Interesting question for my fellow hackers out there, when naming playbooks and crews, how important is it for the name alone to communicate what that thing is about? Or do you think it is OK to lean heavy on flavor and supplement with a sub-title to say what that thing is about? Im making a thing and am attached to the flavor of this thing but I want to ensure that doesnt impede good design.
Interesting question for my fellow hackers out there, when naming playbooks and crews, how important is it for the…
Interesting question for my fellow hackers out there, when naming playbooks and crews, how important is it for the…
I don’t think it’s crucial to have an instantly intuitive name. Look at Slides, for instance.
I’d say clarity over flavor should be the default, but if giving more flowery names for playbooks, stats or moves helps establish the tone you want then go for it. Just make sure you do explain somewhere what it actually means.
I say Steep the playbook names in flavor. Use the subtext as you described. The ones in Blades are a great example of this. They just also happen to be words that convey a lot of meaning, and follow a similar theme as well (they all seem to be objects or creatures, personified as types of criminals).
And while I think it’s nice to have words that do neat things poetically when choosing playbook names, it’s not bad to create a fiction drowning in itself when you’re writing a TRPG- I’d say it’s good even! and it’s okay if your words are a bit surprising in their meanings if you explain (which you seem to know the way)
PS: if explaining takes more than a handful of words, That could be bad. However, consider that you can also just.. elaborate in the body of the playbook (if you go that far).. or fine tune the playbook names a little bit so that the meaning is more quickly conveyed.
I err on the side of Flavor, though ideally it hints at the niche of the class as well. The blurb can do the rest of the heavy lifting.
I’d say go for the flavor, but making whatever you choose just broad enough to include the different paths a character in that playbook can take. The SRD suggests that playbooks aren’t classes or archetypes (https://bladesinthedark.com/character-creation): “Think of your playbook as an area of focus and preference, but not a unique skill set.”
That’s why the Hound isn’t called the Sniper. Or even the Hunter. “Hound” evokes way way more than just one of the specific things it can do.
bladesinthedark.com – Character Creation | Blades in the Dark RPG
Yeah, I gotta say it’s definitely clarity > flavor. Most of the time, you’re going to be introducing the game to your group and having the playbooks make intuitive sense seems really important.