How will Primal and Praetoia Meet Up?

I asked at HeroCon and Posi gave the expected "No comment" on this, acknowledging that it was a worthy question.

What will be the event that kicks off Going Rogue and compels us Primals to rent in room in the Praetoian DoubleTree Hotel, where cookies cost $5?

New features are added via story features constantly. Jeepers creepers, even Powerset Proliferation got justified through story (Kudos to the one who knows what it is!). So, what will cause us to throw open the doors and take it upon ourselves to sort out a mess that isn't ours (Heroes) and exploit people that haven't experienced our brand of villainy (Villains)?

My theory:

• Statesman is killed:
  Why I think this: "We need something epic" meets up with "A large portion of the forum community has requested Statesman be removed somehow" and makes sweet, sweet sweaty Lore-love.
  What I think will happen: Tyrant kills Statesman. Not sure how, but it starts that way. The rest of Statesman's crew, reluctantly led by Positron, decide that this cannot stand. Seeking justice, they head to Praeotia intending to arrest Tyrant and make him stand trial. After some recon, however, they learn that Tyrant isn't "the baddie of the week"... he's the main gear in the well oiled machine that is the city of Praetoia. It would actually be gravely irresponsible for them to simply pluck him out of the picture, assuming they even have the fire power. The only viable way to dethrone Tyrant is to help Praetoia do it itself. Contacts are made with the Resistence. Heroes are urged to assist in the effort as well.
  
  Villains discover that Praetoia's idea of "good" actually suits them. They follow through the gate to take advantage of this opportunity.
  

• Lord Recluse: The developers spoke in a way at the Con that caused me to believe that Lord Recluse was relatively irrelevant to this storyline. Ergo, I don't think he'll play into it.
• Dr. Aeon: Dr. Aeon's not the type of character that you can use for a storyline this epic and serious, in my opinion.
• Lord Nemesis: The developers said that, more than likely, Praetorian Nemesis is a normal person who died a simple and happy clockmaker. Primal Nemesis is really really overdone. Between these two, we're practically out of candidates.

Well, it's possible Tyrant starts sending scouts to our world to get ready for his invasion - and once the Freedom Phalanx find out about it, they ask for Heroes to help them investigate the new dimension and find a way to stop the threat from it.
Recluse might look at Tyrant as a possible ally, or as a threat too, and send his goons there to check the place out, and see if Tyrant could be a friend or a foe.

I'm betting that it'll be the conflict between the Hellions and Skulls that does it.

What? Nobody would see that one coming.

Statesy is too embedded in the current game. From his running and appearing in TFs, to the heroic rescue arc blue-side, to even the moronic final VEAT arc red-side--it just seems like too much work to change all of that to kill him off. Having said that, I support it.

No, it's something that we're overlooking, not expecting, or additive to the game world. When faced with "strange tremors on the moon," I'll be the first to admit that I assumed that it was indeed a Nazi moonbase. I still don't see a relationship between the moon and the second Rikti invasion. It's going to be the Shadow Shard--straight out of the game lore, but nothing we ever expected.

I highly doubt the Statesman will die. He's featured in too much content for him to just "up and gone." Way I figure it, Tyrant will simply try a different approach to spreading his influence over Primal Earth. It's obvious raw power doesn't cut it, as we've been breaking his glass jaw for years and years. But he isn't just powerful, he's also cunning. Who's to say he doesn't wake up one day and think to himself "What if I open negotiations with them? Maybe I can take them over from within?" It's still an aggressive takeover, it's just not done via punching people in the face. No less forceful, no less sinister, just a different way of achieving the same goal.

Look at the context of this - Praetoria. The world is seemingly perfect utopia where everything is controlled, everyone toes the line and law and order reign supreme. Tyrant is not some wannabe Lord Recluse who lets his keep write in misery while his subjects beat each other up for bread money. He's not a powermongering megalomaniac who wants to muscle his way into everything. He is wise and cunning, and I wouldn't at all put it past him to sell himself as the good guy. After all, he is doing exactly that in Praetoria. He's the good guy, the hero, the man who saved the world from hardship and crime. Now it's time to save another world from it.

Will we buy into that?

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.

Possible ways Primal and Praetoria will Meet Up...

* Primal was standing in the rain waiting for a bus it missed... Praetoria was driving by and feeling generous... a light rock radio station... Praetoria's place was closer and what with Primal being soaked to the bone... magic was in the air...

* Upon discovering that Sister Psyche has a naughty "twin" in Praetoria Manticore holds Portal Corps employees at arrow point until they establish a connection.

* Blue Steel eats a bean burrito... one case of indigestion later there is a new dimensional rip.

* Pictures of Dominatrix make their way around the Portal Corps office pool. Employee moral has never been higher which allows them to burn the midnight oil in establishing contact with this world... just in case there's a video series too.

* The Resistance of Praetoria hear about a justice obsessed version of their own Tyrant and create a permanent portal to Primal. They begin screaming to the first people they encounter about living under the iron fist of a megalomaniac... when the people begin laughing their heads off the Resistance realize they are on the Rogue Isles and try again.

* Someone ticked off Happy Fun Ball.

* Someone engaged the Improbability Drive once too often.

* Tired of being at the bottom of the pecking order the Hellions walk in to the Magi vaults and grab the Mystic Plot Hole. With this Plot Hole firmly in place they realize they can accomplish virtually anything and never have to come up with an explanation of how that thing happened in the first place.

* Primal Nemesis decides to give a birthday present to Praetorian Nemesis in the form of a vacation getaway to Primal Earth. Hilarity ensues when Praetorian Nemesis does the same thing. The two portals combine and corrode to form a permanent nexus. After several hi-jinks the Nemesis pair blow up the laugh track machine and execute the writers for such a poorly written Nemesis Plot-line.

Given that the Praetorians are already here, I think the question is what propels them to expand their interest in Primal?

My guess would be resources, with the DE being so much more prevalent, I imagine that getting natural resources would be a PITA.

How I think it will happen: A portal will open and the Praetorians will be all "we're going to invade you now kthx".

The Primal and Praetorian world meet-up by way of a wardrobe in Statesman's and Tyrant's bedrooms.

You don't want to wake up either when using it. Take Stealth.

My theory? Tyrant had enough.

Praetoria decides that the heroes invading their dimension with Portal Corps is a declaration of War.

To avoid an all out war Tyrant sends down ambassadors to open diplomatic channels. Statesman and co are whistled back by the government when they plead to open hostilities to Praetoria.

During these meetings, Statesman will visit Praetoria (see the video trailer). At the moment GR goers live, the papers are signed and a tension filled peace is there. Spies cross the dimensional borders to ply their trade and both sides watch each other with argus eyes.

Ya'll writing off Lord Recluse, pffft!

Mind you the Dev's have final say, but in my opinion, Recluse would see this Praetoria, know his other self was killed by Statesman, could either respect the power Tyrant wields or take it really damn personal!

Which could double his efforts to take out Primal Statesman or Start a foothold in Praetoria Earth, to let Mr. Cole know, There is a reason to fear him.

Even if there a different form of Arachnos on that place, I bet Recluse will eventually swallow into his vast army on Primal.


As MUCH as I HATE Nemesis, our current Nem, wont want to stand by & watch all this, perhaps this start of the Coming Storm on Primal Earth, he just cant leave things alone & needs to get his hands in mix, period.


JJ

I think it could come in the form of a suit for peace between the two dimensions, and a request for aid against the Devoured Earth. They know we have them mostly under control on Primal Earth, whereas most of Praetorian Earth is overrun...

I have my theory on this one, and based on a few hints that got dropped at the 'con, I'm fairly sure I'm right. *smirks*

You'll see my theory in my GR teaser... which, if all goes well, goes live on or around November 15th.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Funny, I thought that Primal and Praetoia met up in a single's bar in downtown LA

But seriously, although having Statesman killed would be interesting, they'd have to go out of their way to do it, considering the whole Praetorian story arc surrounding him and that whole gosh-darn Task Force involving him.

No, IMHO I think this will be some sort of spin off the former, his late-game story arc. Of course, they'll have to retcon that arc a bit after the expansion's release to redesign some of the mobs and locations (including the Tyrant hovel cavel), but more likely than not Statesman is still alive, but wants to do what Marcian has predicted - elicit the help of heroes to undermine Emperor Cole's empire through the Resistance.

Meanwhile, Recluse could find a worthy ally in Emperor Cole - or at least a new distraction for Statesman that he can exploit. Cole is a totalitarian but also the perfect equal of Statesman. Although Recluse would never openly admit it, he something to offset his stalemate with Statesman, and may even go so far as to take Emperor Cole as a "strange bedfellow" ally, or at the least, use Statesman's distraction with Cole to his advantage.

Villains, meanwhile, know there could be a profit to an interdimensional war, possibly skirting the line with Arachnos to exploit the conflict...

What I wouldn't give to see Statesman iced... But as many have said, he's too prevalent. Examples?

The cover of the game, the header on the forums, the preloader for the game itself, in 90% of pictures about the game, the taskforce, found in 5 different missions between Heroes and Villains, in Recluse's Victory, and thensome.

Yes, we'd all like him kindly removed, but we can't just replace him willy-nilly. It would require subtlety and tact... Such as a Rikti Ion Cannon.