BATMAN_GCC_RPG_Core-Book_EN

100 — part 1: the heroes — Service Price Night in a luxury suite $50,000 Meal at a bar or restaurant $25 Fast-food meal $10 Gastronomic meal $100 SPECIALIZED MATERIAL Type Price Proximity alarm $250 Voice changer $50 Breathing aid machine, defibrillator $1,300 Movement-detecting camera $200 Miniature portable camera $100 Air compressor $500 Detector (radiation, metal, electronic bugs) $500 Movement detector $200 CB radio with scanner $100 Electrical generator $200 Bug (audio or video) $250 Soldering kit $1,500 Lockpicking tools $100 Walkie-talkie $50 First aid kit $30 VEHICLES Once created, a character also has a vehicle at their disposal in order to get around, as long as their job and finances justify it. If they don’t, the Hero is considered to be used to using public transport, despite the fact that in Gotham City it is generally very overcrowded and pretty dangerous. Type Price All-terrain motorbike $8 000 Sports motorbike $12,000 Road bike $15,000 Compact car $12,000 Estate car $20,000 Minivan, SUV $30,000 4x4 $40,000 Luxury car $50,000 Sportscar $60,000 Van, delivery van $50,000 Heavy goods vehicle $100,000 Light airplane $400,000 Helicopter $1,000,000 Private jet $5,000,000

101 — chapter 5: equipment —

102 PART 2: THE GAME SYSTEM

103 CHAPTER 1: THE TESTS WHEN ARE TESTS PERFORMED? Tests are carried out when the outcome of a character’s action is uncertain (when they try to get past an enemy, climb a building, find a clue, etc.) There’s no need to do a test for simple or everyday actions (driving a vehicle, searching a database, surveillance of an exit, etc.), unless there are extraordinary circumstances (stress, weather, hostile environment, etc.) that could affect a positive outcome. There’s also no point in performing a test for an action that the character has absolutely no chance of executing successfully, for example if they do not possess the necessary superpower (for instance, as great as he is, Batman could never perform a vocal attack in the way that Black Canary can). You can however ask to do a test if success is certain but the degree of success is important for what happens next. Finding a playing card left by the Joker in a library is a simple action, but if you need to know how much time the character takes to find it, you can request a difficulty 0 test and decide whether the characters were slow or quick depending on the scores (for example, for a 3 the character may have taken over an hour, but with an 18 the card was found in less than a minute). A test includes all the character’s attempts to achieve a successful outcome. This means that it is generally not possible for them to try again after having failed, unless there has been a significant change in the circumstances in which the test is performed. After being thrown into a basement room by Poison Ivy, Batgirl tries to force the lock, but fails. This one test covers all her attempts, i.e. every time she has thrown herself against that damn door. This means that she can’t try again, unless for example she finds a metal bar in a pile of trash in a corner of the room. She can use this as a crowbar to try and open the door, with a lower difficulty level than for the initial test. HOW ARE TESTS PERFORMED? Test are made by rolling 1D20. The result is then added to: 1. The MOD of the main characteristic used for the action. This characteristic is specified in the rules or determined by the GM, depending on which they think is more relevant. 2. Any bonus given by one character Trait, plus any penalty inflicted by one Disadvantage. 3. Any bonuses given by Capacities the character has mastered in one or several Ways (the same Way cannot grant bonuses from more than one of its Capacities; if several of them can be used, choose the most advantageous one). 4. Any bonus given by a capacity in a team Way (see the chapter entitled Forming a team) 5. Potentially a bonus equal to the level the character has obtained in the Way corresponding to the area of expertise related to the test, if no capacity of Way can be used for this test. Ways possessed by the characters represent both their capacities and proficiency in the area of expertise in question - Way of the melee gives bonuses for MA, but also measures the character’s knowledge in this domain. For example, depending on the defensive position taken by an opponent, we can deduce whether the character is well-versed in a martial art. The same is true for Way of ranged weapons, which not only gives bonuses for RA, but also provides the character with knowledge of these ranged weapons, how they function, their range, etc. Similarly, Way of the mechanic helps determine the complexity of a machine, Way of medicine can show whether someone is hiding an injury, Way of stealth can tell us which outfit to wear in order to move unseen in the dark, etc. Batwoman has 4 levels in the Way of the vigilante. She glimpses the shadow of a costumed character running down a dark alley, and tries to determine who it is with a test of Perception with a difficulty set at 20. The player embodying Batwoman rolls

104 — part 2: the Game system — 1D20, and the result is 12. To this, they add their Perception MOD (+4) and the number of levels that Batwoman has in the Way of the vigilante (in this case, 4). So the final result is 12+4+4=20! Batwoman recognizes Nightwing’s silhouette, despite the lack of light. Nothing escapes the laser-sharp vision of Gotham City’s most devoted superheroine! As long as the situation fits, all common Ways and Ways of shadows can be used in this way (but not Ways of wonders). Using the Ways like this has to be done in combination with a test that is not covered by a capacity. Obviously, if the test allows the player to use a capacity, the bonus corresponding to the number of levels possessed in the Way is not added to the bonuses afforded by the capacity! WHICH CHARACTERISTIC TO USE Strength is used for all actions requiring muscular force (lifting a heavy object, breaking a chain, pulling something using the strength in your arms). Constitution is used for all actions requiring endurance or health (holding your breath, walking for a number of hours, surviving being poisoned, etc.) Dexterity is used for all actions requiring accuracy, reflexes, discretion, or agility (crossing the city swinging on a rope, picking a lock, scaling the façade of a building, jumping from the roof of a building, disappearing into the crowd, etc.) Intelligence is used for all actions requiring memory and the comprehension of complexities (memorizing information, solving a puzzle, pirating a computer, understanding a mechanism, etc.) Perception is used for all actions requiring the use of one or more of the five senses (finding a clue, following a fresh lead, sniffing out a discrete smell, noticing a detail, hearing a whisper, detecting something odd when touching a surface, tasting poison in a cup of tea, etc.) Willpower is important each time the character’s politeness, persuasion, or will is required (obtaining a favor, seducing, intimidating, or persuading someone being spoken to, remaining motivated in a desperate situation, resisting someone’s charm or intimidation tactics…). For the attempt to be a success, the total must be at least as high as the difficulty level fixed by the GM, based on the table below. If the total [result of the die roll + MOD + capacity bonus] is below the difficulty of the action, the attempt fails. The table of difficulty levels is only for reference - feel free to change the difficulty required for tests depending on circumstances that may help (A cooperative witness, headlights illuminating a fugitive, the suspicious color of a candy aiding in the detection of the poison it contains, a traffic jam facilitating an easier escape...) or hinder the characters (Picking a lock without tools, the dim light that makes examining a crime scene difficult, a crowd siding with an opponent, a strong wind making acrobatics more dangerous). The scale of examples offered below goes from 5 to 30, but the difficulty of a test can of course be lower than 5 (a very easy action whose degree of success still needs to be determined) or higher than 30, for actions that are practically impossible but can be performed by extraordinary beings, or actions for which the degree of failure needs to be determined. Alfred Pennyworth is being chased by assassins of the Court of Owls and has to run down the main staircase of the Wayne manor. The action (going down a staircase) can be executed by most people (the difficulty level is easy - so difficulty 5), but the GM needs to know whether Alfred manages to get down the stairs quickly or whether he slows down because he’s scared of falling. This means that the player playing as Alfred has to perform a test (difficulty 5, easy). They roll the die and the result is 11, to which is added Alfred’s Dexterity MOD (+1). The final result is 12, which gives a margin of success of 7 (12 - 5): as a former agent of the special forces, Alfred succeeds without trouble, even at his age. Let’s just hope that the men of the Court of Owls racing after him get a lower margin of success! Also, if the next part of the scenario absolutely requires a successful test, lower the difficulty or, if a roll fails, simply add a complication rather than a story-blocker (you may also suggest that players spend 1 EP; after all, Exploit Points are made for just such situations): nothing is more frustrating for everyone than having an adventure come grinding to a halt just because of an unfortunate dice roll.

105 — chapter 1: the tests — Difficulty of the action Minimum vale to achieve Examples Easy 5 Searching an individual, following tracks in mud or snow, listening to a loud conversation in public, jumping onto the steps of a fire escape, shooting a lock at close range. Medium difficulty 10 Climbing a wall with the necessary equipment, spotting thugs disguised as clowns at a funfair, prying open the doors of a subway car, running along a balustrade, solving one of the Riddler's anagrams. Difficult 15 Just about catching your balance after falling, climbing a perimeter wall without equipment, hacking a computer system with the Batcomputer, jumping from roof to roof, convincing the guards at Arkham Asylum that you've been wrongfully incarcerated, solving one of the Riddler's riddles. Very difficult 20 Hitting an opponent's weapon by throwing a Batarang, hacking the alarm system of a bank, solving one of the Riddler's puzzles, stepping back and running a few steps vertically up a wall. Near impossible 25 Catching a small flying object in the air with chopsticks, memorizing ten pages of a book in under ten minutes, hiding in a zone without any cover in full daylight, escaping the fear gas that Scarecrow has sprayed over the whole city. Unbelievable 30+ Hacking the Cadmus database, finding an antidote for one of Hugo Strange's concoctions, grabbing onto a gargoyle in mid-fall from a skyscraper. TESTS IN OPPOSITION When two opponents are engaged in an action directly one against the other, they are said to be ‘in opposition’. During a test in opposition, both sides each perform a test. The one with the better score wins. Critical successes and failures are never taken into account. In case of a tie, opponents either perform a second test or maintain a status quo, depending on the situation. Robin is trying to sneak into a warehouse without being seen by the gangsters guarding it. The GM decides that the test will be made in opposition with bad guys’ vigilance. No level of difficulty is defined. Instead, Robin attempts a test of Dexterity whose result (including all the bonuses he benefits from) is 16. As for the guards, they perform a test of Perception and get 11. Thanks to his athletic physique, Robin is able to enter the building discretely through a window, and the gangsters have absolutely no idea that he’s there! TESTS IN COOPERATION In certain situations, one character can help another to successfully complete an action. Each participant attempts a difficulty 10 test with the same characteristic as the one used by the main instigator of the action. If successful, it gives the partner a +2 bonus (+4 in the case of a critical success). If the situation is combat, the player may choose whether to give this bonus to their ally for their attacks or DD, but this must be stated before the ally rolls their attack die. SERIES OF TESTS It is sometimes necessary to make several successful tests consecutively in order to complete an action or opposition, especially if the event or situation is important for the adventure, or if the GM wants to increase the tension of the scene with a little suspense. Imagine a scene where Batman is trying to claw a detonator from the hands of Bane. This could be resolved by just one roll of the dice, but it’s tempting to up the ante and ask Batman to make three tests in opposition with Bane, corresponding with three steps of the action: Batman overpowering Bane, getting hold of the detonator, and finally ripping it from Bane’s grasp. In addition to adding suspense and allowing for more comments from the spectators, requiring a series of tests can give a less random outcome than just one roll of the dice, allowing for more nuance with partial successes or relative failures.

106 — part 2: the Game system — CRITICAL SUCCESS During a test, a critical success is obtained in two ways: ◊ When the player receives 20 upon rolling the D20 (with no modifier); a result of 12 with 1D12 does not qualify as a critical success. ◊ When the total result obtained (with modifiers) is at least 10 points higher than the level of difficulty (including when the test is made with 1D12). For a generic action, a critical success allows the character to obtain an extra advantage (of the player’s choice, as long as the GM is in agreement) in addition to the success of their action. For example: The character manages to jump over a precipice and land standing up (test of Dexterity), or they find footprints on the ground and can tell how many people are in the group being followed (test of Perception). Note that tests where characters are passive or resisting something aren’t always suited to having the result improved because of something decided by the player (for example, if the character is trying to resist the effects of poison, a critical success in a test of Constitution will not bring any extra benefit). In combat, the DD of a critical success in attack are doubled (bonus included). CRITICAL FAIL Similarly, a test is deemed a critical fail in two cases: ◊ When the result on the D20 is 1 (with no MOD or bonus); a result of 1 with 1D12 does not qualify as a critical fail. ◊ When the result on the D20 (MOD and bonus included) is at least 10 points lower than the level of difficulty (including when the test is made with 1D12). If a 1 is rolled, the action automatically fails, even if the final result indicates a success. In both cases, the GM is completely free to add an extra negative effect to a failed test. There is no obligation for them to do so if the situation isn’t suitable or it would be awkward at that point in the scenario. Note that players may use an EP after having rolled a 1. Sometimes, the dice are cursed! TAKE A 10 OR 20 The point of “taking a 10 or 20” is to avoid a random dice roll for an important action, and guarantee success by taking the time necessary to make it happen. This means that the character uses all the means at their disposal and all the time it takes to ensure a successful outcome. It’s not necessarily important to detail all the means used to do so, although the GM may ask for general details of what the character is doing. This system can be used for tests for searching for clues or any other long and complex action (e.g. hacking a security system, climbing a barrier with the necessary equipment, investigating an area, or performing an intensive search of an apartment in order to find clues). “Taking a 10” means spending a lot of time on an action that would usually be completed fairly quickly, in order to obtain an automatic success. Of course this is only possible for actions that are not too difficult (a difficulty level no higher than 10). For an action that would usually take one round (i.e. around 10 seconds), if the character takes 2D6 minutes (or 2D6 rounds if the action is quick) they obtain the equivalent of a 10 from a D20 test, rather than performing the same action more quickly, but risking failure through the roll of the die. “Taking a 20”. In certain cases, if the difficulty of the test exceeds 10, the GM can also authorize the character to take 2D6 hours and give the player the equivalent of a 20 from a D20 test. Note however that this never gives rise to a critical success. EXPLOIT POINTS Exploit Points (EP) allow Heroes to get a bit of help from the universe. Each EP spent allows 10 to be added to the result of a D20. Using 1  EP is done after having discovered the result. Only 1 EP can be used per round (of combat, of a chase, etc.) During any combat, spending an EP allows the DEF score to be increased by +10 against just one attack. Note that certain Ways give characters the possibility of using EP in ingenious ways… EP are only regained after an adventure has ended, or every 4-8 hours of play, as soon as a break or a positive event allows the characters to rest or get their confidence back. EP and critical success: If a test is successfully performed, spending 1  EP transforms it into a critical success.

107 — chapter 1: the tests — EP and role-playing: EP are also a way for the GM to encourage players to get theatrical and really ‘become’ their characters - a great piece of acting or any other exceptional in-game effort that the other players appreciate can be rewarded by the immediate gain of 1 EP. EP USE BY NPCS Important NPCs also have EP and can use them as follows: ◊ Spend 1 EP in order to perform an extra action (attack or movement) during a round of combat, ◊ Spend 1 EP to re-roll after a critical fail (natural 1) obtained by the GM or to transform a normal success into a critical success obtained by a Hero during an attack, ◊ Spend 2 EP to cancel damage inflicted by a Hero. NPCs regain their EP after 24 hours. INVESTIGATING AND LOOKING FOR CLUES Investigations are an important part of the scenarios in Batman RPG, whether you are a detective, crimefighter, or criminal. However, what is known as an investigation is actually made up of several stages of searching, which may or may not be linked with each other. At the end, these allow the player to obtain the main information they were looking for: the name of the culprit, the objective of a plan hatched by a super-criminal, the location of  a gang’s hostages… This means that for the scenario to advance, several pieces of information must be obtained, like pieces of a puzzle that together complete a picture or indicate a new lead to explore. If the characters are not able to access the necessary clues because of a bad roll of the dice (for example, when searching an apartment or trying to get a confession from someone), they will be stuck, bringing the scenario to a halt and demoralizing the player. OBVIOUS CLUES Finding key clues should not depend on a roll of the dice, but common actions that do not require a test, such as: ◊ When inspecting a crime scene, finding a weapon that has been dropped on the ground, ◊ Getting the description of a gangster from witnesses questioned, ◊ Realizing that it was the Joker who left the playing card that was found, ◊ Working out how a break-in was organized by watching the security camera footage, ◊ Finding biographical information about a celebrity when searching online, ◊ etc.

108 — part 2: the Game system — CLUES AND TESTS To make the game more interesting, the GM may still decide that obtaining certain information depends on a test, using the relevant characteristic: ◊ Perception allows characters to find material evidence that’s difficult to spot, like a hair, a stain on a piece of fabric, a tire print on the ground, etc. ◊ Intelligence allows characters to notice that something is wrong through deduction, memory, or specialized knowledge: an object that has been moved or is missing, a hidden meaning in a message, contradictory facts, or a piece of information that only a specialist would see (a scholar versed in rare and ancient languages who understands the hieroglyphics written on a paper napkin; a criminal specialist who recognizes a tattoo belonging to a particular branch of the Markovian mafia; a historian well-versed in ancient Gotham City who can identify a Miagani tomahawk, etc.) A test may also be required when a character is trying to do a particularly complex search in a database or computer system. ◊ Willpower allows characters to use their gift of the gab to charm, intimidate, or cajole a piece of information from someone not readily willing to cooperate. AVOIDING FAILURE To ensure that the continuation of the scenario is not completely based on success at a specific point, the GM has several options. They can: ◊ Remind players how useful Exploit Points can be, if everything seems to indicate that the information they are trying to obtain is crucial to their investigation, ◊ Adjust the level of difficulty, adapting it to the characters’ capacities in order to raise their chances of success, ◊ Advise the players to try solutions on offer through tests in cooperation with each other, and tests where they can “take a 10 or 20” (see above), ◊ Inform players of their failure, using their characters’ intuition that they have missed something; they can make another attempt (for a search, deduction, questioning someone, etc.) after a certain amount of time decided by the GM, or if a new element allows them to take a different approach or see things from a different angle, ◊ Provide an alternative: each clue is just a way of delivering information, but this can perhaps be obtained differently, later in the scenario. It’s up to the GM to devise a different way of allowing players to access the information, even if it means allowing them to explore a few dead ends before giving them the satisfaction of having earned it! This approach could involve a helpful or neutral NPC, a secondary opponent or one too sure of themselves, or perhaps the characters themselves doing something that leads to them receiving the information and being pleased they got it. Unless there is no other way, try to avoid resorting to chance, as this type of ‘lucky break’ can seem a little too fortuitous. The characters decide not to go to a victim’s apartment, but instead (vainly) chase after a criminal about whom they only have some very vague information. As it happens, at the victim’s apartment they would have found a photo taken during a heist by a rival gang, showing the victim with two accomplices, one of which is their future assassin. The information given by this photo is the existence of a link between the victim and the two criminals, as well as the fact that all three were part of a criminal organization. In order for the characters to learn this differently, they can come across one of the criminals who is following the same trail as them after learning what happened to their former partner in crime… And as a last resort, if all else fails, you can ask the characters to perform a test using the appropriate characteristic (Intelligence for memory, Perception for an intuition, Willpower for a feeling or belief, etc.) with an easy difficulty level so the characters remember a detail, or have a feeling or intuition that puts them back on the right track.

109 CHAPTER 2: COMBAT It’s fair to say that altercations in Gotham City are a regular occurrence! Combat has an important place in the comics, and the same is true of an action-based role-playing game like Batman RPG. However, violent confrontations are a particular type of action scene, and  there are special rules to make sure they are reproduced simply and smoothly. THE GAME ROUND A combat scene is split into several rounds, each of which covers around ten seconds of real time fighting. The  rounds are used to manage the actions of the various protagonists. INITIATIVE A round happens as follows: the order for each participant to take their turn is decided by their Initiative score, from highest to lowest. If a Hero and NPC both have the same Initiative score, the Hero goes first. If two Heroes have the same Initiative score, the one with the highest Perception performs their action first. This means there is nothing random about who acts when - during a combat, the protagonists always perform their actions in the same order over the course of the various rounds. Fighters can choose to wait if they want to perform their action at a lower Initiative score than their own. Some  Ways allow characters to intervene a second time during a round. You’ll find more info on this second opportunity in the description of the Ways in question. ACTIONS When it is their turn, a character can perform: ◊ 1 limited action, ◊ OR 1 movement action and 1 attack action (in whichever order they please), ◊ OR 2 movement actions, ◊ AND 0, 1, or 2 free actions, as long as the latter are not the same action performed twice. If the character performs two actions, these are done consecutively, at their Initiative score. Free actions are made at their Initiative score or later during the round if the player prefers. Batgirl enters the sewers and finds Killer Croc, who jumps her and tries to get her to leave his territory with a few well-placed scratches of his claws. Batgirl has an Initiative score of 16, while Killer Croc’s is 14, so Batgirl goes first. She decides to slide on the water-soaked floor and slip between Croc’s legs before giving him a flying kick to the neck. This requires a movement action followed by an attack action (melee). Croc can only react after she has finished her two actions. He spins round (action movement) and tries to lash out at the imprudent crimefighter with a dangerous swoop of his claws (melee attack action). Fingers crossed he misses! There are thus four types of action: ◊ Limited actions (L) use the character’s entire round but allow them to use a capacity known as “a limited action”. ◊ Movement actions (M) allow the character to run approximately 20 meters, get up, grab a weapon, jump up to somewhere high, spin round, etc. ◊ Attack actions (A) are for attacking, and require a test to be performed for an MA, RA, or SA.

110 — part 2: the Game system — ◊ Free actions (F) are for quick actions that can be made in addition to the character’s other actions (like giving an order, lowering the visor of a helmet, turning on a walkie-talkie, pressing the button of an alarm, etc.) Certain capacities also allow an attack or movement to be performed as a free action. HANDLING AN ATTACK When a character tries to attack an opponent, they must perform a test for an MA, RA, or SA, depending on the type of weapon they are using. The difficulty for an attack test is always equal to the opponent’s DEF. If the result of the test is above or equal to the DEF, the attack is a success and the attacker rolls the DD. If the result is lower than the DEF, the attack fails and has no effect. Depending on the circumstances (fighting in bad light or in the pouring rain, attacking an opponent already involved in a melee attack with an ally…) an attack test can be affected by a penalty, determined by the GM based on the seriousness of the impediment (e.g. RA -5 if there is poor visibility; MA -5 if the ground is slippery or steep, etc.) and possibly by the level of the characters - with the aim of making things easier for lower-level characters when necessary. Similarly, an attack made under fortuitous circumstances can benefit from a bonus, determined by the GM depending on the importance of the advantage: +3 for an MA made from a position above the opponent, +10 for an MA made without the opponent being able to see their attacker, +5 for an RA from nearby (see below), etc. DON’T FORGET A critical success for a test for an MA or RA doubles the damage dealt (for example, 1D8+3 damage becomes 2D8+6 damage). A critical fail during a test for an MA or RA has disagreeable consequences for the character, determined by the GM. During melee combat, this could be a free attack given to the opponent. During an RA test, it could be dropping the weapon, a mechanical problem, or something else. An Edge in Strength doesn’t given any particular advantage to tests for MA; an Edge in Dexterity doesn’t given any particular advantage to tests for RA. RULES FOR RANGED ATTACKS RA are governed by some extra parameters that are aimed at taking into account their specificities. These parameters have voluntarily been kept simple, in able to keep confrontations dynamic and faithful to the way they appear in the comics. At the same time, there are quite a few factors to be taken into account for an attack with the Batarang, for example. Feel free, during a game session, to ignore certain rules if you feel they will adversely affect the rhythm of the game. RANGE Ranged weapons are assigned a range, and this is indicated in the section regarding equipment or in the capacities of the Ways of powers resembling ranged attacks. At  point blank range (meaning a distance of under 1 meter, also called “short range”), RA benefit from a bonus of +5. Beyond the defined range (referred to as “long range”), RA are made with a penalty of -5. At beyond double this range, RA are made with a penalty of -10. RA beyond three times the range are not possible. LINES OF SIGHT AND COVER Performing an RA (or an SA that resembles one) logically requires the attacker to have a clear view of their target, what is known as a line of sight. To determine lines of  sight, you can refer to the indications given by the board of Batman ™ : Gotham City Chronicles, if that’s where the action is situated. More commonly though, it will be taking place elsewhere, in a setting of your invention. With this in mind, and once again in the hope of keeping things simple, we recommend you use the following principles: When the line of sight is clear (no obstacles between the attacker and their target), the RA test occurs normally. When the line of sight is not clear (the target is behind a window or somewhere with furniture, posts, cars, passers-by, etc.), the RA has a penalty of -5 applied (note that short range cancels this penalty, but does not offer the +5 bonus). When the line of sight is partially blocked (the target is in partial cover behind a wall, a post, a car, or is somewhere with a number of obstacles), the RA test has a penalty of -10 (note that short range partially cancels this penalty, reducing it to -5).

111 — chapter 2: comBat — When there is no line of sight (the target has complete cover and the attacker performs an RA to force them to remain there or in the hope that they will injure their target through what they are hiding behind), the RA is possible as long as the attacker has localized their target. A penalty of -10 is applied to the RA, and the target benefits from Damage Reduction (DR) depending on what their cover is made from: Type of cover DR Wooden door, light cover 5 Vehicle 7 Plaster or hollow brick wall 10 Thin concrete wall 15 Reinforced steel door 20 Thick concrete wall 35 NB: Characters protecting themselves from a zoned attack dealt with explosives receive the same DR. CONDITIONS FOR RA Movement of the attacker and target: An RA performed while the attacker is moving receives a penalty of -5. An RA aimed at a target in movement receives a penalty of -3. These two penalties can both apply at the same time: if Batgirl runs and throws a Batarang at Spoiler who is trying to escape on a motorbike, her RA is subject to a penalty of -8! Target engaged in melee combat: An RA aimed at a target already involved in melee combat with one of the attacker’s allies receives a penalty of -2, or -5 if an ally is almost completely obscuring the target. Size of the target: If the attacker is trying to hit a particularly small target, a penalty is applied the RA depending on the size of the target: ◊ Under 1 meter (a dog, a small window, a skateboard, etc.): -3 ◊ Less than 50cm (a cat, a jerry can of gas, a weapon, a handbag, etc.): -5 ◊ Smaller than 15cm (a can of soda, a baseball cap, a  Batarang, a paperback book, the hand of an opponent, etc.): -10 Incident: If the character receives a critical fail (rolling 1 with the D20) for their RA, this provokes an incident occurring with the ranged weapon being used (a mechanical problem) or with the attacker (who drops the weapon) - the choice is to be made by the player. Whichever is chosen, the character messes up their action and has to use a movement action in order to make their weapon useable again. Mechanisms and projectiles: In order to avoid complex management of the number of projectiles which would involve taking into account the various capacities and mechanisms of different RA weapons, we advise you to focus more on the action than the details, and accept that putting new projectiles into the weapon in question requires an action to be performed with a frequency depending on the weapon being used and its workings. SPECIAL ACTIONS During a combat, the players and GM can choose to use special actions. These allow a wide range of spectacular actions to be accomplished and can spice up an encounter, but do require a few extra rules. They are not at all obligatory of course, just ways of adding a little extra energy to a combat, and you are free not to use them if you prefer a more simplified fight. SPECIAL MELEES ACTIONS Grab: The fighter performs an MA in order to attempt to grab their opponent by a limb or their clothes (back of a vest, cape, etc.) If they fail, the opponent can immediately perform an attack (MA, RA, or SA) as a free action. If successful, the character does not inflict any DD, but doubles the MA score for the following attacks they make as long as the opponent is still in their grasp. The opponent can no longer Break away. To escape being grabbed, the opponent has to use a limited action. Charge: Charging involves rushing toward an opponent in order to slam into them. It requires a movement action before the attack action and requires enough space to run at least 5 meters directly up to the target. The MA does not take into account the DEF bonus afforded by any armor worn by the target. If successful, the MA DD receive a +1D6 bonus (temporary or not, depending on the weapon used). If it is a critical success, this bonus applies and the DD are also doubled. For a failure, the MA is unsuccessful and the attacker is deemed Knocked over. In case of a critical fail, the attacker is Knocked over and the target can immediately perform an MA as a free action. Looking for the weak spot: When their character performs an MA, the player may choose to roll 2D20 and keep the lower result of the two (it’s more difficult to hit an opponent’s weak spot than any other part). If

112 — part 2: the Game system — successful, 2+1D4 is added to the DD. If the character is supposed to make their test using 2D20, they roll 3D20 and keep the result of their choice between the two lowest. Disarming an opponent: When a characters is involved in melee combat they can disarm an opponent by performing a successful MA test in opposition with MA of the target. The target benefits from a +5 bonus for their test if they are holding their weapon with both hands. The attacker only disarms their opponent if they obtain a critical success or there’s a difference of at least 10 in their test in opposition. If successful, the target is disarmed but receives no damage. If it fails, the target can immediately retaliate with the attack of their choice. Immobilize: An attacker can also try to immobilize their opponent with a joint lock or stranglehold. The principle is the same as for Knocked to the ground (tests of MA made in opposition with the opponent’s MA), with the following results: ◊ Critical success: The opponent is Immobilized and Stunned, ◊ Success: The opponent is Immobilized, ◊ Fail: no effect, ◊ Critical fail: The opponent can perform an MA action as a free action. Maintaining this hold for the following rounds requires 1 limited action upon each round, as well as a successful test of Strength, made in opposition with the Strength of the opponent (in this case, don’t forget the bonuses afforded by the levels in Ways like Way of the melee), with the following results: ◊ Critical success: The opponent remains Immobilized and is once again Stunned, ◊ Success: The opponent remains Immobilized,

113 — chapter 2: comBat — ◊ Fail: The opponent frees themselves and is no longer Immobilized, ◊ Critical fail: the opponent frees themselves, is no longer Immobilized, and can perform an MA action as a free action. Knocked to the ground: The action Knocked to the ground means performing an MA aimed at removing the force keeping the opponent standing, so that they fall to the ground. This could take the form of a sweep, a hit aimed at the legs, or even being pushed back as practiced in certain martial arts. This MA is performed in opposition with an MA test made by the opponent (meaning that the opponent’s DEF is not taken into account, but instead the result of their MA test which includes all the usual modifiers). The effects then depend on the result: ◊ Critical success: The opponent receives the DD of the MA, and is also Knocked over, ◊ Success: The opponent is Knocked over (but with no damage), ◊ Fail: no effect, ◊ Critical fail: The attacker is Knocked over (but with no damage). Holding back: A character who performs a successful MA may choose to inflict minor damage, called “temporary DD”, if they want to avoid hurting or killing an opponent and only want to neutralize them. The MA test receives a penalty of -2, unless the attacker uses a weapon (fists, a club, etc.) whose damage is always temporary. The attacker’s strength MOD does not apply to the temporary DD, and they are free to inflict upon their target a number of DD between 1 and the result of their Damage Die. Nightwing wants to question a hoodlum who has 5 HP left. Nightwing hits the target with a nightstick (with no penalty, as this weapon only ever inflicts temporary damage) and obtains 5 points on his Damage Die. Nightwing’s Strength MOD is not added to this because he has “held back”. As he does not wish to knock the hoodlum out, he chooses to inflict 4 temporary DD points (out of the 5 obtained with the die), meaning that the hoodlum now only has 1 HP and is on the point of blacking out. Now that he is not resisting, Nightwing can question him. RANGED ATTACK SPECIAL ACTIONS RA special actions inflict normal DD and are governed by the following extra rules and maneuvers. Threaten: For their turn, a character can threaten their target and then wait before performing their RA at the moment of their choice during the round, even if this means interrupting the target’s action. If they are less than 20 meters away, the character can aim at a group of individuals situated close to each other and only decide which one to target at the moment the RA is performed. Finding the weak spot: The player chooses to roll 2D20 and keeps the weaker result of the two. If this succeeds, 2+1D4 is added to the damage dealt. If the character is supposed to perform their test using 2D20, they roll 3D20 and keep the result of their choice between the two lowest. Aiming at a target (limited action): The attacker takes the time necessary to aim at their target. This allows them to double the range of the weapon without any penalty and add their Perception MOD to either the RA or DD score, as they prefer. Using a tripod, resting the weapon on something, or lying down to shoot with a long gun allows the range to be multiplied by 4 and still have no penalty applied. MOVEMENT AND DEFENSE SPECIAL ACTIONS The last category of special actions concerns those related to the movements and defense of those fighting. A normal movement action allows a character to change their physical position in relation to their opponents. This could be running a few meters (if you want to be extra precise, you can decide that the character moves a number of meters equal to their Dexterity score), jumping from rooftop to rooftop, jumping up somewhere high, on top of a wall or a ledge, swinging on a rope attached to a gargoyle, etc. Confrontations in comics are always spectacular, so feel free to have your characters perform stunts and tricks that would be impossible or very risky in real life but happen all the time in the adventures of Batman! (see The scene of combat:  movement, acrobatics, and destruction below) Two movement actions are more specific: ◊ Break away: This is putting distance between your character and an opponent during melee combat with the aim of fleeing the scene. It is performed

114 — part 2: the Game system — with a test of Dexterity in opposition with the closest opponent(s). If the test is a success (critical or normal) the character is able to flee (if the opponent tries to catch them, follow the rules governing chases). A failed test allows the opponent to move with the character (meaning the character is still unable to flee) and they can also perform an “opportunistic” attack, performed as a free action at the Initiative level of the individual who attempted to Break away. ◊ Flee: this is escaping the scene when the character is not at melee distance. If the opponent follows them, refer to the rules governing chases. Otherwise (and if the circumstances allow), the opponent can perform an “opportunistic” RA performed as a free action, as long as the character was forced to leave any cover when fleeing. Defense special actions involve concentrating more on defense than attack. Any character who does not wish to attack during their turn of the game has two possibilities for defending themselves against an MA. These actions are useless against RA (for which the only option is to seek cover using a movement action), but can be used against an SA if it resembles a melee attack. ◊ Simple defense: A character may choose to sacrifice their attack action to benefit from a +2 DEF bonus until their next round. ◊ Total defense (L): A character may choose only to defend themselves during the current round. This limited action gives them a +4 DEF bonus until their next turn. ADDITIONAL ACTIONS AND ENDURANCE ADDITIONAL ACTIONS From its stinking sewers to its luxury mansions, Gotham City is home to some exceptional beings, capable of extraordinary things. Any character with an Initiative score between 20 and 29 has the opportunity to perform an additional action each round. This can be a free, attack, or movement action, and is performed at their Initiative score -10. A character with an Initiative score between 30 and 39 can intervene a third time during the round, under the same conditions (first actions: Initiative score; second action: Initiative score -10; third action: Initiative score -20). Characters with an Initiative score between 40 and 49 can intervene a fourth time during a round, and so on. ENDURANCE Even if it’s extremely rare to see comic characters stopping to catch their breath during a fight, real-life combat quickly becomes exhausting. If you want to take this factor into consideration, you may consider that a fighter can act normally for a number of rounds equal to half their Constitution score(rounded up). Once past this, all their test are made with a penalty of -1 per extra round, until they take the time to get their breath back. Each round spent doing so allows them to reduce the penalty accrued by 1 point. PREJUDICIAL STATES A “prejudicial state” is a penalty applied to character because of unfavorable circumstances. If a character is: ◊ Weakened, they use a D12 for all tests (instead of the D20). ◊ Blinded, a -5 penalty is applied to their Initiative, their MA, and their DEF, and -10 to their RA. If a Blinded character has an SA that uses sight, this also receives a penalty of -10. ◊ Stunned, they are unable to perform any action and suffer from a -5 DEF penalty for one round. ◊ Immobilized, they cannot move to another place and use a D12 for all their tests (instead of the D20). ◊ Paralyzed, they are unable to perform any action; attacks targeting them automatically succeed and are considered a critical success. ◊ Slowed, they can only perform one action per round (attack or movement). ◊ Knocked over, they receive a penalty of -5 for their attacks and DEF; removing this state (i.e. getting up) requires a movement action. ◊ Surprised, they cannot perform any action and receive a penalty of -5 for their attacks and DEF for the following round of combat after becoming Surprised (i.e. the first round of combat in the case of an ambush).

115 — chapter 2: comBat — FURTHER PRECISIONS D12 and double dice: When a character has to use 1D12 instead of 1D20 (because of a prejudicial state, when attacking using their opposite hand, etc.), but a capacity usually allows them to roll 2D20 (and keep the better result), the player rolls 2D12 and keeps the better result. However, they can no longer use the “Finding the weak spot” MA and RA actions. Also, in this state, the character can no longer use capacities that require replacing the use of the D20 with the D12. Additionally, rolling 12 with the D12 is not considered a critical success, but allows the player to roll 1D20 and keep the better of the two results (D20 or D12). The result of the D20 still abides by the standard rules for obtaining a critical success. Using the opposite hand (left hand for someone righthanded, right hand for a left-handed) to perform an attack using a weapon requires rolling 1D12 rather than 1D20 for the MA or RA test. This penalty does not apply for an MA made with the character’s bare hands. Simultaneous attacks with two weapons: Performing two MA, RA, or SA simultaneously requires using a limited action. Each of these two attacks is made using 1D12 instead of 1D20, but inflict regular damage. Changing weapons: Changing weapons (when the weapon is an object, not a natural weapon like fists, feet, head, claws, etc.) during combat requires a movement action. It’s important to respect this rule - changing weapons should always be an inconvenience. Using grenades: Throwing a grenade requires a limited action. When a character uses a grenade, they are targeting a zone, not an individual. For a throw of up to 20  meters, the character must perform a successful difficulty 10 RA test. Any further and the difficulty becomes 15. Note that a grenade cannot be thrown more than 40 meters. It is possible to throw a grenade while staying in cover in order to avoid enemy fire, but this increases the difficulty by 5. If the grenade throw is a success (normal or critical), the DD apply to everyone present in the zone, within a range of 10 meters. If it is a fail, the grenade explodes far from the zone being aimed at and does not have the desired effect. DD AND DAMAGE When an attack is successful, the attacker determines damage by rolling the DD for the weapon used and adding any applicable MOD or bonus. The Damage Reduction (DR) of any protection is then deducted from this result. Then, the target loses a number of HP equal to the final number. The Joker attacks a guard at Arkham Asylum with a steel ball hidden in a birthday cake. The attack is a success. The Joker rolls the weapon’s DD (1D6 temporary) and gets a 5, from which he removes the protection afforded by the guard’s protective clothing (a light protective vest with DR5). The ball hits the guard with all its force, but he does not lose any HP (5-5 = 0). He can thank his protective vest for saving him and will tell the story about the strawberry cake that could have killed him for years to come! DD are “limitless” Rolls of the DD are called “limitless”: if one of the DD lands on its maximum figure (4 for 1D4, 6 for 1D6, 8 for 1D8, etc.), the attacker re-rolls it and adds the result to All the rules that follow concern the effects of wounds on characters in Batman RPG. Obviously, they do not attempt to reproduce the gore and pain that a wound would inflict in real life if an injury were sustained to the tendons, muscles, blood vessels, joints, or vital organs of the human body, but to copy roughly how characters in comics get injured and get well (very quickly) after receiving numerous injuries over the course of a storyline. Don't forget that losing HP doesn't necessarily mean that physical damage has been received. More commonly, it is related to the loss of a fighting capacity by a character, and this explains why HP can often be regained simply by taking a short rest. Consequently, in the following section, don't try and find a realistic representation of wounds, but rather a tool for representing one of the conventions of the comics genre, in which Heroes and super-criminals always, eventually, manage to pick themselves up and carry on.

116 — part 2: the Game system — the damage taken by the target. If the re-roll once again lands on the highest figure of the die, it is re-rolled, and so on, which is why it is referred to as “limitless’. Note that the lower the damage dealt by the weapon, the higher the chance that a ‘limitless’ roll occurs. This is to give attacks with fists, feet etc. the effectiveness and prevalence they have in the comics. As usual, a critical success allows the total damage to be doubled. If the weapons inflicts damage with two dice, only the die with the maximum result is re-rolled. TEMPORARY DD DD referred to as “temporary” are noted separately, as they are different from standard DD in the following ways: ◊ They never inflict serious wounds (see below), ◊ Characters regain HP lost through temporary DD much more quickly (1 HP per minute. See “HP healing” below), ◊ Temporary DD are however added to the rest of the damage sustained by a character. As soon as the total normal and temporary DD exceed the HP of a Hero or NPC, they lose consciousness (even if all the DD are just temporary) and only come round when their HP are back to at least 1. SERIOUS WOUND When a character loses a quantity of HP higher than or equal to their Constitution score in a single roll of the dice (after an attack or a fall, a burn, etc.), they are said to have sustained a “serious wound”. A character with a serious wound is Weakened and uses a D12 instead of 1D20 for all their tests. Catwoman jumps up onto the ladder of a fire escape to escape from the criminals chasing her. The difficulty is 15, but she sustains a serious wound and rolls 1D12 for her test. The result is 8 on the D12, to which is added her Dexterity MOD (in this case +7). The test is a success, but only just! Even though she has been seriously injured, she manages to escape to the rooftops, leaving her pursuers angry and frustrated. NPCs and serious wounds: An extra (a generic character, see part 5 about non-player characters) receives a serious when they lose a number of HP equal to or superior to their wound level. Unique NPCs receive a serious wound when they lose more than half of their HP. Losing consciousness and serious wounds: When a character sustains a serious wound, they have to perform a difficulty 8 test of Constitution (i.e. with a D12), and if unsuccessful lose consciousness for 1D6 minutes. At the end of this period, a new test is made with the same difficulty. If successful, the character comes back to their senses. If unsuccessful, they remain unconscious for an additional 1D6 minutes.

117 — chapter 2: comBat — Healing a serious wound: Each day, after a night of rest, a character can make just one attempt to heal from a serious wound. They must perform a difficulty 8 test of Constitution (once again with 1D12). If the character has access to good medical treatment or is hospitalized, the GM can give them a bonus of +2 to +5 for this test. If the test is a success (normal or critical), the serious wound is sufficiently healed for the character to once again use 1D20 for their tests. If it fails, nothing happens, but a critical fail causes a complication to occur, leaving the character requiring intensive care at a hospital. UNCONSCIOUSNESS AND NEUTRALIZATION When an NPC receives a serious wound or their HP fall to 0, the GM may simply consider them to be out of action and unable to fight. This is more or less definitive depending on the circumstances and wishes of the GM (especially if the survival of the NPC is important to the scenario). When a Hero’s HP fall to 0, they sustain a serious wound and fall unconscious. A Hero’s HP level cannot go lower than zero, and any extra damage that would cause it to do so is ignored. If the Hero does not receive help or medical attention in the following hour, the GM should apply the required consequences, based on the circumstances, especially if the character falls from a building, is trapped in a fire, or run over by a truck. No-one said life in Gotham City is easy… Healing a character whose HP score has fallen to 0 requires a difficulty 10 test of Intelligence which takes into account the capacities afforded by the medical Ways. If the test is successful, the patient comes to their senses after 1D6 minutes and regains 1 HP, but remains Weakened. HP HEALING HP represent both physical injuries and the stress inherent in combat. Consequently, they are regained fairly quickly, through resting: 6-8 hours of continuous rest allow a character to regain a number of HP equal to the roll of their Hit Points Die, to which is added their level of experience and Constitution MOD. Certain Ways allow a Hero to regain more HP by receiving treatment from a character who possesses Way of medicine, or by using capacities from Way of healing, if they have that superpower. HP lost from temporary DD are regained a lot more quickly, at the rate of 1 HP per minute of rest.

118 — part 2: the Game system — THE SCENE OF COMBAT: MOVEMENT, ACROBATICS, AND DESTRUCTION Scenes of combat in comics generally use all the possibilities offered by their setting to spice up the action with acrobatics, extraordinary feats, and surprising twists. This spectacular and hectic atmosphere isn’t easy to reproduced in a role-playing game. What follows nevertheless attempts to reproduce the importance that the surroundings can have during a confrontation, first of all because realism is important - any veteran will tell you that urban combat is very different from fighting on a plain or in the jungle, and any brawler will confirm that a fistfight in a bar is very different from a punchout in a back alley or a face off in a parking lot. All of which is to say that the place where a fight takes place is hugely important to how it goes down. In Batman RPG, taking the setting into account helps make combat closer to how it is represented in the comics, by allowing for some spectacular actions. Nothing would be more boring than having combat reduced to rolling dice so that one side hits the other, then the other hits back, etc. etc. etc.! In reality, all of this is just common sense, and what follows simply aims to explain the basics and remind you what you should take into account. By its very nature, combat is something very visual, so we naturally believe that it’s more engaging for players to use the figurines and game board for Batman ™ : Gotham City Chronicles. This allows everyone taking part to be able to visualize what’s going on, both the setting and the movements of each character, avoiding confusion and disputes while immersing all the players in the action. Whatever the way the action happens, the GM will make sure to give a detailed description of the setting before the players start the combat. Above all, everyone playing should make sure to perform and describe the spectacular moves they make, especially for the more colorful characters in the game, such as the masked avengers and costumed supercriminals. By requesting a few tests be performed (see below), the GM should encourage these exploits, like jumping onto the roof of a van just about to speed away (movement action), then trying to knock out the driver by breaking their window with a two-legged kick (attack action). By keeping close to the sort of encounters seen in comics, combat becomes an exciting show despite not being completely realistic. But that’s Gotham City for you - a place where extraordinary things always happen! OBSTACLES, LEVELS, AND DIFFICULT TERRAIN A warehouse, a chemicals factory, an abandoned weather station, a manor, a mental asylum… Each place has its own characteristics. Combat in Batman RPG should be fast and fun, and while we’ve opted to simplify how the setting is handled, expert GMs may change these propositions as they see fit: ◊ Changing levels (running up stairs, jumping onto the roof of a vehicle, jumping to the bottom of a rope ladder, going from the first to the second floor, etc.) costs 1 movement action, ◊ Getting past an obstacle (a wall, a truck blocking the road, a pile of rubble in a collapsed subway tunnel, etc.) costs 2 movement actions, ◊ Moving over difficult terrain (a puddle of oil or acid, a muddy swap, a ramp of ice produced by Mr. Freeze, ballast on train tracks, wrecks of cars in a junk yard, a meter of water in the sewers, etc.) halves the distance covered in 1 movement action. Each time it’s unsure whether the character will be able to changer levels, get past an obstacle, or advance safely over perilous terrain, the GM will generally ask the character to perform a test of Dexterity. This may sometimes be a test of Strength, for example if the character is trying to get out of a sticky viscous liquid, or Perception if moving through a hall of mirrors, or Willpower if the character has to remain calm while sirens set off by Harley Quinn are blaring all around them, etc. The results of the tests will be as follows: ◊ A critical success allows the character to accomplish their movement and benefit from an extra advantage (for example, the possibility to perform an attack as a free action, or a bonus of +3 for the next attacks), ◊ A normal success allows the character to accomplish their movement, ◊ A fail makes the character Knocked over, Immobilized, or Stunned, depending on the circumstances, ◊ A critical fail makes the character Knocked over, Immobilized, or Stunned, depending on the circumstances, and inflicts 1D4 of temporary DD.

119 — chapter 2: comBat — USING THE SURROUNDINGS: SPECTACULAR ATTACKS AND IMPROVISED WEAPONS SPECTACULAR ATTACKS Sliding, swinging… Another interesting part of the setting is that it gives fighters opportunities for spectacular attacks, confirmed by bonuses to the attack test. This is true above all for melee fights, but if the GM agrees, daring attacks like a crimefighter throwing a Batarang while swinging from a cable can also by rewarded with a bonus. The principle is as follows: ◊ The player announces that their character is performing one movement action using an element in the setting (swinging from a cable, sliding down an escalator, etc.). Note that this action should not be a pre-existing movement action (like charging someone or moving from one level to another by jumping from a gangway or the top of a truck), but an actual risk whose outcome is uncertain and thus requires a test, ◊ The GM determines the difficulty of the action and the characteristic used (more often than not, Dexterity), ◊ The player performs their test, applying all the applicable modifiers (MOD for the characteristic, bonuses provided by the Ways, etc.), ◊ Any attack performed while the character is moving (i.e. directly after a movement action) benefits from a bonus equal to the margin of success of the test, or receives a penalty equal to the margin of failure of the test. In both cases, this margin is the difference between the difficulty of the test and the result obtained by the player when performing their test. In the case of a critical success, the ensuing attack is automatically a success (but without the possibility of being another critical success). In case of a critical fail, the following attack is automatically a failure (but without the possibility of being another critical fail). Note that a test with a margin of 0 gives neither a bonus nor a penalty to the attack, and it is thus made normally. Tim Drake alias Robin is surprised by Two-Face in the dining room of Wayne Manor and decides to jump up to the chandelier so he can swing and kick the criminal with both feet. The GM judges this movement action to be Difficult, assigning it 15 difficulty. Tim rolls 15, adds his Dexterity MOD (+4), and gets a final result of 19. This means that the MA he then performs on Two-Face benefits from a bonus of 19 (the final result of his test) - 15 (the test difficulty) = +4! Neither of Two-Face's faces is going to like this!… IMPROVISED WEAPONS During a combat, both characters and their opponents will sometimes be tempted to use whatever they can get their hands on as a weapon: broken bottles, rocks, tree branches, chandeliers… For some particularly powerful individuals like Tusk or Solomon Grundy, this could even mean throwing a car at an opponent! For MA, you can just refer to the table of melee weapons in the Chapter about equipment. For RA, here’s a table with a few examples of what fighters might want to use as projectiles. Bear in mind that the range depends on the person throwing, and is always equal to 5 meters + the Strength MOD. Improvised weapon Required Strength DD Glass bottle, crockery, thick book 8 1D4 temporary Heavy stone, ashtray, laptop 10 1D6 temporary Branch, stick, chandelier, poker 10 1D6 temporary Iron bar, fire extinguisher 12 1D8 temporary Rock 24 2D6 Metal beam 28 2D8 Car (sedan) 38 10D6 Bus, minivan, carriage 50 15D8

120 — part 2: the Game system — DESTROYING THE SURROUNDINGS A window broken, a wall punched through, furniture and ornaments thrown at people’s heads, cars that burst into flames… Fighters are not the only ones that receive damage when fists starts flying in Gotham City! Heroes and NPCs alike can perform attacks (MA or RA) against things around them, and these attacks can inflict collateral damage to anyone unlucky enough to be nearby (i.e. behind or near an obstacle, in the case of an explosion). The table below gives a few examples of the objects in the surroundings as guidelines for the GM to expand upon. Just like characters, elements in the scene have their own HP which quantify the state they are in (from intact to destroyed, when the HP are 0 or below). The levels of difficulty do not relate to the difficulty of hitting the target, but the best way of damaging the element. Naturally, the GM has to use their common sense when dealing with these elements of the surroundings: you can’t use your fists to damage a metal door, a brick wall, or a vehicle, unless your name is Tusk or Solomon Grundy! Apart from things made of glass or light wood, most elements in the surroundings won’t be damaged unless tools, explosives, or sufficiently powerful weapons are used. The GM can also decide that attacking a concrete wall without the necessary equipment gives DD to anyone who tries. Element Difficulty of the MA or RA test (depending on the size of the target) HP Collateral DD Range of the DD Sheet of glass 10 5 1D6 5 meters Wooden door 10 10 1D4 temporary 2 meters Metal door 10 20 1D6 temporary 1 meter Wall 5 35 4D6 5 meters Car 5 25 0 0 Truck 5 50 0 0 Gas tank of a light vehicle 15 10 4D6 20 meters Tank of a truck transporting flammable products 10 15 7D6 50 meters

121 CHAPTER 3: ETHICS DURING THE GAME GAINING OR LOSING ETHICS Ethics scores fluctuate depending on the actions of the Heroes. Each time a character accomplishes something that calls for a particular value, or blatantly contravenes one, the GM may choose to raise or lower one of the scores (don’t forget that NPCs don’t use Ethics; the scores shown in the character profiles for the world of Batman are just indications and destined to be used only if these characters are used as Heroes). The use of Ethics happens according to the following principles: 1. An act is not the same thing as a test, but is something intentionally accomplished by the Hero; it could be a single action (performing an attack; sacrificing oneself to save an innocent person’s life) or a series of actions (jumping off the roof, only just catching Alfred, then landing on the balcony of Wayne Manor with the butler safe and sound). 2. The same action cannot result in both the loss of a point and the gain of a point in the opposite value. It’s up to the GM to decide what applies best in that situation. Magpie throws the guard of a jewelry store out of a window. The GM might decide to give him one extra Crime point, or lower his Justice score by a point. The GM chooses the first solution, with the reasoning that it seems to correspond better with the seriousness of what Magpie just did. 3. The higher the score for a certain value, the more the act must be important to be worth being awarded an extra point. Examples of acts worthy of being awarded a point in a value: Target score Order Anarchy Justice Crime 1 Helping stop an offense or rule breaking Blatantly breaking the rules Taking the defense of a vulnerable person Taking part in a minor crime 2 Helping to reestablish order Creating disorder in a public place Intervening to defend the weak Taking part in a minor crime 3 Personally reestablishing order within a small group of people Helping a situation become chaotic Taking a risk in order to encourage or reestablish justice Perpetrating a minor crime or accomplishing an act that seriously contravenes a moral code 4 Signing up to defend order Encouraging troublemaking, rioting, and chaos Dedicating one's life to justice Committing a serious crime 5 Cracking down on disobedience by all possible means Bringing chaos to a whole neighborhood Defending or reestablishing justice by all possible means Perpetrating several serious crimes with multiple victims 4. Losing a point can happen through inaction. The GM may choose to lower a Hero’s score if they do not act when one of their values would normally have prompted them to. However, the idea is not for the GM to subtly guide Heroes with scores for abstract values, nor to punish players, and arguing over the gain or loss of Ethics points in the game is really to be avoided. Losing points should only happen exceptionally - it’s a tool the GM can use to highlight the dramatic events of a scene when the character is in flagrant contradiction flagrante with the scores of the Ethics.

122 — part 2: the Game system — USING ETHICS DURING THE GAME Aside from their role as prerequisites for certain Ways of shadows, Ethics can also be used during the game as follows: 1. As a bonus, decided by the player, who can use just one of their value scores to perform a test related to an action that particularly requires the value in question. The GM must be in agreement (they can, for instance, decide that the action is too ordinary to merit the implication of the character’s Ethics, or that a different value is more suited to the action). The bonus is equal to double the score of the value in question. The Joker is trying to kill Jim Gordon despite Batman’s efforts to stop him. The sinister clown adds the double of his Crime score (i.e. 2x5=10) to the test performed for this action. Batman has got his work cut out if he wants to save the commissioner’s life! However, these bonuses have a cost: each time a player decides to resort to using Ethics, this gives the GM the right, later on during the scenario, to use one of the Ethics scores as a penalty (see below). 2. As a penalty, decided by the GM, who can use just one of a Hero’s Ethics scores to inflict a penalty for an action that goes against the Hero’s values (as long as the player has previously chosen to use their Ethics earlier in the scenario). This penalty is equal to double the score of the value in question. Having gone undercover in Red Hood’s gang using the name Matches Malone, Bruce Wayne has to hide his hatred of the heinous acts committed by the other gang members. For this, he has to perform a test in order to hide his emotions. However, the player playing as Bruce Wayne has already used their Ethics earlier in the scenario to gain victory over an enemy. The GM thus decides to apply a penalty to their test, equal to twice their Justice score (i.e. 5x2=10). Disgusted by what he sees, Bruce refuses to continue acting stoically and finally decides to give the criminals the punishment they deserve! As you might imagine, sometimes no occasion arises for the GM to rebalance things like this during a scenario, especially if the player is being particularly careful to make sure their character never betrays their Ethics. If this is the case, the GM can choose to give the character an “unlucky break”, by inflicting the test of their choice with a penalty equal to the score of the highest value possessed by the Hero: karma is a fickle mistress, to be sure! Another solution might actually be to do nothing, as a sort of reward for the Hero remaining true to their values.

123 CHAPTER 4: VEHICLES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A VEHICLE Vehicles are used in chases (see the Chapter regarding the rules for chases) and confrontations between vehicles. Mass (MAS): Represents the size of the vehicle. The  vehicle’s Mass is added to the DD inflicted by the vehicle when it hits something. Don’t however mix up the Mass with the number of passengers, which depends on the type of vehicle: 3 for a small car, 4 for a sedan, 2 for a pick-up with no back seat, 4 or 5 for a mini-van, 1 for a commercial vehicle, 2 for a small truck, 2 for a trailer truck, etc. A two-wheeled vehicle (bike, motorbike, scooter, etc.) can take a passenger, but this makes it lose 1 from its Agility score. Agility (AGI): Represents both maneuverability and top speed of the vehicle. This bonus is added for all tests of piloting (see the rules about chases). Hit Points (HP): A vehicle’s HP determine its resistance to impacts and accidents. Defense (DEF): DEF takes into account the maneuverability of the vehicle, its speed, its solidity, and also its size. The driver’s Dexterity MOD is added to this score when the vehicle is the target of an attack. TABLE OF VEHICLES Vehicle MAS AGI DEF HP Price All-terrain motorbike* -3 +3 15 5 $8 000 Sports motorbike -3 +5 14 5 $12 000 Road motorbike -2 +4 14 8 $15 000 City car 0 +1 12 15 $12 000 Sedan +1 +2 12 20 $20 000 Minivan +3 +1 12 30 $30 000 4x4* +2 +3 12 25 $40 000 Luxury sedan +2 +4 13 25 $50 000 Sportscar 0 +5 13 20 $60 000 Delivery van +4 +0 14 40 $50 000 Truck +6 -2 16 60 $100 000 Light airplane NA +5 18 25 $400 000 Helicopter NA +6 15 25 $1 000 000 Small jet plane NA +8 18 25 $5 000 000 Airship (100m) NA +2 10 50 $2 000 000 Airship (200m) NA +1 10 80 $2 000 000 Light armored vehicle (DR10) +5 +1 18 40 NA Heavy armored vehicle (DR15) +8 +1 20 50 NA Fighter aircraft (DR5) NA +10 18 25 NA *Doubles the AGI bonus off roads and tracks. Airship: The HP given are for an airship with segmented buoyancy (several separate sections) using noninflammable gas and a nacelle with a means of propulsion. Light armored vehicle (like an armored vanguard vehicle): This vehicle has modest armor (DR 10), can be equipped with a weapon, and the larger examples can carry up to six people including the driver.

124 — part 2: the Game system — Heavy armored vehicle: This vehicle has reinforced armor (DR 15) et and various types of weapons with varying levels of assistance, depending on the era and model. A heavy armored vehicle can only carry three or four people, but up to a dozen can perch on the exterior, although this means they do not benefit from the vehicle’s DEF or DR. Fighter aircraft: This is equipped with several different heavy weapons controlled by the pilot. VEHICLE WEAPONS In order to be used, a vehicle’s weapons need the attacker to have acquired the knowledge necessary to make them function during their past or through training. This means that these weapons are reserved for professionals. For how to use them, see the rules governing chases if the RA is executed during a chase, or the rules of combat if the RA is executed outside a chase. When the RA targets something smaller than a compact car, the target is said to be “small” (see the rules governing Ranged Attacks). It would be impossible to list the characteristics of every piece of equipment here. The emphasis should be on common sense, the rhythm of the action, and the deliberately spectacular combat of the Dark Knight in his Batmobile, as seen in the comics. OTHER ON-BOARD FEATURES Apart from the weapons they carry, vehicles can have other add-ons that you wouldn’t find on standard models. These devices can be installed by a paid professional (at a cost that can become extremely high if the modification is illegal) or by using the Resourceful capacity of Way of the mechanic (which takes 3D6 days of work for 20% of the costs noted below), as long as a test of Intelligence, with the difficulty noted below, is successfully performed. Armor plating: The body of the vehicle is reinforced to resists bullets and being crashed into. The vehicle’s DEF is increased by 2, but its AGI receives a penalty of -1. Motorbikes cannot be armor plated. Nail scatterer: The driver of a (ground) vehicle can scatter nails behind them that puncture the tires of other vehicles. Anyone following them must perform a successful test of piloting (difficulty 15). If successful, the vehicle receives 1D6 DD (limitless). If they fail, 1D3 tires are punctured and the vehicle is forced to stop. Oil sprayer: The vehicle has a small tank of oil at the rear that can be opened by the driver, spraying oil in the vehicle’s wake. Anyone passing through this patch of oil must perform a successful test of piloting (difficulty 15) or they have an Accident (see the rules governing chases). Smoke: The vehicle spews smoke in its wake. Anyone following must perform a successful test of Perception

125 — chapter 4: Vehicles — (difficulty 15) or receive a penalty of -5 for all their tests during the next round of the chase. Boost: The engine is modified to allow occasional use of a special gas or fuel which temporarily increases the power of the motor. Any vehicle using this modification benefits from a +10 bonus to its AGI for 1D4 rounds of the chase. During these rounds, an Accident occurs if a natural score of 1-5 results from rolling the test of piloting die. Spending an Exploit Point avoids this accident. Anti-flat tire: These tires are designed so they can still be used even after being punctured. The vehicle can no longer be stopped by nails or a spike belt. Revolving license plate: This illegal accessory allow the license plate of the car to be changed between three different numbers on the driver’s command. Armored windows: The windows of the vehicle are reinforced to protect its passengers and are considered to have DR5. This DR cannot be cumulated with another pre-existing DR, for example by armor completing the protection. Tinted windows: Thanks to a special chemical treatment, the driver of the vehicle has a switch to make the windows of the vehicle look opaque from the exterior, or return them to being transparent. This change take 1D4 rounds. Invisible interior: Thanks to a special chemical treatment, the vehicle’s windows can make it appear than the interior is empty. This illusion can be detected with a test of Perception with a difficulty depending on the distance of the character (very close: 5; a few meters away: 10; further away: 15; far away: 20). Making the illusion happen takes 1D6 rounds. COST AND DIFFICULTY OF INSTALLATION FOR ADD-ONS Add-on Cost Difficulty Armor Price of the vehicle /2 25 Nail scatterer $500 10 Oil sprayer $1000 15 Smoke $2 000 15 Boost $5 000 20 Anti-flat tire Price of the vehicle/10 10 Revolving license plate $1 000 15 Tinted windows $3 000 15 Armored windows Price of the vehicle/10 15 Invisible interior Price of the vehicle/ 5 15 Vehicle weapons Price of the weapon x 2 25

126 CHAPTER 5: GADGETS Gadgets include all the inventions designed and used by crimefighters and costumed super-criminals, including the accessories of the Batman Family, the cryogenic inventions of Mr. Freeze, the Penguin’s umbrellas, Bane’s Venom, the Joker’s gas, and Anarky’s network pirating tools. In addition to all these, there are all the high-tech devices now used by organized crime, special forces, and the secret service. As this is a domain that is continuously developing new technology, feel free to get inspiration from action series or war films to enrich the choice of gear to found in Gotham City. GOTHAM CITY GADGETS WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES Note: Don’t forget to add the standard modifiers that apply, in addition to those mentioned below. Certain weapons are reserved for particular characters whose names are shown in parentheses. Raven Red’s bow: Two-handed RA weapon (range 50  meters; minimum Strength 12). Inflicts 1D6  DD, to which is added the Dexterity MOD. Also offers a +2 bonus to RA tests. Miniaturized weapon: RA weapon (range 30 meters; no minimum Strength). Inflicts 2D6 DD. The character may perform a free attack once per round with this weapon, in addition to their normal actions. Deadshot’s weapon: RA weapon (DD 2D8; range 100 meters; minimum Strength 16), which allows the special action “Aim” to be performed as a movement action (instead of a limited action) and obtain a critical success for a result of 19 or 20. Batarang (Batman Family): MA and RA weapon (range 10 meters; minimum Strength 10). Inflicts 1D4 DD, to which is added the Strength MOD for an MA and the Dexterity MOD for an RA. Perforating Batarang (Batman Family): RA weapon (range 10 meters; minimum Strength 10). Inflicts 1D4 DD to which is added the Dexterity MOD, and cancels damage reduction of 5 or below. Exploding Batarang (Batman Family): RA weapon (range 10 meters; minimum Strength 10). Inflicts 1D4 DD to which is added the Dexterity MOD, then explodes upon contact inflicting 2D6 additional DD. Remote-controlled Batarang (Batman Family): RA weapon (range 10 meters; no minimum Strength). Inflicts 1D4 DD to which is added the Dexterity MOD, and gives a +5 bonus to RA tests. Electrified nightstick: MA weapon that inflicts 1D8 DD. If the attack causes damage, the target becomes Stunned and Knocked over. Bolas (El Gaucho): RA weapon (range 10 meters; minimum Strength 12). The target becomes Knocked over and Immobilized but can spend one limited action in order to free themselves by performing a successful test of Strength or Dexterity (difficulty 10). Electric boomerang (Captain Boomerang): RA weapon (range 30  meters; minimum Strength 12). Inflicts 1D6 DD + 1D6 electricity temporary DD, to which is added the Dexterity MOD. If an attack succeeds, the target is Stunned, unless they perform a successful test of Constitution with a difficulty equal to the number of HP lost. Combat boomerang (Captain Boomerang): MA and RA weapon (range 10  meters; minimum Strength 12). Inflicts 1D6 DD, to which is added the Strength MOD for an MA, plus the Dexterity MOD for an RA. Swordstick: MA weapon. Inflicts 1D6 DD. Riddler’s cane: MA weapon. Inflicts 1D4 DD +1D6 electricity temporary DD, as well making the target Stunned for one round, unless they perform a successful test of Constitution (difficulty 15). The cane also gives a +15 bonus to tests of Dexterity made for picking locks or disabling an alarm. By using a limited action, the user can create holographic replicas of themselves, with the number of replicas equal to their Intelligence MOD. A test of Perception (difficulty 20) is necessary to distinguish the original from the holograms.

127 — chapter 5: GadGets — “The Dagger” Knife (the Joker): MA weapon, inflicts 1D10 DD and grants a critical success for 18, 19, and 20. Stunner (Dark Ranger): RA weapon (range 20 meters; no minimum Strength), inflicts 1D6 temporary DD and the target is Stunned if they fail a test of Constitution (difficulty 12). “The Ripper” Scythe (Scarecrow): Two-handed MA weapon, inflicts 1D8 DD. Tranquilizer darts: RA weapon (range 5  meters; no minimum Strength). The target must perform a successful test of Constitution (difficulty 15) or they fall into a deep sleep and become Paralyzed. Electric gloves: MA weapon, inflicts 1D6 DD. If the attack inflicts damage, the target is Stunned. Explosive gel: Has a detonator and is derived from plastic explosives. Must be attached to a structure in order to destroy it. One dose of gel (approx. 500g) inflicts 6D6 DD on structures. Incendiary grenade (Batman of Moscow): RA weapon (range 10 meters; no minimum Strength). Explodes upon contact and inflicts 2D6 fire DD to all characters within a range of 3 meters. The characters present in the area of effect must perform a successful test of Dexterity (difficulty 20) or their clothes catch fire, making them lose 1D8 HP per round for as long as the fire is not put out. Paralyzing grenade: RA weapon (range 10 meters; no minimum Strength). Explodes upon contact making all characters within 3 meters Paralyzed for three turns, unless their test of Constitution (difficulty 15) is successful. The test can be tried again at the end of each round. Cold grenade: RA weapon (range 10 meters; no minimum Strength). Explodes upon contact and inflicts 2D6 DD on all characters within 2 meters. Any character present in the affected zone must perform a test of Constitution (difficulty 15). In the case of a critical fail, they are Paralyzed. If they receive a normal fail, they are Immobilized. If the test is a success, they are Slowed. For a critical success, the character is Weakened. These states disappear as soon as the character performs a successful test of Constitution (which can be done at the starts of a round), the difficulty of which diminishes by 2 points each round. Claws (Catwoman): MA weapon, inflicts 1D6 DD and gives a +5 bonus to tests of Dexterity for climbing, hanging from a cornice, etc. Laser beam helmet: RA weapon (range 20 meters; no minimum Strength), inflicts 5D6 DD and ignores DR lower than or equal to 8. “The Judge” (Two-Face): RA weapon (DD 1D8; range 20  meters; minimum Strength 12). If the RA test is a critical success, the DD are tripled. Combat blade: MA weapon, inflicts 1D8 DD. Deathstroke blade: MA two-handed weapon, inflicts 1D10 and ignores DR lower than or equal to 5. Acid thrower: RA weapon (range 10 meters; no minimum Strength), inflicts 1D10 DD, ignores DR lower than or equal to 7, and doubles damage inflicted on structures. “Beefcake” Funfair hammer (Harley Quinn): MA twohanded weapon, inflicts 1D8  DD. If the target takes damage, they must perform a successful test of Dexterity (difficulty 15) or become Knocked over. Telescopic club: Retractable MA weapon, inflicts 1D6 DD. Multifunction umbrella (the Penguin): RA weapon (DD 1D8; range 30 meters; minimum Strength 10). Also has a flamethrower (DD 1D6, risk of fire) and can spew sleeping gas (that induces Stunned). The umbrella also allows its user to fly 20 meters for 1 movement action during combat, or at a speed of 3.6 km/h for 15 minutes. Tomahawk (Chief Man-of-Bats): MA weapon, DD 1D6. The user can perform an RA and lose the weapon (DD 1D6 + Strength MOD, range 10 meters; minimum Strength 12). HELPFUL EQUIPMENT Composite armor (Batman; Batman Family, GM choice): Gives a DEF bonus of +5, DR6 against RA, and DR3 against MA, without inflicting a Dexterity penalty to the wearer, as is the case for normal armor. Wireless headband: When connected to the right system, this device allows the character to use the Domination capacity from Way of mental control (Way of wonders),

128 — part 2: the Game system — over a distance of 5km (difficulty 20 for resisting the powers). Portable Batcomputer (Batman Family): Gives a +10 bonus to tests of Intelligence performed to try and find out some information about an individual or their identity. Propulsion boots: Once per round of combat, the character can increase their movement speed by 10 meters per movement action, or perform the “Charge” special action, for which the DD bonus is 2D6 (rather than 1D6). Interactive armband: Gives a +10 bonus to tests of  Perception aimed at detecting traps, weapons, and individuals. The Batman Family cape (Batman Family): Gives DR5 against RA DD targeting the back or legs (or if the Hero uses 1 combat action to use the cape as a cover) and 8 against fire DD. Fear toxin (Scarecrow): Fear-inducing gaseous substance. Any character who breathes in this gas must attempt a test of Constitution (difficulty 20). If this is a critical success, they have slight hallucinations that they manage to subdue and are not subject to any negative effects. For a normal success, the character has hallucinations that make them very confused and Weakened. If the test fails, the nightmarish hallucinations terrorize the character, and they become Blinded and Weakened. In the case of a critical fail, the character is so profoundly terrorized that they become catatonic, leaving them Paralyzed. The effects of the gas dissipate after a number of rounds equal to 10 - the character’s Willpower MOD. Explosive expert’s gel: Derived from particularly concentrated plastic explosives, this halves a structure’s HP when it explodes. Carnivorous plant seeds (Poison Ivy): With a limited action, the character can plant these seeds in fertile terrain. The following round, one carnivorous plant grows for every seed planted. They move, act like an ally for the person who planted them, and have the following stats: HP 25, MA +7, 1D8+4 DD. These plants can perform the “Immobilize” special action. Adrenaline injection: After being injected, the character benefits from a +2 bonus for all their tests related to Attacks, Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for five rounds of combat, after which they lose the bonus and are Weakened for one hour. Grappling hook gun (Batman Family): Gives a +15 bonus for all tests for climbing up to 150  meters vertically, and can carry a weight of 180kg or less. High-end gas mask: While wearing this mask on their face, the character is immune to gas and toxic vapors. Cable tie handcuffs: Handcuffed characters are unable to use their hands and can only free themselves by performing a successful difficulty 30 test of Strength or Dexterity. High-tech lockpicker: Gives a +15 bonus to tests of Dexterity for mechanical and electronic lockpicking. Smoke puck: Generates a 5-meter cloud of smoke for two rounds of combat. The smoke obscures all lines of sight and gives a +10 bonus to tests of Dexterity for passing unseen. Tests of MA performed in the cloud receive a penalty of -5. The scarred silver dollar (Two-Face): Using a free action, the character chooses to bet that the die will land on either an even or odd number. If the result of the die roll is the same as the character’s bet, they win a +2 bonus for their attack tests and 1D8 for the DD until the end of the round. If the result of the die roll is different from the player’s choice, the character receives a penalty of -2 for all their tests in that round. Jetpack (Dark Ranger): During combat, allows a movement action to be used for a flight of 20 meters, and otherwise at 50km/h for 45 minutes. Medicine Man bag (Man-of-Bats): Contains three care doses, each allowing the wearer to use a free action and restore 1D10 HP to a character or heal a serious wound by performing a successful difficulty 15 test of Intelligence. Portable legal scanner: Gives a +15 bonus to tests of Perception performed to detect and analyze traces left behind by individuals (fingerprints, footprints, DNA, etc.) Utility Belt (Batman Family): A multi-compartment belt conceived to house gadgets such as Batarangs, grenades, etc. used by members of the Batman Family. The belt can hold 10 Batarangs of any type and 5 grenades of any type, as well as the grappling hook gun. Venom (Bane): After injection, the character gains a +10 bonus to their Strength and Constitution MOD characteristics, but also a penalty of -6 to their Intelligence and Perception characteristics. The effects last a number of rounds equal to the character’s Constitution MOD.

129 — chapter 5: GadGets — OTHER GADGETS WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES Note: The number in parentheses indicates the difficulty of the test required to create the gadget in question, using the Ways that allow this. Exploding chewing gum (10): This is an explosive chemical concoction (much like plastic explosives) disguised as ordinary chewing gum, with two different colors that simply have to be mixed together in order to prime the explosion. This happens 3D6 rounds later, and inflicts 6D6 DD with a range of 1 meter. It is possible to separate the explosive paste into two or three pieces to be used separately. The DD are divided between each piece (for example, 3D6 per piece if the chewing gum has been split to use in two places). Detonator watch (15): This watch contains a detonation system that is compatible with the majority of plastic explosives. Each shortwave detonator has a range of around 150 meters, with a metal minute hand and radio receiver. Once the detonator has been inserted into the piece of explosive material, the explosion can be triggered manually or using a countdown timer. The watch has five detonators that can be set off simultaneously. Garroting watch (15): A wristwatch with a hidden metal cable made of thin but strong steel. A ring allows the cord to be held at one end and used to strangle a victim. Using this device requires being able to perform an MA subject to a penalty of -5. If this succeeds, the garrote inflicts 2D4 DD (limitless) and the target is considered Immobilized. Each round, they can use their attack action in order to try and escape with a test of Strength in opposition (using 1D12 instead of 1D20 to reflect them being Immobilized). If they fail, the strangling continues and the victim automatically suffers 2D4 DD. Laptop-gun cache (20): This laptop seems innocuous enough but actually contains all the parts necessary for making a long-range precision gun which inflicts 1D8 DD and has a range of 50 meters. A character with Way of ranged weapons will need 2D6 rounds to put the gun together. Four projectiles are hidden in the object and are invisible to most security control equipment (metal detectors, X-ray scans), thanks to the ordinary appearance and everyday materials of the components. Exploding projectile-launching pen (15): This tube looks like a pen or cigar, but actually contains a very powerful explosive projectile. It is used like an RA weapon and has a range of 20 meters. The missile inflicts 2D6 DD with a radius of 3 meters. The object can only be used once. ADDITIONAL BACKUP EQUIPMENT Shoe with escape kit (15): The heels and soles of these shoes contain everything necessary for cutting short a stay in a prison cell: sharp pliers, a metal file, a small amount of acid, a metal spike, etc. The spike can be used as a melee weapon, inflicting 1D4 DD. The rest give a +5 bonus to attempts to pick a lock or sabotage the door or bars of a cell. Spy cable (15): This gadget looks like a standard cable for linking a cellphone to a computer. However, the end contains a micro-camera which can be inserted into a crevice (a crack in a wall, under a door, through a lock, etc.) and film whatever is going on behind. The images are transmitted via the cable and displayed on the cellphone it is connected to. Only a difficulty 25 test of Perception can detect the cable.

130 — part 2: the Game system — Hidden radio transmitter (15): A radio receivertransmitter hidden in a small object (cellphone, cardboard box, soda can, etc.) with a range of around 1 kilometer. An alert system is integrated into the system and allows the wearer to signal their presence or even request backup when necessary. Infrared glasses: These glasses, commonly used in military operations, show the heat given off by objects, allow living beings to be localized, and display the wearer’s surrounding even in pitch black. Recording briefcase (15): A briefcase or backpack that looks benign but contains everything necessary for spying on someone and recording them: a still camera and HD video camera, microphones and a digital audio recorder with a system for amplifying sounds up to 50  meters away, and a voice analyzer. All the devices can be switched on discretely by pressing the handles or straps of the case or bag. Protective umbrella (15): One of the buttons on this umbrella turns the fabric into light armor, providing the carrier with a +4 DEF bonus and DR5 for RA, unless the opponent obtains a critical success. Sonic scanner: A portable device in a small case which can be placed against a wall in order to discern the presence, movements, and shapes of objects and people present on the other side. Armored suitcase, bag, or briefcase (15): This rigid container has a reinforced interior that protects its contents from being damaged, giving DR8 against RA to the objects inside. In the form of a briefcase, this type of ‘protective armor’ is also used for protecting personalities - once opened it can serve as an effective shield against RA, quantified as an armor bonus of +5 DEF for the wearer and DR8 against attacks, unless the opponent obtains a critical success. Electromagnetic transmitting smartphone (20): This smartphone contains a special battery which can be overloaded to produce an electromagnetic shockwave that renders most electronic devices within 10 meters inoperative. The agent can trigger this overload by calling the phone or with a countdown timer. The smartphone self-destructs when it is used. Anyone holding it at the moment the electromagnetic pulse is emitted receives 1D6 DD and is Stunned for 1D6 rounds. Spy phone (20): This other model of smartphone contains special cryptography and listening apps that allow its user to scan the frequencies of police communications in most countries. Additionally, as long as the target is within 100 meters and their phone number is known, the device can connect to the target’s phone, consult its contents, and listen to any conversation it is used for. CREATING YOUR OWN GADGETS Creating gadgets includes two different actions: design and manufacture. The design can be made by using: ◊ The capacities included in the Way of invention, ◊ The Resourceful capacity in the Way of the mechanic, ◊ The Intelligence and knowledge provided by the  specialty chosen by the character in Way of Science. The scope of application of each of these means is summarized in the table below: Means Result Procedure Way of invention Device reproducing the capacity of a Way of wonders See the description of this Way The Resourceful capacity in Way of the mechanic A mechanism like an engine, weapon, or device based on movement, deformation, or states of equilibrium in physical systems Test of Intelligence, whose difficulty is determined by the complexity of the mechanism The Intelligence and knowledge provided by Way of science Depending on the specialty: ◊ Chemistry: chemicals ◊ Electronics: electronic system ◊ Computing: program, electronic warfare attack or protection measures, means of pirating or protecting a computer system. ◊ Biology: wild animal trap Test of Intelligence, with a difficulty determined by the scope of the desired effect

131 — chapter 5: GadGets — Tests for creating gadgets are performed as follows: 1. The GM decides on the difficulty for the test of Intelligence, taking inspiration from the following examples: 5: a projectile (e.g. Batarang), a rudimentary viewfinder, a fake flower for spraying poison gas or acid… 10: a grappling hook launcher, an explosive projectile, a smoke grenade, 15: the Batman Family Utility Belt, the Venom injection device used by Bane, 20: Batman’s reinforced suit, Penguin’s umbrella, 25: Firefly’s armor, Mr. Freeze’s armor, 30: the Batmobile, the Batcomputer designed by Tim Drake, 35: a Batrobot, a Batplane, one of the Riddler’s combat drones. 2. The number of days of research necessary before testing is equal to this difficulty number. If the research requires testing rare or costly materials, the Heroes will need to have the necessary funds, or obtain the elements themselves. All this is left to the judgement of the GM, however keep in mind that being financially well-off can be an very important factor for success, as proved by Bruce Wayne, the Penguin, and even Lex Luthor. 3. Tests can be made in cooperation (maximum 5 people), but the person performing the test cannot “take a 10 or 20”. 4. The test includes all research, iterations, field tests, failures, etc. If it fails, the invention fails, and the inventor cannot try again until conditions change, for example when a new theory is developed, or a fresh scientific discovery opens new avenues for the inventor to explore. 5. Creating a device that combines two different inventions (Venom and his injection system, for example) requires two different design phases. Manufacturing requires the necessary materials and  tools for producing the object, device, product, system, etc. It would be impossible to detail here every possible case that you may encounter in the game. Consequently, it is up to the GM to judge the situation, taking into account the three following factors: ◊ The cost of the manufacturing materials (which can be high if rare elements are used), ◊ The availability of the manufacturing materials (which can be procured legally, or may need to be smuggled, stolen, recycled, or searched for), ◊ The cost and availability of the machines that allow the device to be manufactured (e.g. a specialized polymer molding machine for Batman’s headpiece). Depending on the type of device, the GM can request that a test of Dexterity be performed, with a difficulty level in line with the degree of skill and knowledge necessary for the various stages of manufacture. This test benefits from a bonus equal to the margin of success of the test of design, reflecting the knowledge acquired during the many stages of conception for the device.

132 PART 3: OPTIONAL RULES All the rules that follow are destined to facilitate reproducing numerous elements found in the comics. You may apply some of them as you see fit, or use them as sources of inspiration.

133 CHAPTER 1: TEAMS AND HEADQUARTERS FORMING A TEAM Whether while creating their characters or during the game, players can choose to form a team, as long as it fits the scenario (i.e. this should be avoided if the Heroes do not know each other at the beginning of the adventure) allowing them to benefit from team Ways. Team rules are not just for Heroes. You can use them for their opponents, whether they are part of a gang (like the Ghost Dragons), a sect (like Deacon Blackfire’s), an evil secret society (like the Court of Owls), or any other organization. Below, you’ll see that these opponents can even be ordinary citizens, for example if the scenario involves a family, a group of friends, or colleagues. Obviously you’ll need to have at least two people to form a team; a lone character cannot be a team by themselves! WHAT IS A TEAM? A team can take many different forms depending on the character profiles. Most of the time it involves partnering up or being in a group or organization, whether formal or informal. However, characters can also be linked by their past or a shared experience, or even a family or amical relationship. Teams can have all sorts of characters. The most important thing is for them to share a goal, the same motivation, or a common ideal, what we call here a “Vocation”. Here are some example teams and Vocations: Type of team Possible Vocations A couple of police inspectors or a section belonging to one of the units of the GCPD Solving the cases they are given Journalists on the editorial staff of a newspaper ◊ Getting scoops ◊ Revealing unknown stories A league of crimefighters Fighting criminals A family Loving and supporting one another A secret department of GCPD Internal Affairs Weeding out corrupt police officers A gang ◊ Gaining power in Gotham City ◊ Making a profit Type of team Possible Vocations A firm of lawyers Defending their clients (indiscriminately, or only if they fulfill certain criteria) A group of ex-soldiers, brothers-in-arms ◊ Reestablishing order ◊ Supporting each other An agency of private detectives, bounty hunters, or bodyguards ◊ Solving cases ◊ Making a profit A gang specialized in high-level burglaries Pulling off spectacular heists A club that reopens cold cases Solving old mysteries A group of friends who know each other from their childhood, college, a sports team, etc. ◊Having fun ◊Helping each other out ◊ Supporting each other A group of professional or amateur scientists Discovering the truth A support group ◊ Sharing the pain ◊ Supporting each other Survivors of the same strange catastrophe Learning what happened A self-defense group Protecting the neighborhood A covert group dedicated to keeping something evil secret Protecting their secret no matter what An association for victims of super-criminals Getting justice, or even revenge A club of veteran police officers Supporting colleagues still working the streets A secret society recruiting the city's elite Attracting and exploiting the most vulnerable A small sect Attracting and exploiting the most vulnerable A school of martial arts ◊Developing the art and philosophy of budō ◊ Clearing the streets of criminals A fan club (for Batman, Harley Quinn, the Joker, Poison Ivy, the Riddler…) ◊ Sharing the same passion ◊Defending the same values as their idol A clandestine group within a criminal organization which tries to identify, follow, and dispose of traitors Being the police of the organization A clandestine group within a criminal organization determined to bring it to its knees ◊ Bringing down the bosses and taking their place ◊ Leaving a life of crime with no retaliation

134 — part 3: optional rules — HOW TO FORM A TEAM The first thing to do is define the nature of the team, taking inspiration from the suggestions above and of course making sure that it is coherent with the profiles of the characters. Generally a team is limited to playercharacters, but you might wish to include NPCs that play a background role or act as support for the team (like Oracle or Alfred for the Batman Family). The team can have a name, or no name, depending on the wishes of the players and how formal or informal the team is. Next, the team has to decide its Vocation, something the players have to boil down to a few words, like the examples above. At this stage, there is no point trying to describe everything - simply define the main motivation of the group, even if the individual members will no doubt always have unspoken or secondary goals of their own, like supporting the other members of the team. THE BENEFITS OF A TEAM Forming a team grants access to team Ways, which offer capacities shared between all the Heroes that form the team. Like the character Ways, team Ways each have 5 levels. When being formed, teams choose just one of the eight possible Ways, making sure that the prerequisites indicated are respected. The team immediately obtains level 1 in the chosen Way. ACQUIRING LEVELS IN A TEAM WAY Acquiring the capacities offered by the levels of a team Way depends on the levels of experience acquired by the characters, following the details given in the table below. As soon as the sum of the team members’ levels of experience reaches the required figure, the level capacity of the chosen Way is definitively granted to the team. Consequently, the more members there are in a team, the faster the team will progress. Gaining extra levels in team Ways Sum of the Heroes' experience levels Level reached Free 1 10 - 19 2 20 - 29 3 30 - 39 4 40 + 5 OBTAINING ANOTHER TEAM WAY Obtaining an additional Way requires the collective sacrifice of an experience level. This takes place as follows: when the members of the team have just obtained the Achievements necessary for taking them to the next level of experience, they can choose to spend all  of their Achievements in order to acquire another team Way. The levels in this new Way that correspond with the  sum of the Heroes’ levels of experience are immediately acquired. Note: One team cannot possess more than three team Ways! USING A TEAM CAPACITY Using a capacity of a team Way is never performed by one person. In order to be able to use a capacity gained by a team Way, at least two characters must be participating in the action or scene, and initiate the capacity through a shared action of encouragement (like shouting a rally cry together). Certain capacities give bonuses for the following test or the rest of the game session, and these bonuses remain active even if the characters become separated or isolated. Team members must decide together to start using a capacity. Even if just one character in the scene vetoes the use of the capacity, this prevents it from being used (a temporary disagreement is deemed to have stopped the team from using the capacity). The action undertaken must also be in line with the Vocation defined for the team (this reflects the tension that will no doubt exist when an action seems contrary to the shared values of the team). This means it is out of the question for a team dedicated to helping others to use their team capacities for selfish reasons, or for a team of criminals whose Vocation is to make profits to use their team capacity to help the poor and needy. Acts that contravene the group’s morals are obligatorily individual choices. Also, using a capacity from a team Way can only be done as many times per game session as the team possesses levels in that team Way, except for capacities that afford permanent bonuses (such as “Once and once only”; see below).

135 — chapter 1: teams and headquarters — DISBANDING A TEAM Players are of course free to disband their team for any reason they wish (betrayal, disagreement, distance between them, etc.) A character who does not respect the prerequisites for the team (particularly because of the way their Ethics scores advance) is considered to no longer belong to it, meaning they also no longer benefit from the advantages the team gave them. Once a team has lost the majority of its members (rounded up), it immediately ceases to exist. Once disbanded, a group no longer has the use of its former capacities. Its Ways are lost and reforming the team is the same as starting a new group. Also, if the GM sees that the Heroes’ actions or behavior go against the team’s Vocation, they may decide to disband the group themselves, considering that the spirit of the group has disappeared with the ideals or motivation that its members shared. This is all aimed at reflecting how groups of crimefighters form and end in the comics. THE TEAM WAYS Just like the capacities of the character Ways, there are different types of team Way capacities depending on whether they require an action, only need activating once in order to apply, are valid for the next test or entire game session, can be used only once per scenario, etc. The  types, shown below, are indicated by a letter in parentheses that follows the name of the capacity. (A) Action: The capacity requires an action in order to be  used (during combat, it replaces an attack or movement action). (C) Combat: The capacity is valid during combat. (N)  Next test: The capacity is valid for the next related test. (G) Game session: The effects of the capacity persist for the rest of the game session. (S) Scenario: The capacity can only be used once per scenario (O) Once and once only: The capacity can only be activated one single time, when the team obtains the corresponding level.

136 — part 3: optional rules — WAY OF THE ADVENTURERS Prerequisite: At least one member of the team must have one of the following Ways: Way of danger, Way of physical prowess, Way of survival. Level 1, Born explorers (N): Each character benefits from a +5 bonus to their next test related to exploring an unknown place. Level 2, Daredevil (N): The characters can temporarily benefit from the effects of the Unflappable capacity from the Way of danger. Level 3, I eat fear for breakfast (C): For the following three rounds (of combat, chase, or other), each character benefits from a +2 bonus for all tests made in a stressful or dangerous situation (excluding tests of attack and rolls of the DD). Level 4, Cheating death (G): The members of the team are now completely oblivious to fear and all traumatizing effects related to terror and danger. Once per session, if they are in a stressful situation, they benefit from a +5 bonus for any one test. Level 5, A taste for adventure (G): Each character's Strength, Dexterity, or Perception MOD is raised by 2 points for the rest of the game session. WAY OF THE DIPLOMATS Prerequisite: none Level 1, Middle ground (N): For the next test aimed at trying to resolve conflict peacefully and talk calmly with the opposing side, one character benefits from a +5 bonus. Level 2, Just cause (N): For the next test aimed at bringing someone round to the team’s cause, one character benefits from a +5 bonus. Level 3, Skilled negotiators (N): Each character benefits from a +5 bonus for their next test related to negotiation, persuasion, or seduction. Level 4, Talks (C, A): During the first round of combat, one character may try to soften up the opponents (excluding animals and machines). The opponents attempt a test of Willpower with a difficulty equal to 10 + the level reached in this Way + the character’s Willpower MOD. If  successful, nothing happens. If they fail, the opponents agree to talk before resorting to weapons. Level 5, Keepers of the peace (G): Each character's Willpower MOD is raised by 2 points for the rest of the game session. WAY OF THE DOMINATORS Prerequisite: Each member must have a Crime score of at least 1 in Ethics. Level 1, Bow down (N): Each character benefits from a +5 bonus for their next test aimed at intimidating or giving orders to other characters. Level 2, Fresh blood (O): The team can enroll a number of new members of their choice as long as their combined levels of experience are no more than 5 (3 level 1 NPCs and 1 level 2 NPC, for example). The profile of each henchman is to be chosen from the following: bodyguard, criminal, gangster, swindler, or trafficker. These new additions strictly follow all orders of the team members, but will only risk their lives if a member of the team performs a successful test of intimidation. None of these henchmen can be higher than level 3. Level 3, Fortune smiles on us (O for the Finances level, S for the favor): Each character moves up to the next level of finances, without ever going higher than the Millionaire level. Additionally, once per scenario, the team may request a favor (obtain some information, a contact, a particular item, etc.) from an acquaintance, as long as one member of the team performs a successful test of Willpower in opposition with the target. This test benefits from a bonus equal to the level acquired in this Way. Level 4, Head of the horde (O): The team can recruit new henchmen, but the total of their levels of experience must be 10 or under. No henchman can be higher than level 5. Level 5, Undisputed masters (O): The team is in charge of a vast criminal organization and can recruit new henchmen, but the total of their levels of experience must be 15 or under. No henchman can be higher than level 6. WAY OF THE JUSTICE SEEKERS Prerequisite: Each member must have a Justice score of at least 1 in Ethics. Level 1, Blind justice (N): Just once, during the first round of combat, the team can make an attempt at

137 — chapter 1: teams and headquarters — intimidation. The target must perform a successful test of Willpower with a difficulty of 10 + the level reached in this Way + the number of Heroes attempting the intimidation. If this test fails, the target receives a penalty of -2 for all their tests for the next two rounds. Level 2, Impartial justice (N): For the next test attempting to persuade someone to act fairly and honestly, the Heroes benefits from a bonus equal to the level acquired in this Way. Level 3, May justice be done (A, C): During just one round of combat, the Heroes benefits from a bonus equal to the level acquired in this Way for all their tests of attack aimed at capturing or neutralizing an opponent without severely injuring them. Level 4, The sword of justice (C): During the next round of combat, a Hero can perform an MA, RA, or SA aimed at neutralizing an opponent with the help of the other Heroes, who cannot perform any other action during the round. The target of this attack must perform a successful test of Constitution with a difficulty of 10 + the level acquired in this Way + the number of Heroes taking part in the neutralization. If successful, nothing happens. If it fails, the target loses consciousness for a number of rounds equal to the level acquired in this Way. Level 5, Justice for all (G): Each character's Strength MOD is raised by 2 points for the rest of the game session. WAY OF THE LOOTERS Prerequisite: Each member must have a Crime score of at least 1 in Ethics. Level 1, Under the radar (N): Each character benefits from a +5  bonus for their next test of infiltration or discretion. Level 2, Scout-outs (N): Each character benefits from a +5  bonus for their next test of Perception aimed at spotting security measures (cameras, guard patrols, etc.) Level 3, Quick exit (N): Each character benefits from a +3 bonus for the next three tests of Dexterity made while fleeing, being chased, or making an escape. Level 4, Masters of the shadows (C): During the first round of combat (and as long as it remains coherent with the situation), the team’s opponents are Surprised. Level 5, King of thieves (G): Each character's Dexterity MOD is raised by 2 points for the rest of the game session. WAY OF THE PROTECTORS Prerequisite: none Level 1, Born rescuer (N): Each member of the team automatically succeeds in their next test for first aid. Level 2, Living shield (C): During a combat, a character less than 5 meters away from another member of their team can, at any time, state that they will be taking the damage aimed at that team member. The attack is concluded as if the opponent had been aiming at the Hero. Level 3, The widow and the orphan (N): When trying to help people in danger of being killed, each character benefits from a free movement action and a +5 bonus applied to their next test for an action aimed at saving these victims. Level 4, Last stand (C): During combat where the Heroes are fighting twice the number of opponents as in their team, they benefit from a DEF bonus with a score equal to the level acquired in this Way. This advantage ceases as soon as the disparity no longer exists. Level 5, Last resort (G): Each character's Constitution MOD is raised by 2 points for the rest of the game session. WAY OF THE SCIENTISTS Prerequisite: At least one member of the team must have one of the following Ways: medicine, psychology, science. Level 1, Study group (N): Each character benefits from a bonus equal to the level acquired in this Way for their next test requiring the Intelligence MOD. Level 2, Keen minds (N): One character benefits from a bonus equal to the level acquired in this Way for their next test aimed at completing a long and complex task (pirating a computer, decoding a message, translating a text, etc.) and if successful, halves the time required to complete this task. Level 3, Ingeniousness (O): At the end of the scenario, the team can design a unique object as if they were using the level 1 capacity of Way of invention. Level 4, Brilliant strategists (C): During combat, the characters have the choice between two advantages – either they benefits from a +5 bonus that remains in place until the next round for any test aimed at finding an

138 — part 3: optional rules — opponent’s weak spot, or they can automatically gain the initiative over each opponent during the next two rounds. Level 5, Eureka (G): Each character's Intelligence score is raised by 3 points for the rest of the game session. WAY OF THE SPOILSPORTS Prerequisite: Each member must have an Anarchy score of at least 1 in Ethics. Level 1, Out of nowhere (N): During the first round of combat (and as long as it remains coherent with the situation), the team’s opponents must perform a successful test of Perception (difficulty 15) otherwise they become Surprised. Level 2, The audacity! (N): Each character benefits from a +5 bonus for their next test of Dexterity aimed at successfully performing a dangerous action. Level 3, The bluff (N): Each character benefits from a +5  bonus for their next test of Willpower aimed at deceiving or  intimidating one or several people being talked to. Level 4, A real godsend (N): Each character benefits from a temporary EP to use during the game session, while with at least one other team member. Level 5, Ha Ha Ha! (S): The team can create sudden panic and chaos in a busy public space (reception room, mall, theater, floor of offices, busy crosswalk, street, square, etc.) WAY OF THE WARRIORS Prerequisite: At least one of the characters must have either Way of ranged weapons or Way of the melee. Level 1, Masters of the ring (G): Each character benefits from bonus of +3 to their MA, RA, or SA for the rest of the game session. Level 2, Weapon masters (O): Each character chooses just one MA weapon (which can be a natural weapon) or  RA weapon, with which they now benefits from a critical success for results of 17-20. Level 3, A shot of adrenaline (C): The characters benefits from a +5 bonus to their Initiative score (which does not apply when determining multiple actions) for the next three rounds. Level 4, Final attack (C): For the next round of combat, each team member can perform an additional action of their choice. Level 5, Lords of war (G): Once per game session, during a combat in which all the members participate, the first attack made by each Hero is an automatic success. HEADQUARTERS A lair, a hideout, a den, the Belfry, the Iceberg Lounge, the Batcave: the comics are full of places that serve as a safe space for characters to fall back to and plan operations. Here, we refer to them all as headquarters (HQ). They are not always high-tech bases costing millions of dollars to build: characters like Bane, Deacon Blackfire, and Killer Croc have all been able to create quite acceptable HQs in the depths of the sewers… Just keep in mind that it is possible the scenario isn’t suited to including an HQ that the Heroes don’t really want, or it may be that they are unable to have a space that serves as a ‘rear base’. ACQUIRING AN HQ During the creation of a character, or when a character moves up to the next level of experience, the player can choose to equip their character with an HQ (as long as the GM agrees). This HQ can be just for them (i.e. their home) or shared with other characters (as is the case for the Belfry for the Batman Family, for example), whether they are part of the same team or not. HQs aren’t just for crimefighters or masked criminals - any character can have one. It might be the central station of the GCPD for the police, a hideout for gangster characters, the floor of the news desk for journalists, lawyers’ chambers for characters of that profession, etc. Following a Way of HQs and setting up capacities should still be in line with the profiles of the characters and their general situation. For any character whose main activity happens within a preexisting official structure (like the GCPD), the HQ is their place of work. If this place is particularly safe, the GM may decide that its protection level is equal to the rank of his/her choice, depending on the characteristics of the HQ. The following rules are also valid for NPCs, if the GM prefers to summarize the characteristics of an opponent’s lair with figures rather than giving detailed descriptions or explaining the difficulty level of on-site security that

139 — chapter 1: teams and headquarters — they have imagined in order to offer some interesting challenges for the Heroes. Depending on the direction you want the game session to take, infiltrating someone’s headquarters can be played step by step, like any other scene in the adventure, or just depend on rolls of the dice pitting the Heroes’ capacities against the characteristics of the HQ. This makes things move faster, but at the cost of atmosphere and the roleplaying aspect. The following rules are thus optional, although the importance of HQs like the Batcave in the comics might encourage you to use them. Each HQ is characterized in three Ways, with levels from 1-5: ◊ Way of size, expresses the surface and area of the HQ, and its storage capacity. ◊ Way of defense, measures the extent to which the HQ can detect and resist intruders, as well as how fortified it is against attacks. ◊ Way of aid, measures the quality of the HQ’s aid infrastructure (medical, technological, communications, etc.) When created, an HQ immediately acquires level 1 in each of these three Ways. IMPROVING AN HQ Improving an HQ means acquiring additional levels in the three Ways of HQs. This is automatic, and related to the character’s level of experience, or the average level of the characters if several share an HQ. However, it is also dependent on the finances of the characters or the organization they belong to. For example, with the budget they have been allotted by City Hall, the central station of the GCPD will never have the same level of protection as

140 — part 3: optional rules — the Batcave. Similarly, with his paltry budget, Killer Croc could never control his lair in the sewers with drones, armor plating, and robots. Acquiring an extra level in a Way of HQs is thus something to be done in agreement with the GM, and must always be coherent with the scenario and context of the Heroes’ actions. You may use this table to evaluate how much it is necessary to spend to acquire a new level in a way of HQs: Level Sum necessary 2 $50 000 3 $250 000 4 $10 000 000 5 $10 000 000 Each time a character reaches an odd number level, they gain an extra level in the Way of their choice. When the HQ is shared, this acquisition happens each time the average of the levels of experience acquired reaches a new odd number. This improvement reflects the work, investment, and development necessary for an HQ, and the capacity of the level in question only comes into effect after 1D6 weeks. This means that a level earned during a campaign that  cannot accommodate several weeks passing between two scenarios does not bring with it the corresponding capacity. WAYS OF HQS WAY OF SIZE Level 1, Modest lair: The HQ is small (around 20m² per member of the team). It can only house the members of the team, and storage is limited to small items. Level 2, Smart lair: The HQ is quite large (around 40m² per member of the team). It can house the members of the team and a few henchmen, and has an abundant amount of space for stocking light material. Level 3, Vast HQ: The total surface of the HQ is around 500m². It is large enough for a lot of people and equipment, as well as several medium-sized vehicles or two large ones (helicopter, truck, etc.) Level 4, Watch tower: The size of the HQ is around that of an apartment block or fortress. There’s room for a lot of people, all the equipment you could want, and several vehicles of all sizes. Level 5, Forbidden City: The size of the HQ is that of a huge fortress, or even a small town. It can house a whole army of people, a large number of vehicles, and all the light or heavy material that the team wishes to stock there. WAY OF DEFENSE Level 1, Lock: The HQ has no particular defenses, apart from a reinforced door secured in three places. Level 2, Watch: The HQ has a standard anti-intrusion alarm system, similar to those found on the market. Level 3, Alarm: The HQ has sophisticated alarms (antiintrusion, anti-break-in, movement detectors, security cameras), as well as a guard service from a public or private security agency, or automatic devices like the Bat-Robots in the Batcave. Level 4, High security: The HQ is high-security, with expensive, sophisticated systems with retina-scanning devices, thermal video surveillance, multiple alarms, a top-quality guard service, bulletproof armor, etc. It also has anti-personnel defense weapons. Level 5, Sanctuary: The HQ is practically impenetrable. It has the latest high-end defensive technology, with antipersonnel, anti-armor, anti-missile, and  anti-airplane weaponry and is heavily guarded by a small army. Its fortifications make it practically invulnerable except to the most dangerous and sophisticated of attacks.

141 — chapter 1: teams and headquarters — Summary of the advantages bestowed by the Way of defense: Level Test difficulty for deactivating the alarms Equipment Guards 1 NA Armored doors None 2 15 Standard alarms None 3 25 Hi-tech alarms, video cameras, traps 1D10 level 2 guards ("bodyguard" profile) 4 30 Advanced counter-measures, automatic weapons, gas, etc. 5D10 level 4 guards ("bodyguard" profile) 5 35 Armored vehicles, heavy artillery, anti-personnel, anti-armor, and anti-airplane alarms systems 5D100 level 6 guards ("bodyguard" profile) WAY OF AID Level 1, Minimum service: The HQ has standard furniture, storage equipment, computers, communications (telephones), medical equipment (first aid kit), tools, etc. All tests performed with the aid of the equipment supplied by the base benefit from a +1 bonus for every level reached in the way. Level 2, Extended service: Le HQ has better electronic and mechanical resources, better computers, data, communication equipment, medical care (first aid kit and medication), electronics, etc. Level 3, Base of operations: The HQ has extensive resources, especially for research and development, thanks to its machines, databases, and new computers. It also has all the material necessary for electronic, mechanical, and engineering support, as well as medical aid (including an operating table). Level 4, Top notch HQ: The HQ has vast resources and the latest high-end equipment, equivalent to that found in specialized research establishments. Level 5, To infinity…: The HQ has almost limitless resources and offers weapons, medicine, and research facilities unavailable to even the best specialists.

142 CHAPTER 2: MADNESS AND DANGER MADNESS Super-criminals murdering and destroying, the mob taking over the city, dark secrets with nasty consequences, urban stress… You need a thick skin and nerves of steel to live in Gotham City. Neither Batman, the city’s most famous crimefighter, nor the Joker, its most terrifying criminal, are unscathed by their traumatic experiences in the city. The fact that Arkham Asylum is both famous and so highly-populated says a lot about the mental state of the city’s inhabitants. Below you’ll find some tools and sources of inspiration for recreating the darker side of life in Gotham City. A RULE FOR MADNESS PTSD is a reality even for the Dark Knight, and you can decide that the major events of your Heroes’ adventures will also have an negative effect on their morale. For each grueling scene, ask the Heroes to perform a test of Willpower with a difficulty level equal to the seriousness of the scene (a difficulty of 5 would be for witnessing a ‘simple’ attack on someone, whereas difficulty 20 would be applicable for surviving a terrorist attack or witnessing a particularly intense attack). If the test is a critical success, the Hero does not suffer from any side effects. If the test is a normal success, the Hero has nightmares, lapses of memory, and anxiety for a few days (if you want to be more precise, the number of days can be equal to 1D10 - their Willpower MOD; a result of 0 or below means that the character is only adversely affected for a few hours). If the test fails, the Hero starts to develop an obsessive fear related to the event that triggered them, and becomes Weakened for a number of days equal to 1D10 - their Willpower MOD; a result of 0 or below means that the character is only adversely affected for 24 hours. In case of a critical fail, the Hero is affected by panic attacks lasting a number of minutes equal to 1D10 - their Willpower MOD; a result of 0 or below means that the character is only adversely affected for the rest of the current scene, and feels better once it is over. The scene’s form, development, and approach (asking for help from others, a discussion group, psychotherapy, medication, or even psychiatry) are left up to the player and GM, using the elements provided below. The crisis that Batman experienced after the death of Jason Todd can also be taken as a good example. Make sure you don’t go too far though: Batman RPG is not a horror game, and  we only want you to use these tools for dramatic effect so your game session is a memorable one! KINDS OF MADNESS Madness can manifest itself in a wide variety of forms, and only the most common - some of them present in varying degrees in the comics - are given a brief description here. However, dramatizing madness in a way that is not cliché or possibly offensive to someone playing can be a real challenge. It may be best for the GM to get inspiration from the comics and their biggest characters such as the Joker, Hugo Strange, Professor Pyg, and the Mad Hatter. Going beyond these examples, here are some more guidelines. DESCRIBING MADNESS Madness can be created or described in the game with the help of several criteria. 1. Its duration: Madness can come and go (like a panic attack, a moment of rage, a moment of delirium) or be permanent, with moments of differing intensity. 2. Its obviousness: Madness can be obvious or take more subtle forms, leading some to believe that the person is only suffering from minor problems, or is even completely fine. Some afflictions like paranoia convince the person that there are global conspiracies or that part of society has been corrupted by evil forces, and encourage them to keep their symptoms hidden. It’s nonetheless rare for someone to be able to hide everything from those who know them, or the eye of an expert. Madness can also sometimes be seen in the everyday life of the person: sadness, problems sleeping,

143 — chapter 2: madness and danGer — serious addiction, suicidal actions, pill-taking, a lack of personal hygiene, or actions that appear very odd to an outsider are all clues that something is wrong, as are of course uncontrollable spates of violence and the person being forcibly interned. 3. Its object: Psychoses sometimes produce obsessions. The object of these may include: ◊ Someone known to the person (an ex-girlfriend, a living or deceased parent, a very close friend…), ◊ A fictional or real celebrity (Batman, Harley Quinn, the Joker…), ◊ Just an acquaintance (the neighbor opposite, the newspaper seller…), ◊ A particular group of people (police officers, government agents, bosses of large companies, the homeless, an ethnic group, a religious group, people of a certain nationality, profession, or segment of the population…), ◊ A thing (vintage weapons, clown masks, blood, viruses, railroads, secrets, lingerie, money, a style of music…), ◊ An animal (cats, dogs, rats, snakes, reptiles, spiders, horses, etc.), ◊ A phenomenon (a storm, chasms, old age, your own or someone else’s suffering, fire…) or an action (putting oneself in danger, fighting, walking, lying, stealing objects, wearing a disguise, counting, laughing, washing, etc.). 4. Its outward appearance: Madness has infinite variations, but we can describe some of the most commons signs, whether they are depression, OCD, obsessions or unhealthy phobias, rites that the characters feels they absolutely have to accomplish in order to calm their anxiety (handwashing, checking that the door is closed several times, repeating the same gestures in a particular order, etc.), partial or complete amnesia (often linked with attacks of madness or their most disturbing manifestations), or moments when the person no longer has a hold on reality. In all cases, anxiety or mental suffering are commonly seen recurrent elements. 5. Its intensity: The person in question can be more or less conscious of their madness, or be in complete denial. The psychosis can be just slight, with such a minor effect on the subject that they are able to lead an almost normal life, or it may be so intense that life in society and interaction with people are completely impossible because the person’s grasp on reality is so tenuous. EXAMPLES OF PSYCHOSES Imaginary friend: The character acts as if they have a constant invisible companion. It could be a friend, a brother, a manifestation of their own psyche at a different age, etc. The character talks to, listens to, and interacts with this ‘friend’, which represents comfort and even support in facing the suffering brought on by the psychosis. Amnesia: The character suffers from a partial or complete loss of memory for an undefined amount of time. Self-harm: The character deliberately tries to hurt themselves, either by inflicting physical harm on themselves or through dangerous behavior. Catatonia: Curled up in a fetal position, the character can neither move nor speak, and can be incapable of interacting with their environment in any way whatsoever. Multiple personalities: The character’s psyche contains several different personalities with very different ways of behaving (they may have different voices or use distinct vocabulary). These personalities often talk to each other, disagreeing sometimes, and can have different ethnicities, ages, and goals. Which personality comes to the fore is often dependent on what the character is going through, whether in real life or in their mind. Depression: The character suffers from bouts of deep sadness, does not take pleasure in anything, their selfesteem disappears, and they can suffer from weight gain or loss, have serious problems sleeping, and even have suicidal thoughts. Hallucinations: The character perceives images, sounds, smells, tastes, or sensations that are not really there and can sometimes lead to delirious episodes. Hysteria: The character becomes excessively animated and incontrollable. Paranoia: The character is convinced that someone (a  person, a group of people, or even a whole swathe of the population) is actively trying to find them, spy on them, and/or develop sophisticated strategies in order to hurt them in some way or other (lock them up, inject them with some sort of disease, kill them in their sleep, etc.) Sadism: The character takes pleasure in making other people suffer and commits acts of cruelty themselves. Terror: The character suffers from periods of deep anxiety that can provoke paralysis, spasms, or blind terror.

144 — part 3: optional rules — THE DANGERS Falling, poison, drowning, fire, etc.: what follows hopes to help you deal with all the other dangers that characters can encounter, other than those that come from their opponents. FALLING Crimefighters, super-criminals, GCPD agents, gangsters… Any character likely to jump from rooftop to rooftop is susceptible to suffer a fall. Falling more than 2 meters inflicts 1D6 damage per additional meter, so falling 10 meters (around three floors) inflicts 8D6 damage. Anything that might slow the fall (like hitting a gargoyle, hitting the awning of a store, etc.) reduces the D6 number by 1. Landing on a more or less soft surface (water, a dumpster, etc.) can also reduce this number (the GM will decide to what extent) or even completely cushion the character’s fall. The idea is not to imitate the laws of physics precisely (like the acceleration of a body in freefall), but recreate how the characters are relatively unaffected by falls that would be deadly in real life. FIRE Saving inhabitants trapped in a burning building, escaping the police by running through a chemical factory in flames… The wild lives of characters in Gotham City could well bring them into contact with fire. This presents three distinct dangers: smoke, heat and the risk that the building on fire may collapse around the character. Smoke can lead to asphyxiation. Having trouble breathing starts with coughing, then dizziness, rapidly followed by loss of consciousness. For the game, this is quantified by the character taking 1D4 temporary damage (no defense or reductions apply) every 10 seconds or so, which is the time of 2  movement actions (it is understood that the character cannot hold their breath enough to avoid the effects of the smoke). Each loss of HP is accompanied by a test of Constitution with increasing difficulty (5 for the first round, 10 for the second, 15 for the third, etc.) If the test is a success (normal or critical), the character remains conscious and can act normally. If it is a fail (normal or critical), the character loses consciousness and unless someone comes to their aid or the smoke disperses, they become mortally affected by the consequences of asphyxia. The second danger during a fire is fire itself, which can obviously cause burns, whether from direct contact with the flames or just the intense heat being given off. In both cases, the character loses 1D8 HP for every 10 seconds of exposure. The GM can decide to reduce or increase this damage depending on the fabric of the clothes worn by the character and whether they catch fire easily or protect against the heat and flames. In general, common sense should prevail when defining physical damage brought about by fire burns. The third danger is that of the building collapsing. For how to decide this, look at the rules governing fall damage, and take into account what the building is made of. DROWNING Drowning is asphyxiation through the flooding of the respiratory tracts, whether the whole body is immersed in liquid or just the face. Beyond a number of minutes equal to the Constitution MOD, every ten seconds of drowning inflicts 1D6 temporary damage (no defense or reductions apply). Each loss of HP is accompanied by a test of Constitution with increasing difficulty (5 for the first round, 10 for the second, 15 for the third, etc.) If the test is a success (normal or critical), the character remains conscious and can act normally. If it is a fail (normal or critical), the character loses consciousness and unless someone comes to their aid or unblocks their respiratory tracts, they become mortally affected by the consequences of asphyxia.

145 — chapter 2: madness and danGer — POISON AND SICKNESS Poison and sickness are handled in the same way, by a test of Constitution. If the test fails, HP are lost and this loss is permanent. Healing is only possible with an antidote or with medical attention. Poisons and degrees of toxicity Test difficulty Effects if the test fails Treatment Mushrooms, chemicals, and moderately venomous animals (vipers, scorpions, fly agaric mushrooms) 10 1D6 damage; -5 for all tests during one week Yes Venom, highly toxic products and substances (cobra venom, death cap mushrooms, arsenic, etc.) 15 1D10 damage per hour, until the test is a success. If it is not, a coma occurs after 1D6+1 hours. Yes Curare, potent poison, extra-strong venom (Australian box jellyfish) 20 Coma 2 minutes after ingesting Yes but must be administered within 6 rounds SICKNESSES It’s very rare that comic book characters suffer from hypertension or suddenly have to go to bed with the flu because they were out patrolling all night in November wearing only a skimpy suit made of thin material. If you do want to reproduce this kind of ailment though, you can use: ◊ Tests of Constitution as soon as the symptoms appear, if the sickness is viral or bacterial and can be eliminated by the character’s immune system (a successful test sees the sickness die down after 1 or 2 days; a failure means that it remains for around ten days.), ◊ Penalties, ranging from -2 to tests, to making the character Weakened for the duration of the illness, ◊ Tests of Willpower to allow the character to be unaffected by their symptoms just for a scene. Of course, treating the symptoms of their cause with medicine can reduce both penalties and the time the character remains sick. We’ve only considered minor ailments here. More serious, chronic, or sudden illnesses should be handled by the GM, but even they must take care to respect the spirit of the comics, making such illnesses extremely rare and justified by the scenario.

146 CHAPTER 3: CHASES The rules governing chases are aimed at allowing you to manage the specific type of action scenes that can occur during a chase, whether it is on foot, in cars, in a plane like the Batplane, or an airship. Of course there’s no obligation for you to use them if you prefer to handle a scene solely through descriptions and interactions of the characters, but you should still consider what follows as a reservoir of ideas. The important thing is for everyone playing to get a sense of the intensity that a great chase scene from a comic, movie, or series would convey. TIME As with combat, a chase takes places in game rounds. Game rounds do not have a fixed unit of time (these would be very different for a chase on foot and another in jet planes), but rather a succession of phases during the chase. DISTANCE Similarly, the rules for chases do not take into account fixed distances (these would once again be very different for a chase between two people on foot and another in helicopters), but rather the relative distance that separates the chaser and the person being chased, represented by degrees of distance which also define the possibility of certain actions being performed by either party. Eight of these degrees exist (from “Physical contact” to “Lost”), allowing for different actions and representing the different distances depending on the means of transportation used by the protagonists (two cars will be “Close” at 50m, while two people on foot will be “Close” when around ten meters from each other). Degrees of distance often refer to the “RA range”. If none of the protagonists are carrying an RA weapon, this range is said to be approximately 20 meters. If one of the protagonists is carrying one or several RA weapons (individual weapons or ones that are part of a vehicle), the range is said to be the longest of any of the weapons involved in the chase. If both protagonists possess RA weapons, the range is said to be that of the weapon with the longest range owned by either character. This choice avoids fixing a specific distance and defines a distance that allows or forbids certain actions. It also give a crucial advantage to characters who own a weapon with a longer range than their opponent. Below are the degrees of relative distance: 1. Physical contact:  The chaser and person being chased are in physical contact; the chase stops immediately and the rules of combat are now used (the person being chased can always try to “Break away” or “Flee” during this combat), unless of course one of the protagonists surrenders. This distance cannot apply for vehicles; a chase involving vehicles can only finish with an Accident or Complication that stops one of the protagonists from moving. 2. Adjacent: The chaser and person being chased are close enough for melee combat and/or short range RA. This is the minimum possible distance when at least one vehicle is involved. 3. Near: The chaser and person being chased are close enough for RA. 4. Distant: The chaser and person being chased are at a suitable distance for long range RA (range × 2). 5. Far away: The chaser and person being chased are at twice the standard distance for long range RA (range × 4). 6. Out of range: The chaser and person being chased are not within range for RA. 7. On the cusp: The chaser has almost lost any visual contact with the person being chased. 8. Lost: The chaser has lost all trace of the person being chased. The chase ends.

147 — chapter 3: chases — HOW CHASES WORK Before the chase starts, the GM establishes the degree of distance between the chaser and the person being chased at the beginning of the chase (from Adjacent to On the cusp). This distance partly depends on the situation and partly on the respective speeds of the protagonists, measured by the Dexterity score for people on foot and/ or the Agility score of the vehicles involved (representing their acceleration, velocity, and maneuverability). The distance will be greater of course if the person being chased is faster, and lesser if the chaser is faster. To catch the person being chased, the chaser has to try and reduce the distance between them, for example by passing from Far away to Near (i.e. degree 5 to degree 3), until there is a complication, accident, or attack that brings the chase to a halt. Each round, the chaser and the person being chased can make 1  movement (which represents their respective efforts to reduce or increase the distance between them) and 1 action, which is considered as being free. This action might be to zig-zag, take a risk, hide, start an attack, etc. For reasons of simplicity, Movements and Actions are considered to be performed simultaneously, but you should look after the Movement first, then the Action (see below), in the order of the participants’ Initiative scores. Certain circumstances may cause an Accident to occur, and some dice rolls may cause Complications. More details are given below. MOVEMENTS Each round starts with Movements, which are used to see whether the protagonists get closer to or farther from each other. The chaser and the person being chased each perform a test - Dexterity for drivers of a vehicle (with any applicable bonus added by Way of piloting) or Strength for those on foot. The Agility score of the vehicles involved (see the Chapter about vehicles) is always added to the Dexterity MOD of the vehicle drivers. Next we compare the results, which allows us to measure how the distance changes. If the person being chased has the higher score, they extend the distance by one degree (passing, for example, from Distant to Far Away). If the person chasing has the higher score, they reduce the distance by one degree (passing, for example, from Far Away to Distant). A critical success obtained by the person being chased allows the distance to be extended by two degrees (passing, for example, from Distant to Out of range). A critical success obtained by the person chasing allows the distance to be to be reduced by two degrees (passing, for example, from Out of range to Distant). A critical fail obtained by the person being chased or the person chasing adds an Accident (see below) to the effects noted above. Whatever the result, any dice roll that produces a natural odd result on the D20 or D12 triggers a Complication. The rounds continue in this way until the chase ends because the two protagonists are in Physical contact (the person being chased has been caught up with) or the person being chased has been Lost (they have managed to escape), or there has been an Accident or a Complication that brings things to a halt. COMPLICATIONS These represent obstacles, tests, and challenges that can occur during the chase, and are aimed at making it interesting through use of the environment. The following rules are for an urban environment with numerous obstacles, where someone on foot can escape from a car by diving down a narrow alley or taking a shortcut. In places like this, capacities involving acceleration and top speed can only be used through the talents of the runner or driver. If the chase takes place in an obstacle-free environment (sports pitch, desert highway, etc.), you should only take into account the respective Strength scores of those on foot, or the Agility of the vehicles. The distance between them will reduce or increase proportionally depending on the difference in the top speed of the chaser and the person being chased, using common sense values; a car will always catch up with someone on foot.

148 — part 3: optional rules — WHEN DOES A COMPLICATION HAPPEN? A Complication occurs immediately after a movement if the die lands on an odd number (with no modifiers). Since airspace is hardly subject to obstacles or obstructions, pursuits in aerial vehicles are not subject to Complications. Depending on the circumstances (a desert environment, a requirement of the scenario, etc.) the GM can decide not to apply complications. A character can also spend an EP to avoid a complication: through luck and talent, they manage to avoid problems! THE NATURE OF COMPLICATIONS Here are a few examples of complications, but everyone playing is encouraged to use their imagination too! During a chase on foot, the GM could choose a Complication like: An inanimate obstacle: The walls of a dead-end alley, building work scaffolding, a sidewalk barrier, soft or hard fencing, a small street with a 90° turn, the gates of a mansion, a big ditch, the walls of an asylum, a flight of stairs, a dumpster, a maze of tiny street, a badly-parked car, a pile of gravel, a barricade, a line of barbed wire, boxes or girders strewn across the path, etc. Obstacles like these can be gotten past by performing a successful test of Dexterity with a difficulty dependsing on the type of obstacle (low for a small wall, high for the secure fence of a business, for example). A fail for this test changes the distance by 1 degree in favor of the opponent (shortens the distance if the person being chased fails their test; increases it if the person chasing fails). A moving obstacle: A crowd, a street seller, a car suddenly driving off, a pack of wild dogs, a gang of criminals, a marching band, a police blockade, an icecream or hotdog stand, a vindictive person in the street who comes out of nowhere, a group of teenagers on skateboards, a petrified vulnerable person, women with their young children in strollers, a dog walker, a patrol of police officers on horses, etc. Obstacles like this can be gotten past by performing a test of Willpower in opposition with the people in the way (the character attempts to intimidate them), a difficulty 15 test of Dexterity (the character attempts to avoid whoever is in the way), or a test of Strength with a difficulty depending on the number of people that the character is trying to push past. In all cases, a success allows the obstacle to be passed and the character to continue on their way without a hitch. A fail changes the distance between opponents by 1 degree (reducing it if the person being chased fails their test; increasing it if the person chasing fails). A critical fail can allow the character to be the target of furious bystanders (meaning that the chase stops and combat commences between these people and the character. The character can extricate themselves from this and continue their chase, if that is still possible, by using the Break away or Flee action). A challenge: The gap between two building roofs, dangerous footing (edge of a building, a gutter, a sloped roof, slippery stairs, etc.), a dark passage, a closed door, a metro rail vibrating as a train arrives, a branch of a river, someone who jumps the character, a rickety fire escape, chaotic cars at a crossroads, a sudden blockage with no visible way out, a maze of walkways and machines in a chemicals factory, etc. It’s up to the GM to determine what is required to get past the obstacle: ◊ Strength to avoid sinking or to break a hoarding, ◊ Constitution to hold your breath in a cloud of smoke or when diving into a sewer, ◊ Dexterity to jump from a height, jump from one building to another, etc., ◊ Intelligence to find your way through a maze or get to the exit, ◊ Perception to move in darkness, in a mirror maze, or any other confusing environment, ◊ Willpower for having the courage to get going and escape a drunkard, a police officer, a violent woman, a guard, etc. trying to hold the character back. The difficulty of the test should be high, even if it means the character has to spend 1 EP, as this is exactly the kind of situation where characters can impress us with their exploits! For a success (normal or critical), the character gets past the obstacle and changes the distance in their favor (taking a risk paid off). If they fail (normal or critical), the chase is interrupted for as long as it takes the character to handle the consequences of the failure, determined by the situation (failing is tough).

149 — chapter 3: chases — During a chase in a moving vehicle, a Complication might be: An inanimate obstacle: A dumpster, a stopped car, an anti-vehicle spike belt, a dead tree, a wrecked car, a delivery van, a garbage truck, a heavy-duty tow truck, a traffic jam, a lamppost, a road accident, a motorbike, a school bus, a tramway, a hole in the road, etc. Obstacles like this can be gotten past by performing a test of Dexterity (add the vehicle’s Agility) with a difficulty depending on how big the obstacle is in relation to the vehicle’s trajectory: low if the obstacle leaves plenty of room to get by; high if the driver has to perform a real stunt to avoid hitting the obstacle. If the test is failed (generally meaning the vehicle hits the obstacle), see the section below about Accidents. If the test is a success but only a few points higher than the level of difficulty, the GM is free to decide that the vehicle just managed to scrape past the obstacle without any particular damage. A moving obstacle: A police blockade, a street seller, a lost dog, works on the road, a car that comes out of nowhere, pedestrians that appear out of nowhere, a petrified vulnerable person, etc. Such an obstacle is passed in the same way as an inanimate obstacle, except that obstacles that are people are susceptible to react. At the GM’s discretion, they will always be able to dodge your car or even attempt an RA, using their ranged weapons or by throwing objects at the character’s vehicle. Feel free to set these attacks in motion - even if they do no damage they add to the atmosphere and pepper the chases with surprises (and bricks on the bonnet!) A fail doesn’t mean that the vehicle has hit something in its path (have we ever seen Batman or the Joker accidentally knock down passers-by, despite all the risks they take?) but that the vehicle had to hit an obstacle to avoid a pedestrian or, after avoiding a disaster, the vehicle has an Accident (see below). A challenge: Generally terrain impossible to cross or a sudden change in visibility conditions (smoke, torrential rain, falling objects, an awning that flies onto the windscreen and blocks visibility, etc.). Because of an immovable obstacle, the vehicle may be obliged to leave the road (to drive on the sidewalk, on the wall of a tunnel, etc.), fly through the air, spin round, drive through and destroy the obstacle, drive blind because of a colony of seagulls or a dump truck-load of flying filthy papers, etc. It’s up to the GM to determine the test necessary for getting past the obstacle: ◊ Strength for keeping in the right direction despite the movements of the vehicle, ◊ Constitution for holding your breath when the vehicle goes through an area where it’s impossible to breathe, ◊ Dexterity for driving on the sidewalk, zig-zagging between benches, pedestrians, signs, parking meters, etc., ◊ Intelligence for knowing which direction to take at a highway junction or in a subway tunnel, ◊ Perception for carrying on the right route despite the lack of visibility, ◊ Willpower for having the courage to accelerate so the vehicle jumps far enough to reach the building opposite, etc. The difficulty of the test should be high, even if it means the character has to spend 1 EP. For a success (normal or critical), the character gets past the obstacle and  changes the distance in their favor (taking a risk paid off). If they fail (normal or critical), the chase is interrupted for as long as it takes the character to handle the consequences of the failure, determined by the situation (failing is tough). ACTIONS! During the chase, and naturally depending on the surroundings and distance separating the opponents, each protagonist is free to perform 1 action in addition to their movement. These actions are performed in the order of each protagonist’s Initiative score, from high to low. For all the tests indicated, don’t forget to add any Agility the vehicles might have, or the bonuses and capacities for the Ways that apply (those from Way of piloting, in particular). All critical fails in the tests indicated lead to an Accident. All critical successes in the tests indicated modify the distance by 1 degree in favor of the character. The actions marked with an asterisk are not available to flying vehicles (either because they would lead to a crash, or because the speed or nature of the vehicle forbids it).