Batwoman

Kinda brain dead today.  Busy weekend and a busy start to my work week.  So how about some Batwoman.



Batwoman, J. Metcalf by *sinhalite on deviantART


Batwoman by ~KidNotorious on deviantART


30-60-90 Batwoman by ~MahmudAsrar on deviantART


batwoman part two by ~JoelGomez on deviantART


Batwoman Commission by *mcguan on deviantART


Batwoman - NYCC 2012 Pre-Show Commission by ~MahmudAsrar on deviantART


Heroes Con Auction 2012: Batwoman by *gattadonna on deviantART


Batwoman by *gattadonna on deviantART


Batwoman II by *gattadonna on deviantART


Heroes Con Auction 2012: Batwoman by *gattadonna on deviantART


BATWOMAN by *89g on deviantART


Batwoman - Legacy by =JamieFayX on deviantART


:DC: Twice Named by *AlouetteCosplay on deviantART


:DC: Unmasked by *AlouetteCosplay on deviantART


Batwoman by ~Blindman-CB on deviantART

E is for Elegy

An elegy is a poem of mourning.

It is also the title of a 2009-2010 story arc of Detective Comics featuring the new Batwoman. In many ways Elegy is Batwoman's origin story,  but it is also the origin story of her arch-enemy and the secret connection they have.

After reading "52" I became a big fan of the new Batwoman.  She was a different character than either Batman or Batgirl.  You knew what motivated them, what caused this new Batwoman to don the cape and cowl?   Elegy tells you what motivates Kate Kane, what drives her and why she has to do what she does.

I'll let you in on a little secret, I don't actually read a lot of comics.  I pick up a collection every now and again, read some things that were popular years ago, or a trade paper-back, but I don't actually follow anything.  I am a bigger DC fan than Marvel by a long shot and I tend to watch any super-hero cartoon, TV show or movie that I can, but monthly comics, I rarely if ever read those.

I picked up Elegy since I was a fan of Batwoman.
I am very glad I did.

Elegy is not a story that could be told with the Batman or even any of the Batgirls.  It had to be Batwoman.

Before I go on I have to mention the artwork.
J. H. Williams III had been lauded for his work on this book, but I am not sure that even those do him justice.
The art work here is another layer of story telling above and beyond the great story by Greg Rucka. There are parallels drawn between the two foes that make you think that we have a rivalry to well, rival that of Batman and the Joker.  But that is the easy stuff to sell because it is so good.  The look on Kate's face when she is dumped by her girlfriend is tangible.  She says she is ok, but her look says so much more.   That is something you never see in the Batman.  Both characters are full of sadness and loss. Kate's though is closer to the surface, not beat down like Bruce has done, or she thinks she has done.  Kate is more vulnerable; not because she is a woman, but because her pain is still real to her, her multiple losses, all the reversals of fate.  She just wants to do the right thing, the honest thing, the just thing, but each time reopens a wound.  Elegy rips her old wounds open and drowns them in salt.

Ok on to the story.  Caution, Spoilers Ahead.

The story is told in flashbacks while the Batwoman is working on a new case.  The Cult of Crime is back in town and the Batman is giving his approval for the Batwoman to take it on her own.  She investigates and only turns up a few clues.
She returns home to where we meet her father, a retired Army officer, is helping her out via two way radio ala Batman Beyond.  Frankly it's a great idea, two heads are better than one.  She works out and has to rush to a breakfast date, only to get the aforementioned dumping.   With the Cult of Crime in town though she can't dwell on that.

We get flashbacks to her life at Westpoint.  She was then an up and coming officer with high marks.  Just past "Ring weekend" the young Kate Kane is brought into the Commandant's office where she is told she is under suspicion of "homosexual activity" and is asked if she wants to deny it, reminded that if she doesn't she will be expelled. Kate recites the Cadet Code of Conduct about not lying nor allowing others to do so. She admits to being gay and is kicked out of the academy.

Let me go back to the art for a second.  Look at the sequence of Kate's face. She is sad, angry and then finally resolved because she knows there is only one right answer the answer is the Truth she can't deny who or what she is.  She is a Westpoint Cadet and they never lie. Neither will she.

For the first time (we think at this point) Kate has no where to go and nothing to do.  She returns home to tell her Army officer father what happened and he tells her he is proud that she stood by her honor and told the truth.  That's it.  Kate struggles a bit.  She doesn't care for her new step-mother at all (we find out her mother was killed, but that is it for now).  A chance meeting with a mugger in the streets though changes that.  She is actually about ready to beat the thug into a bit of pulp, shouting at him "think I'm some victim? I'm a soldier!" till she (or rather the mugger) is rescued by the Batman.

I want to come back to this later.  Rescued is such a loaded word here, but I use it on purpose.  I want to get to why later.

Kate then decides (between tattoo sessions I am guessing) that her new purpose in life is to be a vigilante.   That is till her father discovers.  He helps focus her attention. She trains with people he knows for the next couple of years.  He tells her if she is serious then she is going to war and in war you define your objectives and your winning strategies.  She comes back and her father has decked out their version of the "batcave" with state of the art surveillance, urban combat weapons (but the "Batman Rule" is always in effect) and a new costume done up in red and black, the colors of war in her Jewish faith (I have to take Rucka's word on that one, never heard it before, but it sounds right).  Though she is not happy with the heels on her boots.  In newer parts of the story we see they have been replaced with proper bad guy stomping red combat boots.

More details are discovered with the Cult of Crime.  But frankly at this point those details are only a means to an end.  That end is Alice.  Alice is the new High Madame of Crime and she has a very personal interest in Kate/Batwoman. She is also Joker-level crazy.  This gets to my one real issue with this.  WAY too many bad guys know all about her "Secret Identity" for a character that was introduced as a closeted, lipstick lesbian, everyone seems to know her secrets.  Alice in particular knows a lot of them.

We get up to the final confrontation.  Alice has kidnapped Kate's father and wants to us his knowledge to launch some missiles (I thought he was retired.  Maybe still active??).  So the ruse of fighting Batwoman was just to get to her father. Or was it.  Reading on it seems that was just a ruse to get at Batwoman.  Alice and Kate fight. Kate manages to stab Alice, Alice stabs Kate.  They are over the Gotham river and in a rare lucid moment Alice, no longer talking in 3rd person, tells Kate that "she has our father's eyes". She then falls to her death (seemingly).

Kate goes back to the HQ, her father begging her to stop along the way.  She takes two blood samples, hers and Alice's.  She gets them analyzed and Alice is her twin sister that she had assumed was dead for years.

In one more flashback we see Kate's life when she was a little girl living with her mom, dad and twin sister.  Briefly, she is kidnapped along with her mom and sister by terrorists.  Her father does get an army team in to save her, but shots are fired and her mother and sister are killed.
Kate dedicates her life to service to honor her Army Officer mother and twin.

When Kate gets the confirmation she goes to the Cult of Crime and tells them that if they come for her father again she is going to kill them all.
The story ends with Kate still not talking to her father.

--

There is so much happening here and I didn't even get into the relationship Kate has with mer step-mother, her dance with Maggie Sawyer, what happened with her and Renee Montoya,  or how Betty "Flamebird" Kane is her cousin.   It has been said before and it is true;  This is not a female Batman.  Kate's Batwoman is also propelled by loss and grief and anger, but they are different.  She built her entire life after her mother's death on the idea that she would be the best officer she could be and serve to honor them.  When that is removed she was lost in a way that Bruce Wayne never was.

When I said before that she was "rescued" I meant it.  She was never in danger of that mugger.  The mugger actually had more to fear from a very capable and very deadly opponent with no outlet what so ever for her aggression, anger  and sense of loss.  The Batman showing up saved her.  Not the man, but what the man stands for. The symbol.  That is why she is the Batwoman and not some other new costumed hero.

The parallels in the art in the book between Alice and Kate are amazing. I am rather disappointed in myself for not guess who Alice was sooner.

I mentioned also that Kate is more vulnerable than Batman is. Again, not because she is a woman, but  because her pain is still so fresh and her choices still weigh on her.  Because of that her heroic actions are greater.  We know she can fail, we know she hurts (and sometime physically given her chest wound from 52 is still not 100% healed) and yet she still goes out there, every night.  The Batman goes out every night because that is what he is.  Kate chooses her life, the ups and the many downs.

Elegy manages to be poignant yet not preachy. Kate certainly is not a perfect character.  She is still brash, has a chip on her shoulder and even with out the Batwoman gig she would still have troubles in her relationships (as seen with Renee). But she is trying and I think that is the reason why her series would do well.

Elegy is the best comic I have read in a very long time.  I like Kate, I like Batwoman and I want her to do well. It would make a great movie.  Maybe when Nolan is done with Batman he can turn his sights to a Batwoman.

You can read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batwoman:_Elegy
http://www.amazon.com/Batwoman-Elegy-Greg-Rucka/dp/1401226922/

Batwoman: Marvel Heroic Role-Playing

Note: Here is my next post for the YAM Magazine LBGT Blogathon.  I am going to go over some of my favorite characters from TV, Books, and Movies and talk about how to use them in various games.

In some cases I'll also talk about why I picked the characters I did and why I paired them with the game I did.

Today I want to focus on a character I absolutely adore, but have not devoted many posts too.  The Kate Kane Batwoman.

Batwoman: Marvel Heroic Role-Playing

Batwoman is one of the more interesting characters to come out of DC's 52 comic from a few years back.  52 is also notable for giving us a new Question, Black Adam kind of sympathetic, and making Booster Gold actually kinda cool.  But it was Batwoman that made her debut here and the character has been crazy popular ever since.

This is not the old, original Bat-woman, set up only as a romance interest for Batman.  No. Not this one.

Kate Kane, is a rich heiress. A socialite. A member of the family that "owns everything else in Gotham that Bruce Wayne doesn't". But all of that is a façade.  Kate Kane is a lot of things. She is a daughter, once was a sister. She is soldier, she is openly gay and she it the Batwoman.

As an openly gay character in the comics Kate received a ton of publicity, and not just because of that, but because she was a "Bat".  The Batman family is royalty in the comics biz.  Do anything that close to the Batman and no matter what it is, it will be noticed.

While Kate of "52" seemed to be a somewhat closeted "lipstick" lesbian, Kate of the "Batwoman" series (one of DC's best selling female lead books) isn't.  She is openly out, she has tattoos, she is a former Army cadet with a promising career ahead of her till "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".  I talked about her backgroud a lot in my review of Elegy a while back.

One of the things I enjoy about this book is that her sexuality is part of person, not there to attract or tantalize readers. Look at the cover for the upcoming Batwoman #0.  Yes, she is very attractive, and yes you about about to get a boot to your face.  Kate is a soldier, first and always.

I choose to stat her up in Marvel Heroic Role-Playing for the same reasons I often choose this game. It is because it is a great comic-book game and a great tool for role-playing interpersonal drama.  Kate is great character and there is a lot going on in her life.  Her new relationship with Maggie Sawyer and her old relationship with Renee Montoya. Her strained relationship with her father.  Her significance to the Cult of Crime (who alternately want to worship her or sacrifice her).  Her relationships with the rest of the Bat family and here working with the D.E.O.  All of this stuff combines to make great character driven drama.  You could not for example simply replace Batwoman with Batman or Batgirl in these stories.   The are different stories.  In many cases Batgirl is too smart to get mixed up in same sort of cases and the Batman would punch out the bad guys and threaten everyone else.  Kate is not as strong as Bruce, or as smart as Barbara.  So she has to be more dedicated and more tenacious.

Here she is, in her Marvel Heroic Role-Playing format.

The Batwoman

"The bat they shine in the sky... civilians think it's a call for help. The bad guys think it's warning. But it's more than that. It's something higher. It's a call to arms... I've found my way to serve."

Name: Batwoman
ID: Katherine "Kate" Kane (secret)
Affiliations: Solo d10, Buddy d8, Team d6 (Currently she is solo, she has worked with father and Flamebird before. She is best though when she has someone to work with, even if she prefers to be alone)

Distinctions:
Found my Way to Serve - Kate sees herself as a soldier in a war against crime. She applies all her discipline and training to this service.
Out Lesbian - while not out as Batwoman, this does affect her mental attitude. She had to stay true to herself, even if it meant costing her everything she had worked for.
Rich Heiress - what Kate does costs a lot of money. Also her "role" as the rich heiress is a good cover.

Power Sets
Next Level Training d8
Kate sees herself as soldier still, this is the next level of training for her.
Enhanced Senses d8
Enhanced Reflexes d8
Enhanced Stamina d8
Speed d6

SFX: Effort.  Spend 1pp to up a die in NLT power.
SFX: Second Wind. Before using a NLT Power move physical stress to Doom Pool and step Power up +1
SFX: Immunity. Spend 1 pp to ignore stress, trauma or complications of a physical nature.
Limit: Exhausted.

Uniform of the Bat d8

This is not a costume for Kate. It is her uniform, the ideals she believes in.  And the boots do not have heals on them!
Gadgets/Utility Belt d8
Body Armor d8
Batarangs (attack) d8
Swingline d8

SFX: Focus
SFX: Area Attack. Target multiple opponents
Limit: Gear


Specialties 
Acrobatics Expert d8
Crime Expert d8
Military Expert d8
Menace Expert d8
Combat Master d10

Milestones
"I'm a Goddamned Solider!"
1xp when you first enter a mission.
3xp when your loyalties to those you serve with are called into question
10xp when you must abandon your loyalties for the sake of the mission or visa-versa.

My Past Haunts Me
1xp when you first interact with your Father, Cousin Bette/Flamebird or something to do with your sister.
3xp when a member of the Cult of Crime recognizes you as the Twice Named Daughter of Caine
10 xp  when you have to defeat Alice to accomplish the mission, or abandon the mission to save your Father or Cousin.

Compared to my Unisystem build I think this is rather nice.
I have done other builds for MHRP as well:

• Astra Kal-El/Justice
• Willow & Tara
• Zatanna

Batgirl and Batwoman

So growing up my first super herione crush had to be Yvonne Craig's Batgirl.  Was it the red hair? The form-fitting purple body suit? Or that fact that she not only was ass-kicking heroine, but also smart as hell?  Maybe it was the motorcycle.  Either way Batgirl always had a place in my heart.

I was in college and remember reading "The Killing Joke", maybe one of the post pivotable comics in DC's history.  The Joker decided up his game and shoots Barbara Gordon, paralyzing her from the waist down.  One can argue the "Women in Refrigerators" angle here (Barbara is reduce to nothing more than a prop to get to Gordon and Batman), but the counterpoint is as Oracle, Barbara may be more powerful than she ever was as Batgirl.

There is a story out there, I guess from Paul Dini (who I am a fan of), about reviving Batgirl with a new red-on-black outfit. But that idea was rejected in favor of keeping Babs as Oracle.  I have to admit, I support that choice.  It keeps Barbara in a place where she can do some serious damage to the criminal element and it gave us a new Batwoman.

The Batwoman

In "52" when Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were away, other super heroes stepped up to take their places. One, was a figure patrolling the streets of Gotham protecting her from Intergang.

I won't get into too much detail here, but check out her Wikipedia page for more information if you like, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batwoman.  She is also playing a major role in the on-going "Batman R.I.P./Battle for the Cowl" storyline going on currently.
Like the nearly resurrected Batgirl, Batwoman wears a red on black(dark blue?) motif that is similar to both Batman Beyond and a bit like the Alex Ross Batgirl.

The Batwoman "Kate Kane"
"I think she likes you." The Quesion to Rene Montoya

Experienced Heroine
Type: Human
Life Points: 54
Drama Points: 25

Attributes
Strength 4
Dexterity 6
Constitution 4
Intelligence 4
Perception 5
Willpower 5

Qualities
Athlete (Kate has a black belt in Karate), Attractiveness +2, Contacts (Criminal) 2, Contacts (Financial) 3,
Hard to Kill, Fast Reaction Time, Nerves of Steel, Pain Resistance, Resources +6, Situational Awareness

Drawbacks
Adversary 4 (Intergang, Cult of Crime), Emotional Problems (Fear of Commitment) 1, Mental Problems (Cruelty, minor) 1, Mental Problems (Obsession, stop crime in Gotham) 1, Minority (lesbian, Jewish), Obligation (Gotham) 1, Secret (is the Batwoman, closeted), Tragic Love (Renee, it can never really work between them)

Skills
Acrobatics 6
Art 2
Computers 4
Crime 4
Doctor 2
Driving 3
Getting Medieval 5
Gun Fu 3 (mostly CO2 propelled grapples)
Influence 2
Knowledge 5
Kung Fu 7
Languages 2 (English, Spanish)
Mr. Fix-It 3
Notice 6
Occultism 1 (she knows about magic and fought a werewolf)
Science 3
Sports 5

Combat
Maneuver; Bonus; Base Damage; Notes
Punch; 13; 8; Bash
- Knock out; 11; ; Bash
- Disarm; 10; na; -
Throw Weapon (Batarangs); 10; varies; bash or slash depending on type
- Catch Weapon; 8; na; -
- Aim (batarang or grapple); 8; na; -
- Grapple Gun; 9; na; -
Kick; 12; 10; bash
- Jump Kick; 10; 15; (add dex+acro SL to damage)
- Double Jump Kick; 9; 15;
Dodge; 13; na; Defense action
Grapple; 15; na;
- Wrestling hold; 11; na; must grapple first
Feint; 11; na; add SLs to next action
Parry; 13; na; Defense action
Wall Flip; 10; na;

Batwoman is like Batman without all the angst. We don't know why she fights crime yet, but she has the tacit approval of Batman (Robin gave her a "real" Batarang).

Katherine "Kate" Kane on the other hand is the rich heiress of the Kane real estate empire. No one, for now knows her two secrets. That she is Batwoman and lesbian, save for Rene Montoya.

Some links
Another (older) blog post covering some of the same ground. http://thewastebasket.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html

Adventures in Nerdliness named Yvonne Craig as their #1 Nerd Girl of Note.

DC Cancels Batwoman

DC is pulling the plug on the Batwoman comic with issue #40 being the last.

It is sad but not really a surprise.  Sales, and frankly the creativity, of the series has been lagging since J.H. Williams III and Haden Blackman left title in an editorial scuffle over Kate and Maggie's relationship.

Batwoman was one of the best looking comics around, great art and style from J. H. Williams III who had a very clear vision of who and what Kate Kane/Batwoman was.

As I have mentioned in the past, Batwoman was more than a distaff Batman.  She had her own mission, her own goals and especially her own demons to deal with.

I, like many, stopped buying the comic after Williams and Blackman left.  It is disappointing, but not a surprise.  Though I guess Greg Rucka is coming back to DC, so there is some hope for her future.

Well. I guess that is what RPGs are for really. To continue telling the stories of the characters we like.

More information:
http://chicasderojo.blogspot.com/2014/12/bad-news.html
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/105303808536/bye-bye-batwoman-dc-comics-pulls-the-plug

DC in the News

So I remain, despite a box-office trouncing, a devoted DC fan.

Few things are cooking in the DC Universe that will make me happy this fall.  Lets start with a big one and move on to EVEN BIGGER ONES!

We already knew that Kate Kane, AKA Batwoman will be featured in the Fall sweeps 4-Episode Arrowverse crossover (I guess that also means no tying in Black Lightning just yet).

Now it seems they want to use that as a backdoor pilot for a Batwoman series for 2019-20.
They are currently looking for an out lesbian/queer actress of any ethnicity to play Batwoman.

• https://www.cbr.com/batwoman-the-cw-any-ethnicity-lgbt-actress/?utm_source=CBR-FB-P&utm_medium=Social-Distribution
• https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/18/entertainment/batwoman-tv-show-cw/index.html

I commend them on this.

There is nothing about Batwoman's background that says she has to be white, or black, or Asian, or Algonquin, or Hispanic.  There are three things though that immutable about the character.

1. Kate is a Soldier. She lives to serve. Just now she wears the uniform of the Bat.
2. Kate is a Lesbian. Even in her earliest interactions, this is something she knows about herself and we know about her.
3. Kate is Jewish.  This informs how she sees life, how she approaches everything she does. The colors of her uniform.

In Comics Dark seems to be the new Black.

The Witching Hour will be a 5-comic arc featuring Wonder Woman, JL Dark and the plot revolves around Hecate and Witches!

• http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/07/18/dcs-witching-hour-event-stars-wonder-woman-and-the-justice-league-dark
• https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2018/07/18/wonder-woman-and-justice-league-dark-the-witching-hour

I mean read this:

Part one, WONDER WOMAN AND JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: THE WITCHING HOUR #1, with art by Jesus Merino, sets the tone for the Wonder Woman-centered event. In this 48-page debut one-shot, Hecate, the witch-goddess of magic, always knew a day would come when the monsters she stole her magic from would return. Now she must activate the Witchmarked, humans within whom she secreted vast stores of power. This hits Justice League Dark especially hard: one of the most powerful of the Witchmarked turns out to be Wonder Woman! WONDER WOMAN AND JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: THE WITCHING HOUR #1 is on sale October 3.

Those aren't tears in my eyes.  No. Not at all....Shut up, you're crying.

And just when my poor heart couldn't take anymore.



Holy Shit!  Robin just said "Fuck Batman" and that Raven!  That is the Raven I have been waiting nearly 38 years to see on my screens.  Even Dove and Gar look great.

So yeah.  You can have your Infinity Wars and your snappy Thanos (who is a rip-off of Darkseid anyway). I know where my action is going to be this fall.

Right?

That's so Raven!

Batwoman: New Trailer and Vigilante City

Super busy at work today, but something cool came up on my feed. The new First Look trailer is out for the CW's Batwoman.


I have been a solid fan of the character since the 52 mini-series and her own series.  I still consider Batwoman: Elegy one of the best comics ever written.

Given the grittier street feel of the CW Arrowverse, Vigilante City is a great choice to stat her up.
Since the series has not appeared yet, let's try her out at Level 1.

Batwoman

True ID: Katherine "Kate" Kane

Class: Dark Avenger
Level: 1
Alignment: Law

STR: 17
INT: 16
WIS: 15
DEX:18
CON: 17
CHA: 16
SUR: 19

Courage: 16
Critical: 14
Death: 10
Magic: 10
Mental: 14
Poison: 12

HP: 9
AC: 5 (Batsuit)
Initiative Bonus: +3
Attack Bonuses.  Melee: +2  Ranged: +3

Move: 12
Vigilante Points: 1
Kits: Batsuit and gear, utility belt

Skills
Combat, Fighting (Martial Arts), Interrogation (+2 bonus), Intimidation (+1 bonus), Steet Smarts, Computer Skills 1, Parkour 1

Height: 5'7"
Weight: 135 lbs
Age: 26
Hair: Black / Red
Eyes: Light Green
Sex: F

Will alter some details this Fall!

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

DCnU the new 52: Batwoman

Picked up the new #1 for Batwoman today.
First time I have bough a comic on the day it has come out in a really long time.

It is really good.

I like the team up of Kate and Bette. I like that Kate and her Dad still have issues.
I like the banter between Kate and Maggie.

The Top Bat makes an appearance at the end, but it obvious that this is not his story.

I think I'll continue to get this one.

My only gripe is Kate is WAY too damn pale.
I know that is part of her character identity, but it looks like she has been colored in properly.

Even when she and Bette were training it looked weird.

Speaking of that scene, this is my favorite part:
Bette: Uh Kate, where's my Flamebird costume?
Kate: I burned it.

Hope JL Dark is as good.

Zatannurday: Zatanna Bishoujo Statue

Once again, I have to give a shout out to my buddy Calvin up at the Cave of Cool for finding this for me.

It is not due out till late September of 2015.  But I am thinking pre-ordering is a good idea.

I noticed there was a Batwoman one as well.  But I can't justify getting two. I can barely justify getting one!  At least there is a good reason for Zatanna to be wearing high-heeled boots; she is a stage performer and this is a costume.  Batwoman should be wearing red combat boots.

Links
http://news.toyark.com/2015/01/15/dc-comics-ztanna-statue-fully-revealed-148340
http://calvinscanadiancaveofcool.blogspot.com/2015/01/kotobukiya-dc-comics-bishoujo-statue.html
http://www.amazon.com/Kotobukiya-DC-020-Zatanna-Comics-Bishoujo/dp/B00SCK4T8E/

Super Sale at DriveThruRPG

DriveThru RPG is featuring it's best Super Hero RPGS.  They also are highlighting bits from the reviewers for your enlightenment and yours truly is featured!

No surprise really, I have reviewed all these games at one point.
Here they are.

Marvel Heroic Roleplaying
What I said: "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."

Read more here, here, here (Justice), here (Zatanna), here (Willow & Tara), and here (Batwoman).

Icons
What I said: "Icons comes with a pretty good pedigree. First it is written by Steven Kenson, who gave us Mutants and Masterminds and also worked on Silver Age Sentinels. Steve obviously knows his supers. It has Gareth-Michael Skarka of Adamant Entertainment and one of the minds behind "Hong Kong Action Theater". Walt Ciechanowski has a ton of game systems under his belt too including M&M, True20 and Victoriana (1st ed). And Morgan Davie, whom I'll admit I am not as familiar with. But he is one of the guys that wrote Icons, so that makes him good in my book. 
...if I needed to run a supers game on a rainy afternoon or a convention or just something to have some fun with, then Icons is a great choice."

Read more here, here and here.

DC Adventures (oddly, not on sale)
What I said: "When you take the world'ss best superhero game and combine the world's super heroes you get a combination of pure awesome that looks exactly like DC Adventures from Green Ronin. Based on the next version of Mutants & Masterminds DCA is not only a great game for Supers play, it is also a great introduction to Supers RPGs for the DC comic fan. All the iconic characters are included, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and more. Plenty of powers, traits, feats and skills to make any character you would want. It improves on the Mutants & Masterminds 2.0 design with some elements of True 20 and some nods to some designs of supers RPGs of the past. Plus the art is fantastic."

Read more here, here, here, here, here and here.

Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul
What I said: "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.
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."

Read more here and here.

Mutants & Masterminds Hero's Handbook
What I said: "M&M 3rd Edition first off looks a lot like the DC Adventures RPG also from Green Ronin out earlier this year. What are the big changes from 2nd Edition? Well GR is moving more and more away from the d20 3.0 standards and more into True20 land. That is the Abilities (and there are now 8 of them) are the pluses. So instead of Strength 18 (+4) like you see in other d20 games, M&M3 just uses Strength 4. Easy enough and a logical extension of their line of thought with True20."
Read more here, here, here and here.

BASH (Original and Ultimate)
What I said: "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."
Read more here and here.

BESM d20
What I said: "Is BESM d20 Anime?  Well I guess I have to ask, what is Anime?  BESM d20 is a good d20 version of BESM.  I am not convinced though it taps into that collective known as "Anime" as well as BESM 2 or 3 does.  I have played more BESM d20 than BESM 3 so to me it came off more like "Cartoon Cinematic d20".  Which is in itself not so bad.  I have mixed BESM d20 and D&D3 and gotten something a bit more cinematic. I have also mixed BESM d20 with d20 Star Wars for some really weird stuff, but all of it fun."

Read more here.

BESM 3rd Edition
What I said: "The book is very attractive and one of the most colorful RPGs I have seen in a long time. It reminds me of Mutants and Masterminds in terms of color. It is a thick tome, and now sized to fit well on my shelf. The Niko Geyer artwork is great and really captures the feel of the game well. On the other hand I have seen all this artwork before, maybe not in color, but certainly in other editions of this book. Now I understand that money was very tight at GoO and the art is great, so I am willing to cut them some slack here."
Read more here and here.

BESM Revised 2nd Edition
What I said: "All in all. BESM 2r is still the standard in which all other Anime games must be measured against.  Despite (or maybe even because of) it's flaws the game has style and character that no other game (even BESM d20 and BESM 3) have been able to duplicate."
Read more here.

Enjoy!

Charmed is Back!

Last week we go the "upfronts" for the various TV networks. What did we learn?
Well, Batwoman is coming to the Arrow-verse on the CW so that is a cool thing.
And we got this!

I'll admit I watched it a few times. Plus WOW Valerie Cruz as the mother? Seriously.  That almost makes up for not picking up Wayward Sisters! (ok, no it doesn't).

This has promise.  Hard to judge a show based only about 7% of its content, but I am excited.

It joins Supergirl on Sunday nights.

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: 6" Hittability: 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.  

Zatannurday: DC Bombshells

The art of Ant Lucia is not only the focus of some of the new covers for this summer's DC books, but also today's Zatannurday post!

Originator of the DC Bombshells yo can see all his art and the statues of such DC Heroines and Zatanna, Black Canary, Wonder Woman and Batgirl.

The pinup covers are available in June.

But I thin my favorite one is for Batwoman.

I love that it looks like a baseball card.  Her number as 52 is just too perfect.

Justice is Blind, Issue 2: BASH!

Continuing on my development of a "new" superhero I want to first talk about a few things from my first post on Justice. I see Justice as a very conflicted sort of hero, but not angsty.  She is conflicted because she wants to do good, but is unsure what is the best way to that.  She knows she has a duty because of who her parents are and she has obligation because of who she is.

One thing that Justice is really needs is a nemesis.  All good heroes are defined by their enemies.  For the moment I'll leave that one to my GM.  Though I did just finish Batwoman: Elegy and I am thinking that the best nemesis for her would be her own twin sister.

Justice is sort of my anti-Witch.  She is smart, yes, but she is strong and has no affinity for magic whatsoever.  So this makes for a character that is more physical than I have done in the past.

Since this is a new character I think I need to use the game that was my first new game of 2010, BASH!.

BASH is a pretty simple system.  Basically it is kind of a modified point buy with points determined by the campaign setting.  Pretty common for a supers 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!).  Everything after that are skills and powers.

It has it's legions of fans and that is cool and I can see why.  I don't know if I'll ever play it myself.  I'll try it out one day to be sure, but if and when I do, I have a character ready to go.

Here is Justice based on a 40 point game.

Name: Justice
Real Name: Astra Kent / Astra Kal-el

Brawn: 4
Agility: 3
Mind: 2

Soak: 9
Defense: 4
Mental Defense: 2

Powers
Martial Arts Mastery (Tough, Fast, Wrestling styles) (+2 Brawn, +1 Agility) 2
Flight, 15 squares, 3
Armor, Impervious (+3 Brawn) 3
Super Senses, Vision and Hearing 3
X-Ray vision 3
Keen Senses, Vision
Skillful, +2 to Skills 1
Heat Vision, Special Attack 2
Super Speed

Skills
Social/Sci - Law
Social/Sci - History
Athletics - Acrobatics
Athletics - Running
Stealth - Prowl
Investigate - Finding Clues
Security - Surveillance

Advantages
Contacts
Never Surrender
Resources

Disadvantages
Outsider
Secret
Magic Weakness (Negates Armor)

Character Points: 39

Again I like the picture being put together here.
If this was an on going narrative, Issue #1 (Mutants & Masterminds) focuses on her powers and how much she is like her parents.  Issue #2 here (BASH!) then is told in flashbacks to talk about her training as an Amazon and then her later training with Bruce on martial arts and how to be a detective.  Issue #3?  Well not sure yet, either Icons or Villains and Vigilantes.

Either way tune in next time for the exciting new adventures of Justice!

Zatannurday: HeroForge Zatanna

I am really enjoying HeroForge.

Maybe, too much really. I have nearly a hundred characters I have made and I have bought a few as well that I love.

So really it was only a matter of time before I made my own HeroForge Zatanna.

I could not quite get her fishnets and her tux did not have tails, but otherwise, I think she is great.

You can get yours here, https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D16149885/

I also used the lighting effects on her.  It works out well in the screenshots, but I still trying to find the proper "magic" for the printed minis.  For example here is another mistress of magic, The Simbul holding silver flame.

And here is how it looks printed.

Not bad, but I can certainly tweak it a bit more.

Z would be a welcome addition to my growing group of magical people.

And while I was working on this we are NOW getting reports that an HBO Max series or movie for Zatanna is on the way!

Looks like we could be getting Batgirl, Batwoman, and more Shazam!  This could be great!