Batman Fans: How would you design him in DND 3.5?

[dreaded_beast]

Not sure if this is the right forum, if it would be in Rules, House Rules, etc. so please forgive me in advance.

For those of you that like Batman, how would you design him as DND 3.5 character, just using WotC books, along with material from Dragon/Dungeon and the WotC website.

What feats, classes, skills, PrCs, etc. would you choose and why?

For myself, I know for sure he is probably just a "plain" human. One of his selling points for me is that he has no "special powers" and just does what he can with what he has. Along that line, he probably has no "supernatural" or "spell-like abilities", in addition to no divine/arcane spellcasting ability.

 

[Samothdm]

This will be interesting. I'm curious to see which "version" of Batman people use - from the comics, from the movies, from the TV show (let's hope not), from the Fox/WB Cartoon, or even from The Dark Knight Returns.

Will he be a straight-on fighter with lots of gadgets and lots of martial-arts feats, or perhaps multi-classed with some rogue levels? As the "Dark Detective", should he have the "Investigator" feat? There are quite a few PrCs that are based on the Detective-theme, but those would reduce his fighting capability.

 

[dreaded_beast]

This will be interesting. I'm curious to see which "version" of Batman people use - from the comics, from the movies, from the TV show (let's hope not), from the Fox/WB Cartoon, or even from The Dark Knight Returns.

True.

For myself, I'm looking for the "core" elements of what makes Batman, Batman. IMO, a reliance on his own physical capabilities combined with the appropriate equipment for the job at hand, shunning magical/scientific augmentation to his body/mind, as well as being a skilled detective, scientist, martial-artist, and strategist.

Now the question is translating that into something that resembles the above in 3.5 (or whatever resembles your own definition of "who Batman is".)

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

There is a PrC in the Quintessential Paladin that gives the player an alternate identity... he totally needs that.

(I prefer the Batman of the Animated Series on Fox...)

 

[ironmani]

You totally have to go Rogue. It gives you the most flexability in choosing his skills. Also in the Book of Shadows there is a Prestige class called the Shadow Hunter. Here is the beginning of his description.

Shadow Hunters are avengers. They normally come to their vocation after experiencing or witnessing the depredations f undead monsters or fiends. Typically, a shadow hunter discovers her calling and pursues it alone or with a small band of loyal comrades. They hone their skills in the hunt and spend much of thier time fighting against the agents and creations of darkness and evil.

Sounds something like Bats.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

The_Universe (hubby) and I have discussed this topic a bunch a bunch of times... his general theory is that Rogue/Monk multi-class is the best way to go for the Batman character... you have the sneaky and the punchy.

 

[Samothdm]

There is a PrC in the Quintessential Paladin that gives the player an alternate identity... he totally needs that.

I know which one you're talking about. That's pretty cool, but I've often thought that something like this could be dealt with without a "mechanic" but more as just a roleplaying thing.

Of course, I say that, and yet I did something somewhat similar in the book I wrote.

(I prefer the Batman of the Animated Series on Fox...)

Agreed. Just bought Season 1 on DVD.

You totally have to go Rogue. It gives you the most flexability in choosing his skills.

I think Rogue does offer some good choices, but I think he's more of a rogue/fighter multi-class. He takes, and can dish out, a lot of punishment, especially in the comics. And, there's his whole martial arts training that he did before he actually put on the cape and cowl to become Batman. I think that a fighter's bonus feats (used for martial arts feats like Improved Trip and Improved Unarmed Strike) combined with the good BAB would be important for Batman. Getting only one feat every 3 levels doesn't quite cut it for him.

I'm thinking Lawful Neutral with good tendencies, but I know that brings up a whole other debate. I seem to remember that ground was well-covered here about a year ago or so.

 

[s/LaSH]

Skills, skills, skills. Bats has training, compared to the ECL monsters in the Justice League (what ECL is a Kryptonian, anyway? - Bats probably has nearly enough levels to rival Supes' innate powers, although he's not as combat-focused). I'd stat him with a high INT and high DEX (boost INT with level stat bonuses) and go Rogue as much as possible for the skill points - max out stealth skills (including Disguise), sensory skills, Knowledge (Local) and maybe some other Knowledge types, and then start working on Craft and Profession to do the other cool stuff Bats can do. Rogue has all the right skills, and as many skill points as feasible.

This doesn't explain his Flaming Fists of Fury, but that's why we have feats, I guess. And sidekicks - if you can get Robin to flank your target, you automatically get a handful of extra damage dice from Sneak Attack. Sidekicks are important to this build. Now all you need is Weapon Finesse (Unarmed), high Dex, and you're good. (Well, and you should probably cheat on Bats' stats, or assume that he's wearing all sorts of magic items commensurate with his level - in his Utility Belt, or subsumed into his very being.)

Unfortunately, it's a given that nobody in comics has a fixed power level; statting people up would take all the fun out of internet geek battles over who's strongest.

 

[Samothdm]

Skills, skills, skills. Bats has training, compared to the ECL monsters in the Justice League (what ECL is a Kryptonian, anyway? - Bats probably has nearly enough levels to rival Supes' innate powers, although he's not as combat-focused).

I seem to remember reading once an interview with the team who was working on the Justice League comic a couple of years ago, and either the writer or the artist said something about how Batman was technically the only character in the league who was smart enough to actually defeat Superman, and that fact made him the most dangerous and most "powerful" member of the league.

I still don't think he's just a straight rogue. While people keep making the claim that he needs the rogue levels for the skill points, he could just as easily get those, and a customizable skill list by having expert class levels (not that I'm suggesting that).

Batman does some pretty serious damage with his hands and feat. "Improved Unarmed Strike" seems like a necessity. And, although I guess you could cheese out and give him "Gauntlets of Ogre Power" or something like that, that's really cheese. His power comes from working out and dedication to learning how to hit people hard, not from wearing powered gloves. So, while I think that Dexterity and Intelligence are really important, I don't think you can forget strength. And, I think you could make a case for the Monk's improved unarmed damage progression, too.

Given the kind of poundings he takes (such as from Bane), high HP and Constitution seem appropriate. And, his "street smarts" point to high Wisdom. He uses his high Charisma to intimidate his foes...

He is kind of like one of those uber-characters that doesn't really stat well in D&D (and it kind of takes the fun out of it, as s/Lash pointed out).

 

[dreaded_beast]

He is kind of like one of those uber-characters that doesn't really stat well in D&D (and it kind of takes the fun out of it, as s/Lash pointed out).

I guess so, but we can try and have fun nonetheless, hehe.

As a little note, I would like to keep it within WotC published material. While other publisher are just as good, I would like to keep it "standard".

I'm thinking that Batman would have levels in monk, fighter, and rogue.
However, I doubt that he is "Lawful", so he only progressed to a certain point as monk before changing alignment.

In terms of physical attributes, I would fathom he is akin to Captain America, peak human, so probably 18s in STR, DEX, and CON and no higher (although you can get higher every 4th level with the stat increases, I believe he sunk those into INT, WIS, and CHA, hehe).

For feats, some ideas:

Iron Will
Great Fortitude
Lightning Reflexes
Dodge
Mobility
Spring Attack