Note: This article was originally posted on the Calenmir's RPGs blog on December 24, 2025. That version included in-post navigation and links to the other articles; restoring that functionality on the new site is a work in progress. Thank you for your patience.

The image Lasiurus cinereus by Andy Wilson, which was integrated into this graphic, was distributed under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

This is the first entry in a seven-part series which demonstrates custom character creation in Apocalypse Keys, an Evil Hat horror-superhero game by Rae Nedjadi where you play as superpowered monsters fighting to stop the apocalypse. However, you’re also an Omen-class monster, which means that if you give your darker impulses free rein, you could become one of the very Harbingers of the Apocalypse that you oppose. Therefore, Omens must walk a fine line between unleashing their monstrous natures and clinging to their humanity with the help of their fellow Omens.

One of the game’s biggest strengths is freedom: Omens have the power to reshape the world, with potentially cataclysmic consequences. One way this is expressed mechanically is via Apocalypse Key’s flexible character creation system. The downside of this system is that new players can easily get overwhelmed by all the options they’re presented with. Therefore, many of them decide to play as one of the four premade Omens rather than to come up with their own.

This series is intended to demystify the process of original character creation in Apocalypse Keys. Each entry will focus on a different figure from pop culture to illustrate the step-by-step process for transforming a concept into a fleshed-out Omen.

We’ll begin with Batman.

Part 2: Anya Forger | Part 3: Avatar Aang | Part 4: The Doctor | Part 5: Kirby | Part 6: Optimus Prime | Part 7: All Might

Want to try Apocalypse Keys yourself? My one-shot module “Sweet Dreams” is now available on Itch, DriveThruRPG, and in the site shop!

Table of Contents

• How to Build Batman in Apocalypse Keys

• Table of Contents

• Why Batman Qualifies As an Omen-Class Monster

  • 1) Apocalypse Keys Explicitly Allows Gameplay Elements to be Reflavored

  • 2) Batman Is an Omen-Class Human

• How to Build Batman

  • Playbook: The Shade

  • Character Prompts

  • Selecting Moves

• Advances

  • Ruin Advances

  • Playbook Advances

• Congratulations, You’ve Built Batman!

• Glossary

Why Batman Qualifies As an Omen-Class Monster

Many people would object that Batman can’t possibly be an Omen-class monster since he’s a human with no superpowers. This is a very good point, and I fully respect any Keeper who vetoes Batman. I, however, am not using Batman as an example solely due to the hallowed RPG tradition of using him to demonstrate character creation. I truly believe Batman qualifies as Omen-class for two reasons:

1. Apocalypse Keys explicitly allows gameplay elements to be reflavored
2. Batman is an Omen-class human

If that’s enough to satisfy you, feel free to skip ahead to How to Build Batman. If not, I’ll explain my rationale below.

1) Apocalypse Keys Explicitly Allows Gameplay Elements to Be Reflavored

Recontextualizing the flavor moves and powers is explicitly allowed by the rules of Apocalypse Keys. In other words, while adhering to the spirit of the game is important, players are allowed and even encouraged to reshape narrative-level elements to better fit their character concepts. For example, in the section on the seven playbooks you can choose from, the rules say:

Playbooks focus on specific monstrous themes and unique emotional arcs rather than specific archetypes. You are encouraged to interpret your powers and origin, while exploring the themes of the playbook.

Meanwhile, the chapter on character creation notes that players “…can tweak the prompts as you like—each prompt is a starting point.” And the Powers of Darkness – defining abilities that Omens can use at-will and combine with their moves – are addressed within the prompt section.

Your Powers of Darkness: How you manifest your will, confront the apocalypse, and fight back the Harbingers. How you choose to interpret your supernatural powers, and their possible limitations, is completely up to you. The Shade’s machines powered by soul magic may be automatons or small steampunk inspired devices. The Last’s time distortion may be used in a purely defensive fashion or may be in the form of a mysterious voice from the future.

Finally, the section explaining character Advancement options such as “Take a New Playbook Move” and “Take a Move from Another Playbook” confirm that players can change moves they take to conform with their characters’ background, themes, motivations, and chosen powers. For example, if a non-psychic character takes a move that would normally involve visions of the future, the knowledge and accompanying mechanical benefits could just as easily be attributed to time travel, to a supercomputer, or to an extensive information network.

Take a Move from Another Playbook

You can choose most moves from another playbook, except for each playbook’s starting move. For example, no one else can be as telepathic as the Found, and only the Fallen can so easily create new worshippers.

If a move from another playbook sounds like fun but relates to the central themes of that playbook, you may rewrite the premise or reword triggers to better suit your own character.

If your character does not communicate telepathically, you may take the Found’s You Are Not Alone and change it to only work if you can speak out loud to the character you are helping. Or you may connect to a power of darkness you have instead of telepathy, such as the dimensional phasing of the Last or the cosmic energy of the Surge.

Therefore, while it might be an edge case, the rules do provide enough leeway to build an Omen-class human if both the player and the Keeper are in agreement.

Batman Is an Omen-Class Human

While Batman might not have superpowers, he does have:

• A near-infinite supply of wealth
• An iron will
• Years of education and physical training
• Extensive contingency plans
• The ability to analyze and predict the moves of key people and factions

These strengths allowed him to build up his reputation in Gotham, forge an interconnected network of informants and allies, and join ranks with powerhouses such as Superman and Wonder Woman. Furthermore, he frequently saves his city, the country, or even the world. Given these achievements, it’s no wonder The Bat is so often rumored to be a literal monster. Someone with his capabilities would fit right in among a team of Omens.

It’s also necessary to consider the dark side of being Omen-class: the potential of becoming a Harbinger who strives to unleash an apocalypse, either deliberately or incidentally. The resulting struggle against inner darkness is a core theme of Apocalypse Keys, and it’s also one that frequently gets explored with Batman. For example, his inflexible no-killing rule often stems from Bruce’s fear that if he starts down that path, he won’t be able to stop himself.

Moreover, there are plenty of alternate timelines, what-ifs, and even occasional canon events where Batman transforms into a full-fledged supervillain. Sometimes he’s transformed into a vampire and wreaks havoc on the city he once swore to protect; other times, he abandons his morals, eliminates any heroes who try to stop them, and proceeds to enforce his will on Gotham and beyond. Such scenarios provide useful templates for how Batman could become a devastating Harbinger, with or without superpowers.

How to Build Batman

Building any character in Apocalypse Keys follows a five-step sequence:

1. Choose a playbook
2. Fill out character prompts
3. Choose additional playbook moves
4. Introduce your character
5. Create starting Bonds

Because steps 4 and 5 require cooperating with fellow players, this guide will only cover playbooks, prompts, and playbook moves. After that will be an optional section covering Advances, which are additional character abilities unlocked through gameplay.

Note: the full text of playbook, Ruin, and DIVISION moves will not be included due to space constraints.

Playbook: The Shade

This playbook focuses on themes of death and grief from the perspective of a character who somehow survived their own death. Note that while this playbook and its moves frequently allude to Death, the rulebook states that players are free to characterize Death as “a natural force beyond human comprehension, that can still express something akin to desire[.]” This interpretation neatly aligns with versions of Batman who outlived Bruce Wayne, and who is haunted equally by the loss of his parents and the fear of losing anyone who gets too close to him.

All playbooks offer the ability to gain Darkness Tokens – a resource that lets you manipulate dice probability – based on characters’ actions. The Shade’s unique triggers for gaining Darkness Tokens are:

• Feeling ignored or unimportant
• Reacting with cold reason and logic
• Asking someone to follow your instructions
• Asking someone to ignore their heart

These mesh well with Batman’s emotional repression and need for control. These habits might benefit him in the short term, but in the long run, they tend to bring out his inner darkness.

Character Prompts

As an established character, Batman already has a name, look, and origin, so we don’t need to worry about these. For “What Form Does Death Take to Speak to You?”, since this version of Death is an abstract natural force, “they wear the faces of those I failed to protect” is a good option for representing Batman’s trauma-fueled survivor’s guilt.

For “Your Powers of Darkness”, amend “Let the Dead Speak” to “Let the Dead Presidents Speak” to represent the bottomless Wayne fortune, and “Shadow Magic” to “Stealth” to cover Batman’s nigh-supernatural ability to appear, disappear, and infiltrate at will.

Finally, for “What Does the Darkness Demand of You?”, choose “to destroy anything resembling friendship” and “to prioritize vengeance above all else,” via “something else that would make me give up on my soul.”

Selecting Moves

The Shade comes with the starting move Death Walked Here. This move is used for investigation, allowing the World’s Greatest Detective to reconstruct events and divulge important information.

In addition to the starting move, you can choose one playbook move and either one DIVISION move or one Ruin move from The Shade’s playbook. Note that DIVISION is the shadowy organization Omens work for, and DIVISION moves typically represent tapping into their resources. Meanwhile, Ruin moves provide Omens with power at the cost of bringing them closer to becoming a Harbinger.

I recommend choosing Soul Like a Steel Trap as the playbook move and Monster Celebrity as the DIVISION move.

Playbook Move: Soul Like a Steel Trap

Soul Like a Steel Trap provides additional bonuses for analyzing situations and planning ahead, which are Batman’s forte. However, on a failure, Batman has been outmaneuvered and is caught in a trap laid by his opponent— at least for now.

DIVISION Move: Monster Celebrity

Monster Celebrity normally represents acting as a liaison of sorts between DIVISION and human society. However, we’ll be renaming it to Rich Playboy with No Day Job to encapsulate the tension between the identities of Batman and Bruce Wayne. Whenever Batmans hides his true nature to present himself as the carefree Bruce Wayne, there are mechanical benefits – but it also opens him up to scandals and public backlash.

Advances

Congratulations! You now have everything you need to introduce your character and begin establishing shared backstories. But in Apocalypse Keys, that’s only the beginning.

As you play Apocalypse Keys, you’ll accumulate Ruin (which brings you closer to becoming a world-ending Harbinger) and XP (which lets you grow as an Omen-class monster). When you get enough of either, you unlock an Advance. The following sections what these Advances are and which options are best suited for Batman.

Ruin Advances

Ruin Advances represent an irrevocable step closer to becoming a Harbinger of the Apocalypse. When you gain one, you also narrate a glimpse of your character as a Harbinger. The available Advances include:

• Take a new Ruin move (2X): Take a Ruin move from your playbook, expanding your options at the cost of accruing Ruin
• Take a Ruin move from another playbook (2X): Take a Ruin move from a different playbook, expanding your options at the cost of accruing Ruin
• Permanently mark a Condition (2X): Become more prone to hitting your Breaking Point and gain Darkness Tokens more easily
• Gain a new Ruin Condition (2X): Become more emotionally volatile and gain Darkness Tokens more easily
• Retire Your Character and Become a Harbinger of the Apocalypse: Self-explanatory.

I’ll go over each of these categories, including the options I recommend for Batman and the order to take them in.

Take a New Ruin Move

There are two checkboxes for the option to take a new Ruin move from the Shade playbook, meaning you can only take two total. Therefore, I’ve selected the two that fit Batman the best: You Can’t Escape the Truth and Death Broke Me First.

Ruin Move 1: You Can’t Escape the Truth

This move lets you reveal a dark secret to gain the upper hand in a situation. Whether you do so softly or cruelly determines how much Ruin you gain.

 

Ruin Move 2: Death Broke Me First

Regardless of whether you’re present in a scene, you can prevent an ally from hitting their Breaking Point, preventing immediate tragedy at the cost of accumulating Ruin.

 

Ruin Moves from Other Playbooks

There are a lot more options when choosing from six playbooks rather than one; however, even with the freedom to recontextualize moves, not all of them make sense for Batman. The two best moves come from playbooks which delve into emotionally resonant themes: The Last, which is characterized by trauma and loss, and The Summoned, which balances violence against a yearning to belong.

The two moves in question are Tragedy Will Not Claim Another (The Last) and Humanity Was a Dream (The Summoned).

 

Ruin Move from The Last: Tragedy Will Not Claim Another

This move allows Batman to ignore limits of time, distance, and plausibility to come to the aid of someone in distress. Marking additional Ruin makes it easier for Batman pull off cinematic rescues of the people he’s let himself grow attached to.

 

Ruin Move from The Summoned: Humanity Was a Dream

At its core, this move is about bonding over the fear of becoming a Harbinger. In addition to the mechanical benefits and tradeoffs, it can facilitate interesting roleplay moments where characters can explore anxieties, shared pasts, and hopes for the future. That said, since Batman is human, I recommend renaming it to If I Go Rogue, shifting the focus to a discussion of contingency plans.

 

Mark Permanent Conditions

Because Apocalypse Keys is a Powered by the Apocalypse system, instead of an HP system combat-focused games like D&D use, players have a list of Conditions. These Conditions are emotional states representing character’s reactions to stressful, dangerous circumstances. When all Conditions are marked, characters hit their Breaking Point, resulting in immediate negative consequences for the character and the people around them.

Taking this Ruin Advance lets players choose a Condition to permanently mark, meaning it can’t be cleared by normal means. Since players get Darkness Tokens by roleplaying marked Conditions, the benefit of a permanently marked Condition is additional resources for dice manipulation.

The Shade playbook comes with the Conditions Lonely, Distracted, Vicious, and Obsessed. For Batman, the most fitting choices are Lonely and Obsessed, though Vicious is also worth considering.

 

Gain Ruin Conditions

Aside from not affecting characters hitting their Breaking Point, Ruin Conditions function identically to permanent Conditions: they can’t be cleared, and players can get Darkness Tokens for embodying them in roleplay. The Ruin Conditions players can gain are:

• Cruel
• Fragile
• Guilty
• Haunted
• Paranoid
• Possessive
• Ruthless
• Reckless

Paranoid is an obvious frontrunner for Batman, though Haunted, Guilty, and Ruthless are also good options.

Becoming a Harbinger

Leave this one for last – you lose control of Batman once he becomes a Harbinger, and you really don’t want to fight against Batman. To avoid this outcome, work with your Keeper to retire your character before Batman accrues enough Ruin Advances to turn Harbinger – otherwise, he might cross the point of no return at the worst possible moment.

Sequence of Ruin Advances

For Batman, I recommend the following Ruin progression:

1. Ruin Move: You Can’t Escape the Truth
2. Ruin Move from The Last: Tragedy Will Not Claim Another
3. Ruin Move: Death Broke Me First
4. Ruin Move from The Summoned: Humanity Was a Dream
5. Ruin Condition: Paranoid
6. Ruin Condition: Haunted, Guilty, or Ruthless
7. Permanently Mark a Condition: Lonely, Obsessed, or Vicious
8. Permanently Mark a Condition: Lonely, Obsessed or Vicious
9. Retire Your Character and Become a Harbinger of the Apocalypse*

This progression begins with Batman wielding the truth as a weapon, while the next three moves represent him taking increasing risks for the sake of his allies. However, as his emotional state deteriorates, he pushes those allies away until he succumbs to his worst fears, becoming a Harbinger*.

*Unless you retire the character before taking the final Ruin Advance, which is an option!

Playbook Advances

As you play Apocalypse Keys, players earn experience points (XP) via certain moves and by answering end-of-session questions about their characters’ actions and emotions; in other words, by roleplaying. Once players get enough XP, they unlock additional abilities, or Advances. The available Advances include:

• Take a new move from your playbook (2X): gain an additional playbook move, expanding your options for solving problems.
• Take a new DIVISION move (2X): gain an additional DIVISION move, increasing the resources you can call on.
• Take a move from another playbook (2X): gain a playbook move from a different playbook, expanding your options for solving problems.
• Describe a new way to gain Darkness Tokens: acquire a new way to gain Darkness Tokens, letting you more easily succeed on rolls.
• Take a new power of darkness from your playbook: Get a new power of darkness, expanding your abilities and options.
• Change your playbook: Switch to a different playbook.

Take a New Move from Your Playbook

The Shade has plenty of options that align with Batman’s personality and tactics; aside from Soul Like a Steel Trap, the ones I think fit him best are Your Reputation Precedes You and Allow Me to Offer a Theory.

 

Playbook move 1: Your Reputation Precedes You

This move lets characters retroactively have knowledge of newly introduced characters and factions, often to their benefit. However, on a failure, they’re the ones who have prior knowledge of Batman, setting the stage for a battle of wits.

 

Playbook move 2: Allow Me to Offer a Theory

As Batman warms up to his teammates, he can provide mechanical benefits to them by offering insight into their shared investigation. On a failure, Batman takes the consequences in place of his allies.

 

Take a new DIVISION move

In Apocalypse Keys, all Omens work for DIVISION. Therefore, DIVISION moves are intended to flesh out the structure and resources of this shadowy organization. That said, Batman has plenty of resources and connections of his own that align well with the moves Orphanage Visit and Subcontractor.

DIVISION move 1: Orphanage Visit

From a narrative standpoint, Bruce Wayne often supports orphanages. From a mechanical standpoint, Orphanage Visit is one of the few ways to erase Ruin. Taken together, visiting orphanages is a way for Batman to both help the community through nonviolent means and to remind himself of what he’s fighting for.

 

DIVISION move 2: Subcontractor

This move ordinarily involves calling in one of DIVISION’s subcontractors to help with the crisis. I recommend renaming it to The Brave and the Bold to invoke short-term team-ups with superheroes, supervillains, or other potential allies within Batman’s vast network.

 

Take a Move from Another Playbook

When looking for moves from other playbooks, it can be helpful to prioritize playbooks with complementary themes. For example, The Last deals heavily with themes of trauma, loss, and grief, and its move Tragedy’s Long Shadow requires minimal reflavoring to fit Batman’s backstory. On the other hand, The Found has considerably less themes in common with The Shade, but the move The Truth Above All Else reads as if it were written for Batman.

 

From The Found: The Truth Above All Else

When Batman investigates by himself, while inviting danger, players gain Darkness Tokens before rolling. This move perfectly encapsulates Batman’s stubborn insistence that he works alone.

 

From The Last: Tragedy’s Long Shadow

To make this move apply to Batman, all that’s necessary is a single alteration to the first sentence: change “your people” to “your family.” The move then becomes Batman harnessing his hypervigilance to prevent what happened to his parents from happening to anyone else – but on a failure, he might not be able to prevent history from repeating itself.

 

Describe a New Way to Get Darkness Tokens

This Advance lets players create a new trigger for gaining Darkness Tokens. Keep in mind that while Darkness Tokens are a valuable resource, they’re typically gained by emotions or actions that tie back to What the Darkness Demands of You; for Batman, this includes pushing away his loved ones, believing he alone knows the best course of action, and pursuing his goals to the point of self-destruction. Therefore, I recommend gaining Darkness Tokens whenever Batman pursues an agenda behind his fellow Omens’ backs.

 

Take a New Power of Darkness

After eliminating the Powers of Darkness we already chose, the options available to The Shade are Necromancy, Machines Powered by Soul Magic, and Supernatural Strength and Speed. I recommend reflavoring “Machines Powered by Soul Magic” to “Machines Powered by Capitalism” to reflect Batman’s nearly infinite supply of gadgets.

It’s also possible to take “Supernatural Strength and Speed,” renaming it to “Upgraded Suit” to reflect a technological origin for such powers.

Change Your Playbook

Changing your playbook changes how your character functions. First of all, each playbook has its own starting move, and switching playbooks means losing your current starting move (i.e. The Shade’s Death Walked Here) in favor of the new playbook’s move. In addition, if any powers or moves no longer make sense for the character, they vanish – unless they’re a Ruin Advance. The Ruin track can never be reset, so if a power or move was a Ruin Advance, they’re instead switched out for a different option.

There aren’t many playbooks compatible with a Batman who has no powers, so players who want to stick to that version of Batman should put this Advance off as long as possible. To instead explore one of the many versions of Batman as a vampire, The Hungry is the best option.

Sequence of XP Advances

As you gain XP, I recommend taking Advances in the following order:

1. New Power of Darkness: Machines Powered by Capitalism
2. DIVISION Move: Orphanage Visit
3. Move from The Last: Tragedy’s Long Shadow
4. Playbook Move: Your Reputation Precedes You
5. Playbook Move: Allow Me to Offer a Theory
6. DIVISION Move: Subcontractor
7. Move from The Found: The Truth Above All Else
8. Describe a New Way to Get Darkness Tokens: Go Behind Other Omens’ Backs
9. Change Your Playbook: The Hungry

“Machines Powered by Capitalism” is a must to ensure Batman is prepared for just about any situation, as is right and proper. Orphanage Visit is the next priority since it meshes so well with Batman’s mythology while also providing a reliable way to stave off Ruin. Similarly, Tragedy’s Long Shadow both fits Batman’s narrative and provides flexible mechanical benefits, as do Your Reputation Precedes You, Allow Me to Offer a Theory, and Subcontractor to a lesser extent. Delaying the latter two moves also portray Batman slowly learning to accept help from other people.

After that, Batman starts backsliding into aggressively working alone with The Truth Above All Else, with Darkness Tokens incentivizing working behind his teammates’ backs. On a mechanical level, it also makes sense to delay these Advances since their primary benefit is Darkness Tokens, which are fairly easy to acquire through other means.

As mentioned above, to play Batman as Batman, put off changing playbooks for as long as possible; you might even consider retiring your character before taking this Advance. However, if you want to see things through to the end, switching to The Hungry just means you’re in one of the many timelines where Batman ends up as a vampire.

Congratulations, You've Built Batman!

Thanks for reading to the end of this guide on how to create Batman in Apocalypse Keys. Stay tuned for future entries in this series, and in the meantime, let me know how it goes if you try playing Batman in Apocalypse Keys.

Return to the Table of Contents or read the second blog, which is about Anya Forger

Glossary

Advance: a new ability unlocked by accumulating 8 XP via gameplay and roleplaying. Playbooks include a total of 9 non-repeatable Advances.

 

Breaking Point: When a character has all their Conditions marked, representing their inability to handle the stress they are under, they hit their Breaking Point. The Breaking Point consists primarily of narrative consequences specific to each Playbook, and may result in bad outcomes for the character, their allies, or anyone present in the scene.

 

Condition: a Condition represents an emotional state a character enters due to stress or danger. Players can get Darkness Tokens by roleplaying marked Conditions.

 

Darkness Tokens: an in-game resource that players can spend to increase the total of their dice before they roll. Though this increases the odds of success, this also increases the odds of a disastrous success. In addition, having too many Darkness Tokens can trigger the move Torn Between, which typically requires either expending resources or gaining Ruin to resolve.

 

DIVISION: a shadowy organization with vast resources for which the player characters work

 

Harbinger of the Apocalypse: a powerful entity that seeks to destroy, overwrite, or otherwise end the world as we know it, usually for their own benefit

 

Keeper: the Keeper of the Doors (Keeper for short) is a gamemaster who facilitates gameplay for Apocalypse Keys. Their responsibilities include implementing safety tools, narrating the Mystery, and moderating the emergent narrative created by the players.

 

Move: an ability that, when triggered or activated, provides mechanical and narrative structure to gameplay in ways that potentially benefit the player. There are three types of moves: playbook moves, DIVISION moves, and Ruin moves. Playbook moves reflect the core themes of the playbook in question; DIVISION moves represent calling on the organization’s resources, and Ruin allow characters to embrace darkness to gain power.

 

Omen-Class Monster: the term for player characters, who are all powerful entities that struggle to balance their worst impulses against their desire for connection and their efforts to save the world

 

Playbook: a thematically consistent set of prompts and abilities used to represent a character.

 

Power of Darkness: an ability that Omens always have access to and can use in conjunction with playbook moves

 

Ruin: an in-game resource that represents characters giving in to their inner darkness and coming closer to becoming a Harbinger. Gaining 5 Ruin unlocks a Ruin Advance. There are ways to erase Ruin, but Ruin Advances are irreversible.

 

Ruin Advance: a new ability, trait, or development unlocked by accumulating 5 Ruin via gameplay and roleplaying that represent the character slowly becoming a Harbinger. Playbooks include a total of 9 non-repeatable and irreversible Ruin Advances. When a Ruin Advance is taken, players narrate a glimpse of their character as a future Harbinger. Gaining 5 Ruin unlocks a Ruin Advance.

 

XP: Abbreviation of experience points. Players can unlock experience points through certain in-game actions and by answering end-of-session questions. Gaining 8 XP unlocks an Advance.