GR - Where is your character at?

Well my main and her alt versions will be staying on the side of light Diamond is really an all American style of hero. She is more than likely not going to stray.

Dark Chylde - another being of light and goodness though she has a predatory side, she too will most likely stay on the side of good.

Shocktrooper is the alt I have that will most likely turn vigelante and cross the border so to speak.

My main villian Dark Thorn is Diamond's preatorian alt, so Im not sure yet whether to reroll her as a Praetorian or just leave her a villian. She is more or less a seriel killer so I doubt she fits the mold of a Rogue but I will play it by ear when GR comes out.

I am most likely going to roll up a new character or characters to try out GR once it goes live. Just to try stuff out and see what is fun

Aether Crash cannot be anything other than a hero. as such, his praetorian counterpart, Astral Rift, cannot be anything other than a villain.

Zkorva the Exiled and Zettai Reido are also only heroes.

Squallshot and Sundersky are vigilantes to be sure, tho.

villainside...

Cholanim, Lumilian, Katsuo Tentei, and Cobalt Tempest are rogues.


Iron Grave, Executioner Adan, Kinetic Impact, and Hohlreiache Schaldak are definitely villains.

My MM is going to be more heroic because he has a call heros costume.

My main blue side, Brand-X, has gone through many ATs already, both blue and redside.

My hope is with GR to put her as a Dual Pistol Vigilante, as she already travels to the Rouge Isles and does hero work there as one of Recluse's destined ones (he has his own reasons for allowing this) and has a tendency to follow her own rules when she thinks something shouldn't be a certain way...and keep her to just the one AT/Powerset, and finally have the toon I get to 50, and replay over and over, instead of forgetting about.

Any others, no idea.

Simple: All villains will remain tht...evil and villain like

To avoid helping make this into one of those threads where everyone comes to post yet no-one ever reads, I'd like to discuss the core issue at hand before I delve into what ratio my characters are.

What is the definition we are using for Rogues and Vigilantes? I saw the Hero Con movie, and the explanation given was very sparse, brief and illustrative, not at all the kind of comprehensive definition one could use to make an easy assessment. The reason I ask is that I did a quick mental scan of how many of my characters have clear alignments and which have rogue alignments, and the answer was "I don't know. It depends."

We all know that "not really villains" and "not really heroes" are basically the same thing, though slightly leaning in different directions, and the only reason we have two is to retain some semblance of the duality of choice. The differences between Rogues and Vigilantes are subtle and relative, as it should be, but I'd say it's a mistake to say the differences between a Rogue and a Villain or a Vigilante and a Hero are clear at all.

I can say one thing for certain - the majority of my villains are villains all the way. They are evil by choice and evil by conviction, simply because that which makes a compelling villain is that villain's ability to take on evil and still make it compelling and believable. I espouse the opinion that evil is not a disease or a curse, but rather a choice that has to be made willingly, consciously and with great conviction. As such, my characters are either clear villains who, even if they do redeeming things, are still quite clearly evil, or they work for a character who fits the bill.

On the hero side of things, I'm not sure I have any classic, "I do it because it's right!" heroes. They all have their own agendas, their own demons and their own rather unforgiving approaches to solving problems. But at the same time, most if not all of them also have an incredibly strong conviction in doing the right thing, protecting the innocents and opposing the evil. I've made it a point to give each and every one of them some very specific, very convincing reason why they are heroes, if not it their bio field, then at least in terms of their character design.

I don't enjoy characters who are ultimately just grey, because those aren't interesting to me. For a character to be interesting and worth exploring, they have to stand for something. Standing for nothing at all is just "meh" in a very big way. Characters need to amount to something, to either be part of something big or be in the process of creating something big. A character whose life amounts to nothing other than seeing one more day doesn't move me, because that character does not shape events. Why would he? He doesn't stand for anything, so he has no reason to bother. It's when characters are pushed out of their comfort zone that things get truly interesting.

I'll try and think of a few new characters who may skirt the line a little more, but I doubt I'll come up with anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

My War World character (who had heard stories of Praetoria from those who served Battle Maiden) will be anxious to get to see the magnificent city herself however she is also out to test her strength against the toughest foes she can find being the warrior that she is, her goal is defeat, with or without the help of companions (she knows there is always someone bigger and better than you no matter how tough you are, thus she realises the need for companions), the signature heroes and villains.

She has bested Reichsman, the Freedom Phalanx and the Vindicators but she wants to test her mettle against the four Patrons, Lord Recluse and all the other Arachnos lackies.

Once she has bested them...then her sights will be turned to the Praetorians...none shall stand in the way of her goal...

Most of my villains are over the the top evil and will stay evil; barring me adding a retcon about Sister Psyche rewiring their brains.

Deadlander the Rad/MM Blaster is likely to go towards Vigilante or even Villain/Rogue status. He is from a post-apocalyptic Earth where the heroes lost, all those last minute attempts to stop the doomsday machines and alien invasions failed. He'll do anything at all to prevent that from happening.

The Accelerated Man, the Fire/SR scrapper will likely go Vigilante. He's really an adventurer, in it for the thrills and not all that heroic.

Special Effectz the Ill/Sonic will likely go all the way to villain and maybe back again; he's a renegade Freakshow looking for faces to smash and cool tech to weld to himself.

The One From Outside my Dark/Storm is an extra dimensional alien and incomprehensible; it will wander across the moral spectrum as it pleases, to no humanly comprehensible pattern.

Shatterqueen my SS/Shield will likely go to Rogue or full hero; she's mainly big and bad tempered but not truly evil.

Apostle of Agony the Merc/Pain will likely go Rogue just so he can travel to Paragon and preach the Way of Pain to the masses.

Divine Wrath the Fire/Shield will likely go Vigilante; she's a merciless punisher of the wicked, and not really all that heroic.

Agent of Midnight will likely go Vigilante; he's a "do what is necessary to accomplish the mission" type.

Weaver of Sorrows the Fortunata may recover from her brainwashing and go Rogue or Hero.

Steel Spider the Crab/Bane may go Rogue due to her dissatisfaction with Arachnos.

I have some mercenary-minded villains I'm considered having choose Rogue or Hero with the explanation that Manticore simply paid them to do it.

Hm... My Main, Dreameater, is a Mind/Psy dom. She no longer feeds like a normal human, but drains the dreams and desires from victims' souls to sustain her own life, and psychic energy. With no cause for continuance, the victims wither to mindless, soulless husks. There is no malevolence to this, but it certainly doesn't side on 'good.' Her personality is split between a scared young girl and a protective over-psyche that fancies itself capable of manipulating all of reality; any attack on the character is seen as against the child, and is defended viciously. The second personality often goes on adventures out of sheer boredom, but the child side wishes vehemently to assist the helpless. (As she was once.) It's tricky, but I'm thinking Rogue.

Mr. Plutonium: My oldest character, a rad/rad defender. Helpful man saved by re-assembly of his dying body, with a plutonium heart giving him the energy to stay alive. He only wants to help, despite the deadly radiation that permeates his very presence. Hero, straight up.

The Watchman: Hero who once protected his city with strength, toughness, and long-range x-ray sight: his ability to see into the city's dark corners and secret spots was problematic to the city's crime outfits, so villains captured him and removed his eyes. He has retrained, and used his memory of the city to function, but has anger issue under honorable (but stubborn) persistence. Still a hero.

Nurse Grace: Nurse who was sick of the turnover rate at a psychiatric ward for the criminally insane, she 'put down' all the patients she considered problematic with her advanced assault rifle. To escape prosecution, she opted for public service...and Paragon had opening for crime-fighting. Vigilante, easily.

The Cremator: fire/fire dom: Once-iconic villain, he was crafty enough to escape all criminal prosecution, as he covered his tracks too well. An angered vigilante used his wife to lure him out, she died in the process. Distraught with his loss, he surrendered, and rotted in the zig until recently. He was a villain, but because of what happened to his wife, it's unlikely he's re-start his life of evil. In fact, he may use his powers for good, as his wife once asked him to...but given his history, I doubt he'd be an angel about it. Ironically, I think he'll be a vigilante.

Nesticus: Arachnos soldier trusted with an advanced crab armor suit, he realized he didn't want to be hero cannon fodder, and could do better for himself solo. As such, he went rogue. And so he shall.

The Viduate: Widow(er) who lost his wife to the obsessive attentions of his superior fortunata. 'Course he didn't know it was her until after they developed a relationship. The fact that those who knew in Arachnos stayed hush-hush made him not only leave, but be angry enough to put many a future Arachnos mook on the business end of his claws. He's angry at bad people, but that doesn't make him good. Rogue, as he's not all about evil, but isn't a good man.

Dr. Scourge. rad/rad corruptor: (Mad scientist) Dreams of a day he can annihilate all innocence in the world, bring nuclear holocaust, kill all puppies, mutate all cute animals in the world into still cute but secretly ravenous mutants with a taste for baby flesh, and discover a way to develop an incurable zombie plague. Hero, right?

Malicient: Mind/Energy Dom: A sentient droid capable of re-wiring human synapses to his whim, a distinct interest in the way the human system works under severe trauma, and a fear of being controlled that leads him to wish to control the world around him much as he can. He doesn't understand evil, but his nack for curiosly killing/torturing puts him in the villain camp.

The Deathsman: Energy/Dark Brute: A hero captured and put through scientific experiments, he was taken back and forth over the threshhold of death. He became convinced it was life that caused suffering, and that true peace only comes from death. As such, he used his life energy to kill things, and death's energy to survive those that resist his efforts. He wants to bring world 'peace.' Villain, despite his 'good' intentions.

Silent Seth: Necro/poison mastermind: A child tortured in his youth, he fled home and found a cursed book with dark magic. His abbusive father tried to keep him from using the spells, for fear of vengeance, by sealing the boy's eye's lips manually with his sowing skills. Thing is, the spells didn't need to be spoken, so Seth turned those around him into undead slaves. Seth is an angry child using evil magic. Villain.

Lady Vasilisa: Bots/FF mastermind: Lone lasting ruler from a failed fascist state, which was brought down through international military efforts. She survives with the last of her mechanized army, and shielding technology. She wishes to bring vengeance against the states the felled her great nation and commander. Villain!

Nenia: Sonic/Sonic Corruptor: An ageless siren from the time of myth, she awoke to the new world, alone. She's angry, confused, and wants to destroy all of this new technology that has taken her world from her. Too bad to be anything but red.

Benjamin Pyre: Fire/fire brute: Born with the innate reflex/ability to cover himself with fire, he has burnt many a thing without meaning to. He grew accustomed to this, eventually embracing it as what he was meant to do. Not particularly sadistic, he still burns people for cash. Rogue!

Gauldreg: Ninja Blade/Dark stalker: Ghoul whose existence is threatened by the unbelief that permeates the world, quashing out the fear that feeds the dark mystical creatures of the world. He strives to bring back fear, to become stronger, as he once was. Villain!

Sam Harrow: elec/pain corruptor: He , with his brother, can control and influence bio-synaptic energies. He can see how the electrical reactions in al life works, and finds the display of energy that pain produces to be beautiful. Villain, once more. Hm.

Sir Bastion: Broadsword/regen scrapper: Knight bespelled to protect his king's lineage and country, the spell to bring him back took too long to stick, he came back in present day to the adopted land of the final heir, too late to save the man. As such, he is doomed to forever protect all that is left to his charge: the country of the fallen, Paragon. Hero, though he really just wants to die.

Ustula Frost: Fire/Cold corruptor: mischievous Fae prince who's peaved at the blatant disregard for the magical creatures and things as of late, who wishes nothing more than to smash, burn, cut things back that have destroyed the unheeded magical things of the world. He's malevolent enough to be bad, not gray.

Frankenfrieda: Elec/will brute: A living corpse cobbled together to be the girlfriend for her maker. She would have none of it, and set out to make a way in the world. She's fastidious about her manners, and has a gentle heart, but tick her off and she flies into an uncontrolled fury. Because she means well, she'll overcome her circumstances and become a hero.

Phantast: Claws/Dark Scrapper: A hero who strikes from the shadows, he still believes he can make the world the best it can be, despite the terrible things done to him by politicians he trusted. Hero, nothing darkens his idealism.

Leslie Froth: Pipe Wrench/will brute: A party girl who's a mean drunk, woke up from a party with half a block of Paragon decimated, and a full squad of cops in the hospital. Needless to say, she woke up in the zig. Unless she can overcome her nasty drinking habit, she may be stuck in her villainous outcomes, despite the fact that all she wants is a good time.

Supremia: energy/energy blaster: a heroine who's darned sure she is quit certainly the best thing to happen to the world. As such, you need not thank her, her own supremacy is all the thanks she needs. Hero.

Tigella: Earth/Thorn dom: plant creature spurned by the mistreatment of chemically corrupted plant life in the rogue isles, She's determined to destroy all fauna she finds. She'll be keeping to her destructive, villainous ways.

Captain Nimbus: elec/SR scrapper: a pilot who was struck with lightning mid-flight, granting him electric manipulation abilities, lightning fast reflexses, and permanent brain damage. The latter caused an inexplicable and single-minded fixation on bringing justice to the world. Justice. He can't stop saying it. Justice. Justice!! He's VERY hard on evildoers sometimes, but means too well to be evil in the slightest. Hero.

Mr. Kanker: rad/kin corruptor: a mob test Guinea pig, he used the abilities he gained to sap living energy and weaponize it as a sickening, destructive force against his tormentors in a mob war. He lost. He now lives only for the best he can do for himself in this moment. Not sure if this puts him in the rogue camp, or if his penchant for stealing life energy to destroy things (and enjoyment therof) puts him all the way red.

And that's not even all I have on Champion.

My namesake MA/Regen Scrapper is getting an evil counterpart. I haven't decided on a name yet.

If we get to go good with our VEATs like I've read, Bane Spider Minchu and Fortunata Hamilton will find redemption. I have a Warshade, Quirian Kai, who's quite likely to fall to the dark side though.

Retaliator is a Dark/Kin Corruptor who is actually True Neutral in alignment, but I'm considering turning her slightly towards the light.

Undecided on the rest.

Hmmm...you have a point, Sam.

Keeping them in just one spot gets boring.

In fact, while I can see my main as a vigilante...it dawns on me...it's all set by a mission.

While I see my main as more complicated than always doing the right thing. The missions needed to be done, to go rogue/vigilante, might be counter to what your character would actually do conceptually.

So, might have wait on seeing who goes Rogue/Vigilante.

Guess it's a good thing, there's alot of people out there who won't care and just do it whatever it takes (for the badges for instance), and not go with their concept

I'm not one...but I'm sure there's alot of them out there.

Ironically I've already had a character jump the morality fence: Trix St. Germaine, mind/psi dom, is really just a catburglar who irked the wrong people at Longbow, not a cackling loon bent on world domination. It didn't take long for her to blanch at some of the jobs she was doing (Detailed here in this fic, if anyone cares: http://zerry.deviantart.com/art/Breaking-Free-92266956 ) and she soon became a double agent, passing intel she found off to several heroes. Eventually Arachnos got suspicious, so Trix bolted for the mainland before she was caught. After cashing in all the good work she's done with Vanguard and the Midnight Squad to get Longbow off her back, she became Mind Trix, illu/empathy controller. The empathy part isn't even part of her powers, she's just taken a real interest in battlefield medicine after using Heal Another on Vanguard troops frequently.

Runngin through a few dimensional variations of the Whoorg interdimensional genepool

Catwhoorg - (claws/regen scrapper) Whiter than white, a real old school paladin type believer and staunch knight, with an absolute moral code. Hero staying hero, will not shift one Iota.

ShadowCatwhoorg - (claws/regen stalker) Insane. Bent, twisted loves to torture people. Evil incarnate for most of the time, then he gets really nasty. Killed several times by his VG leader for plotting against him, but still he tries. Villain staying villain

CatwhoorgShade - (dark/dark brute) He is already a very unwilling villain. Forced to act against his free will through magcial means. His story has alwasy been one with the hope of redemption. Will go to rogue, then hero. (must finish up the associated AE story sometime, it ties in with one of my wifes characters)

Commander Voorg - (Crab Spider) A recruit from Axis Amerika, he believes 100% in the growth through struggle and survival of the fittest. He could get along REALLY well with Emperor Cole. Not quite sure where his story will take him.

The Next generation
Lil Fluffy (claws/dark scrapper) lives an ambiguous existance already. She is driven by the desire to rescue her kidnapped and brainwashed sister (cf Catwhoorgshade comment). Its going to be interesting to see just how far would she be willing to go along the path. Maybe for one to be redeemed another must fall.

One other.
Mister England - (Ice/NRG blaster). The centerpiece for one of my AE arcs already. A vigilante who went too far too often.

Graaff is a pretty pure hero. He's a robot who decided to do justice as part of Standard Robot Programming. His weird 1920s ideas of justice MIGHT lead to vigilantism.

Kid Conductor, on the other hand, is a troubled teen with lightning + radiation powers. Vigilante Defender for sure.

Ceylon Krait is a pure villain, through-and-through, and I can't see him going anywhere else.

Lidaelle is very much a hero and I can't see her deciding to do evil.

Doc Soldano might make a good rogue - my current concept has him a bit unhappy about his status as a villain but still not quite connected enough to be a good guy. Likewise the unstoppable Doctor Mechanicus, who wants to make the world perfect by connecting everyone to a global processing system and using them to fuel his robot army (and then defeat the Rikti and establish the dominion of the Metamind over the universe). In fact, most of my mad scientists are Rogue-esque. Plus, mad scientists are fun to terrorize Paragon with.

My characters will go wherever loot is most available and wherever the Markets are plentiful.

I'll toy with the side-switching and enjoy the storyline for sure, but it comes down to item availability for me.

Well...

I have not been working with my Going Rogue characters, but here's what to expect:

Shadow Sorrow (Corruptor) has not really showed any signs of turning to the ways of a hero, but that will change once Going Rogue hits.

Extreme Action (Blaster) has shown that he is willing to take extreme measures to solve the "villain problem" in Paragon, an action that will no doubt leave him with few heroic allies. Omega Zealot also shares this philosophy.

Death Talker (Mastermind) always grew up wanting to be a hero, but "financial troubles" led him into a life of crime instead. However, he will eventually take the opportunity to turn away from villainy when it presents itself.

And as for my main character, Cursed Sorcerer (Defender)... I do not know yet. Surely he has a dark past, but he has left it behind, but then again he is "cursed" so we'll have to see what fate has in store for him...

My main villain Redcoat is a fallen hero and he's... going to stay Redside? Though possibly remain a perma-Rogue rather than ever return to full hero status.
He fell because his original contact as a hero was actually Malta Agent, the end result meant he lost his family too, despite all this, he's come to terms with his life in the Rogue Isles and feels he can do a greater good fighting evil in the heart of hell itself, plus he's made friends in the Rogue Isles who have a like mindset. Though I do have a story planned for him where he goes back to being a full hero for a time when his old SGmates start getting hunted down and he has to get to the bottom of it all.

Midnight Frosts, my corruptor, is taking the first chance he can to get out of the Isles, not entirely because of ideological differences, but because he needs to find a hero to help his people.

Revi, my spec ops catgirl, might end up vigilante. She doesn't like having such a bleak outlook on people and the world, but she honestly feels that the only way one can stop people like the Countess Crey from harming people it to just subvert common law and kill them. Whether or not she can take this last step or not? Only time will tell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow City of Heroes is a game about freedom of expression and variety of experiences far more so than it is about representing any one theme, topic or genre.

I'm all over the place since I have many alts, but I made an in-character thread answering this kind of thing:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=197060

(Shameless plug ftw! :grin: )

I don't see me taking any of my heroes to the other side. but I can see my Thug/Poison MM to the hero sides since part of his story is mistaken Identity and doing evil more or less as a mercenary for hire. I currently have a Bots/Trap MM that I want to redo as a Dual Pistols char(not sure if will be blaster or corr) but I'm thinking of starting him off as part of the resistance in Praetoria (his background is he's a Malta Gunslinger who 'failed' his objective, faked his death and escaped)
On Justice

Merkuris fire/kin troller has slowly been fighting a losing battle against a demon that possessed him early in his career.Although he gained powers which he used for good the more he kills the more the demon in him takes over.(and since he's a farmer he goes faster towards evil)Rogue

Dark Furyan spines/dk scrapper originally a Portal tech researcher,while exploring other dimensions was infected with a parasite that mutated him into his current form.The parasite has a fondness for Rikti "flesh".Rogue

Nebulae Reaver WS goes wherever the badges are!

Impactite mace/stone brute a DE from an alternate world in which DE and humanity live side by side.He makes his way to Paragon City to live with humanity and protect them.Vigilante

Pyerun ss/fa brute a demigod worshipped in Russia.He is going the path of grey as he wishes to help those that still believe in him and help all those to gain more of a following.Vigilante

Warpact bots/ff mm staying evil offers Cole his services/tech for funds/labs to continue his production of cutting edge weaponry.

Necro Portia bane spider staying evil in service to Recluse as the first of a scouting/spy network into Preatoria.

Hibakusha rad/rad corr redside badger goes the way of the badges!

Have others but undecided the almighty delete button might get them before I can decide though.

I have a 32 villain who is sort of the same philosophy as Catwoman. Looking out for myself, but helping others too.

Bitt Player:
Bitt's an all-American hero type who ardently believes in the cause of justice. He's been known to cross the probverbial line on rare occasion, however -he openly admits that if he gets a second chance to kill Countess Crey, he'll take it. Hero, with maybe a few Vigilante missions thrown in. Bitt probably won't spend much time in Praetoria, as he's more dedicated to Primal Earth America than some other nation in some other dimension, but when he's there, he'll be pushing the Resistance cause.

Elaina Rhysenn:
She's a gearhead first and a Hero second, but she has no reason to turn to villainy. If she goes to Praetoria, she'll probably spend an inordinate amount of her time there picking fights with the Praetorian Clockwork, looking to salvage and reverse-engineer them.

Samael Diener:
Despite Bitt's best efforts towards instilling him with free will, Samael mostly just does whatever Bitt wants him to do, so he's pretty much a Hero by default. However, Bitt doesn't make many demands in terms of how Samael goes about his heroics, and Samael was engineered to enjoy violence, so he'll be a paticularly vicious Vigilante.

General Phi:
What we have here is a sapient android that considers Voltaire's "When You're Evil" his theme song. He admires Peter Themari, though he thinks Westin Phipps is trying to hard. That said, Phi prefers causing chaos over oppressing the weak, so it'll be hard for him to look at the perfectly-organized, ever-so-over-planned Praetoria without wanting to make a mess of it. He'll stay mainly villainous, but he'll sometimes give the Resistance a hand just to bunch up Emperor Cole's undergarments.

Mecha Maven:
A classic "rebel without a cause" type, Mecha Maven works as Phi's right-hand troublemaker because he gives her something to believe in. Well, and because this "evil" business is a ton of fun. That said, Phi gives Mecha Maven a lot of leeway, and she's more in it for herself, rather than any high (or low) ideals. Mecha Maven will veer wildly across the spectrum, though she'll probably always return to villainy sooner or later.

And I'll have to go think about the rest.

rian is pure good and will stay such. seraph blue as well.

i'm tempted to take my blaster, frostkat vigilante, she is a good eharted person, but an idea i have been kicking around involves a sub-plot of her being jealous of a freinds character, and might lead her to go a bit darker.

violet tendencies has always been motivated by the desire to do good but has been hampered by where she is from. She wouldn't trust the heroes enough after seeing longbow's somewhat un-compassionate view of justice, but she will go rogue.

dire will likely stay red, he cant forgive himself for the death of a hostage he was trying to rescue and still is busy making the villains pay his way...plus im guessing some content may be full hero or full red exclusive so mechanically hes my other main redsider.

really wont be switching much, the characters were pretty much conceived to exist in a non side switching world, so most of them are pretty much locked in their ideologies.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

My AR/Trap corr's character is a defect longbow, who has been shooting it up in the RI and during his career has become my designated GM hunter. He's gonna be shipped off to Paragon to take down the ghost ship, non-event Jack in Irons and Eochai, Pally, etc. because RI is SOOOOOO lacking in the GM department.