HF RPG 2.0

Well, there could always be multiple missions going on at the same time, I suppose, in an effort to keep everybody interested.

It would definitely require a bit more coordination, but having a main mission, a smaller one, and some player-run content on the side should still be possible in theory.

That could work, yeah.

Is there anybody that has a specific idea they could implement for this first "main mission"? And how long should the timeskip be?

For the timeskip we could do a few things that would work out well.  

1. We could timeskip to the end of the current mission.  This is the shortest one and thus not so much would have to be thought out ahead of time.

2. We could timeskip to a semi-rebuilt hero factory.  I feel a half built factory would be an interesting dynamic, but at the same time it would be under near constant attack from many villains and would keep a large portion of the heroes at the factory for an extended period of time.

3.we could timeskip to a full rebuilt hero factory.  That way we can create new hero characters with very little difficulty, have the factory up and running again, and be able to defend it with relative ease as opposed to semi-built.

For the timeskip we could do a few things that would work out well.  

 

1. We could timeskip to the end of the current mission.  This is the shortest one and thus not so much would have to be thought out ahead of time.

 

2. We could timeskip to a semi-rebuilt hero factory.  I feel a half built factory would be an interesting dynamic, but at the same time it would be under near constant attack from many villains and would keep a large portion of the heroes at the factory for an extended period of time.

 

3.we could timeskip to a full rebuilt hero factory.  That way we can create new hero characters with very little difficulty, have the factory up and running again, and be able to defend it with relative ease as opposed to semi-built.

I'm a fan of that second idea; a half-rebuilt Hero Factory can still function almost as well as a fully rebuilt one, and would give the heroes a home base that they desperately need while also opening various story opportunities to explore.

Perhaps in a new location though? Somewhere either more secret (at least until it's finished) or with more natural protections that can be relied upon?

I don't know... leaving good ol' Makuhero City...

But the half-built Factory idea is definitely a good one. That would allow us to make new Heroes and upgrade old ones, but also provide room for story options that couldn't be done otherwise or even some player expansion. It would be cool to allow players to design certain rooms, although we'd have to have some kind of approval process so we don't end up with, say, the entirety of Chima as some kind of training room (not that that's a bad idea, come to think of it) or things of that sort that just don't make sense.

For the "main quest" thing, I've got a mission mostly figured out, but I still need a good bit of time to work out the details and get everything set up.

On missions: I mentioned that I have a few weeks until I'm free to do anything, but I do have the Planet of the Rotors idea. I haven't worked it into a mission yet- it was originally a backstory thing the characters could refer to and give some context to their actions with- but I've got an idea or two for missions. If people want to look at the pitch I sent around to relevant players (Fishers and the other Rotor-clone players) then I can put it up to see if people would be interested in a first mission there. If people aren't interested I can demote it back to subplot status.

Also, if people want to start earlier than a few weeks, that's cool too! Or if other people want to attempt to finish this arc. I'm mostly suggesting I do it if other people don't want to/don't have any better ideas, and I'm going to be entirely unhelpful for around three weeks because of university, so yeah if other people have ideas and can do that stuff earlier then go nuts.

Timeskipping is viable too. I have no idea where this was headed. But, my only insistence is that every time someone refers to it, we be purposely vague and have characters going "HA HA WHAT A MISSION. REMEMBER THAT TIME, WITH THE WATERMELON AND THOSE GIANT EAGLES? INCREDIBLE" without any further detail.

Your thoughts on the timeskip make sense.

I don't think we should attempt to finish the current mission. We have no idea where it was meant to go beyond trapping all of us in an alternate dimension (or at least that's what I am assuming), and I doubt we'd be able to learn the original plans. Better to just move on.

OOC: So, something along the lines of this?

IC: Hero Factory.

It had been months since the destruction of Hero Factory at the savage hands of the Brain Master's legion and Traferous' command ship. And although it had taken time for the surviving heroes - many of them having been scattered or stranded across the galaxy, and beyond - to band together once more, at last it seemed like the galaxy was beginning to settle. 

There had been no major catastrophes or crimes sprees in weeks, allowing the heroes to finally focus their attention on rebuilding their home. The rubble had been cleared, and a new Call Centre had already been established, fully reopening communication between Hero Factory and the rest of the galaxy. A new Assembly Tower was next on the agenda, and several new heroes had already been built. In its incomplete state, however, the tower couldn't build or upgrade heroes at anything close to the rate its predecessor had.

Without any proper hangars or living quarters constructed yet, many heroes had been forced to rent their own berths and apartments in the neighbouring districts of Makuhero City, a taste of reality that not all of them had taken well. It was just as well, then, that the largest bodies of organised crime in the galaxy had seemingly died with Traferous.

But as was always the case in this galaxy, peace was not to last...

OOC: Just a rough idea, take it or leave it. I decided to keep things vague about leftover villains like Von Nebula and the Brain Master/s, since someone might want to do something with them later.  

OOC: I fully endorse Nato's obvious ploy for sitcom-esque Hero roommate shenanigans.

OOC: I fully endorse Nato's obvious ploy for sitcom-esque Hero roommate shenanigans.

this is something I didn't know I wanted until suddenly, like a gleaming light at the end of a tunnel, it was shown to me

we must have this

@ Old Master

At first I thought it rather implausible that there wouldn't be major villain activity, but you left enough time for the heroes to have shown that they're still active and can handle themselves even without a factory.  So yeah, good start.  There are still a bunch of loose ends though.  The mission still needs closure, despite Zip's line with the watermelon and giant eagles being brilliant.

Also, something just occurred to me.  With Fishers gone, we won't be able to update the first post for new missions and character profiles anymore.  Is there a way we can work around that without creating a new topic?

@ Old Master

 

At first I thought it rather implausible that there wouldn't be major villain activity, but you left enough time for the heroes to have shown that they're still active and can handle themselves even without a factory.  So yeah, good start.  There are still a bunch of loose ends though.  The mission still needs closure, despite Zip's line with the watermelon and giant eagles being brilliant.

 

Also, something just occurred to me.  With Fishers gone, we won't be able to update the first post for new missions and character profiles anymore.  Is there a way we can work around that without creating a new topic?

That's something I would be up for. I think I'm active enough that I could keep the first post updated if we move onto a new topic, and I wouldn't mind managing it even if I stop playing.

Suggestion: since no one has any missions lined up yet, I propose we have a "breather" mission interim wherein sitcom roomies shenanigans can occur while we get everything sorted OOC

Also, in terms of Vestak's post: first, we do have a lot of loose ends, but the fact is we have no idea what to do with them. Hence, watermelon and giant eagle proposal: we embrace the loose ends, and instead of trying to puzzle them out, just have everyone regard the situation like it was a big amazing thing described entirely in vague references to unrelated situations or objects.

Second, it's looking like the only way to remedy it is with a new topic. I propose a competition for Coolest Name

HERO FACTORY RPG: THE SEQUEL: THE THREEQUEL: THE MOVIE: THE GAME

It will be the ultimate noodle incident.

OOC Nato's post looks all right to me, though there is a point I'd like to bring up regarding the no "proper hangars or living quarters [being] constructed yet" part of it. When I first put Shade's ship the Scalpel up for approval, I made its location an underwater hangar which was approved along with the ship (as far as I understand). I somehow doubt an underwater hangar bay was destroyed by an aerial assault on the main building. Of course, it was a top secret hangar bay for special use by the Assassin's Division so it may not be an issue, but Zib might have found a better use for it during the rebuilding process or something. I just wanted to remind everyone of the hangar's existence. Everything else looks great!   

Yeah, but Shade charges top dollar for rent there and it smells like mouldy mattresses.

That hangar could just have Shade living in it. I mean, it might be hard to do much with an underwater hangar, from Zib's perspective. If there's enough room to park more than one ship, great, but consider that not every ship has the ability to fly by AI like Shade's ship does. I mean, in one of the books it mentions that some ships can be remote controlled from quite far away, so there's that, but for people without the means to remote control it (they were controlled from Hero Factory, so this refers to being out on the field rather than in the building) then you're out of luck. If you only have manual controls, then you'd best be good at swimming, or be happy to swim to and from the hangar whenever there's a mission. Which might take some time.

OOC: So I guess we're making a new topic and starting over, more or less? 

Not starting over.  It will be the same game with the same RPCs and all, but a new topic so we can update things as they happen, instead of forever having fishers post remain there unchanging for eternity.  We can easily copy and paste our old profiles into the new topic.

As for Zippy's coolest name contest, I vote something that won't scare people away.  I like HF RPG 2.5, since the new topic will be a continuation of this game and not a new game.

Yeah, but Shade charges top dollar for rent there and it smells like mouldy mattresses.

 

That hangar could just have Shade living in it. I mean, it might be hard to do much with an underwater hangar, from Zib's perspective. If there's enough room to park more than one ship, great, but consider that not every ship has the ability to fly by AI like Shade's ship does. I mean, in one of the books it mentions that some ships can be remote controlled from quite far away, so there's that, but for people without the means to remote control it (they were controlled from Hero Factory, so this refers to being out on the field rather than in the building) then you're out of luck. If you only have manual controls, then you'd best be good at swimming, or be happy to swim to and from the hangar whenever there's a mission. Which might take some time.

OOC: That's fine by me.

"HERO FACTORY RPG 2.2: REBIRTH"

I still have two Villain Profiles in here that, while never actually approved, could probably be adapted for both a main mission and a secondary one.

And yes, I'm referring to the army of biomechanical spider creatures just waiting to invade planets and the homicidal carnival troupe in space.

Not to harsh your flow or anything, Timeageness, but really depends on what their new profiles look like. I mean, they were not approved for a reason. The spider one is a bit more of a grey area, because I can't remember the details of it not being allowed and from vague memory it might be okay for some kind of final boss, depending on the situation, but the other one really would need some serious toning down. I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, and I'm not saying don't put them in a mission, but we've all got to remember that character creation rules still apply to us, even when acting as GM.

Also can I say we have wasted our chance for "HF RPG 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO"

 

OOC: I fully endorse Nato's obvious ploy for sitcom-esque Hero roommate shenanigans.

 

this is something I didn't know I wanted until suddenly, like a gleaming light at the end of a tunnel, it was shown to me

 

we must have this

 

You should join us on skype, Zippy is full of good stuff like this-

I didn't even know this game had a Skype

Not that I'm ever online on that anyways

Also can I say we have wasted our chance for "HF RPG 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO"

Well, we haven't made the new topic yet, so HF RPG 2.5: Electric Boogaloo could totally work as the title. 

I didn't even know this game had a Skype

Kind of an unofficial one. I can add you, if you want. 

Sure.

Not to harsh your flow or anything, Timeageness, but really depends on what their new profiles look like. I mean, they were not approved for a reason. The spider one is a bit more of a grey area, because I can't remember the details of it not being allowed and from vague memory it might be okay for some kind of final boss, depending on the situation, but the other one really would need some serious toning down. I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, and I'm not saying don't put them in a mission, but we've all got to remember that character creation rules still apply to us, even when acting as GM.

 

Also can I say we have wasted our chance for "HF RPG 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO"

The first was denied for supposedly having access to her own personal army of NPCs - even though the baby spiders would've acted just like a nanobot swarm, and I had no intention of having any of her more mature offspring following her around back when I first posted the profile. Both would become moot points if she were to become one of the big bad GM-controlled Villains of the Month, considering an entire invasion would be centered around her.

As for the second, I did seriously tone it down; it went from not being approved because of a certain power to not being approved because of too many powers, something that wouldn't have even happened to begin with had I actually been informed that I went over the limit the first time around. From my understanding of what I was told, the simple removal of the replacement power I tacked on at the last second would've been enough to do the trick, but I just never got around to it for reasons I don't feel like going into, as they ultimately don't matter.

If you want, I can provide links to back up exactly what I'm talking about. The only reason I haven't done so already is because the information is already relatively easy to find via the use of the search bar.

EDIT: For the record, we're talking about Aranyssa and Discordia.

I still have two Villain Profiles in here that, while never actually approved, could probably be adapted for both a main mission and a secondary one.

And yes, I'm referring to the army of biomechanical spider creatures just waiting to invade planets and the homicidal carnival troupe in space.

OOC: Using this for reference, I personally think it would be fine if Timageness, during his turn being the GM, set up something with a Spider Queen and a horde of spiderlings for the Heroes to deal with. Fishers didn't approve of the profile because that would have potentially led to a player having access to an unlimited army, but if he was the GM that wouldn't be an immediate issue (in my eyes). We fought brain legions and crystal beast hordes all the time and that was all right because they were set up by the GM. The only potential problem I can see is if Aranyssa and/or her swarm continue to exist and be under Timageness's control even after his turn for GMing has passed onto someone else.

I remember Discordia also had an issue with her luck power though? Because that was pretty OP. Unless you took that power out, I can't remember. It happened like 2 billion years ago.

Again, I'm not saying don't use them. As you said, you could use the spider one for a full-scale mission- I'm not sure about them invading, mostly because I didn't think the spiders had spaceships and could fly them, but hey, I could be wrong- and if Discordia was fixed up, then she could probably be used too. But we've got to make sure we still follow the rules, even when acting as GM.

EDIT: I agree with Vicarath, by the way. Aranyssa doesn't have any issues when acting in a final boss role, though she could cause issues if used as a regular character. I've got no beef with her. Discordia is the main one I'm concerned about.

 

I still have two Villain Profiles in here that, while never actually approved, could probably be adapted for both a main mission and a secondary one.

And yes, I'm referring to the army of biomechanical spider creatures just waiting to invade planets and the homicidal carnival troupe in space.

OOC: Using this for reference, I personally think it would be fine if Timageness, during his turn being the GM, set up something with a Spider Queen and a horde of spiderlings for the Heroes to deal with. Fishers didn't approve of the profile because that would have potentially led to a player having access to an unlimited army, but if he was the GM that wouldn't be an immediate issue (in my eyes). We fought brain legions and crystal beast hordes all the time and that was all right because they were set up by the GM. The only potential problem I can see is if Aranyssa and/or her swarm continue to exist and be under Timageness's control even after his turn for GMing has passed onto someone else.

 

I think it would be easy enough to set an overpowered character (especially if they're going to be the final boss of a mission arc) aside (unless they die, and it's permanent).

OOC: Discordia's luck power has been out of her profile for a while now as can be seen here. It looks like Fishers' main issue with Discordia by the end was that the character had too many powers.

Ah, sorry. She seems a lot more legit without the luck thing- cool power, just not suitable for an RPG. The fire corruption thing was something I remember being concerned about, but since it sounds like you can cure it easy enough, that's fine.

The corruption side-effect was always intended to be easily cured, in the event that a player decided to let it affect their character at all in the first place. As originally stated within the profile itself, it was never meant to be a sure thing all the time, just a way people could have more fun with their characters if they wanted them to temporarily turn to the Dark Side for a little bit. So if you really think about it, that part of the power essentially isn't even there unless someone else wants it to be.

Going back to Aranyssa for a moment, like I previously said, if events led to her taking on the role of a normal Villain outside of her story arc, there would be some massive distance (read: multiple solar systems) put between her and the rest of the adult Spyderian Horde, which would only leave her with the babies. And since I already established in her profile that they take the RPG Time equivalent of forever (A.K.A. longer than the shelf life of this entire game) to mature and are relatively easy to kill, that really isn't much.

I admit, I am both slightly concerned about and tempted by the concept of a corrupted, selfish Thumper.

It's definitely an interesting element to add in terms of powers and I have no beef with that. The main thing was the luck one but I forgot that was taken out, so it's all good. Sorry for the confusion! The extended timespan between posts did a number on me.

Question about Aranyssa: instead of killing babies, can we adopt them and be Great Parents

Uh...  sure, I guess?

I mean you could probably put a bunch of them in a jar or something since they start off really small, but you'd eventually encounter the same problems as individuals who keep tigers or alligators as pets would. And by that, I mean they eventually become large, nasty, and suddenly develop an urge to eat you, not to mention you'd also be trying to fend off more than one...

But hey, if you don't mind them eventually turning your city into a giant buffet line and mowing down on the neighbors when they reach adulthood, then by all means, go for it.

Well obviously a Great Parent would teach their bug child not to eat the city. >:v Do you think my characters are IRRESPONSIBLE or something? >:uuu

Okay, well... Some of them are. Good point.

Anyway, so. We may as well make the best of things and start planning while we're waiting on people and things. So far, the proposal is:

- GM of the Month arrangement

- Separate topic for discussion

- Group voting for character approval

- Canon/character/etc issues and disrepancies will be remedied in the discussion topic

- Generally, same rules as HF RPG 2.0

Does anyone have anything to add? Or, does anyone have any proposals for when we're starting? As I said, if no one else has anything I'm happy to scribble something on a napkin somewhere and head up the roster in a few weeks, but if there's anyone who's really feeling it and can have something before then, then we can start even earlier.

I have an idea for a smaller mission but even if it ends up happening there will need to be a larger mission at the same time, and I need to finish up GOT first.

Weren't we also starting another topic for the actual game as well so that the opening post could be updated?

Either way, I can probably kick things off by winging it with the Spyderians, as reworking The Wylde Cards would likely involve creating a few more characters, and I don't exactly see them as Main Mission material anyway. Then again, it might actually be better to hold off for a bit, just so the Co-GMs can get their bearings.

So far most people are in favor of a semi rebuilt Factory in terms of timeskip.  Other than that I think you and timageness got everything Zippy.

OOC: Ah yes... Halfway-Rebuilt Hero Factory™. That leaves a few questions to be answered. What happened to Marrow's creepy bio-mechanical egg laid to rest in the rubble? Where did all the villains get put during construction? I'm all for leaving the time to answer such questions for later, but they will need to be answered at some point.

Regarding the timeskip, what happened to the planet Mechna? Is it still in the alternate universe, or did we somehow manage to bring it back? Normally, I'd just go with Zippy's explanation involving the watermelons and giant Eagles, but there were several PCs there who are unaccounted for.