Scum & Villainy is a beautiful and compelling adaptation.
Scum & Villainy is a beautiful and compelling adaptation. I’m eager to play, and for more ships, etc! Thanks for the care and imagination Stras Acimovic and John LeBoeuf-Little!
In a modern/future black ops hack largely focused on battle, stealth, and sometimes spywork, I’m considering having…
In a modern/future black ops hack largely focused on battle, stealth, and sometimes spywork, I’m considering having Resistance rolls always use an inverse of Load instead of Prowess/Insight/Resolve. The idea is that load determines your exposure/profile and speed/encumbrance as well as your preparation and therefore inversely proportionate to your flexibility, subtlety, reaction time, and improvisational/adaptability potential.
Heavy load = 1 reaction/resistance die (should it be 0?)
Normal = 2 dice
Light = 3 dice
One of the benefits of this is that resistance will never have more than 3 dice (though some playbook special abilities will grant +1d in certain contexts), meaning harm/effects are more stressful to avoid/reduce. I should mention that lethality and PC turnover are meant to be high (and rewarded somewhat) in this hack.
What pros/cons and holes or drawbacks do you see in this design decision?
Have you all seen Tabletop Audio?
Have you all seen Tabletop Audio? By now there is a ton of amazing (free) 10-minute soundscapes covering a massive variety of themes (fantasy/scifi/historical/modern/nature/horror/etc.)
Here is a quick playlist of 20 particularly Blades-appropriate ones at first glance. Dark City, Victorian City, and Docks District especially.
http://tabletopaudio.com/index.html?86&94&99&82&76&75&70&67&60&44&46&42&38&39&37&18&8&12&10&102
The site also has pretty great and easy to use SoundPads (for on-demand sound effects). My list below are those that seem most Blades-appropriate, but you can use the Custom one to consolidate whatever sounds you want from the others. You can build scenes then swap between them with a single click.
Soundpads
Combat
Wasteland
The Tavern
House on the Hill
Olde Towne
Age of Sail
This awesome site is Patreon backed so give it a look and if you dig it, consider contributing to keep the awesome coming! I’m not affiliated with the site in any way, just a fan.)
http://tabletopaudio.com/index.html?86&94&99&82&76&75&70&67&60&44&46&42&38&39&37&18&8&12&10&102
I love, love, love the horizontal (vertical?) district art on the last few pages of 7.1.
I love, love, love the horizontal (vertical?) district art on the last few pages of 7.1. What a perfect way to convey a sense of the place in all three dimensions that matter to scoundrels who will be climbing over and under and all around.
I’d love to see Tangletown in the river!
Ahoy BitD friends!
Ahoy BitD friends! I updated the GDoc playbook/crew sheet effort started by Jason Eley to reflect the changes represented in 7.1. This game just gets better and better!
I’m sure I missed a bunch of little things (i.e. new/changed comment text), so let me know what you find that needs correcting! Comments are enabled.
Check it out and make copies for yourself as needed.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tT9qXyu2AN43tK3ThoeskjIn6KFZGVh-jFE08bbhNmU/edit?usp=sharing
Hi John Harper! Small 7.1 observations:
Hi John Harper! Small 7.1 observations:
I appreciate the new hunting grounds mechanics on p.48 of 7.1. Can I suggest clarifying the following sentence however? “When you [are about to] attempt a score on your hunting grounds that matches one of its [chosen/activated/unlocked] feature types, you get a free downtime activity to prep for the operation.”
On first reading it seems that attempting any listed feature grants the bonus, but I believe it means to say that only attempting the currently selected features grant a free downtime activity to prep for it.
It may also be worthwhile to clarify whether it means “Before you are about to attempt a score…” or if the bonus downtime activity could take place before or after the score. That it says “to prep for the operation” implies beforehand only, but “when you attempt” implies the operation is already underway, in which case the free downtime activity would just be a regular flashback.
I know John Harper has mentioned a future game he plans to write, Razors, which is likely to be a primary contender…
I know John Harper has mentioned a future game he plans to write, Razors, which is likely to be a primary contender for scratching my itch for tabletop XCOM-stories. Nevertheless, I just can’t shake the desire to adapt BitD to do so in the meantime. 😛
This image reminds me of more mundane leviathans.
This image reminds me of more mundane leviathans.
Originally shared by Clint Krause
The Great Whales of Walfismeer Art by Sean Poppe #driftwoodverses
Has anybody else been using Tabletop Audio (and especially it’s new interactive soundpads!) for running Blades games?
Has anybody else been using Tabletop Audio (and especially it’s new interactive soundpads!) for running Blades games?
The site offers great victorian city/docks/spooky/airship/alchemical lab ambience soundscapes, and the soundpads allow great way to add easy sound effects for things like clanging doors, dog packs barking, fire, footsteps, rain, winds, eerie and suspenseful tones, etc. The Olde Towne soundpad is brand new and seems well-suited for Blades games!
Main soundscapes: http://tabletopaudio.com/
Olde Towne Soundpad: http://tabletopaudio.com/olde_towne_sp.html
Dungeon-themed soundpad: http://tabletopaudio.com/dungeon_sp.html
Dark Forest Soundpad:
I love lots of the subtle changes in v4.
I love lots of the subtle changes in v4. The enhanced engagement results in are great inspiration, as well as the beefed up interface with incarceration. I’m completely thrilled by the teaser for prison claims in the full game. In longer play with the previous systems, I felt somewhat stymied in giving the Bluecoats and Inspectors teeth.
Oh, I also like the new rep/tier/hold/claims systems. They all seem to better fit the fictional expectations in a way that’s more natural and intuitive. It seems that there may be more movement between tiers which I think is great. Lots more tentative intrigue games and power plays in order for the crew to appear better than it is, only to be brought low by enemies who want to assert their own positions. I like it that it feels much easier for NPC factions to hit the PC crew in a way that makes it hurt but isn’t the end of the world.