RikOz

Same here - owned multiple rulebooks and read a crapton of the novels (some really good ones in there), but never got to play it because none of the tabletop gamers I knew were playing it, or were interested. Loved the setting. I recall there was an utterly terrible SNES Shadowrun game ... If somebody was able to make a good MMO based on Tad Williams' "Otherland" series, I'd be all over that. I guess there was something in the works a few years ago, but nothing ever came of it. As far as a game that lets you move back and forth between fantasy and sci-fi realms ... Piers Anthony had a series of books based around that idea (The Apprentice Adept series, I think it was).

I had to make him - I'm a professional cook IRL 😄

Well, I haven't written any long bios yet, but I have at least a paragraph or two for most of my characters. All Heroes, unless otherwise noted. Here are a couple of teenaged friends who both became heroes as a result of attempted muggings by Hellions. Both are rerolls from live. "Stabby Steffi" (Dual Blades/Super Reflexes scraper): That Hellion didn't realize that Steffi was on her way home from her fencing class when he decided to mug her. He soon discovered his error. Now Steffi fights crime alongside her best friend, Mandy Clark, aka "Mandy Manslapper". "Mandy Manslapper" (Martial Arts/Ninjitsu scrapper), bio based entirely upon the common expressions of gratitude you get when you save a mugging victim in Atlas Park: Every week somebody was trying to steal Mandy's purse! Finally, she decided she'd had enough, and she beat the tar out of the next mugger who tried. It was the most exciting thing that ever happened to her! Perhaps not coincidentally, several years ago Mandy's mother was rescued from a mugger by a hero, and told the hero, "I hope my kid grows up to be just like you!" Now Mandy fights crime alongside her best friend, Steffi McAllister, aka "Stabby Steffi". One of my first new character ideas for Homecoming, "Roentgen Bull" (originally "Rad Bull", changed servers and that name was taken, so he became "Red Beef", which I was never happy with, and finally his current name). Travel power is Super Leap. (SS/Rad brute): Everybody warned Angus Hereford that it wasn't smart to chug so many energy drinks. He didn't listen, and now he's a superhero. Who's the smart guy now? NOTE: Angus' IQ is 43 now. White Orchid and Bruised Violet are sisters, but they are Hero and Villain, respectively: "White Orchid" (Energy/Energy brute): Joselin Beltre and her younger sister, Carmen, grew up as orphans on the streets of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. As teenagers, they were abducted by a magic-wielding madman who called himself "El Demonio", who kept them captive for several months and subjected them to horrific magical experiments. As a result, both of them manifested magic-based powers, and soon after they were able to use those powers to overcome El Demonio and escape. The two sisters fled to the United States, finding a home in Paragon City. Using their newfound abilities, the sisters took up crimefighting, under the names White Orchid & Blue Violet, and Joselin was always a bit concerned that Carmen was too brutal when subduing criminals. During the Galaxy City disaster, the two got separated, and in the aftermath Carmen disappeared. Unbeknownst to Joselin, Carmen took up Arachnos' offer of assistance, and now lives as a villain in the Rogue Isles, where she is known as "Bruised Violet". "Bruised Violet" (Dark/Dark brute): Carmen Beltre and her older sister, Joselin, grew up as orphans on the streets of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. As teenagers, they were abducted by a magic-wielding madman who called himself "El Demonio", who kept them captive for several months and subjected them to horrific magical experiments. As a result, both of them manifested magic-based powers, and soon after they were able to use those powers to overcome El Demonio and escape. The two sisters came away from the experience with very different outlooks. Joselin came to believe that those with power had a responsibility to protect those without power, and calling herself White Orchid she took up the mantle of the Hero when she and Carmen arrived in Paragon City. Carmen, though, took the opposite viewpoint, swearing that she would become powerful enough that nobody could ever hurt her again. She now lives as a villain in the Rogue Isles where she is known as Bruised Violet. "Goldbar" (Kin/Inv scrapper): Richard Zanders is a reformed and rehabilitated former member of the Gold Brickers criminal gang. After serving his prison term for his youthful criminal activities Zanders used his razor sharp scientific and financial skills to grant himself superpowers and become fabulously wealthy (through legitimate means). Now he fights on the side of right as the superhero "Goldbar". I'm a fan of the German metal band, Iron Savior, who tell a high-concept science-fiction story over the course of their albums. I wanted to make a tribute character, but "Iron Savior" was already taken, so I went with an alternate name used in some of the band's songs. "Savior Machine" (TW/Energy brute): This sophisticated A.I. / war machine was created by an ancient, but advanced, human civilization with one purpose in mind: Protect humanity. It was lost in deep space for millennia, but has finally found its way home to a world that has changed much since it last saw it. But its purpose remains. "Angry Mama Bear" (Street Justice/Shield brute): After losing her teenaged son to superadine addiction, Sharon Hetre swore she wouldn't lose another. She's mad as hell, and she ain't gonna take it no more! Drug dealers beware the Angry Mama Bear! "Heartbeat of America" (Elec/Elec scrapper): Dr. Henry Ferguson M.D., D.O., M.B.B.S., was a cardiologist, until a bizarre accident involving a defibrillator triggered his latent mutant gene. Now, in addition to his medical practice, he fights crime in hands-on fashion, using his electrical powers to subdue wrongdoers! "Recipe for Disaster: (Rad/Poison corruptor, Villain): Borden Jamsey is an unsuccessful chef. So unsuccessful, in fact, that he has turned bad food into an art form. He refuses to follow food safety rules, and he cooks everything in the microwave. Basically, he's going to give you food poisoning, even if you don't eat his food. "Soul Candle" (Dark/WP sentinel): Soul Candle is a mystery, even to herself. Even she cannot recall her name. Examinations by magical experts have been inconclusive; she seems to be both alive and dead. One theory, is that she was a victim of a ritual sacrifice performed by the Circle of Thorns (suggested by the fact that she wears pieces of the CoT "uniform"), and she has somehow been returned to near-life. There have been indications that the dark powers she wields are drawn from the souls of other unavenged victims, as she has felt compelled to seek out those who prey upon the innocent and punish them for their crimes. "Pyrestone" (Stone Melee/Fiery Aura brute): Pyrestone is an elemental spirit, accidentally summoned by an inexperienced Circle of Thorns initiate who was reading aloud from a book of magic. The explosive summoning killed the unfortunate novice. Upon encountering other members of the CoT, Pyrestone recognized their evil and decided that, as long as he was here in the mortal realm, he would seek out and destroy evil wherever he found it. "Cobalt Claw" (Claws/Inv scrapper): Cobalt Claw can't remember her real name, but she knows her code name. She also cannot recall when or how she got her powers. She has vague memories of a previous existence, but that existence was in a somewhat different world. It has been suggested that she is some sort of dimensional echo. ((Back on live she started out as a Praetorian rebel before crossing over to Paragon City, but for Homecoming I decided to skip Praetoria.)) "Nano-Ninja" (Katana/Bio Armor scrapper), 4 feet tall: Nano-Ninja is a strange, experimental android. Its clockwork body is augmented with biological components that enhance its defensive capabilities. Nobody knows who built it. "Frossen" (Ice Melee/Regen scrapper): Frossen moved to Paragon City from Denmark, with her family, after the Danish government decided to impose a tax on superpowers to fund free healthcare for struggling EDM artists. "Major Marinara" (Water Blast/Fiery Aura sentinel): Major Enrico Ravioli was an officer in the Italian army. In his spare time he practiced the science of cooking, and after retiring from the army he dedicated himself to perfecting his marinara recipe. He was ultimately so successful that his sauce attained near-sentience and formed a rudimentary mental bond with Maj. Ravioli. Enrico soon discovered he could telepathically control his sauce, and his military background made him realize his sauce could be weaponized. Now he works to rehabilitate criminals by exposing them to the joy of cooking! No, Major Marinara is not a Pastafarian. He's a Raguan Catholic.

I think the Metallic 2 pieces (which are just chest and legs) are taken from the Gold Brickers NPCs. They're all male.

When my main hit level 50 and I switched her into the costume I had all ready for her, I unexpectedly discovered that her legs were noticeably longer in that costume than in her others. I went to the tailor to shorten her legs to where they should be, and discovered it was going to cost me 1,000,010 inf just to move the slider 25% to the left. Yikes!

Cool! I've seen all of those in-game except for the City of Gyros Grinder ad and the PCN ad. I always get a kick out of the "Clanket" 😄

It was installed to my SSD (E: drive). Recently moved it to my C drive. But as I mentioned in my last post, the screenshot issue has been fixed; at least it's no longer giving me any issues.

Today I spotted this in Brickstown, and I don't recall ever seeing this particular "ad" before.

When Homecoming came along, I had completely forgotten about The Hollows (I only discovered the live game about a year before it shut down). It was only after somebody else mentioned it that I realized, "Huh, I'm like 15 alts in and I haven't gotten a single referral to Hollows." I finally found it after clicking the "Find Contact" button and clicking through until it gave me Wincott. But that left me wondering, "How did I get there on live?" I was asking somebody, on another forum, about what the content was in Kings Row before the new Skulls/Superadine arc was added, because I honestly couldn't remember, and they said, "Well, a contact there sent you to The Hollows..." Heh, yeah. I think I was up to about 40 alts before I decided I was really tired of AP and KR, so my last 30+ alts have all done the Galaxy City tutorial, then the first four missions from Habashy to get 3 Merits to buy Converters to sell for starting pocket money, and then it's off to AE to powerlevel to 12, equip themselves with DOs, and then straight to Steel Canyon.

I used to run into a similar problem in WoW, on the rare occasions when I tried to PvP in battlegrounds. In WoW, the targeting reticle is a circle on the ground, rather than bracketing the whole character like we have here. So the hostile player I would have targeted would have a red circle under them ... which would become completely invisible if a Death Knight player used his "Death and Decay" aura, which places a red-colored damage patch on the ground. Or if a fire mage was spamming AoE. I couldn't see the red circle, so I would completely lose track of the specific enemy player I was trying to hit. Anyway, if people think Rad auras make it hard to see their costumes, try Dark Armor or the Fire auras. My dark toons look like little black clouds, and my level 50 Fire Blast/Fire Manipulation/Flame Mastery blaster just looks like a fireball her own self.

The problem more or less stopped for me a few patches ago. The default screenshot functionality works now without crashing my client. Nevertheless, I've switched to using the screenshot ability provided by my GeForce Experience software, because half the time the game's default screenshots are getting flagged by ... something ... that results in my not being able to edit them (like when I try to crop a screenshot to share). Well, I can edit them, but my computer refuses to save the edited file because it thinks it's malware or something.

Here's Ghost, a cat I had a few years ago. Had to give him up 😞 My favorite - the morning light was just right, coming in through the window ... Ghost actually liked to play fetch. I would throw a wadded up piece of paper across the room, and he'd chase it down, bring it back, and drop it into my shoe. Repeat.

I said a while back that, if WoW had mobs with the Freakshow mechanic, based on my 10 years playing that game, they would rez every single time, and you'd only get XP after the second kill.

Or, as we say on another message board I frequent, "WHOOOSH!"

Yeah, the NPC mobs can do it, too. I was doing a safeguard and had to do a double-take when this big Lost guy shot a civilian, and down he went. Was not expecting that!

"Skull Hoodlum has defeated Cardboard Box!" "Skull Hoodlum has defeated Parking Meter!" Ooo, we got some real badasses over here!

Oh, I forgot the Whispered Hand (I think that's what they're called). I don't even bother with my fire/fire blaster's Hot Feet power because the Mercenary mobs, which seem to be the overwhelming majority of mobs in these WH missions, have some ability that I can't even see that keeps turning it off. I decided it was a waste of time to keep turning it back on when that very next mob is just gonna shut it off again.

I wanted some after I noticed the Scrapyarders wearing them in an alignment mission.

There are some ... issues ... with the wording of the first sentence in the "Against All Odds" power description when selecting a new power from a trainer: I'm pretty sure that should read, "Regardless of the odds against you, you are determined to go on."

Ten years of WoW totally burned me out on holiday events. By the time my main over there had earned the meta-achievements for all the holidays, I just completely lost interest in participating in them any more. Also, count me in as one who did not care for a full month of "night". The constant dreariness of the Rogue Isles is one of the main things that makes me not want to play redside, so I'd rather not have it blueside as well.

CoT: I simply despise the way so many CoT maps are jam-packed with those ghosts/daemons/whatevers, so that it's not unusual to find myself with 3-6 ToHit Debuffs stacked on me. Being completely unable to do anything is just not fun. I know that I can counteract this somewhat with yellow insps, but in the level ranges where this behavior is most common (and completely overdone, IMO), I've only got 8-10 insp slots and even if I entered the map fully loaded with yellows, I'd be out of them before I'm halfway through some of those maps. Hellions and Skulls (and Lost, to a certain extent): Over-reliance on knockback at levels where nobody has KB protection yet. Constantly getting knocked back/down just isn't fun. I have noticed that some of these shotgun-wielding minions seem to have only one attack: Slug or whichever gun attack has the KB. While fighting a group, I'll notice that some of the minions do absolutely nothing to fight back except stand there waiting for that KB attack to come off cooldown. Then, with staggered attacks, I get chain-KB'd. The Lost: The big guys with the mental attacks. I just love being slept, then held, then stunned, then slept again, before I've even landed a punch. Sky Raiders: Those Engineers and their forcefield generators. This is generally easy to overcome, once you learn to identify the Engineer in the group and hit him first. But when a map manages to spawn three of them in close enough proximity (usually a case of one on ground-level and a couple up on a catwalk), I can end up with multiple, overlapping FFs, and then it's CoT ghosts all over again, but worse. Often, the only option at that point is to reset the mission and hope the mobs spawn differently. Carnies: Another group where I've learned how to counteract the biggest annoyance, but if the counteraction doesn't work the first time, it's major annoyance time. I currently only have one toon high enough to be dealing with Carnies, and she's a blaster, so I've figured out that I can one-shot even an "orange-level" Grand Illusionist by hitting both Aim and Buildup, then Snipe. But if that doesn't insta-kill the GI, and she manages to cast her Phantasms ... *groan*. The actual annoyance here is that those illusions persist for so damned long after I've defeated the Illusionist, and they're largely immune to damage, and don't do much damage themselves. They end up being nothing but a super-irritating forced waiting game, because whatever objective/hostage the GI was guarding can't be freed until those damned things finally despawn on their own. I honestly feel like it's either a major design flaw, or a bug that allows those illusions to persist after the caster is defeated. Malta: Look for Sappers the same way I look for Sky Raider Engineers. I actually don't have that much trouble with them, but at those levels I have all 25 insp slots, I'm strong enough to not need to rely on Luck insps so much, and I can carry some Endurance insps for the sappers and some Break Frees for the Gunslingers.

Hmm ... I'm something of a writer, though mostly known in circles where pseudonyms are the order of the day. I do try to write at least a paragraph of bio for each of my alts, though with 71 alts (and counting) I have to stretch a bit to keep them unique. I could actually write a full backstory for Captain Apple since, as I mentioned, I originally created him around 30 years ago. My IRL art is more along these veins: The second photo is one of my culinary experiments: eggs, chorizo, and cheese, between two slices of french toast, drizzled with syrup. It was tasty. (I've been a pro cook for 36+ years.)

To be totally fair, this thread was still in General Discussion when I followed/first posted to it, before the forum makeover 🙂

Ah, okay. Suffice it to say, I was not aware of this person 🙂

I figured that, if I was gonna be so uncreative as to straight-up copy the Longbow costume (as well as the face and hairstyle of my favorite Longbow agent), I'd better come up with a decent backstory to explain it 😛 Midnight Blue is a mutant 🙂