Story Talking!

[KnightDisciple]

Excellent points KnightDisciple, and indeed AvengerAssembled's Oddballs thread is a treasure-trove of plot hooks, story ideas and general inspiration. His hero/villain write-ups for various nations is a great springboard for possible European adventures. What kinds of stories have you been considering for Ireland, or Europe in general?

Well, I would probably treat Ireland in particular a bit like Central and Keystone Cities, in general. That is, there are villains, but they're actually pretty careful to be "punch clock" bad guys, and there's only one or two really bad/crazy ones who are loners. I would say avoid anything relating to the IRA or whatnot like the Black Plague. But it could be fun to run into local villains.

Alternatively, we could do something with OVERSHADOW. Those Wacky Nazis have been in the background for a while now, and we haven't really used them much. This could let us bring in some foreign heroes (such as Gabe and Dok A) as well as, say, Myrmidon (for obvious reasons!). And OVERSHADOW's the sort of threat to have fingers in pies everywhere you look. You could even have something that hops to multiple spots!

Oh, another idea is someone again trying the "bind someone from a pantheon to a mortal host" thing (OVERSHADOW again?), though perhaps not the Norse deities (just to shake things up).

Perhaps someone foolishly tries to bind The Morrigan, and Crow gets dragged in (I know Quinn isn't in here, but still), and perhaps I could toss Fenris into that as it seems both "in his back yard" and something that twigs stuff from his past.

Additionally, I'm now very interested in some kind of Ring/Stone storyline. Who's to say the next bearer of the Night Stone can't also get her hands on the Indigo Ring(besides those Power Level budget restrictions >.>)?

I don't know the Night Stone or what it does, but man that sounds like an intense story! And there's nothing inherently exclusive about the Rings. Theoretically you could wield more than one. But it would be extremely hard, except maybe for Blue+Red; you would need to exhibit the various emotions in balance.

But combining them with other artifacts? Totally doable.

Except, yes, for the PL Budget thing. That sounds very much like a custom build there.

[Ari]

Well, I would probably treat Ireland in particular a bit like Central and Keystone Cities, in general. That is, there are villains, but they're actually pretty careful to be "punch clock" bad guys, and there's only one or two really bad/crazy ones who are loners. I would say avoid anything relating to the IRA or whatnot like the Black Plague. But it could be fun to run into local villains.

A profoundly good plan. I still think you and Thevshi should talk some things over about it, I bet you could make something pretty grand!

Oh, another idea is someone again trying the "bind someone from a pantheon to a mortal host" thing (OVERSHADOW again?), though perhaps not the Norse deities (just to shake things up).

Perhaps someone foolishly tries to bind The Morrigan, and Crow gets dragged in (I know Quinn isn't in here, but still), and perhaps I could toss Fenris into that as it seems both "in his back yard" and something that twigs stuff from his past.

That's a pretty neat tack. Curious what pantheon gets their member shanghaied into service. In keeping with the supposed theme of the setting, I would vote for some Greek deity.

Regarding SHADOW, I'd definitely want to see something done with those guys. They work well for most heroes to oppose, and can strike pretty much anywhere and have a myriad of goals to thwart. Of course even their heavier forces could get smashed up pretty well by a lot of the heroes on here, so making sure that thwarting the plot takes precedence over just beating up all the SHADOW goons would probably be important.

The big change is that I'd want to do some pre-threads going into detail about what exactly the Meta-Grue did while impersonating each PC and how they handled the resulting backlash. Then do a big team up thread where they get together to kick his ass

Totally on board with that.

[Semi-Autogyro]

*Pokes head in* Did somebody mention SHADOW?!?!

Yeah, The vibe I get off of SHADOW in universe is like a competent version of COBRA from GI Joe, with the higher echelons divided by technology or magical leanings. There's minor squabbling between the two, but nothing really crazy. Also, don't forget OVERTHROW which is the 'public' persona of SHADOW as represented by bomb-throwing terrorists and anarchists. A plot with them could easily lead to their behind the scenes handlers. Think of the first Sherlock Holmes movie with RDJ, the scapegoats (Lord Blackwood/OVERTHROW) run around and cause problems while furthering the goals of (Mortiarty/SHADOW).

As for Myrmidon himself, he is a fake German so the European threads sound fun, and I have already pretty much set off his mirror evil double to be Overshadow himself.

[Cubist]

I have a few plots that I really need to flesh out and pin down. …

Freaks & Monsters

I want to receive an idea that was tried once but fizzled, to create a team of PCs who have monstrous/scary forms. Starlight would be on it, and probably Jubatus. Not sure who else ATM.

That was something Arichamus and Shofet cooked up, with further discussion (thread here). The thread which was intended to introduce this hero group, Smoke on the Water, didn't last long before Shofet kind of drifted away from Freedom City for whatever reason.

The group was to be called the Abnormals, and its original lineup was supposed to be Jubatus (Cubist), Penitent (Shofet), Starlight (Raveled), and Wave-Eye (Arichamus).

Penitent is presumably not available now, which leaves Jube, Starlight, and Wave-Eye; is three heroes sufficient to start a group? Or should we consider other 'exotic' heroes for the roster before we begin again?

[Ari]

Thank you Cubist for explaining the details of that case, it did not occur to me that it might be of interest to anyone, for which I apologize. As for monstrous people numbers, I would say three people is fine for a small team. Manageable for threads.

Yeah, The vibe I get off of SHADOW in universe is like a competent version of COBRA from GI Joe, with the higher echelons divided by technology or magical leanings. There's minor squabbling between the two, but nothing really crazy.

To be honest, that bit about minor quibbles between the scientific and magical sides of SHADOW is a total invention of mine, and partially as a minor plot point for Ants among the Flowers. Otherwise, very much agreed Semi-Autogryo! SHADOW using Overthrow as a cloak to get things into place for their grander schemes could totally work as a longer-term storyline, or even a one-off.

[Cubist]

Have revived the original discussion thread for the "monster-lookin' hero group" idea, on the theory that it should be courteous to split that discussion off from this thread.

[Ari]

So yeah. Seeing as the recent Events of Moving the Site have transpired, I would love to know what people are plotting! Any thoughts on what's been brought up so far?

 

As well, just reiterating that if anyone wants to try their hand at thread-running using anything mentioned, feel free(ask the player who brought it up if it seems necessary), and start hammering out the details!

 

Furthermore:

 

1. Growth vs. Decay: the Unspeakable One and its cohorts, brethren and children starting to act as some insane counterbalance to the destruction caused by the Doom Coil's servants? (MARVEL Cancerverse nonsense of some variety) Travel to multiple universes, a series? A different kind of madness and evil in each world.

 

2. The heroes of Earth are asked for help by a neighbouring star through the admiral of the Lor blockade. The people of another world have discovered quite by accident how to cirumvent the Pact and bring their gods back, and need help putting all the beings that have been summoned back in the box. The Lor set a strict timeline for how long the heroes have to get everything back to normal, wanting a quick end to the chaos on the undeveloped world.

 

3. The Silencer(or another villain, but he works best) approaches a hero out of the blue, begging for help to reform. A trick? Maybe, but what's the harm in trying?

 

4. A brilliant Freedonian distraught after the Day of Wrath attempts to harness the power of the Cosmic Coil and use it to send everyone on Earth-Prime to another, better universe, where they're perfectly suited and always happy. Of course, the little problem of consent doesn't occur to them.

 

5. Madcap space adventures, set in a collection of worlds vaguely like the MARVEL STAR WARS comics during the time of the first movies(Cubist, feel free to let me know how terrible an idea that is!), where every pulp sci-fi trope is present and accounted for.

 

 

Finally, Russoboo's idea of possible friction between Dakana and Atlantis seriously interests me. And since HG_Morrison has an Atlantean character, it might be a good time to start plotting something!

 

 

 

 

 

[KnightDisciple]

First, I'll bring up the suggested "Gabriel has a singing contest with a demon" idea, though at this point it's more in the territory of a Vignette.

Unless....we did a Hero Band Versus Demon Band?

 

1.) Sounds like an Awesome idea. Sort of a dark echo of Graduation day. The Prime!Heroes caught up in it are left trying to figure out what to do! Do they fight against the Terminus, and thus aid the Cancerverse? Do they fight Universal Cancer and thus aid Entropy? Or do they somehow find a way to fight both?

 

2.) Interesting. I can't remember, does the Pact explicitly extend beyond Earth? Either way, it seems primed for our Magical heroes!

 

3.) Oho! Now there's an interesting take, especially with the Silencer, who's a pretty scary guy when he hits his stride!

 

4.) An interesting idea, though it sounds a lot like House of L. That said, the "flavor" is at least a bit different, so there's potential!

 

5.) Haha, pulp scifi, cool. So, definitely more of the "Space Opera" feel than anything else?

 

 

As for Dakana vs Atlantis, what factor or factors would cause said tension? As I recall, Dakana's landlocked, so it's not like one can immediately encroach on the other. Is an outside party causing said tensions? Perhaps....TYPHOON?

[Aoiroo]

The Pact is not just for Earth, it's for the entire dimension, technically their are ways around the Pact, gods can come in IF they're invited, like a summons, or if they take a human host or avatar and the like. If the gods bypass this, it'd be a hell of a dimensional rift as their existance would kind of be cthulu like in how it'd warp space around them. Changeling could do this, she'd have no problem going around stabbing gods.

 

Number 4 sounds like a vignette, really who would and would not be pulled through? Could be a hook to pull in science heroes, the guy could try for a whole science makes everything a better place sort of world.

[Ari]

With regards to Dakana's geographic situation, yeah KnightDisciple, that seems to be the case. The Freedom City(2nd Edition, maybe Thevshi can bring up something it misses from the 1st? ) book puts it at the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya, the Congo and Sudan. Of course, the chances that Atlantis has air-worthy vehicles are pretty high! Typhoon would be an interesting guy to have behind the curtain, but he just doesn't seem to have much to gain from it, weakening both nations would make them easier to take over, sure, but from the way he's been written I don't see him as being all that expansionist anymore(and apparently he and his children could totally take Atlantis as is). But that's just me, I bet you could make something grand with it KnightDisciple!

 

#2 could definitely use the Fey touch Aoiroo! In fact, as some of the foremost arcane experts on the board, maybe the Parkhurst gang gets called in to help resolve the issue? Or it could be an early Midnighters thread, perhaps?

 

The recent news about zircon crystals found in the Indian Ocean that are apparently from a sunken piece of continent brings to mind Lemuria. I bet the home of the Serpent Empire had a few smaller tributary lands, they might have escaped some of the utter cataclysm that claimed it and Atlantis. There could be sweet stuff there! And monstrosity...but still!

 

 

[Brown Dynamite]

I don't see it as Typhon having nothing to gain.  There is one daka crystals coupled with whatever orichalcum he has access to would lead to pretty well armed.  Actually, can you imagine how the two mix in general?  And although Typhoon can seemingly take the place at will.  If he really could, it begs the question why hasn't he?  I'd go as far as saying he's tried and has only reached the point of almost succeeding.  But even without him.  There's plenty of possibilities of who could be pulling the strings in such a situation.  It may even be a joint effort by more than one villain, or a new original guy.  Maybe someone doesn't feel White Lion is worthy of the title of king anymore, and seeks to not only take over Dakana but expand its territory into Atlantis and other isolated lands with no UN foothold.  Just spitballing here.

[Ari]

Typhoon, not Typhon, but that gives me ideas that will have to wait for someone intelligent to take them up.

 

Anyway, good point about those possible aims, and the general reason for not attacking those shrimps seems to be mainly because the guy's got a lot on his plate already, has largely retired from active supervillainy and is busy managing his small nation state and his army of kids.

 

Could be a Dakanan usurper. Or an Atlantean agitator. Or even a Mr. Morden-esque manipulator bringing both sides into war for some dastardly end. Or maybe Theseus was really evil all along. Or the people who sank both Lemuria and Atlantis coming together to try and make amends by expanding the surviving kingdom's power, with drastically misguided means and terrible ends.

 

I'm not the one GMing this or even most of these(thank Heaven) besides the first three if nobody else wants to do it, so feel free to take anything in any direction you wish.

 

What awesome things do you want to see happen?

 

 

[Brown Dynamite]

I didn't forget the second o on the second mention of his name in my post.  Only the first for w/e reason lol.

[Ari]

Another idea: The Freedom City Mob captures one or more heroes(preferably Batman-esque sorts)possibly with the help of Warden, so they can help solve an extraordinarily knotted problem. I'm thinking something that isn't a murder, at least not yet.

[TheAbsurdist]

1.  Asad is an energy based paragon, fronting his team of Troubleshooters, and involved in the Vanguard.  Involving him in on the street level would be very good for a something similar to Intergang from DCAU (a regular gang getting support from another agency) that really is a story of escalation, explaining why non-street heroes getting involved at the street level can cause problems.  Though I did intend to have Asad's desire for social justice be a bit of a sticking point for somethings.

 

(Side note:  Said gang getting support from one of Asad's family members would be interesting, as it is a large family, and I figure mutation is hereditary)

 

Bringing Conundrum does play against his weaknesses, well an obvious one.  Asad is a social animal first.  He is at home talking, and discussing, and all of that.  So that Scenario would be interesting as his forced to rely on that when he squares off against Conundrum and Ol' King Cole.  

 

Set this with the backdrop of Asad's power going out of control (thanks Dr. Green), and it has the potential for interesting parallels to the natures of Empires and their leaders.

 

 

2.  Here I would be interested, but as currently, I cannot involve my characters with them directly.  Yet.  Though I like the idea.  I can see Asad using some of his resources, if just to get Alien tech.  But, I suppose I just need to give him Life Support and get it over with.  And Errant with his goal to take down Harper could lead to him involving himself in a cosmic thing.

 

3.  Well crap, I can fit both characters into that scenario easily enough.

 

Will likely edit this or post to it again later.

[Ari]

An alien race wants to negotiate the use of Earth as an execution site for someone charged with enormous crimes, but something about their story doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Arichamus