#BladesAgainstDarkness

#BladesAgainstDarkness

#BladesAgainstDarkness

The Warden:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4bjxjnr2p_IbzBvcTlneFZqZE0/view?usp=sharing

Of all the playbooks this one has gone through the most changes and is probably my favorite. It nails something about the Western and Swords and Sorcery that I’ve always known intuitively, but was unable to pin down until I agreed to try and do this thing.

The Warden is someone who has been outside the boundary of civilization. They’ve developed such a taste for the wild that they no longer fit in with “normal” people. They are a Barbarian.

The Warden has spent so much time in nature that their senses have sharpened to animal sensitivity. They’ve developed an affinity for the tiny fragile spirits of nature. They are a Druid.

The Warden is a legend in their own time. They were the first to penetrate the frontier and map it. They brought back the stories that drove others onward into the West. Everyone has heard of them and they know everything about the frontier. They are a Bard.

As for Blades Against Darkness in general I’m still struggling with bending Blades as an engine to my will. Recently though I had a bit of an insight that I hope will make the coming weeks easier.

I’ll keep you posted.

This seems like really basic information, but has the year of the cataclysm and the year of the formation of the…

This seems like really basic information, but has the year of the cataclysm and the year of the formation of the…

This seems like really basic information, but has the year of the cataclysm and the year of the formation of the Imperium ever been stated? I wasn’t able to find it either in the quickstart rules or by doing a general search.

The quickstart states it’s year 847 of the Imperium, so was the Imperium founded 847 years ago? When did the cataclysm happen?

So I’m finally getting a group together for Blades because I can make the time to GM, and I have a basic question.

So I’m finally getting a group together for Blades because I can make the time to GM, and I have a basic question.

So I’m finally getting a group together for Blades because I can make the time to GM, and I have a basic question. How does the game function with 3, 4, and 5 players? I need to know how many to gather.

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 30 (August 16 2016)

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 30 (August 16 2016)

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 30 (August 16 2016)

Shade is back. Gloves is still in Ironhook.

Downtimes for the Hot Sot Blot & Jot (or The Lampblack Damp Whack):

Heat is 3, as it involved killing, but in a quiet and controlled way. Constance manages to reduce it by 2, by having her new Cohort disseminate the “official” story of what happened to Baszo. She also starts a project to whip them into shape (by removing their “Wild” disadvantage: 8 segment clock, 1 to start).

Boots plays good cop to Constance’s bad cop, and fills in another segment of the Lampblacks discipline clock. He also reduces Stress. He’s playing cards at Spogg’s when he overhears someone at another table muttering about “that fucking snitch”. He cashes out of his current game, heads over to the neighboring table, and sits down. The guy who was complaining, a big burly dock worker named Frank, tells him he’s not welcome. Boots asks Spogg if it’s alright that he plays at that table, and Spogg says he has no objections. Frank gets up and leaves in a huff.

Gears trains Personal, and gets an advance.

Kamali reduces Stress and trains Prowess.

Shade wakes up in the morgue at Bellweather Crematorium, just in time to avoid an autopsy by the attendant, Forrest Matson. Matson is understandably startled, but says this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened. He retrieves Shade’s personal effects, and has him sign a next of kin release form (in lieu of something more appropriate). Shade finds out he’s missing three days, and was brought in the night before with a young woman, who turns out to be Jezelle, the girl that Tocker was possessing while working at the Bell & Birch. She was apparently poisoned, and it was initially assumed that Shade was as well (and he very well might have been, he just wasn’t killed by it). As he’s getting dressed, Shade is able to Attune to the Ghost Field and see Jezelle’s spirit, now twisted and feral, and struggling to get free of her body like a caged beast. Under the pretext of needing a few minutes alone to say goodbye to his friend, he uses his Spirit Hook to dislodge and bottle her. She attempts to claw his face off in the process, but his Wards are intact and prevent the Harm. He resolves to set about figuring out what happened in the missing days, and starts the long walk back to Crow’s Foot.

Constance, Boots, and Gears set about vetting Keel & Drav. Gears has the idea to set up a fake job to test them, but Constance decides to simply question them that night in the back room of the Bucket. Constance can tell by their demeanor that they have been more than a little humbled by their recent ousting from the Bluecoats, and that they are thoroughly in awe of her. In general, they come off as somewhat naive, and more than a little sheepish. Boots questions them about their service history, which they are quick to recite.

When Constance brings up the Dolls, they respond with blank looks. It turns out that they are here for the boxing, and had no idea about the Dolls’ other enterprises whatsoever. They feel a little silly for not having realized that Constance matched the description of the Dolls’ leader, due to the fact that 7-foot-tall women are in fact few and far between indeed. Constance asks if they are interested in joining the Dolls, and they are reluctant. Constance instead offers them management positions in her new boxing club (an idea she came up with right at that moment), and they are much happier with that prospect.

Constance confers with Boots and Gears, who all agree that if they are undercover agents, they’re not very good ones. Boots quickly heads off to check with Darmot, who confirms as much of their story as he can (they were discharged for dereliction of duty, which facilitated the supposed attack on Sgt Galloway, and that they were turned in by Avan, who got a promotion in return). Constance informs the two that she will shortly begin setting up her new enterprise, and will be happy to have them be a part of it, and that will keep them insulated from the gang’s other activities.

The next day, the crew meets with Fitz at the Bucket. Constance has Kamali slip something in his drink. Shade returns, and Constance gives him the short version of what’s been going on. A Cypher shows up to deliver an invitation from Mylera, just as Fitz slumps over at the table. Constance carries him off.

Notes:

Another session that consisted mostly of downtime stuff, but I took the opportunity to insert some items of my own. The morgue thing started with a single question to Shade’s player: “You wake up somewhere completely unexpected and naked. Tell me where it is, and I’ll tell you how you got there.” Everything else was improvised, though I knew I was going to bring Jezelle back in at some point. Rereading the section on ghosts reminded me that possessing ghosts inflict a Trauma for every week that they remain in their host, so this told me two things: Tocker absolutely wrecked Jezelle, and Nyryx is actually quite conscientious about his hosts in comparison.

#dontmesswiththedolls

Had a nice session of Blades on Friday.

Had a nice session of Blades on Friday.

Had a nice session of Blades on Friday. Instead of leaving the rival cult Hand of Sorrow sweat it, or get embroiled in the ward politics as a newly Tier 1 crew, the Orphans decided to follow up by taking the Hand of Sorrow’s lair as a Sanctuary claim.

This was the first two-pronged plan I’d run and instead of running them in parallel, I did them entirely separately, not rolling the engagement for part ii until part i was complete.

Went pretty well like that, with a few flashbacks to fill in the necessary details of the plan. An exquisite spirit cage acquired as a temporary asset and a critical in part i’s engagement meant things went swimmingly for them; at least until the devil showed up to fight them for the sanctuary…

Questions about Long Term Projects.

Questions about Long Term Projects.

Questions about Long Term Projects. Can they be used to gain claims? Recruit Cohorts? Acquire permanent assets (from the crew playbook)? Is there anything that should specifically NOT be a LTP? I’m afraid I’m not providing appropriate clock lengths, and/or that my players are getting ridiculously lucky.

Any suggestions about Long Term Projects in general?