Itsyagirl

One of the best things about City of Heroes is its excellent community. Whether running random radio missions with a PUG or answering the call for an iTrial, teams are where some of the best content in the game lies. Another wonderful thing about CoX is how much self-expression it allows for. Between powerset selection, name, bio, badges, titles, power customisation, and so on... everyone has a chance to stand out. You're never "just another human warrior". Given the above, I think an addition that would play excellently off both of these would be a Commendation system. The way it would work is that after you complete a Task Force or Trial with a team, a pop up window appears (probably right after the results screen). On this screen would be a list of each of your teammates, along with a selection of checkboxes for each one. Something similar to this: Would you like to recognise any of your team's achievements? 1. LGBT Plus Ultra | o Friendly | o Helpful | o Powerful | o Great costume | o Good roleplay | o Leadership 2. Bullets Fly | o Friendly | o Helpful | o Powerful | o Great costume | o Good roleplay | o Leadership ...and so on and so forth. You would be able to check, say, 2 or 3 of these per character, so you're not stuck picking between two options. Then you would receive a pop up with "Your team gave you: 2 Friendly, 1 Good roleplay commendations!" There probably wouldn't be any reward associated with this. In fact, commends should probably be hidden from other players unless you choose to make them visible (just in case people decide to start gatekeeping). Maybe, at most, a badge you can earn for giving or receiving X commendations. The only reason I wouldn't also suggest this for general teaming is the question of when you give commendations. After every radio mission? That would get repetitive. I think this would help strengthen the community, as well as offering a regular dose of delicious endorphins when you see the commendation notification pop up in the corner of the screen.

In the mission "Rescue General Aarons" of the "The Mysterious General Z" arc from Christine Lansdale, you get the following dialogue on engaging General Z's captors: It looks like the second piece of dialogue is supposed to be spoken by one of his captors (the Assault Raider accompanying the jump bot, probably) rather than by General Z.

You shouldn't roleplay blank slate mystery characters who don't talk, for the same reason you shouldn't roll an edgy rogue who lurks in the corner of the tavern with their hood up not speaking to anyone - everyone else in the party is going to go have adventures while you sit around looking mysterious. Like yes, that is a character archetype that exists - in written fiction where the author has complete control over what happens. In an improv setting where other people need to play off you, you need to be giving something to play off.

Both of LGBT Plus Ultra's parents are cops; her childhood was defined by absence, arguments, and reflected stress. As an only child often left to her own devices (and often having to find her own safe places out of the home) she spent a lot of time roaming Skyway City, finding her own fun. It was when she came out to her parents at the age of 15 that things really went wrong. After the yelling stopped, they gave her an ultimatum: never talk about this stupid "lesbian" idea again, or get out of their house. She spent a full year bottling up her identity... then came her first kiss, her first real happiness, and the first expression of her powers. Once that rainbow energy had erupted forth, she knew there was no going back. That night, she packed her bags and left, never to return. Her parents still live in Skyway somewhere, but they haven't spoken since that day. Sometimes she can't help but wonder what they're up to. Would they still hate her if she came back? Would they be proud of who she grew up to be? Then she remembers everything she would have to sacrifice to earn their approval, and the yearning passes.

Generic bosses from Defeat Boss paper missions sometimes use this line, which is missing the period on the end. This line seems to be used across several different factions and bosses.

Death has nipped at the heels of Mental Killness from the moment she plummeted to the depths of the Rogue Isles. In fact, the first thing she remembers is snapping out of a daze with a knife between her ribs. She recalls clutching at the face of her attacker, and hearing him howl as his mind shattered. Then waking up on a blood-stained table, her wound roughly stitched, and taking the first of many debts. Since then she has been in thrall to many shadowy masters, all of which have treated her as a disposable asset. Powerful but uncontrolled, she makes for the perfect walking bomb - just wind her up, coerce her into invading the local Longbow offices, and you've got an instant mass casualty event. Whether or not she survives is secondary to those who control her. One day her luck - if that's what you can call it - is going to run out, and when that happens, nobody is going to shed a tear for her. Until that day comes, she's going to bite and scratch and fight desperately to balance on that knife's edge between life and oblivion.

Usually the very first thing I do on a character is run over to Ms Liberty/the Arbiter and set up costume 2 (an outfit for their profession e.g. lab gear for a scientist) and costume 3 (civilian clothes for, say, hanging out in Pocket D). Depending on the concept I might make more while they're free.

Hey, I totally get it. I'm queer myself and I constantly use my characters to live out my fantasies (protecting queer kids, having a social life, shooting rainbows out of my hands... you know, usual stuff). I think it's kind of a natural part of roleplaying that our own experiences end up influencing the roles we play. Either way, I'm really happy to hear you're living your best life now 🥰

My solution to this issue is to be dumb as a brick irl.

We all have an array of weird, wacky and wonderful characters with all sorts of backstories and personalities. Yet, at least personally, I find that there are certain things that keep cropping up across all of my toons. I guess they're my own preferences and biases in action. I think it's an interesting thing to reflect on so I thought I'd share some random ideas. One thing I noticed is that I never play rich characters. Maybe it's just because of my own life circumstances, but the idea just doesn't really interest me; I think characters are much more intriguing when they face real world struggles, and being financially privileged simply removes a lot of that. Not to say you can't have an intriguing wealthy character, but I just don't do it by default for some reason. How about you?

For LGBT Plus Ultra, any unexpected windfall would be a lifesaver. She’s in debt to her landlord, the owner of the rooms for the youth group, her student loans, and even her healthcare provider (seriously, how is capitalism still clinging to life with all the super science and technology we have going on??); they’ll get pretty much everything she finds. If the amount is big enough to pay off all those debts, then first off, holy shit her life is changed, oh my lord Jesus or Satan or whoever sent this money thank you thank you I am in your debt. Anything left over would probably go towards helping out any of the kids who are in dire financial straits. Mental Killness is also in debt, but to the kind of very bad people in the Rogue Isles with whom you can’t ever settle your obligations. Any money she has goes straight to them; no matter how much that was, she still has to do some dirty work for them to cover the rest… and that ends her up in debt to someone else. It’s a vicious cycle that repeats itself every day all over the Etoile isles, and the villain who was once a hero is now irrevocably trapped in it. Within two days of receipt, Screamin’ Eagle has already spent everything on whatever took his whim at the time. Voucher for one hundred Mariachi lessons? World’s largest water bed? A solid gold trophy that says “Paragon’s Bestest Hero”? All this crap and more is already on its way to the bridge he lives under.

Every time someone complains about knockback, I add another KB enhancement to my En/En Blaster.

LGBT Plus Ultra pretty much just started out as a funny name, but then she turned into my favourite RP character. I kinda just play her off the top of my head, but if I had to cite some vague inspirations, it'd be the 2009 Power Girl run with Amanda Conner (for the "hero with a home life" thing) and Toy Box from Alan Moore's Top 10. I guess some modern queer media like Lumberjanes, She-Ra, and Owl House too.

Oh hey, I'm pretty sure you let me door sit while you were power levelling Artemis with Shiva Basher. Funny seeing them here.

LGBT Plus Ultra: Cassie doesn't get all that much time off. Between volunteering, her band, working her day job, and doing the hero stuff, she's lucky if she gets more than an evening or two a week. When she does find herself at loose ends, she goes and works the bar in Pocket D. Now you might think that's a little unusual; who the hell relaxes by working another job? Usually she would agree with you, but working the Pocket isn't really like any other job. People don't order all that many drinks, and when they do, it's weird and wonderful stuff she has fun making. Heroes and villains both tip well, and everyone has a smile for the person bringing them alcohol. The rest of the time, she gets to lean on the bar, chill out, and meet new people. There are a lot of very attractive women (in giant, tiny, animal, insect, or ghost varieties) hanging around. It's practically a queer bar! Plus you're guaranteed to have a fight-free night. All in all, it's a good experience to unwind after a stressful day.