LeighB_EU

Cool.

I’ve not really thought about the new powers and the various story options, but I liked this as a hint at the sort of people that might now be kicking around.

Chapter Six is now available.

Individual chapters and the story so far can be found here: The Wandering Year

Chapter Five is now available.

Individual chapters and the story so far can be found here: The Wandering Year

Curses, I’m at a Christmas party that evening and would so love to be there to give a granite the bumps.

Finally I’ve gotten over the hump that was chapter four (I should have written the fight scene better the first time around), so here it is.

Sorry about the delay. Expect a chapter every few days from now on.

Link to main page.

For those of you who are interested. I have now done a little web badge for my novel which not only looks cool, but also updates to show which chapter is available.

The badge can be found at my main site [linky] (the thing that looks like the novel cover).

Another chapter should be published a bit later.

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I was going to ask for anything, I'd ask for a slight concept shift from the devs about DA - remove the fog, but lock it to an eternal moonlight night...

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I'd forgotten all about that, yes bring back unfoggy DA, it looked miles better

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I don’t know about it being made permanent. I remember the first time I went into DA and it scared the heck out of me. I was trying to follow a friend who had SJ and I got lost in the buildings and the fog, got held in a rock cage, managed to break free and just get out before I died. The rush that gave me was much the same as the first time I saw the chasm in The Hollows. I suspect seeing DA without the fog again would wear off just as quickly.

Maybe there could just be wind blowing through there every now and again that gets rid of the fog. An event of sorts.

FrankyT49:
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I was quite imperessed with the Rogue Islands when I finally got round to putting my graphics quality to maximum especially in St Martial at night the scenary is B-E-A-Uitiful!
Huzzuh for high quality gaming!!!


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I’m just playing through villains and I’m really looking forward to seeing this part of the game.

Thanks. I’ve really enjoyed writing this story and, yes, I was hoping the style would fit the narrative.

As for hints; they are all over the place, as are a load of nods to the actual game play (in later chapters). I’m going to enjoy writing up the background notes for this one because I’m hoping there are things people will discover and have a chuckle about.

It may be because I have recently been spending a few hours capturing various views of the city zones, but until now I never really appreciated how good it looks with the graphics turned up to max and the skyscraper’s misty images in the distance.

(Admittedly there could be more traffic on the street and people NPCs walking around, but that’s a whole other thread in the backwaters of the suggestions section.)

Chapter Three is now available.

Individual chapters and the story so far can be found here: The Wandering Year

Another excellent event. Thanks again to MCX for organising it. A lot of running around and using Lusca as bait but we did it in the end. (Is that Lusca trigger built into the code? )

Here’s some pictures from the start of the event. Yet again I forgot to take any as we were actually doing the attack. Thank goodness others were paying attention. One day I’ll be good enough to become Coin’s SK.

The gathering begins.
The drums come out to call the Rikti to war.
Six teams ready to go.
MCX makes a speech to rouse us for the fight.
We gather in Atlas for the first wave.
The Rikti try to distract us with an early strike.

While we’re having a quiet weekend because everyone’s off watching the rugby (here’s hoping NZ beat the Aussies) I’d like to add my thanks to all those who populate this particular channel. I’ve been on all the Defiant and Union channels for a long time and Defiant Badgers is always the most fun.

It’s easy to pick up TFs in the channel, there are plenty of people who offer help on there and the jokes are great as well.

Chapter Two

The sound of something breaking brought Karri slowly back to consciousness. One of her arms was numb. She must have been lying on it while she slept. Opening her eyes fully she stared blankly at the wall and carpet in front of her for a moment. Then she remembered the man in the car and the darkness that had enveloped her. She attempted to get up from where she lay.

Her hands were tied she realised after a moment or two of twisting, as were her feet. Struggling to her knees she looked around. Now she was upright she recognised where she was – her bedroom. The cords that bound her had been attached to the foot of her bed making it impossible to stand up.

She was trying to decide if she should call out or attempt to break free before anyone knew she was awake, when the door opened. The man who walked in wore a creased black leather jacket and torn jeans. His hair was stuck up in a series of spikes about a fist high, the tip of each was painted green. In one hand he held a partly eaten apple, the other was rooting around in one of his jacket pockets.

As he approached Karri she tried to get as upright as possible.

“What do you want?” she asked as he came to stand in front of her. The man’s expression remained impassive. “Look, I don’t have that much money, but you’re welcome to it.”

She was trying to link this guy in with the one who had been in the car. They were obviously not the same person. Maybe the other man had just been put up to it. The one now in her bedroom looked like a member of the Hellions gang, but he lacked the demon mask they often worn to hide their faces.

“Is it something else you want?” she tried again. “I’d normally charge for a bit of fun, but for you I don’t mind making it free.”

The thug continued to ignore her. As he pulled a key out of his pocket a second man walked into the room. He was dressed just as roughly, but did not look like he was part of the same gang. He wore clothes more suited to the black and white attire the Skulls tended to go for.

Following just behind him has a third person. He was clearly no street urchin or gang member. He had on a white robe embodied with gold stitching. Long straight black hair framed a face hidden behind a white mask which ended just above his mouth. Beneath this the dark tanned skin of a strong chin jutted out. There were slots for his eyes and Karri could see a dark red glow emanating from them. He nodded to the man holding the key who then bent down next to Karri and reached behind her.

“Hey,” she said, trying to twist away from him, “what are you doing?”

The man in white mask tilted his head down so he could look at Karri.

“It is no use struggling,” he said to her. “You have been chosen to aid me in my accent to power.”

Karri heard the clang of metal against the iron bed frame and guessed she had been released. She staggered up from her knees and managed to stand to face the three men.

Directing her gaze at the masked one she said, “You’re that guy who picked me up aren’t you? Well if it’s help you want I don’t mind working with you. I know a lot of the people out there on the streets.”

There was a short burst of laughter from behind the mask. “Good, I’m glad you will do this willingly. I had hoped you wouldn’t give me too much trouble.” He nodded to the two thugs. “Bring her through.”

Karri let the two men take hold of her arms, which were still tied behind her back, and push her out of the bedroom following after the dark haired man. Rather than turning left and going into the lounge, however, he turned down the hall towards the bathroom and the front door. The sound of running water reached Karri.

“Hey! What are you going to do with me? I don’t need a bath.”

All three ignored her and she was forced forward to follow the leader into the bathroom. The scene that greeted her made her gasp out loud – the walls had been painted a deep purple. There was a smell of drying paint, which mingled with some other scent she could not identify.

Struggling slightly in the grasp of the two men she tried to face the leader who was stood to one side of the bath.

“What the hell have you done to my bathroom?” she demanded. “Why did you go and paint it all like this?”

He ignored Karri, instead nodding again to the two men who were holding her. In an instant Karri found herself being lifted by one of them as the other moved to grab her legs. She instinctively tried to struggle but their hold on her was too tight.

“It should please you to know that you will be the first to help me in my rise to power,” the leader said as he stepped aside to let the two carrying her approach the side of the bath. “You will not be the last though,” he finished as Karri was lifted higher.

She was about to offer some further plea, when she was plunged into the bath, the cold water enveloping her. The shock made her open her mouth and it was instantly filled by the water, a salty taste accompanying it. She tried desperately to fight against the hands which were holding her under, but her head never broken the surface. Within moments she could feel the burning in her lungs growing and finally she gave in and tried to take a breath.

The water in her mouth flooded into her lungs and she began to choke, the natural reflexes of her body doing all they could to expel the liquid. There was no air to replace the water though and within moments her lungs were swamped. She continued to struggle for a few seconds more before losing consciousness. Her body going limp in the water and the long coat she still wore washing around her like a gossamer shroud.

Chapter One

Karri Lopez pulled her coat tighter about her body. The thin fabric offered little protection against the chill wind that had sprung up that evening – weather more suited to April than early May. Paragon City, situated as it was on the east coast of America did not tend to suffer from any sudden shifts in the seasons, but Karri, along with a lot of the girls who worked the evening streets of the city, had noticed the changes in the last few years. It was just like the papers said, global warming really was happening.

Strands of Karri’s long black hair flicked across her face and she released a hand from holding the coat together to brush them back behind her ear. Turning the corner on to Cherry Street she could see three other girls standing on the pavement. Monday nights were never that busy. As she came closer to the small group a car pulled up beside them and one of the girls leant down to talk through the open passenger window. After a brief discussion the door opened and the girl got in. The car pulled away.

“Hey,” Karri called to the two who remained.

“Karri!” a male voice said from one of the figures. “How you doing?”

She laughed out loud. “Karl, I didn’t recognise you. What the hell are you wearing tonight?”


“He’s gone all trani’ on us, K,” the other girl responded. “Thinks he can cut into our game a bit.”

Karl threw back the flowing locks of the oversized blonde wig he was wearing making an overstated show of dignity. “Now Missy, don’t you go putting that down on me. I’ve just as much right to the men around here as you girls do. If they happen to find my new look that bit more alluring, who can blame them?” For emphasis Karl turned slightly and stuck out his butt, pushing against the skin-tight jeans.

Karri looked him up and down and gave a disapproving tut. “You know what, hon, I like that hair on you. I can see the style you’re going for,” she turned to Missy and gave her a quick grin, “and with the circus back on Talos Island, I’m sure they’ll hire you right away.”

Both the girls fell about laughing and Karl made an effort to look crestfallen.

“No appreciation,” he sighed. “I could do with space from your twos lack of class.” He turned his back on them, flicking his hair again. “I’ll take my tight little butt back down to the corner where you aren’t castin’ it in shadow,” he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

Still laughing, Karri called out to him, “Make sure you don’t trip over in those high high heels you got on. Don’t want you breaking one of those so nicely painted nails.”

He flicked one finger back at her as he continued to walk towards the corner.

“That guy!” Missy said, stifling more laughter. “Love him, but he sure is crazy. You just know he’ll be back to his fifteen year old boy look by tomorrow.”

Karri smiled and nodded agreement then started fishing in her handbag. “You gotta light? I can’t find mine.”

“Sure,” Missy pulled a lighter from one of her pockets. She was about to say something more when a car stopped by the side of them. The passenger window rolled down, but the street light failed to penetrate far enough into the vehicle to allow either of the girls to see anything.

Missy made sure Karri’s cigarette was lit and then walked over to the edge of the curb. The slight wind stopped Karri from hearing what was said, but after a moment Missy turned back to her.

“I’ll catch you later. Look after yourself,” she said as she opened the car door and got in.

“Yeah, you too,” Karri replied.

The car pulled away and the street was silent for a moment, the lights seeming to add to the areas look of a rundown industrial section that had seen better days.

Glancing down to the end of the street, Karri could not see any sign of Karl. He had probably been picked up by one of those repressed little bankers. That blonde wig and nine inch heels were the sort of thing they went for. A motorbike roared across the junction. Two kids having some evening fun. The one on the back threw a beer bottle at the stop sign. It shattered, spilling its contents across the pavement.

“[censored] gang members,” she said to herself. “It’s about time the police increased their patrols around here and clamped down on them.”

As she turned back she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye and it startled her. A car had pulled up on the other side of the road. She had not heard it come down the street, but she could see fumes rolling out of the exhaust. It was an old, slightly beat-up, brown sedan. Halfway back along the rear door she could make out a large scratch in the paintwork.

The driver’s window wound down and although the interior was cast in shadow Karri could just make out a pale hand resting on the door. Glancing up and down the quiet street she walked across, flicking away her cigarette as she went.

As she drew closer the face of the man behind the wheel came into view. He looked to be in his early forties, light brown hair slightly receding but left uncut. Strands of it curled down to touch the top of his glasses. Karri bent down slightly so she could see him properly.

“You,” he paused, his tongue flicking out to moisten his lips, “you, free?”

“Yeah, hon,” Karri replied. “What you after?”

The man looked surprised by her question. “Err. The normal stuff?”

Karri almost felt sorry for him. She had worked the streets here and in Detroit enough to know when she was presented with a loner. This guy had probably never had a serious girlfriend. He probably still lived with his mum, and now he had finally got up the courage to come looking for a woman.

“Okay,” she said, standing up again, “you got me.”

She walked around the back of the car and pulled open the passenger door, scooping up the tails of her coat as she sat down and closed the door behind her.

“Where do you wanna go?” Karri asked as she reached over her shoulder for the belt. “I know this quiet spot round the back of some old warehouses if you wanna stay in the car.”

There was a faint whirring as the man wound up the window and Karri glanced on to the back seat to check it was clean.

“Here’s fine,” the man said, his voice muffled slightly by the gentle thud of the window fitting into its seal.

Karri turned her attention back to him. “No, hon, here’s not gonna work. The cops do patrols and I ain’t getting caught again.”

The man turned to look out of the windscreen at the junction some fifty yards away. Light glinted off the rim of his glasses. “What about we go back to yours then?”

Karri shook her head. “We can go to yours, but we ain’t going to mine.” It was one of the few rules she stuck to.

The air in the car seemed to grow darker and cooler. Karri had no idea where it came from but she felt a fear begin to rise within her. All of a sudden she did not want to be in the car with this man. She opened her mouth to make an excuse, but nothing happened. Her hands refused to respond to the urge to open the door again and she continued to stare at the driver.

As she watched he turned to look at her. Darkness appeared to seep out of him, spreading across the windshield and hiding the pale glow of the streetlights, filling the front of the car with black tendrils. All that Karri could focus on was the man’s face as his stare leered back at her.

“I think we’ll be going back to yours,” he told her, his voice taking on new strength and power. “I think you’ll be doing exactly what I want you to.”

Her mind clawed at the inside of her skull in an attempt to break free. Each try growing more feeble than the last until darkness finally closed in on her.

The Wandering Year

Lucy Flanagan is down on her luck. An officer in the Paragon City Police Department, the promotion that should have been hers has gone to someone younger. She has never had the big break others seem to get, that is until now.

Michael Hermes Aspen is a local radio DJ who is bored with his job. What he is more interested in is the crime fighting he does as the superhero Pentangle.

A series of ritualised murders and the rumours of a new gang on the rise in Kings Row sets them both against an ancient power which could threaten the fragile stability of the city.

The story is written (there or thereabouts) and I’m just getting on with the editing so I thought I’d better start a thread for myself.

All the chapters, along with the cover art and notes, will be published here (a bit of my web site), but I will put a link to each chapter on this thread as they become available. I’ll only show a couple of the early chapters here as no one wants a thread with 60,000 plus words in it.

Please feel free to comment in this thread or on my web site. And, er, enjoy.

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I really don't want to get into marriage councilling, but I'll tell those other halves one thing: down those roads lies divorce. It isn't so much this one thing, it's the attitude. "What you do really isn't important." And from the gamer side, if they give it up, it's a festering soar that eventually will come back and bite their partner real hard. Been there, done that.


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Oh, don’t worry it’s not like that. All the girls (and one guy) have their own hobbies they do, whether that be choir, armature dramatics or working out at the gym. It’s just as important to all have our own stuff to do and none of the “what you do is silly” is meant in a bad way, just a teasing way.

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I'm starting to pity you.


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Oh, don’t. I have had and still do have a fantastic life.

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If you're embarassed about the hobby you have, and expect people to think it's childish, then I guess you get the attitude you expect.

Or maybe I'm just lucky. I kind of doubt that though.


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It’s just all about the people you hang around with. As you say you have a similar attitude to football as some people do to roleplaying. Nothing wrong with that at all, either way round, but if you like football you hang around with people who also like football, if you like roleplaying you hang around with people who like that. If you like both then, heck, have two groups of friends and if they are all good people at heart they will kind of like each other even if they still laugh about what the other ones do.

You are lucky in the fact that you have friends who share your interests. Not everyone gets the chance to have that.

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This suggests that you didn't try and don't actually know what the reaction would have been, you're just making the assumption that they wouldn't understand it, or would consider it 'odd.'

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I remember a conversation with a woman at a party a few months ago

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I find it interesting that you consider this the norm. Perhaps I just move in more accepting circles.

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In my defense I'm a very open and honest guy, but having spent far too many decades of people looking at me (and the guys I roleplaying with) in a strange way and saying things like, "What do you mean you play D&D? You don't wear black t-shirts, have long hair and you're not a teenager." I do know how these people react. I'm not saying it's right, but that's the impression most middle aged, middle class people seem to have.

You take the other halves of those of us who roleplay:

Ruth: Why do you still play those childish games?
Louise: If I must I'll put up with you doing it.
Jo: Are you still pretending to cast spells. At your age.
Vicki: It doesn't matter if you miss it, it's not like it's important.
Charmaine: It's not a real hobby is it, it's kids game.

The guys I go to football with just laugh about it.
When it was brought up by the best man at a wedding of one of the group, all the couple of us who were there got all night was, "Are you one of his D&D friends?"

On the other hand the friends we all have who are into computers, comics and general fantasy stuff either used to roleplay so are accepting of it or at least know it's not all about dressing up and chasing each other around a table (and, yes, I've had people at work ask me if that's what we do).

Anyway, none of what people think has ever bothered any of us. We all have different groups of friends for different bits of our lives and like oil and water they don't always mix well, but I like the fact that some of us straddle the fences.

((Written on my phone, so excuse any spelling mistakes.))

Thanks to all for answering my curiosity.

It seems that MMOG roleplaying is much the same as PnP roleplaying. That is to say, if you have friends and family who understand, even a bit of it, you’re happy to tell them, whereas non-geeky friends and business associates or clients you wouldn’t mention it to due to the stigma or lack of understanding attached to it.

This thought kind of came about because, while at a wedding at the weekend, I found people very accepting of the fact that I was writing a superhero novel, whereas the reaction if I’d suggested they roleplay would have been a lot more adverse.

I must say that online gaming now seems a lot more acceptable and that is really down to the consoles and WoW. I know that I can even bring up the subject with sixty years old directors and all I get is a nod in the same way I would if I mentioned snowboarding or off-roading. They just see it as something the young do.

As I mentioned, PnP roleplaying, however, would never go down well. I remember a conversation with a woman at a party a few months ago when one of my friends (who I do roleplay with) brought up the subject. “What, you mean you just sit around a table with some paper and dice and pretend to be a wizard or something?”

Guys,

Here’s a quick couple of questions which popped into my head:

Do you admit to and are you comfortable with talking outside of the gaming community about the fact that you roleplay on-line?

I ask this because I am a mature *cough* PnP roleplayer, as are the people I play with, but outside our group we very rarely mention it (work, parties etc.). This is mainly because PnP roleplaying, for most people, is associated with Dungeons and Dragons and that seems to still have a rather geeky reputation (not the right sort of hobby for accountants, lawyers and the like).

Is this the same with roleplaying online? I have a feeling it isn’t, partly because there isn’t the tie to D&D and partly because MMOGs are more socially acceptable, but I was just curious on what people’s experiences were.

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That there hasn't been more than one trade paperback gives you a clue about sales value of the comicbooks (tho I wonder why Top Cow haven't looked at a 3 volume collected hard back)


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There’s a not half bad novel just getting sorted. /em shamelessly_points_to_sig’

I am against any film that is bad, as although it would be cool to see the game universe in big lights, if it’s poor I’ll just be unhappy.

I also agree with the idea of the avoiding using the main characters from the game. They come with too much expectation and are far more likely to cause strife than making some side storyline that’s just as exciting and dramatic.

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I once sold some Pangean Soil for 250 inf

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If you feel like doing it again, my global is @LeighB. We could just do a straight trade and save on the AH fee.

When I first started playing the game I kept seeing people asking for a ‘lift’ in the broadcast channel. I always thought it was something to do with getting a sidekick.

To be fair I’d moved across from SWG and no one was ever looking for a team there, so how was I to know what ‘lft’ meant.

I’ve also done the, “This train is taking ages to let me on. I’ll be there in a minute guys.” Then a few minutes later, “Right, omw now. Must have been a slow load.” As I went to the real entrance not that one the naughty dev’s put on the right of the station just to make sure I’m paying attention. Those guys, such jokers.

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No need for that now mate, basically APP's/PPP's remain as they are and you will have another one added to choose from at lvl 44.

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Great!

(But what do APP and PPP stand for? I’m guessing they are the power groups, but the only good solution to those acronyms I can come up with are ‘Primary Pow Power’ and ‘Another Pow Power’? )

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Couldn't you use him as a live loincloth? Like attach him to your belt by his ears or tail?

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It would feel kinda perverse to actually use him as a piece of clothing around my funzone while he's still alive.

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Yeah, but think of how many different outfits you could make with all those coloured rabbit loincloths. You’d also get to use the slightly larger hares when you were feeling extra powerful.

Then there’s the attention a talking loincloth would get you (unless you were thinking of wearing him ‘face in’ and then, apart from anything else, his voice would be muffled XD).