The Shark!
#glowinthedark
The shark (like loan shark) is the talking playbook. Formed entirely from the idea of “who would actually be good at living in Bartertown?” as well as the “high Charisma, never fire a shot” Fallout build. Also, the other playbooks so far have been pretty solidly actionactionaction. Needed to get some lying in there with the vehicular manslaughter and death-by-rube-goldberg. The Shark’s a team player – sort of. There’s not an “I” in team but there sure as shit is an “I” in WIN.
The Shark probably has the most abilities taken straight from the regular Blades playbooks, but they just fit. Didn’t end up seeing a need to mangle them when they worked already.
Everybody’s Buddy: Pay 1 stress to reveal an old friend or contact. Choose two of the following: they’re effective – they’re loyal – they’re free
Trust Me: When you interact with someone you haven’t yet lied to, you get +1d.
Takes One to Know One: You can always tell when someone is lying to you.
Hoarder: At the end of each downtime phase, you earn +2 stash.
Let’s You and Him Fight: You get +1d when you participate in a group raid action or when you take a setup action that leads to violence for someone else.
Connected: During downtime, you get +1 effect level when you acquire an asset, gather info, or reduce friction.
Frenemies: You get +1d to engagement rolls against factions you have positive status with.
Blather: As long as you keep talking to someone, they give you their undivided attention.
I love it! I was just looking for some alternative to the Slide Abilities! and maybe I’m going to steal one of yours 😛
One question: isn’t Trust Me a little too generous? Maybe it should be limited to lying to someone you haven’t yet lied to.
I like that edit. Will do. Glad you liked it!
I approve of the name
Coincidentally: one of the pregens for my Runners game, is Shark, the Face 🙂
<3 Frenemies
Everybody’s Buddy aims to make contacts more accessible, which I like.. but the way its worded makes me wonder what you do when someone without this ability wants a flashback to reveal an old friend or contact?
Maybe it’s a way to get Flashback contacts without rolling?
So the evolution of “Everybody’s Buddy” kind of went like this:
“I remember my friend Sam had a PC in a Fate star wars game I ran with an aspect ‘everybody’s buddy’, and I like the name, and maybe I can make that fit here.”
Pay 1 stress to reveal a friend or contact. Maybe that could be the guard who’s got a gun on you right now. Maybe you just need someone to get a +1d bonus on a downtime action. But then that seems boring. Pay a stress and gain an immediate ally. Seems kind of strong, too, even though I know you could flashback, pay stress, and roll for the same thing. But the limiter is the stress cost, else a Shark’d be making everyone suddenly a childhood friend or whatever. The ability is making it a sure thing, except a sure thing is boring? What if it changed it from a chance to a choice? Those are fun, and I like incorporating the fast/cheap/good structure into mechanics where I can.
I like how it’s structured now, except you’re right, you can get very close to that with, say, a 4-5 result on a flashback action. I’d take suggestions on how to increase it that makes it a worthwhile choice.
I like it and its useful, but perhaps something like this little change makes it work for more groups who have different standards on that process: Take 1 fewer stress than usual for flashbacks to reveal friends and contacts [edit: and omit the good-cheap-fast triangle; fiction should determine that as usual]
I dislike “take 1 fewer stress” as a rules construct. You never know how much stress a GM charges for stuff like that. Maybe that’s just a personal preference.
The problem I have with the ability is those are non choices. If they’re not effective, and loyal I’m not sure what the point of having them is. I think just making the move cost 2 stress and no choice works for me. It’s a really good move, I think 2 is an appropriate cost.
For trust me, what if I’ve lied but they don’t know that? Seems metagamey if I lose my bonus the first time I lie even if they never find out.
Everything else looks good.
Mark Griffin I agree that the second half of the ability seems bad. It indicates that players at a table will have to pay stress for a lesser of evils: they are either costly, ineffective, or disloyal contacts/friends with this ability. What are they normally; two of those? My omission of the second half was meant to indicate I didn’t think it should be there. That should remain up to the fiction I think..
re: “personal preference”
Perhaps it is. I mean.. I personally don’t see what you’re describing (unknown cost) as an actual problem. What ever the stress cost is for the flashback they want, it’s 1 less when they have that ability. Simple. (I think, unless I’ve missed something)
The ability is useless if flashbacks cost 0, great if they cost 1, and of decreasing value as the cost increases. Also because costs are entirely dependent on a GMs whim, a shitty GM could just decide how much they want the PC to pay and add 1 to that.
I know that trying to design around shitty players is madness, but in this case it bothers me.
Sure: the ratio of cost to reduction changing as cost increases is as designed
The ease with which you assume “shitty GMs” can arise sounds like a slight misunderstanding. It’s exceedingly hard to be a shitty GM in Blades: almost nothing is anyone’s “whim” and the GM serves a different role in this game vs others.
The complexity of the flashback determines the cost, for which players will certainly be around to discuss, so.. no it’s not a GM whim even though it says the GM sets the cost; rather, it’s the fiction, and when the GM says something unsupported by the fiction, he is obligated like everyone else to make it fiction when the discussion happens
On the flipside, you’ve got me, who sometimes doesn’t even charge for “easy” flashbacks just to keep my players reminded that flashbacks are an option.
What’s a guaranteed friend in the spur of the moment worth in stress? What’s it cost to have Lando there in Jabba’s palace?
Maybe your players are different than mine, but they just like to tell stories and barely understand the rules, and they certainly haven’t read them. When I tell them the cost of something they just trust me and pay it. I like to think I’m a benevolent dictator, but absolute power yadda, yadda, yadda. I suspect that blades is like any game, and it’s exceedingly easy to be shitty at it.
BUT, I don’t want to hijack your thread anymore with my hang-ups. I’d prefer the option that always works but is a little pricier. Sort of like the Lurk’s Ghost Veil, it’s always there when you need it, but you can’t do it too many times. I see it as the Shark’s coolest option, so I’d be sad to see it reduced cost on flashbacks.
Thanks for the advice and the hijacking – it provides perspective I don’t have. I think I’m sold on a higher cost for better friends, and leave the hard choices and dodgy help for vanilla flashbacks without the ability. The choice changes from “how do I want my new friend to be useless” into “am I willing to drop 2 stress (let’s say) on an instant contact right now, or will I wish I had that 2 stress later?”
Thanks Mark Cleveland Massengale for “what are they, two of those?” 🙂
Just a thought, but what if the stress cost was equal to the tier of the organization your friend was in (minimum 1). Raiding a Blue Coat evidence locker? 3 stress and a friend lets you in. Breaking someone out of Ironhook? 5 stress and that guard is your cousin. Looking to kill Ulf Ironborn? 3 stress and now half of the thugs he brought actually work for you.