FoundBoy

The Midnight Order
(appears in arc #197183 - Threefold Rule)

[u]Summary:[u] When writing Threefold Rule, I found that I needed a medieval version of the Midnight Squad, since the standard version looks too 20th century. I quickly encountered a difficulty here, though, as the Midnight Squad did not exist as a group until the 1920s. My solution? The Midnight Order are the predecessors to the Midnight Squad, with origins reaching into the Dark Ages. The order eventually dissolved, but its traditions and descendants survived through several generations and provided the eventual foundations of the modern-day Midnight Squad. They aren't very fleshed-out, yet, but I'm sorely tempted to do more with them—or to see what others might to with them.

[u]Description (shared by all members):[u]
The mages of the Midnight Order are the forgotten predecessors of the modern-day Midnight Squad. Though scholarly and urbane in focus, they are adept at turning their magical knowledge toward martial purposes.

[u]Minions:[u]
Force Mage - Energy Blast (Standard)/Energy Manipulation (Standard)
Spirit Mage - Dark Blast (Standard)/Dark Miasma (Standard)
[u]Lieutenants:[u]
Hermetic Master – Stone Melee (Standard)/Force Field (Standard)
[u]Bosses:[u]
Living Armor (standard character, from the Midnight Squad group)

Too long; didn't read version: This thread is for posting quick summaries of your custom NPCs and groups so that other readers who find them interesting can (a) seek out their story arcs in order to see them in action and (b) use these same custom NPCs in their own arcs (with your permission, of course).

The fuller version:
While creating my most recent arc ([u]Threefold Rule[u] - #197183 - now playing in an AE facility near you!) I was trying to come up with a suitable custom group when I realized that a friend's story arc ([u]The Second Coming[u] - #40333 - still showing!) already had a custom group that was perfect for my needs. I got his permission, and now this group appears in my arc as well.

This act of "borrowing" has me, I think justifiably excited. If the same group can appear not only in different arcs, but in arcs by different authors, it creates a real sense of the group having a larger life and existence outside of that one mission arc.

To facilitate this sort of sharing (and also to help drum up interest in your own arcs) I thought it'd be cool to have a place where we can post information about our custom NPCs. If you see a group you'd be interested in using, send the owner a polite PM so you can ask permission and discuss terms. After coming to an agreement, the creator can email you the file for the custom critters.

I think most creators who grant permission for their characters to be used could reasonably expect credit for their work (noted in the character's description), as well as the right to withdraw their permission at any time.

Although there's nothing stopping you from "stealing" the ideas of others, please respect others' "ownership" of their characters by only using those characters with their permission.

I'll go first.

Since I submitted my arc (87912) for review, it has surpassed 100 plays. Does that disqualify it from review? If so, I can submit another arc instead.

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White Null Space: A gigantic white expanse going in all directions. Nothing in it, just a giant white place with no beginning no end for a very trippy mission.

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That would be great!

I think, practically speaking, there'd have to be a perimeter, but the vast, white, featureless expanse would still be very effective.

Reminds me of that one side-quest in Knights of the Old Republic, if your curiosity got the better of you and you opened that box.

I should have found this thread sooner!

Check my sig for The Dead and the Damned (87912).

It might feel kind of derivative, especially if you've already played the similar (but good!) Hearts on Fire. In my defense, I had already published my arc before I ever got around to playing Hearts on Fire, so I promise I wasn't trying to rip off any ideas!

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Like the All-American and Slugger, the Junior Dynamo.

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I caught that. ^_^d

Hi, I played through and enjoyed this arc earlier today. After I sent you my feedback, we communicated a bit, and you mentioned trouble with some of the spawn points.

One thing that occurred to me (and that you may have already considered, but I'll toss it out there just in case) is that the problems may be due to the order of your objectives in the missions.

The placement of mission objectives in the story arc file can influence how they spawn. The more important it is that a mission objective spawn in the correct location, the higher you should place that objective in the list for that mission.

I had trouble with some of the spawn points in my story arc, and had to reshuffle the mission objectives so that they spawned properly. Unfortunately, this meant a lot of deleting of objectives, re-creating them, and retyping all their information, but the fix worked.

Anyway, you may have already considered this, but I thought I'd bring it up just in case....

Good luck!

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and you even get a chance to cheer up a depressed Lord Recluse!

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That part earned an audible "D'oh!" from me.

Hi, thanks for including my mission arc in this list. What an honor!

I've played most of the other mission arcs you've listed here, but there are several here that I have yet to enjoy. I will remedy these oversights!

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For a twist - if you are on Virtue you can ask Mab Queen of Winter to come and help you as repayment of her favor.

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That's a really cute and clever idea right there! An in-game reward in the form of a "summonable" PC ally. I may have to steal that from you, as a way to justify building a vanity arc around my toon.

This arc receives Found Boy's flying face-kick of enthusiastic approval! Running it with my MA/SR scrapper was a total blast of chop-socky fun! I will return again to relive the experience of beating up buttloads of shaolin monks!

This arc receives Found Boy's flying face kick of approval! Running errands has never been so fun! Play this arc!

I've been wanting to know more about the Acapellacalypse since I first saw it mentioned in the Echo. You can bet I'm gonna play this.

I normally shy away from challenge missions, but this concept is too cool too pass up.

I tried it and failed. Didn't rate it, not because I didn't like it, but because I haven't decided yet how I should measure the quality of a challenge arc, especially an odd fish like this one whose whole point is to be unbeatable.

Is there an option to program in my own stealth subroutine that lets me win while sitting there munching on an apple?

I'll play it again and give it another shot before I render my final verdict -- probably on a lower challenge level setting.

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Love the title.

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Seconded. I thought it was funny even before I learned the reference, and I still like it.

This mission gets Found Boy's flying face-kick of approval!

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This is a great story that made me laugh and smile. I have nothing but good things to say about it. You have a really good sense of timing and humor.

5 stars.

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Thanks so much! I corrected the grammar error. Thanks for telling me about it.

Hope you'll give mine a shot.

Arc Name: The Dead and the Damned
Arc ID: 87912[/b]

Faction: Heroic
Creator Global/Forum Name: @Found Boy
Difficulty Level: Medium
Level: 5 - 14.
Notes: Recommend you play on heroic, and take it slow. I didn't try to make it difficult, but still have trouble soloing with my scrapper at higher difficulty settings. No EBs or AVs, but bosses aplenty.
Synopsis: A romantic comedy about a Hellion, a Skull, their forbidden love, and the supernatural gang war threatening to tear them apart! Featuring an epic cast of Hellions, Skulls, Legacy Chain, ghosts, Longbow, Roman demons, zombie pirates, and starring you!
Number of missions: 5

LOVED this arc. Played it recently with a friend, and will play again and recommend it to others, anon!

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It's hard to keep track of who's next in here. A lot seem to be getting skipped. I went back and hit a few that looked like they got missed. There was one in particular I liked.

87912 - The Dead and the Damned


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Thanks for the warm feedback! I tried very deliberately to balance seriousness with humor in this one, and some people seem to think it works better than others. It's a tough balancing act, and even the acknowledged master (Joss Whedon) occasionally stumbles and slips.

Your arc sounds interesting, and got a good review. I will play it.

Hi, hope you'll give mine a shot.

Arc Name: The Dead and the Damned
Arc ID: 87912

Faction: Heroic
Creator Global/Forum Name: @the found boy
Difficulty Level: Medium
Level: 5 - 14.
Note: lowbie arc. Recommend you play on heroic. With a team, if you're squishy. I didn't try to make it difficult, but still have trouble soloing with my scrapper at higher difficulty settings.
Synopsis: When romance blooms between rival gang members on the eve of a major gang war, can love survive? Find out in this romantic comedy set against a gangland backdrop, with an epic cast of Hellions, Skulls, Legacy Chain, ghosts, Longbow, Roman demons, zombie pirates, and you!
Number of missions: 5
Estimated Time to Play: 1 hour

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Arc Name: Creepy Crawlers
Arc ID: 82553

Faction: Heroic
Creator Global/Forum Name: Gromar
Difficulty Level: Moderate (one encounter can be rough for squishies).
Level: 41 - 52.
Solo or team?: Solo friendly. Due to the map used large teams aren't recommended.
Synopsis: "This episode of Paragon Theater is a horror story. Watch it ALONE or with a few friends. (The emphasis is on story and atmosphere.)"
Keywords: story, ghost story, horror
Number of missions: 1
Estimated Time to Play: 1 hour at most.

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Hi Gromar, here're my thoughts:

-Initial impressions:
First things are the title and the description, which don't offer a lot of detail, but seem to be priming me for a charming sort of B-movie horror story. Sounds like it could be fun.

-Briefing
The contact is the TV. Looks like I'm watching this movie at home. It doesn't communicate to me the same bizarre, creepy way the villainside contact does. It's just a TV. I'm about to watch a scary late night movie called Creepy Crawlers. A notable dearth of information, which leads me to lower my expectations, anticipating laziness.

-Mission
I can see on the load screen that we're going into the Mother Mayhem abandoned hospital map. Awesome map to use if you're trying to establish a horror-movie mood, though I worry that people may become overreliant on it for that purpose. I've already played one other arc today (the excellent Duality) which also used the map to the same effect.

Mission title is "Watch the Epidode"--you might want to fix that. Objectives are to rescue Billy, Sara, and Danny, find some files, and Nurse Krueger (who I'm supposed to defeat I presume).

Enemies are ghosts. All right. Ghosts in an abandoned hospital. At this point, I'm not sure what I'm doing here. What bad thing happened in this hospital? Why are there ghosts? How did I get here? Did I get transported into my TV somehow? Who are these people I'm trying to rescue? Why am I searching for files? Am I giving this too much thought? I kick the ghosts in the face and move on, looking for:
-something to explain all this
-some original content (i.e., custom critters)

The map's very atmospheric, but a hassle to navigate. Still, I search the first floor thoroughly for fear of overlooking some terrified, helpless teenager. I finally find Danny, and things do take a surprising turn here. I find a clue that gives me an earnest little chill. Nicely done.

New enemies show up. Some Hydra (though in the villain group "Things").

I find Sara, get some chilling imagery, and learn some info. I see now why the briefing was so lean: I'm supposed to go in blind to the situation and piece things together as I go. Okay, cool.

Custom enemies! They're nice and creepy, too! But you should give them descriptions!

On to the second, then third floor.

I find Nurse Krueger before I found Billy or the files. Maybe you should chain the objectives so she only spawns after you've completed the other objectives. As the mish is now, people might skip straight to the end, without experiencing the slow, tension-inducing build of the clues. Nurse Krueger is another standard toon. You should change the name of her group to something else.

I try to avoid Nurse Krueger for now, so as to save her for the end. I find Billy, and another chilling clue. More enemies attack, but not custom critters this time.

I fight Nurse Krueger, but she's a standard toon, so there are no surprises. I'd consider making a custom villain. When she was defeated, she left a clue that I think is redundant, given the other clues I found.

And then I find the final clue and exit, anticlimactically.

-Debriefing:
A succinct denouement, with a final, mysterious twist.

-Overall evaluation:
I went in with low expectations, and found myself liking it! I was sincerely chilled by the various story elements. (It helped that I was playing alone, as opposed to on a team.) Overall this mission is in good shape. It does what it sets out to do: Give the player a short, atmospheric, creepy horror-mystery experience. I think it could use a few tweaks (which I've discussed above) but this mission's a keeper!


Now to plug my arc for a review!

Arc Name: The Dead and the Damned
Arc ID: 87912

Faction: Heroic
Creator Global/Forum Name: @the found boy
Difficulty Level: Medium
Level: 5 - 14.
Note: lowbie arc. Recommend you play on heroic. With a team, if you're squishy. I didn't try to make it difficult, but still have trouble soloing with my scrapper at higher difficulty settings.
Synopsis: When romance blooms between rival gang members on the eve of a major gang war, can love survive? Find out in this romantic comedy set against a gangland backdrop, with an epic cast of Hellions, Skulls, Legacy Chain, ghosts, Longbow, Roman demons, zombie pirates, and you!
Number of missions: 5
Estimated Time to Play: 1 hour