The Soulless

[Rudra]

Everyone laughed at the Hellions. They were no threat to any decent hero or villain. Just a challenge for new heroes to cut their teeth on before moving on to real threats. No one ever thought those selling their souls for tiny fragments of power would ever amount to anything, but the Hellions' pacts have finally born fruit. And a dire new threat has been unleashed upon the world.

 

New mission arc or TF/SF.

Level range: 50

Alignment: Neutral.

Accessed in: RWZ; Vanguard.

Contact: Dark Watcher, Glacia, or Inferna.

 

Story outline:

Mission 1: The CoT is causing havoc in <insert zone of choice>. There is a surprisingly large force of demons on site. Player/group is tasked with containing the threat.

  Enemy Groups: Demons (existing faction of all behemoth demons), CoT.

  Objective: Defeat bosses. (1 CoT EB. 1 Demon EB. 1 Soulless [Soulless EB; see below].)

  Complication: CoT and Demon factions are fighting each other. Both sides are hostile to players. Soulless EB gives trigger dialogue.

 

Mission 2: Presence of a Hellion on site and actually putting up a fight against the player/group, in addition to the revelation the CoT were the defenders in an unprovoked attack that spilled out into the city, requires further investigation. Additional Hellions seeming to possess odd abilities have been reported at a suspected hide out. The player/group is sent to investigate.

  Enemy Groups: Demons, Soulless, CoT.

  Objective: Defeat all, recover soul-forged contract.

  Complication: Standard Hellions (not a threat at max level 15) fleeing the combat. Vengeful CoT ambushes triggered at set points in addition to CoT already spawned on map. Arachnos/Longbow force seeking to apprehend Hellions for recent activity. (Hostile if Arachnos.)

 

Mission 3: Evidence of schism among the Hellions from preceding mission in addition to the recovered contract raises additional questions. Inability to get captured Soulless to communicate, or even actively respond beyond attempts to attack Vanguard interrogator, necessitates alternate avenue of inquiry. Player/group is sent to Oranbega in attempt to find more information on the recovered contract.

  Enemy groups: CoT.

  Objective: Recover tome on demon contracts, capture CoT Negotiator.

  Complication: The Soulless are aware of player's/group's activities. AV ambush.

 

Mission 4: New assault by demons detours player/group. Even if you're a villain, you can't very well rule the world if it has been burned to ash in a demon apocalypse.

  Enemy groups: Demons, Wailers.

  Objective: Defeat all.

  Complication: None.

 

Mission 5: Captured negotiator and recovered tome reveal nature of contract. Soulless are Hellions who have had their souls literally burned away in exchange for promise of power. Burned souls fuel portals that allow demons to enter world freely. Player/group must locate portals and means of creation, and destroy them.

  Enemy groups: Demons, Soulless.

  Objective: Recover relic (identifies location of summoning ritual/portals point of origin), defeat EBs.

  Complication: None.

 

Mission 6: Portals are opening across the city. Player/group must shut down the portals before enough demons get through to make the 1st and 2nd Rikti wars look like friendly chats over tea.

  Enemy groups: Demons, Wailers, Soulless.

  Objective: Destroy portals. Defeat Soulless AV.

  Complication: Friendly forces on site (Arachnos, Longbow, or Vanguard) in need of rescue. Not required.

 

Mission 7: Sufficient force has been brought to bear (by outside forces) to contain current demon threat. (Thank you, player/group.) Primary portal and summoning altar must be found destroyed.

  Enemy groups: Demons, Soulless.

  Objective: Destroy portals. Destroy ritual altar. Defeat 3 Soulless AVs.

  Complication: Giant monster.* (May either be spawned in mission as additional required objective or spawned after mission in target zone a la Babbage.) Giant monster starts at player/group level +2. At 25% health, refreshes health to full and gains +1 level. Repeat until level 57 GM (base level 57 with GM level shifts/modifiers applied on top). (Edit: Justification: Primary portal not destroyed in time and demon grows in strength over time until full power acquired.)

 

 

New Faction: Soulless

Minions

      Slasher: (uses Hellion Brawler model with glowing eyes) Primary power set: Savage Melee (modify to add fire and dark damage)

      Hellshot: (uses Buckshot model with glowing eyes) Modify attacks to new level and add fire and dark damage to all atacks.

      Hellgunner: (uses Gunner model with glowing eyes) Modify attacks to new level and fire and dark damage to all attacks.

 

Lieutenants:

      Damned: (uses Damned model with glowing eyes) Modify attacks to new level and dark damage to attacks, also add Warmth, Cauterize, and Heat Exhaustion.

      Overseer: (uses Girlfriend from Hell model) Expand pet summon to full demon summoning set, also add Warmth, Heat Exhaustion, and Melt Armor.

 

Bosses:

     Soulless: (modify 3K Kelvin model, add glowing eyes) Not sure on powers yet.

     Harbinger: (uses Herald of Bat'Zul model) Uses Behemoth Overlord attacks, except add dark damage to all attacks.

 

Elite Bosses:

    Soulless: As per boss, only with more attacks and meaner.

    Unbound: (uses Caleb model) Uses Hellfrost attacks, except add dark damage to all attacks.

 

Archvillains:

     Archdevil: (uses Blade Prince model) Uses Blade Prince attacks, except add dark damage to all attacks and scale up to AV status.

     Demon Prince: (uses Baphomet model) Uses Baphomet attacks, except add dark damage to all attacks.

 

Giant Monster:

     Erzolan: (uses Bat'Zul model) Primary power set: Fire Blast with fire sword melee, except add dark damage to all attacks.

 

You may now point and laugh at the lack of detail. (Apologies if anything is broken. Took almost an hour to write this and then the forum dumped me. Looks like everything is here though.)

Edited May 1, 2022 by Rudra

[Darmian]

You know, I like this.  Possibly a tweak here and there, since for example post Mot the CoT are decimated in numbers, so that's a thing.  Not the spectres and demons, the "real" CoT members.

[Rudra]

Tweak away. Am hoping this will be a collaborative effort by the forum.

[Bill Z Bubba]

I'd fight 'em!

 

...

 

Or just as likely hang out with them for a beer.

[JasperStone]

Yes.

Make it so.

[Bionic_Flea]

Damned and Overseers with Thermal powers!!  Yikes!

 

Dark AND Fire attacks combined are a dangerous combo.  I'm assuming that the normal -tohit from dark attacks applies too.  These new Hellions are no joke.

 

Maybe make it in DA instead of RWZ.  There's a lot more CoT, Demons, and magic in that zone and it's still co-op. 

 

Perhaps the Hellions found some way to tap into the magic that Mot left behind after being defeated.

[Haijinx]

Souless pretty much describes me by the middle of the work week. 

[Rudra]

3 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:

Damned and Overseers with Thermal powers!!  Yikes!

 

Dark AND Fire attacks combined are a dangerous combo.  I'm assuming that the normal -tohit from dark attacks applies too.  These new Hellions are no joke.

 

Maybe make it in DA instead of RWZ.  There's a lot more CoT, Demons, and magic in that zone and it's still co-op. 

 

Perhaps the Hellions found some way to tap into the magic that Mot left behind after being defeated.

DA is also an option. Any co-op zone that is not Cimerora (, or the Hive or the Abyss) is an option. Who would the contact be?

Edited May 2, 2022 by Rudra
Edited to add comment in parenthesis.

[Bionic_Flea]

I think Mu'Vorkan could make sense.  Or maybe someone new.

 

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Mu'Vorkan

[Marine X]

4 hours ago, Haijinx said:

Souless pretty much describes me by the middle of the work week. 

...Or my Wife in the Morning without Coffee....trust me, not good.

[Marine X]

5 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:

Dark AND Fire attacks combined are a dangerous combo.

Almost leans this toward being a Pact between the Hellions and the Skulls yielding a New Group much more powerful than ALL of their separate Parts.

( This would also easily bring in the Dark Energy powers of the Bone Daddies and Death Dolls, etc )

[Rudra]

Not really where I was going. Power types most commonly associated with demons and anything infernal is fire and dark. Is why I added the dark damage, to emphasize the new Hellions, the Soulless, are more empty vessels hosting infernal forces than just empowered thugs.

 

However, justification for a Hellions-Skulls fusion does exist. It just wasn't what I was trying for. You have thoughts on how such a fusion would happen?

[Coyotedancer]

I like this idea... and I'd put it in DA, myself. Like someone else pointed out up-thread, there's more of s Circle presence there already. They just don't seem to spend a lot of time in the War Zone.

[Rudra]

Sure. I'm fine with DA. I'm fine with any co-op zone that isn't Abyss, Cimerora, or Hive. Could even throw it in Kaliisti Wharf. Though DA makes much more sense. Contact could even be a generic Vanguard who grumbles that this isn't what he signed up for or this is outside his paygrade.

 

Edit: Or a random Midnighter?

Edited May 2, 2022 by Rudra

[Coyotedancer]

Or some luckless Midnighter... "Go to Dark Astoria, they said. A ~great opportunity~ they said... Yeah. Great opportunity to get my face eaten by monsters!"

[Greycat]

3 hours ago, Rudra said:

However, justification for a Hellions-Skulls fusion does exist. It just wasn't what I was trying for. You have thoughts on how such a fusion would happen?