Category: Blades in the Dark: Discussion

At the root of the crisis, you need three things from your leaders; applying consistent vision, demonstrating speedy…

At the root of the crisis, you need three things from your leaders; applying consistent vision, demonstrating speedy…

At the root of the crisis, you need three things from your leaders; applying consistent vision, demonstrating speedy reaction, and owning hard choices. That’s how the aristocrats held on to power back when the world ended; they served the people with their leadership abilities.

Now they offer none of these essentials. The city wallows, rudderless in the murk, bled dry by those in power. Should a proper crisis rise, the city will crack along its fault lines, and the tectonic masses left will reveal local leaders.

The current flood of Skovlanders into the city is building the tension and may well lead to the flash-point that shatters the city’s unity. An ironic outcome of the Unity War meant to weld Skovlan and Akoros together may yet be the fraying and dissolution of Doskvol.

From “War of Politics, Politics of War,” by Chen Roslith

Playing the blades in the dark system, late game.

Playing the blades in the dark system, late game.

Playing the blades in the dark system, late game.

So a while back I post here alot, I ran two campaigns side by side, and ran blades all of one conference. I may have burnt myself out on the game, but the reason I stopped as, as a gm, once the crew hit tier three, all risk drained out of the game. So I was wondering how can I keep the late game/end game interesting and changing, or should I not bother and kill the games once they hit the point where they can kill lord scurlock, no matter what I throw at them?

Can we please have an honest discussion with the developers about stretch goals?

Can we please have an honest discussion with the developers about stretch goals?

Can we please have an honest discussion with the developers about stretch goals?

I’m not trying to start a fight, and I dearly hope this doesn’t get me banned, but it’s worth addressing somewhere beyond the Kickstarter comments section. The game is stellar; everyone here loves it a lot. But it’s also a project that funded tens of thousands of dollars more than its initial goal, and it did so in part thanks to lots of awesome stretch goals that sounded really, really exciting. The core game has been out for nearly a year and a half now, and it’s great! And Vigilantes is great, and Scum & Villainy is a lot of fun, and the beta for Blades Against Darkness is really interesting… and then everything else trails off.

Bluecoats was shooting for an August of last year release, and now we’re nearly at August of this year. Quite a few others were mentioned to be in progress or starting writing imminently, with no word since. Folks who’ve inquired after them have been told that they’re hear when there’s news, but it’s tough to go through months and rapidly approaching a year of radio silence without so much as a peep.

Much more distressing is some of the comments on the KS page. Stretch goals drove a lot of the crowdfunding, and that excitements has kept a lot of people interested ever since. Hearing that they’re “not ironclad promises of 100% certain delivery — they’re ideas for additional related projects that can be started because of the success of the KS” and that they’re “they’re pretty much on the honor system to be delivered now” is a much bigger deal than should be mentioned off-hand in a buried comment thread. “This has worked out well in a few instances, and badly in others” is a frightening sentiment to hear.

Stretches of several months without communication is worrying but manageable; paired with the revelation that there’s no guarantee the stretch goal content is coming and it throws a whole lot of doubt into the mix. If there’s content that is not going to happen, or is in rocky shape, that’s just as newsworthy as when something is finally done enough to play.

I’m not here to start a fight, or to make anyone look bad. I just want to know what’s going on, because we’ve heard very little, and if there’s things my group should stop holding out hope for, then I’d appreciate knowing as much.

I am looking for random names generators (for places and NPCs) that are appropriate for Duskovl.

I am looking for random names generators (for places and NPCs) that are appropriate for Duskovl.

I am looking for random names generators (for places and NPCs) that are appropriate for Duskovl. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Is there a map scale for the Duskwall city map?

Is there a map scale for the Duskwall city map?

Is there a map scale for the Duskwall city map? Engineering scale or otherwise…I want to populate the city blocks on my custom map with individual buildings and would prefer to have a scale reference before just winging it.

Am I right in reading (and dearly hoping) Womb of Night as essentially being Rogue Trader by way of Forged in the…

Am I right in reading (and dearly hoping) Womb of Night as essentially being Rogue Trader by way of Forged in the…

Am I right in reading (and dearly hoping) Womb of Night as essentially being Rogue Trader by way of Forged in the Dark?

In my (limited) experience, Blades is ideally suited to a two-session arc at minimum.

In my (limited) experience, Blades is ideally suited to a two-session arc at minimum.

In my (limited) experience, Blades is ideally suited to a two-session arc at minimum. This Friday, I’ll be running it as a one shot for some people online. Anybody know where I can find tips for running just a single session of Blades?

Should I provide pregens scoundrels/crew? Looking for any advice anyone’s got.