How would you approach creating works of art, especially painting in Blades? Crafting seems the obvious choice, but I can’t work out whether Tinker or Finesse would be more suited to painting.
How would you approach creating works of art, especially painting in Blades?
How would you approach creating works of art, especially painting in Blades?
Players get to choose which Action they’re using, so I’d say with a good enough justification, either. I think the more important question is, what is the work of art intended to accomplish? If it’s just background (“I am a painter!”) then I wouldn’t even call for a roll. If it’s intended to help on a Score (“We need a portrait of Lady Klaith to get into her good graces!”) then it’d most likely be Acquire Asset if you need it quickly (the Crew’s Tier would reflect access to models, studio space, and equipment) or a Long-Term Project (with Finesse or Tinker depending on the player’s justification) if you have the time to do it cautiously.
Eric Thornber thanks a million for the response. That’s super helpful!
I wanted my character to build a room for meetings in our base and had the same conundrum.
We decided that it depends how you’re going about it.
If you’re creating something brand new, maybe that’s Tinker.
If you’re deliberating over each perfect stroke, that’s Finesse.
If you’re tapping in to the ghost field to draw inspiration or channel a spirit to move your hands, that’s Attune.
If you’re persuading (or making) someone else paint for you but taking all the credit, that might be Sway, Consort or Command.
There’s arguments for all sorts of actions.
Thanks Jason Lee very useful too.
Our crew’s very first score was to steal a painting of the Weeping Lady from Baszo Baz for the Red Sashes. When they opened the vault, the first thing they saw was that the painting moved, Harry Potter style (it wouldn’t talk though). The artist had mixed Leviathan blood into the paints.
Didn’t someone (I’m afraid I’ve forgotten who to credit) create some sort of artist playbook a while ago?
Jason Lee Yup. I think this is the latest version: plus.google.com – Artist/Illusionist Playbook, Continued Playing with the source files to give…
It doesn’t really cover general art, by which I mean “art that isn’t cursed, or supernaturally powerful, or both.” I’d also tweak some of the abilities for balance and congruity with existing abilities before using it myself, but I love the idea of a tortured artist Face for a crew.
For crafting a normal painting, I’d lean towards Tinker for most cases–tinkering seems to be about employing technical expertise to a craft–and lower effect for Finesse.
Though if they’re creating a painting for something fun (especially during downtime) and they aren’t a crew of artists where this is going to be a regular and important mechanic, then probably I wouldn’t really care what they rolled as long as they could justify it, and had some sort of artistic background. But then, trying to pass of a clearly amateur piece of art as “a masterpiece” could be funny.