I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I played my first game of BitD tonight. I chose a Whisper and I feel like I need some help. Normally, I’m used to playing Pathfinder where there everything you can do is very clearly defined and everything you do has a very specific and well defined effect. The Whisper is not like this at all. I took the Compel Special Ability and it says that I can cause a ghost to appear and it will obey an order I give it. The problem is, I don’t know what ghosts can do, I don’t know what a reasonable order to give a ghost would be. I found myself trying to use Compel as a sort of “cure all”. For example, we got into a situation where we were needed to deal with some bodyguards in the middle of a fight we were already in, so I used Compel to order a ghost to scare them off. Then, later in the encounter, I needed to escape out of a high window, so I tried to use Compel to have a ghost carry me down to the street. But none of it felt quite right, like I was missing the point or something. Anyway, any insights or advice would be appreciated.
I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I played my first game of BitD tonight.
I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I played my first game of BitD tonight.
Hi James. First, definitely talk to the GM about this. They create and play the ghosts in the game, so they’re the person who will determine what the spirits do, based on the details in the book.
For reference, here’s a sample of stuff from the book:
– Ghosts are made of electroplasmic vapor and interact weakly with the physical world.
This means that a ghost can’t carry a person, and being touched by a ghost would entail some kind of electrical effect (probably harmful).
There’s a table in the book that lists a variety of other effects that spirits can produce (darkness, frost, fog, etc.)
– Ghosts generate a supernatural fear effect, causing people to momentarily freeze up or move away when a ghost is present.
Some groups downplay this effect while others really ramp up the horror. Your Whisper can become immune to this.
– Ghosts are knowledgeable about the past (especially the circumstance of their death) and may also have observed secrets in the present.
You might compel a ghost to reveal what it knows, or force it to spy for you.
Those are just a few bits from the book. There are other ways to use spirits in play, which I’m sure your GM will introduce.
John Harper is the GM in “RollPlay: Blades”. Week 6 – part 1, 2, & 3 (I’ve only watched up to week 8) has the crew dealing with some ghosts. Part 2 & 3 has a Whisper using Compel.
youtube.com – RollPlay: Blades – Week 6, Part 1
My advice: try to move from ‘what can I do – as in: what is my best stat/ability’ toward ‘what do I want to do – (almost ignoring the mechanics)’. I saw that in our game from newbie players and it worked great. You still can get extra dice and improve your chances, but don’t try to use your spacial ability all the time. Just my two cents.
John Harper Thanks for taking the time to talk with me about this. The GM is new as well, in fact all of us in the group are playing it for the first time. From the descriptions given in the book, the Whispers seemed to be the most open ended (which is cool) and so we were trying to figure them out on the fly. I’ve been looking over the ghost template and it’s given me a better idea of the kind of things they can do, in addition to what you’ve said here. Here some things which I’m still not 100% on. When the Whisper uses Compel, what exactly is being determined by the roll he makes? Is it actually being able to summon a ghost or how “quality” of the carrying out of the order given? If the Whisper uses Compel to order a ghost to do some task X and the ghost does it, can he then try to order it to do some other task Y? If so, what type of roll would that be? Does the Whisper have to give his order to the ghost immediately after Compelling it? If I remember correctly the book said he can Compel any one ghost for up to 24 hours. Thanks again.
Daniel Krämer Yeah I’m still trying to get my head around it completely. Like I said I’m mostly used to Pathfinder and there you basically never do anything that isn’t somehow connected to a special ability you have. Since were all new to the game I just wanted to make sure knew where the boundaries were in some way so as not to unintentionally break it.
James Pepe Blades in the Dark is like games like Apocalypse World, in that there are important chunks of the game left deliberately vague. Ghosts and their powers are one of them. The idea is that the players in each game, including you, your GM, and everyone at your table, will decide what your ghosts are like, what they can do, and (importantly) what they can’t do.
Since you’re playing the Whisper, you get a lot of say on this one—it’s fundamental to your character’s abilities, so you’re most invested—but the GM needs to be involved as well, and other players to the extent that they need to buy into how the world works and agree that your powers are fair.
This kind of looseness means that you guys have to share in the responsibility of designing game rules that work for you. It’s a bit more responsibility than Pathfinder gives you (though in practice everybody adopts at least a few house rules in Pathfinder, too). You might not get it all right the first time. That’s fine. If something seems unbalanced, or just not fun, it’s okay to say “you know, we should do that differently” and do whatever ret-con seems appropriate.
Next time you play, here’s some questions you should talk over with your GM at least, and probably other players as well:
* What does it look like to “Attune to the ghost field”? If you were drawing the anime, what would the special effects be?
* What makes ghosts dangerous?
* What makes ghosts weak? What limitations do they have?
* How much free will or independence does a ghost have?
* Are ghosts common? If so, why haven’t they killed everyone in the city? If not, what makes the Whisper valuable to have around?
* When a Whisper compels a ghost, how does that work? What do they have to do?
* If an enemy Whisper is compelling a ghost against you, how do you stop them?
* When a Whisper tries to compel a ghost and fails, how bad is that? What happens?
You as the Whisper should make sure that at least some of the answers will let your character be awesome. Your GM should make sure that at least some of the answers give you problems to deal with so that other characters also get their chance to be awesome. Also, your GM should make sure that whatever rules you decide on for ghosts work when they attack you, as well.
Another thing to remember is that ghosts, by default, want to satisfy their need for life essence and exact vengeance
And the order they are given is also interpreted through this lens. The example in the book “protect me” for example, could mean they consume the life essence of those threatening you, even if that’s not necessarily what you meant. And your order to carry you, could mean they need to do that to become solid enough to even carry you