Author: Jason Lee

John Harper​ I have been listening to the Friends at the Table actual play of Blades in the Dark in their Marielda setting and really enjoying it. I just had a couple of questions coming from it.

1) In the episode “Marielda 5: War and Azaleas”, starting at the 8 minute mark, Austin asks the players to outline more formally their 3 Beliefs (the motivations or major thought patterns) and 3 Instincts (things it can almost always be assumed that the characters have or do). These are helpful both for roleplay choices and also for things like determining effect level and also how reasonable flashbacks might be. I really loved how well it worked in their game and will probably be using it in my play of it. Is there any plan to have something similar in the final book?

2) Is there any chance of one of your playthroughs being put out in podcast form? I’m travelling and don’t always get good enough wifi for YouTube streaming, and I love having actual plays to listen to on long bus journeys. I enjoyed the first episode of your BitD AP and would love to listen to the rest on the move.

Thanks.

Weather, Temperature and Seasons

I know the general setting for Blades has it being dark all the time, but what do people generally have as the weather in Doskvol? What about the temperature? Is there seasonal variation?

For me, I think of London so gloomy, sometimes rainy, mild to cold and four seasons, albeit less dramatic than you may get in other parts of the world (light snow in winter, slightly warmer in summer).

What do other people play? Or am I forgetting an obvious section in the book that outlines all this?

I guess this is mainly aimed at John, but also to those contributing official material to a lesser extent.

With regards to the layout of the pages in the quick start set that is the current iteration, I think it’s a very nicely arranged book. The text is all clear, the style is fitting and consistent and the illustrations are helpful.

My question is about how physical copies will look. The pages are currently all A4 (probably) in landscape. Some pages have 3 columns, some 2 and the illustration pages are obviously whole page. Does that mean then that the book will be A4 landscape when it is done?

I don’t have a particular issue with this. As I said, I think the book is very well arranged. I just wonder what considerations going for a non-standard RPG format required in terms of both production and sales? Do you think it’ll be beneficial that it will stand out on shelves in retailers? Do you forsee any complaints about how it might fit on shelves when compared to other books people might already own?

So I’ve read through version 6 and now 7.1 of the rules and I think it’s a great system. I’ve pitched it to my gaming group who are on-board with the premise. However, I’m currently travelling round the world and so have a few months before we’ll be able to start. I want to use this time to prepare so that I’m ready to get started as soon as I get back.

I guess my question is, other than having a good knowledge of the rules and the factions, what else can I do to prepare?

I’ve seen the quick start has an opening scenario and how to kick it off. Do most people use that when starting a new campaign?

And how much do people plan ahead? I’ve seen suggestions that you don’t plan anything in advance and just go from what the players give you in-game, but as a new-ish GM, this makes me a little nervous as I would like the campaign to have some narrative through-line to help drive the action forward. Other than NPC and faction clocks, what do other people do?

Thanks in advance for any help.

(Also, I hope this is the right section of the forum for this type of question. If not, can someone let me know where to move it to please.)