Arkham City Wars (DEAD)

[XeroKhan]

Time to dump this interest into the Lazarus Pit, cause I am starting to think that "Eldr Geisa" may be a bust.

I also, as I will put in the first post, that you may join Riddler. You may also start your own group and station in the Amusement Mile district of Arkham City as an option for the characters.

Any questions?

[Ryan M. Danks]

Well, I guess it's a good thing I already submitted a concept.
Gabe will staf as my submission, once a build is complete.

[DaughterofEchoes]

I'm very interested. Build is still pending but I've got a few ideas. Not quite ready to start his own faction, but that will be on the cards. After all, the reign of the Clock King will be glorious!

What? Legacy villains exist and adding a third Clock King isn't too hard.

[Lord Fell]

Ah....

hmm.

I just hit a point where I need to limit how much extra stuff I take on in the Games Room. I'm also excited about the return of Horsenhero, and if he revives one or more games, they may be games I have characters in. I definitely think this is a superior game concept to Eldr Geisa, and I think you already have more interest -even if I withdraw.

One other thing I might recommend... sometimes you make comments that lack context. Like, when I described my character concept Toe Cutter, you said "just watch out for Killer Croc!" Uhm... why? I mean... yeah. If my character concept preys on other criminals, absolutely I'd want to avoid a criminal that is more dangerous than I am. That's inherently obvious... but why Killer Croc? It sounds to me like you have a particular reason. The post suggests that reason should be obvious, but it isn't.

Also... are you saying, for certain, that players must serve The Riddler, or be Independents? I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. Do you have a plan for the game that makes this a necessary restriction?

...anyways. Just some thoughts. I'd still like to get involved in this, but priorities you know? I'll see how things are in the coming weeks.

[optimumstratego]

This idea sounds spectacularly entertaining. I've ghosted through this forum for a while - this got me to make an account.

A few questions for you:

Do you have specific requirements & restrictions yet on character builds?
For example - major house rules, or a ban on overt "super-powers" (considering this is the Batman universe we're working with)?

What is your preferred contact method for non-public inquiries? Email? IM? Bat-Computer? Joker Balloon-Basket?

Also, to clarify the stated plot requirements, Do I have this right: we're playing as PL8 villains in Arkham City (Pre-game events in the timeline), and we have the option to either join one of the 4 big-bads (Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, or Riddler), or to start our own proto-gangs in the Amusement Mile area?

Looking forward to seeing this get off the ground.

[XeroKhan]

@LordFell- Sorry, I meant the Killer Croc thing as a joke, not as some plot twist or something along those lines. As for who to work for, that is entirely the character's decision. I must mention a few things though:

Joker: based at the old Sionis Industry Building in the Industrial District in South-West Arkham City.

Two-Face: Held up in the Solomon Wayne Courthouse in the

Penguin: Secured inside the Pinkeny Museum of Natural History in the Bowery of South-West Arkham City

Riddler: Secretly based somewhere (you may find out if you work for Riddler or go hunting for him)

I will try to detail things better for you, Fell.

@Stratego: requirements are that you must have some form of "super-psycho", so to say. I will look over the stats and see if they would fit well in the game.

For contacting people, word gets around quickly in Arkham City when you play the game, so it will be the same.

The gangs, as I said, are your decision to join. If you make your own gang, the Amusement Mile area is up for grabs (as seen in Penguin's War Room in the video game). So, If you chose the self-gang route, I will prepare a base for you. I am thinking the Gotham City Olympus building (what's not flooded) as the base.

Also, this is more of a "Parallel Universe" deal, in which the story of Akham City never happened, but the events to it did. There is no Protocol 10, but Hugo Strange is there in charge. Bruce Wayne doesn't like the idea of Arkham City, but he won't campaign it. Do you get what I mean?

Anyway, I guess I can start recruitment for this game. I will do my best to establish stats for the villians appropriately, i.e. Riddler a PL 4 but is super smart and Solomon Grundy PL 12. I am just compairing the stats to the TTGER guards (which will have the stats of a SWAT officer with Military-grade weapons). If you want to suggest already made stats for the villains, just post it.

Thanks for the interest.

[optimumstratego]

For contacting people, word gets around quickly in Arkham City when you play the game, so it will be the same.

I was being facetious with the "bat-computer or joker balloon-basket" part. I meant: What is the best way to contact you, XeroKhan, when I have questions or idea submissions I don't want other potential players to see?

As a suggestion on character stats - there are two M&M 3rd books [DC Universe Heroes and Villains, part 1 & 2] that stat out all of the Batman characters reasonably well. It may be useful, at the very least as a guideline.


Here's a decent interactive map of Arkham city to give people an idea of what is where.
[ http://www.msxbox-world.com/xbox360/gui ... index.html ]

Also, regarding the map - The game presents us with an open world environment, but one that really doesn't cover much ground due to the constraints of it being a video game. Are we saying that Arkham City itself is substantially larger than presented in game - which is what the game's story and the prequel/sequel comics pretty solidly establish; or are we using the game's map quite literally - meaning that there are only about 40ish buildings scattered across a 12 city block by 12 city block area, with an inaccessible 4 block security zone in the middle?

I'd be inclined to recommend approaching this problem from the perspective of the comics, and using the game as a guideline. The primary reason is that this will give you as a GM the power to create and work with more structures and environments for your plot, while keeping the general shape of the area, the big landmarks, and other interesting bits of the map exactly as they are. Secondly, its a question of believability - If the entire population of both BlackGate Prison and Arkham Asylum have been moved into the Arkham City facility, You'd need more than 12 square city blocks to house all of them. San Quentin, a real-life state prison, has an inmate population of nearly 4,000. I suggest this as a guideline for population sizing.

That leads to another question: what is the estimated size of each major gang? The comics make it look substantial, and even counting heads in-game leads me to estimate that each gang is working with at least a hundred men, if not double to triple that, to allow for guard shift changes and offensive actions against other gangs. The reason this matters to me, besides believability, is that writing about being one of a dozen men that work for a super-criminal is very different than writing about being part of a small army of criminals.

The more I think about this project, the more enthusiastic I get about it. There's serious entertainment potential here. Thanks again for putting this together.

[XeroKhan]

Thanks, stratego, I LOVE THE MAP! XD

As for the stats, I'll check that out when I get there. Thanks again.

The size, the game map is a guideline. The actual size is DEFINITELY larger.

Each gang should be around 50 to 100 or so. Not really sure. That part is more automatic in the game.

Also, message me by PM.

[Lord Fell]

Well, not a single one of my games updated today... so, that sort of makes me feel like I have more time. On the other hand, that's only one day and I need to be mindful of my schedule.

I guess I'm still a little unclear on some of your plans.

Do you envision this as more of a sandbox campaign, where the characters drive the action with their own schemes?

Do you anticipate player vs. player conflict? Would it be better if we worked for the same boss, or were cooperating independants?

For people (such as myself) who aren't familiar with the Arkham game, are there established villains that are already at war?

You described the characters as "super psychos." There is still a lot that's not really clear about what you're looking for. Most Batman villains don't really have any true powers. Most are talented normals, or gadgeteers. Killer Croc is moderately powerful, and Poison Ivy has some clear-cut powers, but they tend to be the exceptions. More guidelines on this please.

[optimumstratego]

Also - if we are equipment oriented villains, can we have our equipment at game start, or are we going to have to liberate our stuff from the Confiscated Goods Vault first?

[XeroKhan]

I cannot find the pdf for the Heroes and Villains Volume 1 and 2. So, any help will be accepted.

Anyway:

@Fell: I believe this would be a sandbox game. PvP conflicts are a possibility, but preferring all players to be in one gang for sake of an easier storytelling and less confusion. Two Face, Joker, and Penguin will already be at war with each other, but the heroes will step in to help one of them or not. Will work on better guidelines later.

@Stratego: You equipment is confiscated, but there is ALOT to scavenge in Arkham City. You could try to get your stuff back, but you would face a good number of TIGER guards. It's your choice.

[Ryan M. Danks]

Perhaps we could form our own gang? That way we all have a reason to be working together and would alleviate issues of the PCs not being in the same vicinity as each other much of the time (updating multiple locations is like updating multiple games).

Maybe we could all be vying for leadership, or working for a Batman villain that isn't in the games? I could see Red Hood leading a pretty gnarly gang in Arkham Asylum.

[Lord Fell]

Random new person just expressed interest in Eldr Geisa, which is maybe awkward.

I still didn't get a solid indication of whether people should have actual powers (like, Flight or Magnetic Control) or not.

Also... this notion of having gear, but needing to break it out of lock-up first is new. Are you starting all the villains in Arkham Asylum? So... we're not just crazy, we have a diagnosis? I suppose breaking out together would give us something of a reason to work together. That part of the premise should also be expressed in the recruitment thread.

[Ryan M. Danks]

This may help, for those unfamiliar with the setting.

Quincy Sharp, the asylum's erstwhile director, has taken sole credit for halting the Joker's armed siege (in Batman: Arkham Asylum), using this distinction to become mayor of Gotham City. Declaring both the asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary no longer suitable to contain the city's detainees, Sharp's administration orders both facilities closed and he purchases Gotham's most notorious slums, converting them into an immense prison enclosure known as Arkham City. This facility is subsequently placed in the care of genius psychiatrist Hugo Strange—who is secretly manipulating Sharp—and monitored by a rogue private military firm, Tyger Security. Strange permits inmates to do as they please, provided escape is not attempted. A wary Batman maintains his own vigil over the new project, concerned that the chaotic situation there will get out of hand. Meanwhile, the Joker is suffering from a potentially fatal disease, mutated by his former consumption of the Titan formula—an unstable steroid serum which turns men into maddened monsters.

Since I suggested an all-around enhanced character for submission (super strength, speed, durability, etc.) and XeroKhan okay'd it, I assume supers are okay.

[XeroKhan]

I just had another thought. Bruce Wayne, who has admittedly not supported the idea of Arkham City, sends some here(es) to shut it down from the inside. Bruce would do it, but there are other problems that Batman must attend to in Gotham City. So, using the Bat Computer, Bruce identifies you heroes and wants you to shut down Arkham City.

I know that this is a revision of the game I wanted, but if you players like this idea better, then I'll go with this. This will also allow you heroes to be heores, in secrecy of course, under Bruce Wayne, who can speak with you heroes through a "Bat Comm" and help you lot out when needed.

So, all powers will be allowed.

Also, thanks for the prologue, Ryan.

I'll get the first post updated when this choice is made.