Dollhouse

I've never had any trouble finding RP on Triumph ("the friendly server"). My toons are mostly in RP-oriented SG's, but even in pick-up groups, I've found good roleplaying. I've been able to "infect" groups that started out with minimal RP focues, as well.

Not a whole lot of the "EQ refugee elves sitting around in the park angsting out for hours on end" sort of RP, though...

*whistles innocently*

If you think you might be interested in playing a "good carnie" in a very RP-oriented SG, then you might like the Carnival of Light (on Triumph). As the name imples, the members of this SG are refugees from the heroic Carnival of Light from the Praetorian dimension, where Vanessa DeVore founded the group to combat Tyrant and his cohorts. A few members are from "our" world, usually reformed members of the Carnival of Shadows who have defected to the Carnival of Light.

No requirements other than making your best effort to have the hero look like a Carnie. Most have Magic origins, but that's not required. Most are female, but we also have Strongmen and unlike the Carnival of Shadows, male members can aspire to other roles (in other words, not just tanks). Most also have names that refer in some way to the travelling carnival life: Festival (the leader, and the person in my avatar), Shell Game, Big John Snow, Mistress Leila, High Striker, etc.

The group meets twice a week for "performances," but none are manditory and unshcheduled "improv" sessions are encouraged. RP'ing is accorded every bit as much prority as XP and such, although I find that this team slams through missions pretty efficiently!

If this appeals to you, send me a PM!

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Why is Dark so good? Because it's like a Controller

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I have to say this is true. I usually play controllers, but I've taken to dark/dark like a fish to water because it's more controller-like than my grav/kin. That is not to say that this is a bad thing; on the contrary, it's why I think my dark/dark is so much fun to play, so I hope they don't change it.

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/agreed

My high-level 4D is in an interesting situation on her usual SG-based team: she's role-reversed with the Controller (mc/emp). The controller is the "healer" (and is very good at it). Spookie is the "lockdown and debuff" specialist. Not that they don't cross over. The Controller's primary set also has terrific lockdown capabilities and Spookie's (and Fluffy's) heals often give the Controller more opportunity to use those powers. But for the most part, they tend to do "each other's job."

Dark/dark/dark defenders = honorary Controllers!

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I respectfully disagree. a Dark/* Defender should NOT be played like a controller. It should be played as an accuracy and damage debuffer. When I have 3 pets out, I can debuff damage on a single target by 95%. Can a Controller do this? The answer is no.

Just because you have Fearsome Stare doesn't mean you should play like a controller. Stick to what you're AT is for: ie buff/debuff/blasting. If a defender was playing like that on my team, they'd be kicked off.

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We do indeed disagree, at least in part. Most of Spookie's buffs/debuffs are toggles or come from Fluffy. Once they're triggered and she's free to use other powers. Sometimes it makes sense for the next thing to be Tar Patch, but just as often Fearsome Stare is called for, then Tar Patch. Her lockdown powers are often more important to team success than any additional buffs/debuffs that she might employ after triggering her toggles and making sure she's got all possible Fluffies deployed. Her blasting, while fairly formidable (many damage slots...) is third prioroty behind buffs/debuffs and lockdowns. On the team she most often runs with, this prioritization is what works, as the controller on this team is the primary healer. On a different team, she would very likely choose different tactics - that's the great strength of Dark Defenders: versatility.

Therein lies my biggest area of disagreement, I suppose: that there's any cut-and-dried "what your AT is for." Sure, Spookie's never going to be a tank, but within certain rational limits, an AT is "for" whatever it can best accomplish at that time, in that situation.

Trust me, you'd be making a big mistake kicking Spookie. But I doubt that you would, since she's pretty good at adaptting her tactics to the team and the combat situation...

Respectfully,

Dollhouse

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Why is Dark so good? Because it's like a Controller

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I have to say this is true. I usually play controllers, but I've taken to dark/dark like a fish to water because it's more controller-like than my grav/kin. That is not to say that this is a bad thing; on the contrary, it's why I think my dark/dark is so much fun to play, so I hope they don't change it.

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/agreed

My high-level 4D is in an interesting situation on her usual SG-based team: she's role-reversed with the Controller (mc/emp). The controller is the "healer" (and is very good at it). Spookie is the "lockdown and debuff" specialist. Not that they don't cross over. The Controller's primary set also has terrific lockdown capabilities and Spookie's (and Fluffy's) heals often give the Controller more opportunity to use those powers. But for the most part, they tend to do "each other's job."

Dark/dark/dark defenders = honorary Controllers!

Virture has the rep...you might find the reality to be rather different.

Yes, Valmith, I know those quotes without Googling...and I suspect I know what your screen name is a contraction of!

Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors...and miss.

I'm a very RP-oriented player, as are the people in most of the SG's to which my heroes belong. Please feel free to speak in-game (and in-character!) to any of my Triumph people:

Dollhouse - lvl50 firetank; despite being a "Hero of the City," she still thinks of herself as "dumpy little Cassidie Cohen from Baumton." Member of Night Shift.

Lotus On Water - lvl37 katana scrapper; Hasumisu Kitegawa is something of a "Zen swordswoman," striving to be as still as a frozen winter's morning on the inside even when a blur of motion on the outside. Mostly she pulls it off...but isn't entirely above trash talking a cocky bad guy! Member of Night Shift.

Spookie - lvl35 dark/dark defender; You know that quiet, sardonic goth chick who always sat in the back of class, apart from the cliques and drama but somehow finding it all oddly amusing? That's Spookie. The pastier, the tastier! Member of Night Shift.

Belladonna. - lvl30 dark/dark scrapper; think of the sketchiest, scariest goth/indistrial club in the city, the sort of place the Freakshow would think twice about hanging in. Bella looks like she just might own the place. Member of Night Shift.

SaraTonin - lvl27 emp defender; Physician, raverchick, unlikely heroine. Happy-go-lucky, but takes it real personal if a teammate gets faceplanted. Member of Night Shift.

Festival - lvl18 kin/psi defender; A "good Carnie," altruistic, genuinely heroic refugee from the Praetorian dimension. Dedicated to restoring the reputation of her beloved Carnival. Ring Mistress (leader) of the Carnival of Light SG. That's her in my avatar!

Electrokitty - lvl16 ff/elec defender; Bright-eyed, innocent (ish...) mewtation kittygirl. Member of Feline Fellowship.

Ms. Pleione - lvl15 Warshade; former hacker and identity theif/former Nictus, now driven to redeem her evil past...both of them. Member of Global Heroics

Just a brief insight into each of these people...feel free to saunter up to any of 'em!

Festival's eyes widened at the sight of the Porto. "The 1952 Colheita!" Her voice was breathy, her accent never stronger. "C'est magnifique! 99 points from Wine Spectator...and that was fifteen years ago...think what it must be like now!"

Lili raised her glass. "To women of grace" she intoned, echoing Gal's toast. She took her time savoring the first sip, marvelling at the complex but perfectly-balanced meld of flavors, the distinct essenses of vanilla, cinammon, and the ancient oak in which the wine had been aged. When the last of the captivating, lingering finish has passed across her palate, she continued, "and to wine of a grace to which I might some day aspire! This is truly marvelous."

"More than once our travels led us to Portugal, even to the banks of the Duoro where the grapes that provide this nectar are grown. But we never visited the winery. Always in such a hurry in those days. I look back on the person I was then and think of her as a child...yet I am but a few years older. Years that contained so much, though...so very much."

Lili paused, smiling. "And may the future contain no less, of the good, I hope...but of the bad as well, if the alternative is nothing at all. It is the full life that is worth living, no? Hell is not fire or pain...Hell is boredom!"

"If you're around in a few, once I get those steaks off, mind if I come and sit a bit?"

"I would like that very much, cherie." Once again, the country French had crept unnoticed into Lili's voice, a sure sign of her contentment. "I would love to hear of your folk, and regale you with tales of my beloved Carnival until your eyes glaze over. It is how people become friends, no? To speak together of that which they love. Please come back, sit, and share a bit of wine with me."

After Gal had departed, Lili took up her spoon, her face alight with anticipation. Her good intention to slowly savor her favorite dessert lasted for two spoonfuls, then was forgotten. The custard was exactly what she wanted it to be, deceptively simple, a perfect match to the last glass of semilion. For a moment it transported her back to her childhood, to the smells of her maman's cookwagon, to a time when her Carnival were no more (and no less) than happy traveling players. Even the wine, for like most French children, she was permitted wine with meals.

The spoon clinked into the empty cup, the last sip of wine danced on her palate. Lili sat back and let a wave of contentment wash over her, awaiting Gal's return. A second bottle of wine...something perfect for slow sipping while making a new friend. A vintage porto, perhaps? Or maybe a dessert reisling. It would not surprise her in the least if this marvelous place had the odd trockenbeerenauslese or two on the racks. Costly, but so what? She sensed that this was a special night for reasons beyond the fine meal. Her troupe was wealthy, to put it mildly. Several "fashion shows" and the unexpected bounty from high-ranking heroes eager to help find a lost fortune teller had enrichened them beyond all expectation. Was this not the purpose of wealth: to make life more pleasant? Yes...

((OOC Festival will muse happily until Gal has time for a chin-wag!))

(OOC - please be patient on this one. Your great post deserves a good effort on my part, and RL has become a tad complicated. Festi will answer post haste!)

Festival took in the towering cook's story in solemn silence. She pondered for but a moment, then offered, "One of my troupe, Madame Zostrina, is a seeress. I don't know how you feel about such things, although if you are skeptical, I would not be offended. Still, your own Gypsy can doubtless tell you of the insight gifted persons of the Travelling Peoples possess.

"In any case, 'Trina is not only gifted in that manner, she is also intimately familiar with the portals...as are all of my troupe. We would count it an honor if we would be allowed to help you search for your friend. If 'Trina can locate her - and I think she can - we would also be more than willing to go and find her." The concerned, serene expression hardens. "On the other side of many of those portals are those with whom we have a score to settle."

The gentle smile returns. "I hope I am not being too forward, but I would like very much to help." The smile deepens, becomes mischevious. "After I have my custard, of course!"

"Do you know much about them?"

Despite the mouth-watering aroma of the baked custard, Festival's face was solemn as she answered. "Yes...yes I do know about the portals. More than I ever wanted to know, in fact, for all that the one leading here was our lifeline. If that knowledge can serve you...if the Carnival can serve you...you need only ask."

(OOC - feel free to direct Festival's participation here in whatever direction makes the story work...I trust you!)

Relating these tales had made Lili homesick. Not homesick for the Praetorian-dominated world she had fled, but for the rural France of her childhood. It was a gentle, sweetly sad sort of homesickness, for she realized that world was long gone, existing in precious memory and nowhere else. She didn't seek to return to it, but merely to taste it again, to hold it close to her heart.

Taste it. Yes...

"I think I'd like to finish with the custard, please. A simple vanilla custard seems unassuming, but few cooks truly get it right. Somehow, I have a feeling one of them is back there in your kitchen."

((OOC - we share the same favorite SF author! "Ordinary people will teach you the truest, most sane things in the world. Thank God for them." - Ariane Emory

New Festi installment soon...))

"...But how does your troupe come here?"

"Ah, we have had quite the journey." Lili paused a moment, wondering how to answer this wonderful young woman without imposing on someone recently met by babbling about her troup's travails. "Not so easy a journey, at times. You've heard of the Portal Corporation, out on Peregrine Island? They maintain links to other worlds, other dimensions. My troupe is from one of those worlds. It is much like this world...but with some differences.

"One of the biggest differences is in the character of some of the most powerful heroes...or villains. Here, all Paragon City loves and honors your most stalwart heroes: Statesman, Positron, Swan, Mynx...all of them. In my world...." Her voice falters for a moment, then she takes a deep breath and continues. "In my world, they are the Praetorians. Under the leadership of the very-well-named Tyrant, they rule my world...and rule it very harshly indeed. Not surprisingly, they don't approve of any of the travelling peoples. That sort of freedom simply won't do.

"But they do not rule without opposition. Many of the people chafe under the tyrrany, and not all of us are powerless. Vanessa DeVore turned the Carnival of Light, once simply a troupe of travelling players and harlequins, into freedom fighters. This is how we came to be here.

"We had gathered several of the troupes to make a strike against the Preatorian forces controlling the portals. Vanessa wanted to be able to use them to find help, to find heroes on other worlds who might help us throw off the yoke of oppression. I was thrilled to have my troupe chosen to spearhead one of the assaults. We crushed the paltry forces surrounding the portal with ease.

"But they were waiting for us. Inside the portal building itself was a large force of Praetorian elite troops...and two of the Praetorians themselves. We never really had a chance. We cut through even their elite troops in short order, but Shadowhunter and Black Swan together were horrifying. Half the troupe fell in the first assault. People I loved like family...you understand, I have no doubt..

"Simulacra, my co-leader and dear friend, our Master Illusionist, was felled by one stroke of Shadowhunter's sword. I saw her fall just as I somehow managed to stagger Black Swan with a Mask of Vitiation. When Simulacra's phantom army dispersed, it was all over. Praetorian reinforcements were arriving, cutting off our retreat and I knew Black Swan would recover quickly. I was preparing to sell myself as dearly as I could, when Cotton Kandi (who is always being underestimated as a ditz) said 'why not run through the portal?' When Shell Game bought us some time with a flying drop-kick to Shadowhunter's temple, I ordered what remained of my troupe through...and here we are!"

Festival smiled up at Gypsy. "The Carnival are hated here...and with good reason. But we'll change that...I swear. That is, if I can stopp babbling long enough! I get carried away, I know..."

"You wear clothing that fits with the traveling life, excuse my asking. Are you been with a Carnival?"

Festival smiled brightly up at Gypsy. "Yes...yes I am. I have the largely undeserved honor to be a Bright Ring Mistress of the Carnival of Light. I have been with the Carnival for as long as I can remmeber..." Her expression grows wistful. "My maman was Carnival...a Harlequin Juggler. She raised me to the life."

An impish grin replaces the gentle smile. She lifts the napkin from the basket of rolls and plucks three similarly sized ones from their resting place. Without taking her eyes from Gypsy's, she juggles them effortlessly, changing from an "outside" to an "inside" weave as she continues.

"Some things you remember forever, no?" Without realizing it, she allows a bit of the country French to creep back into her voice. With a flourish, she tosses each roll back into the basket and solemnly draws the napkin back across them. Then she laughs merrily.

"Oh, I am not treating so superb a meal with the gravity it deserves, I fear! Whatever will you think of me?" She pauses, then raises an eyebrow. "So...I think I hardly need ask, but are you also born to the travelling life?"

Lili pushed her plate back, daubed her lips gently with her napkin, and settled back in her chair, wineglass in hand. The meal had been perfect. Dead. Solid. Perfect. Even the portion size: she had finished her last bit and retained only the slightest trace of appetite, just enough to make her anxious to hear what was on the desert menu. Her contented smile deepened.

"And desert you shall have, you poor lost Carnie," she thought to herself. "Even if you have to spend an extra hour all next week training. Dammit, you've earned it..."

They'd all earned a reward like this, she pondered further. Her troupe of lostlings, all proud members of the Carnival of Light, now cast adrift in a world which feared and mistrusted them, had been working so very hard. Already they had amassed a few small victories, caused a few grateful citizens to think differently about people dressed in Harlequin.

But it still hurt so much sometimes. Only that day a child had run screaming to her mother when Festival had walked near. She had been in a small greenway in Founder's Falls, playing with a stick, obviously transforming it into something magical and wonderful with her child's imagination. A fairy's wand? A princess' scepter? Lili had walked over to the child to ask, smiling brightly.

And the child had fled. Screaming. The poor little girl was obviously scared out of her wits. This was not the trepidation a small child sometimes evidenced at seeing the strangeness of their clownlike masks or at the size of the huge Strongmen. This was something else entirely, a deep and abiding terror, and it nearly broke her heart.

Back home, such a thing was unthinkable. There, despite the best efforts of the Praetorian propaganda machine, her Carnival was loved. The people knew...and trusted them, particularly the children. Every child was taught that if they were ever scared, ever lost, ever afraid someone was out to harm them, they need only find a Carnie, find a Ring Mistress. She'll help...always.

She felt the tears starting to return, fought them back. Then she saw one of the staff looking at her and was mortified. "What if they think I'm unhappy with this incredible meal? Oh, no!"

(OOC - I'll leave it to be determined which staff member might have seen Festival's reaction! And I'll be thinking about my own wine selection for the evening, a nice little Pope Valley Merlot...a real interesting little find)

(OOC - had real life rise up and gobble all my free time - or at least that not spent in-game! Please think of Festival nibbling away at her meal with a look of sheer, unadulterated bliss on her face. I'll post something real as soon as I can!)

Lili watched the effusive owner/chef depart, her warm smile deepening. How different her welcome here had turned out to be from the gloomy worst-case she'd feared. More than once she'd been in testy standoffs with Paragon heroes since her refugee troupe's arrival in this dimension. A couple incidents had even resulted in violence, although in both cases she had managed to diffuse things before anyone was seriously hurt (Mask of Vitiation can be a wonderful thing!).

But here she felt warmly welcomed and perfectly at ease. The difference? She suspected she had just finished speaking to the reason. This place seemed to have its owner's personality stanped all over it.

The gaily-dressed RingMistress sipped her wine contentedly, eagerly awaiting her meal.

"I would be more than happy to take your recommendation," Festival replied as she hed the semillion up to the light, quietly delighting in the delicate pale golden color. "The seared Ahi, please."

When Martin departed to the kitchen, she inhaled deeply of the wine, filling her nose with its complicated bouquet: pears, citrus peel...and the unmistakable tang of botrytis, the fungal "blight" that can add so much to a white wine grape. Ah, bliss...and of a sort she realized she needed to indulge in more. She was, after all, a French country girl at heart, most comfortable with rich, bold red wines. Variety! That's the ticket...

"May ah' ask your name?" She was smiling with genuine warmth.

Festival glanced up sharply, returning the warm smile instinctively. It was that kind of smile. The kind that went deeper than lips and teeth. The woman had been speaking to her...yes. Owner. Cook. Gal. Ah, yes...the wine.

"It's delicious...and if the smells coming out of your kitchen are any indication, it's only going to get better. My name is Lili duValle. I am rather new to Paragon City, and your place comes well recommended." Festival's smile becomes impish. "I think I can begin to see why."

"I've always wanted to vist," Festival replied warmly. "Somehow the idea of housing a truly wonderful winery in an old schoolhouse is so very appealing. And there are so many other wineries in Washington that are doing amazing things. Andrew Will, Quilceda Creek, K Cellars...but as usual, I ramble."

Taking the bottle from Martin, she quickly examines the cork-to-bottleneck seal, takes note of the perfect temperature, and returns the bottle, nodding her approval.

"Proper storage, I am in no way surprised to see...I think I can count on my first experience with a L'Ecole white to be representative!"

As Martin went deftly about the business of uncorking the bottle, Lili took a moment to examine the living table she had been so politely cautioned about. "Lovely...and living. How marvelous! I can't wait for Madame Zostrina to see this. 'Trina has such empathy with living things, all the more so with plantlife. And she has never lacked for appetite..."

More content than she's been since arriving in this strange new Paragon City, Lili delicately plucked slice of warm, crusty bread from the basket and drizzled a bit of oil onto it, eagerly anticipating the semillion.

"A table would be wonderful," Festival replied with a small but heartfelt smile. "And suspect I shall I shall take your advice: the seared Ahi sounds perfect. "With the L'Ecole 41 Semillon, please. I love their reds - I have a fairly complete vertical of their Cabernet back to '95 - but I've never tried anything off the white side of the aisle."

She followed the elegant Maitre'd to a small round table in a subtly-lit corner of the room. She responded with a smile and a nod to his unspoken (but perfectly eloquent) question about the table's suitability. Martin presented a richly-appointed menu to Festival after graciously assisting her into her chair. "Our full menu, should you change your mind..." Then he was gone, disappearing unnoticed in the timeless manner of the truly skilled restauranteur.

"This is a very, very well-thought-out menu," she thought as she perused the offerings. "And if the aromas from the kitchen are any indication, a well-executed one, too. Lili, you simply must try not to gloat too much to the rest of the troupe about this meal...not when they're spending the evening staking out that Council lab!"

She settled in contentedly and waited for her server...

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(OOC - What a fun start! Superhero RP'ing and wine babble...what's not to like!! Admission: I play CoH with a glass of wine close at hand more often than not...)

She paused just outside the door, second (third...fourth...) thoughts welling up again, making her hesitate. There was risk here, and not just risk of rejection, of disappointment. The terrified looks from the citizens, the fear and resentment in their eyes, that was bad enough. The fleeing children, desperately seeking the shelter of their parents' arms, that was even more painful, was harder still to swallow. But here in this place, with this clientele, there could be a whole different kind of pain.

She unfastened the buttons of her trenchcoat, shrugged out of it. She wore it on the way here not to hide what she was, for she remained proud of that. But it had been raining lightly, and her usual outfit, her costume, well...it just didn't make a very good raincoat. As she folded the coat over her arm, she heard the rapid, hissing intake of breath from a passer-by, noted the unmistakable "don't see me" body language as the man's pace quickened and he hurried away down the sidewalk. She died inside. Again.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, pausing only slightly at the threshold before entering. Very few patrons here...still too early, even for a Friday. Those that had arrived reacted in differnet ways, but all reacted. Some seemed only a bit less taken aback than the man outside. Others were clearly readying themselves for action, although no overt moves were made. The reactions of Paragon City heroes to the thoroughly unexpected presence of a Carnival Ring Mistress, in other words...

One woman (staff? owner?) seemed notably more concerned than fearful. Her gaze was level, neutral.

"Hello. My name is Lili DuValle...sometimes called Festival." Her voice is powerful and melodious, pitched to be heard by all nearby, but not brash...a trained performer's voice. "I am a Bright Ring Mistress of the Carnival of Light, just in case you were wondering." She deliberately accentuates "bright" and "light," hoping almost desperately that the emphasis conveys the contrast she wants to make. She smiles gently, never more glad of the facial mobility her mask affords, in contrast to those worn by this world's dread Carnival of Shadows. "I'd love to have a peep at your wine list."

"There. In for a penny, Festi, in for a pound. Let's see how the act plays out..."

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((OOC - Those with lvl40+ characters probably know what the Carnival of Light is. For those who don't, that Carnival exists in the Praetorian dimension, where unlike the evil Carnival of Shadows, they are heroes, freedom fighters against the regime of Tyrant, beloved by a repressed people. Festival is a refugee from that dimension. If you play on Triumph, please feel free to contact me about the Carnival of Light SG. Oh, and yes, that's Festival in my avatar!)

I realize that most of my heroes are pretty big tunes junkies, and their playlists would be ever-changing. So here's the current "what's in your headphones right now" list for three of 'em:

Dollhouse, firetankin' fool: "within the endless world" by Aiboforcen
Mangonelle, marginally sane spine scrapper: "Same Situation" by d-koy
Spookie, Nukem High goth chickie: "Let It Die" by Cruciform Injection

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(OOC: Whoa, I'm giving stars for that one, Sweet....)

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/signed! Well-written and moving...