Orders of Might/Magnitude in Blades in the Dark?
I really like the Order of Might from Torchbearer/Mouse Guard, which basically constrains what sort of interactions PCs can have with other creatures based on the relative might or epic-ness of the two.
As a loose example, beings far higher than normal humans/elves/dwarves on the scale, like ancient dragons or elder gods can only be interacted with by fleeing. As beings are more comparable in might to the PCs, the PCs can interact with them in additional ways, like driving them off (but not killing), capturing them, eventually killing them, etc.
It’s intriguing because it basically is a dynamic invulnerability that forces players to consider alternative approaches than the classic slay-and-loot default to adventurering.
I’m curious if something like this order of might could enhance or inform Blades in the Dark play. Position already informs what is possible based on relative power of both sides of a conflict. You’re controlled when manipulating gullible masses, but desperate when manipulating immortal masterminds.
Nevertheless, what if an order of might like in Torchbearer enhanced that further. The cutter can fight a crowd of thugs sure, but can he take down a leviathan in a wrestling match? This could especially help with inhuman or supernatural powers. Can you kill a man-sized automaton, capture one? Maybe irrespective of position, a gang of Quality 1 humans can only drive off an equal number of automatons, spirits, or fiends, but can’t even attempt to actually kill them. Maybe that particular fiend can maybe be captured by mortal hands (desperate roll permitted), but not killed (no roll possible)?
Is not even permitting PCs to roll a desperate attempt in a vastly outmatched situation contrary to the spirit of the game? Is this sort of consideration already an assumption in play (due to effect factors that could reduce a “success” to 0 effect)? Could codifying it somewhat with an Order of Might help anything?
This is an interesting idea. I think what it does is codify into system a common-sense approach that is generally beyond the reach of appeal in games where the rules try to cover everything. “The rules don’t say I can’t do it, so I’m gonna try!” Well, the magnitude is in the rules, so there’s backup for saying “no.”
One thing that draws me in to Blades in the Dark is that the “common sense” approach is the foundation around which mechanics are needed, instead of the other way around. (Where rules are the foundation, and common sense is applied as needed.)
This is a game system where you don’t need stat blocks for anything. So, to my way of thinking, it is not necessary to codify order of might.
If making an effort desperate was not enough, the GM can reasonably say that even making the attempt will inflict a condition that must be resisted. Now, you can observe that the GM and other players may disagree on what they think is reasonable in a situation, but a rule won’t fix that.
All that being said, while I don’t think it helps Blades in the Dark to codify order of might, it could be a useful concept for the GM to bear in mind when making decisions about relative scale. When I’m writing a story about super-powered characters, I don’t have stats for them, but long experience running supers games helps slot people into relative power ranges to get a sense of how they interact in the story. =)
In AW there’s a lot about “if that action isn’t a move, then don’t roll”. Also, there’s a GM move for those situations “Tell them the possible consequences and ask”: so you have the right to honestly tell your player: “sure, you can face those 6 guards, you are very though and trained, however you’ll end with kill a couple of them, and gain some time for your friends, but you’ll die in the process… So, what you do?”. If the player want to go on, he’s doing ’cause he understand the consequences… So maybe you doesn’t need rolls at all: if the player accept, then you simply narrate the epic and desperate fight, with a couple of guards killed, and safety gained for the rest of the group, and a meaningful death of a PC “.
Or, the player could choose another way, after he heard the consequences.
I feel this is a good and honest way to manage” magnitude of forces”. So… Your PC wanna face a leviathan? Good, here are the consequences.
This is a mechanic that will be added when Sage LaTorra does the supers playset. Probably not necessary for standard Blades, usually, but it’ll be there if you need it.