Hi everybody!

Hi everybody!

Hi everybody!

I’m Eric, published RPG writer, and partner at Just Insert Imagination.

I was halfway through writing Wiseguys, a setting for Savage Worlds where you play 90s Italian-American mobsters and their associates in an alternate Las Vegas. In this game, you perform daring heists, take part in chases and build your criminal empire.

Sounds like a match made in heaven (or in hell) for a Forged in the Dark game, right? I do think so, yeah.

The thing with Wiseguys is that there are no supernatural elements. Sure, five decades of nuclear testing in the Nevada desert has created certain anomalies but that’s about as far as it goes.

Do you think a setting like this would work well for a Forged in the Dark game despite the fact it lacks a supernatural or fantastic element?

What of the Attune action? Can the Resolve Attribute survive without a substitute for Attune? I can’t think of anything to replace it with at the moment.

Does all the shenanigans of a motley crew of criminals offer enough spice?

Note: If you are curious about the setting, we have the demo out and it’s free on dtrpg. I just don’t want to post any unsolicited promotion here. I’d be happy to provide a link, though.

Downtime during actual downtime

Downtime during actual downtime

Downtime during actual downtime

Has anyone tried doing downtime actions during actual downtime between sessions, via email/forum/discord/twitter or something? My group plays for only 2 hours every 2 weeks, and downtime can typically take a session all by itself. If it doesn’t, it definitely doesn’t leave time for a full score, so we end up really only doing a score a month, and I think handling downtime between sessions would work, kind of like a love letter mechanic thing. Just wondering if anyone else has had experience with that and if there are any tips or pitfalls to look for?

Hello, I’m after my first session with Scum and Villainy, We started with stardancer and made starting situation,…

Hello, I’m after my first session with Scum and Villainy, We started with stardancer and made starting situation,…

Hello, I’m after my first session with Scum and Villainy, We started with stardancer and made starting situation, my players liked it kind of, but I think I didn’t do very well. I treated PCs too much like a group and didn’t make “now you” spotlight moments, which would be good especially during crazy chase through Warren.

Apart from some translation issues, as my pack is not 100% english speaking I noticed that position/effect discussion was throwing my players off immersion like a lot, they even said me that after session. I was GMing Blades for another group and we are ok with everything

So I wanted to ask you for advice about GMing SaV and position/effect discussion, actually any would probably be super helpful.

PS

I also wanted to ask, how do you understand the detail from social plan, or other way – how do you translate it into engagement situation?

Thanks for any help, tips, opinions, you guys are all awesome 🙂

I need some help, please.

I need some help, please.

I need some help, please.

In my S&V campaign, I’ve replaced the Hegemony with The Collective: hive-mind, humanoid beings each comprised of thousands of tiny, rudimentary AIs (grain of rice-sized). Borgy, but without the assimilation. They strictly control advanced technology (I turned Ur-artifacts into ‘Outlaw Tech’); they want things to stay the same, forever (fear of obsolescence, maybe).

As part of the story, I used the Vorex’s search for her sister as a plot point, and now I’m stuck, because I’m not at all sure why the Collective would have kidnapped her. I’ve got a bit of a mental block happening, and the reveal is tonight. 🙂

If anyone has any thoughts, I’d love to hear them.

So another scum and villainy question which could just as easily be a blades in the dark question really.

So another scum and villainy question which could just as easily be a blades in the dark question really.

So another scum and villainy question which could just as easily be a blades in the dark question really. So how many sessions make for a reasonably good time frame. I’ve heard 6 weeks before 8 10 12? What’s your personal experience? Our groups play different games so it needs a good solid end date.

Two things:

Two things:

Two things:

1) I’m not real tech-savvy. One of my Scum & Villainy players made a sweet drawing of their spaceship, and I’d love to get it onto the appropriate Ship sheet. Apart from copying it smaller and taping it on there (ugly, and system lines won’t point the right way) how hard would it be to graft a scan of the ship onto a sheet? I’ve got access to very little software. (I feel like I’m saying, “I want to install a prosthetic hip, but the only tools I have are screwdrivers and a garden hose.”)

2) I’ve asked about having a separate community for Scum & Villainy, and it was pointed out that it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to splinter the FitD systems. I tend to agree. I’m not 100% sure how hashtags work on Google Plus, but would their consistent use be a good way to filter posts about hacks?

How do you (as a GM) handle boss-level conflicts?

How do you (as a GM) handle boss-level conflicts?

How do you (as a GM) handle boss-level conflicts? Whether the conflict is physical or overcome in some other way, do you have any tricks to make it feel more epic and climactic?

A bit more background on my question: I generally use clocks to track overcoming most obstacles in my games. For normal obstacles, this is fine, but personally, I find that my group can quickly overcome even an 8-segment clock. Which makes it difficult when I want to have a climactic scene to overcome a challenge that should feel like a real accomplishment.

For example, in the near future, my crew will be going toe-to-toe with a fire demon that they became aware of. They completed several scores to acquire items and information that would allow them to try to destroy the demon, but now I’m nervous that the final confrontation will lack the feel of a hard-won faceoff.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Stras Acimovic I have some Band of Blades questions:

Stras Acimovic I have some Band of Blades questions:

Stras Acimovic I have some Band of Blades questions:

(my game technically isn’t starting til september but I’m really into the concept and structure of BoB as well as the lore so I figured I’d ask questions now and note the answers)

1. What happens to Chosen after they’ve served the purpose they were Chosen for? Do they become mortal again, or do they just die?

2. Can gods Choose multiple people? The Zemyati Living God seems to have multiple active Chosen for a very long time.

3. How do muskets work in melee? In your streamed game you mention muskets having bayonets, and of course you can do a decent amount of damage with the butt of a musket, but the item description doesn’t reference using them in this way. If you can use muskets in melee, what’s the use of a rookie spending a load slot on a hand weapon? (other than fictional stuff)

4. How long can the Legion stay in one location? Is there anything that can force them to move on? In your streamed game, it seemed like the Legion was forced to leave Plainsworth by the advancing undead, but I can’t find anything in the rules to say the GM can force that (unless it’s the back at camp scene about the Legion having to relocate its camp, but that seems a bit too powerful for something like that).

5. Should the GM let players know about the special missions available in the area, or should they be kept in the dark? Many of the extra dice during the final battle at Skydagger Keep (Lighting the fires at Kevala, the head or chain of a Chosen, etc.) relate to things that may never be available to the Legion due to GM dice rolls, which seems a little unfair given how much of an emphasis BoB places on strategic planning from the Generals. Can the Quartermaster have long-term projects to pursue specific missions/objectives, or is that restricted to the Spymaster?

5b. Can the Quartermaster or Spymaster lure out/ambush a Broken via a long-term project, creating a scenario like the Archangel Bridge or Cavern Collapse missions?

5c. Can those campaign rewards from Special missions be gained via normal missions or long-term projects? Obviously this is context-specific, but if a squad decides to bring back a Warding Stone during a mission and pulls it off, do they get the bonus?

6. What kind of Traits do the Aldermanni have? Obviously there won’t be many Aldermanni in the Legion to begin with given their hostility to vestiges of the old Empire, but if players pick up Aldermanni recruits and play them, what traits do they get?

7. How are there still people living in the Dar if that’s where the Cinder King arose? (presuming the Crown of True Flame at the centre of the Dar was the same one the Cinder King now wears)

7b. Relatedly, given that Zora is apparently responsible for the current fate of Dar, is there a connection between that crown and her fiery circlet? Is that anything to do with Vlaisim and Zora’s apparent mission to kill the Cinder King?

8. What’s the date in the campaign? The timeline in the quickstart states that the current year is 843, but has prior events in 845. Adding the 427 years since the Legion’s founding in the Lorekeeper sheet to the Legion’s founding date in the timeline gives a date of 849.

9. Can Soldiers and Specialists put xp into the ‘Specialist’ Attribute to gain ranks in other Specialist actions? Does a Soldier keep their Grit when they Promote to a Specialist?

10. Does the Cavalry action trigger on the Quartermaster simply having horses, or do they need to specifically spend them for you to start mounted?

11. Can soldiers take items that are part of a higher Load level as Utility items? i know Rookies can take armour and hand weapons at Light load despite those being part of higher Loads, but can, say, a Heavy bring a Tower Shield at Normal load if they want? Can you discard items to get more Utility slots?

12. Is there a specific kind of template for Mercenary Work, or can it theoretically take the form of any mission but for money/supply? Would, say, clearing out a bandit camp for a merchant be a valid Mercenary Work mission?

13. When the Quartermaster rolls to acquire assets, can they specify what kind of asset they’re looking for, or is the kind of asset determined by the roll?

14. How does Tough stack with other harm reduction mechanics? If I Resist a Level 2 harm to Level 1, does Tough then activate to let me ignore it entirely? What about if I use armour? Does it stack with Tenacious to let me effectively ignore everything except Level 2 Harm? Can I resist Level 4 Harm entirely just by burning an armour and a Resist? Or am I reading this wrong, and ‘harm penalties’ refers to the mechanical impact of having Harm, not Harm itself?

15. Is this going to be a full game in the manner of Scum and Villainy, or an expansion to BitD?