Zatannurday: When Zee met John

Justice League Dark #0 will be out next week.

In it we get a new perspective on when John Constantine met Zatanna.

I don't recall if this has ever been covered before.  In the Books of Magic it was understood that they were once a thing and not anymore.

Looking forward to seeing this one. I have not been keeping up on JLD, though I do have them in my queue at Comixology.

We also get a new (old) outfit for the younger Zatanna.  I have to admit I like it, though I do miss the fishnets.

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice are my oldest son's favorites superheroes.  So today for him here are some Fire and Ice pics!
Plus tomorrow is the first day of Fall, equal parts Summer and Winter as it were.  Since I used Fire for the first day of Summer and Ice for the first day of winter, here they are in equal measure.


Fire Ice Showcase by *petercotton on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *CrimsonArtz on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *TiuanaRui on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *HanieMohd on deviantART


Fire and Ice by ~Ziggyman on deviantART


Fire's Ice Cream by ~Lame-o-Inc on deviantART


Fire and Ice by ~Lame-o-Inc on deviantART


National Pride by ~blubeetle3 on deviantART


MAXIMUM Cover by ~blubeetle3 on deviantART

So Long City of Heroes

It has been announced that City of Heroes, the Supers MMORPG is closing up shop.

http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/news/news_archive/thank_you.php

I never played CoH, but I did playtest the RPG version that Eden was working on back in the day.
Of course I stated up some characters.

What can I say? This was at the height of my involvement with The Dragon and the Phoenix.
I have to admit I liked how these turned out.

Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul, Part 2 (sorta)

I wanted to have at least one write-up done for you today.  But work has been really busy and I crashed last night while watching the Olympics.

So instead here are some links that be helpful till then.

Thread on RPG Net
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?639850-Capes-Cowls-and-Villains-Foul

The Author's Blog
http://capescowlsandvillainsfoul.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/spectrumgames

Website with some freebies
http://www.spectrum-games.com/

Enjoy!  I hope to have something more useful soon.

Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul

Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul (CCaVF) is the eagerly anticipated supers/comic book emulation game from Spectrum Games.  The same folks that gave Cartoon Action Hour.

I want to start off by saying that this is an attractive book.  At 164 pages of full of color it feels like a comic. Since that is what the author aims to emulate I would say it so far is a success.

I think that is a good place to start.  What is CCaVF?  Well yes it is a supers game, but it is more a comic book emulation game.  Meaning it tries to emulate the play-ability of reading a comic book.  This sets it apart from the likes of other purely "Supers" games that might be trying to emulate how a super hero could exist in some sort of reality.  Instead the assumption here is comic book reality. This would include things like editorial control or even breaking the 4th wall.  Both of which are discussed later.

Chapter 0 is our Introduction which helps lay the ground work for what we will be reading. We are told that physics and logic often take a back seat to drama and excitement.  So far I feeling that this will be closer to Marvel Heroic Roleplaying than say Villains and Vigilantes (both of which are great games for different styles of play).  We are told that this game is about telling exciting stories with your friends.  So far this sounds good.  We are told next that this game uses the d12.  I love that.  The d12 is the oft forgotten die stuck between the mighty d20 and the diva that is the d10.
We also learn that CCaVF is a resource-based game.  Now my experiences with resource based supers games has been mixed.  So lets see what we have here.

Traits are match against other Traits with various Linked traits.  Traits can be Primary or Secondary and after they are Used they become less effective.  So someone like Superman would have a Primary Trait of Super-Strength with Secondary Traits of Flight and Heat Vision. Following the example in the book the Traits are bolded.  Characters are likely to have 5 to 12 traits.  Characters can also have Complications and Factoids. Sounds great! Let's get into the design!

Chapter 1 is Character Design.  I like the term "Hero Design" myself, but that is cool.  Your "Editor" (GM) will determine how many starting points your character will have.  Much like the Power Points of M&M or other games. Except you are not buying the trait itself, you are buying what the trait represents.  So a Signature Triat vs. a Secondary one or an Auto Defend.  There is a handy chart with all the trait types and levels/ratings so you can add up your points quickly.
CCaVF encourages thinking about your character as a whole.  So when making your Batman-clone you would not list all his martial arts but would just list Advanced Combat Training or something like that. Superman would have Super-Sonic Flight while the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel would have Hyper-Flight.  So where are these traits listed?  They are not.  Yup.  YOU define what the traits mean.  So for example I define an Anamchara trait to go with my Willow & Tara characters.  This is a Shared Trait, so the points are split up, but I define what it means and what it does.  But don't worry the author gives you some ideas to work with.

The neatest thing though has to be the Editorial Control. These are like supercharged hero points or drama points. Editorial Control can be purchased with points, but is more expensive for more powerful characters. The Editor also gets a pool of EC points as well to use for the villains.  There are also examples of various ways to regain EC points.  Finally you fill out the character with factoids.
The chapter ends with an example of character creation.  This is followed by a quick generation card to get you plying right away. Finally a listing of Heroes and Villains.

Chapter 2 is the Rules chapter.Typically rolls are a d12 + some trait.  Other times you might need to roll 2 d12s and keep the highest or even 3.  The basic idea here is that the action needs to be like that in a comic book. So a bit of time is spent on combat.  Now heroes and villains in CCaVF don't have hit points, but they do have Setbacks.   Most of the chapter is dedicated to this this idea and some example difficulties are explored.  All and all pretty easy.

Chapter 3 is all about Villains.  Villains get special treatment in CCaVF.  They are created with the same rules that give us heroes, but there is more to them than that.  Given the treatment given them here, I think this should be must reading for any superhero RPG player/GM.  Heroes are often defined by their villains or rogues gallery.  This game did not forget that.

Chapter 4 deals with Options. Things you can do to tweak characters or games.  One really nice thing is about how deal with super hero team-ups and what to do when some characters are more powerful than others.  There is even a bit on killing (and why it should be avoided) and live action (LARP) supers.

Chapter 5 is a fairly comprehensive example of play.  If you normally ignore these please read this one.  Many of my questions were answered here. It is a good walk through of how to play the game.

Chapter 6 talks about Issues, or adventures for your new set of heroes and villains. Again there is a lot of good information here for Editors/GMs of any sort of supers game.  In particular there is the all important Introductory Issue which brings the team the together.  I could not help but think of the team of misfits in the new Justice League Dark while reading this.  Fantasy RPG fans should also take note of this chapter since it helps get past that old "you all met in an inn before an adventure".

We end with an Afterword where the author discusses why he made this game.  The Appendix has a great glossary, index and cheat sheets for the game.

All in all I am quite pleased with this game.  I agree with the author in that I love Supers games, but it is hard to find that perfect game for your group.  There have been some great choices that have come out in the last few years, but none are 100% perfect.  CCaVF may not 100% perfect either, but it is really damn nice and has a lot of great things going for it.

Up next I'll stat up some characters.

Zatannurday: Zatanna and Raven

My love for Zatanna is well known and highly documented, but she is not the only magic-using character in the DC Universe.
There is another character that honestly I like just as much, but never really focused on around here and that is Raven.

Since we are getting a new, renewed, Teen Titans on TV ("Teen Titans Go!") I thought I'd talk a little abotu Raven.

Raven is the daughter of Trigon the Terrible, one of the most powerful demons in the DC universe.
In fact when we are first introduced to Raven in "The New Teen Titans" she goes to the Justice League first. Where she meets Zatanna.  Zee tells the league not to trust her because she can sense Trigon's evil in her.

Raven has had some ups and downs. She went evil, tried to kill her teammates, she died, came back as a teen again, been a target for sacrifice and/or marriage by a cult.  Daddy issues are the least of her issues.

Outside of some special editions though Raven and Zatanna have never really worked together.  There was speculation that she might be in Justice League Dark (she would fit) but I guess she is now back with the Titans.

Anyway here some pairings of the two, official, other worlds and cosplay.

Of course who could forget this one.  Sort of a prelude to JLD.

Some Deviant Art pieces.

zatanna and raven colored by ~gianmac on deviantART

Justice League of... yeah, just Justice League by ~luanklebers on deviantART

My 52: Sentinels of Magic by ~EddieD0129 on deviantART

Ok, so Zee is known for pulling rabbits out of her hat. Sort of a gimmick, but yeah. Well on the Teen Titan's Raven was turned into a rabbit in the episode called, odly enough, "Bunny Raven".

Zatanna and Bunny Raven by ~red-wolf7 on deviantART

Nuth'n Up My Sleeve by *LEXLOTHOR on deviantART

Here are some cool Cosplay.

Looks like I'll have to create an adventure that includes both Zee and Raven for DC Adventures/Mutants and Masterminds 3.

Zatannurday: Supers Unleashed

I picked up this really simple super game a bit back called Supers Unleashed.  To say it is simple is an understatement.
It has a lot of potential and extremely easy to learn and play.

I have a feeling though that eventually that player of this game will want more.

So here is Zatanna, stated up for Supers Unleashed.

Zatanna

Super Points: 100

Powers: Magic 110
Limitations: Limit, must speak backwards: -10
Archetype: Magician (like Mage, only not as stuffy).

That is it!
I told you, very simple.

Sure I could reallocate points to mental or psychic powers, but she does all that stuff with magic.

Not too bad for a $0.99 game.

Zatannurday: Strikes-Twice Cosplay

Back in the start of June I posted some random Zatanna Cosplayers.  One that really got my attention was Strikes-Twice on Deviant art.
I loved her style and thought she made a great Zatanna.

She tells us on her DeviantArt site that loves Zatanna and she is her favorite "DC Chick".  I can't disagree.
So here are some of her pics.  Please enjoy!


AH! Zatanna by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


Party time, tnellecxe! by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


Deviant ID 1.0 by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


Showstopper! Zatanna and Catwoman by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


Spellaholic. by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


Z VS. H by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


Cats and Wands by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


OOH MR. BATMAN OOH by ~strikes-twice on deviantART

So stop by her page to see more and say hi!

I Don't Want No Civil War....

But this one is pretty cool.

MWP has their next Marvel Heroic Roleplaying book out and it covers the big Marvel Civil War arc.

Now, I'll be honest I didn't care for the Civil War story.  But this book does look cool and it adds more heroes for your game.

The books come in two flavors.
The Essentials edition just covers the new material.
The Premium Edition includes the Essentials plus the material from the Basic Game.

I grabbed the Essentials.  But I'll pick through the Premium if it has material updated from the Basic game.

While I didn't care for the story in Civil War it did give us one of the best Cap and Spidey panels in existence.

First Day of Summer, celebrate with Fire

So last Winter's Solstice I posted a bunch of pictures of DC's Ice.  Well today I'll post her partner and other favorite of my oldest son, Fire.



fire league justice by ~victormanga on deviantART


Fire Fight by *CandelaGreene on deviantART


A fiery Bea by ~brilliant-beatrice on deviantART


Blazing Fire_no text by ~Mancomb-Seepwood on deviantART


Fire by ~Lamzao on deviantART


Fire Wallpaper by ~Ziggyman on deviantART

Enjoy your Summer!

Dear Google Visitors...

I am sorry.  But despite your efforts over the last week you can not find "Supergirl Porn" here.

As a consolation, here is this image.

May you have better luck on other sites.

Willow and Tara: Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

I am still playing around a bit with Marvel Heroic Roleplaying now that I have seen it out in the stores.  Saw a copy at my local Barnes & Nobel last night in fact.  I thought this might be appropriate for today.

"Willow and Tara" by David Reynolds

Willow and Tara in the Marvelverse
I have to admit, that anytime I think about the girls in a super hero universe I always think of it in terms of DC.  But the roleplaying and character development aspects of MHR are too good to ignore.
I have already done up my two DC go-to characters Zatanna and Justice with this system.  And I have stated up Willow and Tara in one other version of Cortex in the past.

For the girls in this universe I'll start with the assumptions that the events in my previous games, The Dragon and The Phoenix and Season of the Witch happened.  In fact even though this game was not part of the original plan it would work fine as part of the Generation HEX season I started and never finished.


Name: Willow
ID: Willow D. Rosenberg (public)
Age: 32 (2012)

Base of Operations: Boston, MA

Affiliations: Solo d8, Buddy d10, Team d6  (Willow in highschool was certainly more Team, but this is an older Willow)

Distinctions:
Bad Ass Wicca
Technophile
Quick to Anger

Power Sets
Sorcery d10
Magical Spells d10, Blast d10, Senses (magical) d10, Teleport d10, Telekinesis d10
Limit: Conscious Effort
SFX: Versatile
SFX: Area Attack

Anamchara d10  (Willow and Tara can combine their powers)
"I will always find you." (Telepathy) d8,  "I am you know...yours" (Combine) d10
Limit: Distance/focus
SFX: Multipower
SFX: Boost

Specialties 
Mystic d10
Tech d10
Cosmic d8
Science d8

Milestones
Magic
1xp You uncover some plot that is magical in nature.
3xp You discover some new magical tome or artifact.
10xp You defeat the main villain without magic.

Anger
1xp When you loose your temper
3xp When someone you are helping takes trauma
10 xp When your anger threatens the world, or saves it.

Willow in "Generation HEX" is one of the most power spell casters in the world.  But her own issues surrounding her anger still plague her.  She has turned to magic as a means of not just obtaining control over her situation, but of herself.  She is slowly getting there.


Name: Tara
ID: Tara A. Maclay (public)
Age: 33 (2012)

Base of Operations: Boston, MA

Affiliations: Solo d6, Buddy d10, Team d8  (Tara does best with Willow or in a group)

Distinctions:
Witchy Woman
Loyal
"Tara hide your magic" - Tara is a deep, quiet, well of magical power, but she has been told her whole life to hide it.

Power Sets
Sorcery d10
Magical Spells d10, Blast d8, Senses (magical) d10, Telekinesis d10
Limit: Conscious Effort
SFX: Versatile
SFX: Healing

Anamchara d10  (Willow and Tara can combine their powers)
"I will always find you." (Telepathy) d8,  "I am you know...yours" (Combine) d10
Limit: Distance/focus
SFX: Multipower
SFX: Boost

Specialties 
Mystic d10
Psych d10
Cosmic d8
Science d8

Milestones
Magic
1xp You uncover some plot that is magical in nature.
3xp You discover some new magical tome or artifact.
10xp You defeat the main villain without magic.

Soulmates
1xp When you or Willow are dragged into a problem together
3xp When someone uses you to get to Willow or visa-versa
10 xp When you have to work together after being apart to stop the threat

Tara is more self-actualized than Willow is.  She knows and accepts the dangers and responsibilities of her power.  What she is most afraid of is loosing Willow; either to death or darkness.   In my games the girls have seen many alternate realities, any reality without a Tara in it results in Willow turning evil and destroying things.

Willow and Tara have a lot of linked powers and milestones, as to be expected given their lives together.

To follow along with the Generation HEX plot ideas, they are living in Boston teaching at a school that has a lot of magical kids enrolled.  In my game they would of course know of Zatanna and I would still have to say they are not up to her power level on their own, combined though they could give Zee a run for her money. Not that they would mind you, Tara is a HUGE fan of Zatanna, I have this on authority.

Of course this would also be a good episode to have the girl visit the wilds of Canada and check out the Cave of Cool.

Zatannurday: Y is for Young Justice Zatanna

As Zatanna fans we have been living is some really great times of late.  We had a great Zatanna comic from Paul Dini.  Now we have Justice League Dark and best of all, teen Zatanna in Young Justice.

Of course according to Action Figure Insider we are not going to be getting a Young Justice Zatanna figure.
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/afis-ask-matty-mattel-qa-answers-for-april-16th-2012
Though the Wal-Mart exclusive Zatanna looks pretty close.

We do still have Green Ronin's DC Adventures game.
The official game has Zee's stats, but these are closer to what she was when she had her own title.  Zatanna from Young Justice is just getting into her powers.

Here is the Young Justice version of Zatanna.  I did this from my memory of what she could do in the episodes.

Zatanna (YJ) - PL 7 (104 points)

Strength 0, Stamina 1, Agility 2, Dexterity 3, Fighting 1, Intellect 3, Awareness 3, Presence 3

Advantages
Artificer, Attractive, Benefit, Wealth (well-off), Connected, Fascinate (Deception), Languages 3, Luck, Ritualist, Teamwork

Skills
Acrobatics 2 (+4), Athletics 2 (+2), Deception 4 (+7), Expertise: Magic 8 (+11), Insight 4 (+7), Perception 4 (+7), Persuasion 2 (+5), Ranged Combat: tsalB: Blast 8 6 (+9), Sleight of Hand 8 (+11)

Powers
Magic
   !ediH: Concealment 0
   dleihS: Force Field 8 (+8 Toughness)
   sehtolC egnahC: Transform 4 (Affects: 1 Thing > 1 Thing, Transforms: 12 lbs., DC 14)
   sthguohT yM raeH: Mental Communication 4
   tegroF: Affliction 2 (mind, 1st degree: Impaired, 2nd degree: Exhausted, 3rd degree: Unaware, Resisted by: Will, DC 12)
   tropeleT: Teleport 4 (500 feet in a move action, carrying 50 lbs.)
   tsalB: Blast 8 (DC 22)
Mystic Senses: Senses 5 (Acute: Mystic, Analytical: Mystic, Detect: Mystic 2: ranged, Ranged: Mystic)

Offense
Initiative +2
Grab, +1 (DC Spec 10)
sehtolC egnahC: Transform 4, +1 (DC Dog 14)
tegroF: Affliction 2, +1 (DC Will 12)
Throw, +3 (DC 15)
tsalB: Blast 8, +7 (DC 22)
Unarmed, +1 (DC 15)

Complications
Motivation: Responsibility: Zatanna feels responsible for her father's current state as Dr. Fate.
Power Loss: Needs to say spells/powers backwards to use them.

Languages
English, Greek, Italian, Latin

Defense
Dodge 6, Parry 4, Fortitude 4, Toughness 1, Will 7

Power Points
Abilities 32 + Powers 27 + Advantages 11 + Skills 20 (40 ranks) + Defenses 14 = 104

Not quite yet the powerhouse she will grow up to be.

Justice: Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

Earlier this week I mentioned I spent some time over the last month with Marvel Heroic Roleplaying.  One of the first characters I though about was my paragon character "Justice".

The great thing about Justice is I have a great grasp on who this character is, what motivates her and what she wants to be.  So a game like MHR is really a good fit.  Plus is gives me the chance to compare her "Marvel" universe counterpart with her "DC Universe" counterpart.

For Issue 5 I spoke to my regular GM Greg, the guy likely to be the GM of any supers game I'll play in and my go to guy for Marvel questions, suggested an adventure where Kara travels to Madripoor.  Kara is there as part of a delegation with one of her law professors.  Her role here is of course to be quiet and learn.  Bet you know how that is going to turn out.

Since we are going to focus on the drama here Greg wanted to give her a love interest, one of the local criminals (whose name escapes me at the moment, but I think it was Wolverine's son).

So with out further ado, here is Justice.

Name: Justice
ID: Astra Kal-El / Astra Kent (secret)

Affiliations: Solo d10, Buddy d6, Team d8 (Kara is still trying to figure out who she is and she is doing that on her own.)

Distinctions: Uncompromising (sees the world in mostly black & white; good guys and bad guys)
Heroic Ambition (wants to be a hero)
Struggling with Identity (is she Amazon? Kryptonian? something new? How can she fit into a human world?)

Power Sets
Amazonian Heritage d10
Superhuman Strength d10, Superhuman Durability d10, Superhuman Stamina d10
Limit: Exausting
SFX: Multipower
SFX: Second Chance (reroll)
(she is still coming into her power)

Kryptonian Heritage d8
Superhuman Senses d8, Flight (subsonic) d8, Blast (heat vision) d8
Limit: Kryptonite - Shutdown
SFX: Second Wind (move power up to d10)
SFX: Invulnerable (spend 1pp)

Specialties 
Combat d10 (training from the Amazons and Bruce/Batman)
Cosmic d10
Crime d8
Science d8

Milestones
Just like Mom and Dad...
1xp You encounter someone that knew your father
3xp You defeat one of your father's or mother's old enemies.
10xp You join or leave a team that your parents were on.

"Justice will Prevail!"
1xp You save an innocent life
3xp You must make a choice between the Law and Justice
10 xp You choose to see justice done at the expense of your own personal happiness.
 

I think this describes her rather well to be honest.  And it is something I could use to help drive the character in any other Supers game she might be in.

My Month with Marvel

I have now had Marvel Heroic Roleplaying now for about a month.  I have read it. Re-read it. Watched games, read reviews and even detailed some characters.  Here are my thoughts.

First, I have to be honest, I am still and probably always be a DC fan foremost.  I "dabbled" in Marvel back in the 80's like others.  I enjoyed the X-Men, loved Spider-Man, enjoyed Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider...and that was about it.  I didn't have any dislike for Marvel, I just like DC better.
I enjoyed the old TSR Marvel game, but I also liked DC Heroes from Mayfair and Villains and Vigilantes.

Secondly, MHR is about as far away from the OSR as you can possibly get and still use the same set of dice.

Ok. So there are a lot of reviews out for this now, and there is really nothing new I can add to all of that.  Here is though less of a review and more of a bunch of my opinions and insights on the game.

The most notable feature of this game is there is nothing in the way of comparing ability to ability really.  Yes there are things like "combat expert" and there levels of that, but nothing along the lines of Strength vs. Strength  So there is no way to tell really who would win in an arm wrestling Thor or Thing.  But the deal is that this not something that is likely to happen UNLESS it was part of the plot, then the winner is decided by other things.

MHR is more of a game where the players are providing the framework.  You need to create your character with the other characters and players in mind.  Maybe not as much as Smallville or Leverage, but still.  It is also a game where the main drama is about heroes, not really supers.  It really is a "comic book" RPG, not a cartoon, supers or even super hero movie RPG. This game is about building characters, the relationships between them and the drama. Which, if you think about it, is kinda what Marvel Comics is about.

The game moves well from what I have seen in play and after working with your character you get the hang of the game quickly.

The book itself is great to look at, but I was expecting more to be honest.  Compare to Green Ronin's DC book.  The DCA is overflowing with art.  Everywhere.  MHR has art, but it seems to use it more sparingly.  Plus I swear it was the same characters over and over. I could easily name dozens of character I didn't see, but that is not the point, I would have liked some others.
I would have liked to Dr. Strange or some other magical/mystical types since that is my favorite part of any game and Marvel in particular. Strange at least is important enough that he should be included in the Basic rules.

Will I play this game?
That is really the only question right? Yes, I love to try it out with the right group. To me the right group would be people who are willing to invest in their characters and be able to "play the drama".  So yes, with the right group of people.

Still I might want to dual stat characters with MHR and some other traditional supers game, maybe even DCA/M&M3.

I'll be posting some characters here soon.

Zatannurday: Justice League Dark, the first 5

Switching from Young Justice Zatanna to the more mature and tattooed Justice League Dark Zatanna.

Justice League Dark concluded it's first story arc, the threat of Enchnatress and the mystery of June Moon. 

Tattoos and a chain wallet?

To be honest I liked it.  I like the idea that sometimes there is crap out there so scary that even the Justice League is incapable of dealing with it.  That it takes a misfit group like this to deal with it.

Lets be honest here.  This is a messed up group.  I am not sure if Enchnatress will be a regular, but there are signs pointing to that.  If so she might be more powerful than Zee.
Zatanna, in this incarnation seems to be bit over her daddy issues.  Course that doesn't mean she is all healthy either.  She tells Constantine that she wants to erase his memory when he uses one of her own spells, which of course gets to predictable response.  She is not wearing her classical outfit and she has more than one tattoo on her.
Speaking of John. He seems younger here, but we assume that everything about him that was true before is still true now.  He doesn't have any magic himself, but knows a couple of tricks.  Still smokes.  I am not a fan of smoking, but I am glad they didn't take that away.   This is not the Hellblazer Constantine, but he is close.  My fear is he will become the "Spike" of this bunch.
I am not sold yet on Shade or Mindwarp.  But man do they have potential.  I like how Shade, who's power is to reshape reality, only has a basic grip on reality himself.  Mindwarp is just a couple shades of grey away from being a villain himself I think.
Deadman is really the only "hero" in the bunch.  I liked his character more here than any other time I have read him (mostly in Batman).
Madame Xanadu is a treat.  She has power and sees the future.  I like how she sees it all the time and has to numb herself with pills just to get through the day.

She doesn't look dangerous.

As a book, well I am enjoying writer Peter Milligan's work but think he needs to do a better job with why this group has to deal with the problems they have and will face. The art by Mikel Janin is actually top notch.  So few comic book artists draw women well, though they do keep on doing it.  These are not the paragon of superpowers, so they are drawn like normal people (well except Deadman).  Plus the scenes are great.  When Shade looses his grip on reality and his M-vest reacts it is just cool to see.

My hope is that JLD will become something more akin to the supernatural and occult comics from the 70s.
I also have to admit that this group would be a fun one to stat up for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying.

If I have a complaint it is that the story building was so slow.  I understand that there were a lot of characters we had to be introduced too and give enough of their back story, but I think the pace should have been faster.  That being said it was all still a great read and now that we have the characters in place I am hoping for even more.

I have not read #6 yet, but I understand the next big story is building.

Ghosts of Albion: Batman

This made it's rounds last week, but I am just getting caught up.

Clips from a proposed Gotham by Gaslight video game.




Might make for some good Ghosts of Albion fodder.

Tale of Two Games

It has been a busy week.

So busy that I have not had the chance to game (and next weekend is not looking good for that either).  I had a lot of things planned to talk about, to do.  Just none of those happened.

But one thing I do want to talk about, two games I just picked up. And really they could not be more different.

Adventurer Conqueror King System and Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

 

Let me talk about why they are similar first.
Both are highly praised games that have been well received by players and designers.
Both owe something of their popular due to the legacy of games produced by TSR in the 80s.
Both, now during the GMs sale, are under $10.   So for a Hamilton, you can get a new game.
I was eagerly waiting for both. Was slightly disappointed when I finally got them (expected more from one,

But there the similarities end.

Designwise, Adventurer Conqueror King System (ACKS) has defined beginning, middle and end.  Marvel Heroic Roleplaying (MHR) is open ended. In deed things on character sheet (Milestone) change as the game goes on. In the case of milestones, something that gave you experience last year, might not this year.

Greg, my friend and GM for myself and one of the games my kids play in described MHR as the "Antithesis" of the OSR, whereas ACKS is a synthesis of all the OSR embraces.

Character design in ACKS is straight-forward, roll your dice assign (in order) your scores.  Then see what you are going to be?  Rolled high in Strength? Congrats you are a fighter!  But don't worry about much else, in fact roll up four more characters, you might need them.

Character design in MHR starts with a concept, and a fairly well articulated concept at that.  Who is your hero, what does he do? How does he work in teams or with a partner? What are his goals, his issues?  Once you have that THEN you assign values to them, but in truth these values can be about anything.  It doesn't matter to MHR that the Hulk and Thor are both strong, we don't even need numbers for that.  If the hulk wants to pick up a tank and hit you with it, he does.  What matters instead is what motivates the Hulk to do that.  How does he perform in a group.  What are the things that are important to his story.

Character design then are two very different things in both games.  Given that overlap one could stat up the Howard version of Conan (from the books) and the Marvel Comics version of Conan, but come at it from completely different mindsets.   In ACKS we would be interested in his level (depending on when we read the tale), his strength and prowess with a blade.  When the Player's Companion comes out we might even be better able to mimic him.  In MHR we are interested in his ability to work in a team, partnership or solo.  We would also be interested in who his enemies are, what his goals are.   How close is he to regaining his throne? His loves?

On a personal note. It took Greg and I a couple of hours to detail Justice and Zatanna in MHR.  Earlier in the day he, my son and 4 other 12 year olds rolled up 5 characters each for ACKS.

ACKS is a D&D clone that attempts to mimic the great stories of the pulp age.  Conan rose to power from humble beginnings. As did John Carter and the Grey Mouser.

MHR is social game that attempts to mimic comic books, not supers games.  Comic book writers don't keep track of such things as how much can the Hulk or Spidey can bench press, only that they are as strong as they need to be for a particular scene.  MHR is the same way.  Can Spidey lift 1 Ton?  No idea, can he lift enough to save Mary Jane?  That is a more important question.

ACKS will run like any number of D&D games, but maybe a little grittier, a little more deadly.
MHR will run like any number of supers games, but while you might not ever die in this game, you can loose everything important to you.  Which is sometimes worse.

I guess there is one other area where the games are the same.
Both are great fun.

It took me a bit to see the value of each game.
After all I have tons of D&D clones and Supers games.  In the end it is not about what these games do that is the same as their "cousins", but rather what they do that is different.

ACKS is about the Short Game, or rather the game that is like a story with a beginning, middle and end.
MHR is about your hero and their story, their struggles and stress.  What makes them get up and keep fighting.  To me it is no wonder that the unofficial mascot of MHR is Captain America.  In fact I think I "get " Cap a little bit better now thanks to this game.

I normally would put a "Which Game Should I Buy" section here, but I won't.   I think you know already which one is right for you.  I say that you take the time to look at the other game too.

Please expect more detail on each game in the next week.

Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

Well unless you have been living under a rock this last week the newest, hottest game on the market right now is Marvel Heroic Roleplaying from Margaret Weis Productions.

It is kinda-sorta billing itself as the spiritual heir to TSR's old Marvel Superheroes Game  (aka FASERIP).
The new book out is called "The Basic Game" , obviously meant to recall the "Basic Game" of MSH and there is even a forward from Jeff Grubb.  So MHR has a pedigree, of sorts, but how does it stack up to it's forefather?

Well...

I will be100% honest here.  The rules took me a bit of reading, re-reading, asking other players and spending some time on RPG Net to understand.  AND I Am still not 100% sure I got it right.

I have played around with Cortex+ before.  I like ti for what it is and I'll admit I was a little concerned when I heard that the Marvel Game was going to use Cortex+.  I like it for Smallville and Leverage where drama is important. I even suggested using it for a Modern Supernatural game, but I was not sold on it as a Supers game.

At this point I should point out that "Supers" might not be a good genre for this game.  After all, "Supers" is not even in the title at all and the assumption here that everyone has powers of some sort.

In many ways this game is exactly as my friend Greg describes as the "Antithesis of the OSR".
This game is about building characters, the relationships between them and the drama.  Which, if you think about it, is kinda what Marvel Comics is about.   Does it matter really what the Hulk's strength is?  No.  Just that he is really damn strong.  Can he pick up a tank and throw it?  Sure if the Watcher (the GM, I kinda like that) says he does then he does.  That simple.  If it is a challenge, say can he out punch The Thing or Thor, then that is a different matter.

I think back to a scene I remember reading years ago.  Spider-man teamed up with the Ghost Rider to catch a common foe.  They are obviously very different kinds of heroes and they have their own way of doing things.  The bad guy was actually not essential to the story, so much so that I can't even recall him.  But the issue was more about their contrasting styles and more about how Spidey was horrified when Ghost Rider used Hell Fire on a bad guy.    This sort of thing is perfect for these rules.

So I am going spend some time this week with this game and looking at the support information out there and how one can use this game.

My opinion of the game has gone up since I first picked it up.  So who knows where I'll be by this Friday.

Reviews

Some new reviews from various products I have picked up lately.  Mostly horror, but also some others I have used recently.  All really fun.

Fear and Faith Horror Rules
A great little miniature skirmish game. The rules are fast, simple and easy to learn on the fly. Some situations tend to work better than others, such as an attacking zombie horde or a bunch of vampires in a grave yard, but all in all I like it. I actually plan to try it out in conjunction with other Horror RPGs and see how well they mesh. They game was not designed specifically to do this, but it certainly can be easily adapted to this. And even to make it perfect there is a list of links of where to get some quality horror minis.
5 out of 5 stars

Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium
Here is my basic problem with Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium.
Why haven't I heard more about it? It is an extremely easy, almost light, game for all sorts of horror. The execution is extremely well thought out and has such an indie charm to it I am a little confused as to why I haven't heard more about it. Let me go over the book a bit.
The Art and Layout. The art is a mixed batch of photo art, line art and a mix. Instead of looking chaotic it comes together as a whole. It reminds me a bit of the various "investigator notebooks" style layouts that are popular in modern horror games today, only no where near as cluttered. The layout is clean, neat and easy to read. In fact the near "sterileness" only adds to the horror feel to be honest.
Characters. The best part. The characters of Dread are damaged goods. In this respect I am reminded of Kult or other games where the characters start out already in deep trouble. In many ways the characters of Dread are like that of The Matrix. Outside humanity, but fighting for it. It is the extensional fight of WoD or Kult, with the actual fights of Armageddon and the chance of survival of Call of Cthulhu.
Characters do not have a lot of stats. Again this game is light, but there is more than enough here and really the focus of this game is more what you do and not how hard you hit it (though that is pretty important sometimes).
The magic system is likewise as light, but it is not lacking in spells. The guide lines are also pretty simple that making new ones is easy.
Between Magic and Combat is appropriately Exorcisms. I can't recall a game that devoted an entire chapter to this before. Another plus in it's favor.
Combat is also designed to be simple. Interestingly enough you roll to attack and to defend.
A section on role-playing and a quick start round out the first half of the book. The rest is for Directors only.
There are rules sections (not much) but then what follows is a true gem. Page after page of new, completely original demons. Nothing cribbed from the Monster Manual or some moldy document from the Church. Demons, their habits and how to take them down. Honestly worth it for this alone.
The book finishes off with some sample scenarios.

All in all a great game. I can't wait to try it out with a group that would really appreciate it.

Don't get this game if you like a lot of rules or crunch or want to have a number next everything your character can (or can't) do.
Don't get this game if pick up a horror game only to play it like "XXXX" tv show, book or movie. Dread is it's own thing.

Do get it if you like a fast moving game. Do get it is you have tried every other horror game out there and want something new. Do get it if you just want to try something new.
5 out of 5 stars

Devilish Duos: Smoke and Mirrors
Icons
Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Ed
I love well worked up characters for supers games. I love supernatural characters. And I love products that have appeal across games. While this is an Icons product, I see there are M&M versions out as well. That beign said the value here is in the character write-ups and those can be used anywhere.
Smoke and Mirrors are two such characters. Though I have to think it was just a quirk of chance that made them as they are and but a change in the same fates could have made them...well not good, but certainly not villains, though Smoke could have been had she been allowed to live her life. And that is the key here. Not that these are well stated out or the art is good (true on both counts) or even that there nice little paper minis to use (there is and they are a nice touch) but that they are characters I would want to get to know to use.
Actually I want to use them in a horror game. There they would shine.
The Mutants and Masterminds version includes Hero Builder files.
5 out of 5 stars

Toy War
Have kids?  Do they love to play with anything from stuffed animals to toy robots or action figures?
Do want to introduce them to the world of RPGs?  Well then this might just be the perfect game.
Well, not perfect, but really, really, really good.
Toy War takes so very simple rules (and also teaches kids how to use a ruler) to bring their favorite toys to life.   Each toy has a purpose and something it does well.  In one session we brought in a baby harp seal (was cute), a toy Dalek (can shoot), a space ship and some D&D dragons.  We came up with this idea to rescue some fish and we were off.  The adventure is fast and fun. In the end we saved the fish, only to have them eaten by the baby seal.
Depending on your kids this could be a game of structured make believe or even an on-going saga.  Or it can be a great diversion for a rain or snowy afternoon.
Worth every penny and then some.
5 out of 5 stars

Supernatural Adventures
Five adventures for Supernatural.
They are actually set up well enough that they could be used with just about any Modern Horror game, but they do have the feel of the show.  Not perfect adventures mind you, but certainly well written.   My favorite is "Hell Hound on My Trail" since it can be slotted into any ongoing arc with plenty of room to expand it for future use.
"Synchronicity" is good as well and might be my favorite in terms of how it was written.
4 out of 5 stars

BASH! Ultimate Edition

BASH! is a fantastic little game of Super Heroes.  Instead of a huge book of powers or effects, BASH instead focuses on "What do you want to do?" and "What kind of hero are you?", Simple, but powerful questions.
The game achieves the near miraculous feat of being simple to use and learn and yet powerful enough to keep you interested and coming back to the game.
The mechanic is kind of an odd one with multipliers (but I think it works for supers) and exploding doubles on 2d6, which I admit I like. It also has a cool FASRIP-looking chart for die results, so it gives it an old school feel (something all old school supers games had were charts, lots of them!). I like that the main Abilities have been reduced to just three; reminiscent of Tri-Stat, but these a Brawn, Agility Mind (BAM!), which appeals to me.  Everything after that are skills and powers.
It has it's legions of fans and I can see why.

BASH is a nice alternative to M&M or Icons, both very fine games, but BASH is easier to get going in.  Yes, even compared to Icons.
In addition to all of that BASH has a great power leveling system to play everything from Street Level Mystery Men to Cosmic "New Gods".

It's not perfect.  BUT just like like the comics would sometimes have huge cross-over events, so can games.  If you are happy with your current Supers RPG, great, but maybe the characters fall into a wormhole-spacetimebridge-cosmicsink and end up in a BASH universe.  At  under 10 bucks it is totally worth it.

I have a quibble with the "Bruce Timm" inspired-art.  I am not really sure how they got away with that.
Now mind you, I like the art.  I like Supers games to looks like comics or supers cartoons, but this seems a bit odd to me.

No matter.  Bottom line. Great game. Great fun. Great Respons...er sorry, Great Price.
If you like supers games then get this.
5 out of 5 stars

Twilight 2000

Twilight 2000 was always one of those classic games of my post-D&D youth.  Back then I grabbed anything that wasn't D&D.  TW2k was fun, but not a game I ever got into for any length of time.
In today's eyes it seems a bit dated and even maybe a little silly, but this was a big deal in the 80's.

What I like though is using this game as a precursor to the GDW Traveller books of around the same time.  Then this game improves in my mind as a link to the Traveller universe.  Sure it was not really designed that way when Traveller first came out, but it certainly was the assumption I got.

The game though is still a classic and maybe one day I'll give it a go again. Or maybe as part of a larger Traveller campaign.
4 out of 5 stars



Forbidden Kingdoms: Modern 
Forbidden Kingdoms: Modern is a slimmer version of the full FK book.  This one uses the D20 Modern rules to cover the heavy lifting and leaves the rest of the book to focus on what is just Forbidden Kingdoms.
The Pulp Era is not one I spend a lot of time playing in, but it certainly tailor made for adventures.  You have many of the advantages of a modern society and still have large areas of land that mysterious, unknown and ready for imagination.
Forbidden Kingdoms (any version) is actually one of my more favorite Pulp era games.  It is also the game that helped me see the value of D20 Modern.
The background information covers the end of the Victorian age till WWII and has a great overview of history. Not perfect of course, but perfect for a game.
If you like the Pulp era or any of the books that came out then, then this is a great game to have.  I am using it for the history sections and the adventure hooks alone.
4 out of 5 stars

Dweomercraft: Lich

Liches are the ultimate bad guy in D&D.  All the liches we know, we know by name.  Dweomercraft: Lich helps you create those monsters and make them into some more; villains.
At 106 pages (plus additional maps and files) this book is filled with everything you would suspect.  There is a chapter on what a Lich is and how to create them. There are discussions on how the different races approach lichdom.  Lots of lich-related knowledge is also presented with appropriate DCs. There are plenty of new skills, feats, spells and monsters.  Additionally we have undead familiars; for undead wizards natch, and Lich prestige classes.  Sure to scare your characters to death.
Most importantly there are Lich NPCs.  Something that no book should be without.
I can't help but to compare favorably to the old "Blueprint for a Lich" Dragon article.  It would mesh nicely with this book.  I also comapre it to the old Mayfair "Lichlords", which this present book is better.

A properly played Lich should be able to stand up to an entire party of characters.
A properly played Lich out of this book should be able to wipe them out.

4 out of 5 stars