Night_Fyre

The Fireside Poet - #189439.

L1-14, 5 missions but a fast run. Skulls with 1 custom baddie in the last mission. No mez'ing baddies.

Enjoy

Try my MArc, New Flame Rising - #161066. Full of EBs with fire powers. Set your diff to Invul and I think it'll take them to AVs (but not positive).

NOTE: Based on some feedback recently I dropped the diff of the EBs to make the arc more soloable. A good scrapper will prob have no problem. Let me know if you want me to make it harder

Hey,

I'd like to have a character that stops progressing at L10 to test/run other people's lowbie MArcs as a natural (ie - not exemped). I figured a Scrapper would be best (or maybe Blaster), so I was just wondering what everyone thought the best PS choices would be. I figured /Regen for the early Endurance recovery, but if I'm wrong please suggest another. Can't settle on a Primary.

Thanks,

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
__________________________________________________ _

My latest arc

The Fireside Poet
#189439
Levels 1-14
Heroic
5 missions, but a fast play.
Definitely solo'able, with Skulls as the mobs and 1 custom boss (not EB or AV) at the end of the arc.
Story driven.

What seems to be the case of a routine Skulls break-in, reveals itself as a much deeper tale of sorrow, vengeance, and madness.

Any reviews or feedback will be greatly appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Stanza 1, To the Minotaur: The skull's comment to the hostage seems a bit...much? contrived? I think something along the lines of "the boss says you're collateral and we can do as we please" would be more appropriate. It seems like they're babysitting/keeping her alive rather than posing a serious threat to her that we rescue her from.

I liked finding whitman, really made me want to see where this was going.

Stanza 2, testimony of brutus:
The contact return info was good, but the dialog of the boss felt like a giant bowl of nacho cheese.

Stanza 3, My name is ozymandias:
I really liked the mission full of cops and skulls, but the dialog went off and the fight started long before I got in the room, and I think I ended up taking 2 swipes at a skull to "rescue" the fella.

Stanza 4, Mephistopheles Gambit:
This served the plot well, but it seems the explosives and canisters should be optional considering the villain text.

Stanza 5, Father and Sons:
It felt like there should be a timelimit on this mission. Also, probably a side effect of outdoors, I ran across the villain long before finding Eliot.

---------------------------------------------------
"Architect of YOUR DOOM"
Arc ID: 197601
Length: Long
Missions: 4
Description: A rogue Crey Operative tells the story behind Architect Entertainment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the review

I've played with the language used by the skulls in mission1 several times. If it seems like they aren't a threat to Mrs Byron, that's because they're not. Poet is paying them and he only cares about Whitman. She's a non-threat to him.

In mission 2, the boss is sounding like that on purpose. He's not very bright, nor is he a very good actor hehe.

Mission 3 is setup not for a battle (I still can't get those to work so that noone is dead by the time the player gets there), but as roaming patrols. Sometimes the cops and Skulls find each other before you get there, sometimes not. I can't figure out a better way to do it.

In missions 4 I see our point about the glowies, but I figure that if you're there to stop the bombing you'd check every single 1 to make sure. Maybe I can get them all to spawn before you reach the boss, but we all know how finicky the spawn points are. Hmmm...

Yeah, I can NEVER got a boss to spawn not-right-near the entrence. The problem is that the only other outdoor map is too big (I hate large maps). Also, I thought of doing it timed but decided against it for several reasons. I'll rethink it.

Thanks again for playing it. I hope you enjoyed the overall story (you didn't say).

[ QUOTE ]
Ready for some more arcs! This week-ish type thing:

humorous arcs. Give me some good, funny arcs. Bizarre, satire, parody, what have you. Or, if you have any arc that's a good fit for one of my characters of interest this week.

Current characters of interest:
Burnt Matchstick 40 fire/fire brute
Burnt Matchstick 12 fire/fire blaster
Wyndine 50 MA/SR scrapper
Tundra Spider 10 Wolf Spider

[/ QUOTE ]

For your L12 Blaster:

#189439
The Fireside Poet
L1-14
5 missions, but a fast run
Mostly Skulls with 1 custom Boss at the end

Thanks,

[ QUOTE ]
...and stuffed with mobs intended to kill you...

[/ QUOTE ]

Taking this criticism to heart, I've dropped all EB's to Standard/Standard, except Dr Inferno who is now Hard/Standard (Fire Control/Fire Melee). This will help a lot for solo'ing, especially against Fire Fiend who was easily the toughest one to take on I feel (SS/FA). Also, I've changed the healing Lut to a minion, and set the remaining Lut to Standard/Standard, which removes his Drone and Smoke Grenade, but he keeps his Taser. To finish, I changed the mission description to suggest L35 and up characters.

Thanks again for the review Venture. It sounds weird, but even though you didn't like it, it helped me make adjustments that will hopefully have other folks liking it more. Since your review I see that several other people have tried it

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

JABOSTH is the trope I have the most trouble understanding in practice as it applies within the MA. It seems like many, many of the canon arcs suffer from this problem, and while I have something of a spidey sense about it, I don't know that I can quantify what it really means.

[/ QUOTE ]


I'm not sure I understand JABOSTH either. I wondered if my own arcs were guilty of this, but the one I had reviewed was not, so I'm suspecting I'm safe.

Now Venture may have a different take on this, but I think you can avoid having JABOSTH happen if your NPCs have complex motivations and feelings. This goes beyond a simple "RAH! Gimme money!"

Having said that, you don't have to go as emo as some player toon bios. Just add a bit more complexity, a setback in the story somewhere, and some emotional reaction on the part of the NPCs to the changing circumstances in the arc. After all, an "arc" goes up and down, not in a straight or flat line. An arc can also have several subplots or "sub-arcs," allowing one NPC's fortunes to rise while another's falls.

For example, if a NPC begins the arc with confidence, then maybe something could happen during the arc that causes them to express doubt. By the end of the arc you could tie this up with a validation either of the doubt or the confidence. At the same time, another NPC could be facing the results of their own, separate dilemma.

When people receive a story, one of the things they focus on is a situation where a person makes a choice. They want to know whether the choice was right or not, and it can be a source of suspense as they wait for the confirmation or resolution. In normal fiction, the choice-maker is usually the protagonist or central character, but in writing for missions, you can't really have the player be the choice-maker. It has to be one or more of the NPCs that are making the decisions that comprise the story.

So there needs to be more going on than just a series of staged encounters with fist-smacking stiffs. The NPCs need to have multidimensional motives, expressed passions, and decisions they commit to - with some sort of result coming as a consequence of the decisions: good or ill.

There might be more to JABOSTH than this, but I think if you follow this suggestion you'll steer clear of JABOSTH.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree about having some multi-dimensionality to the contact, but I'd like to add a bit more.

IMO an arc that is a string of "ok, now you need to go here" missions with nothing to engage the player is the purest definition of JABOSTH. I've played a ton of "I need you to fetch me these items so I can perform this ritual" arcs, and these fall very squarely into this category.

To avoid this, I think you need to have something that moves the player from 1 mission to the next. It could be a consequence of the previous mission, some info that the contact has discovered while you were in a mission, a challenge that has come in from your opponent (which could be a challenge, trap, diversion, or other), etc.

That being said, the overall story must be served while doing all of this or it feels like JABOSTH. While I do have motivations in my New Flame Rising arc that move you from 1 mission to the next, the overall story is not compelling or deep. A new VG is trying to establish itself, and you've fallen into circumstances that allow you to potentially stop them. It's not new, complex, or especially engaging. I think that's why Venture didn't like my arc. He's a tough critic on story, which is good. Since his review I've added/tweaked my story's text to flesh out the main bad guy's story some. It's still a very straight forward story, but should make more sense and not seem so shallow or JABOSTH.

[ QUOTE ]
So... I'm honestly curious here... taking on a rising villain group with a specific plot to take down City Hall counts as JABOSTH? It seems like a pretty common genre plotline. If the villain group had a distinct motive and/or theme behind them (other than wielding fire) would that fix that problem?

Also, was the arc labeled as being intended for a specific level range of player?

Basically what I'm wondering is if the arc's key weakness is a lowbie-sounding plot with mobs designed to challenge high-level players. If the difficulty were rebalanced it seems like it might be a reasonable arc.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you Venture for your review, and thanks to KeepDistance for the above question.

The idea of the arc is that a new Villain team is attempting to establish itself (hence the bombing of City Hall). You find out about this by chance when lowbie heroes fight some Hellions off screen (before the arc, and you never fight in that low range) and find the note about the Founder's meeting. Knowing they can't handle that area of the city, the lowbies pass the info onto your contact, who calls you (the arc description absolutely does say that it's designed for heroes Level 30+, and for "SG's, teams, and strong solo'ers"). In the first couple of missions you find out that the new group, calling itself Inferno Force (all fire theme) has been recruiting Hellions to grow their ranks. the VG does have "signature" members though, and these are the guys you fight in the last mission.

The idea of the arc is essentially to have a Justice League/Legion of Doom type confrontation at the end... team against team... but It also is solo'able, though pretty tough. The signature members are not supposed to be pushovers, and will give many characters trouble. None of them are set on Extreme, though. They're a mix of Standard and Hard.

It was never my intent to Killer GM, but I can definitely see how the arc is tough to solo. Thanks again Venture for your review. Much appreciated. I'll reevaluate the strength of the baddies, and try to get more text into the arc to flesh out the story.

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the review, even if it wasn't necessary. Someone had looked at it earlier in the thread.

[/ QUOTE ]

My bad, I thought that was what your "I know what you mean but my arc is only 3-4 pages back" comment was about.

Oh well, I got 1.5 levels and tickets that lead to a random roll yielding a L10 knockback protection IO, out of it

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
hey guys, don't want to be pushy, but it looks like my arc's been skipped twice now (my most recent post was a repost with a rating for a different arc) so i would appreciate it if someone could give it a try. That being said, if you don't want to play it, that's your choice, I just don't want it to be forgotten again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Welcome to the club... I think my arc is a couple dozen pages back by now.

[/ QUOTE ]
I know the feeling. But mine is only 3 or 4 (or 5?) pages back.

[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

My next one that could use a look:

Title: Simple Times
ID: 70801
Levels: 4-15
Description: Talshak the Mystic has asked for your help with a minor clean up mission in a warehouse. Happens all the time, no big deal, just giving someone a quick helping hand. At least that was how it started. Sequel to Future Skulls,ID 4727. [SFMA/LBMA]


[/ QUOTE ]
I ran this arc, as well as the prelude to it on my L9-10 Peacebringer on Heroic. I'll review them in order.

Future Skulls, arc 4727

Mission 1
Mirror Spirit has contacted you because she had a dream of a ruined future that the Skulls are involved in. She needs you to go and find any info you can at a Skull hideout.

This is a basic look-for-clues-type mission. You fight Bonesnap who comments about killing everyone. You find the info you need in the form of a mystic tome.

Mission 2
The ritual that the Skulls want to perform to destroy the world and rise to power is going to awaken an evil Coralax god. Mirror Spirit sends you and other heroes out to search through Coralax dens for clues.

This mission bugged me for 1 reason. At the end you defeat "The Guardian" only to click the blinky and have it "shatter" as you're searching it do to a protection spell (as revealed by Mirror Spirit as you return after the mission). This essentially says that you fail (not an actual mission fail, just a "you didn't bring anything back to the contact" fail).

Mission 3

Because the heroes haven't been successful in finding info to stop the ritual, Mirror Spirit is going to send you forward in time to find out about it. Hopefully what you find will allow you to stop it from happening in the present.

The idea is good, but a couple of problems occur with the details. First off there are some custom mobs called "Followers", but their presence is not explained. They fight the Skulls in the last room of the mission, but also fight you if you encounter them. Also, more info is needed on "The Bride of Death" (if I'm not remembering that right, please correct me). She's there at the end... you have to defeat her, but she feels too throw-away to me. More info about her should be woven into the story, especially since it seems like she's supposed to be a big deal, but I didn't feel that.

When you defeat her, she thanks you for stopping her, and tells you about the ritual in the present.

Mission 4
The Bride of Death gave you a dagger used in the ritual, so when you come back to the present you give it to Mirror Spirit. She and several other mystics cast a scrying spell to find the ritual's location (Salamanca). You need to go and disrupt it. 1 hour timed mission.

This is your basic "stop a couple of sacrifices and defeat the boss" setup. Nice and straightforward for this level range.

Once you get in you find that Bonesnap has been transformed by the ritual. He is a somewhat animalistic looking custom mob now, but not over-powered for this level range. The rest of the map is regular Skulls, and there are 2 mystics to save (siphoning their powers).

- Over all it's not a bad arc, but it is a bit common in that it calls on the old "evil ritual to end the world" convention.
- I'm not a fan of the Skulls for it... I'd have preferred the Hellions, but it's not a deal breaker.
- Some additional writing should be done to add more importance to The Bride, I think. A lot of potential there.
- I'd recommend Changing mission 2 so the hero doesn't feel like failure was forced on them. I see what you were doing... making it so that Mirror Spirit HAD to send the hero into the future for info. It still feels wrong to me. Maybe make it so that what you find in the Coralax cave let's you pinpoint the correct moment in the future to send the hero...

Simple Times, 70801. Followup arc to Future Skulls

Mission 1

Talshak has called you to investigate Igneous activity in King's Row. When you get to the warehouse you fight Igneous that are all talking about "it". Must find it... Have to find it... Can't let "insert hero name here" steal it (which implies that they knew you were coming).

Let me start by saying that I hate fighting Igneous. They run too fast and can really hurt a squishy fast. I was ok with them being outside the Hollows, but didn't like them being in the arc because they bug me. That is not the author's fault.

After defeating all the Igneous, you return to Talshak who says that the Igneous are looking for an artifact to summon an ancient power. He's going to Scry the location of it.

Mission 2

Talshak has tracked the artifact to an Igneous cave, but has also learned that the Hellions are now after the object as well. He asks you to get to the cave and capture it, not letting either of the 2 groups possess it.

You fight your way through Hellions and Igneous to a Magma at the end of the mission. After defeating him you learn that the artifact is not there. Upon returning to Talshak, he's surprised that you didn't find it.

Mission 3

Talshak again scries the artifact's location, and this time it's a Hellion hideout. He sends you off to capture the item before the Hellions can cause any harm with it.

You fight your way through Hellions to find a nmed Damned at the end. After defeating him, you find that the artifact is not there.

I started to get quite frustrated at this point. Chasing a villain around can be ok because the villain can be given a personality and it can seem like they're just "one step ahead of you", toying with you, etc. the implication that I was simply "getting somewhere late" really irked me.

When you return to Talshak, he' starting to reflect your frustration. He doesn't like casting his scrying spell over and over again since it exhausts him.

Mission 4

Talshak scries and finds that warriors are now in possession of the artifact. Sends you to get it.

Guess what happens? yup. It ain't there. Some warriors are threatening another, though, asking him what he did with the artifact.

Back to Talshak. He's getting pissed, too.

Mission 5

Talshak figures out that the reason that you can't find the artifact is because it isn't real. The whole thing has been a ruse to make you chase an item. It has a spell on it that causes it to disappear when someone scries it's location, so you keep chasing your tail, while something else has been going on. And who concocted the ruse? The Future Skulls. Talshak has broken through the spells and now sends you to stop them from making their future come true (remember, you stopped them in the previous arc).

You go to Salamanca and defeat The Bride of Death and Bonesnap. The Bride reveals that they are not the only Future Skulls in the present time.

When you return to Talshak, he tells you that the artifact and the spell on it were tied to you and Mirror Spirit (since you previously defeated them). That's why Talshak was able to break the "chase the thing around" spell. He only got involved because of the Igneous, so it's just good luck that it wasn't Mirror Spirit since she wouldn't have been able to break the spell.

- GREAT ending with a lot of detail and a very well written wrap-up from Talshak
- Tortuous lead up to the great ending. Seriously, I see what you were trying t accomplish, but aggravating the player with a seemingly redundant set of missions is going to have a lot of players bailing on the arc by mission 3 and never getting to the big reveal at the end. I think you should cut-out at least 1, and probably 2 of those "can't seem to get the artifact" missions.
- Give the player more text in the Intro for mission 1 about The Future Skulls arc, so that way if they didn't play it they know that you're picking up from there and that the 2 are related. Something like "Mirror Spirit told me that you would be perfect for this since you helped her out so valiantly with those future Skulls a while back." I know it's in your arc description, but more would definitely help.
- Same goes for the reveal in Mission 5. Do a bit of a recap of the Future Skull arc. Maybe "Mirror Spirit told me a bit about that problem you 2 worked on. If I remember correctly, those were Skulls from an alternate future where they destroyed the world, right?"
- CHEESE-ALERT! When you defeat the Magma in the 2nd mission, it says "My flame is flickering." Really? A giant lava monster poetically says "My flame is flickering."? Pull that text.

Over all a nice idea that gets bogged down in the delivery. I REALLY wanted to quit by mission 3, but stuck it out to do the review. It was a really good payoff, but took too long to get there.

__________________________________________________ _

My latest arc

The Fireside Poet
#189439
Levels 1-14
Heroic
5 missions, but a fast play.
Definitely solo'able, with Skulls as the mobs and 1 custom boss (not EB or AV) at the end of the arc.
Story driven.

What seems to be the case of a routine Skulls break-in, reveals itself as a much deeper tale of sorrow, vengeance, and madness.

Any reviews or feedback will be greatly appreciated.

[ QUOTE ]
AE System to Holiday

I have had to split up the list in order to post a revision, otherwise, I get an error. This is now in two parts.

AE System
--------
[url=http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=13315151]Mission Architect Playable Tutorial - 28470
Welcome to Architect Entertainment -- Neutral
Death for Dollars! -- Neutral
Bare Knuckles of Rage (9304)
Signal to Noise -- Neutral -- 67277
5th Anniversary Flashback Smackdown -- Neutral -- 126896
*

Allegory
---------
Who is Kidnapping the World's Great Philosophers? -- Neutral -- 86347
*

Character/Supergroup Origins
--------
Birth of a Fossil -- Heroic
Secret Origins(Tech) The Snake Women of Epsilon V (42221) - Heroic
Noah Reborn -- Heroic (2370)
Polar Emergence Neutral Government User Interface Network (PENGUIN) #29205 - Heroic
Jumping in Feet First - Heroic - 1345
Midnight Bells Toll ----Villanious
A Hero is made, Not Born. -- Heroic -- Arc# 20863
A Mother's Nightmare -- Heroic -- #6955
A Rose's Thorns -- Heroic -- 113224
New Flame Rising - #161066. Heroic. 4 missions. Mish 2&3 have 1 EB each, mish 4 has 5 EBs, each encountered separately. Recommended for SG, teams, or strong solo'ers. Origin of a new npc villain organization.
*

Classic Super-Hero/Super-Villain
--------
THE BOMBER --- Heroic --- Arc 16607
In The Shadow of Statesman --Neutral--1160
A Show to Die For! --- Heroic --- 30645
Check... and Mate #15095 - Heroic - Mini Task Force
Teen Phalanx Forever! -- Heroic (67335)
This Life Immortal - (5756) Heroic
Paradox Paradox - (69221) Heroic Stop yourself and Stellar from being erased!
Sidekicks Can Be A Pain In The Cape - (28430)
'Tis Nobler in the Mind - Heroic
Deadly Sins! - 99366: fairly tough arc, can be solo'd.
Marketing Opportunity - Villainous - 83747
To Save A Single World - Heroic - 83744
A Crusher Crimewave #1 : Crisis at The Citadel (ID 50271)
A Crusher Crimewave #2 : Escape from The Zig! (ID 83458)
A Crusher Crimewave #3 : The Fall of Mocker (ID 123613)
*


Comedy
--------
The String Thief, Arc ID: 15726 Neutral 1-54
Mean People, Arc ID:16690 Neutral 1-54
The Extadine Lab -- Heroic (2595)
MacGuffin Delivery Service (1567) -- Villainous
ParaCon -- Heroic (1684)
The new and improved Lord Recluse Strike Force -- Villainous (though I wouldn't recommend against a hero )
The Fire Bunnies - Neutral, They are only bunnies after all...
You Say It's Your Birthday! (3630) - Neutral
Trademark Infringement -- Heroic (2220)
Hail to the King Neutral (34640)
Walk On the Wild Side - Neutral - 3580
Shirley You Jest (25474) -- Neutral
The Invasion of the Bikini Clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space! - Heroic - 61013
Gnomish Madness (30204) - Heroic
Doctor Nadir and the Hellion Heist (49661) - Heroic
Laugh? I Thought I'd DIE! - Heroic
The P.U.G. Strike force (arc 35585) -Villian
A Translator is the Wind or the Thunder in Turns -- (2936) - Heroic
What's in a Name? - Villainous
None More Black, Dude! (#86312) Neutral
Rise of the Drakule - Neutral
Return of the Revenge of the Son of Drakule Part 2: First Blood - Neutral
Martian Chimpanzees and the Cyborg Cheerleaders of DOOM! (Arc #69947) - Heroic
Daytime Divas - #94504 Where else can you get a hair extension as a souvenir?
Death to Disco! - (Neutral, 84420) A short arc that has time travel, silk shirts, platform shoes, Jimmy Carter and a chance to save Rock and Roll.
Too Many Bunnygirls! - ID#101165(neutral). Time to stop them once and for all.
Invasion on Earth BX1132! - Neutral - 45+ - #98943
Ee=Ai-Ee-Ai-Oh! - Neutral - 3662
The foul-mouthed Handyman! - Neutral - 1076
City of Norms - Neutral - 132944
Killing The Meow Farm - 141625 - Neutral
Shortbow - Arc ID: 143566 - Heroic Lvl: 30-38
Jerk Hackers! - Heroic (162482)
*
Comedy/Drama
--------
Kidnapping an Idol 136188 Neutral
Fashion Apocalypse - Neutral - 14840
The Running of the Bulls -- Heroic 29973
A Super Team is Born -- Heroic
Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings #1481 -- Neutral
How to Survive a Robot Uprising -- Heroic (12669)
Dr. Duplicate's Dastardly Dare -- Neutral
It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding (9059) -- Neutral
TURG FICTION: Ghost in the Machine, Act I - Heroic (althoughs romantic villains could try this too )
Rum Runners of Bloody Bay (3691) - Heroic
Have a Blap, Blap, Blappy Day Kids! (2019)
The Toypocalypse! (49280) - Heroic
Fishing for Fame with Red Herring - Heroic (66861)
Putting Out Fires: A Corporate Satire (20100) - Villainous
The Rise and Refall of Pets'n'Things.com - Heroic - 1061
The Cat's in the Cradle (8776) - Villainous
Females for Hire - Neutral (Heroic and/or Mercenary motivations) (110723)
The Cathedral of Mild Discomfort - Heroic (153712)
Freaks, Geeks and Men in Black - Heroic (161629)
*

Crime/Gangs
--------
Bricked Electronics -- Heroic (LIVE! 2180)
The Bravuran Jobs -- Villainous (16809)
The Black Flag Is On The Rise (Pirates!) - Villainous
Win the 2009 Freak-Lympics (2150) - Villainous
Ninja Crimewave! (2142) - Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
The Internet is for Crime (53385) - Villains
Plastic Pistol Peril (1135) - Heroic
Friends in Need (Of Body Parts) - Villainous (31005)
A Little RnR - Heroic (17523) click for Promotional Poster
Mechanical Mayhem - Villainous (76721)
Females for Hire (about a mercenary gang) - Neutral (Heroic and/or Mercenary motivations) (110723)
Battlin' Tom's Murder Extravaganza! -- Villainous -- 99803
Meet the Demon Spawn Heroic (#151099) {4 missions}
Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons Heroic (#100045) {1 mish-teaser for above arc}

*

Drama
--------
The Conciliators: Simone -- Heroic (4010)
The Fan Club -- Heroic
Matchstick Women -- Heroic -- 3369
Of Mentors and Legacy - Heroic - 1589
Digital Love -- Neutral -- 3571
A Flame the Burns Bright- 112548
Clonus, Parts 1 & 2 - Arc ID: 21499 - Heroic Lvl 30-54
*

Global Domination
--------
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
*

Global Destruction
--------
The Twilight of this Blue Orb -- Villainous (98529)
*

Heist
--------
Celebrity Kidnapping -- Villainous (1388)
Easy Money -- Villainous (31490)
The Great Diamond Heist -- Villainous (96169)
*

Historical (Realistic)
--------
Wrinkle in Time -- Heroic(68920)
*

Historical (CoH Lore)
--------
The War on Superadine - The Regulators in their 1980's drug war (Heroic) (Arc 7959)
Origins - Volume 1 (57077) -- Heroic
The Once and Future King (#71601) - Heroic
*

Holiday
--------
City of Ho Ho Ho #18775 - Heroic
Hectic Holidays -- Heroic (36999) also comedy
Santa's Missing List - 34961
Santa's Workshop of Misfit Toys - heroic - 134140
*

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Horror to Puzzles/Riddles

I have had to split up the list in order to post a revision, otherwise, I get an error. This is now in two parts.

Horror
--------
Astoria in D Minor (41565) -- Heroic
Dark Dreams (3615)
D!E COUNT DADDY MACULA D!E! (10619) -- Heroic (1970's Action/Horror)
Don't Play With The Dead (31813) -- Neutral
The Amulet of J'gara (1709) -- Heroic
Project: Perilous - Into the Chthonian Pit (#3586) - Neutral (Unless you happen to be a mad cultist, in which case, go nuts!)
Small Fears -- Heroic
Lights, Camera, Scream! (#68627) - 3 Mission arc that get's you into the B-Horror film circuit.
Duality --Heroic -- 84105
Hunting the Hunters --Villainous -- 93362 - Help a vampire find out who is hunting his people
Creepy Crawlers - Arc ID: 82553 (Lv 41 - 52, a short, solo-friendly ghost story. Best played alone.)
I Will Dance On Your Grave - Arc ID 92630 – Any level, no EBs or AVs, Voodoo, Necromancy
Movie Monster Madness.. - 102058
Something Comes to Yarmouth(58812) - Heroic, levels 25+ (masearch link)
*
The Zombie Apocalypse Task Force: Something wicked this way comes.


Large-Scale Crisis
--------
Alpha and Omega (60015) -- Heroic
Is it Live or is it Memory-X - Arc ID #70210 - Heroic
This Is War, Part I - the Revenge of Hro'Dtohz -- Neutral
Win the Past, Own the Future - Heroic
A Warrior's Friend - Heroic
The Clockwork War -- Heroic (18672)
Flight of the Valkyries - Precursor (20272) -- Neutral
War of the Worlds - The Anakim Invasion - Part 1, Neutral (15006)
War of the Worlds - The Anakim Invasion - Part 2, The Terran Revolt, Neutral (46711)
Bleed the Freak - Arc ID #6919 - Heroic
The All-Seeing Eye - Arc ID #57352 - Heroic [SFMA, Soloable, No EB/AVs, Auto-SK to 30/41)
*

Magic
--------
The Magical Miss Fitz (5079) -- Heroic
Chains of Blood (5492) -- Heroic
A Deal with Destiny -- Heroic
The Broken Chain (82378) -- heroic
Croatoa's Great War: The Parfait Family Reunion -- Neutral -- 71880
Rex is Missing! - Heroic - 51702
The Tannhäuser Gate (Arc 96322)
I Will Dance On Your Grave - Arc ID 92630 – Any level, no EBs or AVs, Voodoo, Necromancy
Deal with The Devil's Pawn Heroic (#113615)
A Dream of Awakenings - #132616. Heroic. 4 missions. Level 30+ recommended.
*

Military
--------
Redoubt Operations #1: Fires over Kalago -- Heroic
Red Typhoon (Arc 4912) -- Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
Vanguard AQUA (58475) -- Neutral
Wings of Deception, 101926
*

Misc. Adventure
--------
Impossible Kung Fu Mission -- Nuetral (111367)
The Portal Bandits (3326) -- Heroic
A Glitch in the Wyre- Arc 73197-- Neutral (Fun for both the good kids and the bad kids too!)
The Council Cargo - Arc ID: 36951 (Heroic, Lv 26 - 31, solo or team)
Hero Therapy! (TM) - 119228
The Second Coming of the Mega Mech - Heroic (122274)
*


Mystery
--------
Blowback (18575) -- Heroic
Dream Paper -- Heroic (13030)
Dream Paper 2: Restless Sleep -- Heroic (16797)
Dream Paper 3: Broken Dreams -- Heroic (13064)
Hunter of Beasts: It begins with a riot... Arc ID: 110465 - Heroic
Females for Hire - Neutral (Heroic and/or Mercenary motivations) (110723)
The Fireside Poet - #189439. Heroic. 5 missions, but a fast run. Levels 1-14.
*

Mythology
--------
Atlantis Attacks! -- Neutral (30898) -- Click for Promotional Poster
The Seelie War -- Heroic
The Unseelie War -- Villainous
[b] The Seeds of Yggdrasil[b/] -- heroic
Tales of Cimerora, volume 1 : Of feathers and fur -- Heroic
The Aegis Affair - Heroic - **** - 16376
Witches and Warriors (53006)- Heroic
Rites of the Maenads (61159) - Heroic
The Parable of the Fruit Salad -- Heroic -- 65369
The Eye of Balor (88176) - Heroic
Madness And The Minotaur - Neutral - 90124
The Four Treasures of the Tuatha De Danaan - #164100 - Heroic
*

Nemesis Plots
--------
Brass Reaver: Part 1 -- Neutral
The Handbag Plot -- Heroicish -- 36414
Rise and Fall of the Iron General -- Heroic -- 142200
*

Player-Chosen Outcome
--------
Hunting the Dark Dragon -- Heroic
Playing Gods -- Heroic (51106)
Time's Maelstrom -- Heroic #147296
*

Public Domain Characters/Literature
--------
The Praetorian Invasion of the Land of Oz - Heroic (Contains at least one AV on each mission. Last mission has 3 (but with two helper EBs)
*

Sci-Fi
--------
Above Mars - Part 1: The Wellington -- Neutral (13215)
Adventures of the Space Marines -- Neutral
Adventures of the Space Marines 2 -- Neutral
The Adventures of the United Earth Rangers -- Neutral (29549)
The Continuing Adventures of the United Earth Rangers -- Neutral (70237)
The Final Nemesis
The Fracturing of Time -- Heroic (171031)
The Knights of Rularuu -- Heroic (75386)
[color= #bbff88]Reach for the Stars -- Neutral (78904) [/color]
Spaced Invaders --Heroic(56856)
That Mysterious Buzzing Sound - 12774
The Nemesis Theory - 171203 - Villainous
The Balance of Power - 26931 - Neutral
welcome to donut world - 1233 heroic
City of the Apes - 171184 Heroic
Assault on Aru Prime (Arc 173115 - EVIL.. VERY EVIL)
*

Un-themed Survival/AV/Time Challenges
--------
The Meatgrinder -- Neutral
*

Puzzles/Riddles
--------
Grim Riddles (#1396) - Heroic
*

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I've tried:
- Putting him in a group by himself and setting the Enemy group to Single.

[/ QUOTE ]

Single is poorly named. It means that you have no enemies, not just one.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well that explains the inst-complete when there is only 1 captive to rescue, hehe.

Hey,

I'm trying to get an arc's signature boss to spawn as the guy guarding a captive. It would be fine if he spawned alone or with some minions. The main thing is that he's right near the captive.

I've tried:
- Putting him in a group by himself and setting the Enemy group to Single. All that does it auto-complete the mission as soon as you enter since on heroic it won't spawn a boss.
- I've tried adding standard (Skull) minions to the custom group, but then it just spawns them and not the boss.

I'd really like the captive and the boss to not be separated on the map as in the story the boss has kidnapped the captive and is preparing to kill him. Any help anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

If you liked Energy, go with that. Screw melee'ers that complain about it. Get yourself into an SG or on a regular team.

[ QUOTE ]
Well I just got my MA/SD scrapper up to 50 this week and it was a really fun combo to play. I never did like MA tell I paired it with /SD.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just got mine to level 36. Active+Buildup+Dragon's Tail+Shield Charge=me squeeling like a school girl who just got her first Jonas Brothers DvD.

Pros
- Dead sexy
- Fits "natural" (ie - no powers) concepts well
- Sound Effects are great
- As a previous poster mentioned, uniqueness (less common)

Cons
- Higher end cost than warranted
- All damage attacks are kicks... no punches
- No ranged attacks
- No cones and only 1 PBAoE

[ QUOTE ]
hey guys, don't want to be pushy, but it looks like my arc's been skipped twice now (my most recent post was a repost with a rating for a different arc) so i would appreciate it if someone could give it a try. That being said, if you don't want to play it, that's your choice, I just don't want it to be forgotten again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just tried to run this and it won't let me start. It is doing that "Let's me click play, then click accept, but doesn't turn the holo-guy into the contact and it won't start" thing. Do you have a map in there that they took out recently?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Also, I'd like to point out to anyone reading this that this reviewer's idea of having lowbie heroes in the sewers is EXACTLY why we all participate in these threads. That idea is friggin' brilliant, and I never thought of it!

Thanks so much for the review.

*runs off to think about how to get that to work...*

[/ QUOTE ]

LoL, glad I could help.

If you need any help with dialogue for the lowbies, than pm me or holla at me at my global @Rowdy. For now, here's one off the top of my head...

Lowbie: Hey uhh, Nyte Fire, you wouldnt happen to be looking for a side kick by any chance would ya??

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, unfortunately I was too close to the size cap to add any lowbie heroe rescues, but I did add some flavor text that alludes to noob heroes in the sewers under Atlas Park. Thanks for the idea

[ QUOTE ]

Quote:

My new arc:

New Flame Rising
ID - 161066
Alignment - Heroic
Length - 4 missions
Recommended character level - 30+
Difficulty - Designed as a TF. Tough but solo-able for good solo characters. Not for every character. Not too-hard for teams that play together often (like SG members), but may be harder for pick-up teams. Not much mez'ing at all, but mostly Fire damage mobs.





I really like your arc Nyte. I didnt see any grammer issues, which is GREAT (finally someone that spell checks!) the plot held together, and all in all, i had a great time. I didn't really have too much issue your EBs though, except arsonette, she was a bit of a pain, mainly because i dont like to use inspirations, but for her, I needed to pop a medium purple. The rest were pushovers really, Fire fiend would've gave me issues but because hes a fire shields, he didn't have an KB/KD protection so i pretty much had him on his butt the entire fight.

A few things i would've liked to see in your arc was more dialogue from the EBs. When I was fighting them, they really only said one line at the start of the fight and thats it. Would've been nice to see one of them something like "Time to turn up the heat" or something like that.

Another thing that would've been cool is if in your city hall mission where I had to run in the sewers and get the bombs, it would've been pretty funny to see the Inferno Force messing with beginning heroes. City Hall is in atlas park and lots of lowbies do lots of sewer runs down there. I was just praying that there were some lowbie heroes down there saying something like "Please dont hurt me, I'm just being a hero for the girls" or something like that - and when I saved them, they say something like "Omg, it's Lyte Fyre. Dude, you're the reason I decided to be a hero, could I get your autograph" lol.

Overall, I gave it 4 stars, mainly because of non-dialogued EB fights, and the city hall mission. Not because there weren't lowbies down there, but because finding 6 bombs on a large sewer map was a bit of a pain.

Btw, I ran your arc with my lv50 DB/WP scrapp. He's a beast!

[/ QUOTE ]

I absolutely agree about the EBs and dialogue. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of something more for each of them to say that would show their personality while still pushing the story of their VG. Glad you noticed that... shows that I'm not just obsessing, hehe.

Also, I'd like to point out to anyone reading this that this reviewer's idea of having lowbie heroes in the sewers is EXACTLY why we all participate in these threads. That idea is friggin' brilliant, and I never thought of it!

Thanks so much for the review.

*runs off to think about how to get that to work...*

[ QUOTE ]
So my new mission:
Canada, Beaver Boy and Provincial Man
Arc ID: 157251
Faction: Heroic
Creator Global: @doctor 7
Difficulty Level: medium-hard (depending on challenge selection)
Synopsis: A new biker gang, the Whole Fists, have taken the country by storm! Provincialman, Canada's national superhero, and the entire country needs your help!
Estimated Time to Play: 3 missions, about 60 minutes total

Note: Will auto-SK anyone below 44 to 44, so it's great for large groups of varied levels. Final mission contains and AV. If soloing I'd suggest a lower challenge level so it downscales to an EB. You do get 2 allies to help you out and I was able to solo it on challenge level 3 with my 43 scrapper.


[/ QUOTE ]

Ran this with my L 35 MA/SD Scrapper on Tenacious

Mission 1

An Admiral in the Canadian navy is asking for your help. Vancouver is being over run by a biker gang and they've stolen the power suit of the Canadian version of Statesman named Provincialman (very clever). You're sent to rescue the guy who created the suit, retrieve it, and find out who is backing the gang. Let's go bullet style:

- Provincialman is a great name in comparison to Statesman
- The contact comes off a bit harsh. That's fine for a military guy, but I found him off-putting. He kind of came off with a Canadian superiority complex, which made me want to flip him off and not-do the arc. He get better in missions 2 & 3, but this is actually kind of weird when reading. I think the tone used throughout the 3 missions should match. Just a little rewriting could get this done.
- The mobs are fine except for 1. There's a lut named Biker Chick. She has mental powers. Why, when all of the other gang members are smashing/lethal (mace, claws, SS)?
- Setting the mission in Vancouver is fine. Using the Steel Canyon map breaks the continuity for me, big time. I don't know how to get around this though...
- I think that all custom mobs need descriptions. I always check info on mobs to see if any creative writing has been done. Your minions and luts need this.
- After rescuing Todd Johnson, he should fight with you or run off. He just stands there, as if saying "Thanks for the rescue, but I like it here! I think I'll stay a while."
- There's a typo in Todd Johnson's description. I think you meant "Who says you can't have brains and brawn?"

Mission 2

After finding that The Family is backing the biker gang, you're sent to a warehouse to meet up with Beaver Boy and find a computer to upload important files from. There's also a Family Boss.

- Typo in the mission send-off text. An extra period in the first line after "via".
- Only problem I found here was that the send-off text stated that Beaver Boy would be right near the entrance and he was all the way at the end. I don't know what you can do about this though, as I've had problems with captives/mobs not spawning in the right spots, as have a lot of people too. Maybe try a different map...?

Mission 3
You've found out the identity of the leader of the biker gang, and you're sent to an office to fight him (an EB solo on Tenacious) and another Family Boss. Beaver Boy and Provincialman will be there to help.

- The Family Boss was right at the beginning of the map. I don't know if that was intentional or not, so I figured I'd note it.
- When getting close ot Povincialman (around several corners) I saw his text and that of a biker gang member. But when I found Provincialman, he was alone. I'm assuming you had him in a battle, but he had taken-out the baddies way before I got there....? I'd suggest changing that to a straight up captive so you have baddies to fight when rescuing him.
- The EB has powers different and beyond those of the other bikers, and that's not explained anywhere that I found. I think you need some text in there somewhere for that... even if it's just something that a patrol says. Or did I miss something?

Overall I had no problem soloing this arc and could appreciate the story, but I think you need to go deeper into it. More mob text, more clues maybe to flesh out the story.

The lines delivered by the Family were pretty funny, but not getting that from most of the other mobs made those lines seem out of place. I'd recommend either making the Family Bosses more serious or adding more comedy to the rest of the story.

With a little more writing I think you'd have a fun solo arc, and one that teams could get into too. Thanks for creating and posting it

__________________________________________________ ___

My new arc:

New Flame Rising
ID - 161066
Alignment - Heroic
Length - 4 missions
Recommended character level - 30+
Difficulty - Designed as a TF. Tough but solo-able for good solo characters. Not for every character. Not too-hard for teams that play together often (like SG members), but may be harder for pick-up teams. Not much mez'ing at all, but mostly Fire damage mobs.

*NOTE* This arc contains multiple EBs, especially in the last mission (you're battling a new VG with signature members). Solo on Heroic to drop them to Bosses, if you like.

Description
You get a call from a detective that you know, about Hellions going to a meeting with someone in Founder's Falls. Why would Hellions be in Founder's, and who are they meeting with? Uncover a new villainous force rising in Paragon City, and the plot to destroy one of it's most notable landmarks.

All reviews, from both solo and team perspective, greatly appreciated.

[ QUOTE ]
Bump. I'd really like some thoughts on this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your best bet for getting reviews and feedback is to do a review for someone else and post your arc at the end, in one of the many other threads. Individually posted arcs often get ignored.

[ QUOTE ]
I also slightly modified the intro dialog to say "the negative stereotype will be proven right!" I wasn't attempting to make any "real world commentary" beyond "some people think D&D players do dabble in the occult." In my experience I've never encountered a liberal person that's found something wrong with D&D. But I don't want my Arc to start any sort of debate on the subject so rephrasing it should improve it a bit I think without losing the humour of the situation.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm a conservative and I played D&D and other tabletop rpgs for years. I didn't take offense to the original way you had it, but I could see how some players might have, and then given you a low rating. That's why I made the suggestion to change it and I think what you did is perfect.

Dorks and Dungeons ARC# 148594
Length - 1 mission

Run with my L34 MA/SD Scrapper on Tenacious. I'll go bullet style here.

- Typos in mission intro. You've got an extra quote just before thursday in the 2nd sentence. Also, thursday should be capitalized. And you need a period in front of "me", followed by "me" being capitalized to start a new sentence.
- Fun premise overall. A member of a D&D group brings a real spellbook to a session, and the characters get brought to life.
- I personally don't like real-world political comments in missions, and your "... otherwise all the conservatives will be proven right..." comment bugged me. Not a great tragedy, just figured I'd mention it.
- I really like the design of your characters.
- Very funny dialog, especially the "Who says walking around looking for heroes isn't a great way to spend the day?" one.
- Baddies could be a little more challenging, but for what I perceive to be a comedy arc they don't need to be so.

Overall I thought the funny parts were good and the characters looked great, but the fact that it was only 1 mission long coupled with the typos and off-putting political comment kept me from giving you 5 stars. Fix the typos and add another mission or 2 & I think you'd have a really fun little arc that would be accessible to a lot of characters.

Thanks for creating and posting the arc.

__________________________________________________ __

My new arc:

New Flame Rising, #161066
Alignment - Heroic

When some Hellions are busted for starting fires in Steel Canyon, a note is found on one of them that directs them to go to Founder's Falls after the blaze. The Hellions seem to be moving up in the world, but who could be helping them and why? A new villain group seems to have come to town.

Designed as a TF, this arc should be good for SGs, people who regularly team, and strong solo characters. It has 4 missions with a very short first one, and the rest containing EBs. Mission 4 has a total of 5 EBs (you're taking on a new themed-VG that's trying to establish itself in Paragon City). If you want to play the arc solo and not fight EBs, set it to Heroic for the EBs to drop to bosses. they will still be challenging, so be prepared for that.

Thanks,

[ QUOTE ]
My one MA arc used both of these mission missions. Sorry devs, if there's a problematic spawn point in a map, remove the spawn point. Don't remove the map.

I am unbelievably mad about this. I'm about ready to give up on the MA entirely.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a 3 mission arc that starts in the unburning-forest in mission 1, and the burning in mission 3. Its supposed be that Crey are burning that forest down. Kinda hard to having Crey burning down a forest WITHOUT A BURNING FOREST!

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Number - 84107
Title - Changing Leaves
Contact - Countess Crey's Bodyguard
Alignment - Heroic
Length - 3 missions, no kill-alls
Mission 1 - Blinkies required, 1 hostage rescue required, with option to fight a very tough AV (for those that want the challenge)
Mission 2 - Free Hostage
Mission 3 - Escort

Description - Countess Crey's personal Bodyguard has contacted you because a remote Crey team has stopped checking in. Normally you wouldn't care about Crey, but the team was trying to stop a powerful creature that's been hurting a lot of innocent people. Saving people is your motivation, but is that all Crey Industries cares about?

[/ QUOTE ]

Overall
Excellent, creative story. Nice and appropriate usage of colored text. Easily 4 stars off the strength of the story. Possible 5 after it's fully fleshed out and typos are wacked.




Arc Name: Tangled Webs and Reflecting Mirrors: Part One - The Deal
Arc ID: 133330
Creator Global: @Rodric
Difficulty: Medium - AV/EB present
Length: 1 hour, 5 missions
-Kill All
-Release Captive
-Kill All
-Collection
-Kill Bosses

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks. I went back and added a bit more text, and fixed the typos. Jeez, just when you think you've gotten them all...

_________________________________________________

Arc Name: Tangled Webs and Reflecting Mirrors: Part One - The Deal
Arc ID: 133330

Played this on my L50 IO'd Inv/EM Tanker

Rodric wants you to collect several items for him so he can perform an ancient ritual that will grant the caster whatever he wants. When he's done, he'll give you the components so you can cast the ritual yourself.

Mission 1
Has you go to an alternate reality where the Hellions act as cops, to steal a straight razor from the Council. Kill-all.

I, like a lot of people, don't like kill-alls unless they have a very valid reason within the story. The contact tells you that he wants you to take care of everyone so the owner of the razor can't seek revenge. Not valid enough for me so the kill-all felt like it dragged.

Mission 2
Go to a dimension where pacifist CoT are being attacked by regular violent CoT, and find a candle-maker to give you a magic candle. Free hostage.

Why am I hopping dimensions and dealing with these strange realities? There's no background for this given other than "that's where you need to go". At least not a kill-all.

Mission 3
Go to another dimension to get the words for the spell. Another Kill-all, with the "Heroic" contact saying that he "... prefers a scorched earth approach to make sure that no one comes after him...". Kill-all CoT.

I started to not-like Rodric (the contact, not the player). Bad sign.

Mission 4
Last item to find. Silver Plate engraved with Vanessa DeVore's face on it. Carnies are the baddies, but not a kill-all... just a single clicky. The contact tells you that this time it's just a "... quick in and out..." Why is he not afraid of retribution from Carnies, but is from the CoT and Council?

At the end of the mission, Rodric tells you that's he's off to perform the ritual and that you should check back with him later.

Mission 5
Clicking the contact reveals that the contact has gone missing, and you talk to someone else in his SG. They tell you to go look for Rodric.

In the mission you fight 3 EBs, 2 of which are unexplained. The third is directly connected to Rodric but comes out of nowhere. Defeat the EBs and find a clicky. Custom mobs (the "army" of the 3rd EB).

Observations

- You lost me right off the bat with the thin premise of the story. "I need you to fetch some stuff, then when I'm done you can have it for yourself." generally doesn't work when doing Heroic arcs. Why can't the contact get it himself? Why is he assuming I'm a selfish tool who'll happily pop around dimensions for him? There needs to be much more writing done here.
- Only 1 typo... a missing period at the end of the 2nd paragraph on the mission 2 intro text.
- The idea of 4 missions to "find this item" really needs to be reexamined. It's way too repetitive and 2 of those being kill-alls is grueling. Combine the 4 missions into 1 and settle on 1 villain group. That will allow for more focus, and you can explain why that group is involved.
- Either come up with a really good reason for a kill-all or remove it from your arc. They are not necessary as is, and it makes no sense that the other missions would not be kill-alls based on the logic you used for the 2 missions that are.
- I'm not a fan of "the contact has gone missing". Not because it's a bad plot device, but because with the MArc mechanic you can't replace the Contact with something else at any point. So I had Rodric telling me that Rodric was missing, which destroys the immersion. A lot of architects have done this & I've yet to see an arc where it truly works.
- Dropping the name of your contact's SG into an arc without explanation or background makes it feel self indulgent. It's not bad to use them, but flesh that out a bit more to make it seem less like your just doing a shout-out to your SG.

Overall I think the arc needs a rewrite. I like the twist at the end very much, but it was too little pay-off for the rest of the time spent. the whole thing feels like a "Check out what's happening to my character..." story, rather than anything the player is truly involved in.

Thanks for writing and posting the arc. If changes happen I look forward to playing it again.