Hi all, kickstarter backer here but first time poster.

Hi all, kickstarter backer here but first time poster.

Hi all, kickstarter backer here but first time poster. Been wanting to jump in and start playing this and with v5 thought it was a good time! Anyway reading through the rules I’m still trying to get my head around effects and consequences. Is this system like Dungeon World where enemies will only attack if a player rolls badly? It mentions enemy actions but how to know what enemies can do and how powerful they are, by their Tier rating? Is there some sort of play-by-play of an encounter i can read to get a hang of the flow of the mechanics? Thanks and I look forward to GMing this!

13 thoughts on “Hi all, kickstarter backer here but first time poster.”

  2. Okay so “Enemies attack” can be a GM move. In Dungeon World, and other Powered by Apocalypse World games, the GM makes a move when:

    (a) a player rolls a miss

    (b) a player gives a golden opportunity, or

    (c) everyone looks to you to find out what happens.

    So a GM could say “Enemies attack” even if no dice were rolled at all.

    Blades is more or less the same. The GM gives the setup of a threat, but not the conclusion. The players respond, which may involve rolling some dice. The GM then narrates the results, based on the player’s response, which may or may not include the results of a dice roll.

  3. p23 talks about NPC threat levels:

    Since NPCs don’t have stats and action ratings, it’s by the severity of their dangers and harm (and the position of the PC’s action roll) that their capabilities are manifest in the game. Also, a dangerous NPC can take the initiative. Tell the players what the NPC is about to accomplish, then ask them what they do. “She corners you at the top of the stairs and wrestles you into the manacles. What do you do?”

    You could do worse than watch John running Blades in the Dark the Six Tower Gang. It’s five episode down now, and the rules have changed several times since the first, but it’ll give you an idea of the flow.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsmw4wC7iOE

  4. I agree with Olly, a written out encounter would really let me wrap my head around the system. I have been watching John run Blades, and it’s given me many ideas for the game, but its still hard for me to figure out how I should actually run it, as the GM.

  5. I would love to see a start to finish score, yeah. The Youtube Blades game is fantastic entertainment and I’ve learned a lot about how the rules kind of fit together. It really demonstrates how good it can be for solving social and combat situations, but I still find myself struggling to translate what the players want to do, into a full, elaborate scene with multiple obstacles. When to use single actions, when to use clocks, how and when to translate actions into ticks toward a goal, etc. I can kind of wing it, but I’d like to see it done as intended, and get some ideas from that.

  6. What would actually be really nice, is a playthrough that pauses to kind of explain the thought process, how and why certain decisions are made in terms of applying the rules, how it might be done differently depending on the mood/situation, etc. But that might be asking too much. Heh.

  8. Interesting fact: I heard from an RPG podcast that it is common in Japan for game shops to have fully printed transcripts of RPG sessions to sell alongside rulebooks. I wonder why it never came to the west.

  9. there was a section that had an example of play but was pulled when the rules changed so much that it no longer describe how to play.  It should be added back in when the full book is released.  Right now the videos might be your best bet.

  11. To actually answer your question 🙂 …

    It’s a lot like DW, yeah. And like DW, you don’t have to wait until a bad roll for an NPC to take action. (This is a common misconception. It’s true that an NPC can attack when a player misses a roll. But it’s not the only time an NPC can attack.)

    Oliver has quoted the relevant bits from the quick start about NPC actions and initiative. In short, they act when it’s called for in the fiction.

    The more the NPCs take the initiative, the tougher they are to deal with. If the NPC is supposed to be powerful, say what they do then ask how the players deal with it (evading, blocking, resisting, interrupting whatever).

    “Marlane expertly bobs and weaves between your blows and smashes you in the face with a vicious uppercut. What do you do?”

    If the player says, whoa whoa she just gets to hit me? Then talk about it. “Marlane is an expert pugilist. She’s much better at this than you are. Can you interrupt her or evade the fight? How do you do that?”

    If the NPC isn’t as dangerous, say what they’re about to do, then ask the players how they react.

    “Cyclops rushes forward and swings a nasty haymaker at you. What do you do?”

    And, also, on a bad roll, you can describe an NPC action as the cause of a consequence from the roll:

    “Got a 2? Ouch. Okay you suffer harm — let’s call it level 2, ‘slashed’. Lista knocks aside your guard and cuts you across the torso.”

  12. Don’t forget flashbacks! If the player says, whoa whoa she just gets to hit me? Then talk about it. You can totally suggest that for some measly stress, maybe you got Marlane Drunk last night, or seduced her into staying in bed and is now on your side, or laid a trap that broke her arm? That’s how come she just doesn’t get to hit you NOW.

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