Wordmaker

Bristol 2006: It's not just a convention...it's an adventure!

My character on CoV, Noctem, is what I'd class as a "fallen hero." He made mistakes, got caught, and is now stuck in the Rogue Isles trying to get by. This means carrying out illegals acts. So, he has a reason to take bounties, steal things, etc. Doesn't mean he wouldn't say, stop a young girl being attacked in the street, however. He's a villain, yes, but he has a chance at redemption. Yes, I'm hoping a system to transfer characters comes up before he gets to a level where I can't justify his further advancement (ie: when the missions simply HAVE TO involve working for Arachnos etc), or I'll have to take a different route with his development.

I'll admit there are certain dangers regarding potential godmoding in such an idea. In an environment such as GG, where characters regular meet up, if such a group, so obviously opposed to the establishment, were to appear and openly declare who they were, they would probably be hunted down and eliminated. The only way for such a group to function is to perhaps make posts in Roleplaying indicating their activities, allowing other RP groups to try to find out who they are, if they wish, or to exist in their own contunuity seperate from the core roleplaying groups.

Now, in CoV there is something of an advantage in that there is currently no centralised roleplaying with which such a group would interfere. Of course that runs the danger of the group being quite insular and wpuld, eventually, start to have interest dwindle should more open roleplaying become prominent.

Still, I think the idea of an underground resistance group, whether acknowledged and aided by Longbow or not, could work if done well. If it were to be a part of an open continuity like GG, there would need to be the opportunity for the group to come under fire from Arachnos and other Villain Groups.

It's still, however, the best reason in the world I can think of why potentially large numbers of characters in CoV would gather with any kind of common interest.

Indeed, any meeting of large numbers of characters in CoV, particularly large groups, would have to happen in secret or somehow away from Arachnos' eyes and ears, because I sincerely doubt Lord Recluse would permit the potential chance that a large force of powerful villains might get it into their heads to try to depose him. He keeps the factions of Arachnos fighting each other for a reason, so they're all too bust fighting each other to get the idea of fighting him into their heads.

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The impression I got is that he completely changes the outcome for the sake of him disagreeing with it; not because he does the same thing repeatedly.

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And the problem with this is, what? For example, I believe there's a mission in which a villain begs you to kill her at the end, and you do. Also, a Crey mission (TF?) where you blow up a clone lab, including everyone inside it. Nevermore does not kill, so he would do neither of these things, therefore I disagree with them, and change the outcome.

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But once again, the things a Hero would be doing wouldn't be "easily" slipping between the cracks.

Recluse has a hugely oppressive Government; political repression, propaganda turning the civilians against the mainlaind...etc. Any freedoms they have are only illusions Recluse put together so they won't outright rebel; this is explored in a few story arcs later on down the line.


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Read Dark Knight Returns and Dark Knight Strikes Again. Batman manages to wage a secret war against an opressive government very successfully. Just because a hero is operating, doesn't mean they're making themselves openly known to those around them. I sincerely doubt this SG would go around openly "recruiting" or advertising their presence. A hidden resistence movement against an oppressive dictatorship is a classic staple of fiction.

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Yes, they have. Longbow is just outside the Zig gates, the Freedom Phalanx is on it's way and there's incredibly well trained, highly equipped troops shifting the prisoners out in droves.

What I don't do is "slip between the cracks" and have a Villain character running around in Atlas

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Have you considered ever treating Breakout as OOC and making a character who wans't one of the Destined Ones?

Villains operate throughout Paragon City, causing havoc. Who's to say the same can't happen in the Rogue Isles?

So, changing how you or your group view the reason and outcome of a mission (which doesn't affect anyone else) is borderline godmoding? How? It's simply re-interpreting the game. Can you honestly tell me you'd play through Frostfire 5 times and not either decide it was all OOC, or start changing and re-writing major details (like why it's the same map over and over again?).

As for Recluse letting people take on Arachnos troops, it happens all the time in CoV! Everyone fights Arachnos. And there are enough Longbow heroes running around that it's perfectly believable that a large number of people opposed to Arachnos can operate if they're careful. Burke the Mercenary is a perfect example of a non-heroic character who would probably be inclined to take on Arachnos if it suited his needs.

I should point out, I rarely (in fact, never) RP using the hospital mediport system, nor the use of NPC trainers. I don't like the concept, it doesn't fit my characters, so I simply ignore it. I do the same in CoV. I'll happily work with the setting, but if there's something I don't really like about it, I'll ignore it. If you try to rationalise the whole setting, or even the majority of it, soon the holes in the setting become apparent.

Besides, Arachnos can't watch all of the Rogue Isles at once, and a careful anti-hero can easily slip between the cracks. It would make for something quite interesting to play.

Edit: Just a thought Syra, have all of your CoV characters come to the Rogue Isles after being broken out of the Zig in Breakout?

Ah, but who says you have to play every single mission IC? Just pick the ones that suit the character, and rule that the rest are OOC. I do it with my characters all the time.

Anything creative is worth completing for its own sake, regardless of any contest.

I still think they should just call off any further contests.

There are several RP supergroups on Union if GG isn't your thing. I don't actually know how to find them, but there's a large number.

There is more to GG than standing around talking about things. We also run plots that operate outside the game's mission structure, often running "missions" over IRC if the game itself is too restricted for what we want to do, though many of us also roleplay during missions.

Oooh! A Reb! *bounce*

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Well, I know Jen has a car, but why pay double petrol if we can easily fit 5 people into Bertha? ;-)

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Comfort!

Seriously, though, can you imagine packing bags for 5 people AND Jen's wheelchair into the landrover? Doable yes, but not at all practical.

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I'll just point out that Jen and I in the front seats will be comfortable. Paul, Gid and Stef in the back may be a little more cramped.

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Car! Car car CAR!!

I mean, I know we've never had the car with us, but come on, guys!

Jen and I are in, most definitely! And Stef, you're forgetting that Jen's got a nice shiny car of her own! So we can also provide automotive transport, should anyone need it!

I'll eat anything that used to be an animal, really. There are plenty of non-scary eastern dishes you can eat, without scary Vahzilok or Kheldian parts in them! Although, if we want western, that's good, too. Italian's good, as is anything steak-like!

Yay! Go Walsers, go Walsers!

Why, though? Surely you can just use brackets for OOC, or if you really need to, rule that one channel is strictly IC and the other is strictly OOC. Just seems like a waste to have two channels for the one SG, especially since different alts may be in different SGs, which would possibly take up more Glocal chat slots.

You use two Global Channels for your SG? Why not use the SG Channel instead?

Gabbleduck'd be cool as Last Judgement, with the words "LOST CONNECTION TO MAPSERVER" plastered across the card!!

Sam and Alex are perfect as The Lovers, they've been engaged for ages! And are THE cutest couple at GG!

Yeah, the higher suit doesn't have enough cards for everyone, but thankfully, there's 52 lower suit cards, each one with its own meaning!

Nevermore for Justice!

Cool idea! Now to find someone to draw them....

In response to Rock Eagle's post, personal taste cannot be accounted for. Yes, there is often a lot happening at GG, and sometimes a bit of effort can be needed to both get into conversations with other characters, and to get involved with ongoing plots. Most of us play our characters in such a way that yes, at times, they are having private conversations and don't wish to be disturbed, but this is not meant as an OOC snub. Often, the chat in our OOC channel, GGOOC, is just as lively as the roleplaying, and is as important a part of our community as IC events.

As to why we gather under a statue so often, there is actually a reason for it. Last year, a character called Prize, who has recently returned to GG, rallied a force of heroes to go to Striga and storm the Council Base there. She chose the statue of Galaxy Girl as the rallying point because it was a well-known location where everyone would be able to meet, and had a meaningful purpose because of who Galaxy Girl was. After that, it simply became tradition that heroes would gather under the satue to meet when they wanted to seek help or share information.

If you drop by GG and think you might enjoy it, join the GGOOC channel, chat to us, ask any questions you like. Several of us who run plots will help new players get involved b seeting up encounters for them if they ask, or make the effort by roleplaying with us.

I'd say I'm in-between, really. I work with the party in terms of adding elements I know the players will enjoy. Though, I don't necessarily tailor the plot to suit their exact abilities, because if the players keep seeing that the same set of skills will apply in every situation, they'll soon get bored. In my opinion, if the players can actually create a "standard procedure" for most situations, I haven't made it challenging enough, and I know they'll get bored.

I don't believe in creating a situation that is impossible to solve, but I do believe in pushing the envelope, forcing them to think outside the box to work out what to do.

Then again, I run games based primarily on the overall storyline and interactions of the PCs and NPCs, so what I'll put the players up against will depend very much on their own actions, what my NPCs have available to them, and what makes sense for the circumstances.

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I was pointing out the hypocrisy in saying he was coming across as superior and insulting, when a great deal of posters have carried that attitude towards him, even after he apologised

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But only as a reaction to his own behaviour. We were all quite polite and helpful until we realised he was not listening to anything we were saying. Yes, he's apologised for it. I, personally, look forward to seeing what he proposes after a while of finding out more about roleplaying in the game, and hopefully by asking us questions rather than making assumptions. I'm dropping it now, I hope you'll do the same, Syra.

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It gets even worse when the guy apologises and people still leap on him. Hence my "clamping jaws" comment.

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Yes, fair. Though I hardly consider what I said as "leaping on him." I was merely trying to make him see how he came across, and the damage he's done to how people will perceive him in the future.

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Well then, if he's only been reffering to CoV without any major references to CoH and GG, I think it's relatively safe to assume he's speaking about CoV for the most part.

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I haven't made any indication that Harvik was speaking manily about just CoV. And As has been stated, he speaks of both games far more than just the one.

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Listen, after a number of encounters with supposedly respectable members of GG my overall view of the group has been shot

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Clearly, since you have previously agreed with us that he came across as overbearing and trying to introduce changes which most people who have posted here seem to not want, yet now you turn on us. Why is that?

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A little bit of rational posting goes a long way

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Yes, Syra, it does. As do your repeated put-downs of the GG crowd. Except they go a long way in the opposite direction. Everyone knows you don't like a lot of us, we do not bring the matter up on the boards, there really is no need for you to do so, either.

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Right, in that case I'll be siding with Wordmaker

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Well...that was an unexpectedly quick and easy change of sides.

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Funny thing Word, because under your own admission you admit he was largely addressing the CoV community, which doesn't have an established community just yet.

Really, in the attempt to point out how apparently ill-informed the OP is, a number of you have come across as very hypocritical.

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Actually Syra, I was asking whether or not the OP owned City of Heroes, simply because he made a post that only referred to CoV, and had made no mention of the GG meets, which are fairly well-known to most forum-readers who play CoH.

We can't be sure if he was addressing the CoV community, because the majority of his posts have referred to both games, hence my question. So, before you call me a hypocrite, think a bit about what I say, please? I asked the question in order to gain information and make an informed judgement. Not only that, but I feel I presented myself in a fair and unbiased manner, giving the OP a chance to explain himself instead of biting his head off.

We have all asked several times whether or not Harvik has been to GG, or seen the community on CoH. He has not yet answered those questions.

"War Crow in 3 in bed romp?"

"I'm having Nevermore's baby"

"Molok is my secret husband"

"I'm the kid who bullied Max in school"

Sounds like fun! I'm in. Definitely a great way to drop plot hints without being too obvious or over the top, and it could be a good laugh too.

Wow, that was a long read. Just going to throw in here. Not trying to flamebait, or feed the trolls.

Harvik, on your very first post to the forums you tried to basically tell all of the roleplayers currently on Union that you didn't believe there was an established or high quality roleplaying community present. You came across as ill-informed, and insulting, and since none of us even knew who you are, or have any reason to believe your account is more than four days old (since we have no way of proving what you say, as not one person has posted on the thread to back you up or to vouch for you), we took issue with you trying to tell us how to play the game.

Then, you, under your own admission, did not read the replies to the thread you created. And you continued to behave in a superior manner towards the few people to whom you did reply. You've done just about everything wrong in this thread, and made a pretty bad first impression. Why should people listen to you, if you won't even read their replies and respond to them?

And yet, you still have not answered the question as to whether or not you have been to the regular roleplaying meetings at the statue of Galaxy Girl, in Galaxy City, at 9pm every night on City of Heroes. Have you been to them?

Now, several times in this thread you've referred to City of Villains only. Do you actually own City of Heroes? Roleplaying in CoV has been somehwhat lacking in a large scale sense. Several times, attempts have been made to establish a regular meeting sport for roleplaying, made difficult by the layout of the Rogue Isles, the fact you can't skip Breakout, and the lack of a reason for large groups of villains to regularly congregate in a social setting.

I would suggest, in the future, you actually do some research and ask some questions about what is currently available and being organised, rather than assuming that you have experienced the length and breadth of roleplaying in CoX, and declaring that you know what is best for all of us, especially when we already have several (not just GG) ver good and solid RP communities.