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BatQuest: A CK2 Batman Quest

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Prologue Part 3
  • Threadmarks
    • [] [LOVE] Neither
    [] [EVENT] No one deserves that.
    [] [FREE] Forensic Accounting

    The date is June 18th, 1945. Your name is Bruce Wayne, and today you meet your new tutor. According to Alfred, he's quite brilliant, having risen to a senior auditor's position in his firm well before his 30th birthday after a star turn at the Bureau of Internal Revenue. A meteoric rise like that in such a staid and traditional field indicates a particular talent, so you're looking forward to what lies ahead.

    Edward Nashton is a tall, lanky gentleman in a sober wool suit, with square-framed reading glasses and a cane to compensate for the slight limp he got in Europe during the war. His one deviation from the standard image of the deadly dull accountant is the green tie he's wearing, and even that is a shade sufficiently dark that it might be mistaken for black. He is also, you notice but do not mention, going prematurely bald beneath his bowler hat.

    Edward seems quietly resigned to offering basic instruction to a spoiled rich boy who goes through money like water. When you blow through his insultingly easy initial test in minutes, he pauses for a moment before constructing something much more appropriate to your skill level. Then another, even more difficult. And another after that.

    You discover that Edward's uncanny skill with forensic accounting is due to a love of puzzles that borders on obsession, and a passionate hatred of the feeling that he's being tricked or hoodwinked. His desire to ferret out the faintest whiff of corruption in even the densest ledger is as much from being offended at the notion that someone could put one over on him as it is a function of duty or interest in a paycheck. The final piece of the puzzle comes when he lets slip his impoverished background, as well as his general resentment of and suspicion toward the ultra-wealthy, for which he seems to have generously extended you a rare exception.

    Soon, in between trading fiendishly complex logic problems with you, he's teaching you the ins and outs of the accounting world, including how to differentiate between a simple error and a malicious one, how to sniff out hidden streams of incoming and outgoing funds, and quite a lot of technical terminology.

    The day you untangle a particularly thorny problem that he later reveals is from his actual job, he pronounces your apprenticeship complete and issues a standing offer of employment when you finish school. He seems to have completely forgotten that you've already got a job waiting for you, but you decide not to remind him of the major industrial concern with your name on it. Instead, you promise to stay in touch.


    The date is July 12th, 1947. Your name is Bruce Wayne, and you're out on the town with your friends. While you'd much rather be applying yourself to one of your many fields of interest, or doing some kind of productive work, Alfred insists that socialization is itself a valuable quality to have, and that social skills are some of the most important, and so here you are. Everyone else is at least a little tipsy, cheerfully bantering back and forth with the exuberance of the young and carefree. You've had three ginger ales and desperately wish you'd taken the opportunity to use the bathroom two stops back.

    "So, Bruce," Kathy says to you, eyes sparkling, "what's your motto?" This knocks you out of your reverie, and you take a second to mentally review the conversation that was going on around you. Multi-track thinking is a useful trick that Edward taught you to keep multiple sets of books in your head at once, but you've since developed it into a useful social crutch. What were they talking about...? Oh, right. Personal mottos.

    Everyone else's motto was something frivolous and silly, so you struggle to come up with a suitably superficial saying that you can throw off in an exaggeratedly pompous tone, thus fulfilling your part in the game. If you had been paying better attention, it would have been a carefully crafted nothing that reinforced your desired image. Instead, it's actually a little more revealing than you'd otherwise prefer...

    What do you tell your friends?

    [] [MOTTO] "Fortune favors the bold."
    Sometimes, caution is overrated. If everyone did the safe, sensible thing every time, humanity would be centuries behind in its development. No, best to be bold and take your opportunities where they come.
    [Trait Evolution: Lively (+1 Diplomacy) becomes Brave (+2 Martial, -1 Stewardship)]

    [] [MOTTO] "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
    You've truly internalized the importance of having a social life, no matter how much a part of you may resent it. Your friends have been invaluable anchors, tethers to a sometimes precarious sanity, and you reciprocate their feelings in turn.
    [Trait Evolution: Lively (+1 Diplomacy) becomes Gregarious (+2 Diplomacy, -1 Learning)]

    [] [MOTTO] "Honesty is the best policy."
    Deception is inevitable in some things; you're at peace with that. What isn't necessary is weaving a complex web of lies to surround yourself from all angles. On the things that matter, the things that are important, you're committed to being as honest as possible.
    [Trait Evolution: Lively (+1 Diplomacy) becomes Honest (+2 Stewardship, -1 Intrigue)]

    [] [MOTTO] "One must be strict, even in little things."
    Details rule the world. So-called "big picture thinkers" are sloppy, uncoordinated, and doomed to failure when confronted with someone who has mastered the fine print. You hold yourself to a higher standard, and by extension everyone else, too.
    [Trait Evolution: Lively (+1 Diplomacy) becomes Stern (+2 Learning, -1 Diplomacy)]


    The date is April 7th, 1949. Your name is Bruce Wayne, and you've just turned 18. Normally, this is the time when Alfred would be pondering deeply over the next phase of your life in that heart-breakingly careful way of his. But you're an adult now, as far as the law is concerned, and you've got access to enough of your family trust to be able to make the decision for yourself. He might protest, but his caution can't win the day forever. Not with what you feel you have to do, what you've felt since that fateful day almost ten years ago.

    Of course, the degree to which you emancipate yourself from Alfred's fatherly concern does not have to be absolute, or even substantial. Even the most basic measures of personal autonomy will allow you to establish yourself as your own person and give you the space to breathe, both physically and mentally. Of course, if you were to take a more extreme course of action, you might find out things about yourself that you never even suspected...

    How far will you go?

    [] [VOYAGE] Nearby
    There are several prestigious centers of learning available in-state, as well as the opportunity to become more acquainted with your family's company, or the lay of the land in the city generally.
    [Unlocks a sub-vote for Gotham and near-Gotham opportunities]
    [Some chance to achieve substantial gains and unusual changes]
    [Will remain in contact with most Gotham allies and assets]
    [Trait Evolution: Curious (+1 Learning) becomes Content (+2 Stewardship, -1 Learning)]

    [] [VOYAGE] Far enough
    Leaving the state will give you the chance to explore more broadly and to learn more about yourself, but you'll have to leave certain things behind to do it.
    [Unlocks a sub-vote for moderate-risk domestic and foreign opportunities]
    [Good chance to achieve substantial gains and unusual changes]
    [Will lose contact with some Gotham allies and assets]
    [Trait Evolution: Curious (+1 Learning) becomes Diligent (+1 All)]

    [] [VOYAGE] Off the map
    You've always wanted to travel internationally, and this is your first opportunity to really do so. However, the world is a tempestuous place, and you'll be going far outside your safety net. Who knows what you might find?
    [Unlocks a sub-vote for dangerous foreign opportunities]
    [Best chance to achieve substantial gains and unusual changes]
    [Will lose contact with most Gotham allies and assets]
    [Trait Evolution: Curious (+1 Learning) becomes Ambitious (+2 All)]


    24 hours to vote.

    If you choose to leave the state, you will be able to re-establish contact with assets and allies upon your return to Gotham City, but it will take effort and they may have changed, grown, or declined unpredictably during your absence. Alfred will not need to have contact re-established, but he will have changed.

    Feel free to tag me with questions, but keep in mind that I won't reveal what opportunities may be available or go into specifics.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] [MOTTO] "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
    [X] [VOYAGE] Far enough

    Not too bothered about which Voyage vote wins, but I'd like a Bruce who uses Fren-Jitsu as much as Jujitsu.
     
    [X] [MOTTO] "One must be strict, even in little things."
    Might have gotten this from Nashton. Just makes sense with forensic accounting. The others don't fit 'Batman', in my eyes, besides brave.

    [X] [VOYAGE] Off the map
     
    [X] [MOTTO] "One must be strict, even in little things."
    [X] [VOYAGE] Off the map

    It wouldn't be Batman without some exotic travels.
     
    [X] [MOTTO] "One must be strict, even in little things."
    [X] [VOYAGE] Off the map

    It's tIme for a ROAD TRIP!!!
     
    [X] [MOTTO] "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
    [X] [VOYAGE] Off the map
     
    [X] [MOTTO] "Honesty is the best policy."
    [X] [VOYAGE] Off the map

    I enjoy imagining the hell this will play with our future attempts to maintain a secret identity.
     
    [X] [MOTTO] "Fortune favors the bold."
    [X] [VOYAGE] Off the map

    MAGIC! Though we might gain some magic in other ways, this is probably our last chance to become a true MAGIC BATMAN!

    Edit:
    [X] [VOYAGE] Far enough
    Is also acceptable, we can still maybe get enough eldritch secrets on this path.
     
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    [X] [MOTTO] "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
    [X] [VOYAGE] Off the map
     
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    [X] [MOTTO] "The only way to have a friend is to be one."
    [X] [VOYAGE] Off the map

    I want to develop that BatFamily energy.

    And obviously we must delve into the deepest corners of the world!

    Maybe we'll find Ra's Batman Begins style.
     
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