Opinion on crew faction status:
I love how your crew upgrade picks are tied to the status with different factions, however the book states it’s the GM who decides who was affected. I really like how the players chose who they were positive and negative with as it tagged them for interest. So much…hell, most…of Blades is player-driven and I miss that drive when it came to faction status. I know you can do what you like at your table, I just find it jarring that the game is so fexible and player-empowering save that, especially since it’s the players who choose who they like and don’t like once the game’s started.
I think the problem was the info dump that happened when it was all on the players. You would go over like 16 crews and try to figure out who sounded interesting. It was possible but more often then not peole would skip over it since it was such a different beat.
As part of crew creation it gives you some fiction to go off of. If the GM has a starting situation in mind then it makes sense that they would curate things a bit. I would still offer options but narrow down a bit. I think in general there are less faction status modifers in the beginning of the game. (with 4 players you got like +1/-1 with 4 tier 2 or lower gangs and then +1/-1 with two tier 3 gangs.) Which might be for the best, so you don’t start with 4-6 gangs in the air. This also keeps gangs antagonism faced towards the gang in general instead of one crew member specifically.
Very good points, but I see the problem of infodump affecting a GM, too. Maybe more as they have a world to run, not just a character. As a game designer, John’s fantastic about examples and choices so it just felt off. Maybe because it’s a big change. Doesn’t make it a bad one, though.
My wish would be for it to be a group decision. That way the players and GM create a shared starting point. As it is the GM pushes the buttons, which could step on player toes. What if the players don’t want Lord Scurlock as an enemy? Or they want to the ophaned ward of the Dimmer Sisters but the GM tags them as hostile?
I’m mentioning it instead of keeping it at our table because a lot of people will be trying this game fresh and may not have the experience to feel comfortable with a house rule.
Yep, Aaron is right. The huge info dump of “look at every faction” at the start of the game was too much.
Once you’ve played a few times and everyone knows the factions, of course the players will suggest ideas and collaborate with the GM. The fact that the GM picks won’t change that, just like the players picking didn’t mean the GM couldn’t collaborate.
Makes perfect sense.
So, my wife and I are walking and I mention that nobody in the group is interested in having a negative status with Lord Scurlock. She looked at me and exclaimed, “Of course not! He’s a bad-ass! He’s the Darth Vader of Blades!”. It made me laugh my ass off because it’s pretty much true. 🙂
Hahaha! Perfect.
Doll went to see him in tonight’s session. She was creeped out! It was awesome bringing him to (un)life. Great NPC, John!
So much love for Scurlock.
We just started a new game last night Ben Liepis. Hawkers selling party drugs to college kids at Charterhall. Two of the players were new to the setting, one was familiar. It helped a TON that Shaun Hayworth (our GM) picked the factions involved otherwise it would have taken ages.
On the flip side, it’s all a conversation. If the players are all excited about a faction then of course it makes sense to include them. Talk to your players, follow the GM best practices, and the game will go great.
Sean Nittner , one of the things I love about him is he makes a great ally but can be a fabulous villain as well, if that makes sense. My wife’s Whisper, Doll, took him as a friend and Setarra as a rival. Doll’s got the linked LTPs “Scurlock’s Secret with Setarra” which leads to “Freeing Scurlock from his debt to Setarra”. (The shorthand names under the clocks are cooler, though)
What’s fun is that as a DB, Setarra has gotten the slightest whiff of Doll’s plans, so that’ll be interesting. Looks like Doll will need to start a “Setarra’s Weakness” LTP!
Anyway, we remade the crew last night and I have to say, the new rules for faction assignment’s really cool. It opened up a great conversation and pushed some really neat hooks. They ended up with a +2 with the Dimmer Sisters (for their hidden lair plus a Coin), a -2 with the Foghounds (their Thief Rigging) and said “Fuck the Sailors!”, giving them a -1 with them for hunting on their turf.