WarGPT started out as a character named M4A7 Sherman. It was a Mastermind (the pet class) with the Mercenaries and Force Field power sets.
The idea was that the character was an army tank re-imagined as an android who protects troops as they push across a battlefield. He was bulky and heavily-armored. He wore a standard military helmet with mirrored shades and a cigar to add a vague WWII-commander aesthetic.
I liked the reversal of the trope where a human commands an army of robots. Still, this wasn't one of my favorite characters to play until a final creative piece fell into place.
I watched a video on YouTube summarizing an AI doomsday scenario laid out in the book If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies. My morbid techie imagination was immediately gripped by the concept.
I renamed the character to WarGPT and changed its alignment to Villain. The character history basically wrote itself, with the soldiers' loyalty being nod to the many AI psychosis stories that have appeared in the news. A visual redesign soon followed.
And then some more visual redesigns followed! I had costume slots that needed filling!
And of course, Terminator T-800 homage:
On the Terminator theme, I always use the "Energy Morph" costume transition for this character, as it's very reminiscent of the Terminator's arrival from the future.
Now, I'm constitutionally incapable of not naming a pet when the game gives me the option, and City of Heroes lets you name any and all pets. For whatever reason, when I imagined a commander shouting a soldier's last name over a field radio, the first thing that popped in my head was "Skimbleshanks! Get the the hell outta there!!"
Thus Jellicle Squad was born:
From left to right: Mistoffelees, Bustopher, Pouncival, Macavity, Skimbleshanks, and Carbucketty
Once WarGPT has eliminated the rest of humanity, these six men will be the last to die.
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