Gotham City goals

[Barbara Nolan]

I've heard it mentioned that we need something overarching for our characters to work toward/react to, but as far as I know that isn't determined yet.

In addition we'll probably have personal goals that we're working toward. For instance, Barbara needs to do more 'investigative reporting' and nosing around in dangerous places for her blog. She's run into Batman and gotten on his radar while finding a smuggling operation tied to Wayne Ent. goods and the Narrows. She needs to work on making a name for herself as Oracle in the vigilante community, someone who can do computer stuff for those who have more important things to do. But I don't want her to just be tied to her desk, she'll be out stirring up trouble and punching bad guys in the junk too.

[Jervis Tetch]

This guy will be working for Applied Sciences as a neuroscientist, and working on some mind control devices that may or may not work (they will). He's obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and will be working on his issues in therapy while working toward becoming the Mad Hatter. So, end result he's a villain and he'll probably get locked up (if you good guys can catch him).

[Rick Grayson]

Just as a general rule of comic book style storytelling, the hero is only as good as their villains. So an Arkham breakout might be a better catalyst for them then just to give the good guys something to do.

Since most of the villains looked to be of the mastermind variety, I planned on making Red Hood directionless by design. He hates Batman with a passion, but he's not motivated by it. He'll be more of a hired gun merc type. He could be a good Lt to hire. I'll do an intro thread for him soon.

Initially I had Spc Agent Grayson investigating high tech weapons trafficking into Gotham, though he could be assigned to look into any supervillain related activity. Not necessarily just crimes, since he's technically a spy, not law enforcement.

[Barbara Nolan]

Well in Down the Rabbit Hole (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21620) Barbara and Batman (:swoon: ) are finding a smuggling ring, they could be moving weapons as well as drugs. Just a thought. :)

[Carter Hall]

When we started this back up, I mentioned that I had a whole heap of arc ideas and things. In the interests of being on the record, here are the ones that people are already on-board with.

Arkham Asylum

The current administrator at Arkham Asylum is Doctor Curtis Knox. He doesn't sound like a familiar villain, but he is: Google is your friend if you want to spoiler his identity. He has plans and machinations for Gotham City, and is planning to use Gotham's criminally insane to make it happen. Jonathan Crane and Harleen Quinzel still work there, and with Knox' help they have managed to preserve their secret identities, allowing them to carry out their nocturnal activities as Scarecrow and Harley Quinn without anyone finding out (yet). They are using their position as psychologists and therapists to find potential new recruits for Knox' cause, and to nudge on-the-edge patients into a life of costumed crime.

Knox' minions aren't necessarily all former Arkham patients. The Riddler is possibly going to be working with him, as can all manner of other villains. Their unifying trait is going to be the fact that as yet, no one knows who these criminals really are. They will probably be evading the police - and Batman - far more regularly than they do in the comics and cartoons too, which should make it a little more fun for people to write villains on a continuous basis. No boring stretches in prison!

Birds of Prey

In addition to the Bat family, one of Gotham's biggest crime fighting groups is the Birds of Prey. Traditionally, they are an all-female group formed by the wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon.

Because things our a little different in our timeline however, we came up with the idea that Carter Hall - formerly Hawkman - would be the genesis behind the Birds of Prey. This is why he owns the Gotham Clocktower, which is traditionally the Birds of Prey's base. However, because the Birds of Prey typically features Hawkgirl (the reincarnation of his dead wife) and Black Canary (who is his adoptive daughter in our continuity), Carter wants to preserve a little anonymity for himself, and so is going to run the Birds of Prey like Charlie's Angels, with Carter taking the anonymous role of their Oracle-style coordinator, The Question standing in for Bosley, and Gotham's kick-ass women acting as his Angels.

Based on those who exist so far, the Birds of Prey would seem to be around university age, and may well be students. With Carter also being a professor there, it's possible that the Birds will be heavily involved in any Gotham University arcs. (See below)

Department of Extranormal Operations (D.E.O)

The DEO is responsible for unmasking costumed vigilantes, and aiding local law enforcement with supervillains that they are otherwise unequipped to handle. Since we already have a number of "golden age" heroes in our continuity, it's entirely possible that the DEO has existed for decades: there might even have been a situation like The Incredibles (or Watchmen) where superheroes were banned, and the DEO is here to enforce that.

At least two agents are at the Gotham Field Office for the DEO. Ted Kord is a former vigilante (Blue Beetle) who was captured by the DEO and given the opportunity to escape prosecution by working for the department. His partner is Michael Holt, who suffered an accident while chasing a vigilante or villain in Gotham, and is now confined to a wheelchair. The two arranged for a transfer to Gotham, and are now working on a plan for Ted Kord to use his vigilante persona to fight fire with fire; Holt is his tech support guru.

By day however, there will still be legit DEO things going on. There is plenty of scope for additional agents (costumed or otherwise); one possibility that could be interesting is someone whose job is to liaise with the Gotham City Police Department, working with detective characters to tell that angle of the story. While we all agreed that Commissioner Gordon was going to be left as an NPC, there's plenty of room for characters like Maggie Sawyer, Harvey Bullock, Renee Montoya, and so on.

Gotham Gazette

Every good superhero story needs intrepid reporters. Already we have Victor Sage (The Question) and Dinah Hall (Black Canary) as reporters for the Gotham Gazette, but there's plenty of room for more. Vicki Vale is probably the most well known reporter in Gotham, due in no small part to her being played by Kim Basinger in the first Michael Keaton movie.

Reporters don't have to be traditionally from Gotham, either. With no Superman in Metropolis, perhaps Lois Lane has moved to Gotham chasing down this city's caped crusaders instead. Or, perhaps she's still working at the Daily Planet, and can be a rival reporter to spice things up a bit.

Gotham University

Universities are full of impressionable young people. They're also full of people with PhD's, and a fairly high number of DC heroes and villains seem to hold those. Team Arkham would certainly be looking to the student body for potential recruits, and Knox has at least one ally on the staff there, in the form of Professor Jonathan Crane. Many of the Birds of Prey meanwhile could come from the student body, and Professor Carter Hall stands a reasonable chance of spotting them. There was talk of Carrie Kelly possibly going to university at some point; anyone wanting to get involved on the Arrow side of things might want to have Speedy or Arrowette as students. The comics also have the Outsiders, who are more often than not teenagers with superpowers. Ray Palmer (the Atom) is a professor, and at one point led a version of the Teen Titans: that too could be folded into Gotham University, if that's something people wanted to do.

Basically, Gotham University is an ideal "day job" venue for people who wouldn't necessarily fit in with one of the other Gotham employers.

Queen Industries / Checkmate

Though formerly owned by his father, Oliver Queen is in no way affiliated with Queen Industries. Oliver's parents died on safari when he was small, and William Glenmorgan - his maternal uncle - took over running the company until he was older. Oliver was packed off to the military to learn some discipline, and then circumstances left him stranded on an island for several years. Declared dead, William Glenmorgan took full control of the company, and though Oliver has now returned, his father's company is firmly in his uncle's grasp.

William Glenmorgan isn't all that he seems, though. He isn't just a businessman: he's also secretly involved with the spy agency Checkmate. Queen Industries is a front company, providing funding for agency as well as performing research and development, and equipping the agency through a variety of carefully selected defense contracts. Also, Queen Industries has made a point of aggressively buying out any companies formerly owned by golden age superheroes, making it something of a corporate titan, and giving them access to the media, as well as just about every other industry on the planet. Assuming that we can get Vince back in the saddle, Queen Industries may even be planning a hostile take-over of Gotham's organised crime: the current CEO of Queen Industries is Roman Sionis (aka Black Mask) who historically succeeded in uniting all of Gotham's crime families under his leadership.

Checkmate itself cares very little about the law. They have similar responsibilities to the CIA and Homeland Security: keep America safe, by any means. Often, those means involve making use of individuals with superpowers and other unusual skills, and those individuals aren't necessarily all heroes. In fact, Checkmate frequently employs villains, offering them a reduced sentence in return for serving their country. Characters arrested by the DEO, heroes and villains from overseas like Bane and Count Vertigo, or even people sent to Arkham could all find themselves getting recruited by Checkmate.

Wayne Enterprises

Last but by no means least, we have Wayne Enterprises. As one would expect, they're owned by Bruce Wayne and are responsible for providing Batman with gadgets and gizmos as required. However, rather than Lucius Fox being the research and development guru, Oliver Queen is the current head of Applied Sciences. And, instead of being a glorified warehouse, Applied Sciences is a fully functioning department, which employs some of the worlds most brilliant minds.

Unfortunately, many of those minds are criminally insane. Already, Pamela Isley and Jervis Tetch are on the Wayne Enterprises payroll; Pamela's criminal alter ego is still very much a secret, and Jervis isn't a villain yet... though Team Arkham may be working to change that.

Wayne Enterprises can potentially own just about anything. They're bound to have given money to the University. They may well own the Gotham Gazette. There are sports teams; television networks; medical clinics; retail stores... if your character has a day job, and they haven't been recruited by Queen Industries, they could well be getting their cheques signed by Mr Wayne.

[Oliver Queen]

Since most of the villains looked to be of the mastermind variety, I planned on making Red Hood directionless by design. He hates Batman with a passion, but he's not motivated by it. He'll be more of a hired gun merc type. He could be a good Lt to hire. I'll do an intro thread for him soon.

It's worth bearing in mind that Red Hood is the original alias of the Joker, before his accident. Since the Joker is traditionally responsible for killing Jason, and since the Joker is now dead... maybe there's some fodder for story there.

It also might be interesting to do a Royal Flush Gang: "Ace" is a common nickname for Jason, so he'd fit right in. Someone like Roulette (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Veronica_Sinclair_%28New_Earth%29) might make a good Queen... possibly even a Queen of Hearts, which has options for the Mad Hatter. The Royal Flush Gang ranges from bank thieves all the way up to practically a crime syndicate; and in some instances they even have a mysterious benefactor called Wild Card, who could potentially be from Team Arkham, Checkmate, or some other group altogether.

Even if they aren't always working together, it might be interesting to have some sort of cohesive crime group as a counterpoint to the Bat Family... a bit of variety, alongside stand-alone villains and things.

[Rick Grayson]

It's worth bearing in mind that Red Hood is the original alias of the Joker, before his accident. Since the Joker is traditionally responsible for killing Jason, and since the Joker is now dead... maybe there's some fodder for story there.

Yeah. The whole point in adopting the Red Hood identity was the irony, and to mess with Batman's head. That will be the case here, too. After the obligatory face off with Bats (and likely the past and future Robins), he'll be flexible enough to work with any villain.

[Red Robin]

After the obligatory face off with Bats (and likely the past and future Robins), he'll be flexible enough to work with any villain.

Oh great :shakefist

[Green Arrow]

After the obligatory face off with Bats (and likely the past and future Robins), he'll be flexible enough to work with any villain.

Oh great :shakefist

Pssh. Who does this knucklehead think he is?

No one gets an obligatory face-off with the past and future Robins and lives to brag about it, right Red? ;)

[Halajiin Rabeak]

So, I've come in late, on this, but as a DC nut, I'm very interested. However, if I could come in, I'd like to bring in a character from outside Gotham, and technically from outside DC, originally.

The Spirit.

I'm talking about Will Eisner's character, The Spirit, not that crappy movie version of him. No set allegiances, but generally a good guy, and could work with the police and Commissioner Gordon in some fashion. Batman without the gadgetry, essentially. And a sweet blue suit and hat. =) Anyone have a problem with this?

My other idea would be Booster Gold, though he'd be laying low on the whole superhero schtick for a while. Still, he's awesome, and could bring a bit of levity to things.

Any thoughts?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Sounds ok to me. We're still early days in regards to actual RPing, so jumping in now is a good idea :) (this should probably be in the 'Canon Characters' thread though, which might need to be renamed?)

[Glen Fiddich]

So, I've come in late, on this, but as a DC nut, I'm very interested. However, if I could come in, I'd like to bring in a character from outside Gotham, and technically from outside DC, originally.

The Spirit.

I'm talking about Will Eisner's character, The Spirit, not that crappy movie version of him. No set allegiances, but generally a good guy, and could work with the police and Commissioner Gordon in some fashion. Batman without the gadgetry, essentially. And a sweet blue suit and hat. =) Anyone have a problem with this?

My other idea would be Booster Gold, though he'd be laying low on the whole superhero schtick for a while. Still, he's awesome, and could bring a bit of levity to things.

Any thoughts?

Personally, I would prefer if we kept it in the DC continuity. Half the fun of what we're doing is reimagining and rethinking the character dynamics that exist. If those aren't there, then it makes it much harder for people to know how their characters will jive with your character. If you want to play a character who is like the Spirit, I'm sure that the DC universe is big enough for you to find a way to adapt an existing character without having to bring in an outsider.

As for Booster Gold, I'm playing Ted Kord, and I would be more than happy to cross paths with his futuristic BFF. :)

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Well, technically, The Spirit is in the DC continuity, now, and has been for a while. Much like Captain Marvel wasn't DC for a long time, but was bought-in as well. And, seeing as The Spirit has had numerous encounters with other DCU characters in his current comic series, I don't see it as really being off the mark.

[Rick Grayson]

Yeah the Spirit is totally in theme. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I'm ok with it.

[Victor Fries]

You're the one that said it was "technically" not DC - I'm only going on the information you gave. ;)

If The Spirit is in continuity, then I have no objection to him being used. A note of caution though: we have a lot of unpowered, crime-solving, loosely affiliated with law enforcement characters floating around Gotham already, and only a limited number of player-written villains for them to go up again. In order to make sure you have a reliable source of plot angles to write about, you might want to make sure that you throw in a few bonuses along with it... perhaps associating him with a specific group, giving him a day job that overlaps with people, etc.

[Guy Gardner]

Does the DEO need a good attorney? One who isn't afraid to also get his hands dirty, or piss someone off? If so, I've got the Guy for you.

And, thanks to Kale's suggestion, such a position could also give him an excuse to interact with superheroes in an official capability, as well as with those who might have something to do with supplying them with arms and equipment. Though perhaps that could also lead to... less official interaction, too.

[Barbara Nolan]

Sounds like a great angle :)

[Oliver Queen]

Does the DEO need a good attorney? One who isn't afraid to also get his hands dirty, or piss someone off? If so, I've got the Guy for you.

And, thanks to Kale's suggestion, such a position could also give him an excuse to interact with superheroes in an official capability, as well as with those who might have something to do with supplying them with arms and equipment. Though perhaps that could also lead to... less official interaction, too.

Is an attorney the sort of thing that the DEO would have in-house, or would they rely on local District Attorneys and the Department of Justice for that sort of thing, depending on the severity of the crime? I'm not an expert on US government agencies, but my understanding is that the DEO (like the FBI, DEA, etc) would gather the evidence and build a case, and then hand it over to another agency to do the actual prosecuting.

Perhaps Guy is a liaison to Gotham's Field Office: someone from the DOJ or the Gotham DA's Office who is there to consult / advise / specialise in vigilante and villain cases, rather than being an on-the-books DEO employee? That might even give you more scope because you'd be able to work with the GCPD as well.

[Guy Gardner]

Perhaps Guy is a liaison to Gotham's Field Office: someone from the DOJ or the Gotham DA's Office who is there to consult / advise / specialise in vigilante and villain cases, rather than being an on-the-books DEO employee? That might even give you more scope because you'd be able to work with the GCPD as well.

I like this idea. =) I think that being from the DOJ would give him more free reign than just the Gotham DA's office. Perhaps he's come in from out of town, like, Metropolis or Coast City, where he's done some significant work on their "vigilante" issues. Now I just need to figure out where to start. =P

[Oliver Queen]

It might make sense to go with either Star City, Central City, or Keystone City. The former is the traditional home of Green Arrow, and is just up the California coast from Coast City; Central City and Keystone City straddle the Kansas and Missouri border, and are the traditional home of the Flash family.

Most of the adversaries for Green Arrow and the Flash are "crooks with gimmicks" as opposed to people with full-on superpowers, which would make them a good proving ground before coming to Gotham City. Because Metropolis and Coast City have much more powerful heroes, their villains are usually of the same calibre, so Gotham might seem like a step down from those places.

I'm planning to have Barry Allen transfer from the Central City Police Department to Gotham, since he's an expert in investigating crime scenes that have a villain/vigilante twist. I'd be more than happy to have some sort of Guy/Barry backstory... or you might want to go with Star City for a bit of variety and Green Lantern loyalty.

[Guy Gardner]

I have to admit, my reason for Coast City or Metropolis was actually for past access to STAR Labs. Guy is damn good at tracking down and identifying masked heroes and villains, but what he really likes is finding their toys, then secretly keeping a few for study and improvement by unrelated labs. He might have gotten as far as he could get in Coast City before STAR Labs would catch on to him, so he needed a change, and Wayne Enterprises sure has a nice technological toy store, he's heard.

But, actually, a Guy/Barry backstory could work, and Central City could also be interesting. I'd be willing to trade off some of my Coast City ideas to make that happen, though Guy has had dealings with STAR Labs in the past.

[Oliver Queen]

STAR Labs isn't exclusive to Metropolis and Coast City. It's got facilities all over the world; and in the US there are supposed to be facilities in Central City, Keystone City, and in Gotham. So you wouldn't even need to compromise that plan. And in fact, the Flash villains are *really* big on their toys - you've got guys like Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Weather Wizard, Trickster, T.O.Morrow (who built Red Tornado and other robots), and all sorts of others.

Edit:

Something that's just occurred to me - Captain Cold's signature gadget is an ice gun. We've got Victor Fries that we're going to do an origin story for, whose signature gadget is also an ice gun. I'm sure there are plenty of other parallels, too. It might be interesting if Guy ends up inadvertently responsible for certain villains getting their hands on certain items.

Also, what do you mean by "unrelated labs"? It might be interesting to tie that in to Queen Industries somehow: they're a front company for Checkmate, and they've been doing lots of hostile takeovers of small labs and other companies for years. It might be that they've been buying what Guy is selling through various subsidiaries and such: Guy would unwittingly be supplying the superpowered CIA with gadgets that they are reverse-engineering into military hardware, and that sort of thing.

[Guy Gardner]

Yeah, though their two largest facilities are in Coast City and just outside Mertropolis (the Cadmus Project), and the third largest is in Kyoto. But, thanks to the Flash baddies, Central City would provide him with a fair bit of tech to study.

And pocket. ;)

[Oliver Queen]

Depends on the continuity. In some versions, Cadmus doesn't have anything to do with S.T.A.R Labs at all... DC is so broad and amorphous that we can basically get away with whatever we want. ;)

[Selina Kyle]

This thread has the best topic tag.

[Guy Gardner]

Gah, posted by accident. Please delete me.

[The Black Hand]

The Black Hand has had a few different iterations in DC, and while I don't like the one from Blackest Night at all, I do like his original incarnation - a master thief.

I'd like to pursue that version of him, but under the angle that for the last three years, nobody's been able to catch him, and his targets have become ever more daring - often high-tech items and even the "toy chests" of other villains or vigilantes. He usually finds some way of incorporating whatever he steals into his own tactics, and should be considered armed and dangerous.

Agent Guy Gardner has been after him for years, now, and has nailed down his hideouts a few times, re-capturing stolen tech a few times, but still hasn't been able to catch The Black Hand, himself. Black Hand should be considered Guy's Moby Dick, and is a known thorn in Guy's side as he's one of the few that Guy hasn't pinned down.

Black Hand does not appear to work for any one faction, often out for himself. But he has been known to be hired by those who need a master thief, often one with seemingly superhuman capabilities. I'd like for him to be able to hit Wayne Enterprises, at some point, and make off with some serious swag - swag which could possibly be used to identify who the Batman or Green Arrow are. And, while Black Hand typically likes to go undetected, it is known that he has killed in the past, and is not afraid to do so if the need arises.

His coming to Gotham City will be what brings Guy Gardner chasing him, as Guy is the foremost expert on Black Hand.

Anyone have need of a master thief, or would like to try and catch one in the act? Black Hand does have a long-term goal, so he's not going to get caught, this first time around, but it could be damn close.

[Barbara Nolan]

Could he leave any sort of unusual digital footprint? Barbara isn't going to be apprehending anyone (confronting perhaps) but I would like her to start becoming useful and perhaps running into other, more accomplished heroes. Or Rick, again.

[Catwoman]

Anyone have need of a master thief, or would like to try and catch one in the act? Black Hand does have a long-term goal, so he's not going to get caught, this first time around, but it could be damn close.

Rivalry? :whip

[The Black Hand]

Yes, the Black Hand would leave some kind of digital footprint, as he often uses what he's stolen in the past to further his ambitions. And in some cases, he might even leave a calling card. He knows Guy is after him, and delights in keeping one step ahead.

Would be fun to have him get some rivalry with Catwoman, though.

[Barbara Nolan]

Well, I don't want to step in the toes of a budding master thief rivalry ;), but I'll keep an eye on things to see where I can mix it up.

[Warrior]

Along with the arrival of Guy Gardner (now re-purposed into a GCPD MCU special investigator), a new vigilante will be moving into Gotham from Central City.

The Warrior.

Though Guy takes his work seriously, there are times he can't just sit back because his work's red tape stands in the way. So, he invented the vigilante "Warrior," which has let him use his fitness, wits, and confiscated baddie technology against criminals, when he can't go after them legally.

He's not as subtle as Green Arrow or Batman, his style is mostly about brute force and intimidation - but he is effective, and since he's actually Guy Gardner, he can pretend to be tracking himself for the police department, thus keeping himself from getting caught.

Being from the Central City police department, he'll have worked with Barry Allen, who knows that Warrior is actually Guy, but hasn't told anyone. With the two of them coming to Gotham in the same transfer, he may need to enlist Barry's help in keeping his vigilante activities on the down-low.

I'd like for him to be found by a local Gotham vigilante, at some point, while he's doing his Warrior thing, some night. Perhaps the established vigilantes might not be too happy to have a thuggish new hero in town, but at the same time, I don't think they'd refuse the help.

[Jason Todd]

It occurred to me that Robin, Interrupted might be a good thread for introductions, kind of a tourist guide of Gotham once Jason actually gets there.

He's not going to hit town guns blazing (so to speak). He's going to want to get to know the city, build a contact network, and get established in the underworld. He could theoretically meet anyone (except Bruce) as he explores the city in his civilian identity.

I've got a couple more posts by way of origin story material, then the thread can "open" a little. Instead of making it a completely open thread (which have a way of getting crowded and confusing), I was thinking that he could make the rounds. Like Arkham, the library, QI, etc. He's definitely going to want to meet any known villains.

[Barbara Nolan]

Sounds good to me, stop by the library any time, ;)

[Warrior]

Would love to have Guy be able to have his vigilante persona, Warrior, make his debut somewhere. He's got some toys that need testing now that he's refined them since moving to Gotham.

Probably some sort of night scene, and it might be interesting if one of Gotham's more established heroes catches him in the act of taking somebody down. Any takers?

[Helena Bertinelli]

Helena (and her alter-ego Huntress) is going to be returning to Gotham for the first time in a long while, and getting right back into kicking ass all over the place.

In a similar vein as Warriors request, it might be interesting for an existing Gothamite to run into her going to town on someone.

[Warrior]

Or... Warrior and Huntress might compete for the same takedown, and another Gothamite might have to break things up.

Just a thought. =)

[Helena Bertinelli]

You're on ;)

[Carter Hall]

If you need a vigilante to rumble with the two of you, I'm sure I can manage something with Green Arrow (or maybe The Question?), unless Peter wants to have Bats jump in on that?

[Warrior]

Green Arrow or The Question might be better suited to this first encounter. Bats is pretty much the big gun, and I don't think that this scene would quite call for that. Not to mention I think that Batman has prior history with Huntress, and would probably be set to side with her from the get-go, whereas I don't believe Green Arrow has ever encountered Huntress or Warrior.

[Mu Satach]

I've got an idea for a series of short stories that would allow villains and heros alike to interact with the citizen's of Gotham. Working out the logistics in my head, but essentially I would set up a senario for said villain/hero. Some would succeed, some would fail, but all would be short encounters.

Something for me to write while I work out what character I'm going to play. :)

[Helena Bertinelli]

^ That sounds coooool.

[Dinah Hall]

Dinah Hall is a photojournalist at the Gotham Gazette, the adopted daughter of Carter Hall and at some point in the near future will become the Black Canary.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Yay, Mu is gonna play with us! :D

[Mu Satach]

I am currently trapped in a coffee shop. I have written myself into a corner with no escape in sight. Or until someone at the neighboring tables leaves so I can squeeze out of this corner table.

So behold! I write.

My idea is to loosely pattern the encounters like an episode of a mashed up Twilight Zone/Detective show/Sin City and call it Gotham Nights.

For example I have 3 scenarios in mind right now.

- The Suicide
- The Night Clerk
- The Waitress

[Barbara Nolan]

I would love to be involved but I'm not sure where I'd fit :)

[Warrior]

Would love to give the Warrior a shot at something too, but I'm not sure which one he'd best fit in with.

[Barbara Nolan]

Incidentally I am doing a bit of a Royal Flush Gang thing with Virtually Reality. The bad guys in that thread are not the leaders of the royal flush gang but they are involved.

[Mu Satach]

I put up a planning thread for the Gotham Nights stuff.

[Rick Grayson]

I am currently trapped in a coffee shop. I have written myself into a corner with no escape in sight. Or until someone at the neighboring tables leaves so I can squeeze out of this corner table.

So behold! I write.

My idea is to loosely pattern the encounters like an episode of a mashed up Twilight Zone/Detective show/Sin City and call it Gotham Nights.

For example I have 3 scenarios in mind right now.

- The Suicide
- The Night Clerk
- The Waitress

That sounds kinda kewl.

[Roy Harper]

Roy Harper and Jade Nguyen are assassins, working for the League of Shadows / League of Assassins / whatever we end up calling it.

If anyone rich and/or famous would like to be assassinated, we would be more than happy to ruthlessly slaughter you in your sleep.

If anyone would like to thwart such an assassination... you are welcome to try. ;)

[Silver Scarab]

Silver Scarab is being introduced shortly. It is an artefact that bonds with a human host, taking control of their body, and manifesting wings, armour, and an Iron Man style assortment of concealed weapons. Effectively, it is the same as the Jaime Reyes incarnation of Blue Beetle (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Jaime_Reyes_%28New_Earth%29).

It is a little tougher than some of the villains in Gotham, but not ridiculously so: and it'll perhaps be helpful in bringing together some interesting team-ups. After a few encounters it will need to be defeated: I'm open to any chain of events on that front, just so long as the Scarab itself manages to find it's way into the hands of Ted Kord at some point.

The Silver Scarab's AI "doesn't understand" magic, which can sometimes be exploited as a weakness: you can't so easily defend against what you don't understand. Also, the AI is programmed not to harm nature: this includes sexy redheads with nature powers.

[Cassandra Cain]

I'm going to be writing this kid (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Cassandra_Cain_(New_Earth)) as on the run from the League of Shadows. Not sure where she'll end up, but it won't be pretty.

[Jason Todd]

Well that's unexpected.

I only made the League of Shadows part of Jason's back story. While he does not work for them, he's an unwitting pawn of Ra's al Ghul (see: Robin, Interrupted). So you two may or may not know him.

[Curtis Knox]

^ I thought we were working on the assumption that Ra's al Ghul was dead?

When we originally discussed this setting, we agreed to leave the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight "more or less" intact, with a couple of tweaks (to allow Jenny to play Scarecrow, etc). That was why Tio created a Talia character at the time, and it's why this character Vandal Savage exists: he's meant to be filling the "immortal with a nefarious plan" role in our setting, as a replacement for the deceased Ra's.

If we've gone off on that, it throws a bit of a spanner in the works for me, and knocks several plans involving several players somewhat off-kilter. I can work around it, but it's going to cause me a sizeable headache. :\

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Well, technically he could still be alive. I think it isn't until TDKR we actually get confirmation from Talia he's dead. But, regardless, it could probably work with Robin, Interrupted - even though in Batman Begins he has no Robins let alone two but we're saying that happened. So Ra's takes Jason, kicks him out, after that he gets killed and then Talia is the one pulling Jason's strings.

Just a thought.

[Curtis Knox]

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying about the Robin thing. If Batman Begins happened, then Batman wouldn't have had a Robin until after those events. No one is saying that there was a Robin participating in those events at all: Oliver Queen would have become Robin after Batman had his first run-in with the Joker, thus leaving Batman solo during the events of those movies. :huh

I'm sure we can fudge things to fit. I'm just slightly irked that what we discussed/agreed on previously has been disregarded, without (to my knowledge) anyone really talking about it. I'm more than happy to change my plans and accommodate people: it's just nice to have the option to do that voluntarily, rather than having no choice in the matter.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The Robin thing I was saying is that we're fudging that already so I'm sure we can fudge things here to make it fit. That's all. I'm not trying to upset anyone :)

[Rick Grayson]

Gonna make this really easy for you then. Jason doesn't exist in this universe. I did not realize that anyone had agreed to all that, so my bad. Just retcon the thread and forget I said anything. Problem solved. It didn't garner any interest anyway.

It's all good. I'll just keep Rick around for Holly's sake. I can't really commit to writing 2 characters (much less 17 o_O) anyway. My time is limited between work and my paying writing gigs.

I'm jazzed to see that so many others have shown interest in the Gotham RP, so we've got plenty of villains now. He's not needed.

Also for the sake of keeping the peace, I am doing a little retcon with Rick and making him an actual private security specialist for hire, not in Checkmate.

Carry on. :cheers

[Barbara Nolan]

Not to be all 'beating a dead horse' but it appeared to me that in the original planning thread, posts 121 and 121 ( http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showpost.php?p=355198&postcount=122 ) we had agreed that Ra's could be alive.

v:)v

[Curtis Knox]

Gonna make this really easy for you then. Jason doesn't exist in this universe. I did not realize that anyone had agreed to all that, so my bad. Just retcon the thread and forget I said anything. Problem solved. It didn't garner any interest anyway.

It's all good. I'll just keep Rick around for Holly's sake. I can't really commit to writing 2 characters (much less 17 o_O) anyway. My time is limited between work and my paying writing gigs.

I'm jazzed to see that so many others have shown interest in the Gotham RP, so we've got plenty of villains now. He's not needed.

Also for the sake of keeping the peace, I am doing a little retcon with Rick and making him an actual private security specialist for hire, not in Checkmate.

Carry on. :cheers

There's no need to be over-dramatic, or to be making backhanded comments. This is meant to be a fun project, and a team effort. I'm a little disappointed that you established a status quo on behalf of the group without chatting to us about it, but as I mentioned: I can work around it. Perhaps I was remiss in not mentioning my own thoughts sooner: honestly, I was waiting until someone else expressed an interest in doing something with the League of Shadows, so that we could work on it together rather than dictating anything solo.

As for the seventeen characters you so disparagingly referenced: quite frankly I'm proud to have so many characters. It gives me the opportunity to interact with each and every one of the talented and creative writers involved in this setting. I have characters that exist just for flashback purposes, to help flesh out the backstories of their characters and mine; I have some characters who exist purely as an excuse to write with people who I wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to collaborate with. I consider it an incredible privilege to be able to do that, and I hardly think making faces at it is appropriate.

[Fury]

As the proud brain-parent of eight characters, I sort of took exception to your comment, Rick. Regardless of who it was aimed at, you could and should have found a different way of making your point :)

On another note, Barbara, while we did agree that is was possible, we also in that same post made note that we had a character in place that would serve the same purpose as Ra's. So it would have been a much better idea to stop and think before simply forging ahead - even though I'm all for enthusiasm, we should still be 'mindful' for lack of a better word :)

Oh! And before I forget! Mu! *tackles* Hi :D Love your short story ideas. Going to keep my eyes peeled to see where any of my voices might fit.

[Barbara Nolan]

I'm not forging ahead with anything (?), I was just trying to uncover some common ground. I'm not sure who is suffering from enthusiasm here, is it me? Because I'm pretty sure that all just got sucked out of me. :(

What's done is done though, so I guess that's it. Also you can call me Holly, Dee, I thought you knew who I was.

[Fury]

It was just a general statement, Holly, it wasn't aimed at any one particular writer - wasn't meant to be aimed at you at all.

And I did know that was you...I just apparently had a minor brain-fart and typed out Barbara - my bad :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

Thread closed cause it's gotten personal.