Hi everybody!
I’m Eric, published RPG writer, and partner at Just Insert Imagination.
I was halfway through writing Wiseguys, a setting for Savage Worlds where you play 90s Italian-American mobsters and their associates in an alternate Las Vegas. In this game, you perform daring heists, take part in chases and build your criminal empire.
Sounds like a match made in heaven (or in hell) for a Forged in the Dark game, right? I do think so, yeah.
The thing with Wiseguys is that there are no supernatural elements. Sure, five decades of nuclear testing in the Nevada desert has created certain anomalies but that’s about as far as it goes.
Do you think a setting like this would work well for a Forged in the Dark game despite the fact it lacks a supernatural or fantastic element?
What of the Attune action? Can the Resolve Attribute survive without a substitute for Attune? I can’t think of anything to replace it with at the moment.
Does all the shenanigans of a motley crew of criminals offer enough spice?
Note: If you are curious about the setting, we have the demo out and it’s free on dtrpg. I just don’t want to post any unsolicited promotion here. I’d be happy to provide a link, though.
reporting as spam.
Chris Paladino it’s a genuine question. I just wanted to provide context.
Hey Chris Paladino, I know Eric and can vouch for him. He’s put a lot of work into Wiseguys and he’s been talking to me about adapting it to FitD. Don’t know what makes you think this is spam but it ain’t.
Eric, like I’ve said to you privately I think FitD games can work without supernatural elements. I’ve been thinking about it and Attune is about accessing the really sub-normal underbelly of Doskvol. Maybe there’s a similar thing in the Wiseguys world? I’m thinking about modern day hacking but I can’t think of a historical equivalent.
Eli Kurtz True. Hacking. At first I thought that might fall under Tinker but it’s definitely something to explore.
I had a similar problem with the cyberpunk hack I’m working on. I removed Attune as an action but then struggled with how to fit in Hack as an action, since it felt very out of place under Resolve.
I finally decided on collapsing down the possible actions to 9 from 12 which I think is working well so far. Also don’t be afraid to change up what the attributes are. Resolve could be replaced by something like Clout (which is what I did) to evoke the flavor of your setting.
I think a mob style hack of BitD would be absolutely perfect, to be honest, and I can’t wait to hear more.
Michael Elliott Didn’t think about collapsing the actions down to 9.
Food for thought.
It would mean a bit less potential character diversity, and cap Resolve resistance lower than anything else, but sure, I guess?
Before BitD, Harper was working on a PbtA gangster RPG called Bootleggers that I think lent a lot of DNA to what would become Blades. Might be worth taking a look at that to see if there’s something you can mine.
drivethrurpg.com – Bootleggers
Yep, what Jason said. Definitely create new actions and attributes that suit your game. Don’t use the Blades actions by default.
Take a hard look at stress, trauma, harm… everything. Adapt each part to suit your hack.
I was hoping to take advantage of the SRD but I can see how it’s probably best not to try to shoehorn everything in.
Thanks for the design tips!
Has anyone made a guide to hacking the Blades or Forged in the Dark systems in general? I thought there was something floating around.
Eric – I’d be interested in learning more about wiseguys and a potential hack. My email is ebrunsell@gmail.com
Narayan Bajpe Not sure what you may be thinking about, but I can recommend this conversation with John Harper and Adam Koebel about hacking Blades, where to start. and what to change and why: youtube.com – Understanding and Hacking Blades in the Dark (Part One)
I would also recommend this conversation with John and Andrew Gillis (of Girl by Moonlight fame) about the history of Blades and how John put it together through different iterations and dead ends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlGyUKlXVbY
That later set of videos was particularly eye-opening and affirming for me, seeing how far BitD came through its different versions.
Michael Elliott thanks, this is what I was thinking of.
A big part of Attune is seeing echoes in the ghost field and gleaning information from it; maybe in your setting there could be some commonly used symbolism (like hoboglyphs) that the PCs can be familiar with if they train in a certain ability.
Another thing that comes to mind is the Detective Vision mechanic from the Batman Arkham video games, or depiction of Sherlock Holmes’ deductive skills in the Guy Ritchie movies.
rebelcircus.com – Hoboglyphs: Secret Symbols and Codes for the Transient Homeless