First Session Questions

First Session Questions

First Session Questions

Hello! I just ran my first session of Blades, and while I think I got the hang of it, I do have a few questions. These are likely basic ones, but if someone has the time to clarify things, that would be a big help.

So my understand so far is that every kind of opposition is either a single roll or a clock of sorts.

So tonight, I used a group of Red Sashes as a 6-tick clock, and just had the players make checks against the clock until it was full, then let them narrate what happened to the guards. Did I do that right?

I have two related questions. When I assign Harm or consequences via ticks on a clock for a 4/5 result. How do I know what level or how many ticks to assign? Is it determined by the die roll, the type of action (controlled, risky, desperate), or the player’s level of effect?

So if a character makes a Risky/Standard Skirmish roll and get a 4/5 how many ticks can I put on a clock or how much harm could I assign?

Thanks for the help.

Phil

13 thoughts on “First Session Questions”

  1. Effect level determines ticks players put on clocks their working towards (limited is 1, standard is 2, great is 3). Likewise, consequences are determined by position, so a desperate position would put 3 ticks on a clock working against the players or result in level 3 harm (or maybe level 4 if the fiction made sense.)

  2. To me a lot of your questions feel very mechanically stiff and I think an important thing going into the explanations is to remember blades is a fiction first system really. That being said:

    Checks against a clock is really cold, every time the players are doing something you’re not asking them to do a skirmish check against the clock, you’re asking them what they want to do and the players tell you what they want to do “I wanna use skirmish and stab the guy in the chest with my sword” “okay, you’re tier 0 but you have a fine sword and you’re alone in a group of 5 red sashes this is a desperate situation with limited effect you even with your fine sword short of a crit probably aren’t going to outright kill a red sash but you might be able to stab him and do some good damage so let’s see the roll”. Let the player roll, get the roll and talk about what that looks like, how things did or didn’t go to plan then you on the back end fill in your clock. When the players finish the clock on a roll let them know, if they have the force and the scale to have killed everyone it’ll be obvious the clock is finish by corpses of their enemies. They might have also not had the level of affect to kill everyone so maybe they’ve just driven them off for now, let them narrate that kind of stuff too but definitely narrate intent and results along the way as well.

    Harm is just given straight out usually, no clocks, and it’s relative to the position. In the book there is a summary of the results of dice in relation to their positions (page 23). On a controlled roll 4/5 maybe they take lesser harm (level 1),on a risky 1-5 maybe they take regular harm (level 2) on a desperate roll maybe they take severe (level 3) or even fatal harm (4 they’re dead unless they use armor or resist). And again all of this is dictated by the fiction. One tier 0 cutter with nothing backing them failing a desperate roll again 6 red sashes at once? He probably just got stabbed by 6 master swordsman and died unless he’s wearing armor but if the whole crew is in the fight and they’ve paired off and he’s just taking on one red sash at the moment and they’re using swords not guns then maybe he just gets stabbed and takes level 3. Your lurk fails her controlled Prowl to climb up a ladder quietly? You could give her a sprained ankle or no harm and just be in a risky position from part of the ladder breaking and making noise.

    Just think about the fiction and it will tell you what kind of harm will happen. You’re almost never going to take fatal harm standing on a step stool to get something from a kitchen cabinet, that’s controlled, but if you’re on a 30 foot ladder cleaning the gutters things could go very wrong quickly. And with progress clocks I recommend not thinking of it as a race to the end result via checks, every roll the players make matters and is part of the story. Let them tell the journey while they’re on it instead of just after the fact.

  3. So tonight, I used a group of Red Sashes as a 6-tick clock, and just had the players make checks against the clock until it was full, then let them narrate what happened to the guards. Did I do that right?

    I’m not sure. First, what were the group of Red Sashes? I gather that they were an obstacle the characters had to get past right? But what issue or goal was the clock tracking?

    As others have said BitD is a fiction first game. Each roll your players made should have been preceded by a narration of what the character was doing and what they hoped to achieve. Each roll your players made should have been followed by a description of the effects of their action and how the situation had changed.

    If you were doing that, you were doing it right. If you just had the player roll the dice and ticked off segments of the clock until it was full and then narrated things, no. I don’t believe that’s how it’s meant to be played.

  4. To add to the other comments, Blades works perfectly fine without clocks, and the results of actions being dictated by, and dictating, what’s going on with the fiction and fictional positioning. The crew sneaks into the Red Sashes’ operation? Sure, one successful roll will get you post the door, but the guard dogs still need dealing with…

    Clocks are neat and all, but far from essential for a good game.

  5. BTW, welcome Phil. Fan of your work. 😺

    Based on my understanding your group is on the right track, especially if it worked well for you. As far as ticks, Limited 1 Standard 2 Great 3 according to the chart on p 24, but you can adjust based on what feels right under the circumstances.

  6. To add to what Neil said, I didn’t use clocks until the third or so session, to make sure people were happy with fiction first, position, devils bargains and so on.

  7. I’m looking for more examples of clocks and obstacles in play. Can anyone direct me to some examples? The YouTube sessions are great and all, but not what I’m looking for. Thanks!

  8. andrew smith Can I ask what you’re looking for then? I’ve used some clocks in play, but it’s pretty much the same way that John uses them in Rollplay Blades.

  11. Complications also don’t have to result in clocks, sometimes a natural consequence of an action (either successful or not) simply arises. More guards in the next room might be a clock threatening to complicate the situation or it might be triggered by the first round of gun fire

Comments are closed.