Batman and Necropolis

[Dominique]

Has anyone else used Batman: No Man's Land as a loose inspiration for how to run Necropolis? I was reading it the other day and found that it worked surprisingly well, seeing as how the Gotham of No Man's Land and Necropolis are both chaotic evil cities that are completely cut off from civilization. If it turns out that I'm the only one who thinks NML has anything to do with Necropolis, then it should really be used for the inspiration of how to run something, because the feel of that series was very interesting.

[Manofevil]

I don't see the connection. In NML everyone's desparate to survive. In Necropolis, everyone's already dead.

[VAN]

I agree. Gotham is a city with many criminals that's true, but the there is no negative energy, undead etc. Besides in Gotham exists Batman who defends them!

[Fido]

I agree. Gotham is a city with many criminals that's true, but the there is no negative energy, undead etc. Besides in Gotham exists Batman who defends them!

Necropolis should have a Batman as well.
(hah, it probably does already.. )

[ScS of the Fraternity]

I would concur. As much as I liked No Mans Land, it really doesn't apply to the Necropolis. Il Aluk is firmly in the hand of Death, so there wouldn't be much of the gangs and open warfare that characterized Gotham.

[Gemathustra]

I agree. Gotham is a city with many criminals that's true, but the there is no negative energy, undead etc. Besides in Gotham exists Batman who defends them!

Necropolis should have a Batman as well.
(hah, it probably does already.. )

What about a Manbat?

[Dominique]

Fair enough. I do think that it works really well for showing all the various chaotic evil groups squabbling and killing each other, though.

What could that basic flavor be adapted to, then? Maybe Paridon, given its recent starvation issues? Like I said, I really loved the feel in NML and have the itch to adapt it to something, but I can't put my finger on what. (Heck, if all else fails I might adapt it to WoD. . . )

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Heck, if all else fails I might adapt it to WoD. . . )

Nooooooooooo!

Actually, you might think of reviving the city of Timor. After the collapse of the city, it must have gone somewhere.
Timor: City of the Lost
In the wake of the Grand Conjunction, the sewars of Timor were ripped away and placed under Paridon. What was left of the city became a free-floating island, bouyed upon the mists. The survivors of the disaster have found themselves in the ruins of their once mighty home. Now they survive by collecting rain water and growing meager crops in the dried cesspools of of their former sewar system.
The hideous creatures that once preyed upon them have vanished - but in their place are the vile scum that once was safley locked away.
Maniacs, miscreants and megalomaniacs prowl the ruins of Timor, waging an unending war to assume leadership over what remains.

[Manofevil]

Much like 'Escape from New York'. I the idea!

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Thanks, Manofevil. Socko, say what I told you!

[Socko:] "You're the Duke, you're A number 1!"

Seriously though, Batman would make a great Darklord, with very little tweaking. He's an extremely dark, brooding, and gothic character who is dedicated to controlling everything around him. No matter how hard he works, no matter how many villians he destroys, more just take their places. Ravenloft's nature helps here, what with ghosts, vampires and other ways that petty criminals can return from the grave.

Perhaps his personal life is more disturbing than once imagined?
The Dark Knight sweeps many a lady off her feet, but eventually neglects them, or forcing his obscessions and self-discipline upon them. After a few years of being locked in a castle, watching their man torture himself, these wives commit suicide - assuming one of the Dark Knight's enemies don't kill them first.
He gathers about him wards, to help his war. But his obsessive demands and discipline drive these impressionable minds to madness - eventually turning them against him and creating new villians.

[Manofevil]

I don't know about that. The problem with Batman is he doesn't kill. It's really part of his psychosis. He'll brutalize people. He'll terrify them, but only very rarely will he actually permanently damage or disfigure someone. I'm a longtime reader of the series' and it took me a long time to actually figure out his motives. He's trying to change the basic nature of the city. He's trying to make it a city where a family can walk home from a show after dark and expect to get there. Rather like one can expect in any midwestern small town. A tall order for any large city. It's the only thing that kept him from killing the Joker after the Joker murdered Jason Todd, the second Robin and Bruce Wayne's adopted son. If Batman had killed the Joker, as he wasvery close to doing then and a few times since, he would have made Jason's, his son's, life and efforts as Robin. meaningless. He realized that he was not the only person who's dedicated his life to this cause or principle. It's really the only reason I could find to make sense. If anyone's got another, don't be shy.
See, Batman adopts a fearsome image but is the whitest knight beneath the dark. If one were to create a Batman character in Ravenloft and keep as much of the original character as possible, perhaps it would make more sense to make him part of another DarkLord's curse- the one opponent the DarkLord just can't seem to best. It might work well with Falkovnia, Nidala, Timor, or Dementlieu. I have a half-written story in my computer in which Tristen Hiregaard adopts a zorro-esque alter-ego in order to get Malken chasing his own tale. That could work. If one were set on Batman as a Darklord however, it might pay to combine him with The Punisher.

[Manofevil]

And I just passed 150 posts! YAY!

[sawbones]

And I just passed 150 posts! YAY!

congrats....I'm up to 3

[Fido]

I don't know about that. The problem with Batman is he doesn't kill. It's really part of his psychosis. He'll brutalize people. He'll terrify them, but only very rarely will he actually permanently damage or disfigure someone. I'm a longtime reader of the series' and it took me a long time to actually figure out his motives. He's trying to change the basic nature of the city. He's trying to make it a city where a family can walk home from a show after dark and expect to get there. Rather like one can expect in any midwestern small town. A tall order for any large city. It's the only thing that kept him from killing the Joker after the Joker murdered Jason Todd, the second Robin and Bruce Wayne's adopted son. If Batman had killed the Joker, as he wasvery close to doing then and a few times since, he would have made Jason's, his son's, life and efforts as Robin. meaningless. He realized that he was not the only person who's dedicated his life to this cause or principle. It's really the only reason I could find to make sense. If anyone's got another, don't be shy.
See, Batman adopts a fearsome image but is the whitest knight beneath the dark. If one were to create a Batman character in Ravenloft and keep as much of the original character as possible, perhaps it would make more sense to make him part of another DarkLord's curse- the one opponent the DarkLord just can't seem to best. It might work well with Falkovnia, Nidala, Timor, or Dementlieu. I have a half-written story in my computer in which Tristen Hiregaard adopts a zorro-esque alter-ego in order to get Malken chasing his own tale. That could work. If one were set on Batman as a Darklord however, it might pay to combine him withThe Punisher.

I wouldn't make him a Darklord either. He's more of a freedomfighter.
Like the idea of Batman being the Darklord's curse, though...

I think he'd be a gnome. With all his gadgets and all...

[ScS of the Fraternity]

See, I see it the exact opposite way. Batman as written is certainly less gothic. Lets face it, a batman freedom fighter is just Zorro.

Sure Batman is good aligned, but we're not necessarily talking about the caped crusader. The fact that Batman doesn't kill, that he isn't evil is really due to the luck of the draw. Its not that he was destined to be good - it just turned out that he had the exact right influences on him.
A Batman without all of his friends and allies might have slipped into true darkness. Batman staying sane was really a million-to-one shot. Just look at the Punisher....
So, what would happen to a similarly obscessed crime fighter who lacked the same friends and mentors. What would happed to a real loner, who brooded in his bat-cave without normal humans to ground him in reality? No doubt he would have become lost in his delusions, swallowed up by his all consuming need to control the world.