TBBYANR: Thoughtcrime Inc.

Once again it is time for another entry of The Best Blog You Are Not Reading.
Which really is an excuse for me to tell you about blogs that I like that off the beaten path of what you normally see around here.

This time around I want to draw your attention to Thoughtcrime Inc.
Run by artist David Reynolds of Shadowgirls fame it features his art and thoughts on cartoons, animation and comics.

If you are a regular reader here then you have seen David's work.

and this

D.Rey has been talking a lot about the DC 52 and some of the issues going on there.
Plus he has an undying love for the Batgirls and that is ok in my book.

He has been talking about a faux comic/fan comic "Batgirls: Hope Prevails" which has all the Batgirls in it.

• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/08/batgirls-aka-if-i-had-my-way.html
• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/09/batgirls-hope-prevails-character-cards.html

As well as a favorite of mine, Power Girl,

• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/10/last-daughter-of.html

I like his purely Atlantean take on her.  Or Lemurian.  Which also has lead to the creation of his own character: 

• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/09/intrepid-verisimilitude.html
• http://thoughtcrimeinc.blogspot.com/2011/08/lemurs.html  (names are Marcia and Shampoo according to DA)

I like her, and the lemur is a nice touch.

He also has a Deviant Art page. http://machsabre.deviantart.com/ and his Journal there talked about a lot of the same things he talks about on his blog.

If you like comics, comic art and thoughts on cartoons, then Thoughcrime Inc. is a great place to start.

Willow & Tara: Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition

Willow & Tara: Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition

I have been on a Mutants and Masterminds 3.0 kick of late.  I like M&M and I love the new 3rd Edition game.  So really it was only a matter of time before I tried out my favorite witches in the new system.

I have done Willow and Tara before for Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Ed. But my write-ups were straight conversions of Unisystem and that might not have worked as well as I thought.  So with this I went back to who and what the characters are and stated them up from the ground up.  I kept many of the same powers and skills, or at least tried to.

"Willow and Tara" by David Reynolds

I set the girls at PL 10.  I did PL 11 previously with 2nd ed and they ended up being really super-powered.  Granted, that is fine for me, but I wanted to see what I could do with PL 10 and going by the book.    Willow has more powers/spells under Witchcraft, but Tara still has her healing ability and minion in MKF II.

Given that this is for the 3rd edition version of M&M and I was working on a 3rd season for Willow and Tara called "Generation HEX" I am going to combine them together into one.  Only fair really since Generation HEX's genesis was in my attempt to add more M&M and BESM style play to my games.  In this case this Willow and Tara share a lot of the same history as the ones in my Unisystem games. It is 2011 and they are still together, celebrating 10 years as a couple.

Don't know if they are living in the same world as Justice, but I'd like to think so if I can figure out how, but they are certainly living in the same world with Tarot.

For the purposes of a game I would want them (or at least Tara) be teacher(s) at the local School for the Gifted.  For M&M 2nd ed this would be Claremont Academy and I still like that idea.

Willow Rosenberg
PL 10
Strength 0, Stamina 1, Agility 0, Dexterity 0, Fighting 0, Intellect 6, Awareness 4, Presence 2

Advantages
Artificer, Attractive 2, Benefit, Wealth 3 (millionare), Equipment 1, Extraordinary Effort, Inspire, Languages 4, Occult Library, Ritualist, Skill Mastery (Expertise (Magic)), Teamwork, Well-informed

Skills
Expertise (Magic) 14 (+20), Expertise (Science) 12 (+18), Insight 4 (+8), Investigation 4 (+10), Perception 2 (+6), Persuasion 1 (+3), Ranged Combat (Arcane Blast: Blast 10) 1 (+1), Sleight of Hand 1 (+1), Technology 10 (+16), Treatment 8 (+14), Vehicles 1 (+1)

Powers
Magickal Senses: Senses 8 (magic, Awareness: Magical, Counters Illusion: Magical, Detect: Magical 2 (ranged), Postcognition (Limited): Touch, Radius: Magical; Affects Insubstantial 2 (full rank))
Telekinesis: Move Object 4 (mystic, 800 lbs.; Concentration)
    Throw Object: Blast 2 (Alternate; magic, DC 17; Diminished Range)
Witchcraft: Magic 12 ([10 active, 30/38 PP, 3/r], DC 25; Affects Insubstantial 2 (full rank), Multiattack)
    Arcane Blast: Blast 10 (Alternate; DC 25; Distracting, Noticeable (Light flare))
    Astral Projection (Alternate; Activation: Move Action)
    Computer Link: Other Communication 5 (Alternate; Sense Type: Computer Link; Linked (Remote Sensing: Remote Sensing 13))
    Flight: Flight 10 (Alternate; Speed: 2000 miles/hour, 4 miles/round; Concentration)
    Forget: Mind Control 1 (Alternate; mind, DC 11)
    Glamour: Illusion 5 (Alternate; magic, Affects: All Sense Types, Area: 30 cft., DC 15)
    Magic Sheild: Force Field 20 (Alternate; +20 Toughness)
    Remote Sensing: Remote Sensing 13 (Alternate; Affects: 2 Types, inc. Visual - Vision and Hearing, Range: 30 miles; Linked (Magickal Senses: Senses 8) [4 extra ranks]; Concentration)
    Telepathy: Mental Communication 5 (Alternate; Advantages: Extended distance with Willow; Distracting)
    Teleport: Teleport 10 (Alternate; 4 miles in a move action, carrying 50 lbs.)
    Veil: Concealment 10 (Alternate; All Senses)

Equipment
Ritual Tools 1, Cell Phone (Smartphone), Computer

Offense
Initiative +0
Arcane Blast: Blast 10, +1 (DC 25)
Forget: Mind Control 1 (DC Will 11)
Grab, +0 (DC Spec 10)
Telekinesis: Move Object 4, +0 (DC 14)
Throw, +0 (DC 15)
Throw Object: Blast 2, +0 (DC 17)
Unarmed, +0 (DC 15)
Witchcraft: Magic 12, +0 (DC 25)

Complications
Prejudice: Jewish Lesbian Wicca
Relationship: Tara

Languages
English, French, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Russian

Defense
Dodge 3, Parry 0, Fortitude 5, Toughness 1, Will 7

Power Points
Abilities 26 + Powers 65 + Advantages 20 + Skills 29 (58 ranks) + Defenses 10 = 150


Tara Maclay
PL 10
Strength 1, Stamina 1, Agility 0, Dexterity 0, Fighting 0, Intellect 3, Awareness 5, Presence 2

Advantages
Animal Empathy, Artificer, Attractive, Benefit, Wealth (well-off), Equipment 3, Extraordinary Effort, Inspire, Languages 4, Minion 2, Occult Library, Ritualist, Skill Mastery (Expertise (Magic)), Teamwork, Well-informed

Skills
 Expertise (Horse Riding) 4 (+7), Expertise (Humanities) 8 (+11), Expertise (Magic) 10 (+13), Insight 8 (+13), Investigation 5 (+8), Perception 2 (+7), Persuasion 2 (+4), Ranged Combat (Arcane Blast: Blast 10) 2 (+2), Sleight of Hand 2 (+2), Technology 2 (+5), Treatment 8 (+11), Vehicles 1 (+1)

Powers
Magickal Senses: Senses 8 (magic, Awareness: Magical, Counters Illusion: Magical, Detect: Magical 2 (ranged), Postcognition (Limited): Touch, Radius: Magical; Affects Insubstantial 2 (full rank))
Mystic Healing: Healing 9 (Activation (move action), Limited (Touch only))
Telekinesis: Move Object 4 (mystic, 800 lbs.; Concentration)
    Throw Object: Blast 2 (Alternate; magic, DC 17; Diminished Range)
Witchcraft: Magic 11 ([9 active, 27/35 PP, 3/r], DC 24; Affects Insubstantial 2 (full rank), Multiattack)
    Arcane Blast: Blast 10 (Alternate; DC 25; Distracting, Noticeable (Light flare))
    Astral Projection (Alternate; Activation: Move Action)
    Flight: Flight 10 (Alternate; Speed: 2000 miles/hour, 4 miles/round; Concentration)
    Glamour: Illusion 5 (Alternate; magic, Affects: All Sense Types, Area: 30 cft., DC 15)
    Magic Sheild: Force Field 14 (Alternate; +14 Toughness)
    Remote Sensing: Remote Sensing 12 (Alternate; Affects: 2 Types, inc. Visual - Vision and Hearing, Range: 16 miles; Linked (Magickal Senses: Senses 8) [4 extra ranks]; Concentration)
    Telepathy: Mental Communication 5 (Alternate; Advantages: Extended distance with Willow; Distracting)
    Teleport: Teleport 10 (Alternate; 4 miles in a move action, carrying 50 lbs.)

Equipment
Apartment, Athame 1, Car, Cell Phone (Smartphone), Computer

Offense
Initiative +0
Arcane Blast: Blast 10, +2 (DC 25)
Grab, +0 (DC Spec 11)
Telekinesis: Move Object 4, +0 (DC 14)
Throw, +0 (DC 16)
Throw Object: Blast 2, +0 (DC 17)
Unarmed, +0 (DC 16)
Witchcraft: Magic 11, +0 (DC 24)

Complications
Prejudice: Lesbian Wicca
Relationship: Willow

Languages
English, French, Gaelic, Greek, Japanese, Latin

Defense
Dodge 4, Parry 0, Fortitude 4, Toughness 1, Will 8

Power Points
Abilities 24 + Powers 67 + Advantages 22 + Skills 27 (54 ranks) + Defenses 10 = 150


Minion - Miss Kitty Fantastico II - PL 10
Strength 0, Stamina 0, Agility 2, Dexterity 2, Fighting 1, Intellect 1, Awareness 1, Presence 1

Skills
Athletics 2 (+2), Close Combat (????) 1 (+2), Deception 1 (+2), Insight 1 (+2), Perception 3 (+4), Stealth 4 (+6)

Powers
Fly: Flight 2 (Speed: 8 miles/hour, 120 feet/round; Wings)  - MKF has wings that fold up on to her back and stay hidden unless she is using them.
Luck Control: Luck Control 1 (Negate Luck) - she is a black cat after all.
Mental Link: Mental Communication 1 (Sense Type: Telepathy; Limited (only with Willow and Tara))

Offense
Initiative +2
Grab, +1 (DC Spec 10)
Throw, +2 (DC 15)
Unarmed, +1 (DC 15)

Complications
Quirk: Lazy
Quirk: Curious

Languages
Cat, Telepathy

Defense
Dodge 2, Parry 1, Fortitude 0, Toughness 0, Will 1

Power Points
Abilities 16 + Powers 8 + Advantages 0 + Skills 6 (12 ranks) + Defenses 0 = 30

All in all I like them, but would like to hear what the experts have to say.

Tara gets the car (specially designed hybrid Subaru Outback), apartment and MKF II on her sheet to spread the points around.  Willow is brilliant and the most power witch on the planet maybe, but she considers Tara to be just as potent.  Both girls have Wealth, in my games Willow sold her software company, Red Witch, and remained on as their paid consultant.  This gives her freedom to work when she wants and still have money. Red Witch makes the world best computer security systems; and all have a back door that only Willow knows how to access.

In my WitchCraft game, Tara has more Essence or magical energy than Willow does, not sure how replicate that here.

Note: That fantastic bit of art up there is from David Reynolds, one half of the brilliant ShadowGirls comic team. 

Shadow Girls Hardcover

One of my favorite webcomics Shadow Girls, is producing a Season 1 hardcover collection of the first round of comics that appeared on their site.

This massive 240 page comic deals with the story of Charon and Rebecca McKay and the powers they discover they have.  And none too soon really, since an ancient God is bent on rising and destroying the world.

The comic is described as "H.P. Lovecraft meets the Gilmore Girls" but there is a lot more to it than that.

One of the nice things about having a blog like this is my chance to introduce others to things I have found very cool.  Shadow Girls is very cool.

I have talked about them here before, but do yourself a favor and check out the collected works.  I get nothing from this, I just think they are cool and would love to have this myself.


Regular Edition: http://th3rdworld.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=199
Artist Edition: http://th3rdworld.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=200

Zatanna, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic

Note: Continuing my posting on DC Comics and Mutants & Masterminds this week.  If you want to know why then read this; Green Ronin to do DC.

Like many my first comics were DC Comics. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman defined "super hero" to me. And like many people I moved on to Marvel Comics, to Spiderman and the X-Men, and then later still to the independents (Witchblade and the like). While I was never a huge reader of comics as a kid (I read them more now than I ever did then) I always gravitated to the more mystical or horror elements of the comic book world. Tomb of Dracula and Doctor Strange is what really got me into Marvel, along with Ghost Rider and for a while I equated that with why I thought Marvel was "better". I came back to DC when the "Bat Craze" of the 90's broke out. That and the death of Superman made me look at something I thought I knew well in a new light. To my surprise I discovered something. I just liked DC Comics better. Sure I still like Doctor Strange, but when someone says "Master of Magic" I don't think of Doctors Strange or Fate, but rather a Mistress of Magic, Zatanna.

Ok, this really should be a no brainer. I love witches, we all know that. But Zatanna has something that some of the other magic wielding types don't have; a pedigree. Her father was a stage magician of the Golden Age comics, Giovanni "John" Zatara. Her mother is a member of a magical race that resembles what passes in some horror fiction as a "witch" race (ala Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong or Witch Girls Adventures) or the "Gifted" (WitchCraft RPG). So Zatanna comes from two distinct lines of magical use and she combines them. Of course her father was doing his thing in the 1930s and "Zee" herself appears in comics in the mid 1960s so she is by most rights in her 60's but still looks great in fishnets. Well that is no big deal, since the same fictions that separate out witches into their own race also have them long lived. So at 60 Zee probably still looks like she is in her 30s. But I never "got" Zatanna till I read the "Hellblazer" and "Books of Magic" comics and read about her relationship with John Constantine. I felt that this gave her a more interesting background, plus it should that Zee was willing to try multiple paths to magical enlightenment (including "black" magic and even Tantra with Constantine). Of course there is also the whole deal with her magical lobotomy of Dr. Light in "Identity Crisis", a comic that was good for Zatanna's character but I mostly disliked.

I am not going to go into detail about her life, history, her interesting sex life, or her smoking pot with Constantine on his 40^th birthday, since that can all be found in other places on the web.  But it's all pretty cool for a superhero.

And normally I would convert her to a bunch of my favorite systems, but Paul Dini and I are not alone in our obsessions (ok, Paul Dini is several orders of magnitude above me in this one), and others have already done that for me.

Thom Marrion did a great Cinematic Unisystem / Ghosts of Albion version, http://edenstudiosdiscussionboards.yuku.com/reply/34516#reply-34516

A bunch great ones over at the Atomic Think Tank for Mutants and Masterminds, Baron's, Batgirl's, Jabronville's, Narsil's, Pamela Isley's, and MDSnowman's.

But I think I want to do something different. How about a teenaged Zatanna, just getting started out in the magic biz. Ok, so not all that different, but it could make some fun stories.

So here is Zee for Witch Girls Adventures. This is Zee after she left her formal schooling or just about ready to graduate. In a WGA style school she would have really had it tough as most of the girls would have focused on her human father the stage magician and ignored that fact that her mother was a really powerful witch. Though they would not have done that for very long.

Zattana Zatarra

Witch Sorceress
 Age: 17

Body: d6
Mind: d6
Senses: d8
Will: d8
Social: d6 +1
Magic: d10

Life Points: 12
Reflex: 9
Resist Magic: 13
Zap Points: 20

Skills (Rank)
Acting d6
Basics d4 
Hear d4
Look d6

Casting d6
Focus d4 (needs to talk backwards to achieve this)
Magical Etiquette d4
Mysticism d6

Talents
Beautiful, Entertainer (+1 to rolls)

Heritage
Legacy (mother was the powerful witch Sindella, father John Zatarra has witch-blood and was a stage magician).

Magic
Alteration 5 (4 +1)
Conjuration 3
Curse 2
Divination 2
Illusion 3
Mentalism 2 (later will be at Rank 6 here)
Offense 1
Protection 1

Signature Spell - Forget

Equipment
Crystal Ball (+1 to Scry)

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatanna
http://www.mykey3000.com/cosmicteams/profiles/zatanna.html
http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Zatanna
Misty Lee, aka Mrs. Paul Dini, aka the real life Zatanna, http://www.mistylee.com/
Toyriffic on the JLU Animated figure. http://toyriffic.blogspot.com/2009/04/abra-abra-cadabra.html


The Zatanna pic at the very top was made by Mach Sabre.  You can find his Deviant Art page here: http://machsabre.deviantart.com/ and his co-effort, the awesome Shadow Girls comic here:  http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/  Not sure why there is a lobster in her hat though.

Shadow Girls, Charon McKay

Charon McKay is the mother of Becka. Charon (pronounces "Share-on") has had it rough. She was raised by her grandmother when her mother and father died when she was 4, then Charon herself went missing for a few months at age 15. She returned home, incoherent, very pregnant and no idea who the father was (the age Becka is now). She gave birth to Becka and settled into a mostly normal life of a teenage mother. Of course her one true love, Jack, had moved on to Chrissy, her one true enemy, then her grandmother died leaving her and her daughter on her own..and this was all before she discovered that whole destiny thing.

Charon is a very interesting character. She is a bit of a drunk, not above swearing, getting her hands dirty or sleeping around, but her soul is pure. You can see it in the way she treats and loves Becka. Charon is not dumb, she knows what sort of life she leads, but she often thinks the best solution to a problem is violence. This is amplified in her Shadow Child form which is pure aggression. Something like the Incredible Hulk, only shadowy and a wearing a set of brass knuckles with the word "BITCH" printed in reverse on them.

• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/about/character-profiles/
  
• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/character-bio/superlink-week-part-one/
  
• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/character-bio/mckay-charon-part-one/
  
• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/character-bio/mckay-charon-part-two/
  

Now what is really cool is we have seen a few different versions of Charon as Shadow Girls evolved from some the early ideas Dave had to it's present (and canonical) form. Sure those other Charons are different, but certainly you get the idea of what makes this character tick. For example, Charon wears a cross. We have not been privy yet to what religion she practices, but we do know that she is religious to a degree. So much so that it comes out even in her Shadow Child (and Shadow Girl) forms.

Here is Charon in all her violent, drinking, sleeping around, foul mouthed, but loving, protective motherly ways. For the Witch Girls Adventures game.

Charon McKay (Shadowform after /)

Body: d6 / d12+5

Mind: d6 / d4

Senses: d6 / d8

Will: d6 / d4

Social: d4+1 / d4+1

Magic: d6 / d10

Life Points: 12/34

Reflex: 9/20

Resistance: 9/13

Zap Points: 12 / 20

Skills

Acrobatics 4, Basics 2, Fighting 6/12, Fix Mechanical 6, Pop culture 4, Scare 2/10, Streetwise 4

Traits: Beautiful, Tinkerer

Heritage: Shadowchild (Nodens)

Magic (all magic is shadow based)*

Charon
Morph 6 (Shadowchild, Merged Shadowforms only)

Shadowchild

Move 2

Zap 4

Screamer 4

Shield 3

* Like Becca, Charon can only use magic in one of her Shadow forms, including morphing into the Shadowchild or merging into the full Shadowchild with Charon. In any case all magic will be shadow-based.

Up next. The Shadow child herself.

Shadow Girls, Lindsey Jun Yeoh.

Shadow Girls, Lindsey Jun Yeoh.

Lindsey Jun Yeoh, aka Lin Lin, is Becka’s best friend. She has no powers, no status, nothing that would allow her to help out her friend to fight the darkness, and she is still there. Whether beating a bad guy with a folding chair, or stealing a gun, Lindsey will always be there for Becka to make up for the one time she wasn’t. Charon and Becka’s motivations are fairly clear to understand. Lindsey is much more complex. She still bears the scars of her battles (a credit to the artist!) and they only meaning they have to her is that she must still fight to help Becka no matter what. Becka has moments of fear, Lindsey is her rock. She doesn’t know anything more than her friend does, but because she is there. If there was a scene ala the Oscars where we could see the scene from Lindsey that clinche’s her nomination then it will be these two pages: http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/book-1/chapter-7-the-bloody-shore/brave-new-day-part-one/ http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/book-1/chapter-7-the-bloody-shore/brave-new-day-part-two/

We see for the first time that all those battle’s Lindsey fought while helping Becka will leave her scarred, but no where near as much as the scars Lindsey feels is on her karma/soul. It should be no surprise that Lindsey is the most popular character in the series.

• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/about/character-profiles/


• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/character-bio/superlink-week-finale/

Lindsey Jun Yeoh

Body: d6
Mind: d6
Senses: d6
Will: d10
Social: d8
Magic: d4

Life Points: 12
Reflex: 9
Resistance: 7
Zap Points: 8

Traits: Brave, Unshakable
Heritage: Mundane

Skills: Acrobatics +3, Acting +2, Basics +1, Computers +2, Fighting +3, Plucky +3, Pop Culture +2

Shadowgirls + Witch Girls

So I mentioned yesterday of my fondness of the webcomic Shadowgirls and the RPG Witch Girls Adventures. So here is my first attempt of "two great tastes that taste great together". So in that spirit I present Rebecca McKay.

You can read all about Rebecca on the Shadowgirls website, including a Mutants & Masterminds version.

• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/about/character-profiles/
  
• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/character-bio/becka-profile-one/
  
• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/character-bio/becka-profile-two/
  
• http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/comics/character-bio/superlink-week-part-two/
  

Reading through these posts obviously point to Becka being a great character to play. Witch Girls Adventures is a great game with a lot of great powers that would allow a Director to run a great Shadow Girls-like game. Maybe something high school focused (which of course I have a cool idea).

But in the meantime, here is Becka and her Shadow Girl form

Becka McKay (Shadowform after /)

Body: d4 / d12
Mind: d8 / d8
Senses: d6 / d8
Will: d8 / d8
Social: d6 / d8
Magic: d8 / d10

Life Points: 8 / 24
Reflex: 7 / 15
Resistance: 11 / 13 +2
Zap Points: 16 / 20

Traits: Brave, Eidetic Memory*
Heritage: Shadowchild (Nodens)

Magic (all magic is shadow based)**

Becca

Morph 6 (Shadowchild, Merged Shadowforms only)

Shadowchild
Move 1
Zap 2
Screamer 4
Shield 2

*Eidetic Memory: same as the M&M feat of the same name.

** Becca can use magic only in one of her Shadow forms, including morphing into the Shadowchild or merging into the full Shadowchild with Charon. In any case all magic will be shadow-based.

Coming up, Lindsey and Charon!

Shadow Girls

I have been a long time fan of the webcomic Shadow Girls.


http://www.shadowgirlscomic.com/






Well they have a few things going on that I'd like to let everyone know about.

First, it is a cool comic. Described as "H.P. Lovecraft meets the Gilmore Girls", which as far as mashups go has to be one of the coolest ideas ever, but the comic goes far beyond that.

Second they have a figure they are getting made that looks really awesome.

And they are being nominated for WebComicPlanet's awards. They are very much deserving of all of these awards.


Shadow Girls would make a great RPG (but the creators aldeady know that and are working on it), so until the official one is out I might try stating up the characters for Cinematic Unisystem or Witch Girls Adventures.

So go to the website, read the comic, vote, nominate and if you like, buy.

OH, and of note: the current running comic is a guest comic, please go to the first page to get the full experience.