Archive: City of Heroes-1

Description

Primal Earth is a version of Earth from about 2003 -- though time continues to advance inexorably onwards -- with super-science, advanced technology, magic, mutants, aliens, superhumanly skilled martial artists, and super powers of all kinds. Heroes and Villains have been around for a long, long time, but they have become even more noticeable in the past several decades, and now the infrastructure exists to support super heroes, legally and in other areas... Facilitating these champions as authorized protectors of the peace, rather than as vigilantes. But villains are also hard at work, undermining society, bringing death and destruction to Paragon City and the faraway Rogue Isles, and making the need for heroes to combat them higher than ever.

This setting is based off of the currently-defunct MMO, "City of Heroes". This version predates "Issue 0", the original release of the game, by about a year. Not all of the events from the initial introduction have happened yet, but they will eventually, even if altered due to integration with the Multiverse. As time proceeds, the theme itself will "upgrade" accordingly. The Rogue Isles exist presently but are dealing with internal issues that prevent major interference in Paragon City. Praetorian Earth has its own problems, and interdimensional invasions from there are presently unlikely. Villains from the Rogue Isles coming to Paragon, or people from Praetoria coming to Primal Earth should be rare occurrences for now, though are not impossible.

Theme List Information

Important information regarding the City of Heroes theme on MCM will be posted below. This is a rough version of such information, and will see expansions and revisions.

To begin with, apping Rogue Isles-based characters/villains has been determined to be doable. Various other story elements and power proliferation have also been sped up by unification. Praetorians are appable (as are Rogues in general) but you need to have an explanation for why a Praetorian character is on Primal Earth at this time. Other than having a reason behind it that makes sense with the setting, it is fine to app such characters.

Much like with Praetorians, Kheldians can be apped prior to their official introduction provided that you have a reason for them being around. Nictus are already on Earth, but both they and Peacebringers/Warshades are likely to keep their existence secret from the general public for awhile.

Ouroboros, with very few exceptions, is not presently active in a way that others are aware of. Given they exist outside of time and can send people to the past, though, secret time travellers are viable.

OC Incarnates outside of the FCs available at this time (Statesman, Recluse, Reichsman, Tyrant, etc.) are not presently appable.

Any other power sets/power pools/archetypes introduced, outside of those listed as not-appable, are available. The Destined Ones of the Rogue Isles have not currently begun to appear, and thus Arachnos Soldiers and Widows would have a slightly altered storyline if they attempt to seek power. They are not attempting to become Destined Ones, in general, because the term isn't known to exist yet. If Lord Recluse is apped, the player can decide whether to accelerate Project Destiny or not.

Certain areas of Paragon City are not presently built or are off-limits, and will be introduced over the course of RP/plots. Croatoa, The Hollows, Striga Isle, Pocket D, and other locations aren't available yet but will be in the future.

All of this information can potentially be altered if there is interest and an idea posed! Don't be afraid to ask!

Registration

Heroes or those intending to fight crime or use super powers (with super powers encompassing everything from psychic powers and super strength to "dual pistols" and "a sword") in Paragon City are expected/encouraged to register with City Hall to obtain a Paragon City I.D. this can be done off-screen, and benefits your character by granting you access to other parts of the city that might otherwise be off-limits for reasons of safety or security. You do not need a secret identity. If you have a secret identity, you do not need to reveal it in order to register. Your card updates with your powers and security level as time goes on.

All people registering for a PCID must also receive law enforcement instruction, so that there is no IC ignorance of whether it's okay to blow off someone's head to stop them from purse snatching or not, or similar things that could cause unnecessary problems. This instruction can occur off-screen and then simply incorporated into your standard IC conduct when being a hero! This is not optional! If you have an I.D., you received this instruction! It's an IC requirement! Whether you want to add the associated skills to your +advantages or +info or not, however, is totally up to you.

So You Want To Be A Hero?

As noted above, anyone registered in Paragon City as a hero, who has a Paragon City I.D. card, received IC instruction in law enforcement, the law of Paragon City and the United States as a whole, etc. You are not required to RP these courses out in scenes, and we can hand wave the amount of time that passes for the courses themselves. But more than just minimizing the potential IC ramifications of IC actions by making sure all heroes are on the same page, registration comes with other benefits!

• BOMB SQUAD: Those trained as heroes of Paragon City can safely disarm a great many kinds of typical explosive devices used in Paragon City, the Rogue Isles, and Primal Earth in general. This knowledge may also extend to alien explosive devices, from species who have had contact with Primal Earth.

• CONTACTS: During a hero's career in Paragon City, they establish many connections with Contacts in numerous fields of work, study, and walks of life. Any mission undertaken successfully in the past involving a Contact makes that NPC available in the future, for further missions, to get information from on other cases if they might have expertise on the matter, and so on. At any given time, a Hero is assumed to be able to get in touch with SOMEONE who can help show them the next step or at least let them know about a case or threat that needs to be dealt with. The answer to such inquiries may not be immediate, but the wait time is typically brief.

• DETECTIVE WORK: Along with the training in law enforcement, instruction in investigative techniques, evidence analysis, interrogation, behavior recognition, and logical deduction are also provided. These can help even an amateur hero connect the dots and follow the evidence to its logical conclusion, cutting down on the amount of time needed to visit crime labs and such.

• INFLUENCE: A unique currency for heroes to use in purchasing crime-fighting equipment and other hero-related gear. High-quality and high-durability costumes, Enhancements of various kinds depending upon one's Origin (assuming a character has one), Consignment House purchases, devices that provide a benefit temporarily such as a jetpack or teleporter, and more can all be purchased with Influence. Having a Paragon City I.D. and registration as a hero allows one to accrue Influence by fighting bad guys, completing missions, and otherwise assisting in keeping the peace in Paragon City.

• MEDI-PORTER: Registered heroes get access to a personal Medi-Porter. Medi-Porters are an emergency device utilizing the city's teleportation network to teleport heroes to a hospital in their current zone when they have been defeated, getting them medical treatment as quickly as possible. It allows enemies defeated to get sent directly to a holding and secure medical facility for processing in the justice system, provided the unconscious foes are within range of the hero's own Medi-Porter.

NOTE: Sending in an Upgrade Application may or may not be necessary, pending Staff decision. If not, then simply adding a +info file will suffice. Updates will be provided when more is known.

More On Medi-Porters

In City of Heroes/Villains/etc., enemies would fade out in-game, being "teleported to jail" a short time after being defeated. The same holds true on MCM. Unless one is intentionally attempting to kill a criminal and taking great pains to do so, or a foolish course of action is undertaken that threatens many lives (ICA=ICC), it is assumed that whatever the amount of force being used is, it is "enough to do the job". Whether energy blasts, super strength, gunfire, or bows and arrows, assume that NPC enemies are being dealt with using the appropriate level of force and no more than that, when it comes to lasting physical harm.

Remember, even Minion level enemies can beat down an Invulnerable hero in large numbers. They are proportionally stronger than a normal thug off the street, but they still take a very distant back seat to PCs in almost every circumstance. They'll survive what you dish out, no matter what setting your character hails from. They just won't be conscious to appreciate their survival.

An additional note is that things belonging to the villains go with them when they're ported away. You can't take a Circle of Thorns magic wand, or a Skulls ganger's skull mask, or a Rikti rifle. If you want special equipment like that, an Upgrade App is going to be needed, and you probably will not be getting it from scavenging a random dude in the street you beat up. Characters native to the setting may pick up Enhancements from defeating enemies, but Enhancements are useless to heroes and villains not from the CoX setting due to how they work.

So, in summary, don't expect to keep anything a villain has or had just from defeating them or stealing from them. It doesn't work that way. If it's something significant, you'll want to do an Upgrade app. If it's insignificant, you probably won't get to keep it. Trophies/souvenirs/badges are awarded from completing storylines (essentially Minor TPs), and demonstrate how you accomplished something cool or significant or fun within the setting. They're separate from the piece of string found in a Gunslinger's pocket.

Paragon City: Union and Confederate

Primal Earth has no unified global government. While individuals may affiliate themselves with the Union or Confederacy, Paragon City itself has enough problems without announcing allegiance in a multiversal war at this time. Confederates are free to come and go in Paragon City unless they have made themselves known as wanted criminals and actively conducted crimes within Paragon City's boundaries, or similar things that law enforcement would be cross about. You can just assume you were told about this, rather than otherwise. It will save your character and everyone else trouble!

Of course if you WANT to do illegal or morally questionable things, there's always the Alignment system...

RP Permissions

There are loads of random threats, super villains, enemy groups to beat down, and so on. You do not generally need permission to do these, nor to RP in Paragon City. Whether social or combat, you can do whatever is fun. Only the standard common sense rules apply. Don't blow up buildings or otherwise cause permanent property damage if at all possible without asking first (with the exception of the Hellion Arson events in Steel Canyon), running around killing people for no reason is going to get a severe backlash, etc. Most things that are the equivalent of Radio/Newspaper Missions or Tip Missions don't need any special permission to run.

Try not to do things that would significantly alter the RP and storylines of major unplayed hero/villain FCs. If someone apps them, they probably do not want to find out that their secret plan has been discovered and dealt with already or that they were arrested and put in jail, etc. There's plenty of room for OC enemies (even as part of an established villain group). Some story things may be dealt with in the future via plot if the characters involved do not appear to be likely to be applied for, but that will be handled with a Staff-approved TP, not just a random pick-up scene.

Recurring Events, like Troll Rave Parties, Hellion Arson, giant monsters like the Kraken, Lusca, the Ghost Ship, Adamastor, and so on may happen every once in awhile and more than once. These are threats and occurrences that happened multiple times in-game and don't have any major story relevance beyond being a fun opportunity to team up with others.

Seasonal events will be handled via TPs, generally, unless they are so minor they don't require prior arrangements.

Information Resources

Contains all or almost all relevant information for apping City of Heroes on MCM. Look this over if not familiar.

http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page

For people who never got to play City of Heroes or who want a refresher, below are video tours of the various locations in Paragon City.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm1GS81j5_V-1uTDayptpzc3SfEYHGCpN

We have an OOC chatting/theme/app-discussion channel!

+radio/init CoX=4.28

We have a local IC frequency for missions, coordinating among heroes, etc.!

+radio/init PPD=6.29

Wanted

A list of currently wanted characters or character concepts. Will be updated as time goes on, especially as plots start to come up.

Feature Characters

The Surviving Eight/Freedom Phalanx

Statesman, Sister Psyche, Manticore, Positron, Numina, Citadel, Back Alley Brawler, Synapse

Arachnos

Lord Recluse, Captain Mako, Scirocco, Ghost Widow, Black Tarantula

Arch-Villains

Clockwork King (Clockwork)

Captain Castillo (Sky Raiders), Colonel Duray (Sky Raiders)

Reichsman (5th Column)

Elite Bosses

Frostfire (Outcasts)

3K Kelvin (Hellions)

Atta (Trolls)

Original Characters

All of them! Heroes, Villains, and Rogues!