Zatannurday: Alouette Cosplay

A while back I featured a pic of a faux Justice League movie that featured Zatanna.

Well I finally tracked down that Cosplayer, Alouette Cosplay, and she has done some more.

Here are some of her DC Heroes. First up, Zatanna



:DC: Sorcery Savant by ~AlouetteCosplay on deviantART


:DC: A League of Their Own by ~AlouetteCosplay on deviantART

And as Black Canary, with an unknown Zatanna


:DC: Fishnet Heroines by *AlouetteCosplay on deviantART

As Catwoman with Poison Ivy,


:DC: Double Team by *AlouetteCosplay on deviantART

As Catwoman again with Harley, Ivy and the Bat.


:DC: The Sirens and The Bat by ~AlouetteCosplay on deviantART

Batwoman (love this one)


:DC: Twice Named by ~AlouetteCosplay on deviantART

And finally Black Canary


:BC: Little Bird by *AlouetteCosplay on deviantART


You can find her on DeviantArt and Facebook.

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Zatannurday: MachSabre Superwomen

One of my favorite artists is MachSabre, aka David Reynolds.

Long time readers here might recognize the name or at least his art.  David was one of the two Davids of the ShadowGirls fame and I have featured his art here many times.  I am doing that again today. Mostly because I like his art and Dave loves Supergirls.

So to celebrate the announcement that David is part of a new comic, Shadow of the Black Banshee, here are some of my favorite pieces, featuring of course Zatanna.


Zatanna by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Raven by ~MachSabre on deviantART


The Scarlet Witch by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Ms. Marvel vs. Power Girl by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Hawkgirl by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Kim Possible 02 by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Last Daughter of Atlantis by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Starfire by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Wonder Woman by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Wonder Spin by ~MachSabre on deviantART

This one of all the Batgirls was my desktop bitmap forever.

Chiropteras by ~MachSabre on deviantART

And of course you have all seen this one,


Commission - Tara and Willow by ~MachSabre on deviantART

But imagine my surprise when I found this one!


Willow and Tara Cuddling by =AstronSoul on deviantART

AstronSoul is just another fan like me that had D Rey make this.  I think it is cool.

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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!

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Zatannurday: When Zee met John

Justice League Dark #0 will be out next week.

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

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

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

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

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Fire and Ice

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


Fire Ice Showcase by *petercotton on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *CrimsonArtz on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *TiuanaRui on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *HanieMohd on deviantART


Fire and Ice by ~Ziggyman on deviantART


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


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


National Pride by ~blubeetle3 on deviantART


MAXIMUM Cover by ~blubeetle3 on deviantART

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So Long City of Heroes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy!  I hope to have something more useful soon.

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Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Up next I'll stat up some characters.

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Zatannurday: Zatanna and Raven

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some Deviant Art pieces.

zatanna and raven colored by ~gianmac on deviantART

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

My 52: Sentinels of Magic by ~EddieD0129 on deviantART

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

Zatanna and Bunny Raven by ~red-wolf7 on deviantART

Nuth'n Up My Sleeve by *LEXLOTHOR on deviantART

Here are some cool Cosplay.

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

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Zatannurday: Zatanna Movie

Unless you live in a cave and read these blog posts via some means other than the internet, then you should know that out in theaters right now is the last of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, The Dark Knight Rises.
Later in 2013 we will get a new Superman movie and there is still talk (and talk is cheaper in Hollywood than it is is on the Internet) of a Justice League movie.  I am even hearing rumors of a Doctor Strange movie.

http://www.jlhowarth.com/?p=321

But what I want is a Zatanna movie.

Now no one is talking about it.  Except maybe for me.  But I would love it.

The plot would need to be introducing Zee to the world.  Maybe she is already known as a gifted stage magician following in her father's tragic footsteps.  So this would be a younger Zee, not world weary yet.  She could still know Constantine.  This would be somewhere between "Young Justice" and "Justice League Dark".  Maybe even before the Paul Dini run of Zatanna.

Who should play her?  Well.  You want some young, but not a teen.  Someone that has acting chops and also has a good grasp of what makes Zee so interesting.  She is the most up-beat of the DC supers despite her tragedies.  She deals with evil, scary shit all the time, but still tries to do her show in Vegas.  It's an interesting mix really, and one I think would translate well on the screen.

I am no casting director, but I think Michelle Trachtenberg is a great choice.

Lest you still think of her as "Dawn" from Buffy or Harriet the Spy, I do want to point out that as of this writing she is 26.  She can act.  Plus I think she looks the part.  

She can do the hat (best one I could find of her in a hat)

And the fishnets:

And she has done voice work in the DC world before.

Though a live action movie might be a stretch considering how we can't even get Wonder Woman on the big screen.

We know Bruce Timm loves pretty much everyone that ever played in Buffy or Angel, so if we can't get a live action movie then an animated one would be great.  Plus that would mean a better chance of Paul Dinin writing it.

Well we can all dream right?

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Zatannurday: Supers Unleashed

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

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

So here is Zatanna, stated up for Supers Unleashed.

Zatanna

Super Points: 100

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

That is it!
I told you, very simple.

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

Not too bad for a $0.99 game.

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Zatannurday: Strikes-Twice Cosplay

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

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


AH! Zatanna by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


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


Deviant ID 1.0 by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


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


Spellaholic. by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


Z VS. H by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


Cats and Wands by ~strikes-twice on deviantART


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

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

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

But this one is pretty cool.

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

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

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

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

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

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First Day of Summer, celebrate with Fire

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



fire league justice by ~victormanga on deviantART


Fire Fight by *CandelaGreene on deviantART


A fiery Bea by ~brilliant-beatrice on deviantART


Blazing Fire_no text by ~Mancomb-Seepwood on deviantART


Fire by ~Lamzao on deviantART


Fire Wallpaper by ~Ziggyman on deviantART

Enjoy your Summer!

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Dear Google Visitors...

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

As a consolation, here is this image.

May you have better luck on other sites.

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Willow and Tara: Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

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

"Willow and Tara" by David Reynolds

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

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


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

Base of Operations: Boston, MA

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

Distinctions:
Bad Ass Wicca
Technophile
Quick to Anger

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

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

Specialties 
Mystic d10
Tech d10
Cosmic d8
Science d8

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

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

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


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

Base of Operations: Boston, MA

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

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

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

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

Specialties 
Mystic d10
Psych d10
Cosmic d8
Science d8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Zatannurday: Y is for Young Justice Zatanna

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

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

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

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

Zatanna (YJ) - PL 7 (104 points)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Languages
English, Greek, Italian, Latin

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

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

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

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Justice: Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

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

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

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

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

So with out further ado, here is Justice.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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My Month with Marvel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'll be posting some characters here soon.

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Zatannurday: Justice League Dark, the first 5

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

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

Tattoos and a chain wallet?

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

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

She doesn't look dangerous.

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

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

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

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

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