Character Inspiration: The Story of Your Creation
By
AdHoc,
Posted on: 2004-07-08 13:44 in Roleplaying
Character Name: Shinobi-nin
Server: Justice
Archetype: Scrapper (Katana/Regeneration)
Inspiration: The American Ninja Movies and the Ninja movies... especially Ninja 3: The Domination
Brief Explanation or a link to my origin:
Angela Davidson was on a research trip to Japan when her life was changed forever. On the slope of Mt. Fuji she discovered a cave containing the Masamune, the fabled Excalibur of Japanese myth. The moment she unsheathed the sword, she felt it bond to her. She became stronger, faster, and gained almost instinctive knowledge of its use. She traveled for a time, seeking out information of what happened. Her travels led her to Paragon City. The scientists at D.A.T.A. lead her to Positron. After examining her, he told her that he had seen the katanas technology before, in Valkyries Spear. Both weapons were forged from the same unknown technology. Since the katana chose her to wield it, she knew she had to. Like Excalibur of British myth, the Masamune chose only the purest of heart to fight against evil. Needing a cover story while she learned all she could from the blade, she entered her name into the Paragon City Hero Arena. While fighting in the Colosseum she could fight the evils in Paragon City!
Character Name: Shadowsinger
Server: Justice
Archetype: Warshade
Inspiration: The Haloween Event
Brief Explanation or a link to my origin:
Numbra Nix was a powerful Nictus searching to enslave the Kheldians. She formed a plan to create an Etheric Vacuum that would suck all Kheldians out of their hosts and into a make-shift prison for enslavement. As the Vacuum was forming, several other influences allowed a dimensional breech into a Halloween dimension. She watched in awe as the Heroes of Paragon City defeated the monsters coming through the Citys doors. She ended up bonding with Rhonda Wisenhunt, a librarian injured during the incident. She slept, asking herself what went wrong during the night deemed The Malleus Mundi Incident. Rhonda however changed dramatically. She went from a shy, prudish person to an outgoing, fun-loving woman. With the discovery of the creatures ravaging Croatoa, Numbra awoke and made Rhonda aware of what had happened. Rhonda willingly bonded with the reformed Nictus. Numbra feels responsible for the arrival of the Fir Bolg and Rhonda has agreed to help. Now, Shadowsinger is the Ranger in the Forest of Dread!
Character Name: Starscreamer
Server: Justice
Archetype: Corrupter
Inspiration: Villianous opposite of my main character, Starfire-One
Brief Explanation or a link to my origin:
Kilana Dackhaths powers appeared in High School when she accidentally drained a fellow cheerleaders strength and severely injured several spectators while performing at a football game. She was moved into the Special Heroic Education Program where she met and fell in love with Starfire-One. Due to her inability to control her potential, she decided to stay a civilian with Starfire rather than register as a hero. During the Rikti war, however, she killed a noob who accidentally injured Star. Feeling a sense of power, she decided to register as a hero with Starfire-One after the war ended. During a mission, she became enraged at a teammates ineptness and lost control, killing the teammate and a hostage they were trying to rescue. She was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In the Zig she realized that her powers were meant to elevate her above others. All she had to do was get out and she would prove it. Then, Along Came a Spider and loosed her into the City of Villains!
Character Name: Lady Lumos
Server: Virtue
Archetype: NRG/NRG Blaster
Inspiration: I've always been a big fan of light and dark duos, where one person impersonates all the good and the other all the bad. Lumos originally had a brother character, and still does in RPs outside of CoH. She controls light itself, while he controls shadows.
I made them up way back when I was just 13 because they just seemed like cool characters.
Brief Explanation or a link to my origin:
Originally they were part of the X-men in most RPs I brought him into, so following that line of thought Lumos is Mutant Origin.
She first discovered her powers later in her teen years at 18. Two police came to her families house to inform she and her brother than there parents had died in a car accident. The grief it caused for her triggered her powers, causing a sort've flash bang effect as the initially manifested, the flash was so bright it blinded the two police on her porch permanently. She's never really forgiven herself for that one uncontrollable slip up.
Character Name: Buzz Cut
Server: Virtue
Archetype: Claw/SR Scrapper
Inspiration: Why the heck would anyone become a hero? While plain old altruism is a nice concept, it wasn't going to work for me. Buzz Cut is the real world answer. He is the corporate superhero of a large technology firm. He serves as their prototype, testing ground, their walking billboard, and PR man. New type of bulletproof armor? Great, go get Buzz Cut shot up. New jump jet boots? Super, see how this guy bounces. Newer, sharper blades? Have old B.C. stick them in a couple warwolves.
So, for a nice salary, and a extensive benefit and pension plan, you have a new kind of hero on the street. The kind working for his future security.
Do you ever wonder how certaint higns you leave behind just keep popping up al over the place? It's been a great deal of fun reading all of these character inspirations posted long after I left the game. Anyone else have some to share?
Wow... I remember this...
Well, I have a new character, and better grammar, so let's get started...
Name: Blind Messenger
Archetype: Mastermind
Powersets: Necro/Dark.
Inspiration: My own stories, strangely enough.
Rest of the stuff:
Well, while I was writing a story for Experiment 2.0, I had him fight Experiment 3.0, and his two other, yet unidentified Arch-nemeses, but then I had to have him a "Head honcho" kind of character, and since 3.0 is made from the Darkness that 2.0 uses to protect himself, I needed someone who controlled Darkness and death to bring him back as the ultimate weapon. (To die again, obviously.)
So, I start thinking of concepts. I know it may seem wierd, but I always explore the origins of my characters before writing them in. I don't like thinking up their personalities or origins on the fly. So, I thought about WHY he would have dark powers and the power to bring back from the death..
Well, Necromancers use both, so he would be a Necromancer for sure, with dark powers.
Then, I realized CoV had both. I went in, and started thinking of the origins while making a costume...
For some reason, chains over the eyes struck me, and Dark connected with covered eyes called for "Blind" in me.
So, I finished the costume, and went to the I.D. page. How did he become blind? I decided to mix that with how he got his powers. And, how he became evil. So, he is in a lab, hero comes in, fighting a villain, hero knocks over substance, hits guy, turns him blind, he comes back to life, with dark powers, and crazy.
Ok, so we have his origin, how he became Blind, and how he got his powers...
Now, I had to think here... He brings back my hero's greatest enemy, who always tries to kill him... It seems to send a message that he doesn't like 2.0...
Messenger. He is a messenger.
Blind Messenger was born. And written about, all at once. So, that is how I created my Necro/Dark Mastermind named Blind Messenger.
Character Name: Dark Psychosis (aka Alistaire Nightengale, aka Alistaire Arcane)
Server: Protector
Archetype: Mind/Energy Dominator
Inspiration:
HP Lovecraft, Silent Hill and my own real life bouts with insomnia.
I have always been enthrawled with the mind and how a dream; regardless of how unreasonable it seems in waking hours, can be as real as anything else while dreaming.
The flipside of course is when you've spent too long awake and your mind begins to misinterpret the world around you and in a sense take on the feel of a dream.
DP is a man who dreams terrible dreams, but litteraly becomes the imbodiment of his own pain and torment, only to return to a more "normal" form. (Domination is so useful as a writing tool in this regard.)
Character Name: Solar Freeze
Archetype: Tech Fire/Ice Blaster
Inspiration: My characters' backstories are always partially influenced by their creation. Normally I have no set "plan" when I create a character, I just wing it and make up something based on the origin and powersets of the character. Solar Freeze is the only character for CoH that I actually had something planned for before I started the character. Originally his backstory was going to a Scrapper, and his powersets (and name) to a female Blaster. The plan was that he was on the recieving end of experimentation from an evil corporation that would want to use him for their own purposes, but he escapes and goes into hiding, while using a super-powered identity to bring them to justice.
Then I decided I felt like having my main be a Blaster, and wanted to use that backstory for him, so I just stole the powersets and name that I had planned for a future character in the storyline. The "sinister experimentation" turned into a "slightly-less-sinister lab accident." I decided I liked the idea of having a character who doesn't just think he knew everything, he actually does know everything. But I had to come up with a reason that he didn't just build a super combat robot out of spare computer parts and defeat Arachnos in one fell swoop. What if he knows everything, but it's all mixed up and he can't access everything right now? my brain asked me. So he is now the guy who knows everything, but doesn't know he knows everything.
Whew... That was a mouthful.
Character Name: Cleric of Light
Server: Justice
Archetype: Controller (Illusion Control/Force Field)
Inspiration: A really good fantasy book.
Brief Explanation or a link to my origin:
Shannon Carter was raised in a very strict religious community on the outskirts of Paragon City. The community considered all heroes as evil, no matter their powers or motivation. Shannon never agreed with that, though. Her only escape from the church was her weekend visits with her grandmother in the city. Unknown to her parents, Shannons grandmother taught her the magic of the Clerics, a religious order dedicated to peace and light. Shannons parents never knew, and Shannon was happy to keep it that way. Then Shannons world crashed down around her. The 5th Column/Council civil war spilled into her town. As the people huddled in their homes praying for safety, Shannon sprang into action and used her powers to save the town. As a reward, she was excommunicated and exiled from the town forever. With nowhere else to turn, she ran to her grandmothers house only to find it empty, save a note: Fulfill your Destiny! And she did. If they have formed a Council of War, then a war they shall have!