Monday, September 30, 2013

October is nearly here!

October is a big deal here at the Other Side as many of you already know.

First off there is the October Horror Movie Challenge I participate in every year.
Hosted by Krell Laboratories I am planning on hitting movies I have been wanting to see for ages and just never got around to.  A really bucket list if some of the movies wen't terrible.
You can watch my progress here and on the Horror Movie Challenge Facebook page.



I am also gearing up to get Eldritch Witchery into your hands.  I am quite excited about it.
It is predominantly for the Spellcraft & Swordplay rules.   If you already own The Witch then there might not be much more in it for you, but it does cover my very first Warlock class and OSR stats for a number of demons that have never seen print (or PDF) before.  So I am quite excited about that.


There was a request to revist Monster Mondays. But I have a few projects I need to get done in October so I don't think I can do that.  BUT that all being said there is no reason why you all can't do that one on your own.

I'll have some other things happening in October that I can't quite talk about now as well.

But here is to a great October!

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 30: Best DM You've Had

Day 30: Best DM You've Had

Here we are at the end.
What an interesting little trip this was. I enjoyed reading everyone's postings all week and congrats if you made it to the end.

Best DM.  Wow. I have had a lot of great ones over the years.  Restricting this just to D&D though makes it easier.

I have had a lot, but I have to give the nod to my hometown DMs for 1st Ed.
Jon Cook was my first DM and his style was what we might call Gonzo these days. Everything, all over the place and all at once. Just crazy ass shit all the time.  If we didn't know a rule we just kept going. Jon just had solid love of the game and that what made his games fun.

My next DM was Bob Grenda. He was in High School with me and that man created worlds on worlds.  His campaign was so layered and detailed that every game was epic.  I have been begging him for years to clean up his "Mad Wizard Killian" series of adventures (Killian's Tower, Killian's Castle, Killian's Maze...) to publish for OSRIC.  It's not just my memories, those adventures rocked and I will take the Pepsi challenge on them verses the best of the old school any day of the week.
Until then the loss is ours.

I hope you all enjoyed this little ride!


Sunday, September 29, 2013

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 29: What number you always seem to roll on a d20

Day 29: What number you always seem to roll on a d20

A random one.
Sorry taught stats for too long to be taken in by this question. ;)


Saturday, September 28, 2013

Zatannurday: Constantine on the Little Screen?

Constantine on TV?



Looks like we might be getting a Constantine based TV show.

http://comicsalliance.com/new-john-constantine-tv-series-nbc-daniel-cerone-david-s-goyer/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/27/constantine-tv-show-in-development-at-nbc
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/28848/
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/62414638457/nbc-picks-up-dcs-constantine-for-development

Of course right now this is only talk and talk means very, very little in Hollywood. But honestly with the recent batch of supernatural themed shows and the successes of Smallville and Arrow, this could become a real thing.

I can only hope the Zee makes the occasional appearance.




30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 28: Character you will never play again

Day 28: Character you will never play again

I actually have a few.  I never really need to play a fighter again. I had a few back in the day, they don't interest me all that much.  Never really had the desire to play a barbarian.
Specific characters, well there is my thief Roscoe that will stay safely retired as well most of my characters from the 2e version of AD&D.
Actually there are a lot more than this since I like making characters and usually only run games these days.


Friday, September 27, 2013

BAMF Girls Episode 12

Yeah. I need professional help.
But BAMF Girls 12 is up.


I really should stat them all out for some system.
Maybe for Tacky, Tawdry and Tasteless.

Pathfinder Society? Online? Live?

I am trying to find a Pathfinder game.

I want something though specific and honestly it shouldn't be an issue, but it is.
I'd like to find a Pathfinder where I can play a witch character.  I'd like to try out a couple of different things and I am looking for a flexible GM.  Plus I'd like to find a group where it didn't devolve into the characters always fighting each other.  Sorry, kind of a pet-peeve with me.

I have been checking out the Pathfinder Society, but man there is a lot there.
Here is the character I want to play and registered on the site, http://paizo.com/people/LarinaNix

I just don't know what to do next.  Anyone have any experiences they can share?
Are there good online games I am not aware of? Obviously there are since I am asking.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 27: Character you want to play in the future

Day 27: Character you want to play in the future

Not sure how this is different than Day 9.
There are a couple, Justice and Taryn are two I have created and would love to play.  I would love to play a witch in Pathfinder right away to be honest.  That is what I want to do the most at the moment.


Thursday, September 26, 2013

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

New Kickstarter: Double Spiral War

I have a love/hate relationship with Traveller.   Though the siren song of nostalgia has been making me look back on previous mishapps as youthful ignorance and things were never really that bad.

I also have to admit it is Kickstarters like this that give a reason to pull out the old books.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1292093911/warren-c-norwoods-double-sprial-war-traveller-edit


Battlefield Press is producing a Traveller powered game based on Warren C. Norwood's Double Spiral War books.

The project is reasonably funded and nearly there.  This would be a good thing to get me interested in Traveller again.

White Dwarf Wednesday #81

White Dwarf #81 takes us to September 1986.  The cover is Chris Achilleos' "Eagle Rider"  which had appeared on "The War of Powers" Part 2 cover prior to this.  Never quite got how they recycled covers like this, but they really, really liked Achilleos.
Paul Cockburn's editorial covers some of the new staff and their duties.  More Warhammer is promised. Two anniversaries are also mentioned.  Issue 100 and 10 years of WD.  Though they are still under 2 years for issue 100 (and my terminus for these retrospectives).

Open Box covers Paranoia, Clones in Space. One of the very few Paranoia adventures I ever played in.  The reviewer called it fun, I just never got into the frame of mind for Paranoia I guess.  West End Games gives us a Star Trek boardgame, the Enterprise Encounter.  After playing around with FASA Trek I kind of avoided Trek games for a number of years. Also included here is "A Doomsday Like Any Other" for FASA Trek. Griffin Island for Runequest is reviewed.  I owned it at one point and thought about a Runequest/CoC crossover, but never did anything with it.  West End also has out, Ghost Toasties for Ghostbusters.  Never played it.

For the truly curious an overview, review of Play By Mail is next in "How Mighty, the Pen".  I think by 1986 I was getting online (at 300 baud!) so the death knell was not ringing yet for Play by Mail, but it was near.

The next two articles are interesting, jousting rules for Pendragon and then again for AD&D.  Together they give a bit better of a picture of what you can do this Medieval past time.  I have to admit. I never had a Joust in my games.  I have been in games where they have occurred, but never ran one myself.

Letters is now two pages long.  Didn't see anything there that caught my eye except for someone complaining that Gobbledigook is smaller.

Critical Mass covers some SciFi.  Reviewed are Songs of A Distant Earth, which I absolutely enjoyed.  It was a book I just could not put down.   Also mentioned was Dragons of Autumn Twilight which my son just started last night.
20-20 Vision talks about Highlander. Again.  Though this time it is the British cut (pardon the pun) of the movie which is better than the American.  I recall seeing different versions back in 88 or so while in college, but nothing about an American vs. British version.  But it was almost 30 years ago.   Also reviewed is The Karate Kid.  Here is you brain buster for the day.  Pat Morita was 51 when The Karate Kid was filmed.  How old is Ralph Macchio?  He will be 51 on his birthday in November of this year.

Part 2 of the Call of Cthulhu/AD&D adventure Ancient and Modern is next.  Sad to say, but part two doesn't live up to the promise of part one.  It's still a great idea and I'd love to try it out.  I took it to work yesterday to xerox so I could mark up a copy as I like.

Brian Lumley gives us some short fiction. A rarity in White Dwarf.

A horror themed Paranoia adventure is next.  Like all Paranoia material is sounds interesting, but quickly devolves into farce to me.  Hard for me to judge this one.  Though the horror cliches are fun.

'Eavy Metal gets a facelift.  More color pages and the photography seems better.

Fracas covers some new releases, D&D Immortals, Wildernees Survival Guide AND an interesting rumor of Unearthered Arcana II.  Anyone know anything about that one?  WD mentions that is was on the schedules for early 86 to be replaced by Dungeoneer's Survival Guide.

Next is an article on Time Travel in RPGs.  I have a pretty strict rule.  No time travel in RPGs unless I am playing Doctor Who.  I have fudged that rule a bit more recently, but I stick to it.

We end with small ads and ads.

Overall a less satisfying issue than last month. The jousting article is neat and I like the idea behind "Ancient & Modern" The magazine is looking more like it's modern incarnation, but it was it's older incarnation that I found so pleasing.  Still though, some more issues to go.  Cheating and looking ahead a bit (I try not to read ahead) there are still a couple of gems waiting.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 25: Favorite Magic Item

Day 25: Favorite Magic Item

So many.
I always had fun with a Staff of the Magi, AD&D's closest thing to a magical shotgun.
So much so that I knew I had to do an equivalent staff for Witches.

Witch’s Staff: This staff of hawthorn wood is topped with a rough-faceted crystal. It is a potent magic item that allows the use of the following spells:
  • command (1 charge)
  • sleep (1 charge)
  • magic circle against chaos/law (1 charge)
  • polymorph other (1 charge)
  • veil (1 charge)
  • bestow curse (2 charges)
  • eternal sleep (2 charges)
Additionally, the wielder of a witch’s staff has a +2 bonus to AC and all saving throws. The staff itself is a +2 quarter staff and can be used as a weapon in mêlée combat.


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Kim Possible: Superbabes

I think I need some sort of 12 step program...

One last build for Superbabes.
This one is another Batwoman like build. Heavy on skills and gadgets. It is a place where Superbabes really works well I think.

I had done Kim is other systems in the past, but interestingly enough, never posted here. Odd really. I am going with a modern version here as well. So if her high school graduation was in 2007 she would be 23 or 24 now.
I am going easier on her Primary stats here.  No good reason other than I want to see how her points shake out.

Kim Possible by MachSabre
Character: Kim Possible
Secret ID / AKA: Kimmie, KP, Kimberly Ann Possible
Age: 23-24   Apparent Age: early 20s
Origin: Adventuress (0cp)
0 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 16  ("Strong") Damage: +3 Max Press: 800lbs
Health: 16  ("Robust") Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/4rds  HTK/Day: 1d20
Moves: 20  ("Fast") Bonus to hit: +3 Movement: 8" Hittability: 8 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 17 ("Genius")   Mental Attack Bonus: +2 Mental Hittability: 6
Will: 18 ("Driven") Regen Rate: 1pp/4rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6+2
Personality: 18 ("Sparkling")
Looks: 16 ("Babe")
242 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 121
HTK: 52
Fame: 15
Bimbo Points: 0 ("So not the drama...")
XP:
Level: 8
CPs: 18 left to spend

Powers
Hit Em Harder +2d6 20cp
20 CPs

Gizmos
Grapple Gun (Obvious) 20cp
- Go places, line of sight

Kimmunicator 30cp
- Communication
- analysis (Super Senses)
50 CPS

Skills
Martial Artist 9 levels 450cp (knows 16 styles of Kung-fu)
Athelete 80cp
- Acrobatics
- Catwalk
- Climbing
- Skydiving
- Swimming
- Swinging
- Tumbling
Communications 20cp
Contacts 20cp
Fire One Pistols 10cp
Languages (English, French, Spanish) 15
Melee Weapons 25cp
Stealth & Concealment 30cp
Survival 20cp
670 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 130 lbs
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green
Skin: Caucasian
Unique Characteristics: 
Quote: "What's the sitch?"

This one turned out pretty nice.  I might go back and look over the powers again, but in truth I am rather pleased with it as is.

So that's my team.  Ready to stop the evil of the vile Refrigerator!

Now in retrospect I kinda wish I had used David Reynolds art for all the postings.  Though I don't think he has done any art of Tarot.



30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 24: Favorite Energy Type

Day 24: Favorite Energy Type

Again the post 3.x bias of this list is showing.
Energy...I guess Radiant or Necrotic.  Opposite ends of the same spectrum.
I think the question author was running out of ideas here.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Bloodrayne: Superbabes

Yeah. I couldn't stop.

Bloodrayne was one of the first characters I ever stated up on my blog.  In fact you have to go back all the way to post 200 (just over 1700 posts ago) to see her.
In many ways Rayne is the antithesis of what Superbabes is all about.  She has questionable morality, ended up in Playboy (NSFW), and usually solves her problems by killing them.

Also her powers are not a great fit for the game.  She drains blood to gain extra power and killing by hand (as opposed to the guns she has) sets off her bloodlust.  If she does that enough she can enter Bloodrage.
Normally I would use Mental Muscles for this, but the rules specifically state that Mental Muscles can't be used by characters with Muscles above 20.  So instead I went with the weaker Hit Em Harder and Run Faster.

Like the other characters in this batch I am going with a modern day version, so this is Rayne in 2013 (reflected in her age).

Character: Bloodrayne
Secret ID / AKA: Rayne
Age: 96   Apparent Age: late 20s
Origin: Supernatural Accident (15cp)
15 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 31  Damage: +2d6 Max Press: 3,100
Health: 31  Regen, Combat: 1pp/5rds Regen, At rest: 1pp/1rd  HTK/Day: 4d10
Moves: 51  Bonus to hit: +5 Movement: 10" Hittability: 10 Initiative Bonus: 5
Brains: 15   Mental Attack Bonus: +1 Mental Hittability: 5
Will: 21  Regen Rate: 1pp/1rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6+4
Personality: 8 ("Unpleasant")
Looks: 25
364 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 183
HTK: 100
Fame: 5
Bimbo Points: 2 (Appearing in Playboy was her idea)
XP:
Level: 9
CPs: 2 left to spend

Powers
Hit Em Harder +2d6 20cp
Immortality 80cp
Invulnerability 4 20cp
Psi Invulnerability 2 8cp
Run Fast +10" 30cp
Super Senses (Vampire)
- See in the Dark 5cp
- Smell Good 10cp
- See Far Away 10cp
Suck It Up I (Health) 100cp
283 CPs

Gizmos
Blades (obvious)
- Sharp Stuff 20cp
- Concelalment 10cp
10 CPS

Skills
Martial Artist 4 levels 200cp
Acrobatics 20cp
Catwalk 20cp
Climbing 20cp
Fire Pistols/Rifles 50cp
Melee Weapons 25cp
Quickdraw 20cp
Survival 10cp
375 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'10" (6'3" in heels)
Weight: 135 lbs
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green (Red in in Bloodlust)
Skin: Extremely pale
Unique Characteristics: She wears blades on her arms, has two strips of leather hanging from her hair.
Quote: "Stop whimpering... it's unattractive."

Not as happy with this build as previous builds,  either for her or for Superbabes.  That's ok, not every system is perfect.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 23: Least Favorite Monster Overall

Day 23: Least Favorite Monster Overall

Maybe Drow.  They have been so fetishized and munchkinized over the last couple of decades I feel that they are completely over used.  Not that I couldn't have some fun with them, but I would want to do something very different than anything I have done before.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

First Day of Fall

First Day of Fall!

I love Fall!  Yeah I lamented the end of Summer, but now that we are here I love Fall!
While I did a lot of gaming in my youth in the summer, summer was mostly for being outside.
Fall was for gaming.  I really need to do something special this season.

I am getting geared up the October Movie Horror-thon, so I am gathering up all my DVDs, Blu-Rays and even a couple of VHS tapes, no lie.  I am thinking of hitting the Subspecies series again.  That should be fun.

Time to get the sweatshirts out!



Fire & Ice: Superbabes

My son's favorite girl super heroes are Fire and Ice.  When playing D&D he always goes with elemental-style casters, particularly fire ones.  So when he saw Fire on Justice League Unlimited years back he had to know who they were!  I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!


Fire and Ice are not heavy hitters.  They do what they do well, but outside of a career in modeling, not much else.  Yes, Fire is a spy and an agent in checkmate.  But for Superbabes I think the best thing to do is keep them in their JLU guise, or even their Batman Brave and the Bold characterizations.  Fire is not a killer, checkmate operative or whatever. Ice is not dead.

Character: Fire
AKA/Secret ID: Beatriz Bonilla da Costa, Green Fire, Green Fury
Age: unknown   Apparent Age: late 20s/early 30s
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Origin: Scientific Accident (5cp) Going with the 'caught in a pyroplasm explosion at WayneTech' origin.
5 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 13  Muscles Damage: 0 Max Press: 650
Health: 17   Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/3rds  HTK/Day: 2d10
Moves: 19  Bonus to hit: +3 Movement: 8" Hittability: 8 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 11  Mental Attack Bonus: - Mental Hittability: 3
Will: 14 ("Ambitious")  Regen Rate: 1pp/10rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6
Personality: 21
Looks: 26 (pretty much every woman from Brazil is hot)
242 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 121
HTK: 50
Fame: 12
Bimbo Points: 3
XP:
Level: 8
CPs: 13 more to spend

Powers
Flight 20 levels (80" 80cp)
Blast (fire blast) 20d6 120cp
Big Blast (fire ball) 10 levels 110cp
Change Body (fire) 50cp
Force Field 20 60cp
Invulnerability 4 20cp
440 CPs

Gizmos
none

Skills
Agent 100cp (good one for her skils)
Acrobatics 40cp
Contacts 20cp
Languages (English, Portugese, Spanish) 20cp
Martial Arts 2 levels 100cp
Persuation 20cp
Survival 20cp
300 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Hair: Green
Eyes: Green
Skin: Caucasian, dark


Character: Ice
AKA/Secret ID: Tora Olafsdotter, Ice Maiden
Age: unknown   Apparent Age: late 20s
Origin: Genetic Quirk (32cp)
32 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 14  Muscles Damage: +2 Max Press: 700 
Health: 16   Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/4rds  HTK/Day: 1d20
Moves: 16  Bonus to hit: +1 Movement: 6Hittability: 6 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 16  Mental Attack Bonus: +1 Mental Hittability: 5
Will: 17  Regen Rate: 1pp/4rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6+2
Personality: 18
Looks: 25
244 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 122
HTK: 50
Fame: 11
Bimbo Points: 2
XP:
Level: 8
CPs: 0 more to spend

Powers
Blast (ice) 20d6 120cp
Big Blast (ice storm) 11 121cp
Blind (ice storm) 75cp
Change Body (ice form) 50cp
Control Weather 75cp
Force Field (ice wall) 20 60cp
Go Places, line of sight (ice bridge) 50cp
Invulnerability 5 10cp
Run Fast (while on ice bridge) +5"  15cp
576 CPs

Gizmos
none

Skills
Animal Handler 20cp (pet seals)
Contacts 20cp
Languages (English, Norwegian) 10cp
Martical Arts 2 levels 100cp
Survival 20 cp
Swimming 10cp
180 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 136 lbs
Hair: White
Eyes: Blue
Skin: Caucasian, pale

So both girls ended up around 8th level.  A little bit lower than I expected to be honest.  I could bump up their martial arts both by 2 and get them to 10th level, but this is fine.

Actually stating them up here was a lot of fun.  I think I would like to try giving them a go in Marvel Heroic Roleplaying just to see how they work.

I guess my week of Superbabes is over.  Too bad really, this is a fun system and it was a lot of fun trying this out.  Maybe I'll have more tomorrow anyway.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 22: Favorite Monster Overall

Day 22: Favorite Monster Overall

Wow. No idea.  I love using Undead and Demons, Devils and all that.  But for me the best monster to use is one that has a connection to the characters. Someone they can really hate and not just want to defeat but NEED to defeat.  That works for nearly any monster, as long as I work on that connection.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Zatannurday: Superbabes

Been talking about Superbabes all week.  Since I have done Batwoman and Wonder Woman I should also do my other favorite DC Superbabe.

Like with Tarot, Willow and Tara, Zatanna has most of her points in Magic.  Though at Zee's level she gets to be really powerful.

Character: Zatanna Zatara
Age: unknown, older than she looks
Apparent Age: early 30s
Origin: Supernatural Pupil (50cp)
50 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 12 Muscles Damage: +1  Max Press: 200 
Health: 14   Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/5rds  HTK/Day: 2d6
Moves: 16  Bonus to hit: +1 Movement: 6" Hittability: 6 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 26  Mental Attack Bonus: +3 Mental Hittability: 9
Will: 26  Regen Rate: 2pp/1rds HTK Regen/Day: 2d6
Personality: 101 ("enchanting")
Looks: 52
494 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 247
HTK: 114
Fame: 19
Bimbo Points: 1
XP:
Level: 24
CPs:  12 more to spend

Powers
Magic Spells
- Blast 5d6 (60cp)
- Costume Change (40cp)
- Flight 3 (24cp)
- Force Field 20 (120cp)
- Illusions (300cp)
- Misc spells (200cp)
Move things Without Touching Them 200cp
Read Minds (listen & talk) 30cp
Super Senses
- See Magic 20 cp
Visions of Elsewhere 40cp
1034 CPs

Gizmos
Wand (Focus) 10cp
Hat (40 cp to Psi Invulnerability) 10cp
20 CPs

Skills
Acrobatics 20cp
Animal Handler 20cp
Disguise 20cp
Catwalk 20cp
Contacts (Criminal) 20cp
Contacts (Supernatural) 20cp
Languages (English, Egyptian, Greek, Latin, Backwards Talk) 40cp
Occultist 50 cp
Stealth & Concealment 30cp
240 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 137 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Skin: Caucasian

At 24th level Zee packs a punch.  Most of her points went into powers as expected.  The issue here is Zee's magic is so flexible she can in theory do just about anything.  This is not a new issue, she has the same problem in most games, but here it begins to stand out.  She is full 15 levels more than Willow and Tara and only outclasses them in raw magical talent.

I based these stats on these stats:



30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 21: Favorite Dragon (Color/Type)

Day 21: Favorite Dragon (Color/Type)

Another interesting one.
I always liked the Silver Dragons, felt they were custom made for AD&D Paladins.  One of the things that was great moving from "Basic" D&D to AD&D were the "good" dragons. I also liked the black and blue dragons. I liked that they had acid and lighting weapons, which I thought were pretty cool.

My favorite unique Dragon comes from my son.  The dragon is Aži Dahāka. Here he is for both Pathfinder and Basic stats.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Willow & Tara: Superbabes

Of course I had to do this.

Witches and magic using types are always a good test of any supers system.  Either they break them or they get broken and don't work quite as well.  In Superbabes it takes a lot of XP and levels to do anything super-like with magic.  The Magic Spells are twice the cost of the powers, but you gain a lot of flexibility.   In Superbabes though you are are also limited by the powers listed.

I am keeping with my conceit that the characters here are aging real time so I can experiment with how they might grow.  Though in truth I have not really played either character in a number of years now, so they are semi-retired.

In both cases their primary stats are not really high. I really wanted to keep them to human norms.  The unfortunate side effect to this is this also means a low number of Power Points.  So I would maybe create a Power called Power Well that characters can dump CPs into to get PP out.  But that might bend the rules a bit.

Character: Willow Rosenberg
Age: 32   Apparent Age: early 30s
Origin: Supernatural Pupil (50cp)
50 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 10  Max Press: 200 (seems a bit high)
Health: 14   Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/5rds  HTK/Day: 2d6
Moves: 14 ("Agile")  Bonus to hit: - Movement: 5" Hittability: 5 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 24  Mental Attack Bonus: +2 Mental Hittability: 7
Will: 26  Regen Rate: 2pp/1rds HTK Regen/Day: 2d6
Personality: 20
Looks: 17
250 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 125
HTK: 55
Fame: 6/16 (normal/supernatural world)
Bimbo Points: 1
XP:
Level: 10
CPs: 2 more to spend

Powers
Magic Spells
- Blast 6d6 (72cp)
- Flight 2 (16cp)
- Force Field 10 (60cp)
- Misc spells (100cp)
Move things Without Touching Them 200cp
Suck it Up (Magical) 100cp
Super Senses
- See Magic 20 cp
Read Minds (listen & talk) Tara only 20cp
588 CPs

Gizmos
Doll's Eye Crystal, Magical Focus 100pp
20 CPs

Skills
Occultist 50 cp
Scientist 50cp
Computer Ops 20cp
Electronics 20cp
Contacts (Supernatural) 20cp
Languages (English, Hebrew, Greek, Latin) 30cp
190 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 120 lbs
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green
Skin: Caucasian


Character: Tara Maclay
Age: 33   Apparent Age: early 30s
Origin: Supernatural Pupil (50cp)
50 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 10  Max Press: 200 
Health: 15   Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/4rds  HTK/Day: 1d20
Moves: 15 ("Dancer")  Bonus to hit: - Movement: 6Hittability: 6 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 17  Mental Attack Bonus: +1 Mental Hittability: 5
Will: 22  Regen Rate: 1pp/1rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6+4
Personality: 24
Looks: 16
238 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 119
HTK: 58
Fame: 4/14 (normal/supernatural world)
Bimbo Points: 2
XP:
Level: 10
CPs: 0 more to spend

Powers
Healing II 100cp
Magic Spells
- Blast 6d6 (72cp)
- Force Field 20 (120cp)
- Misc spells (90cp)
Move things Without Touching Them 200cp
Super Senses
- See Magic 20 cp
- Sensitive touch 10 cp
Read Minds (listen & talk) Willow only 20cp
672 CPs

Gizmos
Miss Kitty Fantastico II (Familiar, 200pp)
40 CPs

Skills
Occultist 50 cp
Equestrian 20cp (maybe the only time this skill was used in Superbabes!)
First Aid 20cp
Contacts (Supernatural) 20cp
Languages (English, Latin, Russian, Irish Gaelic, Japanese (free)) 30cp
Animal Handler 20cp
160 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 130 lbs
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue
Skin: Caucasian

So both girls ended up around 10th level.  They have quite a bit of power, but are not as powerful as other characters around the same levels.  Batwoman or Red Sonja could best them in a purely physical fight.
I would have to work up a few spells and even some rituals. Rituals in this case would be spells that do not take CPs but do burn PP.  Usually only a one time deal.
I cheated and gave them Gizmos that store PP. Well, its not a cheat, but it is bending the rules a bit.
Again. Pretty happy with what I have here.  

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 20: Favorite Monster (Humanoid/Natural/Fey)

Day 20: Favorite Monster (Humanoid/Natural/Fey)

Odd choices. I do like fey creatures. It is all the celtic myths and stories I have read over the years as well as A Midsummer's Night Dream.  If I had to pick one I would say Hags. For the obvious reasons to be sure, but also I reclassified Hags in my games to be more faerie like. Yes they are still ugly, mean old crones that will rip out your arms and love to eat children.

One of the hags I "created" for my witch book was the synthesis of these ideas.  The Wood Hag is a new hag type, but all the ideas came from fairy tales of hags, the Wicked Witch archetype and some things I read in "Man and His Symbols" by Carl Jung.

Wood Hag (Makava) Basic Era

Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 8d8+8** (45 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws/1 bite
Damage: claw 3d6, bite 2d6
Special Attacks: Witch spells
Special Qualities: Dark vision 60’, Iron Vulnerability
Movement: 40’
No. Appearing:
1 (90%) Solitary or 3 (10%) Hag Covey
Saves As: Witch 10
Morale: 9
Treasure:
4d6 CP, 6d8 SP, 8d8 GP, Gems: 50% 1d8, Magic 50% any 1d6, +1 2 potions
Alignment: Chaotic (evil)
XP: 1,700


Wood Hag (Makava) 3.x
Large Monstrous Humanoid/Fey (Hag)
Hit Dice 8d8+8 (45 hp)
Initiative +2 (Dex)
Speed 40ft.
AC 17 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural)
Attacks 2 claws +12, bite +12
Damage claw 3d6, bite 2d6
Face/Reach 5ft. by 5ft/10ft.
Special Attacks Blood drain, Spells
Special Qualities Dark Vision 120ft., Fast Healing 5, Iron Vulnerability
Saves Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +8
Abilities Str 20, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 9
Skills Concentration +12, Hide +10, Knowledge (Witchcraft) +9, Listen +8, Spot +8,
Feats Alertness, Blind-Fighting, Combat Casting, Fear Resistance
Climate/Terrain Any Forest
Organization Solitary or Covey (3 hags of any type plus 2-12 trolls)
Challenge Rating 6 or 13 (covey)
Treasure Standard
Alignment Always Chaotic Evil
Advancement As witch

The Makva, or the Wood Hag, is a relative of the other Hags and possibly the Night Hag. The Makva makes her home in the deepest forests where she feeds on unsuspecting travelers. She is particularly fond of children. Her normal appearance is very hag-like, tall (7’ tall), green skin with black hair, although some have been spotted with green or red hair. She also has long clawed hands with nails as hard as iron talons. Their mouths are filled with rotting black teeth and foul breath. The Wood Hag can appear as kindly grandmother, or a fetching young wood nymph as she chooses. The wood hag loves nothing more than to temp men of good character into a wanton embrace and then switch back to their normal form before killing them. She is also fond of attacking people as they sleep in the woods.
The wood hag is more solitary than the other Hags. More often than not a wood hag will be found alone. Wood hags often employ trolls to protect their homes and for mutual protection. At any given time there will be 2 to 12 trolls around the wood hag’s home. They will fight for the wood hag, but they are not commanded to do so. They will retreat or flee if the combat goes against them. The wood hag will also ally her self with evil witches and warlocks. They have also been known to consort with demons and vampires as well. Makva do not get along well with Night Hags. Some have theorized that Makva were once part of the Night Hag “society” but were removed for being too chaotic.
Wood Hags have often been confused with witches and many of the tales told to frighten children about witch have been about wood hags. It is almost certain that the tale of Hansel and Gretel could have been about a wood hag (or even the witch Baba Yaga). Makva are believed to live up to 800 years, but this has never been confirmed. They have been known to keep harpies as pets. Wood Hags usually have a grove of Elder trees growing nearby.

Combat
The wood hag is very strong (strength 20) and will attack with her claws and a bite. She is also a competent spellcaster and may use spells from the witch’s spell list.
Spell-Like Abilities: The Makva can also employ the following spell like powers three times per day at will: ray of enfeeblement and magic missile. They can cast an Advanced Illusion four times per day and can use the following powers at will, Know Alignment, Polymorph Self and Sleep. Wood hags are immune to Sleep, Charm, and Hold spells.
Blood drain (Su): The bite of a Wood Hag also drains blood. Any successful bite hit can permanently drain one point of Constitution unless the victim can make a Fortitude save (DC 13). Any character drained to zero will become a wraith haunting the woods around the wood hag. Constitution points can be healed normally.
Vulnerability (Ex):A Makva cannot touch iron and takes extra damage from weapons made of pure or cold forged iron. Weapons made from this material grant an additional +3 to hit and damage per hit.


Section 15: Wood Hag (Makava) Copyright 2013 Timothy S. Brannan


Thursday, September 19, 2013

Batwoman: Superbabes

There is almost something not right about stating up Batwoman in Superbabes.  First of the character would not be amused, but she is also not "Super", well at least anymore than Batman is.  And "babe" is never something she would seek out. Yes she is athletic, rich and very attractive.  She considers herself a soldier first and foremost.  Plus she has a lot of pathos that you don't see in the world of Superbabes.  She was kicked out the Army for being gay. Her mother and twin sister were murdered. She had been kidnapped. Spent most of her days after the Army in an alcohol and sex-fueled daze. And she has some father issues as well.

But there are also a lot of reasons to include her.  For starters the system includes what is obviously a "Batman" option; the Adventuress.  Also, unlike the Batman himself, there are a lot of things going on in Kate's world that make her perfect for this game. She is still learning how to be a super hero for example.

Also given the recent shake-up of her creative team it would be a good idea to showcase her here.

Character: Batwoman
Secret ID / AKA: Kate Kane, Katherine Kane, the Twice Named Daughter of Kane
Age: 24   Apparent Age: mid 20s
Origin: Adventuress (0cp)
0 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 18 ("Peak")  Damage: +4 Max Press: 900
Health: 17  Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/3rd  HTK/Day: 1d10
Moves: 20  Bonus to hit: +3 Movement: 8" Hittability: 8 Initiative Bonus: 2
Brains: 15 ("Remarkable")  Mental Attack Bonus: +1 Mental Hittability: 5
Will: 20 ("Forthright") Regen Rate: 1pp/2rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6+3
Personality: 8 ("Unpleasant") Batwoman and Kate have some issue relating to others.
Looks: 18
232 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 116
HTK: 57
Fame: 15
Bimbo Points: 0
XP:
Level: 9
CPs: 3 left to spend

Powers
Hit Em Harder +2d6 20cp
20 CPs

Gizmos
Batsuit ("Uniform of the Bat") Obvious, hard to loose Gizmo
Invulnerabilty 12 60cp
Super Senses
- See Far Away 10cp
- See in the Dark 5cp
- Good Hearing 15cp
Go Places, Line of Sight (Grapple gun) 50cp

Batarang (free)
140 CPs


Skills
Soldier 200cp
- Acrobatics
- Demolitions
- Detect & Deactivate Alarms & Traps
- First Aid
- Fire Pistols/Rifles
- Fire Unknown Weapons
- Mechanic
- Melee Weapons
- Skydiving
- Stealth and Concealment
- Squad Tactics
- Survival
- Thief
- Trapping

Blind Fighting 25cp
Contacts (Criminal) 20cp
Interogation 30cp
Martial Artist 7 levels 350cp
Persuasion 20cp
Streetwise 10cp
655 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 135 lbs
Hair: Red
Eyes: Blue
Skin: Extremely pale Caucasian
Unique Characteristics: Out of uniform Kate has a number of unique tattoos.

So this one was a real test of the Adventuress Origin.  Kate can't have any ability above 20 and really no super powers.  Everything comes from her own skills and the gizmos she has.
I didn't refer to her previous stats or even her official ones in DC Adventures in order to make her more "organic".  She ended up about a level higher than I wanted, but I really wanted her Martial Arts at 7 or even 8.

Links
Elegy
Unisystem
Marvel Heroic Role-Playing

Batman Wikia
DC Wikia
ComicVine

Temple of Elemental Evil - For Free!

Not sure how this one got missed.  But WotC is giving away a free copy of The Temple of Elemental Evil.


Go get your copy of this classic from DNDClassics.com

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 19: Favorite Monster (Elemental/Plant)

Day 19: Favorite Monster (Elemental/Plant)

The classifications here show a really strong 3.x bias.  Elementals orplants never really impressed me much.  But I do rather like Effrit. I talked about them a bit in April with my A to Z of demons.  I touched on them under Iblis and Jann.  Though this is really a cheat since I treat them like a type of demon.  Truthfully if I were rebuilding the D&D cosmos I'd make all the elementals closer to demons.  At least very, very chaotic.


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

White Dwarf Wednesday #80

White Dwarf kicks of the 80s in this August, 1986 issue.
The cover seems to be a bit of a throw back to earlier issues, or at least earlier themes.
The new editor and staff waste no time and hit us up with a new reader survey.  More on that in a bit.

Open Box gives us Call of Cthulhu 3rd Edition. I do not recall any edition wars around this.
We have reviews for the FASA Doctor Who advnetures "The Hartlewick Horror" and "The Legions of Death".  I just picked up Legions of Death last Friday.  The Hartlewick Horror gets the edge, but I fear it was because of the inclusion of the 4th Doctor's stats.   Palladium is breaking into the gaming scene more and more with The Mechanoids.  Yes I know they were around before this, but two issues in a row of product reviews is still better than they had been doing.  And the AD&D module Destiny of Kings is reviewed.  I blame my braces at the time but I always called this one "Density of the Kings". Realms of Magic for MSH and OA1 Swords of the Daimyo are also reviewed.    Three TSR products with two of them AD&D. Not so bad really.

The Doctor Who RPG gets some love with a section on Combat.  Ok. So the irony here is that there actual little combat the characters should be doing in Doctor Who.  The FASA game though was a little more combat focused than the current C7 RPG is.  The biggest problem comes from the author's own point of view that he normally runs a D&D game. Ah well.

Critical Mass bemoans the recent injection of so many Lovecraftian elements in the recent batch of Sci-Fi books.

Some more Abilities for the Judge Dredd game.

"Clouding the Issue" by Chris Barlow covers detection powers in a game and how to make it more difficult or easy depending on your tastes.  This is one of those articles that were common at the time; adding more realism to your game or at giving the game another layer of complexity.

Graeme Davis has an article on crime in the 20th Century.  Focus is on the Pulp Era with such suggestions as Call of Cthulhu, Dardevils, and Indiana Jones.

The star of this issue though is "Ancient & Modern" a scenario for AD&D and Call of Cthluhu. Each player gets two characters, one for each system and they run through the linked scenarios.   I love crazy stuff like this. The adventure is long (10 pages and nicely done) and it is still continued next week month.  The interplay between the two is nice and build on each other.  Frankly I love it.  I might just have to run this one sometime.

'Eavy Metal covers painting various textures.

The Back to the Readers Poll is up.  33 questions. Notable are the inclusions of questions about computers and LARPing. Of course there are also more games.


Letter is next and now two pages long.

There is an article about leveling up in MERP.  Again, another example of adding a level of "realism" to the games.  Or if you would rather role-playing.  I get where this is coming from, you get your points from leveling up and they should be spent with some sort logic.  By the way to keep this topical the article could just as easily work for Superbabes or any other game where gaining a level gives you points for buying new skills, powers, magic and so on.

Fracas, the rumors and news column covers the new wargame coming out for the Trek Universe/Star Fleet Battles.  A plug for Dagon 13, a magazine for Mythos fiction is made.  The Immortals set from TSR is announced as well.

We end with ads.

Ok so there is something a little sterile about the recent couple of issues.  Sure the content of the last two has been better than the content of the dozen or so issues before it, but it is lacking some of that White Dwarf charm.  For a lack of a better word it feels a lot like Imagine.

Justice Issue 7: Superbabes

Doing something a bit different from the supernatural characters I wanted to try out my other supers character "Justice".

You can read about the character in my various posts and her introduction here.
Justice is very much a perfect fir for Superbabes.  She is young, good looking and of strong moral fiber.  Where she doesn't fit really is she not really a good candidate for "Good Girl Art" she is more a straight forward super-hero.  Plus she has some angsty background elements (she did nearly kill someone with her heat vision).  But besides all that she was a fun character to stat up.

So continuing the the theme of Justice's posts here being an issue in her comic what does Issue 7 give us?  Well this is the time that Justice had to team up with a bunch of other Superbabes from across the multiverse (Taryn, Tarot,... to stop a threat.   If it is going to be something that requires all these heroes (including a younger version of her own mother) then it would have to been something that had also took out the original Superbabes team.
How about this. The big bad is this fetish dude known as The Refrigerator. He captures women and freezes them.  Plenty of subtle and overt S&M and dominance context that makes this guy a bit creepier than Mr. Freeze or Captain Cold, yet fits rather well in this.  After all the perfect foil for a Good Girl is a creepy misanthrope.  All these heroes are gathered together, kick his ass and rescue the original team.  Yeah it's a bit like the X-Men #1 that introduced us to Wolverine, but that's fine. Or any similarities to this scene are probably totally intentional.


Character: Justice
Secret ID / AKA: Astra Kal-El, Astra Kent
Age: 24   Apparent Age: mid 20s
Origin: Extrateristrial (25cp)  Closest thing really.
25 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 32  Damage: +2d6 Max Press: 3,200
Health: 22 ("Amazon" natch)  Regen, Combat: 1/10rds Regen, At rest: 1pp/1rd  HTK/Day: 3d10
Moves: 51  Bonus to hit: +5 Movement: 11" Hittability: 11 Initiative Bonus: 5
Brains: 16  Mental Attack Bonus: +1 Mental Hittability: 5
Will: 17 ("Driven") Regen Rate: 1pp/4rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6+2
Personality: 20
Looks: 75
466 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 233
HTK: 60
Fame: 8
Bimbo Points: 1
XP:
Level: 6
CPs: 32 more to spend (still has some skills to learn but I want to improve her Flight later on).

Powers
Flight 10 40cp
Don't Breathe III 20cp
Invulnerabilty 12 60cp
Hit Em Harder 2 +2d6 10cp
Blast (Heat Vision) 2d6 12cp
Super Senses
- See Far Away 10cp
- See Through Things 25cp
- Good Hearing 15cp
222 CPs

Gizmos
none

Skills
Melee Weapon (Sword) 10cp
Blind Fighting 25cp
Law Student 20cp
Contacts (Criminal) 20cp (thanks to the Batman)
Contacts (Government) 20cp
Detect & Deactiveate Alarms & Traps 30cp
Streetwise 10cp
Acrobatics 20cp
155 CPs

Character Description
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 135 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue (but wears a blindfold)
Skin: Caucasian
Unique Characteristics: Wears a red blindfold.

Movement
Ground: 11"
Flight: 40"

Again, I am pretty pleased with this build.  Justice and the build I did for Wonder Woman showed that you can spend the points really fast.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 18: Favorite Monster (Immortal/Outsider)

Day 18: Favorite Monster (Immortal/Outsider)

This one should be another obvious one.  Demons.  I have always been fascinated with them both as a subject and as a monster in *D&D.  Unrepentant engines of destruction or vile schemers and tempters.  What's not to love?  When I am playing a Paladin then I love nothing more than to fight against them. When playing a witch I love summoning them and binding them to gain infernal knowledge and boons.
Plus, as they say, they are legion I will never run out of ideas or uses for them.

There is the argument that sometimes they are played like nothing more than high-level goblins with magic, I think there is room for those kinds and other kinds of demons as well.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Tarot Witch of the Black Rose for Superbabes

I have posted about Tarot before.  Unlike the characters of Superbabes and Femforce, Tarot is often considered to be part of the "Bad Girl Art" type.  Not that she is the opposite of the Good Girl Art, but rather the situations she gets herself in never would have happen to Nightveil or Miss Victory.

I am not going to lie. I like Tarot. Its a guilty pleasure to be sure, but my enjoyment of it is honest.  Plus +HOlly Golightly and creator Jim Balent are both really cool.

Tarot in Superbabes is actually a good fit.  She has some magic, some skills and combat ability and certainly the chance to earn Bimbo Points.  If you read the comic then yeah. She does some really cool comic things, but then ends up loosing her clothes while sledding due to some faeries (ok to be fair the whole vacationing lot, Jon, Mother and Raven, did too).

Character: Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose
Secret ID / AKA: Rowan
Age: she isn't saying   Apparent Age: mid 20s
Origin: Supernatural Pupil (50cp)
50 CPs

Primary Stats
Muscles: 14  Max Press: 700
Health: 17 ("Buxom" seems right)  Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/3rds  HTK/Day: 2d10
Moves: 19 ("Fast")  Bonus to hit: +3 Movement: 8" Hittability: 8 Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 16  Mental Attack Bonus: +1 Mental Hittability: 5
Will: 19  Regen Rate: 1pp/2rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6+3
Personality: 18 ("Sparkling")
Looks: 51 ("So gorgeous she is hard to look at")
308 CPs

Secondary Stats
PP: 154
HTK: 50
Fame: 5/15 (normal/supernatural world)
Bimbo Points: 1 (there will be more)
XP: 15,002 ("Big Leaguer")
Level: 9 ("Junior Heroine")
CPs: 4 more to spend

Powers
Magic Spells (Tarot admits she is still a student here)
- Blast 4d6 (48cp)
- Flight 10 (80cp)
- Force Field 10 (60cp)
- Go Places (teleport) (200cp)
Healing II 100cp
Visions of Elsewhere 40cp
Visions of the Past 30cp
588 CPs

Gizmos
Armor (Invulnerability 4)
Sword of the Goddess (free gizmo)
20 CPs

Skills
Occultist 50 cp (gained for free at 1st level)
First Aid 20cp
Melee Weapon (Sword) 10cp
Persuasion 20cp
Blind Fighting 25cp
Contacts (Supernatural) 20cp
Survival 20cp
Weaponsmith 25cp
140 CPs

Character Description
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 140 lbs
Hair: Red
Eyes: Green
Skin: Caucasian
Unique Characteristics: She has a black rose tattoo/birthmark on her left shoulder.

All in all not a bad fit.  I like her at 9th level which lines up nicely with her other builds.
She has a winged cat familiar named Pooka as well as a two lovers, Skeleton Man (Jon Webb) and Boo Cat (a werecat).  Given how often they are endangered or get Tarot into trouble they should be worth a couple of Bimbo incident-free Bimbo Points.

Links to other Tarot stats
And Tarot's home on the Internet http://www.jimbalent.com 

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 17: Favorite Monster (Animal/Vermin)

Day 17: Favorite Monster (Animal/Vermin)

I am not sure I really have a favorite Animal or Vermin type.  I do recall a character getting into a fight with a large bear back in the AD&D days and he was a lot tougher to kill than some so-called "monsters" I had faced up to that point.  He even clawed the face of my character and he got a permanent reduction in Charisma.


Monday, September 16, 2013

When I say "Warlock" what do you think?

Working on something new and looking to mine the collective intelligentsia of my readers.

When I say "Warlock" what comes to mind for you?

Share your thoughts below.


Review: Superbabes the Femforce RPG

Superbabes was always one of the games that seemed to exist out there in the periphery for me, but I never knew if anyone actually played it.   I was able to pick up a copy a while back and it has been sitting in my collection, unused and unread.  Recently I have been doing some more research on the game and found it had a small bu loyal following.  I knew I had to give it a try.



The first disclaimer about the game. Superbabes is billed as the Femforce RPG.  Not a Supers RPG or even a comic RPG but a very specific comic, Femforce.  Femforce was created in 1985 and is still running in some form today.  The comic is based on number of public domain and original female super-heroes.  Based on the "good girl" art of the the pulp era.  This is an important distinction.   Don't go into Superbabes expecting angst, or shades of grey.  There won't be any cases of the heroes getting into sexual situations that would besmirch their character. Sure they can be curvy, sexy and maybe have the occasional wardrobe malfunction.

Superbabes came out in 1993 (also something to keep in mind).  The first edition was part of a boxed set that included 132 page rulebook, two Femforce comics, a poster, cut out miniatures and more. My box had more sheets and some maps too.


The game was written by Marc Schezzini and Cameron Verkaik, art comes from the various artists from the comics.

Superbabes starts out pretty much like all RPGs, introduction, where to get dice are RPGs evil... typical drill.  The tone of the book is somewhat tongue in cheek.  Some of the language can sound snarky or even condescending, but I actually think that is part of the humor of the game.

Characters begin with an Origin (which can cost Creation Points). Some are easy to figure out, Extraterristrial, Biological quirk, Supernatural and Adventuress.  Adventuress is the interesting one since it doesn't cost any points, but your are limited in how high your Attributes can go.  This is the "Batman" er rather "Batwoman" option.

You start out with 600 Creation Points to build your superbabe. Your abilities are bought on a 2 CP for 1 point of ability option.  The abilities are roughly equal to the D&D standard. They include Muscles, Health, Moves, Brains, Will, Personality and Looks.  Human normal is between 1 and 20 with average at 10.  The charts go to 1,000.  The levels have numbers (17-18) and titles (Peak Performer for Muscles for example). Some are silly, but others I used as an idea of what to rank various characters.  Secondary abilities are then calculated.  All the primary ones adjust HTK (hit points) in some way.  Interestingly enough the better looking you are the LESS HTK you have.  But before you create the female version of Dogg the Bounty Hunter,  Looks also help your Fame.
You start at Level 0 and then as soon as you get 1 XP you go to Level 1.  You gain 50 CP for every level you go up.

You can buy superpowers, gizmos and skills with your remaining points.   Both are very much taken from the AC Femforce comics.  So no Death Touch powers.  People looking for a full Super RPG might want to look elsewhere OR spend some time with the Game Master making the powers you like.  But I think that defeats the purpose of this game.  There are no "drawbacks" to give you extra CP; remember these are good girls.

Skills cover the basics with some "professions" that bundle skills.
Gizmos are devices that hold powers and can be ranked as obvious or not.  Vehicles and bases though are not gizmos. So they are bought with cash and not CPs.   Stuff are also not Gizmos, but things that can be made by anyone.  This includes the amazing Span-XX material.  All costumes are made from this and can stretch and grow with the character.

The remainder of the book is dedicated to combat, vehicle  chases and the normal things you find with supers games.   There is also a starting adventure.

What sets this game off from the rest, outside of subject matter, is the use of the Bimbo Points.  Like Hero Points, Bimbo points allow you to change the outcome or situation you character can find herself in.  The difference here is you are trading a success now for some GM controlled mishap later.  So you could take a Bimbo Point to avoid some damage in a fall, but then expect to have something go on later.  What?  Well there is a huge table for it.  Things like "Character linked to Public Figure in Tabloids" or "Men's Magazine publishes compromising photos of character". So are embarrassing, others could cause your character to loose Fame and others are pure plot device.   It is actually a nice little mechanic and even neater given when it came out.

There are a lot of similarities between this game and Villains and Vigilantes.  Outside of both being level-based supers, characters take damage to Power Points before their HTK points.  In fact there is a general tone of both games that makes them feel rather close.

The other game this is likely to invoke is Macho Women with Guns.  Both feature female centric characters and both exist to bust stereotypes.  Where MWWG attempts to do this with over the top humor and embracing the cliche head on, Superbabes attempts to subvert it.  While there is plenty of what we might call fanservice in the game and the comics, you can also play it straight.  If Superbabes in Good Girl Art, then MWWG is Bad Girl Art.

At the end of the day there is nothing wrong with Superbabes. It is a fun little game with an interesting premise and history.  You could do the same sort of game with any number of other games, but I think some of the charm would be lost. Certainly some of the innocence.

Building a Character
There are other reviews out there for Superbabes if you want more details.  There is a particularly good on over at RPG.Net and another in Dragon Magazine #208.  What I like to do when putting a system through the ropes is build a few characters.

"Teen Witch" is one of my Supers characters that I never get a chance to play.  Well...that isn't entirely true. I have played her in a low powered M&M game (PL 5) and in Marvel Super Heroes/FASRIP.  I also stated her up for BESM 3.0 but never got to play her there.
She is a teen that discovers she has magic. She is also my "embracing the stereotype" character.  She has a talking cat named Mojo and her "supers" outfit includes a broom, black pointy hat and striped leggings.  In this case I figured she was at least 2nd level now. So that gave me the ability to buy a flying broom as a gizmo.

Character: Teen Witch
Secret ID / AKA: Taryn Nichols
Age: 15   Apparent Age: 15
Origin: Supernatural Pupil (50cp)
50 CPs

Ok so first we have her origin.  Since the Teen Titans were such a big influence on super hero gaming I am making her a teen.  She is the daughter of my regular witch character Larina so supernatural pupil seems right.

Primary Stats
Muscles: 9 (she is just a young kid with some super powers), Max Press: 180
Health: 14  Regen, Combat: - Regen, At rest: 1pp/5rds  HTK/Day: 2d6
Moves: 10  Bonus to hit: - Movement: 4" Hittability:Initiative Bonus: 1
Brains: 15  Mental Attack Bonus: +1 Mental Hittability: 5
Will: 14  Regen Rate: 1pp/10rds HTK Regen/Day: 1d6
Personality: 16 (Likable)
Looks: 14 (Cutie)
184 CPs

Since she is a teen I don't feel I need superpowered stats just yet.  I might improve them over time since that is also how I get more PP.  Very much like WitchCraft in that respect, that the Primary Abilities/Stats sum up to your Power Points.  I am in for 184 Creation points here.

Secondary Stats
PP: 92
HTK: 14
Fame: 2 (mostly unknown)
Bimbo Points: 2 (Taryn is due for some embarrassing moments)
XP: 1002 (just hit level 2)
Level: 2 ("Junior Heroine")
CPs: 16 more to spend

These are derived, more or less, from the Primary Stats.

Powers
Magic Spells (spells cost twice the CP as powers)
- Blast 5d6 (60cp)
- Flight 10 (80cp)
- Super Senses: Sensitive Touch (20cp)
Super Senses: See Magic 20cp
Move Things without Touching Them 200 cp
380 CPs

Magic Spells are not cheap.  For that cost though I get more flexibility.  You don't see it here, but when I roll out Zatanna or Tarot later this week it becomes obvious.  I like to keep my Telekinesis seperate from my spells. Something that started with Buffy.  I also like my magic using characters to be able to see more magic than other.  So that is a seperate power too.
I am in for 380 Creation Points now.

Gizmos
Broom (obvious) 40 cp of additional flight
20 CPs

The broom she bought at 2nd level.  In the game she challenged a guy to a race, him on his motorcycle her on her broom. She won and maybe gained a potential "bad guy" boyfriend.  I think I know how her Bimbo Points will be called in.  For 40 CPs worth of flight I paid 20 CPs on an obvious Gizmo.

Skills
Occultist 50 cp (gained at 1st level)
(she is only 15, not a lot of skills yet)
50 CPs

She is just learning so not a lot of skills yet.  50 CPs.

Character Description
Height: 5'0"
Weight: 95 lbs
Hair: Short black with purple and green streaks
Eyes: Green with cat-like slits
Skin: Caucasian
Unique Characteristics: Cat-like eyes

There is also a place for measurements and quote. Again the parallels to MWWG and V&V should be obvious. I am not going to bother with those.

Compared to her other sheets (M&M, MSH & BESM 3.0) I am pretty pleased with the results.