The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)
 

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Character Bio - The daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon, Barbara Gordon was instilled with a strong sense of justice early in her life. After Barbara, while dressed for a costume ball as a female version of Batman, foiled a plot by the villain Killer Moth, this sense of justice lead her to become a costumed crime-fighter. In the beginning of this second career, Barbara's inspiration for vigilantism, Batman, was against her choice and tried to persuade her to give up the lifestyle. However, this did little to dissuade Barbara and instead only furthered her desire to do good. Taking the name Batgirl, and fueled both by her sense of justice and competition, Barbara would go on to become on of Gotham's most trusted protectors.
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-Rulings and Clarifications-

• Q: If Batgirl's attack is boosted by Reckless Advance and she attacks a figure with Counter Strike, do excess shields from the defending figure count as two hits each on Batgirl?
• A: No. If Reckless Advance and another special power both say that excess shields from the defending figure should count as unblockable hits on Batgirl, the two effects do not stack. Batgirl would only take one unblockable hit for each excess shield.

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Incoming Synergy:

• As a Human, Batgirl has these Human Synergies.
• As a Vigilante, Batgirl has these Vigilante Synergies.

Outgoing Synergy:

• Vigilantes and Sidekicks may allow Batgirl to add to her Range and Attack numbers with her Vigilante Rivalry special power. Current Vigilantes and Current Sidekicks.

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-Immunities, Benefits, and Weaknesses-

Immunities

• N/A

Benefits

• N/A

Weaknesses

• N/A

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

• N/A

-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

• Initial playtest: TrollBrute
• Second playtest: RedHood
• Third playtest: Midgieboy3
• Fourth playtest: Karat
• Fifth playtest: Syvarris45
• Sixth playtest: Asterius
• Art: Comic, Figure, Background
• Art by A3n

Card Updates:
21 November 2020 - Bat-Grapple wording update

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

NAME = BATGIRL
SECRET IDENTITY = BARBARA GORDON

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = VIGILANTE
PERSONALITY = BRASH

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 3
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = 130

VIGILANTE RIVALRY
When taking a turn with Batgirl, if there are at least two Order Markers on the cards of other Vigilantes or Sidekicks you control, add 2 to her Range number and 1 to her Attack number.

RECKLESS ADVANCE
If Batgirl attacks an adjacent figure that she was not engaged with at the start of the turn, add 1 automatic skull to whatever is rolled. During this attack, all excess shields from the defending figure count as unblockable hits inflicted on Batgirl by that figure.

BAT-GRAPPLE 3
Instead of her normal move, Batgirl may move up to 3 spaces with Bat-Grapple. When moving with Bat-Grapple, Batgirl has the Flying special power, but may not move up or down more than 30 levels in a single grapple, and will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

I've tweaked this design a few times now, but I think I'm settled on this direction. I'm hoping to capture the young, reckless Batgirl that's still trying to prove herself in the eyes of Batman and Robin. One major change I considered was Utility Belt 1 instead of Bat-Grapple, but I could go either way. Thoughts?

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

One thing we'll need to work out is the mini. Here are the options that I can find so far:




Comic art:

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

I like the Utility Belt direction and I really like your rivalry power here. Seems like a solid design though.

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

I kind of like it as is, especially if you're going younger. She wouldn't necessarily be as "equipped" so just having a Bat-Grapple instead of a full Utility Belt would kind of make sense. That said, I do like the flexibility of the Utility Belt and wouldn't be against Utility Belt 1 instead.

I like the power set overall, but do have one small concern:

VIGILANTE RIVALRY
Add 1 to Batgirl's Range and Attack numbers for each Order Marker on a Vigilante or Sidekick you control, up to a maximum of +2.

She's getting boosted by Order Markers on her own card? I'm presuming you meant on the cards of other Vigilantes? Maybe they should be ones in clear sight to make that easier to word? Also, should it be any Order Marker whether revealed or unrevealed? Or should we choose one or the other?

I really like the idea of tag-teaming her with classic Batman and Robin (Batman (I) and Robin (Dick)).

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

It should be others. It's based on Merlyn's Archer Rivalry, but he is not an Archer, so that did come up with him. How about this:

VIGILANTE RIVALRY
At the start of the round, add 1 to Batgirl's Range and Attack numbers for each Order Marker placed on any other Vigilante or Sidekick cards you control, up to a maximum of +2.

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

Yep, that should work just fine. :up: She'll work nicely in standard Vigilante/Sidekick armies and with Teen Titans (Sidekick builds) as well.

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

I have the second one, and I bet a lot of people do, as it's been around forever, but I like the first one the best, followed by the third one.

Might be nice to have an alternative card here for the second one, though.

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

Currently you have the name Reckless Engagement but a different power text (which I almost skipped over!). Is the text correct or the power name?

Overall she feels fine to me. Might bring his Life down to 3 and her Defense up to 5, but we're inconsistent on the 3/4 Life distinction between the Gotham youngsters, so whatever plays better is fine here.

I like the second mini best. More consistent with the Dick Grayson Robin we're using.

I find her being a Vigilante on the same level as Batman sort of weird, as I feel like she shouldn't be receiving a lot of those synergies... you know, getting Sidekicks of her own, teaming up with Nite-Owl, being Commissioner Gordon's chosen Vigilante (though that last one brings up some thematic problems for a different reason :p). She's not really a Sidekick, though, and looking at it now we have Stephanie Brown as a Vigilante, where I made the same argument and was convinced to stick with it, so this paragraph is a bit of a waste. :lol:

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

I changed the power name on Reckless Engagement last minute and forgot that we had already used it. I had Heroic Dash originally, any thoughts on that as name instead?

I hesitated with her as Vigilante as well, and I'd be open to any suggestions. She probably fits less as a Vigilante than Stephanie Brown does.

Re: The Book of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - Design Phase
 

"Hasty Strike" or something like that, maybe?

Going down our previously-used Classes, here are some that might fit:

Protector/Defender (I mean, she DOES protect/defend Gotham...)
Student (Since, in my experience, she's more of a "hobbyist" hero.)
Prodigy (Even before Oracle, she was a genius with a photographic memory and a great [Olympic-level, maybe?] athlete in her teens.)
Investigator/Detective (Detective is a new one... they both fit, but Investigator has some BRPD synergies.)