Paragon Studios has launched the second round of Guest Author missions for its Mission Architect system in City of Heroes, and these three new arcs feature the works of Mercedes Lackey, Troy Hickman and Austin Grossman.

Lackey is the author of more than 75 books, including the Heralds of Valdemar series; Hickman is a two-time Eisner Award nominee for his comic book Common Grounds; and Grossman is a game designer and writer whose handiwork spans from System Shock and Deus Ex to his novel "Soon I Will Be Invincible."

The three missions were released today, so log into City of Heroes and check them out. You can read the descriptions of each arc after the jump.

The first round of Guest Author missions debuted in the game in October 2009. The inaugural team of authors included Bill Willingham, creator of the "Fables" comic book series, Scott Kurtz, the creator of the PvP Web comic, and Rooster Teeth, the masterminds behind "Red vs. Blue."

It's time for another round of guest author missions to be released, and we've got some great ones for you to choose from! In order to check out these arcs simply log into the game, find the nearest Architect Entertainment Building, and open up the mission browser.

Mercedes Lacey -
"Mystery on the Boardwalk" (arc id:369275) - Unbelievable Man is stuck on the phone with his needy girlfriend, so the Heroic ATemps Temp Agency has sent you over to handle this. It's only a little haunting, how hard can it be?

Troy Hickman -
"A Little Night Music" (arc id:369271) - Citadel needs your assistance. The Fifth Column have resurrected the dreaded WWII villain Nachtmusik, and he in turn has kidnapped Jimmy Preston. Citadel needs you to enter the dreamworld and save his young friend...and hopefully the world. You say you're not afraid? You will be...

Austin Grossman -
"Return of the Crime Cabal" (arc id:369272) - A routine distress call leads you into the conspiracy between three oddly mismatched villains - a dark wizard, a technologically enhanced agent, and a brilliant scientist. They seek to mingle the forces of magic and science to gain control of an ancient god from deep beneath the Earth's crust. But to oppose the Cabal it is necessary to understand its story, the forces that gave three very different people their superpowers and turned them to evil. The things that brought them together, and the things tearing them apart.