Fodder for the Canon: Ask your lore questions here

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I'd like some backstory on Steven Sheridan.

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Jeebus, yes. The man is the only surviving member of, more or less, BOTH the Omega and Alpha Teams. The "Gambit" was his idea. Why is he just a contact in Brickstown?

Er...right. So my next question was: Ghost Widow < Red Widow. Why? Why would Recluse do this? It makes no sense.

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There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.

What powers is Mynx supposed to have? Early sources suggested she had Regeneration, but when she appeared in City of Villains, she instead had Super Reflexes. I'm guessing the in-game version is probably the official version, but I wanted to ask, since you're offering.

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Arc #41077 - The Men of State
Arc #48845 - Operation: Dirty Snowball

Best. Thread. Ever.

More on the 5th Column:

1. The 5th were tasked by Hitler with the Atlantic Fleet attack in 1938, and the attack occured in 1941. Was the 5th Column already operating in the US in 1938, or did they spend those three years infiltrating?

2. How much of the Council is comprised of European agents versus Americans recruited into the organization?

3. Is the Path Of The Dark an organization, a philosophy, or something else completely? When someone becomes "part of the path" like Requiem, is it a partnership like the Peacebringer/human relationship, or does the Nictus essentially take over? Whom did the Path back in the 5th/Council War, or did they take sides?

4. Is the Path Of The Dark and the Blood of the Black Stream the same thing?

5. What is the relationship between the Blood of the Black Stream and Gadzul Oil?

6. Is Martin Henri, leader of the Luddites, a decendent of Father Gerard Henri of Bat'Zul and Fort Hades exorcism fame? If so, um... did Father Henri break his vows?

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Global name: @k26dp

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4b) Arachnos was originally an Italian based organization, and also played a role in the rise of Fascism in the government. Did they have any involvement with the 5th Column?

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This I do know somewhat. Arachnos was a large organization controlled by the Weaver. When Recluse took over, it split up into various groups (Arachnos headed by Recluse, Council by The Center, 5th Column by Requiem).

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What's the story with the Shadow Shard? I want the full history!

Where are Aloore, Chularn, Uuralur, and Kuularth? Do they have their own regions of the shard?

Why is it that every time the Shadow Shard is brought up in official story arcs and materials, it seems to contradict the other information already out there?

I have an MA arc (arc 75386, in my sig) all about Rularuu himself having his own kind of Soldier. Is that something that could be considered canon?

Speaking of different kinds of Soldiers of Rularuu, does Faathim the Kind have a type he leads that we just don't see?

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Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.

Woo! Awesome thread, yay! Wheeeee!

ASTORIA

When did The Incident that cast Astoria into gloom happen, precisely? All I've been able to discern is that it occurred shortly after the Rikti War... and I'm not even 100% on that. I seem to recall there having been in-game zone information (under the help menu) that's no longer there. Can that be posted, or has it been lost/rendered invalid?

Also, would it be possible to get some details on how The Incident played out? Was it a sudden thing, or did it unfold over days or even weeks?

It'd also be nice to have it verified that Astoria has always been... off... troubled... even before The Incident. Lotsa hauntings and like paranormal activity. That seem to be the implication in the lore, but it'd be good to have a confirmation on it.

Finally, are the zombie raids a result of Mot's expanding power? Or is it something you (the devs) haven't really thought about yet, or are keeping a mystery?

Thank you!

( I would like to now take a moment to offer my condolences to the ParagonWiki folks, for whom this thread will be the cause of lots and lots of work )

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The Cape Radio: You're not super until you put on the Cape!
DJ Enigma's Puzzle Factory: Co* Parody Commercials

I've written an arc (#149765) with Crey as the main antagonists. I plan on making it a three Act story revolving around the Revenant Hero Project, as well as some other Crey projects I made up. I wanted to use Invisible Falcon and Shining Light, but I also want them to be as accurate as possible. Is there any way I can get the following questions answered?

1) Is there a set costume for either of the two? Invisible Falcon never really appears, as far as I know, and Shining Light is only shown in a Paragon Protector outfit (again, as far as I know).

2) How about powersets? No clue on Invisible Falcon, though Shining Light seems to be electricity based.

3) Is there a list of other heroes believed kidnapped (or ones whose bodies were stolen) by Crey for use in the Revenant Hero Project? If so, where can I find information on them to answer questions 1 and 2 for each?

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1: How does the Fortunata Mind Link work, from a story perspective? Can they use it to telephatically communicate with each other?

2: Rikti monkeys. Are they actually Riktified monkeys? And if so, would the riktification process work on Earth monkeys?

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Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper

Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World

Will any of the canon be taken from current story arcs that players have implemented, if no back story had been thought of previously? Or is all the canon just coming from 'in-house'?

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Here's a PM I sent to Hero1 a month and a half ago that never got read. Hope I can get an answer this time around and actually publish my arc. ;;>.>

Hey there, Hero 1!

Not sure if you're getting pummeled with requests for story canon, but I could definitely use some help.

I scoured the site, game, and ParagonWiki for everything I could learn about Atlas and the Teal Serpent. I got some dates on their battles and such, but that's all.

I'm trying to put together an arc about Atlas and the Teal Serpent, and I need to know about their powers and such. But the more important thing is their origins.

If nothing's been written, I'll make it up on my own (I kinda see Atlas fitting into that 'neighborhood defender' wrestler/construction worker mold, since he never joined the Freedom Phalanx and was honored in Paragon before his death), but I suspect there's gotta be something in the bible about how he became giant and how the power worked.

Also, I was wondering whether Teal Serpent was styled more like a detective/adventure villain, early golden age, or prime golden age. That'll have some bearing on his dialogue, but I'm more concerned with putting him in a fedora, robes, or tights.

Thanks for any input you can give!

-War

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What is the connection between Romulus of cimerora and Romulus the warshade

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Manti,

I made a story arc called "The War on Suerpadine" the details the Regulators' tale of discovering and trying to stop the flow of Suerpadine in the 1980s, based off of info from the web site, history plaques, badges, and other in-game sources.

*** SPOILERS ***

In the last arc, BAB helps you bust up the lab and discovers that Superadine is linked to dimensional travel. This leads to two questions, one of which I drew my own conclusion, and the other which remains unanswered:

<ul type="square">[*] Where did the original recipe for Superadine come from?[*] Was Dr. Karl Egon involved with the development of Superadine?[/list]

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Oh and Gamester!! Was that just a one-shot plot device to explain the presents and such for the Holiday events or is there more to be known about that character?

I thought he/she/it was a neat idea.

Thanks so much for opening this dialogue!!!

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"I play characters. I have to have a very strong visual appearance, backstory, name, etc. to get involved with a character, otherwise I simply won't play it very long. I'm not an RPer by any stretch of the imagination, but character concept is very important for me."- Back Alley Brawler
I couldn't agree more.

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What is the connection between Romulus of cimerora and Romulus the warshade

[/ QUOTE ]Oh Good question! I was wondering this too!

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"I play characters. I have to have a very strong visual appearance, backstory, name, etc. to get involved with a character, otherwise I simply won't play it very long. I'm not an RPer by any stretch of the imagination, but character concept is very important for me."- Back Alley Brawler
I couldn't agree more.

That's it, Sean, you are getting a gift basket all your own, even if I have to WALK to Austin to deliver it.

1) Does Arachnos exist in Praetorian Earth?
2) Are we ever going to learn more about Red Widow?
3) Can Positron actually have children now?
4) Of all the zones in the Rogue Isles that Longbow could have established in a base in, what the hell possessed them to choose NERVA?! Grandville, I could see... Cap, I could see... but NERVA?!

I have so many more that I could take a whole thread on my own, but instead, I'll ask you now if you'll be at HeroCon, and if I can steal you away for one hour for just you, me, a laptop, and a non-stop one-on-one Q&amp;A session.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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Okay, a quick, trivial question which I'd been hemming and hawing whether to PM about.

Does Manticore have a British accent? I know he was raised by his English nanny, and his background states that his father was a hero in England, so there's a possibility he retained some semblance of an accent.

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I'm just a holy fool, oh baby it's so cruel


Thessalia, by Darkchildx2k

What is the origin of the Shadow Shard? Did it not exist before the Midnight Squad banished Rularuu to it, or has it been around longer? How did all the refugees end up in the Shard?

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Ok, here is something that may or may not exist in the game but if it did, I'd like to get more info on it.

First: Waaaay back when I first started playing CoH they had a Prima strategy guide out which I picked up cause it talked more in depth on the backgrounds on some locations in the game that simply are never really explained. One such area was Kings Row which, according to the book, was named after a group of mobsters who took over the area. I believe it mentions that Statesman fought them but no time frame or any other information was given.

So... Who were the Kings of King's row? Are they still alive? And if they were mobsters, why is there no family in Kings row? And if King's Row was a name given to the area after the Mob settled in, what was it's previous name?

Second: **** SPOILER WARNING (Sort of)**** In short: How did the Devouring Earth come into being?

When Dr. Hamidon become the giant blob he is now, Did he change in Woodvale and they are woodvale citizens? Did they just transform when he came into existence? And why do people who go into eden not transform now? Not to mention what is up with the Giant DE? If DE are transformed humans, what are they?

thanks for the insight

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The petition link to Save CoH:
http://www.change.org/petitions/ncso...city-of-heroes

It had ever been my understanding that alliance between the Council and the Nictus was a key factor in the takeover that allowed the Council to displace the 5th Column. Only Councils have the Galaxy soldiers who relate to Kheldians; and of course the Council and the Kheldians were introduced at the same time.

Yet, when you go back to ancient Roman Cimerora, you see Nictus allies of the 5th Column.

So what exactly is the current and ancient state of the relationship between the Fifth Column, the Nictus, and the Council?

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<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison

Hi Manticore, Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions. I just have a couple for you.


Since they apparently won't be appearing in game as epic archetypes, can you give us some information on the backstory of what the various epics would have been? Coralax, Blood of the Black Stream, Avilans, Incarnates, etc?



Is some of the older content going to be updated to match some the in-game events in the last couple of years? There are some pretty big conflicts in the story as it is right now. I'm specifically thinking of things like:

- Positron's TF (whose whole point was to prevent the Faultline dam from being breached and flooding the zone. You're told in the TF that if the dam were to rupture and flood, that it would be a disaster and Paragon City would be without power for weeks. Since Issue 8, the Faultline dam has been ruptured and the zone is flooded)

- War Wall Defender mission (point of the mission is to prevent the war walls from coming down and causing another invasion. As of Issue 10, the war walls regularly fall and invasions happen)

- Ambassador Kuhr'Rekt's first story arc (villains sabotage the Traditionalist negotiations, which seems to conflict with the same villains helping to save the negotiations as members of Vanguard in the RWZ arcs)

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One such area was Kings Row which, according to the book, was named after a group of mobsters who took over the area. I believe it mentions that Statesman fought them but no time frame or any other information was given.

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That seems to contradict what is in the game on plaques and the like; see the Smokey badge in particular "King Garment Works dominated the Kings Row economy for years. These smoke stacks were part of their manufacturing facility. " and the "King Garment Works" neighborhood. It's strongly implied at least that the tenement rowhouses gave the neighborhood its name and it was the reason for the zone name.

There is mention of Statesman fighting in the zone, but the Summoned badge says he was fighting CoT. I suspect this is a case of the Prima guide either using a pre-release set of info that subsequently changed, or of them making stuff up again.

(It's possible that there were gangs that took their name from the area; "[adjective] Kings" shows up in real-life gang names, including at least one major example from a heavily industrialized city.)

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Miuramir, Windchime, Sariel the Golden, Scarlet Antinomist...
Casino Extortion #4031: Neutral, Council+Custom [SFMA/MLMA/SLMA/FHMA/CFMA]
Bad Candy #87938: Neutral, Custom [SFMA/MLMA/SLMA/FHMA/HFMA]
CoH Helper * HijackThis

The Clockwork and the King

My favorite villain group/Archvillain have always been the Clockwork and the Clockwork King, and I was always disappointed that there wasn't more information released about his background. (Also, some of what exists seems contradictory if taken at face value.)

(Spoiler Warning: Anyone who hasn't played through The Mind of a King or The Praetorian War storyarcs may want to skip this post. Also, I am using Paragon Wiki as a reference, rather than hunting all of this stuff down again myself ... my own memory of those storyarcs and related material is several years old, and possibly out of date due to revisions in the game, so the wiki seems more reliable.)

The actual questions are colored and bolded; the rest is analysis and such.


* Does the man who became the Clockwork King have a name in lore? One is never given in the game, that I'm aware of. I get tired of calling him "the guy that became the Clockwork King".

(If -- as I assume to be the case -- he doesn't already have an official one, might I suggest August Horologium? "August" being an adjective applied to kings, "Horologium" being the term for a building that houses a clock.)


* Was he driven mad because of his powers, or because of his encounter with Blue Steel? Blue Steel's backstory as published on the site suggests the latter, but the guy that Blue Steel fought was already building minions identifiable as the oddball Sprockets that we have today, so presumably he was already beginning to make a "clockwork court". That implies he was off-kilter to begin with, though Blue Steel may certainly have pushed him over the edge.

* Does he have a background in robotics? He has often been described as a "mad genius", and some of the elements of clockwork design imply that he does (see the note about Cannon/Tesla Princes below). This is related to the question "to what degree are the Clockwork actually technological", which is seemingly a bit of a jumble in-game...

-Mind of a King says outright that the Clockwork are "little more than wind-up toys" by themselves. Scattered here and there are other indications that the clockwork not only don't, but can't work technologically.

-The Praetorian War (IIRC) suggests that Antimatter stole the Praetorian Clockwork King's designs for his own use, which would be silly if they weren't designs for a functional (and advanced) technology.

And parallelism suggests that if the Praetorian Clockwork King were building actual robots, then the regular Clockwork King would have been doing likewise, at least at some point in his history.

-In slight contradiction of "Mind of a King", some of the Clockwork mobs (specifically, cannon and tesla princes) are described as having "advanced robotic brains", which is apparently what makes seem more human-like.

-Nevertheless, all of the clockwork are capable of speech and have some rudimentary personality, regardless of rank. As the presence of a programmed brain seems to be tied to high rank, while the lower ranks seem to be constructed of whatever happens to be lying around, this suggests that their behavior and personality is to a large degree independent of the existence of such advanced equipment in their design.

- The Psychic Clockwork are capable of using psychic blasts on their own. This suggests that the Clockwork have a deeper connection to his mind than either a robot brain or mere telekinetic puppetry would imply ... at least on that world.


Thoughts:

Personally, I assume that the King was originally a brilliant (if erratic) roboticist, but he gradually dropped any pretense of real research as his growing powers and insanity made it superfluous, as well as more difficult to obtain funding and facilities (and as the clockwork became less like actual robots, raw materials). This led him to petty theft and the events in Blue Steel's encounter.

I have long had the theory that while the Clockwork use telekinesis for motive force, they are also psychically utilizing some submerged fragment of the King's shattered mind for their intelligence, individual personality, and sense of purpose (e.g., they aren't being controlled consciously, and they presumably function even when he sleeps or falls unconscious). This is what makes the more powerful constructs seem "almost human" (they draw on a much larger fragment ... like a permanent alternate personality in robot form), not any "advanced" brain.

(Side note: No matter how it works, one of the more horrific aspects of the Clockwork King's story is that he effectively severed his own brain from his body. This, incidentally, supports the idea that he was once a roboticist. He'd presumably need some sort of medical training to enact and survive such a procedure, such as studying neuroscience to help create models of A.I.)

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Vanguard has an awful lot of "Earth for Humans" billboards up. In the wake of the Rikti war, this was certainly understandable, but with the Kheldians on the scene to help us (well, Peacebringers and Warshades anyway, the Nictus are jerks), has anybody pointed out that this could be kind of uncomfortable for friendly aliens? Especially since the Rikti are having a factional split and some of them want to make peace? Or is the fact that some of them are engaging in peace talks a secret thing to make sure no supervillains crash the party?

Speaking of Rikti, the Rikti Magus states that they "mastered magical arts stolen from the Circle of Thorns." How does that work? I was under the impression from a different story line that magic is hereditary thing. You're a descendant of the right people or you can't do it, period. Does this mean that they're Rikti equivalents of descendants of Mu? Or does it mean they jacked Circle Thornblades and jammed them into themselves? If the latter, how do they keep the Oranbegans from taking over?

Doctor Vahzilok's Abominations, the stitched together corpses he starts using from 11-20, say that they're made up of fallen heroes. Likewise, the Greater Devoured of the Devouring Earth say that they're made up of the biomass of heroes. How do they get the raw materials? Isn't pulling you to a hospital before you die what the medical beacons are for?

Speaking of the medical beacons, why does Lord Recluse hand those things out to the Destined Ones? I understand the gameplay reason, but it's kind of hard to weed out the weak if the worst you can do is slow them down. And how many of the Arachnos grunts have them? I would imagine that the rank and file Wolf Spiders don't get them because they're expendable, but the higher ranking dudes like Banes and Fortunatas represent considerable investments of time, money, and hardware, so a bit of a safety net would be wise. Which in turn raises the question of why player SoAs have them, because apparently they're exactly the sort of disposable dude who's rammed through harsh and quick boot camp, given a gun, and told "okay, enforce the will of Arachnos."

In Scirocco's patron arc, he may as well have a giant neon sign saying "I have a crush on Ghost Widow." Does she know about it?

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Two very small questions:

1) Could we get some more information on how Vanguard technology works? Like, specifically, how they combine the magic aspects with the technological aspects of their gear. Is each piece seperate in it's technological and magical function, or is there a combination effect?

2) How common are such practices in the greater game world? It's partially relevant to a series of MA arcs I'm working on, and just a point of curiosity for me.

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&lt;QR&gt;

If I may be so bold....

This, incidentally, supports the idea that he was once a roboticist. He'd presumably need some sort of medical training to enact and survive such a procedure, such as studying neuroscience to help create models of A.I.

The Clockwork King is not being kept alive by some technological means. He is alive because he will not die. His own psychic power is sustaining his brain. Yes, that's violating the laws of physics but around here this is "two for flinching".

Speaking of Rikti, the Rikti Magus states that they "mastered magical arts stolen from the Circle of Thorns." How does that work? I was under the impression from a different story line that magic is hereditary thing. You're a descendant of the right people or you can't do it, period. Does this mean that they're Rikti equivalents of descendants of Mu?

Read "Division: Line" more closely. The Rikti Magi are Lost converts with Mu blood.

Doctor Vahzilok's Abominations, the stitched together corpses he starts using from 11-20, say that they're made up of fallen heroes. Likewise, the Greater Devoured of the Devouring Earth say that they're made up of the biomass of heroes. How do they get the raw materials? Isn't pulling you to a hospital before you die what the medical beacons are for?

Medicom always works for us because we have script immunity. If (e.g.) something blows your head off in one shot, or the beacon gets damaged, you're screwed.

Speaking of the medical beacons, why does Lord Recluse hand those things out to the Destined Ones? I understand the gameplay reason, but it's kind of hard to weed out the weak if the worst you can do is slow them down.

Script immunity again.

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Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"