Ain't we all?EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 5:45 am Honestly at heart I'm still that kid in his bedroom smashing action figures together.
(I actually wrote an essay on that very subject.)
Ain't we all?EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 5:45 am Honestly at heart I'm still that kid in his bedroom smashing action figures together.
I'd be interested in reading it.
A great character, and also a perfect plot-device NPC. I've always been a fan of precogs trying to make the most of their skills and outmaneuver other precogs. I also like how clearly he's trying to herd a couple different sets of cats.
The whole timewarp aspect is a great "have your cake and eat it too" solution, in perfect comic book style. It feels like a well-executed "oh this is the Earth-2 HeroMan" storyline, which a lot of continuities have attempted but not nailed.
I really appreciate the idea of "I was the leader once, I messed up, and now I'm back to try again, older, and wiser, and with a law degree!"
Maybe I'm wildly off, but I kept thinking of Pohatu from Bionicle
I really like the "chosen by butterflies" as their avatar! And a great example of what a wikiwalk can fuel.
I mean...I was working from the man's Wikipedia page after finding a rando theory on how it was possible but not probably that he was Louis Charles. I do significant research so that it feels realistic wen I dive into history.
Yeah, pretty much. The Exiles are a story of folks who keep having the worst luck on the planet but keep making it through anyway. And if you're into found family teams, well...that's kind of a button I keep hitting in the Heroes.Commander Titan wrote: ↑Fri May 20, 2022 12:41 am So I've read through the Exiles profiles and commentary (I'm partway through NPC Investigations, but I'll wait to comment 'til I'm done):
I really like how you've taken the initial concept and expanded it to be multiple generations, a seeming lynchpin of your setting. I only read a little of the original Runaways run, and none of the later ones, but I feel like it also toys with a similar vibe to the Teen Titans cartoon, emphasizing the teen heroes managing over them simply being anyone's sidekicks. Also, I'm all for found family teams.
Dreamer is busy as a bee, yes. It's not a couple different sets of cats, it's a couple dozen.Commander Titan wrote: ↑Fri May 20, 2022 12:41 amSome particular highlights:
A great character, and also a perfect plot-device NPC. I've always been a fan of precogs trying to make the most of their skills and outmaneuver other precogs. I also like how clearly he's trying to herd a couple different sets of cats.
I said this in the Commentary, but the choice was basically either bring back 'Bird or create someone new. The latter felt wrong, so 'Bird returned. Only I prefer death to be a permanent thing in the Phoenixverse, barring somewhat unique circumstances. So I dug out a workaround.Commander Titan wrote: ↑Fri May 20, 2022 12:41 amThe whole timewarp aspect is a great "have your cake and eat it too" solution, in perfect comic book style. It feels like a well-executed "oh this is the Earth-2 HeroMan" storyline, which a lot of continuities have attempted but not nailed.
Barry's a lynchpin of the team overall. It's a family thing. His legal work is useful, but he's one of the Original 5. The Exiles are family, and family always wants you back. Family will always welcome you home. I ain't talking blood relations, either, as several Exiles can attest to. Family loves and accepts you as you are, and tries like hell to find a place for you among them. So Barry had to come back.Commander Titan wrote: ↑Fri May 20, 2022 12:41 amI really appreciate the idea of "I was the leader once, I messed up, and now I'm back to try again, older, and wiser, and with a law degree!"
What I know about Bionicle is that it exists. Seriously, my knowledge of it wouldn't fill a thimble. My brain's just full of stuff that cross connects. Flutter is literally "a butterfly girl would be cool" plus "oh hey Mexico's got butterfly breeding grounds" with a side of goofy comic nonsense to "justify" it.Commander Titan wrote: ↑Fri May 20, 2022 12:41 amMaybe I'm wildly off, but I kept thinking of Pohatu from Bionicle
I really like the "chosen by butterflies" as their avatar! And a great example of what a wikiwalk can fuel.
Not a sleight against the Exiles, but NPC Investigations are certainly more my speed! I always love a good detective / mystery, including/especially in a superheroic setting. And they, like the Exiles, clearly have an opening PCs to join, and a very natural campaign structure.
I can dig the style, and all interesting source material. While it would probably be right up my alley, I've never watched Angel, or Buffy for that matter, and sadly probably won't now, given the Whedon revelations would damper my enjoyment. But its influence is clearly felt, and the premise works, regardless!EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:09 am They’re still relatively small compared with the Exiles and especially the Seawings, who got blown out in the update. But they fit their role in being the most grounded of the current trio of heroic groups. The Exiles and Seawings get up to shenanigans, but NPC Investigations is a business first. They stay street level, with the update taking several cues from the Dresden Files (what I consider to be Angel and the Buffyverse’s modern day successor, in some ways) and Netflix’s Marvel shows (mainly Daredevil, which was consistently good aside from everything involving The Hand). As a side note, I did build Roger Simon (formerly Hayden Streett) and Eve.
There's something really marvelous, isn't there, when creating and you stumble into something like that? I've sometimes felt that I'm less creating than uncovering an idea that was already out there in the ether, because the pieces fit so well.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:09 am I’ll have to go over them again when the time comes, but for now I’m holding off of doing direct enemies. Fun fact, it actually had to be pointed out to me that Nihara, Perkins, and Christian was the same letters as Non Player Character. I swear to god, I didn’t do that on purpose. It just kinda happened, because my brain doesn’t like to tell me things sometimes.
I appreciate her arc there - "You broke it, you buy it (or lead it, as the case may be)" is a good plot development. Its fascinating to see what heroes do once handed control of groups that oppose them - like when Green Arrow or Batman become head of the League of Assassins, or someone other than Nick Fury takes the wheel of SHIELD. Can you change the institution? Or is the momentum too strong?
Dark, but also a refreshing take that these aren't necessarily Highly Visible Ninja, and remember that stealth is important.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:09 am Generally, there’s no mystical bullshit going on with the Phoenixverse ninja. They’re simply very, very good spies and intelligence agents, trained to have no sense of self and only exist for the use of their clan and their clan’s clients. Children indoctrinated into being little more than tools instead of free willed and thinking people.
She's my favorite of the whole crew, senior and junior. It seems like she's had such a great arc, plus a real detective background, and the contrast between her powers and her archetype, it's all good stuff.
I can really see the comic panels, or Netflix episode, as the plot lands here. There's also something to seeing what happens to the would-be "one-off victim of a mad scientist" who actually has the means and willpower to keep coming after them.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 11:41 pm One of her early cases caused her to run afoul of the mad Dr. Chromium, who kidnapped her and her fiancée. He injected them both with a liquid metal serum. Her fiancée died in agony as his blood turned to solid metal. Carla, however, did not die. The agony was beyond description, and when it was over she was no longer a human being. She had been fully transformed into a organic metal person. Her pursuit of vengeance against the mad doctor spanned years, and ended with a violent confrontation. It ended with her arrested for assault, and Dr. Chromium going to prison for the rest of his natural life. Fortunately, the jury didn’t think she should be imprisoned for her actions, and she was acquitted. Otherwise, it’s been an interesting ride.
EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 11:41 pm . . Carla is no intellectual slouch herself. She is a virtuoso of a detective, second only to people with actual superpowers that help like Caviezel and Terrifica. Little escapes her keen investigative mind. Thanks to Harmony Perez, she also has an Anti Gravity Belt (that both reduces her weight from nearly three quarters of a ton to something more normal and has a holographic overlay that makes her look like a regular person) and a Heavy Blaster (like a regular Blaster, but a bit more damaging). She still carries her old Heavy Pistol, as well. She remains a crack shot with both, but the Heavy Blaster has some accuracy boosts built in.
I also approve of the counter-intuitive style. Sometimes people who get powers in media are shown to adapt or lose old, reflexive, behaviors really quickly, so its interesting imagining someone (with actual firefight training) having to unlearn some behaviors.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:09 am Honestly in the beginning she was still a bad melee fighter, as befit an ordinary human police detective who suddenly got superpowers. So her strength was nice, but not very useful. And her police training made her seek cover despite being bulletproof. I enjoyed the counter intuitive nature of that. You’d think an organic metal powerhouse would wade in with their fists, right? Well, Carla was ducking behind a car and pulling her gun. Less so, these days as she’s gotten used to the powers.
The Question, maybe? But agreed. I enjoyed the recent Batman film for remembering to make him a detective, but I doubt we'll see The Elongated Man or The Detective Chimp anytime soon to follow up on that!EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:09 am Her build is that of a whip smart detective. She knows a lot about a lot, and what she doesn’t know she can find out pretty easily. Really not enough detectives in comics, I think. There’s Batman (plus Batfam), Elongated Man, and Detective Chimp that I can think of. Some have bits of the skill set, but it’s not their identity. Really kind of a shame, as I don’t know what’s scarier to street crime than a superstrong, bulletproof woman who’s also a detective on par with the goddamn Batman.
It's a grim background he's had to deal with, but I think you executed it well, and the idea of a psychic addiction is solid. I appreciate that he doesn't get off lightly, but your narrative still treats him with compassion as well.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:09 am But if it was just that he’d be kind of an insufferable Marty Stu, so I gave him a giant flaw in classic Marvel style. He can’t touch people anymore, not without triggering it. And so the one who’s supposed to be the face man is actually the most socially isolated. At the time of his original creation, I had not read the Dresden Files. But during the update, I noticed he was basically a riff on Thomas Raith. So I decided to lean in when writing his entry.
Like you say, important to have a functional and warm receptionist!
Like I said, I haven't watched Buffy, but I have friends who filled me in on this plot and I've always wanted to incorporate it into a game, somehow, but its hard to do to players without feeling like you're being nasty to them. Doing it to NPCs, however? Perfectly acceptable! And its a fun notion because any friction between the two is written off as simple "sibling rivalry" by observers. I also like that (if I understand correctly), where Sonya lived as a human and had to adapt to learning her origin, Sofia got "dropped in" to a human life but with a Fae's memories.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 11:24 pm You guys remember Dawn Summers? Buffy’s sister? How she suddenly always existed one day? Yeah, this is that. The original idea was, as I said above, consolation for how the “core trio each gets two understudies” plan did not work out entirely. So Sonya would get one. Decided on another elemental. Obviously, fire was out. Power sets in groups should be unique, or close enough barring like, actual DC style sidekicks, which this was not. And because Sonya was a blaster, I wanted a melee character. Water and wind aren’t too good at that, so Earth it was. Density is fun to play with, so that went in.
So - maybe it's later in the thread, in which case I apologize for asking now, but what exactly was the relation between Hayden Street (I appreciate the naming!) and Roger Simon - it seems like Hayden was a false personality that wizard Roger took on, for a time, and then... escaped? It sounds like a great plot arc, provided I have a handle on it.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 11:46 pm Harmony Perez was a college student who needed a job. Hayden Street needed virgins to stab with his sacrificial knife to power his magic-I mean, a librarian to manage all his internal documents and books. So they both got what they wanted. Then Hayden Street ceased to exist in favor of Roger Simon. So, no more ritual stabbing. Librarian job was still open at NPC Investigations, though. So she kept on. Of course, she had no memory of being repeatedly ritually murdered to power dark magic (the first spell of the charge was her resurrection, naturally). That would be very uncomfortable for Roger and extremely traumatic for her. So she’s just go a weird scar she doesn’t remember getting and an extreme disinterest in finding out how she got it.
Great wisdom, there! And presumably foreshadowing another "Year of the _____" on some updated timeline?EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 11:46 pm It turning out that at least one of her parents is at least part alien bothers her most of all. Because she’s smart enough to know that this is going to come with consequences, and judging by what happens when the pasts of everyone else at NPC come back to haunt them, they’re gonna be intense.
So, who's leaking classified reports to Hollywood?EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 11:48 pm His list of accomplishments literally fills books. There’s a movie series that doesn’t get many of the details wrong (all the names are changed, of course) but has been seriously ratcheting up the destruction lately.
Amen to that!EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:09 am When you’re like 10 years old and don’t know or understand why there isn’t an American James Bond because Pierce Brosnan is the freaking coolest and why wouldn’t people want more of that. I really liked Goldeneye, is what I’m saying.
EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 11:24 pm Individual Build Commentary: Junior Associates
The original idea for the big update was the core trio (Nihara, Perkins, and Christian) getting a pair of understudies each.
Poor guy must have the highest blood pressure pressure at NYPD or NPC. But a good evolution of the "Friend on the Force"
Well, I'll have to read that someday. And stealing characters from favorite media, especially non-obvious, non-comics sources, makes for some of the most interesting characters.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 11:24 pm You have a favorite book? I do. Well, I have a few that vie for the title. But the one I’m referring to is The Proud Breed, by Celeste DeBlasis. It is a pretty meticulously researched piece of historical fiction. It’s also a somewhat trashy romance novel of doorstopper length running across 50+ years of California’s history. I’m not normally a fan of romance novels, but this one, man. S’good.
Hey, if NPC Investigations was a show, that's a whole spinoff pitch on its own right there! "NY-PSI" perhaps?EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 11:55 pm Also she’s apparently a member of a secret society of telepaths devoted to stopping telepathic crimes?
Speaking of TV pitches! I appreciate that what starts as a Logan or The Mandalorian style setup has been allowed to evolve here - the Old Warrior can't protect the Wonder Child forever - eventually the latter has to grow up, as you say. And what a way to make a seemingly harmless, helpful power, utterly terrifying - both for the possessor and anyone "benefitting" from it nearby. These Agency tests remind me of some of the most excessive SCP Foundation logs.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 11:24 pm Immortia: So I’m down here. I’m short two builds, as the understudies project stumbled. So I get to thinking about old characters I never ended up doing anything with. And I remember Agent Zero and Immortia. To be clear, they didn’t have real names then, and it was just the base set up of Sandstone Golem Soldier betrays his masters and rescues Immortal Little Girl from being experimented on by Evil Scientists and they Go On The Run. Basically a TV pilot pitch of a thing. But this was the big update, moving forward a decade in time from where everyone started. So Immortia couldn’t be a little girl anymore, and I took out Agent Zero temporarily for maximum pathos.
Truly they are a fantastic source of guilt-free foes to tear through. I recall certain memories of blowing away all those Cerberus troopers in Mass Effect...EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 11:24 pmThe Evil Scientists were a natural fit for the Agency, as well, and adding yet another reason for heroes to beat the piss out of them was a sweet bonus.
It shows how poor my grasp of Japanese history that my first thought was "Oh, did she overlap with Tenshi of the Exiles at all then?" before I did some quick research and realized the Meiji Restoration is closer in time to the present day than to the Warring States Period.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 12:01 am She was born (under a different name and without a surname as was common in the period) near the start of the “Warring States” (or Sengoku) Period in medieval Japan.
My mind also goes to the whole Betsy Braddock/Kwannon / Psylocke mess that recently got resolved. In the Phoenixverse it seems to have avoided a lot of the problematic aspects of the Psylocke scenario, though.EternalPhoenix wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 11:24 pm I ponder. Oh hey, why the heck was the very white Eve looking like a Japanese girl anyway? Because she stole her appearance.