Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Still waiting on a reply for my stuff.
__________________
Green Lantern and Cyrine by DarthRaynn!
"Ambassador, in the course of my life, I have more than once been too ignorant to know that something was impossible before I did it anyway. I see no reason to jeopardize that success." - Antillus Maximus Princeps' Fury
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Hey guys.
As you've no doubt noticed, I haven't been updating as much recently. And while that's partially because I've gotten busier...it's also because I'm feeling more disconnected with the game.
When we started this, it was way back in 2010, and I was really excited about this game. I wanted to make a different and unique DC Alternate Universe. And I'd read my new monthlies before and after typing up posts, and loved the odd little quirks that were developing between Earth-52 and the DCU.
...And then came the DCnU. And I was angry. So I wrote this game in anger, and bitterness towards the new 52; this was to be a rejection of the ideas that DC was going/is going. And my fury and frustration sustained me.
But now, I haven't bought any comics by DC in months, after the Smallville Incident. I'm more bitter about the characters I used to enjoy playing.
I don't want this game to end, but I'm not sure if I can continue leading it. I have notes, and ideas and story arcs for the campaign...but I can't write them into posts anymore.
In short...I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with the campaign.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Well, if no one else will talk, I will.
Games are labors of love. If you don't love them, then they become chores, and nobody enjoys doing chores. So, as I see it, you've got two options.
Do you ever plan on coming back to this? If so, it looks like we need a hiatus. I think all of us would love to keep playing in this version of the DC Universe - as you said, it's a more faithful direction than the editors have decided to take their creations thus far. Wrap up the story we're working on, and come back to it once you've rediscovered your love for the characters.
If not, then it's probably best to end it. Push ahead to the grand ending where we figure out what's going on with Ra's, and give the story a fitting end. Maybe not the one you intended, but by God give it the ending the story deserves. Like you said, you've been working on this for over two years - it deserves a better send off than petering out into nothing.
I will say this much - I haven't read DC in awhile. I lost interest when Countdown started getting ridiculous, and have only glanced at titles to keep abreast of what's going on. I don't like the current trend at DC to reboot and rework characters from the ground up - sure, you get a clean slate, but you're throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I dislike that superhero comics are becoming a medium less about telling the stories of these characters, and more about properties that can be shopped to movie studios to make films out of them. More and more, it feels like the people in charge don't really like comics, and certainly don't like the characters.
That's why I liked this game. It's clear all of us love the DC characters enough to either pretend to be them, or play a role in their world for awhile. So it saddens me that this story may be going away - it's a remembrance of everything that was good about DC, before executive meddling turned what was once an excellent universe filled with very deep characters into...well, whatever it's now become.
Thanks for running this game for us, industrious. No matter your decision, it's been a lot of fun.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Mostly, I concur with what Bruendor said above. If something ain't working, don't force it. You might just need a break or something similar - and I hope that's the case, personally, because this is an awesome game - but don't soullessly keep on doing something because that always ends up running that thing into the ground.
I like Walker. It's been a great two years playing her, and I'd love to have some more time, especially with the old and new characters that are around her. But either way, it was a hell of a run and thanks for that.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
I can only echo the above sentiments. It's been great fun playing Deadshot for this long. I don't even read comics at all much anymore, and as such this game had taken on its own life for me independent of whatever was happening to the characters in print. That said, you do what you gotta do.
__________________
Green Lantern and Cyrine by DarthRaynn!
"Ambassador, in the course of my life, I have more than once been too ignorant to know that something was impossible before I did it anyway. I see no reason to jeopardize that success." - Antillus Maximus Princeps' Fury
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Agreement with the statements above, honestly. Of course, the fact that I'm lagging isn't helping matters, probably. I do apologize for that. Mandatory overtime plus moving combined to ax murder all of my posting energy....
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
I've loved running this game. And playing with you all has been an immensely satisfying experience. I would easily invite any of you to play in one of my games in the future.
So, here's what's going to happen.
I am going to take a short hiatus; write down exactly what needs to happen this arc to make it worthy of an ending. Not the Grand Ending I was hoping for when I started, but an ending a bit more worthy of this game. And after that, if I can't remain passionate about Gotham, then the game will end, and I'll release, like Bryan Q Miller, all the arc ideas that were planned but never got to happen.
I will begin posting for this game once again on the 23rd. And then we give one last push for a DCU as good as our dreams can make it.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
I'll be posting tonight hopefully.
__________________
Green Lantern and Cyrine by DarthRaynn!
"Ambassador, in the course of my life, I have more than once been too ignorant to know that something was impossible before I did it anyway. I see no reason to jeopardize that success." - Antillus Maximus Princeps' Fury
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Hello everyone.
I'm not going to say that this is the ending I wanted for this game. I'm not even sure if any of you are even going to see this. But I think I owe you one last apology for abandoning this game, and the knowledge of what could have been.
I started this game, as you know, in the style of Gotham Central, and the Batman of Greg Rucka. In the 3 years since, Gotham Central and the legacy of Greg Rucka have been almost completely erased from continuity, as well as several of my favorite characters, and the tone of the DCnU has caused me to stop buying DC entirely. For a while, rage and the desire to make something better sustained me, but I grew tired of playing a game when all I had were old stories for inspiration.
It isn't any of you; all of you are brilliant players, amazing and patient through my various flashes of inspiration and disinterest these past few months. I would gladly play with any of you again. But not here. Not in Gotham. Not for a long while, until the scars fade, and either nostalgia or excitement for the return of the Gotham I loved rushes through me.
I cannot continue this game. But it has been a pleasure running it. In the spoilers below are the details of the adventures that could have been, the stories that would have been told, and the plans I had laid out for everyone. Make of them what you will.
Thank you all,
industrious
Spoiler
The remaining arc:
Spoiler
Examining the power nuclear plant, one would have found that there was a bomb planted there, powerful enough to level the city. Another series of clues traced everyone back to Ra's al-Ghul. Going to confront him, you would have found him supposedly on his deathbed, but fresh from a Lazarus Pit, he would have attacked Walker with a hidden blade, and he and the League of Assassins/his mercenaries would have dueled with the party. Ra's would eventually have retreated, Talia would assume the CEO position of Wayne Enterprises, and Gotham would have changed considerably.
Next Arc: Magic Words
Spoiler
A series of thefts culminates in the gristly murder of secondhand bookstore owner Gai Blackstone - Walker is ordered to investigate, while at the same time fending off concerns about her prior relationship to Ra's. After an IA investigation, she is to be paired with the TV psychic Jason Blood, yet another stray in addition to that Crane consultant fellow.
Meanwhile, Floyd and Zinda would have gone on a date, having picked up tickets to Zatanna's show, only to find the show thrown into chaos as Solomon Grundy attempts to kidnap the magician. Azrael would have been contacted by a priest of the Order, one Father Jack Aurelius, and would be ordered to locate and retrieve a saint's holy skull. And Kate, in addition to being Supportive Girlfriend, would also have to deal with a new, flirtatious thief.
Eventually, it would be revealed that Felix Faust was behind it all, trying to assemble the items for a rite of ascension; cue epic beatdown. Jack Aurelius would be revealed, either post-climax or before, as John Constantine, who would attempt to steal the skull to save the soul of his sister.
This arc was fully intended as a tribute to the Dresden Files.
Next Arc: Secrets
Spoiler
Amanda Waller decides that Deadshot is more useful to the United States in her employ than free. As such, she dispatches the Suicide Squad, as well as a number of plausibly deniable mercenaries, to retrieve him. Kate's thief from the previous arc would be revealed as Scandal Savage, and would be trying to capture Deadshot herself.
Waller would also send out federal agents with warrants for the arrest of Crane, Azrael, and Walker. After escaping custody, possibly with Spoiler's help, they would fight off the mercenaries besieging Deadshot, and as a party, block Walker from further attempts.
Next Arc: Family
Spoiler
There's a new hero in town - Superboy! Coming to Metropolis ostensibly to see how Gotham works, the Boy of Steel would quickly prove to be unable to follow orders and too angry to be a viable member of the Gotham hero crew. Due to teenage hormones, pointing this out to him would lead to a fight.
Complicating matters would be Stephanie and Bette's hatred of each other trying their respective parent/cousin's relationship. Zinda would also find out about Floyd's daughter, and Azrael would have to come to terms with the knowledge that Shondra is pregnant. Superman would show up, and attempt to talk with Conner, too little avail.
Much more of a drama piece than action, though there would be action aplenty, there would definitely be a focus on exploring everyone's relationships with each other. More quiet and low key.
Finale: Justice
Spoiler
Here it was. The big, epic, awesome finale battle royale with cheese.
It starts with Azrael finding someone trying to break out of the Slammer. The man is cheerful, polite, and very strange. Eventually, he reveals that his name is Scott Free, escape artist, and he was hired to try to find security flaws. This is then derailed with Kyle Rayner, Green Lantern, plummeting into the ground, nearly dead. Soon after, Boom Tubes begin to open up across Earth, and Darkseid appears for the first time, razing a major city to the ground (Hong Kong in my notes, I could have changed it) personally, and announces the Earth is his. Waves of parademons scour the globe in search of the Life Equation, which Darkseid desires to be destroyed. The party fights the Female Furies, who were composed of Expies of other characters from Wildstorm and Marvel. And they lose.
Forced to retreat, they find a Phantom Stranger, who leads them to caverns beneath (Wayne Manor, though they'd have to roll to figure it out). There, they meet the Life Spirit, who informs them that he cannot do battle with Darkseid; like matter and anti-matter, Anti-Life and Life in direct conflict would consume all in its wake. Instead, they, along with another seven, are chosen to be lanterns of the various corps. Together, they take down the Furies and Darkseid, and save the world. A Justice League is formed in the aftermath.
In a final epilogue, we cut to Wayne Manor, heavily damaged in the invasion. Bruce is cradling Alfred's body in a manner reminiscent of him cradling his parents. And then his back straightens, his brow furrows, and we see the Bruce, hit once again by the death of his family, return to sanity.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
I had a lot of fun, man. Thanks for everything. I just had one question: Which characters would have gone to which lantern corps.?
__________________
Green Lantern and Cyrine by DarthRaynn!
"Ambassador, in the course of my life, I have more than once been too ignorant to know that something was impossible before I did it anyway. I see no reason to jeopardize that success." - Antillus Maximus Princeps' Fury
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Red: Azrael AND Big Barda
Orange: Deadshot AND Etrigan
Yellow: Crane AND Barbara Gordon (as super-hacker Oracle)
Green: Walker AND Kyle Rayner
Blue: Spoiler AND Superman
Indigo: Shondra Kinsolving(or Leslie Thompkins) AND Wonder Woman
Violet: The Question AND Scott Free
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
I'm sorry to see the game go, but if your heart isn't in it, then I completely understand. Thanks for running the game, industrious - if you decide to run another game, let me know, I'll be in for sure. Thank you for the story you gave us. I really hope that DC corrects the course they're on, since it really feels like they're adrift.
I think there's only one way to end this.
Spoiler
"Do you know the only reward you get for being Batman?
You get to be Batman.
And—when you're a child—you get a handful of years of real happiness, with your father, with me.
It's more than some people get."
- Neil Gaiman, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, 2009
Last edited by Bruendor_Cavescout : 03-06-2013 at 05:13 PM.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
I've been in this game since the beginning, I'll be sad to see it go, and that I won't see the swordfight with Ra, each character getting their lanterns, or the Gordon/Walker/Kane family dinner, but take such sadness as indicative of how brilliant a run it was. Even after all this time the game and the characters still managed to surprise me, and I'd be glad to play with any one of you again: you can simply PM me should the opportunity arise.
But after two years and four months, Walker's been through a lot. She can finally get her rest. Well, as much rest as she can, with the Spoiler for a foster daughter and the Question for her girlfriend...
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zarthrax
Damn, man. Having read all of that?
I would've LOVED to play that out!
But seriously, if you ever find yourself in the mood to DM something like this again, give me a PM, 'cause I'm definitely interested in it!
Can't help thinking that Crane could've gone Red or Yellow this time. Fear is a tool, but anger is a fuel....lol
Out of curiosity, why would Oracle be Yellow?
My interpretation for Oracle was going to be more of a cyber-vigilante. In the Secret Six arc, it would have been shown that Oracle is someone that Waller took very seriously, and that large, well-funded criminal organizations were scared of losing all their money due to Oracle. She's the ghost in the system, a legend among the hacker community, and nobody will ever confirm her existence.
Waller would have probably arrested Walker et al under the charge of being Oracle.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
That wasn't actually a plan. Waller knew who everyone was, though she'd pretend otherwise, and Ra's had figured it out as well, but nobody was going to publicly out anyone. I don't like public outings.
Whether or not Walker and Kate would have outed themselves if Walker and the Question flirt might be another matter entirely.
As for Oracle...Barbara would have a very interesting debate about that with Kate, probably.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
It would have probably been an interesting conversation, to be sure. Babs might have thrown their own vigilante activities in their faces as well.
Regarding post-ending, the lantern powers would have gone away after Darkseid was driven back. Walker would have been offered a job as civilian coordinator for the Justice League (funded by Oracle, indirectly by Ra's due to her taking his money).
In unrelated news, my Gotham spot for Indigo was up in the air; I kind of wanted Cassandra Cain (who during one arc or another would have gotten the name Nightwing from Superman); it was a tossup for me between her or one of the doctor NPCs.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Jonathan Crane didn't get very much for his heroics, due to maintaining his secret identity. While Waller offered him a job as chief psychologist at Belle Reve Prison (officially), he turned it down. He still works as a GCPD consultant. The Scarecrow is a recognized Gotham vigilante, the stuff of tabloids and blurry photographs. I was going to ask you what you wanted, character arc-wise after Ra's fall.
Kate's story, I hadn't figured out. That one I figured the party would play a large role in, so I didn't need to worry about it. Likewise, Azrael's ending would come as a natural progression of how Sophistemon played him, so I just needed to keep testing him to make a natural evolution.
Deadshot and Zinda would have gotten married. And then divorced. And then the hatesex would happen. And they'd start over all over again. Eventually, they'd wind up married in Vegas, and just never mention they had done it. Possibly, Catman would have gotten good with Floyd's help. He would stick around in Gotha, for a little while, before he decided Gotham didn't need a Catman, and moved to another city.
Steph would eventually become GCPD commissioner. There were vague plans of doing Gotham Beyond at one point. Old Kate would have been the Old Bruce.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Well, if you ever decide to do Gotham Beyond, not only am I in, but I already have not only a character idea, but the epilogue of the Scarecrow thought up...lol
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
I'm not too sure what epilogue I would have written for Walker, but one thing I did know would have happened was that she would have been channel surfing.
Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
Industrious, Gotham has been the longest-running game that I have ever been apart of, and it is a very strong contender for the title of "Most Competently Run." The other players have already said much of what I might have, but let me reiterate a few key points, if I may? Firstly, thank you for running such an excellent game for so long a time. It's been a truly incredible thing to be a part of and I thank you for the literal years of fun and excitement that you've provided us. Secondly, should you ever decide to run something similar (or not so similar, as was the case with Unknown Armies), I hope that you will let me know and consider me as a player. Finally, and this goes out to everyone, my fellow players included: I know that I haven't been the greatest contributor throughout the history of the game. I've been slow to post and I've let you down more than once. For that, I'm sorry. I've never once stopped enjoying my part in the proceedings and I hope that you can forgive my failures as a player. I count you all among my friends and I hope that we'll keep in touch even though the game is over.
The Short Version: It's The Sandman: The RPG. And you all get to choose what you have power over - Dreams, Fire, Cars...or Blankets. Or Backsies. Or Hate. Emotion. Nearly anything.
I'll be running a campaign. I will probably reference Gotham several times over the course of it. I would like to see anyone interested apply, even if they're unfamiliar with the system. It's a lot more freeform, but I think what made Gotham so awesome was the character interactions more than the dice rolling. And Nobilis, even during combat, is all about character interactions.
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Re: Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!
