City of Heroes

Because I'm not dating, and I finally have money again, I decided to start playing another massive multiplayers online roleplaying game (MMORPG) when I had some time to kill. There's not a lot of that kind of time in grad school, but every now and then is kind of fun. I realized I was never going to go back to World of Warcraft because the game is really designed for people who aren't into a tough game, but just want the belief that they are playing a game tougher than it really is. So, I started up a game I had never played before called City of Heroes/City of Villains.

The premise is simple for those who do not play these games. Instead of a hack and slash world with elves and dwarves and that kind of fodder, this involves cities where everyone playing the game is some kind of superhero with all types of different powers. The end product is a lot like any other MMORPG, such as you have healers, magic users and tanks (guys that take a lot of damage for the team so everyone else can actually kill the bad guys), but it has a superhero saves the day atmosphere to it.

Now, those who know my previous exploits may remember that little sarbonn originates online from his character in Ultima Online. This old MMORPG was a very violent game where you could be killed at a moment's notice, and people were actually scared to leave the safety of major cities. So, I created little sarbonn, who ended up being the clueless, happy, go-lucky little guy who wanders around, oblivious to danger happening all around him; I also made him a shepherd, the most useless skill in the entire game, and I was one of about two people in the history of Ultima Online up to that point who managed to develop a Grandmaster Shepherd, which meant that I could click on sheep with my shepherd's crook and they would move the way I wanted them to. I then created a comic strip back then (using scenes directly from the game) to create The Adventures of Little Sarbonn.

In Star Wars Galaxies, well, the universe is pretty much what you'd expect, an MMORPG with the skin of Star Wars. Well, there was one somewhat useless class called the ranger who could create huge camps out in the middle of nowhere, but was pretty much useless for anything else other than producing traps. So, I made the cowardly Linnea who would create camps right outside the city limits and then "compete" for citizens from the cities where she placed her camp, stating that her city was better and more democratic. I used to be visited by people from all over who pledged allegiance to places like Droid Town, Anchorhead West, Across the Street, and, of course, Ranger Town. I should also mention that I also created Cellphone Guy, who was a guy who wandered around in the middle of huge battles between the Empire and Rebel Forces saying: "Can you hear me now?" (long pause) "Good!"

In Dark Age of Camelot, a game that pits three military forces against each other in the frontiers (but safety within the home areas), I created Gretal, the healer, who was great at fighting, but was more famous for my Travels Through Camelot, which was a HUGE database of pictures of Gretal dead in front of many of the great landmarks of the game.

So, I've started doing the same with City of Heroes. My first attempt is Former Girlfriend, a superhero who is powered by the loss of a life shattering relationship where her previous boyfriend bankrupted her before leaving, so she now receives economic power from nonstop credit card offers from predatory lenders. Her battlecry is "Let's just be friends!"

My second character is a little more involved and seems to be pissing people off who take this game too seriously. His name is Floppy, and he's a guy who runs around in a bunny outfit and stops crime. Simple as that. But nothing is better than seeing a team of superheroes go to fight the evil bad villain and then Floppy comes trouncing through with his big feet and very fake outfit, to save the day. It's one of those you kind of have to see to get the true feeling for.

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