DC Vigilance and Villany

This campaign setting is designed to be a darker more gritty version of the DC Universe. The DC Universe is a scarred reflection of our own world—one where gods walk among mortals and power always carries a price. Heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman rise against corruption, madness, and cosmic annihilation, while villains such as the Joker, Lex Luthor, and Darkseid test the limits of morality and survival. Cities like Gotham and Metropolis are battlegrounds, hope and horror locked in constant war.

This universe has died and been reborn countless times. Crises have shattered reality, collapsed infinite worlds into one, then torn them apart again. The Multiverse exists—fractured, unstable, and watched by cosmic entities and would-be gods. Magic, alien technology, and forgotten races linger just beneath the surface of everyday life. Governments fear what they cannot control, forming black-ops teams like the Suicide Squad, while prisons, dimensions, and hells strain to contain monsters that cannot be killed.

In this darker DCU, heroes are not symbols—they are survivors. Power corrupts, salvation is never clean, and every victory leaves scars on the world… and the soul.

The World After Hope

This universe was once saved.

That is the lie everyone tells.

The age of bright heroism ended after The First Cataclysm, a global event where gods bled openly, cities burned, and millions died while heroes argued over restraint. Since then, the world survives—not because of heroes, but despite them.

Heroes still exist.
But now they are feared, regulated, or even hunted.

Hope is rare. Survival is common.

The Fractured Multiverse

The Multiverse still exists—but it is rotting.

• Alternate worlds collapse into one another

• Time loops scar reality

• Some Earths are sealed, abandoned, or consumed

A shadow realm called The Gloom presses against reality—formed from failed timelines, broken heroes, and worlds where evil won.

The Gloom is not evil. It is what happens when hope runs out.

The Gods Are Fading

The Presence

Silent. Distant. Possibly dead.

The Source

Fragmented—its power leaks unpredictably into mortals.

The Endless

Still exist, but they are tired, fractured, and no longer neutral.

Death lingers too long.
Dreams rot into nightmares.
Destiny rewrites itself.

The Fall of the Paragons

Superman – The Last Ideal

Superman still protects the world—but now carries the unbearable weight of every failure.

• He intervenes less

• Hesitates more

• Knows that every rescue creates a new enemy

He is not corrupted.
He is exhausted.

Batman – The Architect of Fear

Batman won Gotham.

At the cost of his humanity.

• Total surveillance

• Psychological warfare

• Preemptive justice

Crime is down.
Oppression is up.

The Batman Family is divided—some see him as necessary, others as a tyrant.

The pain, the suffering, the blood that you spilt have to be answered for.. a mother's cry, poor father's desperation, broken hearts and destroyed lives...
I am the seed of the destruction that you left in your path,
I am the one who survived the storm of agony and grief...
the trail of blood and tears...
The Incarnation come down to make you answer for your sins in this world.
I am Vengeance, I am the Night, I AM BATMAN!

Wonder Woman – The Broken Oath

Themyscira no longer hides.

After humanity betrayed the Amazons, Diana abandoned diplomacy. She now enforces peace through uncompromising strength, feared as much as she is revered.

Cities Are Monuments of Trauma

Gotham City

A city held together by fear and the heavy handed retribution dealt by vigilantes.
Crime however is not quieter—but more violent. And things are only escalating on a day to day basis.

Metropolis

This city has been ground zero of countless decisive battles at the cost of many human lives. A shining monument built on mass graves.
Some worship Superman while others resent his judgment. People overcome with grief question if he is still Earth's savior or a curse. Lex Luthor fuels the resentment of superheroes with unrelenting campaigns of propaganda.

Central City

A temporal scar.
Time breaks here. People remember events that never happened.

Villains as Inevitable Truths

Villains no longer want chaos—they want vindication.

• Joker believes sanity is the true illusion

• Lex Luthor positions himself as humanity’s only defense against so called gods

• Darkseid no longer invades—he waits, knowing despair will invite him

Villains do not lose.
They retreat, adapt, and let the world decay. As the resulting corruption slowly warps heroes into the very things they fight.

You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Magic Has a Price

Magic is no longer flashy—it is damaging. The paranormal and supernatural forces have become more unstable and chaotic. And the influence of such forces have become more profound and common on Earth. The veil between the natural world and supernatural realms is thinner than ever.

• Every spell cast fuels paranormal activity

• Hell is overcrowded and more and more damned are walking the earth

• Heaven is selective and cold and it's host is more withdrawn

Sorcerers struggle to control their magic and it's chaotic random effects. More and more supernatural creatures like werewolves and vampires prowl the night. Demons pray on lost souls as dark cults grow in number. Portals and rifts open allowing eldritch horrors to invade our realm as madness spreads like a plague. Heroes like Doctor Fate do what they can to seal the rifts and protect the fragile balance.

The New World Order

Governments no longer trust heroes. And the growing fear and resentment of Earth's populace has empowered them to take drastic measures. Many governments around the world have become more authoritarian and militaristic. The funding of secret programs like Project Cadmus has become more common.

• Meta-human registries

• Anti-god weapons, suppression collars, android enforcers

• Black ops teams trained to track, capture, or kill the abnormal and enhanced

Heroes are tolerated only as long as they obey. Villains are rounded up and placed in specially fortified supermax prisons, or top secret black sites where they are experimented on. Some villains have even been offered parole or reduced sentences in return for government service.

Final Thoughts For The Player

I want you to play any character you want and get the most out of your campaign. Will you choose vigilance or villainy? Some things to keep in mind...

This universe is not about saving the world. It is about choosing what you are willing to become to keep it and yourself alive.

• Is hope worth the cost?

• Is freedom worth the chaos?

• Is humanity safer without gods?

• How much can you sacrifice before you lose yourself?

• At what point does justice become vengeance?

• Is killing ever justified?

There are no clean victories.

Only survivors.

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows