Rules questions and a mini-AP.
Just ran my first game. It went really well: the thieves used a dirigible to steal the Red Sashes’ treasury. Then they took advantage of a fight between the two gangs to infiltrate the Lampblacks, steal their coin, burn their drugs and frame the Red Sashes. And then they rolled 0 Heat for both missions!
There were aspects of the game I was unclear about. Most of this is because I read it at 3am in order to run it this morning! Can I check I understand this correctly:
– You should establish a risk or danger before an action roll
– The Devil’s Bargain always happens, regardless of outcome
– If you get a result like Risky’s “You do it and avoid the danger,” you still roll for effect to determine how many segments you tick off
Can you ever cut straight to an effect roll? I’m guessing you can when you’re resisting the negative effects of a threat that’s just emerged. Are there any other cases?
If you get a result like Risky’s “You do it but face the effect of the danger,” do you tick off segments as well as suffer stress?
Hopefully these aren’t in the FAQ. I didn’t see them there this morning. (I’ll go check, now.)
Yep, Steve, you’ve got it all right. Yes to everything you asked.
Thanks for trying it out and posting!
Brilliant 🙂 In that case, I think I’ve understand the core loop of the game. Now to check over advancement and factions.
The toughest thing, I found, was bringing Duskwall to life. I find that with every setting: the first time I’m having push my imagination uphill a little bit to create people and places. The next game will flow more smoothly because I’ll have the things I’ve already established as a base, and we can explore and introduce new stuff together. (I really want to see a Leviathan corpse, dragged up onto a coastal rendering factory.)
Each character starts with a list of friends. That’s a great place to start bringing the city to life.
Great insight, Richard. I should be asking questions about those friends and where they are, when I need inspiration.
When a character is exposed to danger, they either take the lasting effect or mark off stress, thier choice. There probably are situations where you don’t need to roll the action but do need the effect. The example I can think of is punching a guy tied to a chair. Then again, if you’ve got a situation like that and only care about doing the damage then it’ll just be a matter of time till you get the desired effect, so rolling for effect is moot.