Category: Blades in the Dark: Discussion

Pedro Pablo Calvo posted a link to how Fate deals with players feeling their characters are incompetent, and how to…

Pedro Pablo Calvo posted a link to how Fate deals with players feeling their characters are incompetent, and how to…

Pedro Pablo Calvo posted a link to how Fate deals with players feeling their characters are incompetent, and how to counter that.

https://fate-srd.com/fate-core/what-do-during-play#making-failure-awesome

As I understand it, the bottom line of this advice is that character skill is constant, and the roll represents circumstances beyond their control.

If that’s in the spirit of the game, why have the player roll for the world? If the character is not the variable, but the world is, shouldn’t the GM roll that?

That also means, thematically, that assistance and group actions and devil bargains and all the rest are not affecting the character, but instead affecting the world around the character (whose performance is standard.)

This changes how I would discuss the game mechanics with players. “Your dice rolls are not about you, they are random because they represent how effectively the world (fate, luck, context) conspires to thwart you.”

https://fate-srd.com/fate-core/what-do-during-play#making-failure-awesome

So I’ve read through version 6 and now 7.1 of the rules and I think it’s a great system.

So I’ve read through version 6 and now 7.1 of the rules and I think it’s a great system.

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.)

I see the influences of PBTA for how task resolution is handled, but my question is in relation to “fighting”.

I see the influences of PBTA for how task resolution is handled, but my question is in relation to “fighting”.

I see the influences of PBTA for how task resolution is handled, but my question is in relation to “fighting”. Since NPCs don’t have stats or anything like that, how would you, the GM, handle a more extended fight? Using a clock? One hit for mooks, 4-piece for a tough guy, 6-piece for a real tough guy, 8-piece for a boss?

Been really enjoying the system and how it works…I can’t wait to really start a session with it.

I am running two sessions of Blades in the Dark for strangers at a game day in Kansas City tomorrow.

I am running two sessions of Blades in the Dark for strangers at a game day in Kansas City tomorrow.

I am running two sessions of Blades in the Dark for strangers at a game day in Kansas City tomorrow.

I’ll be running gangs instead of crews.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QtJxtygvG33wWTfUt14Z10RxHUIkVbAICznRwwHwt3Y/edit?usp=sharing

I will take candy. Then they will play in my games and be my friends.

Again something that has probably been asked already:

Again something that has probably been asked already:

Again something that has probably been asked already:

Is there an endgame in BitD? How does it look like? I understand this is different for every group but what are generally some of the conditions that can indicate a game is over? Are these mechanical (tier, wanted level, crew XP, etc.) or rather narrative?

Also maybe related: can you break the game? E.g., a crew of cultists burn down Doskvol in anticipation of their Cthulhulian god appearing. However they fuck up, burn down 90% of the city and no celestial overlord appears. Society collapses and the city, as described in the materials, is largely lost. Such a scenario sounds awesome but is that considered breaking the game? What is?

Sorry about the super specific and odd questions. I just like to think about “what if” scenarios sometimes.

Some thoughts on crime fiction.

Some thoughts on crime fiction.

Some thoughts on crime fiction.

Whatever crime you do isn’t actually what we want to see on screen, unless what you do has to do with relationships in conflict.

This is an early lesson imrov actors learn. If you have a scene where two people are fishing, the last thing you talk about is fishing.

The same is true of crime fiction. John Harper, Stras Acimovic, Adam Koebel and I often chastise ourselves that the Bloodletters don’t spend any time actually “hawking”. We’re usually fighting, but sometimes we’re brokering deals or fronting to other factions, or hunting down own foes in their homes.

But why? Because those things are interesting! Sure, we’ll show montages of here and there of someone getting a tattoo with demon blood, or our junkies collapsing in the alley, but how much fun would it be for us to play out a drug dealer with an addict? If the addict had something we wanted besides a few chits, plenty interesting, but otherwise, we care about the other factions and rivals (really one in the same) in the city.

There is a reason why the default crew were Thieves (now Shadows). The default action of thieves is taking something from someone else. It’s crime, but it’s also relationships in conflict, and that’s why it’s exciting.

So, call yourselves hawkers or smugglers or breakers or cultist or astronomers, it’s all the same. The action we want play (and want to see) is which of your neighbors soups you’re pissing in, and what they do to your soup in turn.

[Note: I’m not advocating changing anything in Blades, just not worrying too much (or at all) if you spend all your time doing other things.]