Un-Ticking Clock Segments?
Hey Blades community, I’ve run 2 campaign sessions of Blades and the subject of characters taking actions to remove clock segments has come up several times. The players are Thieves who are trying to be as low Heat as possible and I appear to be fond of an “alert the guards clock” for their Scores. As that clock fills they keep wanting to do things to un-tick the Alert clock.
I’m torn about this because if they can justify it in the fiction it should be allowed but it seems against the spirit. Am I being influenced too much by pre-conceptions from 30 years of more traditional games and fiction-first means it’s totally cool to untick clocks?
If unticking clocks is a thing, does that mean opponents can work against the characters Long Term Projects and undo their progress?
Tug of war clocks are totally a thing. My 2 cents is allow it when it makes sense, and say “this is a tug of war clock.” And when it doesn’t make sense because there’s no way back once you’ve gone forward, say “these segments stay on once you put them on.”
Opponents can absolutely work against long term projects, just like the characters can remove segments from the clocks of other factions. =)
I suspect that your fondness for a Guards, Guards clock may be pushing you into using it to the exclusion of alternatives. I don’t believe there is any way to undo a tick on a clock. Either the crew do something to increase their chances of the guards turning up (taking too long or making noise etc) or they don’t. If guards are on the way then only a distraction would cause them to go elsewhere and that is not decreasing the clock just delaying the addition of another segment.
In place of a Guards clock try using something else instead. Leaving a clue behind to increase Heat, Having a trap go off or an alarm sound. Having the owner or another resident turn up instead of guards.
As far as Projects go there is no reason that another crew on finding out about a project couldn’t attempt to steal it, delay it or otherwise disrupt it but none of those involve turning back a clock.
Clocks don’t run backwards in either Duskwall or the real world.
I do recommend looking at the kinds of clocks on page 8 of version 6 with no art. And, as always, fiction drives the mechanics. If it doesn’t make sense in the fiction, then it shouldn’t happen in the mechanics.
I’ve let PCs untick clocks in my game. When the Blackstone Outfit launched a punitive raid against the Red Sashes, the Red Sashes already had a full clock (representing the war). I told the PCs that successful demoralizing actions would untick wedges on the clock, draining the Sashes’ willingness to fight. I did this primarily because the “Red Sashes” clock was already on the table, so why put down another one?
That said: if the clock just wavers between 3 and 5 wedges as you add wedges, and the PCs take them away, and you add them, and they remove them, etc, it has the potential to be lethally boring.
Thinking from Fiction First will be a useful guide here. Sure, the PCs may want the “Guards!” clock to empty, but how can they engender that? Causing a distraction somewhere else may draw the guards off, but that will just raise their alertness in the long run. The tabletop effect might be “okay, I’ll freeze the Guards clock for your next couple actions, but if it ticks up again, it might be several wedges.”
I feel the “guards” clock is a great example. What does it mean? If it means that the alarm is raised and you’ve got 4 segments until the guards arrive, then you could reduce it by throwing up barricades or relocating (which may knock the whole clock out.)
If “guards” means their level of awareness, then simply waiting could bleed off segments as their alertness goes down and boredom resumes.
If “guards” means you’ve got recognizable faces and fake papers and it’s only a matter of time until you’re identified in the crowd or party scene, then distractions or costume shifts could reduce the clock.
At its best, Blades in the Dark is a super flexible rule set to add interesting mechanics to resolving character action and world reaction.
I generally agree with Andrew Shields – if you have an understanding of what your clock MEANS and aren’t just using it as some sort of abstract “and then bad things happen when you’ve rolled badly enough times” mechanism, then anything that seems like it should reduce that clock should…reduce that clock. The rules even explicitly call out the idea of a clock that can be both filled and emptied.
So the question comes down to: Does it make sense in the fiction?
I’d just make it slightly harder to remove segments than it is avoid adding them.
I’m on the side that If it makes sense in the fiction, than you can do it.
Often, a good alternative to tug-of-war clock is two racing clocks. This helps avoid deadlock and stalemates if the tug-of-war clock just hovers around the middle all the time.
For this particular example, you could have a six-segment clock for “alert the guards.” When you leave clues, make sounds, or are seen briefly, the guards become more alert. When the clock fills, the guards come and look for you. Then you could have an eight-segment clock called “disperse the guards.” When you leave fake clues, cause a distraction, or offer appropriate bribes or threats, the guards start to feel like maybe they should be guarding someplace else. When the clock fills, they go to guard that other place. Note that some actions may actually contribute to both clocks — e.g., a major distraction on the north end of the compound may help disperse guards from the southern end; but the ones that remain at the southern end might be more alert.
Great Advice all round. And push – pull clocks are totally a thing mechanically, and very cool!
I think one of the most satisfying mechanical plays is to suggest an outrageous flashback that requires a healthy amount of stress, but its effect in the fiction currently is to reduce a clock’s ticking time bomb.