some villains supplying it instead.

Things which come to mind as sticking out temporally like a sore thumb:

Outbreak is still Outbreak, coming up to 5 years on. The city hasn't been able to help or contain the Contaminated?

Sam Wincott is still missing, 4 years on.

The Hellions are a 'new' gang on the street, according to the contacts. 5 years on.

Any contacts refering to things x years ago from the time of the contact being written. Rare, but I think it turns up.

28th January, 8:30 AM.

"And now, the morning news update with Darren Holmes."

"Thank you, Andy. The Unity Vigil, a supergroup known for its skyscraper complex in Skyway City, has been the focus of attention by the Internal Revenue Services as Zorielle Rolando, the thirty seven year old leader of the hero organization has come under suspicion of tax evasion after an anonymous tip alerted the federal authorites.

Ms Rolando was the CEO of ZorTel Industries before it shut down in 2006, and has been taken into questioning by the CID over her finances for the company, the operation of the Unity Vigil and its subsidary group the New Vigilants, and her own personal finances.

Spokesperson Belicia Uvos had this to say on behalf of the group:"

The image cuts away to BODICIA, in one of her Vigilant guises, giving a message to reporters. "The Unity Vigil will be co-operating with the IRS to the fullest extent, as will the Rolando Family. During this time we ensure that the heroes in our group will still help safeguard the city, and that importance has gone towards ensuring that the New Vigilants, a group set up to help young people deal with their powers and train new heroes will continue to operate fully."

"Also in the news today-"

Instead of toning down two good sets, why not improve the sets that aren't performing so well? Give them tweaks and additions to make them more attractive? WP has +Recovery, a nice range of resists, + regen, and is basically geared towards chewing through enemies as brutes should be. SS is a perfect partner to this, especially with Rage too.

Speaking of Ouroboros, I'm surprised that the Calvin Scott TF, 'A Mind in Danger' hasn't reappared.

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you exit that I must resettarla to heroe and minkione speaks that me of I must go?

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That's about all Babelfish can get out of it, and my skill with languages is terrible (though I am on lesson 4 of Esperanto now! )

From what I could translate online, something about exiting so they could restart, and something about speaking and having to go. It's Italian.

It also hated the abbriviation of the supergroup Guardians of Destiny.

"We're the #@!%£!" never goes down too well.

Before they set that option as being account wide, it was create character, options screen, filter off, logging on.

Likewise. Must get back in the writing groove myself.

RPG 'style' means nothing. People seem to think that if a game has stats then it's an RPG. Take Final Fantasy 7, I'd call that more of an interactive action/adventure story, there's no role playing to it. Mass Effect and Jade Empire on the other hands I would class as it, as you have a choice to alter the story lines by your own actions.

Sometimes if you log out in bases or mission instancs it does that as well.

Alright, I'll drop it.

See, thing is, as RP'ers, Vazhilok has already been arrested. Countless times. He breaks out, people arrest him. Countess Crey is somehow even more slippery than an eel in a KY gel factory to escape jail so many times. If you went up to a group of RP'ers and said 'Crey Cola has nanomites in to track people's purchasing and diets!' some would already know that, because they've made investigations too.

((Lacking in write up at the moment, not really with it :/))

Report and Scoring on Match 2, Season 1: 23rd January, by OverAI BODICIA

[u]Team Starlight[u]
Versus
[u]Team Fire[u]

Team Fire: Winner
18 Points

[u]Cindersnap:[u] 5 points

[u]Rushmore:[u] 6 Points

[u]Sophie Reynalds:[u] 6 points

[u]Burned Ice:[u] 4 points

[u]Sleight:[u] 2 points

[u]Rho:[u] 1 point

[u]Hi-Fi Girl:[u] 6 points

[u]Lo-Fi Boy:[u] 4 points

Team Starlight: Loser
6 points, plus 6 points for being 2 members short

[u]Enlightened Falcon:[u] 3 points

[u]Soaring Horizon:[u] 3 points

[u]Psight:[u] 1 point

[u]Trixie:[u] 2 points

[u]Dragonbreath:[u] 3 points

[u]Black Ice:[u] 3 points

Totals:
[u]Team Fire: 52 points
Team Starlight: 27 points[u]

Next Match: Team Lightning vs Team Starlight

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There is a reason why the trainers are called trainers.

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Because Back Alley Brawler can teach Zortel how to install a new circuit system into her suit to let her fly, fire larger beams or let her move quicker. Or that she can only do this once she has the 'security levels'.

"You're SL 6 now, you can run faster if you want." "You can run faster now, so I'll grant you SL 6."

See, when you justify game mechanics IICly, we get into a whole load of trickyness.

At least it's not 'Monkey Grabs the Peach'. And yes, Standoff's correct.

Also, it's one thing I like about CO. Your hero can start off with Acrobatics, Super Jump, Super Speed or Flight, and you can then pick up others too

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I strongly disagree. If a hero isn't a "trainee" before lvl 20, why are things like travel powers not available until lvl 14? (And let's face it, flight is just as much as an entrenched part of superhero lore as the cape is) Why do they start off with 1 attack power? Even the start off enhancements are called "Training Origin".

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Right, so Zortel, my energy blaster, puts exploding ammunition rounds in her suit that doesn't fire bullets for more damage? Azure Arrow learns how do to fancy martial arts dragon strikes to make his arrows do more damage? My Psychic psychology student uses magical items and genetic alteration to become more adept at his powers?

I may be a roleplayer, but I don't let the game mechanic driven system dictate my characters.

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One other point about it "stifling creativity", is if anything it promotes a different kind of creativity in thinking of a reason why your character has to wait 'til 20 and 30 for capes and auras.

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I suppose all heroes make their start in Outbreak then? What about the creativity to create an old 1940's crimefighter who dons his cape again and starts training up to help fend off the Rikti threat? Or a former Cold War soviet hero who decides to move to America and try for a better life, bringing his powers of lightning and ice with him? I can't just start him at 30 so he can have his aura that defined him.

It's a lot like people thinking on WoW that all characters come from Northshire Abbey for humans. Because a Warlock or a Rogue is going to train in a church, right?

In fact, I'm almost now tempted to write a story about a British hero reaching customs in Paragon and being asked to remove his cape because he 'hasn't earned the right to it', leading to him laying the smack down when an officious beurocrat tries to take it from him and he heads home, deciding that the country doesn't want or respect his offer of help.

I know, maybe I should just look for farm teams for all my characters till they're at the point where I can get the costume options to be happy playing with them. It's not a dangling carrot, it's a "Oh look, I've got to slog through these same boring, repetitive levels to get something. I think I'll do something else instead."

One of my characters is a Rad/Rad defender. Grey skin and white hair from having had the radiation in her kill off all her pigmentation. Her eyes are supposed to glow, and she wears green tinted glasses. I could use Supernatural Face, but that makes her look much older than a teenager and doesn't let me give her make up. The Combat Auras don't fit her, either darkest green starburst glow or glow would, with her switching to glowing aura at a lighter, more rad blast green in her 'hero suit'.

Fit the character into the concept? Where's the masses of information to let you do that? We have a half finished zone listing, a half finished enemy listing, a small few pages of background and you have to rely on 3rd party sites to get any more information out, especially about Kheldians.

And if you don't have an updater like that, just rename CoHUpdater.exe to CoHupdater.eu.exe.

Also sometimes the program shortcut that gets put on the desktop goes to CoHupdater.exe instead of .eu.exe.

I've had this happen under Windows and Ubuntu/WINE