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BatQuest: A CK2 Batman Quest

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Martin Noctis said:
[X] Physical Exercises
If Bane comes by and we cant fight we are screwed
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Kirook said:
Knightfall didn't happen because Bane outfought Batman, it happened because he outsmarted him. The whole thing was a strategic masterstroke designed to isolate Bruce and wear him down until he'd have no chance of fighting back, no matter what kind of peak human condition he honed himself into. If you don't want something like that to befall this version of Bruce—whether at the hands of Bane or the Joker or Ra's al Ghul or anyone else—it's more important to either sharpen his mind or find him new allies than to strengthen his body.
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Yeah. Like, every time, literally every time, Bruce has fought Bane one-on-one in the comics that wasn't Knightfall? He won. I think only the animated show The Batman had him losing physically the first time, and his solution was "build a mech", and that did the trick.

Like, over the course of a few weeks, Bruce (who only just added Time Drake as Robin and is depicted as explicitly struggling emotionally/mentally with the scars from the loss of Jason Todd) has to deal with:
-The violent and sudden death of one of his few true friends, aka Superman, in the Death of Superman storyline
-Black Mask and his gang coming back
-Metalhead
-Someone trying to shoot Gordon (apparently not specifically Deadshot but still a sniper/sharpshooter)
-Fatigue, burnout, trouble sleeping/meditating, aka less and less recharge/energy
-Some punk trying to raise another violent/armed militia/paramilitary group in Gotham
-Killer Croc
-Riddler, including Venom-pumped Riddler
-A mass breakout at Arkham of basically every single villain/psycho, whom Bane not only freed but immediately armed. Bruce dealt with most (if not all) of the "minor" folks himself over the next few weeks/couple of months.
-Joker 2-3 times after breakout
-Two-Face (who managed to catch him and almost put him on trial)
-Joker and Scarecrow (fear gas dose that made him relive Jason's death) holding the mayor hostage, which pushed Bruce to the utter brink.

Only after all of that did Bane go through and wreck the Manor, and then take a Bruce who was barely fucking conscious and beat him senseless while hopped up on Venom (which put him in low-grade metahuman strength territory), and then broke Bruce over his knee. Twice.
 
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Social Development seems to be partially about being an effective CEO of Wayne Enterprises, which would be a fun route. I'm still not sure what Educational Opportunities is hinting at with the actor/film school angle. Are there incarnations of Bruce Wayne where he's a famous actor or something?
 
So is there a given that we trying to hire Pamela Isley and Victor Fries before they turn villain.
 
A reasonably convincing plurality. Also I've already written the next prologue update.
Scheduled vote count started by Etranger on Sep 20, 2023 at 11:11 PM, finished with 127 posts and 95 votes.
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Prologue Part 2
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    • [X] Educational Opportunities

    The date is February 13th, 1944. Your name is Bruce Wayne, and you have a dilemma. One of the oldest dilemmas, in fact: choosing between two people you care about.

    It's like this. You, Harvey, Tommy, and Kathy are all best friends. You have been for years. They were the Three Musketeers in grammar school, and you've been dubbed their D'Artagnan, no matter how much you insist that you'd rather be Zorro. When one of you gets in trouble, it's only because that person stayed behind to take the heat while the others escaped. You are routinely dubbed "menaces" and "problem children," but in a fond, half-serious sort of way.

    Over the last year, the dynamic has begun to shift. Everyone is growing up and things are getting... a little fraught. Mostly, this is because Tommy and Kathy have been spending increasing amounts of time just sort of looking at you. Conversations are getting stilted. There's a lot of blushing and stammering.

    [Trait revealed: Attractive (+1 Diplomacy)]

    You've tried to keep everything casual and surface-level, but that only goes so far. Honestly, you like them both back. The problem is, you're not sure if you like them as much as they like you, or if you're really interested in doing anything... you know, serious. You've got a lot on your mind, all the time, and you're increasingly sure that romance is going to be a tricky subject given your long-term plans.

    Alfred has been very understanding about all this as you've explained it at length. You've sort of been talking his ear off about it, actually. He barely even raised an eyebrow when you suggested being with them both, which he said would be "received less than enthusiastically in a social context" in that precise British way of his. When he talks like that you know it's a no-go.

    So, anyway, a decision. Do you want to date Tommy or Kathy? Or do you want to date neither of them? Harvey suggested flipping a coin, of all things, but you're pretty sure he was joking. No, you're going to have to go over the pros and cons and really hash it out. That's the ticket.

    Who do you choose?

    [] [LOVE] Tommy Elliott
    Tommy's a great guy. He's cute and he's got a wicked sense of humor. You two look and sound enough alike that you can do a great double act on anyone who's not paying too much attention. You're sure you'd have a good time with him. It's just... well, he's a little clingy? Like he always wants to hang out or be doing something. If you ask him out, he may want to be around, you know, all the time. That might be... problematic.
    [Relationship Change: Tommy Elliott (boyfriend)]

    [] [LOVE] Kathy Kane
    Kathy's a great gal. She's super smart and pretty too. You'd think someone with such a tomboy streak, always getting into fights or wrestling or doing athletic stuff, would look boyish, but she's always really nicely dressed and put together. It's just... she's so serious. Almost everyone else in your life can be put off with a joke and a smile, but she always gives you this look like she sees right through you. If you ask her out, she might start... noticing things.
    [Relationship Change: Kathy Kane (girlfriend)]

    [] [LOVE] Neither
    Look, whether it's because you're not that into them, you're not ready for romance, or now's not the right time to be getting involved with anyone, you're just not feeling it. Things are good like they are and you don't want to change that. It'll put a damper on all the fun flirting you guys do, but having a serious talk may be the best way forward, if you're not interested in taking things to the next level.


    The date is November 8th, 1944. Your name is Bruce Wayne, and you're watching the light leave a man's eyes. You were present in the courtroom when they announced that Joe Chill, your parents' murderer, wouldn't be facing a judge or jury. You were sitting in the seats behind the prosecutor's table as the District Attorney announced that a plea had been reached, that Chill was going to cooperate with the authorities. You were on your feet, your shouting unheard in the eruption of noise as the judge adjourned the proceedings.

    You were in the crowd packed into the hallway as Chill was led out by uniformed officers. You were on the courthouse steps as the back of Chill's head exploded outward. You take a step toward the falling man, then another, before you're pushed back by an officer. You stare blankly at the human debris left behind.

    And as you stand there in the crisp autumn air, your mind races incoherently, before finally settling on a single thought:

    [] [EVENT] No one deserves that.
    Outlaw killing isn't acceptable, period. Doesn't matter if he deserved it or not; people shouldn't go around murdering each other. If you can put aside your desire for revenge, then everyone else should too.
    [Trait Evolution: Brooding (+1 Intrigue) becomes Merciful (+2 Diplomacy, -1 Martial)

    [] [EVENT] He had it coming.
    He deserves what he got for what he did, even if it's not the reason he died. People who murder should be prepared to be murdered in turn, and it's not your place to stop that. What's important is protecting the innocent, not preserving the guilty.
    [Trait Evolution: Brooding (+1 Intrigue) becomes Just (+2 Stewardship, -1 Intrigue)]

    [] [EVENT] It was over too quickly.
    Murder is nothing more than brute force, the act of a thug, without regard for consequence or true revenge. When you take down your enemies, it won't be through anything as straightforward or quick as a bullet to the brain. You want to destroy them, to make them watch it all crumble around them. That's your revenge.
    [Trait Evolution: Brooding (+1 Intrigue) becomes Deceitful (+2 Intrigue, -1 Diplomacy)

    [] [EVENT] It should have been me.
    You should have been the one to pull the trigger, not some mob assassin. If only you had thought to bring a gun, if only you had been faster, then you could have avenged your parents. That won't happen again.
    [Trait Evolution: Brooding (+1 Intrigue) becomes Vengeful (+2 Martial, -1 Stewardship)]


    The date is March 23rd, 1945. Your name is Alfred Pennyworth, and you are contemplating the inexorable progression of time. Master Bruce is about to turn 14 and begin secondary school. It seems like only yesterday you were comforting a crying little boy, and now you're saying good morning to a calm, composed, handsome young man every day. You've noticed yourself slowing down a little, relying more on the house staff for the daily chores, but that's just another way of time announcing itself.

    Your efforts over the last several years to encourage Master Bruce's scholarly tendencies have paid off substantially. He seemed receptive to your arguments that eight years old was perhaps too early to begin combat training and has instead focused his efforts on absorbing as much knowledge as humanly possible. His capacity for understanding is... prodigious, almost startling. He's already on his fourth spoken language, with the ability to read one or two more. He's devoured the American and British literary canons and has begun mounting an assault on European and Asian works as well.

    [Trait Revealed: Genius (+3 All)]

    Perhaps the most unexpected of his interests, and one that the two of you share, is his love for film and drama. As a trained Shakespearean actor yourself, before your war service, you have a unique perspective to provide the young master in his studies, and he looks to you for instruction in how to speak, how to walk, how to make an impression. You, of course, are delighted to oblige.

    A major source of your relief is that, no matter how polished his exterior becomes, no matter how mannerly he seems to the outside world, he still takes the time to confide honestly in you. More and more, he expresses his certainty that he has a great purpose ahead of him, that he feels the need to really do something about the problems of the world. That he is uniquely positioned to do so.

    Regardless of the exact urgency of the need for his personal involvement, he isn't wrong about the severity of the world's problems. In the past six years, the post-war boom has brought with it economic growth of the most unevenly distributed nature. The wealthy parts of the city have rebounded from the Depression completely, with clean streets and ever-growing towers, while the slums grow denser and filthier with each passing day. The response of the authorities, rather predictably, has been to recruit more police officers.

    However, that is a matter for another day. Master Bruce has established excellent study habits and you've successfully instilled a thirst for knowledge, that rarest and most-desired of qualities, in your young ward. Now, as he enters the second and final phase of his pre-university schooling, you must discuss with him these "plans" he keeps mentioning.

    For, you see, Master Bruce now wishes to embark upon a new course of study, one for which you are not especially qualified. To that end, you've sought out some... outside help.

    [] [FREE] Self-Defense Training
    He's repackaged the idea as "learning the tools to defend myself," but what he's really asking for is a thorough grounding in hand-to-hand and weapons combat, along with acrobatics, endurance training, and other methods of physical self-improvement. He has also continued to express an interest in criminology and tracking. To that end, you have retained Henri Ducard, an expert martial artist and thief-taker, as well as an old acquaintance.
    [+3 Martial, +2 Intrigue, -1 Learning]
    [Gain Ally: Henri Ducard (mentor)]

    [] [FREE] Forensic Accounting
    When you explained to him the quote "nervos belli, pecuniam infinitam," he seemed to take a lesson from it. His interest thereafter evolved into learning how to reach the source of the world's woes: its money. By mastering finance from an investigative angle, he believes that he can cut off crime at the root. As such, you have retained the services of one Edward Nashton, a forensic accountant from a prominent local firm, who will instruct the young master in the dark arts of finance.
    [+3 Intrigue, +2 Stewardship, -1 Diplomacy]
    [Gain Ally: Edward Nashton (mentor)]

    [] [FREE] Esoteric Knowledge
    You're pretty skeptical about this one, but he's not a little boy anymore, and you can't simply veto his requests. In his study of ancient history and languages, Master Bruce became convinced that there is more to this world than meets the eye, that there is a hidden world of... well, of magic, underlying it all. Fortunately, you've got an old friend from the stage, Giovanni Zatara, who's bound to dissuade Master Bruce from this particular course of action.
    [+3 Learning, +2 Martial, -1 Stewardship]
    [Gain Ally: Giovanni Zatara (mentor)]

    ---
    This vote will cover 1946 through 1949, or ages 14 through 18. The final vote will cover 1950 through 1956, or ages 19 through 24.

    24 hours to vote. Please vote for each issue separately.
     
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    • [X] [EVENT] It should have been me.
    [X] [LOVE] Neither
    [X] [FREE] Esoteric Knowledge

    Dark batman arc is to go!

    edit: the only thing morr evil than magic accounting!
    [] [FREE] Forensic Accounting
     
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    So, just to confirm, in this alternate universe we don't have well-established homophobia in society in the 40s? Because in RL, it was, and we can leave it at that.
     
    [X] [LOVE] Tommy Elliott

    Someone with a sense of humor? Count me in!

    [X] [EVENT] No one deserves that.
    [X] [FREE] Esoteric Knowledge
     
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    [X] [LOVE] Neither
    [X] [EVENT] No one deserves that.
    [X] [FREE] Forensic Accounting

    Batman is not a killer. He's vengeance. He's the night!
     
    [X] [LOVE] Tommy Elliott
    This'll be fun.

    [X] [EVENT] No one deserves that.
    Batman without a no-kill code is a supremely dangerous person.

    [X] [FREE] Esoteric Knowledge
    magic batman magic batman
     
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