The Abrogator’s Guide to the Street Level Hero’s Look
The Author
I am at heart neither a white collar nor a blue collar man. In truth I am a no collar man at all. I am a person who, whether I am at church or walking on the beach, cannot tolerate wearing clothes that I do not feel comfortable working in. In my meager wardrobe I have only three shirts that reach past my elbows, most don’t make it past my shoulders. Only one pair of jeans in my closet has yet to earn a whole in a knee or at the edge of a pocket. It is in this attire that I face the world when I am not wearing my uniform and it is in this attire I face the world of City of Heroes.
The Argument
The hidden identity is a long-standing theme in the Super Hero genre of fiction, but in a city with the greatest costumed hero population in the world how relevant could a hidden identity truly be? With a Hero Corps in place that requires all heroes to register no ones identity is truly hidden. Every robotic mastermind in the Rogue Isles can hack the Hero Corps database on their lunch breaks and sell your identity to junk mail lists for spare Infamy. A truly inconspicuous hero will not put on bright and flowing attire, but the attire of an average citizen. By taking on the attire of the least powerful of the populous a hero is able to eliminate a villain’s ability to profile people as targets. If every hero wears an outfit so bright that it can be seen from a mile away then any villain above a security level threat of five will be able to avoid them like the plague and prey on Paragon’s citizens at their leisure. It is with the attire of an average citizen that a hero can cause their enemy to fear the citizen and think twice before assaulting them.
The Attire
The attire of the street level hero is simple and understated. No one who sticks with the principle of the street level hero will ever waist valuable time in Icon wriggling into a set of tights when they can be using that time to give Zoria’s minions a healthy fear of the surface world. By scrolling quickly to the following selections, you can fit the bill of a street level hero and show a healthy dose of street smarts.
Head:
- Standard
- Hats
Hair:
- Anything that actually passes for hair. Go a little wild but don’t let it get to out of hand. Hair that defies gravity just screams “SUPER POWERS”.
Face:
- Male: Face 7, 10, 12 and 13. Whatever you do, don’t take Face1. Spock meets Tom Cruise… yuk.
- Female: Face 10, 13 and 14 can cover just about any personality.
Ears:
- The default is human… leave it that way.
Detail 1:
- Throw on a pair of shades if you are looking for some added personality, just keep in mind that your goal is not to have the Family try and recruit you to manage their working women.
Detail 2:
- Males can give the beard a quick trim here and drive on.
Upper body:
- Males stick with Tight.
- Females can show a little Skin or grab a Shirt.
Chest:
- Male:T-Shirt or Tank Top
- Female: Sport, Tanker, Tee, Anything under the shirts option.
Shoulders:
- Skip it.
Chest Detail:
- No need unless you want a logo for that Tee
Gloves
- Male: Fingerless or Bare
- Female: Small Padded or Bare
Belt:
- Simple Leather or Leather Eyelets
Pants:
- Baggy Pants, grab them and go. Only choice here should be color. Just keep in mind, you really would get your butt kicked if you wore orange jeans to school.
Boots:
- What does it matter? Only the toe is showing so just make it match and move along, nothing to see here.
Back Detail:
- Until they give up Backpacks don’t even think about it.
The Allowances
In the later levels a jacket, hat, or different set of pants will help to add variety. Just keep in mind that the goal of street level hero is to blend in with the NPC’s not blind them.
