CoH MA as a D&D Emulator
By
AzureSkyCiel,
Posted on: 2010-08-27 01:45 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Some friends and I tried this, though it was usually less an actual D&D campaign and more playing CoH as if it were a fantasy MMO by playing only fantasy-themed MA arcs, and RPing appropriately. We did do a couple of our own self-created arcs, and even had a D&D-style tavern made in an SG base. It was very fun, though we haven't done it for awhile.
As for dragons... I dunno, closest I could see maybe is Devouring Earth Devoured, the DE bosses with the tentacle face. I think there may be one or two named ones that are bigger than normal, but I'm unsure if they're available in AE.
You could also use the crystal titan from the Eden trial, if it's available. Not a dragon, but a huge crystal monster sounds pretty D&D to me.
Could also consider using Rularuu(again, if available. Sorry, I'm not up on what all the AE has...). The Brutes and Overseers would make good D&D-style mobs. Then there's the Minotaurs and Cyclopes from Cimeroran Traitors, Arachnoids as spider monsters, pretty much any CoT mob, Legacy Chain, etc. Or make your own. My group made Kobolds and Orcs, among others.
And as long as you can ignore the war-walls, there are plenty of exterior maps to use, as well as a plethora of cave and Oranbega maps.(Be sure to use tickets to unlock more of those, some of the unlocks are awesome.)
Uh, but yeah. This thread is making me miss it now...
I had actually considered an AE arc like this, with the contact supposedly being the DM, and towards the end, he'd get frustrated with how you whizz through all his challenges and there'd be an ambush of DE rock monsters.
"Rocks fall, everyone dies. ... Or not."
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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.
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Ha! I love it!
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Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
I had actually considered an AE arc like this, with the contact supposedly being the DM, and towards the end, he'd get frustrated with how you whizz through all his challenges and there'd be an ambush of DE rock monsters.
"Rocks fall, everyone dies. ... Or not." |
I kind of wish Paragon studios would push a bit more for fantasy, even if it's booster content. An MMO that manages to pull off having magic and technology collide into each other without breaking the game in half is more than capable of handling any sort of content that fits the Teen rating of the game.
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@Oneirohero
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Do you recall DragonLance? They made a D&D spinoff based on the novels and one of the groups of bad guys were Draconians. They were created by corrupting the eggs of good dragons. Something similar could easily be created by using our own lizard costume pieces.
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Originally Posted by Dementor_NA
The one major drawback is the total lack of dragons. The humanoid dragon-thing one can create with the character creator just doesn't cut it.
Thoughts? |
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True, and it works fine for Draconians, Dragonborn, Kobolds and the like, but making actual dragons does not yield great results.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Do you recall DragonLance? They made a D&D spinoff based on the novels and one of the groups of bad guys were Draconians. They were created by corrupting the eggs of good dragons. Something similar could easily be created by using our own lizard costume pieces.
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No argument there, but we have to work with what we've got. The actual dragons will have to be an abstract concept like a deity,
I forget who, but someone had a FANTASTIC dungeon romp when AE first came out. They had episodes and unfortunately had to take down their first episode. I used to play that one quite a bit. They did a very credible job giving that D&D feel.
The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.
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We've already got Cim, which IMO is more than enough D&D type stuff for a superhero game, especially given that the market is flooded with that stuff.|
Originally Posted by Oneirohero
I kind of wish Paragon studios would push a bit more for fantasy, even if it's booster content. An MMO that manages to pull off having magic and technology collide into each other without breaking the game in half is more than capable of handling any sort of content that fits the Teen rating of the game.
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If we get dragons before we get to space, I'll be pissed.
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How about if we had space dragons? The old Superman cartoons had Superman fighting space dragons all the time. Plus there's a precedent as dragons from other planets have appeared in Anne McCaffrey's books and in Julian May's books.|
Originally Posted by Judas_Ace
We've already got Cim, which IMO is more than enough D&D type stuff for a superhero game, especially given that the market is flooded with that stuff.
If we get dragons before we get to space, I'll be pissed. |
I've always felt that CO* should have more classic giant monsters appear, especially with the game's origins in classic Graeco-Roman mythology.
Isn't there a bit of a lack of fantasy themed maps? Like there's only really the Thorn maps, a few outdoor maps and the Cimerora maps - we need a medieval time travel zone to add more fantasy art assets to the game 
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
....has everyone forgotten about Croatoa?
We've got spirits and scantily clad witches and log throwing werewolves and giant pumpkins heads that disguise themselves as trees...and vicious vicious lawn gnomes! Jack-in-Irons is definitely a hill giant of some kind.
Not to mention there are plenty of outdoor maps with the Croatoa forest that give a DnD feel.
Or that huge graveyard map ala Dark Astoria...it just begs for an undead themed campaign.
Eagles may soar, but Pigions don't get sucked into Jet engines.
It'd be cool if they'd let us use whole zones in the MA - like having the whole Cimerora zone to use would be awesome.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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I will have to steal that idea from you.
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Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
I had actually considered an AE arc like this, with the contact supposedly being the DM, and towards the end, he'd get frustrated with how you whizz through all his challenges and there'd be an ambush of DE rock monsters.
"Rocks fall, everyone dies. ... Or not." |
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Golden Girl, I /sign both of these so hard, my crazy old SS brute build that was supposed to allow for a theoretical 1170 points of damage KB blow can't compete.|
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
Isn't there a bit of a lack of fantasy themed maps? Like there's only really the Thorn maps, a few outdoor maps and the Cimerora maps - we need a medieval time travel zone to add more fantasy art assets to the game
It'd be cool if they'd let us use whole zones in the MA - like having the whole Cimerora zone to use would be awesome. |
Seriously, we need more mission maps that take place in all corners of the globe and across time.
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Originally Posted by ClayPigion
....has everyone forgotten about Croatoa?
We've got spirits and scantily clad witches and log throwing werewolves and giant pumpkins heads that disguise themselves as trees...and vicious vicious lawn gnomes! Jack-in-Irons is definitely a hill giant of some kind. Not to mention there are plenty of outdoor maps with the Croatoa forest that give a DnD feel. Or that huge graveyard map ala Dark Astoria...it just begs for an undead themed campaign. |
Second part: What werewolves? I think you're talking about the tuathua dannan.
The feel of Croatoa is fantasy alright, just not medieval fantasy.
And finally, the outdoor graveyard map would be GREAT. ... Except you can see the obnoxious surrounding, modern buildings just beyond their walls.
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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.
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No thank you. Too many fantasy MMOs on the market as it is. I'd rather like to have one game that avoids the temptation of bowing down to dragons and elves.
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Originally Posted by Oneirohero
I kind of wish Paragon studios would push a bit more for fantasy, even if it's booster content. An MMO that manages to pull off having magic and technology collide into each other without breaking the game in half is more than capable of handling any sort of content that fits the Teen rating of the game.
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Eh...I was thinking about the Witch costume pieces that were included with the magic booster as seen here: http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Magic_Booster|
Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
On the first part with Cabal being Scantily clad: wut? The Cabal are hardly scantily clad, and the boob-... things don't make them anymore so. Second part: What werewolves? I think you're talking about the tuathua dannan. The feel of Croatoa is fantasy alright, just not medieval fantasy. And finally, the outdoor graveyard map would be GREAT. ... Except you can see the obnoxious surrounding, modern buildings just beyond their walls. |
And you are right, I was referring to the Tuatha Dannan, which when I first encountered them the first thought to go through my mind was "Holy crap, that werewolf just chucked a tree at me."
To me at least they look more like fantasy werewolves (minus the antlers on the big ones) then the leather clad council wolves.
They could also work as Satyrs.
Eagles may soar, but Pigions don't get sucked into Jet engines.
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But how many simultaneously involve superheroes and aliens?
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Originally Posted by poptart_fairy
No thank you. Too many fantasy MMOs on the market as it is. I'd rather like to have one game that avoids the temptation of bowing down to dragons and elves.
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That's what's so epic about Cimerora - you start off in a fantasy Roman area, but by the end of the ITF, you're fighting aliens and their time-travelling Nazi friends, who are building giant war robots to send back to the present time to attack Paragon City |
Originally Posted by Jbot
But how many simultaneously involve superheroes and aliens?
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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I think a medieval fantasy zone would be fun using a form of the GR Praetorian mission choice tech, so that it'd be a co-op zone, but with different goals for Heroes and Villains.|
Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
Golden Girl, I /sign both of these so hard, my crazy old SS brute build that was supposed to allow for a theoretical 1170 points of damage KB blow can't compete.
Seriously, we need more mission maps that take place in all corners of the globe and across time. |
Like there'd be a good castle and village on one side of the map, and an evil castle and village on the other, with a big forest in between - the ruler of the evil castle is trying to take over the whole area, and the rule of the good castle is trying to defend their area, and maybe even destroy the threat on the other side of the forest.
They could put a Striga-sized mountain in the midle of the forest too, and have a dragon living in it as the end boss of a new TF.
There'd be good contacts in the good area, evil contacts in the evil area, and Rogue/Vigilante style contacts in the forest.
Using the GR mission choice tech, you'd have the chance to work as a spy in the opposite side, and betray them to your real side, with PvP zone style buffs and dbufs depending on which side was having the most success, and maybe even RV style changing scenery, so the forest in between would reflect how much ground either side was gaining or losing.
There's scope for lots of present day invovlement there - like the Midnighter Club and their time travel crystal to take us there, the Circle of Thorns helping the evil side and the Legacy Chain helping the good side, and so on.
And, best of all, it might mean we get long dresses and those wacky tall pointy hats to wear
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
And finally, the outdoor graveyard map would be GREAT. ... Except you can see the obnoxious surrounding, modern buildings just beyond their walls.
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It would be cool if the outdoor AE mission maps had the option to obscure the borders of the map, then buildings wouldnt be seen beyond the map.
If the Devs wanted to go the extra mile, allow us to choose what the border looks like.
(I.e. Cliff face, Wall (metal, rock, ice), fog, shadow shard sky, jungle, etc )
Then if the mission designer wanted to set his mission map on a radically different world, there wouldnt be any geography in the background (Pargon City buildings) to contradict that.
As I was sitting there pondering the uses for the MA system, it occured to be it would be an interesting thought experiment to piece together a D&D-esque campaign using the system (without violating any of WotC's trademarks of course.)
The D&D Classes already have good analogs in AT's and power sets (though I'm annoyed at the lack of a buff/melee AT)
The one major drawback is the total lack of dragons. The humanoid dragon-thing one can create with the character creator just doesn't cut it.
Thoughts?