I'm not actually Batman, lol.
The Game: Batman Roleplaying Game
The publisher: Mayfair Games, originally, this book is long out of print. You could get it from Amazon for a few bucks, though.
Degree of familiarity: I've read it, and I made a character (Countdown, actually, who was an NPC in my Silver Age Sentinels game) a long time ago. Never played it, never ran it.
Books required: Just the little ol' core book. Doesn't even have a character sheet, and I can't find one online.
Anyway. Batman is much like any other supers RPG, except it's set in Gotham amidst Batman's many foes. Batman, of course, is kind of the benchmark of "uber" (whereas if you were playing a wider DC game, it'd probably be the Dick Himself). So, lower-powered, darker, grittier, etc.
I think I want to play someone who admires Batman. He fights crime in Gotham because he's got nothing left to lose. And he doesn't know it, but most of what he's lost...is because of Batman.
My character's real name is Joseph Robert Basel. Joe worked on the docks of Gotham, brining home enough money to keep his wife and son fed. He's a big, strong guy, doesn't ask a lot of questions, and tries to do the right thing. But when the company he was working for laid him off, he got snapped up by the Joker to do some henching.
Inevitably, Batman showed up, and beat down the henchman. Joe never even had a chance. He tried to pull the Dark Knight into a headlock, and Batman flipped him and threw him into the water. Joe washed up on the filthy Gotham shore hours later, vomiting up whatever foulness was in that water. The Joker was in custody, and Joe realized that he'd been spared being seriously injured or killed by sheer luck.
When he got home, though, his wife had already packed up and left. She'd seen the fight on television (helicopter news), and seen him fighting the Batman, just for that split second. He never saw her again. He sat down on his cold kitchen floor and started to cry...and then realized he was unable to stop. The tainted water of Gotham Harbor had done something to his body. For a started, it altered his tear ducts - once open, they stay open, and he has a constant stream of tears on his cheeks. But his body also keeps itself perfectly hydrated, and this resulted in superhuman strength and endurance, which he discovered over the next few days.
Joe lost the house (no income) and was living out of his van. He was trying to drum up work when he van was destroyed, this time in a crosstown chase between Batman and the Riddler. He was now utterly destitute. Instead of turning to crime again, though, he stays on the move, living where he can, taking food from other people's kindness, because he's inspired by the obvious goodness and strength of the Batman. He doesn't know that it was the Batmobile's guns that destroyed his van (getting it out of the way to clear a path), and he doesn't know that it was evidence provided by Batman that closed his employers down, forcing the layoffs. Who knows what he might do if he found out?
Whew. OK. Let's do some numbers! This is a point-buy system, and I get 450 points to build Joe, whom criminals have taken to calling "Crybaby."
Step one is Think Carefully. I did that.
Step two is Purchase Attributes There are nine Attributes in this game, and they (like everything else) are measured in Attribute Points. So, I need to buy APs of all nine Attributes, and they have different costs. I know I want Crybaby to be super-strong, and really hard to hurt. Mentally and spiritually, though, he's a little weaker. Let's go one by one.
Dexterity: Batman is 10, average for a hero is 5-7. Since this is what I use to land a punch, I think I'll go with 8. That costs 70 Hero Points.
Strength: I picture Crybaby as being able to lift cars. With Strength 8, I can lift 8 APs of weight, which is about 6 tons. That'll do. 60 points.
Body: Another one that I want high. I think I'll put this at 8, too, just to be consistent. Also 60.
Intelligence: Doesn't need to be quite as high. Joe's not dumb, but he's not a thinker. I'll stick this at 5, the lower end of the range for heroes. 28 Hero Points.
Will: Willpower and ability to draw conclusions. Joe will be in the middle; I'll put his at 5. 24 Hero Points.
Mind: Resistance to mental stress. Again, average, or a little below. I'll put this at 4. 18 Hero Points.
Influence: Power of personality and presence. Joe cuts an imposing figure, but he's crying all the time, and that's not quite as scary as, say, Batman's cowl and death-metal voice. I'll put it at 5. 28 points.
Aura: Magical power and ability to manipulate others. Again, not Joe's strong point. 4 APs, or 18 points.
Spirit: Resolve and ability to withstand mystical stress. Joe doesn't know from "mystical," but he's got enormous strength of character (which is why he's not fucking crazy). I'll put him higher: 8 APs, or 60 points.
Whew. OK, now on to step three: Purchase Powers and Skills. Let's do Skills first.
Now, unlike other games, Batman doesn't have a lot of Skills; you'd be making Attribute checks most of the time, I think. I'll buy Weaponry at 6 APs, but I'll only take the Melee Weapons and Missile Weapons subskills, meaning I pay like I was buying 3 APs. Total cost: 15 Hero points. I'll also buy Vehicles (Land and Water) at 4 APs, but again, I'm paying less, so I pay 15 total.
Powers! I don't see Crybaby as having much in the way of powers; most of his "power" is his super strength. But I do want him to be able to jump up buildings, so I'll take the Jumping power. I pay the buy-in at 10 points, and I buy 5 APs, letting him jump 300 feet in the air. That's a total of 42 points.
Next, I buy Regeneration at 4 APs. This lets me make healing checks more often; Crybaby's body repairs itself (hydration, baby). This costs 49 points.
I want Crybaby to hard to hurt. Skin Armor looks good, but it's expensive as fuck. Ah, what the heck. It's a 50 point buy-in, and if I buy 3 APs, I add 3 to my Body for resisting damage. My Body is already impressive, so that's good enough. Total: 66.
Finally, I take System Antidote. His body flushes itself quickly, so poisons don't really hurt him. It's a cheap buy-in (5), so I take 6 APs worth. He's hard to hurt with poison, which will be handy if I run up against Joker or Scarecrow. That costs 35 points.
A quick total check: 450 exactly, and I haven't hit Advantages yet. I'm doing OK, though; that's what Drawbacks are for.
Step four is Advantages! I definitely want City Knowledge - Crybaby lives on the streets. That's 20 points. None of the other ones really do anything for me, though.
Step five: Wealth. I'm poor as fuck. I take no Wealth, which supposedly still gives me an income, but maybe I'll take a Drawback to that effect.
Step six: Drawbacks. I'm at 470 points, so I just need 20 to take me down to even again. I'm going to wind up having to go back and spend points, as crazy as that sounds. OK, I'm going to take Uncertainty. Joe is still a little shaky on this "hero" thing, and he's so strong that he might hurt someone by accident. That's worth 15 points (see, I just need 5 more, but there aren't any worth 5).
Ooh, I got on. I'll tack a Power Limitation on his Regeneration. He can't regeneration except by drinking or being immersed in water, because it works by hyper-efficient use of hydration (that's pretty comic-booky). That nets me 35 points, meaning I've got a surplus of 30.
I'll add the Thief Skill at 5 APs. That's 30 total, and that takes me to 450.
Crybaby
Dex: 8 Str: 8 Body: 8
Int: 5 Will: 5 Mind: 4
Infl: 5 Aura: 4 Spirit: 8
Powers: Jumping 5, Regeneration 4, System Antidote 6
Skills: Thief 5, Vehicles (Land and Water) 4, Weaponry (Missile and Melee) 6
Advantages: City Knowledge
Drawbacks: Uncertainty, Power Limitation (Regeneration - only works when drinking or immersed in water)
Wealth: 0
Alter Ego: Joseph Basel
Description: Crybaby doesn't make an effort to hide who he really is, but he's not really much of anyone - he's not a millionaire playboy. He's basically a street person. He wears his dock worker's clothes, an oversized blue coat and a wool cap pulled low. He wears big, black, sturdy boots and carries a duffel bag, which holds his fear remaining possessions. He has a constant stream of tears running down his weathered face.
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