I am considering using Blades in the Dark to run a modern-day special forces game.

I am considering using Blades in the Dark to run a modern-day special forces game. I’m looking at the Actions and mulling over what to replace Attune with. Every other skill maps pretty well to my understanding of modern-day espionage/special forces.

Generally, if you were going to remove the supernatural aspect from a Blades game, and thus Attune, what would you replace it with?

I considered the following:

SECURE

When you SECURE, you rely on routine, paranoia, and attention to detail to minimize exposure and risk. You might remove evidence from a crime scene or limit the access to a place or person. You could try to establish a dead drop, fortify security, or establish a routine. You could notice a tail, but Survey might be better. You could teach assets to avoid detection by using dead drops, but Command might be better. You might interview a potential leak, but Consort may be better. You may look for tactical or operational weaknesses in a design, but Study may be better. You could harden a location against assault, but Tinker may be better.

GM Questions

*What do you hope to secure?

*What are you securing it against?

This would cover spycraft, generally, as a rule-set, as well as trying to keep secrets in a spy vs. spy scenario.

My concern is that it’s a very passive Action. It seems to work sort of contrary to the rest of the Actions – it is designed to remove complication rather than pursue a goal and create complication. It cools, rather than heat-up the action.

Secondarily, the nature of using the Action brings on the complication in this system. So, using Secure to clear evidence from a scene, on a 1-3, may bring Heat where doing nothing and leaving the scene intact may not.

I’d welcome thoughts and ideas! Thanks!