Any interest in a Gotham City-set campaign?

[Mark Rand]

Is there any interest in a play-by-post campaign set in Gotham City in the Champions Universe?  In this version, Gotham City is in Ocean County, New Jersey, just south of Toms River, New Jersey and is the county seat.

 

Batman will not always be there and Batgirl will, sometimes, be working on her own case.  The others that spend time in the Batcave are Alfred and Batman's engineer (and Bruce's handywoman) Bonnie Knight.

[Gauntlet]

So it would be a Dark Champions game?

[Lord Liaden]

I've yet to play a game in any version of Gotham City that I didn't find depressing.

I'm definitely more a Metropolis man.

[Mark Rand]

41 minutes ago, Gauntlet said:

So it would be a Dark Champions game?

It would be a Dark Champions Animated Game. 

 

Before I forget, there is another member of Bruce's staff that lives on the property.  As Bruce plays polo in charity events, Jodie Huston, who Bruce never told that he was Batman, lives in the barn on his estate and cares for his polo ponies.

[Gauntlet]

You looking to create a tabletop game or online game?

[Mark Rand]

11 minutes ago, Gauntlet said:

You looking to create a tabletop game or online game?

It's an online play by post game.

[Gauntlet]

I definitely am interested.

[Mark Rand]

Good.  The heroes are, at least, 16-years old.  If they're in high school, they attend Gotham Central High School (which is based on Taylor Allderdice High School).  If they attend college, they attend Gotham State University (which is based on the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University).  Robinson Park (which is based on Pittsburgh's Schenley and Highland Parks) is close to both.

 

New Jersey's Stone Mansion is the basis for Wayne Manor.  The Mayfair Games version of the Batcave is the basis for the one in the game.  DC's current map of Gotham City is the one I'm using.

Edited October 29, 2023 by Mark Rand

[Mark Rand]

I’m thinking of bringing back Aunt Harriet from the 1966 Batman TV series.  This one, however, is bedridden and under a nurse’s care.  Neither know that Bruce is Batman.  I’ve already brought back Gotham Point, a popular surfing beach.  (It’s the tip of Cape Carmine.)

[Mark Rand]

Here is the first draft of what would be the players handout.

 

We are using the Dark Champions Animated rules.  The power level is standard, 400-points plus 75 in complications.  Point totals don’t have to be exact.  Close is fine.

 

 

The heroes have to be at least 16-years-old.  Those of high school age use the Teen Champions rules.  Heroes attending high school attend Gotham Central High School, which is based on Taylor Allderdice High School.  Those attending college attend Gotham State University, which is based on the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

 

 

Each hero gets a utility belt with the following gadgets: 8 batarangs, 1 mini gas mask, 4 sleep gas pellets, 4 smoke pellets, a grapnel gun, 6 flex cuffs, night vision goggles, a Bat communicator, and a smartphone-size mini-Bat Computer (with instructions and cables).

 

 

Andrea Winslow is a pilot of STAT MedEvac 19.  Melody Samuels, RN, CFRN (Certified Flight Registered Nurse), is her usual flight nurse.   Deanne Marshall is their usual flight paramedic.

 

 

The top floor of the Batcave has its reference library on one side and a group of hotel rooms on the other.  In addition to the bathrooms, the hotel rooms provide space for the heroes to put their costumes on and store any disguises they might have.

 

 

The main level is home to the tunnel to the vehicle exit, the Batmobile’s parking area, the crime lab, a restroom, and Bonnie’s workshop.  The tunnel has alcoves for vehicles, one of which is where Batgirl parks her highly advanced Batcycle, a gift from Batman.  Her Batcycle’s alcove also has shelves for storing full-face motorcycle helmets and a number of unassigned ones.  The communications equipment and a computer terminal are in an alcove off the Batmobile’s parking area, as are the medical area and a tunnel leading to the Batboat/Batsub.  An alcove off of Bonnie’s shop leads to her office and living quarters for when she prefers to stay in the Batcave.

 

 

The first sub-level houses the main gym, a restroom, the trophy room, the power and equipment room, and the computer room, which houses the Batcomputer, 8 linked Cray XC50s.

 

 

The second sub-level is for training.  Half of it is occupied by what Batgirl was running during The New Batman Adventures episode Cold Comfort.  The rest of it is a padded floor for free-form unarmed sparring.

 

 

The Gotham City Police Department and the Gotham County Sheriff’s Department use the Explorer-based Ford Police Interceptor Utility as a squad car.  Some detectives use the Fusion Hybrid-based Ford Police Responder Hybrid Sedan.  The Gotham City Police Crime Scene Unit uses crew cab Ford F-150s with a camper shell as their vehicle.  The Gotham City Fire Department uses the same vehicle as a chiefs’ car.

 

 

The Honorable Hamilton Hill is Gotham City’s mayor.  James W. Gordon is Gotham City’s Police Commissioner.  Miles O’Hara is Gotham City’s police chief.

Edited October 29, 2023 by Mark Rand

[Grow-Arm-Hair Lad]

Yeah, I'm interested. : )

Hey, could I play a teen version of Man-Bat?

Summary: He drank the Langstrom serum and he also has some gadgets. He can transform back and forth.

Yes, he could in fact be called "Teen-Bat"

[Mark Rand]

I just added this to the sheet.

 

Due to increased air-space surveillance by the authorities, Batman was forced to ground his flying fleet and rely instead on “borrowed” WayneTech aircraft operating from hangars at Gotham International Airport (what DC Comics calls Archie Goodwin International Airport).  Batman has the Jet-wing, a flight pack featuring two large, metallic wings that could also be used as shields, a jet pack for propulsion, and small rockets.  

 

Gotham Oceanic Institute is home to the United States Navy’s RV Judith Resnick (T-AGOR-30) a Thomas G. Thompson-class oceanographic research ship.  It serves as the support ship for the DSV Sea Bat, an Alvin-class deep submergence vehicle.

Edited October 24, 2023 by Mark Rand

[Mark Rand]

3 hours ago, Grow-Arm-Hair Lad said:

Yeah, I'm interested. : )

Hey, could I play a teen version of Man-Bat?

Summary: He drank the Langstrom serum and he also has some gadgets. He can transform back and forth.

Yes, he could in fact be called "Teen-Bat"

Sure, it sounds like a cool character.

[Mark Rand]

We are in the Champions Universe.  Gotham City replaces Hudson City and is in Ocean County, just south of Toms River. 

[Mark Rand]

The club has been starteed.

[Grow-Arm-Hair Lad]

[Mark Rand]

The Gotham City area has an annual anime, manga, comic book, cartoon, film, and television series convention.  At one, Coyote have some of the people the skills of the characters they were costumed as.  Honey West, Fujiko Mine, Marvel's Black Widow Natasha, and Marvel's Black Cat were among the popular characters that year.

[Mark Rand]

The Honorable Hamilton Hill is Gotham City’s mayor.  James W. Gordon is the police commissioner.  Miles O’Hara is the police chief.  Detective Fran Belding is with the Gotham City Police Department Burglary Squad.   Detective Harvey Bullock is a slovenly, heavy-set man who doesn’t like either Batman or Batgirl.  Detective Renee Montoya was recently promoted from the patrol division.

 

 

An equine note: Bruce's four polo ponies are actually thoroughbreds.  Jodie herself owns and rides a strawberry roan American Quarter Horse mare named Copper Penny.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Mark Rand

[Mark Rand]

Steven “Shotgun” Smith is the Gotham County sheriff.  He has a no-nonsense attitude.  Cissy Chambers is the undersheriff. 

 

The Gotham County Sheriff’s Department’s Aero Bureau uses Bell 212s, the civilian version of the Bell UH-1N Twin Huey.  The Gotham City Police Department Aero Unit uses the Bell 407.  Both are based at the Irving Grove Airport, as is STAT MedEvac 19, an Airbus Helicopters H135.

 

[Mark Rand]

Bruce Wayne is on the Gotham Zoo’s Board of Directors.  Anne Baker, D.V.M., is the zoo’s president and CEO.  Claire McCauley, D.V.M., is the zoo’s Director of Animal Health.  She has a way with animals, and they all instinctively trust her.  Under her are, among others, veterinarians Alicia Sturgeon and Debbie Hahn and head veterinary technician Ginger Myers.

[Mark Rand]

I'm hoping someone will play a high school age character because there things they can do out of costume as a high school student.

[Mark Rand]

Like most school districts, Gotham City Public Schools issues laptops to students.  Like some school districts, they prohibit cellphone use by students while on school grounds, on field trips, or other school-related activities.  They also prohibit looking at social media on school district-owned computers.

[Mark Rand]

Serendipity Ranch, on the outskirts of Ocean County, is partially-funded by the Thomas Wayne Foundation and is  dedicated to equine-assisted therapy for autistic people. 

 

The ranch is Wi-Fi-equipped and there are cellphone towers out on the range, some of which are hidden by trees. 

 

The horses are American Quarter Horses and American Shetland Ponies.

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Mark Rand

[Mark Rand]

With things as they are here in Pittsburgh, Batman would be needed here right now.  Maybe, I'll move the campaign back to my hometown.

[Mark Rand]

I'm basing Gotham City's Robinson Park  on Pittsburgh's Schenley and Highland parks.  It'll have swimming pools, picnic areas, a public golf course, a lily pond, the Wayne Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the Gotham Zoo, playgrounds, a sportsplex, a horseback riding area, a bicycle track, and reservoirs.