Lounge L33ts Episode 10: The Wyvern's Tail

Each of us had played a little of WoW a long time ago, but it never managed to keep us interested. Now, Barry, Matt, and I have gotten around to playing it again, including some of the new content in Mists of Pandaria. So what is it that has us hooked now? Grab your racing ram and let's all head on over to The Wyvern's Tail and Brewfest 2013 to find out!

Lounge L33ts Episode 9: Bastion Guild Hall

What's this? A serious discussion on the gameplay and storyline of Scarlet Blade? Well sort of...Ran shows up in his Weefleboy persona again as we discuss our favorite classes, the plot behind the warring factions, the ideas behind adult MMO's, and the affects of gold farming in general.

Lounge L33ts Episode 8: Reets Retreat - The Glass Floor Room

     For the second season premiere, we try something a little different: and improvised (kind of) RP session. Weefleboy schools us on the professions available, shows off his shiny new smurf suit, and refuses to address some intimate questions on the details of his operations. Meanwhile Pinqi wonders if he/she's chosen the right path in life, and Mad Matt shows off his gun. It's anarchy, I tells you! Anarchy Online!
    Also make sure to check out our Youtube channel!  https://www.youtube.com/user/LoungeL33ts/about

State of Blog 4/29/2013

     Hello all! I just wanted to let everyone know what was going on and the plans for the future of the blog.
     Some bad stuff went down this past winter for both my self and my friend, Randy, with whom I do the Lounge L33ts podcast. Around the end of January, my mom suffered a severe heart attack. She thought she only had the flu, even though my dad felt there was more to her symptoms. She wound up waiting three days to go to the Emergency Room (it's commonly recommended to seek aid within ninety minutes), thus more damage was done to her heart. She was in Bay Area Aurora for a few weeks, and had a triple bypass surgery that turned into a double bypass. Then she was transferred down to St. Luke's in Milwaukee and stayed there for another couple of weeks. Before all was done, her heart had gotten down to ten percent strength and there was talk of a possible transplant. However, with help from a pacemaker/defibrillator she has gotten stronger and is at home now. In fact, she has recovered so quickly that the doctors don't think she'll need a transplant anymore.
     During all this, I dropped everything thing and was planning on moving back home, but my friends and my aunt helped convince me otherwise. Madison is decent city with a lot of culture, and I have built up a support network of friends and co-workers. I have a life down here that I'm not quite so willing to give up. While I'm a little apprehensive when it comes to affording this life, I at least have steady income from a reliable job. I just need to budget better.
     And here we get to Randy's troubles. I won't go into too much detail, but Randy lost the roof over his head and has had to move in with my friend Bob and Bob's parents. He is trying to get on Social Security while at the same time working on his resume and, hopefully, job hunting.
     I have posted a brief video on the situation with the Lounge L33ts podcast here:

http://blip.tv/LoungeL33ts

We have the episode filmed, and I am currently editing it. In addition I have set up a Lounge L33ts email and Youtube account which will soon be seeing activity. I'm planning on uploading the latest episode, then going back and posting the first season episodes in between to help people get caught up. We're going to try something a little bit different: roleplaying sessions. It won't be every episode, but every now and then, we will hop on as our characters and give their point of view on what's happening within their world. There will still be regular episodes where we talk as our selves, but this will help provide a little variety.
     I'm still working on the final part for "The Way to Kumas." I was planning to have it finished quite sometime ago, but then my mom had her emergency. I want to have an ending that wraps up the situation for the characters but allows for further stories to develop off of it. My aunt has told me it's "like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, except much better." I have yet to see the newer movie, but there does seem to be some similarities. I'm planning on being able to write my next short story within a month.
     And so that's what has been going on lately. Between my mom's heart attack, possibly moving back home, and helping Randy move, the blog has been a bit empty. It's time to get back to work.

The Way to Kumas Part IV

IV.

      Glyphs could be seen running along the walls near the ceiling and the floor, glowing with the same light as that coming from the decapitated head. There were images of cattle, birds, fish, mountains, forests, and people. As well as something else. It had the body and arms and legs of a human, but the symbol was twice the size, and it was headless. This unsettling creature's image was scattered amongst the images of landscape and animals.

      Their guides traveled fast indeed for people who had never been to the place. They passed a dark corner from which came a clicking sound followed by a blast of air. Something heavy hit Growgash in the shoulder and she cried out in rage, spinning deftly with sword in hand. Before her in the gloom, large almond shaped eyes floated burning with a wild green light. The thing hissed and a skittering of many armored feet sounded as the eyes rushed forward. Her sword sliced the air before her and clattered against what felt like twin blades.

      The eyes now rose upward to where the ceiling must be. And then the boy warrior was in front of her, sword in hand. The glowing orbs dodged to the right and he took a chance to swipe at the thing, only for it to back off to the left. It seemed to size him up as he edged forward with a double grip on his blade.

      “Don't be a fool, boy,” the half orc sneered. “It's just playing with you.” The youth seemed to pay no attention. The boy was a distraction and as he hopped lightly about she considered the thing in front of them. Her mother's studies had taught her enough, that a thing with a head and and legs may not have a neck. But if it has a front, it should have a back....

       Behind them were Jaxom and the monk and his apprentice. “Monk!” she whispered harshly. “When I give the word, release the light at that thing. Blind it!” His motionless form left her with little hope as she moved around to the back of the thing. A yell came from the front as the beast lounged forward, providing the perfect opportunity for the half orc. She scrabble up the slippery scales of it's back. Blackness still surrounded them when the crunch of a mortal wound broke the stillness. Then came a “thwak” as Jaxom's sword hit against the armored hide.

      Where is that blasted priest! Even as Growgash raised her blade, she felt the beast shift beneath her. It reared, and a blaze of light flashed, illuminating the pathway behind and casting the beast in silhouette. The great sword of the half orc sliced an arc in front of her, but as the head toppled she made sure to turn away from the light. Everything plunged into darkness then and she could feel the lifelesss body of the beast sink to the ground.

      “Jaxom?” Growgash tried to peer ahead of her, where there seemed to be a figure curled up in a corner. When she touched it, there was only a sticky wetness.

      “Help...” came a spluttering gasp. It was the young mercenary huddled in a ball against the glyphs. There was no help for him now, so the half orc finished him off with a thrust of her sword. Then she turned to follow the glyphs down a steep passage. It seemed like hours, and still there was no sign of Jaxom or the priest and his ward. The fragments of other strange symbols began to appear at chest height. She knew the breaking of these letters meant the breaking of spells, especially those wards against intrusion. The broken writing became more erratic and cluttered until it covered the ceiling and floor. No one was meant to come down here, the orc warrior thought. Why so much protection? What was down here? And where were the others?

      Ahead came shouts and then a bright light illuminated the corridor. Growgash stepped through an archway into an illuminated room. Jaxom was there stumbling backward until he hit the wall behind him. He was clutching his eyes. In the center of the room was the priest, his apprentice kneeling before him. From within the sleeve of his robe, the mage pulled a sinister blade and held it under the boy's chin. Then he glared at the half orc woman.

      “The way to Kumas is paved with blood and bones!”

Lounge L33ts Episode 7: Home for the Holidays

We spread some holiday cheer from the Home for the Holidays dimension in Rift (Faeblight server). Joining us is our friend Bob to explain why he's chosen Rift to fill the base building hole in his heart that City of Heroes left behind.

Lounge L33ts Episode 6: The Loft

We eventually get around to talking about our experiences so far with the super hero MMO Champions Online. But first, so more geeking out over Anarchy Online!

Lounge L33ts Episode 5: The Horned God

     I've been playing The Secret World off and on since it officially opened up, and so far it's been a lot of fun. It has it's faults, though. Every time my friend Barry comes over, I have a brief moment of fear that he'll ask to play the game with me. Lately he's been picking Star Wars: The Old Republic, which I don't currently have installed and have informed him of this fact last three times he's been over.
     I'll get to SWTOR again in the future. Right now my plate is already piled high with my friends' latest surge into LOTRO, trying to find solace in that sweet bosom before the closure of City of Heroes. Have I told you yet how Ran-san (aka "Namiru" in earlier posts) pledged to never play LOTRO? Have I mentioned that he just bought the Riders of Rohan expansion and is currently marching his way through the Lone Lands on a level 30 toon? Of course, Matt, Sarah, and I have been there with him.
     But to get back on topic, it's not that Barry is a bad gamer. He's saved my skin quite a few times. It's not that TSW is a bad game; I've been enjoying myself. It's just that certain teams of people work better in certain games. Barry and I work pretty well together in Champions and City of Heroes. However, get us to try to work together on even the most straight forward of TSW's missions and we're usually slaughtered at least once. Usually from some misinformation gleaned from a website, or faulty memory. When I teamed with Matt and Eric, I didn't die once.
     What I enjoy most about this game is the immersion. It sounds silly, but I'm the kind of person who loves to approach random NPC's and see what they have to say, read their back stories, watch practically every cutscene, and follow every dialog tree I can for them. I want to know the whole story, explore the entire city without leaving any trace of fog of war, gather all the exploration badges, and do as many side missions as possible to unlock further information about the world I'm playing in. It comes down to a love of miniature things. I used to love collecting dollhouse furniture and stuff like the original Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop toys. Maybe it's a craving for control over something. Maybe it's a creative outlet for building my own character's backstory. Either way, TSW satisfies this curiosity in a way that CoH, AO, and even LOTRO haven't. The illusion always seems to wear thin in those games, but not so much in TSW.

The Way to Kumas Part III

III.

     The breath of the travelers came heavy now. It felt as if they had been running for days, although the night sky had yet to lighten to dawn. Flanking Growgash, the two older men struggled to keep pace. Finally the one with beard turned to shout across to her.

      “This jaunt is not for me!” The other looked across from the other side of the half-orc.

      “Indeed, cousin, 'taint for me, either. What say we make our stand here?” The one with the scar over his eye answered. Jaxom pushed them on with Growgash at the rear. She glanced back and saw their shadowy pursuer rise up upon the two men and over them. Then there were angry shouts. The darkness seemed to rush over the two only to leave them standing astonished, but unharmed. They turned back to glare furiously at their escaping comrades, soundless curses on their lips.

      The half-orc turned to look ahead of them, and her eyes met the priest’s.

      “If it catches us, we will be dead,” he said with certain fear in his eyes. “We make for the temple. Once there we will be...” And he continued on with redoubled speed, as if Hell itself were at his heals.

      “We will be what, old man?!” but her scream was lost as all five dashed haphazard through the thick undergrowth. Beside her, she saw the young soldier go down, and leaping a broken tree, she scooped him up and flung him over her shoulder. “Stop struggling, little pig, or I'll throw you to the wolves behind us.” And indeed, there were wolves behind them now. The half orc could hear the familiar snarling growls, but she dared not look back no matter what fantastical shape their pursuers took.

      Ahead their salvation loomed in the form of a stone door built into the side of a small overgrown knoll. The priest and his boy stopped short, just long enough for the former to slice his thumbs and press them into the stone on opposite sides of the entrance. Then they were greeted with darkness ahead and from behind, but to Growgash, the entrance to the tomb was a bit less animated than their enemies. She regretted this thought with a last push into the stifling blackness. Safe but not safe.

With a thud, she dumped her load upon the warm stone floor and approached what looked to be the silhouette of Jaxom. The bag the priest carried glowed blue with just enough light to guide their way.

      “What is this place?” the man asked their wards, his eyes flashing angrily in the dark. “And what of the others left behind?”

      The apprentice boy turned to them, “Worry not of them. They were dead before, and are still now. Their shares are yours. If you live. If we live.” He turned to his master and the old man nodded.

      “What do you mean? They looked alive enough back there,” Growgash heard herself say.

      “Yes, the trick is to convince them they are alive.” With that, the boy and his master turned to move further into the tomb. “This is the place of our gods. We will not be safe here.” His young, high pitched voice echoed through the passage. Behind her, Growgash felt the hand of the young mercenary grope at her shoulder.

      “Wh-Where we goin'?” his voice wavered.

      “Forward,” the half orc turned to follow the others before the light could grow much dimmer.

Lounge L33ts Episode 4: The Prancing Pony

We manage to get Randy to play LOTRO, Sarah Bloy joins us to bestow some Tolkien wisdom, and we hear the Tale of the Bag of Devouring (it involves a dragon).

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 9

Surprisingly, Sledge was a lot harder this time around. When we first fought him, he went down pretty quickly with my Soldier and Matt’s Hunter. It could just be that our load outs weren’t the greatest, or that we pretty much just charged in there thinking it’s be easy again. We may have been a higher level in first playthrough, too. I did notice a lot of henchmen around Sledge that didn’t seem to be there the first time. In other words, we wind up dying…a lot. I haven’t sat down to watch this episode yet, but I’ll post if I see anything which may have caused this.

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 8

This one…This is still a pip to get through, although we had more trouble with the bandits this time rather than the skags. I also have to remember to let the tank do their job and re-release the turret in a timely manner.

Fight for City of Heroes!

     If you had asked me which game, City of Heroes or Anarchy online, was most likely to shut down first, I would not have guessed City of Heroes. And yet here I am, writing about something I never figured I'd be writing about. I was on Skype when my friend “Namiru” messaged me: “GW2?” which was the status on my profile. I told him that I had picked up the game at the behest of one of my coworkers, despite also playing both The Secret World and World of Warcraft. I was interested in the fact that GW2 had an open world system in place, rather than the persistence based world from GW1. To which Nam responded: “I'm not TOUCHING anything NCSoft made after what they pulled today.” That's when I found out they were shutting down City of Heroes/Villains/Rogues in November. You can read the official notice here:

http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/news/news_archive/thank_you.php

      I was totally shocked, as were many other devoted players. I did notice a decrease in population between when I joined on May 19, 2008, and when the Dual Pistols power debuted (for those who pre-purchased the Going Rogue expansion) around March 2, 2010. After that, the population seemed to spike and fall again until Going Rogue finally hit. I noticed yet another spike ending in a plateau in November 2011, when the game went Free-to-Play/Freemium. At first, nearly all the servers were in the red, but by the time I came back to game they had returned to either green (low) or yellow (medium). Occasionally on the weekends, Freedom and Virtue would reach red or be grayed out as full. Still, after the conversion to the f2p model, the population on Virtue seemed to remain substantial and never dip as low as it was in mid-2009.

      Once the rage around the fact that I had just spent $143 for a 1 year sub, only to get about 7 months of game play out of it had subsided, the questions started surfacing. What was going to happen to all the proposed content? Hadn't the team at Paragon Studios just added the new Staff Fighting, Water Blast, and Plant Affinity power sets? Weren't they working on new content for Praetoria? Might there actually be a City of Heroes 2 planned that would make them do this? And most of all: “Why?”

      Most people I've talked to suggest that it's financial. I find that hard to believe, though. As stated before, several new and intriguing power sets had been introduced, along with new enhancements, inspirations, travel powers, emotes, and some very detailed costume sets. There was also the Blockbuster Summer event where the players participated either in gladiatorial combat in an arena, or in a casino heist. LOTRO has done a similar thing during their Yule Festival at the theater in Frostbluff. I saw many players partaking in these activities with cash shop products. Why keep developing an unsuccessful game for nearly a year instead of simply axing it and cutting losses?

      I think the most likely reason (cited by ChaosD1 on MMO Grinder:

http://mmogrinder.net/2012/09/02/r-i-p-city-of-heroes/#comments ) is to try to push players off of an old acquired IP on to Aion, a title more inline with the company's Korean “grindfest” themed MMO's.. Some people are suggesting in the comments of the above post, that Nexon may somehow be responsible. This theory is based on their buying up a significant amount of NCSoft's stock, effectively making them the biggest holder:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-08/nexon-buys-685-million-stake-in-ncsoft-becomes-biggest-holder.html

http://gamepolitics.com/2012/06/08/nexon-buys-nearly-15-percent-stake-ncsoft

      For NCSoft's financial earnings, check here. I've not been patient enough to really sift through this information:

http://global.ncsoft.com/global/ir/quarterly.aspx

     I was on the Massively website looking up articles on this closing, and came upon one that asked what the reader's favorite memories of the game were. One of mine was when I first started playing and was running around a park to the North of Kings Row. Spotting a purple named enemy below me, I made a quick escape. Then out of curiosity, and the fact that it wasn't following me, I returned to carefully observe what I'd stumbled upon: the Clockwork “Paladin.” Over the years, I would catch a glimpse of someone fighting this Giant Monster, or see alerts of it's impending assembly. Once I even saw a solo level 50 controller take it down with pets.

     Kings Row was one of my favorite areas, although even Galaxy City had some fun nooks and crannies before the rock slammed into it. Gemini Park was where I first encountered my dreaded enemy, the Vahzilok Eidolan. At least in the lower levels. Valor Bridge in Independence Port was another favorite hangout, especially when you Super Jumped off the top down into the bay. Another fun place was Croatoa, the monsters there having also been used in the Halloween Event. They would jump out of the door every time you got a “trick,” whereas a “treat” earned you temporary costumes, inspirations, special salvage, etc. I'll also miss the Ski Chalet and trying to earn the special badge from the ski jump ramp. It was fun slipping and sliding all over the place! And the lodge at the top was great for sitting around and chatting with friends.

      Then there are all the things I never got to do, such as get a character to level 50, explore the Incarnate abilities, do a Task Force or Trial, not to mention fully explore the new Dark Astoria or Praetoria. Hell, my Praetorian is only level 15. There were ideas for future characters and rerolls of current heroes and villains, too. I was also working on a few CoH themed projects for the blog here such as a “Grand Tour” themed series where I explore various parts of Paragon City that might fly under people's radar, probably linking to Paragon Wiki for people looking to collect the exploration badges. Hopefully I can get a few screen caps of the House of the Wayward Soul super group base. I was also working on several character profiles such as the Vellum one posted.

      It seems most of the Legendary super group and my friends are giving Champions Online another try. Namiru says it's a bit better than when he last tried it. I have only just fired it up on the new gaming desktop, and am out of the tutorial zone with a CO version of archer extraordinaire, Elsie Dracona. I'm also going forward with the “Grand Tour” series, only it'll probably focus on LOTRO now, with maybe whatever I can get of CoH before it shuts down. I'll be taking screen shots of all the CoH characters I can unlock and putting up profiles of them.

      A lot of people also seem to be holding out for a last minute save for CoH from someone willing to buy the rights to the IP, the characters, and the engine. There is also talk of a fan run server. Author Mercedes Lackey, apparently a long time player, has thrown her support behind the campaign to keep the game going and there has recently been a large protest staged by players across 30+ instances of the Virtue server. TonyV has organized a special message board found here:

http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/board,134.0.html

      A writing campaign has been organized on the Titan Network forums. The etiquette guidelines and addresses for CEO Mr. Taek Jin Kim can be found here:

http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,4879.0.html

     The heroes of Paragon City have always been there me. It's high time I be there for them.

Gamepadding Through The Secret World

     I've been playing The Secret World off and on for the past month, or so. Everything was going well until I reached the first combat sequence after watching my character fall unconscious outside London's Ealdwic Park. This was when things got rather difficult, and painful, fast. The shooter style combined with the hotbar commands and tab targeting put a bit of a strain on my wrist. The result is that I stopped playing, did a little research, and found the following link on the TSW forums:

http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=34982

      From there, I downloaded the Xpadder program for about $10:

http://xpadder.com/

     Now I'm sure more than a few of you reading this know of other, better (free) programs and techniques for getting a gamepad to work with The Secret World. I'm also fairly positive the layout pictured isn't the most efficient. However this is my first time trying to set up a gamepad to work with a PC game, so this layout is very much a work in progress.

     What we see here is Set 1 of 3, where I try to put the most useful buttons such as main attacks, movement, tab targeting, and camera. When you first create a new layout, you can select from a list on the Xpadder website to load the image of the controller you are mapping, in this case a Logitech Gamepad F310. I made sure to register the movements of all the analog sticks and buttons with the program. I then went through and assigned key(s) from the keyboard to each button and each direction of the analog stick. The sticks can be assigned as few a 4 direction functions and up to 8, as well as defaults for W,A,S,D and the arrow keys. Clicking the little wrench will show you more options. In order to keep everything organized, I named the buttons after their function by clicking on the green “Abc” area in the Xpadder UI.

     I was able to also bind multiple keyboard functions to one button/analog direction as well. You can do this by clicking on the initial key you want to bind in the Xpadder keyboard interface, then going into the “Advanced” menu to add a second key bind. This helped in setting up the camera movement, since I could map the right click mouse button along with a direction:

     Now here comes the tricky part. Since there are a lot more keys for TSW than just the primary ones featured in Set 1, I needed to make a second Set. Once I created Set 2, I had to link it to Set 1 to be able to switch between the two. The forum post recommended using the “When Held” assignment to one of the triggers/bumpers. Instead, I played around with the “One Way Click” and “Two Way Click” options before realizing that all of these functions needed an anchor point between the sets involved. I decided to stick with the “When Held” function as it was the easiest to work with. I then went through and, still using the TSW forum post as a guide, assigned the next round of commands to Set 2:

     Finally, Set 3 focused on the basic functions of the mouse in interacting with the GUI:

 

     I plan on using this program to assign keys for Age of Conan, as well. Considering that game relies on tab targeting and directional assault on the enemy's flanks, it should come in handy. I hope this this post has been of interest.

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 4

     In which Matt and I search down the memoirs of a lonely, misunderstood recoding device and have another bout with Bone Head. This time on film :D !

The Way to Kumas Part II

II.

      Below the canopy of the trees, the sparks struggled through the kindling. Growgash snorted in frustration at the mercenaries' attempts to light a blaze large enough to roast their dinner. They had refused help from her and the priest and apprentice, not that their employers had really offered any. Jaxom spurned their company as he did not trust the look of them.

      With the blaze finally lit and the small game they'd caught eagerly devoured, the company settled for the night. Growgash drew first watch and Jaxom stayed with her as he was next. As she unsheathed her sword for cleaning, she noticed the blonde man inching towards her.

      “You're a brave one, to approach me when I have my sword out,” she eyed him.

      “You think I wouldn't notice you staring at me earlier. You orcs have curious taste in mates...” her ears pricked at his hot breath. “But you're attractive enough, and a good fighter.”

      “Unlike some I could mention...” she looked across into his dark eyes. Very few human men were equal to her height, let alone taller than her. The canopy of the dense forest trapped the heat from the day and her leathers were chafing badly. A bead of sweat dropped from the man's chin onto her hand. On the other side of the fire there was movement.

      The priest and his apprentice awoke and took up positions on opposite sides of the fire. Then steepling their fingers they began to mutter in unison. The younger mercenary peered from under his blankets nervously while his companions buried themselves in irritation. Abruptly the chanting stopped but the two worshipers remained at their posts. From the corner of her eye, Growgash saw a spider's silken web stretch and billow outward without aid of a breeze. Indeed, the air all about them seemed deathly still and the fire seemed dimmer by the moment.

      Beyond the ring of protection black shapes formed and lumbered closer. Growgash and Jaxom lept up, swords ready as the older men rubbed sleep from their eyes and crawled to their weapons. No matter how tightly the younger man held his sword, the blade quivered in his grip. Now the shadow figures towered over them, still obscured by the darkness despite the rapidly dwindling fire.

Simultaneously the priest and his charge jumped to their feet.

      “Leave! Now! We cannot hope to fight these beasts!” and they did so, dashing away from the fire. For a moment the shadowy figures arched over the blaze, then swallowed it in pursuit. There was still light, however. Ahead of the soldiers, Growgash saw the bag slung over the priest’s shoulder. It glowed brightly with the same blue light from before. What's more, it was moving, as if a knot of snakes were writhing inside.

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 3

We continue on our odyssey! I also apparently steal stuff from Matt:

Let's Play Broderlands Episode 2

"Mad" Matt Winchell and I continue on to Skag Gulley. What will we find there? Treasure? Weird alien creatures? Rogue human elements? Yes!

City of Heroes Profiles: Vellum

 

“A shadow slipping from corner to corner.

A glimpse of darkness in the night.

A curious little stranger in this strange world.

Only Vellum knows his own might.”

      I've been leveling Vellum for quite a while now. He is a Dark Melee/Dark Armor Tank created in 2009, around the same time my friend Bob created the super group House of the Wayward Soul. A living shadow visiting from a distant void, Vellum fit right in with the House's theme of strange and off the wall characters. He's been raiding the fridge, “borrowing” salvage supplies, and teleporter hopping ever since.

Vellum atop a building in Steel Canyon

      Vellum was created during a time of turmoil and altitist. Restlessly, I moved from character to character, experimenting with different power sets and trying to stay alive in a city that wanted my heroes (and villains) dead. I remember the first build, a haphazard application of slots to powers I didn't need. In particular, I selected the stealth pool power, which was later overshadowed by a similar invisibility power in the Dark Armor set, making it redundant. This was in addition to a myriad of enhancements that, while they fit with the powers, didn't play well with each other. In other words, while Vellum could do damage, he couldn't hit, couldn't block, and suffered from a massive drain of endurance every time he activated his shields or threw a punch. Vellum couldn't survive, and thus, was a failure of a tank. Out of frustration, I shelved him and moved on to other characters.

      Then “Drenivian” came to the rescue. Dren, also known as “Ed Boy” or “Edward” is a real life friend of mine (as well as that of Matt, Bob, and “Namiru”), whom I first met at the University of Wisconsin Anime Club in 2003. Dren was able to walk me through a quick repec of the character and also took me and Matt through some missions to learn how to tank properly. I also started crafting Set Invention Origin enhancements to improve multiple aspects of a power at once.

      But now we get to Vellum's origin. He is a living shadow from another dimension where only two light sources exist amongst the darkness. Every now and then, these two light sources cross over each other and wipe out most of the darkness between them.

      Vellum's people have been visiting Earth and other similar planets for quite some time now. His interest is in studying human society, and where better than Paragon City? Here, he can observe humanity at its best, and its worst, as well as how humans deal with attacks by outside forces. The Rikti are invading, although what they want is yet unknown to our hero.

      Being a living shadow, Vellum can take on various shapes and forms, including a flying beast. 

He's even able to manipulate darker colors to create his near human angelic female form.

 At first he was only able to travel and explore his surroundings at night, due to the brightness of an Earth day. 

Even then, he had to be cautious about traveling through underpasses and under street lights, for fear of disappearing. There is a solution, though. Vellum has begun pouring himself into human clothing and wearing a rubber mask. He hasn't quite gotten certain aspects of the human body down, particularly eyes.

      During his travels at night, Vellum has had his share of run ins with the Clockwork, in many of their forms.

 He's also had to tough it out with Trolls, villainous societies bent on world domination, and centurions. Civilians have nothing to fear from him, although his appearance maybe strange. So if you see an odd looking man with eyes black as a void, don't be afraid. It's only Vellum, and he's just curious about you.

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 1

Matt and I begin our journey....