Justice League Dark Brainstorming

[MrNobody]

Originally Posted by Arkham

I had originally planned for Zatanna II to have an elemental power where she starts with several different tiles, that could benefit those who need water, swamp water, shadow, ice etc.

It was also pitched to do that in spell form to go even more in depth beyond just having someone start with them, by giving them their own spell each and have an additional effect.

The former I ended up not going with, as the blank mechanic and another power she has are support/team based powers, so wanted something for her to do offensively. The latter I'd love to see, but that's a lot of work and testing to see all those spells come to fruition.

I plan to do a take on Madame Xanadu. I've got an overall idea in my mind, just a matter of writing it out. Will be soon.

I think I remember seeing that draft of Zatanna in your public design thread a while back.
I like the idea of tile-placing spells. It would be really cool if a non-flying magician could build themself some stairs to climb up height or a small wall to inconvenience opponents.

[Arkham]

The actual results can be modified to whatever sounds fun and accurate to Tarot card meanings, but here's the direction I was working on for Madame Xanadu:

TAROT READING
After placing Order Markers, before rolling for initiative, you may choose a Unique Hero you control and roll the 20-sided die. If you roll:
• 1-2, the chosen Hero receives 1 wound.
• 3-4, for the remainder of the round the chosen Hero subtracts 1 from their Move, Attack, and Defense numbers.
• 5-6, any Order Markers on the chosen Hero's card must be moved to other Army Cards you control, if possible.
• 7-8, you must move any unrevealed Order Markers on Army Cards you control onto the chosen Hero's card.
• 9-10, the chosen Hero
• 11-12, for the remainder of the round, if a figure you control adjacent to the chosen Hero would receive one or more wounds, you may instead have the chosen Hero receive those wounds.
• 13-14, the chosen Hero
• 15-16, the chosen Hero
• 17-18, remove one Wound Marker from the chosen Hero's Army Card.
• 19-20, for the remainder of the round the chosen Hero adds 1 to their Move, Attack, and Defense numbers.

[Tornado]

Is there a bio on her?

[MrNobody]

As someone who enjoys studying Tarot, I think it would be hard to get the exact feeling of Tarot into the game. But I think this works pretty well as a general “reading fortunes based off of Tarot” power. Would she have Magic Defense too, or is that out of character?

[Arkham]

I don’t think she has those magical capabilities. She’s pretty limited. I’d probably just go with the one power and if there’s a 2nd, it’d be a simple teleport.

As for the Tarot interpretations, looking at actual cards I tried to stick with the themes presented. On the negative side you’ve got fear, selfishness, coward, weak, danger etc. vs the positives of strength, health, noble and courageous, compassion etc. So just trying to convey those in simple form is my thought process. Didn’t fill them all out though.

[Tornado]

Originally Posted by MrNobody

As someone who enjoys studying Tarot,

Could you expound on this? I am curious as I have an aversion to prophets.

[MrNobody]

Originally Posted by Tornado

Could you expound on this? I am curious as I have an aversion to prophets.

I went through a phase where I was into magic and things of that nature. I’ve never been one to believe in the supernatural, but I was (and still am) fascinated by the performative element of it.

That’s exactly what Tarot is, a performance. You pull a certain number of cards (The most common/basic configuration is 3 cards, with each representing past, present, and future respectively) and then it’s up to you as the reader, to craft the narrative of what those cards mean. Sure, each one has a meaning, but the reader can really spin it any way they want. Some people see that as the reader somehow tapping into a higher plane, some see it as them just making stuff up.

[Tornado]

I guess for me the readings have almost always been accurate and negative so I am happier to not know.
I also have a interest in all things magic.

[MrNobody]

Originally Posted by Arkham

I don’t think she has those magical capabilities. She’s pretty limited. I’d probably just go with the one power and if there’s a 2nd, it’d be a simple teleport.

Does JLD have too many teleporters? I was really struggling on what to represent with the 2nd power on Shade. Do you think I should change it?

Originally Posted by Arkham

As for the Tarot interpretations, looking at actual cards I tried to stick with the themes presented. On the negative side you’ve got fear, selfishness, coward, weak, danger etc. vs the positives of strength, health, noble and courageous, compassion etc. So just trying to convey those in simple form is my thought process. Didn’t fill them all out though.

We could do something where you roll 3 times instead of 1, but with simpler smaller effects, so the chosen figure can end up with any variety of things. But that just seems too complicated to me, and there'd probably have to be markers involved. I think this is a good system you have going.

[Arkham]

If it were to roll 3 times I’d go with it at the start of the game and that’s it until that figure is destroyed. But yeah, as-is can lead to more varied ongoing results. Could just think of it as the cards unfolding over time rather than them revisisting for one card each time.

As for teleporters, I’ll say that Zatanna II has a pretty fun useful teleport function. I don’t see anything wrong with multiple telwporters, but I’m not sure who all you’re thibkin of.

[MrNobody]

Originally Posted by Arkham

As for teleporters, I’ll say that Zatanna II has a pretty fun useful teleport function. I don’t see anything wrong with multiple telwporters, but I’m not sure who all you’re thibkin of.

Well if Shade has a teleport, Zatanna has a teleport, and Xanadu possibly has a teleport, that's a lot of teleport. I think the Madness Stream is a big aspect of Shade's character, especially with the era I'm focusing on, but I don't think there's other stuff that would work just as well. I think something that plays into the chaotic and emotional side of the character could work well. The big thing I kept coming back to was rolling a Combat Die and placing it on the card to determine an effect.

This first one is kind of similar to the Tarot power actually.

CHANGING MAN
Start the game with a Combat Die on this card. After placing Order Markers at the start of the round, roll the Combat Die and place the result on this card. If the result is;

• A skull, Add 1 to Shade's Attack, Range, and Defense this round.
• A shield, subtract 1 from Shade's Attack this turn.
• A blank, choose either Shade or the figure you control nearest to Shade, and place a wound on that figure's card.

This one represents his moments of emotional instability.

HELPLESS ROMANTIC
Whenever a figure you control within 3 clear sight spaces of Shade is destroyed, roll a Combat Die. If you roll a Skull, place it on this card. If you roll a blank, remove all Combat Dice from this card. For each Skull on this card, Shade rolls 1 fewer attack die. Shade may never roll fewer than 1 attack die.

Or his ability to come back by possessing bodies.

METAN POSSESSION
At the start of each round after Shade has been destroyed, before Order Markers are placed, choose a figure on the battlefield with only 1 life remaining and roll the 20-sided die. If you roll X or higher, destroy that figure, remove all Order Markers from this card, and immediately place Shade on the space that figure occupied.

I dunno, there's just a million directions you can go with the guy, so I don't feel like he needs a teleport power, especially if the guys he's rolling with already have them.

[Arkham]

I'm not too familiar with the character, so I can't say what is the most iconic for him to be featured. Going purely off gameplay mechanics, the 3rd power seems the coolest to me.