Gotham OOC II: We don't need no G*****n Batman!

[Terron]

This will be my last post until the 30th of January for the reasons exposed above.

Initiative: (1d20+6)[25]
JICR: (1d20)[12]

[industrious]

Waiting on you guys...

[Bruendor_Cavescout]

Sorry, this week has been hellacious so far, with no signs of slowing down until after Friday. After that, my posting should be more frequent.

Or, at least, what passes for frequent for me.

[industrious]

Groovy.

This arc is coming to the climax, by the way. That being said, there are two major ways for you to get there, and I'm very interested to see which way you go.

[Bruendor_Cavescout]

Is it a woman's (or, more appropriately, a child sidekick's) scream, industrious?

[industrious]

Unfortunately, yes.

[industrious]

Having computer difficulties. Sorry about the delay.

One more post until the climax.

[industrious]

It's sink or swim for each of our three heroes. Your decision here is crucial.

Also, each of you get a minimum of 5 Hero Points or however many complications this arc has tripped (repeats count for sufficiently extreme repeats), and these Hero Points must be used during the climax.

[industrious]

For reference, you're facing this guy.

[Sophistemon]

Oh.

Well, that's a different matter entirely.

Personally, I was expecting Jervis Tetch.

Do you want Initiative in or out of character?

[industrious]

Tetch doesn't do illusions, though; he's outright mind control. And while I had considered the Scarecrow, I figured Destiny was a more interesting character, since he ties nicely in with you lot getting your superpowers from Dream's sand. Plus, Destiny was easier for me to build up to as a reveal.

Here's how it worked:

Every time your JIC roll + Notice was sufficiently high (DC 20), I slipped in the word ruby-at least, at first. As traumatic events continued, I just became more an more obvious: I used more skulls (Black Mask and Luigi's old buddy). Eventually, I just let everything slip into red, and...here we are.

Initiative in character, please.

[Bruendor_Cavescout]

Oh <expletive deleted>.

Yeah, definitely was not expecting Doctor Destiny, though he makes total sense now that he's been revealed. Also, the mechanic you're using also makes sense why my tattoo was deactivated - I really could only fail that on a 1.

Now then...I think we all have some aggression to work out. *cracks knuckles*

(By the way, industrious - great job choosing Alice's dialogue. Sticking to two novels written over 100 years ago as your source and finding lines that can be twisted to mean what you want isn't easy.)

[industrious]

Alice...was hard. I only used Wonderland for most of her diologue, though I did use her last lines as Beth as her last lines in the dream. But it was still hard.

And, really? You really thought I would kill off Stephanie AND Bette AND Colonel Kane AND Shondra AND Lucius AND fire Walker in one arc? I thought that the sheer amount of terrible things I was heaping on everyone was a clue in and of itself that something was amiss.

Anyway, after Destiny gets his date, the next arc is going to be a full-on breather. Lots of roleplaying, lots of PCs talking to each other, and lots of fun and whimsy.

[Sophistemon]

The best part about having such a huge bonus to my Initiative rolls is having such a huge bonus to my Initiative rolls.

[industrious]

Indeed.

(1d20+10)[19]

You go first.

EDIT: Just remembered that Batman episode where Batman gets trapped by Tetch in the fantasy world. So I was wrong.

[Sophistemon]

Originally Posted by industrious

Indeed.

[roll0]

You go first.

EDIT: Just remembered that Batman episode where Batman gets trapped by Tetch in the fantasy world. So I was wrong.

Hah-hah! That's the exactly what I was thinking of when I posted that.

Not quite the same thing, but similar enough that I was thinking 'Maybe...'

[Bruendor_Cavescout]

And then there was "Over the Edge," the episode where Batgirl dies, Bruce's secret is exposed, and Gordon leads a siege on the Batcave. It was EPIC.

And also very much a half-hour long lie. Still, a very enjoyable lie.

[Sophistemon]

Right; the fear gas-induced hallucination.

That's actually one of my favorite episodes. It's surprisingly dark for a cartoon.

Ugh, terrible rolls.

But maybe it's for the best that Lyle not get his hands around Destiny's throat...

[industrious]

I based this arc on Over the Edge, and the Sandman, coupled with my utter hatred of War Games.

Anyway, I know that "it was all a dream" is usually a terrible plot device, but any comments about the twist?

[Sophistemon]

Well, I kind of figured that you wouldn't have destroyed the Slammer or killed my Minion without first consulting me (or at least providing some thematic build-up), but Doctor Destiny totally came out of left-field. Like I said, I was expecting the Mad Hatter. I do love the clues that you left for us to follow to the conclusion; that was a stroke of genius.

[industrious]

Thank you. I feel that if you can't, at the very least, look at the clues retroactively and see that the situation has been set up, then the story is lessened for it. I mean, I gave you the first clue that something would be off during the last arc; your character's did get warned about red.

List of all Story Arcs:

• A Dark and Stormy Knight
• War Games
• The Ball
• ((Censored to prevent spoilers))
• Rhymes and Reasons
• A Bird in Hand
• One Hand Clapping
• World's Finest
• The End

[DeafnotDumb]

Originally Posted by industrious

• ((Censored to prevent spoilers))

Censored to prevent Spoilers would make for a pretty good title on it's own, I think. It would probably be a mystery in Stephanie's book.

As for how well the arc was handled, I'll just say that if Earth-52 was a comic book I'd buy it like a shot, no matter how much it was. Like a shot.

The main problem with 'all a dream' plots is that they tend to remove all and any consequences, but there's no reason that would happen here: each of the characters have been confronted with personal demons and fears and that will make something happen. Just because it was a dream doesn't mean it didn't mean anything. And Doc Destiny is one of my favourite villains, although I've not seen much of him outside 24 Hours. Which means that this arc is just about nasty enough for him.

[DeafnotDumb]

And using a hero point to re-roll that attack. I have 11 total now.

(1d10+28)[33]

[industrious]

Originally Posted by DeafnotDumb

Censored to prevent Spoilers would make for a pretty good title on it's own, I think. It would probably be a mystery in Stephanie's book.

Well, Stephanie is an NPC, so I can't really have her be the main focus. I mean, I'm making her into a major supporting NPC, but I really can't have her be the star of any arcs, for obvious reasons.

Also, "The Ball" is actually made up of solo adventures for everyone leading to the titular event; I wrote it up to be a deliberate breather arc.

[Terron]

Well, seems to be there has been a lot going on since I left to Chile. I'm back now, getting my place in order, but with enough time to post. Don't know what happened in these 15 days, but will try to read all, although a resume would be appreciated.

[Bruendor_Cavescout]

The short version - War Games was as real as the eighth season of Dallas.

The slightly longer version - all the events we were experiencing were actually hallucinations/nightmares/what-have-you brought on by Doctor Destiny and the mystic ruby - which probably still belongs to Morpheus. We've just broken the spell he had over us - and I don't think any of us are in any mood to talk. Why he targeted us is unknown at this point, but I have my suspicions this is all Katherine's fault. Shouldn't have gotten in bed with the Demon's Head, Detective.

[Terron]

Nice highlights man, thanks. Dr. Destiny seems like a hell of a guy in that video. My kind of super villain. I'll track Luigi in the IC thread, don't know if he on hold or not.

[industrious]

Originally Posted by Bruendor_Cavescout

Why he targeted us is unknown at this point, but I have my suspicions this is all Katherine's fault. Shouldn't have gotten in bed with the Demon's Head, Detective.

Putting it that way makes her sound like she's being written by Frank Miller.

Also, why he targeted you:

Because you guys were touched by Dream at the end of Gotham: Year One. Because you got Power from freeing him, and from being exposed to the Dreamdust, and it manifested in the various supernatural abilities all of you have (Lock-Up's is physical and mental excellence). And Doctor Destiny wants that power.

I sort of hinted at it with the lines of sand that the ruby was draining from everyone, and his diologue, but I can make it more explicit.

[Sophistemon]

I still feel bad that Lock-Up's 'physical and mental excellence' always seems to be expressed by clubbing some schlub with the nightstick. In light of recent events regarding Shondra... I'll send you a PM, Industrious.

Terron, welcome back.

Chronic Lunacy, I take it that you're currently playing a hallucination?

Or did we bring the wrong Deadshot back from the parallel universe?

[industrious]

Shondra's still alive...