Captain-Electric

I'm sure everything will be just fine: I covered my computer case with tin foil!

As the warning of the Coming Storm hangs heavy in the air, Back Alley Brawler calls upon you to investigate growing reports of a doomsday cult in Galaxy City. Who are these "Followers of Shiva?" And are their predictions the rantings of insanity, or a sign of things to come...?

Arc Name: The Final Days of a Galaxy
Arc ID: 517875
Morality: Neutral
Author: @Neon Rider
Difficulty Level: 1-54 (Story arc may contain archvillains and enemies with custom power selections.)
Length: Medium

Neon Rider, the author, is a regular teammate of mine. His story arc writing is enviable, and his knowledge of canon make his arcs as good as official in my mind. So I pleaded with him to create something leading up to forthcoming events in Issue 21. I also offered to advertise it on the forums if he did, so here it is! Neon Rider's story arcs are challenging (but rewarding if you're up for a good story), and generally designed for teams. This one is no different. And if you like to role-play, consider giving Neon Rider a shout before starting the mission. "The Final Days of a Galaxy" was definitely more memorable with the storyteller there to help guide the team along through the story.

For an added experience, meet up with your team at the Galaxy City AE building. After the mission, walk (or fly) around Galaxy City for a few moments, reflecting on the final events of Neon Rider's story arc. You might just feel a chill run down your character's spine.

Edit: If you like to read every detail in a story arc (and who doesn't?), then stop to read everything in this arc; even the villain descriptions feature important story details you might not want to miss!

This is the usual time of day for downtimes, always has been. Yes, they are normally scheduled for Thursdays. I have only been around for two years, but that is long enough to notice how downtimes grow more numerous when a new issue is approaching; especially if it's a big one. It's a necessary inconvenience.

Stuff I've done during downtimes when I was in a City of X mood:

• Read Virtueverse profiles for characters and teams, or create my own.
  
• Browse comic book characters, teams, and story arcs from other franchises.
  
• Read City of Comic Creators comics.
  
• Visit the Paragon Times archive.
  
• Visit the official Timeline.
  
• Visit the unofficial Timeline. (It's big, really, really big.)
  
• Read the official City of Heroes comics. (Note: This is the new place to read these. Paragon Studios just recently removed the comics from the official website.)
  
• My Marvel Digital subscription grants access to a massive online library including back issues ($60 annually, but there are a ton of free comics every week).
  
• Buy single digital issues of comics at Comixology. DC, Vertigo, Top Cow, Image, Wildstorm, Dark Horse, Marvel, and so on. This is the iTunes of the comicverse.

By the time you log back in to City of X, chances are high that you'll have some brand new character ideas.

I doubt I would do this, but I'm curious also. I'd like to hear something from someone who has both done this, and had fun with it. Either from a gameplay perspective, or a conceptual perspective.

I have 23 characters. Many of them are truly effective in combat. Some of them aren't. Some nights, all I want to do is play one who isn't. Why? Different reasons. Sometimes for the challenge, other times the concept is entertainment enough.

A couple of examples: I have a pure archer defender who isn't powerful at all, but is fun to imagine as a "non-super" natural origin while playing. I also have an Earth/Kin controller who I purposely gimped. No AoE slowdowns. Why? Because combat is more frenetic, challenging and tactical (i.e. fun). He is often forced to react quickly to all incoming opponents. Gimped is a strong word actually, because he's very playable, and it's great button-mashing fun. I actually discovered this fact after I took Quicksand. Soon after, I spent a respec to get rid of it, because I realized the power had resulted in an easy--and boring--character to play. Now he's one of my funnest characters to play, and I never hear complaints while teamed. (I use Repel when he gets in a bind.)

On the flip-side, a few of my characters are well-planned and well-IO'd, and rarely go down. And yeah, it's a not-so-terrible feeling when your tank is the only one standing after a good team wipe. It's a really nice feeling when you finish the fight for the whole team, and then start passing out wakies (that you knew you'd brought for them, not you). But if this were the only type of character I could play, I would have quit long ago.

One last thing. Surprisingly enough, one of my rarely-defeated characters is the weakling pure archer mentioned above. It's true. After much practice, I play him well. Granted, I usually solo him or team with friends who are okay with him. But you know what? Every time he's the last man standing in a nice, long, bloody conflict, it's ten times more satisfying than when one of my tanks accomplishes the same in a fraction of the time.

Happy Birthday Noble Savage. Thank you for putting your mark on the City of X universes. They (and we) have awesomely benefited from your awesome talents of awesomeness.

Just wanted to add that the subject for this thread isn't very descriptive, Riptide. "Confirmed: BAB not a Freedom Phalanx member" will get you more clicks.

I'm going to make a character named REDACTED who does nothing but stand under Atlas and uses the Shadowy Presence temp power.

I got my code!