June 3rd - Memorial Mayhem

Last few pictures really help clue in on what happened in the story. Got confusing at some points with all the crashes.

I was bummed that I missed this yesterday, and I'm still bummed about it today. Looks like a wonderful engaging time - I'll have to catch the next big event you guys throw.

just remembered this

why you always got to wear the same dress as me to the party?

So disappointed I missed the red-side briefing.
Didn't realise it was Eastern Daylight Time as opposed to Eastern Standard Time.

Fortunata Prelude managed to get into things for Siren's Call and the bit of talk at the end but...dang it.
I missed the best part, methinks.

Did you guys post a synopsis anywhere of the overall story that happened during the event? I would like to share it with the gang if you did.

I will have it done tonight and put up here.

Johnny Turbo | Phanto
THE CHALLENGERS: Challenge Accepted
HONORARY MEMBER: WARE.gov (Said I couldn't officially join because I'm too good at PvP)

Was a fun event, certainly glad I attended. It was nice RPvPing in Siren's again!

This write up was completed by Johnny Turbo I am just reposting this here for those who wanted to read it. <3


CHALLENGERS
ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR --- THE TOWER OF BABEL

ISSUE #46: ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
Following the mysterious events with Devilfish and Aglow, The Challengers continue to try to discern what exactly Phanto has planned. While recovering, Foxy Ferret has a psychic vision of Phanto's plan and rushes out of her stasis to confront him. Phanto is able to overcome her, however, because of her weakened state. He then traps her within a cage in one of his hideouts within the Etoile Isles.

Afterwards, Phanto meets with Baron Blitzman and Codename Devilfish to approach the United Underworld. The villains agree to help with the plot. With their assistance and Ferret out of commission, things are looking bleak for The Challengers.

ISSUE #47: FRACTURED
Red-Havok is livid after Phanto abducts Ferret and he issues a direct challenge to him on CNN, which sends the public into a panic. Elsewhere, other Challengers begin to unravel the secrets of Phanto's plan. It is discovered that he plans on kidnapping a powerful psychic of Paragon City and having Trioxin turn them into a living bomb, effectively melting the minds of millions of people all across the Eastern Seaboard.

Phanto breaks into Asunder's home to taunt her after she uncovers vital information about his bomb. She manages to keep her calm as he mocks her and riles him up to the point of extreme anger. Asunder discerns that Phanto has an incessant preoccupation with killing The Challengers and that may be informing his current plot. When Replacer returns, Phanto flees, but not before summoning an armada of his weather effects and unleashing them on their apartment.

ISSUE #48: MEMORIAL MAYHEM - PART I
Baron Blitzman convinces Xanatos' wife, Karnal Sin, to have her group Judex fight on his side. This act of betrayal spurns Xanatos to stop trying to get back in her good graces and instead build The Challengers' alliances for the impending battle. Xanatos is successful in recruiting the Global Defense Force, headed by Dawnshift, to The Challengers' mission of stopping Phanto's psychic bomb. Following Xan's lead, Havok convinces The Eternals to help as well.

Blitzman pays Mr. Mud and Mindswipe a large sum of money to set a trap for several members of The Challengers that will effectively take them out of the fight before it even begins. Knowing the amount of heroes Havok has amassed, Phanto begins to put red herrings about the identity of the psychic he will be using for his bomb out into the public. Dynomind tries, but is unable to discern which leads are false. Havok calls for a meeting at the Cromwell Estate which over fifty of Paragon's finest heroes attend, including Impact, Dawnshift, Powered Omega, Ocean Knight, Volt Tiger, Dr. Pentice, Barraj, Condor Azul, High-Point, Guardstone, Silhouette, Iron Angel, and many more.

At Phanto's hideout, the United Underworld, Judex, and several other villains amass to meet with Blitzman, Trioxin, Phanto, and Devilfish. Sebastian Kain, Slaphappy, Speedwarp, Roll of the Dice, Autosaurus Wrecks, Spectre, Worldkiller, and several more villains officially agree to unite with them in the pursuit of Phanto's master plan. Pleased, Phanto sends them to decimate Longbow and the PPD while he, Nine-ball, Spectre, Pure Inferno, and a specialized team prepare to trap and eliminate half of The Challengers.

At the heroes' briefing, Havok explains that Xanatos, Johnny Turbo, Azure Tracer, Armaments, Charon, Paul Ooshun, Nimbus, and Cyberman went after Mindswipe, as rumors were being spread that he had allied with Phanto and was going to be used for the psychic bomb. Mindswipe lures the heroes into an abandoned office building where they have a massive battle. He successfully holds The Challengers off until Phanto's team arrives, catching them completely off-guard. The eight villains beat every Challenger unconscious, forcing Voltium to have to teleport them to safety. Even the legendary Xanatos falls before the battle for Paragon City even begins.

ISSUE #49: MEMORIAL MAYHEM - PART II
Rendered sends villains out into Steel Canyon to destroy Longbow's presence as well as create a fake biological disaster to distract the PPD. After this, both peacekeeping groups no longer stand a chance against the unified villains. With little resistance standing in their way, they begin the march onto Siren's Call.

Havok, meanwhile, splits the heroes to investigate the only four remaining leads on the identity of the psychic bomb. Every lead is actually a trap orchestrated by the villains, unfortunately. One team is trapped in an office building that becomes filled with Phanto's illusions. Inside of it, they discover Phanto is planning on using Aglow as his psychic bomb and he is holding her in Steel Canyon. Another team's discovery conflicts with this, as after they are ambushed by Revolver II, Acid, and an armada of Blitzman's thugs and electrical elementals, they find evidence that Penny Yin is the person being targeted. The third team heads to a mercenary information hub and fight Megabooster and Slyshot, two villains-for-hire in the employ of Codename Devilfish. After dodging several traps, they find transmissions about a mercenary squad planning on kidnapping Crux Enigma. The final team uncovers a message that says Trioxin is planning on using someone from Foxy Ferret's orphanage for the bomb, but before they can head there, they are trapped by Gatoroid and The Living Reactor as they funnel in poisonous gas.

The first team discovers Aglow was in no real danger and it was merely a ploy to confuse them. The second barely saves Penny Yin's father and Citadel from an unexpected attack from Blitzman. The third team wipes out Devilfish's hired guns, but instead of finding Crux Enigma, rescue The Noisebomb. When the last team finally makes their way to Ferret's orphanage, they are too late, and Phanto has kidnapped the powerful mutant Epilogue, a very troubled young girl with immense psychic abilities. She was in the care of Ferret, and with the wily rodent-girl captured by the villains, nothing was there to stop them from taking her. Sovereign Fist, who was staying at the orphanage, did his best to fight back the invasion, but was knocked out, overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Trioxin brings Epilogue into Siren's call so that her psychic storm can terrorize the entire East Coast. She outfits the villains with psychic dampeners so that the bomb will not kill them when it goes off. Havok fears the heroes will be short-handed against the villains. Replacer responds to this crisis by unleashing a new talent his mentor, The Veteran, taught him: body multiplication. He strains every fiber of his being to duplicate himself three times, bolstering the heroes' numbers. Nimbus, bloodied and beaten, refuses to stay out for the fight and creates a massive, localized storm above Siren's Call. Revitalized, Havok, the four Replacers, Nimbus, Human Flashbulb, Asunder, Voltium, Gadgix, and Blast Cycle lead the heroes into battle against Baron Blitzman, Phanto, Trioxin, Devilfish, and their army of evil.

ISSUE #50: MEMORIAL MAYHEM - PART III
The villains barricade a massive crane that towers above Siren's Call. Trioxin has put Epilogue on the top of it and she begins to arm her. The heroes charge at the villain barricade and succeed in beating back a few stragglers. Unfortunately, the villains strike back in force. Several heroes are taken out of the battle by the counter-attack. The Global Defense Force goes toe to toe with the cosmic villain, Worldkiller, who has a personal hatred for those that call themselves planetary protectors. Phanto foils the attempts of Silent-Sniper and Iron Angel to scale the crane and rescue Epilogue.

Without Turbo in the battle, nobody is able match Blitzman's speed and he zips around the battlefield, taking down hero after hero. Mindswipe arrives to the battle and begins to torment heroes with his mental powers. The villains grow confident in their victory, but Trioxin informs Phanto that Epilogue has grown unstable. The heroes then make the push to her, headed by Icon of The Eternals, who delivers a thundering blow to Phanto's ego, as well as his torso. Epilogue is rescued as she is somehow able to resist the control Trioxin had exerted over her. The villains' plan is in shambles and Nine-ball orders the United Underworld to leave before any of them are arrested.

Enraged, Phanto traps Red-Havok in an illusion and the two have a skirmish. Blitzman charges into the crowd of heroes, having a complete mental breakdown. He fights as hard as he can, feeling he is more powerful than them all. He is wrestled down, arrested, and taken to the Zig. Trioxin and Devilfish flee the scene and the other villains begin to flock out of the battle. Phanto and Havok continue to go blow-for-blow, with Phanto clearly losing. Havok shatters the dome around Phanto's head and prepares to finally bring the master of deception to justice. Suddenly, Phanto unmasks himself, revealing he was not Phanto at all, but Deceiter, an old shapeshifting enemy of The Challengers. While he is stunned by this revelation, Deceiter stabs Red-Havok with a paralyzing toxin and takes over his identity, unknown to the other Challengers and heroes. The real Phanto debriefs his villainous cohorts and then disappears, revealing he was an illusionary placeholder all along.

Deceiter, in disguise as Havok, debriefs The Challengers. They are all none the wiser that their leader has been replaced on behalf of Phanto. Xanatos and the other downed Challengers make a full recovery. Blitzman is taken to prison and Turbo expresses interest in visiting him there in hopes of learning how to better control his superspeed. Ferret is rescued from Phanto's hideout. Epilogue is returned to her care. The world believes Phanto has failed, but his plans had only just begun.

You guys told me to write more in the last paragraph...but I GUESS YOU JUST WANTED TO POST IT ANYWAY.

Johnny Turbo | Phanto
THE CHALLENGERS: Challenge Accepted
HONORARY MEMBER: WARE.gov (Said I couldn't officially join because I'm too good at PvP)

Ouch, mi orgullo.

Ahhh, I guess Shogun warning Asunder that the initial leads were false info didn't come to much use after all.

Especially the part where he outright stated that because Baron wanted Xanatos to suffer, that Xanatos should not be present at the initial ambush just to put a dent in the Baron.

Darn, would've been nice to see that villainous meddling actually coming to SOME effect with regards to the plot of these events. Ah well.

Tsk tsk. Didn't have to reconstruct the entire event, but it helps to be adaptable to things that can happen. It's not really much fun for others to be in an event if the entire thing runs on a rail.

Perhaps, with Shogun's information, only a few of the Challengers show up to the other leads, and are prepared for the fact it's a trap. Instead of Xanatos being at the ambush, he could instead show up to give aid in Siren's Call, only to be defeated there and forced to bow out as others come in to take his place.

There's all sorts of ways to make an event work that allows for the people you're inviting to feel like they're a part of something cool going on.


Otherwise we're just an audience and background fluff. Not really much in the way of participation if all we're doing is watching a pre-set series of events play out while we mill about.

It's like we're sitting in a theater watching a movie, in which case you didn't really NEED everyone else to show up except that you wanted an epic battle as a backdrop to your story of "Oh man, look how AWESOME we are!"

If that's what you were going for to begin with, then you should say so. Fairly misleading to label this as some big event with the advertisement that picking sides means anything when the specifics of the conclusion are already decided on ahead of time, which rendered the idea of there being sides to begin with a moot point. The villains don't have to win. Obviously, they can't (Status Quo Is God afterall), but if you're to invite people to participate, and make a BIG show of how important the sides are...

Well then perhaps you should account for and be flexible towards player input. What if a hero OTHER than the ones in the summary had made it to the bomb and disabled it before Devilfish sabotaged it? What if someone had defeated the Baron while he was running amok at the end earlier on? What if a villain had FIXED the damage to the bomb?

It's good to have a script as an outline for what happens, but for it to be the hard and fast absolute of what will and won't happen...?

Then this isn't really an event, it's you just trying to show how amazing your group is "supposed" to be.