Tag Archives: rpg

Re: Animated • Justice League “Legends” – Part 2

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jl19This blog takes a look at episodes from the Justice League animated series from a tabletop roleplaying game perspective, both in terms of game design and game play.

Obligatory Spoiler Warning: I will be discussing the events of the episode in the post. If, for some reason, you’re interested in the show and this blog and have not seen the show, go and do that first. The blog will make much more sense, and you won’t have your enjoyment of the show spoiled. You Have Been Warned.

“Legends” – Part 2

After a fairly whimsical beginning, the homage to the Golden Age of Superheroes is off to an ominous start in Part 2: Hawkgirl has seen the grave sites of the members of the Justice Guild, the very same heroes the Justice Leaguers are now working with! Something is very wrong in Seaboard City…

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Re: Animated • Justice League “Legends” – Part 1

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jl18

“Justice Guild… roll call!”

This blog takes a look at episodes from the Justice League animated series from a tabletop roleplaying game perspective, both in terms of game design and game play.

Obligatory Spoiler Warning: I will be discussing the events of the episode in the post. If, for some reason, you’re interested in the show and this blog and have not seen the show, go and do that first. The blog will make much more sense, and you won’t have your enjoyment of the show spoiled. You Have Been Warned.

“Legends” – Part 1

One of my favorite staples from the Silver and Bronze Age DC Universe was the semi-annual Justice League/Justice Society crossover so, naturally, I’m a big fan of this episode. Unfortunately, not so much DC Comics, which disallowed the use of the Justice Society characters after reading the script, which they apparently felt was “disrespectful”. (My own impression is just the opposite, actually.)

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Re: Animated • Justice League “Fury” – Part 2

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jl17This blog takes a look at episodes from the Justice League animated series from a tabletop roleplaying game perspective, both in terms of game design and game play.

Obligatory Spoiler Warning: I will be discussing the events of the episode in the post. If, for some reason, you’re interested in the show and this blog and have not seen the show, go and do that first. The blog will make much more sense, and you won’t have your enjoyment of the show spoiled. You Have Been Warned.

“Fury” – Part 2

Things get rolling (quite literally) as the Justice Leaguers leap into action to help people endangered by the chaos caused by Aresia’s allergen as it spreads throughout the city.

There’s some interesting interplay as Batman pushes Wonder Woman out of the way of an out-of-control bus. She then has to deal with a collapsing radio tower while Batman chases the bus and manages to stop it in the nick of time. Batman’s “spotlight” time is over right after that, however, as he succumbs to the effects of the allergen as well.

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ICONS: Aspects, Who Needs ‘Em?

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Aspects are an important element of the Determination system of ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying—both tagging qualities in order to spend Determination and compelling challenges in order to earn more Determination—but how much does the system (and the game) really rely on having aspects or, at least, predefined ones?

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ICONS: Initiative

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A common question about ICONS is its lack of an initiative system although, technically, it does have one:

“Typically, the conflict starts off with the panels of whichever side initiates: if a villain launches an attack, start with the villain’s panel. If the heroes spring into action, begin with their panels. Once one side’s actions are resolved, go to the other side, then back and forth until the conflict ends.”

— Conflict, ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying, page 55

So, there’s no system for it other than “Whoever goes first, goes first.” Usually, that will be fairly obvious. In situations where it is not, or if a group prefers a more detailed or mechanical initiative system, here are some options:

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ICONS: Operation: Shatterstone!

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OScover300pxJust in time for your own “Independence Day” gaming — Operation: Shatterstone! the latest adventure for ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying by Dain Lybarger (with art by ICONS artist Dan “The Man” Houser) is now available on DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

The fate of the world hangs in the balance! Astronomers have discovered a massive asteroid on a collison course with the Earth, and only an experimental space ship can carry a band of brave heroes on a desperate mission to save the world – but there is more to this threat than there appears. Can the heroes deal with the dangers behind it?

Operation: Shatterstone is an adventure featuring a race into space, the experimental space ship Icarus, and an extraterrestrial threat to Earth. Do your heroes have “the right stuff” to save the world? As a bonus, the adventure features an optional “series kick-off” section on how to use Operation: Shatterstone as the start of a new ICONS series and origin for your heroes!

Re: Animated • Justice League “Fury” – Part 1

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jl16This blog takes a look at episodes from the Justice League animated series from a tabletop roleplaying game perspective, both in terms of game design and game play.

Obligatory Spoiler Warning: I will be discussing the events of the episode in the post. If, for some reason, you’re interested in the show and this blog and have not seen the show, go and do that first. The blog will make much more sense, and you won’t have your enjoyment of the show spoiled. You Have Been Warned.

“Fury” – Part 1

The Injustice Gang is back with a couple of new members, and making short work of the security at a Gotham biotech company. In fact, most of this introductory segment could be called “short work.” The villains take out guards left and right: Copperhead by ambush, Sakuri deflecting gunfire with her blades and taking down guards with her martial arts prowess and Shade … well, making things dark for no apparent reason, other than demonstrating his power. Likewise, once Batman is on the scene, he begins taking down the Injustice Gangers quickly: Shade and Copperhead with a single surprise attack, Star Sapphire with a reflected energy bolt, and Grundy with an electro batarang. Sakuri poses more of a challenge: she initially knocks Bats for a loop, they trade blows for a bit, then she seems to get the upper hand, but Batman sends her flying into a wall, leaving her stunned. It’s the Gang’s mysterious new blonde-haired leader who proves to be a surprise.

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ICONS Indexes

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Thanks to the work of indexer Lori Ann Curley, I’m now able to offer indexes of The Icons rulebook and Great Power! The indexes have been added, as separate PDF files, to the downloads for Icons, Great Power, and the Icons GM Screen package: buyers of those products can simply access their account library to download the new files, or you can grab them from here:

Stay tuned this week for the release of the latest adventure for Icons, Dain Lybarger’s Operation: Shatterstone!

Re: Animated • Justice League “The Brave and the Bold” – Part 2

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jl15This blog takes a look at episodes from the Justice League animated series from a tabletop roleplaying game perspective, both in terms of game design and game play.

Obligatory Spoiler Warning: I will be discussing the events of the episode in the post. If, for some reason, you’re interested in the show and this blog and have not seen the show, go and do that first. The blog will make much more sense, and you won’t have your enjoyment of the show spoiled. You Have Been Warned.

“The Brave and the Bold” – Part 2

Following the dramatic disappearance of Central City in Part 1 of “The Brave and the Bold” the rest of the Justice League takes notice when a midwestern U.S. city up and vanishes! Interesting to note that, although the dome started expanding from the lab on the shoreline (riverfront, most likely) it appears centered in the middle of the city, rather than on its outskirts.

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Re: Animated • Justice League “The Brave and the Bold” – Part 1

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jl14This blog takes a look at episodes from the Justice League animated series from a tabletop roleplaying game perspective, both in terms of game design and game play.

Obligatory Spoiler Warning: I will be discussing the events of the episode in the post. If, for some reason, you’re interested in the show and this blog and have not seen the show, go and do that first. The blog will make much more sense, and you won’t have your enjoyment of the show spoiled. You Have Been Warned.

“The Brave and the Bold” – Part 1

Long-time DC editor Julie Schwartz, in his autobiography “Man of Two Worlds,” describes the pedigree of gorillas in comics. So profound was the effect of having an ape on the cover on the sales of a comic book that DC editorial had to institute a limit on the number of gorillas appearing in any given month to stop everyone from doing it! So it’s no surprise that ape characters are a comic book staple. As the staff at Green Ronin Publishing is fond of saying, “Everything is better with monkeys!”

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