So in an effort to improve my games of Blade, I have been reading some play reports on this site as well as others. Anyone else notice that most players automatically side with the Lampblacks? It seems like my group is the only one who goes for the Red Sashes. Just a strange thought.
So in an effort to improve my games of Blade, I have been reading some play reports on this site as well as others.
So in an effort to improve my games of Blade, I have been reading some play reports on this site as well as others.
Yup. I’d noticed too and worked hard to present them equally but there was just no interest. Possibly its because Basco invites them first. Possibly its because the Sashes sounds like a bunch of stuckup bastards, while the lampblacks are more ‘working criminals’ ?
Half my Blades were nobles and they still went with the Lampblacks.
My group went with the sashes because they saw them as the real competition that needed to be destroyed. For whatever reason they think that it will be easy to push Baszo out and take over the lampblacks once they’re done with the sashes. They will eventually find out they’re wrong about that.
I just had one of my players point out that I had failed to notice that all four of my PCs are Iruvian.
Oops.
One of my groups had a slide with Bazo as his Best Friend Forever, so that heavily influenced the outcome there. The rest of the groups I played with, at first I think it was about class warfare and annoyance at their haughty degeneracy. Eventually, as the Red Sashes were down, it was a feeding frenzy to snap up their territory.
My players sided with the Lampblacks and then were blackmailed by the Red Sashes to double cross the Lampblacks to which they were like “sure we were already planning on doing double crossing both of them”
My group sided with the Lampblacks despite the fact that Bazo Baz was the Slide’s rival. Probably because I had Baz approach them for an alliance first.
For their first score, they robbed The Gondoliers of a shipment of spirit essence and framed The Red Sashes for it.
Characters: an Akorosi Slide and former Noble whose entire family was murdered by the the Cult of the Forgotten Gods; a Tycherosi Lurk who immigrated to Akoros at a young age and grew up on the streets before becoming a professional sneak-thief.
When I read the “or are you there to kill him for the lampblacks?” Part of the intro, my group immediately said “Yes!”
I think that Bazjo is contact on one of the playbooks makes this a little more likely.
I DO enjoy the thought of a Red Sash Revolution. They are so damn Capulet after all.
My group went Red Sashes because they found Bazso’s “with us or against us” pitch obnoxious, and found Myleera very agreeable when they showed up and said “We’d like to screw over the Lampblacks, can you sweeten the deal?” (Answer: yes)
With my group, the players were hesitant enough with a brand new system, still in beta, that they didn’t want to leap right into the flashback rules. At the same time, they’re into living complicated lives to make the PCs’ adventures interesting, so they weren’t going to back out without promising anything. That left only one option: agree to rob the Red Sashes.
You have probably seen most or all of these, but I have about 18 play reports linked to this page.
https://fictivefantasies.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/summary-of-blades-in-the-dark-worldbuilding/
The group I was in went for the Red Sashes almost without any question. We started out with intent to assassinate the Bazster…but unfortunately (as is all to common in play by forum) we sort of lost momentum and fell out of touch. So I don’t know how it ended.
Didn’t anyone else side with nobody?
Roy Kiger
I expect “none of the above” is an unusual choice, since at the end of the day, you’re a small crew and it’s always better to get paid. 😉
My group is all about defying expectations, premade modules never fly straight with us on board. One of our first sessions involved “procuring” lampblack disguises and pinning a night raid on the sashes on them. As the slide I even deceived one of their young up and coming members to come along. His corpse made great falsified evidence, which our unsavory friends in the bluecoats surely appreciated.
You technically don’t have to work for anyone to advance or get paid, you can also hatch your own schemes. Even the blowback from picking neither side is great fun.
Also, this is a game about hardened criminals, how does anyone resist the temptation to ruthlessly exploit that Bazso contact? One of us is gonna end up killing the other for certain.
One of my groups also went Red Sashes cause they had Bosço Baass as a rival on their playbook sheet.