Running With Blades
A would-be series about playing with the forms in Blades in the Dark, but more likely my last big job before retirement.
Sometimes a character needs or wants to achieve two things at once in a short amount of time and a Flashback isn’t the right tool. One way you might permit this is by granting them a “countdown of one”. A “countdown of one” is essentially an obstacle with the unique quality that it must be completed in a single action or the opportunity to complete it is lost.
The character achieves their primary goal with a “6”, but achieves their secondary goal only if they get a complete (four segment) success on that same action. In extreme circumstances, a critical (six segment) success might be needed. It’s also possible fewer than four segments are necessary.
It’s important the player know about the countdown and the number of segments up front. They might elect to face the danger following their action roll to add to their subsequent effect roll so they need to know where they stand.
Example: Zamira is in an exhibition duel with the Red Sashes lieutenant, Zaid. The duel is to the blood. She instigated the bout as a distraction for the rest of the crew to infiltrate the Red Sashes’ temple and plant an artifact. The deed is done, but another Red Sash was killed during the mission and the crew had to commit some robbery as cover for their mission. Zamira now needs to conclude the duel in such a way that suspicion is not cast on her being a part of the robbery. That is a difficult enough task to require an action to overcome and that is her primary goal. She also wants badly to win the duel before making her exit. Zaid is a fierce opponent so that is a difficult enough task on its own that it might require an entirely separate action sequence. Telescoping both of these goals into a countdown of one might help move things along and add tension to the scene. Zamira can conduct the duel in such a way that she was clearly just an arrogant duelist that happened by during the break-in that will be discovered later. She can also win the duel by achieving a complete success on her effect. Otherwise Zaid won the duel by scoring first blood. The danger in this case will be harm incurred as a result of the duel.
With the help of a Devil’s Bargain ensuring they make a permanent enemy of Zaid regardless of the outcome, the player gets the “6” they were looking for on their Risky action roll, but elects to face the harm in order to improve their chances against him in the duel. The subsequent “4” for effect is improved to a “6” result. They’ve achieved four segments in one roll and won the duel, displaying the superiority of their Rising Moon technique over the style taught by the Red Sashes!
Since the duel was to the blood, we know the harm must be either a non-blood injury during the course of the duel (a cracked rib?), or perhaps something that happened immediately after the duel. Defeated, Zaid approaches Zamira for the traditional offer of his dueling knife as trophy. With lightning speed, he instead dishonorably cuts her cheek with the blade and storms from the room disgraced.
To the ambitious Duskwall scoundrel who wants it all and wants it now, such a price is worth it.
So let me see if I read this right. Countdown of one means there’s no second chance, now or never. You have to not only succeed, but succeed with an effect of 4 (or 6 or whatever) to do both. If you succeed with an effect of 2, you did one part you wanted but not the other (in your example case, Zamira either defeats Zaid OR remains unimplicated but not both). I like it (assuming I’m understanding correctly).
You could extend this to require 6 effect or so to achieve three simultaneous objectives or lose the opportunity to do so, right?
Hmmm… could be, could be.
That sounds… Desperate.
I like the principle Matt, but does it need to be mechanised as a ‘countdown of one’?
Could it not just be added to the GM’s toolkit of DB offers, the way stress for +1D was?
“you can have +1D to your mayhem action, but you’ll need to overcome the duel clock of 6 with one effect roll, any other effect means you lose the duel. the Devil likes savagery.’
It could sure.
This example comes from an actual session where the “make-an-enemy DB had already been made and eagerly accepted.
A “countdown of one” is just my term to shed light on what you’re effectively doing when playing around with the default form in this manner; I don’t actually intend to advocate for adding it to a toolbox as a capitalized mechanic.
I play most RPGs with a negotiating spirit at the meta level. I find it facilitates communication between players about what they find interesting. Blades seems to bring out this inclination in me. All elements of the game can be up for devilish negotiating without baking them into the game text. That will be the spirit I take up if I write more of these hacks.
Your example is simpler and awesome for it. It doesn’t necessarily fit a situation where time is short and two PC goals are somewhat at odds. I think in this case someone had DB-offered that Zamira might more easily extricate herself w/o casting suspicion if she straight up threw the duel. She was too proud.
Gotcha, yeah that could be kinda cool 🙂
Neat ideas mate!