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[indent][i]"That's what you have to hold on to. All of us are what we are because we lost something we thought we couldn't live without, and were proven wrong. We can survive without parents and without walking and even without always being able to protect the people we love. But we can't survive without knowing in our bones that we're not like them, not like the ones who stole from us."[/i][/indent]

[b]Game Brief:[/b]

[list]
[*] Batman first began to appear 15 years ago.
[*] The Joker recently died in the chaos of one of his own schemes.
[*] Jim Gordon effectively retires as Commissioner of the GCPD following Joker's death.
[*] Batman hasn't been seen for nearly three days.
[*] Will take place in Gotham City.
[*] Street level characters only. 
[*] Casual-High Casual standards. One post a week requirement. 
[*] The current main "episode" story arc is highly inspired by a Batman: The Animated Series episode.
[/list]

[hider=OOC Information]

Welcome to Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat. This is a street level focused Gotham City centric game, shooting for a Casual-High Casual standard. The game will consist of a general 'sandbox' style, but with large game spanning storylines thrown in. The ending resolution to these game spanning storylines isn't predetermined; and careful how you resolve these stories--as your actions might very well come back to haunt you. In the end the fate of Gotham City is in the hands of those who show up, and fight for it. 

As mentioned in the interest check, I'm happy to pull the curtain back and share my storytelling plans. I invite those interested to offer any ideas, twists, revisions, or even tweaks they might have. At the moment I'm the only GM for the game, though I'm open to the idea of a co-GM with the right person, or even having a co-GM specifically for the run of a certain large storyline, or just someone who's interested in writing villain NPCs in general. Lot of options there, and I'm in no rush on that. 

For now, though, direct the chaos at me. 

The large storylines will come as "episodes"--expect each "episode" to last about a month, give or take time for whatever speed and pace the IC settles on once it really gets going. So far I have two planned. Got an idea, or just something you wanna see featured? Drop me a PM. Door is always open.

Right now, all players are limited to one character each. That character can be a canon character of DC comics, or original creation. I'll be a little strict on keeping all the characters 'street level'--so just keep that in mind during the character sheet review process. You can play a hero, a villain, someone inbetween the two, a cop, a mafioso, a reporter, or even a politician if you're the political wonk type. Take a canon character and recreate them according to your creative whims if you want, even. I encourage creativity. 

[i](Note on playing villains: Realize you'll have to be proactive and creating, unless you get involved in the "episode" story. Don't pull a crime and expect PC heroes to come a running to you. You can coordinate a game of cat and mouse with a PC hero. Try to have an actual plan, though, random murder/crime won't get you far.)[/i]

A few notes on who you can't apply for: if they could be a Justice Leaguer in their own right, they're probably off limits. If you want, you can always ask, though. Joker is dead, and not coming back. (Right? Right...) Ra's al-Ghul is off limits, and may or may not be alive. Batman is off limits, and may or may not be alive as well. Other than that I can't think of anyone else that needs to be offlimits, but I always reserve the right to judge on a case by case basis as GM. Try to keep any super powers to a minimum, and balanced.

[i][b]Post unapproved Character Sheets in the OOC tab. Only approved Character Sheets in the Characters tab. Thanks.[/b][/i]

To start with I'll ask for one post once a week. Everyone who joins is assumed to be adult enough, so please act it. I'm all for differing opinions and being blunt and honest, but if it's going to get testy, PM the other person. Don't get petty in the OOC, take arguments and drama to private channels. This is as close as I get to a rules list. By joining the game, I'll assume you've read it.

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[hider=IC Information:]

A note on Gotham City itself: we won't be using any one map for it. Gotham City tends to morph over time, but certain landmarks remain constant. If you're looking for a list of those landmarks, I'll see if I can put one together, but for now I do believe one of the wikis out there has a decent enough list. Feel free to get creative with Gotham City, and don't worry about "getting it right." Right can be whatever you put in your post. If something is egregiously off, I'll PM you and we can get it fixed--but I'm not really worried about it. 

Batman has been active for nearly 15 years, though only public for the last ten or so. 

When the game begins, Batman has been missing for nearly a month. The Bat family has tried to hunt down information, and some may continue to try, but so far nothing. Superman and Aquaman are also MIA at the moment, so there's a theory all three are dealing with something off world. He may or may not be dead, no one in Gotham seems to know, but once the worst elements of Gotham realize the Batman is gone it's likely only a matter of time until a new sort of chaos erupts on the streets. Both hero, villain, and inbetween will likely have heard rumors and gossip. 

The Joker lies dead, the victim of illness and poison, though he died after a confrontation with the Bat--so all those loyal to the Joker, or just those that hate the Bat, blame the Dark Knight for it. Some even call it murder; those that weren't present. Only Batman and Harley Quinn know for sure what happened; as well as those who've seen it through Batman's cowl video feed. Quinn herself seems to have disappeared, leaving the remnants of Joker's large, twisted, gang to battle amongst themselves for power. 

The survivors have come to tag their small territory around an old foundry by their new moniker: The Jokerz, a man known only as the Jester said to be their current leader.

Jim Gordon has retired as Commissioned of the GCPD, though there is talk that it came as a result of direct pressure from the Mayor's office. For now the Bat symbol remains atop several GCPD buildings, the most prominent the one atop the MCU building in historic Old Gotham. The interim Commissioner is a long time Gordon rival, and Gotham City lifer, Lieutenant Wilson Burrows. Few in the political "know" of Gotham City expect Burrows to be the man the Mayor picks, although certain members of the City Council talk of making the Commissioner an electable office, instead of an appointed one. 

Organized Crime has been on the rise, even the Mob seems to be making a slow return to the city they were unceremoniously kicked out of by the Bat soon after rumors of him first started to be heard around Gotham streets. There is an ongoing turf war between Black Mask and Two-Face, though their turf is a rather limited part of Gotham's worst, and oldest, areas. 

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[hider=State of Things]

State of the overall Verse:

Smooth on the surface, but dangers lurk underneath. Or, rather, far from Earth orbit. There is chatter among select circles of Green Lanterns going dark in certain far outposts. On Earth itself the Justice League and it's allies have managed to defend the citizens of the planet, There is a growing sentiment of anti-metahumanism among the world populace, and has begun to be reflected in far right wing politics. 

State of Gotham City:

Shock. The Joker is no more and Batman didn't kill him. A story some believe, and some don't. Regardless of version of the tale, they all agree that the Joker is gone. Harley Quinn disappeared, presumably in grief, leaving behind a large gang built up with care over time with a grand plan in mind--a plan that got the Joker dead. Then Jim Gordon retired, rumors are due to pressure from a rising political star Mayor. Aside from a small turf war (over a favorite handful of warehouses between Two-Face and Black Mask) the city is experiencing a rare calm.

Lifers aren't enjoying it, expecting the storm they're sure that will follow. 

State of the streets: 

The game keeps on keeping on; dealers deal, buyers buy, gangsters and thugs and even rogues dueling it out. The cops are more protective of certain (affluent) areas of the city, and there's been a noticeable uptick in citizen justice. The clowns calling themselves Jokerz are affecting the street gangs more than the organized crime henchmen and their bosses, but even they seem increasingly concerned. None of "the Watchers" have reported Batman sightings for five days. No one person or entity runs these streets, though the Mob seems to be making a come back. Possibly a big come back behind a long thought extinguished Gotham City Mob Family returning from the ashes by a mysterious Don: The Bertinelli Family. Most believe Guiseppe Bertinelli is the new Don Bertinelli, though there are radical theories that it's actually his legitimate famous billionaire cousin, Helena Bertinelli.

State of GCPD: 

Gordon's retirement came at the best moment it could have; during a relative lull in major crime and after the Joker's demise. It all might have seemed downright natural, had the Commissioner, his Deputy, and the Director of MCU not seemingly been swept out together as a regime change dictated from above their heads. The department has become a hornet's nest of locker room politics and shifting alliances. The assassination of the sergeant over the Traffic division has an already tense situation to the point of boiling, as cops fear random cop killings. The new Mayor stands behind Acting Commish Burrows--now is a bad time to pick a fight with the GCPD. They're paranoid, they're violent, and they seem unleashed after the loss of Gordon. Some call it a return to the corrupt GCPD of twenty years ago.

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[hider=Character Sheet]

For a complete roster, check the initial post under the Characters tab--once enough people get accepted to begin a proper roster with at least. I'm not worried about huge Character Sheets, so don't feel immense pressure. I care about good characters that fit within the theme of this game. Feel free to contact me and discuss any character concepts/ideas before putting them to Character Sheet.

And once again, please post unapproved Character Sheets into the OOC tab. Only approved Character Sheets got posted under the Characters tab. 

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Alias:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] [i](For text or 'alternative' looks. Place your images where you like.)[/i]
[b]Skills/Abilities:[/b]
[b]Biography:[/b]

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