Sunday, November 15, 2009

Rathskeller: The I.D. Badge Backstory

Mutation Radiation Blaster / Enery Manipulator

It wasn't an alehouse in the traditional sense. Sure there was a questionable liquor license that faded in and out of existence on the regular, Guinness on tap, and a mug-centered superstition that the locals had cooked up about a haunted glass; but frequenters of The Bull Thistle Rathskeller came for the peppers and sauce. Old man Pappitt, the owner, grew one-of-a-kind chili peppers out back, making his ramshackle, dirt road, bar and grill a popular Mecca among none-too-hoity jalapeno enthusiasts. Impromptu pepper eating contests had become a bankable, daily occurrence and three generations of Pappitts came up working the hot sauce station at the end of the counter. The youngest was kept on as a bartender later and he did that well enough, but Ames Pappitt longed for a different Guinness. He dreamed of being the first person in history to devise a billion Scoville Unit sauce, a sauce that even feral Paragon fire imps would run and hide from. He never expected his attempts would go nuclear.
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Scintillus: The I.D. Badge Backstory

Kheldian Warshade (Level Pact w/Voyageur)

My thumb, as you call it, is both a tranfigurant and a transubstantiant, no more or less important to evolution than the sweet tooth or riverwashed dung. That you should ascribe it such high regard for opposing is to belittle the claw, the pseudopod, the articulated tentacle, and the many indescribable Kheldian lessons there are to be learned when one is pressed between forms. For in that space between states, escaping all lingual description, there are infinitive means through which to throw a simple lever or to simultaneously turn both keys in your arsenal. I ally with you as your protection, protection against your greatest hidden enemy, the psychological pitfall that is the oft touted belief in your thumb. This belief is predicated upon the rogue idea that, as a digit, it is functionally unique and that therefore everything human society has since created with it is similarly impressive. Such is fiction.
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Thane of Wounds: The I.D. Badge Backstory

Kheldian Peacebringer

Ours was a coenobitic enclave of pure Kheldian energies cloistered over an iron and ice comet we called Claeactal, circling the remote dead star Dapsturg. That's how far we had to go to remain free of it. I don't think you understand the draw to conjoin with humans. When both are present, when both are weak, it's almost involuntary, even feeling forced. You've humans free of Kheldian influence a world over. Their masteries and collective intellect pull the understanding of these hybridizations well toward hominid measure. All we sought was balance, Kheldians free of the mix to offer a greater, even opposing understanding of the dipods. Rikti may be your focus now, but our galaxy is oft traversed with xenophiles who've sampled Terran protein chains. The risk required seclusion. Who'd have thought compromised samples lay entombed at our comet's core? Of the enclave, nothing remains.
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Friday, November 13, 2009

Rimfire






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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Monday, November 2, 2009

Halftrack Part III

So, in my continuing quest to develop Halftrack, I wanted to create a 21st century equivalent costume for him. One both to give a more "modern" feel, but also as a contrast to the 1940's vintage "iron soldier" costume. I also was able to make use of the Cyborg HUD combat display to add some extra depth to the costume. It mirrors closely the color palette that I used for the tech shield, particularly the energy/forcefield section of it. All colors in the costume are on the olive drab/brown theme and blend consistently.

All three costume options have a macro with phrase attached to the costume activation:
Costume one is "Deactivating Hardsuit".
Costume two is "Activating Hardsuit Mk I".
Costume three is "Activating Hardsuit Mk II".

Additionally, I picked up as a merit reward an Unbounded Leap +Stealth recipe. I cashed in my veteran reward for the additional prestige sprints and picked one to slot the IO in. I now have a macro for that sprint as well that says "Engaging Active Camouflage". The stealth aspect is nearly useless for a Tank, particularly with the taunt aura, but I did want it to go with the new tech costume. It just fits for me, and fleshes out the character in more detail.











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