I'd like to recommend the arc "The Plumber" in my sig. Though part of a larger story, the arc should stand alone, and it's also the shortest and in some ways most humorous of the 3 pre-finale arcs. It's heroic with 5 missions, but 2 of those missions take place on really small maps, and the other 3 aren't very large.
Oddly, it also has the least plays of all those arcs, so I'm trying to get it a little exposure.
And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
Consider it exposed, it will be the first on our list tonight!
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
Try Dorothy is Dangerous... she really is hard, but it's fun to try and take her down.
All of mine listed in my sig are comedy based. Trademark is a one shot, Disco is a 2 mish arc, Poor Taste or 3 and Blappy is 4 mission. Warning, like the Dev missions mine will spawn Lts. instead of bosses if you play on Heroic. So considering your group, you may want to crank the difficulty up a few notches.
WN
Check out one of my most recent arcs:
457506 - A Very Special Episode - An abandoned TV, a missing kid's TV show host and more
416951 - The Ms. Manners Task Force - More wacky villains, Wannabes. things in poor taste
or one of my other arcs including two 2010 Player's Choice Winners and an2009 Official AE Awards Nominee for Best Original Story
*points to his arc in the signature* I think the length is fairly well balanced. Level 40+, however.
I would like to recommend two short stories of mine - The "Children of Astoria"; and "the Legion of Mutants vs the Iron Agents". Both are short, one mission stories that I think are lots of fun. (People have mentioned they enjoy them a lot).
If you enjoy those, my longer story is "The Shadow Rune of the Warlocks". It's very story oriented like the other two, but is four missions. I think if you like the first two, you would definitely be into the slightly longer mission as well.
The Arc Id's are in my signature - have fun!
Red Warlock
- "The Shadow Rune of the Warlocks" (Arc ID 124319).
- "The Legion of Mutants vs. The Iron Agents" (Arc ID 200364).
- "The Children of Astoria" (Arc ID 217499)
"Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black" (in my sig) is a level 41+ arc, with an involved story, much of which is told in clues so the whole team can read it, and some humor. It's five missions, but only the final map is big. No defeat alls or Oranbegas, no AVs or EBs. It contains Malta, which may present a challenge for some teams but can still be handled solo or with a smaller team.
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
I'll just throw it out there but feel free to ignore it if it sounds to hard or long. But the "task force" in my sig usually takes less then 2 hours unless you end up with some major roadblocks for team reasons. It has 9 AVs and 4 EBs. I've tried to make it a challenge but not irritating for teams to play. I did my best not to pick super huge maps. Most of them are pretty straight forward where you shouldn't accidently miss a boss or anything like that.
It also seems to be the most enjoyed out of my arcs since it's the only one with more then 22 votes. It's at 45 and still an overall of 4 stars. Most of those ratings are from people who I don't know running it.
1. Something that can be finished in a reasonable amount of time. I won't limit it to number of missions as we've all seen the giant uber map one mission arc that takes three hours or the thirty minute 5 mission arc. Something in the hour range, give or take.
I believe all of my arcs can be run in less than an hour.
2. No defeat alls!
I have no de jure defeat-all objectives in any of my arcs. There are some that will probably play out as de facto defeat-alls, though.
3. Something fun! No that doesn't mean it has to be light hearted or a comedy arc, just a fun engaging story.
All five of mine are good here.
4. We love a good challenge. As long as its not ree-diculously impossible, we do like a tough mission.
Four out of my five current arcs have an AV in the last act, none of which are dialed up to 11. "Why We Fight" has nothing bigger than a Boss; it's a comedy arc and I don't think AVs or EBs are appropriate for such.
6. We aren't fond of Oranbega maps, but will tolerate the smaller/middle sized ones if the story is worth it. We're also a little tired of the cargo ship map as well.
"Chains of Blood" has two small Oranbega maps; "Splintered Shields" uses the small cargo ship map once. That one should, however, give you a particularly chaotic ride on a sizeable team, though, and while it does have glowies on it none of them are required objectives.
7. We are currently floating around lvl 40 so arcs there or higher would be great. [Note: we will not exemp down for an arc. As much as I love a good story, we play to level up]
"Two Households Alike" is out for you, then, it is a 20-29 Family arc. "Why We Fight" currently has its first act locked at 29; the other three scale to the top. I am currently experimenting with a variant of it that would be 40+ throughout.
You can find my arcs by searching on "@Venture" (don't leave out the "@") or you can get the numbers from the link in my signature.
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"
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All of mine listed in my sig are comedy based. Trademark is a one shot, Disco is a 2 mish arc, Poor Taste or 3 and Blappy is 4 mission. Warning, like the Dev missions mine will spawn Lts. instead of bosses if you play on Heroic. So considering your group, you may want to crank the difficulty up a few notches.
WN
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Actually WN we've had the pleasure of running all of yours. 
Lots of eyeroll laughs at Death to Disco and Trademark got a very positive reaction for its custom critters. Poor taste also got a few laughs from the dialogue especially the last mission.
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
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I'll just throw it out there but feel free to ignore it if it sounds to hard or long. But the "task force" in my sig usually takes less then 2 hours unless you end up with some major roadblocks for team reasons. It has 9 AVs and 4 EBs. I've tried to make it a challenge but not irritating for teams to play. I did my best not to pick super huge maps. Most of them are pretty straight forward where you shouldn't accidently miss a boss or anything like that.
It also seems to be the most enjoyed out of my arcs since it's the only one with more then 22 votes. It's at 45 and still an overall of 4 stars. Most of those ratings are from people who I don't know running it.
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Actually Ozzie that sounds right up our alley (challenge-wise) but will probably be put down for "weekend play" or that rare night when everyone logs on early and at the same time. (we are a mix of east and west coasters)
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
I'll just point to my signature. Both arcs are scaled to 40 - 54. Nothing comedic about them. In fact, think "Saving Private Ryan" for the CoH crowd. It's a definite challenge (currently with one EB and one AV) since I've tried to make it a realistic war story, and it has no Circle of Thorns or ships.
The SOLUS Foundation - a Liberty and Pinnacle SG
"The Consequences of War" - Arcs # 227331 and 241496
"The Portal Bandits" (#3326) and "Of Futures Past" (#254599) are set for level 40-50. The second should easily be finished in an hour, the first is going to depend on how fast your team is and what your diff is set to.
"The Portal Bandits" is designed to be challenging in a "pay attention to what you're doing" sort of way. Blindly charging into rooms packed with big spawns is not recommended, but you should get the hang of the customs soon enough.
The Izonite Particle #1739 is set for level ranges (1-54). It's a 3 tier arc small maps, but can be multi-level, the end arc is 60 min cargo ship run....normally finished within that time =).
The story itself is about a cyborg terrorist/mercenary group called The Black Talons, who have collected a strange space material that has adverse effects on mutants.
Your goal is to find out what they plan to do with the Izonite Particles..
Freedom Bound!!!
I would love for you to play either of my arcs listed below to get some feedback on how they are for team play.
In Pursuit of Liberty says very long but it generally takes an hour or less. It is a story based arc with bits of comedy tossed in.
Don't Freak is a one mission humor based arc.
Hope you and your group enjoy either or both!
@Gypsy Rose
In Pursuit of Liberty - 344916
The Vigilante - 395861
Suppression - 374481 - Winner of The American Legion's February 2011 AE Author Contest
Please check out the thread in my sig, me and my girlfriend have several arcs that may fit the bill
I'm only ladylike when compared to my sister.
If you wanted to check out my latest mish - #246464 "Hooray for Hamster Hell!" - it sounds like the kind of style you're looking for. There is a clear all, but it's a little one, and not the whole map.
Things we'd prefer:
1. Something that can be finished in a reasonable amount of time. I won't limit it to number of missions as we've all seen the giant uber map one mission arc that takes three hours or the thirty minute 5 mission arc. Something in the hour range, give or take.
The arc can be finished by a small team in about an hour to an hour and a quarter, and should offer a pretty decent challenge.
2. No defeat alls! Ugh, I can't tell you how much I/we hate defeat alls. [sidebar- if and only IF it makes sense in the story and it isn't on a very big map I may be able to shake it off, but if its a large lab map or outdoor it's a no go for us]
D'oh. There is a minor one here, but you don't have to clear all the enemies, ONLY the boss room of a small-sized map. Solo, it amounts to a couple of mobs - shouldn't be much worse with a team.
3. Something fun! No that doesn't mean it has to be light hearted or a comedy arc, just a fun engaging story. (Serious/Horror/Thriller/Noir/Mystery will work as well) Something with a little effort. And no I won't be insulted if its an orgin arc or if you try and get me my character to do something "they would never do". It's a game within a game for godsake! We'll run heroic we'll run villain.....pffft we don't care, just be fun!
If "Hooray for Hamster Hell!" doesn't sound fun, then I have already failed. 
4. We love a good challenge. As long as its not ree-diculously impossible, we do like a tough mission. So we won't shy away from AVs or EBs. (If you would please just point it out if it is a challenging mission because we do have times when there are fewer of us on and might not have the firepower for a big challenge)
Mission 3, the last one of the arc, has a boss rush of all original characters that I'm kinda proud of.
5. I'm not doing this as for review or QPQ, just looking for stuff to play. But I always try to give good feedback and you better believe I will come back here and praise the really good ones!
No probalo, but if you wanted to send me a comment after you finished the arc, it would be much appreciated.
6. We aren't fond of Oranbega maps, but will tolerate the smaller/middle sized ones if the story is worth it. We're also a little tired of the cargo ship map as well. But as I stated earlier if it fits the story, I think we can handle it. Although I'm a little worried if one of my SG mates sees another defeat all in the cargo ship his head will asplode.
Oranwhazza? Also, no boat. I got stuck on that stupid stealth mission on the cargo ship in Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas and never finished the game (at least I got past that stupid flight school after like two weeks, but I digress...) and have been soured on cargo ship missions of any kind since then.
7. We are currently floating around lvl 40 so arcs there or higher would be great. [Note: we will not exemp down for an arc. As much as I love a good story, we play to level up]
Level range 40-51, and 40s are going to encounter some challenge for sure. So, that's #246464, "Hooray for Hamster Hell!".
I think you might want to check out both my arcs.
Amazon-Avatars (5909) is a 41+ arc. Got some challenge, but not excessive amounts. It's got a lot of clues and NPC dialogue for detailed story. And some custom enemies in the last 2 missions I've gotten lots of good feedback on.
Escalation (6143) is all about a supervillainess developing a grudge. If you like the idea of an opponent with some personality, and character development throughout the arc, then this may be fun for you. It's playable from levels 20 and up, so you'd get XP.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
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1. Something that can be finished in a reasonable amount of time. I won't limit it to number of missions as we've all seen the giant uber map one mission arc that takes three hours or the thirty minute 5 mission arc. Something in the hour range, give or take.
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I believe my arc, The Omega Reports: Scavenger, runs about that long, though it is five missions.
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2. No defeat alls! Ugh, I can't tell you how much I/we hate defeat alls. [sidebar- if and only IF it makes sense in the story and it isn't on a very big map I may be able to shake it off, but if its a large lab map or outdoor it's a no go for us]
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First mission on my arc is a Defeat All, but it's a small CoV office map, only three floors and they're all small. It can also be even shorter, depending on where the patrol pathing goes (i have a boss in that mission set to Hostile to everything, so it attacks patrols when they get near).
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3. Something fun! No that doesn't mean it has to be light hearted or a comedy arc, just a fun engaging story. (Serious/Horror/Thriller/Noir/Mystery will work as well) Something with a little effort. And no I won't be insulted if its an orgin arc or if you try and get me my character to do something "they would never do". It's a game within a game for godsake! We'll run heroic we'll run villain.....pffft we don't care, just be fun!
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TOR: Scavenger is at 4 stars and holding, and it's been recommended by at least one fellow forumite. The story is compelling, tight and enjoyable.
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4. We love a good challenge. As long as its not ree-diculously impossible, we do like a tough mission. So we won't shy away from AVs or EBs. (If you would please just point it out if it is a challenging mission because we do have times when there are fewer of us on and might not have the firepower for a big challenge)
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The challenge level of my arc is decent. It's not overwhelming, but beyond the first mission, it's not a cakewalk either. You can make it more challenging by not picking up the "assistant" I put in for the second, third and fourth missions.
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5. I'm not doing this as for review or QPQ, just looking for stuff to play. But I always try to give good feedback and you better believe I will come back here and praise the really good ones!
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I didn't write my first arc for reviews or recognition, I did it for myself, to see if I could make something enjoyable and interesting with some of the muck floating around in my head. If you don't review it, comment on it or star it, it won't matter to me. If you don't enjoy it, though, a comment/PM/e-mail would be appreciated so I can look for ways to improve it.
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6. We aren't fond of Oranbega maps, but will tolerate the smaller/middle sized ones if the story is worth it. 
We're also a little tired of the cargo ship map as well. But as I stated earlier if it fits the story, I think we can handle it. Although I'm a little worried if one of my SG mates sees another defeat all in the cargo ship his head will asplode.
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No ships or Orangeburgers in my arc. One office, one outdoor (large, but not defeat all), one lab, one warehouse and one cave (no cake room!).
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7. We are currently floating around lvl 40 so arcs there or higher would be great. [Note: we will not exemp down for an arc. As much as I love a good story, we play to level up]
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General level range of the arc is 37-50, most of the missions will set you to 41+ if you're below 41. It's best played in the 40s or at 50.
Tonights session included the following arcs:
232253 :: The Plumber
Dorothy is Dangerous 98685
The Children of Astoria Arc ID 217499
And let me just say it was a total success. Everyone had fun, the missions were well made. One SG mate that logged in a little later than the others asked "MM, where are you getting these missions?" When I told them they commented "I love these!"
I believe Bayani is next in our queue.
Thanks all for the suggestions and the great arcs. Keep them coming!
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
Since you are looking for more I'll throw the arc in my sig onto the pile.
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I didn't write my first arc for reviews or recognition, I did it for myself, to see if I could make something enjoyable and interesting with some of the muck floating around in my head. If you don't review it, comment on it or star it, it won't matter to me. If you don't enjoy it, though, a comment/PM/e-mail would be appreciated so I can look for ways to improve it.
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I'm always happy to give constructive feedback, especially to people nice enough to recommend their hard work for me to play. What I really meant by that point is that I'm not doing this as a review thread to pick apart peoples arcs and give critique publicly and I'm not doing it as a way to QPQ to get my arc played more. We've really seemed to be spinning our wheels lately looking for fresh missions to play and I knew this was just the place to find well written, fun and thoughtful arcs, as well as people willing to pimp them out. If tonight was any indication, I'm expecting more good things in the future.
A good example of how this is working out. After we played Dorothy is Dangerous (a great one mish arc, btw) someone said "wonder if there is a Willy Wonka arc" which lead to someone searching and finding a one mission Willy Wonka arc. So it even worked indirectly!
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff
I'm the SG mate who logged on late and made the comment.
Every story was a 5, only because it wont let me give you a 6.
I'm thinking these belong under 'the best MA arcs your not playing' category.
50 Tanks: Invul/ss, Fire/ice/fire, Ice/em, Stone/fire
WP/Stone, dark/dark, shld/mace
50 Other: WS, SS/dark/sc brute, BS/Regen/WM scrpr, fire/fire/force blaster, rad/kin corr, mind/rad ctrl, ill/storm cntrl
I'd also like to reccomend the arc in my sig:
"Is It Live Or Is It Memory-X" (Arc ID: 70210)
Missions: 5
Level Range: 40-54
Note: the opening mission IS a 'Defeat All' (You're stoping a bank heist); but it's a smal map.
I do understand if that makes your group want to bypass it, but I do think the other 4 missions in the arc do fit your stated requirements. I did some tweaking post I15, so I'm looking for any feedback you wish to give.
My SG/Coalition has been enjoying AE missions of all types since the MA came out. We really like it as a way to play mixed teams in RWZ. It can be overwhelming though to find arcs night in and night out. I've played a lot of the arcs that get passed around here on the forums but I'm looking for more!
We're also a little tired of the cargo ship map as well. But as I stated earlier if it fits the story, I think we can handle it. Although I'm a little worried if one of my SG mates sees another defeat all in the cargo ship his head will asplode. 
Things we'd prefer:
1. Something that can be finished in a reasonable amount of time. I won't limit it to number of missions as we've all seen the giant uber map one mission arc that takes three hours or the thirty minute 5 mission arc. Something in the hour range, give or take.
2. No defeat alls! Ugh, I can't tell you how much I/we hate defeat alls. [sidebar- if and only IF it makes sense in the story and it isn't on a very big map I may be able to shake it off, but if its a large lab map or outdoor it's a no go for us]
3. Something fun! No that doesn't mean it has to be light hearted or a comedy arc, just a fun engaging story. (Serious/Horror/Thriller/Noir/Mystery will work as well) Something with a little effort. And no I won't be insulted if its an orgin arc or if you try and get me my character to do something "they would never do". It's a game within a game for godsake! We'll run heroic we'll run villain.....pffft we don't care, just be fun!
4. We love a good challenge. As long as its not ree-diculously impossible, we do like a tough mission. So we won't shy away from AVs or EBs. (If you would please just point it out if it is a challenging mission because we do have times when there are fewer of us on and might not have the firepower for a big challenge)
5. I'm not doing this as for review or QPQ, just looking for stuff to play. But I always try to give good feedback and you better believe I will come back here and praise the really good ones!
6. We aren't fond of Oranbega maps, but will tolerate the smaller/middle sized ones if the story is worth it.
7. We are currently floating around lvl 40 so arcs there or higher would be great. [Note: we will not exemp down for an arc. As much as I love a good story, we play to level up]
So anyway, I just wanted a thread I could go to to find some arcs to play to make our play sessions fun. Lately leadership has kind of been a game of hot potato because it can really be hard to find something new and fun to play. So I thought I'd just come straight to the source and let yall recommend your arcs!
@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff