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About City of Heroes: For the official site (this is just my unofficial "fan" site, of course) try clicking CoH.com.
Official statement: “City of Heroes game content and materials are trademarks and copyrights of NCsoft Corporation and its Licensors and used with permission. All rights reserved.”
City of Heroes is a MMORPG -- Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. It gives players the opportunity to create an imaginary "superhero" by selecting from five basic types called Archetypes (and several "origins," but they don't make much difference), a number of different sets of powers for each type (with quite a bit of overlap, and of course your hero starts with just a couple powers), and then choosing male, female or huge (basically male, but I guess you could imagine an armored version was female), and then choosing any height from about 4' to 7' and (if not huge) athletically thin to muscle-y bulky, and then (yes, there's more!) choosing from a large number of skin colors, faces, hairstyles, details like glasses... all the way down to the boots. Sorry, no capes until level 20. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention, flying is not a power you can start off with, but you can get it by level 14. Finally you fill out an ID card with your hero's name, and (if you want) a battlecry and some background information.
The game play is simply running around in a three dimensional urban environment, applying your powers to subdue computer controlled villains without getting KO'd yourself. To properly enjoy the game, I think you really need to have a pretty good imagination and the sort of personality that makes you "enjoy the journey" and not having to conquer new challenges all the time.
The beauty of the game is not that it lets you play at being a "real" comic book or cartoon superhero, given that there really isn't any real sleuthing to do; no armor, weapons, or gadgets to invent; no villains who are especially out to get you, and other staples of the existing genres. Yet. But what it does, it does well enough that it doesn't get in the way of your imagination. The whole concept of the superhero is pure fantasy and escapism anyway -- City of Heroes creates its own brand of this escape, and once you've adjusted your view to fit and turned on your imagination, the limitations fade into the background and you can "really" be a City of Heroes variety of superhero!
The other great thing about City of Heroes is that it is so easy to team up and play with other players! The great character creation system makes it all the more fun, as you get to see new variations every time. Oh sure, you see a lot of certain "looks," but with the smooth ranges in size available and wide selection of colors and details, if you see two heroes exactly alike, it's a safe bet their creators did it on purpose.
You can also create heroes of the different archetypes and try the different feel of their abilities, which adds variety to the experience even though you're fighting the same villains. Playing in groups with different combinations of archetypes also provides varied experiences. A well-rounded team can be expected to be great, but teams with all of one type can be fun and effective, too. One archetype is the Tanker, who basically has a lot of "hit points" and so is tough and can wade right into fights. They have to, because they don't have any ranged attacks. Scrappers also are limited to "melee" fighting, and they don't have as many hitpoints. They can do a lot of damage with their attacks though, so they can be exciting to play -- if you don't mind letting some villains run away rather than spending time chasing them around or waiting for them to return to the scene. A third archetype is the Blaster, who... well, you know. Defenders excel at assisting other heroes by restoring their health or providing other boosts, but they can have pretty good abilities in other areas. My favorite archetype (maybe tied with Scrappers) is the Controller, who is rather vulnerable (low hit points) but has special powers such as stopping several villains in their tracks at once with fire rings or gravity bubbles or hypnotic sleep. Like the Defender, this archetype is best when playing on a team, as fighting solo with relatively low-damage powers and taking extra care not to protect your hit points can require a good bit of patience.
All that said, I must add a WARNING: it's rated T (teen), and for good reason. I'd say it's not the violence, which doesn't involve anything really gory, so it's more like the Y7 rated TV cartoons in that respect. No, I'd say it's in part due to the option to make female characters in costumes so skimpy and/or translucent that they're just a hair from being topless and wearing a thong. Of course, being somewhat simplified computer figures, one could argue that they're really no more offensive (or not much) than "naked" dolls, and in comparison with respected sources of realistic partial nudity as those National Geographic or even books on classical art, the possibility of once in awhile running across a simulated lady hero in a sort of wet T-shirt or splashes of body paint isn't that big a deal -- your hero can always modestly look in some other direction. But that is a factor and still a drawback in my book.
The other reason why it couldn't be rated E (everyone) is that it is an online, multiplayer game (you can't play without going online) and does have a fully capable chat window. It does have a bad language filter that supplies Oh, yes, one final thing you might not be happy with: it's not cheap. You have to pay a pretty good price for the software and a month's "free" subscription, and then after that it's (as of 10-31-04) $15 per month. But, compared to other new MMORPGs, it's not out of line. Use it as inspiration to give up eating unhealthy fast food once a week, and you'll come out ahead in a couple ways.
Obviously, such a character wouldn't work and couldn't be created in CoH, where simple hit point reduction is a must and there's no need for the perfect spy. So Nollan Voyd took shape as a sort of tribute character. He does look as much like me as I could get. During beta testing, he had gravity powers, but I decided mind control was closer to Alfred's ability. While you can't start off a character with invisibility and/or intangibility, they are available in the Power Pool "Concealement" set, so whereas Alfred started with the ultimate in these, Nollan is developing them.
Sometimes his parents, Alfred and Nancy, would come into the living room where he was playing or watching TV, arguing about him in tones he could clearly hear. He would try to shut out the unpleasant conversation, but he couldn't help picking up his name and phrases like, "not working out" and "We're going to have to do something..."
As this happened on occasion from the time he was old enough to notice, it never occurred to him that there was something odd about their arguing right behind his back and never noticing he was there. Nor did anyone suspect he had anything to do with their frequent headaches.
Then came the day when Nollan was in his 16th year that he came home from school and saw the front door open, barely hanging by one hinge. Without considering there might still be someone or something dangerous around, he rushed inside. All was quiet, the house was deserted, but the overturned furniture, scattered cushions and throw rugs, and other signs clearly said that a large group had ransacked the entire house.
Nollan found himself following a line of scattered papers into his father's study with a feeling of strange foreboding. There, in the far wall, was a wall safe, its door blown half open, as if copying the front door. A pile of papers lay on the floor below it, showing that someone had tried to snatch the contents of the safe but had to run off with only some of them... and even those had mostly wound up creating the paper trail.
Nollan took this in instantly, but his mind was instantly overwhelmed with what he saw on the top of the pile of papers: the familiar Crey Industries logo and, in large bold letters, "Experiment No. 11, A-N". The letters and numbers seemed to move and then fill his field of view: No11AN.
Stunned, he thought in growing horror and disgust, "I'm ... a fraud, a hoax! I'm not a human, not Nollan Voyd at all! I'm just experiment number 11, assigned to Alfred and Nancy -- are they even my real parents?"
As he slumped against the wall, his mind going blank in shock, a terrible figure appeared next to him in the doorway of the study. He didn't know then about Fallen Buckshots, but the mask, body language, and big ugly gun made it obvious this was a dangerous person. "Outta my way, kid, I gotta get those papers!"
The horrible feelings overwhelming Nollan suddenly exploded, and he found himself screaming without sound at the hideous apparition of a man. The grim figure just as quickly dropped his gun, grabbed his own head and screamed quite loudly indeed.
Nollan had no idea at the time what had happened. He stood frozen in surpise, and soon the Buckshot shook his head and reached to pick up his gun again. Nollan, bewildered, could only back away hopelessly... when suddenly a huge, armored fist came through the open door and knocked the gangster out cold with one blow. As an incredibly large man in armor somehow followed the fist through the door, Nollan heard him say what sounded like, "Nice mess, kid."
Before he could wonder much what that meant, his emotions were again tossed as he saw his father enter right behind the armored man. There was a terribly awkward silence as Alfred Voyd quickly realized his son had had the truth -- or worse yet, part of the truth -- suddenly thrust upon him. "Nollan... son..."
The tanker interrupted, "Excuse me, but I've got a job to finish here." Nollan was again surprised and confused as his normally sedate, quiet father leaped in front of him, his arms spread wide in a shielding gesture. He yelled at the massive figure towering over them, "NO! I don't care what the project leader says, he's our son and he's staying...you're not taking him... you're not...not...hurting him!"
The tanker laughed easily, "Whoa, whoa, buddy! I forgot to tell ya -- mission's changed. Again. What a day! Experiment termination altered to data protection, then to data recovery, and now... didn't ya hear me? The kid mezzed this bum here clear and clean. 'Course boss saw it on the monitor, 'n' sez 'Advance experiment to phase two.' That's egghead talk for 'the kid's got talent, he's goin' into da program.' My only job now is haulin' dis bum in fer, uh, questioning. Wish Crey would use the cops' 'porter they...uh, you guys didn't hear me say that..." He hastily slung the Buckshot over his shoulder like a large rag doll and left.
In the suffocating silence of his absence, Nollan and Alfred Voyd stood for a while, immobilized by the mixed emotions and confusion that had fallen upon them. Alfred blinked rapidly several times. "The program..." he stammered, "Our son... accepted... mental powers..." He finally saw again the predominantly angry look on Nollan's face. "Oh son -- and yes, you really are my son -- I have so much to explain...and apologize for..."
I don't recall now if I got the idea after playing around with the character editor, or if I was already thinking up this character before I even got a chance to see what was possible. Either way, as I recall, I was inspired by the concept of having a fire-based character, while avoiding the typical Blaster with red flames on his costume. This character would be a controller, so I would know if I could enjoy playing that style when I finally created Nollan. Rather than red, I wanted to use all the beautiful colors in a candle flame. There really isn't much of that delicate greenish color in Puri's midsection, but as it turned out, it fits her green-tinted radiation powers.
Somewhere in the creative process, I realized I was thinking this character just had to be female. This was a bit awkward, as I'm an old-fashioned straight-arrow man. But then I thought of all the great male authors who had created female characters, and great female authors who had created male characters, and I realized it wasn't the sort of gender-crossing activity I'd need to avoid.
As it turned out, Playing Puri came to feel more like having an imaginary daughter, sprung directly from my mind. She is my creation and yet also exists as a body of data determined in part by the developers of the game and interactions with the game, other player-characters, and other things beyond the control of my imagination. That inspired this origin story, which doesn't exactly fit the usual Paragon City mold.
She knew she really had nothing to be ashamed of. What shame is there in not fitting the mold of what was considered beautiful? What shame in having standards and sticking to them? Yet it seemed all the boys in her class saw her as conceited or just cold, and that attitude was doubled among the other girls. She would sometimes hear them "whispering" dramatically as she passed little groups in the hall, catching emphasized words and phrases: "Queen Victoria," "total prude," "old maid," "thinks she's better than us," or just "virgin" as if it were some horrible curse. And then would come the cruel laughter, and pretending not to notice, not to be hurt, yet being hurt very deeply.
Remembering those moments dragged a fresh sob from that place deep within, and she looked up as if to seek someone who could tell her...and there right in front of her was on odd little man!
Well, perhaps not so very odd or little; just a pudgy, short man with a trim reddish beard and thick glasses. A few streaks of white in the beard and a hairline beginning to recede added to his air of being very unremarkable and yet still odd for all that. In his solid blue office worker's clothes, she probably would never have noticed him -- but he had simply appeared on her sidewalk in an instant, and he seemed to be staring back at her with great concern.
All he said was, "Your wish is at my command -- your wish to be a hero, that is. In fact, you already are."
Of course, this only added to Polly's astonishment. Perhaps it wasn't surprising -- many kids her age dreamed of being heroes. Most of them had given up on having mutations or finding some powerful magic item, but there was always the possibility of buying or somehow obtaining scientific or technical enhancements, and those who were really serious about it were already training themselves to the peak of physical fitness and fighting skills, hoping to qualify for registration. But she had not joined in talking about such plans and dreams. It was something she'd kept inside... and while she thought about this, she finally realized something odd: "Didn't you mean to say, "Your wish IS my command?"
"No, I meant what I said -- your wish to be a hero is as I willed. I'm your creator, or at least his avatar. You can never really know him, but you, of all his creations, will know as much as possible.
"My... creator? I don't believe in God, just ... being good... and... are you crazy? I was born just like anyone else!"
"Yes, just like anyone else in this world, and yet I have already created you, as a hero, and now I've travelled into the past to set your creation in context. Don't back away... you'll be able to change back and be with your family in this form when your missions are over and...this won't hurt a bit."
Polly was backing up the steps, prepared to run back inside, when suddenly everything seemed to freeze, except for the strange man. She was frozen too, and then her fear was itself frozen and, as if in a dream, she felt herself floating out of her body and calmly observing as the man walked up the steps and around her...or where her body had been, for now she could see in her place there was a blank form of pure energy.
"Let's see...a controller, with ... fire-based powers and, hmmmm, another form of energy... ah, radiation powers. You will purify the streets of Paragon City with your fire, and your radiant energy will aid your allies and stun your foes. Now...you'll need a new look..."
Polly felt herself float back into the energy form as the man waved his arm at it, and suddenly she found herself looking up at him -- she'd become a midget! She looked down and thought, "At least now I'm thin. But wh...?"
"Why so short? with your new powers and purpose, you'll need something to keep you humble. Besides, it will be all the more lesson for the villains you'll defeat. Now let's give you your heroic face."
Polly's vision blinked off and on several times, reminding her of when the optometrist operated the device that tested the effect of different lenses, and then suddenly everything went rather hazy.
"Ah, glowing eyes, showing the fiery energies burning within you. But you can't see so well with those, can you? Ah, here, you can have a third eye, and with that you will see more than others can. Now let's see what hair will fit the new you."
Polly giggled as her scalp tingled. "That tickles!"
The man smiled and continued. "There... wild hair, wild as a strong flame in a strong breeze." As he continued commenting on his choices for his transformation of her, Polly saw with her new eye that he appeared somewhat insubstantial, as if she could see through him. As she concentrated, he began to seem like a reflection on a dirty window, only he was the only part of the window there, and she could begin to see through this man-reflection-window, and not only see with her eye but understand with her mind, and she could see...see and know... that... that...
"There," said the man,"all finished except...oh dear..."
Polly was sitting on the steps again, not looking at the beautiful blues and yellows of her costume, but crying again with her face buried in her hands as if to shut out what she'd already seen.
"Ah, you looked too far, and saw beyond me to ... the truth..."
Polly looked up and grimaced at him. "NO!... oh,... oh yes, yes I know the truth now! I can't believe it, but I can't deny it, and it means that I...that everything -- everything! is just... just... oh no, no!" She covered her face again, but no tears or sobs would come.
The man sighed. "I was afraid this would happen. It must be a terrible shock. But ... don't cry. This world is enough for you, and you yourself are special to me. Part of your future is to me already past, and you will be -- you are a hero, you've defeated many villains, you serve your purpose, and ... you please me. What else should a creature strive for, what more can a creature hope for, than to please her creator? Perhaps you are less than what you you might have thought, but what you are is something good. Rise, transformed, and take your place among the heroes of this world!"
And Polly stood up, KNOWING, and yet assured, and for the first time in her life truly self-assured and confident. She could now feel the powers surging within her, ready to be used and grow in the using, she saw her purpose, her mission, her place.
The man began to fade away, yet his voice still came to her, softly: "It is time. You still must be officially registered, and your new name..."
Polly found herself replying, boldly cutting him off with a voice strangely deep and resonant bursting from her tiny new body: "I am Puri-Fire! The villains who infest Paragon City will feel my cleansing flames!" With her new SIGHT, she knew which way to go, and now she found herself running with amazing speed, to a place where she was needed, where she was supposed to be, where she... knew she belonged.
RL History:
While considering the possibilities of City of Heroes, I wanted to try a scrapper and Mini came to mind. However, while experimenting with the character creator, I was tempted to see how horrible looking I could make him, and an entirely different sort of maniac took shape. The beta version was an acid yellow and green, but as I played and learned more about the characters in City of Heroes, the idea of Mini being a product of Dr. Vahzilok's early experimentation grew, and Mini's appearance became a bit more toned down and darker...
We may also need to subscribe more sponsors and other supporters. One of my main backers at present seems to be too enamored with the technological aspects of the project. I have already implanted the nanobots at their behest, using the subject's own glasses as a vector. I am not pleased with the results. The nanobots have autonomously attached the glasses permanently and have begun making other changes to the subject which are quite drastic and visible.
Today I first attempted some modification of the subject's flesh to see what would happen with a whole specimen, but I fear the nanobots have indeed completely spoiled the subject for any such purposes. I therefore attached a booster unit from the abandoned nanotechnology project to the subject's chest. There does seem to be some interaction with the nanobots, however I am more convinced than ever that technology can only be a stopgap or accessory means to achieving my goal of providing humanity with the success of the ultimate quest.
I will return to this test subject for further observation and experimentation after several more days, as I am quite busy with gathering new materials and practicing on these early versions of the new humanity that I shall someday create.
But I digress. With the current modifications, subject HSLE4 may be suitable for some test in genetic alteration and cross-phylum code compatibility experiments. We had aborted that approach earlier when all attempts ended in 100% systemic failure of subjects. As our new line of research is progressing so well, there can be no loss in one last attempt using this otherwise wasted subject.
A pity. Hmmm, yes, I might almost pity this pathetic creature that I have created, and yet I know that it has made its small contribution to my noble cause. Although the results of these various experiments have been mixed, I do feel encouraged to proceed with certain personal modifications which may be useful as our need for security grows. Curse those fools, flying about in their gaudy Halloween get-up, interfering with our precious program! If they could only see the glorious future we will bring to humanity!
It is all their fault that I have not the facilities and equipment at my disposal to make something of such specimens as this. As things are, I cannot even use its components as material for further experiments. I shall have to simply abandon it to a natural termination.
I'm glad I can't remember what he did to me. I'm told it must have been months, that I may have been left strapped to the operating table for days, left forgotten in a damp cell with no light for weeks. The notes above tell me all I care to know about the pain I must have suffered. It's all blank now. I don't even remember that last day when Dr. V walked away from my cell for the last time, expecting I would die of thirst or starvation, as if I were just another blob of bacteria in a test tube.
As far as I know, my life began with a red haze. I guess all that messing around Dr. V did in me created something inside me that wanted to survive, even when my brain had given up long ago. The doctors at Hero Corps and the others who've looked at me say they can't figure out where the weird biological things leave off and the even weirder technical things begin. That's why my glasses are truly "permanent" now, and my hair is like armor spikes. Dr. V. may be a genius in some ways, but I don't think even the crazy part of his head imagined what his tinkering with me would produce.
So something in me grabbed my brain cells and shook them until they started to wake up a little. It cut off the pain so my brain didn't have to run away from it any more. It also cut off all my other feelings. Maybe that was the only way to stop the pain. Now when I say "ouch," even after being burnt to a crisp by a 5th's flame thrower, it's only a figure of speech. Ha.
That something in me also gave me the ability to see what little light there was down in that hole. The red haze was mostly coming from a small light yards away, shining, if you can call it that, through a tiny barred window in the cell door. Part of that red is still with me. I think it's some kind of substitute for the pain, and anger, and...other feelings that I don't really feel anymore. Maybe it's just the stuff inside me looking out through my eyes.
I still wasn't thinking then. I remember it, but it's like I was just watching a movie that was filmed from my viewpoint. I was looking at that little patch of not-darkness, and suddenly it got even redder and I saw these two sets of blades reflecting it as they slashed at the door. By the time I realized they were sticking out of my hands and I was the one doing the slashing, I'd already opened up a hole big enough to squeeze through.
I squeezed through, and started running through the sewers. I still felt like I was just riding along, my body doing the running and searching for the way out while I was just peering out through a porthole in my head.
And then we ... I went through a big grate and I was out in the sunshine. It was morning, and all of a sudden I was me again. For one moment, I felt an overwhelming joy, the only moment of real joy I can recall. Then other things started happening, fast, and I haven't felt much of anything since.
First I noticed this lack of physical sensation I have. I can tell that I'm touching things, but that's about it. Then I heard the grate behind me squeak, and I turned around to see a guy coming out of the sewers. He looked like he'd been sewed and stapled together by a troop of crazy boy scouts from butcher shop rejects. I didn't know any better, even if my brain wasn't still rather fuzzy. I asked him if he needed help. While I was still wondering why my voice sounded so rough, the Vahz had backhanded me and spewed green acid all over me. There's something about the way they do that, that science can't explain.
I didn't need any explanation. The red had deepened again and the claws were slashing away, only this time we... I was doing it myself, not just watching. The thing went down while its acid was still burning me. I couldn't feel the pain, but I could sense I was weakened by it. At the same time, I could feel that something inside me, all through me, giving me strength again.
I turned around again, and saw what the Vahz had come out to greet -- another one, carrying a limp female form in its arms. I jumped in front of it, and at the same time I became aware of the techno-biological thing that now composed most of my body providing information I needed to know so that I, or we, might survive. Not only my own condition, but a sense of the strength and potential of the thing in front of me.
This one was bigger than the first, and after it dropped the lady it started to thrash me pretty badly. That burning vomit got in my eyes, made it hard to make my slashes count. It was a tough fight, but the monstrosity went down while I still had a bit of strength left.
I bent down to catch my breath, and that's when I caught the first sight of my face and chest. A puddle of water reflected ... well, the truth. And it hurt. Dr. V hadn't bothered to write down everything he'd done while amusing himself with his little throw-away experiment. I think the spikes growing out of my face like a weird mustache and the way my mouth kept pulling back into a teeth-baring grimace was the worst. Or maybe it was the colors. I didn't know what to make of the big round thing sticking out of my chest or the bulging blood veins or whatever they are.
I felt strong again, but my mind was threatening to go on vacation again. I stood up and looked farther down, and saw that my lower half wasn't anything like human anymore, but more like a cross between a bug and... I don't know what. I didn't even realize at the time there was a useless, stupid-looking tail sticking out behind.
My new body wouldn't let me reject it, though. Somehow the shock and horror I'd started to feel slipped away to join the other feelings that might threaten my chances of survival. I couldn't feel anything anymore, not really.
And then the lady I'd rescued woke up and started screaming at the sight of me. That's when the "heroes" showed up and ... well, you've probably read about how I was "discovered" and studied for clues about Dr. V's work. I didn't have time to explain when the heroes grabbed me, but I didn't put up a fight. My new "instincts" for survival told me fighting would not help. I had time to explain while they dragged me away, but of course they had their job to do.
Once the brain boys had checked me out, and refrained from cutting me to pieces themselves, we all sort of sat around for a minute wondering what next. But only a minute. Once I knew they were done with me and were going to let me say what I wanted to do, I knew: I had to stop Dr. Vahzilok. And if somebody else got to him first, there were others like him, and not enough heroes to go around.
Not that I feel like a hero. I'm just an ordinary little guy, but something horrible happened to me, and the only way to go on is to try to keep such things from happening to others. I could tell you about some so-called heroes... but that's a story for another day.
Again, I don't recall exactly if I was looking for something along these lines to start with or one of the design options gave me the idea.
I do know that I'd noticed other people's characters were pushing or in violation of the rule against using copyrighted characters, and I thought it didn't make much sense trying to copy someone else's character because you wanted to "be" Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Wolverine, etc. After all, why not create the same sort of character with your own twist? Especially since no CoH character could be just like a comic book hero even if it were allowed.
About the same time, if not before, I noticed that the hair options for female characters included these marvelous spunky (and gravity-defying) twin ponytails, which, if colored red, would be somewhat reminiscent of Pippi Longstocking's flaming red hair done up in amazingly horizontal braids.
One way or the other, the two influences came together with my fond memories of reading about that mischievous, ever-smiling, "strongest girl in the world" who easily and joyfully taught badguys lessons they wouldn't forget!
But from there, with the help of the interesting but still relatively limited options for clothing and super powers, Pippi Bigboots immediately took on a life of her own...
But her story will have to wait a bit longer...
More heroes to come eventually. Zemlya Nova will be the last to have a full account on this page, but I plan to have a separate page with brief descriptions and screenshots of my lesser (they have to share Friday night by rotation) characters.
BACK TO DAVID'S
HOMEPAGE
Send comments to "david.bump" with an "@" and ".att" at the end. (I'm hoping intelligent humans will know how to do that and computer programs looking for e-mail addresses to send "spam" e-mails will not.) I want to make this an "active" site and I need some encouragement.
Nollan Voyd
Click his picture to see the full 135K screenshot.
You may run into Nollan on the Virtue server on a Saturday or Sunday night.
RL History
Long before I heard of City of Heroes, I'd dreamed up a character named Alfred Noll. You'll see my forum posts under that name. Alfred was sort of me as a "super hero" character. His only power was being a nothing -- invisible, non-corporeal, existing only as a wandering consciousness, less substantial than a ghost. He could only communicate by joining his thoughts directly with someone else's.
Paragon City Background
Nollan didn't realize there was anything special about himself as a child. In fact, he had quite a self-esteem problem precisely because he seemed so terribly ordinary. He knew kids at school who were already manifesting special powers, and noticed they received extra attention, sometimes being transferred out to a special school.
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Puri-Fire
Click her picture to see the full 164K screenshot.
You may run into Puri-Fire on the Justice server if you look on Monday night.
RL History
When, to my great surprise, I was invited into the beta testing, I didn't think I'd create Alfred Noll or Nollan Voyd, or any character I might get attached to. Although I eventually did experiment with a version of Nollan, I found that several others I'd created as "throw-aways," I liked well enough that now I have made (or hope to make) new versions of them. Puri-Fire was the first.
Paragon City Background
Polly was eighteen, soon to graduate and begin her adult life in earnest, and tonight was prom night. And she was sitting alone in the dark, crying. Her mother had tried to comfort her, but having been left out, overlooked, rejected yet again, and for this special night, was too much to take, and she had sought some solace in being alone on the front steps, without turning on the porch light, as if the darkness could cover her shame.
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Mini Maniac
Click his picture to see the full screenshot.
You may run into Mini Maniac on the Triumph server. He patrols on Tuesdays, RL time.
I first had a character named Mini Maniac years ago. On a local computer BBS, the sysop organized an imaginary wrestling contest. Participants made up a character name, description, and three specialty moves. The sysop then, more or less randomly, paired up the contestants and described how their bouts went. Mini was just a wimpy little guy whose best move was going psycho and bouncing around the ring until his opponent got dizzy and fainted. Unfortunately, his first opponent was Hulk Hogan, and when the Hulkster fainted, he landed right on top of poor Mini.
From the Vahzilok files:
Notes on Experiment HSLE4Day One
Test subject was acquired by standard procedure, under sedation during a routine office visit. As soon as I have completely persuaded my assistants as to the importance of my work, I will instruct them in this method. However, I already anticipate the need for more efficient harvesting methods if we are to have enough test subjects for this vital research.
Day Two
Test subject has been essentially ruined for my purposes by the invasion of the nanobots throughout the system. Their performance is also not according to the sponsors' specification. Still, I won't let this case become a complete loss. I have begun using the subject to test some theories I had discarded but may yet hold potential. The modifications to the ears appear to be successful in spite of having to add an extra restraint midway through the procedure due to lack of anesthetic. While my backers are quite generous with certain technological donations vital to my mission of mercy, they have not been so forthcoming in supplying facilities and basic paraphernalia. However, being forced to use these underground chambers as operating rooms offsets the need for anaesthesia, as the subjects' loud vocalizations could not possibly be heard by anyone else.
Day Three
Actually, it's been several days, but I shall number the days for each subject according to days of active experimentation. My new assistants seem to have neglected this particular subject, forgetting that this one requires some food and water and other basic attention. They have been disciplined and modified to properly serve their role in this munificent enterprise.
Day 4
In the intervening days, it appears that a synergy between my own methods and the failed nanotechnology experiments have produced a transformation in the subject that has some interesting potential. The increased metabolism and multi-fluidic hypertension has inspired some thoughts on a useful modification of larger subjects which are less than satisfactory but may be put to some use in securing the privacy of our project. We will need to harvest a great deal more material before I can begin to produce the perfect form of humanity. New contacts have suggested certain para-scientific means by which I may produce the ideal form, but unfortunately we have also been annoyed at times by bizarre vigilantes who could not possibly understand the glorious work they are interfering with.
Day 5
While the latest modifications appear to have taken hold and integrated with the earlier ones, I see no reason to pursue this distraction from my vital research any further. I may say that some of the changes have been quite amusing, and there may be some advantage in the addition of a chitinous exoskeleton, but the extreme angina of the transformation, even in the partial form that it took, appears to have destabilized the subjects neural processes.
Case HSLE4 CLOSED.
Comments by Martin Milch, AKA "Mini Maniac"
I don't remember any of that. Dr. Vahzilok has probably forgotten about his little toy, too, now that a raid on one of his labs recovered these notes he took. I don't even remember my life ... before. I'm told I was an accountant, and became one of Dr. V's first "experiments" after going to see him just to get a small benign growth removed. I don't really want to know more than that. If I had any family, I wouldn't want them to see me like this, and know what I'd been through.
Return to TOP of the page. (Why? I don't know. You don't have to. Look farther down if you prefer.)
Pippi Bigboots
Click this picture to see the full screenshot of Pippi fighting back-to-back with a team member (for the night) against a big gang of bullies known as the Outcasts.
Pippi goes after the badguys of Paragon city via the Protector server on Wednesday nights.
RL History
Actually, Pippi is another character, like Puri-Fire, without a Real Life history. She does have one obvious connection to our RL world -- she's a tribute to the character Pippi Longstocking, created by Astrid Lindgren.
Again, PLEASE e-mail me by adding @att to david.bump. (Take THAT you stupid spambots!) Ask for updates -- I need to keep updating this site so it is "active"!