Gromar's story:
After leaving home I hitchhiked from town to town and took the bus when I had the cash - which wasn't often because work was hard to come by; and I didn't have a lot of money to begin with.
Sometimes I would offer my services to local police but most just laughed and said no thanks. My journey to become a hero wasn't feeling very heroic.
Then one day in a small town near Pittsburgh things changed. I had been given a job cutting wood in a guy's back yard when some hooligans began to harass the man's son and the boy's girlfriend. Someone pulled a knife and I knocked it away with the flat of the ax. When the others joined in I knocked some of them out and the rest ran off.
I had subdued ten people - and barely hurt them - and was uninjured myself. The locals were impressed and bought me a bus ticket to Paragon City!
I arrived in Paragon late at night and managed to get a room at the Hotel Geneva in Atlas Park. In the morning I met with the Magic Hero Liaison and started work.
Monday, December 10, 2018
Coming To Paragon City: Part 1
Gromar's Story:
After Lee showed me his old diary I went searching through my stuff for mementos. There wasn't much but I found a photo of me in my first hero costume. What a flood of memories that produced.
I grew up in a small Canadian town in the middle of nowhere. My parents died when I was 18 and I moved in with my aunt and uncle.
Uncle Bob had been a hero called Cougar Canuck. He only had a few magic powers and his wits but he managed to help many people. He was saving trapped miners when an explosion caused a cave-in and injured him. He lost most of his powers but managed to rescue the miners. He decided it was time to retire after that incident.
Aunt Martha was a seer and said I would be a hero but I wasn't so sure. I had some cold related powers but they had developed late. The only skill I had was using an ax. I learned that from my uncle.
The summer I turned 23 was a restless one for me.I needed a change but felt obligated to help my aunt and uncle. When things got tense I would sit in the sweat lodge we had built.
One evening I had a spirit vision in the sweat lodge telling me to go to Paragon City. It was very intense and after talking to my relatives I decided to go.
My uncle gave me his ax and his cougar mask - or what was left of it - and my aunt whipped up a leather costume. It wasn't pretty but it would do until I could afford better.
After Lee showed me his old diary I went searching through my stuff for mementos. There wasn't much but I found a photo of me in my first hero costume. What a flood of memories that produced.
I grew up in a small Canadian town in the middle of nowhere. My parents died when I was 18 and I moved in with my aunt and uncle.
Uncle Bob had been a hero called Cougar Canuck. He only had a few magic powers and his wits but he managed to help many people. He was saving trapped miners when an explosion caused a cave-in and injured him. He lost most of his powers but managed to rescue the miners. He decided it was time to retire after that incident.
Aunt Martha was a seer and said I would be a hero but I wasn't so sure. I had some cold related powers but they had developed late. The only skill I had was using an ax. I learned that from my uncle.
The summer I turned 23 was a restless one for me.I needed a change but felt obligated to help my aunt and uncle. When things got tense I would sit in the sweat lodge we had built.
One evening I had a spirit vision in the sweat lodge telling me to go to Paragon City. It was very intense and after talking to my relatives I decided to go.
My uncle gave me his ax and his cougar mask - or what was left of it - and my aunt whipped up a leather costume. It wasn't pretty but it would do until I could afford better.
Lee Finds A Journal
Lee's Story:
I just found my old diary from 2007. What a trip down memory lane it was to read it.
The journal covered my journey from Ridgeback to Paragon City and my work as a hero in the city. There are also copies of letters and emails I sent to family and friends.
The diary ends with me arriving back in Ridgeback to attend a funeral. The rest of the diary was damaged when I returned to Paragon City. A bottle of conditioner or shampoo leaked and flooded my suitcase. Even heroes deal with normal crappy things.
I wish the later entries had been readable but I would have probably found them as embarrassing as the ones I read.
I was a horny teenage hero trying to fit into an adult world. Many of the diary entries are me mooning over guys like Pookstein and wondering how I would come out to my family (I told them the day after the funeral).
I have kept several journals since then but none were like that first diary. Most entries were short records of missions and current events.
What would that 15 year old have written about me moving in with Gromar, the destruction of Galaxy City, or Project Zero? I don't know but it would be an interesting read.
Eleven years is a long time - especially when it involves the transition from a teen to an adult. It's even longer when it involves abandoning your world for a safer dimension.
I can't go back to being the boy I was but I can enjoy my old journals.
I just found my old diary from 2007. What a trip down memory lane it was to read it.
The journal covered my journey from Ridgeback to Paragon City and my work as a hero in the city. There are also copies of letters and emails I sent to family and friends.
The diary ends with me arriving back in Ridgeback to attend a funeral. The rest of the diary was damaged when I returned to Paragon City. A bottle of conditioner or shampoo leaked and flooded my suitcase. Even heroes deal with normal crappy things.
I wish the later entries had been readable but I would have probably found them as embarrassing as the ones I read.
I was a horny teenage hero trying to fit into an adult world. Many of the diary entries are me mooning over guys like Pookstein and wondering how I would come out to my family (I told them the day after the funeral).
I have kept several journals since then but none were like that first diary. Most entries were short records of missions and current events.
What would that 15 year old have written about me moving in with Gromar, the destruction of Galaxy City, or Project Zero? I don't know but it would be an interesting read.
Eleven years is a long time - especially when it involves the transition from a teen to an adult. It's even longer when it involves abandoning your world for a safer dimension.
I can't go back to being the boy I was but I can enjoy my old journals.
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Servers
There were 15 public servers and a test server in COH. I only had experience with four of them.
Champion
My first character (Gromar) was created on Champion and my friends played there.
Liberty
Liberty was my backup server for when Champion was down for maintenance or other reasons. I also started some characters there when short of slots on Champion most of these were transferred to "champ" later on.
My old records show these toons on Liberty:
"Liberty-bot" - no information.
"Weather Vayne" - experimental Ice/Storm controller? I also had a version on Triumph.
"Helleon"- this name also appears on Triumph. Helleon was the first Brute I liked and played often. He was a Fiery melee/Fire Armour villain. He was eventually transferred to Champion.
Bubblegummer and Pookstein were also transfered to Champion.
Freedom
A friend asked me to create characters on Freedom to help flesh out a Supergroup. I eventually became the leader of the SG and redesigned the base. I signed in every few months just to pay base rent.
Miss Dumpling - my only female character was a 4 foot tall, pigtailed, War mace/Invulnerability tank.
Microsaurus Rex - was a 4 foot tall dinosaur and a Claws/Invulnerability scrapper.
Triumph
A friend invited several of us to to join a group on Triumph and play together. I created Psycopup and got him to the right level and found out my name was wrong. lol. Everyone was named Doom Trooper something-or-other.I have only one screenshot of Psycopup and don't have any power info.
Characters mentioned as being on Triumph. (Based on an old text file):
"Sno-Mann" - no information
"Weather Vayne" - see above, but one screenshot shows him as Ice/? Dominator in a Kings Row mayhem mission.
"Billy B"- no information
The following were characters that were either transferred or copied to Champion and Liberty.
"Hotmist"- Fire/Storm controller
"Dude Lee"- Martial Arts/Willpower scrapper
"Pookstein"- Fire/Fire blaster
"Helleon"- Fire/Fire brute.
You can see I experimented with other servers but anyone interesting was transferred or (if low level) copied to Champion.
Champion
My first character (Gromar) was created on Champion and my friends played there.
Liberty
Liberty was my backup server for when Champion was down for maintenance or other reasons. I also started some characters there when short of slots on Champion most of these were transferred to "champ" later on.
My old records show these toons on Liberty:
"Liberty-bot" - no information.
"Weather Vayne" - experimental Ice/Storm controller? I also had a version on Triumph.
"Helleon"- this name also appears on Triumph. Helleon was the first Brute I liked and played often. He was a Fiery melee/Fire Armour villain. He was eventually transferred to Champion.
Bubblegummer and Pookstein were also transfered to Champion.
Freedom
A friend asked me to create characters on Freedom to help flesh out a Supergroup. I eventually became the leader of the SG and redesigned the base. I signed in every few months just to pay base rent.
Miss Dumpling - my only female character was a 4 foot tall, pigtailed, War mace/Invulnerability tank.
Microsaurus Rex - was a 4 foot tall dinosaur and a Claws/Invulnerability scrapper.
Triumph
A friend invited several of us to to join a group on Triumph and play together. I created Psycopup and got him to the right level and found out my name was wrong. lol. Everyone was named Doom Trooper something-or-other.I have only one screenshot of Psycopup and don't have any power info.
Characters mentioned as being on Triumph. (Based on an old text file):
"Sno-Mann" - no information
"Weather Vayne" - see above, but one screenshot shows him as Ice/? Dominator in a Kings Row mayhem mission.
"Billy B"- no information
The following were characters that were either transferred or copied to Champion and Liberty.
"Hotmist"- Fire/Storm controller
"Dude Lee"- Martial Arts/Willpower scrapper
"Pookstein"- Fire/Fire blaster
"Helleon"- Fire/Fire brute.
You can see I experimented with other servers but anyone interesting was transferred or (if low level) copied to Champion.
Friday, December 7, 2018
Some Characters From 2008
Here is a list of characters from an old text file. The file showed account username, server, character, and "playerslot" (the position in character select). Champion server characters are shown here in reverse order (Gromar - my first character - is shown in slot 0 while Darc D Zire is 17). Character order depended on creation initially but changed later.
Darc D Zire - Dark Armor/Ice Melee tank
Kactus Kid - Spines/Willpower scrapper
Powerlon - ?
Blue Snafu - Archery/Devices blaster
Witan Nurdi - Plant/Storm controller
Psychodude - Psychic Blast/Mental Manipulation blaster
Mickey Fist - Willpower/Fiery Melee tank - my main character
Starpoke - Peacebringer
Tankboy - Invulnerability/Energy Melee tank
Deathtoad - Radiation Blast/Dark Miasma corruptor
Mason Face - Willpower/War Mace tank
Bubblegummer - Ice Blast/Ice Manipulation blaster
Downtown Clown - Mind Control(Illusion?)/Kinetics controller
Kid Freak - Electrical Blast/Electricity Manipulation blaster
Stocker - Katana/Invulnerability scrapper
Spare Partz - Assualt Rifle/Electricity Manipulation blaster
Corvalis - Claws/Regeneration scrapper
Gromar - Ice Armor/Battle Axe tank.
This isn't all of my toons from that period but it is a lot of them. The records are mixed up. I have contemporary screenshots that show characters not listed here.
Darc D Zire - Dark Armor/Ice Melee tank
Kactus Kid - Spines/Willpower scrapper
Powerlon - ?
Blue Snafu - Archery/Devices blaster
Witan Nurdi - Plant/Storm controller
Psychodude - Psychic Blast/Mental Manipulation blaster
Mickey Fist - Willpower/Fiery Melee tank - my main character
Starpoke - Peacebringer
Tankboy - Invulnerability/Energy Melee tank
Deathtoad - Radiation Blast/Dark Miasma corruptor
Mason Face - Willpower/War Mace tank
Bubblegummer - Ice Blast/Ice Manipulation blaster
Downtown Clown - Mind Control(Illusion?)/Kinetics controller
Kid Freak - Electrical Blast/Electricity Manipulation blaster
Stocker - Katana/Invulnerability scrapper
Spare Partz - Assualt Rifle/Electricity Manipulation blaster
Corvalis - Claws/Regeneration scrapper
Gromar - Ice Armor/Battle Axe tank.
This isn't all of my toons from that period but it is a lot of them. The records are mixed up. I have contemporary screenshots that show characters not listed here.
Introduction 2018
It's been a long time!I always intended to keep writing about Bubblegummer, Gromar, and City Of Heroes but various things made that difficult.
My last post was written on October 27, 2007. I had planned on writing about Lee's trip back home and then following with the Halloween Event but was still working out the story plot when the event started.
The Halloween stuff was fun and all of my toons participated. It was fun but my characters advanced a lot and it became more difficult to go back and resume their stories.
All of my heroes mentioned in the blog made it to level 50 and were still being played when the game shut down in 2012.
I had saved over 500 pictures, and some text files, and had lots of memories. Sometimes I would visit Paragon Wiki or watch YouTube videos about COH for old times sake.
Recently I have been playing around with a program called Paragon Chat. I recreated Gromar and Bubblegummer and a few others to test the system and revisit Paragon City.
I hope to post my thoughts, some old (and new) screenshots, and maybe some fiction.
It's good to be home.
Note:
I have left the old links in the sidebar but they are either dead or irrelevant now. Refer to the "Links 2018" section.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Back To Ridgeback
Lee's Diary:
Yesterday, I worked all afternoon trying to catch up on missions. I told my contacts I would be attending a funeral and would be gone for a few days. Nobody complained.
Last night I went bowling with Pookstein and some other friends. That was fun. I would have liked to hang around more but had to pack and get some sleep.
I caught the train at six this morning and then transfered to the bus in Amherst. I finally got to Ridgeback at 8pm. What a loong trip.
My parents and Joey met me at the bus station. Brian didn't but he was home when I got there. I talked with them all for a while and now I am going to bed. I am wicked tired and have so many things to do.
Yesterday, I worked all afternoon trying to catch up on missions. I told my contacts I would be attending a funeral and would be gone for a few days. Nobody complained.
Last night I went bowling with Pookstein and some other friends. That was fun. I would have liked to hang around more but had to pack and get some sleep.
I caught the train at six this morning and then transfered to the bus in Amherst. I finally got to Ridgeback at 8pm. What a loong trip.
My parents and Joey met me at the bus station. Brian didn't but he was home when I got there. I talked with them all for a while and now I am going to bed. I am wicked tired and have so many things to do.
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