Building Batman

[Beltas]

I am working on a concept for an NPC and I was hoping for some input. I’m thinking a rich noble, with no particular combat skills, who has invested heavily in magical items to buy the prowess. Think Batman, minus the martial arts training.

What magical items would you suggest? Rules are: no class/proficiency prerequisite; must be rules legal (e.g. only 3 attuned items). Here is the equipment list I have so far.

Elven Chain (Rare)
Hat of disguise (Uncommon, A)
Gloves of missile snaring (Uncommon, A)
Cloak of the bat (Rare, A)
Goggles of the night (Uncommon)
Periapt of proof against poison (Rare)

Wand of magic missiles (Uncommon)
Circlet of blasting (Uncommon)
Bag of tricks (Uncommon)

Deck of illusions (Uncommon)
Dust of disappearance (Uncommon)
Eversmoking bottle (Uncommon)
Iron bands of Bilarro (Rare)
Sending stones (For calling Alfred) (Uncommon)
Wand of magic detection (Uncommon)
Wand of secrets (Uncommon)
Gloves of thievery (Uncommon)

Potion of climbing (common)
Heroism (rare)
Invulnerability (rare)
Speed (very rare)
Mind reading (rare)

[stoutstien]

So one anti magic Field away from being a load of free stuff for your players?

[Beltas]

So one anti magic Field away from being a load of free stuff for your players?

I'm not building the NPC to go up against the party. I'll use him as a foil for the party. Depending on how they react to him, he could either be an ally or competition. Also, the party is fairly low level, so the NPC doesn't need to invincible, just strong enough to be interesting.

[Naanomi]

Back in 2e days, there was a guy who was a ‘rival adventurer’ that messed with us all the time. We later found out he was an unskilled bureaucrat that had six magic magic items he found (forgotten in an old bank vault that he found the records of), each one setting one of his stats to 19 (gauntlets of ogre strength, headband of intelligence, that sort of thing)

[Quoxis]

You better trust your players with your life to not be murderhobos, because hell, i‘d consider backstabbing that dude to get his stuff.

[Specter]

Think Batman, minus the martial arts training.

So, Iron Man? :P

[Beltas]

So, Iron Man? :P
😛

I actually did write Iron Man initially. But I decided that my final phrasing better reflected the vibe I am going for. Batman without the martial arts is still the world’s greatest detective. Tony Stark is many things, but he’s not a detective.

[The Jack]

Your list is far too extensive and you kinda miss some of the main points of batman.


i like the idea of a rich batman that buys magic items because he can't be bothered to become a level 20 whatever (and being the best human at everything naturally is less realistic than actual superpowers)

Would recomend
-Gauntlets of Ogre power or Belt of hill giant strength.


I'd avoid potions honestly, depending on how close you want it to batman.


Fun Batman idea.
Dude's a monster who blames his parents death on "the poor". Uses his immense financial capabilities to corrupt politicians and drive out small businesses, ultimately to increase unemployment, make the poor desperate, and create crime. He then uses his alter ego to fight crime (the poor) usually in a way that's brutal but ultimately perpetuates crime. He never kills, because that'd reduce his number of victims.