Another Enemy Group

[Consultant]

OK, the goal of this post is to solicit ideas for the next enemy group aboard the Justice. Go ahead and lay out your ideas for their name, their appearance, and their goals --anything that makes them real to you.

This is meant to be an interactive exercise, so let's all be kind to each other. But go ahead and let us know what you like and what you don't like.

[GladDog]

You already have two alien groups, so I would like to see a human (or more likely meta-human) group. These would be 'dropouts' from the hero program. Since they don't have the same resources as the heroes, most of them are low level. A few manage to get to upper levels, but most are scrubs, like the Hellions from CoH.

THE FORGOTTEN - Most would be normals with blasters and energy devices. The leaders would have basic hero powers. The bosses would have more enhanced powersets, making them equal to heroes that are the same level, or maybe a level or two higher. They naturally form into groups based on their powers. They are allies, but there is plenty of rivalry between the groups, so even a spit wad can cause an argument to start between them. Their goal is to make money by any means available (which includes robbery, mugging and embezzling) and build their power base so they can eventually take over one of the ship levels. You often hear them shouting '17!' Since that level is the one they want. It is connected to the forward docking bay, and they think if they control it, they control commerce and politics on the ship.

***The groups are;***

FURIES - The lieutenants and bosses have fire melee DPS abilities. The rest use a baton that forms a torch-like flame for melee or shoot a cone of fire attack (low DPS, short range, with a very low DoT).

FROSTIES - Same as Furies, but using Ice abilities. The lieutenants and bosses would be tanks. The minions use gloves that let them form ice mallets or fire a cone of cold type attack (low DPS, short range, with a slow effect).

BURSTERS - The lieutenants and bosses would be emp/energy defenders. The minions use a shoulder mounted device that forms coherent light armor on their arms for energy melee attacks, or fires a burst of light that does no damage, but the bright flash causes a tohit debuff.

GAMMAS - The lieutenants and bosses have Devastator powers based on Radiation. The minions have doctor octopus style arms for melee that fire radiation blasts. These blasts are single target, low DPS, and cause an endurance drain along with reduced defenses.

SHADOWS - The lieutenants and bosses are melee DPS and have dark powers. The minions use cloaks that give them stealth. The dark aura surrounding their hands make their melee powers drain health and endurance over time, and they have a long recycle attack that is like Tenabrous Tentacles.

Furies and Frosties would be lowest level bad guys. around 5-7 Bursters would be added. At 10-14 Gammas and Shadows would become more common. By the time the heroes hit 20 they have outleveled these groups, although there may be more advanced groups lurking in the hazard zones (hint hint wink wink).

These are just ideas, and the names are just placeholders. I am sure their rivalry could be used for plenty of low-mid level story arcs.

***ADDED AS AN EDIT***

As far as looks, these are for the most part human, with some aliens and alien/human hybrids. The minions wear T-shirts and jeans, T-shirts being a color appropriate to the powerset; fire = red, ice = blue and so on, although they all have the symbol of the Forgotten on their shirts. Lieutenants, which were in the hero program but then were rejected or left on their own, are wearing gray trainee superhero suits that are remarkably similar to each other except the trim color matches their powerset. These Lieutenants stole the suits when they left superhero training. They have the symbol of the Forgotten spray painted on their chests. The bosses are wearing mismatched sets of armor that they 'acquired' from defeated security forces and heroes.

[Dying Breath]

While practicing a form of astral projection, an alien mystic's consciousness becomes trapped in the computers aboard the Justice. Automated security protocols fragment the alien and isolate each piece in various subsystems. Unfortunately, several fragments of the alien consciousness are large enough to survive and they take over the systems they now inhabit, although they are now separate and discrete entities. They take over several factories and begin producing armies of robot slaves that use the alien mystic's arcane skills to fight the humans aboard the Justice, as well as each other. I present gangs of supernatural alien robots.

Serious note. I would like to see a robot themed group. Perhaps a rogue or emergent AI uses robots to preserve itself or wage war on the humans who tried to destroy it when it was just a bug. I like the idea of the AI taking over a factory and mass producing its minions as it would give us a reason for there being so many enemies to fight, as well as a location to fight. I don't have a whole lot of specifics, but I would think electricity or energy based attacks, or some basic hand-to-hand, and larger waves of relatively weak minions as they're mass produced.

[indigowulf]

I want animal/humanoid hybrids. Or animal/anything hybrids. Evolution for the strongest form. Evolution closest to the core. A bear like creature who has grown it's back legs just a little longer so it can maneuver better bipedal, with plants growing in it's fur offering a jungle ghillie suit to help ambush prey. Mix and mash the most dangerous aspects of nature to create the perfect predator, with no tech or alien intelligence required.

[Eulb]

wow i'm impressed by GladDogs suggestions , ... like...it was well thought out. I don't have as much as GladDogs does but ...

I suggest " Robots (minions) " that are put together from spare stuff and/or discarded electronic parts. they attack by malay striking weapons of any
kind made from the assembler bot.
when defeated in battle they fall apart ..... and are reassembled by a assembler bot to continue the fight

Weapons bot ( lieutenant ) uses grenades , rocket launchers, and/ or Aluminum pellet rail rifle

Assembler Bot ( Boss ) --- direct assembly of minions , and they have a attack power of Gravity /magnetic holds as an AOE

You the Dev's will work out all the math for there health and power time up / and strength of there fight , I see that this enemy group will take a team to defeat ... that i think fits into the team vision for SOH

[Consultant]

These are some good ideas, and they parallel, and improve on ideas we were already thinking about. For example, we also want to get a human "Gang" type group into the mix, and we also want to get a robotic group into the mix. It occurred to us that the side effects of unobtanium would not just be felt by life forms, but also, to a lesser degree by some robots, who might change programming and then begin changing their physical forms in an attempt to become the dominant life form on the ship...which would require rubbing out the current dominant life form on the ship.

The super-predator is also something we like. We had been considering one or more life forms in the Harvest Pit and other hazard zones as possibly part animal and part alien machine...but capable of reproducing and of absorbing new tech if the find it.

And GladDog -- wow, that was a great post.

Since you guys are in to this, who has suggestions for giant monsters?

[GladDog]

Cabal Joe - World Boss

Joe Cable was a hero candidate that showed much promise with his Ice based powers. He went out with a hero team to investigate a Nagdelian incursion. When they got there, the leader was stunned at the size of the group, at least 30 of them! Especially because he had two HITs (Heroes in Training) with him, he wanted to fall back and wait for backup.

But the other HIT panicked and fired a cone of fire at the group, and drew their attention. The leader had already called for reinforcements, and was considering leaving that idiot behind - he had put their group at great risk! But you don't leave anyone behind if it is within your power to help.

Joe saw what happened, and was confused. But he saw their entire team of six, including the two HITs, was pinned down by heavy enemy fire. Being the only tank, he saw no choice. He raised his ice armor, turned to the leader and said, "I got this, fall back and wait for the security teams."

Joe leapt out of hiding and starting talking in Nagdelian - he had studied hard to understand the language! He yelled, "MOTA KAH! NAGDAL ELBENTAR KUH TERRAMPAT!" After insulting their racial purity, Joe knew he would have their attention. Then he waded into the group. The Nags hit him over and over again, with most shots just bouncing off of the ice facets of his armor. But some were getting through, and he was getting weaker and weaker…

Joe was on his hands and knees, and looking over saw his group had retreated to a safe distance. A smile crept on his face as he saw some good would come out of his sacrifice…
Joe thought of one last thing, and placed his palms against the ground to form a Kelvin Aura. Cold seeped out of his body and formed a fast moving mist rising out of the ground that encircled the Nags and attempted to freeze them in place. This would leave him helpless for a few seconds, so he knew that any unfrozen Nags would likely take him out.

Joe could not believe his luck; the aura snared all of them! He knew he only had a dozen or so seconds before they started breaking free, but he lowered his armor to check his condition. He was really beat up, and he wasn’t even sure he would last long enough to get to a healing chamber...

Then he felt it, something he had not felt in years. Rising up from within was… her. The ancient presence that had engulfed him and gave him his ice powers rose in a mist out of his body. “Oh dear, Joe, you look terrible. We must do something about this.” The mist raised its hands, and blue energy enveloped the area, and Joe started to feel much better.

Suddenly there was an explosion! He saw the energy rise from the ground; they were right on top of a large pocket of unobtainium! The entire area was covered in a blue and yellow swirl, and all of the frozen Nagdelians were dragged to the center! There was a bright blue and yellow flash…

The leader of the hero group was horrified at what he saw – it was a giant ice demon! Ice facets on the skin of the beast would opened randomly, and Nagdelian weapons would pop out and shoot in no particular direction! An aura surrounded it that was checking the surface for cracks and repairing them when found.

With the last iota of his fading intelligence, Joe went to the entrance to the Harvest Pit, where he knew he would cause the least damage.

------------------------

CABAL JOE

Nearly mindless Ice monster that stands 25 feet tall. All of Joes hit points and all of the Nags that were absorbed are put together for this monster’s total hit points. The ice fury that gave Joe his powers has become a mindless healing attendant, greatly raising Cabal Joe’s regeneration. Cabal Joe has high defense, and uses icy fists to strike enemies. It uses a high damage frost breath attack with a very high chance to slow any targets in the cone. Nagdelian weapons pop out and have a chance to target anything around them and shoot with a lower than average chance to hit. However, there are 30 of these weapons, so eventually there will be hits!

Many of the scientists in the Justice, having heard about Joe’s sacrifice, are trying to figure out a way to free Joe from his monstrous prison, and they hope that someday Cabal Joe will be defeated so they can try some of their ideas on him.

I suppose this is more of a World Boss idea than a GM?

[GladDog]

Anyone that has seen the movie Moontrap will recognize this idea.

Larval Helix - Giant Monster

These are mysterious egg shaped tech devices. They occasionally teleport into the open areas of the city. When they form, they immediately roll towards any tech they can find and build a body at insane speed. Once they have their foundation built, they go after anything that moves! Animals, cars, and… people. Enemy groups are not immune. They are fitted onto the base structure and their abilities are added to the monster. It keeps getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger! When it reaches about 30 feet in height, it becomes the Giant Monster Larval Helix. This hideous beast uses any and all abilities it absorbs to attack others, and if it gathers enough, it releases another LH egg.

The faster you kill it the easier it is to deal with. The longer you take, the more of a pain in the butt it becomes, until at its maximum size it is very difficult, and if you take too long you have TWO of them to deal with. It always ends up with security weapons, and if it absorbs aliens it absorbs their weapons too. Other than that it has random powers, and each LH is different. Once you defeat it the egg explodes and all of the beings and tech that were used fall to the ground unconscious or inert, but alive or usable.

Probably should have a limit of 3-4 per zone, unless it is an area where GMs normally exist. I am not sure about the origin of these, maybe they could be from the Nagdelian home planet, which was overrun by them. That is one of the reasons why the Nags keep attacking the hero ships. Or, they may have been a Doomsday Device that eradicated a race of people, and every once in a while an LH egg gets close to the Justice and teleports through the ship's skin. This could be a planet that the heroes explore after the level cap gets very high, and fighting LH's isn't nearly as tough as it will be early on.

[GladDog]

Forgotten Man

James Tallman was a star in the Superhero training school. His abilities were without peer, possessing powers from several powersets. He is invulnerable, as well as having Energy Blasts and a very high level of Super Strength. He has Frost breath and Fire Breath. Many thought he would be the greatest hero that ever lived.

If it wasn’t for his ego…

As people lavished praise on him, he got more and more addicted to it. He stood in the hero spars and defeated everyone, relishing the applause and recognition. Then one day, he was beating a hero that had given him a good fight, and he lost it, and started pummeling him even though his opponent was unconscious. It took 4 instructors to pull him away. The hero he was fighting was in a coma for three weeks. After a fast review, James was suspended from training, and would need to start over.

With all of the praise gone, and no one wanting to talk or even deal with him, James quit the academy. His instructors begged him to stay, but when he got violent, they realized he had no place with other heroes. He went on his own and started taking mercenary jobs, which he always completed. One of his rules for taking a job was that there were no sacred cows. No one was immune from his attacks, and no items other than what he needed to complete the job were off limits.

He quickly became public enemy #1, and the security forces were always after him. At one point he was hiding out with a gang that had a lot of former superhero trainees. But they were directionless, and they worked really hard to get little accomplished. After a few days, he killed the leader and took his place. He set a vision for the gang; take over level 17, so they would be in a position of power on this ship!

So James got what he wanted. He is revered by his gang, and they obey every word that leaves his lips. He has led many successful raids for unobtainium, and recruited many to join the gang.

Now the FORGOTTEN are a force to be dealt with, and FORGOTTEN MAN (James Tallman's self-named alias) is their leader. It has become a very high priority amongst the heroes of the Justice to capture him, but so far all attempts have failed.

[GladDog]

ANOTHER GIANT MONSTER!

Paying homage to another movie, Mars Attacks.

The big mechs from Mars Attacks have a Nagdelian driving them. Suddenly Tex Ritter music fills the airwaves! There is a green explosion in the head. But these mechs have been affected by the Unobtainium in the area, and when the pilot's head explodes, the mech ejects the pilot, takes over, and suddenly rocket launcher pods rise up on the shoulders! The mech has its own mind, and uses foot stomps, blasters, rockets and mortars to rain destruction on any heroes in the area! It will attack anything, including Nagdelians.

[Flagwaver]

Purists

The Purist movement is small, but definitely on the scope of the Security Services all across the sphere of Human Influence. They originally grew out of the initial alien invasion, protesting the use of alien technology to artificially expand humanity. Over time, they grew more troublesome to include inciting turmoil and rioting in human colonies.

Their primary method of attack is to infiltrate colonies and ships and sow distrust in the leadership among the lowest levels of society. They make those who flock to their rallies believes that the technology is not benign and instead takes over those who rely on it. This causes a zealotry among the followers and problems for the security services over them.

Minion: The minions are nothing more than civilians who attack with their fists, sticks, and sometimes throwing rocks. They all have some clothing item on that is white, the symbolic color of the Purist movement.

Lieutenant: Lieutenants are always surrounded by minions and are recognized by their white military-style jacket, a symbol of their dedication to the cause. Unlike the minions, they are armed with knives and pistols. Their training is enough to cause problems with heroes.

Captain: The Captains of the Purist movement wear a full white military-style uniform to show their rank. Unlike the others, they actually fall into the four primary archtypes. The Tanks are shield tanks, but their shields are physical rather than energy. The devestators are armed with battle rifles and grenades. The brawlers are armed with swords.

Boss: Every insurgency has a Boss. This person is the head of the Purist operations for whatever location they are infiltrating. The Boss is tough, highly trained, and armed to the teeth. Besides this, they can also call upon other zealots within their operation to fight with them. Their preferred tactic is to fight with the hero(es) until their health is reduced by an eighth and then throw a smoke bomb that calls assistance. The first assistance comes in the form of a group of minions. The second is a group of lieutenants. Finally, when their health is 75% gone, they call a group of Captains.

[Flagwaver]

Pasilima Spawn

The Pasilima are a threat that began on Earth shortly after the first alien invasion. Nobody can remember where they came from because of the loss of so much information during the second invasion, but everyone knows they are a problem. Most infestations are small and easily removed by local security forces, but sometimes they grow to the level that requires heroic intervention. The Pasilima on the Unobtanium Drive of the Justice is one of the larger infestations.

This Giant Monster is found at the end of a Task Force and can be defeated by a full team of heroes. It appears as a green blob around the drive filled with a blue central structure and surrounded by smaller blobs within the mass. The smaller blobs act as Devastators to attack the heroes and healers to heal the central structure and Devastator blobs. When defeated, the slime seems to ooze into the engine. This opens up the Pasilima Raid.

The Pasilima Raid is located on the outside of the ship. The Pasilima Spawn now appears between the two thrusters on the back of the ship and has grown to unbelievable proportions. It would require at least 50 heroes to defeat it. When defeated, it drops major rewards for the difficulty of the raid.

Oh, and yes, you are reading this correctly and forming the right opinion. Hamidon’s full name before he became the blob was Hamidon Pasilima… but that information was lost in antiquity.

[JestersGhost]

Dude, seriously, let someone else have a go (Kidding, all excellent suggestions )

Gremlins

Still somewhat unexplained, but something about the interaction of unobtanium, complex technology and human emotions creates mischief in a physical form. Technology around them starts going crazy - nothing particularly dangerous for the most part, just annoying, but over time that annoyance feeds back into the gremlin, feeding it more malevolence and creating something more powerful and...darker.

(Minion) - "Critter". A small, ambulatory construct of electronics and psychic force, using electric attacks and a variety of illusions to inconvenience passer-bys.

(Minion) - "Lobber". This minor gremlin's mischief is chiefly expressed through chucking debris at anyone it sees. More direct, but also more painful.

(Lt.) - "Gremlin". If a small manifestation is allowed to linger for a while, it will grow into one of these. Able to turn the ship's service robots and repair machinery to it's side, it will use these as it's primary method of attack, but also has more powerful electrical jolts at its disposal.

(Lt.) - "Tinker". Like it's counterpart, it's managed to hijack parts of the ship's own machinery. However, these manifestations are born primarily of curiosity, and produce various random devices, that can either defend an area or enhance other gremlins.

(Boss) - "Crashers". A gremlin that generates too much irritation and negative emotion around it will eventually grow into one of these, especially if any dark magic effects come into contact with it. These are aggressive and spiteful, surround by bits of whirling jagged metal for protection and capable of powerful psychic attacks and illusions.

[Eulb]

Hello again been thinking about " Bird / Bat creature " mix

Minions -- attack with speed and talons easily killed but there are a lot of them, so you got a lot of work ... to get to the lieutenants

Lieutenants --- attack with sound " screening sonic cone attack " disorientation ... 2nd attack could be a peecking attack with Unobtanium becks that can get through the toughest armor while the hero is disorientated

Boss ----- Very strong and focused on the tank once the tank is spotted then it swoops in and grabs the tank an takes the tank to a random location on the instance map ( i suggest the team should try to clear the map before taking on the boss )

Thank you Dev's you pick the name can't think of one ... more as it think of what i would enjoy fighting ....

[Griffin]

EXOs (some call them Mechs)
Mostly made up of disgruntled mechanics and ex-security workers. Feeling abused and over worked as they can never seem to "catch up" and never get enough resources from those in power. This group fractured off from the main group that delved into over implanting, the EXOs wanted the kind of boosts they witnessed cybernetics yield, but disliked the notion of implantation technology, human or otherwise. The small central group controlling the actions of these teams seeks to take over the ship, they've decided the only way to get the ship's maintenance needs in line requires them making the decisions.

Minions
Minor exoskeletons - added strength speed, mostly melee some with laser riles.

Lieutenants
Medium level of exoskeleon - Built in more powerful weapons (chain gun, much bigger pulse cannons)
Also includes a medic type, ranged type, and a large blade melee type

Captain
Fully enclosed battle armor (light*) - explosives and energy weapons. Usually aerial, or combat overview and direction of other forces.
Calls in 1-2 squads of reinforcements, stun/sleep/control type grenade/rocket usage

Boss
Modified Large loader class. Heavy armor (frequently called 'Brams)
Huge weapons, some with control effects
Shielded, can shield other teammates
Call in multiple levels of reinforcements
On destruction of suit Boss 'ejects' as a slightly more powerful Captain

Clearly they could use some additional back story (hey, I'm not GladDog,Flagwaver, or JestersGhost!)

-Griff