Arachnos (City of Heroes)
Encyclopedia
In the backstory for the games City of Heroes
and City of Villains
, Arachnos is a criminal group formed in Italy on early 20th century. It is ruled by City of Heroes universe's most notorious villain: Lord Recluse.
. The announcement showed the City of Villains pre-order version would include an Arachnos costume piece and a limited edition "Lord Recluse versus Statesman" poster amongst other things.
With the first issue of Top Cow Productions
's series of City of Heroes comics, Arachnos appeared in a publication for the first time.
Arachnos' leader, Lord Recluse, went underground to weave his web of deceit before eventually emerging as the "legitimate" leader of the Rogue Isles, the nation shown in City of Villains
. Now Arachnos controls the Isles and Lord Recluse is, technically at least, considered a political figure —though he privately relishes the rare times he's able to get blood on his hands. Ruling a nation has allowed Lord Recluse to create armed forces, purchase military hardware, and even research alien technology, increasing this way Arachnos' power. Now, Arachnos fights to capture Paragon City, the city where City of Heroes takes place, which is the juicy fly wiggling at the fringe of Lord Recluse's web who will not rest until he has wrested Paragon from Statesman
, City of Heroes most important hero.
, and are only rarely encountered past level 29. Lord Recluse recruits legions of desperate souls to fill their ranks, then puts them through a rigorous training program that emphasizes loyalty, brutality, and discipline, in that order. They are generally equipped with pistols, sub-machineguns, Arachnos power maces, and shotguns. These soldiers take their namesake from a spider of the same name
.
most of their time in civilian clothes and assumed identities, ferreting out secrets or blackmailing business leaders into cooperating with Arachnos's designs. On missions that involve combat, Night Widows, Widows' highest ranking warriors, have discretion to form a strike team composed of other Arachnos forces. They are led by Ghost Widow. Blood Widow assassins are deadly opponents in melee combat.
descendants who serve to combat magic powered threats, such as the Circle of Thorns and magic-based heroes. Mu Mystics have a distinctively odd appearance; their legs, feet and arms are inexplicably bound, thus they move about only by flight. Mu mystics wield powerful crimson lightning abilities to assail their foes. Mu Adepts, the Mu Lieutenants, are the Mu Strikers who are given the secrets which allow them to unlock all of their power. Highest-ranked Mu, the Guardians, are those who have read unholy books and performed dark sacrifices to master the mystic arts.
.
team. and are employed to deal high level threats such as super-types. They're equipped with full body armor, larger weapons, and a set of mechanical spider arms. The said spider legs mount bladed claws and an SMG or energy cannon based on the type of Crab Spider that is wielding them. The Crab Spiders are led by Captain Mako.
City of Heroes
City of Heroes is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCsoft. The game was launched in North America on April 27, 2004 and in Europe on February 4, 2005 with English, German and French language...
and City of Villains
City of Villains
City of Villains is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCSoft. Released on October 31, 2005 , the game is integrated with their previous release, City of Heroes...
, Arachnos is a criminal group formed in Italy on early 20th century. It is ruled by City of Heroes universe's most notorious villain: Lord Recluse.
History
Arachnos were officially mentioned for the first time in an August 2005 press release by NCsoftNCsoft
NCsoft is a South Korea-based online video game company, which has published massively multiplayer online role-playing games including Lineage, City of Heroes, Wildstar, Exteel, Guild Wars and Aion.-History:...
. The announcement showed the City of Villains pre-order version would include an Arachnos costume piece and a limited edition "Lord Recluse versus Statesman" poster amongst other things.
With the first issue of Top Cow Productions
Top Cow Productions
Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, a partner studio of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.-History:...
's series of City of Heroes comics, Arachnos appeared in a publication for the first time.
Fictional organization history
In the universe of City of Heroes Arachnos was formed in the early part of the 20th century in Italy by a man known as The Weaver. Later, a villain called Lord Recluse took over the global network of Arachnos though betrayal; murder surely played a role. After taking over, Recluse subtly shifted Arachnos’s priorities and interests to better suit his own ideological goals.Arachnos' leader, Lord Recluse, went underground to weave his web of deceit before eventually emerging as the "legitimate" leader of the Rogue Isles, the nation shown in City of Villains
City of Villains
City of Villains is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCSoft. Released on October 31, 2005 , the game is integrated with their previous release, City of Heroes...
. Now Arachnos controls the Isles and Lord Recluse is, technically at least, considered a political figure —though he privately relishes the rare times he's able to get blood on his hands. Ruling a nation has allowed Lord Recluse to create armed forces, purchase military hardware, and even research alien technology, increasing this way Arachnos' power. Now, Arachnos fights to capture Paragon City, the city where City of Heroes takes place, which is the juicy fly wiggling at the fringe of Lord Recluse's web who will not rest until he has wrested Paragon from Statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
, City of Heroes most important hero.
Organization
Arachnos is ruled by Lord Recluse with an iron fist demanding blind loyalty and unswerving devotion from those who survive long enough to serve him. Under his guidance, Arachnos has become a multi-faceted and deadly group. They are skilled in information control, blackmail, espionage, and assassination, made up of both mortals and super-beings. They boast a potent military force and employ—overtly and covertly—numerous supers in a wide variety of roles.Wolf Spiders
Arachnos' basic troopers, the official government enforcers of the Rogue Isles. For the most part, they ignore petty crimes unless they have been hired to protect or watch over a particular client's interests. Considered little more than legalized thugs, they are commonly seen in low level zones as guards or cannon fodderCannon fodder
Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for military personnel who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where soldiers are forced to deliberately fight against hopeless odds in an effort to achieve a strategic goal...
, and are only rarely encountered past level 29. Lord Recluse recruits legions of desperate souls to fill their ranks, then puts them through a rigorous training program that emphasizes loyalty, brutality, and discipline, in that order. They are generally equipped with pistols, sub-machineguns, Arachnos power maces, and shotguns. These soldiers take their namesake from a spider of the same name
Wolf spider
Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae, from the Ancient Greek word "" meaning "wolf". They are robust and agile hunters with good eyesight. They live mostly solitary lives and hunt alone. Some are opportunistic hunters pouncing upon prey as they find it or even chasing it over short...
.
Arachnobots
Arachnobots, as their name implies, are spider-like robots that provide combat support to other Arachnos soldiers. Easily manufactured, these machines are generally considered expendable, and are armed primarily with SMGs and their own claws. Larger Arachnobots tend to pack stronger and more advanced weaponry.Fortunatas
Also known as Black Widows, Fortunatas are the psychic foot soldiers of Arachnos. A female only group, the Fortunatas are full-blown mystics, gifted with psychic powers that not even super-types can resist. Their Lieutenants, the Seers, are capable of peering into the future, which allows them to improve the defenses of the troops they lead. The leaders of the Fortunatas are the Mistresses; they are those who have mastered the largest quantity of psychic abilities.Widows
Widows are trained in the arts of stealth, infiltration, and disguise. They spendmost of their time in civilian clothes and assumed identities, ferreting out secrets or blackmailing business leaders into cooperating with Arachnos's designs. On missions that involve combat, Night Widows, Widows' highest ranking warriors, have discretion to form a strike team composed of other Arachnos forces. They are led by Ghost Widow. Blood Widow assassins are deadly opponents in melee combat.
Mu Mystics
A bizarre and powerful group led by Scirocco, the mystics of Arachnos are MuMu (lost continent)
Mu is the name of a hypothetical continent that allegedly existed in one of Earth's oceans, but disappeared at the dawn of human history.The concept and the name were proposed by 19th century traveler and writer Augustus Le Plongeon, who claimed that several ancient civilizations, such as those of...
descendants who serve to combat magic powered threats, such as the Circle of Thorns and magic-based heroes. Mu Mystics have a distinctively odd appearance; their legs, feet and arms are inexplicably bound, thus they move about only by flight. Mu mystics wield powerful crimson lightning abilities to assail their foes. Mu Adepts, the Mu Lieutenants, are the Mu Strikers who are given the secrets which allow them to unlock all of their power. Highest-ranked Mu, the Guardians, are those who have read unholy books and performed dark sacrifices to master the mystic arts.
Arachnos Drones
Arachnos' drones are hovering support robots armed primarily with energy cannons. The most powerful of teleporting a troublesome target to a prison cell, Arbiter DroneTarantulas
Arachnos Tarantulas are eight-legged, spider-like mechs that consist of a surgically altered pilot integrated with the armor itself. Tarantulas are armed with a wide variety of abilities based on their type. Aside from the standard type, there are Fire and Toxic types. Arachnos Fortunatas will occasionally volunteer to undergo the process to become a Tarantula, creating the psychic-wielding Tarantula Mistresses and Queens. Tarantulas are named after a spider of the same nameTarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of often hairy and often very large arachnids belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Some members of the same Suborder may also be called "tarantulas" in the common parlance. This article will restrict itself to...
.
Crab Spiders
Crab Spiders form what could be considered the Arachnos version of a SWATSWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
team. and are employed to deal high level threats such as super-types. They're equipped with full body armor, larger weapons, and a set of mechanical spider arms. The said spider legs mount bladed claws and an SMG or energy cannon based on the type of Crab Spider that is wielding them. The Crab Spiders are led by Captain Mako.