My Roleplaying Wish List

[madpoet67]

So… Here’s my wish list… it’s only one thing.

 

I wish we had a special costume slot for a “secret identity.” This slot would come with its own nameplate and id card.

 

That’s it…

 

You see, I have a backstory that I developed long ago, outside of CoH, when I was toying with the idea of creating my own comic book. At the time, I wanted to challenge several comic book tropes and take them to a new level. The first being the “kid” who somehow becomes a powerful adult hero when the need arises, and the second being the anti-hero. My idea was to create an old man who transforms into a young, somewhat angst-ridden teen hero, but within the context of a story that walks a fine line between the self-righteous and the amoral.

 

I came up with a hero named “The Dreamed.”

 

Here’s the story (feel free to stop reading if you feel you might be offended):

 

Roland Sykes

 

Mr. Roland Sykes is a 56-year-old, English teacher at Paragon High School. A stern disciplinarian and a life-long bachelor, even his colleagues see him as a bitter, lonely old man. As for the students, well… let’s just say he’s the teacher the seniors warn the freshmen about.

 

The truth is, Mr. Sykes prefers it that way. He’s not a terribly pleasant man. As for being lonely, while it’s true that he has never known love, he has never really seen the benefit in it. Respect is all he ever wanted. Until now…

 

You see, Roland Sykes has a problem. He has fallen in love. The problem is, he has fallen in love with Kathrine “Kat” Saunders, a student in his 3rd period class. He keeps his feelings close to the vest, of course. After all, he is nothing if not proper. Still, she is all he can think about. At night, wracked with guilt and tormented by self-loathing, he lies in bed, tossing and turning, until finally, exhausted, he falls asleep… and dreams.

 

At first his dreams, although disturbing, may have been considered normal under the circumstances. He dreamed of being 18 again and meeting Kat on equal terms. In those dreams, he lived out forbidden fantasies of midnight rendezvous full of passion and longing. In the morning, he would awaken, covered in sweat and smelling the stench of his own perceived lechery.

 

During the day, he walked the halls of Paragon High, head down, unable to make eye contact with anyone. His colleagues began to worry. The most common theory was that of a devastating diagnosis… perhaps cancer… but Sykes was as closed off as ever.

 

Then, one night, the dreams changed. He dreamed that in the midst of another clandestine encounter in Perez Park, Kat and his alter-ego were attacked by a group of Hellions. Desperate to protect Kat, he suddenly found himself a costumed hero complete with extraordinary powers. He easily fought off the gang members and saved the day… garnering the admiration of the young woman in the process.

 

Now, when he dreams, he dreams of patrolling the city, fighting crime, and protecting the innocent. As for Kat, she is still in his dreams, but now she is a superhero as well, fighting by his side… his partner… and still the love of his life.

 

What Roland Sykes doesn’t know… what he doesn’t even suspect… is that the dreams… are real.

 

Yes, Roland Sykes is the dreamer… but what of The Dreamed!

 

Kathrine “Kat” Saunders AKA Bengali

 

Kathrine Saunders, known as “Kat” to everyone except teachers and clergymen, was the All-American High School girl. The daughter of the famed geneticist, Dr. Lincoln Saunders, she was an honor student, active in sports, and served as a Cheerleader for the football team. She was popular with both her fellow students and her teachers… all except her 3rd period English teacher… that mean, old Mr. Sykes.

 

But life sometimes takes an unexpected turn, as it did with Kat the night she met a mysterious young man. They first met at the Homecoming Dance. No one knew who he was… her friends all suspected he was a gang member crashing the dance to sell “dyne” or cause some other trouble. But Kat was strangely drawn to him. After the dance, they walked the streets and talked until dawn. Her father was pissed when she got home.

 

After that, Kat began to change. Her father was the first to notice. She was dressing differently and seemed almost rebellious. She quit the cheerleading squad saying only that it was stupid, her grades slipped, and she slept late whenever possible. Dr. Saunders began to worry.

 

What her father didn’t know, was that she was sneaking out at night to meet this strange young man… a boy who seemed to have no family, no home, and no past. She knew nothing about him, but she felt the need to be with him. Kat Saunders was in love.

 

Then came that fateful night in Perez Park. Accosted by Hellions, the mysterious stranger suddenly manifested incredible powers and saved her from the rampaging gang. She realized, suddenly, that she had fallen in love with a superhero.

 

She awoke, the next day, shaken and afraid. She was not afraid of the Hellions… or the Skulls… or even the Rikti, those odd-looking aliens who had invaded when she was a child. She was afraid of being normal. After all, he was a superhero… How could she compete with the likes of Miss Liberty?

 

That night, desperate to be his equal, Kat Saunders snuck into her father’s lab and infected herself with an experimental mutagenic virus. Her father found her the next morning, sprawled on the floor of his lab. She was in a coma for six weeks.

 

When she awoke, she found that the virus had done its work. She was able to take on the aspect of a Bengal tiger… but the mysterious young man was gone.

 

Saddened and alone, Kat Saunders, never-the-less, took up the mantle of the hero, Bengali… determined to use her ill-gotten powers to protect the city and its people.

 

One night, in Perez Park, she ambushed a group of Hellions up to no good. As she fought, she couldn’t help but remember that other night… when the strange young man she loved had saved her…

 

…and suddenly he was there, fighting by her side.

 

Her heart swelled in her chest and she knew that nothing could ever again stand against them… together.

 

The Dreamed

 

From a letter recovered from Ms. Kathrine Saunders:

 

“My Dearest Kathrine,

 

I wish that I could explain everything and answer every question you ask, but the truth is… I don’t have any answers for you. It feels as if I came into existence the night we met. I can’t tell you of my past, because I have none. I can’t tell you of my dreams, because I do not seem to sleep. I can’t even tell you my name… I have never known one. It seems as if I exist each night only to be with you… and the rest is darkness.

 

I do not know who I am. I don’t even know if all of this is real. I only know that I love you.

 

Am I real? Am I?

 

…or am I someone else’s dream.”

 

[Roughtrade]

So… Here’s my wish list… it’s only one thing.

 

I wish we had a special costume slot for a “secret identity.” This slot would come with its own nameplate and id card.

You have six costume slots.

 

You can change your nameplate information.  Just copy it to a file and paste/swap when you change identities. 

 

The NPC titled “surgeon” in the Icon store can let you alter your size and (I think) the sex/mass choice as well.