how would we build batman in 5e

[Amdy_vill]

so. how would we build batman in 5e. let try to keep to his flavor so lets stay away from giving him full or half caster classes. if we give him magic lets give him it through a subclass or feats. i think the place to start would be some kind of rouge/fighter/monk build. here is the prevues thread on the flash http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?552473-how-would-we-build-the-flash-in-d-amp-D-5E

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Which Batman? There are tons of variations on that character. Solo fighter vs group organizer, nonlethal vs lethal, lowtech vs high tech (would likely be using spells in lieu of items, as a PC can only attune to three magic items at a time), Brawler vs world's greatest Detective. If you try to build him as all of the Batman's, you'd likely have to start with all 20s, and then start getting more ridiculous from there.

this is a good point. lets go for the most basic idea of batman. non lethal, solo fighter with tech from all accosted the bored. more in the middle between detective and brawler. more brawler focused but not by much

[Easy_Lee]

Batman is a user of nonmagical gadgets, thus Rogue (thief) should be mandatory. Using objects as a bonus action will help him greatly.

Stunning strike from monk (and several other monk features) work well with batman since he's a trained martial artist and knows "pressure points," whatever the hell those are supposed to be. Slow fall, deflect missiles, evasion, stillness of mind, and even unarmored movement fit as well to some degree. He probably should not get to tenth level in the monk class since he's definitely not immune to poison.

The most probable monk archetype would be Open Hand. The others have magical or otherwise special abilities that would not fit (except maybe Kensei, though that one would probably better fit Robin than Batman as Batman doesn't use weapons often (edit: except thrown ones, probably bat-shaped daggers)).

The other levels could be rogue, maybe with a few levels of fighter (battlemaster) thrown in for martial maneuvers, second wind, and action surge. That gives Batman multiple methods of healing during a fight which fit well with his general tenacity.

Which skills and tools will allow Batman to create his own gadgets?

[Vogie]

Which Batman? There are tons of variations on that character. Solo fighter vs group organizer, nonlethal vs lethal, lowtech vs high tech (would likely be using spells in lieu of items, as a PC can only attune to three magic items at a time), Brawler vs world's greatest Detective. If you try to build him as all of the Batman's, you'd likely have to start with all 20s, and then start getting more ridiculous from there.

[Easy_Lee]

The feat Observant and expertise with perception, investigation, thieves' tools, and stealth should generally cover the bases. That requires six levels in Rogue (not a problem as he picks up Uncanny Dodge that way). He doesn't need absurd stats as long as he hits absurd numbers in his relevant skill checks.

[strangebloke]

In some respects, he is not really modeled well by dnd. Does Batman have less than an 18-20 in any ability? Is there any skill that he isn't proficient in? (Maybe animal handling and/or medicine?) Does he have any weak saves?

Some of that can be compensated for by him being very high-level, and other things can be covered by class features. Nonetheless, you have to suppose that he rolled very well on his stats (or that he has several of those "Set 'x' stat to 19" items.

I would roll him as this:

Human thief rogue 4, open hand monk 16
STR: 14 (He's buff, but he isn't physically stronger than everyone he fights.)
DEX: 20 (I don't see how he could have less than a 18 or 20 here)
CON: 14 (He's super tough, however, that's best simulated by his high level.
INT: 18 (Ostensibly, he's a genius, although in practice... I don't know.)
WIS: 20 ("World's greatest detective")
CHA: 16 (He is persuasive, really good at intimidating others, and has a ludicrously forceful personality, but he's sometimes written as being self-doubting or a little crazy, in addition to just being kind of an [unpleasant person].)

ASIs:
+1 to WIS, +1 to DEX
Keen Mind
Prodigy
Skulker

Background: Noble.

Skills: Athletics, Acrobatics, Insight(expertise), Investigation(Expertise), History, Stealth(expertise), Perception.

He has a rope of climbing (grappling hook) which he uses in combination with his fast hands ability to move around very quickly. He can run really fast, jump crazy distances, beat most anyone in a punchin' match, and is proficient in all saves. His reaction to catch arrows is refluffed as him dodging a shot and throwing a batterang. He gets a neat little 2d6 damage bonus on his first hit each round if he has advantage.

[xroads]

Race: Elf (Wood) - Because it's a fantasy world, so why not? Plus Mask of Wilderness, Trance, and a few other elven abilities really tie in well with Batman.
Class: Monk (Shadow) - Classic ninja.
Level: 10 - For my Batman, I chose the classic "Guardian of Gotham" version as opposed to "Justice League walks among the gods" version.
Background: Noble - Bruce Wayne is often defined by his wealth. Though I almost chose City Watch (Investigator) for his being the "Greatest Detective" background.

Finally, he would of probably spent some downtime picking up skills such as investigation & insight (assuming he picked up acrobatics & stealth for his monk choices).

[Specter]

Fighter (probably Samurai considering the Batman Begins storyline)/Rogue (probably Thief).

There's nothing supernatural or mystic about Batman, so Monk is out.

[Angelalex242]

Race: Elf (Wood) - Because it's a fantasy world, so why not? Plus Mask of Wilderness, Trance, and a few other elven abilities really tie in well with Batman.
Class: Monk (Shadow) - Classic ninja.
Level: 10 - For my Batman, I chose the classic "Guardian of Gotham" version as opposed to "Justice League walks among the gods" version.
Background: Noble - Bruce Wayne is often defined by his wealth. Though I almost chose City Watch (Investigator) for his being the "Greatest Detective" background.

Finally, he would of probably spent some downtime picking up skills such as investigation & insight (assuming he picked up acrobatics & stealth for his monk choices).


Cloak of the Bat
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
While wearing this cloak, you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. In an area of dim light or darkness, you can grip the edges of the cloak with both hands and use it to fly at a speed of 40 feet. If you ever fail to grip the cloak’s edges while flying in this way, or if you are no longer in dim light or darkness, you lose this flying speed.
While wearing the cloak in an area of dim light or darkness, you can use your action to cast polymorph on yourself, transforming into a bat. While you are in the form of the bat, you retain your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. The cloak can’t be used this way again until the next dawn.

Consider this mandatory, even though we don't see Batman change into a Bat.

[Vogie]

Samurai Fighter 7 / Inquisitive Rogue 3 / Way of the Open Hand monk 7 / Shadow Sorcerer 3

Would require a tiny bit of DM fiat to make sure Fighting Spirit and Sneak Attacks would work with unarmed Strikes

Elegant Courtier shows Bruce Wayne's upbringing.
Expert hand to hand fighter, can generate sneak attacks using either Fighting Spirit or Insightful Fighting.
Nod to being a detective with the Ear for Deceit/Eye for Detail.
THP generation & Evasion to show his resilience in combat.
Cunning action, Wholeness of Body, Strength of the Grave show he's really hard to kill.
Sorcerer levels give Darkvision and free Darkness, which is Batman's MO.
Subtle & Quickened to tie in that he's not giving the spellcaster vibe.
Spells are there to augment the Super-heroics, include Jump & Spider climb.
Shadow Blade acts as a Shurikan/Batarangs.

[Easy_Lee]

Batman can't be an elf or a level 10 monk because he isn't immune to poison or being put to sleep. Inquisitive Rogue is fine, but I think he's more of an item user, climber, and Supreme Sneak than he is an Inquisitor.

Open Hand Monk 9 / Rogue (Thief) 9 / Fighter 2
Expertise in Stealth, Thieves' Tools, Perception, Investigation
Feats: Alert, Observant, Prodigy (Athletics)
Proficiencies: every language and most tools (long career)

In the spirit of Batman, carry light-weight versions of every tool (possibly mithral) and find a use for every magic item you can get.

[Rogerdodger557]

NOTE: This build assumes unearthed arcana is allowed.


Personally, I think that Bats would be a Brute Fighter, rolled decent stats, and took exclusively feats. I made out a character sheet, but its not on me. What I wrote out, based on memory:


Batman is not unarmored. So Monk is out the window. What we can have is adamantine half-plate with the Medium Armor Master feat. Provides the mobility and stealth, as well as the ability to shrug off blows that should have of done more.
Fighter makes the most sense, Brute most of all. Batman knows how to use almost all conventional weaponry, several unconventional ones, and is seen to be able to move around expertly in all the various armors he has worn.
Batman would obviously have Tavern Brawler, and with the extra damage provided would make him more than formidable. Because no matter what anyone says, Batman's fighting style is brutal, and serves a purpose. To inspire fear.
Skilled. Intimidation, Investigation, and a third I can't remember off the top of my head.
The skill feats for the 3 skills he got through skilled.
Observant.


His fighting styles would be Defense and Mariner. The rest can be explained with magic items, and downtime spent learning what he wouldn't get through traditional leveling.

STR: 18
DEX: 20
CON: 16
INT: 20
WIS: 14
CHA: 16

Noble background, variant background feature(Alfred).

[Angelalex242]

If you really want to ramp up the fear thing...imagine Oath of Conquest Paladin backed up by Shadow Monk. Fear Aura on everyone...

[Lombra]

We shoud ask ourselves how batman would be in a D&D setting, not how to copy/paste him into one, it's the same difference between translating and localizing. Batman uses loads of high-end technology which translates well to magic in D&D.

The only class ever that could mimic his unarmed fighting is monk, way of shadows to fit the fluff.

With a lot of magic items. Like, a lot. And we shouldn't forget his best skill: being rich.

[History_buff]

Definitely a shadow monk component from his time spent training under Ra’s Al Ghul.

[GlenSmash!]

It depends if we are trying to emulate Batman from a Batman story, or Batman from a Justice League story.

The former will have very high physical stats as he has the nearly the best physical conditioning of anyone he encounters, while the later could be represented with lower stats since physical conditioning means squat compared to alien or mystical might.

Also, how do you do gadgets in 5e? Rogues or refluffed spells? refluffing spells opens a lot more options for building a Batman like character.

Ultimately I think builds with some rogue, some monk, and some fighter would be most fighting. Many specific subclasses could work depending on fluff.

Also while some versions of Batman have been armored others are explicitly unarmored so take you pick with how that works too.

[strangebloke]

It depends if we are trying to emulate Batman from a Batman story, or Batman from a Justice League story.

The former will have very high physical stats as he has the nearly the best physical conditioning of anyone he encounters, while the later could be represented with lower stats since physical conditioning means squat compared to alien or mystical might.

Also, how do you do gadgets in 5e? Rogues or refluffed spells? refluffing spells opens a lot more options for building a Batman like character.

Ultimately I think builds with some rogue, some monk, and some fighter would be most fighting. Many specific subclasses could work depending on fluff.

Also while some versions of Batman have been armored others are explicitly unarmored so take you pick with how that works too.

Justice League Characters are Mutants and Masterminds character that can't be modeled in DND. Superman doesn't merely have 20 STR.

I would do gadgets as magic items. The DMG has magic grappling hooks, magic nightvision goggles... it's all there. Since his armor is magitech, it follows (for me) that this doesn't preclude him from being a monk. Fluff his cape and cowl as a high level cloak of resistance.

I think 2-9 rogue levels are essential because Batman has expertise. Thief Rogue gets fast item use, climbing ability, and sneaking ability which are all in batman's skill set, although I can see an argument for inquisitive as well.

Monk gets many high-level abilities that are very batman appropriate. People who say batman isn't mystical... LoLwhat? Have you forgotten than two of his most iconic girlfriends (Zatanna and Talia) are wizards? Or all of the kung-fu style meditation tricks he's shown over the years? Or how he's been shown to be capable of any save imaginable? The only one that seems a little odd to me is the deflect arrows bit, but that's easily refluffed as a dodge and a batarang throw.

[GlenSmash!]

Justice League Characters are Mutants and Masterminds character that can't be modeled in DND. Superman doesn't merely have 20 STR.

I would do gadgets as magic items. The DMG has magic grappling hooks, magic nightvision goggles... it's all there. Since his armor is magitech, it follows (for me) that this doesn't preclude him from being a monk. Fluff his cape and cowl as a high level cloak of resistance.

I think 2-9 rogue levels are essential because Batman has expertise. Thief Rogue gets fast item use, climbing ability, and sneaking ability which are all in batman's skill set, although I can see an argument for inquisitive as well.

Monk gets many high-level abilities that are very batman appropriate. People who say batman isn't mystical... LoLwhat? Have you forgotten than two of his most iconic girlfriends (Zatanna and Talia) are wizards? Or all of the kung-fu style meditation tricks he's shown over the years? Or how he's been shown to be capable of any save imaginable? The only one that seems a little odd to me is the deflect arrows bit, but that's easily refluffed as a dodge and a batarang throw.

While it's certainly impossible to build Superman or Wonder Woman, you could still build a character that is inspired by them.

Heck, I see people asking for Thor or Hulk builds every six months or so and nobody says "You can't do that, there's no way to make a character that can lift more than 100,000 tons in 5e." What you get are build suggestions.

But I digress what I really meant to say is if you're looking to play up the Batman aspects that are more important in a Justice League story (Scouting, Detective work, Intelligence, Leadership) as opposed to a Batman story (Combat prowess, Martial Arts). You can build a different Batman character to do that. For example while Batman can lift/Press 1000 lbs, I would say it's not essential to make a 5e character based on him would need to do that.

Anyway, I think Scout Rogue would work well to represent his mobility and striking power, I'd consider it over Inquisitive or even Thief. Urban Scout rather than wilderness scout, but still I think it works.

[Easy_Lee]

Monk gets many high-level abilities that are very batman appropriate. People who say batman isn't mystical... LoLwhat? Have you forgotten than two of his most iconic girlfriends (Zatanna and Talia) are wizards? Or all of the kung-fu style meditation tricks he's shown over the years? Or how he's been shown to be capable of any save imaginable? The only one that seems a little odd to me is the deflect arrows bit, but that's easily refluffed as a dodge and a batarang throw.

Batman makes sense as a monk up to level 9, but not 10. From level 10 onward, monks are immune to poison and disease. That would invalidate Poison Ivy as a threatening villain. You can make a case for monk in principle and the abilities prior to 10 fit. But from 10 onward, the monk gets too mystical, otherworldly, and superpowered to be Batman.

[strangebloke]

Batman makes sense as a monk up to level 9, but not 10. From level 10 onward, monks are immune to poison and disease. That would invalidate Poison Ivy as a threatening villain. You can make a case for monk in principle and the abilities prior to 10 fit. But from 10 onward, the monk gets too mystical, otherworldly, and superpowered to be Batman.

TBH, Poison Ivy and Scarecrow are pretty much wizards. Calling their BS mind-controlling pollen/gas anything other than magic kind of sells it short. I would chop batman at level 11 because diamond soul is perfect for him.

[Angelalex242]

TBH, Poison Ivy and Scarecrow are pretty much wizards. Calling their BS mind-controlling pollen/gas anything other than magic kind of sells it short. I would chop batman at level 11 because diamond soul is perfect for him.

I dunno. You could do Batman as Shadow Monk 17 Assassin Rogue 3. That's why he attacks from stealth all the time...

In practice though, it may be better to do him as a gish of Shadow Monk 20/Assassin Rogue 20

[Easy_Lee]

TBH, Poison Ivy and Scarecrow are pretty much wizards. Calling their BS mind-controlling pollen/gas anything other than magic kind of sells it short. I would chop batman at level 11 because diamond soul is perfect for him.

Magical poison is still poison, diamond soul is level 14, and Batman can pick up feats for proficiency in saving throws that he needs.

To the others, Batman doesn't need maxed stats. He's learned but that doesn't automatically make him stronger than Captain America (or Bane, for that matter) or smarter than Doctor Strange or Tony Stark. Other superheroes need to occupy some position.

Compared to other heroes, Batman definitely has high dexterity, good strength and intelligence, and probably reasonable wisdom and constitution as well. His charisma doesn't need to be high because he isn't a liar and doesn't like playing leader (nor is he good at it based on Justice League). He isn't paragon-man; that's what Superman would be if he didn't have his powers.

[GlenSmash!]

Compared to other heroes, Batman definitely has high dexterity, good strength and intelligence, and probably reasonable wisdom and constitution as well. His charisma doesn't need to be high because he isn't a liar and doesn't like playing leader (nor is he good at it based on Justice League). He isn't paragon-man; that's what Superman would be if he didn't have his powers.

i think this is accurate. He does a fair amount of intimidating, but I imagine the Giant Bat costume works to help with that, at least against the cowardly superstitions criminal.

Taking the time to increase his charisma just would't have been as good of an investment as increasing Dex and Int, Strength and Wis, and Con.

[Easy_Lee]

i think this is accurate. He does a fair amount of intimidating, but I imagine the Giant Bat costume works to help with that, at least against the cowardly superstitions criminal.

I think that's the point to make. Batman can intimidate criminals but he doesn't usually try that on super-powered villains. He has high scores in everything compared to the average person but not according to the average hero. Compared to other heroes, his stealth, detective work, dexterity, and use of items are his areas of strength. One could argue acrobatics as well but, while I suspect he's proficient with it, most of his impressive acrobatic feats have been made in the course of dodging something. Evasion and 20 dexterity will cover that.

As far as his intimidation goes, I don't think one could compare him to Ghost Rider, for example. He can interrogate people but that's not just about scaring them. He probably has the insight and wisdom to know when he's being lied to.

One other thing: I think the Lucky feat would be appropriate. He's survived too many situations that should have killed him.

[xroads]

Batman can't be an elf or a level 10 monk because he isn't immune to poison or being put to sleep.

You have a good point. So with my build, I'd probably make him level 9 instead of 10. This would keep him comfortably in the second tier of play (city savior level), while making it so he is not immune (yet) to poison or disease.

I'd still make him a wood elf. Many of the elf's features compliment Batman's abilities nicely. And since this a D&D version of the character, I'm okay with him being immune to sleep effects.

As for his stats, if I was to use the standard array, this is how I see his stats playing out. Yes, it can be argued that all/most of his comic equivalent's stats would be human maximum. But I like my version of Batman being more mortal.


Str 10 - He's strong, but primarily a dex based combat character.
Dex 16 - Assuming he picks up dex +2 at one of his AI levels
Con 15 - Arguably could be switched with strength. But I like it better here.
Int 13 - Normally highly intelligent character. But more of his thinking skills are tied in with wisdom.
Wis 14 - Assuming he picks up Observant at one of his AI levels. Helps with his perception & insight.
Char 8 - I agree with Easy_Lee & GlenSmash. Yeah, he plays the part of a billionaire playboy. But he's often shown as not very comfortable with it. And he's often very recluse, even from his own close allies. Skill proficiency can be used to help mitigate persuasion & intimidation.

[Scots Dragon]

In some respects, he is not really modeled well by dnd. Does Batman have less than an 18-20 in any ability? Is there any skill that he isn't proficient in? (Maybe animal handling and/or medicine?) Does he have any weak saves?

Retrofitting from the stats in Green Ronin's kinda-d20-compatible-if-you-tilt-your-head-and-squint-a-bit game Mutants & Masterminds / DC Adventures, his stats would be as follows.

Str 18*
Dex 24
Con 18
Int 26
Wis 24
Cha 24


* - Based on modifier, not lifting strength. Retrofitting the lifting strength appropriate to STR 4 in Mutants & Masterminds would make a result of around 27 or so given that he can lift a weight of approximately ~800 lbs. This doubles if you count his lifting strength as carrying capacity.

[Angelalex242]

Why are we worried if Batman has immunity to poison and disease?

He has plans for everything and more antitoxins than you can shake a stick at on his utility belt somewhere.

Being immune to poison just saves him from burning a bonus action on antitoxins.

[TheYell]

Sounds like we need a new character class.

[GlenSmash!]

One other thing: I think the Lucky feat would be appropriate. He's survived too many situations that should have killed him.

Very fitting.

I think the Lucky feat is a good fit on a lot of heroes from fiction.

[Easy_Lee]

Why are we worried if Batman has immunity to poison and disease?

He has plans for everything and more antitoxins than you can shake a stick at on his utility belt somewhere.

Being immune to poison just saves him from burning a bonus action on antitoxins.

Poison ivy is one of his main villains and she specifically uses poison against him.

[Angelalex242]

Poison ivy is one of his main villains and she specifically uses poison against him.

An eventuality he is inevitably prepared for. When was the last time Poison Ivy actually BEAT him with a poison?

[GlenSmash!]

An eventuality he is inevitably prepared for. When was the last time Poison Ivy actually BEAT him with a poison?

Being "beaten" is pretty rare for Batman. That's kind of his thing.

[Easy_Lee]

An eventuality he is inevitably prepared for. When was the last time Poison Ivy actually BEAT him with a poison?

When was the last time her poison had absolutely no effect whatsoever? Additionally, he nearly dies during JLA when Copperhead bites him.

[Angelalex242]

When was the last time her poison had absolutely no effect whatsoever? Additionally, he nearly dies during JLA when Copperhead bites him.

In D&D, Poison Ivy is a straight up Druid. I think she has spells enough that she won't miss her poison.

[Easy_Lee]

In D&D, Poison Ivy is a straight up Druid. I think she has spells enough that she won't miss her poison.

Are you building the actual character or are you building what you think the character would be if he was born in the D&D universe? People got irritated with me for doing the latter in the Flash thread, creating the fastest character possible in the spirit of Flash.

[Angelalex242]

Well, she'd need a spell called conjure carnivorous plant, but Poison Ivy is a druid. Since she's a druid, her spell list covers the fact poison doesn't work on Batman anymore.

The Joker is a Bard, who abuses the hell out of Vicious Mockery and Tasha's hideous laughter. And then a highly improved Tasha's die laughing spell. (Con save or drop dead laughing...)

Bane is a Barbarian with a belt of giant strength.

You get the idea.

[Easy_Lee]

Well, she'd need a spell called conjure carnivorous plant, but Poison Ivy is a druid. Since she's a druid, her spell list covers the fact poison doesn't work on Batman anymore.

The Joker is a Bard, who abuses the hell out of Vicious Mockery and Tasha's hideous laughter. And then a highly improved Tasha's die laughing spell. (Con save or drop dead laughing...)

Bane is a Barbarian with a belt of giant strength.

You get the idea.

See my previous post. The OP doesn't want to 5e-ify the concept of each character, he wants to build the actual character. Or, at least, that's my understanding

[xroads]

See my previous post. The OP doesn't want to 5e-ify the concept of each character, he wants to build the actual character. Or, at least, that's my understanding

It sounds like the OP wants a 5e concept. One that is within the spirit of the character. From the OP's post...



so. how would we build batman in 5e. let try to keep to his flavor...

...lets go for the most basic idea of batman. non lethal, solo fighter with tech from all accosted the bored. more in the middle between detective and brawler. more brawler focused but not by much

[xroads]

Why are we worried if Batman has immunity to poison and disease?

He has plans for everything and more antitoxins than you can shake a stick at on his utility belt somewhere.

Being immune to poison just saves him from burning a bonus action on antitoxins.

I can see the argument. I can think of at least six Batman villians that have successfully used poison or toxins against the caped crusader.



Copperhead
Joker
Lady Arkham
Poison Ivy
Scarecrow
Talia (or was it Ra's Al Ghul?)

Sure, he eventually makes his saving throws. But they usually affect him.

[TheYell]

Well, you kind of have to 5eify his main villains. Can't just make an optimum orcslayer and put a cowl on it and call it the Dark Knight.

[Amdy_vill]

i get the argument and i get were both sides are coming from but they do have a point that batman has been poisoned, but batman has shown immunity to some poisons in the past as well. i feel this comes down to how you flavor the ability. if it is magic then no batman does not have it and if it is your body and immunities you have built up then yes batman does have it.

[Amdy_vill]

Being "beaten" is pretty rare for Batman. That's kind of his thing.

this really depends on how long batman has been doing his job. the younger batmen tend to be "beaten" the first few times and then win on the second or third try. the older and more experienced batmen tend to have knowledge to win the first time.

[GlenSmash!]

this really depends on how long batman has been doing his job. the younger batmen tend to be "beaten" the first few times and then win on the second or third try. the older and more experienced batmen tend to have knowledge to win the first time.

It could be a semantic difference. I think I'm using beaten to imply more than losing a single fight, but a serious defeat. Having his back broken for one, losing a Robin for another, that kind of thing.

[Amdy_vill]

It could be a semantic difference. I think I'm using beaten to imply more than losing a single fight, but a serious defeat. Having his back broken for one, losing a Robin for another, that kind of thing.

in that respected your are right

[Talionis]

2 Knowledge Cleric/Gloom Stalker Ranger 7/7 Thief Rogue/ 3 Dex Battle Master Fighter/Shadow Monk 3

You can dump Strength and Intelligence and make up for each with Athletics expertise and Knowledge Cleric. Gloom stalker makes you very good in opening surprise rounds and combos well with action surge. I think Batman has evasion so 7 rogue but Thief let's you pull a bunch of tricks out of your utility belt as a bonus action. And being good at climbing seems thematic. You'd be very good at fighting in low light.

Your casting is mostly for Ranger spells which are just tricky weapons really anyway.

[Zalabim]

The D&D class that is batman is the ranger. It has a utility belt with a variety of gadgets, exploding batarangs, medium armor, stealth and tracking, can still handle a straight-up fight, is a loner, etc. Batman is a ranger. His favored terrain is Gotham. His favored enemy is humanoids. Probably Gloom Stalker for surprise attacks and Wisdom proficiency, but Hunter works if you don't have XtGE.

[Malifice]

NOTE: This build assumes unearthed arcana is allowed.


Personally, I think that Bats would be a Brute Fighter, rolled decent stats, and took exclusively feats. I made out a character sheet, but its not on me. What I wrote out, based on memory:


Batman is not unarmored. So Monk is out the window. What we can have is adamantine half-plate with the Medium Armor Master feat. Provides the mobility and stealth, as well as the ability to shrug off blows that should have of done more.
Fighter makes the most sense, Brute most of all. Batman knows how to use almost all conventional weaponry, several unconventional ones, and is seen to be able to move around expertly in all the various armors he has worn.
Batman would obviously have Tavern Brawler, and with the extra damage provided would make him more than formidable. Because no matter what anyone says, Batman's fighting style is brutal, and serves a purpose. To inspire fear.
Skilled. Intimidation, Investigation, and a third I can't remember off the top of my head.
The skill feats for the 3 skills he got through skilled.
Observant.


His fighting styles would be Defense and Mariner. The rest can be explained with magic items, and downtime spent learning what he wouldn't get through traditional leveling.

STR: 18
DEX: 20
CON: 16
INT: 20
WIS: 14
CHA: 16

Noble background, variant background feature(Alfred).

Batman wears a batsuit, not armor. It gives him resistance to B, P and S damage.

[Rogerdodger557]

Batman wears a batsuit, not armor. It gives him resistance to B, P and S damage.

And what is the suit made out of? Barbarian hide?

[Vogie]

Batman is not unarmored. So Monk is out the window. What we can have is adamantine half-plate with the Medium Armor Master feat. Provides the mobility and stealth, as well as the ability to shrug off blows that should have of done more.
Fighter makes the most sense, Brute most of all. Batman knows how to use almost all conventional weaponry, several unconventional ones, and is seen to be able to move around expertly in all the various armors he has worn.
Batman would obviously have Tavern Brawler, and with the extra damage provided would make him more than formidable. Because no matter what anyone says, Batman's fighting style is brutal, and serves a purpose. To inspire fear.
Skilled. Intimidation, Investigation, and a third I can't remember off the top of my head.
The skill feats for the 3 skills he got through skilled.
Observant.


His fighting styles would be Defense and Mariner. The rest can be explained with magic items, and downtime spent learning what he wouldn't get through traditional leveling.


He's not Monk because of Unarmored defense, he's Monk because his main weapon is unarmed strikes, and he's really, really fast. If Brute would amplify "attacks" rather than "hit with a weapon", I'd agree completely.

Since he's also one to use an abundance of magic items, which 5e limits, I'd still dip 3 levels in Shadow Sorcerer for Shadow blade and a collection of utility spells like Spider Climb, Jump, Expeditious Retreat to make him faster... maybe Enhance Ability, instead, to make sure he still feels "good at everything" when it counts.

[MadBear]

Stat wise, he's going to be hard to make using a standard array or point buy. Bruce is extremely intelligent, so he has a high Intelligence (probably 15-20 range). He's hardy so his con is going to be a minimum of 12 and likely should be higher. He has close to peak human strength (He's shown bench pressing 1,000 pounds), so his strength is gonna be 18-20. He's extremely agile so again high dex. He's also very perceptive so his wisdom would be above average. On top of that, he fools the town on a regular basis about who he is, and he's intimidating so his charisma would be high.

All in all, Batman seems to be a player who rolled way above average stats, but is using a sub-optimal fighting strategy in 5e D&D.

I'd be tempted to go variant human Fighter 6/Rogue X. That gets you 2 attacks using your fists, and the rogue gives you an extra skill, and let's you specialize in a few skills.
Feat wise:
- Tavern Brawler so he can make unarmed attacks and use improvised weapons easily
- Keen Intellect so he can remember everything with precision detail

I'd give him a customized background. Something like

Tragic Noble: Let him have just one retainer (Alfred) and let him have the split persona.

[TheUser]

He's not Monk because of Unarmored defense, he's Monk because his main weapon is unarmed strikes, and he's really, really fast. If Brute would amplify "attacks" rather than "hit with a weapon", I'd agree completely.

Since he's also one to use an abundance of magic items, which 5e limits, I'd still dip 3 levels in Shadow Sorcerer for Shadow blade and a collection of utility spells like Spider Climb, Jump, Expeditious Retreat to make him faster... maybe Enhance Ability, instead, to make sure he still feels "good at everything" when it counts.

From a technical perspective "Unarmed Attacks" count as Weapon Attacks. JC has clarified it... also unarmed appears on the weapons table ;)


There will be a level of barbarian in there because the "rage" mechanic pretty much defines his fighting zeal along with his consistent strength and tenacity.

Batman for sure has a minimum of 3 levels in battlemaster; combat techniques are his bag. Disarming Attack, Frighten, Riposte would be my go to. Defense Fighting Style, Second wind and Action Surge also feel very up his alley. At that point it's almost worth it to just get to level 5 and have it be your source of an extra attack.

At least 6 levels of thief for uncanny dodge and bonus action item usage for gizmos and gadgets as well as 4 skills for double proficiency. My gut tells me that 14 levels in Thief rogue is where it's at; the Use any Item, Blindsense both seem very batman. It's a shame though because if we want to get Slippery Mind we can't get some of the other iconic Batman things.
Expertise in Stealth, Athletics, Acrobatics and Investigation (world's greatest detective)
There's potential to also take the Prodigy feat since he's human (probably double up on Intimidation; also very Batman).

Uncanny dodge + rage is also how he's able to take such a horrendous beating from villains with massive powers. A hit which would normally do 100 damage and obliterate most characters does 25 damage to Batman.


The real debate seems to be whether or not he fights unarmored for the Monk's Martial Arts dice or if he wears medium armor as the more recent iterations would seem to suggest.

I am of the opinion that Batman wears half-plate with the medium armor master feat and if he takes Tavern Brawler he can use his gauntlets as an improvised weapon. In a rule's loose perspective you can ask for it to be a 1d6 bludgeoning weapon with the finesse property to allow sneak attacks. Otherwise you are throwing "batarangs" (daggers/darts) to get your sneak attack off.

The reason I like half-plate better is it allows for Batman to get 16 strength without sacrificing too much in his dexterity and hamstringing his AC which seems far more in keeping with the concept of the character.

My inclination is to ignore gloom stalker; both it, and the monk have elements of "mysticism" which Batman eschews. In a purist sense Batman doesn't have "powers" which would include mystical ones.

So after everything is said and done you're most likely left with a Human Variant with Thief Rogue 14/Barbarian 1/Battlemaster 5

But there's room to play around with the balance between Battlemaster and Thief Rogue.

He's going to need a metric ass tonne of feats to work properly though.

Tavern Brawler, Medium Armor Master and Tough come to mind.