Exactly what the title says, I want to play as a Batman-like character, hiding in the shadows and taking out enemies one by one and using fancy gadgets to help me. I was wondering what sort of builds I should go for though. I’m currently thinking rock gnome for int plus tinkering or high elf for dex and int. Obviously rogue for sneak attack, but from there I’m not sure where to go. Either assassin for assassination or thief for Fast Hands(Use and Item), and maybe a few levels in school of Conjuration wizard to summon gadgets mid-battle for no cost. Any ideas?

Inquisitive rogue 3 / way of shadow monk X 

The inquisitive rogue would give you all of batman's insights in determining his opponents fighting styles and detective like abilities. Way of shadow monk would give you batman's physical capabilities and ability to use the shadows to his advantage. Granted this is dnd, there will be magic/ki involved and while batman doesn't use magic or ki, thematically it fits. 

A rogue would give your build the utility belt of "skills" that batman would have. The monk would have him focus on his martial arts. Remember, batman doesn't use weapons (on average, though he has challenged r'as al ghul with swords before and batarangs are more like utility) nor does he kill. You could say the last blow that your monk uses is non lethal, just like batman. 

The only problem is that sneak attack doesn't apply to unarmed strikes. You could talk it out with your DM to say it does or use brass knuckles and call it a finesse weapon.

Batman should be an Artificer.  The wonderful toys are the thing that he is most famous for.

Shadow monk makes no sense to me.

Inquisitive Rogue 3/ Armorer Artificer 17

Yes Batman has a tradition of having martial arts training but he has never really been portrayed as martial artist. Artificer is a good start with maybe 3 levels of 1dnd ranger going gloomstalker. Overall at least 15 levels between the classes so gloomstalker 3/armorer artificer 12+. Take the bare hand fighting style as a ranger to represent the martial training. For best multiclassing make him a gloom stalker 4/armorer 12 to get both those ASIs. From gloomstalker you get dread ambusher and umbra sight as well as prepared primal spells (no evocation sadly). From Armorer you get the 2 attacks, infusions and spells. Over all you get spell slots as a L10 caster with access to L2 primal spells and L3 arcane spells all as “gadgets in your utility belt”.  That should pretty well cover Batman as a character.

Taliesin Jaffe played a character for a live-play (admittedly, it was a joke character) called The Owlbear who was supposed to be a ripoff of The Batman. I think it was a barbarian/rogue multiclass? I don't remember, but he was damn sure to play up the Batman tropes and it was a great time to watch. 

How has no one brought up the Oath of Vengeance Paladin?

I think a Vengeance Paladin/Inquisitive Rogue multiclass would handle it pretty well.

For all Batman's talk about being vengeance, he's really not a character who's actually motivated much by revenge.  Still, that's not a bad idea- Batman's a very diverse character who could be represented a lot of different ways in D&D depending on how you want to interpret him.

hiding in the shadows and taking out enemies one by one and using fancy gadgets to help me.

Race: Variant Human - take Shadow Touched for you free feat to get Invisibility and Silent Image.
Level 1 - Rogue, take expertise in Stealth and Intimidation, and Sneak Attack
Level 2+ Artificer (Armourer) using the Infiltrator Armour

Starting with race, you mentioned rock gnome and high elf, both of which could work well for a Batman-like character. Rock gnomes have a natural affinity for tinkering, which would allow you to create your own gadgets and traps. Meanwhile, high elves have a natural proficiency in dexterity and intelligence, which would be beneficial for a stealthy character who relies on gadgets and intelligence-based skills.

For class, Rogue is an excellent choice for a Batman-like character. Assassin and Thief are both great options, with Assassin focusing on dealing massive amounts of damage in a surprise attack, and Thief offering more utility with their Fast Hands ability.

As for multiclassing, a few levels in School of Conjuration wizard would certainly allow you to summon gadgets mid-battle, which fits the Batman theme perfectly. Another option to consider could be a few levels in Ranger, which would grant you additional stealth capabilities as well as proficiency in tracking and survival.

Wanted to delete but can't figure out how

I am a huge Batman fan and have found that almost everyone here doesnt think about the full picture of Batman.
You think you want to play Batman but you don't, he has all the answers and is basically a mary-sue, its not great for adventuring in a team based game.
What you actually want to do, without knowing it, is to play a member of the batfamily, that way you can use SOME of his talents with out making yourself to widespread or to 'main character'
What you do is play a Warlock with a batman character as your patron, the spells and resources given as a boon for being part of the mission/army.

I disagree ForLeafClover.  Batman is an iconic top tier  DC character using their methodology and concepts. WotC does not own DC and is not designed to replicate DC characters.

There is NO way to play a DC character using Dungeon & Dragons and getting everything Batman does. it would be an unplayable character with 1 level in so many classes.  To truly replicate all of Batman you would need 20 levels of a Monk representing his top tier marital arts, 20 levels of Rogue to replicate his stealth abilities, 20 levels of Artificiers to replicate his wonderful toys, plus some levels of Oath of Vengeance Paladin to represent his personal mindset. Then we would have to strip out all the special abilities these classes have that Batman does not.

We are not trying to play the iconic, top-tier Batman, nor would creating/replicating a bat-family member be good enough.  That concept is not helpful or responsive to the original poster.  They like Batman and want to play batman.  It can't be done perfectly.  We are forced by the rules of D&D to make compromises, although that is not our desire.

I continue to think that Rogue/Artificer is the closest we can get to Batman.  We start out weak, but by the time we are 20th level we closest to what Batman represents - a non-magical, super highly skilled character with wonderful toys. No, he is not perfect, his fighting style is less martial arts, more stealthy. Yes, he has less instant access to the toys via conjuration, but there is less spellcasting which is definitely NOT Batman's specialty.

Actually he said Batman-like character which the bat-family all fall into very easily. I was giving an alternate way of playing the fantasy that may have not come to mind. Also Batman as much as he is one of the top tier martial artists would not be 20 levels monk even if he was given 40 levels of space to work with.
Rogue/Artificer is one possible route to take him yes but as varied of skills he has you could very well build him in almost every class. I will give an example here-

Race: Custom Lineage Feat- Skilled choosing Stealth Perception Tinker's Tools Variable Trait Darkvision

Lvl 1 Rogue to get more proficiencies, expertise, and sneak attack

then 3 levels of Fighter to get Thrown Weapon fighter, Echo Knight so you can teleport in and out of shadows keeping enemies on there toes and even throwing knives (batarangs) from places you yourself are not in.

Then you pick up 2 Levels Barbarian to get a (Silent) rage, reckless attack (which works well in combo with Sneak attack) and then finally one more level in rogue for Cunning action.

With this build you become an expert in a bunch of skills which makes you good in non combat settings, use extremely small amount of magic, focus on an interesting and overlooked style in thrown weapons, and become an extremely hard to hit comBATant

Any attempt at a Batman- like build is extremely MAD as you need a 13+ in Str, Dex, Con, Int, and at least one of Cha or Wis. the only real way to get that is either by DM fiat or by rolling taking the first set of rolls that meet the bare minimums. Given that I still think a gloomstalker ranger4/ armor artificer is the way to go with a variant human investigator background. Here is the progression:
Variant Human: skill: Stealth, Feat: fighting initiate: unarmed fighting, Ability score improvements: +1 to 2 stats
Background: city watch/investigator- skills: insight, +1(choice - persuasion), feature: Watcher’s Eye, Al: NG, Lifestyle: Wealthy
L1) Ranger 1: (deft explorer, favored foe), proficiencies: perception, investigation, athletics
L2) Artificer 1: proficiencies: thieves tools, tinker’s tools, spells - your choice - artificer spells are described as devices&infusions bearing the magic so hello utility belt.
(Side note - if your doing a multiclass, because of the limited amount of needed experience/level in the first tier I think your better off taking at least the first level dip into your classes early  so as to get the features faster without giving up significant time to get to things like the L5/6 second attack in martial classes or the L4 ASIs in each class.)
L3) Ranger 2: fighting style: Thrown weapons, spells ( including extra ranger spells) 
L4) Artificer 2: infusions - one should be returning weapon for your “battarangs”
L5) Artificer 3: Armorer: Armorer spells, tools for the trade, tools for the job, Arcane Armor
L6) Artificer 4: ASI - what you do will depend on the stats you rolled.
L7) Artificer 5: 2 attacks
L8) Ranger 3: Gloomstalker: primeval Awareness, gloomstalker magic, Dread Ambusher, Umbral Sight
L9) Ranger 4: ASI
( side note - your really fully online at ranger 3 but you need ranger 4 to avoid missing an ASI)
L10+) Artificer all the way - the artificer abilities will do far more for the character than the ranger abilities from here on out - you may need all the remaining ASIs for stat boosts but, depending on rolls, you may be able to get a feat or 2.

notes to discuss with your DM: a lot of Batman’s effectiveness comes from the gadgets in his utility belt. These can be simulated with potions if you and the Dm are willing to cooperate on this. You may want to discuss exchanging the poisoner kit for alchemist supplies/skill so you can brew your own potions. a bag of holding (infused or otherwise) could be turned into your belt - there was a 4e item the Belt of Many Pouches that held ( I believe) up to 100 lbs for a 10 lb weight and had 10 sets of 10 magical pouches in it to hold “stuff” - the perfect utility belt. Depending on how high the magic is and how willing the DM is you will probably want to collect as many non-attuning items as you can find/buy/acquire to go into the belt as well. Finally you will want either Mithril half plate or the serpent scale armor depending on your Dex. The Mithril removes the stealth penalty from the half plate while the serpent scale removes the stealth penalty AND allows full Dex bonus with armor. 

Quote from LordBlaze64 >>

Exactly what the title says, I want to play as a Batman-like character, hiding in the shadows and taking out enemies one by one and using fancy gadgets to help me. I was wondering what sort of builds I should go for though. I’m currently thinking rock gnome for int plus tinkering or high elf for dex and int. Obviously rogue for sneak attack, but from there I’m not sure where to go. Either assassin for assassination or thief for Fast Hands(Use and Item), and maybe a few levels in school of Conjuration wizard to summon gadgets mid-battle for no cost. Any ideas?

 I would go gloomstalker and Artificer multi-class

I'd say go for variant human (Linguist). Background: Haunted One/Noble. Multiclass between rogue and artificer. Armourer artificer subclass and rogue could be mastermind or inquisitive. You could also have Gloomstalker ranger or battlemaster fighter. Skip first asi for fighting initiate and get either twf or unarmed fighting.

I echo others in that a build of a character like Batman is not a one and only approach. You need to focus on the components of the character you admire most and then see how the game features will allow you to incorporate the character’s attributes as much as possible.

One comment, I think the “gadget” element of Batman (while incredible cool literally) is meant to be a metaphor for his ingenuity. The is the character’s greatest ability is commitment to learn and resolve the conflict by the best obtainable solution. I aways loved how Ra's al Ghul (in some formats) would refer to Batman as “Detective”. It emphasizes that Batman is an investigator and values the importance of learning truths. I feel a Batman build should balance the ability to solve problems with the ability to deal with them.

Now I agree the Rogue class is the leading and possibly the best option. Especially if you do not want to use magic (like how Batman doesn’t have super natural powers).

But seeing so many build options focused on classes like the Artificer, Ranger, and even Wizard then it is clear that spell casting is not a limiting factor. Therefore, reviewing the options I must say there is one class to combine with the Rogue I feel makes sense for a Batman build.

The Bard

If there internet is done yelling at me now, I will explain.

First, separate the notion of how the vast majority of Bards are played and look at it solely from a RAW (and potentially RAI) position. By that I mean the use of “or” in all descriptions implies that music is not necessary. Oration and stringing together words meets the requirements for most Bard features. So it now comes down to play design of how a character can use words to be impactful. So if establish that a Bard does not require the playing of melodies to be effective then consider the following why this can work for a Batman type build.

Batman needs to have Charisma. Part of playing Batman is also playing Bruce Wayne. Batman, Spider-Man, Zorro, or Superman….playing a Superhero is also playing the alter ego. In the case of a Batman, you need a very powerful Charisma character (for both egos of the character).

The character can be privileged, educated, and a patron of the arts and culture for the city they reside in. They can run galas and events (even perform for guests). Or they can be the MC delivering passionate speeches to raise funds to better the development of the city. The Bard persona is what society sees of the character, and like Batman, the Rogue is his secretive life that comes out more during adventures.

With the Bard build the following applies:

Jack of All Trades (Level 2) add half the character’s proficiency bonus to all skills. Batman tends to be good at all things. A character build with good to great ability scores benefit greatly with this feature.

Expertise (Level 3) allows you to add additional bonus to the two skills. The Rogue has this feature as well. Batman’s character is knowledgeable and an expert in several fields so the more “Expertise” you add to the build the closer you are to playing out this aspect of the Batman character.

Countercharm (Level 6) lets you use words to give characters advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. Batman stories often incorporate a psychological elements, and it is not uncommon for him to fight a foe that is using fear or mechanisms to control people. Having a “power to disrupt mind-influencing effects” (as it says in the class description) would fit into a Batman story arch. I agree, this is more of a stretch with it being an innate power, but it is a game, and as stated before there is discussion of builds that use magic abilities. And if Batman is the type of character that will use fear and manipulation to achieve his objectives, then surely he would be an expert in countering such tactics.

Bardic Inspiration (Level 1) supports the Batman character as a leader, tactician, and coordinator. Batman has had several apprentices under his charge who he has helped trained and guided. The Bardic Inspiration can be delivered as the ordering of battle tactics or informing a comrade of how to strike the monster.

But don’t limit “Bardic Inspiration” to be just words of encouragement. The standoffish persona of his character is also a tactic he uses. Think of the times he needles or rubs a fellow Justice League member the wrong way; is he doing this to inspire them to step up or intensify their actions if only to “show him” what they are capable of? Looking at the barbarian and saying “If you need some help muscles, all you have to do is ask” can just as easy cause the barbarian to lash our harder in upcoming attacks (thus justifying the “Bardic Inspiration”). The use of “Bardic Inspiration” would now be treated as psychological interactions and how to pull the best out of your teammates. There are interesting role-play opportunities here.

I also saved the “Bardic Inspiration” for last because of how it fits into the subclass build below.

With School of Swords build:

At Level 3 you again the following

1. Proficiency with Medium Armor and the Scimitar
2. A weapon you are proficient with counts as your spell casting focus
3. Fighting style: Dueling or Two-Weapon Fighting
4. Blade Flourish

The Blade Flourish feature increases your movement when you take the Attack action and you can use your Bardic Inspiration die to add extra damage to an attack plus additional condition based on the option you use: Defensive Flourish, Slashing Flourish, or Mobile Flourish.

At Level 6 you can attack twice on the Attack action.

The extra attack, fighting style, and and Blade Flourish features can lead to some interesting combinations with the Rogue build. Also the medium armor proficiency is a good option to have.

As far as spells, Vicious Mockery can be played off as more of a taunting act on your opponent. Less whimsical and more about pointing our their weakness and failures, or suggesting of their impending demise. Mage Hand could help in causing distractions or securing lines or opening windows. Cantrips like Mending, Message, or even Light can be beneficial as well.

Spells that focus on adding investigation and character interaction would be great for role-play. Not to say you can’t take a battlefield spell, but if you want to not be a spell caster during combat, the Bard list offers spells that can be very beneficial to a detective.

Based on the above, go with a School of Swords/Inquisitor build. Either at L6/14 or L8/12 depending on if you want the extra ability score improvement or the Blindsense feature.

Quote from petepan3 >>

I echo others in that a build of a character like Batman is not a one and only approach. You need to focus on the components of the character you admire most and then see how the game features will allow you to incorporate the character’s attributes as much as possible.

One comment, I think the “gadget” element of Batman (while incredible cool literally) is meant to be a metaphor for his ingenuity. The is the character’s greatest ability is commitment to learn and resolve the conflict by the best obtainable solution. I aways loved how Ra's al Ghul (in some formats) would refer to Batman as “Detective”. It emphasizes that Batman is an investigator and values the importance of learning truths. I feel a Batman build should balance the ability to solve problems with the ability to deal with them.

Now I agree the Rogue class is the leading and possibly the best option. Especially if you do not want to use magic (like how Batman doesn’t have super natural powers).

But seeing so many build options focused on classes like the Artificer, Ranger, and even Wizard then it is clear that spell casting is not a limiting factor. Therefore, reviewing the options I must say there is one class to combine with the Rogue I feel makes sense for a Batman build.

The Bard

 

If there internet is done yelling at me now, I will explain.

First, separate the notion of how the vast majority of Bards are played and look at it solely from a RAW (and potentially RAI) position. By that I mean the use of “or” in all descriptions implies that music is not necessary. Oration and stringing together words meets the requirements for most Bard features. So it now comes down to play design of how a character can use words to be impactful. So if establish that a Bard does not require the playing of melodies to be effective then consider the following why this can work for a Batman type build.

Batman needs to have Charisma. Part of playing Batman is also playing Bruce Wayne. Batman, Spider-Man, Zorro, or Superman….playing a Superhero is also playing the alter ego. In the case of a Batman, you need a very powerful Charisma character (for both egos of the character).

The character can be privileged, educated, and a patron of the arts and culture for the city they reside in. They can run galas and events (even perform for guests). Or they can be the MC delivering passionate speeches to raise funds to better the development of the city. The Bard persona is what society sees of the character, and like Batman, the Rogue is his secretive life that comes out more during adventures.

With the Bard build the following applies:

Jack of All Trades (Level 2) add half the character’s proficiency bonus to all skills. Batman tends to be good at all things. A character build with good to great ability scores benefit greatly with this feature.

Expertise (Level 3) allows you to add additional bonus to the two skills. The Rogue has this feature as well. Batman’s character is knowledgeable and an expert in several fields so the more “Expertise” you add to the build the closer you are to playing out this aspect of the Batman character.

Countercharm (Level 6) lets you use words to give characters advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. Batman stories often incorporate a psychological elements, and it is not uncommon for him to fight a foe that is using fear or mechanisms to control people. Having a “power to disrupt mind-influencing effects” (as it says in the class description) would fit into a Batman story arch. I agree, this is more of a stretch with it being an innate power, but it is a game, and as stated before there is discussion of builds that use magic abilities. And if Batman is the type of character that will use fear and manipulation to achieve his objectives, then surely he would be an expert in countering such tactics.

Bardic Inspiration (Level 1) supports the Batman character as a leader, tactician, and coordinator. Batman has had several apprentices under his charge who he has helped trained and guided. The Bardic Inspiration can be delivered as the ordering of battle tactics or informing a comrade of how to strike the monster.

But don’t limit “Bardic Inspiration” to be just words of encouragement. The standoffish persona of his character is also a tactic he uses. Think of the times he needles or rubs a fellow Justice League member the wrong way; is he doing this to inspire them to step up or intensify their actions if only to “show him” what they are capable of? Looking at the barbarian and saying “If you need some help muscles, all you have to do is ask” can just as easy cause the barbarian to lash our harder in upcoming attacks (thus justifying the “Bardic Inspiration”). The use of “Bardic Inspiration” would now be treated as psychological interactions and how to pull the best out of your teammates. There are interesting role-play opportunities here.

I also saved the “Bardic Inspiration” for last because of how it fits into the subclass build below.

With School of Swords build:

At Level 3 you again the following

1. Proficiency with Medium Armor and the Scimitar
2. A weapon you are proficient with counts as your spell casting focus
3. Fighting style: Dueling or Two-Weapon Fighting
4. Blade Flourish

The Blade Flourish feature increases your movement when you take the Attack action and you can use your Bardic Inspiration die to add extra damage to an attack plus additional condition based on the option you use: Defensive Flourish, Slashing Flourish, or Mobile Flourish.

At Level 6 you can attack twice on the Attack action.

The extra attack, fighting style, and and Blade Flourish features can lead to some interesting combinations with the Rogue build. Also the medium armor proficiency is a good option to have.

As far as spells, Vicious Mockery can be played off as more of a taunting act on your opponent. Less whimsical and more about pointing our their weakness and failures, or suggesting of their impending demise. Mage Hand could help in causing distractions or securing lines or opening windows. Cantrips like Mending, Message, or even Light can be beneficial as well.

Spells that focus on adding investigation and character interaction would be great for role-play. Not to say you can’t take a battlefield spell, but if you want to not be a spell caster during combat, the Bard list offers spells that can be very beneficial to a detective.

Based on the above, go with a School of Swords/Inquisitor build. Either at L6/14 or L8/12 depending on if you want the extra ability score improvement or the Blindsense feature.

 You’ve made entirely great points- I only will further illustrate that nobody ever seems to see Batman coming. So I would argue Inquisitive rogue 3/ gloomstalker 3/ and swords bard the rest still.

the abis Batman doesn’t really need as he’s already covered in Jack of all. But Batman does have that umbral to him.

This is gonna take a while

Race: V Human +1 dex int, Fighting initiate Unarmed/Skilled Stealth Perception Alchemist tools

L1-3 Rogue Inquisitive, L4-6 BM/Echo Knight, L7+ Armourer Artificer. Expertise in Stealth Perception, Sneak attack is a must. Get ThWF and Unarmed Fighting. I would say BM for quick Toss. Infusions: Returning Weapon, Homunculus Servant and then to your preference. Get a Bracer of Daggers, Cloak of the bat, boots of elvenkind, serpent scale armour, Bag of holding.

Revenge Paladin OR Armorer Artificer/Shadow Monk OR Inquisitive(maybe Assassin, probably not) Rogue. The way I've set it up no matter what you pick, if set up correctly it works mechanically similar, almost the same thematically, and it would actually work for a character, they would actually be playable. Not min-maxing levels of good, but pretty good. Probably take Variant Human, with your feat being Shadow Touched or Fighting Initiate (If you take shadow touched I'd recommend not picking shadow monk) Also pick charlatan background, as it allows you to have official documentation for both Bruce and the Bat, basically meaning you're two different people. I think personally I would play fighting initiate, shadow monk artificer armorer, putting at least 6 levels into monk for the shadow step. The paladin works pretty good mechanically but thematically Batman shouldn't be martial, he doesn't really use weapons apart from the occasional bostaff, batterang or shark repellant, all things that artificers would make.