Blades in the Dark: Actual Play Reports – Page 62

ACTUAL PLAY: The Hagfish?

This is a long post, you are warned, so here’s

TL;DR: First operation of a new Assassin crew trying to establish hold beneath the shadow of a hidden war between two ancient Iruvian cults.

We recently rebooted our Blades game in a Living Campaign fashion, and I thought people might be interested some actual play about it. Also, I’m GMing and I kinda wanted to organize my thoughts.

This reboot, we decided to go with a new Assassin crew(!), caught up in some of the aftermath of our last campaign.

Some premise: We have two factions of our own making.

1) The Lilies: The last crew we were playing in our campaign. An ancient Iruvian sex cult that worships a dead god named Illith Lindee who was said to be the god of death and shepherd to spirits before the Gates of Death were constructed. Essentially the cult believes that ghosts can be transcended beyond this world through practice of sex magic. Also possessors of rituals that mitigate a ghost’s need to drain spirit essence, and can prevent them from going feral. Their lair was the Lily’s End, an old dilapidated theatre on the outskirts of Six Towers that they’ve turned into an arcanely hidden Brothel for ghosts. Also owners of a couple other brothels. Strong ties to the Reconciled, and old Iruvia, which brings us to…

2) The Ouroboros: An ancient Iruvian occult society, said to be run by a Demon. Basically the Unseen to the iruvian underworld, lots of human trafficking and contraband. Heavy inspiration from Tzimsce, Bene Tleilaxu, and Faceless Men. They practice occult Chirurgy, and are rumoured to warp flesh and bone to their purpose. Also rumors of a royal lineage exhibiting snake-like features. Not a big organization, but said to have sleeper agents everywhere. Agenda unknown. Tried to muscle on the Lilies before we broke off our last campaign.

Both decided to be Tier III at the time of this new campaign.

Which brings us to the Hagfish(?), our new (and newly named) Assassin crew.

Characters:

Hix Maroden: Hound – A hulking, scarred, grey skinned(disease remnants; think greyscale from GoT, but it’s under control) former dock worker with a boat harbored at the west tip of the canal. She took Not to Be Trifled with, if that gives you a better picture. She picked a portrait of Ursula’s scowling face from the Little Mermaid as her character’s image, if that gives you and even better picture. Pet decided to be a giant man-eating Conger Eel. Observations from play; like to drink, fuck, fight, and freak people out. Also, ostensible face of the group, despite her demeanor and appearance.

Lizette: Hound – Skovlander orphan turned mercenary for the Imperial armies. Athletic, hooded, and threadbare. Stalks the rooftops of Doskvol with a hobby for killing “bad men”. Has a few rooftop lean-tos ala the Punisher’s ammo-caches in Daredevil. Observations from play; Quiet, Macho, Shy.

Polonia: Slide – Broodling of a snake-like lineage from the Ouroboros. Decided she was trying to prove herself as a valuable operative for them by getting some dirty work done, and organizing a cell. Took mesmerism as a slide advance, which is fantastic color for a freaky snake lady. As her fine “disguise kit” we argue that she has something she calls “glamour powder” which smooths out her minor snake-scales among the other implied effects, and her passive mesmerist stuff makes people not notice her snake eyes unless as a consequence of an action. Observations from play: flirtatious, no-nonsense, arguably brains of crew.

Lair: Hix’s boat The Kosuku Unagi – The crew took Boat House and Assassin Rigging as advances. Why they didn’t take hidden or secure instead of Assassin Rigging? IDK. Trying to be generous with the boat, since it’s their junking lair as well. We’ll figure that out. Moored at the west end of The Docks.

Also, according to our crew creation, we start with a downtick for the Ouroboros, and an uptick with the Lilies. Decided we sold out the Ouroboros’ action, and we’re trying to redeem ourselves.

SESSION 1: Dead Drop orders, a brief date with Orlan Keele, and brawl some Bluecoats because why not?

Making our crew, we took the Patron advance, saying that the relatively small-staffed Ouroboros was hiring disposable cells to do their dirty work, with Polonia organizing this one. Decide they get orders from their patron, the Ouroboros, through a (not-quite) dead-drop package at an establishment Polonia frequents. Orders: infiltrate dock house 3, retrieve Orlan Keele with face unharmed, alive if possible, and change a ledger entry to allocate a shipment to a different warehouse.

Our crew took Disappearance as their starting hunting ground, and we decided it was constrained to the Docks (still working out how to manage hunting grounds). The order note had a timeline of “2 days” for the operation, so Lizette took a free pre-downtime to survey Dock House three. It was discovered that Keele’s schedule seems predictable. Right after sundown he heads to a nearby bar for a couple drinks. I’m not sure if our op was planned as Social or Deception, but it ended up with a fantastic engagement roll. Polonia met Keele at the bar, proceeded to flirt it up, while Hix and Lizette surveyed the Dock House. More good rolls, and Polonia had Keele to agree to move to a more “private” location, for a more enjoyable evening; the Dock House. In the meantime Hix is scumming the docks and notices Keele’s beefy security guard stepping outside to smoke a cigar. A fortune roll, with some weight from her background, and we realize it’s an old coworker Roan. The bicker, and I’m fuzzy on the details, but I’m almost positive that after a failed roll trying to goad Roan into arm-wrestling, Hix just decks him. Goes well (as far as Hix’s agenda) and they end up in a brawl in the middle of the docks. Bluecoats come and ask for a bribe… goes bad, yada yada yada, Roan and Hix ended up kicking the shit out of two bluecoats as a crowd gathers. A bloodied Roan and a nearly stabbed, black-eyed Hix stumble to a bar; friends forever. Meanwhile…

Polonia has a smitten Keele arriving at the backdoor to the Dock House just as Lizette sprints up, blasting him in the back of the head with the butt of her rifle. Rolls well. Unconcious Keele and keys to the dockhouse are obtained. Lizette busies herself carrying the unconcious man, while Polonia deals with the ledger. She finds it easily, but after a failed study roll to do it quickly, a bluecoat raps on the door asking for witnesses involving the beating of the two bluecoats. Mesmerism engages, and the Bluecoat officer agrees that tomorrow morning would be a better time to come by. Lizette uses her mental linked hawk to scout a clear path through the alleys, and dumps Keele (bound and gagged) into the boat house beside Hix’s dock. Some brief interrogation takes place on the bound Keele, which goes poorly and he warns “Whoever is paying you, they don’t understand what their dealing with. You make mistakes on the docks and they’ll come! They’ll fucking get you! There’s something you don’t want to delve into.” Eventually they all slink back and ferry their ‘cargo’ across the canal to silk shore, completing the hand-off of Keele to their Patron. Bag of coin tossed across from a gondola. Operation concluded.

In term’s of payout I decided “Face unharmed?” check. “Ledger adjusted?” check. “Quiet” not quite… Six coin score, moderate heat. Our crew spends most of downtime healing from injuries, following up on the new warehouse they adjusted cargo to goto (only witnessing a fancy palanquin leaving the new warehouse), and training. Training EXP is no joke.

I roll entanglements and get “Rivals”. A neutral crew throws their weight around. Knock knock. It’s the Hive. Thanks for fucking with our biz.

If anyone read all the way through this, show some support and I’ll post our second session tonight. New to actual plays, and up for critique. Trying to bolster my GM skills, and to that effect I’d love to give a play-by-decision breakdown of some stuff that happened.

xoxo

A Rail Jack no more!

A Rail Jack no more!

Hix disowned, Harland lost, and Elke indoctrinating new crew members, oh my! So many firsts in this game and such great reveals.

Players: Karen Twelves, Eric Fattig, and Adrienne Mueller

http://www.seannittner.com/actual-play-a-rail-jack-no-more-8162016/

I ran 6 hours of Blades in the Dark today.

I ran 6 hours of Blades in the Dark today. The first session was for 4 people. One had played at my Blades in the Dark game before at a game day. Two were experienced players who never played Blades in the Dark. One was a board gamer trying out role playing games.

We had a good time. I got my players in three waves, so that complicated character generation, but we took the time and worked it out. Then I walked them through the gang questions and gave them my abbreviated rules summary, and we got started.

After the heist, during the lunch break, I talked to one of the experienced gamers who was new to this game. She said the premise made them sound like cool characters, as did the special abilities, but she found it frustrating (echoing the frustration of the table) how difficult it was to get successes without feeling hobbled by the complications. It felt like the characters just weren’t good at their jobs.

OKAY, the LAST thing I need is to get clobbered with the discussion of “we like it dirty and hard and our characters screwed up bad and the game is pointless without constant complications” line of reasoning. I’ve heard it over and over and I know it by heart. I can say that I soft-pedal the game with new people and one shots and STILL get consistent feedback that while they like the game overall, new players often struggle at the incompetence of their characters.

I will also note I allowed them to get all the bonus dice they paid for, instead of limiting it to just one. If they got support from another character’s stress, and also a devil’s bargain, and also spent stress for a die, I let them have all three. And I offered devil’s bargains that weren’t absolutely wrenching all the time. And the new players were still struggling with the sense that their characters were incompetent. It’s easy for four dice to come up with a high number of 2. And no, I could not care less for your statistical projections–this is how it plays out, on a frequent basis, whether it should or not.

PLEASE DON’T ARGUE WITH MY PLAYERS’ FEEDBACK BY PROXY. I am not them and I’ve already had every flavor of this conversation I care to. If you disagree with them it’s fine to note that in the privacy of your head and move on. The game isn’t going to change, so you will get it the way you like it.

ANYWAY.

The players had so much fun all four came back for the afternoon session, plus a new one. One of my players enthusiastically took on the task of helping the new guy make a character. We picked up where we left off, turning a complication on an acquisition flashback roll (protect a vendor’s daughter, some guy is stalking her) into the focus for the heist.

After that, we did another heist inspired by previous events of the day. They spun one heist into 3 separate parts of the plan, and I dialed the scope way out so we used a combination of rolls, expenditures of stress, snips of conversation, and delegation to gangs to take care of business up to the climactic final step. We were totally outside the heist/down time structure.

Part of the reason for this was because we were playing gangs instead of making a crew. So, downtime basically clears injuries and stress and hurls them back into action.

They tried out 3 of the gang types, and all 3 underbosses, but stuck with the same gang of aristocratic rooks because they loved Rusty and his ne’er do wells and were reluctant to give them up.

And the goat humor. So much goat humor. In part because one character set a wagon on fire and rolled it down the hill, crushing a blue coat and smashing the finest Red Sash carriage, setting the hindquarters of two of the regal goats on fire, so they went berserk. In a previous heist I invented “goat-amp” which is smelling salts for goats, administered at the end of a stick to prevent immediate death from startled and angry goat. The gang of rooks experimented with drinking some flakes in wine and were sick for a week.

As they were escaping the flaming wagon heist, one of the players offered a devil’s bargain; if there is a complication, it will be related to a flaming goat. The player took that bargain, attempting to escape the bluecoats. So, according to a flashback, they hired an organ grinder to put fireworks in his rig so he could stage a distraction as they were escaping. The noise triggered the goat’s fighting instinct where it hid in the alley, and it rushed out, singed hindquarters and all, and leaped at the character (who resisted getting hit.) The goat fell into the canal and made hysterical noises, however briefly, as they escaped.

My players had a good time visiting the city and playing with the flashbacks and flavor of the game. It was a great experience overall, and I think they’ll think of Blades in the Dark as a fun game in the future. I got to do some experimental things structure wise (unfurling a 3 part adventure over the course of just over an hour is pretty intense if you drive the pace as the players try to reach consensus on next steps while managing different agendas and capacities.)

Blades in the Dark is still great!

http://www.twitch.tv/RPGlory

http://www.twitch.tv/RPGlory

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 31 (August 23 2016)

Gloves is still in Ironhook. Everyone else is home.

We open with Constance dangling Fitz by his legs over the edge of the roof of the doll factory, while Shade and Boots stand by. Once Fitz regains consciousness and calms down enough to stop screaming and Constance is certain that she has his full attention, she hauls him back up and sits him down at the assembly table. She lays out her plan to re-open the lower part of the factory, and to put him in charge of the operation as legitimate owner of the building and associated business. She also wants him to hire McDonough as manager. Fitz nervously agrees, and Gears gives him the tour.

Constance confers with Boots to hear his thoughts regarding Mylera’s intentions. They don’t trust her and are certain the invitation is a trap. They also resolve to visit Gloves when they get the chance.

Constance instructs Boots, Kamali, and Gears to guard the factory, and finds Shade in the process of moving into the new workshop. He tells her about Jezelle, and shows her the spirit bottle. She brings him with her to meet with Mylera.

Along the way they notice that the Red Sashes are not visible in their usual haunts, and in fact the Moon’s Daughter is closed. Needless to say, Constance and Shade are on their guard. The Temple also stands unguarded. When they enter through the wide-open front doors, they find the house completely empty, except for Mylera herself in the main room, sitting and lighting incense with a long fireplace match. She congratulates them for taking care of Baszo for her, and explains she had recently received word that her exile had been lifted, and so the Red Sashes are going home. When pressed on the details of the root of the conflict, Mylera relents and finally tells them the entire story by the light of the slowly burning mach.

Mylera’s Tale:

Baszo had a personal vendetta against Mylera Klev because he believed her to be responsible for the death of his wife Celia a number of years ago. Celia and Mylera were sisters.

Celia was an agent of the Iruvian Ministry of Intelligence, and 15 years ago it was her mission to investigate possible links to Severosi agitators working against Iruvia. One of those possible links was Baszo. The Red Sashes were stationed in Duskwall as backup. Before long, Celia had fallen in love with Baszo. At first Mylera was convinced that it was part of the cover story, but when Aleira was born, there was no doubt. Mylera didn’t approve of the match, but couldn’t stand in the way of her sister’s happiness.

10 years ago, a Severosi agent named Antonio Tancredi assassinated Ambassador Khurram, throwing relations between Iruvia and Severos into turmoil. Fortunately, Khurram’s successor, Ambassador Bashir, was able to negotiate peace between Iruvia and Severos. It certainly helped that the events of the Skovlan Uprising were fresh in everyone’s mind, and no one wanted to attract the attention of the Imperial Army. Celia had identified Tancredi as one of Baszo’s contacts, but failed to report him to her superiors. However, another agent named Sayid did report him, as well as Celia’s activities. Celia, Mylera, and the Red Sashes were all sentenced to exile. If they set foot in Iruvia again, they would be immediately executed.

Celia blamed herself for the incident and the Sashes’ subsequent predicament. She begged Mylera to kill her, because there was a chance that Sultan Hassan would pardon Mylera and the Sashes for bringing Celia to justice. Mylera reluctantly complied, and Celia made her promise to never reveal the truth to Baszo. Unfortunately, it was not enough to convince the Sultan to forgive Mylera, and the Sashes remained in exile. Mylera has friends in the Iruvian Consulate who have been lobbying on her behalf, and they have only recently been successful. The Sashes have since divested themselves of all local business concerns, packed everything up and loaded it up on a ship bound for Eldira. Mylera was tying up loose ends when Constance arrived.

Mylera asks after Aleira, and Constance informs her she was being looked after. The question of handing her over to Mylera is raised, a prospect in which Mylera expresses singular interest. Constance voices her concerns for a woman’s prospects in Iruvia (based on what she knows of Kamali’s history), and Mylera assures her that the girl will want for nothing, will have the finest education, and every opportunity will be made available to her. Constance reluctantly agrees. Mylera hands her a set of keys, informing her that something exceedingly valuable was left behind in the Temple. Mylera says she needs to take some time to get her house in order, after which time she will return to visit, and at that time take the girl home with her. She tosses something to Shade on her way out – a primitive grenade, unlit (the implication being that if either of them had been any less conciliatory, she would have used it).

Constance and Shade return home to tell everyone else the news. The Lampblacks are no more, and the Red Sashes have removed themselves from the equation. She hands the keys Mylera gave her to Kamali and Gears, who promptly return to the Temple to investigate. They find that the three keys on the ring go to the outer doors, Mylera’s private study upstairs, and the vault in the basement. When they open the vault, they find it to be empty except for Mylera’s ledger, which contains all the details of the Red Sashes business dealings in Crow’s Foot. There is a handwritten note in the back, stating that they have a head start, but should hurry, as nature abhors a vacuum.

Notes:

Lot of exposition this time around, stuff I’d had planned out since Session 1. I wanted to give a little more weight to the central conflict than a simple territorial dispute, and I wanted it to be a situation where no one was clearly without blame. Everyone involved did their part to make everything that much worse, even though they all did what they misguidedly believed was right. Sometimes there are no winners.

#dontmesswiththedolls

Everybody’s doing NPC cards, so I did mine.

Everybody’s doing NPC cards, so I did mine. Big fun between score giving Doskvol a few faces and good use for the fotocards

Scum and Villainy Play-test

Hey you all. You might know I’ve been working on a hack of Blades in the Dark with Stras Acimovic; it’s meant to recreate the spacefaring adventures found in Firefly, Star Wars, and Guardians of the Galaxy. We play-tested it about a week ago and it was pretty great.

Out of the gate, we have a number of classic playbooks. I played the dashing Scoundrel, ever fortune’s favorite. My table-mate Mike played the clever Mechanic, whose engineering antics were clutch to pull us out of the fire a number of times. Avedan played our mysterious Mystic with unsettling powers.

The initial situation for S&V is fun – we started in the middle of a shoot-out, having just stolen an Ur artifact and having several disputing factions trying to kill us for it. Our GM started a clock to track our getaway. I laid down some suppressing fire while our mechanic overrode the safety settings on a hoverlift. Cue dramatic title sequence as we rode over a nearby cliff.

We hustled through the crowded streets of the bustling city-moon to a gambling den (further advancing our clock), until we found a gambling den to hide in. We were stymied at the door until our Mystic managed to bring in her noble background and masquerade as a high-roller and get us off the street.

One of the new mechanics in S&V is the gambit mechanic. The crew starts with a pool of gambits that represent a little bit of tangible luck. These gambits can be spent in various ways, such as to gain a die, or to activate specific playbook powers. My playbook has the unique ability that it gives the crew an extra gambit. It’s not a flashy power, but it felt really nice to have that extra support and it felt like we had a little more depth when things got out of hand.

We took the opportunity to do downtime actions. We investigated the nature of this artifact and found out that it had the ability to shut down star gates used to connect systems in the empire. After arguing about whether we could sell it, the only thing we could agree on was getting off planet. Our ship was still on lockdown in the local spaceport, so our hacker figured out what we could do about it. Our Mystic brought in a friend to help seal the deal. For my part, I spent some time figuring out how to make money while we’re there.

Our engagement roll was pretty good, and we got all the way to our ship before things became serious. The Mechanic started to work our way around the spaceport’s security systems, but not before a member of the Nightspeakers – a cult of mystics that have nefarious designs – arrived, seeking the box. Our Mystic managed to use the Way to bend our enemy’s mind, giving us time to work.

The mechanic overrode the last of the locks while I started our plan to steal some conveniently located fuel. I managed to con some droids into loading a few crates onto our ship, but around that time (and after a borderline roll) the Nightspeaker broke free of the confusion and unsheathed it’s energy sword. A battle ensued, culminating in our Mystic bending space around the unearthly warrior and tapping enough of her own life force that she could barely stand. Our Mechanic finally popped the locks. Running through a barrage of laser fire we manage to blast off to space.

In all, it was an incredible time. The Blades core really pushes towards the interesting middle ground and the extensions we’ve made – between the new playbooks and the gambit mechanic – really capture the dynamism in the source material. I’m really excited about what we’ve got here.