Classes for Batman and Deathstroke?

[hwem]

It's hard to single out one sole class to characterize each comic heroes.
However, if you had to describe Batman/Deathstroke in D&D class system, what would they be?
Let's try this without muliclassing and see if this is even possible.
Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Side note: I think bladesinger for either of these two characters is interesting. At first glance, it's weird to characterize batman and Deathstroke as a wizard. However, I believe wizard could explain their ability to prepare and study their opponents and various scenarios. Furthermore, bladesinger subclass specifically gives wizards the ability to melee effectively (regardless of how effective they are in-game). Still, I'm expecting a lot more people to go with monks, rogues, and some fighter subclasses.

[Aranfan]

As far as 5e is concerned, Batman is so much a shadow monk it hurts. Almost all of his gadgets can be refluffled version of the shadow monk magic abilities (smoke pellets are basically darkness, the way he disappears is the shadow teleport, etc). He probably needs the martial adept for batarang disarms, but that's the only thing that isn't clearly in the shadow monk wheelhouse. Maybe also skilled for the out of class detective skills.


I'm not familiar enough with Deathstroke to say for sure, but based on what I've seen of him, a 5e champion fighter would be able to emulate him fairly well.

[Dualswinger]

Batman seems more of an inquisitive rogue to me. Keeps the mundane yet highly skilled approach.

Agree with Deathstroke being the champion fighter up and down. Master of any weapon indeed!

[Aranfan]

I can definitely see building Batman as an Inquisitive Rogue if you focus on the detective angle, yeah. Still, the martial artist thing is a big enough part of Batman's mythos that shadow monk also works perfectly.

[kenGarff]

I actually think batman's primary strength is how he always observes and studies his opponents and different chains of scenarios. And I think some sort of wizard would fit him well. However, wizards don't physically and acrobatically fight like batman does. So I'd really say some sort of wizard/x would fit him better than anything really. He somehow goes up against super humans and often beats them, even some ungodly powerful beings, using his intelligence more than anything. At first glance, I wanted to say inquisitive rogue but yeah...

I don't know much about Deathstroke sorry.

edit: I just think Batman isn't a fighter who is pretty smart. Batman is a genius-level scientist who can fight well. In recent comic releases, batman is become pretty crazy in terms of just how much knowledge he has. And his technology is almost "magical".

edit2: I suppose bladesinger would work very well. Just need to be wearing masks, hood, and tight spandexes with sneaky weapons (i.e. dual wielding scimitars and dancing around with them) would work!

[Particle_Man]

The 18th level ability of the champion to regain hp would match deadpool’s regeneration abilities oh you meant deathstroke! :smallsmile:

[hwem]

Thanks so far. I would like to be a highly intelligent and calculative person who prepares and studies for every occasion that can hold his own in fights (doesn't have to be some zealot barbarian that goes crazy lol).

[Unoriginal]

The 18th level ability of the champion to regain hp would match deadpool’s regeneration abilities oh you meant deathstroke! :smallsmile:

Deathstroke does have regeneration, though.

I suppose a Deathstroke-like character would need Tavern Brawler.

[Unoriginal]

Thanks so far. I would like to be a highly intelligent and calculative person who prepares and studies for every occasion that can hold his own in fights (doesn't have to be some zealot barbarian that goes crazy lol).

Contrarily to the "RPG forum" conceit, Wizards don't actually "study for every occasion". They generally have a generic daily setup augmented by rituals, and whike sometime they can prepare in advance for a specific occasion most of the time they either gamble that the tools and damage-dealing options they have selected will be useful or they either trade power for width of usefulness.

[Vogie]

It'd be a little MAD, but I could probably see Inquisitive Rogue 3 / War Wizard 2 / Shadow Monk X

That gives you:

Super Detective Skills
Ability to turn Wisdom(insight) skills into damage into damage via Insightful Fighting
Brilliant Tactician with +Int to Initiative
Not beholden to special armor or weapons
Ninja-level sneak
A ritual book utility belt
Supernatural reflexes - using their reaction to Evade Dex Saves, have +4 to other saving throws, +2 to AC or even grab arrows out of the air.

[Unoriginal]

Deathstroke could also be represented by a Kensei.

[Throne12]

Batman is a thief rogue there ability to use any magic item is using his cool gadgets. Then he also has fast hands for other thing then you have expertise in skills like invagation, acrobatics, history, ect. Batman is not magic but he does us gadgets the mimic magical effects. Then your sneak attack is good for melee damages. That the martial adapt for a disarming ability.

[Ganymede]

It's hard to single out one sole class to characterize each comic heroes.


It is hard to model superheroes and supervillains with the PC generation rules for the same reason it is hard to change a tire with a monkey wrench. You might eventually succeed with enough time and patience, but you're still using the wrong tool for the job.

You're going to have a much easier (and arguably more fun) time building an NPC stat block instead. That way, your D&D Batman can actually throw batarangs instead of pretending a thrown dagger or conjured Magic Missile is a batarang.

[Malifice]

Batman is an Inquisitive rogue (he is a detective after all) plus Shadow monk.

Expertise in intimidate, investigate, perception and stealth.

[hwem]

Thanks all.

[GlenSmash!]

Inquisitive Rogue, Shadow Monk, Gloomstalker, and Battlemaster would all get me things I wanted on a character to emulate Batman. Skill expertise, great stalking and surprise ability, and a large bag of tricks with Ki, spells, and superiority dice.

I'll think on how I would break it down and be back in a bit.

Deathstroke is likewise a cunning strategist, though much less of an investigator. This guy is all about winning the fight. He also has physical and mental abilities advanced beyond human levels. Kind of an amoral Captain America. In melee he favors the sword and staff at range Grenades and heavy weapons.

Bladesinger would do well with those melee weapons and some blasting spells, but seems to be missing something on it's own. But I can't seem to put my finger on it.

[jaappleton]

Batman is a multiclass Rogue (I'd say Thief due to the object interaction) and Monk (Not Shadow... Batman isn't magical. Batman is practical. I lean Open Hand).

So for the most accurate depiction of his actual abilities, Thief / Open Hand

EDIT: From the High Rollers D&D show, you might want to check out the Vigilante class that they made. Its quite well made. Has a couple gadgets that really evoke that Batman feel. https://www.dmsguild.com/product/236655/The-Vigilante-Class

Note: As of this very moment, DMsGuild is down for maintenance, so check it out when you can

[GlenSmash!]

Batman isn't magical

Eh. I've been refluffing ranger spells to make spell-less rangers for 4 years now. I could do it for Gadgets just as easily.

Still Open hand is a great fit too.

[Nidgit]

Deathstroke could also be represented by a Kensei.
This was definitely my first thought and I'm surprised it hasn't gained more traction. You lose some of the weapon versatility but gain better hand-to-hand combat. Feels like it better matches how acrobatic Deathstroke can be too.

[GlenSmash!]

This was definitely my first thought and I'm surprised it hasn't gained more traction. You lose some of the weapon versatility but gain better hand-to-hand combat. Feels like it better matches how acrobatic Deathstroke can be too.

It covers a lot of what Deathstroke can do especially in melee, however he tends to wear (IMHO) Medium style armor, and shoots people with Heavy Ordnance a lot.

I think a Deathstroke type character should have all weapon proficiencies and a way of throwing down some major ranged damage. Maybe an AOE.

[Zonugal]

For Deathstroke I'd do a simple High Elf Fighter 1/'Bladesinger' Wizard X build.

But for Batman?

Bruce ‘The Batman’ Wayne
Half-Elf ‘Inquisitive’ Rogue 2/’‘Spell-less Revised Ranger’ 2/’Inquisitive’ Rogue 4/Knowledge’ Cleric 2 with the Trade Sheriff background
Medium humanoid (human, elf), Lawful Good
Armor class 18 (breastplate armor)
Hit points 75 (8d8+16/2d10+4)
Speed 30 ft.
---
Str 8 (-1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 19 (+4), Wis 14 (+2), Cha 12 (+1)
---
Saving Throws: Dexterity +7 and Intelligence +8
Skills: Acrobatics +7, Alchemist’s Supplies +4, Deception +5, Insight +10, Intimidation +5, Investigation +12, History +12, Medicine +6, Nature +12, Perception +10, Persuasion +5, Quicksmithing Tools +4, Stealth +11, Survival +6, and Thieves’ Tools +4
Feats: Quicksmithing
Senses: passive Perception 20; darkvision 60 ft.
Languages: Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elvish, Infernal, Sylvan, and Undercommon
---
Special Abilities
Racial Abilities: Darkvision (60 ft.), Fey Ancestry, and Skill Versatility
Background Abilities: Investigative Services
Class Abilities: Expertise (Insight, Investigation, Perception, & Stealth), Sneak Attack (+3d6), Thieves’ Cant, Cunning Action, Favored Enemy (Humans +2), Natural Explorer, Combat Superiority (4d8/rest; Disarming Attack & Menacing Attack; maneuver save DC 15), Fighting Style (Defense), Roguish Archetype (Inquisitive), Ear for Deceit, Eye for Detail, Insightful Fighting, Uncanny Dodge, Spellcasting (Cleric), Divine Domain (Knowledge), Blessing of Knowledge (History & Nature), Ritual Casting, Spellcasting Focus, and Channel Divinity (Knowledge of the Ages).
---
Actions
Dagger. Melee weapon attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., range 20 ft./60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) slashing damage; finesse, light
Dart. Ranged weapon attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., range 20 ft./60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage; finesse, thrown (range 20/60)
+1 Rapier. Melee weapon attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) slashing damage; finesse
---
Cleric Spells -- The Batman’s spellcasting ability is Wisdom-based (spell save DC 14)
Cantrips Known (at will) -- Guidance, Sacred Flame, & Thaumaturgy
1st-level Spells Prepared (2/long rest) -- Bless, Command*, Cure Wounds, Identify*, Shield of Faith, & Sanctuary
--
Equipment: a bandoleer (containing: three acids, three alchemist fires, & two antitoxins), a belt pouch (containing: a Portable Hole [within it: 4 gp, an Alchemy Jug, Alchemist’s Supplies. a Bag of Beans, Brewer’s Supplies, Calligrapher’s Supplies, a Candle of the Deep, a Cap of Water Breathing, Carpenter’s Tools, Cartographers Tools, Climber’s Kit, Cobbler’s Tools, Cook’s Utensils, a Decanter of Endless Water, Dice Set, Dimensional Shackles, Disguise Kit, a Driftglobe, Dust of Disappearance, Dust of Dryness, an Ear Horn of Hearing, an Elixir of Health, an Eversmoking Bottle, a Folding Boat, Forgery Kit, Glassblower’s Tools, Healer’s Kit, an Immovable Rod, Jeweler’s Tools, Keoghtom’s Ointment, a Lantern of Revealing, Leatherworker’s Tools, a Lock of Trickery, Mason’s Tools, a Mystery Key, a Necklace of Fireballs, Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments, Navigator’s Tools, Painter’s Supplies, Perfume of Bewitching, a Philter of Love, Pipes of Haunting, Playing Cards, Poisoner’s Kit, a Pole of Collapsing, Potter’s Tools, Quaal’s Feather Token (Anchor), Quaal’s Feather Token (Swan Boat), Quaal’s Feather Token (Tree), a Rust Bag of Tricks, Smith’s Tools, Tinker’s Tools, an Unbreakable Arrow, a Wand of Secrets, Weaver’s Tools, a Wind Fan, Woodcutter’s Tools]), Boots of Elvenkind, +1 Mithral breastplate armor, Cloak of the Bat*, twelve daggers, Dread Helm, Eyes of Minute Seeing, a set of fine clothes, Gloves of Thievery, Headband of Intellect*, holy symbol (bat amulet), Ring of Mind Shielding*, +1 rapier, Rope of Climbing, and thieves’ tools.
Equipment in the Cave: Apparatus of Kwalish, Broom of Flying, Carpet of Flying (4 ft. by 6 ft.), Sending Stones (James Gordon has the other)
--
Quicksmithing Schematics
1st-level Rituals: Alarm, Ceremony, Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Detect Poison and Disease, Find Familiar, Identify, Illusory Script, Purify Food and Drink, Speak With Animals, Tenser’s Floating Disk, & Unseen Servant
2nd-level Rituals: Animal Messenger, Augury, Beast Sense, Gentle Repose, Locate Animals or Plants, Magic Mouth, Skywrite, & Silence
3rd-level Rituals: Leomud’s Tiny Hut, Meld Into Stone, Phantom Steed, Feign Death, Water Breathing, & Water Walk
4th-level Rituals: Divination
5th-level Rituals: Commune, Commune With Nature, Contact Other Plane, & Rary’s Telepathic Bond

For a 20th-level version?

Half-Elf ‘Inquisitive’ Rogue 2/’‘Spell-less Revised Ranger’ 2/’Inquisitive’ Rogue 4/Knowledge’ Cleric 2/''Spell-less Revised Gloom Stalker'' Ranger 6/'Inquisitive' Rogue 4
Those additional Ability Score Improvements go to: +4 Dex, Observant, & Keen Mind

[Mercurias]

As far as 5e is concerned, Batman is so much a shadow monk it hurts. Almost all of his gadgets can be refluffled version of the shadow monk magic abilities (smoke pellets are basically darkness, the way he disappears is the shadow teleport, etc). He probably needs the martial adept for batarang disarms, but that's the only thing that isn't clearly in the shadow monk wheelhouse. Maybe also skilled for the out of class detective skills.


I'm not familiar enough with Deathstroke to say for sure, but based on what I've seen of him, a 5e champion fighter would be able to emulate him fairly well.

I'm dead on in agreement with you on the classes, but I disagree on the subclasses. I feel like Batman would be an Inquisition Rogue and Deathstroke would be a Battlemaster Fighter.

[Sception]

Depends on the Batman, I guess. As with any long running fictional character portrayed over decades by dozens of different creative teams, there have been rather a lot of different bat men. Golden Age, Silver Age bats, Long Halloween Bats, Arkham Asylum, ASBAR... these are all very different characters, and that's before you even leave comics and get into video media.

Even more then that, it also depends on if you're aiming for batman as he would be if he were from a magical, medieval fantasy setting to begin with, or you're aiming for his particular specific skill and toolset devoid of context - ie, batman exactly as he is in whatever source material you're taking him from, magically transported into a D&D setting.

As an example, let's take Bale's version of Batman from the Nolan movies, and look at his suit. Now that specific suit would probably be classed as 'light armor', particularly the one from the second and third films. It's built for a guy using martial arts, in the second movie it's specifically redesigned to be lighter and more flexible, etc. So if you're directly translating that batman into your medieval fantasy setting, like he fell out of a portal from the future evil dead style, then you're going to want a light armored character.

But if we're adapting the character in such a way that he was from the fantasy setting to begin with? This batman is using the best and most expensive armor available, and the best and most expensive armor available in his fantasy setting is full plate. That's also the armor that a 'knight' would wear, not just tying in with the 'dark knight' moniker, but also with his aristocratic background - This batman, like many versions of the character, is filling the role of a metaphorical knight - as in a local hereditary nobleman charged with the protection of the land around their castle. That's the thematic subtext of Batman's relationship with Gotham, why Alfred and Lucius are portrayed less as Bruce's employees or friends and more as devoted retainers to the House of Wayne. All that subtext naturally becomes literal text if you're recreating batman within a pseudo-medieval setting. It would be weird to have batman be a purely metaphorical knight in a setting where literal knights of this sort are actually a thing.

So, all that said, there's a strong case to be made for representing D&D Batman as an actual knight - ie, horse, heavy armor, noble background, the works. It's a less literal translation of his modern depiction, but a more direct translation of the narrative archetypes that depiction is built on. Granted the tradeoff is that you lose the stealth angle. The more 'knight' in your 'dark knight' the less 'dark' you have. But rather a surprising number of Batman depictions aren't especially stealthy anyway, whether competing in public surfing contests in broad daylight or crashing through cities in batmobiles that are more tank than car.


Another example is Batman's attitude towards magic. In the source material, Batman disapproves of the magical and supernatural, partially because it's unnatural but mostly because it's unreliable, unpredictable, and on a fundamental level uncontrollable. As a character, most versions of batman are very hung up on control.

As a child they experienced traumatizing incident that brought them face to face with how little control they had over their world, so now as an adult they work extremely hard to control absolutely everything around them, at least to the borders of what they consider to be 'their' city. Hence the plan for every contingency, the gadget for every situation, hence the repeated insistence that he 'works better alone' whenever someone tries to work with him as an equal despite surrounding himself with subordinates, and hence the rather harsh overreaction whenever one of those subordinates fails to follow orders. Hence plans to take out other superheroes and dangerous AI satellites to spy on them. This compulsive need for control is usually Batman's defining character flaw, at least it is for those versions of Batman who actually have character flaws - this obviously doesn't apply to 'aspirational human paragon' batmen like the 60s TV show or BtAS incarnations.

Point is, the reason Batman in the comics doesn't like magic is that it can't be fully predicted or controlled, at least not by him. But in D&D land, magic *can* be fully understood, predicted, and controlled. Unless you're a wild mage sorcerer, spells do what they say they do, exactly the same every single time. Magic in D&D land isn't magic, it's engineering. So again if you're dropping batman from the source material straight into D&D land, then he absolutely shouldn't be a spellcaster, and should probably avoid supernatural abilities altogether. HOWEVER, if you're building Batman from scratch within a D&D setting, then he probably should at least dabble in spellcasting, because within the context of the D&D setting that's just one more skill set he would have spent part of his youth mastering, along with amount of martial ability and proficiency in a reasonable selection of skills.

Granted, he'd probably avoid clerical or pact magic, as drawing magic from an outside entity that might one day withhold that power or call in that favor runs counter to his need for personal control. Sorcerous magic is probably also a no-go, as a big part of Batman's character concept is that he made himself who he is through dedication and training rather than through special inborn abilities. So no warlock, cleric, or sorcerer levels. But learned magic like that of wizards, bards, eldritch knights, or arcane tricksters should all be fair game. 5e paladin magic drawn not from supplication to gods but from the paladin's own conviction and dedication to their personal mission could also fit. I have to admit that I'm not up to date on how ranger and druid magic work in 5e, so they may or may not work.

..........

So, all that said... if we're doing the direct, fell through a portal type translation, most versions of the character would probably best fit with an inquisitive or thief rogue, multiclassed with a battle master fighter. Any one of those three on their own if not multiclassing. But I'm more inclined towards the 'in universe rebuild' type translation, and in that case I think there are a lot of more interesting options. Options like:

60's Adam West Batman: Devotion Paladin / Valor Bard multiclass, just paladin if no multiclassing. A High Camp, High Charisma babyface, equally adept at busting heads with the WHACK! or POW! of a divine smite or busting a move with an impeccably performed batootsie. High Charisma reflects a batman who is always inspiring and uplifting to the common people, and versatile skill and spell lists reflect a batman who always knows what to do in a pickle, despite an intelligence score dumped to the point that he needs a computer to help answer the riddle "what has yellow skin, and writes" (when the solution is so obviously a 'Ball Point Banana'). Plus, and let's be honest here, as much as you might aim your campaigns for the serious dramatic tone of a DCAU or Nolanverse, the 60s TV show is where your actual play sessions inevitably end up, so why fight it?

BvS Ben Affleck Batman: Conquest Paladin. This grim and gritty Batman isn't afraid to get his hands dirty or stoop to his enemy's level. He's out to teach bad guys a lesson, and he's going to teach it in the only language he thinks they'll understand - a language comprised of equal parts brute violence and cruel intimidation. This is a Batman whose inciting trauma is so long past that even anger and grief have largely faded from memory, leaving only grim determination and that character defining need for control, a need so great that, when confronted with a person beyond the possibility of his control, his only instinct is to kill them. The paladin's famously dumped int stat comes in clutch here again, because as with 60's TV batman everything and everyone in this movie is incredibly stupid, though sadly not in the fun, funny way this time around.

TDK Christian Bale Batman: Eldritch Knight / Divination Wizard. Arcane Trickster in addition to or instead of the Eldritch Knight part can also work here if you really want a stealthy, lightly armored dark knight instead of a literal knight. Just Eldritch Knight or just Arcane Trickster if you aren't multiclassing. This is one of the most highly intelligent and cerebral Batman, with a sophisticated bag of tricks, as reflected in his casting stat and best-of-all-classes spell list. It's also a Batman whose need for control manifests as a desire to see and to know, to the point where he risks important friendships by violating the privacy of innocent people, so the divination school is an especially good fit there, while also helping shore up the greater emphasis this version puts on the detective part of the character. Plus it's just being a good choice from a mechanical perspective, though if you're going for pure charop bladesinger or abjuration might be better still. Anyway, this is a batman who has some difficulty understanding other people - he doesn't anticipate Dawes choosing Dent over him, or get the Joker's motivations, or anticipate him going after Dawes, or see Dent's turn coming, etc. This is a batman who overthinks and underfeels, so a high intelligence, low wisdom build fits the bill.

BtAS Kevin Conroy Batman: I'm more up in the air here, but I'm leaning Ranger. Maybe hunter, maybe gloomstalker - though that might be a bit too spooky for this Batman. My main justification for Ranger over more knightly classes that blend martial ability, skills, & magic is the secondary wisdom stat, because unlike the great majority of emotionally constipated Batmen, Batmen who suppress their own feelings and are blind to those around them, Conroy gave us a deeply empathetic version of the character. BtAS Batman feels the pain of his tragedy rather than trying to suppress it, and uses that pain to reach out to the various villains he comes up against, who are almost always motivated by similar tragedies of their own. Granted, his success rate in helping them overcome their own villainy is rather low, arguably justifying a below average charisma, otherwise I might almost recommend Redemption Paladin. So, yeah, homebrew wisdom-based redemption paladin here, and failing that some brand of Ranger.

.....

Regardless of the classes you choose, though, the race and background are pretty straight forward. Batman is a Variant Human, with the extra feat and skill proficiency going a lot further in depicting his years of training than a few extra points in tertiary stats can; with the Knight variant of the Noble background, allowing you to pick up a butler and a ward/squire as retainers. With the recent hireling rules from UA, they can even progress as sidekick characters in their own right.

[Talionis]

Single class. Batman is a Gloonstalker Ranger and Deathstroke is a Battle Master Fighter.

However If I could Multiclass I would get Batman two Levels of Knowledge Cleric and three levels of Assassin Rogue. Batman is very good at creating imposing surprise rounds that knock out all the Mooks in one shot. This would work well with three levels of Gloomstalkers extra attack in the opening round of combat. Battle master 7 for know your Enemy. That’s fifteen levels. If your DM lets you sneak attack with Monk weapons, a single level of Monk let’s you go without armor and get access to better weapons like refluffing the hand axe as a Batterang. I could also see getting Jack of All Trades from Bard if you don’t have to point buy, if you have to point buy you dump Strength and Intelligence using Knowledge Cleric to get you Intelligence in bursts and Expertise in Athletics and the level of Monk to compensate for having to dump Strength. I think that even though you have some levels of caster you deliberately pick unflashy fluffable as tech or training for those spells. Most Ranger spells fall into this category and Bless while not really screaming Batman makes sense. So that’s Battlemaster 7/ Monk 1/ Knowledge Cleric 2/ Gloomstalker 3/ Assassin 3/ Lore Bard 4 for Batman.

[Vogie]

For Deathstroke... There really aren't great ways to get regeneration effects in this edition.

The only way I can think of it is 18 levels in Champion or, preferably, Brute fighter, with 2 levels in Monk for the occasional throat punch... But that isn't very exciting.


Instead of chasing that regen, I'd hope for absurdly well-rolled stats, go Battlemaster Fighter 7 / Revised Monster Hunter Ranger 3 / Evocation Wizard 10. That gives him:

Very powerful explosives and ranged weaponry, which are refluffed Wizard spells. The evocation school gives you a "shape charge" and intelligence to damage.
Multiple fighting styles
Ability to assess an opponent quickly, with even more information if they take time to observe said opponent
A disruptive fighting style

[Draz74]

Batman should have utterly stupidly good rolled stats. Like, after racial boosts and ASIs, we're talking:
Str 15, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 20, Wis 16, Cha 16.
That way, he doesn't need to be proficient in everything, he's just good at everything even without proficiency.

Then a variation of the Noble (Knight) background. Instead of a gaming set and Persuasion, he gets Disguise Kit and Deception proficiency.

Start with a level of Rogue for the DEX/INT saving throw proficiency. And a feat for being a VHuman.

Skills. Somehow we've got to get him proficient in seven more: Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Stealth. Rogue will take care of four of those, Prodigy another one, and multiclass to Ranger one more. That leaves me stumped about how to get the last one ... Unfortunately they're not the right skills for Knowledge Cleric to add, and I'm not so hot on him actually being proficient in everything through Knowledge of the Ages anyway. So, I guess it'll be one of the Unearthed Arcana Skill Feats?

He'll need the (common?) house rule that Rogue/Monks can Sneak Attack with unarmed strikes. And that wielding darts doesn't disrupt Martial Arts. And preferably even that wearing light armor doesn't disrupt Martial Arts.

Feats ... Oh golly, there are so many that would be appropriate. Alert, Athlete, Keen Mind, Linguist, Lucky, Mobile, Observant, Skulker, Prodigy. And I guess Menacing or Perceptive fits best for the aforementioned UA feat to get him one more skill? I'll stick with the italicized ones.

So ...

Variant Human Variant Noble (Knight); prof. Deception/History.
Str 15, Dex 18, Con 17+1, Int 18+1, Wis 16, Cha 16 to start.

Rogue 1; Prodigy; prof. Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Stealth, Thieves' Tools; exp. Insight, Investigation, Stealth.
Monk 1
Rogue 2
Monk 2
Open Hand Monk 3
Monk 4; Observant (INT +1)
Monk 5
Fighter 1; Fighting Style: Mariner
Fighter 2
Battle Master Fighter 3; Disarming Attack, Menacing Attack, Precision Attack; prof. Tinker's Tools.
Ranger 1; Favored Enemy (humans and ???); Favored Terrain (Gotham City).
Ranger 2; Fighting Style: Defense; Hunter's Mark, Zephyr Strike.
Gloom Stalker Ranger 3; Absorb Elements, Disguise Self.
Ranger 4; Skulker
Inquisitive Rogue 3
Rogue 4; Perceptive
Rogue 5
Wizard 1; Message, Minor Illusion, True Strike; Alarm, Cause Fear, Comprehend Languages, Identify, Remote Access (UA), Sleep.
War Wizard 2; Detect Magic, Feather Fall.
Fighter 4; Mobile

Magic Items: Studded Leather Armor +3, Goggles of Night, *Cloak of the Bat, Sending Stone (to Alfred), ...
AC 21 (+2 with reaction)
Initiative +12 (DEX+INT+WIS)
Number of Languages Known: 4 plus Thieves' Cant and Comprehend Languages

[TIPOT]

I think you could make a strong case for a thief rogue for batman

Rogue because obviously he's a stealthy person who fights sneaky, but thief specifically because:

Fast hands is perfect for an item user like batman, letting him use any of his various gadgets efficiently
Second-Story Work is great for climbing and jumping roof to roof
Supreme sneak ie. Batman stealth
UMD, some of his items would probably be magic items, lets him use whatever tools he needs
In addition inquisitive rogue is better emulated by the reliable talent ability all rogues get.