The final tier of the Heroes of New Arcadia campaign begins! After the dramatic events of the last tier, the world is a very different place. The Heroes are vastly different – gaining new powers at the cost of their humanity. The secrets behind Ragnarok have been revealed. The Ideal has finally returned. The Collective has shown itself to be a true enemy of all that lives. The Heroes of New Arcadia are now world class heroes and the stakes have never been higher. Can the Heroes do what it takes to guide the world into a more elevated position or will everything fall apart? Find out as the final act begins!
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Gods damn you I have a test in the morning!
I’m a little sad Caleb won’t be playing Yog(?), but Torch-bearer is pretty badass.
And poor Martyr, man. Abandonment issues and now his father doesn’t remember him.
The Torchbearer’s mannerisms remind me of Valentine Michael Smith from Stranger in a Strange Land.
Norm is the new Dr. Manhattan?
An awesome episode and start to the newest tier.
I remember being hesitant about listening to these games, only because I wasn’t all that interested in Superheroes at the time… that shortly change d as I began to listen.
Norm is Space Jesus, never let it be said I didn’t call it.
I’ve figured out what’s bugging me about the Martyr/SC thing. It’s not producing any drama beyond the Martyr being grumpy.
yuuup. with Norm gone, the New Ideal’s never gonna make a plan ever again.
Seems to me Norm is less Space Jesus and more an errand boy to a giant space whale.
An errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill.
The Martyr’s angst towards Steel Centurion / Robot Assassin seems well fleshed out to me. The issue started from SC belligerently stealing the key to The Martyr’s father’s base, straight off the boy’s person! There were no exigent circumstance for the breach of trust – SC took the key just because he felt his judgement on the matter was better than The Martyr’s. Since then, SC has consistently shown his hard headed nature, and would probably do the same thing again if he felt it was the right thing to do. SC has tried to apologize to The Martyr, but it would have been more along the lines of, “sorry that you got mad at me,” versus, “I was wrong, I was carried away, and it won’t happen again.” The Martyr shouldn’t forgive SC, not until SC shows he’s grown.
I wish Jason could have been given more of a chance to play his reunion with Norm / The Torchbearer. It was his goal since Norm’s death, but the conclusion seemed glossed over as the story steamrolled on through the scene.
All the comments seem to deal in complex plot matters…
I guess they deserve a paper on “Meso-Paytonic Influences on the Hobonautics of the Assasinationism of Self in Torchbearer’s Context as Presentated by Chiropist Methodologists.”
Adam was completely repentant for breaking in to the Samaritans base once he realized the Martyrs connection to him. He kept his distance mainly because he wanted to give Jamal time to heal and (hopefully)forgive him on his own terms. Besides we all know the result of that decision and what hell (literally and figuratively)was brought on by Adams decision.
I had a lot of fun playing out the teenage angst angle. Although I do believe Adam/SC acted completely irrationally, not to mention betraying his friend’s trust, it did provide some interesting team dynamics. As a player, I was shocked–taken aback even–that Aaron would act in such a manner. It was a despicably aggressive act against an ally. Adam didn’t even bother talking or trying to reason out why Jamal was hesitant to hand over the key. And Jamal, despite his desire to discover his father’s base, was willing to postpone the venture to help out his friends, which only strengthened the sting of the betrayal. After all, he had only just learned that his father had not abandoned him, and he had pledged an oath never to desert anyone in need; hence, this is why he was so loyal to the outcasts and forgotten souls of The Ruins.
For my part, I tried to advance Jamal’s age between tiers in order to have him seek redemption and forgiveness for his past sins. In this manner, I hoped to demonstrate his maturity. He disappeared for months (years in terms of other infernal and celestial realms) to find Zero-Shift and Norm in the afterlife in order to bring them back. Unable to find Norm or confince Shift, he sought council from Samuel the angel, realizing the error of his ways. With this as a starting point, I really wanted to address Norm’s return as the Torchbearer and the impact it had on Jamal as well as his attitude toward Adam. But honestly, with the overall threat looming these took a back seat.
The Martyr’s initial self-righteous hypocrisy after the incident, given how he had betrayed a team-mate (Steel Centurion) and more generally seemed from the episodes to be the most likely to become a supervillain (not to mention calling SC a coward, while hiding behind a fire demon, when SC had voluntarily removed his armor), was fitting for a teenage character. But the fact that out of character the group didn’t seem to take notice of how hypocritical it was until much later episodes has made listening to the grudge as a recurring thing kind of offputting.
Of course when you consider its a rivalry between the two most reckless members of the team, and how the other teammates seem to stay above the rivalry and stay out of it, it seems both appropriate and entertaining.
Hmm…I don’t remember The Martyr betraying Steel Centurion. But being a reckless teenager and endangering the team? Sure I made that a point. Also, toeing the line between hero and villain was always intended. As for hiding behind the demon, Jamal had no idea Adam had taken off his armor until he saw him. He was prepared for a fight, and in a typical teenager style overreacted and allowed his anger at the betrayal to take control. If it hadn’t been for Chirop and Ghost Robot showing up, things probably would’ve gone quite differently.
And despite the chance of PC murder, I think it would have been a much more interesating outcome. But thats just the PC murdering GM in me. :p