Something I really love about Blades is that I can look at generic fantasy city maps and just burst with ideas about…
Something I really love about Blades is that I can look at generic fantasy city maps and just burst with ideas about how it might be laid out, gang wise.
Ran my first session last night and I was hoping for some feedback on how I handled actions and dice rolls.
Ran my first session last night and I was hoping for some feedback on how I handled actions and dice rolls.
Baszo Baz offered our PCs a job. He said “I want you to get something for me,” and handed them a blueprint of the Red Sash temple, making it clear the PCs should damn well be able to figure out what to do. None of them were willing to call him on it and, you know, actually ask what they were stealing. Instead they tried to puzzle it out based on the blueprint. Trying to do something that you could screw up sounded like a roll to me (although now I’m not so sure). I made it a four-segment clock.
Our Whisper rolls her Cipher and takes the Devil’s Bargain of having Baszo realize the gang aren’t as knowledgable as they pretend. She succeeds but only fills in 2 segments – and this success took forever as she failed her Controlled roll and then did a Risky roll and then did an effect roll. And there was still to be more rolling to puzzle the map out!
The gang’s defacto leader accepts to job even without them knowing fully what it is and takes the map back to HQ. At this point my GM instincts are saying “Just give it to them,” but we want to try this thing properly so she rolls Cipher and also takes a Devil’s Bargain of needing to tap a corrupt contact in the city planner’s office who can help interpret the blueprints but does not have the tightest lips. She rolls her effect and – thank gods – fills the clock.
Narratively, I liked that we introduced a new NPC and influenced Baszo’s perception of the PCs. But the rolling for this took forever. Is there a different way I should have handled this? Is it just a matter of having facility with the system? Thanks for your input!
I recall seeing a post that had the new Crew sheet with a second page for all of the factions, but cannot seem to…
I recall seeing a post that had the new Crew sheet with a second page for all of the factions, but cannot seem to find it. Does anyone know where that post might be?
Just came from testing the new rules with #theMalkavs
Just came from testing the new rules with #theMalkavs . Adapting the already advanced character took most of the session but we got to an score. There was a poor reception with the new playbooks, specially from the Lurk (she wants her Shadow armor back!), she says now it feels like she’s playing less Garret and more Assassin’s Creed. The new item list was poorly received too.
The session itself ran smoothly, and even though I was hesitant with executing the rules I think they worked great.
NOW QUESTIONS:
How do fine items work? We had them give away +1 effect level.
How do Ritual special ability work? for now I had the Whisper make a test against a clock to research and create supernatural effects.
How do quality and potency work We used for +1 effect level. If so, How do I measure a contact’s quality? Also: Do quality, potency and scale interact with each other or are treated independently? Meaning that if I have a PC with potency in beating guys up facing a gang with scale over him do both modifiers cancel each or only one affects in any given situation.
Crews have no more effects nor attributes How do I handle attacks to their lair and turf, and how do they use their gangs? It will be important once they start claiming territory.
Overall I liked the new rules. We didn’t get to use the harm, though.
Regarding fine items and effect. If we’re not rolling for effect, do fine items add +1 effect?
Regarding fine items and effect. If we’re not rolling for effect, do fine items add +1 effect?
Hopefully I’ll be running a few games at Big Bad Con this year, one of them being a long Blades in the Dark session…
Originally shared by Orion Cooper
Hopefully I’ll be running a few games at Big Bad Con this year, one of them being a long Blades in the Dark session where the war in Crow’s Foot is played out to what I hope to be from beginning to end. Ambitious? Sure. Foolhardy? Sure. Fun? I damn well expect it to be.
Here’s the math for dice pool size versus probability of result for Blades in the Dark!
Here’s the math for dice pool size versus probability of result for Blades in the Dark!
Ayeah!
Ayeah! Did a double cartwheel when I saw the Claims chart! Now, while I get me some ice, there’s this thing about Details:
If the GM assesses the strenght of a detail, is it arbitrary, right?
What if players start to think for an hour over THE BEST POSSIBLE DETAIL?
IF the party is fast&furious, I don’t mind running half a session (with rolls, actions, and story) tracking THE detail, and the other half doing the heist proper. It’s fun.
Otherwise, yaaawn!
How does it work?
I was thinking about the Dimmer Sisters on the train this morning and wrote this, riffing off the details my players…
I was thinking about the Dimmer Sisters on the train this morning and wrote this, riffing off the details my players came up with. Duskwall’s a fun place to create in. 🙂
Thinking about some background stuff we were discussing last session.
Thinking about some background stuff we were discussing last session. In your Duskwall, do you have/make use of photography (either the Victorian spirit or Kirlian (electroplasmic?) aura variety?
Spirit photography sounds like a positively lethal idea to me, but then how far would well-heeled types go capture a snapshot of their loved ones before their trip on the funeral barge to Bellweather? Sounds like a side job for a Whisper and some kind of esoteric gadgetry.
Leading on a little from that, how about newspapers? We all know how important control of the media is – how would that work in Duskwall, especially given the variety of groups looking to further their cause? Thieves with a printing press? Might be interesting to consider.