Bugs Mastermind?

Hear me out, please. I was just playing through Half-Life 2, making my way through Nova Prospect while swarms and swarms of Antlions cover my approach when I started thinking... Wow, I would love to play something like that in City of Heroes. I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? A Mastermind whose henchmen are actual bugs.

Now, I know what you're thinking right off the bat: City of Heroes doesn't exactly have bugs, and it doesn't really have much that's not humanoid. To this I respond: true, true, but we have enough to kind of sort of make this work. What do I mean? Well, we have the mobile frame used for Arachnobots and Tarantula, so we have ONE type of bug already in the game, and we also have the frame for the Nemesis Jaeger robots, so we have another frame which could possibly be adapted for "bug use."

But, of course, no powerset suggestion is complete without a mock powerset, so lets see what we can come up with:

1. Pestilence:
The Mastermind sends forth a swarm of tiny flying insects to sting and bite his enemies, obscuring their vision and distracting them, reducing their chance to hit a target.
Ranged, Moderate DMG(Lethal, Toxic), Foe -TOHIT

2. Spawn Drones:
These small, simple four-legged bugs are the basic footsoldiers. Their primary purpose is to die in the name of the Mastermind, and as such have only one attack. Ever. However, additional upgrades serve to make the Drones harder to kill. Fragile and weak, each use of this power summons two drones where a regular Mastermind would summon only one henchman.

3. Bug bite:
The Mastermind summons a single large flying insect and directs that insect towards a specific target. The insect stings the target, dealing damage and causing debilitating effects before flying away.
Ranged, High DMG(Lethal, Toxic), Foe -RECH

4. Development:
This is the Mastermind's first upgrade, causing his bugs to mature and unlock their full adult potential.

5. Swarm of beetles:
The Mastermind calls forth a swarm of tough, aggressive beetles to a specific location, where they proceed to attack every enemy who ventures into their swarm for a few seconds, before scattering once more. The beetles are extremely tough and resilient and cannot be killed, but they do not stay for long.
Ranged (Location AoE), Moderate DMG(Lethal)

6. Spawn Sentinels:
These large eight-legged bugs, though hardy and dangerous in their own right, are not very strong fighters. They are, however, carriers of a multitude of diseases and their bodies are packed with toxins and acids. The sentinels' many diseases have a variety of debilitating effects on their adversaries, and when they are killed, the Sentinels explode, covering all foes in melee range in corrosive chemicals.

7. Parasites:
Tiny invisible spores always fill the air around the Mastermind, and they can be commanded to invade a target and hatch. An enemy infected with a parasite will suffer almost disabling debilitating effects while the parasites gestate. If the enemy is defeated before the parasites' short life span expires, then a number of adult parasites will emerge and follow the Mastermind for some time. These creatures evolved to be parasitic, however, and were never intended to live outside of their host, so they are incapable of following commands and die soon after they emerge.
Foe -TOHIT, DEF, REGEN, +Special

8. Battle Beetle:
A rare sight, this huge bipedal beetle has been bred for one single purpose - heavy combat. Covered in a tough, chemical-resistant outer shell with redundant internal organs and a very simple, psionic-resistant brain, the Battle Beetle is very hard to kill. The tools it brings to the battlefield are not as varried as those of the sentries, restricted primarily to its giant pincers and tremendous strength, but what it lacks in versatility, the Beetle more than makes up in sheer brute strength.

9. Evolution:
The Mastermind has such intense control over his bugs that he can force them to evolve far past even the peak of their species' abilities. This forced evolution is, however, completely safe for the bugs, and also completely irreversible. Evolved bugs will remain evolved as long as they are alive. A dangerous prospect.

That's all I have for the moment. I don't really have a very good idea as to what each of the individual henchmen will be able to do beyond what I already described, but I'll try to think of something before too long.

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.

I for one welcome our new insectoid masters and would like to remind them that as a well-known* forum presence I can be of use in rounding others up to work as slaves in their underground sugar mines.

(*not remotely true)

I'd love a Bug Mastermind. Although I'd like something other than a Phantom Army clone as their tier 5 (something involving bugs hatching from defeated enemy corpses perhaps).

Edit : Like your Tier 7 for example. Dammit!

Ah, I see what you mean I wouldn't be opposed to it, but the thing is, I was actually trying to garner some variety from most of the latest Mastermind primaries, with "later" being anything introduce to them since Beta. Mercs came in late in Beta and got the medic, Thugs came with I7 and had the Arsonist, and now Demon Summoning has all different demons. It seems like different henchmen has become sort of a one-size-fits-all solution to making new primaries interesting, and I was hoping to avoid that by reintroducing uniformity to the set. Again, I'm not so much opposed to it as tired of it, and would ideally like to work in versatility another way.

That, and I suspect that as soon as more people comment (provided more people do ), I'm probably going to be fighting a losing battle to keep the Drones as six bugs instead of three, and I feel that I might have to concede to defaulting back to the standard layout of 3/2/1. Under those circumstances... We'll see.

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Something else I wanted to comment on is making them flying. Yes, I would very much like to do that for all of them. Not flying all the time, obviously, but giving them the ability to fly via insect wings would be pretty cool. That's for the lot of them, actually, since I'd like to keep the Battle Beetle as close to pure melee as I can. It would, therefore, need to fly to be of any use against flying targets.

*note*
Incidentally, I stole the term "Battle Beetle" from the English dub of Spider Rider

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.

Bees. My God.

I give this five legs up, and wish to play the set now, with either Pain Domination or Poison as a secondary.

I like the idea, except for the Tier 1 pets. Yes, thematically it's cool. However, it's also a nightmare practically. Half a pet for BG mode, twice as much resummoning as other MMs, twice as many minions taking up room on crowded maps? Fast dying minions ain't fun, especially at higher levels, where they die fast anyway.

I think you'd need to sacrifice a little of the theme for actual practicality. Other than that? Five legs up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

4 legs up in approval. I still need 2 to stand on.

Many of my Roach MMs would feel the need for a reroll.

Let's see if I can't come up with Henchmen powers. Fingers crossed By the way, I'll be copying describers from City of Data, so if I put in Superior or Extreme damage, that's in relation to the Henchman's pretty low base damage mod. It's how they're tagged already, so I'm just putting these for comparison.

Drones

Default:

Resistances - This young Drone has a tough shell, making it somewhat resistant to mechanical damage.
RES(Smashing/Lethal)

Claw Strike - A simple slash with the Drone's claw.
Melee, Moderate DMG(Lethal)

Super Leap - Standard Henchman fare.

Development:

Resistances - This adult Drone's shell has finally fused and solidified, making it somewhat resistant to elemental damage.
RES(Fire/Cold)

Claw Barrage - Repeated claw strikes that can cause nasty wounds.
Melee, Moderate DMG(Lethal)

Wings - This adult drone has finally grown its wings and is now able to fly.
Self +FLY

Evolution:

Resistances - This Drone has evolved a crystalline lining on the inside of its shell, making it somewhat resistant to most energy attacks.
Res(Energy/Negative Energy)

Spine Burst - Glands recessed into the Drone's shell are capable of producing protruding bony spines and ejecting them from the creature's body at high speed, causing serious danger and possible poisoning to anyone caught in the hail of spines.
PBAoE, Minor DMG(Lethal), Minor DOT(Toxic)

Dangerous Carcass - Even when dead, an evolved Drone is still dangerous, as anyone who steps on its thorny hide will quickly find out. Those who trod on defeated Drones will find themselves hurt and posioned and their movement impeded.
Patch summoned at death, Minor DMG (Lethal/Toxic), Foe -Run SPD

Sentinels

Default:

Resistances - This creature has evolved to withstand unnatural substances and radiations, making it resistant to elements, energies and toxins. However, it has no meaningful protection from mechanical attacks.
RES(Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative Energy/Toxic)

Acid Spit - Sentinels secrete a very aggressive organic acid which they can spit at long distances with great accuracy, giving their victims horrible, debilitating chemical burns.
Ranged, High DMG(Toxic), Foe -RES(very minor)

Toxin Spit - Sentinels produce a highly potent, very viscous neurotoxin which they spit at long distances with great accuracy. The toxin deals no direct damage, but it has powerful debilitating effects on organic creatures, and its tendency to solidify almost instantly can easily cause machines to seize up temporarily.
Ranged, Foe -RES, Foe -DMG, 20% chance for Mag 2 Hold

Super Leap - Standard henchman fare.

Development:

Resistant Infection - As Sentinels mature, they become carriers of a staggering amount of diseases. A Sentinel is able to essentially "sneeze" disease spores at long distances with great accuracy, infecting its enemy with a highly potent, medication-resistant killer virus. The virus progresses so fast that damage is almost instantaneous.
Ranged, High DMG(Toxic), Foe -REG

Contagious Infection - As Sentinels mature, they become carriers of a staggering amount of diseases. A Sentinel is able to essentially "sneeze" disease spores at long distances with great accuracy, infecting its enemy with a slow-gestating, debilitating and very contagious disease. It infects the original carrier and poisons all other creatures in its vicinity. *see notes*
Target AoE, Foe -TOHIT, Foe -REG

Wings - This adult Sentinel has finally grown its wings and is now able to fly.
Self +FLY

Evolution:

Swarm - Evolved sentinels house smaller insect hives within their bodies, giving them the ability to send these stinging, aggressive insects out to swarm on their enemies. When set at a particular target, the insects will swarm around the location, clumping around anyone who happens to be near.
Target AoE, Moderate DMG(Lethal), Foe -TOHIT(minor) Spawns Patches *see notes*

Parasites - Evolved Sentinels host little parasitic organisms inside their bodies, which they can launch at an enemy, causing the parasite to burrow deep and gestate. Like the Mastermind's own much more potent parasite, these little critters will distract and debilitate their host until either they are fought off, or the host dies, allowing the fully-grown critters to emerge and join the fight... Until their short life spans run out.
Foe -TOHIT, Foe -DEF, Foe -REGEN, Spawns Critters

Guardians - Evolved Sentinels have developed a symbiosis bond with these large flying insects. When a Sentinel is threatened, it will release its Guardians from its body, and they will then proceed to attack anyone in the vicinity, giving them horrible toxic stings.
Summons Guardians

Meltdown - Evolved Sentinels are so overloaded with chemicals, toxins, critters and microbes that they have become more than a little unstable. Whenever a Sentinel dies, it basically explodes in a shower of indescribable sludge. Anyone caught within the spray suffers severe chemical burns and bad infections.
Self Destruct upon death, PBAoE High DMG(Toxic), Foe -DEF

Battle Beetle

Default:

Resistances - This young Beetle has very dense, very hard shell, making it highly resistant to mechanical and chemical damage.
RES(Smashing/Lethal/Toxic)

Claw Snap - The Battle Beetle snaps its claw on an enemy with great force, casing serious damage.
Melee, Minor DMG(Smash)

Claw Swipe - The Battle Beetle swipes an enemy with its claw, swinging with great strength and delivering a serious impact.
Melee, Moderate DMG(Smash), Knockback

Super Leap - Standard henchman fare.

Development:

Resistances - This adult Battle Beetle's shell has fused and solidified and has grown a crystalline lining on the inside, making it highly resistant to elemental and energy damage.
RES(Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative/Energy)

Spine Shot - The Battle Beetle is able to launch heavy spines from the inside of its pincers. These spines embed themselves deep within its enemies, causing horrible wounds and often pinning victims in place.
Ranged, High DMG(Smash), Immobilize

Redundant Organs - The Battle Beetle has several of every one of its vital organs. When one organ becomes too damaged, the Beetle can switch to another organ until the damaged one regenerates, effectively restoring its health to a much superior state.
Self +Heal

Wings - This adult Battle Beetle has finally grown its wings and can now fly.
Self +Fly

Evolution:

Resistances - Not only does the Battle Beetle have redundant organs, but it has several redundant nervous systems, giving it resistance against psionic attacks. The Beetle has also evolved a much denser exoskeleton, making it heavier and much more difficult to knock down.
+RES(Psionic, Knockback)

Dismemberment - The Battle Beetle's new-found strength and aggression lead him to try and tear its enemy apart with its powerful pincers. The fury of this attack is so great that even enemies who survive will be left shocked and stunned for a short time.
Melee, Extreme DMG(Smash), Foe Disorient

Claw Frenzy - The Battle Beetle's new-found strength and aggression can cause it to go berserk and flail its claws in all directions, potentially striking all enemies in front of it.
Melee Cone, Moderate DMG(Smash)

Roar - An evolved Battle Beetle is a confident, callous creature which thrives in the heat of battle. Every now and then, it will let out a powerful, frightening roar to make itself noticed and gather the attention of all enemies around. *see notes*
PBAoE, Foe Taunt

*notes*

Contagious Infection - My original idea for this was to make an actual contagious infection which spread from enemy to enemy. Here's how I envisioned it: The attack itself would infect the enemy in question and would give it an aura which would do the same - that is to say, an aura which would infect other enemies with the same aura, which would then infect other enemies with the same aura. It would be a short-duration effect (except perhaps on the original infectee) which would die down in, say, four seconds if no enemies were around to reapply it. Needless to say, the aura's effects would not stack with each other, but the auras WOULD renew each other if enemies stayed clumped up. However, I'm not sure the complexity and possible server load of something like this are worth it.

Swarm - This one is simple. All I wanted the Swarm to do was act like the Arsonist's Incendiary Bomb or the Assault Bot Incendiary Missile Swarm - that is to say spawn a patch of biting, stinging bugs under every enemy in the vicinity around the target. Alternatively, I could see this working the same as the PPD Equilizer Wide Area Web Grenade, which summons a large field that everyone who walks into gets a nasty effect put on him. It might, however, make it a double of Carpet of Beetles.

Roar - Something occurred to me with the Battle Beetle. I wanted the thing to be big, tough, but not too heavily offensive, and instead play like a tank. That's why it has all of those resistances and that heal. If you'll notice, however, it has almost no AoE, and the only one it has (a melee cone) I can also swap out for something else. We have boss-level henchmen who deal lots of AoE damage like the Commando, we have boss-level henchmen who do mostly support like the Lich, and we have in-between ones like the Demon Prince. With this one, I wanted to go in a different direction - not so much damage or support, but more tank. We don't have one of these yet, but I suppose that could be for a good reason.

---

That's all I have for now. I know my design is most likely problematic, so if you feel you can fix anything, then by all means, let me know. I'm not married to the idea, and I'd sooner have something that looks like it can work than inapplicable wishful thinking.

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.

I like that a lot. I was going to suggest flying minions, but I got ninja'd
The only other suggestion I'd make is to have the parasites be a power that is used not on live enemies, but on bodies. Because otherwise it'll be rather unreliable and potentially wasted as a power, which is a shame 'cos the concepts cool. Also, wether the target is simply unconcscious or actually dead, either way they can no longer resist the parasites, making them perfect prey

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

SEE?! People DO like bugs!!!

I made a suggestion for Insect control for doms and Trollers a little while ago---->http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=237066

But was told that people would be too creeped out

So I'll sign yours if you sign mine? lol

/5LU

Only good bug is a dead bug. Where is my nuke?

( I kid, I kid. Or am I?)

I should probably comment on the parasites here. My original idea for the Mastermind personal power came from the Parasites from Alien Swarm (Which is a free game on Steam! Play it! ), in that they're little critters which hug your face, make it almost impossible to fight, drain your health, kill you and spawn more of themselves. The characteristic feature of parasites is that they can very quickly destroy an entire squad. As soon as one Marine dies from a Parasite, more spawn and jump at the others, who then die and spawn even more.

Ideally, this is what I'd have liked to do with Parasites for Masterminds, but here's the thing - I can't. I can't design a power which kills on single application, especially for a Mastermind's personal use. So the other thing I could think of was a powerful debuff. Yes, it's single-target unlike almost any other, but it should be a decent-strength debuff usable on larger enemies like AVs, and I envision it lasting a rather long time, like 30 seconds to a minute. I also envision it having a relatively short recharge, so that you could infect multiple enemies with it.

Now, I did think about having spawned parasites jump on nearby enemies and infect them, and I guess it can be done, but... It kind of makes it pointless to make artwork for the things if all they'll do is spawn and immediately die.

I know Mastermind "utility" powers are supposed to be big, infrequent-use powers like Repair or Serum, but I wanted to be different and design one that's less powerful, but used more frequently. I also wanted to design something like Living Hellfire, in that it's a debuff AND a summon. You can even have the power summon parasites that emerge from the infected enemy's body while it's still alive, for extra squick factor

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.

I could get behind this except for one minor problem. Collision detection. Holy jesus on a stick can you imagine the collision detection issues we would have with just -one- of these MMs on a team with all those chances to spawn critters and such?

Another thing, You seem fond of the "pay you back in spades" death moves but it seems a bit.... counter productive? I don't know. By adding things like that through upgrades it kind of seems like you would want people to send their pets in to die purposefully so they could be affected by the death auras before the real team goes in.

Other than those minor issues I could get behind something like this being an MM fanatic.

Oh, and as far as the "kill you and spawn things goes". Remember the 'original' clockwork? The nasty brown ones that shock you with electricity? When the bosses die they spawn the little mini clockwork things... I'm assuming there's a specific trigger for that. Perhaps that trigger could be used, alongside the mechanism that makes the chain lightning jump from enemy to enemy, to make your theoretical power work. That way, everyone who would be infected would be infected very quickly (which should prevent people from intentionally manipulating kills to keep a constant stream of bugs going) and right up front. If the enemy is killed within the duration of said debuff you get your little critters. Random thought.