[OOC] Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG (Closed)

[VATROU]

@Dedonus Oh please. I explicitly stated that wasn't a real law in my lore. I was merely attempting to see who was paying attention. Plus I'm on my phone I can't watch that video until later.

[Dedonus]

@Dedonus Oh please. I explicitly stated that wasn't a real law in my lore. I was merely attempting to see who was paying attention. Plus I'm on my phone I can't watch that video until later.

@VATROU

Just wanted to make sure.

[VATROU]

@Dedonus In all honesty I'm totally in favor of anything that increases Arachne's cup size.. Oh and for the new guys. Teasing Arachne is pretty normal, plus we think we're slowly chipping away at Ded's sanity.

[KaiserElectric]

I would expect nothing less. :P

[LeeRoy]

*Scratches at his nose.* So uh.

[nitemare shape]

Might is approved

[Fallenreaper]

Might is approved

@nitemare shape

We're doomed...

[VATROU]

<Snipped quote by nitemare shape>

We're doomed...

@Fallenreaper

They said that when Umbraxis was approved. And he's been nothing but equitable.

[LeeRoy]

Welp, there's the origin story of Might.

[Fallenreaper]

<Snipped quote by Fallenreaper>

They said that when Umbraxis was approved. And he's been nothing but equitable.

@VATROU

He's also miles away and got his dark, planet eating tush handed to him currently. XD

[NeutralNexus]

@VATROU I definitely understood the original concern when I debuted Umbraxis to the game. A matter manipulator with ungodly powers always raises a red flag, but my reasons for its existence in this game were genuine. I play mostly all villains because I like giving heroes a challenge to overcome. Something that is all-powerful and imposing gives the heroes something to band together against.

There is always a thanos or darkseid in the comics world, a galactus or brainiac that the heroes know for a fact is far too powerful to take on alone, and super groups are formed to combat them. I took that position of a cosmic threat to do that exact thing and it worked, making a terrific street brawl between Boom, Thunderbolt, and Icon which resulted in one of the coolest victories in game to date pulled out of their asses to overcome this challenge. I am always a fan of heroes beating near-impossible odds, making their struggles all the more meaningful and tense, David vs Goliath type brawls.

From a narrative standpoint, if the villain isn't imposing or a legitamite threat, then the final battle doesn't have the same weight. Even having the hero and villain on equal footing lessens the tension as it is two people who teeter on a 50/50 chance, I like the odds much more favored toward the villain for the heroes to really feel good about winning.

Hell, one of the most popular vs matches right now is batman vs superman, a match which on paper weighs heavily in superman's favor, but the majority wants batman to win. Not because batman has better powers, but it is just that much more impressive when he inevitably lands that victory. Will Umbraxis destory the world? I don't know, maybe that will come up again, but from a storytelling standpoint, I made it to be a plot element, not a character I would tote around just to hold over other people's heads as "lel I can beat errybody 1v1". I think @nitemare shape understood that when I made it and okay'd me to have it.

TL;DR: Umbraxis is balanced because it would be shitty if I godmodded my way to destory the planet.

[VATROU]

@NeutralNexus You know I only mentioned Umbraxis jokingly. It's great you put a lot of thought into your post there but I don't think anyone here doubts your ability to RP an overpowered character fairly.

[VATROU]

Also to add on to my last post. I mean there's always going to be some disparities when Heroes and Villains are involved. And it's up to the RPer not to place their character in a position where they are utterly outmatched and expect a victory without any chance of failure. It's like assuming Eva could fight on equal terms with Thanos. Or that since she's my character I can toss her into suicidal situations haphazardly just because I won't let her die.

If there is a chance for victory it should be at least somewhat believable and not just luck.

[Fallenreaper]

Also to add on to my last post. I mean there's always going to be some disparities when Heroes and Villains are involved. And it's up to the RPer not to place their character in a position where they are utterly outmatched and expect a victory without any chance of failure. It's like assuming Eva could fight on equal terms with Thanos. Or that since she's my character I can toss her into suicidal situations haphazardly just because I won't let her die.

If there is a chance for victory it should be at least somewhat believable and not just luck.

@VATROU

See, Rach is a bit stupid in that regard since she will literally take on people stronger than her just to protect and place herself between those she sees as threats to people she cares for. It's like her self preservation is forced off because she rather she die trying to take them down with her than actually work with those she's trying to protect and keep them all safe. So, I couldn't exactly control her without going out of character. A loophole, however, is those around her which can more easily help me prevent that type of situation from arising. Examples is keeping information from her, not really letting her of their sight for days at a time, and likely tracking her when she does go MIA.

As for teams vs big threat. I find those most realistic really and among the best, because in RL you have to learn to work with people rather than automatically be good at it. This means everyone on that same team could easily do things that get into each other's way and even irritate each other creating some interesting and realistic team dynamic. They also can enhance each other by rubbing off qualities they have and influencing each other's development. In addition, having one person beat an extreme threat isn't enjoyable because that just makes the other people's PC on the team feel like support fluff or backdrop props while it's commonly proven extra hands=greater strength.

I also feel a hero should never fully beat or thwart their villain the first time they meet. There has to be some negative or extreme result stemming from it that the hero can learn or develop from. A few reasons for this is because people aren't dumb, easy beaten clouts that you can toss about and not get some damage from. They live, think and breath in a similar fashion which goes the same for NPCs if you think about it. Unless you're a world saving hero taking on street thugs, which then you need to upgrade their territory cause you're wasting your talents bub, I can't imagine a hero not taking a few, if not several hits during the conflict and still failing in some way on their intentions.

Example: Thugs are beating an old man in a street in order to mug him. Hero arrives and chases them away, but they still managed to get away with the loot they swiped off the old man despite what the hero did to stop them. Or worse, maybe the hero ended up killing one by accident resulting in guilt, fear, etc stemming from that consequence.

No one's perfect after all and mistakes are bound to happen easily within their earliest years. I think it's these little things that make PCs feel more human and real to me as well as add deep flavor thanks to their reactions.

[VATROU]

@Fallenreaper See. Fighting against a being far more powerful given a believable reason is fine. Justifiable even. But few characters are going to wake up and decide to take on the strongest being in their Universe just because. It'll always be to protect or for the safety of the world and even in those cases they'll have some plan in mind; kicking Darksied in the nuts and expecting him to keel over is not a plan. Even Superman wouldn't try that and he's probably the only one who could attempt it.

The only way heroes who are weaker than their Villains should win is with planning and or teamwork. And of course there are factors that play against the heroes meticulous planning. Teams don't always work well the first or even the second go and careful planning can be unraveled with unexpected elements.

I do believe we all keep these in mind of course as we work out our plans in PMs and colabs. But it still irks me when I see people try godmodding their way to victory in other RPs.

[KaiserElectric]

TL;DR: Umbraxis is balanced because it would be shitty if I godmodded my way to destory the planet.

@NeutralNexus

Not to mention he'll probably do a remarkable job uniting everyone in the world against him. :P

[NeutralNexus]

Y'know, everyone just assumes Umbraxis is male, I've never assigned a gender to it.

[Athinar]

@NeutralNexus Incarnations of the aspect of destruction are usually male, and it speaks in a bass/baritone, from what I remember.

[VATROU]

Y'know, everyone just assumes Umbraxis is male, I've never assigned a gender to it.

@NeutralNexus

So. Fu... You know I don't think I'll go there. Yup. Moving on to a slightly more serious topic I guess Umbraxis can choose to be whatever gender it wants to be since it doesn't have a real form. Not in the typical sense.

[fdeviant]

<Snipped quote by NeutralNexus>

So. Fu... You know I don't think I'll go there. Yup. Moving on to a slightly more serious topic I guess Umbraxis can choose to be whatever gender it wants to be since it doesn't have a real form. Not in the typical sense.

@VATROU

I don't think Umbraxis is subject to things like gender, nor do I think they would care lol. When you're a cosmic force of destruction I don't really think it matters.