March 2017 – Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

Hey gang, I have a dumb question.

So I completely missed the kickstarter, but preordered via Backerkit, and am reading through the stretch goals–they’ll all be in the main book, right? I’d assume they’d come into the PDF via update through DriveThru, but they’ll be in the physical copy once that ships too right?

I only ask because I know there have been PBtA games in the back that had stretch goals locked behind special editions or were kickstarter exlcusive (Masks and AW 1st edition come to mind), and I’m super excited for the Vigilantes gang and Western/Cyberpunk hacks.

Cheers!

I see one potential reason to push yourself when indulging your vice, if you have 4 or 5 stress to start, it…

I see one potential reason to push yourself when indulging your vice, if you have 4 or 5 stress to start, it eliminates the possibility of over-indulging your vice, if that is something you’re concerned about.

My crew of arcane hawkers gets a contract for their first score: running the Lampblacks off some turf in the…

My crew of arcane hawkers gets a contract for their first score: running the Lampblacks off some turf in the underground streets beneath the Nightmarket!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN_knl00tRY&feature=share&list=PLtBYin1uOBmD10Czz25sUneydqx2K5uop

Question on Abstraction and Position / Effect

Question on Abstraction and Position / Effect

One of the things I love about Blades is how flexible the system is for pacing. If you want to abstract infiltrating a building to just one roll, fine; if you want to go through the various steps of breaking in and outwitting guards, that’s okay too.

One question with abstracting a scene to one roll is about position and consequences. If the players ares facing off against a group of thugs, playing it out over ~10 minutes with multiple rolls might result in harm and stress for multiple players. If we choose to abstract it into just one or two rolls, it can change the harm / stress balance.

What’s the right way to handle this? My initial thought is to bump both position and effect; i.e. a risky / standard action becomes a desperate / great. This also might be a group action if everyone is involved in the fight.

Does abstraction through increased position / effect have any unintended consequences I should be aware of?

Has anyone done any runs on Bellweather? How did you handle the inside and dealing with Spirit Wardens?

Blades in the Dark Playbook Portrait Art Style

Blades in the Dark Playbook Portrait Art Style

I thought it might be neat to give Sokolov’s Self Portrait (below) the Blades in the Dark treatment for the artist playbook I’ve been toying with.

I’m not completely useless with Gimp et al. but I’m hardly an expert, and I’m not entirely sure how to go about it, has anyone got some tips on how to achieve that Blades in the Dark Playbook Portrait feel?

I assume that John Harper uses a somewhat more professional tool set than I’m used to, but maybe I’m not the first to look into it.

#ArtistPlaybook

Hey, guys!

Hey, guys! So I’ve started the process of creating a sort of “Gang Glossary” that lists basically all of the player groups for Blades in the Dark that I can find. Mostly, it’s for a personal project and that I like reading the actual play reports, but scrolling through the entirety of the actual play section is….. mindblowingly exhausting.

But, and here is the important part, I would like all of you to help by posting links to your own actual play reports, or play reports that you follow!

The way it’s going to work is, that the gangs are going to be listed in alphabetical order. Then, the actual plays, whether they be blogs, google docs, or youtube vods(or Twitch vods if they don’t have to be subscribers), would be listed underneath in bulletin format, chronologically. Preferably, if someone else is adding, what I would like is for it to be done by just writing in whatever the session title is(even if it is just Session X), and then just hyperlinking the title to the report, vod, etc.

Currently, I have just added the Bloodletters, Doskvol Spectral Society, and the Theives’ Cant from Sean Nittner’s Actual Plays. The reason I linked the Bloodletters to Sean’s website instead of John Harper’s youtube is because Sean’s website includes the videos.

I’m about to go back and link in the Last Word, which is the group John GM’s for itmejp’s Rollplay show. These will be the youtube vods because you have to be a sub to watch them on JP’s channel. After that, I’ll be adding in all of the other groups from Sean’s actual plays.

If I did it right, the document should be open so anyone who wants to edit in a new gang, or a new session, then they should be able to do so.

Personally, I don’t mind if it is a one shot or not. Please, feel free to add them.

This is not meant to replace the Actual Plays section of the Google + Community, and in fact, I still encourage everyone to post there. This is simply meant to be an appendix of sorts. It is meant to operate off links.

So, without further ado,

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-hdlNETQyCLxq365xa9_adv92hqHC2V2TAx9c8BAtDs/edit?usp=sharing

So I started a game with my normal dnd group.

So I started a game with my normal dnd group. I told them not to hold back go as evil as you want after all you’re all no good criminals. My first player tells me that he wants to become immortal and take over the underground. Okay pretty hard but do able.

My second player tells me. “Kevin im playing a sexist Russian. Who’s vice is self mutation. His goal is to spread communism threw out Acarous.” I then informed him just what all he had to do. You know take over the underground then the city, wage a civil war and try to a live threw that and b not get so traumatized 4 time. He looked at me and said in charter “I’ll need more vodka.”

All my others players want some simple goals and the best part is that they’re smugglers.

I’ve been wondering what ability might cover forgery in an interesting way, and with a combination of Ben Norby’s…

I’ve been wondering what ability might cover forgery in an interesting way, and with a combination of Ben Norby’s and Gorinich Serpant’s suggestions, I came up with this : it’s basically somewhere between forgery and the Picture of Dorian Gray

Theoretically, the last arcane ability could be a sort of vodou-doll effect instead, but that seemed a little powerful.

PORTRAITURE

You can use your art form to make near perfect copies of a person, object or location you are intimately familiar with. Your copies gain potency when used to alter public perception, and an arcane ability: ghost-copy, mirror-dark, or quick-study. Take this ability again to choose an additional arcane ability.

Your copies function as fine forgeries. This ability gives them potency when used to alter public perception and an arcane ability of your choice. Ghost-copy lets them act as equivalent to the actual subject in the ghost field. Mirror-dark lets them reflect the state and situation of their subject, allowing people to Attune to see what’s happening at that location or through that person’s eyes. Quick-study lets you copy something only familiar to you, rather than intimate.

(This is still for the forger/virtuoso/illusionist playbook, found here : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LapqJqnHEAootddWq5R0GjINILHYWVIPot41QOt9PwA/edit?usp=sharing )

#ArtistPlaybook

I made some Blades in the Dark-Style clocks for the use in roll20. Feel free to use and share!

http://imgur.com/a/ua7tO