The Custom Career Project
By
Mr_Samoa,
Posted on: 2009-05-24 15:03 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
This is very ambitious, and interesting. I wish you the best of luck, and will try to see your work, but I have to admit, there are many, many AE stories that I have listed as "To See".
www.paragonwiki.com is a great source of information for this game.
New or returning to the game? Want advice from experienced players who want to help YOU?
The Mentor Project: Part of the New Player Council.
At the risk of sounding like a forum cop, the Mission Architect Stories and Lore Forum is really where this kind of thread should be.
Not just "because that's the roolz" but because that's where people browsing for new MA story arcs go to find them.
A day later than I should have posted it, but Excaliburst's First adventure is up:
The Skull Smash-and-Grab
Listening to her police radio, Emily got the word on a heist: the Skulls were raiding the First National Bank! A bank teller had managed to get the alarm off in time, though, so the police had the building surrounded. The only problem is, the Skulls managed to keep some hostages and a more specialized touch might be required. Excaliburst is sent in to stop the villains.
BAM! POW!
After an exhausting battle, all the Skulls are defeated and the hostages are freed. One of the people saved was the bank teller who originally set the alarm, and he warns Excaliburst that the leader of the Skull attack ran out of the back entrance as soon as he heard sirens.
Emily, wanting the first case to be a clean one, sends Excaliburst into the nearby sewers (much to his dismay) in search of the Boss. Excaliburst quickly finds him, but taking him out is harder than he'd hoped- the Boss is a meta!
KA-BOOM!
Excaliburst emerges victorious, having defeated his first really super-powered foe. On the Boss' jacket, he finds an empty vial with a Skull gang logo on it. Emily wants to know if it maybe had something to do with the Boss's powers, but turns it over to the police in an effort to build trust with them.
Smart girl.
Also, you're right, Slick. I'll drop a PM to see if I can get it moved.
There are dozens of characters that play solely on Mission Architect content, and dozens more players that have used MA to make their character's origin stories. But I felt that the Architect system was capable of much more, so I combined the two concepts and took them one step farther, creating the Custom Career Project.
My plan is to fully utilize Mission Architect to, as the title implies, create my character's entire career, from level 1 to level 50. My current plan is to release a new set of arcs once a week (assuming nothing drastic happens to my personal life, this should not be a challenge in itself) that tell the story of the life and times of Excaliburst, a Dual Blades/Invulnerability Scrapper on Triumph Server.
Excaliburst, aka Jefferey Reynolds, was a young child when he found his mystical swords. The swords are powerful tools on their own, and provide a nearly impenetrable armor around the user. He found these swords while playing by a stream with his two best friends, Emily and Martin. A group of Contaminated had escaped from custody and made their way to the area where the kids were playing. Jeff found the swords and fought off the Contaminated to save Emily, but Martin fell into a never-before-seen hole and was never seen or heard from again.
After losing his best friend and encountering Contaminated at such a tender age, Jefferey because traumatized. He developed agoraphobia, or fear of the outdoors. He spent years of his life never leaving his house. But he kept the mystical swords, which had their own ideas. The swords were noble and semi-sentient, and nagged Jeff to do good deeds. But Jeff's severe phobia outweighed the wants of the swords, and he stayed put. But when Architect Entertainment announced exactly what their system was capable of, Jeff knew he had found his calling. He spent weeks in Architect Entertainment, slowly acclimating himself so that he could feel comfortable in the building. Now, Jeff uses Mission Architect to create simulations where even he can save the day.
... That is, until something goes wrong.
All of Excaliburst's adventures take place in Mission Architect. He attempted to use the program to make simplistic scenarios where he could be heroic, but soon events took a turn for the worst and forced the simulations to become much more real.
Currently published is the Origin Story of Excaliburst. Search for that title, @Mr. Samoa, or "CCP" to find it. As I said, I plan on posting new arcs about once a week. These arcs will form a dynamic picture, with evolving characters and threats. Some of it will be general adventures, as you might find in the rest of MA, but there will be over-reaching plot lines and stories through Excaliburst's career. I will be using this thread as a blog/journal about Excaliburst's exploits and what stories are currently up/where the plot currently is. If I do it right, this thread should read like a novel that you can play through as your own characters. (One note: The missions *are* geared towards Excaliburst. What this means is that characters might call him 'Jeff' instead of '$name', so if you like to have your character specifically in the mission, this may put you off.)
I heartily welcome everyone and anyone to play these missions right along with me, or from any perspective that they might choose. The missions will be up only for a short time each, but constructive criticism is still appreciated and listened to. Any comments can be sent directly to me at @Mr. Samoa or left here, in this thread. Enjoy!