MA Super Team Starting and we want you!

Couple of very good arcs today! They were:

Evil By Inches by @oubliette Arc ID: 349967

Drakule vs. The Werewolf Bikers From Hell by @LaserJesus Arc ID: 340316


WN

Another fun day of Super Teaming, but our numbers seem to have thinned over the last couple weeks. Hopefully it's just an off week and not a trend. I've become spoiled by having our weekly full 8 team or 2 nearly full groups running simul!

Anyway, on to the missions! I think our choices were "make or break" arcs: arcs with 5 star ratings but low plays.

First on the list was:
Evil By Inches by @oubliette Arc ID: 349967

This was a well-designed and detailed story that led our band of heroes down the path of wickedness, just inches at a time.

Things start out simple enough when you investigate the disappearance of a security chief in a quaint village and before you know it, you're fighting cops, busting villains out of the Zig, and going toe-to-toe with other heroes. It just goes to show that stepping over the line can make you slide downhill fast.

The only real drawback is that the story doesn't really give you a choice in being evil, but you can always claim that the 'madness mist' made ya do it.

The custom characters felt fairly balanced and had well-thought out bios & motivations. The details of the arc made up for my gripe with having no choice but to be evil. You can tell a lot of craft went into it.

Only found 1 bug: Carver seemed to pop as an ambush in the last mission (while fighting the AV) but he was unattackable...like he was part of a chained event that hadn't been completed yet. Other than that and the few typos pointed out it was solid.

***** 5 Stars (4 stars rounded up for effort and details)


Next up was:
Drakule vs. The Werewolf Bikers From Hell by @LaserJesus Arc ID: 340316

This arc is one of the latter parts of the Drakule series of arcs by LaserJesus. I'd read some of his threads on the series and was excited to see if it played as well as advertised...luckily, it was even better!

LaserJesus has a knack for writing witty dialogue that hooks you from the initial mission briefing on. Your lovable, monster killing contact needs help in controlling the local werewolf population and, before you know it, you're hip-deep in a fun, humorous look at vampire/werewolf clan wars.

I've never played White Wolf and mostly watched Underworld for Kate in tight leather, but still enjoyed this arc immensely.

There's so much humor in the dialogue and bios that it's probably worth running more than once just to make sure you don't miss them all. The custom enemies look fantastic and don't seem overly powerful, tho solo it could be tough with AV/EBs and all the Knockback. About the only thing missing was a biker bar. I mean, if they're Bikers from Hell you'd think there'd be a bar brawl in there, right?

***** 5 Stars and a silver tipped wooden stake


Our normal run-time was just about up after that last arc, but a few of us still had 30 minutes to kill so we loaded up a 1 mission quickie for the road:
Attack of the 50 Foot Villain by @PW Arc ID: 363366

This mission was an ingenious concept, that did all it could within the limits of the AE system. Some may think it wasn't enough, but I thought it was a good attempt and a nice example of out of the box thinking.

The story is simple enough: The, ever-whacky, Technician Naylor has somehow made you grow to Giant Monster sized proportions (think Clockwork Paladin big, not Chronos Titan big) and you suddenly get an overwhelming urge to DESTROY TOKYO!!!

While stomping puny humans you encounter the most popular B-Movie monster cliches in the book.

While I didn't enjoy the Defeat All objective, it was absolute uncanny timing as I mentioned to the group that the only thing missing was a Power Ranger Megazord then, lo and behold, my prayers were answered!

Dialogue was spot-on, bios were good and (for the limits of AE) you did a great job of making the concept come to life.

Suggestions for more mayhem include:

• Giant gorilla or Mecha giant gorilla
• Power Rangers
• Jet plane squadrons (longbow chasers)
• Another 50 foot GM
• Radiated giant insect or humanoid insect
• Tanks (is the Council Empire outdoor map available?)
• A little boy who tries to befriend you

Skyraider bosses would work, too but Longbow Chasers were fresh in my head from a previous mish

Yesterday we ran with a full team of eight. We ran the following arcs:


Hammer and Sickle of Paragon City by @Tubbius Arc ID: 351727

End Game - Final Moves by @Calash Arc ID: 17006


WN

This Week's schedule:

Tuesday 6:00pm EST - Open Teaming

Saturday Noon EST - TBD

Sunday Noon EST - Open Teaming


WN

A short run with a small turn out this evening, but we still ran one of the new guest author arcs.

Return of the Crime Cabal by Austin Grossman Arc ID: 369272


WN

Grrr...I was hoping we could run that one this weekend, it looked like the only serious one in the bunch.

You might have better luck playing that one solo anyway. It had a way of delivering plot and dialogue which didn't mesh well with a team and huge battles.

Near full team today. We finished up the new guest author arcs and then had some time to run another random arc. They were:


Mystery on the Boardwalk by Mercedes Lackey Arc ID: 369275

A Little Night Music by Tro Hickman Arc ID: 369271

Trouble in Amazonia by @jdubrich Arc ID: 344818


BTW, with free transfers extended for another month why not move a character over to Triumph and join the team? You can also always just start a new one since we have no level limits or requirments.


WN

It's generally every Saturday and Sunday afternoon and every Tuesday evening so it wouldn't hurt to join up regardless.

Full to near full team through out today. We played:

Jennie Bryans vs. the Board of Education by Golden Gadfly Arc ID: 333337


and from our request thread we ran:

The Descender by @Mr Squid Arc ID: 339222


WN

Saturday's run was another trip thru the new Guest Author arcs.

I had run these earlier in the week with Avatea and a group of other PUGsters on Justice. Running them with the MA Superteam was a totally different experience. The stories were easier to follow and we picked up on so many more details that were missed in the first run thrus.

First up was:
Mystery on the Boardwalk by Mercedes Lackey Arc ID: 369275
This wacky look at being a Hero Temp is full of rich details, fun dialogue, and characters with their own, distinct 'voices.'

At times the details are a bit overwhelming (it's tough to read long bios and follow all the dialogue when you're in the thick of a brawl) but if you're able to take it slow you'll find plenty of fun nuggets and a few XPs on the way.

The arc suffers from the same "good story/not-so-good gameplay" feel that most guest author arcs have, but the details mostly make up for it.

**** 4 Stars (and a blue drink with and umbrella in it)

Next up was:
A Little Night Music by Troy Hickman Arc ID: 369271
As I've said in other threads, this was probably the best of the bunch when it comes to feeling like a 'real' arc. It's filled with lots of details, humor and even a bit of tie-in to canon.

Unfortunately, it also has custom enemies that give no rewards, custom enemies with troublesome powers for certain ATs, and some of the groaniest puns you'll have the displeasure of reading (Blitzer, I'm looking at you.)

I was particularly impressed with the way Troy immediately involved the player and explained why he/she is uniquely qualified to run this arc. Most AE missions forget to give the player motivation or explain why the contact isn't doing it him/herself. This arc is a great example of how to set things up right.

**** 4 Stars (and a copy of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)

We only had time for a quickie after those, so we did a search for a random 5 star short arc with less than 20 plays and discovered:
Trouble in Amazonia by @jdubrich Arc ID: 344818

When a banished Amazon asks you to get to the bottom of the strange, violent actions of her former Queen you find hot warrior babes and lots of action in Amazonia.

Unfortunately, it seems the Trouble in Amazonia is that 3 of the custom enemies don't give rewards and the story is fairly predictable. On the plus side, it's only 2 missions long and it has tall, sexy Amazons!!

In the end, it felt more like a test arc or a first draft. The characters need to 'speak' like Amazons, all enemies need to give rewards, there needs to be a warning about the defeat all in the mission brief, and the story could use an original twist or something so it's not so cliche'.

*UNRATED* (I'd give it 3 stars if all the enemies were giving proper rewards)

This Week's schedule:

Tuesday 6:00pm EST - High roller picks arc

Saturday Noon EST - Key Word Random Roulette

Sunday Noon EST - Open Teaming


WN

Light showing tonight. We ran:


Save the Villain by @Gyro the Assembler Arc ID: 364597

The Warburg Connection by @FredrikSvanberg Arc ID: 364832


I highly recommend The Warburg Connection. Another great arc in that series.


WN

I forgot, but this weekend I will be away. Fred has offered to run the team if I am not there. Anyone else able to cover?


WN

I've been very forgetful/busy on the weekends, but if I'm there, I would be happy to lead/organize.

I'm probably not going to be around on Saturday and I'm not sure about Sunday. Try to have fun anyway!

I'll be there to pick up the slack on Saturday.

Muwahahahah!

Great turnout today! We had to split up into 2 teams for a mish and had a full team for most of the day.

Today's game was "High Roller." High roll with the Dice emote got to pick the arc we played!

@Sumerian won the first roll and we loaded up an old Guest Author arc that he'd never played before (and surprisingly, a lot of others had missed, as well!)
Quest for Magic, arc ID: 337434 by Dr. Aeon (for Bill Willingham of Fables fame)

Next up Bubbawheat picked:
Old Time Fairy Tale Treasure Hunt, arc ID: 149250 by @Green Lama

And we rounded off the day with a 1 mission quickie chosen from my fav list:
C. Jenkins: Attorney at Law, arc ID: 204942 by @Jophiel

I doubt I'll be on Sunday as I'll be firmly planted in front of a big screen TV, rooting on my Saints. Have fun and catch ya'll next time!

Four people tonight and we had a rough time finding a playable non-farm arc. We played (or tried to play) the following:

Wife Aggro by @Tigur Arc ID: 363883

Enter the 80's by @Force and Fury Arc ID: 373062

The Most Evil Crime Ever. Really. by @yasfan Arc ID: 307252


WN