Blades in the Dark Session 12 – The Crimson Snow Season Finale!

Blades in the Dark Session 12 – The Crimson Snow Season Finale!

This was it – the time for profit and power had arrived for the gangs of Crow’s Foot. The Crimson Snow set to embark on a daring raid to seize valuable military supplies and experimental electroplasmic equipment from under the noses of the Imperial Military. Every gang based in Crow’s Foot would need to pool their resources for the score, the biggest any of them had ever seen! After the requisite politicking and planning, the operation, named Ascending Griffon, began with exploiting the high state of alert in Duskwall to lure imperial military personnel away from Gaddoc Station – the Lampblacks succeeded in faking an attack by the sea demons, now loose in the city, in Nightmarket. Then the Snow moved in: Banks had procured an imperial officers uniform prior to the score and utilized it to great effect – diverting remaining soldiers from their watch on the train to Nightmarket.

The Crows meanwhile moved into the garrison at the station to clean up any stragglers. The Snow set about surveying the train itself. Hadius took the lead in checking out the second compartment where the most valuable supplies were to be found. However, he was disturbed to hear a voice calling from the chamber – the voice of a young boy. Moments later, the crew found themselves facing an active combat hull powered by the ghost of a child. Banks was hoping to circumvent the threat by speaking to the spirit child, but the Hull’s programming proved too strong and the crew were forced to fight. Ves, exploiting the distraction offered by Banks conversation with the spirit, drove a poleaxe through its back, causing serious damage to the hull. Unfortunately, the hull struck back, sending Ves flying into the wall of the compartment. Banks, realizing his words were having less and less impact, seized another polearm and shattered the hull’s soul canister. Ves, thinking quickly, exploited their connection with the ghost field to stabilize the dissipating spirit, calling the child into a more stable form, instructing it to stay nearby till they left.

At this point the Crows finished up their struggle with the remaining guards and met the Snow in time to start transferring goods from the train to the waiting open-top carriages provided by the Red Sashes, they were particularly keen to claim ownership of a number of the barrels of refined leviathan blood being carried in on the train… However, before they were ready to leave, three figures emerged from a nearby puddle. The sea demons, seeking to exploit the now undefended state of Gaddoc Station, thanked the rogues and their leader, one Korvaeth revealed their intention to destroy the station – an act that would likely doom many of the city’s residents to starvation and isolate Duskwall, even as the city still reeled from the destruction of the Docks.

Luckily, Ves had located a military flare and fired it off, hoping to draw the military back to the station. The crew realised a head on confrontation would likely end badly and so Hadius and Banks fled toward the Nightmarket, Banks hoping to meet up with the Imperial soldiers on their way back, Hadius simply wanting some bodies between him and the demons. Ves managed to keep one of the demons occupied to buy them some time, though suffered grave injury in the process. Meanwhile, Banks (still wearing his Imperial officer’s uniform) rallied the soldiers against another of the demons. Banks fought bravely alongside the troops until injured too severely to continue, he slunk away from the battlefield. The crew managed to make their exit, hearing later that one of the demons had been destroyed by the military (though presumably the others had escaped), and the station – though damaged, was still largely intact.

In the aftermath of the heist and the new riches they now laid claim to, the Snow pondered what lay next for them – could they now absorb the remaining Red Sashes into their own gang, what were those demons hoping to accomplish in attacking the station and chiefly – would they now finally manage to make and sell some drugs?!

GM’s notes – This was a great session – tense and exciting. It saw a number of plot threads we’d been exploring all season come together and find some kind of resolution while bringing up new threads the players are keen to explore in season 2 of our Duskwall adventures! The Hull was suitably creepy and the demons suitably terrifying. We’ll be playing another RPG for awhile, but we’re definitely keen to return to Blades for a follow up season in the future! I was particularly pleased that the big tense finale came about almost entirely because of the PC’s actions throughout our games. Anyway, hope you guys have enjoyed my little write-ups – Till next time! 😀