Uncle Aldo’s Devil’s Bargain Emporium
The 847 catalog is out! All the hottest bargains, guaranteed!*
What’s Our Take? – The gang wants a bigger cut of this score. -1d on subsequent Development roll.
Walls Have Ears – Word gets out to a faction your crew is friendly with that you did a job against their ally if the Heat for this score is 2 or more.
Hunter or Hunted – So intent on tailing your mark, you fail to notice you yourself are followed by a rival.
All Or Nothing – If the danger comes to pass you cannot resist it.
Now Or Never – If you don’t overcome the obstacle entirely, you must abandon it forever.
*Uncle Aldo’s does not guarantee bargains; bargains may not fit your game.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FJcEBN2ym362NHJljC9QYDw9hUsu3zt1cShEdXh4Lw4/edit?usp=sharing
Great stuff. “All or Nothing” — that’s how you put PC death in the game, everybody.
I would like to subscribe to your newsletter titled ‘Uncle Aldo’s Devils Bargain Emporium’ ^_^
It’s a community ‘zine! More, more!
All or nothing, now or never, really awesome stuff.
Quelle Horreur! – You’re in for some sleepless nights. -1d on long-term projects next Downtime.
Lay Out – You’re gonna find yourself face-down or flat on your ass, no matter what else the outcome.
Leave Yourself Open – If the face the effect of the danger at hand, you’ll be -1 level on your effect roll to resist it. (Stacks with 1-3 result on a desperate move).
SMASH – whatever you’re using for this, it’s broken, shattered, ruined. And it probably makes a bit of noise.
Ghostly attraction – Your activities attract a host of ghosts, think the ‘frighteners’.
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Hell hath no fury like a lover spurned… It’s love e at first sight. Your mark is besotted, you can do no wrong other than ignore them and become romantically stalked.
Bombs away – Things flung by rooftop revellers attract unwanted attention to your activities, making things loud & chaotic. Roll at least 3 dice on the heat roll for this score.
Once more unto the breach – No one trusts your judgement. For the rest of the score, no one can Assist you when you’re on Point.
Sign here – Accept the next devil’s bargain or suffer -1D.
That breach one wants to be developed into a fixed class ability where your character gets some kind of big momentary edge during a score at the cost of your crew’s trust & ability (or willingness) to back you up. Nice.
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sub!
Falling or stalling – The floor beneath you cracks to the brink of collapse. Any action now is desperate.
Hot or not – Something you wear is on fire.
Bold or old – A thin needle pierces your flesh. Countdown 4 till the poison slams you.
Player or played – You are a pawn in a bigger play. Next downtime an NPC faction takes an extra downtime action and extra advances to their project clocks.
Raining or pouring – The stars are aligned. Roll for another entanglement next development roll.
Thrice or nice – You’ve uttered a demon’s true name thrice since the last tide. Oops. You feel it’s presence pressing…
Ash – Your appetite is ruined. Next vice roll only clears half stress.
Those are great Olly!
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Red pill or blue – You don’t see bodies, only the spirits within. Till your next downtime, you can’t distinguish between souls, undead, ghosts, spirits, or shadows. The hollows are nothing to you.
Or else – A faction got wind of your plan and warned against it. Countdown 4 till their assault teams hit.
Men or omen – You dreamed this would happen. Take double stress for the next negative effect you resist.
Magic or magnets – Someone (built like Arnie) throws the table on your plan. Your plan is now Assault. What’s your point of attack?
Divided or conquered – Your point breaks and the team is scattered. Each player makes a clock for this obstacle or danger. The crew can’t use Teamwork till each PC fills their clock.
Locked up or out – The main entrance to your crew’s lair is blocked. Now getting in is a score in itself.
One for all or all for one – Tell us who you’re really working for. If this score is completed and a success, the Development roll gains 1 coin less for the crew. Add that coin to your secret stash.
Ollie, you are a whiz at this! It all needs to be PDF’d and artwork added. SO good.
Cheers Noofy. I find them very fun to dream up.
Planned to fail or failed to plan – You’re not even following Plan B anymore. For the rest of the score, PC flashbacks cost 1 extra stress.
Snap it’s a trap – Someone you told about the plan has betrayed you completely. It’s all a trap. You succeed at this score now if you escape and get revenge. What’s your plan?
Heat it or beat it – One obstacle or danger you face is bigger, badder, or smarter than you planned for. Add 4 segments to its clock.
Ollie is showing us that DBs are the best, most adaptable and most evocative mechanic in the game.
Excellent work mate.
The Cleaner (Murder or Mayhem) – All those bodies you’re racking up? Someone’s gotta clean up the mess. The cleaner has discovered one of your secrets, what is it? You’re not so hidden anymore. They definately will blackmail you over it.
Snake in the Grass – one of your roster is selling you out to a rival faction. You know who, tell us and lower your crew’s hold by one.
Nothing quite like sowing the seeds of dissent!
It would also be cool to know there truly is a traitor but not who. What if you made a countdown, and there is no truth to who the traitor is till its full. That should lead to some juicy table talk.
For example: Whoever has the most stress after a 6-segment countdown, names the traitor.
That should see some crazy stunts happen.
Ooh Yes! I like that tension of a clock! Every time you take a DB (with the potential unknown traitor getting a little more set-up) the clock marks a segment.
Yes yes. A series of connected Devil’s Bargains, ticking down clocks! Like a conspiracy theory gradually becoming an Ugly Truth.
And you know how John suggests clocks bleeding into clocks? You could stamp them out on the card like cogs in a wheel…
Very cool. Could lots of these be compiled in a collaboratively editable GoogleDoc?
Adam Minnie great idea. I’d like something to print out for my game tomorrow night.
I’ll put together something now and post it here first.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FJcEBN2ym362NHJljC9QYDw9hUsu3zt1cShEdXh4Lw4/edit?usp=sharing
Pipped at the post. Nice image though!
I just added the following to the doc. I’m new at this so they may not be the best:
Highest Bidder – Another faction offers you a lucrative offer if you sell out a friend or ally (significant NPC or friendly faction) in a significant betrayal.
Siren Song – After this action concludes (or at the first opportunity) you must subordinate or abandon the plan to satisfy your vice.
Why’d it have to be snakes? – During this action you discover, develop, or reveal a character weakness or phobia that will hinder you in similar situations in the future. Tell us the details and origin of this flaw.
In the family way – While you may not have expected or known it, you are now a parent; Enjoy your new responsibilities while pulling scores!
You guys are the best.
Adam Minnie I particularly like the middle two because they focus on character weakness. This feeds into rounding out the character fictionally as well as into advancement mechanics, i.e. the new fourth advancement item on the character sheets: “Express your character’s flaws, obsessions, secrets, or shortcomings”
Connecting Devil’s Bargains with the advancement system is great idea! Another good one from the crew sheet is contend with challenges above your current station.
I love any chance to round out characters with weaknesses and quirks, especially in a game where they are otherwise badasses.
Matthew Gagan would you mind editing the link to the gdoc into your original post (so it’s easier to find)?
Here are some more:
Crossfire – You are mixed up in the middle of a bitter conflict between two parties that are unaffiliated with the present score. (Wait, are you sure they are unaffiliated?)
Dissent – One or more of the crew’s gangs begin grumbling and disrespecting you behind your back. Have you ever considered a mutiny in the crew?
Blood Runs Thicker than Blade – A key victim of your score turns out to be close kin. Your intel must have missed that. Are you able to follow through with the plan? Will you allow your crew to do so? What will the rest of the family think?
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I don’t love you, I’m IN love with you. The target of your flirting for information will fall in love with you.
This whole list is so good. Thanks all.
Here’s a good general purpose Devil’s Bargain for any action attempting to put an end to a gang war that isn’t bargaining from a position of strength (i.e. the crew hasn’t seriously bloodied the rival gang’s nose and isn’t higher tier):
Truce: +1d And it’s understood the war is only off for now… The smallest slight or entanglement will restart hostilities.
Mr Matthew Gagan, can I translate this into Portuguese? I would love to share with our community in Brazil.
Torre do Mago Most of the contributions are not mine, of course, but I’d guess people would be very happy to see this list made more available, especially as G+ is going away.
I would caution that some of the contributions, (including my own!) are not always Devil’s Bargains as I currently comprehend the rules And my evaluation of what makes a good devil’s bargain changed over time as I ran Blades. I should probably do a blog post on this topic.
In any case, thank you to you and everyone in this fine G+ community for your contributions. This was easily among the best of the G+ RPG communities!
Torre do Mago in case it’s not clear, all mine are free-for-all. Given these were all written during one of the earlier playtests before a bunch of rule changes, I think they hold up remarkably well. I often have it on hand to tickle my inspiration during play.
I’d been keen to hear your thoughts Matthew Gagan on Devil’s Bargains.
And yes, this G+ was among the best of times.
Thanks Matthew Gagan and Oliver Granger, for your prompt reply.
Since it’s belongs to everyone, I’ll make sure everyone shows up on the credits. What do you think guys?
Ahh, of course, the translation is totally free, the intention is solely and exclusively to contribute with the Brazilian community.