Batman: Gotham City Chronicles – Batman Inc. Expansion

After having a future sight and still aiming for justice to reign around the world, Bruce Wayne made official the creation of a new international organization founded by Wayne Enterprises: Batman Incorporated. This super-heroes network, chosen by the Dark Knight himself, wages a battle against crime all over the world, shares information and provides help to one another. The vigilante therefore became famous worldwide. This notoriety brought to his cause other vigilantes, like El Gaucho, the Nightrunner, the Knight, Chief Man-of-Bats accompanied by Raven Red, the Dark Ranger, Batman of Japan, Batman of Moscow and many others… Through this organization, Batman managed to set up a plan against the mysterious institution called Leviathan.

During a character’s creation, our teams think of them as the comics describe them. Once the profile has been set up, our teams check if it fits what we want the character to do and if their role is the one we defined for them. There are several modifications along the playtests to adjust the different characteristics, skills… Once a hero (in the case of the Batman Inc. Expansion) is validated, they are tried in missions as replacement of heroes of equivalent roles. Numerous playtests of the many possible team composition for the heroes then occur, before making the hero fit without breaking the mission up.

Each miniature from this expansion can be played as another choice of hero in missions of the corebox. Therefore, the heroes will have much more choice than they already had. For example, Dark Ranger will be another possible choice of hero in the mission « An Icy Welcome », and he can also be picked as 2nd hero in « To Sink a City »… The Knight will make a good replacement for the 1st hero in « Biological Scourge ». Chief Man-of-Bats as well as Raven Red in « A Golden Opportunity », and so on…

Each of those heroes owns one or several equipment cards related to them. 5 new bat gadgets are also included to be added and bring more choice to the already consequent amount of bat gadgets, offering new possibilities to players.

Batman of Japan Batman (the one from Gotham City) maintains a network of correspondents around the world who use crime fighting techniques similar to his own. In Japan, Mister Unknown—a vigilante of who trained a promising young man named Osamu—took up the mantle. But tragically, Mr. Unknown was killed before Osamu’s training was finished. After Batman and Osamu fought together, Bruce Wayne came to support Osamu as Batman of Japan. Osamu may still be young, but he is an excellent detective and a martial arts expert. Though sometimes duty calls him elsewhere, as member of Batman Inc. his primary responsibility is protecting Japan. Gameplay That martial art expert is a great fighter capable of competing with Batman himself. He excels in hacking and is able to move wherever he wants, as heights do not frighten him at all. In Adventure Mode, he can show up with his teammate, Lolita Canary. This flying small version of Black Canary has got a good breath and is able to neutralize her opponents through ultrasounds. Versus Power Lolita Canary: Batman of Japan uses his girlfriend’s blast to neutralize his enemies.

Batman of Moscow Batman Incorporated was Bruce Wayne’s attempt to extend the Club of Heroes into major cities around the world. It was his belief that Batman could become a symbol of justice that defied borders. Crime fighters from all over the globe were equipped with their own variations of the iconic Batsuit. As one might expect, these new Batmen were as varied as the nations in which they fought. Ravil, the Batman of Moscow, was no exception. To wage a war on crime in the streets of the Russian capital was no easy task; it called for a brutal fighter—one whose methods differed from his American counterpart’s. Subtlety wasn’t going to work. Gameplay He's a demolition expert, and therefore knows everything about explosives. Would it be to throw grenades of arm and disarm explosive engines, he is second to none. In Adventure Mode, he accomplishes his missions with an incendiary grenade, which spreads fire while exploding. This makes him sure no one will stand against him. Versus power Demolition expert: Batman of Moscow can clear an area close to him by triggering an explosion (level 2) there that leaves one flame token. Or he can destroy a wall thanks to his explosive devices.

Chief Man-of-bats Dr. William Great-Eagle, aka Man-of-Bats, understands that being a hero is about more than just beating the bad guys. William is a Chief of the Dakota Sioux and a pillar of his community. He is ceaselessly dedicated to providing social and medical assistance to those in need and a long-time member of the Club of Heroes. During the Infinite Crisis, he helped heal Blüdhaven’s wounded. With his son and sidekick “Raven Red”, he joins the Club of Heroes. Wanting to take his philanthropic actions a step further, he also became a member of Batman Inc. Gameplay He is a true support character. Helping others or sacrificing himself for them not to be wounded, he can recover, slowly, because of his knowledge in traditional and native American medicine. Chief Man-of-Bats owns two equipment cards. A tomahawk that can be used during melee fights, or than he can throw (but he then loses it). He also has a medicine man’s bag, with which he can go beyond his limits for a time. Versus power Duo: Chief Man-of-Bats always works with his sidekick Raven Red, recruited as his lieutenant. They heal themselves (up to 2 lifepoints each) when the event tile is activated, and Raven Red performs his small attacks against opponents in his line of sight.

Dark Ranger As a member of Batman Inc., Dark Ranger battles crime in the ‘Land Down Under’. Originally, Australia had its own heroic duo similar to Batman and Robin known as Ranger and Scout. But when Ranger was killed, Scout (John Riley) took over lead duties and became Dark Ranger. After the death of his mentor, John Riley became violent, but Batman made sure to check the younger man’s direct and sometimes extreme methods. Dark Ranger is not only a formidable fighter but also an excellent tracker—a useful skill to have when investigating crimes. Gameplay Always willing to save the widow and the orphan, never would he hesitate to sacrifice himself for others. Good investigator, he is always gifted with explosives. All he lacks he can find in his utility belt that he never gets rid of. The Dark Ranger is heavily equipped. He can carry a jet pack; therefore, he may move free like air. He also owns an electric gun that can stun his opponents. Versus power Stun: Thanks to his weapon that generates electrical pulses, he can put a “stun” token on a villain’s tile. This tile will have a higher cost the next time it is played.

El Gaucho Santiago Vargas is a man of mystery. He once worked for the covert operations agency known as Spyral, but eventually followed Batman’s example and joined the Club of Heroes, an international group of vigilantes. Though Santiago is without superpowers, he arms himself with knives, bolas and a grim determination. He occasionally teams up with others, but his operations are usually confined to Argentina and other parts of South America. Gameplay El Gaucho tends to be Batman’s equal. He’s a great fighter, would it be in melee or distance fight, he performs combos when fighting, and can counterattack. His past experiences granted him investigation and munition specialist skills. He is a true hero now. El Gaucho is a bolas master. He can throw them at a long distance and shackle any opponent. Versus power Gaucho bolas: El Gaucho uses his favorite weapon and can inflict severe damages. If the target isn’t neutralized, they become immobilized.

Nightrunner In the wake of a deadly riot in the Paris suburbs, a vigilante rose up to defend the weak and vulnerable. To accomplish this mission, Bilal Alsselah employed his mastery of parkour—a means of traversing urban environments with spontaneous and dynamic acrobatics. The Dark Knight took notice of his exceptional skills and recruited him for Batman Incorporated. Bilal has since expanded his area of operations and has become Nightrunner, the dedicated protector of Paris, France. Gameplay The french Batman is the master of parkour. No heights can frighten him, no jump, nothing. He is unstoppable, too agile for anyone to catch him, and also difficult to target from a distance. The Nightrunner has a taser that grants him a higher power in hand-to-hand fights. Versus power Parkour master: The event tile doesn’t cost any Activation Potential Disk to activate and the Nightrunner performs a movement.

Raven Red Charles Great Eagle, aka Raven Red, son of Chief Great Eagle, leader of the Dakota Sioux. Charles is a member of both the Club of Heroes and Batman Inc. Being a young man, he is more impulsive than his father and longs to enter the big league by taking on the serious super-villains rather than assisting his community. He and his father were the targets of the evil organization known as Leviathan. They also helped fight the Black Glove. Regardless of these lofty ambitions, when it comes to trouble on the reservation, Charles passionately solves challenges with his two greatest weapons: his fists. Put a bow in his hands and he is an expert shot to boot. Gameplay Raven Red is out of anyone’s league when using his bow. But as impetuous as he is, he doesn’t hesitate to use his fists when the situation calls for it. He never goes without his bow and is quick to retaliate when taken by surprise. Versus power Duo: Raven Red is never far from his father, so Chief Man-of-Bats is recruited as lieutenant. When the event tile is activated, the Leader and his lieutenant regenerate (up to 1 lifepoint each), then Raven Red shoots the sharpest arrow he owns.

The Knight Knight and Squire were English crime fighters similar to Batman and Robin. But unlike the Dynamic Duo, these two were inspired by the heraldry of the medieval era. Cyril Sheldrake is the modern version of Knight and a colleague of Batman. Being of a heroic dynasty, Sheldrake sometimes doubts Batman’s methods, but the two share a mutual trust. Regardless, he can always count on his trusted Squire to help him. Knight also has a tenacious set of armor for when he must endure the inevitable hard knocks that come with fighting crime. Gameplay He is a living swiss army knife, adapting himself to every situation he bumps into. This athlete is capable of astonishing prowess despite his heavy armor that protects him. Just like Batman, he is a seasoned investigator. Equipped with this gauntlet, lockpicking becomes easy for him, as well as hacking into computers. Versus power Squire support: Have you ever seen a knight without a squire? They are never apart. The event gives the hero player a token that grants one of their character the luck skill level 2 for an action, because of the Squire coming to the rescue.

5 new bat gadgets The 5 bat gadgets you will find in this expansion will offer you new gameplay possibilities: Artificer Gel: This bat gadget is really helpful when it comes to disarming bombs or any explosives. Adrenaline Shot: Need to perform more actions, to go further than what you were capable of? Push your limits with this one-use adrenaline shot. Sharp Batarang: This new batarang will always inflict damages… as long as you don’t aim too far from your target. Electric Batarang: Another batarang, capable of neutralizing the most enduring opponents. Strenghtened Armor: A new piece of equipment made of a new alloy, more efficient in melee fights.

—description from the publisher