Edit: This thread is for the discussion of the creation of a new otherworldly zone that is the other side of the magical rift in croatoa. My post here takes a look at some things we could consider including in this zone as well as contacts and factions which might exist there.
So as heroes we get a chance to go to a Magic Origin zone from Lv25 to Lv39 called Croatoa, this zone is in reference to the original LOST town Roanoke NOrth Carolina. where a sailor left the town including family behind, they were on good terms with the local natives so long as they stayed on that peice of land. And when he sailed back from Britain he found the entire town buildings and all missing. and the only clue was a small sign with the word "Croatoan" carved on it. This mystery has never been solved.
In City of heroes, Croatoa is a peice of land that sits atop a magical rift between Paragon's Universe and a place called "the sprit realm" in the game. However that name doesn't really do it justice and is just an all encompassing term used by the witches to refer to it as. In croatoa we get to see multiple fairy tale creatures from Irish Mythology spill over into Paragon's universe. Gnomes such as the Redcaps (which are actually leprechauns in Irish Mythology), Fir bolg, Tuatha De Dannon a few Wisps, and even a certain beloved swimming reptile grace the eerie fog covered landscape with a potential run in with ghosts, witches and a real actual giant man!
As you learn in the story, the other side of the rift has a war going on, more like an age old blood feud over control of magical resources, and it has apparently spilled over into the town of Salamanca.
The more you delve into it you realize that the controlling factions of the other side are all in fact various races of Fae, that's an overall classification of faeries (sometimes called Fairies) of which there are actually multiple types including gnomes, fir bolg, and tuatha, they are all Fae.
Thus we are to deduce that the other side of that rift is the Magical parallell universe of the Fae. Space, time, physics, many things will likely be different over there. I mean it is the very universe which contains Pan's neverland in fairy tales as well. It's likely to assume that nothing grows old nor dies over there. They probably have more than 1 sun and a few moons and the constellations will likely be wildly different.
It's a veritable wonderland (and might contain that too), and in CoH terms might come with a host of zone specific temp powers like "Magic Flight" if you do a mission to get a little pixie dust.
What are the factions?
Well obviously the ones who spilled over into Salamanca were actually just the grunt soldiers, the real organizers are on the other side and somehow forbidden from crossing unless they can erect hedges in specific patterns over magic rift lines. probably because the physics of Paragon's Universe can't support their existence naturally. So we are talking terifying creatures such as higher echelon Fir bolg and Tuatha, and gnomes of various sorts, and some friendly things such as well humans like Kelly Nemmers wont actually be a ghost over there she'd be alive flesh and blood so theres probably a town over there of "dead" people who had died and passed over in salamanca, such as the original residents of Roanoke, probably missing children abducted by gnomes and pixies undergoing magical transformations, Banshees etc.. And if Heroes go over they'll probably encounter ghastly figures of students hanging around ghastly classrooms at the Salamanca Uni saying "It just got cold suddenly.. sent shivers up my spine did you feel that?" when you get close.
Other factions:
Royal Fae, if you delve into Fae myth a zone in the world of the Fae can't be without it's Royalty. The austere immortal race known as the Royal Fae, who are practically human sized, look sorta human just much more clean and tidy.
they are neither good nor evil. imagine this was the garden of eden, these were the "'other people" who didn't eat the forbidden fruit. Myth states they look down upon humans (we are lower beings to them, like we think of cats and dogs), like most Fae they are known to make servants of humans. the catch is unlike other Fae, the royal fae don't need to do this to reproduce and create more of their race! instead the royal fae can reproduce just fine on their own. They offer contracts to humans the standard print is "you will work for me for 100 years, and for each year you work I will grant you that many years extra life after you leave my service, you may sign this contract as many times as you like."
it seems benevolent, and in a way it is, but.. it's magically binding. and the penalties for breach of contract are taken in various forms. parts of your soul, years of your life, your children's/family's health, years off your next life, or even a curse or two or a direct downgrade to lower fae. and if you pay in years of life as many humans foolishly do because they make the logical connection that they can't age nor die there, they soon find out that when all their years are spent they end up like Kelly Nemmers, dead and bound to the other world unable to pass back over.
The Royal Fae, may be one of the contact points for missions. but they wont talk to you without a really really high grade introduction. You'll be punished for attempting to talk with them (they are enemies) before you are given an introduction or sold to them. Lucky for you if you are sold to them they don't believe in slavery and merely contract you.
All is not light and well though in faerie land. there are also malefic forces at work there, demons and fallen angels also reside in the depths of the caves of this realm. the minions of whom our infamous Circle of Thorns have been able to summon from oranbega because they managed to make a soul exchange with a creature in the exact same place (deep underground) in the Fae Universe. This could theoretically turn the Circle of Thorns into a non-enemy faction with contacts in the Fae kingdom, but they do have their agendas too so it's likely they are enemies on the map as well..
Add in some tsoo ancestors, who aren't spirits, and are dressed in black and red and white robes who again could have some good guy contacts and I think you get the general idea.
and if that isn't dark enough for you, well, then we get into the real monsters. Giants are just the tip of the thumb here. theres Cave trolls, Minotaurs, Oni, Vampires (non-council), Werewolves (non-council), Imps, dragons, and various things with lots of venom filled spikes and claws and teeth and eyes that you probably don't want to meet. and probably a bunch of druids with reanimated bones of things long dead on earth but not so dead at all there.
Given that the enemies are obviously way more powerful than their grunts we encountered in Croatoa, this Zone is likely going to be Lv50+ for incarnate content.
The thought crosses my mind to make it even more interesting and make it an Incarnate PVP zone inviting villains to join as well. but that's debatable!
An additional thought here is that Pan (not as in peter, but as in greek mythology) would be a likely candidate for the leader of the Tuatha. and Hes probably a magicly powered Incarnate AV shape-shifter with ranged transformative debuffs. /em alakazam style. this will likeyly be one of the "physics" differences of that universe, the inclusion of the Mez "Enchanted" which changes your form and forces you to play by the powers of that form most higher beings over there likely have this power, players might be able to get it as well, but it probably wont work in Paragon or be otherwise limited.
Story Arc flow:
Mission goals will likely be rescue or escorts initially, starting with human contacts asking you to go rescue their children from redcap, fir bolg or tuatha abductors. glowie clicking where you are asked to retrieve years of their life or parts of their soul or find a way to lift a curse and maybe restore them to their original time-line back on earth. and then this gets you to run-in with the more powerful factions, introducing contacts of magically powered human groups such as Tsoo, Circle etc. which will then likely have you doing raids on magical resources, and thus entering the conflict in full which will likely get you defeated and sold to some higher Fae group and being forced to sign a contract to pay back your magical debt by agreeing to use your powers to challenge the other factions leaders directly (Taskforce or itrial). and as some players commented maybe this should unlock and help earn one of the incarnate tiers.
The end result could be defeating an array of fuedal Fae, monstrosities and fallen Angelic lords, ending a battle of the Fae Throne, reuniting the kingdom and recrowning a true-blood Fae King or Queen whose been in hiding in Paragon and ending the conflict, at least for a time. the typical "thank you for helping me get my kingdom back, maybe humans aren't lower beings after all. being forced to live among you we really are no different except in life expectancy, maybe that should change." or something of that nature.
