Storyline: From the Ashes

Story Arc: From the Ashes

Take the players through a scenario that sets up “Mender sects” each trying to keep a shard of reality up and running, creating an in game explanation for the original server shut down and the move to Volume 2: Issue 1

Broken down into 4-5 mini arcs that stretch it out over the career of the Hero/Villain

Goals:

Create a new Storyline Mission Set that introduces three new groups, some Enemy, some Ally Take a meta concept and bake it into lore

Coding Dependencies

Feature: NPC Hero Population idea by zethfox

The capstone would be vastly portable from server to server if we could have a this feature worked out. Having a list of available/acceptable toons for pulling into missions or have free roaming in the city battles, gathered in Pocket D to make it more crowded, staging a recreation of the Torch Vigil in Atlas Park, all these would all make it feel like a major live event, even if it is instanced.

Costume: NPC Costume Proliferation

The Menders and Ouroboros as a zone/concept play a pivotal role in the this whole story line, and being able to create unique NPCs that look like they belong among the other Menders would be awesome from a OuroDev stamp on things.

New Villian/Ally groups

Between the Old Gods, OuroDev and the possibility of a Cabal splinter sect, there are a lot of New entities that need to be developed.

Mission Contact(s):

The Chronicler

either a to be named Mender or a new .npc model that is acting as the guide for the players through the story line. Possibly showing up in different costumes( being “in disguise” at different levels of the story line

Story Arc Particulars

Level Ranges:

10-19 capping out at level 50

It might be interesting to tell the story in a non-linear fashion, in the sense that even though the story line from a chronological perspective is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... it might be experienced through leveling as 2, 3, 5, 4, 6, 1, it all depends on if we want to keep the Sunset Vigil as an In game event that has happened prior to The Chronicler reaching out to the heroes, or if we want the whole thing to be considered a lead up to heading back in time, or not.

Enemy/Ally Groups

Existing

Nemesis (red herring Villain, cause we can),

Other Level/Zone Appropriate (as needed)

I noticed a hiccup in a tip mission that was picked up in a lower level zone where there was a group of Skulls that were level 25 in a lvl 32 mission probably due to no higher level instances of Skulls

To be Created

Old Gods

(NCsoft/Paragon/Original Dev team?)

OuroDev

New Menders/Allies on the mission

It would be awesome to create a new Ally Group/Ouroboros Splinter Faction that could be used in other missions based on OuroDev, I mean we already have Genericized names for groups it would just be a question of assigning the Boss/Lieutenant/Minion chains, or to create some Unique Elite Bosses, even if they are just skinned Unique.

Cabal

SCoRE/Homecoming

Note: this might be a little too pointed, but there could be an option to side with OuroDev or Cabal

Mission Arcs

Mission Arc: Rumblings of Destruction

Overview: In this arc, we start the narrative about a World Ending Apocalypse, we could set this after the first Ouroboros Tutorial Arc if we wanted to use the Shivan Attack on Galaxy as a start point, but it might be fine still to have this start somewhere in the 10-19 range if possible.

Mission 1:

Worried person reporting something amiss - call cut off, investigate
Door mission for a rescue
End: Person either missing or shifty in denying the call(Nemesis Thread)

Mission 2:

Hysteria based on similar rumors in <area> find out more information (street kill, patrol, or zowies)

Mission 3:

Mission two leads directly into Mission 3, track down source of Rumors (Door Mission)

Mission 4:

You were able to track the spread of rumors to one source!  (door mission Nemesis enemies)

End goal:

Why is Nemesis spreading these rumors?

Mission Arc: It’s the end of the world as we know it

Tribute scenes for the end times. For this arc to be everything I want it to be, it would lean heavily on altering the Nemesis Doppleganger idea of creating NPCs that pull from the server database.

Rikti/Shivan Invasions

 2-3 missions pick out an iconic place to defend City Zones.  This is to model the heavy Rikti Invasion events on Live right before Sunset.

Pocket D

meet up with various contacts (Maxed out, or Major Player Choice flagged references  treat this as a talking hub/tactics mission, perhaps some "if we don't pull through this moments)

Torch Vigils(Atlas Park/Mercy Island?)

* “Give Torches” temp power to have the player hand out torches to people milling around for the Vigil.
* Have protestors in the parking lot if possible 
* Have speeches, either culled from AMAs or just inspirational
* Have a call when ready to set the "in game" timer to “sunset” 
* go to a cut scene with Player standing/floating while facing [NCSOFT]  if we can, have a long cut through triggered loading screens with the blank field in the background.
* Boss fight representing not laying down and taking the end of the world, but standing up to fight, possibly being joined by allies
* end on a scene talking about rebuilding the world from a single Pillar of Fire and Ice.