Welcome to the Netherworld :D

I promise I searched this forum for a post similar to this one, but I didn't see one. So apologies if it's a repeat ^^

Am I the only one who wonders what the "Netherworld" is actually like? I mean we have a bunch of powersets that get their powers from this mysterious area/dimension but I can't find a description of what this place would look like. Or anything about the zone at all, besides it's a place full of energy? Not to mention all the enemy groups who also draw energy or even come from the Netherworld. My curiousity has gotten the better of me I guess.

So here's my idea, how about delving deeper into the Netherworld!
This could be done by just adding a new contact/story arc used to unlock this new zone (Kind of how you unlock Cimerora) and can even use the Midnighters Club to lead you there. The zone COULD be like Dark Astoria, in the sense that it's a dark and dreary place full of undead and crazy people. Or it could be more of a metropolis area (I.e. Steel Canyon) with just a darker theme to it.

The zone itself would give:
More badges (For all you badgers out there)

A new enemy group or two (Nether Knights of Doooom or something like that!)

Unlockables from running the story arcs in zone (Sort of like Sands of Mu for non Vets maybe?)

And maybe even a TF! (A Shadow demon plans on taking his army of Netherworlders to destroy the earth! Again, just throwing ideas out there )

If this idea is totally ridiculous and I've completely lost my mind, don't be afraid to tell me so. But if you think this idea just might work and I've had a stroke of genius then feel free to add/change anything that would make it more realistic! I'm a sucker for dark themes like this and Dark Astoria is just too out of the way and honestly useless. Just my opinion anyways ^^

That link leads to the Oranbega missions. . . I don't see what the relevance is between that and the Netherworld >.>

Do you really think that "Unlockables [powers] from running the story arcs in zone" would be something other than a temporary power?

The Netherworld is Hell, simply put. So, would I be up for Hell as a ZONE? Seems kind of weird. Really weird. Adding extra missions that take place in the Netherworld would be awesome though.

That would be kinda cool. I always liked the foggy look of DA but its simply not used often enough. Netherworld would be a good mix of creepy to add. I also associate Hell with Netherworld. It would be funny to add it as an area to respawn in after you die. It would read: "Go to Hospital. Go to Base. Go to Hell."

It'd have to be villains only in that case, Shadow.

Except City's netherworld is full of demons.

The Canon answer on the "netherworld:"

Sheol, Tartarus, etc etc. There are lots of Hells that are cold and dark and not on fire.

For a few of my characters, it's where Cthulhu lives.

My vision of the Netherworld is a place where Dark Energy takes precedence over gravity.
It's much like the Dark dimension in Marvel comics where Cloak draws his powers from.

Will this world have a NetherGoat in it?

City of Heroes as a mythos does not have a hell, but it does have at least two contenders that come to mind instantly. One is, yes, the Netherworld, the place where darkness powers, shadows, ghosts and life-force-draining powers originate. I would assume it's linked to Lughebu in some manner, as I believe that's where he and his pantheon were banished.

The other contender is the fire and brimstone hell of the Prince of Demons, the source of much of the Oranbegans' powers. This is characterised by fire and fire-based powers, as well as less traditional, more gothic-christian-hollywood horned, hooved, scaly fire-breathing demons. We don't have any real contact with the Prince of Demons outside of his Envoy of Shadows, whom despite possessing darkness powers is still a rather large fire-breathing Behemoth. We also have Baphomet, who is basically a souped-up Behemoth Overlord.

Outside of actual alternate dimensions, I'm not aware of another "plane of existence" that has potentially evil powers as its defining characteristic.

However, it's interesting to define the many many mathematical dimensions by which settings can vary. On the most basic level, we have the three physical dimensions - length, width and height. We can also include time as a fourth one, as that has been well-travelled now. We also seem to have "plane of existence" as possibly a fifth dimension, though that might just be a discrete set of different planes, rather than a continuous progression. And, of course, we also have "dimension" as an actual... Sixth? Sixth dimension, and that one does appear to be analytical, rather than discrete, as scanning through the dimensions, we can almost track changes from one to the next as they progress. And the funny thing is, there isn't any guarantee that any of these factors add just ONE dimension. For instance, dimensions don't have to be linearly aligned in a single progression, they could be planar, or even spacial and above. It's fun to theorise with this, since you can make all manner of aliens without repeating yourself that way.

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.

History of Dark Astoria according to the Paragon Wiki

OK - so it's not much to go on here, and I THOUGHT histories of all the locations in Paragon City were supposed to be on the main cityofheroes.com page. Thought there was gonna be more info about DA than what I discovered NOW. What I'm about to post, however, shouldn't be too much of a stretch.

So, here we go - what if the Banished Pantheon didn't discover their ancient, banished deities, but rather - a portal into the very Netherworld itself. The gateway to the Netherworld lying beneath the very soil of Astoria. It would explain why DA is STILL enshrouded in fog to this day, as somehow - the Rikti invasion (and subsequent 2nd invasion) managed to rupture that gateway (but only slightly, which is why we haven't seen an all-out infestation of Netherworldly beasts, demons and so on and so forth.)

Another disturbing revealation: Also on the CoH mainpage, the BP are not listed in the "Know Your Adversary" section of the Game Info tab. Seems not everything went smoothly during the transition from the old site to this new one. (There USED to be a ton of "Top Secret" links too - what happened to all of those?)

So, I say, new zone: Netherworld
Entrance: Dark Astoria (somewhere underground, of course. Besides, how else could Adamastor so easily appear in this zone time and time again? Because DA is not only a massive ley-line nexus point, but also the entrance to the Netherworld!)
Of course there would be tons of missions, new contacts, badges, the works to go along with the zone being the Netherworld.

Also: Dark Astoria could also very well be the spot where Baron Zoria so long ago ventured to and discovered the entrance to Oranbega (CoT do inhabit DA, according to Paragon Wiki!) However, also according to the Paragon Wiki, Oranbega was "accidently discovered" by the Rikti, and DA remained relatively unscathed by the Rikti during the first invasion - so. I'm gonna have to say it - Dark Astoria HAS to be a nexus point where the entrance to the Netherworld can be found.

Either the netherworld is a term talking about a set of universes with a given attribute and/or it is that and another plane of existence.

It is not Hell. Graphically it isn't suggested and tectually they are never linked.

Dark Astoria is the Spirit World border breaking down, the same as Croatoa/Salamanca. The Netherworld is simply a 'rift' being opened or rather a portal. To say Dark Astoria is the netherworld is to say that Portal Corp is Praetoria and the Netherworld and others

I am NOT saying that Dark Astoria IS the Netherworld, rather what I'm suggesting is that:

Two ley lines run through Astoria. Astoria would then be a nexus point, and this nexus point in Astoria is - the entrance to the Netherworld.

Not this ridiculous notion of