Argent Aegis

This is unfortunately true. In regards to RPGs, fantasy games are a lot easier to fudge around by using *Magic*. Sci Fi needs to have some basis in believable science so that it will not trip the "Nerd" science alerts. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried playing a science fiction RPG (like Traveller) and had my extremely science minded friend argue about physics with the GM. He is one of my best and long time friends, but suspension of disbelief is not his strong suit. Then if the game goes the route of "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” then it starts losing some of the science fiction feeling and going more the "Star Wars" space opera route. Same with the cyberpunk genre. It has an even closer line to walk in regards to plausibility , but has the advantage of being more terrestrial. I liked Shadowrun for this. There was enough science to keep the tech minded happy but there was magic to fill in the cracks. That is one of the draws of Superhero RPGs - anything is possible within it's scope. The only limit is the confines of the Meta world (like Marvel and DC) or the desired "Super" level (X-Men vs. Dark Knight Batman). Also Superheroes don't have the LOOT! goal as much as other games. But that same scope is also what limits the Supers genre in MMORPGs - how many times can you save the world or street sweep gangs? All that being said - I would love to see a true MMORPG or standalone video game for something like Shadowrun. I know that there were a few games for Shadowrun, but from what I remember reading, it was more FPS/Tactical. I'd like to see a Shadowrun game akin to Skyrim or ESO.

This would be cool to use with dual blades as well. I'd have to make one of each just to get a screen shot. I vote for this to be added to available emotes. I want pics like this.

With the passing of GM Cyclone and to honor his indelible stamp on the game and players, can the Devs add a permanent memorial to one of the floating islands in Ouroboros? Figured that those islands are aesthetically pleasing, neutral so all blue, red, gold can go there, and since there are no game events that occur there, it would be a suitable place. Maybe even have a map marker denoting the location. Add a plaque/pedestal with a short description honoring his contributions. Just a thought.

Sad news. A tragic and unnecessary loss for his family both RL & COH. Never knew RM/Cyclone, but his guides were a staple in my learning to play the game. He will be missed. Pic from Memorial as of just a few minutes ago. Appreciation for the impact he has had on this game is beyond words.

I've noticed both of these occurrences as well, but it can occur in any zone, during lower server populations as well as solo ToT. The first quirk you mentioned doesn't seem to bother me as much since you are still damaging the spawn - it's just an oddity. But the second one is very annoying and, to me, seems to occur more frequently with Werewolves and whatever spawns with them. The thing I observed is that it may be related to how far behind the door the mob spawns at. When using my targeting, I notice that most mobs seem to spawn a little bit inside the building and take a moment to run out, but the werewolves seem to spawn right on the door and that is when I see the "Unaffected" state occur. I have not seen a case where the spawn can still be that way after moving a larger distance away from that door, but I can believe it if there are some spacing issues in large ToT leagues operating at the Murder Motel in PI. Sometimes it just gets crowded by those opening doors and I have seen spawns pop into existence immediately off to the side. But they are usually defeated so fast that I am not certain if there was an "Unaffected" state and just wiped out a moment later by the next round of attacks. So I wonder if the spawn points of each ToT encounter could be looked at and moved back to a standard point. This may fix this oddity. The rubberbanding, not sure about that one.

Cool - I haven't check his website lately. I did forget about "Forging Hephaestus" - which is also a good read. I'll keep an eye out for the next one. With Super Powereds, he also had a developing story on his website called "Blades & Barriers" that was set in the same world, but I believe was at a different school. He has since taken it down (last I looked) and I missed out on reading it. I'm hoping that it will get published sometime. Doc - if you do get to buy him that beer, give him a thanks from me.

Tis the season... This is Cairnivore

Thanks for the GM's that visited Torchbearer on 10/3. It was quite a delightful surprise to see them at the same time my young kids were learning to play COH. After a brief fanboy moment by me (had to take the below pic), I explained to them who the GM's were and their important roles in keeping the game going. So thanks again for making their first ever visit out of the tutorial an extra special memory the three of us will share.

Drew Hayes writes some awesome stuff. Even his blogs and website are entertaining reads. "Super Powereds" is one of my favorite superhero genre series and also truly amazing in audiobook form. Highly recommend his "Spells, Swords, and Stealth" series for you fantasy/gamelit fans. Again, also great in audiobook form. For a departure, his "Fred, the Vampire Accountant" series is an amusing and different take on the whole vampire genre. Audiobook version is also good. Obviously, I'm a big fan of the guy.

Heraclea is exactly right. I have a 50+ TW/Bio Scrapper that is amazingly fun to play.....solo. I do have a hard time playing him on teams and speed TF's. Leveling up was fun but a bit of a slog...even solo. I slowly cranked up the team sizes and then difficulty as I leveled, again mostly solo, but it was start up, smash like crazy (as long as I can hit), and then try to finish off any stragglers if I had any blue bar left. Now fully IO'ed and 50+, solo & farming is truly amazing. Groups bounce, orange numbers fly, AV & GM's fall. If you can get into a good team that let's you get ahead and start on the next group while clean up is done on the current group, then TW works wonders. If you are on a steamrolling team, it will be hard to really feel like you are part of it until you can get to an EB or AV. But that is my opinion/experience so YMMV. I will see how the changes will impact my TW, but as Heraclea says, if it becomes something I don't enjoy playing anymore, then odds are he will be stripped down and either re-rolled or put out to pasture. I hope that this will not be the case.

I cannot remember when I became what is called a geek now. Outsider could be a description used for some periods of my childhood, but I always had friends, but they weren't mainly one type. So I was an outsider in that I was a social chameleon and while I got along with many, I was never one of the 'core' members of a group until my early teens. I was fairly active as a kid, did well in school, and was larger than many other kids, but more the kid the football coach wanted on the team than the couch potato kind of large. I was never great at sports and much like I was with people, I was able to play most well enough, just not enough to drive me to pursue athletics seriously. Now reading and later role playing games.....that was what I developed a passion for early on. While there were numerous books before Narnia, those were the first ones that I remember that truly dug deep into my heart. Many decades and possibly a thousand books later, I still remember the childlike wonder of Narnia, Thomas Covenant & The Land, and Middle Earth. This was followed shortly by the same fondness I still have for Oerth in D&D and the Spinward Marches of Traveler. My teen years were the 80's. But despite all the amazing things in that decade, it was also when geeks, nerds, and dorks were not as accepted as they are now. Role playing games were played in your parents basement and not discussed outside of your gaming group. What is now called Cosplay was just called "weirdos dressing up". Back then GenCon was in Milwaukee and was the only time I think I ever saw a large number of people get dressed up in costumes and accepted as normal (outside of Halloween). And if you saw a girl at a gaming table.....wow....that was an event worth noting. My imagination is what drove and still drives me. I have always loved RPGs, mostly PnP games, but later video games like the gateway drug Elder Scrolls - Arena. To this day I love just reading RPGs that I know I will never play. I still have a group of friends that I have had for close to 40 years that occasionally get together when we are all in town or every few months Skype a continuing D&D campaign. We still talk books, TV shows, & movies (old and new) as well about our real lives and families. So ultimately, I think I realized I was a geek when I realized I was a dreamer. I think that is trait that all geeks can find in common.

And extra thanks to the GMs that monitor these forums. Undoubtedly a thankless job trying to manage what can sometimes seem like a bunch of quarreling children.

I haven't had direct interaction with the GMs yet, but I have been on teams where we needed their help. Just the fact alone that we have the ability to hop on discord and get help while still in the mission or task force speaks volumes of the way the GMs operate. All I know is that I can play this wonderful game again. Not just as it was back in Live days, but with new stuff as well. All being supported by a team of volunteers that undoubtedly love this game more than me. Which is truly saying something. So thanks!!

This would be a perfect choice for the sonic mechanic!

V&V - This was my go to back in the 80's, Numerous and amazing published adventures. Think that there was a version 2 released in the 2000's or later. Kind of number crunchy...characters could be wildly powerful at the start or very basic depending on rolls. TSR Marvel was popular. Good game overall especially if you could get your hands on the "Ultimate Powers" supplement. Read some Champions and Mutants & Masterminds, both were good, but never got a chance to play them much. For more 'recent' games... If you are a fan of Peter Clines' "Ex-Heroes" series (check it out if you haven't heard of it) try "Rotted Capes". It is a very odd mash up of Superhero and Zombie SHTF genre. Little published material, but I enjoyed the concept and game. For something that is closest to COH, in my opinion, try "Brave New World" RPG. Very similar style with characters using classes along the lines of Scrappers, Tanks, Summoners. etc. Lots of good meta story. Good for the read at the very least. Some goo supplements as well. Then there is the actual COH RPG game that I have seen reference to floating around the internet...but from what I saw, it wasn't fully fleshed out. Grittier and more lethal with potential of serious power creep - "Aberrant" by White Wolf (same guys that published "Vampire"). Good background, lots of storytelling, can be seriously weird at times. Decent amount of supplemental published material. Overall enjoyable, but not for the kiddies in my opinion. Looks interesting. I'll have to keep a watch on the progress.