Arctic_Princess

Right, now on to a much-requested change (if only to break up the boredom...) - Citadel

Awards the Ritualistic badge

Citadel asks the team to form a Task Force comprised of at least 6 Heroes/Vigilantes. The level range is 25-29.

Citadel is not normally known for his subtlety but he is growing worried about his friend, Luminary.

Ever since the Vindicators, including Luminary, stopped a bank raid instigated by Arachnos on Talos Island, she has been acting strangely.

He asks the team to talk to her, to see if they can find clues as to what happened.

Mission One : Talk to Luminary – Talos Island

Luminary can’t get music out of her head! She tells the team that the Vindicators were battling Arachnos when suddenly the sky went dark and a strange drumming noise filled her head. Throughout the conversation, she interjects her account with words like PARTY! and is clearly agitated.

Going off subject briefly she refers the team to DJ Zero, a close friend of hers. He’s ‘got the beat’ and perhaps he knows what’s going on.

The mission continues with: Talk to DJ Zero – Pocket D

DJ Zero is surprised to see the team but when he hears that his friend, Luminary, is in trouble he is quick to suggest that they investigate an Arachnos base.

The base has been subject to a lot of dimensional weirdness and reports of ‘seductive’ music are rife.

Mission Two : Investigate the Arachnos Base – accessed through a portal in Pocket D

Key Tasks:

1. Question the base leader (the mobs in this mission are acting strangely and dancing, as is the boss)
2. Find clues (2 glowies: magical wards are found on an Arachnos safe and an Arachnos computer)

Debriefing: Citadel is uneasy: magic is not his forte. Music is also not on his list of priorities. Luminary is still showing signs of strange behaviour and he fears for his colleague. But he knows someone who may have an insight into this: Laura Brunetti.

Mission Three : Speak to Laura Brunetti – Independence Port

Laura is an historian and somewhat of an expert on magical artefacts. After listening to the team’s account of the strange wards found in the Arachnos base, she tells them that the most likely culprits are the Banished Pantheon.

But they normally stick to human victims – the fact that Luminary has been affected, perhaps even targeted, suggests something far more sinister.

She suggests that the Arachnos were used as an experiment and perhaps were even designed to carry the magic curse with them to Talos.

She has an artisan friend who deals with magical artefacts in Independence Port and sends the team to speak to him.

The mission follows on to: Speak with Carl Allegro – Independence Port

Map Used: Modified warehouse map – similar to the Tsoo tattoo parlour, or the Lou’s garage map, but with half-finished sculptures, tiki ornaments, and vats of hot metal (possibly an environmental hazard).

Mob: Banished Pantheon

Key Tasks:

1. Find Carl Allegro

Debriefing: Carl Allegro has told the team, after being saved by the Banished Pantheon, that he was forced to sculpt and construct small metal shells in a humanoid shape. He was told to carve runes into them so that the magics would work.

Citadel is thankful for the team saving the artisan but is now worried that no one knows where the Banished Pantheon are operating from.

It appears that they are planning to construct some kind of magical army: Robots infused with ancient magic – effectively metal golems!

He surmises that Luminary must have been a test subject and, during the skirmish with Arachnos, the Banished Pantheon must have enacted some kind of ritual to transfer the curse to her.

There’s only one place that the Banished Pantheon are known to congregate en masse – Dark Astoria!

Mission Four : Locate the Ritual – Dark Astoria

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat 10 Banished Pantheon (St Elegius) ->
2. Defeat 10 Banished Pantheon (Romero Heights) ->
3. Defeat 10 Banished Pantheon (Barca Plaza) ->
4. Defeat 10 Banished Pantheon (Toffet Terrace) ->
5. Defeat 10 Banished Pantheon (Dido’s View)

Debriefing: Citadel apologises for the goose chase around Dark Astoria.

As the final group falls, a powerful emanation bursts out from Moth Cemetary.

According to Citadel, Luminary is trying to answer the ‘call’ and it is taking considerable effort on his part to restrain her.

He urges the team to head to Moth Cemetary and stop the Banished Pantheon’s ritual.

Mission Five : Stop the Ritual! – Dark Astoria

Map Used: Large Mausoleum -> Caves

Notable Mobs: Animated Shells (think copies of Luminary, but at Minion, Lt, and Boss level – and with tiki mask faces!)

Key Tasks:

1. Stop Incantations (3 in total, the usual group of BP clustered round casting magic)
2. Defeat Tiki Guardian (Totem Boss)
3. Defeat Metal Golem (AV – a large version of Luminary, with a tiki mask face, and with dark powers as well as energy blasts)

Debriefing: Citadel cannot thank the team enough. As the Metal Golem fell, Luminary’s possession subsided. He is persuading her to repair her body and remove any traces of magical wards from it.

The Banished Pantheon’s attempt to create a devastating, metal guardian to wreak havoc on Paragon City has been thwarted!

Part Two: Amidst the Clamor

Awards the Sister Psyche’s Comrade badge

Sister Psyche is still worried about her blocked psi powers. Recalling the Council defector and mention of a sonic device, she wonders if the new type of Freakshow – the Blahpunk Tanks – have anything to do with it. During the previous escapade, she consulted with the technology expert, Andrew Fiore, in Talos Island and he confirmed that the device had been modified from Council technology: technology that had been developed by Requiem’s forces.

She sends the team to a warehouse in Independence Port (located near the Brickstown entrance) as the PPD have reported increased Freakshow activity there.

Mission One : Investigate the suspected Freakshow base – Independence Port (near Brickstown)

Map Used: New Map! Warehouse -> Sewers

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat Freak Leader (Shriek: Blahpunk Boss)
2. Exit the Mission through the sewers (into Brickstown)

Debriefing: Sister Psyche contacts you and tells you to go speak to her husband, Manticore. The Freak boss mentioned something about The Zig: Paragon’s prison may well be in danger!

Mission Two : Speak to Manticore

Manticore informs the team that there have been reports of strange noises coming from beneath the streets of Brickstown! He urges the team to return, through the sewers, to Independence Port. Whatever is causing the disturbance is still underground and must be investigated. And stopped!

Mission Three : Investigate the Sewer Network – Entrance in Brickstown, near Indy Port

Map Used: Sewers -> Office

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat 20 Freaks (inside map)
2. Confiscate Supplies (5 crates: the crates are filled with explosives, shovels, components for more sonic devices)
3. Defeat Freakshow Tunnelling Leaders (Punkadelic, Devastation – both Blahpunk)
4. Exit the mission through the office door (into Independence Port)

Debriefing: Sister Psyche confirms that, for now, the noises beneath Brickstown and Independence Port have subsided. But the team must not rest on their laurels: the culprit behind this rare organisation of Freakshow must be stopped. And Andrew Fiore has been kidnapped!

Mission Four : Rescue Andrew Fiore – Talos Island

Key Tasks:

1. Rescue Andrew Fiore (the Blahpunk boss guarding him is having difficulty with the sonic devices, hence the man’s kidnap) – Lead To Exit, with ambushes

Debriefing: Sister Psyche is again grateful for the team saving Andrew Fiore from the Freakshow. Andrew found out that the leader of the operation is a woman called Clamor. She is intending to use the sonic devices to blast the ground underneath The Zig, causing widespread devastation and potentially turning Brickstown into a seismic disaster area!

Mission Five : Stop Clamor, Save The Zig! – Independence Port (uses the Longbow ‘chopper mission entrance, currently used in the Statesman TF)

Map Used: Modified Zig ‘Breakout’ map, with Longbow ‘Chopper instead of Arachnos Flier as mission entrance.

Notable Mobs:

• Modified Prisoners (in that they are the level range of the TF: 20-25)
• Rogue Isles Villains (3 in total)

Key Tasks:

1. Rescue Prison Guards (3 in total, all located in the ‘grounds’ of the Zig, and all guarded by Prisoners)
2. Disable Sonic Devices (2 in total – same as the original final mission of SP TF)
3. Defeat Freak Bosses (Pierce, Shatter – both Blahpunk – located in the sewer part of the map)
4. Defeat Clamor (AV)
5. (Optional) Prevent Rogue Isles Villains from escaping (3 in total, their doors are blasted open as Clamor is defeated)

Debriefing: Sister Psyche congratulates the team on preventing the destruction of The Zig and Brickstown. With all the sonic devices disabled, Sister Psyche's powers are returning to normal.

Clamor will spend the rest of her years in the very place she was trying to ‘liberate’. She may even have to share a cell with some of her former Council ‘colleagues’ which will prove interesting.

With the crisis averted, Sister Psyche is proud to proclaim the members of the task force as comrades!

Time for the next one! This time it's:

Sister Psyche

Part One: A Dangerous Mind

Awards the Dangerous Mind badge

Sister Psyche asks you to form a Task Force comprised of at least 5 Heroes and/or Vigilantes. The level range is 20-25.
Sister Psyche is troubled: She is encountering blips in her psychic abilities, as if something or someone were purposefully disrupting her. It has made her uneasy when using her powers and, worse still, she is unable to detect the source of the disturbance.
Her only recourse is to search the psychic plane in the hope that she will uncover who is behind the disturbance. In the meantime, she suggests that the team question the local denizens of Independence Port

Mission One : Footwork – Independence Port

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat 10 Tsoo ->
2. Defeat 10 Family ->
3. Defeat 10 Council

Chained clues:

• The Tsoo are clueless as to what might be causing a psychic disturbance
• The Family are just ‘going about their business’
• The Council mention a recent defection from their ranks: something about a sonic device. They also have an address of a warehouse in Independence Port where the device’s components are being gathered.

Debriefing: Sister Psyche is quick to assume that this sonic device is causing her waning power. She sends the team to the warehouse to investigate.

Mission Two : Investigate the Warehouse – Independence Port (the Council mobs are ‘regular’ – no robots (apart from Valkyries)/Galaxy/Vampires/Werewolves)

Key Tasks:

1. Find Clues (1 desk with shipping order, pointing to an address in the Nerva Archipelago, 1 crate of electronic components)
2. Destroy the sonic device (similar to the end mission of the original SP TF, but there’s only one of them – features an ambush of Freakshow with Blahpunk Tanks)
3. Question the Foreman (Defeat Council Boss – the biog and mission pop-up suggests that there’s something not quite right about the Council in this warehouse: it’s as if they’re half asleep or under the influence of something)

Debriefing: Sister Psyche congratulates the team on their investigation. The shipping order points to Nerva Archipelago and SP is worried: Aurora Borealis and Malaise are due to make a visit to Agincourt on behalf of The Vindicators. Sister Psyche wants the team to accompany her charge and former charge.

Mission Three : Escort Malaise and Aurora Borealis – Independence Port (ship)

Map Used: Longbow Ship Interior

Key Tasks:

1. Rescue Aurora from Longbow (As with the previous mission, the Longbow guarding Aurora appear to be under a strange influence – NOTE: Longbow defeated in this mission DO NOT count towards the Villain badge. Aurora decides to return to Paragon instead of venturing into further trouble)
2. Disable the Ship’s Defence Systems (either a defeat all turrets objective or a glowie computer terminal)
3. Find Malaise (Malaise is not actually present in this mission. Rather a Defeat Blahpunk Tank (Freakshow) is required to find out where he went.)
4. Exit the mission

Upon exit, the team find themselves in the outdoor Nerva ‘statue island’ map. They have arrived, after surviving a bizarre encounter with Longbow. This is effectively:

Mission Four : Investigate The Area – Nerva Archipelago outdoor map

Key Tasks:

1. Question the locals (3 rescues – all Wyvern who have been taken by surprise by Freakshow)
2. Chained objective: Dismantle the Psionic Bomb! (the last Wyvern rescue tells you of a psionic bomb planted somewhere in the area)
3. Chained objective: Defeat Malaise! (EB - A troubled Malaise appears, claiming that his ‘master’ wants the team exterminated! Upon defeat, his head clears and he tells you to go after Psimon Omega. He hands the team a key and promises to hand himself over to the authorities back in Paragon)
4. Enter Psimon Omega’s Stronghold

As with the last mission, the team enters a door on the Nerva Archipelago map. The next mission begins when everyone has loaded:

Mission Five : Defeat Psimon Omega!

Map Used: New map! Think of a mixture between office and Mother Mayhem’s hospital. Without the dinginess.

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat Psimon Omega (AV – A mixture of psi powers and energy blasts – new AV but using the Psimon Omega character model from City of Villains)

Debriefing: The team return to Paragon and Sister Psyche is relieved to have Malaise and Aurora back. She thanks the team for their bravery and courage. Psimon Omega is, in her words, a total nutjob with ideas far above his station. He was obviously after Aurora and used Malaise to get at her. Malaise is given another chance – he was clearly under Psimon’s terrible influence – although Sister Psyche vows to use tighter controls with him from now on.

BUT, her powers are still on the fritz. And after speaking with Malaise (who managed to touch the minds of several of his Freakshow ‘compatriots’) and remembering what the Council said about a defector, she now has a direction for the team to go in.

Manticore

Part Two: Trapping The Countess

Awards the Manticore's Associate badge

Manticore asks you to form a Task Force comprised of at least 7 Heroes/Vigilantes. The level range is 30-35.

In order for the second part to 'unlock', the first part MUST be played through and the Shock Tactician badge awarded.

Manticore sets the scene: Are you ready for this? It's time to take down Countess Crey, but first we need to create an atmosphere of tension - we need to keep the company on the backfoot and never let them second guess us. With your recent efforts against Crey, my informants tell me that they're riled: They could well be expecting you, so the important thing is to take them by surprise. At every turn. Let's do this!

Mission One: Raid the Crey Listening Post - Rikti War Zone

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat All (including Boss: Doctor Allum)
2. Recover Data

Notable enemies:

1. Rikti Test Subjects

Debriefing: Good job arresting the Crey 'employees'. So my informant Drake was right - they were testing on actual Rikti and hoping to pry information about their technology from them. He claims he has another informant on the inside, some guy called Doctor Friedkin. At this stage I don't care if the man is an embezzler - his tips to Drake paid off!

Mission Two: Disrupt Countess Crey's Visit* - Founders Falls

Manticore explains that Drake has received another tip from his mysterious contact: Doctor Friedkin. Apparently Countess Crey herself is visiting a new facility in Founders Falls. Manticore suggests that getting there before her and disrupting the visit should draw her out into the open.

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat Boss (x3 - Agent Wilson, Agent Andrews, Agent Fleming)

Debriefing: Manticore congratulates you on disrupting the Countess's visit. Apparently she is furious and has publicly announced that she will be filing for damages. Manticore urges the team to continue, stating that the end result - Countess Crey's arrest - will be worth the trouble in the interim.

Mission Three: Diversionary Tactics - Brickstown

Key Tasks:

1. Plant 'doctored' evidence (includes ambushes)
2. Defeat Security Forces (2 Council Bosses)
3. Defeat Crey Negotiator (Crey Protector Boss - chained objective after defeating the frst Council boss - they announce that Crey are on their way to make a pact with The Council over the interference of the Task Force)

Manticore advises the team that a little underhand play is in order to seal Countess Crey's fate. He and Drake, with the assistance of Doctor Friedkin, have concocted fake dossiers of Crey activity against The Council. He states that there's just enough 'actual facts' in the documents to urge The Council to declare hostility against Crey.
Naturally the mission involves Council, with only one Crey mob to defeat.

Debriefing: Manticore is impressed that Crey, despite the team's efforts, were still trying to protect themselves and appeared to have intercepted Drake's communications. Manticore mentions that he has now severed his links with Drake, who will be going on to the witness protection program proper.
But overall the plan seems to have worked and The Council have stepped up their activities against Crey. In the confusion, Manticore suggests that in order to really get the Countess mad, her right-hand man should be arrested: Hopkins!

Mission Four: The Right-Hand Man - Brickstown

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat Hopkins (EB - NOT an AV!)
2. Gather remainder of intelligence on Rikti Technology

Hopkins is the Countess's right-hand man. If anyone is going to be guarding secrets, it's him. His arrest will deal a big blow to the Countess and then we go in for the prize!

Debriefing: Excellent work! Crey's lawyers have issued a formal complaint and are filing a class action lawsuit against me. This please me - it means we've gotten to her and she'll be that much easier to take down.
I'm worried about this prototype battlesuit mentioned in the files you found. The most we can hope for is that they rushed it through production to take you down. If it exists, of course.

Mission Five: Arrest Countess Crey - Crey's Folly

Map Used: New map! The Countess's Private 'Facility'. It's a Crey lab that turns into a cave, then a sewer, then finally a panic-room style chamber with marble floors, giant helixes, and black leather couches.

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat Security Chief (Crey Protector Boss -> chains to)
2. Defeat Prototype Battlesuit (EB - new model - I envisage some kind of energy blasting large model with armour-plating. Stun Grenades, ,maybe a slow field too)
3. Defeat Countess Crey

Debriefing: (WARNING! Possible immersion-breaking stuff... possibly!)

Congratulations! Not only did you arrest the Countess but Crey's legal action has crumbled. I'm circulating the relevant files to the authorities under the banner of The Freedom Phalanx. The Countess is going to need to do some serious back-pedalling on a wide range of projects which are coming under very close scrutiny.
Who knows, perhaps somebody with morals will take over the company in her absence? Although I'm too cynical to believe that for a second, I'm becoming more attuned to the notion of tangible justice. Perhaps that's what married life does to you?
I'm proud to call you my associates Task Force [name]! Together we can take on anything.

Just a quick note, as Calaxprimal has done, please feel free to add your own suggestions. Oh and I haz plans for Psyche! You all know the game Simon says, right?

Manticore

Part One:Echoes

Awards the Shock Tactician badge

Manticore asks you to form a Task Force comprised of at least 7 Heroes/Vigilantes. The level range is 30-35.

Manticore sets the scene: Crey are not the humanitarian company they claim to be. They've also got a strong legal team who make things exceedingly difficult for Heroes and Vigilantes to bring evidence to light against the corporation. He believes that he may have found a particular project that will expose them for what they are: Crey are allegedly salvaging Rikti technology for use in their own weapons applications!

Mission One: Get Drake to Safety* - BrickstownKey Tasks:

1. Rescue Drake (Lead To Exit, Ambushes)

Objective complete clue: Drake's story

When you rescued Manticore's informant, he told you:

'Thanks for pulling me out of there. You would not believe the lengths Crey is willing to go to, in order to stay at the head of the research world. Their public relations department is brilliant, but their ethics are non-existent. If Manticore can promise me protection, I'll give you all the information on the Rikti programme that I can. I found some data on another project: Something called Revenant Hero. It was a really old set of files. That might come in useful, in case the Rikti thing doesn't stick.'


Debriefing: Manticore thanks the team for rescuing Drake and says that he will put the guy in his own special form of witness protection. The data on the Rikti technology will take some time to decipher.

He explains why using Rikti technology is forbidden. There is a player dialogue about Manticore's use of the mediport system - hacking into a system developed from Rikti technology. Manticore explains that sometimes it's necessary to bend the rules a little to achieve the desired end. He points out that villains and rogues do it too.
He mentions the Revenant Hero project, and that Mynx and Synapse would be interested in the notes.


Mission Two: Investigate the Cloning Lab - Brickstown


Map Used: a modified Cloning Lab (basically a smaller version, but with the final room with the giant test tubes in it)


Manticore wants the team to investigate an old Crey facility located in Brickstown, mentioned in the notes on the Revenant Hero Project. Something is bugging him about these notes and he also thinks it's a good idea to have a back-up plan, in case the Rikti tech evidence falls through.


Key Tasks:

1. Find Clues (3 in total; 3 separate computers/desks that refer to 3 people - Stephen Berry (Synapse), Katherine Stephens (Mynx), and Diego Alvarez**).

Clues: This is a brief summary - it appears that somebody is trying to draw attention to the original Revenant Hero Project. Two of the three individuals mentioned are now active Heroes but the third is an unknown entity.

Debriefing: Manticore is worried that Mynx, and to a lesser extent Synapse, may ruin any attempts of playing a cloak and dagger game with Crey. But his newfound teamwork skills, plus his marriage to a very powerful psion, lead him to suggest to the team that they talk with Synapse, who may provide some insight into his experiences with Crey.

Mission Three: Speak to Synapse (and Mynx) - Skyway City

Manticore sends the team to Skyway to talk with Synapse. The hero is surprised to hear the name Diego Alvarez, believing that he had perished many years ago. He mentions that Sister Psyche has detected an abnormal brainwave pattern in the City recently and he refers the team to Mynx, across the way, for some more 'flavour' and her take on Crey.
Mynx has been tracking Crey activity and has found another facility in Skyway. There has been a large movement of equipment and personnel. She sends the team off to investigate.

Mission Four: Check out the Crey Facility - Skyway City

Key Tasks:

1. Defeat 30 Crey
2. Defeat the Paragon Protector (Shadowqueen*** - a Psi/Dark boss)

There is an ambush at the door, with flavour text of 'Trespasser's will be shot!' and 'Stay out of this! This is private property!'. The first objective, defeat 30 Crey, should give a team some pew-pew time and suggest that despite Crey being a respectable company, they obviously don't want Heroes and Vigilantes poking their noses around this particular facility. Something big must be inside!

The second objective (spawned by the defeat objective) is a PP Boss. She claims to be the replacement clone for a former villain called Shadowqueen. She was created by Crey and killed a woman called Caroline Rossdale at the corporation's request.

Debriefing: Manticore is puzzled by this turn of events: According to him, Caroline Rossdale is in a state of catatonia in the Zig and she never had any powers of her own. It feels, to him, like this is leading somewhere other than Crey. He mentions that Synapse should be kept out of the loop from now on, especially if there's a chance that Diego is still alive.

Mission Five: Rescue Synapse! - Brickstown

Sister Psyche has contacted Manticore and informed him that, indeed, Caroline Rossdale (aka Shadowqueen) is still alive and in a coma in the Zig. The PP must have been a trap!
Mynx then contacts Manticore to inform him that Synapse has run off in search of Diego Alvarez.
Smelling a trap, Manticore instructs you to save Synapse from whatever lies in wait for him.

Key Tasks:

1. Rescue Synapse (non-combat, Lead To Boss)
2. Defeat Revenant (a new model AV: Super Strength/Invulnerability)
3. Find the Exit

Synapse is rescued but has been infected with a neuron-suppressant virus. His powers are nullified BUT he's certain that his old friend, Diego Alvarez, is somewhere in this old Crey facility. He insists on accompanying you (he's non-combat so will not be targetted by enemies).

Upon reaching the final boss (AV), there is a dialogue between Synapse and Revenant: Revenant is still mad that he was turned into a monster, whereas Synapse survived the process and retained his humanity. Before anyone can stop Revenant, he smacks down Synapse who is thankfully teleported away, leaving the team to do battle with the man formerly known as Diego Alvarez.****

When Revenant falls, the team must exit the facility before it explodes! I would like to suggest that the timer be about 2 minutes, AND that along the way bombs may be clicked to give a time bonus to the team. Teleport suppression would be in effect. Mission completes before the timer runs out anyway (so no fail for not making it out in time), but obviously would make a difference between exiting unscathed and exiting to the hospital!

Debriefing: Manticore thanks you for saving Synapse - Revenant was the abnormal brain pattern detected by Sister Psyche, not the Paragon Protector (who was, basically, bait for Synapse).
With Revenant gone, there's not enough evidence for a prosecution against Crey - not that he could have testified anyway. But Manticore hopes that the notes on the original Revenant Hero Project, combined with the next set of tasks to expose Crey's use of Rikti technology, will be enough to finally bring the Countess down. Of course, that all hinges on the next part of the TF!

Hello Internetz!

After the rather awesome rewrite of Posi in issue 17, I've been considering the other Freedom Phalanx TFs. I'm fairly sure I'm not the only one.

I know, from comments on the beta boards, that some people were concerned that achievements going forward were starting to feel as if heaps of rewards were being piled on players and were balancing the game even further in the favour of casual players.

I don't see this as a bad thing. In fact, my reasons for starting this thread are to propose that each Freedom Phalanx TF gets a rewrite akin to the Posi one because, well, TFs should be fun. The new Psoi TFs, in my opinion, are fun. Certainly compared to the previous incarnation!

So, without further ado, I shall start with Manticore!

Egyptians and Aztecs would be neat.

Hequat (The Snake's Goddess) sort of falls into the Aztec theme, possibly even the Egyptian theme (if her costume is anything to go by) but she's possibly the only one.

Who knows, with an Incarnate system perhaps we will see more influences of this kind? I certainly hope so.

As the Ancient Greek and Roman pantheons feature quite prominently, there's a good enough reason to include Egyptians (Horus, anyone? Kheldians? Perhaps they were the 'highly advanced' lifeforms that made Egypt so great?! Okay, maybe that's been overdone in sci fi and fantasy...).

And seeing as the Aztec Empire was so close to home, as far as Paragon is concerned, it'd be nice to see some consonant-happy heroes/villains/ a group based around them.

I understand why they'd avoid the Norse pantheon (even though a certain company don't technically own the rights to a whole civilisation's mythology). But there's also the possibility of expanding the Hero 1/Excalibur/Arthurian Legend in the future.

I agree with the notion that some new maps for public buildings would be cool. Especially with painting stealing, the scope for a TF (or one-off missions/mission arcs) involving a museum and mummies etc! For now though, it's up to players to create their own stuff in the AE and wear the correct underwear on the right day to get folks to play (or, advertise the arc ). And imagine.

New tilesets are, I believe, coming with Going Rogue. With more planned for the future.

As for pirates, undead - the game already has them. Villains get to face them fairly early on in missions and Heroes have to wait until Croatoa and then again in Peregrine Island (they're ghosts of a sort by that stage). Plus there's the ghost ship as has been stated, and the zombie apocalypse.

Of course, the ship that disappeared (Paragon/Rogue Isle equivalent of the Marie Celeste) is an unexplored avenue.

Good ideas. But I think it will be a matter of time rather than anything else.

Would this be a good place to put my ideas for updating the Manti TF, based on the recent Posi updates? Or shall i start a new thread?

I see where you've gone with the Crane Kick idea. I was thinkign of some kind of 'self defence' which, at the moment, onmly equates to using some Martial Arts powers for a defender. In other words, my version of this is lame

My decision not to include another 'weapon' in the form of a gun model was that, with Blasters a bit of redraw is okay because you're doing a fair amount of damage anyway, but with Defenders it seemed a little harsh to penalise with redraw.

Having said that, Crane Kick (or something similar) would be better than the Combat Knife I proposed in terms of redraw. As long as the power itself didn't need redraw. So basically that's Kick.

Anyway, thanks for replying.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Overgeneralization

I believe that's the point made against saying that nobody wants Temp Power recipes.

And it helps not to insult someone with that old adage, Learn to read, especially when you've just admonished them for being insulting. It weakens your own point and makes you sound like you're overreacting because someone else doesn't agree with you.

Translation of the OP:

I would like to return to the days when there was only one way to build a Blaster, a Tank, a Scrapper, a Defender, and a Controller.

No thanks.

I love the new temp powers, and some of the older ones too.

If they were merely items that could be bought from the auction house or contacts then I might just avoid them altogether.

However, I've found them very useful on my most recent characters during levelling because they either fill a void that my powers don't cover, or they provide amusement (Stun Grenades, Hand Grenades, Plasmatic Taser - I'm looking at you!)

The easiest way to rectify the number of drops would be to visit a store and sell the recipes, for 'free inf'. Win win. Not everything has to be an exercise in maximising profit.

First off I will state here that this would most likely need Paragon Studios to be recognised as able to advertise something like the Olympics 2012. I'm not even sure if the Olympics marketing people allow any kind of Olympics stuff in games that hasn't been officially licensed, regardless of which Olympics it relates to.

That aside, I feel an Olympic-themed booster pack could be fun.

Costumes:

New headband options (think Jane Fonda workout videos)
New glove 'wristband' (sweatbands, again Jane Fonda. Also Wham!)
Proper running shoes without knee length socks
Athletic vests (with or without numbers options)
Running shorts (that don't clip!)
Wetsuits ( a special top, basically a full-body thing)

Olympic patterns (including the 5 rings motif, similar stripes in 5 colours (obviously a set pattern, uncolourable by players)

Costume change emote:

Release the Doves! - at the start of the Olympic Ceremony, a flock of doves is often released. Dual Pistols has doves. I would like doves.

Regular emotes:

World In Your Hand - similar to the Invent emote, a rotating globe hologram appears in front of the player and they study it. Useful for Heroes AND Villains!

Olympic Torch - not meant as a replacement for that stalwart, Hold Torch, but more of another emote with better graphics . The flame from the Olympic Torch should also count as ambient light and reflect on the correct surfaces.

Starting Pistol - a simple hand up in the air and fire emote, with a bang of course. Handy for scaring enemies and starting Death Badge Races!


I also had an idea for further costume ideas based on the 5 rings/continents but I'm not totally sure about that. Also there's no temp power associated with this because, well, I couldn't think of one short of a Javelin Throw or something else a bit too specific. Plus with the Magic and Mutant packs, we now have a lot of buffs being flung around. I think a similar power would just be the same but with a different icon to be honest.

Inspired by a new character of mine. Her name is Maiden Voyage and she is a salvaged spaceship's figurehead. Most of my friends have commented that she's scary as hell and so it has spurred me on to create outlandish costumes for her. She already has a Pamela Anderson - Baywatch costume (with full robotic limbs, zombie arm detailing, and a peg leg...) and so I was discussing my next hideous costume for level 30.

I decided I wanted to create, as closely as possible, the Statue of Liberty! My reasoning being that MV is a figurehead, the first thing other space pilots see as she is strapped to the front of a spaceship. My thoughts whizzed off on a tangent and I remembered the scenes of Irish immigrants (amongst others) arriving in New York - the Statue of Liberty being the first thing they saw *yes, I know they also saw many other things, but it's an impressive sight at any rate). Then I remembered Ghost Busters 2. Then my friends winced in pain at the suggestion.

So off I trotted to the costume editor and tried my hardest to create something that looked like the Statue of Liberty. Then I failed. Epicly.

The tiaras are too small, the spiky head details only work on Full mask (no hair), and I didn't have access to the toga and/or Hellenic sandals. Also the sandals are not colourable. The closest I came to the ringlet hairstyle was the formal bun as the other hairstyles were a bit too glam.

In the end I decided to make a Steampunk version of the Statue (in other words I gave up and made a costume with new shinies) which included the Organic Armor options.

So then I got to thinking: What about landmarks or iconic objects as a booster pack suggestion? How about a 'tiara' helmet? How about a Baggy top that looks like folds of cloth? With a skirt/kilt to match? Colourable sandals? A hold book and torch emote? Then I ran out of ideas for a bit. Then I had some more!

The Statue of Liberty itself is very iconic and, because it's an actual figure, lends itself to costume design more. So perhaps the Statue is the full costume set and other landmarks could feature as patterns/designs?

Taj Mahal pattern? Shoulder details that look like minarets? An actual minaret hat?!

Or an Eiffel Tower pattern? Metal mesh, triangular shapes?

Pyramids/Sphinx options?

The ideas are, admittedly, very loose (apart from the first one, obviously). Are there any landmarks that would lend themselves better to costumes? What about emotes? Costume change emotes even? (Although I personally feel we have A LOT of them now)

Hello

Been respeccing a few of my lv 50 Defenders recently and, considering the power proliferations and new sets for defenders, I reckon its about time they got Weapon Mastery as an Ancilliary set.

Here are some cursory ideas for what powers might be available:

Level 41 - Body Armour - same as Blaster WM power (auto +res)
Level 41 - Combat Knife - ST melee attack, lethal (moderate), -def, -res, moderate recharge
Level 44 - EMP Charge - ST ranged (close) Hold, minor energy damage, Special vs. Robots, long recharge
Level 44 - Blinding Powder - Ranged Cone (narrow), confuse, -ToHit, long recharge
Level 47 - Critical Strike - Click, Self, +ToHit, Critical Damage in 10 second period, very long recharge

Now the last power took some rummaging around in my brain before I could come up with a suitably powerful (but not too reliably powerful), um, power!

I'm not even sure if it's possible to give critical damage as an attribute. But I figure this is the suggestions thread.

I also figure that it would be similar in effect to something like Power Build Up in Energy APP. It gives the player the chance to active an attack or two and nothing more before the effect wears off. It doesn't boost the secondary effects of powers, but as a Master/Mistress of Weaponry it is a good theme (well, I would say that wouldn't I?! ).

As for the other powers, I figured that the first two are standard fare. You get the chance for (in my opinion) 2 exciting powers in Blinding Powder and Critical Strike later on so the first 2 need to have a balance. An auto resist power is going to be less powerful than a toggle, but at least gives a permanent buff should the player decide to opt for a nuke or face nasty end drain. And the knife, which I based on the Sky Raider Captains and the CoT Thorn Wielders gives a def and res debuff to the target, which makes up for the lower damage (compared with Total Focus and Thunderstrike).

I'm not entirely sure about the EMP Charge. I was thinking of tazers and such but perhaps that's too Traps defender based? I know that Radiation infection already has an EMP power that's more useful, but for archery and psi blast defenders, perhaps a special vs robots power would be welcome? Could well need some work there.

Blinding Powder just seems like fun and so far only Ninjitsu stalkers get it. Looking at the other Defender APPs, and Defenders as a whole, there are no Confuse powers. Also having the range of Blinding Powder means there is some risk involved in getting close enough to hit the power and let it work its magic.

Please offer constructive criticism, thoughts, pie, cookies, and other Internetz stuff!

The prone figure of Doctor Coyote, kick rolled to the side of the stage by him, had forgotten all about the tiny bio-organic helpers.

"He touched me! He touched me!!" she murmured quietly to herself.

If the woman had seen Edward in his underpants, she may well have had a heart attack and died.

In the far corners of the assembly hall, tiny figures leapt about looking for an escape.

Some of the icons can be annoying and problematic (don't get me started on Science SOs...).

However, I would like to suggest that enhancement stores have a friendlier 'list' of enhancements, especially those in places like Talos and Croatoa, where the vendors sell DOs and SOs.

First of all a tab for lv (say 25, in this instance) DOs, a tab for lv 30 DOs, a tab for 25 SOs and a tab for 30 SOs.

Now, add in drop downs with the headings: Accuracy, Damage, End Red... etc etc and it would make navigating those windows much easier. The AE ticket vendors and the Merit Vendors help make selecting what you want a lot easier by using that format, perhaps it's time for the 'old' stores to do the same.

Oh and just get rid of TOs. They really are a waste of time!

Doctor Coyote waved the ray gun around.

"In my hand is the key to the end of darkness! A true end to the last Century!! The shining path of knowledge and enlightenment awaits!!!"

Ignoring what she believed was a mock snoring sound from within the assembled audience, Doctor Coyote made her way to the stage.

"Long have I slaved over this miraculous device!"

She grabbed the podium with her free left hand. A feedback whine burst out over the speakers. She winced.

Ping!

"And now, I shall show you the true power of Science!!!"

The last sentence was spat out quickly as she fumbled in her bag for a test tube rack, which was duly produced and planted on the flat surface.

"Those of you who know me, know that I am so committed to my work, nay my ART, that I am more than prepared to experiment upon myself. Some have called me mad, but that is not a term I am afraid of!!"

She pulled a bung from a test tube and poured out its contents: to the untrained eye they looked like iron filings, yet they emitted a curious smell of compost.

"But I digress! Let me ask you, citizens of the Rogue Isles, esteemed colleagues from the mainland," the next sentence swerved dangeorusly into infomercial territory, "have you ever found yourself alone, facing the housework, perhaps too bored and disinterested to tackle the dishes, or too busy watching your shows to vacuum your expensive study carpet?"

There was a gap in the spiel: No one filled the void.

PING!

"Well," sweat poured off of Doctor Coyote, "with my patented Grow-A-Helper technology, you don't need to worry about that anymore!!!"

Doctor Coyote aimed the ray gun at the mound of matter and fired. Before the eyes of the assembled masses, the energy reacted with the material and an acrid smoke poured out.

"Behold!!! The Grow-A-Helper!!!!!"

PING!

The final fastening on Coyote's corset came undone, and with it an avalanche of flesh pressed outwards on the catsuit.

There was a fruity ripping noise, a shriek from several of the more sensitive memebers of the audience, and a final scream from Coyote as not only was she exposing more flesh than was decent, but the Grow-A-Helper had developed and then begun to deteriorate into tiny pieces:

Each piece became a smaller version of the humanoid shape of the 'Helper. And Coyote watched in amazement as one by one, the little blighters crawled up her legs, attempting to 'fix' the problem of the collapsing catsuit.

"Get them off me! Get them off me!!! Aaaargh!!!!!"

Doctor Wilhelmina Edna Coyote, Mad Scientist, collapsed in a heap of bio-organic creatures.

Ping!

Doctor Coyote made it to the assembly hall to witness the destruction of Muffin's machine. She facepalmed.

"Oh Doctor Muffin, when will you learn?!" she muttered, in an animated way, to nobody in particular.

The ambient temperature in the room was hotter than usual.

Ping!

Panicked, Doctor Coyote tried to raise her voice above the murmuring crowd.

"I have arrived!"

A few spectators at the back looked round to see a middle-aged, red-faced woman in an ill-fitting catsuit.

"For it is I, Doctor Wilhelmina Edna Coyote!! And I insist on going next!!!" she struck what she thought was a dramatic pose, and then produced a ray gun from her handbag. The device could easily have passed for a hairdryer with bits on.

Being a Mad Scientist was, in Doctor Coyote's opinion, as much about style.

Ping!

A door burst open and the panting, heaving, red-faced, and heavily-corseted figure of Doctor Wilhelmina Edna Coyote fell through the doorway.

"Uh, wrong door?"

The 'space' looked like a utility cupboard, only bigger. There was a distinct smell of bleach.

Another door opened. It was the burly figure of The Janitor. He smirked.

"You on the list?"

Doctor Coyote nodded. Slowly.

"You Mad Scientist types don't talk so good. Or play. You missed the junior talent contest." There was a suggestive tone added to every other word. If Coyote had been twenty- okay thirty - okay thirty-five years younger...

"Thank you. And thank goodness. I've never been good at masking my abject indifference to young people. Especially science students..."

Doctor Coyote clambered to her feet. There was a pinging noise. She dashed through the open doorway, muttering a thank you. Time was running out!

Meanwhile, on the streets of Cap Au Daible - uh, sorry, Cap Au Diable...

"Fire! Damnation!"

A bald man dressed in a grubby tunic thrust a flyer at the slightly-out-of-breath figure of Doctor Coyote.

"Repent! See the wicked error of your ways, citizen!"

Doctor Coyote looked flustered - she was running late and, because she was attending a very public event, she had decided to wear the catsuit. Back in the '60s, when she was a young scientist, the catsuit had seemed like a good idea. She had found employment with an International Crime Syndicate and, as a lab assistant to one of the greatest Mad Scientists operating at the time, she felt she needed to look the part. Nowadays, however, a lot of corsetry was required: A lot of corsetry that tended to make her feel light-headed and precluded running for more than two minutes.

"Eh... excuse me?" she panted

"Doctor Aeon! Cap Au Diable! The monster that lurks beneath that will consume us all!" the Luddite Friar replied, as if this was explanation enough.

Doctor Coyote looked at the flyer in her hand, then she looked up to the zealous face of the Friar, then she looked back down to the flyer. She shook her head. The Friar's hard-set features softened into surprise - perhaps he'd finally found someone who would stand and talk about the evils of Aeon Corp?!

A mechanical voice sprang from inside Doctor Coyote's 'going out' bag.

"Come on fatso! You should have been there twenty five minutes ago!"

Doctor Coyote grimaced. She crumpled the poorly-produced flyer in her hand. She could feel the gall rising in her, quite literally. With a moment's consideration she spat on the ball, making a very toxic projectile which she flung on the floor. It began to burn into the concrete. The Friar went from excited to infuriated in an equally short space of time.

"Infidel! You're as bad as Aeon!"

He drew his sword but Coyote was in no mood for a pitched street battle. With some considerable practised effort she swung at the side of the Friar's head. Her bag, which to the Friar felt like it was lined with impervium, hit home hard. He fell to the floor, not dead but with the need for some kind of medical assistance. Luckily for him, a patrolling group of Luddites approached.

Doctor Coyote, pleased with her literal strike against the anti-Mad Science movement, wasted no time in picking up the felled Friar's sword. She turned on her heels and ran. The University sprung into view. She was going to make it!

I too enjoyed all of Mercedes Sheldon's arcs (and still do) - hopefully there'll be more Midnight Squad stuff to come!

So go on, tell us who Mr G. is... I dare you!

Will Rudolph Bein (Doctor Null), Caroline Rossdale (Shadow Queen), and/or Diego Alvarez (Revenant) be making appearances in the City of... games?

And as we're dealing with comic book Universes here, will we see the progeny of Manticore and Sister Psyche at some point?

And by sheer dint of me posting that horrible list of things, the hamsters have awoken and are busy running the treadmill.

Problem solved! - Weird!