Suppression (arc 374481) (Dr. Aeon's 2nd Challenge)

This arc was created as my entry for Dr. Aeon's Second Challenge. It is my tribute to the Wizard of OZ CoH style.

Suppression
Arc ID: 374481
Keywords: Solo Friendly, Save the World, Magic
Morality: Heroic
Level range: 5-15
Warnings: none

All over Paragon City, heroes have started mysteriously losing their powers. Are you smart and brave enough to find out why? Do you have enough heart to help?


Below are some favorable comments from people who have played it:

Fantastic arc. Love what you did with the Wizard of Oz. Worked especially well for me as I used a character called Witch Hunt.. Only niggle was no flying monkeys, but otherwise a bang up job. I plan to put a small write up on CoHMR

That was fun. Liked the Wizard of Oz side of it.

Superb arc and wonderfully written. I'm a huge "Wizard of Oz" and "Wicked" fan. Had I known what this arc was about, I'd have run it ages ago. Five BIG stars.

Delightful take on the Wizard of Oz. "..if I only had a heart..." Had me smiling throughout.

I enjoyed this arc! It was especially fun for this character, who is my homage to Elphaba, from the musical Wicked. The battle at the end against teh Wicked One was witch on witch! All that said, the first mission hardly gave any XP at all for the defeated foes - you might want to take a look at that. Besides that, though - bravo!

Very enjoyable arc. It's probably been 35 years since I last saw the Wizard of Oz, but it was a very clever story you created out of that. Well done. The XP definitely suffers in the first mission, but I didn't care about that and stealthed much of it since I was interested in the story itself. Info only, I used a lvl 10 Claws/Regen scrapper and no vet powers. Didn't die, but came close a couple of times.

It's worthy of Dev's Choice.




I realize that this arc may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those of you who think you might enjoy it, I would love for you to play it and give me some feedback.

Worthy urv you. I sent some feedback in PM. Good luck with the contest!

Arc: 379017: Outbroken See all your old friends in the Outbreak Tutorial sequel!
Arc: Coming Soon: The Incarnate Shadow Shard of Fire and Ice Mender Rednem needs you!
Massively.com opinion poll: Please Help Save CoH!

Thank you to all who played this and gave me feedback. It was really helpful!

Based on the feedback I made the following changes:

- Cleaned up typos

- Removed the portal room from the map in mission 4

- Recolored one of my villains in the Brood

- Removed the second glowie from mission 2 since it didn't really add to the story and it was annoying to find

- Reduced the number of glowies in mission 3

- Added some dialog to the non-combat NPCs in mission 1, so that it is clear that if they attack, it is the Tuatha and not you they are attacking

- Updated the contact dialog to make her more true to character. If anyone gets a chance to play, I would especially like feedback on this to be sure I did not introduce any typos.

Good luck to all in the contest. I have played some entries I really enjoyed.

Thanks again to all who gave me feedback!

I marked this arc Final for submission to the challenge. My real life is quite hectic and I wanted to be sure I did not end up missing the deadline.

I want to note that although it is marked Final, in my eyes no arc of mine is ever truly Final unless I am lucky enough to one day get a Dev's choice. I still welcome and would appreciate feedback on this arc.

Thanks so much to those who have already played and given me feedback!

Good luck to all in the contest.

Based on additional feedback, I made some more updates:

- Cleaned up a few last typos

- Made it clear that the heroes lost their powers and disappeared a few days later in response to a question that if they disappeared, how did we know they had lost their powers

- Specified that Dorothy was helping Ms. Liberty (to clarify the mysterious we). It was always my intent that she was working with Paragon City's heroes, but a player pointed out to me that I never said so.

- Most importantly, I updated the souvenir. Several players questioned the intent of the arc. Was it real, a story or a dream? The arc is definately not a typical super hero story. It was my attempt to recreate one of my favorite childhood stories as a CoH arc. It includes quotes and elements from the Wizard of Oz movie, the broadway show Wicked, and the Wizard of Oz book. There were actually many Oz books, and in those books, Oz was real and not a dream. However, I doubt very many arc players read those books. In the famous movie, the implication is that it was all a dream, so I added something to the end of the souvenir suggesting that perhaps this arc was all a dream as well.

Thanks again to all who played and gave me such valuable feedback.

I wanted to take this opportunity to express my thanks to all who reviewed this arc and gave me such great feedback.

It is so great that a group of people who are entering the same contest as you are so helpful and supporting.

Thanks to PW who PMd me with some last minute feedback.

In response to that feedback I fixed some more typos and most importantly fixed the bios of my Brood. (I most likely will improve the bios later, but I failed to notice they were taking the default bios which really did not fit).

The entries I played for this contest were all great.

Good luck to all.

Since the contest is over, I updated the level range for this arc to 5-15.

This fit the natural level range of the villains I used and allows for a broader player base.

As always, feedback is welcome.

I made some more updates to this arc thanks to some inputs from recent reviews:

- I made the Wizard be a totem first and then turn into Master Marvel (thank you PW for this suggestion and LJ for his technical advice on how to implement this).

- I changed the Wicked One's second power to fire (again thanks to PW for pointing out that martial arts does not fit and to LJ for the suggestion of fire)

- I modified the last mission return dialog to mention the other heroes (thanks to Bubba for reminding me I forgot about them)

- I added a rescue animation for the mini-girl in mission one (thanks to Cap for this and for making me smile so much with his review)

I want to thank all who have played this arc and given me input. Your suggestions helped me so much.

I updated this arc so that each member of the Brood has a different bio.

The bios are not long, but all should be unique.

If anyone plays and notices any bio typos or has any suggestions as always feedback is appreciated.

Thanks

@GlaziusF

Review done as part of the CoHMR Aggregator project.

Running this on a single-digit will/DMelee tanker, +0 x1 with bosses on.

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Credible Toto. I'm impressed.

I'm a little unclear on exactly what Dr. Aeon's challenge prescribed, but this initial briefing would mean a little more to me if she actually mentioned that these heroes were her friends, as her description indicates.

Oh. Okay. It's in the sendoff. I actually think it'd make a better introduction.

Wow. I'm not going to hold this against you, but all the allies in this mission are pushing me down to like 2 XP a minion. The setpieces are kinda interesting for what that's worth.

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15 XP per minion in the next mission. The ally penalty can get that bad? Crazy.

Anyway, the Winter Horde are here. And it seems like Valentina didn't search for Cerebella completely in vain - I find a note she left about some kind of power suppression plan.

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Lovin' my ghost slaying axe against these spectral pirates. Like a knife through butter.

The pamphlet doesn't seem like much of a clue in its own right. Maybe if the language was more generic-yet-relevant. "Feeling powerless? Like something's missing in your life?"

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Man. It seems like there are silent ambushes in this next mission, triggered by examining the glowies, if these neat rows of Circle that sprint out and fire at me are any indication.

That's a nasty trick to pull. Doubly nasty for the single-digit characters who are supposed to be playing this arc.

Hmm. Mission complete, but I don't seem to have any actual clues, just this guy's promise in dialogue to help.

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Last mission: recovering the embodiments of these hero's powers, because all that's been stolen is their strength of will.

I grab Valentina's locket, and I wonder if these are actually gifts my contact gave the heroes. The next two seem more generic and disabuse me of that notion.

I really don't get the martial arts on the boss here. If you wanted a melee set Dark Melee would probably make more sense.

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Storyline - ****. While this is definitely a take-off of the Wizard of Oz, there wasn't much in the way of plot elements there just because the Wizard of Oz had them and serving no other purpose.

The one dubious link in the whole chain is going from a pamphlet found discarded in a ghost ship to visit the person described on it. That honestly seems a bit farfetched. If the text on the pamphlet seems generic but applicable then that's at least a hint this guy is worth investigating. Maybe there might be a temporary suspicion that he's working for the Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) to steal powers.

Design - ***. I have to level with you: I'm not sure why there are Munchkins in the first mission. There are patrols and allied hostage groups and the occasional battle, but it doesn't seem like they add very much, especially since they don't show up again.

I'm also a little clueless as to why The Brood has the weird mix of enemies it does. Okay, so you've got slime monsters and rock monsters and lava monsters and snake monsters and spider... robots... and the Clockwork, and human Arachnos soldiers?

What role do the Tuatha, Winter Horde, and Spectral Pirates play in all this? At least in the latter two cases The Brood seems to be talking about how this enemy group is being used to contain the weakened hero. So why have a Brood at all? Why not just have the missions be straight Tuatha/Horde/Pirates and then roll them all together for the last mission?

Gameplay - ****. Aside from what I suspect are silent ambushes in the fourth mission, pretty straightforward fights against canon groups.

Detail - ***. The story may not bring up elements of Oz just for the sake of doing so, but I can't see any other reason for the Munchkin knockoffs in the first mission. I mean, there are already little humanoids in Croatoa who have an established relationship to the Tuatha and exist at all levels. And while the Red Caps probably wouldn't ordinarily be allied, maybe they're more worried that the Tuatha are leaving their control and joining the WWW than about some lowbie hero.

The Brood also retain their stock descriptions, or at least every member I checked did. I don't know how you are for space, but especially for such a disparate group of enemies it's not easy to come up with a unifying theme or motivation looking just at canon names and canon descriptions.

Overall - ***. There was a small hiccup in the story, but most of this is over the character of the opposition. The Brood are the WWW's inner circle, but what are its members supposed to represent? Actual canon enemies she's converted or her own creations? And what part in her plans do the Tuatha, Winter Horde, and Spectral Pirates play? Do they just happen to be in the same place at the same time or is there something more going on?

When you edit a published arc you have to wait till you get the chat message telling you its been changed and then reset your search or the version you're working on will be tge old version next time you save. I think it's sth like that? I republish, exit, search for sth else, play, quit, close down the AE ui, then re-open and start editing again.

I love Suppression btw.

Eco

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

It was a poppy field, MCM. Is there something you're not telling us?

I was able to create a winged monkey. I am not completely happy with how it looks, but I think it is close enough....

So I would like some input. First of all, I assume winged monkeys should fly. Will this make them too difficult for level 5-15 heroes?

Also, do you have any powerset suggestions? I would like to create at least 2 minions, a lt and a boss. I might make 3 minions, 2 lts and a boss.

Should I replace my Brood with winged monkeys or should I modify the Brood to include winged monkeys, perhaps removing some members that don't make sense?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Quick responses cos i have to leave for work.

They MUST Fly.
I kinda liked the Brood, tbh. Can you maybe have both groups in it? or perhaps leave the Monkeys for just the last mission, or as the Wicked One's personal guard or something like that?

I've got a date tonight, but I'll try to cut it short if I can and play it when i get home, or definitely tomorrow if not then.

Eco.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

I made several updates to this arc thanks to the additional space that came with i17.

- I added some explanation as to how the Wicked One was controlling the Brood

- I added a clue following the defeat of the Wizard

- Most importantly, I add Winged Monkeys. I decided not to replace the Brood and per MCM's suggestion I am using them as the Wicked One's personal body guards. In addition, in keeping with the movie, I am using them as scouts. So I added them as patrols in missions 1, 2, and 3. I placed 2 patrols in mission 1, and 1 in 2 and 3. I would appreciate input as to whether or not I should add more patrols.

As always, any input would be appreciated

NOTE: The XP in mission 1 is still badly hit by the "fix", but I am leaving it as is, until the devs address the permanent solution.

I logged in today to see the following feedback on this arc:

Feedback on Architect Mission Suppression: I enjoyed this arc! It was especially fun for this character, who is my homage to Elphaba, from the musical Wicked. The battle at the end against teh Wicked One was witch on witch! All that said, the first mission hardly gave any XP at all for the defeated foes - you might want to take a look at that. Besides that, though - bravo!

I was very excited that the arc was played and so happy the person seemed to enjoy it so much. The rating I got from this was 4 stars. I do realize that this is a good rating, but note the following part of the comment: "All that said, the first mission hardly gave any XP at all for the defeated foes - you might want to take a look at that. " I am not sure if that made the difference between 4 and 5 stars, but this shows that people notice and care about XP, even people who like stories and that the person was not aware of the recent "fix" which caused this.

I even have the following warning in the arc description: " NOTE: Current MA patch severely reduces XP in mission 1. If you care do not play at this time."

So I ask the development team once again. Please remove the patch

I updated the first post in this thread with a more current description of the arc which includes the warning about the reduced XP in mission 1.

I would like to thank everyone for the feedback they gave me to help make my arc better.

I retested this arc and all the XP issues are now fixed.

As always, feedback is welcome.