An idea... The AEGA....

TL;DR version -

- New version of mission system story system using AE
- RP based but not necessary
- Rewards possible but not sure at first.
- Has flaws, but will still work out
- Praetorians can start these at level 20. (Sorry no AE buildings in Praetoria.... Cole banned them.)

This is an idea that is based off something from the world/multiverse of Dungeons and Dragons (rather from the organized play system behind it)...

As it currently stands.... every mission, every arc, every TF, every newspaper/radio/[praetorian radio/newspaper] mission is the same. You do something, you complete that something, you get a reward, repeat ad nauseum. What you do, while you are told affects the multiverse (I love this word) that is the City of Heroes/Villains, it actual doesn't... the story doesn't change from the rail that it's on.

However....

What if you... and up to seven strangers... are picked to complete a mission of grave importance... and have it taped.... and find out what happens when....

No wait, sorry... started transcribing the Real World into...

But seriously, what if you (and a group of your peers of your choosing) were sent on a series of tasks and your completion of those tasks affected the story to come? That is... what you do in one mission... affects you in the next in terms of what the story is?

What if the fate of the worlds of Paragon City, Praetoria, and the Rogue Islands (Sorry NCSoft and Paragon, too lazy to put the TM next to those)... were put into your hands.

(Here's where the mentioning of D&D comes in...)
Enter the "Living" system... In D&D, Game Masters can run a series of dungeons that when completed will have an overall bearing affect on the multiverse as a whole. (That is, the more people complete it, the more positive the outcome will be and what the actual next tasks are.)

So what if we applied the same system here using well-designed AE arc (keyword: WELL-DESIGNED... aka not FARMS)... We'd end up with:
Living Paragon City, Living Rogue Isles, Living Praetoria... Or if you want to get technical... Living Cap Au Diable, Living Peregrine Island, Living Croatoa... (wait is that last one possible?)

What I'm suggesting is a series of AE Mission arcs that, when completed or failed, affect the story to come. Here is the key difference between RPGA and the AEGA (or Architect Entertainment Gaming Association... and yes, I know the name needs work) unlike D&D when you're only playing as morally aligned good guys (RPGA rules forbade the playing of morally evil characters)... the AEGA will feature a way for both sides to affect the outcome... that is, more heroes complete their tasks, the more villains need to pick up the slack.... the more villains complete their tasks, etc...

Now anyone can complete the missions, but what if these missions had TF/SF/Trial/Mayhem styled restrictions. (Must complete in 30 minutes, must ensure that X doesn't happen, etc.) Also add in a RP Element... and there we go... We got a full fledged, get out the normal grind, way to use AE for what it's meant to be used for.

Now I know there are some flaws with this already:

• "But what about Gold-toons? They don't have an AE" If this comes to fruition, I'd design the arcs to run at 20th level and up. So that people who are in Praetoria and want to use that character, would be able to leave and choose their destiny. (Yes I know they can't complete Praetoria contact... another side effect.)
  
• "No one wants to run AE missions other than farms, you don't get anything good from them except tickets." Last I checked, tickets = salvage/recipes/etc. Work the markets...
  
• "Why should we help you collect tickets?" Just like Wizard of the Coast's DCI and RPGA systems, individuals who want to run the mission arcs on their own will be able to download them from a website, upload them to the AE server, and you can start cranking on them. This way, you publish it, you get the tickets if anyone rates it. Meanwhile, each set of missions is only scheduled to run for a certain amount of time. While they'll be up for download, they'll only affect the polling for results during a specific amount of time.
  
• "I have a hard enough time finding a group! And you want me to find a group of 7?!" No, not really. The missions will be tough but not impossible... You can solo them, but remember that this was mainly a way to build RP Experience for those, but I guess you can solo them and build your characters story.
  
• "What's the whole point of this? Just to run some arcs and do what? Get a pat on our back? Lame." Each mission arc completed will award points to those on the team that completed. Each AM/Team Leader will report back to a website, who was on the team, and what their team did. Based on their responses, points will be awarded to those members. Certain restrictions will apply. But it's my hope that if this gains enough attention/response that a red name can gift something like a costume code or game time or even a gold name for a day and etc.
  
• "You mean we keep doing these forever and ever?" No... not really. This would be done in a TV styled fashion, you can do it with the same group each time or solo, or mix it up. Generally, this would be done in seasons. Season 1 would have X as the end season boss in the season finale. Depending on if the heroes defeat X (or the villains defeat A), this will lead to the story for Season 2 when Y would come in and take over or help or etc. (same for the villains, a new hero B has come to ensure that...) Each season will culminate with SOMETHING BIG happening.
  
• "Why should we allow you to just promote your characters?" If you have a well-thought out character that you want to introduce as a hero or villain or Master Hero or Master Villain, feel free to suggest. I'd just ask you give me the AE character creator styled guide to making their powers and dialogues.
  
• "Is RP during these missions absolutely necessary?" No. You can do the missions with out RP but it's my opinion you'll be missing out on the fun.

It is the nature of MMOs to be static, so that every player can have the exact same experience (if they choose). Some see this as a bug, others as a feature, but don't expect it to change.

Even those who might like things to be more dynamic may not care to have events imposed on them/their play-group by the majority vote of strangers. And given the preferences of the larger playerbase, you can pretty much assume that whatever "story" path gives the best rewards will be the path that gets worn into a big muddy road and imposed on everyone else, regardless of what it does to the narrative.