Hi guys. I am here for a ruling question.
My campaign has come to the 4th session, and the Scoundrels are having their advancements. Especially, they train a lot in downtime and increase their combat actions.
As most of PCs now have a three-dot action, things are getting easy. Things are different now than the start of the campaign, which was a harsh struggle with limited stress bar since filling the stress was only way to survive Duskwall.
I want to keep the game challenging and all of the players agree to this.
What are the options I can deploy to keep it interesting when PCs are getting stronger? Please let me know your wisdom, BitD gurus. 🙂
One thing to consider is that having three dots in an action might not matter as much if they are going after (or being targeted) groups higher tier than they are. Limiting their effect while dealing with these higher tier threats and putting them in more desperate positioning will definitely help keep the pressure on.
I have taken the approach of setting the bar really high to start with, describing all the reasons they have limited or no effect. Then when they have the appropriate upgrades and fiction they are basically just breaking even, which helps keep it from feeling easy when they get more competent
With more advantages, they get the greater effect – so the fiction has deep mechanical teeth.
Also don’t be afraid to sprinkle in some of the preemptive NPC actions detailed on page 167 under “NPC Threat Levels”. These let you ramp up the threats from dealing with enemies more powerful then basic thugs.
I thought more about this question – and realized that the more I GM Blades (I have had a group or three of Blades non-stop for about 2 years now) the more I am expressing difficulty through clocks. Also, that my clocks are part my-description-having-teeth, but also as a gauge of the table’s interest level and perceptions.
That is, I take care to listen for them to describe their expectations for the opposition, and make sure I have framed things properly, and when we are on the same page I will use the clock system as a lever to reflect difficulty. It’s usually called “__ Vulnerable.” When unclear, I add context for it, like “this is their armor, stamina, and all their bullshit tricks you need to overcome before you can deal harm”.
And after my last game and this thread, I have been considering whether to account for tier difference in there when it’s an important NPC too (like if they are about even, its a 6 clock, but if the NPC is higher tier is an 8 or 10, etc). So far, adding an 8-clock that links to the usual NPC health track 4-clock seems to do the job though