Author: Andrew Shields

The heist and the anti-heist!

The heist and the anti-heist!

The heist and the anti-heist! It is reasonable to have factions fill up clocks, and when those clocks are full, to hit crews with the consequences.

In a less technical direction, I have found another way to determine when the crew is the target of action rather than acting.

When they are driving forward and pursuing a goal with gusto, I tend to go along with that and follow the action, only interjecting when it is the most fun. (And that’s where full clocks become a worry, that they can interrupt things and heighten the suspense and tension.) 

When they lose direction and purpose and don’t have any clear idea for heists, or next steps, THAT is when I tend to hit them with NPC factions acting out.

They weren’t sure what their next steps would be, but after the assassins their enemy hired fail to kill them, you better believe they’ve got a pretty clear idea of what to do next. =)

Also, the moment when they’re on the edge of getting what they’ve been working for is also the prime moment for them to be targeted for a heist. 

I present to you the Duskwall Heist Deck.

I present to you the Duskwall Heist Deck.

I present to you the Duskwall Heist Deck.

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/duskwall-heist-deck

This deck is designed to help the GM make up heists on the fly. There are two kinds of cards inside.

One type involves obstacles. Each card has a Duskwall flavored obstacle that defends a heist site, complete with questions to get you thinking about customizing it. The back side has suggestions to make the obstacle more or less difficult. There are 50 cards in this section.

The other type has an important person on one side, and a potential treasure on the other. You can use the person side to draw potential employers and targets. You can use the treasure side to see what the scoundrels might be after! There are 40 cards in this section.

To round it all off, there is a free .pdf with suggestions for how to use the deck to set up a heist, or for other improvisational purposes. Take a look!

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/duskwall-heist-deck/download/69035E6E-BA57-11E5-B367-E5D1B234A805

Special thanks to John Harper, who was supportive of this idea! I hope it will be really helpful to GMs who want to show off the haunted city of Duskwall in all its sordid glory.

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/duskwall-heist-deck

I added one more step to the gang method.

I added one more step to the gang method.

I added one more step to the gang method. At the beginning of the session, each player tells the group how their character wants the Crows to think of him or her. 

So, you see what’s important to the character, and also get the sense of what the Crows might ACTUALLY think of the character. I think it is a charming way to convey information fast and get past character sharing and into the heist.

Play report for an open table game of a Crow gang.

Play report for an open table game of a Crow gang.

Play report for an open table game of a Crow gang.

https://fictivefantasies.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/blades-in-the-dark-mystery-box/

Desperate action? Check. So much deception that teeth were referred to as “lie combs”? Check. Fleeing a burning building with bluecoats closing in? Check. Delicious boiled hagfish feast? Check and mate. This here is a Duskwall adventure alright.

Thanks to Joe Lauren, Christopher Rinderspacher, Carl Leonardsson, and Brian Wille for a great one-shot game.

https://fictivefantasies.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/blades-in-the-dark-mystery-box

Here are pre-fab characters for the 4b version of the game.

Here are pre-fab characters for the 4b version of the game.

Here are pre-fab characters for the 4b version of the game. I have included a Word document to make it easy for you to make your own pre-fabs. Also included are 5 characters, one for each class.

If you are going to play more than once, or want to add experience to the character, it is better to transfer the character to a proper character sheet. However, this should get you started!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4pysv2yrsj48d37/AAA-HT_cD1jru_R1sotHGOVya?dl=0

If you use the rules summary I put together, and offer a few pre-fab characters, you’re close to getting a game together with a minimum of fuss.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4pysv2yrsj48d37/AAA-HT_cD1jru_R1sotHGOVya?dl=0

I’m having trouble with redoing the prefab characters for Blades in the Dark.

I’m having trouble with redoing the prefab characters for Blades in the Dark.

I’m having trouble with redoing the prefab characters for Blades in the Dark. Part of it is the urge to redo some abilities because they don’t make sense to me, and I want to put in an alternative that is easy to understand and feels cool.

I’m working on the Cutter, and here’s an official special ability:

“Leader: When you Command a gang in combat, they stand fast when they would otherwise break or flee. They get 1 armor.”

I’m just not sure how to use this. “When they would otherwise break or flee” is totally fictional, so that requires the cutter to a) be with them in the fight, not delegating, and b) have a circumstance where they would run and you don’t want them to. Furthermore, there’s some way to track damage to them that I don’t know, because I guess you could apply conditions to them, but they’re NPCs without PC style stats and conditions. So how does the 1 armor come into play? The special ability feels more like an invitation to abuse the gang in a rule way instead of a fictional way, because there is a rules fix.

What else could be done to get the same thrust but with different system?

“Leader: When using Command to determine a gang’s success in combat, allow the gang to ignore 1 complication per fight. Fighting gangs gain +1 Potence.”

That way the gang is generally better with the potence boost, and can ignore 1 complication which may be broken morale.

Hm. Maybe I’ll just pick a different special ability. I want these prefabs to be useful for anyone, not just me. Better keep the tinkering to a minimum.

Here is a rules summary.

Here is a rules summary.

Here is a rules summary. It is a pale shadow of the quickstart. My target audience is people who don’t have the quickstart, or need quick reference during play. (And, of course, me, running the game.)

This further targets gangs doing one-shots. That means I don’t need issues on turf, or what happens between heists. I also don’t really pay any attention to gaining or spending experience.

I would appreciate it if the detail-oriented among you would point me to misinterpretations or inaccuracies in the reference document.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-5YMhxwwPVSY45kTl_HjC7b0y71wXp8pxRsjbRGA4oM/edit?usp=sharing

Your scoundrels are in service to the Crows, a brutal gang that rules crime in the Crow’s Foot district of Duskwall.

Your scoundrels are in service to the Crows, a brutal gang that rules crime in the Crow’s Foot district of Duskwall.

Originally shared by Andrew Shields

Your scoundrels are in service to the Crows, a brutal gang that rules crime in the Crow’s Foot district of Duskwall. I will make up a heist when the gang assembles and answers some questions about what sort of mission they want to take on.

IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND, no need to explain why. It is fine to decline or ignore the opportunity, no obligation or expectation.

We will play as long as we have 3 scoundrels, and I do not want more than 5. Confirmed attendees will be noted in the comments, alternates also if we have more players than we can handle at once.

We will be using the gang rules.

* [Link to updated gang rules.]

We will be using the most current quickstart.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2080350433/blades-in-the-dark/posts/1422380

If you did not back the kickstarter, then I will have a quick reference sheet with the most basic rules.

* [Link to rules reference.]

Please have a character made before we start, or pick out a pre-fab character ahead of time.

* [Prefab character link will be here.]

events/cdonruitk6le2qjni6ijqd7l4v8

Okay, so it looks like we’ve got some people who want to play this game, but are having trouble getting someone to…

Okay, so it looks like we’ve got some people who want to play this game, but are having trouble getting someone to…

Okay, so it looks like we’ve got some people who want to play this game, but are having trouble getting someone to run it for them. I figured I was done with open table games until the game came out, but it tugs on my heart strings to see scoundrels with no scoundrelling to do.

So, I’m testing interest here. I’m thinking about putting a game together on the evening of Monday, December 28 (though that may be flexible as I’m off that day) and I’m in the CST zone. I could take 3-5 people, who would have opportunity to talk availability before I created an event (and I think I can probably run the game then, but have a little more checking to do.) This is all theoretical, you understand. Nothing that would hold up in court.

Anybody eager to play a one-shot as a Crow gang? And available Monday, December 28, in the evening, CST? I need 3-5 players to make the game viable.