QnA for April (Patreon)

Does Los Diablos have a zoo, and if so what do different animals like lions,bears, monkeys etc "feel" like to sidestep?

Los Diablos does indeed have a Zoo. It's not as impressive as the aquarium, but it gets expanded a little more each season. It's been a bit of a bragging project for the Mayor, one of her many ways of showing that Los Diablos is more than just a capitalistic hellscape. Sidestep has visited once, but never again. Hit too close to home, all the animals in cages unable to get free. They never told Anathema why they ran out of there.

Question about the ending where it's revealed to the Rangers who Sidestep really is- I know how they take it varies depending on the relationship, but I'm very intrigued on how potential conflicts between them and Sidestep will go from now on. Any tidbits you can share?

Sadly, this is something I will NOT share. You're going to have to wait for the first book 3 demo to explore that. It's going to be... interesting. The first chapter is going to be focused on that.

Any chance we can get the Rat King and its controlled associates to meet Lady Argent's sharks?

If you're friendly with her, that is something that will happen. Let's hope they get along, for everyone's sake.

So...why would the Special Directive even care about getting Psychopathor in Rebirth, anyway? Isn't taking down Psychopathor Rangers' business?

I will give you a clue. Where do you think Psychopathor got the Rat-King?

I apologize if something of this vein has already been asked previously (I am still a  fairly new supporter!) But is/was there any particular villain that is considered in the public eye to be the "worst"? A sort of legacy/arch villain archetype at least according to in-game popular perception regardless of whether or not they might be the most powerful/dangerous etc in practice?

Like with many things, powerful villains seldom last long. There have been four major villains in the past, but none of them are currently active on the level where they would be considered the worst.

The Catastrofiend: Insane experimental military mod/hired killer. Disappeared five years ago after breaking out of their holding cell. Believed to not currently be in Los Diablos. If it returned, it would be on top of the list. 

Arsenaux: 'Ruler' of her own little kingdom in the hills to the east and south, just outside Los Diablos influence. She was the lieutenant of Void, and took over the remains of their empire when they were killed in a conflict with Charge and Sidestep. Rumored to have the backing of a few major corporations and to be heavily involved in human trafficking/experimentation. A boost with pyrokinetic powers. Still active, but technically only Los Diablos adjacent. 

The Crack: Another semi-legendary villain, famous for singled-handedly waging war with the LDPD and killing the last Mayor. Gender uncertain. Powers uncertain. Used high-tech weaponry, but most famous for their ability to disappear from the scene. Still at large, but a lot less active.

Sorry if this has been answered before, but how human are regenes? Are they just vat-grown superhumans or do they have metal parts strewn about them? 

It varies. Some are heavily modded, some have no mods. It all depends on what would make them the most efficient without adding too much to their cost.

Sorry if this has been asked before! But, it's been pointed out that electricity/lightning is a dangerous ability that can be imprecise - so, has Ortega ever accidentally electrocuted or hurt themselves while using their powers? Or would their mods keep that from happening somehow? and how would Ortega face up against someone else with electricity as an ability? Could they get hurt by it, or would they... absorb the energy somehow? How would they deal with a situation where their powers might actually be a hindrance than a help (like a hostage situation?) 

Technically, the mods should protect Ortega. They have a high capacity to absorb electricity, but like everything else, they are susceptible to overload. It has been an issue when fighting other electricity users; I wrote a fic about it a while back, it's "... may break my bones", posted back on October 22. Ortega is very aware that their powers can be a hindrance, that's one reason why they train so hard, so they don't have to rely on them except against the bigger threat.

During the Heartbreak incident, Sidestep can potentially give Heartbreak a parting gift(or a few depending on the choices) how did this affect things? Was there any effect other than a last hurrah for Sidestep? Are the rangers aware of this if it occurred? There thoughts?

Yes. It affected things. We will get into what happened and who knows what in book three, it's not called Revelations for nothing.

Since it was after the Nanosurge Sidestep's powers started to ebb and flow, is this to mean that any Beta telepath could have pulled off a similar stunt if they were willing and able to suffer the backlash? Did Sidestep's willingness to interact with minds they didn't know a factor in events?

Not everybody could have pulled that off. Not on that scale. Sidestep's training and willingness to interface with non-human minds made the difference.

Looking for clarification on power classification. Are boosts classified by the power itself or is the user's ability also factored? Like could Jake go from Beta brushing Alpha to full on Alpha or would he always be a beta, just really skilled with his power?

It is a combination of power and ability. The power sets the upper ceiling, but if the person wielding it can't use the potential, it drops down. Jake has the potential to go Alpha if he starts experimenting more with what he's capable of.

It's not directly relevant to the game, but I'm curious: do you like and currently read/watch superhero stuff, like Marvel or DC comics and movies? Anything you particularly love and recommend? 

I grew up reading superhero comics (big surprise I'm sure, especially Legion of Superheroes and X-men). I've dropped out of it lately though, I quit DC when the new 52 didn't work for me, and my last X-men title when Kieron Gillen left. More and more, I felt that things were getting increasingly reliant on events and crossovers, creators switching around too fast to be able to tell their story. Every comic I loved got canceled too soon, so eventually I just stopped keeping up. It didn't feel fun to start something cool, knowing it might get canceled before you got anywhere. Since then I have focused on tpbs and getting order and collected stuff.

Some things I love, and from which I have drawn inspiration from for Fallen Hero (I have to focus on a theme somehow):

Comics:

Legion of Superheroes: 5 years later (Keith Giffen)

Captain Britain (Alan Moore run and the Jamie Delano run)

Zenith (Grant Morrison)

X-Force/X-Statix (Milligan/Allered)

Marshal Law (Pat Mills)

Locas (and many more) (Jamie Hernandez)

Grimjack (John Ostrander)

Battle Angel Alita (especially the second series) (Yukito Kishiro)

Pluto (Naoki Urasawa)

Transformers: Lost Light (James Roberts)

Thunderbolts (Kurt Busiek)

Suicide Squad (John Ostrander)

Doom Patrol (Grant Morrison)

TV:

Doom Patrol

Legion

Movies:

Saviour of the Soul (HK)

Heroic Trio (HK)

Chronicle (USA)

Tetsuo (Japan)

Paprika (Japan)

What is your favorite part about writing Sidestep? Along with that, is there a specific kind of Sidestep you like to write? 

Immersing myself in their mindspace. It's very cathartic and cleansing for me to just write a complete trainwreck. There is no specific flavor I like the most; I enjoy the full range of chaos.

What happened to Locus?

You might get to know in book three.

Will it be possible for say, Ortega, to find out the mc is trans without telling them?

No. At least not that will be dealt with in game. That's not a scene I'd enjoy writing.

What did the Rangers think of sidesteps reluctance to show their face prior to heartbreak?

It's not uncommon for vigilantes to be private and keep their identity a secret, so it didn't arouse much suspicion. Just some gentle ribbing from Ortega, because they are way too curious.

You mentioned that Ortega isn't close to their father, but does he know about the relationship with MC? And if not, how would they react to it? 

Ortega's father is dead, so that is one hurdle cleared. If he had been alive, he would not have approved.

Ortega has issues with their father, but how did Julia's experience with him differ from Ricardo's? I imagine old Mr. García would have different expectations for his son vs. his daughter.

Julia's conflict would have been a lot more simple and clear-cut. She had no interest in fitting into the role as daughter; she made that clear early on. They argued a lot, and he did not approve of her (lack of) career choices, but she was a woman, and he was always unsure how to connect with her. If he had lived, they would probably have an easier time coming to an understanding.

Ricardo, on the other hand, got the bulk of the expectations on his shoulders, and he didn't like that one bit. His father was a lot more controlling because he felt that he knew what was best for his son. Discipline and Ricardo didn't really go hand in hand, and even if his father had lived, I very much doubt that they would ever have reconciled.

Speaking of old Mr. García, what was he like? And what was his relationship with Elena like?

He was very driven. His father and grandfather had been in the military, and that was the path he picked very early on in life. Ambitious. Competent. Smart as a whip. Charismatic. Very, very convinced that he knew what was best for everyone. Used to taking command. Elena was no stranger to people like that, she'd been working on getting to the Olympics since childhood, she knew what drive and discipline were. They had a loving marriage, made possible by both of their willingness to keep to their own spheres of influence. Elena is a very feminine woman; she wouldn't have challenged him as long as he stayed out of things he had no business talking about. They did argue, and it could be rather volatile, but on the whole, it was a happy marriage. Elena's biggest regret is that she never figured out how to reconcile Ortega with their father.

Aside from Vitruvian, is there anyone else Mortum has worked with/for?

Not for long, there have been many short partnerships, but that has been just for a heist or some other short-term deal.

Was Mortum lonely before meeting Sidestep/Puppet?

They would not admit it, but yes. Very.

Is there an estimated release date for book 2?

No. There are so many stages in writing a book like this, and the last ones are out of my hands. We have reached the proofreading/grammar stage now, and once that is done, it will be the final beta where people can play what it would look like at release. After that, I submit it, and then it has to pass through Hosted Games quality control and then fit into their release schedule. The last time the Hosted Games step took four months; it might take longer now since the game is huge.

I noticed that Heartbreak shares the same gender as your puppet but the same eye color as Sidestep. Will we be learning more about the possible connection?

You will learn some things in book three, yes.

Sorry, one more question! And sorry if this has been answered in the past, but- did Ortega know they were immune to telepathy before meeting Sidestep? or is that something they found out after meeting Sidestep? 

Ortega had no idea; they learned this from talking with Sidestep.

What would happen if a boosted individual takes the drug again? Is there more risk involved? 

Yes and no. Taking it again means pushing the odds, the body is already changed, but if the first boost power increased durability, the risk would be less. This is why Anathema survived the second dose.

How does it affect HG when they use their powers? Also, does it vary how much they are affected when they use their powers?

Every use of HG's powers is a continuous effort. The biggest limit is their stamina, both mental and physical.

What shapes peoples mindscapes to look certain way? 

Life, imagination and experiences. It's not unlike dreams.

When it comes to former ally past and old friend past, how different Ortega's behavior or thoughts toward Sidestep were? Were they any different? Was Ortega aware in former ally relationship that Sidestep kept them at arm's length? If yes, how did Ortega feel about it? 

Ironically, that is mostly how Sidestep saw their relationship. Ortega might not have seen as big a difference between them. Ortega thought Sidestep was their friend, even if the feelings weren't returned in the same way.

How did Ortega find out about Marshal Hood's death? 

From the LDPD.

Who was Catastrofiend before they became villain? Were they modded or boosted first? 

That is the scary part. Nobody knows, and every story is worse than the last. Modded military experiment? Self-mutilating/modded villain? Someone gone mad from the boost drugs? Reanimated body? 

So what do villains like Psychopathor and Catastrofiend like to do when not busy being villains and just enjoying their free time? 

Psychopathor is married, so he's got a relaxing home life. The Catastrofield has no free time, at least not that anybody has seen.

Who do each Ranger consider to have been their worst enemy to fight against? What kind of feelings or thoughts each of them possibly had after such event? 

Ortega: The Catastrofiend. They don't want to go through that again, electricity does very little, and there are too many sharp blades for close combat. Probably the only creature to truly unnerve Ortega.

Argent: Lord Ember. Fire sucks. On all levels. One of the reasons she left San Fransisco, but she would never admit it.

Steel: Heartbreak. Mental attacks mess him up; he has no defense. He still has nightmares about that day.

Herald: Deadeye. He just felt so helpless. How is he supposed to deal with a sniper that will never let him get close? The worst he got injured, worse than what the new villain might have done.

Since Mortum was probably forced to throw a punch or two during their villain career, what kind of fighting style did Mortum have? Did they rely a lot on their tech? What kind of armor did they have? Was it just as well made as Sidestep's villain armor or even better?

Mortum is not good at throwing punches; they never were. They relied on shooting things or tech, and that was why they worked together with others. Sometimes you need a bit of muscle. The armor would have been similar to Sidestep's functional/mysterious armor, but with a lot more tech integrated. 

Besides possibly Sidestep, who has been Lady Argent's favorite enemy to fight against before that? Or favorite fight she's been in?

Her first big fight after joining the Rangers, which was against the Crack. She won, but it was a massive brawl and made for very good television.

If Lady Argent only had the claws but no silver body to armor her, how different would her fighting style been?

A lot less daring; if she can't rely on armor to protect her, she has to play smart.

I remember mention that Mortum's playlist is more or less their origin story so wondered does the Mortumstep puppet playlist also have some kind of storyline?

I always try to have a general timing flow to it, from the start and then onward.

Will Black Sidesteps be able to choose braids as one of the new hairstyles in book 2?

Oh, nice suggestion! I should add that!

Will Shroud play an important role in book 3?

She will play A role. How big depends on path.

What was the long beach heroes attack in 2015? Were the rangers involved? what role did Locus play?

It was the last big attempt to root out Hollow Ground and not done by all of the Long Beach Heroes, just Locus, and Porphyry. Locus got the intel. The bar that was the current headquarter was razed to the ground, but nobody important was captured. The controversy had the Long Beach Heroes dissolved; they were deemed dangerous mavericks. Locus became a solo hero, working with various teams as a telepathic consultant. Porphyry dropped out of sight; rumors have it they moved to Mexico. The members who weren't present for the attack fared better. Both Zephyr and Blaze were recruited for the Guardians.

What does the rangers' work schedule look like? Especially since there's only like four of them

They do have the perk of being on top of the food chain. In general, they are reactive rather than proactive. The main schedule comes with dealing with the city and the media. Lots of meetings. Herald and Ortega tend to do the most patrolling; it never hurts stopping smaller crimes just to remind the city they exist. Lady Argent is the most proactive one, and she's also the one who prefers to hunt down villains before they become a problem. Steel gets stuck with the politicians.

If Ortega could ask Step one question that step promised to answer honestly, what would the question be?

When the fuck is your birthday? 

How do the ROs celebrate their birthdays and does this line up with how they would want to celebrate?

Ortega always throws a big party; it includes a mix of people who knows who they are, both from the hero business and civilians. They are pretty pleased with that, but not with how the years add up. 

Chen is usually dragged out to dinner by Ortega but would prefer if it was just ignored. 

Daniel has a small party; it tends to be friends outside the hero community. It's always a juggle to make sure Ortega doesn't invite themselves along. He usually has to have a separate one with that side of his life. 

Argent has a small thing, generally at Hoots. It always makes her look sad, for some reason. 

Dr. Mortum has not had one in years, it's too personal.

How much, if any, focus has been placed on robotics/ artificial intelligence as a field of science? Outside of ReGenes, of course. Are artificially intelligent/ self-operating robots in the traditional sci-fi sense of the term something that exist already, or are close to existing? 

It is a major focus, and the FH world has come further in that regard than our own. There are artificially intelligent/self-operating robots, but they are limited in scope due to their size and limited to military use. After some public incidences, they were banned on American soil. The EU is the one who employs them the most; they are more common in Europe. The flexibility/storage capacity is the major issue, which is something that Re-Genes were created to circumvent. By using the brain as wetware, it's got a lot faster processing speed than 'pure' robots. It has proven to be more cost-effective to use mods or exo-armors with human pilots to get the best of both worlds.

And on a similar token, are robots something the general population has any interest in? Do they feature much in fiction, or did the subject kind of lose its shine with how much advancement there's been in similar science & tech?

Robots used to be a lot more popular maybe thirty years ago when a massive breakthrough seemed to be just around the corner. These days it is more mundane and thus not really as fun. The big SF craze right now is space travel! There are rumors that there might be plans to go beyond earth's orbit, maybe even towards the moon.