cranebump

Well, we’re back. Because you CAN have too much of a shitty thing. What? You can’t break a 20? JOSH JONES RETURNS! And this time, he means WAR! (or fruitcake…both are absolutely good fer nuthin’) This installment, we have a true GEM for you: Well, well, well. We now have LBMA’s! Right up Josh’s considerably narrow alley! Let’s see what Marco wants. Part 1: Out of Warranty Mark sez he has bad mojo comin’ from a cellphone (isn’t that EVERY phone these days? I mean, look at my spam folder). We head to Cook’s Electronics, and find Goldbrickers bricking around. What do we do? Um, shoot them, of course? DESIGN NOTE: We get a nifty bit of summation with the Mish begin clue: This continues throughout the arc. Here's another exanmple: Nice add. Especially if you’re like me and you forget what you just did. I may steal this idea. (MAY? Who am I kidding, I steal everything.) Quick mish where we beat up Billmark (brother to Markbill, both of whom wear Billabong?). Looks like the brickies have plans to steal techies from shoppies. And such… Back to mark for M2: M2: Parts and Labor Off to gather more bits and giggles. We get a taste of a neat little custom here: Sucesptible to bullets? Good. We run into some Clocks, who give us some forbidding dialogue: Yeah, this can only be good… See? Things momentarily look good, and then… Yup…lowbie friendly my… Okay, so have to do better at pulling, I’d say. So these guys… Man, oh man, do they suuuuuuuck… I avoid getting retweeted and forge ahead. Well, DINE-O-MITE! Let’s see what ELSE JJ may say? Scavenging around for various parts, and we find Ugh…storm…and it’s paired with electricity. Go figure.:-) We get the job done. JJ rants about her stuff, and how she repurposed the custom clocks. After she realizes I’m NOT with Crey (and here to steal her stuff), she calms down. (Can you blame her? I mean, I LOOK so high tech.) M3: Secondhand Store Mark gets more “ghost” vibes from the phones in JJ’s collection. So, this means we simply MUST go to a cave (because everyone loves caves, natch).Marco assures me he wouldn’t send me there if he dint have to. I do not believe him, of course. This changes nothing, but I feel all tough and edgy when I intentionally doubt good people (bc that’s what Edgelords do - that and destroy perfectly nice DnD campaigns). Mark DOES say he’s getting some bank vibes and Bricker mojo off what we have, though, so some nice furniture and people running around screaming MAY be in my future (hmmm..sounds like home…on Thanksgiving...with all those damned kids running around…[what, are they immune to the turkey-fu-sleep thing?]). So, even though it IS caves: It’s the GOOD kind. With LOTS of fascists! As we beat his ass, Targus releases bad gas! (Er, like from canisters and such. Aimed at the city. I mean, maybe he did the other, but we’re past that now, ‘cuz hero time.) Okay, good, it IS that kind of gas. Phew… While commenting on the use of gas as an old Nemesis standby, the guard gives me some props! Um, I’d prefer to stay OFF Nem’s radar for a little while, bro. Along the way: Know what they say about shooting fish in a barrel? It’s true, man. I am more harrowing than sleeping in a gas mask! Good to know… I have a bit of running around to find crates, but they’re right next to each other. And DONE! Some questions remain about JJ and how she got into that place and rooted around without being, you know, shot to death, but we’ll table that for the moment. The good news: the city is saved from GAS! (and not just Archon "Fartgus's"). M4: Factory Direct Turns out JJ had a cloaking device. And assumed I had one, because DOESN’T EVERYONE? (note to self: get with Hero Corps about frequent rewards program). Back at it with the Brickers. JJ has provided me with some backup: Try to remember whose side you're on, okay, kemosabe? So, as we gather more tech for Marco: Amen! Sorry I can’t let you off though, pard. DESIGN NOTE: I did not know you could color code the objectives. The designer is using light blue to signify the optional ones. Neat! I may adopt that sometime. Or just stay jealous about it. Whichever's easier.:-) NOTE: Reference to Watergate and Nixon and the end of mish=+1,000 from this geezer. M5: No Refunds, no Exchanges And, I would add, No Retreat, No Surrender (because I’m a soldier in the night with a vow to defend).:-) So, this looks like a timer, because of this: If so, nice to have a warning (I never use them, personally…warnings that is. Timers? That’s another story.):-) Sure enough, 15 minutes. And a Defeat All. But it’s a small bank map, so it’s doable, and I do. Even took on an ambush just after taking out the boss. Yeah, yeah - if it wasn’t for you meddling kids and your stupid…gun… So, we stop the Brickers from getting a shit ton of money, and we keep JJ out of trouble. All in all, we’re a big, damned hero. So, THE REVIEW: GOOD STUFF: Mechanically perfect. Spawns, objectives, map choices - everything was navigable without any glitches (except JJ followed me everywhere the first time we met (after saying she was staying put), but that’s an AE thing, not the designer. Sold story. Great contact dialogue and character presentation. Mark Freeman feels "real." Solid mix of stock bad guys and a some customs. Innovative use of Mish Begin clue as shorthand for objectives and keeping track of ongoing investigation. Whiz bang finale. TWEAKS: Not one damned thing I would change. VERDICT: 6 out of 5. What more can I say? This is a grade-A, well done arc, from top to bottom (and sideways, too). Pretty much perfect. Well, well, WELL done. PLAY IF: You want to take your lowbie on a solid, well-designed, well-scripted, beautifully constructed arc. DON’T PLAY IF: You’re some sort of douche bag, because only a douche bag wouldn’t like this (because they’re douche bags).:-) A+, @Zasani. And thanks! Happy Hanukwnazamas all, Crane

Year 1, Day 4: Say BAT! to Drugs Off to End the drug war, or some such. Being a lowbie I spent a lot of time doing this: as well as this: and a bit of this: Protecting those artifacts gets me to L9. After a bit of buffing at the ol' base, I head out to check on another skull shindiggery, and cull some lost (some of whom have fallen and they can't get up {yes...a TRUE hero takes out the Skulls beating them up so the hero can finish the job]). And here's the windup... ..and there's the pitch! So, we rattle Bone Rattler's bones, get some clues about 'dine (or dyne, or Dianne...who knows?) and report back in. Lead on another big ol' lab. As we make our way there: Hmmm..what is the Fam doing in the Row. Better pass this along to Blue Steel...so he can have me come back and do his job (sigh). This calls for prudence...I don't have prudence..I don't even have prunes. I DO have a lot of grenades and plasmatic tasers, though,, and a gun that doesn't work... Nevertheless, we clean up that small mess, and get sent to Steel. Along the way: That's 6 naughties in a row. I am evidently doing something VERY wrong. After 2 more bouts of being naughty, I snag a Candy Cane refresher (ahhhh...sooo sugary). Willie Zucco has me going back to Peraz Park. Good memories...the ground tasted so sweet when those Thorns faceplanted back in the day (yes, 3 days ago was it?...ah, childhood). By the way, when you have to hoof it: You get this sort of thing... Once I get there, one of my objectives is...puzzling... I feel this guy could be my ally? There's a reason the Skulls have problems with success: Set the bomb, then stand next to it. Good job, guys...Why am I saving you from yourself? I really do not know. No, man, I am NOT helping you up. Oh, but I can...for I am...the DUSK...erm...yeah... And so, with that, DB reaches L10. Do I select a power that makes sense? I do not. I decide I need to jump higher, farther, faster (but not too much, so Combat Jumping). Meanwhile, got things to do for Willie Z and possibly Wes S (Wesses?). POSTSCRIPT: Wilson Zucco (I guess I offended him by calling talking about his Willie...or lack thereof...the nickname, you see...right) sends me hither, but mostly yon. Thankfully, he gives me Hugo Redding's location (not digits, because we never call each other without at least one play date at a neutral site). Mish 1 sends me SPELUNKING! (BADGE! DINGDINGDINGDING!). I then bow to convention and visit the Winter Wonderland (because candy canes are tasty). I rescue a surprisingly swift and loquacious toddler from a really huge garden gnome. Hugo rewards me when I return by sending me on hunt mishes, because he can do that (so he does, the douche). All good, though. I reach L12, and FINALLY take a normal power (passive ranged defense - I've been getting my ass shot off - a LOT). Rest assured, however - I will NOT be doing anything that smart again for awhile!...maybe...who can say? (not me). NEXT RUN: Friday, 16 DEC 22 - Year 1 CONTINUES (like a Mu'! [not mu, like "moo," but like a "muh," which is what I keep getting called by Paragon City's drivers. Hey - that middle stripe is there for SOMETHIN'!).

Year 1, day 3 Hard Knocks in the Land of Skimpy DB gets sent on 2 hunt mishes, starting with Skulz. I get the bright idea of luring one of them into a squad of supposed friends: Help...Um, hey, uh...HELP!...I said...HEY! Would you stop looking at my costume? I get slapped around by Skulls but knock out 10. Then my new buddy Paula Dempsey sends me to get 10 Clockwork. After getting my own clock cleaned a couple times (once in mid flight running away {AAAAAAAAH! **KRUNCH**), I run over to talk to Vic Johans…Joyon…Yo, Johnson! to get a new mish. She sends me to find missing homeless people. Like I’m gonna somehow know where they are! (um…I do, actually). Rescue, then off to Perez to take out Skulls and their ‘Dine. After which I have a little hunt for Thorns (10 of ‘em), and end the day at L8. I AM INVINCIBLE! Power Notes and stuff: Since DB is obviously not meant to be optimized, I'm asking for it. I pick up Infiltration and top it off with the Ninja Stealth power (called BunchasyllablesIforgot). After that? Dunno. I'm thinking experimentation for the dart and the vial, 'cuz that would be nice and lame. NOTE TO SELF: Buy more stun grenades. Mainly for yourself, so you can forget your failures.

Year 1, Day 2: Looking Out for a Hero (or, if you can't find one, me) Devil Bat stands next to a shiny thing and gets the Monitor Duty Badges! HURRAY! My base (that is only for me) suffered no encroachment during my short, but (non) violent tenure. OFF TO BATNESS! So, Rich Davies sez I must clear the whorehouse of Clockwork! What's that?...ah...the WAREhouse...okay...slight difference there, but...okay... And I dunno who THIS guy is: ...but I take exception. Hard, firm, sturdy exception. (D.A.T.A. dork. You can't feel without your emotion chip, anyway, so...oh...not that guy...okey doke...ONWARD!) FREE THE WHORES!...er, I mean TAKE THAT! Reading...my eternal nemesis... Dayam! There were white boards EVERYWHERE. all with weird scribblings in some esoteric language, all amounting to jack (reminds me of most faculty meetings I've attended...that was me. Crane. Devil Bat doesn't have his teaching license. Yet...probably never, because, well, the night life...). So, DB defeats a "boss" (yellow and everything!), gets to level 3, then calls up Rick Davies again. I have one number in my phone, and his is it (sorry mom...I can't multitask). I go to the square to level up. It's a typically busy evening in Torchbearer, as you can see here: I'm the only guy here, but Rick insists I report directly to him (I guess to prove I really do exist, and really did show up to get the other 2 missions I did for him [poor Rick...hashish]. I head inside and... WHOA! There's someone else here! I think I'll just...sorta walk on by...yep... Rick's decided maybe I AM a hallucination, so he sends me to the Security Chief (who is evidently feeling insecure-ACTIVATE HUGS!). Now that I have a little $$ from selling stuff (I said I could do that, remember? well, I'm saying so now). And LO AND BEHOLD- ANOTHER HERO! Starting to think there's a reason there aren't many folks here... Security Chief eschews my hugs. He'd rather I beat up 5 Hellions. I dutifully do so (while being introduced to sledgehammers in a manner not prescribed on the box). Thanks to getting my face rearranged, Rick allows me to call! He's got a line on a REALLY FEARSOME BOSS. And what is that boss's name pray tell?: Yeah...okay, well...okay... In addition to fidgeting with Widget, I also have to discover the cause of the Clockwork disturbance. Within short order, Widgie is in a ditchie, and I discover the sinister secret behind the Clocks activities: Damn you, Radio Shack. Goddamn you all to hell... Level up to 4, then ravel out the rest of Rick's stuff (Cull Clocks? Why not? Time has no meaning for me, anyway). Patrol to L5, since Rick is out of mishes (and, I guess, hashish). Quick base visit to empower for an hour, and then I'm off to...where? I'm thinking the dark, dingy, disgusting beautiful King's Row. Well, that worked out, because Rick sent me to Paula Dempsey (sorry I ignored you, Rick...telemarketers, right?). Clockwork plot continues. This time, I get to take on Drillpress. I feel this could go really well! (or not). Since he's 10 gillion (aka .5) miles away, I jet pack it. Everything below is Red. Like the blood that will emerge from every orifice of mine if I land (some of my blood is evidently purple, as well). Eventually, we break up a Skulls/Clock convention, and end our second day at L6. Beating the crap out of these guys grants us the Negotiator badge (bc of course it does).

Yes, he is/does:-)

Don't you know by now that we of the intrawebs cannot do anything reasonably?🙂 My wish list is DP/Arrows and MA/SJ. I can simulate it a bit with Fighting/Sands (maybe even adding flurry from SS), but (sigh) full on slap/tickle (with sharp, ranged, pointy things), isn't yet a thing. That aside, I think I agree with the comment that a melee controller is basically a tank.

Does that one require getting Bocor out, or just to the urn room?

I honestly don't know, sorry.:-/

Sounds like a job for the KR Devil! (That’s as close to moderately evil that I have):-)

In between working on AE stuff, I decided to roll up this character, because...well, you'll see. Experiments in Devil-Batting So, i was creating characters for an AE arc. Basically a group of super heroes and vills from alternative timelines/Earths. Had this weird amalgam of Batman, Daredevil, and Moon Knight, who was nemesis of “Lex Fisk.” Decided I liked his costume, so I chose to run him, using the following parameters: Base Powersets: Street Justice/Ninjutsu (though I plan to flesh him out with pool powers; throwing stars woulda been nice, but Devil Bat is no stinkin’ blaster! [yet?]) Normal contacts (Tech and Natural focus). Theme powers (with a dependence/focus on Pool powers that fit) Store-bought enhancements. No IOs. Can trade merits for cash to buy enhances/gadgets/devices (Taser, Grenades and so forth). Use “normal” transportation (though I did get himn Athletic run, jump pack, and will buy flight packs, as well, because he’s a gadget guy; and he has a “small base” [see below]). Let’s start with pics, and bio: Beware, evil-doers. I am the dusk! BIO: Bruce Murdoch, blind since birth. Orphaned when his parents were slain in a senseless robbery. Taken in by the enigmatic, homeless tech genius, Tony Stick, he learned to turn his other senses into a lethal weapon. Now, after many years of training, and beget Stick’s small lab when the old man passed, he emerges as Paragon’s newest hero (or maybe vigilante - he can’t decide). By day, he devotes himself to paralegal duties for the struggling law firm, Pennyworth and Wayne. By night, he is the avenging angel of the moon, from which he is certain he draws (at least some of) his power. (There. That's muddled, yet obvious enough, isn't it?) Since he has a “small lab,” I decided to give him a...small lab, with one portal to 3-4 zones. He’ll likely not need much storage. Will put in an empowerment station and likely a mediporter. Toying with the idea that, when he faceplants, he has to return to base (thanks to that special device he has secreted…somewhere in his colon, I assume). So, with that in mind, here’s Bruce’s journey: Devil Bat, Year...er, Day 1: A Bat Emerges (covered in the guano of heroism!) Bruce is born! Er, or rather emerges in Atlas Park, where he hits up Rick Davies and takes on some clocks. After 2 missions I realize he has no base (even though I SAID he had a base [a small one...a lab, actually]). So, he’s got to have a base (a small one; rinky-dinkish). I am therefore off to register myself as a Super Group! (I’ll develop the alternate personalities to flesh the roster later). Why quibble with titles? There’s only me. I am Omni-f'in BAT! (devil) I start work on the base. Gonna be a quick one. I can’t spend too much time on this, anyway. I have to script AE mishes in my alternate guise as a normal human being close to retirement age (which is, really, trying not to do much that’s actually fruitful or productive). BASE CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE! Well, that was quick. Empowerment station. Single TP to Atlas, Talos, IP and PI (like Ouro). Mission computer (‘cuz BAT!). Power generator. Mediporter with first aid kit and monitoring equipment. One salvage rack. The DC CAVE IS COMPLETE! BEWARE EVIL DOERS! (after a quick break to go fold clothes I forgot were in the dryer).:-) I AM THE WASH! (to be continued)

Inititial Scripting for Mobius 5 is done. Will be working on mishes tomorrow. Hoping to complete it in a couple weeks, depending on how much time I get to work on it. Before Christmas, though! That's the goal.

Please direct any criticisms of any arc to @cranebump. He deserves it for those GD timers!:-)

Vigilante mostly. That way when a call for something redside goes out, I can respond. I don't play straight villain much at all, and had only a couple of rogues.

Staff is pretty good, except maybe for the “I stab your feet multiple times!” animation. The thing I like about it is if your big AoE attack misses you still look cool because you’re break dancing.

I think I originally wanted a "what if Willie survived?" character, and so brought her on board (but then brought back Willie anyway). Ended up tying her backstory in with KR's Ron Hughes, just to keep her grounded in The Row. She was sort of a throw in, but somehow ended up reappearing. It's like she was a guest star in a series that they just kept bringing back until, there they were (sort of like my favorite DS9 charcter, Garak, though, you're right, Briggs-Hughes isn't a major player...well, yet).:-) Skullia, whom @Darmian mentioned, had nearly a full character arc behind the scenes in the original Mobius. She was one of the "vendors" in Buzzsaw's "business." Got arrested, then recruited to help out in Dempsey's Hard 8, and ended up being redeemed as a hero (as mentioned in a blurb in the denouement of the original series). If I ever go back to Ordinary People, I might consider dropping her in there and maybe somehow incorporating her, but I feel like that story's gone forever with the rewrite. I still have the character on the roster, though! And after this is done, I figure I'm due for another Row story of some kind (if I can think of any).

So let’s say Boss A is the one that runs away. Boss B tells me where to find them. Is my goal going into the mish to pursue Boss A? Or am I after something else when I discover I need to find Boss A, and Boss B has the info I need? I ask this because the fight you’re describing seems a cosmetic decision. If so, then the objective can be achieved using other means. It may seem limiting, but the lack of being able to do anything and everything forces the storyteller to focus on what’s essential, and how to get that across in the clearest, simplest way.

Lobart is supposed to stay put. He will then deliver text about putting programming into place that uses nanites to make bots from local resources. He NEVER followed in tests. Not once. I set him as a non-combatant. When you receive his “transmission” about him having issues with some of the bots he shouldn’t be standing right next to you! AAAAAAGH! GD AE! Why? Whywhywhywhy?

You can’t. AE does not have those options. Boss dialogue can be placed in a clue that pops on the clues screen when they’re defeated, so you can simulate that. A boss can try to run from you, but if it’s a mish objective and they get away, the mish fails. No targets can TP away at all. With that in mind, why was it necessary/desirable to have them fighting each other? What will the player learn when talking to boss #2?

Fixes: Text added for Aaron Ruegad, Galen and Dis. Text for Dis contains a bit of a hint at finale. Changed "clear the top floor" to "Set off bombs. Make sure no one's around to shut them off (clear top floor)." FYI: The bombs are listed as "Remote Detonation Explosives." The idea is you put them in place, secure Dis, then blow the place up after you have her. I changed the single objective collection text to match the multiple collection text so it both now say "Remote detonation" as (hopefully) a reminder. Deleted the extra "the" in the Gressman text. Changed "See your clues before going on" to "see your clues screen after accepting mission. BACKGROUND NOTE: Dempsey's Hard 8 was originally an arc where the Wards went to the Rogue Isles without coordination from Arachnos. They used villains they had captured in the a raid similar to the second Buzzsaw raid (namely Chigger, Plutoniman, and a couple others who became part of the narrative [i.e., Skullia, whom @Darmian may remember]). My favorite NPC of this group was one of the snakes, Adder Mortis, who did this really creepy "limmmboooooo" thing when emerging from elevators (while talking about "feasting" all the time).:-)

Thanks for the run! Some comments/explanations: The “black is your color” comment is because you and your team are “holo’ed up” in Arachnos garb. It’s mentioned in the entry pop. It might need to be somewhere else, too (maybe enemy text). Level range is chosen based on where a character would start in Ordinary People. That one was driven by Skulls and Helliona mixed with customs. Subsequent arcs are just guesstimations by me about where the same character would be over the course of time. Some of the arcs are level-locked due to actual in game foes though (Crey, for example). Other than that, it’s just a preference (though ultimately the character level will have narrative significance in the finale [well, maybe]). Galen, Aaron text: yeah, I must’ve dropped the ball on that. Shoot. Alright is technically incorrect, but informally correct. In any case, it saves me 2 characters against text limit, so it ain’t goin’ nowhere.:-) I can’t believe those bombs spawned lower! They were in the last room every single test run. They should not be able to spawn anywhere else. Wonder what happened? Hmm. Clear the top floor is the Defeat All last room text. I made it that way to ensure the player saw the shadow supers, and also caught Dis’s long speech. I’ll have to check why it’s so wonky. Might just need to lower bomb count to 2. Rezzing LTs: can’t recall which one of them has that. For the mobs, I basically brought over base minions of Fawkes Brigade, Saccos, and Chalikar. I then gave them a standard costume, and changed save file. I checked to make sure each have 100% XP at arc lvl cap. I’m wondering which one has the power now, since they look the same (except for Sacco-Vanzettis, who don’t all have helms). Rank structure is actually misleading. “Sergeants” are equivalent to LTs. LTs are Bosses. Captains are elite bosses. Maybe that’s sneaky? Anyway I didn’t have any rezzers in tests (that I recall) but at x8, the chances must be very high to get one. ”See your clues”: I need to fix those, for sure. Dropping in the Mobius info was a bit tough to do in a way that integrated well. Shadow Supers text: oh, I suspect you’ll see them again.:-) I’m due for some vacation time, so hopefully I can clean up all of the arcs various issues. On the whole, I thought this one was pretty solid for a first draft. It’s hard staying ahead of you guys! thanks again

Welcome home, hero. Or villain. Or something in between. 🙂

That one seemed consistent. Everytime I finished the chest-click, it seemed to be right there, then it was off to Zoria. Don't want to miss his gloating, do we?:-) One thing I do need to check is population. Since it's essentially an "empty" map I had to populate it by objectives (ex: patrols). I was sort of in a hurry to get it back up and running, so I'll likely need to check #'s. It felt a little empty during tests.

It really is a neat map. Floating base or something. The old map for that one was an open Croatoa map. Wasn't bad, but felt a bit boring for some sort of pocket dimension holding "one thorn to rule them all." I feel like this map feels less grindy because it's unique. I was also lucky enough to have my Key Holders pop in in places that weren't too hard to find. All that said, I'm still wondering whether an Oranbega-type map maps the most sense. It'd still have some of the same issues, but grouping might be easier (and no chance of falling off the map into oblivion on multiple occasions).:-) Speaking of this mish, I used a black speech of Mordor translator to get Azh Gaddur (one ring is Azh Nazg, I think?).

Not quite where no one has gone. I went there during tests (but not as often, nor with as much vigor).:-)

Yeah that Zoria mish is probably going to be shifted into a cave or something. The Midnighter map would be great for a “repository,” but there’s no way to hide its origin and backdrop. So that one still needs work. On a more positive note, Mobius 4 finally answers the questions about The Strip and The Five. Mulling finale right now, so unsure when that gets done.