So, we FINALLY played last night and overall, it went well! We do, however, have a few questions/sticking points. If these have been asked and answered, please hit me up with a link.
1) What good are crew effects that obvious affect gangs, if you take no gangs? How are the effects used with just PCs?
2) Can an NPC provide Backup and give a +1 die? As they can’t take Stress I assume not, but I wanted to ask.
3) Can a spirit mask add an Effect die to the manipulation of electroplasmic energies via “Channel”? This was the Whisper player’s question. I said it does as electroplasm has inherent supernatural properties. (This isn’t so much a query of rules, but opinions on flavor)
4) Can an assisting PC add their Background die (if it pertains) when another PC’s leading a Team Action?
5) If an Overindulgence gives a PC a bad rep, does that only apply to that PC or the crew?
That’s it, but one thing we did notice is that they failed…a lot. They almost took Trauma on the very first score. That was partly my fault as I used clocks that were probably too big, however there was a lot of frustration as to how quickly Stress added-up through bad rolls.
I understand this is part of the system, but I’d like some advice on how to possibly soften the blows. I want them to want to play, but I understand not liking constant failure.
Oh, I am very much looking forward to a list of dangers for Action rolls! 🙂
Anyway, I feel this game has a megaton of awesome and want it to be the best I can make it, so any help is appreciated.
1. What crew upgrades are you thinking of? There are the upgrades that give you gangs of people, which are going to have limited effect if you have no diamonds in Gangs, but you can a) not do this, and b) still use your rooks and killers and just understand that you won’t fill clocks very quickly.
2. I’d say no, not unless the NPC has a character sheet and is played as a PC.
3. Sure, if it’s a fine spirit mask and you decide that electroplasm and spirits are similar. When it’s come up for us we’ve kept them distinct, but there’s no right or wrong to it.
4. No. Assist is very simple: describe, take Stress, give +1d. If you mean helping during a Lead the Group action, then yes.
5. The PC.
On failure, there’s an art to having the right people with the right assistance do the right things. You also face danger very often. Another important part of play is making the danger things where Stress isn’t mandatory. You fail, you die, or you suffer gruesome mutilation; these are all important dangers, but they should be used carefully or the players MUST spend Stress and will run out. It’s much more interesting to give dangers like alarms being sounded (with no Effect roll), sprains and bruises that cause impairment without crippling, and evidence being left behind.
I mean, for #1, if you don’t take any gangs as a crew ability, what do you use Gangs or Transportation for? AFAIK, you have no gangs unless you spend one of your two upgrade points on them. You can only spend one effect diamond (in the case of Thieves), leaving you two more. Gangs, Morale and Transportation seem tied to having gangs and Lair suggests taking Library or Workshop. If you buy, let’s say, Thief Rigging and Blade Training, how would you use Gangs, Lair, Morale or Transportation?
I would say Gangs and morale could both come into play with temporary gangs or contacts that are essentially unofficial gang members. Transportation can count for the same as well as any time the crew needs to move supplies or themselves somewhere in a swift and coordinated fashion.
Lair would also count for the quality of things like hidden lair and secure lair.
If you have no gangs as upgrades you probably shouldn’t take Gangs as one of your effects. Morale applies to crew as well as gangs whenever appropriate. Transport is, as Mark Moller says, useful for maneuvering yourself as well.
Lair is handy for any time the quality of your Lair matters. If you have a workshop or library then it determines how good those amenities are. I’m a little confused by Lair and the Secure Lair upgrade. Is it like fine security? +1 to Lair for security purposes? But you have a lair, so the Lair rating is all about how nice and useful it is when that matters.
Relying on its fortifications to fend off assailants? Lair is the effect you want. It’s also for when you need to know how thorough your library is, assuming you have one, and I’d go for a Lair roll to see how impressed a merchant representative is by the opulence you have on display. Or how long someone can stand to lie low there before going stir-crazy and wandering outside. A cozy lair with many rooms, comfortable chairs, a warm fireplace, a stocked larder, and a large supply of dime novels will keep a scoundrel feeling all right much longer than a dark, dank, and mostly empty cave beneath someone’s cellar.
1) If you don’t have gangs, the effects for gangs are… less useful. 🙂
2) No. A group of NPCs that help you can improve your Scale, though.
3) Sure.
4) No.
5) It applies to the crew.
Failing a lot is a bit unusual. With 4 dice on your good rolls (2 dots + Assist + Background), you’re at 93% chance for a 4/5. Even only rolling two dice, your odds are 75%. Much better than most games at “first level.”
Also, taking Stress is always optional. You don’t have to roll to resist.
I wonder why they failed so much, given the odds of the dice. Weird.
There were a lot of 1-3 results. To be fair, when it really counted, 6+ fell. They also needed to rely on each other more. Finally, they saw failure as manifested dangers, which I explained poorly. Apologies!
As far as gangs/lair upgrades go, might there be advice on using crew effects without them? Or, give a free pick to one non-elite gang or something.
I guess having crew effects and personal effects that can be used to help the crew confuses me. Anyway, I’m super-sick right now, so apologies for the short posts.
Betterish now. What I’m wondering, as far as Morale and Transport go, is when/how you use them with PCs only. Don’t things like Supply and the like handle that?