Story Arc ID: 529832
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Ankylosaur
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Level Range: 41-54
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Heroic

Designer Notes:
ACCOLADES
- WINNER of the American Legion Monthly AE Contest - Jan 2012

INSPIRATION
I have fond memories of the Rularuu invasion of Paragon City and really thought the Shadow Shard was an incredibly inventive place. It’s a shame it sort of stagnated, but I always wanted there to be more to do there. In pondering a story, I remembered the mystery of the Peoples of Paragon.

Sara Moore and her pals, the shadow shard “natives,” always refer to themselves as the People of Paragon, and claim their ancestors are from Paragon City. How did so many of Paragon’s citizens end up in the shard yet have no memory of how they came to be there? Is it an event that has yet to happen or has already happened? This just may be their story…

MISC
I try to explore some different mechanics or story telling methods to keep it interesting while putting together an arc. In this case, I had multiple narrators working together and explored using colored text to distinguish between who was talking. I also played around with escorts for the first time to help orient the player on the maps. Hope you enjoy it!

And if you’ve never been, and have loads of time on your hands, head out to Mole Point Charlie to get a feel for the place where this arc begins.

In-Game Keywords: Solo Friendly, Custom Characters, Canon Related

Story Arc ID: 534314
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Sparkly Soldier
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Level Range: 20-29
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Heroic

Designer Notes: It all began with the announcement of the Dark Astoria revamp for i22, just a few months after I’d started playing City of Heroes. I’ve been a fan of games like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame for years and it was disappointing to hear that the misty, haunted town I’d just stumbled upon was going away again (though at least it’s still there in Ouroboros).

So I decided to create a character who’s an homage to the old Dark Astoria and, as I fleshed out her backstory, it gradually expanded to encompass more and more of Astoria’s own history and finally evolved into “Forsaken People.” The arc’s written partly as her origin story, though much more as an exploration of Dark Astoria’s history, a prelude to Mot’s awakening in i22, and as a way of giving some closure to the ghosts of Astoria.

It takes place before the events of “Death Incarnate,” when Astoria’s still shrouded in fog and Mot’s sleeping fitfully beneath Moth Cemetery, and it’ll be awhile before I can start the new Dark Astoria arcs. Hopefully they haven’t revealed anything too shockingly different (”the ghosts were all holograms, Mot’s really Old Man Withers, and he would’ve gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you meddling heroes!”), and it can still stand as one more chapter in the weird chronicles of Old Astoria.

I very much recommend playing it solo around 1/1 difficulty. I’ve tried to keep the enemies somewhat balanced for higher settings and team play, but it’s really written as a single character’s investigation and playing it on those settings helps the sense of quiet desolation the story’s aiming for.

In-Game Keywords: Solo Friendly, Canon Related, Horror

CoH Forums Link: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=283167

Story Arc ID: 515140
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Ankylosaur
Length: Short (5 missions)
Level Range: 46-52
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Heroic

Designer Notes: ACCOLADES
- WINNER of American Legion’s Monthly AE Contest, Nov 2011!!
- BEST OVERALL, AE Storyteam, Feb 2012

INSPIRATION
The Elder Cobras from Mercy have obvious ties to ancient Egypt in their costuming and gear, but their story is never fully told. In trying to come up with the Serpents back story I combined some custom Egyptian costumes, an ancient Egyptian serpent god, the ever-meddling Arachnos, some Mu lore, and Thor Heyerdahl’s voyage of the Ra and Ra II, and well, this, this just might be their story…

In-Game Keywords: Solo Friendly, Canon Related, Magic

Story Arc ID: 1152
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @FredrikSvanberg
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Level Range: 35-54
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Heroic

Designer Notes: Recommended for level 30 and up, support archetypes might want to bring company.

In-Game Keywords: Canon Related, Sci-Fi

Story Arc ID: 456200
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @FredrikSvanberg
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Level Range: 40-54
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Villainous

Designer Notes: Has an optional AV/EB fight.

In-Game Keywords: Solo Friendly, Drama, Romance

Story Arc ID: 452144
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @FredrikSvanberg
Length: Short (1 mission)
Level Range: 35-54
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Heroic

Designer Notes: This is a solo-friendly murder mystery. While there may be some fighting involved, be prepared to read and explore. The mediporter doesn’t work properly on this map so if you try to go to the hospital you will rez right where you are. This may or may not be useful.

In-Game Keywords: Easy, Solo Friendly

Story Arc ID: 114284
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @FredrikSvanberg
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Level Range: 15-20
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Villainous

Designer Notes: Contains bosses, elite, custom and otherwise, that may prove challenging.

In-Game Keywords: Challenging, Solo Friendly ,Drama

Story Arc ID: 525441
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @FredrikSvanberg
Length: Long (4 missions)
Level Range: 41-45
Mission Status: Looking for Feedback
Alignment: Heroic

In-Game Keywords: Origin Story, Magic

Story Arc ID: 522067
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @FredrikSvanberg
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Level Range: 15-40
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Vigilante

Designer Notes: Recommended that you play it solo on the highest difficulty you can manage. Melee ATs for the most fun.

In-Game Keywords: Challenging, Custom Characters, Drama

Story Arc ID: 183832
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Ankylosaur
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Level Range: 25-30
Mission Status: Final
Alignment: Vigilante

Designer Notes:

SFMA - This was designed to be soloed with the provided allies.

RECOGNITION
- Rated BEST OVERALL by AE Storyteam July 2011!
- WINNER of American Legion’s monthly contest Sept. 2011!

INSPIRATION
I really liked the ideas behind the Coralax, and wanted to explore them further and create an arc with them for heroes. Most feedback suggested I change it to Vigilante (or even Rogue) though (so I did).

I took much inspiration from the existing canon plot lines and a bit from Blue Planet. We only ever see the Coralax hybrids, never pure Coralax or the only-mentioned-in-passing Virtea .

I also wanted to use the map in Mission 4 with a group that actually preferred to be in the water.

STATUS
While I mark it as final, is any arc ever really final?

In-Game Keywords: Solo Friendly, Canon Related, Save the World