Blades in the Dark: Game Questions – Page 37 – Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

Hi guys. I am here for a ruling question.

My campaign has come to the 4th session, and the Scoundrels are having their advancements. Especially, they train a lot in downtime and increase their combat actions.

As most of PCs now have a three-dot action, things are getting easy. Things are different now than the start of the campaign, which was a harsh struggle with limited stress bar since filling the stress was only way to survive Duskwall.

I want to keep the game challenging and all of the players agree to this.

What are the options I can deploy to keep it interesting when PCs are getting stronger? Please let me know your wisdom, BitD gurus. 🙂

The rulebook says “Visit your vice purveyor to relieve stress.

The rulebook says “Visit your vice purveyor to relieve stress. Roll dice equal to your lowest attribute. Clear stress equal to your highest die result.”

But what if the lowest rating is a 0? IS that still 2d6, take lowest?

One thing that confuses me: Action rolls cover the the PCs’ effect and the NPC reaction.

One thing that confuses me: Action rolls cover the the PCs’ effect and the NPC reaction. I.e., the PC accomplishes their goal or not. On choosing an action, the GM sets position and effect.

But what happens when the PCs don’t know about the opponent’s abilities before making a choice of taking action. If the GM then tells them the effect and position, they now know something outside of the game, and may change their mind about the action?

I note the rules say a PC might need to make a resistance roll against an extremely skilled opponent, but the same problem applies.

In most cases, you try to drop clues about an NPC, but often the lack of knowledge is a natural situation.

Would declaring an action constitute a no-take-backsies-situation? I guess it could work, but I could also picture tempers rising around the table.

Can the same player that performed a setup action benefit from said action?

Can the same player that performed a setup action benefit from said action? If it makes narrative sense, of course. I assume the answer is yes for a number of reasons, but it’d be nice to be clear on this one.

If yes, would you consider any of the following to be setup actions:

* Taking aim with a firearm, given enough time; whether aiming at a fleeing target or attempting to take a long distance shot. (Hunt)

* Lying in wait, whether in hiding or around a corner, with weapons and/or implements at the ready in an attempt to ambush someone. (Prowl)

* Simply amping yourself up with Sway, Command, or even drugs (Tinker).

Some questions that came up in our second session.

Some questions that came up in our second session. And probably only because I havent been able to read the book as fully as I indended, but maybe there are some insightful individuals that can give me direction.

When do I know the enemies/opponents get their ‘turn’ there seems to be no formal inititive order, and in addition to that, is it on the players to roll defensively when the opponents attempt something? (Like Numenera style?)

Do opponents have clocks representing their ‘life/HP/wounds’? Or is their defeat contingent only on a player getting a six on their roll?

For resisting harm/negative consequences are the players rolling 1 die for each skill in the attribute? Or is it only base on the lowest? Highest?

Sorry if these questions are simplistic, or too out of touch, were trying to get this flavor-ful system done, and done right!

When going over turf/claims, do you guys use the map of Doskvol and give some physical area on the map to each…

When going over turf/claims, do you guys use the map of Doskvol and give some physical area on the map to each faction (i.e. mark it off or color it in) or do you just abstractedly dole out turf?

Ran my first session the other night and had a lot of fun.

Ran my first session the other night and had a lot of fun. Ran into a snag with items though…one character is playing a leech and I wasn’t sure what he had access to. Can he pull any of the things listed on p. 71 out of his bandolier with out making them? Are the crafting rules for items on p. 226 that duplicate the list on p. 71 for non-leeches that want to make poison or bombs or whatever?

Any tips on starting a crew that’s not focused on Crow’s Foot?

Any tips on starting a crew that’s not focused on Crow’s Foot? I did character/crew creation for a group of Hawkers last week, and they picked Barrowcleft as their sales area/hunting ground.

The two big ideas for conflict that are bubbling around my head are 1) Barrowcleft isn’t tolerant of the criminal element. The crew paid off the Bluecoats with their starting coin, but perhaps the crew might inspire some local vigilantes. 2) criminal elements in Silkshore might not appreciate new competition in a adjacent neighborhood they didn’t think they had to worry about.

Recently really got in to this fantastic game.

Recently really got in to this fantastic game. however i see there are quick start guides for previous versions. is there a quick start guide for 8.1 or something close enough to give to my players so they dont need to read all 336 pages??? or as a quick reference?

Is there a limit on how much desperate XP you can mark in a session?

Is there a limit on how much desperate XP you can mark in a session? I don’t remember ever having seen this anywhere but one of my fellow players says they remember it from an old version and that it’s something like you can only mark up to 2 xp for the same action(or maybe attribute).

I’ve always played it as if you’re willing to risk the desperate consequences XP is your reward no matter what.