Six_String

As I see it, if you think of this as the Evil Genius Island of Undetermined Location

Underlings - Popcorn. Drop in droves. One-shot by most basic attacks, minimal damage at best. Dangerous in groups of 8+, but even then... disposable. These are the native tribes on the volcano island duped into following Dr. Evil. Untrained, fight with sticks.

Minions - Jumpsuit clad generics. One shot by 'powerful' attacks like Snipe, minimal defenses, moderate attacks. These are the jackbooted thugs, the mooks. Come in large numbers but only really dangerous in groups of 4. 3 should be easily handled... with AE's, they should drop like Flies. These are the ones the hero takes on (always one or two at a time but in great numbers as they rush to be slaughtered) Picture Bruce Lee fighting in front of the big metal door. In groups of 2-3 at a time, they just kept coming... and just kept falling.

LT's - Not Henchmen, these are the guys in generic jumpsuits who boss around the other generic thugs. They're the ones with the orange hardhat when everyone else wears white. Not much tougher, but they always come with minions and can deal some decent damage. Likewise, all sniper-types should be at least ruled as LT's. Most attacks moderate but one attack is high and/or stuns & holds and they can be very difficult when coordinated by...

Bosses (should be renamed as 'Guard') - Still quasi-generic, these unnamed 'bosses' aren't in charge of much. Like LT's they may have dangerous (high dmg/stun/hold/etc) attacks and are considerably hardier. They're members of the 'brute squad' that are the elite of the minion pool. Think of him as the one generic minion who says 'It's James Bond!' and then pulls the alert, charging in. They're loyal, more dangerous than the mooks, but still disposable to the organization as a whole.

Named Bosses - Hey, a henchman with one or two lines! These guys are the ones who actually rise above the rank of 'generic'. they're not the Archvillian, but they're notable in that they can put the hurt on most groups, much less the lone hero. Ordered around by name, these are the ones whom the Evil Genius (AV) use to enforce their will on their minions. All their attacks are High damage, many special effects, and you don't want to meet them alone, much less when they're surrounded by 20 disposable meat shields.

Named Boss (alternate type) - The specialist. You know... that one guy who's a henchman but he's 'got a rep'. Chances are he's got one Extreme range attack, but everything else is moderate/high. He's the sniper you'd really worry about, the paid mercenary who has his schtick and can't be taken care of easily without having some serious protection against his specialty. I'm (to give an example) thinking of the Sumo-size guardsman named as a disgraced ex-world champion or somesuch. For him, he has obscene levels of defense, exceptional hitpoints, but his attacks are pretty straightforward. Just like the named Sniper who has one big, slow shot, likes to run like hell and has stealthy skills over damage resistance. A good example is Oddjob or Jaws from the Bond series.... you beat them because you don't let them use their strong-points against you.

Elite Bosses (Henchmen) - Whoa-nelly... these are the 'You can't get close to Dr. Evil without going through' guys. Surrounded by mooks, in charge of the operation on a day to day basis... All their attacks should be very high, their hps will take some pounding, and they won't go down easy. Most pre-I3 AV's should actually fall into this category... if the entire faction isn't named after you, you don't get to be called an 'Arch' anything. They're tough, determined, and powerful. At this point, I will say 'NEVER' soloable. These guys are the reason you have TF's.

(True) Archvillians - Doctor Doom is the best example. Wants to take over the world, tears apart tanks when they annoy him and has dozens (if not hundreds) of minions to fulfil his whims. Runs from battle at 10% to his pre-made escape route. Get excellent exp when you foil his plans, special bonuses IF you can take him down. As soon as he announces, "How can this be?!?! My plans were foolproof!" and turns to run, another dozen minions should come from around the nearest corner at top speed to cover his retreat. Catching & capture should be rare at best.

Othervillian (Noncombat) - Anyone think it's a bit odd that EVERY Archvillian is a damage machine? How about this... you meet up with Countess Crey's Illegitimate Cousin (Assistant VP of World Domination) and... he's human... surrounded by 8 power tanks, a cadre of Infiltrators, and three hired mercenaries from the KoA... The anti-hostage mission. Because of his status, he has to be taken alive but can't be killed because he has to testify. Instead of him having buckets of hps/damage/resists, he has... you guessed it, Minion/LT summoning. A walking, talking, portal. those 'cosmetic doors' in office missions suddenly open to bring another 30 people to the party and they don't look happy. Once he's alone, he surrenders, asks to call his lawyer, and is mysteriously assassinated by drowning in the cup of coffee he was given while being interrogated. Shame, that.



Yes, I've seen too many bond movies... and yes, this post is rambling... but can you see what I'm trying to say? The problem isn't boss hps... it's that 'bosses' aren't properly bosses of anything.

Is there a way to totally remove all altered binds and return to the default set?

I have searched this thread for 'clear' default' and 'delete' without relevant success.

Six String

He kind of reminds me of the crime boss from the Rocketeer, more than Kingpin...

I may be scum, but I'm American Scum... *shoots at Timothy Dalton*

Six String

Two things...

Yes, even Superheroes must obey the law.... to that end, I have made it a point to run slower than cars, only jump off of properly inspected buildings, and I never, ever use my atomic bomb within city limits.

And Yes, I am being sarcastic.

Come on, people... I don't know about you but being a super hero was what I dreamed about as a kid.. I smash into warehouses, bust evildoers, and fly across the city with an eye out for trouble. No one asks 'are professional baseball players doing any good'? No one says 'Gee, when I grow up, I want to be a short order cook at City of Gyros'.

I, for one, am living my dream. I am not such a dork that I attack civilians and I make sure to contain every radioactive blast so as not to harm the environment. But when it comes right down to it, I don't think that the question should be 'Are we doing any good?' I think it should be 'What more good can we do?'

I will continue to fight evil in all its forms, from psychotic gang bangers from Hell, deadly robotic automotons, or even the living dead. I like to think of it as the world's biggest game of 'Whack-a-Mole(tm)' with the bad guys always springing up when you least expect it and us Superheroes as the big foam mallet of Justice.

Yeah, there are always more bad guys... but no one said this job was going to be easy.

Stockpile - Proud Mutant Defender, Pinnacle




Six String

Actually, you could call your character Dorian Grey... you're right, there isn't a trademark or copyright issue.. but it's still copying a character... and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Now I will admit, I created up a Six String Samurai... based of the Palm Pictures movie of the same name. The movie was just too cool, I loved the character of 'Buddy' and he's got some of the best lines to use as battlecries (Nice tuxedo... Nice tuxedo to DIE in!) But... ultimately I stopped playing him. Apart from feeling a bit wierd because I was the only one who got the joke, I decided it was just something to pull out when I was in that goofy of a mood.

In other words, he's not my main. But if you see him standing around, he'll be In character, showing off his Samurai skills, and playing rock & roll.

Note also that I changed the origin, gave him a bit of a background, and had a bit of fun with the character (still a dead ringer for Buddy Holly, tho).

Now, what I'd suggest... How about (from your own imagination/homage to Dorian Grey) you make up 'the real' Dorian Grey... but to protect his secret, that name was made up for the book? His real name is Lord Nigel 'Bunny' Picklefeather and gosh he gets a kick out of that book, comic, and movie.

So you can play something very similar to Dorian Grey, but add in some originality to the character.

Ah, well, I have a lot of good ideas, but most of them suck.

Six String

I've got to get it hooked to a macro, but for my kin/radiation defender (specializing in buff/debuff and attacks), I've typed out:

Sucker! I'm not *that* kind of defender... I shoot back!
- Johnny Atomic, Infinity Server

Six String

8. Play some bad 70's synthesized music while a wall of disco lights flashes in rythm so the aliens will know you're friendly, tap out the first few prime numbers so they know you can do math, and speak loudly and slowly so they can understand you. This also works with Alien Intelligences from France.

Six String

Everyone knows that Requiem was the Nazi super who terrorized American Soil during World War II and most have found out that someone using that name has been raising the Fifth Column again, but what no one seems to know is where he spent the 'lost' years. Tonight, on VH-1's (Villian HQ 1) 'Behind the Mask - Requiem: Still Fascist after all these years.'

Our story begins shortly after the Nazis broke up at the end of World War II. Once the biggest thing in global domination, now just the butt of a lot of bad jokes. For Requiem, it was a time of healing. Having dragged out the Nazi world tour a few months after the breakup of the band, Requiem found himself at odds with American heroes, the now victorious Allied powers, and Former Gestappo Copyright Lawyers. This last group, more than any other, led Requiem down a seemingly endless spiral of alcoholism and depression.
Facing a near complete loss of his financial backing it wasn't long before the once-tenacious Requiem faced bankruptcy, jail time, and perhaps even his own demise. Using what funds he had appropriated from the Nazi Gold Reserves, Requiem opened a small malt shop in Berlin, Alabama which he called 'One Pure and Right Flavor Ice Cream Parlor' serving only vanilla ice cream. Hiding out under the name Rey Quiem, his business seemed to thrive in the small community but even then there were numerous calls by local leaders for him to diversify his menu (incorporating requests for chocolate, praline, and bubblegum flavors). During the late 50's, his 'UberFlavor' policy had started to wear on even his most loyal customers.

The 60's brought change and upheaval through the civil rights movement and nowhere was it felt more keenly than in the small communities in Alabama. Crumbling to public pressure from a series of income-draining sit-ins, Rey Quiem finally allowed chocolate and bannana ice cream in his shop but remained violently opposed to strawberry. Despite the noteriety of being mentioned in the later parts of Dr. Martin Luther King's famous 'I have Ice Cream' speech, the shop slowly lost more and more money until the 70's came along with only the memory of the One True Ice Cream company ever existing.

By 1974, Requiem, now down and out, took some brief solace working in Hollywood, taking bit parts in whatever b-movies his now fading celebrity could command. His big break came during the filming of The Blues Brothers where he was asked to play Nazi #4 (see if you can spot him in this clip: HINT - He's the one in the full mask and jackboots!) in the famous 'Illinois Nazis in the park' scene. Conflicts on and off camera with the films stars Dan Akroyd and John Belushi led to another failed career as the former Saturday Night Live stars made it difficult for Requiem to find work. John Belushi's famous quote 'Illinois Nazis... I hate these guys...' was directed at Requiem taking an extra doughnut from John's personal stash but was regarded as so patriotic and true to character that it was left in the final cut of the film.
It's been said that the path of excess leads to the temple of wisdom, but in the case of Requiem, his excesses in life had led to the White Acres Nursing Home. Now, at 68 and with his liver swollen from years of abusive drinking, Requiem seemed destined to eke out his remaining years attached to a catheter and endlessly telling stories about the good old days. He had hit rock bottom, not even seemingly aware of anything but what he saw on Geraldo. He penned several letters off to old friends, but received no responses. It seemed he was destined for the scrapheap of history, an aged relic of a genocidal cause now regarded as something of a joke.
Oddly enough, it was in this sad state where Stalinist Russian super-villian 'The Red Menace' found him. Like Rey, he too had found history passing him by after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1991. Perhaps it was part of some otherworldly plot or an incredibly unfortunate coincedence that two megomaniacal old soldiers from different countries would find themselves in the same American nursing home almost 50 years after their respective villianous careers came screeching to a halt. Nevertheless, these two evil geniuses spent their days reminiscing about the 'good old days', playing checkers, and plotting the overthrow of democracy world wide.

It was 2001 before their plans were ready (the annexation of Poland was a particularly sensitive issue for both parties), but each had arranged a few sips of Immortality Serum and began to recruit followers for their latest attempt at an American coup d'etat'. This early formulation was at first called 'The Russian Nazi Project', but scored so poorly with test audiences that they wound up scrapping the name and just went out as the Quiem-Menace Band, specializing in terrorism, brainwashing, and Russian Folk/Polka Fusion styled music.

Fortunately for the world, the Red Menace was killed during the Rikti invasion, but Requiem, now emboldened by the loss of his former Comrade, decided to reform the Fifth Column and start playing the smaller clubs and alleyways of Paragon City.

The Statesman himself has promised to keep an eye on the Fifth Column which means that this once retired maniac may finally be getting the attention he has long deserved. Heroes everywhere need to watch out because Requiem is back.

Thanks for tuning in... we'll see you next time 'Behind the Mask'.

Six String

Hiya, I'm known as Englebert Humperdink... well, a Engeleber Humperdink lookalike, anyway.. I work in this great show out in Vegas... We're the All-Americana Review out of the Pythagoreas wing of the Luxemborg Hotel & Casino... Show's nightly at 10 and man, we really raise the roof...

But enough about me, I wanted to tell you about Buddy.. 'cause he's taking his show on the road to Paragon City. It all started years ago, we'd just hired him on to do the Buddy Holly segment of the Americana show. No clue what his real name is, but he definately fit the part... thin, kind of geeky looking... and those glasses... *chuckles* he comes in to meet the rest of the cast and there's tape on his glasses! I wouldn't have given the kid the time of day, but I wasn't running the show, that was MegaElvis' job. You've probably heard of him, big superhero out in Memphis who retired to become an Elvis impersonator. Well, MegaElvis ruled our little troupe with an iron fist in a velvet sequined glove, so he looks the kid up and down and just says 'Well, kid... let's hear you play.'

Sure enough, this little geeky Buddy Holly looking goof pulls out a sweet 1957 Fender Hollowbody, Ivory white and more than a little battered. What really suprised me was the kid could play... none of that screeching metal music the kids try to listen to these days, real good Rockabilly music. He starts out with some Buddy Holly songs, then kicks up into one of Mega's favorites, 'Hound dog'.

Sure enough, MegaElvis hires him on the spot... never did catch his real name, but Buddy wasn't exactly talkative about his past. Anyway, we're doing the show, making money, and Buddy's a rapidly rising star in the Celebrity Impersonation industry. We expand to two shows a night and after only a couple of months, Buddy's opening up for Big MegaE himself.

All that changed with the Rikti invasion, tho... Las Vegas got hit hard and for awhile, we weren't sure if the Rikti or the Desert Heat was going to kill us first. Water & air-conditioning went out when they blew up the power station and people were getting pretty crazy. It was chaos, but that's when MegaElvis stepped up to the plate, big time.

MegaElvis managed to calm the people down, keep the tourists happy with a song or two, and then started to gather supers from across the desert for the big counterstrike. I tell you for sure, the man lived up to the King himself that day. And all the while Buddy was at his side, whipping this long samurai sword outta nowhere and cutting up aliens while MegaElvis blasted them with his patented 'Blue Suede Bolts'.

Just like in Paragon City, we turned the tide... but it cost us a lot.. MegaElvis was mortally wounded and amidst the wreckage of the alien mother ship and Sands Hotel, I witnessed the King's Last Will and Testament.

I learned these words by heart, because they always inspire me... "Buddy, you're my successor... You've got to be the New King of Rock & Roll... but you can't claim the throne until you've gotten rid of these aliens... I fought them before, years ago... they hate Rock & Roll and they just don't have any juice in the caboose... no swing in their thing... These Rikti cats are square... but you've got to deliver the world into a future safe for Rock to keep rockin'.

With that, MegaElvis died, but Buddy just stood up, sheathed his sword back in his guitar and turned to walk off into the desert. I called after him, 'Where you going, Buddy?'

He didn't even look back, he just said 'I'm going to Paragon City. I've got a throne waiting for me there.'

And then he just disappeared into the desert... if you see him around Paragon City, give him some space but remember he's there to protect all mankind from those polka-loving dimension-hopping aliens. And tell him Englebert says Hi.

He probably won't say hi back, but like I said... he's the quiet type.

Gus Menderchuk, AKA Englebert Humperdink
Letting Paragon City know... the Six String Samurai is among you...


6-String Samurai, Uncrowned King of Rock & Roll, Pinnacle Server