April 2016 – Page 10 – Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

re RESISTANCE: When the Resistance Roll is introduced on p.6 (v6), the example is given of a particular type of…

re RESISTANCE: When the Resistance Roll is introduced on p.6 (v6), the example is given of a particular type of roll: needing to make a preemptive resistance roll when an enemy has a big advantage, before you can attempt your own action. The illustration is crossing blades with a Swordmaster: “she disarms you before you can strike.”

When Resistance is more thoroughly explained on p.11, it implies that the roll is made “to resist a consequence.” The preemptive use of a Resistance roll gets no further mention. I’m trying to reconcile the two notions. Using the Swordmaster example, does a PC pay (potentially) several points of stress to avoid the consequence of getting disarmed before the duel even begins in earnest? Is this simply the mechanic the GM uses “to reflect the capabilities of especially dangerous foes” (p.6)?

Thank you in advance of a response.

As seen on a torn billboard in Brightstone:

“Have your grandfather’s old dusty clock begun attracting attention from his deceased maidservants? Have those arcane baubles begun to fade in their attraction? Are those Iruvian paintings just far too gaudy for this season?

Fear not, Grimm’s Auctionhouse of Antiquities, is ready to hand all those baubles and trinkets to new interested owners, who’d appreciate the excitement of owning such little trinkets of spiritual significance. The highly educated personal would be happy to facilitate a journey to a new owner through our vast network of contacts both in Doskvol and abroad.

For further inquires, contact the Grimm Estate.”

And, once more, my group dives into the Dusk.

This time, we’re playing Hawkers, a group known as “The House of Grimm”, a dynasty of arcane pro-curers (legal as well as illegal) that have spread their wings to most of the Empire.

However, the Doskvol branch have fallen on hard times, against competition and several rivalries with cults and churches that disdain their irreverent attitude to the spirits.

Now, with the former criminal defense barrister from Iruvia, Kain de Jayan-Grimm (The Spider) having moved his practice to Doskvol, two cousins from the northernmost branch spot a chance to return the old Auctionhouse to it’s former glory.

To Aidrian “Thorn” Greywhale (nee Grimm) (The Lurk), a widower from Whitecrown and his 1st cousin, Timoth “Giant” Seeker (nee Grimm) (The Leech), a former military scientist from the Skovlan, their newly arrived southern kinsman is just the face they need to get back into the whispering trade.

However, Doskvol seems to be happy that the Grimms are but a memory, and very few seems to respect the old lineage, so they got their work cut out for them.

What sorts of actions have people seen using Attune in play?

What sorts of actions have people seen using Attune in play? I’ve run two games of Blades, and though it has only been rolled once I would like to have a better grasp on the action to help my players.

A teaser of Brightstone district in the book.

A teaser of Brightstone district in the book.

The Imperial Surveyor has been busy lately. It’s important to record the buildings of the Imperium for posterity.

The Imperial Surveyor has been busy lately. It’s important to record the buildings of the Imperium for posterity.

HEEST CLIFFHANGER!

The Dead Setters helped out their Leech’s vice contact, Father Yorren, who had his supplier disappear on him. He was pretty sure she’d have to be dead to miss a shipment? Either way, he needed the crew to find her corpse and get the location of her stash from her ghost before the Wardens zeroed in. If she wasn’t dead, then they were to get the stash from her and then make her dead. Yorren’s clients expect a certain timeliness to their transactions with the priest.

A group action for Gather Info resulted in a 1970s split-screen cop montage (“Can I use Skirmish to gather info?”*) and they learned the supplier, Lucia, was dropped off at the Hound’s physicker contact. She had been tortured and mortally wounded and she died at Melvir’s “clinic”. The Eels who likely did it likely dropped her off so maaaybe she wouldn’t die and haunt them? Or they already got the info they wanted? Were the Eels on their way to get Yorren’s stash?

The snag here was that someone stole Lucia’s body out from under Melvir’s nose a few hours before the PCs showed up. The Leech’s nemesis, Eckerd the corpse-thief, strikes again! The Hound tracked Eckerd to a tattoo parlor/tenement between Coalridge and Nightmarket where somebody had gotten the bright idea of mixing in leviathan blood with tattoo ink. No idea where that idea came from (thanks Bloodletters game!), but with a location and general idea of what the score was, the PCs picked an Assault plan, with the Cutter and cohort kicking in the door, the Hound on overwatch, and the Leech using spider oil to come in from the roof.

The only danger came from a few Grinders guarding the basement and one huge guy getting an arm tat. The Cutter grabbed the huge guy, carved off his tattoo, and punched him in the meat until he passed out. The Spider talked the other guys down after that.

Meanwhile, Eckerd burst out the back door with Lucia’s body slung over his shoulders – and was immediately gutshot by the Hound. He fell back inside, blood pouring from the hole in his armor. Then the Leech landed on him. A Desperate cripple-fight ensued but Deemo the Leech smashed a bottle of binding oil over Eckerd, holding him fast to the floor.

With the players’ Whisper out this week unabashedly watching his new Force Awakens blu-rey instead of gaming, interrogating the dead woman’s spirit fell to the Spider and the Leech. She used Life Essence and got a mixed success – Lucia returned to life, but her grevious wounds were too much for her to bear. Plus, the gang’s lookouts spotted the Spirit Wardens coming in.

With the Wardens on their way, Deemo had to make a Desperate Tinker roll to keep Lucia’s body together enough for her to talk (using bellows to work her lungs, that sort of thing) while the Spider made a Desperate Sway attempt to convince her to give up the location of her stash. The Eels had grabbed her, but she had lied to them. She wanted vengeance and it was all the Spider could do to coax out a partial clue (“it’s buried near my-“) before the Life Essence wore off and she died again.

For youse guys in the audience – have you used Spirit Wardens much? Anything you did with them that was cool or well-received by your players? I’ve been playing the Division so I’m mostly imagining them as steampunky Cleaners from that game, but I imagine they’re a little more ritualized than that maybe. More Warhammer?

#heestcomplete

*The answer was “Skirmish is fun but you’re not really going to get answers if you do that.”

So we’re now our third session into the game, and amusingly, we’re still essentially just feeling out the game and…

So we’re now our third session into the game, and amusingly, we’re still essentially just feeling out the game and trying out mechanics. The base of the game (which is to say the fact that you usually get successes and you usually get complications with your successes) is very solid. I actually forgot some fairly key mechanics, like resistance or engagement rolls in two of the early sessions, but we had a great time regardless. We’ve now got low grade intra-crew conflict, some running jokes (Look! It’s the Tricorn Hat Bandit!), and several successful if “how the hell did we make it out alive?” scores under out belts.

Anyway, today I’d like to share a minor problem I had with the conflicting ways some of the game’s systems describe the scoundrels. The lifestyle quality basically starts them out as bums on the streets, sleeping in flophouses, alleyways and gutters. However, every single playbook has easy access to loads of specialist gear that honestly should be outside the reach of people who’re that poor.

The way we decided to square this particular circle was to ask players where they got that particular piece of kit when they introduce an item for the first time. This allows some minor character moments (the Cutter has armour from military past, but his smokebombs are made by the PC leech. The urchin Lurk steals most of his gear, but some of the key items were actually given to him by his Unseen mentor, etc.), and it also allows introducing particular rather than generalized ways in which Tier 0 gear is worse than the stuff gangs higher up get (one of the impact plates on that armour is really clanky from all the hits it’s already taken).

This has been working pretty well for us, so I thought I’d share.

Hey, I got the V6 Quickstart, and It’s amazing, and my regular gaming group has thrown out a two year campaign in…

Hey, I got the V6 Quickstart, and It’s amazing, and my regular gaming group has thrown out a two year campaign in order to play it. Only one question, several of my characters have been on the wrong end of the Inspectors and landed in Ironhook. I couldn’t find any of the rules for prison claims in the book, barring that they exist. What do these claims do? I would hate for a player to roll a six, and not knowing what happens. Any help would be super appreciated!