I have a cash-strapped cult who is facing a tier increase without ample Coin in the coffers and a Spider who is scheming to earn some extra scratch on the side using Downtime Actions.
My gut says Acquire Asset doesn’t apply because the rule state the asset is temporary; while the Coin would be spent the benefit would persist. So that takes my brain to a Long Term Project to earn Coin. It feels like a valid avenue to me — what are your experiences?
My immediate inclination is that anything that really earns coins ( beyond a coin here or there ) really should be a Score of some type…as typical “money that keeps the operation running” is sort of abstracted out of the bookkeeping end of things. Actual “Coin” is a reward for a score.
I guess it would depend on what type of Long Term Project it is.
Yeah, long-term project seems perfect. Basically have folks try setting up revenue streams (which can than be threatened or complicated later)
scott slomiany I agree that the intended flow of Coin remains with the Score. My crew is just feeling the urge for coin with a Tier increase sitting in their laps.
I trust my folks enough not to fully devalue the need to run angle for Scores with fat payouts. Besides, what self respecting criminal doesn’t have a laundry list of other things they’d rather be using their DTAs.
Adam Minnie putting more soft targets in play is always a welcome choice.
Michael Siebold We recently found ourselves in such a position, so we spent Rep for DTAs that needed seeing to, then did another job that brought Coin and Rep together at the right time for the crew increase.
I ran for a cult too, and I found it interesting what they did with their more abstract ideals when pragmatism required they make more revenue.
I’ve used long term project clocks to monetize things they got on a heist that can’t be fenced. For example, they got a blackmailer’s books, and they had to decode them and make contact so those tormented by the secrets could buy out the crew and make the secret go away. I set the clock at 8 segments, worth 1 coin each. Players could employ study or consort (or make a case for other actions) to crack the mystery.
Something similar if they want to recut gems or melt gold down to turn religious or distinctive pieces into less-valuable valuables.
As for earning money more or less offscreen with abstracted rolls, it would depend what they were trying to do. Make counterfeit bills and sell them? Sure, I’d allow it. Get in close to Widow Grayson and steal her fortune? Hm. Might be better played through.
Andrew Shields I had a similar thought to your blackmailer’s book but hadn’t thought to tie Coin to each segment. That’s interesting.
This Cult bumbled into a cache of stolen explosives after getting mixed up with a pro-Skolv resistance movement. The weapons are out of the crews wheelhouse. I would consider a LTP to fence the stash for Coin. That inevitably will lean do its own problems.
Another option for crews hard up for coin is loans. Three months, 50% interest sounds fair, yeah? =)
This the offer coming from the lass who runs Ironhook!
Offer a choice: coin via a long term project (less risk, longer time taken, etc) or a nice fat loan via an Acquire Asset roll (quick, but with heavy strings).
The loan might take the form of a clock with the lender, with a number of ticks equal to the coin borrowed, plus a -1 status with the lender. Each month/week/score, the crew needs to pay at least one coin, which is purely interest. Any more coin paid ticks the clock.
Short on coin? Work for the lender doing odd jobs (everyone loses a downtime activity) to pay interest. Doing a score (no pay) removes the normal amount of coins owed in lieu of pay, minus one for interest.
Unwilling to even pay interest and no time to work? Take a -1 with the Lender for that score/week/month. Reach -3 status? Congrats, your lender goes to war with you.
I actually disagree with a lot of these solutions that monetize other actions, as I feel they unbalance the scarcity of coin. There are claims that generate coin in downtime, and jobs represent risky profitable actions. If PCs can earn 1 coin per slice of a project clock, we’ve changed Blades In The Dark to Go To Work: The Off Camera Job Simulator. If there’s risk, it’s a job. If it generates income on its own but can be stolen or messed with, it’s a holding. If the crew doesn’t have enough coin to do something they want.. isn’t that why they became scoundrels in the first place?
Rebecca W “9-to-5 Excel database progammers in the dark”
scott slomiany A Data Entry Simulation Powered by the Apocalypse!
Rebecca W I see your point, and agree with most of it. I am still in favor of the loan shark idea. Owing money to dark and terrible figures of the underworld is a troupe found in many criminal stories. I also am comfortable making up rules for it, as it shouldn’t be common for intelligent or daring rogues would risk it.
“Do you want to take that loan the Church is offering, or break into Scurlock manor to loot the place?”
“Scurlock manor. Worst the old vampire will do it kill us. The Church, however…we miss a payment with them and we’ll be staring out of life hull eyes for all eternity.”
If you go the loan shark route, might I point out the Spider special ability “Ghost Contract”? 🙂
Suckers take up loans and unimaginative squares do … shiver …work …ou
The meat of the game is SCORES! We do scores so we can afford other things.
“I’d rather do a daring heist and get killed by a bullet, than waste away at a desk job or teaching ingrates at the University” — Dr. Porter the leech
I can see there is value in discussing preferences; this is a more fun path than that, etc. I also think there’s value in discussing mechanical possibilities; how can you earn money in downtime is a legitimate question.
I think if a player says “I want to do a thing” it’s not helpful for the GM to say “You want a dumb thing! Do another thing instead.”
One of my favorite features about Blades in the Dark is, when the game is at its best, it’s fiction first with a variety of possible mechanics to gauge the success of the venture, and how the rules and characteristics of characters and crews apply.
When it comes to producing counterfeit money, one group hand waves it into a turf claim, another handles it as a long term project, and a third handles it as a series of heists. That is a feature of the game.
Heists are good. It is also true that downtime exists for a reason, and there are long term clocks and faction clocks and various down time actions. I’ve played games that started heist heavy and shifted to be downtime heavy as the crew built and maintained its growing organization. I wouldn’t say the crew was doing it wrong; not every crew has the same motivation or goals.
I’m with Rebecca W. Jobs and Claims are where your real money comes from, downtime actions set you up to perform Jobs (possibly to seize Claims).