The various enemy groups within VideoGame/CityOfHeroes display many tropes in their own right.
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[[foldercontrol]]

!!Major Enemy Groups

[[folder:Arachnos]]
!Arachnos
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cov2.jpg]]
The biggest villain group of the setting, and one found through ''all'' level ranges. Villain Players work with/for Arachnos, while Heroes must defeat it at every turn. Arachnos rules the Rogue Isles utterly, and constantly send forces to attack Paragon City. Their leader is Lord Recluse.
* AnimalMotifs: As the name suggests, Arachnos has a spider theme - the only members that don't are the Mu Mystics.
* AwesomeByAnalysis: Captains and Widows project stat boosts to all local soldiers, in-game this is due to Lord Recluse observing the situation through a PsychicLink and giving step-by-step instruction on what movements to anticipate, making soldiers react according to a super genius, so fast that it’s all basically intuitive.
** This is also a base function of the Arachnos Arbiters, but for societal issues instead of combat.
* ApeShallNeverKillApe: The Arachnos Arbiters are never to be harmed, and the only ones immune to KlingonPromotion as they are removed from the pecking order to become avatars of Arachnos’ law and order; Lives are cheap, honor among supervillains is not!
* BadAssBureaucrat: The Arbiters are so well protected that they can confidently stroll up to homicidal manics and put their feet down for legal judgments, assured no one in the Rogue Isles will dare hurt them.
* BadAssNormal: Most of the rank-and-file soldiers are regular humans just with really good military training and support, yet they can still take out entire teams of super-heroes, NPC or PC, if their opponents underestimate them.
* BetterLivingThroughEvil: According to NPC chatter, a few Arbiter and Operative quest givers, Arachnos covers medical expenses, pays well, comes with company housing, free schooling for the children of soldiers, a generous retirement plan, sick days and even three weeks of paid vacation a year! There is a reason Arachnos never needs to draft anyone or use propaganda. [[YouHaveFailedMe Just... don’t let them down.]]
* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: One of the very, very few CardCarryingVillain examples. With all the psychic, mind-control and possession powers out there, Arachnos keeps itself from being compromised by making psychic-conditioning requisite to receive a promotion into the upper ranks. Needless to say, they edit out any dissenting thoughts against Lord Recluse while they are at it.
* CarryABigStick: Arachnos soldiers primarily make use of powered maces for hand-to-hand combat. Apart from being used to beat enemies, they can also [[BoomStick fire blasts of energy]] or (in the case of Bane Spiders) [[PoisonedWeapon poison opponents with their spikes or blades]].
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Arachnos Widows and Fortunatas.
* CityGuards: Some Arachnos mooks serve this role in the Rogue Isles, while the Arbiter Drones are invincible guardians of safe zones.
* DoWrongRight: Half the time they are fighting other villains it is for this reason. In combinations with their Darwinian outlook they feel villains who can't be proper villains should either learn to be or die.
* CrimeFightingWithCash: The Arbiters don’t solve anything with force that they can solve just by buying out other criminals to cooperate with Arachnos.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Has both male and female minions, though the [=NPCs=] ''are'' gender segregated, with female 'Widow' assassins and 'Fortunata' psychics, while males are Wolf, Bane and Crab Spiders. The player epic archetype Soldiers of Arachnos has no such restriction, however.
* EvilVirtues: They strongly encourage at least a couple of these in their troops.
* FantasticRecruitmentDrive: They do this for no less than three different recruit types, The Mu, The Seers and The Destined Ones. Current Mu scry for other descendants of their line with magic in their blood to be indoctrinated into their cult. Seers scan for anyone with even a slight sixth sense - who when found are bought-off/taken from their parents (if any) to an [[BoardingSchoolOfHorrors Arachnos psychic education facility]]. Both of the above detect the Destined Ones (the players), who are scouted out ahead of time as being in possession of far more agency over their own fate than the average thug; Hence they are sought out and given the grand tour.
* FromNoBodyToNightmare: They used to be a small practically unknown assassin guild in Italy, then Lord Recluse took over and turned them into a government, that despite the size of their country is consider a world power now.
* FoodChainOfEvil: They form this in the Rogue Isles. Gangsters, Psychic Robots, Nazis, Body-hopping ghost wizards and aliens are all suitably afraid of these guys. Every single new zone you enter will have Arachnos on the upper if not top tier of it's threat level to keep the other villains in line.
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Sure, the base description of the Arachnos Seer Network doesn't sound too impressive - it is a psychic network used by Fortunatas and Seers as a telepathic communication method. But the true power of this is witnessed in Grandville, where the network is revealed to have four uses as the CareBearStare version of a PsychicBlockDefense, a PsychicLink, a HiveMind and an IntrinsicVow; All of which have been in effect the entire game. Ever wonder why Fortunata's are so hard to use control moves on once they have a chance to make their heads glow like that? That is why, you are literally going up against a small country of psychic wills at once!
* HegemonicEmpire: As long as the residents of Rogue Isles pay their dues, avoid civilian murder and remember who’s in charge, they’re perfectly content to maintain a laissez-faire government. That said they do ''not'' intend to be as hands off for Paragon.
* IntrinsicVow: The Arachnos Seer Network is used to edit any thoughts of treachery against Lord Recluse and enforce loyalty. This is not only public knowledge, it is voluntary. Soldiers and Fortunatas understand when they swear to serve Arachnos they are agreeing to be psychically bound to said oath.
* MoreThanMindControl: Sure the Seer Network hypnotizes troops, but the truth is other than having any secret plots or resentment against Lord Recluse literally erased, said troops are more or less left with their free-will intact.
* NayTheist: Arachnos have made religion illegal in the Rogue Isles; Specifically because Lord Recluse is an actual demi-god so pledging loyalty to any full god is essentially national treason.
* NaziHunter: They are on record for mercilessly hunting down the 5th Column or wiping out entire Council cels for so much as finding Nazi paraphernalia, and even carpet bombing sections of their own country they find 5th Column bases in just to make sure the Nazi S.O.B.s are powderized; Social Darwinists - they REALLY don’t like white supremacists!
* ThePlayerIsTheMostImportantResource: Their seers have foreseen the "Destined Ones" otherwise dime a dozen villains who specifically will achieve great things (referencing the advantage a P.C. naturally has over .N.P.C.s). They break you out of jail and give you the grand tour of evil specifically because they consider you this. Although that said they do intend to put you through...
* PraetorianGuard: Bane Spider Executioners serve as this to Lord Recluse.
* PragmaticVillainy: There are a few psychopaths in their ranks, but by in large they fit the trope perfectly, they do amoral- well... EVIL things, entirely for their own benefit and not to cause pain.
* PsychicBlockDefense: The Seer Network - made up of the Widows/Fortunatas telepathically linking too each other - the first couple being put through intense brainwashing to the point they were 100% loyal, and that mindset subconsciously transferring to newer generations, and rewriting their neural pathways so they literally can’t mentally process betrayal. This of course makes possession, outside mind-reading and extended mind control all but impossible once one Widow/Fortunata and the troops they’re guiding are linked to the collective.
* PolicePsychic: What they’re seers, forunatas and widows are for when not acting as psychic super soldiers. They don’t really care about dissenting thoughts though, just active plans of government subversion.
* PunchClockVillain: Figuratively and quite literally. Nearly all their ranks are people who are professional villains specially cause Lord Recluse is paying them and rewards an odd mix of personal ambition and the ability to follow orders.
* RetGone: How they deal with people who kill Arbiters or start ethnic cleansing campaigns - they fire up their time machine- often by causing miscarriages by attacking their pregnant mothers. Characters deleted for racist undertones/overtones are canonically attributed to Arachnos altering the timeline to ensure they don’t have to put up with that garbage.
* StatusEffects: Arachnos has one of the widest selections of control and debuff effects spread between its many enemy types.
* SocialDarwinists: It's their primary outlook, heavily enforced by Lord Recluse. Arachnos lives and dies, literally, by enforcing that the weak need to either accept the strong as their masters, or die defying them. One of their de-motivational-posters even proudly proclaims "Obey and live".
* SpiderTank: Their Tarantula units consist of both spider mutants with cybernetic attachments emphasizing the spider shape, or man-sized-tanks shaped like spiders controlled by A.I.s.
* TrainingFromHell: Arachnos doesn't want pre-destiny to make you soft. After all how will you get strong enough to be an asset if no one opens fire on you from time to time?
* VillainousRescue: It turns out THEY are the ones who answered The Resistance’s distress call to Primal Earth. Not that Arachnos are there out of the goodness of their hearts - they are all for anarchy equating to personal freedom and best case scenario get to become the new government when they overthrow the Praetorian government, and at worst will be allies of a newly formed Resistance government with access to all of the previous one’s tech and resources - win/freaking-win!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Longbow]]
!Longbow
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/longbow1.jpg]]

A heroic organization created to strike back at Arachnos in the Rogue Isles, Longbow serves as a major thorn in the side of Villain players in all level ranges.
* CityGuards: Can occasionally be found patrolling Paragon City in this role. They also respond to villain incursions in Mayhem Missions.
* [[EqualOpportunityEvil Equal Opportunity Good]]: Has both male and female members, with no distinction or separation between them.
* GatlingGood: 'Longbow Minigun' mooks.
* KillItWithFire: Longbow Flamethrowers. The description notes that the organization try not to deploy these weapons [[SlaveToPR in front of TV-cameras]].
* KnightTemplar: They can fall into this upon occasion, employing tactics and schemes similar to those of Arachnos when operating in the Isles.
* SuperpoweredMooks: Longbow Wardens have been genetically modified to gain superpowers, which tends to turn their skin an unusual color. There are several Warden variants, each with a distinct powerset.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Circle of Thorns]]
!The Circle of Thorns
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/city_of__circle_mystics.png]]

The denizens of the ancient, mystical, and [[ScrappyLevel badly-designed]] city of Oranbega, constantly kidnapping the people of Paragon City for use in their various dark rites... or just to kill outright, if they should happen to be part of the unfortunate third of the world's population (!) that happens to be of the bloodline of their ancient enemies, the Mu. [[spoiler:The most popular rite, of course, being a Type 3 DemonicPossession, where the ancient Oranbegan takes the body of the unfortunate victim and the body's former owner gets stuffed into the Library of Souls.]]
* AlasPoorVillain: They are desperately trying to lift the curse on themselves. Rest assured though, any virtue they once had was emotionally pawned-off ages ago in service of escaping said curse.
* BlackCloak: The general aesthetic of the Circle of Thorns, especially prior to their cosmetic overhaul.
* BlackMagic: The Circle's stock-in-trade. When your leftover magic paraphenalia tends to include bloodstained altars, skulls, demons, and displaced souls, you're probably not on the side of sweetness and good.
* BodySurf: [[spoiler:The human members are doing this at least daily, there original bodies have vanished - Those terrified citizens you see surrounded by green energy being used for some sort of ritual? Yeah, those are where the Circle’s physical bodies come from. As soon as one dies/burns out, they just hop into a new terrified civi being rounded up by lower members.]]
* BondVillainStupidity: The ''do'' love to monologue.
** Also stealing the soul of the king of evil’s girlfriend was probably one of the biggest mistakes they ever made.
* BullyingTheDragon: They spied Red Widow getting caught in a rockslide during a battle between Statesman and Lord Recluse and made the ''phenomenally'' bad decision to suck out her soul before Lord Recluse could get to her to get her medical attention. The Circle are now one of the only villains Lord Recluse wants murdered on sight.
* ColorCodedWizardry: You can tell who is sporting what powers by what color cloaks they wear, [[spoiler: unless you are fighting a possessed scientist who can be any of the below.]] Orange is fire, Green is life, tan is earth, red is kenetics, dark blue is storm, light blue is frost, black is soul and purple is mesmerism.
* DealWithTheDevil - The Oranbegans were cursed when they made a deal with some demons to keep from being wiped out in an ancient war. Or, more specifically, when they failed to keep their part of the bargain. Which was to... well, basically feed... every last man, woman, and child of the enemy country to the demons. Unsurprisingly, they found they couldn't go through with it -- the deal had been made out of desperation, not bloodlust -- and so got cursed. Cue some twelve ''thousand'' years later, the Oranbegans having gone somewhat insane in the intervening years, and trying to rectify their 'mistake'. Unfortunately, their enemies were apparently a rather fecund bunch, and some two billion people can claim Mu ancestry. This doesn't seem to have deterred the Oranbegans.
** Another example would be the original Circle of Thorns, which was something of an Aleister Crowley-like occult group, who discovered the ghosts of the ancient Oranbegans and cut a deal with them for power. [[spoiler:Of course, they merely ended up becoming their first hosts.]]
* DemonicPossession: Since they summon demons, this should come as no surprise it occasionally comes up. [[spoiler: But as it turns out this is not the exception with the Circle of Thorns, but the rule!]]
* EthnicMagician: Their very culture is rooted in magic; Studying their culture and learning spells are one and the same.
* EvilSorcerer: An entire cult/society of them.
* IgnoredEpiphany: The mage Akarist points out that the demons they summoned to save their culture have changed them so much, their culture is effectively gone. The others are implied to realize he is right, they just don’t care at that point.
* MagicalSociety: The original Circle was just another occult society in Europe, until their founders made contact with the spirits of Oranbega.
* TheMagocracy: How their society functions.
* PoorCommunicationKills: They made a bargain with a Hell goddess, where they would get an army of demons to wipe out their enemies, on conditions they showed no mercy and killed everyone even after they surrendered. They felt so bad having to kill people begging for mercy they gave their widows and children a pass and told them to flee their country. Little did they realize when said Hell goddess said to “They had to kill everyone” she meant “Kill EVERYONE”!
* PowerDegeneration: The magic of the Oranbegans seems to burn them out from the inside, which explains why they look so zombie-like under their hoods. [[spoiler:Doubles as PossessionBurnout.]]
* PowersViaPossession: [[spoiler:The newer members are told to complete the rites to allow them to become magi they must plunge a magic thorn into their heart. None of the older members bother to mention , of course, doing so pops out their souls too.]]
* ReligionOfEvil: While originally they were a religion of knowledge, they needed to invoke a Hell goddess for protection, who has firmly reworked them into demons worship and soul stealing.
* SadisticChoice: Whenever they find a [[SecretLegacy descendant of the Mu bloodline]] they offer them the chance to either join the Circle of Thorns and begin intense brainwashing to drive out their humanity including killing those close to them, or the group use those they capture as ritual sacrifices. [[spoiler: Either way they possess said descendants to use their magic bloodline to manifest their spells through.]]
* TakingYouWithMe: The lieutenant-level Circle Mages are able to self-destruct when they reach low health.
* TheDarksideWillMakeYouForget: Newer members are won over with the very real possibility of gaining magic powers, the rites required to gain said powers quickly involve emotional abuse, self-mutilation and murder; Sure enough the end result is full on magic, but by then they are brainwashed into naught but extensions of the Circle. [[spoiler: The kicker is the final trial is plunging a thorn-blade into their hearts, which sucks out their soul so the actual magi’s spirits can possess the empty vessels. But even before that, the original hosts get reduced to little more than cult thralls before the full possession; Complete with troubled youth trying to ritually sacrifice their friends, parents and siblings.]]
* TheseusShipParadox: The mage, Akarist, claims they have fallen into this - they changed so much of their society to accommodate their demonic benefactors that the original culture of Oranbega is long gone.
* VirtueIsWeakness: They consider honor and mercy a veneration of flaws: Though they do have a fairly justifiable reason for believing this;[[spoiler: Namely that they were cursed by the demons they summoned for showing mercy on their enemies instead of wiping them out once they won the battle. A few thousand years of undeath as punishment ingrained a new merciless, conniving mindset in them.]]
* WakeUpCallBoss: While their entire group can be seen as this, their named arch-mages are some of the most powerful early bosses the game will toss at you; As said magi have genuine super-powers via spells. Compare them to the Clockwork or Hellions whose biggest challenge is they can use ranged attacks while having decent HP and the guys able throw holds, blasts and support around all at the same time become real threats. A good metric of how tough the Player is getting, is how easily they can solo a Circle Mage Boss. When you feel confident going into an encounter with a Circle Arch-Mage, you have arrived.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rikti]]
!The Rikti
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rikti4.jpg]]

The original main villains of the setting. The Rikti are an alien race who launched an unprovoked invasion of Earth which was only narrowly repelled, and during which many of the city's heroes were killed. It is into this vacuum that the player heroes must step. [[spoiler: It was ultimately revealed that the Rikti themselves are actually massively genetically-altered humans from an alternate dimension Earth, and the Rikti War itself was not unprovoked, but instigated entirely by Nemesis by means of a tragic FalseFlagOperation.]]
* AlienInvasion: [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted.]]
* AlternateUniverse: [[spoiler:Their ''real'' origin.]]
* ArmCannon: Rikti Gunmen have a [[{{BFG}} large plasma cannon]] integrated into their power armor.
* AttackDrone: The Rikti have these in spades. They're only armed with a PlasmaCannon, but [[GoddamnedBats they also tend to be hard to hit and can see through stealth.]]
* {{BFS}}: Rikti Infantry use energy-bladed swords about as large as they are for hand-to-hand combat. Later upgraded to [[MixAndMatchWeapon gun-blades]] when Issue 10 was released, allowing the Rikti to switch between ranged and melee combat without having to redraw weapons.
* BizarreAlienBiology: Looking at the Rikti, you'd be hard-pressed to believe they were [[spoiler:once human]]. They have flat, wedge-shaped head crests, [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]] [[MonochromaticEyes featureless eyes]], beak-like (seemingly, see below) mouthless faces, [[LeanAndMean spindly, almost bony-looking bodies]], large forearms and lower legs, [[FourFingeredHand large three-clawed hands]], and feet vaguely resembling those of an elephant or sauropod. They also have what appears to be a vestigial tail and, prior to their redesign, also had [[ShouldersOfDoom large, bulbous shoulders]] that matched the general appearance of the pauldrons of their armor.
* ColonCancer: Rikti Communication: Imperfect, at least until [[spoiler:the Mk. III Translator was invented during the Second Rikti War]].
* EnemyCivilWar: The Rikti are increasingly divided between the Traditionalists, who seek to end the conflict with Earth and establish peaceful relations with humanity, and the Restructurists, who aim to totally alter their society in the name of fighting on by ensuring the Lineage of War remains dominant.
* FullFrontalAssault: Prior to the group's redesign in Issue 10, Rikti infantry went around [[https://homecoming.wiki/w/images/b/bd/C_OldRikti_Infantry.JPG completely naked]]. Needless to say [[FanDisservice it wasn't pretty]], and was arguably a form of NightmareRetardant, given that it was hard to take the fearsome alien invaders seriously when they were fighting butt ass naked. Thankfully, Issue 10 fixed that by giving them practical, lightly-armored jumpsuits (pictured above).
* KillerSpaceMonkey: The Rikti Monkeys, little psionic pests.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: The Rikti are [[spoiler:transformed humans from another dimension]] and are [[spoiler:divided into two opposing factions, one of which wants to make peace with the humans.]] These two are major reveals in the original Rikti arcs but the Vanguard ones mention them offhandedly.
* LogicalWeakness: The Rikti had effectively wiped out magic on their homeworld when they [[spoiler:killed off the gods of their Earth]]. Thus, they were caught completely off guard during the Rikti War when they found themselves confronted by a slew of magic-based heroes like the Midnight Squad, as well as the Circle of Thorns when they [[TooDumbToLive attempted to invade Oranbega]]. To that end, their armored soldiers have absolutely no resistances to Fire, Cold and Negative Energy damage, damage types commonly affiliated with magic.
* MartialPacifist: [[spoiler: The Rikti are traditionally this, retaining a military largely for ceremonial purposes in times of peace. As Earth's heroes found out the hard way, that doesn't make it any less deadly.]]
* NoMouth: The Rikti appear to be this way at a glance. WordOfGod says they have thin, lipless mouths that are only really visible when they eat or drink.
* PinataEnemy: Rikti Communications Officers. They're minion-level enemies with a weak plasma pistol attack that can [[EnemySummoner open up portals to gate in more Rikti]]. Originally, the portals themselves offered a hefty amount of experience when destroyed, but it was eventually fixed so the Comm. Officers granted the increased experience reward instead.
* PlasmaCannon: The favored ranged weapons of the Rikti, outside of psionic attacks.
* PoweredArmor: Higher-ranking Rikti wear suits of powered combat armor.
* PsychicLink: A unique case. The Rikti are generally linked to eachother via a mental network, but don't have a strict HiveMind and all exhibit individual personalities, to the point where factions are able to form in their ranks.
* PsychicPowers: Rikti Mentalists and Mesmerists have these in abundance, and all Rikti possess a level of telepathy.
* TheRemnant
* ThatOneBoss: Elite Boss-rank Rikti Magi only appear in one place (when players assault a downed Rikti Mothership en masse), but their wide-area damage and control abilities make them the single largest threat to the raid.
* ScaryDogmaticAliens
* ViewerGenderConfusion: The Rikti have male and female sexes, but telling them apart from one another is a difficult task for non-Rikti, especially given that most of them are clad in power armor.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vanguard]]
!The Vanguard
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vanguard_more_avs.jpg]]

Less of an enemy group, since they are only rarely fought by either heroes or villains; the Vanguard is an organisation which works with both Heroes and Villains in order to repel the Rikti.
* DemonicSpider: A rare example in that it's on purpose. Vanguard mobs have strong resistance and defense debuffs, powerful attacks and several hated powers, but the players only fight them a few times.
* ThatOneAttack: The Curse of Weariness, a debuff inflicted by Vanguard bosses. Even after several nerfs, it severely weakens an affected character, lasts several minutes, and doesn't go away on death. There is an (expensive!) item that removes it. The original version neutered your character for ''half an hour''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Praetorians]]
!The Praetorians
The original high-level enemies of the setting, the Praetorians originate from an alternate reality which is close to a MirrorUniverse - the greatest heroes of Paragon City are the cruel and tyrannical rulers of Praetorian Earth. They are greatly expanded on in the expansion ''Going Rogue'', which allows new players to begin playing as a Praetorian.
* MirrorUniverse
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Paragon Police Department]]
!Paragon Police Department
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ppd1.jpg]]

The brave protectors of Paragon City, the thin blue line. Despite the numbers of superheroes within the city, the police still have an important role to play as investigators and first responders, directing heroes to where they can be of most use and tidying up after the heroes have taken down the most dangerous threats. The hero Blue Steel is closely associated with the Department.

To battle the strongest of villains on their own terms, some of the force also gain access to superpowers themselves, with Psychic Detectives and Powered Armour putting in appearances, while other cops choose to merge with alien [[EnergyBeings Kheldians]] to gain powers.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: How many of them feel about super heroes, though they still work with them.
* BeingGoodSucks: How they feel about having to follow regulations and civil rights concerns over going in full force to stop super criminals. A former one who fled to the Rogue Isles states this outright.
* CorruptCop: Paragon used to be full of them. Back Alley Brawler has spent the past few decades cleaning them up. They’re mostly gone now, mostly*.
* GamePlayAndStorySegregation: Storywise they are struggling to keep up with super-criminals and need to look into alternatives like alien parasites or a psychic training program, but ask any ''City of Villains'' player, and the SWAT members of the P.P.D. are ''way'' more trouble than The Symbiotes or Psychic Cops.
* GoddamnedBats: Ask any ''City of Villains'' player about their most hated PPD mob and odds are good, it won't be any of the aforementioned psychics of powered armor or alien hybrid cops. It'll be either the SWAT Equalizer, or the SWAT Ghost, mobs that are limited one of each to a spawn and only appear for the middle half of the level progression. The former fires an autohitting glue grenades that slows any player to a crawl long, long after the mob is dead. The latter launches a blind grenade that, [[LuckBasedMission if it hits]], neuters a character's ability to fight and survive, again, for a long long time after the mob is dead.
** This was best evident in Issue 19, when Heroes were first exposed to Rogue PPD, including the Ghosts and Equalizers. The villains' {{schadenfreude}} at their complaints of difficulty was delectable.
* LightIsGood: All Awakened officers seen are Peacebringers who control light.
* PoliceAreUseless: Played with, the police of Paragon certainly know how to do their jobs, but there simply aren’t enough of them; It takes a whole police precinct just to hold a gangland like the Hollows from spilling over into the civilian communities.
* PolicePsychic: It takes a very long intensive training program but the Psy-Op officers can use psionic blasts and telekinesis. They only make up about 10% of the force though.
* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Like Arachnos they have some police psychics, however unlike Arachnos they only use them to fight super-criminals, not, say foil them before they strike.
* TheSymbiote: The P.P.D. have a program where cops can volunteer to let themselves become merged with Kheldians. Said cops are super powerful as a result and said Kheldians are quite happy to have hosts to extend their life spans, however…
* YourDaysAreNumbered: The members of the P.P.D. that volunteer for Kheldian fusion are substantially more powerful, but doing so eats up about a quarter of their life span. Let’s hope that comes with an early retirement plan.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Soldiers of Rularuu]]
!Soldiers of Rularuu
The massive dimension-consuming monstrosity known as Rularuu the Ravager was sealed within the Shadow Shard by the Midnight Squad in the Sixties; the various abominations that form his army now roam that prison freely, seeking ways to aid their master's escape.

* FacelessEye: The Watchers are massive floating eyes with toothy, chompy eyelids.
* LargeAndInCharge: Rularuu is the tallest villain in the entire game, at a massive 100 feet.
* SealedEvilInACan: If Rularuu escapes, he ''will'' destroy the world.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shivans]]
!Shivans
Back in the Eighties, an alien probe was discovered in Australia. Its message, when translated, warned of a terrifying planetary devourer that had already consumed the world of the warning, and was now headed for earth. An international team of heroes was formed to combat this entity, now named 'Shiva'... and they were entirely successful, destroying Shiva with a nuclear rocket at [[HeroicSacrifice the cost of their own lives]].

Shortly afterwards, however, the island of Bloody Bay within the Rogue Isles was devastated by a meteor shower; worse still, strange radiation was emitted by the meteors and horrific fusions of human corpses and blue protoplasm arose from the cemetaries. The devastated island was abandoned - until it was discovered that the meteor shards could provide superpowers. Now Arachnos and Longbow fight over the island... but the monstrous Shivans are still there. Are they trying to reconstitute and consume the world?

[[spoiler: With the launch of Freedom, another Shivan attack entirely [[TrashTheSet destroys Galaxy City]]; the Shivans are steadily becoming a much more obvious threat.]]
[[/folder]]

!!Gangs of Paragon City

[[folder:Hellions]]
!The Hellions
One of the earliest villain groups. The Hellions are a fire-themed gang of demon worshippers and the arch-rivals of the Skulls.
* DealWithTheDevil - A possible source of their flame powers.
* EqualOpportunityEvil - Once all male, their ranks recently expanded to include the Girlfriend From Hell, [[MookMaker demon-summoning women]] who terrify most of the troops.
* HollywoodSatanism: Done intentionally, The Hellions are poser malcontents who’ve been sold on Satan worship in movies, and just barely scrape the surface of the arcane through a shared mindset sold to them by popular culture.
* KillItWithFire - Their main motif. Their bosses are the fire-wielding Damned.
* ManBehindTheMan - [[spoiler: They're being manipulated by the Warriors.]]
* MovesetClone: In a sense with the Skulls. The organizations are nearly identical aside from the bosses and the different groups' resistances.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse - The Hellions don't really seem to have a leader, so their storyline is never really resolved - players just move on to more threatening villains once they outlevel them, leaving the Hellions to terrorize the citizens of Atlas Park for ever more.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Skulls]]
!The Skulls
Another starting gang, the Skulls have a death motif instead of the Hellions' fire. Their leaders are the negative-energy-controlling Bone Daddies.
* AllThereInTheManual - According to bonus information, the leaders of the Skulls are the Petrovic Brothers, who never appear in game.
** As of Issue 25 they do appear, and they're pretty tough.
* DarknessEqualsDeath
* EqualOpportunityEvil - Issue 25 changes the Skulls' demographics to about 50% female.
* FantasticDrug - The Skulls sell and distribute the drug Superadine.
* MemeticMutation - Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls.
* MovesetClone: Powers-wise, the only difference between a normal Hellion and a normal Skull is that Hellions are resistant to flame but weak to cold, while skulls are resistant to negative energy but weak to energy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lost]]
!The Lost
Paragon City has a homeless problem - they seem to be forming an army, occasionally venturing forth from the sewers to smash and destroy. And some of them don't even look human any more... [[spoiler: because they're being transformed into Rikti as part of a desperate recruiting drive by the survivors of the war. The Lost gradually look more and more Rikti-like as the levels move up, before being replaced by the actual Rikti entirely at around security level 30.]]
* BodyHorror: The mutations of the higher-level lost are not pleasant to look at, sporting twisted, deformed or elongated limbs and increasingly inhuman features as they [[spoiler:gradually mutate into Rikti]].
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: Courtesy of Rikti indoctrination and the mutagen gradually transforming them.]]
* CrazyHomelessPerson: The still largely human Scroungers evoke this image in its entirety, being crazed, bedraggled hobos that will attack players without a second thought.
* ImprovisedArmour: Scrounger, Mutate and Pariah Lost often supplement their rags with pieces of junk refashioned as makeshift armor, often in the form of street signs, trash cans, tires, barbed wire and even [[CoolHelmet old TVs as helmets]].
* LateArrivalSpoiler: In the chronologically earlier story-arcs, [[spoiler: the link between the Lost and the Rikti is a genuine twist]], but later-released arcs take it for granted that players will already know this.
* PsychicPowers: Aberrant, Anathema and Pariah Lost all exhibit strong psychic powers.
* SchizoTech: Minion-level Lost tend to be armed with makeshift weapons like axes, baseball bats, knives and revolvers. Lieutenants and beyond? [[spoiler: They carry with the highly-advanced plasma weaponry and swords used by Rikti.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Clockwork]]
!The Clockwork
Surprisingly cute clockwork robots of death.
* BrainInAJar - The Clockwork King. Also eyeballs in a jar.
* ClockPunk - Visually, at least.
* {{Flight}}: Some of the Minions can fly thanks to propellers.
* MechaMooks - [[spoiler: Subverted, since they're really animated by a powerful psychic.]]
* ShockAndAwe: Every single one of them can do this in some form, but the most common is blasts of it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Outcasts]]
!The Outcasts
An elemental-themed gang of angry mutants based in Steel Canyon and the Hollows.
* AscendedExtra - Their leader, Frostfire, has become rather more important on his own with the events of 'Going Rogue'.
* CanonFodder - The Outcasts are angry (in part) because of discrimination against mutants. This is never mentioned again.
* DiscOneFinalBoss - Frostfire is one of the earliest Elite Bosses in the game.
* ElementalPowers - Their hat. There are four varieties of Outcasts for every rank and level band, one each for AnIcePerson, DishingOutDirt, KillItWithFire and ShockAndAwe.
* FaceHeelTurn - The Outcast's leader, Frostfire, was originally an aspiring hero, and fell from grace when the system punished him for his destructive enthusiasm. However...
* HeelFaceTurn - ...As of Going Rogue/Issue 19, Frostfire is having second thoughts about villainy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Trolls]]
!The Trolls
A gang whose abuse and overuse of the drug Superadine has led to their gaining green skin, great strength, and a large amount of stupid.
* HulkSpeak - "Me have body by Superadine!"
* OneWingedAngel - During regular 'Troll Rave' events, a number of trolls will further transform into massive, Hulk-esque Supa Trolls due to ingesting uncut Superadine.
* SuperSerum - Superadine is a highly addictive drug that grants massive strength, durability and accelerated healing. It's actually a modified version of WWII SuperSoldier serums.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vahzilok]]
!Vahzilok
Followers and creations of the MadScientist Dr. Vahzilok, who is obsessed with finding a way to "cure" death, no matter how many people he has to cut up to do it.
* ActionBomb: "Enbalmed" minions can explode, doing a lot of damage.
* BackAlleyDoctor: The ones that have fled to The Rogue Isles provide cheap exotic surgery to super-criminals out of repurposed dockyards. It’s profitable and a great way to trade out organs.
* BrainTransplant: Their Eidolons are dead bodies with living brains grafted into them, the juxtaposition of which apparently results in said brains being able to project ectoplasm.
* BodyHorror: The "Eidolon" bosses are intelligent reanimatees, and it's mentioned at one point that they're ''still rotting''. Without regular skin and organ replacement, they'll decay away.
* DeadlyDoctor: Vahzilok himself, and his still-living followers.
* EvenEvilHasStandards:Dr. Vahzilok specifically wraps the Eidolons in leather and obscures their faces so as to not upset the relatives of the deceased whose bodies they are inhabiting.
* MadDoctor: Doctor Vahzilok himself, quite a few members are as well, though many are unlicensed quacks.
* OrganTheft: Their stock and trade whenever they’re not stealing whole bodies.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: They're produced by Mad Science and cybernetics, not magic, and they don't count as 'undead' for effects that target that.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Family]]
!The Family
Basically, TheMafia without the romance. Despite dressing (and arming themselves) like they've just stepped out of ''The Untouchables'', they're drugrunners, kidnappers, murderers, extortionists and just flat-out thugs who have managed to stay competitive in a world of capes and nutcases via SuperScience, moxie, and flat-out ''meanness''.
* TheConsigliere: And named as such, too -- although there seem to be rather a lot of them running around for them all to be the number two in the organization
%%* TheDon: Harry Frost.
* TheMafia: In: - The drug that makes the Trolls big, green and crazy is one of these, and the Family are the ones that make it. They're also the ones that have perfected it, at least to an extent, and so their higher-ranking members have gravity-controlling powers and SuperStrength.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Tsoo]]
!The Tsoo
An Asian gang empowered by magical tattoos, the Tsoo infamously served as something of a wake-up call for new players. Their variety of Boss-level enemies is impressive.

They later reappear ''much'' stronger in the Dark Astoria Incarnate content, as proud warriors seeking to protect the world from the evils lurking within Astoria - but not willing to work with anyone else to do so.
* DegradedBoss - Several of the Tsoo bosses have become mere minions by the time they reach Dark Astoria.
* GenericEthnicCrimeGang - Subverted rather oddly. It's definitely an ethnic gang, but how many North Americans have even ''heard'' of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_people Hmong people group]], much less automatically associated them with organized crime?
* GoddamnBats - Even once someone is more used to them, the Tsoo have a [[strike:variety]] ''massive arsenal'' of annoying tricks. Pretty much every member of the group can inflict StatusEffects, including the minions, which can lead to situations where even those who are normally largely immune to them, like Tanks and Scrappers, have their defenses overwhelmed.
* McNinja - Why are there so many Chinese/Laotian/Vietnamese dudes running around with distinctly Japanese weaponry?
* PowerTattoo - Inverted- the power comes from the tattoo, rather than the other way around.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent - And are here to punch you in the face.
* ShootTheMedicFirst: The best way of dealing with Tsoo Sorcerers, made annoying by their tendency to teleport away.
* StatusEffects - The Tsoo are somewhat unique, at least in the lower levels, because nearly ''all'' their members, from the lowest to the highest, have at least a minor way of messing with their opponents (i.e. you) beyond just punching them in the face, including such fun as dropping your accuracy, defense, damage, and speed through the floor, stunning you, putting you to sleep, holding you, and knocking you all over the map.
** The most evident cause of this are the Yellow Ink Men, which are the same as lower level Enforcers, but now with the ability to psychically hold or sleep enemies. That alone wouldn't be so much of a problem, but the Yellow Ink Men replace ''all'' Tsoo minions come lvl 20, at which point even melee characters tend not to have mez protection.
%%* TattooedCrook - Fairly obvious.
* TechnicolorNinjas - A large portion of their ninja-esque mooks are explicitly ''colour coded''!
* TookALevelInBadass - From an early/mid-level enemy group to ''Incarnate'' tier in a single leap.
* WolverineClaws - Presumably of the Ninja-weapon ''Nekode'' variety.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Freakshow]]
!The Freakshow
A gang of cyborg anarchists. They were formed after a Crey employee stole the formula for yet another experimental SuperSerum; this one granted incredible healing, allowing him and his followers to experiment with dangeously advanced cybernetic augmentation. Now calling himself Dreck, he and his followers love to smash and destroy, while also being on the lookout for opportunities to further enhance their modifications.
* AutoRevive: The Freakshow's hat. At all but the lowest levels, every single Freakshow has a chance of standing up after being defeated. Because they give XP and Inf both times, the playerbase largely doesn't mind.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: The cybernetic arms the Freakshow use generally end in either a [[AbsurdlySharpClaws big scrap metal claw]], a [[SinisterScythe curved sickle blade]], or a giant hammer. The Freakshow generally either have one or ''both'' arms replaced with one of these weapons.
* BombThrowingAnarchists: The Freakshow live for sowing discord and chaos, and give little care for who gets hurt along the way.
* {{Main/Cyborg}}: To various extents. The most extreme example are Freakshow Tanks, whose organic components consist of little more than the gangster's head and spine.
* CyberPunk: Arguably ''the'' most literal example of the trope.
* DeadlyDisc: Cybered-up Freakshow toss sawblades that can deal hefty damage and knock targets down.
* DemonicSpiders: The Super Stunners, added in a recent update, have [[ManaDrain endurance draining powers]]. What makes them particularly nasty is that the other boss-class Freakshow are the Tanks, who are visually very obvious; by contrast, Super Stunners don't look terribly different from the other, weaker varieties of stunner freakshow.
* HealingFactor: All Freakshow (but the lowest level ones) have a strong but effectively one-use healing power, Dull Pain.
* JiveTurkey: Quite a few of them speak like this. Special mention goes to Ohmtown from Diviner Maros' story arc.
* LeetLingo: [=Th3y=] t3lk 1n th15, or at least the most heavily cybered-up ones do. A good chunk of them also give themselves l337 names.
* LogicalWeakness: The ramshackle cybernetics of the Freakshow are vulnerable to electrical attacks and other forms of energy damage.
* PinataEnemy: For a long time, Freakshow enemies gave out more Inf and XP than others of the same level, to compensate for their ability to stand back up and Dull Pain. However, since they effectively had a chance to give out the reward twice, and were not the most dangerous of enemies, the playerbase at large embraced them as the best risk to reward ratio mobs around. They've since been reduced to normal rewards, but are still considered easier than average.
* ShockAndAwe: The aptly named Juicers and Stunners attack with bolts of electricity. The former [[GlassCannon focuses on dealing damage]] while the latter is [[StaticStunGun self-explanatory]].
* SuperSerum: The Excelsior drug, which grants superhuman physical attributes and extreme pain tolerance. Most cybered-up Freakshow have a surgically-implanted injector that regularly doses them up with the drug.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Warriors]]
!The Warriors
A street gang with a Myth/ClassicalMythology theme, who use medieval weaponry.
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: They follow the Might Makes Right school, allowing competition amongst the ranks to determine leadership.
* BazaarOfTheBizarre: Aside from the Circle of Thorns and their direct competitors, the Tsoo, this gang runs the magical items black market. It's also how they acquire so much mystical power-ups for their gang.
* ElegantWeaponForAMoreCivilizedAge: They eschew using firearms and other high-tech weapons in place of all manner of ancient weaponry: broadswords, battle-axes, maces, longbows, etc. These may or may not be coupled with magical enchantments.
* KlingonPromotion: While less lethal than other examples, as figureheads are either usurped in trial by combat or just arrested and sent to jail, new leaders are always rising from the rank and file.
* MartialArtsHeadband: Beyond their bracers and urban warfare camo clothing, the Warriors are visually known by their red headbands.
* TheWorfEffect: By the time you actually fight them, they're usually being pushed around by the Freakshow.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Council]]
!The Council
A shadowy paramilitary group with vast resources, bizarre superscience, and an alliance with strange aliens. The Council took over from a group of Nazis known as the Fifth Column after an internal coup (though the Fifth Column has recently been making a comeback). Their leader is known as The Center.
* LoopHoleAbuse: They are required to stay committed to the notion of a master-race - But no-one ever said that race had to be human. Once thy found alien parasites they started splicing them into themselves to make their own "master-race" without having to limit their recruiting to straight-Caucasians.
* MasterRace: The Politically-correct version, embracing white-supremacy in the modern era makes recruitment dificult, so they decided that since their super-solider serums change them on a genetic level anyway, their only "master race" they had to sling was the one they could share with everyone, as long as you agree to let them pump super-soldier juice into you and agree to the brainwashing of-course.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent - War Wolves are created by a failed Nictus transformation.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent - Council Vampyri are created as part of a Super Soldier program.
* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: They were Nazis but only signed up for the super-soldier program, few to none of them (or at least of those left after the 5th Column formed) give a rat's ass about Hitler's hang-ups; As such, they have reformed their philosophy to be far more inclusive that the original Nazis.
* TheUnfought - The Center is never battled in game.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Fifth Column]]
!The Fifth Column
Die-hard [[ThoseWackyNazis Axis infiltrators]] left in the US after UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, the Fifth Column only expanded since then in their efforts to TakeOverTheWorld, until a vicious EnemyCivilWar resulted in it mostly being absorbed into the Council.
* GratuitousNazis: They are a Nazi cell that escaped from Italy at the end of World War II and made their home in the U.S.. Their numbers may seem rather absurd considering they lost that war; A while they do have a cloning operation, their numbers are actually so high due to all too many of their troops actually coming across the U.S. from the various Nazi-sympathizers, Neo-Nazi, white-supremists, that are unfortunately all too real.
* HateSink: Even the residents of the Rogue Isles hate their guts. In fact, Lord Recluse has standing orders that they be shot on sight and the area any are seen in be carpet bombed. (For context, this is a guy who will negotiate with hostile alien invaders, but won't even slightly humor racist a-holes.)
* MasterRace: Unlike the Council, the 5th Column aren't looking for loopholes to Hitler's philosophy, they are whole-sale white-supremacists.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: They're Nazis, without euphemism. They broke away from The Council specifically because they weren't in it for just power, they were in it for killing off non-Caucasians.
* StupidJetpackHitler
* TimeTravel: The Fifth Column shows up unexpectedly in [[spoiler:the Imperious Task Force in AncientGrome]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sky Raiders]]
!Sky Raiders
Once an elite special forces unit, the Joint Command Special Threat Response Battalion suffered terrible casualties in the Rikti War. Blaming the heroes of Paragon for the losses his team had suffered, field commander Colonel Duray took them rogue, becoming a group of airborne mercenaries specializing in attacking heroes.
* MechaMooks: The Jump Bots.
* MotiveDecay: Colonel Duray believes that the increased dependence upon heroes will lead to rule by a superpowered elite. To avert this end, he has lately allied with the Praetorians - soldiers from a parallel world ruled by a superpowered elite.
* PinataEnemy: Their low damage output combined with lack of a dangerous gimmick outside of their mobility (which doesn't do much) and their deployable force field generators (which are easy enough to interrupt) makes them easy punching bags for the players.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Carnival of Shadows]]
!The Carnival of Shadows
These circus-themed villains are psychic young woman who have fallen under the influence of the powerful psychic Vanessa [=DeVore=], along with their mind-controlled slaves. Their only interest is in their destructive and decadent revels.
* [[CircusOfFear Carnival of Fear]]
%% Zero context example, please replace with either CoolMask or MaskOfPower depending on which is more appropriate * MaskPower
* PsychicPowers
* ThatOneAttack: The Mask of Vitiation, used by Ring Mistresses and Dark Ring Mistresses. A highly accurate debuff that neuters a player in several critical ways. Fighting one of those bosses is often a LuckBasedMission.
* ThatOneBoss: In addition to the above, Master Illusionists. While their damage output is moderate at best, they summon several (as much as ''six'') pets, throw out heavy controls and accuracy debuffs, and worst of all, they spend half the time completely immune to counterattack with no way to stop it, all the while being perfectly capable of attacking themselves.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Banished Pantheon]]
!Banished Pantheon
Worshippers of evil gods that were... banished, centuries ago. Their human worshippers are relatively few in number... unfortunately, they also have hordes of zombie minions, as well as animated masks and totems that serve as avatars of the gods. Shortly after the Rikti War, they managed to overwhelm a bustling commercial district of Paragon known as Astoria, [[SadisticChoice forcing the already stretched-thin heroes to abandon it and wall it off]], resulting in the Pantheon's servants [[HumanSacrifice sacrificing every man, woman and child within it]] in an attempt to awaken [[EldritchAbomination Mot]]. Now called Dark Astoria, the Banished Pantheon's servants remain there to this day, in the process becoming more powerful as they draw upon Mot's power and attempt to awaken him.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: In the Rogue Isles they are wanted for murder, vandalism, trespassing, but perhaps most outrageous of all… Religion. Since Lord Recluse is an actual demigod, he’s outlawed religion as essentially pledging oneself to his rivals, so being a religious sect, The Banished Pantheon are in essence committing treason while in the Isles.
* DarkestAfrica: Between the gods themselves, the tribal shamans, animated mask spirits and totem golems, they play this trope to a T.
* FloatingMask: Banished Pantheon spirits of Death, Desire, Pain and Sorrow manifest as these.
* GoddamnedBats: The zombies' damage output isn't too high, but they only take half damage from fully half of the game's damage types, making them an absolute pain to slog through for characters who rely on those types.
* GodEating: The thing that got the titular pantheon banished in the first place. The hunter god, M'teru, discovered that the fear and suffering of a dying god was far more filling than that of any mortal, resulting in the Pantheon deliberately hunting down and consuming the life essences of the other gods rather than their worshippers.
* GodOfEvil: The eponymous Pantheon itself consists of five of these ([[TheSixthRanger Six if you count Mot]] even though he isn't part of the original Africa-based Pantheon). [[AdaptedOut They're never seen in the game itself]], but are prominently featured in one of the franchise's comic storylines and greatly expanded upon in the game's lore bible.
** '''Lughebu''': A TricksterGod and the overall leader of the Pantheon.
** '''Ullutay''': A [[TheStarscream treacherous]] deity that can [[DishingOutDirt command the earth]] who often [[WoundedGazelleGambit takes the form of a frightened child to lure in his prey]].
** '''Rambetu''': [[TheSmurfettePrinciple The lone female deity of the Pantheon]], appropriately dubbed [[WeatherManipulation "The Storm Queen"]].
** '''M'Teru''': A [[BeastMan monstrous]], spear-wielding [[EgomaniacHunter god of the hunt]] and the [[BloodKnight most savage of the Pantheon]].
** '''Tomdala''': An [[FatBastard obese]], [[CombatTentacles tentacled]] god [[TooManyMouths covered in mouths]] that [[{{Sadist}} revels in causing torment and misery.]]
* HateSink: The Banished Pantheon has no redeeming qualities ''period''. Their deities devour the essence of gods and mortals alike, and their mortal servants have no moral restraints whatsoever. Again, this is a villain group that [[MoralEventHorizon murdered an entire zone's worth of men, women and children to feed a god]].
* HumanSacrifice: Apart from the Dark Astoria thing, the Pantheon's Shamans perform this regularly to both feed their gods and create more zombies.
* LivingStatue: The Banished Pantheon Totem bosses qualify. They mix in elements of TerrifyingTiki and FloatingMask as well, given that they consist of a large, animated tribal mask with limbs that appear to be made out of tribal drums.
* MookMaker: Death Shamans summon extra zombies to fight. They don't disappear when the Shaman dies. [[GoddamnedBats You get no rewards for killing them.]]
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Voodoo zombies. And they have guns.
* ReligionOfEvil: And ''how''? [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even the Circle of Thorns is disgusted by them]].
* WitchDoctor: Their Shamans, who come in [[DishingOutDirt Avalanche]], [[CastingAShadow Death]] and [[WeatherManipulation Storm]] varieties.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Crey Industries]]
!Crey Industries
A corrupt supercorp responsible for most of the world's technology.
* TheBaroness: The corporation's leader, Countess Crey.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: A lot of their "Paragon Protector" heroes. The others are clones.
* MegaCorp
* TheMenInBlack: One of the stock enemy types.
* PowerArmor: Their other stock type.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nemesis]]
!Nemesis
The Prussian Prince of Automatons, the cunning manipulator known as Lord Nemesis is one of the oldest villains in the setting, battling Statesman when he was just starting out. His SteamPunk robots and soldiers remain a threat to stronger heroes to this day - but the greatest threat is, as always, the incredible cunning of Nemesis' twisted mind. He can create impressively lifelike Nemesis Automatons as well as warbots.
* BlingOfWar: Appropriate to the steampunk aesthetic, Nemesis soldiers wear vibrantly-colored, ostentatious uniforms resembling those of soldiers from the turn of the 19th century.
* BodyDouble: The Fake Nemeses, which share all of the abilities of their creator. Thankfully, [[DegradedBoss they're significantly weaker]].
* CoolHelmet: Tying into the BlingOfWar trope listed above, Nemesis' soldiers wear a variety of awesome looking archaic helmets, including (keeping in line with Nemesis' Prussian heritage) pickelhaubes!
* GasMaskMooks: Several of Nemesis' higher-ranked soldiers wear gas masks.
* GoddamnedBats: Nemesis Snipers spawn in normal missions. They have insanely long perception ranges, and will attack you from several spawns away.
* ManInTheMachine: Nemesis Warhulks are operated by Nemesis soldiers who are too badly wounded to function without life support.
* MatterReplicator: Nemesis' [[MechanicalAbomination Macro Assemblers]], which, when activated, can convert an entire building (or other nearby materials, [[HumanResources including people]]) into a structure of Nemesis' choosing, usually a factory that can churn out more of his automatons.
* MechaMooks: The ([[AdorableEvilMinions oddly adorable]]) Jaeger robots. [[https://archive.paragonwiki.com/w/images//7/76/Jaeger1.jpg Just look at them!]] Also any of the [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Automatons]] encountered in certain missions.
* OrnamentalWeapon: Officers of the Nemesis Army are granted a ceremonial saber upon their promotion, which they can be seen wearing.
* ParanoiaFuel: Occasionally, a seemingly harmless civilian will make comments indicating that they're actually a Nemesis Automaton; a few heroes - and potentially even player characters - have been driven into madness and villainy by the belief that Nemesis androids are everywhere.
* SteamPunk: Apparently more advanced than ''modern'' technology.
* ThemeNaming: Most of Nemesis' foot soldiers are named after various types of old-world military units. Examples include Dragoons, Hussars, Cuirassiers and Fusiliers.
* WalkingTank: Warhulks to a T.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Malta]]
!Malta
A super-secret black ops paramilitary force within the intelligence community, Malta fears the 'wildcard' nature of supers and seeks to bring them under its control. Originating in a conspiracy forged by high-ranking spies after the [[SuperRegistrationAct 'Might for Right' Act]] was ruled unconstitutional, the Malta Group itself is almost never seen. Its Operatives, on the other hand, are an all too common threat for powerful heroes - skilled Gunslingers, massive robotic Titans, and the terrifying Sappers, who wield a rifle capable of blocking superpowers.
* DemonicSpiders: Sappers can take down a hero from full endurance to nothing in one attack chain. Tac Ops have extremely long duration area stuns. Gunslingers have very high damage outputs as well as strong single target controls...
* GoddamnedBats: ...Titans have very high resistances to all damage types and controls. Engineers summon gun drones that have high HP and give no reward for being destroyed.
** ... you'll notice the two above lists contain between them every Malta enemy type [[{{Mook}} bar one]].
* HumongousMecha: The Hercules Titans are only about 8 feet tall, but the Kronos Titan is 50 feet tall.
** CombiningMecha: Two damaged Hercules Titans can FusionDance to become one (fully healed) Zeus Titan.
* TheManBehindTheMan: They play this role in several story arcs in the mid-high levels.
* SuperRegistrationAct: A law of this sort (written into game lore two years before Marvel's Civil War!) is a major part of there backstory.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Knives of Artemis]]
!Knives of Artemis
An elite group of all-female assassins linked to the Malta Group. Their use of caltrops can be especially frustrating.
* BadassNormal
* DemonicSpiders: To some builds; their mass use of caltrops can slow movement to a crawl.
* DistaffCounterpart: To Malta
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Devouring Earth]]
!Devouring Earth
Created by a god-like super-being known as the Hamidon, the Devouring Earth are a series of creatures based upon plants and Earth-like formations that are completely focused upon the creation of a twisted ecological "eden". The Praetorian version of the Devouring Earth came close to wiping out human civilization.
----
* AsteroidsMonster: Rock- and crystal-based DE sometimes leave behind smaller minions when destroyed.
* GaiasVengeance: A decidedly evil version.
* OrganDrops: The Hamidon's unique cellular structure contains very useful power-enhancing elements.
* TheVirus: The Will of the Earth, a strain of telepathic bacteria created by the Hamidon, which is capable of infesting and eventually mutating humans.
[[/folder]]

!!Rivals of the Rogue Isles

[[folder:Snakes]]
!Snakes
Why did it have to be snakes? The starter villains of City of Villains are the giant, intelligent serpents known as the Snakes, monsters who lurk in their network of tunnels and kidnap people to feed to their young.
----
* SnakePeople: They have the heads and lower halves of snakes, with scaly skin and hissing voices. The upper ranks sport cobra hoods as well.
* {{Sssssnaketalk}}: They're sssnakesss and hissss when they ssspeak.
* StarterVillain: They're among the first enemies that new villain players will be tasked with clearing out of Mercy Island.
* TookALevelInBadass: The Snakes have a surprise reappearance at ''very'' high levels in the game, where players have a chance to defeat their [[PhysicalGod Incarnate]] Queen, [[Myth/GreekMythology Stheno]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rogue Isles Police]]
!Rogue Isles Police
Often found guarding banks, expensive homes, and private clubs, the Rogue Island Police are network of security forces that patrol the isles. Police Chief Kyle “Cal” Calhoun is well known among the elite of the Rogue Isles. A blustery, corpulent man who is welcome at the finest parties and swankiest restaurants, Calhoun rubs shoulders with those closest to Lord Recluse and has been accused of running his organization as Recluse’s personal dragoon.
----
* CorruptCop: They don't give the slightest damn about enforcing the law -- at best, they only protect the interests of people wealthy enough to pay them. This suits Lord Recluse just fine, as the Rogue Isles operates under SocialDarwinism.
* FunWithAcronyms: R.I.P.
* MookCommander: "Rippers" are senior officers who can use ''Tactics'' from the Leadership pool, to boost the attack accuracy of nearby allies and protect them from confusion powers. The "Deadly Ripper" boss mob can use ''Maneuvers'' and ''Assault'', boosting defence and attack strength respectively.
* PaletteSwap: Of the lower rungs of the Paragon Police Department, just sporting Arachnos emblems and blue shirts.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: They only appear as lowbie fodder in Mercy Island and as guards in bank heists, and otherwise have little acknowledgement -- when anything resembling law-enforcement does take place, it's usually Arachnos' DoomTroops who are apprehending people, not these guys.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mooks]]
!The Mooks
The Rogue Isles branch of the Family have a few problems. Don Marcone was recently arrested, causing the organisation to split between those who view his arrogant son as the rightful successor, and the Mooks, who believe the true heir is his [[TheConsigliere Consigliere]], Guido Verandi. Since Lord Recluse believes that MightMakesRight, he is happy to let them fight amongst themselves to determine which is the stronger... especially since the Family was getting a little too powerful for his liking anyway.
* TheConsigliere: An actual example, in that Guido Verandi was the actual right-hand man of the old Don.
* EnemyCivilWar
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Coralax]]
!The Coralax
A undersea race of living coral, they were disturbed by increasing sea pollution and ultimately declared war on the surface races. Mostly seen in game are the Hybrids, humans mutated by the coral into fishy beings, with Captain Mako's sidekick Barracuda being one of these.
* GreenAesop: Largely ignored - the villains don't really care, and just see them as a threat to be destroyed.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Their actual storyline is barely explored in the game, though it keeps reappearing in a confusing fashion.
** TheArtifact: Coralax were at one point intended to be an Archetype, but this never panned out. This is likely why their story is so haphazard, yet seems to be internally consistent.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gold Brickers]]
!Gold Brickers
A group of high-tech burglars armed with sonic rifles and jetpacks.
----
* BlingOfWar: Gold Brickers have distinctive, flashy uniforms combining gray jodhpur breeches, black single-breasted leather jackets and World War 2 pilot headgear (including goggles and masks) among other things, all appropriately ornamented with (of course) gold. All in all, it gives them an anachronistic DieselPunk look not unlike that of the titular hero of ''ComicBook/TheRocketeer''.
* BullyingADragon: Gold Brickers can be seen regularly harassing Arachnos soldiers in the streets of Cap Au Diable. The only thing stopping them from getting wiped out is Arachnos' curiousity about where they got their advanced technology from. [[spoiler: Turns out most of their tech comes courtesy of Arachnos' own Dr. Aeon.]]
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Several character mention how odd it is that a man who can turn things to gold by touch feels the need to commit crimes. [[spoiler: The truth is he can't, at least not truly. WordOfGod states that he can turn things that he touches into a substance that looks like gold but has none of the qualities, is obviously fake and thus completely worthless, hence why he turned to crime. Additionally, his skin, while diamond hard, isn't even gold: It's just painted that way for effect.]]
* GoldColoredSuperiority: Boomers, the boss-tier Gold Brickers, have shiny golden skin and [[SuperToughness enhanced resilience]] to boot. Granted, [[spoiler:if it's anything like it is with their boss, it's likely just painted skin.]]
* JetPack: Essentially their main hat. The Gold Brickers use their rocket packs to make speedy getaways after their burglaries.
* MakeSomeNoise: Their other hat. The Gold Brickers exclusively favor sonic weaponry, with Rocketmen and Bombardiers wielding rifles while Boomers are armed with [[{{BFG}} large sonic cannons]]. The Bombardiers are also packing Sonic Grenades.
* MeaningfulName: A "goldbrick" is something that looks valuable but isn't. [[spoiler: Kind of like the fake gold that King Midas can create with a touch.]]
* TheUnfought: Their leader, King Midas, is mentioned a few times, but never appears in the game.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: The Boomers don't wear the trademark leather jackets worn by the Rocketmen and Bombardiers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Luddites]]
!Luddites
A cult of fanatical anti-technology crusaders, often found picketing Dr. Aeon's offices in Cap au Diable. Their leader is a former member of Aeon Corp named Martin Henri, who experienced strange dreams informing him that he was destined to destroy Cap de Diable's Power Transfer System, one of Aeon's crowning infrastructure achivements.
----
* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler:After the power grid goes down, Martin Henri is possessed by Bat'Zul and attempts to stop the player from restoring the machinery.]]
* TheCloudcuckoolanderWasRight: The Luddites are nutjobs, but it's obvious that there's something sinister about Aeon's power grid, considering it spits out hostile electricity elementals and animates clockworks. [[spoiler:They're entirely right about the Power Transfer System being demonic in nature, but unfortunately sabotaging the machinery serves only to ''unleash'' the demons rather than stop them.]]
* EvilLuddite: They hate modern science and technology, believing that Aeon Corp's advances are unholy in nature, and their ultimate goal is to destroy the geothermal power plant that keeps Cap au Diable running. [[spoiler:They're also the pawns of a SealedEvilInACan who will be unleashed once they destroy the power plant.]] Luddite troops fight with mundane and primitive weapons such as axes and hand-crossbows, never grabbing so much as a pistol to fight the player with.
* MookCommander: Luddite Friars support their fellows with the Empathy powers ''Heal Other'' and ''Fortitude''.
* PlayingWithFire: Martin Henri has the ''Fire Blast'', ''Fire Breath'' and ''Flash Stomp'' powers, [[spoiler:since he's [[PowersViaPossession being possessed]] by [[EvilIsBurningHot Bat'Zul]] when you fight him.]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:It turns out the Luddite cultists are catspaws of the very demons they're ranting about, with Martin Henri's visions granted by the demon lord Bat'Zul, who Aeon has been harnessing as an energy source. When the Luddites finally get an opportunity to disable the [=PTS=], it unleashes a horde of demons upon the island. Unfortunately, when the dust settles, they're ''still'' oblivious to what's really going on, and its implied that their next leader after Henri's demise is also being influenced by Bat'Zul.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Scrapyarders]]
!Scrapyarders
A coalition of angry blue-collar workers in Sharkhead.
* BadassNormal: Despite not having any superpowers, it's not at all uncommon for them to give an unprepared villain a severe beating.
* GoodIsNotNice: Their requests are sensible and they fight the villains, but are themselves often thugs and cons.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: The Scrapyarders are named after a hero called Scrapyard, who was killed by Mako; his ghost can occasionally be found wandering around leading a horde of Scrapyarders.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wyvern]]
!Wyvern
A 'private security organisation' that actually serves as vigilantes within the Isles, battling against all the villainy they can find. They attack using bows and arrows, and some of them have jetpacks. As their weapon of choices hints, they're actually bankrolled by Justin Sinclair, aka Manticore.
* AnnoyingArrows: Painfully averted - their attacks are ''very'' powerful.
* AirborneMook: Wing Talon, Wing Fang, and Wing Sting Agents.
* PrivateMilitaryContractors: A more heroic example than most, given that they are only contracted to fight Arachnos.
* CaptainObviousReveal: So, the bow-wielding crime-fighters who take their name from a flying, venomous, mythical monster and think that the organisation aligned with the setting's main hero group don't go far enough in fighting Arachnos is bankrolled by the (super-wealthy) bow-wielding crime-fighter who takes his name from a flying, venomous mythical monster and thinks that the main hero group doesn't go far enough in fighting Arachnos...huh. Didn't see that one coming.
* TrickArrow: Not to extremes, but stronger members do have a few.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Legacy Chain]]
!Legacy Chain
A magic-focused hero group that seeks to battle mystical villains and see that magic is not misused. They appear surprisingly infrequently. They are a mixture of sword-wielding {{Muggle}} guards and magic-using blasters with a variety of elemental powers.
* ElementalPowers: Legacy Chain belong to one of four Legacies - In order from weakest to strongest, the Legacy of Steel, [[LightEmUp Light]], [[PlayingWithFire Flame]] and [[DishingOutDirt Earth]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wailers]]
!Wailers
Sonic-powered demons that infest St. Martial, eager to collect the soul of the popular crooner Johnny Sonata, who made a deal with them for his fame and now seeks to break it. While he hides within the mystically warded Golden Giza casino, they ravage the island.
* DealWithTheDevil: And it's now the time to pay up
* MakeMeWannaShout: They attack with powerful sonic howls.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Arachnoids]]
!Arachnoids
Monstrous and mutated spider-like beings that infest the caves and tunnels beneath the Rogue Isles capital of Grandville. [[spoiler: They were actually created as part of an Arachnos experiment to replicate Lord Recluse's powerful abilities, but it didn't work.]]
[[/folder]]

!!Factions of Praetoria

[[folder:Praetorian Police]]
!Praetorian Police Department
The PPD keep order within Praetoria, and on the surface appear to be noble and honorable protectors of the utopian city, armed with advanced nonlethal 'force' weaponry. Some of them even fit this characterisation! Unfortunately, the rest of them run from [[KnightTemplar zealous followers of Emperor Cole]] to [[DirtyCop corrupt bullies happy to abuse their power]].

Most of them are openly resentful of Powers Division, the elite superpowered idols that Praetorian player characters are new members of.

At higher levels, they tend to be superseded by their elite division, [[FunWithAcronyms T.E.S.T.]]
* BadassLongcoat: The Interrogators, it's even mentioned in their descriptions that this is just part of their intimidation factor.
* StateSec: Although the PPD is openly seen keeping order, it also has some more sinister divisions. It can also 'disappear' people.
* PoweredArmor: Used by T.E.S.T.
* TrickedOutGloves and PowerFist: Their special power gauntlets let them hit things hard in melee or at a range, and a closer look reveals keypads and display screens implying they have more functions than just smashing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Seer Network]]
!Seer Network
Psychics drafted by Mother Mayhem, this giant HiveMind of sorts continously scans the minds of preatorian citizens looking for criminal intent. Breaking seers out from the Network is one of the main goals of the resistance.
* EnemyScan: At higher levels they can do this to you. Similar to the Blaster Epic and Arachnos Soldier power Surveillance, it also debuffs your damage resistance and defense. (Since, obviously, [=NPCs=] are not interested in your stat blocks)
* PsychicPowers
* DetectEvil in a sort of combination with SpiderSense
* MookMaker the Seers stationed around the streets of Praetoria will teleport in squads of PPD if attacked
** Or if you just walk past them claiming to 'Detect hostile thoughts'. Given how Praetoria works, it seems even mind reading psychics need to be ProperlyParanoid.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Syndicate]]
!The Syndicate
Due to the existence of the Seers, "normal" crime is very rare in Praetoria (the crime that exists is, essentially, either state-sponsored or highly organized) The Syndicate has its own cadre of psychics to hide themselves from the Seers' gaze, and they're a conglomerate of pretty much every remaining criminal gang there is. They have infiltrated (depending on your POV) either most of the corporate world in Praetoria, or its criminal gangs. Their style is very much ''Film/TheMatrix'' or ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' inspired: Trenchoats, katanas, dual-wielding guns...
* BadassLongcoat: Most of the syndicate, except their very lowest-level mooks (who are [[{{Expy}} expies]] of [[Film/KillBill The Bride]]) and the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin eponymous]] [[ManOfWealthAndTaste Suits]], wear black leather coats.
* EnemyCivilWar: There's internal conflict in the Syndicate between the more "business minded" groups and those who follow Wu-Yin, who is in it mainly [[PapaBear to save his daughter]].
* GoddamnedBats: Katana-armed minions used to be absolutely devastating to a player's defenses but were thankfully {{nerf}}ed.
* GunsAkimbo: Used by the Pistol Adepts.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Their basic melee weapon.
* PsychicPowers: How they hide from the Seers.
* RazorWind / SwordBeam: Ranged attack of the Sword Masters, explicitly a telekinetic trick.
* TheSyndicate: In a name as well as function.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ghouls]]
!Ghouls
The tunnels beneath Praetoria swarm with a horde of creatures known as the Ghouls - zombie-like monstrosities that defend 'their' territory fiercely and occasionally attack the city above once their numbers grow large enough. Since the ghouls serve to make the tunnels unsafe for the Resistance, there is little interest in wiping them out entirely, only in keeping them contained. And for their part, the Resistance seeks a way to utilise their underground neighbours as well...
----
* GoddamnBats: They can be deeply annoying for some archetypes, since they appear at a very early level but can still pack quite a punch, especially in large numbers. And they tend to appear in large numbers. To make matters worse, they frequently spawn as ambushes, often at the worse possible time, while some of them lurk 'above' dropping down. All of this can lead to an unwary player finding themselves battling a very large number of Ghouls at once - and at a low enough level that they won't have many attacks to fight them with - all the while their healing aura makes them difficult to put down at any speed.
* ShootTheMedicFirst: Horribly averted - Ghouls release a healing aura upon death, which can make packs of them annoying to deal with.
* UndergroundMonkey: At higher levels, they are replaced with 'Failed Experiments' - similar-looking, and just as territorial but [[InformedAbility far smarter]]; they are the products of Praetor Berry's mad science.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Destroyers]]
!Destroyers
The destroyers are a gang of drug-addicted psychos who (true to their name) seems mostly interested in causing destruction for it's own sake. They combine military-grade weaponry with Fixadine-enhanced super-strong brawlers. [[spoiler: It is later revealed that the Destroyers are actually remnants of Marauder's old followers, that he's set up to use as a training wheels for new Powers Division members]]. They're pretty much the Praetorian version of the Trolls and Freakshow.
* DemonicSpiders: A basic, and thus common enemy, you will run into, without fail, every mob, is a Blast Master. Armed with explosives that have a high chance for knockback (when even melee toons aren't likely to have knock back protection) and able to create multiple patches of fire that deal damage overtime make them difficult for anyone to deal with. To make things worse, they have no special flags like the Malta Sapper and multiples can spawn in a mob.
* SuperSerum: Fixadine
* ThatOneBoss: Destroyer bosses, Big Dogs, are nearly immune to control effects, making them a right pain for any Dominator, Controller, or even any character that relies on stuns or knockdown for survival.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Praetorian Clockwork]]
!Praetorian Clockwork
Unlike their Primal counterparts, Praetorian Clockwork were created by Neuron and Anti-Matter to do all sorts of work. They're omnipresent in Praetoria, doing all sorts of work. The Resistance likes to smash or reprogram them whenever they can. They even have a counterpart to the Clockwork King of Primal Earth: Metronome, a kind of psychic 'ghost' capable of possessing multiple clockwork, and seeking vengeance for his death and a new, powerful body.
----
* GoddamnBats: Their basic attacks, even at low levels, reduce regeneration. In large groups, it can be strong enough to prevent natural healing entirely, at a level when a character is unlikely to have an active heal yet. As if that wasn't enough, they deal nearly purely Energy damage, which is very rarely resisted at low levels, and due to their lack of melee attacks, are hard to herd for [[HerdHittingAttack AoEs]].
* RoboSpeak: When speaking with humans, in addition, the clockwork has their own "code" language. Which can occasionally be quite funny.
* ShootTheMedicFirst: A valid tactic, as Clockwork LTs can either heal (Mender/Repair Bot/Repair Companion) or resurrect (Builder/Fabricator Bot/Construction Companion) other Clockwork, including bosses.
* SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: Scrub bots with plasma weapons!
** Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since Praetoria is a paranoid police state, and at any time these things can be used as impromptu riot control. Admittedly, their official description (done as an advertisement) actually list this as a positive feature when being sold to the private sector.
* UndergroundMonkey: At higher levels, the normal clockwork are replaced with the [[PaletteSwap advanced variants]] designed by the two rival mad scientists, Neuron and Anti-Matter. They gain an attack or two in the process, but are otherwise unchanged.
** Also possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since Neuron has a history of stealing ideas and inventions from Anti-Matter (it's even one of his missions) and the latter has supposedly stolen tech from Primal Earth himself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Warworks]]
!Warworks
Warworks are basically military-grade Clockwork, bigger, badder and packing more heat.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: The choice weapon of the Mark-VI "Victoria" when they're not using their EyeBeams
* TheFaceless: War-walkers do not have any apparent face besides a reflective triangle on the center of their head.
** Though if this were ever confirmed to be their eye, it would qualify them instead as CyberCyclops.
* HumongousMecha: The War-walkers, especially Goliath-class.
** Actually, considering all but the Mark-VI "Victoria" are taller than most players can make their characters, the whole faction pretty much applies.
* KillSat: Actually Averted. The War Walkers have devastatingly powerful (but easy to avoid even without dodge based defensive powers) Orbital Lance attack. But if you are able to see the animation, they're simply firing laser blasts up into the air that arc back down and hit you.
* MechaMooks
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Imperial Defence Force]]
!Imperial Defence Force
The official army of Praetoria, mainly fielding "lethal" versions of the PPD's force weapons, as well as rockets, drones, combat psychics and big hulking robots - Warworks are actually a part of this group.
* AwesomeBackpack: Heavy Troopers have a big, bulky backpack that unfurls into a set of four six-tube rocket pods. Heavy Commanders and Commander Duray [[MoreDakka slap a pair of plasma]] [[GatlingGood miniguns]] [[MoreDakka onto that]].
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Heavy Troopers and Heavy Commanders have a rotation of no less than four attacks that each fires a volley of spiraling rockets, resulting in a near-constant onslaught.
* PoweredArmor
* TrickedOutGloves and PowerFist: Like the Praetorian Police Department and T.E.S.T. most of the IDF make use of these to empower their punches, fire energy blasts at their opponents, and looking closely at them shows keypads and displays on the inside of the arm, suggesting they also can function as some form of PDA
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Resistance]]
!The Resistance
In the tunnels underneath Praetoria hide the Resistance against Cole's regime. Sympathisers and secret members can be found on the surface, too, in the most unexpected places - noble journalists attempting to uncover the darker secrets of the government, PPD detectives who have grown to hate the corruption...

But not all of the resistance is so noble. Some of them are little more than terrorists, seeking to cause destruction for the sake of vengeance or in the belief that disrupting the utopian facade of Praetoria will awaken the citizenry to the truth behind Cole's regime.
* {{BFG}}: The Heavy Barrels wield mobile artillery cannons
* GunsAkimbo: Resistance Officers
* GoddamnBats: All Resistance deal out heavy defense debuffs from their massed machinegun fire, combining it with good DPS from their power punches. This results is very high damage output.
* EnemyCivilWar: Some of the Warden Resistance arcs sees the player battling against the more zealous terrorist elements of the resistance; loyalists also get the chance to see the divisions within the Resistance.
* PoweredArmor: It's somewhat thrown together, but it certainly seems to serve them well enough. It's also what allows the Heavy Barrels and Heavy Hands to have the strength to pull off their jobs.
* PowerFist: Their gloves allow them to sheath their fists in energy, the Heavy Hands tend to take this this further.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Like any proper LaResistance, its members tend to only have the dissatisfaction with the state, the willingness to do SOMETHING about it, and uniforms in common with one another.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Forlorn]]
!The Forlorn
Former ghouls restored to sanity by the Resistance, the Forlorn have headed to First Ward in an attempt to find their own path.
* {{Expy}}: Former 'ghouls' with their minds, haunted by the memories of the atrocities they committed? Even their name is reminiscent of the [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Forsaken]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:D.U.S.T.]]
!D.U.S.T.
An elite brigade drawn from the upper ranks of the Praetorian Police, the Direct Urban Strike Team is using First Ward as a training ground, killing everyone they see.
* FunWithAcronyms: An obvious case, but a Resistance member refers to them as the Dimwitted Urban Strike Team instead.
* RedshirtArmy / {{Mooks}}: They're initially presented as a serious threat to the player [[spoiler: but are wiped out en masse by the real threats of First Ward.]]
* PaletteSwap: in terms of appearance, they're T.E.S.T. officers with a camo pattern, though they're much more unique in terms of their powers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Apparitions]]
!Apparitions
First Ward is swarming with these terrifying and insane ghosts, which can possess people with ease. Discovering the source of these spirits becomes an important goal for the player.
* BodySnatcher: Their specialty is taking over living beings. One almost manages to pull it on ''[[spoiler: the PlayerCharacter]]''.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Even by these standards, the Apparitions are weird: They're [[spoiler: personality fragments of ''living'' Seers, severed and discarded by Mother Mayhem as part of their introduction into the Seer Network.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Awakened]]
!The Awakened
Mother Mayhem's experiments aren't always successful, and don't always produce happy Seers. The Awakened are the failures - twisted horrors driven over the edge by their uncontrollable psychic powers.
* BodyHorror: Most notably with the Suppressors, who have enormous head tentacles.
* FromBadToWorse: Those tentacles? [[spoiler: Cancerous growths in their ''brain''.]]
* HellIsThatNoise: Awakened psychic attacks are accompanied by a discordant mess of oscillating sounds.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Carnival of Light]]
!Carnival of Light
The GoodCounterpart of Primal Earth's Carnival of Shadows, the Carnival of Light is a noble group of mystics seeking to save Praetoria. Unfortunately, there is dissension in the ranks, with a splinter group known as the Carnival of War believing that they should be prepared to take the war to Tyrant.
----
%%* LightIsGood
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Possibly moreso than the Resistance, though it makes for more sense with where their main base of operations is.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Carnival of War]]
!Carnival of War
The aggressive and extremist counterpart to the Carnival of Light. Although not necessarily hostile to players, they do have notably short fuses, and tend to view people as enemies quite easily.
----
* TheCorruptible: [[spoiler:Their preoccupation with getting payback against their foes results in most of them becoming corrupted by the Furies' HatePlague, forming yet another splinter faction called the Carnival of Vengeance.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: They're essentially a "crusader" split from the otherwise warden-like Carnival of Light.
* PaletteSwap: Of the Carnival of Light for the most part. Their wands and masks tend to have different modeling geometries, but they otherwise wear the same cosumes, use the same powers, and have the same arrangement of enemy types.
* TrainingTheGiftOfMagic: They're the ones responsible for training members of the Resistance into the magic-augmented Runesoldiers. A quest in the First Ward on behalf of a loyalist spy has the player bust up one of their hidden training camps.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Carnival of Vengeance]]
Yet another splinter of the Carnival of Light, originating from the Carnival of War. They have succumbed to the siren call of the Furies and now are completely blinded by rage and hate.
----
* GoodPowersBadPeople: They still sling the same Luminous Bolts and other light-themed powers used by the Carnivals, but now they're doing it as frothing berserkers under the influence of a HatePlague.
* HatePlague: The coming of the Talons of Vengeance rapidly corrupts everyone in First Ward who has hatred and vengeance in their hearts, and the militant Carnival of War is swiftly destroyed from within as its more jaded members go berserk.
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: They used to be members of the War Carnival motivated by hatred against their foes, but after succumbing to a magical HatePlague they've abandoned all pretense of nobility and are now just a pack of murderous psychopaths, lashing out at everyone and everything.
* PaletteSwap: Of the Carnival of Light, again. This time they're RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver
* WingedHumanoid: The Furies' HatePlague eventually bestows dramatic mutations on those who join the Talons of Vengeance, and Vindictive Mistresses have already mutated feathery wings that enable them to fly.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Midnight Masters]]
!The Midnight Masters
The Praetorian version of the Midnight Club fled the rise of Praetoria by transporting their mansion headquarters into the spirit realm, in a region known as the Night Ward. However, a traitor known as the Midnight Master murdered them all and reanimated them as his undead slaves. After [[spoiler: the [[HeroicSacrifice death of Master Midnight]] the undead mages regained their minds and will. They now lead the investigation into the mysterious growth of the Night Ward from the safety of the Midnight Mansion.]]
----
* CursedWithAwesome: [[spoiler:How they view becoming undead, after they regain their free will. Being trapped forever between the realms of life and death just gives them an eternity to pursue their arcane studies.]]
* EvilDoppelganger: To the Primal Earth Midnight Club; in addition, the Midnight Master is [[spoiler: Praetorian Percy Winkley]]. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted -- After Master Midnight's death, the revenants regain their free will and promptly return to being the heroic Midnight Club. Not much later, even Master Midnight regains his sanity after being brought [[BackFromTheDead back to life.]]]]
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: [[spoiler: Once the Praetorian Midnighters are free from Master Midnight, they treat being sapient undead as this and go about business as usual.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Talons of Vengeance]]
!Talons of Vengeance
Ancient, mystical horrors and servants of the Furies; according to legend, the Talons would appear when an oathbreaker goes unpunished, unleashing a tide of rage and blood that could wipe out whole countries. And now, they have appeared in [[CrapsackWorld Praetoria]], apparently under the command of of a woman called Sorceress Serene.
----
* HarpingOnAboutHarpies: Many of their members sprout wings and taloned feet, evoking the harpies of Greek myth.
* HatePlague: Those with anger and vengeance in their hearts can be corrupted into joining the Talons, and in a CrapsackWorld wracked by civil war they've got a massive recruiting pool to work with. [[spoiler: This is bad news for Cerulean and the militant Carnival of War, who become warped into the Carnival of Vengeance.]]
* OurBansheesAreLouder: Surprisingly for a faction mainly tied to Greek myth, banshees from Celtic mythology are present among the Talons' ranks, of the StringyHairedGhostGirl type.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Drudges]]
!Drudges
The guardians of the veil that shepherd souls onward - but the drudges aren't carrying out a mystical duty. Instead, they're selfish and cowardly, working for the Wax that sustains their existence and viewing both the living and the dead as a resource to be exploited to this end.
----
* OldFashionedCopper: Their rank-and-file are inexplicably styled after British bobbies, and Night Ward's streets are dotted with blue police boxes that aren't present in First Ward. Of course, the whole lot of them are corrupt jerks only interested in getting their paycheck, and they take a dim view of the living intruding on their business.
* {{Psychopomp}}: Their job is to collect the souls of the dead and ferry them off to their afterlives, in return for the magical wax that keeps them alive. Night Ward becoming trapped between the realms of life and death has caused their system to break down, and they're very eager to get things back on track.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Animus Arcana]]
!Animus Arcana
The various spells and enchanted artefacts that protect the Midnight Mansion have become alive and intelligent with [[spoiler: the death of Master Midnight.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Black Knights]]
!The Black Knights
The ancient guardians of the Eternal Prison have come to Night Ward seeking Black Swan, but a schism within their order has made them vulnerable to exploitation by those seeking to breach the prison and unleash the ancient horrors within.
* {{BFS}}: Black Knights LOVE this troupe as among the first NPC group to make use to Titan Weapons.
%%* BlackKnight
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Pendragon has an affair with the Black Queen, the wife of his leader, he only narrowly avoids disgrace because Bedwyr takes the fall for him. Also doubles as a MythologyGag]]
* LawfulStupid: [[spoiler: They will follow their Queen no matter what... Even if she tells them to do exactly the opposite of their job and open up the Eternal Prison, they do not change allegiances until AFTER said Queen reveals she's really the BigBad in disguise.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spirit Stalkers]]
!Spirit Stalkers
The minions of the monstrous shadowhunter, and the embodiment of savage nature. The spirit stalkers are beasts and huntsman who prey upon the spirits of the dead.

* SavageWolves: The first quadrupedal enemies in the game.
[[/folder]]
----