Category: Character Design

By popular demand, evidently:

The bare legs option for Male and Huge body types has been added to an internal build. It will be coming down the QA path and to a server near you soon.

Not exactly my top costume priority, but what the heck.

Spent a goodly amount of time this weekend continuing to march Mr. Ravenous and Charity at Home up to travel powers (14) and SF eligibility (15). Marched them all the way up to 13, in fact, which was quite nice.
The two of them are going like gangbusters. Charity contributes shields and heals, backed up with some nice debuffing attacks, while Mr. R. takes the baddies apart. I took Dull Pain at 12 and have hit it only once since then. Biggest problem I have at the moment, besides desperately needing Stamina, is status protection — stuns from RIP billy clubs and knockdown/back from shotguns. I need to carry more purples, but beyond that …
… well, I realize I keep trying to design Mr. R. as a Tank, which he’s not. He’s not even a Scrapper. He’s a Brute. So defensive powers (the Invuln side of things) needs to take second place to More Attacks. Except, at the moment, I’m stuck in the drive to travel powers and Stamina — plus Unyielding, to deal with those status issues — which means I can’t take another attack until 22, which just sucks.
Here’s what I have (planned thru 44) for him so far:

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Exported from version 1.5C of CoH Planner
http://joechott.com/coh
Archetype: Brute
Primary Powers – Ranged : Super Strength
Secondary Powers – Support : Invulnerability
01 : Resist Physical Damage damres(01)
01 : Jab acc(01) dam(3) acc(7) dam(17) endred(17) dam(31)
02 : Punch acc(02) dam(3) acc(5) dam(11) endred(15) dam(27)
04 : Temp Invulnerability damres(04) damres(5) damres(7) endred(9) endred(15) endred(34)
06 : Swift runspd(06)
08 : Haymaker acc(08) dam(9) acc(11) dam(23) endred(23) dam(27)
10 : Combat Jumping endred(10)
12 : Dull Pain recred(12) recred(13) recred(13) hel(31) hel(33) hel(33)
14 : Super Jump endred(14) jmp(34) jmp(36) jmp(36)
16 : Unyielding endred(16) damres(37) damres(40) damres(40)
18 : Health hel(18) hel(19) hel(19)
20 : Stamina endrec(20) endrec(21) endrec(21)
22 : Knockout Blow acc(22) acc(25) dam(25) dam(36) dam(37)
24 : Taunt recred(24) rng(37)
26 : Rage recred(26) recred(46) recred(46)
28 : Invincibility endred(28) defbuf(29) defbuf(29) endred(31) thtbuf(33) thtbuf(34)
30 : Resist Elements damres(30)
32 : Resist Energies damres(32)
35 : Hurdle jmp(35)
38 : Unstoppable damres(38) recred(39) recred(39) recred(39) damres(40) damres(43)
41 : Foot Stomp acc(41) acc(42) endred(42) dam(42) dam(43) endred(43)
44 : Hurl acc(44) acc(45) dam(45) dam(45) dam(46)

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The 40-plus stuff is provisional to whatever the Epic powers turn out to be for Brutes.
I’d love to get Knockout Blow earlier, but just can’t see where to fit it in.

For all of you who are just longing for togas, but can’t afford it, there will be a free tailoring session token handed out to everyone on Valentine’s Day.
Actually, the toga thing doesn’t appeal to me, but I have a number of characters who I’d love to get sandles for (which implies running the missions, of course).

Ran the other day with “Inside-Out Boy.”
Smallish figure, using one of the alien or chitinous or some other sort of rough-textured exteriors, all in red and pink. With veins …
… and he was a Spines scrapper, of course, so he looked even more messed up then.
Would never want to run him, to be honest, but it was very, very nicely done.

While there are any number of standard hero names (“Captain Megaton”) and quite a number of dubious ones (“Rectal Damage”), not to mention funny ones (see Hostess Heroes), occasionally one comes along that’s a lot more subtle.
So the other night, we ran across “Proverbs 31 Woman,” which had folks scratching their heads.
Proverbs 31:
9 Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
And there you have it. Don’t recall if she was clothed in scarlet, but there are some fun things in there for a hero. Not sure how you’d nickname her. “P31”?
I’d be curious to read her backstory.

As we near 50, my own mind is turning ahead to What Next. Or, rather, Who Next.
We’ll certainly put together some Kheldians, but assuming we slow down a bit with PC/A, what duo will we start pushing forward next, and what changes will that bring?
Probably not Velvet and P-siren. Fun enough characters, but a very low DPS for them, not to mention ongoing problems with the whole FF primary for Defenders.
More likely Torchielle and Hildegard — fire blaster and fire tank. I’ve been pleased with how they’ve worked together previously, they have a good DPS factor, and, I think, decent survivability.
It’s going to be a big change, though. PC/A work with highly planned tactics — controller lockdown of the worst in any given group, followed by scrapper tearing them apart, with Phred along for added damage if warrented. It’s a careful, intricate juggernaut, and the only time we get in trouble is when something interferes with that tactical planning — ambushes, running into something unexpected, etc. If I’m not on top of Amorpha’s buffs and healing, or if I get targetted too massively, it can all fall apart.
Still, alongside the fact that Amorpha is “frighteningly efficient” with the damage dealing, the combo of controls and Empathy and Group Invis that PC provides dictates how we handle nearly every mission.
A more “conventional” tank/blaster pairing will change that. No invis to sneak around with (let along stealth missions). No controls to pre-mitigate the worst of any encounter. No heals aside from what we carry in our pockets. We will almost certainly not run on Invincible. It will be more letting the tank lock down the attackers, then overpowering them with damage.
I suspect we’ll end up respeccing to some Medicine Pool bits. And maybe Stealth and/or Recall Friend. Some compromises in design to make the duo more duoable.
I’m looking forward to the challenge.
Of course, there’s the little bit about getting up to 50 first …

I don’t know if this will be a flash in the pan or something with a very long shelf life, but we’ve ended up building a small SG on Freedom called the Hostess Heroes, dedicated to heroes with a snack food theme.
*cough*
On the right are our two entries to this sorded little band, Ho Ho and Princess Peep.
I loved Ho Hos as a kid.
(I revelled in getting two separate “OMG!” messages from Doyce, the first for the character herself (“You’re going to get banned like Rushdie!”), then for the weapon (“A BATTLEAXE?!”). On the latter I opined that they didn’t have a switchblade option for tanks. On the former — well, frankly, I’ve seen a lot more annoying character names, and I actually hope it’s such a clever pun that nobody will much mind. I’m certainly not trying to be all that offensive.
(Katherine thought I was naming her “Ho Ho Ho” and was disappointed to see someone who didn’t look more like Santa.)
The idea with the Hostess Heroes is to provide a regular Monday “relaxing” team-up with a lot of laughs. With the others in the group (Ring Ding, Ginger Snap, Captain Funyun, Bear Claw, Mmm Pie, Twinkie Kid, etc.), that shouldn’t be too hard.

I’ve been doing more with odd solo characters here and there. Yesterday I rolled up Honor the Flag, and have gotten her up to 9 today. INV/Energy tanker, she’s the first real “patriotic” character I’ve come up with, and I’ve fielded any number of unsolicited complements on the costume.
By solo character, I mean one who can do PUGs, too, and tankers are, I understand, in high demand. And, to be sure, she’s been on teams since 3. More importantly, as a tank, she’s pretty survivable. And she’s just fun to play.

I have a weird bug going on (and, yes, I’ve /bugged it) with Velvet, where costume parts show up as white. That is, I buy them in color, and they show up in the Costume command as being in color, but when she actually wears them, they show up as white.
So, for example, her “classic” costume (actually in slot #2 right now) is all white when she wears it. Ditto her new (third) outfit, short shorts and tube top and heels and short gloves — only the shorts are in color.
Mildly irritating. I mean, it’s not like Velvet’s pure as driven snow or anything …
(Noticing her Creation Date, I see I’m a month short of my CoH anniversary, by the way.)

Character designs seem to hit me out of the blue. So it is with Father Frank, who I haven’t built on Champion yet (would need to drop someone), but on Triumph (my “pilot” server).
A priest, of course. “Old” face, grizzled hair. Used one of the martial arts robes (black) with the dress shirt (black, with a white tie) under it, almost looking like a collar. The effect works pretty well.
I’d be doing it up as a “tough but nice” priest sort of thing, so he’s a Defender with Empathy primary, natch. Secondary — Margie’s immediately thought of Mind Control (Psychic Blast, actually), but to me the answer for any good preacher would be Sonic.
I might actually roll him up on Champion as another soloist. I figure there’s always PUG space for an Empath, right? Though Margie notes the controversy on the Defender boards about how Controller secondaries are actually as strong as Defender primaries, which just doesn’t seem proper to me (and I say that as someone with a Controller with Empathy secondary).

Take a Christmas cap, reverse her “work suit” black and green, add an extra accent stripe, and voila!

A new alt for me to solo around with. My first (effectively) Stalker — MA/SR.
My original design for her was inspired by the “DeeDees” on Batman Beyond (who were, themselves, sort of Raggedy Ann-inspired), but a few things got in my way …
… like no simple belt (a perennial bitch for me).
… like no “rosy cheek” makeup.
… like no “go-go girl” hat.
So I eventually looked up some Raggedy Ann pics, and ended up with something different.
She’s fun, she’s crazy, and she’s my last open slot on Champion.l

Margie’s holiday-themed character (a “seasonal worker”), ready to be unwrapped …
(Champion, Invuln/Ice Tank, Magic of course)

Finally got around to respeccing Velvet to I6. We haven’t been playing V/PS in, like, forever — Margie’s still got a serious mad-on regarding FF, and Velvet’s got that crazy Croatoa “don’t let them get through the mystical doorway” mish that we fumbled.
Need to do something about that. I’m feeling a yen. And there’s a bunch of 30-39 action that we missed with PC/A, and nobody else is in position to get to that any time soon.
The Respec went okay, at any rate. I may need to go back and plug some further EndReds into her defenses, and I haven’t actually had a chance to play her, but I’m thinking she’ll be all right.

Got both Mister Thorne and Undone up to 15 last night, so we’re good to go for the Strike Force this weekend.
Came, ironically, to the conclusion that the pairing isn’t working terribly well, gameplay-wise. “The Boys” (my soldiers) are range-based. Undone needs to be up close and personal. I get stuck in-between, with a very limited-range heal, and not much defense, and, if I’m being most effective, running back and forth between Undone on the front lines and my Boys further back.
Result? While it works okay to set up a “Tar Patch on the Corner” counter-ambush for the bad guys, Undone’s facing increasing difficulties surviving after her alpha strike on the baddies to get back to said corner. I can send the Boys forward to initiate the attack, but that lets the enemy choose the ground. Or I can start things off with a debuff, and draw all the fire myself. None of these succeeds joyfully.
Plus I’m beginning to recall one of the reasons I dropped Taste of Honey — the Dark secondary is just glacially slow. Needing to hit people to heal is annoying, too.
(And I need to do some more reading on effective control of the Boys — way too many times that I direct them at a target, and then, when they’re done, they just put their hands in their pockets and wait for my command to shoot the next bloody bad guy, okay?)
So here’s the current thought, after the Strikeforce — leave MT/U as they are for a bit, and focus on Eliza Dee (the Champions version) and Mistress Bacchante. Get them up to 15 (or wherever we are after the SF). Then swap. Send the Brawler with the Stalker. Send the Dominator with the Mastermind. See how that works.
A long-term plan, but it should work. Unfortunately, ED(C) is far enough advanced that the same problem I had with ED(V) — a delay in travel power to 16 because I took Bonecrusher instead of Air Superiority — may turn out to happen there, too. We’ll see. I might be able to make it work.
The unfortunate part of all this is that we’ve not been spending much, if any, time on our Virtue Villains, and Mister Ravenous and Charity at Home have been sadly neglected. Of course, the Elitists haven’t been all that active, as a group, either, so it’s not like we’re letting the Home Team down.
We’ll get back to them. Eventually. It’s hard to keep a good (or Bad) alt down.

Started up a new alt today, Al McGordo, a rad/rad offender. After leaving the mental door open to him running in either CoH or CoV, I decided on the former — I’m tired, at the moment, of running new characters through CoV.
I may not pick him back up for quite some time, but he looks to be a fun character — a cowboy who got a mite tangled up with a nuclear test site and some other oddball science stuff, and now is highly radioactive (“Y’might be wantin’ t’stand on the other side of the hallway, ma’am”). I decided to make him an offender because, well, the Neutrino Bold and X-Ray Blast animations are damned keen, and I wanted someone who just dished out radiation blasts of various sorts.
Margie immediately enrolled him in the CoJ — and then chided me later for forgetting to pop into SG mode, thus wasting at least 20-30 pts of Prestige …