Kyzock

You'd still have to admit though - the devs put the Atlantic Ocean RIGHT there off the eastern coast of Paragon. Granted the water in the bays of RI are all going to be the same as the Atlantic - RI just DOES NOT SIT on the coast of the Atlantic like the devs have put on their maps.

The devs would have their hands full trying to explain how it's supposed to match real world Providence, especially if they said it was supposed to be an exact geographical match of that city.

Again, it's artistic license, a fictional city created for our enjoyment. To actually place it on a real world map? I'd definitely go with Kingston/Warwick counties over Providence/Providence County. Some artistic adjustment of the Atlantic Ocean would still have be done, as well.

OH I get the idea. As to my RP thing, well it's mostly kept to the forums, due to game mechanics and other limitations that have been pointed out. On top of all that I have severe altitis, having over 160 toons in-game already.

I was merely attempting to point out several vialble alternatives for the Unionverse RP populace. It felt as if quite a few actually took offence at such alternatives because of the entire "shared-world RP" of Union. That's all fine and dandy, but at the end of the day, if anyone really has taken the time, they can still build toons that can be on par with that of NPC heroes/villains, and technically anyone playing the game can still RP their toons as being equal to if not more, heroic/villainous than current in-game NPCs.

It's not 'game-breaking' or anything. It's just the way it is.

((LOL ok, and yes I'd still have to look it up. Negative Rise, on the other hand - well, certain demons of his type have certain things blocked from them. If it's in the Bible...well, NR won't be able to read it, nor would anything on a computer screen from the holy scriptures be decipherable to him. It rings a bell, sounds familiar to him for some reason, but he can't investigate it any further. He truly is damned LOL. If it has nothing to do with anything in the Bible, well then even I dunno rofl. I just figured you were throwing something related to that subject in there, given the nature of my character.))

At

Negative Rise raised an eyebrow at Vetdjat. "No, I mean, I can read about other places, if you have the information readily available for a visitor such as myself." He shrugged his shoulders. "I figured it'd be easier than if you spent any length of time reciting such accounts to me. After all, you must be a busy person around here."

Ag'xis Time-Loop

Jerval began chanting while still weaving temporal threads within the protection circle. Pronouncing each part of the chant with the utmost of accuracy, and careful not to stumble over the words. The chanting was the longest part of the ceremony, yet it would be over shortly has he began the chants while weaving. Any chronomage worth his weight in salt and gold would do such a thing, anyway, even if it wasn't in the manual...

I have the Good vs. Evil map of Paragon City.

If one was to take any map of Paragon and superimpose it over a map of real world Rhode Island, for Paragon to even exist, a good chunk of Massachusetts would have to be blown off in order for this fictional city to reside in RI.

The developers put Paragon on the east coast of the US, right up against the Atlantic Ocean. Given that RI is situated to the south of MA, this makes for some unusual game geography. Rhode Island's coastline on the Atlantic would be in the south, not the east, and when you consider the location of Talos Island and Dark Astoria, there's SUPPOSED to be land mass to the south. Not even Providence provides such geography.

If you were to take the same GvE map of Paragon and superimpose it over Massachusetts, particularly eastern MA, THEN the city's location makes a bit more sense.

However, it's STILL a fictional city, and the developers took some artistic license to the map of the US in placing this city. Given that it's in RI, the Atlantic Ocean would've A) flooded the eastern portion of MA B) receeded a bit from RI, making some sort of landbridge between Paragon proper to Astoria, C) Talos Island could be represented by the island that consists of Newport County D) two other islands: Peregrine and Striga, somehow rose out of the Atlantic, or are remants of the eastern chunk of MA.

Also, Paragon City could fit in right nicely at the city of Kingston, again with some artistic license (and a few changes not too dissimilar from what I stated in the above paragraph.) The real world city of Providence lending its geography to Paragon? I think not - not without sinking eastern MA into the waters of the Atlantic, including Boston. Unless, of course, that's what the devs intended all along.

So where would that fit the Rogue Islands into? According to that same map, a dotted line leads north from Siren's Call to Sharkhead. So the Isles would be northeast of Paragon, perhaps as far north as Canada, perhaps not.

I've chalked it up to some horrendous form of artistic license, nothing more, nothing less. That, and perhaps the developers decided upon RI due to it's miniscule size as a state - I mean, c'mon, what really happens in RI anyway?

Well, as I've stated previously, I guess it's all right that your lot has dealt with this situation as you've done. However, I still feel that I MUST reiterate certain points. Player character villains CAN and SHOULD be viewed just as threatening to world peace and order as NPC villains - that even though many who RP villains may be content with keeping their villainy "small-scale", there are those that want to take their villainy to much larger scales. Of course performing such villainous reactions is going to elicit a response from every major hero group in-game, from the Phalanx, Longbow, to Vanguard and the Midnight Squad...all groups that can be represented effectively in AE, RV and the RWZ. The truly psychotic villainous characters wouldn't be deterred by such responses ... in fact, some villains may easily be capable of overcoming such responses (Large scale groups of villains against a large scale force of heroes...)

One last thought: With the diverse conglomeration of heroism and villainy rampant throughout CoH/CoV, there's bound to be some villainous plots that DO succeed. Granted, many of these plots may be quickly foiled, given the magnitude of the event. However, there may always be other plots that go unnoticed, no matter the scale of the event.

For there to be any form of heroic response and/or heroism to any given situation, there must at first be some form of atrocious, tragic, villainous plot to unfold, and sometimes even succeed.

I think that's about all I can say on the subject. Of course I can go on and on - this really is a circular argument, because there are so many that would argue such wide-scale events should only be left to the game developers. They fail to take into consideration the very tools the developers have given to us, the players, with which to unleash our own individual stories upon the player base. Given the shared-world RP vision of Unionverse, there are STILL ways to work such wide-scale events in to where not every single RP'er on Union has to even acknowledge such events (or to just jump right into the fray!) These means may not be perfect, but they can suffice in terms of providing a means of compromise for all those involved. It's blantantly obvious there are those unwilling to compromise, unwilling to accept that any one particular player-character can execute any sort of successful villainous plot that could garner such wide spread attention and response. If anyone that played this game wasn't allowed to create such a villain (the devs truly had a remarkable vision with CoV!), why would anyone in their right mind have continued to play a game where all you could do is create a hero to combat AI-controlled baddies in an MMO environment? Granted, at the time the concept was a vision it itself - but for that vision to last as long, and hopefully even longer now, those player-created heroes needed a more appropriate level of villainous characters introduced: those villains created by other players. With the advent of the AE system, the developers have given EVERY SINGLE player an outlet that allows them to let such plotlines unfold. Granted an RP system was already in place, with the forums, chat and global channels available - now players can really perform at heroic or villainous levels. Unless they prefer to keep their heroics/villainy in the PvP zones, that is.

See, it's all a circular argument. Even I'm sitting here saying "Well, on the one hand, yeah they're (Unionverse RP'ers with squeamish stomachs) right, but then, why would the devs give us such tools at our disposal? So that we, the players, can tell an infinite amount of stories, can plot against the opposing alignment forces." This tends to work out quite well for the developers, in that they won't have to work as much, or avoid providing too many of said horrific events.

With some previous postings in this thread, CB honestly did the right thing in retconning the deathtoll, specifically because in Northern US states, schools usually aren't in session until after Labor Day. Now, his death toll count can reflect a handful of students, some faculty, and not just ALL students. (Also: Yes, in the US, bigger cities usually have schools that accommodate larger student populations - so for Paragon City, the student populace could easily be over 2,000...even with it being set in a city that has been through TWO Rikti invasions. Granted, Paragon is SUPPOSED to be in Rhode Island, which is the smallest State in the Union - but it's quite crowded for its land area!)

However, when it comes to the authorative side of creating such a sub-plot, for apparently such an evil character, postponing this event and THEN unleashing it would've worked out insomuch as the sheer timing of it all. Distasteful and vile as it is, even for CoH standards, it's a legitimate threat ALL heroes have to be on the lookout for, and for truly evil characters a very possible route to inflict terror, pain and suffering upon the masses.

It doesn't have to be viewed as a 'dev-only plotline', either. CB's newspaper article could be a clipping from an alternate dimension, a piece of paper from the future...hell there's all sorts of ways that particular situation could've unfolded. It's been amusing to read all the uproar over this particular piece ... given the sort of villains presented to us in CoH/CoV already. I'm pretty sure the Rikti didn't hold back during their invasions in regards to schools. I don't see why anyone's villainous character should have to be portrayed as any less villainous than any of the NPC villains.

Given how all of Union participates in all these RPs, how your server has created this "shared-world" view for RP events, it's obvious that such a discussion thread about these wide-scale events has been a good thing. As an outsider looking in, however, I must say that the unwillingness of the majority of the RP populace to even acknowledge that something like this can be pulled off by a player-character is ludicrous. I must repeat what I said earlier - given the timing of CB's newspaper posting, his action to retcon numbers was the best thing. However, if he had held back his posting to say - like on September 23, or October 5th, both of which would be a full day of school - something like this could've happened on a larger scale. Also, from my earlier posts and from what I've stated previously in this post, the event wouldn't necessarily have to be dealt with the entire Unionverse RP community as it could've occured in an alternate dimension, the future, or hell could've been a media hoax.

It's apparent such a subject is too much of an emotive event for the Unionverse RP community as a whole, however. I guess that's a good thing, but if I was RP'ing a villain on the Union server, in such an environment...I'd feel that a great disservice had been delivered upon me, I'd probably piss the whole lot of you off, and completely withdraw from the RP community.

As of my last posting, I was merely pointing out several suggestions with which the Unionverse could deal with said situation without compromising artistic/authorative integrity.

What the entirety of the Union server decides to do with this, however, is completely up to those that actually play on the Union server. Pretty sure this little debate isn't going to derail the entire Union server, though.

Using such a framework for RP will always be a slippery slope in an MMO world, too. So, again - for the shared experience of it all, leave it up to the current GM/GM's of the plotline, and/or put it up for a majority vote.

As you call it a shared roleplay experience, it would sadly be a shared RP experience for ONLY those that would currently be involved in the plotline.

If the entirety of the Union server took part in this shared RP experience, then perhaps this might be problematic. If this shared RP experience spilled over to other servers, in other countries and definitely here in the US, then yes, there would be some sort of repercussion to such an event. However, this is only an event shared on one server of this game, and I honestly have no idea how many of you on Union are participating in this particular storyline.

Needless to say, not everyone is jumping into this particular course of roleplay, especially now given the committed atrocity in that one plot. It's also obvious that not everyone on Union is involved in the one specific plot, but may be involved in others. It seems to be quite a tangled web, at least to me.

My suggestion, to the Unionverse Roleplayers that would want such a shared, in-game/forum roleplay enviornment to continue, is to establish limits accordingly. If a particular GM wants to start up a new plot, it would be the responsibility of that GM (or group of writers/GMs) to lay down any ground rules before the RP begins, to inform potential players of such limits as "Your characters aren't allowed to just off a mass amount of the populace" or whatnot.

I will be so bold to point out that any and all reaction to such situations as these is not above and beyond the capabilities of any of your in-game characters. Story arcs can be created in AE to represent such things, the villains can be created as NPCs, hell, each and every one of you can call out the said creator of chaos to the arena for a no-holds barred slugfest of profound consequence (arena safety is off, loser's character "dies" [in some extreme cases, loser deletes toon but that's not an option since so many people invest so much time in their characters.] Perhaps a lengthy period of inactivity can be used to represent a death timer, after which said person can resurrect that character.)

The NA servers, German server, and any other servers aren't gonna come to a halt. I highly doubt the entirety of the Union server is going to come crashing down, either.

One final suggestion: Perhaps you can limit/restrict such large-scale events to forum posting only. This may actually turn out to be the best possible solution, as it provides a simple, easy compromise for all parties involved.

As an American player - I'll have to say, something such as the aforementioned plot would definitely get the attention of EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN, and would DEFINITELY result in outcries for war, etc, and so on. Even in such fictional settings.

However, what everyone is discussing in this thread truly breaks down into a moot point. Everything we do in the game and/or on these forums are complete works of fiction, presented to the masses to interpret how they see fit. Wide scale events such as Rikti invasions and invasions of undead don't go unnoticed by the player base because those events are capable of being TRIGGERED by said player base on a whim, and players will deal with such events in any manner they see fit (mostly by collaborating together to stop these invasions, otherwise, these events get ignored.) In-game canon presents us with an Earth inhabited by super-powered beings of ALL kinds, yes even Deific-Incarnate types, with a history of alien invasion, heroic sacrifices, ungodly death tolls...and provides us, the players, a way to interact with this world - to create characters that will either prevent or avenge such atrocious events, or cause or attempt to create such atrocities. All provided in a fictional environment where the only things to be harmed would be a person's feelings or ego depending on the player.

Then there's several different ways to even play in this fictional world: casually, hardcore, PvP, soft roleplay, hardline roleplay, creative roleplay, farmer, powerleveler, god-modder ... the differing play styles are probably as unique as the individual player. What we're gonna look at here are the roleplayers. There are those roleplayers that RP in-game AND on the forums, in-game only RP'ers, forum-only RP'ers, hell there's probably those that only RP in the Architect system. I place myself in a sort of casual/near forum-only RP type category in that I RP in-game from time-to-time, and when I do, usually only in the D, and mostly observing other RP'ers. Mainly, I prefer forum RP over all others because - well, one's only true limitation in forum-RP is their own mind. Players are not typically restricted to the in-game mechanics when it comes to forum-RP, and longer backgrounds can be written up on the forums. I have a couple of very good references of such ((Open RPs)) to direct everyone to, but will refrain from doing so in this posting.

So, here's the thing: When you start up ((Open RP)) threads, especially on the forums, even with limits in place; you're gonna have some people that will find something, some kind of plot-hook or something or other, to create such a stir that has been done. Most of the RP folk have already made their stance concerning the certain event that so violently killed off 1,000 schoolchildren. Personally, even as a work of fiction, that's a horrific event. However, as a work of fiction, for a game that allows players to react/prevent/cause/just plain ol' be involved with such atrocities, said event is quite a useful hook in order to provoke the currently involved players of that plotline to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. It can also be seen as a potential hook to bring in a few more players into the plotline to avenge the loss of life, or whatever other purpose an inventive player might create for their character to even be involved in such an event. If I had a character involved in such a thing? Well, a heroic character of mine would be so absolutely outraged that they’d probably fly off the handle to where they’d obsess about delivering a righteous amount of vengeance and justice to the perpetrators and then dive into a crusade to prevent further atrocities of such magnitude (because in my specific case as a player, said character would be reacting to such events.) At the very least, heroic characters would attempt to rescue any survivors and prevent further casualties/injuries. Now, I suppose you’re gonna ask – what if your character was of a villainous nature? Well, who knows … some of my villains MIGHT be outraged if they even heard of this event occurring, while others would – well, actually some of my REALLY villainous characters would probably rejoice with glee, or even be like: Well why didn’t I just do that to begin with? Currently I’m forum RP’ing a villain character that once ruled an entire planet with an iron-fist for five hundred years and enslaved/murdered a good portion of that planet’s humanoid populace. I see endless possibilities with any sort of character.

As players of a super-hero/super-villain based MMO, each and every one of us can actually provide the rest of the player community with innumerous scenarios of epic proportion, be it in AE with its fabulous creative outlet, just plainly in-game, or openly in the Roleplaying section of the forums. Many jump at the chance to just TELL THEIR OWN story, in their own way. In fact, there’s probably quite a few of these authors that feel it’s their very duty to do such a thing, to truly test the heroic nature of those that play this game, or to see how truly evil others can be – to what lengths people are willing to push any sort of character within this unique medium. To even have such a discussion as to what level storytellers can limit their visions to goes against the very process of storytelling, especially given such creative mediums to do so in. However, each player provides differing views, brings a unique voice to all stories they read/play through – so when a collective group of players collaborate on a plotline that others can interact in, they tend to lay down their own rules and limits.

Every single ((Open RP)) GM provides their own story with its own unique plot, for other players to expand upon, to bring in their own sub-plots, for the betterment or detriment of that story. They do this simply because they’ve been provided the means to do so, and can do so without it having any sort of major impact on those players that would rather play the game their own way. It’s not like anything provided in AE or on the forums for that matter will actually become official game canon, anyway.

Ag'xis Time-loop

Jerval had gathered his components, placing them on the stand next to his bed, so when the time-loop restarted in precisely 1.000459 seconds, he would awake to the note covering the components. He practically had a complete book of said notes as it was - one of the drawbacks to being stuck in a temporal loop. Even practicioned chronomages still needed such reminders.

The second had come and gone, his reawakening to the same morning playing out a bit differently this time. He quickly gathered the components, shoving them into his pouch and opened a portal directly to the chambers of the Generals. It was here the ceremony would have to be performed ... he couldn't chance gating directly to the site of their murders - no, he would in fact probably wind up being murdered himself if he took that route. Besides, the loop was already in play - for young chronomages, it was the quickest, easiest, and least costly spell for them all to learn, and provided for convenient escapes in just such scenarios. However, in order to escape such loops, lengthy spells were necessary...more powerful and more costly to the chronomage for each escape. Yes, for Jerval it meant having to stop time on a grand scale ... but this was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the great chronomages of lore - for their tests and discoveries nearly lead to the unraveling of time itself.

He began his ceremony by casting an elaborate protective shell around the massive, domed chamber, then using a piece of chalk, drew a runic protection circle on the floor beneath his feet. Such precautions were always necessary.

Withdrawing the talon of a long-dead dracolich, he began weaving a web of mystic lines through the air, keeping each line within the runic circle, carefully keeping each strand inside the protective area with an eagle's claw. Each strand was connected in the center of the circle ... that connecting point representing the precise moment he would need to stop time at.

He couldn't rush this ceremony, but all haste was necessary, for the time was approaching when the Ascended Generals would be entering these very chambers to meet with him - and he didn't have the time to explain that soon, they would all be dead, and there was nothing he could do to prevent their deaths from occuring...

__________________________________________________ ________________________

At

Negative Rise nodded at Vetdjat as the Khelari recited his tale. For the demon, the tale sounded familiar, but he just couldn't remember. He wouldn't be able to just look it up, either, for the words would be scrambled, undecipherable, or just plainly not there for him to read it. If he attempted to look it up on a computer - the screen would just appear to him as a blank, white screen.

"Sounds interesting," his voice rasped out, "A people similiar to my own? Your race sounds quite well-travelled through the stars - it would be good to hear more about these other people; you know, the type like mine...that is, if you have the time, of course!"

Nev'oroxis tapped his chin. "It would also be astounding to hear of other worlds you've visited, of course." Then a thought occured to him. -How was it this creature was capable of communicating with him, besides the fact that these creatures may've visited Earth, or hell, even Ag'xis itself...while picking up the languages from high orbit? Unless there was something about this very planet...but he would keep his question to himself. For now.- "Also, I'm quite versed in several languages of my planet, and am an avid reader of our written words..."

Neuron is a Loyalist Powers arc. You should be able to, theoratically, be able to complete Neuron's arc if you swing back to the Loyalists after running under Resistance. I've had this happen to me ... starting off Resistance, betray them to work undercover against the Loyalists, switch back and lose any access to the Powers arc I had started on. It's a slippery slope doing these arcs.

Mission 2 & 3 from Steffard's arc and mission 2 from 1381's arc were the most difficult for my poor DP/Rad corruptor ... mostly because I didn't know what was going to happen. Also, 1381's final mission being a morality mission kind of threw me for a loop, as I stated I can't remember or didn't look to see if it was the morality mission. I believe as you progress through Praetoria, running certain tracks, that dialogue will disappear from mission text. I'm not certain of this, either, yet I have my suspicions.

I did enjoy myself though - I got to help fill in the blanks for an already GREAT guide through the Praetorian story arcs, even though it wasn't asked for. If you don't want to enter Praetoria blindly, like so many people did when it launched, this is the authorative guide to the new content. It will also allow you to take one of the more stricter alignment paths and play the opposing side's content (yes you can play Loyalist and run Crusader arcs...just gotta know when to stop, or start...and when to betray or stay loyal to your cause!)

I took the time to fill in the blanks for this guide, since Zombie Man so graciously took all that time and put forth such a great effort in forming it. Yes, my frustrations from these two arcs stem from running them both on a DP/Rad corruptor with no stealth capability. The psi blasting Seers were HARSH.

Dr. Steffard (Neuroscientist by day, Cutter Cain by night!)

• Neurologist and Cybernetics Expert. Dr. Steffard is an expert on super powered physiology as well as a specialist in cybernetic implantation and neurology. He is a well known face amongst the Powers Division as he is one of the senior medical officials on the examination board which checks out each new member of Powers Division before admitting them into the organization.

1. Dr. Steffard recruits psychics into the Resistance. Well, he’s run into a Seer, who has recently freed herself from the Seer Network, that seems to be a bit too dangerous for him to approach alone. Apprehend Seer 0293 (he gives you her location and a neural restraint…) Defeat T.E.S.T. Provost. (Lead out Seer 0293)

2. Escort Steffard to an understanding member of the Syndicate: Maxine. Fight off some insane Ghoul horde, about 10 waves (more or less I was too busy shooting Ghouls. Damn things.)

3. Help Steffard prove his theory behind the range-increasing, power-reducing implants placed in Seer 0293’s head by collecting evidence from the M.I.C.I.R. building. If you can’t stealth this, clear all in your way. Get the glowie, defeat the Lieutenant-grade Visionary and get out.

4. (Loyalists can call Marchand before this mission.) Turns out the implants made the Seers into command and control modules for the Ghouls – Dr. Steffard wants no part of this and wants you to destroy any Seers equipped with such implants and all the data relating to it. Find out Seer 0293’s real name is Rebecca and that she is doing just fine. Defeat 4 experimental Seers (they will all summon a Ghoul of varying strength: 1 hunter, 2 Painted Ones, 1 Manslayer) and a couple of them might summon a T.E.S.T. Ranger. Destroy the mainframe and collect your 2 merits. Rebecca eventually dies from the ordeal.

Seer 1381 (Unplugged!)

• Unwilling Seer. This Seer appears to have disconnected from the Seer Network.

1. (Loyalists can call Marchand before helping Seer 1381.) Release Seer 1381 from the Network. Find Seer 1381’s capsule (random glowie in mission) to free her from the Network. I got a 2 minute timer after defeating a couple of Clockwork and I think clicking on the second incorrect capsule. Hurry and find the correct capsule, timer disappears when you do, and get out (DAMMIT no mission exit buttons on these!)

2. Search PPD archives for any information on Seer 1381. Run in, flash your Powers Division “I’m Loyal to Emperor Cole” badge and get the info (which just so happens to alert every single officer standing around in the map to kill you. Just run back to the door already, or if you prefer, stay and fight all the cops in here. Not worth it really. This arc really is a PITA already.)

3. Somehow, Seer 1381, AKA Katie’s, dad got himself thrown in jail. Now, Katie wants you to bust her good ol’ dad outta jail. Henry Douglas is locked up in the BAF (ugh.) Katie teleports you into the hospital facilities (fortunately, so you don’t have to worry about actually entering the BAF the hard way!) Fight through some PPD guarding several BAF prisoners. Find Henry Douglas and lead him out.

4. Rescue Katie’s mom. This time, Katie helps you out. Fight some PPD mobs, then take on Seer 0001. Turns out Seer 0001 is Katie’s mom, and calls for backup at quarter intervals. She wanted Katie to stay away, because Seer 0001 doesn’t recognize her own daughter.

5. (Loyalists can call Marchand before starting with this mission.) Deactivate the Seer Subnet. Blaze through a couple of Seers (Mindshadow and a Tracker), and then - MORAL CHOICE: Resistance members will shut down the Subnet, Loyalists will think of the Syndicate and Destroyers running rampant without the Seer Net and leave it turned on. I deactivated the subnet, and fought three spawns of T.E.S.T. teams and deactivated 3 console glowies. Also - I can't remember if the mission text before accepting this mission actually tells you this is a Morality mission. That or I didn't look. So if you plan on betraying a side, you'll know this mission is a morality choice mission!

Not an undefeated champion here (because it's not about being perfect, contrary to what some ^ wads would have you believe.)

Hijacking this thread back to it's original intention.

With over 160 alts in the game, and all 36 character spots used up on Pinnacle, I keep myself fairly busy pushing the limits of all those alts. I've been letting the idea of forming up yet another new SG roll around in my brain-bucket lately (I'm in, own or have red-star in far too many SGs as it is...but that's besides the point.) I have a ready-made solo SG base available for teleporters, storage, etc for coalition purposes.

I'm also available to help build up others SGs (besides the aforementioned wads ^), and I dabble with zone PvP on a rare occasion. I am the furthest thing from a hardcore PvP'er, however - so if that's really your thing - well those groups have been mentioned already. Plus, there's some other server in this game that's constantly in the red...you could always try there I suppose.

Contact me in-game @Kyzock.

All typos aside, rather good read. I'm waiting for more - who IS this guy, why was he tortured...pic tells me he's a bots/FF mastermind with cybernetic implants.

Yeah - definitely need more to this story!

Maybe Doc Hamidon is Praetoria's version of LR...which then would make sense for a split empire type scenario. Perhaps Tyrant made a deal with the Hami is some way - all humans can remain in cities, guarded by the sonic barriers, while Hami and the DE take the wastes, jungles, and what have you for their own...who knows.

I'm just speculating beyond the current scope of Praetoria anyway.

Concerning other cities in Praetorian Earth:

It is true that there is a New Vegas mentioned in that arc. There is also a New Orlando mentioned in the Loyalist Powers arc in Imperial City.

What the devs would have to do, in order for us to just KNOW, would be to release a Praetorian Earth map of the entire Praetorian world (not just a map of Praetoria City!) Since Vegas and Orlando seem to have been rebooted, what other large, populated cities have done so? I for one would love to know.

I'd also like to bring up something else: Eventually, the Roman Empire was divided into the Eastern Empire and Western Empire. With a global empire, Cole's administration faces numerous tasks, obstacles and potential roadblocks. Since Tyrant has apparently killed the only other person in Praetoria that could've truly posed a substantial threat to his reign (Stefan Richter aka Lord Recluse), what if the devs introduced someone else with an incarnate background into Praetoria (not likely to ever happen btw ...)? What if, secretly, Richter survived Cole's murderous intent...and escaped into the depths of Europe or Asia...we could be faced with a split Praetorian Earth: A western and eastern empire...

((Yes, I'm waiting for an appropriate, near-Patchworld-ending moment [AND revealation of NR's true identity!] for my NPC from Ag'xis, Jerval, to stop time throughout the entire universe. Yes, I said he's an NPC...and yes he's going to interact with EVERYTHING, of course only when the moment arrives.))

The 'Night' Mountains

Graxitica dashed down the mountainside, rushing forward to investigate whatever it was that had set off his early warning alarm. Still without a new host ... his current situation would have to wait. Maybe he could find a new host from whatever had caused this disturbance.

At

Negative Rise shook his head. "No tradition or superstition of my planet. Is it that way for your people?" he asked of Vetdjat. "Remember, on my planet...there are those that can ... invoke their wishes into reality."

Ag'xis Time-Loop

Jerval was still reliving his morning. He would have to time the ceremony precisely, otherwise, if the timing was off, what he was about to perform could result in any number of temporal anomalies.

After he had realized he had stuck himself in a time-loop, Jerval allowed the loop to play out several more times. What he had been doing was observing, watching and outright timing every moment of that fateful morning. The ceremony he was about to perform would not reverse the deaths of the Ascended Generals; in fact, performing such chrono-magic was forbidden on Ag'xis. What he instead intended to do was to prevent his own death, while simultaneously bringing a murdering fiend to justice. He just had to A) stop time throughout the entire universe B) return himself to the very moment he was traversing his gate spell, and C) emerge from the gate, only this time not be shocked at the dead bodies littering the ground. No, this time, he would have to be prepared for combat. Only this time, the outcome of such combat with whatever had murdered the Ascended Generals would result in a scenario to the dismay of the fiend...Jerval would be prepared, and if need be, would take the life of whatever or whomever had killed the Generals.

Praetoria seems to be a tool for newbies to the game, and the solo-only alignment missions seem to me to be both a boon and a curse.

1st off, as a boon: in case your toon wants to do content from whatever contact that may be killed off and would no longer be available to anyone's game-world on a team.

As a curse: The entire team decides they can carry on their Praetorian career minus that said contact. The team just wants to steamroll through Praetoria because they're either veterans or quick learning newbs.

It's actually quite simple to solo many of the missions save a rare few. Just leave your map open, use Reveal if you have it, avoid the mobs, turn off taunt auras, and move. Or, just clear all maps.

The Mountain Range
The dust of the 'pebble prison' Graxitica spewed into the air above the mountain range he landed in had dispersed into that portion of the atmosphere ...

Night had fallen over those mountains, and when daylight broke for the rest of Patches, this section remained clouded in a perpetual night...

At

Not one to be needing any sleep and with Vetdjat's curiousity still peaked, Negative Rise described his world of Ag'xis to the Khelari.

"It is truly magnifecent," he began his knowledge of the planet, which was actually quite extensive for the non-native inhabitant of the body that originated there. "My homeland, for starters, is a massive series of mountain ranges...extending far beyond most known magical means of enhanced sight. Right now, it would be summer there, but the peaks of the mountains would still be snow-capped. Avalanches occur far more often now than any other time of the year," he trailed off. "Yet where we have built our strongholds, we have taken those occurances into consideration to maximize our protection from such events."

He continued dispensing his description of the planet Ag'xis well into the early morning hours.

"Well, Vetdjat, that about covers what I know of my home...from the places I've travelled there to what I've read in our records."

Just about the same time his recital finished, was when the green-gray objects began their descent into the atmosphere of the planet...

Back at the Mountains...

Graxitica felt the disturbance that rippled through his night sky. Something was approaching, and the incarnate being of darkness would venture out to discover what was causing that disturbance...

Ag'xis

Jerval had ensorcelled himself into a time-loop. Of course, once the spell activated, he wouldn't know it was a time-loop. His morning would play out the same way...right down to the very way he woke up and crawled out of his bed that morning. The scene of the murdered Ascended Generals would play out numerous times as well...

After countless repititions of these events, Jerval would finally realize he had caught himself in a time-loop, that he had been living these same moments for who-knew how long. Once the realization came to him, however, he would know A) who had murdered the Generals B) how they were able to mask themselves from Jerval's numerous protective spells that were simul-cast with his gate spell, as well as the Generals' own protections and C) that he would have to correct his temporal meddling on a grand scale.

He would need to stop time throughout the entire cosmos.

WHOAH 2 tours over there? Glad you made it back and apparently in one piece!

((I have RETURNED! My apologies for such an extended absence, but RL matters came first. I'm just NOW getting back to internet access.))

At
Negative Rise nodded to Vetdjat as the Khelari responded, seemingly astonished as to how other civilizations were capable of advancing without such a lengthy social process.

Ag'xis
The chronomage Archness Jerzal was the last to step through the portal. None of the Ascended Generals would notice one another, however they would notice each one's arrival at the battlesite in the Tevron Reaches, a mountainous range spanning several leagues on the planet of Ag'xis. As Jerzal stepped out of the simple gating portal, he noticed the horrified, seemingly dead expressions on the faces of each Ascended General.

He immediately casted the quickest chronospell he knew ...

__________________________________________________ ________________________

Back on Patches, in some mountain range (near the Desert...)

Graxitica stepped out of his teleportation portal, appearing directly above his now broken, former prison that took the shape of a pebble on Kalderi. His newly acquired foot crushed the pebble under its weight, but he was still able to spot the mystically-charged dust the pebble had become.

He scooped the dust up in his hand, quickly before any wind would scatter it across this patchwork world. ((Graxitica still has no clue of the nature of this planet...))

He then lifted the beastly hand that held the dust into the air while chanting a long-forgotten, dark spell from Kalderi. He then balled that hand into a fist, leaving a opening between his fingers and palms, as if he was about to use his hand as a telescope. Instead, he uttered the final word of his spell as he breathed through the opening of his hand.

The dust was jettisoned into the atmosphere of Patches...

((Rotten, did your wolf appear BEFORE or AFTER Graxitica teleported away?))

((No problem, you're my only player in this thread atm!))

Azuria simply grasped the pad, glancing over it with a non-chalant shrug. Then she passed the pad to Grim, who then looked at the woman after he read the note as he made a gesture, pointing at his temple as he used his other hand to motion at her.

"So there's some kind of untouchable creature roaming around amongst the Pantheon?" the Grim Saviour asked of Azuria. "Very odd, indeed." He then turned back to Lady Duskblade.

"Think of the Banished Pantheon as ... similar to zombies...just a bit - smarter...because they use guns. Oh and their shamans...and the spirit masks - sigh and the giant tiki totem guys."

At

"Let's just say it was 10,000 years of wars, struggle, strife, debate after debate, all riddled with excessive abuses amongst the common folk...finally, the current magicracy won out. A semblance of peace settled over Ag'xis for about a century, and then new trouble broke out. Isn't that how it always goes?"

__________________________________________________ ________________________

Meanwhile, on the actual planet of Ag'xis...
Tevron High Council Chambers, the City of Tevron:
The Five Ascended Generals had gathered in the council chambers, awaiting a meeting with the Temporal Archness, Jerzal. They had all received reports from the battle between High General Nev'oroxis' forces and the armies of the Mad Archness Lonad: Something had gone terribly wrong, somehow, and there were no apparent survivors.

Nearly a century had passed since the advent of chronomagery. The newest of the magic arts had only been constantly refined, nearing perfection like the rest of the magic arts. On all of Ag'xis, the Chronomage Jerzal was the greatest practitioner of the temporal magic arts, and was thus given the Archness in the Tevron Reaches. Today, the good chronomage was running late with a meeting with the Ascended Generals.

Bursting into the council chambers, causing the ten foot tall, solid mallevium doors to collide against the walls, the resounding echo inside the chambers nearly deafening all 6 men now inside, Jerzal shook his head to overcome the deafening effect. The Ascended Generals simply stood their ground, motionless, as the sonic effects simply passed nearly as quickly as they had been inflicted.

"'Bout time, Jerzal!" Ascended General Wro'chel hollered over the echoing, which still permeated the chambers. "Since it's obvious you received our messages, shall we proceed?"

Jerzal nodded his confirmation. "Yes, we must proceed, and with all due haste," he replied to Wro'chel. It had been four days since the fateful battle between Nev'oroxis' forces and Lodan's armies. There would be temporal traces left over, but they would soon fade. And at a hard pace, it would take them all 3 days to get to the location. Which would be too late.

Jerzal planted his open, right palm against the floor in the middle of the council chambers. With a quick chant, runic symbols and strange lines appeared, a gating circle being opened up. The brilliant flash of light washed over the Ascended Generals as they stared at Jerzal, unaffected by the man's magics. "Generals, this is the fastest way," he informed them. "If you'll attune yourselves to the gate, we can get this investigation under way within the next ten minutes," pointing at each General, the five men began magics of their own ... attuneuating themselves to the magic of Jerzal's gate.

__________________________________________________ ________________________

The Mutated Forest

Graxitica kept running, of course. He had no clue he was going nowhere ... until...

'This is pointless. This forest ... keeps going! I should've been out of it by now...' he stopped. Something was shining, a bright light inside his head, or inside the shell which appeared as a head to others. It was a portion of the powers locked inside the meshed minds of Shortoth/Graxus.

He shouted out to noone in particular. "You want me THAT badly! TOUGH! You're not getting me!"

The being deep inside Graxitica split open a fold of space, right in front of Graxitica. There was a brilliant flash of light, plainly giving away his location. Graxitica stepped within the tear as the light dissipated, the fold in space closing behind the monstrous form. He repeated this process, until he returned himself to the mountainous range his prison had landed in.