Adios, Smallville

In case you haven't heard, the Smallville RPG is going away at the end of the month. MWP is having a sale on their physical books, and DriveThru RPG is offering some deals on the PDFs of the core book, High School Yearbook, and the never-quite-made-it-to-print Watchtower Report. Some cool people I know worked on the books and it does a good job at community worldbuilding with a system that models supernatural soap opera drama very well. If you want to run a game like Buffy, True Blood, Lost Girl, Vampire Diaries or (obviously) Gotham Central, there are plenty of ideas in these books worth seeing. The Cortex Plus Hackers Guide is looking to preserve the system, but checking out the original texts is also worth your time.

Shameless Blog Promotion - Legacy of Marvels

I have a new game starting up using MWP's Marvel Heroic Roleplaying. The world is one where the events of the Marvel Universe happen in real time. So Spider-Man is retirement age, Jubilee is in her early 30's, and so on.


The address is:
legacyofmarvels.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there!

Feature - Harley Quinn

"Some men make you laugh until you cry. My sweetie makes me laugh until you bleed."

Drives
Values
Duty: d8 -  Anything to help
Glory: d6 -  Joker deserves all the credit
Justice: d6 -  You always deserve what you get
Love: d10 - Our love is true
Power: d6 - Life's a big joke
Truth: d4 - Only suckers care about it

Relationships
The Riddler is a pale imitation - d6 
Poison Ivy my bestest girlfriend - d6 
Two-Face Never know which Harvey is around - d8
Morgan O'Neill can't be trusted - d6
The Batman keeps us from being truly happy  - d8
Catwoman is one tough broad - d8
What else is James hiding? - d6

Assets
Distinctions 
Agile - d8
Reroll a die in an Agile roll when you Choose to drop everything you’re carrying.
Spend a Plot Point to Decrease your opponent’s Injured or Exhausted Stress pool.

Likeable - d6
Give your opposition a d6 to Reroll a die in a Likeable roll.

Fool for Love - d8

Earn a Plot Point and Add d6 to Trouble when you do something stupid in the name of love.

Earn a Plot Point when you Choose to ignore your loved one treating you badly or someone trying to point it out to you.

Extras
Mista J: 2d12 (love, chaos)
Gilda Dent: 2d4 (love, normal)




Locations
Courthouse: 2d4 (law, criminals)
Arkham Asylum: 2d10 (tense quiet, twisted logic)

Recap - "Frozen Assets"

Opening Credits. The first verse features all of our leads, like Jason and Arthur.

James blocks Lisa's grab far too well
Arthur smarts off to Poison Ivy
Nika shudders during her conversation with the Penguin
James watches his own reflection in the Joker's cell wall
Morgan storms frustratedly off out of MCU
Jason holds up the door...and the other one falls over

The second verse features the more familiar residents of Gotham.
Batman swooping over the burning buildings
Poison Ivy looking into the security camera at the Pink Kitty
Gordon sits at his desk and quietly sips his coffee

The song ends with a great shot of the Bat Signal over Gotham. 

Recap - "Happy Endings"

Most tales in Gotham start on the rooftops. This series starts on the street. More specifically, it starts inside a strip club called the Pink Kitty as a man in a nice suit starts on one of those sad tirades that strip clubs see all the time.

The man's name is Tommy Goodspeed. He's there with his old friend Arthur Pembrose. Arthur and Tommy went to law school together but have gone their separate ways. Both are lawyers. Arthur is a public defender. Tommy has nice suits because clients like the Penguin pay him to keep them out of jail.

Arthur looks very uncomfortable. Tommy wants him to lighten up and enjoy himself. Tommy starts the type of bar argument that's a perfect fit for a strip club in Gotham City.

TOMMY: Which of the Batman villains would you fuck?
ARTHUR: Tommy, when are we leaving for dinner?
TOMMY: Fine. I'll put the male ones on the table too for a complete selection.

Arthur doesn't answer, instead looking like he wished Tommy would pass out. Tommy asks everyone around him since Arthur won't answer. He asks the waitresses, other patrons, even the girl on stage. He finally gets a satisfactory answer.

JASON: Catwoman or Poison Ivy? Why only pick one?

Jason Thorne connects with Tommy's bacchanal better than Arthur. Arthur can't seen to place who he is yet and feels Insecure about this guy. He presses for dinner once again, but a sudden burst of screams and  kills that idea.

JASMINE: Oh my God! The Joker! The Joker just killed some guy in the Champagne Room!

Opening Credits. The first verse features all of our leads, like Jason and Arthur. The second verse features the more familiar residents of Gotham. The song ends with a great shot of the Bat Signal over Gotham.

Location - Thorne Tower

Built by Jason’s Grandfather Rupert Thorne Sr., Thorne Tower is the center of all of the Thorne Empire’s dealings.  Rupert Sr. was often quoted as say “while my tower may not stand as tall as the monstrosity in the center of the city (Wayne Tower), it has class and a view that cannot be beat.”  And what a view, the tower is just one city block away from the harbor giving those fortunate enough to be granted access to one of the top floors a unique view of the Gotham skyline. 

Extra - Danny Smith

"You are not going to believe what I overheard ordering your cappuccino."

Danny is a paralegal and personal assistant to DA Veronika Hilton.  He is extremely smart which has allowed him rise above his upbringing in a poor and broken home on Gotham's East End.  His admiration of Veronika’s work and his aspirations to become a lawyer himself make him eager to aid her in any way he can.  Including keeping her secrets.

Veronika, recognizing Danny’s potential  not only as a protégé, but also as an ally, treats him with a respect that she saves for very few people.  She also has been secretly paying towards his law school tuition.  Danny believes this money is actually coming from a scholarship through the Carson Hilton foundation - a program set up to help bright, under privileged youth pursue legal and law enforcement degrees.