While incorporating elements of S&V into another game, I’ve been thinking about the basic ruleset for Blades again.

While incorporating elements of S&V into another game, I’ve been thinking about the basic ruleset for Blades again.

While incorporating elements of S&V into another game, I’ve been thinking about the basic ruleset for Blades again. What kind of stories it seems most suited to.

The dark elements, plus humor, simple equipment list and now lairs becoming ships with S&V makes it clear that our next foray into Blades will have to be set in Sunless Sea universe.

I’ve been thinking about replacing Heat with some kind of madness/horror tracker. Any rules experts out there familiar with the world and willing to suggest a good clean rule that will end in my players barking mad and eyeing each other hungrily?

Also: art, of course.

8 thoughts on “While incorporating elements of S&V into another game, I’ve been thinking about the basic ruleset for Blades again.”

  2. So first, characters going mad seems like an individual thing, rather than a Crew thing. Heat is pointed at the crew. If a new member joins the Crew, the are effected by the crew’s current Heat. Conversely, if a new character joins the Crew in your scenario, are they suddenly subject to the Crew’s shared Madness? You can do that, but just make sure you tie it to the fiction. Why do groups of people who share close proximity start sharing each other’s madness?

    It seems to me that if you want to have PC’s be slowly degrading into Madness, determine what sort of behaviors you want to see “on screen” and make those various types of Trauma. That’s the easy fix. Stress = Madness and players are rewarded with XP for playing it up. Also there’s a upper limit at which they break and leave the game.

    John Harper mentioned I’ve got something in BaD that you might find useful and that is the concept of Taint. In this scenario Harm can become Tainted. Taint is harder to heal, can be psychological (Hears the voice of The Master) and the sum of the PC’s Taint is used as a Fortune Roll to determine things like monster encounters. You could easily adapt that with an emphasis on going bonkers. Though, honestly I think the adaption of Trauma is a closer fit for what it sounds like you’re talking about.

    I’ve also replaced Heat with Ire and Wanted with Awakening. Ire represents how the player’s activities are disturbing the evil forces that slumber in the dungeon. Awakening is how much you’s “Woken the Balrog” as it were.

    I dunno if that’s a thing you might want to use. It’s how I’ve handled Heat/Wanted in my hack, but it doesn’t have much to do with individual characters going mad. If you want, I can go into more detail.

  5. Dylan Green, I read your playable Alpha, was that the correct file? Is Aggro what your referring to? In this case I would be aiming for more of a Doomed Ship feel, an infectious mood that catches on with all who serve on the vessel.

    Playing Sunless Sea had a bit of a minigame of juggling need for fuel and provisions (would replace Coin) vs. the ugly choices you have to make to gain same. (adventures!) No honest work for Zailors.

    This is a few campaigns out, a thought experiment to kick the tires on M. Harper’s rules, really.

    Speaking of which, you’re killing my orderly campaign plans here John, I’ve been wanting to run a game about laborers struggling against mgmt to form a union forever, and the Rail Jacks sound like a great hook for it. ..There goes the previous plan.

    Blades is an infinite gameable rabbithole, apparently.

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