What handouts, player aides, GM sheets, maps or otherwise do you use in your Blades games to make them easier, or more enjoyable. Particular focus on new games/new players.
Also any feedback on the ‘Heist Deck’ by Andrew Shields would also be appreciated.
Re: Heist deck. NOT a fan. I got it and have not used it once. I guess it could help but I did not like it too much.
I use a set of cheat sheets for my players. I got them from a link that of course I cannot currently locate. I think if you Google Blades In The Dark cheat sheets you can find them.
Sorry for not being more help.
I started 6 sessions ago. I printed character, crew sheets and crew log (the minimum). The districts and a big map to mark the scores and lair. Made glossy photoprints of the pictures in the book for some flair. And to mark status with other factions I use post-its on a whiteboard (-3 to +3 columns). Really handy are the rules reference and GM referent from the players kit. On top there is a Notes in the dark playlist on spotify.
Enjoy The Dusk!https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pOEByYknPFecXm4PNWb-H6DRZRyINM8SFWCVwgArX6DSm7uP9cRaEUTh6k8raApP9RSVyAi2aOQ6oYlRdy7f8Lm204wCcHcANIjr=s0
I’m a really big fan of Ryan Dunleavy’s Duskwall maps, but they’re only accessible via his Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/ryandunleavy). In my opinion they’re worth every penny.
As for player aids, the Player Kit on the BitD website is the best resource I’ve found (https://bladesinthedark.com/sites/default/files/blades_playerkit_v8_2.pdf). It’s huge, but you can find the rules references you’ll need on pages 1, 26, and 27.
I use the Heist Deck sparingly. Some of the contents might not apply to your game, so I’d suggest familiarizing yourself with the cards and separating the ones you like.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ho9HYP5BHSI-Q_bgy5LEeY0GnIt5tKeoeJGBCIis6kOxXlwZgcnoUHnxXQjrxGzFCvAiaA_4vsnamaln1c1VqF7pnA7eOLK4RdI=s0
… and lots of NPC cards
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SQs7bIuRHKGxUSYgzztOJWwgw1-6BbFdIcwCj-Pr1UreOkjiNhDGA76hDrTMrclkHcblUPNtylEo2E-mATfH-8LkLsZwcl_ai4k=s0
Nice cards are they sourcable?
I’ve got Ryan’s city map that I printed out at 11″x17″, the district maps from the quickstart, and my clock cards (which I printed out, cut up and stuck in plastic card sleeves so I can use dry erase markers on them).
ad1066.net – http://www.ad1066.net/download/Sheets/blades/misc/Clocks.pdf
FORGOT! I bought dry erase 3×5 cards from Amazon and a set of Crayola Whiteboard Crayons. Great combo for clocks and such.
Eadwin Tomlinson I can give you what I have. Some have backgrounds (for printing) some have transparent backgrounds (for roll20).
Generic NPC cards are a bit tricky because they may look totally different in your game. If get a lot of inspiration just by surfing pinterest and finding something unexpected. Contact me via e-mail (in(at)monkeyecho.de) and we’ll working something out.
Stefan Struck I’d love to get a copy of those NPC cards! I’ll definitely send you an email.
While we still have the G+ community you can do a search for “heist deck” and see some feedback over the years. While I do like to hear from people who like the idea of the deck or like reading it, it’s even more gratifying to hear from people who have used it. A quick search shows these people have tried it at the table and may have feedback.
Ben Liepis, Stefan Struck, Governor Breck, Jakob Oesinghaus, Nathan Roberts, Danny Keen, Nigel Clarke
Of course, the deck isn’t going to inspire everyone. Every game table will have their own flavor for Duskwall, and sorting cards to pull out ones that don’t fit is a good idea if ours diverge much.
Also people have different styles of running games. I personally love random generation because it pulls in ideas outside my first and second dip into my own thoughts. I like to have anchor points that I can weave a web between, and in connecting those three or five or however many points I create a web to support actual play. That’s easier for me then producing something entire and complete on my own on demand. (I have used my own heist deck to inject ideas into a game or story that were not top-of-head.) I mean, I can do it, but I like to have the help.
I enjoy the adaptive and interpretive work of RPGs as much or more than the generative work. Coming here as a fan of the OSR, I already place value on using random tables for encounters, treasures, and outcomes to walk that middle line.
I like a curated arbitrariness, that’s an underlying philosophy for me. I certainly understand not everyone shares it, and without that predisposition, it might not be easy to figure out when you’d want inspiration from a resource besides imagination and players.
We’ve used the heist deck a lot– and I wish that Andrew Shields would create a sequel deck or two!
The heist deck is a handy way to name NPCs or identify heist target as easily as the turn of a card. The complication cards are an easy way to add difficulty to a heist when things start to go sideways.
The only negative is that there’s only the one deck, so cards will start to feel familiar if you use it a lot, but the caveat to that gripe is that you really will get a lot of use out of the deck before that becomes an issue.
If you’re on the fence, I say buy the deck. It’s reasonably priced and it’s a good resource. And if your name is Andrew Shields, I say make two or three more of these things.