My First Game.
I’m summarising what happened for my own reflection and learning – plus any general advice on stuff I got wrong (and stuff I got right).
Crew: 4 Smugglers – a Hound (Deathland Scavenger), a Spider (Gondolier information broker), Whisper (an expelled Dimmer Sister) and a Lurk (Errol Flynn Dashing Rogue)
The ‘score’ was moving three passengers and a relic from the Deathlands into the city; from Barrowcleft to Six Towers.
Engagement: The Hound met with the passengers as they came through the barrier and led to the rendevouz with the crew’s barge. The roll was a 4, so they were off to a risky start.
Almost immediately after boarding, the crew noticed two small boats coming up on them. The Hound took a shot at some cargo netting dropping obstacles into the path of one boat snarling it up (but with a ‘5’ the gunshot was heard).
The Lurk grabbed the underside of a bridge and then dropped into the second boat (but with a 4, lost footing and landed on his ass – worse position). Scrambling to his feet and drawing his sword, he tried to deal with the three ‘pirates’. With a Desperate roll (aided by Daredevil), he managed to knock the three into the river but at a cost of Level 3 harm (reduced to 2 by armour and then Level 1 by resistance roll).
The Lurk jumped to shore and ran to the next bridge to get back onto the barge – but his ‘rival’ (a hostile bluecoat) was patrolling the bridge. With a Prowl (6), he managed to sneak past the bluecoat and drop onto the barge again.
Meanwhile, one of the passengers (an ally of the Hound) told him that the expedition beyond the barrier had a sinister bent, including a ritual being performed on one of the other passengers that saw them possessed.
The Hound clued in the Whisper and they agreed to separate the other two passengers. The expedition’s ‘leader’ came above decks and the crew attempted to keep them there with Consort. They failed – but resisted him realising they were stalling him.
This meant that the Whisper had only limited time to examine the catatonic passenger and discover there was something awful inside him. The ‘leader’ returned below decks, but the Whisper used Tinker to adjust the stove to issue smoke to drive him back above deck again.
They managed to reach Six Towers without further incident but the crew said they would see to the wellbeing of the catatonic passenger and had to Sway the ‘leader’ into just taking the relics to the Centuralia Club.
The score ended with the save delivery of goods and passenger, but the crew inheriting a heavily possessed young man. The Whisper would, in downtime, take the young man to the Dimmer Sisters for examination – little realising that the Sisters had sold the ritual to the expedition that allowed a particularly unpleasant spirit from beyond the barriers to be placed in a host and brought into the city.
PART 2 may follow
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The players mostly had fun. The Spider felt a little hard done by that they only really had one Consort – and it failed. I didn’t really get to use clocks much.
I found that a number of my GM habits were against the game’s spirit. For example, I am a big user of ‘perception checks’ and ‘sense motive’ but in a reactive sense – where I sense this game encourages me to just hand over information and see what active rolls the PCs want to make (i.e. Sway to get more info from a person).
I’m a little hazy on when people would make an Insight themed resistance check.
It felt like there were a ton of mechanics we didn’t really use.
Honestly, that sounds like a session I would’ve loved. I don’t know who was coming up with what but you’ve given me some ideas for my games!
I wouldn’t sweat using clocks unless you feel an obstacle warrants one. As far as mechanics go, introduce them as needed/wanted. You’re going to have some sessions that are better than others, you know?
One bit I would caution is that…even though the playbooks are kind of like niches…a Spider doesn’t need to be the “Consort guy”. Play to the character’s theme/story/etc. and things will fall into line. Another thing I have noticed is that your typical Spider is a real boon pre and post score. That’s not to say they can’t be an asset in-score, but Weaving the Web and Connected are really slick things to have before and after a score.
As far as the perception checks go, could you unpack that a bit more?
Ben Liepis As far as “perception checks” – he means he’s played a lot of D&D, and he’s used to making people roll dice to determine whether they see stuff, or can tell if someone is lying to them or whatever. Blades… discourages this. It out and out tells you to just just give out the information.
One thing you CAN do, in the event that just giving out the info seems too kind, is you can tell them something like “You’re walking into an ambush. The Lampblacks are going to get the drop on you. Do you want to resist that?” I wouldn’t do this too heavily, but if you’ve got a tense situation going on, it can be a good way to drive it home.
Here’s a good way of going about the Perception check thing. Do what you normally do, but instead of telling them to make the check, ask. Give them the basic information and then ask if they want more: “Mylera’s steps out of the shadows to greet you, with her two bodyguards behind her. They’re all armed, but their swords are still armed. You might be able to tell if they’ve got something up they’re sleeves, but it’ll probably take a roll. What do you do?”
That way, you still prompt the players to action, but maintain the “players decide what they do” principal of Blades
Mike Pureka has the right of it. I am used to withholding information until the players have ‘earned it’. I think that’s possible in Blades but it is a different mindset.
I need to get my head around: “You absolutely believe this lie, unless you want to resist it” (which confirms there is a lie).
Or perhaps:
“You think this person may be holding something back.”
“I want to get them to spill details over a drink.”
[Consort – roll 3]
“You totally believe they are on the level and there is nothing else going on – unless you want to resist that consequence”
Giving people more information than I’m used to feels like it ‘spoils the surprise’. Realising that it doesn’t have to and finding new approaches to that kind of situation is part of the mental gear change, which makes Blades different (which is not essentially better or worse).
Unless I’m way off, it’s the meta that’s tripping you up, which can be odd if you’re not used to it. I would simply suggest to enjoy the meta and have the conversation. It clears a lot of frustration. 🙂
There’s a quote about writing I heard once, attributed to Joss Whedon: “Lay all your cards on the table as soon as possible. It forces you to get new cards.”
This is a great quote for a Blades GM to keep in mind, I think.
As John Harper says in the “GM Bad Habits” section of the book:
“Don’t hold on to your precious secrets. It’s more fun to find out what they do about it once they know.”
EDIT: Also, remember that the Spider is the undisputed master of flashbacks, assists, and setup actions, and that any PC can be awesome at any action rating if they put enough xp into it.