Long Live The Knight [Interest Check]

[TheBlackThrone]

Batman is dead. He sacrificed himself taking down the one nemesis he never could kill: The Joker. Even in his last efforts, he still never killed him. He made sure The Joker went down with his own gag. The world and Gotham were shocked by the news. The scum in the crime-riddled nooks and crannies of the city were elated. Batman was gone. It wasn’t until his absence that Batman’s disciples realized how much of a powerful influence he had on every villain in Gotham. Arkham Asylum; Blackgate Penitentiary; they exploded with rebellion. Gotham Police and every known disciple of Batman were overwhelmed by the radicalized violence. Batman’s death triggered a historical revolution. Criminals set fire to the streets and gangs started to carve out territory. The three largest gangs were led by Black Mask, Two Face, and The Penguin—The Gotham Triad. Black Mask absorbed Joker’s old gang and allowed them to create a sub-group under him known simply as The Jokers in honor of the deceased clown prince’s name. The group so far has been brought to heel, but they are plotting something—something Sionis doesn’t know about.

Gotham Police were forced to build barricades around a surviving safe haven in Old Gotham. The safe haven was called Neo Genesis. What started off as a necessary act of survival turned into the mayor’s psychosociological project. Neo Genesis was the answer to Gotham’s crisis. A safe haven where the government kept tabs on everyone and severely punished those who would dare commit a crime. With the Gotham Police at his side, the mayor planned to expand Neo Genesis throughout the entirety of Gotham.

What happened to the side of good? It seemed to have died with Batman. No one knew what good looked like anymore. Gotham was either black or gray. Neo Genesis made a difficult ally, and its existence divided the Bat Family. Some of the Bat Family chose to serve and protect Neo Genesis, while others sought independence and the old freedom. The divided family made them inadequate at stopping The Gotham Triad. Neo Genesis appeared to be an island waiting to be swallowed by the black water surrounding it, but there was hope.

Batman was always known to be prepared and steps ahead of his enemies. His death was only a cue in a long, devised plan. Project Orphan was a program that gathered several gifted orphans from around the world and placed them under a rigorous training program led by Talia al Ghul and The League of Assassins. The children were raised to appear the same. Their heads were shaved, and they wore the same black, ninja-yoroi. No matter the age, when they completed a grueling life or death rite called The Kiss of Death, they were given a pseudonym that represented what they saw in The Dream. For what they saw was who they were.

While Talia honored Batman’s plan to run the project, she had other uses for the children. She planned to sell them to The Gotham Triad for money, knowing they would make powerful mercenaries. She underestimated them for the children who called her mother learned of her plan. They escaped the League of Assassins and went into hiding. They knew their purpose was to keep an eye on Batman and wait. They waited for years into their adulthood until Batman died as he predicted he would. When the orphans left the League of Assassins, they were all given a scroll with a wax seal. The seal was not meant to be broken and the message within not read until that moment. The message would bring them all secretly together in Gotham.

Interest Check

The game takes place on alternate Earth Triple Niner. The setting of this story will stay within Gotham. There will be no other DC characters. Every now and then, a canon cameo from the Bat Family may make an appearance, but those characters are not playable at PCs. This game will be focused on original characters from Project Orphan. Now adults and having broken the seal which gave them their next orders. What are those exact orders? You would have to participate in the game to find out.

I want this game to have the noir vibe that Gotham already has except being that this is an adult site, we can really explore those dark themes. You will be required to make an orphan, and there won’t be an in-depth system because I am not a fan of system games. However, I must control Mary Sues, and so there will be a very, easy, mild system which prevents overpowered characters from being created. Simply, your characters will have automatically the below categories in their character sheet:

Strength
Speed
Toughness
Martial Arts
Accuracy
Technical

Strength is physical strength.
Speed is agility and self-explanatory, physical speed.
Toughness is how a character takes pain, and it also includes stamina/endurance. The ability to keep going.
Martial Arts is martial arts.
Accuracy is how well a character uses firearms, bows, etc. Projectiles.
Technical a character’s ability to investigate, hack, solve puzzles, and collect evidence.

Players will only be allowed to select one of those categories for [PEAK]. Peak means the character is peak human and maybe even slightly above human in that category. Players can only use PEAK once and can only use it on one of the categories. If there are two characters with PEAK in the same category, then they are evenly matched in those categories unless a PM conversation between the two writers dictates otherwise.

And that’s it! Simple right? The rest of the character will require writers to come up with a character name, the name they acquired in The Kiss of Death rite, and a theme that matches their pseudonym (KoD alias). For example, Batman’s theme was a Bat. Similarly, the pseudonym will be an animal of some sort that represents the original character.

Expectations

Writing Ability: Players who express interest in this game must be capable of writing more than 200 words. They must also be capable of basic English grammar and they must be willing to write in third-person. Writers must separate themselves from their characters. They are not their characters. Their characters are an independent entity of their creation.
Activity: I work; I train; I deploy; tell me about it. I don’t post five times a day, and I don’t expect anyone else to. You will be required to post at minimum once every seven days. I count; don’t worry. If you need more time, if you’re going on vacation somewhere, if you encounter any delays, then simply communicate. Tell us what’s up so we’re not paused and waiting. Players who don’t inform the GM of their absence will be given 14 days to do so. Around the 14th day, the GM will check their activity status and PM them. If the GM receives no answer after 48 hr, then their character will be dropped from the game.
Romance: I love when chemistry happens between characters. Understand, there is nothing wrong with romance in this game. It just has to be driven by the two Ps: plot and purpose. If your goal is to sleep with every character in the game and then leave, then you’re in the wrong game. This game is all about story and building drama. If there’s no plot and purpose behind the romance, it’s smut and this isn’t a smut-heavy game.
Dark Themes: There may be non-consensual mentions, crime, gore, and other noir themes. This game will be placed in the NC: Human-Freeform Small Groups only because we’re not going so extreme to include bestiality or bathroom chaos. Nope.
Storytellers: When you’re building your character, please come up with a story. If you have read this interest check and already have a character idea, then that is a really good sign. It’s the sign of not only a good character concept but a long-term one with a potential story. So when you are brainstorming a character don’t just pull one out of your hat. It should feel like inspiration. If you force it, I will know because when you send it to me, I’m going to be like “Where were you going with this?” So please think it out. Don’t just join the game to join. If you have a bad story behind your character, then you won’t last long any way. So I am trying to help you out by informing you about what you should be thinking about before you commit to a game.

Lastly, if you have any questions, I will add a Q&A to this. Just a reminder, this is an interest check. You didn’t see a ton of detail because it’s an interest check. I already know what I have planned for this. I want to see what kind of writers would be interested in this idea before I go all out. It makes my life easier. If you guys want to talk among yourselves in this interest check, please do. I like collaboration and you guys may be able to bounce ideas off your peers.

Q&A

Q: Can the Kiss of Death aliases be mythological creatures?

A: No.

Q: Can there be more than one character with the same Peak category?

A: Yes.

[Malrunar]

I'm interested. 

[TheBlackThrone]

I'm interested. 

Thank you for your interest. If this winds up being a small group, then I do not mind. They are easier to work with.

[TheBlackThrone]

Changed the "Marksmanship" category to "Accuracy" to mitigate confusion.

[Captain Whitebread]

Also interested.

Just need to find an idea that fits.   Of course I’m looking for peaks outside the given list.

Might I also suggest the following for peaks :
Vehicle (driving, flying etc)
Mechanical (building things like gadgets and repairing damaged equipment)
Science (chemistry,  biology, botany etc)

[Juggtacular]

I dig it.

[TheBlackThrone]

Also interested.

Just need to find an idea that fits.   Of course I’m looking for peaks outside the given list.

Might I also suggest the following for peaks :
Vehicle (driving, flying etc)
Mechanical (building things like gadgets and repairing damaged equipment)
Science (chemistry,  biology, botany etc)

Nah. I am not putting too many and everything you listed would go under technical.

Let me add further clarification. Driving a car, operating a plane, etc can be something anyone can do. When you want to say you are the best or above-average in that skill, then it would be a Technical peak.

[Captain Whitebread]

Can there be more than one character with the same Peak, covering different aspects?

Technical seems to cover enough area that more than one person could take it....

[TheBlackThrone]

Can there be more than one character with the same Peak, covering different aspects?

Technical seems to cover enough area that more than one person could take it....

Yes. Good questions. I will add that one.

[TheBlackThrone]

So far, I am tracking 3 players interested. We will have four to include myself. I just want to ensure dedication occurs in this game. If your interest ever changes, please let me know because this will only work with writers willing to follow a long-term story that does end. It doesn't go on forever.

There will be chapters, and each chapter presents a plot that brings us closer to the end. I am going to leave this interest check up for one more week to give people a chance to see it. Afterwards, I will drop the CS for people to start making characters.

[Captain Whitebread]

<waits patiently while forming the character in my head>