While chatting with a friend and fellow Blades player tonight, we realized the game is maybe unsuitable for one of the classic tropes of the heist and crime genres: the action-packed cold open. We’re talking specifically about starting a campaign with a cold open, not just a mid-campaign session.
My friend says the only way to model a cold open is by jumping immediately into the Engagement roll. I think Free Play could simulate a cold open (you can still suffer Stress and Harm in Free Play) but I admit it seems to violate the spirit of that phase of the game.
Thoughts? Has anyone started one of their campaigns with a cold open before? How did it go?
I thought the example of how to start the game in the book is a cold open. You’re already in a meeting or something and need to determine if you’re there to sway the person or kill them… it’s been a bit since I’ve read through the text so maybe I’m wrong there.
I think a cold open would work fine though, I would tend to lean towards starting a campaign like that, personally. I’ve only done slow deliberate starts to my playtests so far because I’m playtesting and wanted that specific feedback. I’d say go for it.
Default position is risky standard anyways, what they are there to do largely determined by crew selection. Can teach engagement next time a score rolls around. Could display Tier right away by making it limited affect and getting people doing teamwork, setting each other up or group action. Seems fine.
Yeah, I also start campaigns with a cold open like that. No need for anything, I just hard frame a scene in the middle of a whatever the group picked as their preferred type, give everyone a task they are in the middle of and let everyone intro their character through the action.
It’s also usually resolved by that one roll, each.
The whole point of the first session is showing who are these characters and what are they competent in. The why of what they are doing is not that important, just an interesting topic to ask questions about.
No Engagement roll because there is no history, yet, to base that on.
Thanks for the responses, gents.
Fraser Simons I should have been clearer about the kind of cold open I’m picturing. To quote my friend, he prefers to start con games right in the action:
“Your Studebaker careens around the street corner. One of you is leaning out one of the windows, shooting back at the pursuing car with your pistol. Who’s chasing you, and where are you going?”
So the starting situation in the book could be taken in that direction I suppose, but I think it’s more naturally suited for conversation instead of action.
But like Mathias Belger suggests, I think it would be easy enough to at least craft a starting situation that places characters right in the action. That’s especially true if “the action” only lasts for a single roll each before switching into something more traditional. Thanks again!
Yeah, once you know their crew and what they want to do, I’m sure you could do an in medias res like that. I just meant you’d want to make your cold open fit with the crew type. If they want to be shadows and they’re suddenly in the streets careening around, is be chapped as a player. But if it’s following someone and asking who they are following or whatever, that makes a lot of sense to me.