Non HPU: Beacon Of Hope OOC

[Legotron123]

Long story short, even with her restraining armor, Titan has consistently shown that she can spread Brad across the floor like strawberry jam with both her arms tied behind her back. Taking her on would be like taking on an RPG superboss at level 1; some mad man might be able to do it, but none of us can.

[CyberDragon]

well i figured the munchkin/griefer proofing went without saying.

Perhaps. When I was setting up the game, Serence said the last superhero RP to be made died because one of the players abused a power the GM allowed them to have (Time manipulation. there's a reason it's banned for players in-game). They refused to take back their actions saying the GM shouldn't have let them have the power in the first place if they weren't going to let the player use it how their character would use it (also why I prohibited player controlled villains). As a third contingency plan against griefers and godmoders, I jacked up the power of these characters. That is actually their original purpose. They didn't become a game balancing mechanic until... well, the warlord fight was actually the first time one of these characters was used to shift the balance of a fight.

Basically, because "munchkin/griefers" were basically what literally killed the last superhero RP, I put in a TON of stuff to make sure that would never happen here.

1) Players cannot have time or space manipulating powers.
2) Players cannot have villain characters.
3) Players cannot have any power that would be considered "Cosmic Tier."
4) Players of sufficient power level have their power level nerfed except in specific circumstances.
5) If a player somehow manages to cause trouble, more powerful NPCs exist to guard against their actions.

It may seem like it goes without saying, but this was a very important thing I had to consider when making this game. In fact, it dictated a large portion of the game's mechanics.

Long story short, even with her restraining armor, Titan has consistently shown that she can spread Brad across the floor like strawberry jam with both her arms tied behind her back. Taking her on would be like taking on an RPG superboss at level 1; some mad man might be able to do it, but none of us can.

That's actually why she's the new players' first boss. Hawk is going to be facing her too. Many villains in this game are even higher power than Titan. This is a game that can get hard, and there's a powerful emphasis on teamwork. It's important to get the point across that you won't be defeating most enemies by yourself, and the enemies you face can get hard. You aren't expected to win the fight, you're expected to learn from it.

[Buster]

Yeah, i miss ChivRes... i was honestly looking forward to the inevitable "wait, who's side is buster on this week?" confusion, but setting that kind of thing up without derailing what others are doing is a bit of a tightrope act.

[Legotron123]

This might seem like an odd question but do beings like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy exist in this universe? If beings like Diligitus and Odium exist because of the emotions of living beings, could they exist for similar reasons? I felt the need to ask because sometimes it feels like everything and the kitchen sink exists in this world, so I couldn’t automatically rule them out.

[CyberDragon]

A few things I'd like to get out of the way:

First, I'm waiting on a couple of people still. And one person still has a character interacting with me they haven't posted for. I'll give out a few pokes and if a few of them post by tomorrow, I'll get the next post up soon after. If not, the next update will be up Sunday.

This might seem like an odd question but do beings like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy exist in this universe? If beings like Diligitus and Odium exist because of the emotions of living beings, could they exist for similar reasons? I felt the need to ask because sometimes it feels like everything and the kitchen sink exists in this world, so I couldn’t automatically rule them out.

Second, in answer to this question, I haven't given it much thought. I can easily see Santa Claus being a real human with special powers. Then again, I also kind of like the idea that "Santa Claus" is actually an organization of super powered (and even regular) people. A group of people sharing the title, and working together to spread happiness and wonder to kids around the globe by giving gifts to children who need it once a year. I had the idea that the Dragon Knight took up this mantle one year. The idea just feels really touching, and on theme with the greater universe of this game. A bunch of people with the power to help, getting together once a year to spread happiness to others anonymously, with no expectation of reward.

Then again, maybe it's both cases? Who knows. I haven't really developed it.

The tooth fairy is actually a bit harder to justify. They wouldn't be a person, at least not a human. I don't see an organization of people taking up the mantle of sneaking into kids rooms and putting money under their pillows. That would be creepy and weird. If that character exists, it would be a rather literal one. After all, werewolves, lycans, vampires, dragons, space dragons, and all sorts of creatures are confirmed to exist in this universe, so maybe fairies are just another one of those groups of creatures. In that case, maybe one of them just really likes teeth? Kinda weird, but it's fairies we're talking about. They've ranged from demonic monsters and spirits that sell your soul to the devil to fantastic creatures that restore your health when your life meter hits zero.


Third thing, I wanted to show a few songs that I feel represent points or themes that might occur in the next major arc:

Finish Line by Skillet.
Back from the Dead by Skillet. (This is a big one)
The Light by Disturbed. (not such a big one)
Who Taught You How To Hate by Disturbed.
Heck (not actually called heck) by Disturbed. (Wasn't sure if I could post this one, but ironically there's no actual profanity. The name and the lyric refers to the place, which I think the forum considers OK.)
The Resistance by Skillet. (Also Rise might be a better example)
Phoenix by Fall Out Boy. (If you kinda squint at it really hard.)
Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons.

I'll let you guys think about or discuss what you think some themes of the next arc will be. Some should be fairly obvious.

[Legotron123]

That’s a little different from what I thought it might be (I was thinking something along the lines of a “belief makes it real” system), but that still works for an idea I had for a story involving the Tooth Fairy and sympathetic magic.

[Legotron123]

Question time again, what’s one thing your characters really wanna do, but haven’t had a chance to try yet? Doesn’t have to be some deep, heartfelt desire, just something stupid they think might be interesting.
Kolt wants to participate in the festivities of some alien holiday.
Lewis wants to try scuba diving. He’s done it in the holodeck, but that’s not the same as doing it in an actual ocean.
Liz wants to go to a costume party, though she has no idea who she’d go as.
Quint wants to try out a body that isn’t Kolt’s, see how somethings might feel different in a body with different senses.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Jaken wants to use his climbing gloves.

Jenny wouldn't mind a beach somewhere. Just for a week or so. (Bahamas again?(!) Lewis could go SCUBA diving there!)

Corp sets his sights low. His hopes are, generally, to live through the next day and not have to beat someone senseless or arrest them.

Keeva doesn't know what plans are right now.

Hannabelle wouldn't mind getting back on Jenevive's good side. Without telling her about the louse that was/is her father.

Sana wouldn't mind cave diving. Or developing computer based superpowers.

[Buster]

Kobor: Have one of his future hosts be a Kaiju. It wasn't really possible back home, but here...

Talya: "I'm not wasting my time with this irrelevant nonsense. Focusing on the present is more important."

June: "I want to try all the flavors! of EVERYTHING!"

Kol: Get home in one piece.

[~\Rook/~]

Rika wants to create an even better, cost-effective wonder-drug that can heal everything instantly. Although, she knows that if she did, all medical professionals would be out of a job..

Traci wants to enter a triathlon on Earth. She wouldn't use her speed at all, to keep it fair.

Dan has no plans either, just being with Keeva is enough for him. ..Oh, and talking about starships. That too.

[Legotron123]

I think that might be the longest post I’ve written. Really hope I didn’t make any mistakes. Also, in case it wasn’t obvious, the Triumvirate are the three strongest Capes on Concertia, with each of them easily having a ten in the power stat. Aegis’ power in particular is that any attack or injury that doesn’t instantly kill him, he heals from and becomes immune to. He became immortal when a villain tried to use a weapon that accelerated aging on him.

[Legotron123]

Apologies for the double post, but I have a question for y’all. What do you think the Aspects sound like? For me, I think Odium sounds like an angrier Beast Wars Megatron, Cupiditas sounds like The Entity (skip to 56:40), and Diligitus sounds like Discworld’s Death.

[Buster]

no, Diligitus is definitely Ben Stein. and Cupiditas is Gilbert Gottfried.

[CyberDragon]

For Diligitis, I kind of imagined Liam Neeson. Though that isn't set in stone. Discworld's Death is pretty good.

[Legotron123]

Crossposting this with Explorers, just a heads up that I might not be able to post too much for the next week. With school starting up again, the theater I work at lost a lot of seasonal employees, and the ones who are staying are drastically decreasing their availability, I’m working more shifts this week, and will probably be working more shifts until we manage to get some new workers. Just wanted to let you know why I might be taking a bit longer than usual to post.

[CyberDragon]

Understood, Lego. Good luck with your work!

[CyberDragon]

The next update will probably be up tomorrow. I'm going to start it today, and I might finish it, but if not it will definitely be up tomorrow.

[Legotron123]

One thing I just realized. Is the day going to end soon, or are those attending Kolt’s movie night going to have to write out their characters reactions to The Nightmare Before Christmas?

[CyberDragon]

I think the day will wind down soon. Writing reactions to a movie probably isn't the most thrilling thing for you guys to do. I think we'll just skip to the next day once everyone's business is concluded.

[Legotron123]

I commissioned another drawing of Kolt, this time by Jeymohr on FA, depicting him running through one of the underground districts in his home city of Kuvasz. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too big for the forum (believe me, I TRIED) but you can view it on my Twitter! As always, any thoughts or comments are appreciated.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Well, if he ever goes on holiday...

[Legotron123]

Believe me, if Kolt ever gets a chance to show the team his home town, he’s going to show them everything. ”That’s the restaurant my dad used to work at, that’s the comic store I’d always do autograph signings at, and look! They’re still rebuilding that skybridge after I got thrown through it by a Tinker in a mech suit!”

[Legotron123]

Sorry for yet another double post, but I finally finished something I wanted to show you. I’ve already mentioned a few times that people on Concertia have a power classification system, and Kolt has namedroped a few of the categories, but I haven’t written anything out about it here yet. So I wrote this over the past two months, adding a sentence or two whenever I had the time. I used the power classification system from Worm as a basis for this, with some alterations to make things more comprehensive. The way it works is that each power is given one or two main classifications that indicate their main effects, with subclass’ potentially added to describe any additional effects. For example, Liz is a Changer/Striker with Trump as a subclass, while Kolt is a Brute with Shaker and Mover as subclass’.
Mover: This category refers to any powers that grant their wielder a noticeable increase in their mobility, usually superspeed but also including things like flight, teleportation, moving through walls, or anything else that lets you get places faster than an ordinary person can on their own. Kolt has this as a subclass, as he can cover himself in his forcefields in order to fly, while Lewis would have this as his main classification.
Shaker: This one covers any power that lets the user directly alter the environment around them. At its most powerful, this covers reality warping, while on lower levels it includes telekinesis. Kolt also has this as a subclass, for obvious reasons.
Brute: This category covers people whose powers make them “tough,” in both the strong sense and in durable sense. This would include things like super strength, accelerated healing, and forcefields. Obviously, this is Kolt’s main classification.
Breaker: This covers any powers where the wielder is able to induce a temporary state change in themselves, other people, or objects, which ends either without their continued intervention or after a time period. This can be anything from becoming incorporeal to setting yourself on fire to turning something invisible.
Master: This covers any power that grants control over some form of minion, be it through mind control, or through spawning them through various means. Colorado’s cloning ability would count as this.
Blaster: This category covers powers that give their user some sort of ranged attack. This includes basically every variety of “shooting stuff from your hands,” as well as stuff like fire breath. Jenny’s sonic blasts count as this.
Thinker: This covers powers that provide an advantage in information gathering and decision making. This includes things like enhanced senses, precognition, and telepathy.
Striker: This is the simplest category to explain; it just means that the power requires physical contact to activate. Liz would have this as one of her classifications, since she needs to touch someone to acquire them.
Changer: This covers powers that allow someone to alter their form, appearance, and/or natural abilities through some manipulation of their bodies. The most obvious version of this would be shapeshifting, but it also includes things like size alteration and elasticity powers. I don’t think I need to explain why Liz would qualify as this.
Trump: This category covers powers that either allow the user to give other people powers, or has some effect on other people’s powers, as well as power sets that change for whatever reason. This includes certain forms of healing touch, power theft/copying, as well as any powers that alter and adapt in response to certain stimuli.
Stranger: This covers any powers that can affect someone’s mind without directly getting a minion out of it (not that they can’t be used to gain one, just that it isn’t the main purpose). This includes powers like memory filters, illusion generation, and fear aura’s.
Tinker: This is a rather unique category, and isn’t likely to be encountered off of Concertia. It covers powers that give the user knowledge of how to build highly advanced technology, typically specializing in a specific field. Tinkers typically don’t understand the principles behind how their tech works, which makes reverse engineering it rather difficult, but the ones that figure it out almost always excel. Tinkers are also one of the main reasons most Concertians believe their powers come from a higher being, as otherwise gaining technical knowledge from a DNA mutation makes no sense.

As always, any questions or comments are appreciated. Also, you should expect my next post tomorrow or Saturday.

[Welsh Halfwit]

It's a good list.

If you want a good example of a Tinker style character, look to the MCU. Rocket Raccoon is one. He can assemble high level weaponry and bombs out of scraps.

[CyberDragon]

That's a nice rundown of the powers, Lego. It should come in handy later on.

I'm still waiting for a couple of people to post before I write the next update. I'm going to give them a poke.

Also... I should probably let you guys know that I've been asked to resign from my job. I don't want to talk about why. There's going to be a mix of things going on in my life, including self training and job hunting. I don't know how it's going to impact my writing. It might make my writing more frequent since I don't have so much time going to a full time job, or it might make it more difficult to keep up with things since I'm going to have to keep busy to make sure I get some work before my savings dries up.

So... yeah. That's what's going on with me right now.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Dabry is not allowed to be totally serious.

[CyberDragon]

I'm in the middle of writing the next Beacon of Hope post, but as it is 9:30 PM my time and I have work tomorrow (2 more weeks), I doubt I will be able to finish it tonight.

I'm also partly waiting on one more person to post.

[CyberDragon]

One of the things I actually like about Hivemind is that he doesn't really skate around what he is; a robotic Hivemind dictator of a mostly socialist surveillance state. He is the embodiment of every tyrant trope and for all intents and purposes the Beacon should be a dystopia. But he's such a caring and compassionate man and has made such personal sacrifices to avoid corruption that ultimately the opposite has happened, demonstrating that the success or failure of a system depends on the virtues and character of the individual or individuals in charge of that system.

I suppose it's my turn to ask a question. What do you like about your characters? I'm thinking mostly narratively speaking, but it could be anything you like about them.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Jenny & Cherry are both Optimists in the scheme of things. Jenny just doesn't appreciate the things that went into making her much.

Corp and Hannabelle are pessimists trying to be optimistic.

Jaken's trying not to think too much about the things he's seen. A lack of a reflective nature is probably keeping him sane(!)

Sana just loves the chance to be silly.

Keeva likes to see new things.

[Legotron123]

For Kolt, I absolutely love writing the juxtaposition between his absolutely confidence in battle and his complete lack of confidence in his relationship with Jenny. He is one hundred percent the type of person who, if asked how he hooked up with her, would respond “I don’t think she knows she can do better” with complete earnestness. Plus, it’s interesting to write a character who doesn’t care if their romantic partner is technically “in charge” of them, as long as their relationship is still based on respect.
My favorite part of writing Quint is the moments where he thinks about the nature of an artificial being like himself, and what the emotions he feels say about him.
With Liz and Lewis, I love how the two of them react to how insane the world around them is. Liz is trying to adapt to it, with mixed results, while Lewis is trying to ignore all of it, which isn’t going to work for long.

[Welsh Halfwit]

For Kolt, I absolutely love writing the juxtaposition between his absolutely confidence in battle and his complete lack of confidence in his relationship with Jenny. He is one hundred percent the type of person who, if asked how he hooked up with her, would respond “I don’t think she knows she can do better” with complete earnestness..

His friends SO have to ask that question when he calls them...

[Neon Icy Wings]

I like writing Tatiana as she's a bit odd character facing culture shock and herself in a way. The more I think about it, if any champion met her before she left to join Beacon she probably would have been seen somewhere between an anti-hero and an anti-villain, which adds to her feeling out of place, though Diligitis helped a bit. It is also fun to watch her interact with others to see the reactions one way or another.

[SeanWolf]

I know I usually post after Cyber, but I wanted to at least get Hawk's response to Liz's greetings.

As for what I like about Hawk? This is gonna sound silly, but I like the whole mystery behind him in regards to his past and...well, just how he kinda reminds me of Clint Eastwood in Good, Bad, And The Ugly a bit.

[CyberDragon]

So I'm currently in Atlanta, and I'm going to have a 9 hour long drive back tomorrow. As such, the next BoH post may come on Monday.

Who else can move in the meantime?

[Buster]

*zombie sounds*

[Welsh Halfwit]

I hop Rook's OK.

[CyberDragon]

I'm going to try to speed up a bit. We're really close to the end of the day, and a few people are running out of things to do.

[Buster]

Kol has basically hit her endpoint already and is on autopilot unless anyone talks to her.
Ruby's endpoint is reaching the clinic. as she's not a major character, i have no idea when/if she'll next pop up.
i don't have an endpoint for june in mind, as is frequently the case she's pure improvisation, no plan, so *shrugs*.
the twins, they're going to need at least a day to adjust. don't expect them to do much in the interim. also gives me time to finalize my sketches.

[CyberDragon]

Tomorrow isn't going to be as long as the current day. Mostly it's going to be one or two smaller things Lego and I have planned for the morning, the super fighting competition, and then maybe some misc stuff afterwards.

[Legotron123]

Yeah, the morning thing is something we’ve been planning for over a year and a half at this point. It’s the start of what’s basically Kolt’s Loyalty Mission, and I’ve been looking forward to it for oh so long now.