Blades in the Dark: Game Questions – Page 46 – Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

John Harper Sean Nittner Just been listening to the AMA stream and first of all wanted to say thank you as it’s…

John Harper Sean Nittner Just been listening to the AMA stream and first of all wanted to say thank you as it’s great to see such a community built around this game and the devs listening and answering questions. Second, my crew just picked up Ghost Echoes and I wanted some advice (seeing as it’s John’s favourite). How do the players interact with these ghost echoes? What are they useful for from your own experiences? As a GM how can I use the Ghost Echoes ability to not only better the gaming experience, but introduce new obstacles for my crew? Do the PCs always have to interact with the echoes or can it be switched off? Sorry from the bombardment of questions, its just foreign territory to me and I can’t quite grasp how Ghost Echoes works in play (mechanically and fictionally)

Passive Income

How do you handle players securing passive income? Like a hawker crew having their loyal guys sell from a steady supply in a secure turf to regular customers?

Anyone has cool ideas for Faction Clocks for the Dagger Isles Consulate, Dockers and Rail Jacks ?

It was my understanding with the “luxury” vice in Blades that the “downsides” that Zeke’s character Aldo would face…

It was my understanding with the “luxury” vice in Blades that the “downsides” that Zeke’s character Aldo would face if he overindulged would be that patrons of the the higher class would see that he stuck out, and report him or shame him, or maybe even goad him into open conflict. This to me is potentially a HUGE downside to this form of vice because he is calling direct attention to himself and could get thrown in prison or barred from certain establishments, adding heat or exposing aspects of the crew.

From the episodes I’ve watched, it seems like either Zeke is misinterpreting what the “struggle” aspect of a vice entails, in that struggling with a vice ONLY happens when one misses a role, which he never has. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems as though he’s interpreting the “struggle” aspect to tie directly into how he role-plays the vice, which from what I understood from the book, is not the case.

If I’m right, and struggling with a vice does only occur when one overindulges, is this simply not explained well enough to Zeke? Perhaps John doesn’t realize that this is the miscommunication that is going on? Maybe Zeke hasn’t been given enough examples of how the luxury vice could negatively impact him?

I’m probably just overthinking this, but to me it comes across that Zeke has misunderstood exactly what struggling with a vice means, or simply isn’t considering possible downsides to overindulging.

Hi All

Where does it say in the rules which factions are found in which districts of the city?

I’ve noticed that on the “Undead” character sheets (Specifically the Hull and the Vampire), armor only weighs 1 and…

I’ve noticed that on the “Undead” character sheets (Specifically the Hull and the Vampire), armor only weighs 1 and Heavy Armor weighs 2. Is this an error, or is it intentional? The undead are also lacking demolition tools, lanterns, and “burglary gear” is named “burglary tools” on their sheets, which it is not on ‘living’ character sheets. All this leads me to think it’s a mistake but I just wanted to check.

I could use some advice.

I could use some advice. My players have chosen the initial crew upgrades of hidden lair and crew quarters. Any suggestions on how to explain the manner that two factions are impacted by these choices pro and con? Especially since the lair is hidden?

Referring to this rule:

“When you assign your two upgrades, the GM will tell you about two factions that are impacted by your choices:

One faction helped you get an upgrade. They like you, and you get +1 status with them. At your option, spend 1 coin to repay their kindness, and take +2 status with them instead.

One faction was screwed over when you got an upgrade. They don’t like you, and you get -2 status with them. At your option, spend 1 coin to mollify them, and take -1 status with them instead.”

“Many Grinders have been mutated by the toxic rain that plagues Lockport.” (pg. 290)

Anyone come up with any cool ideas for these mutations yet? My players are soon gonna be in serious conflict with the Grinders and I’ve just noticed their quirk now.

Failing in Flashbacks.

Hi, how do you handle a fail in a flashback?

One of the examples in the book is:

“You sneak into their warehouse when suddenly the lights go on and a wagon drives in. They are getting a delivery right now and will soo be at your position.”

“In the flashback I consort with my friend who told me when the delivery would come”

What happens if he fails?

Since there is no difference between flashback and in the moment I play it like this:

Your consequence is a worst position: You owe the dude money/a favor.

He consorts again, fails again. The consequence is: you lose the opportunity.

So the player just paid 1 stress to owe some dude money. that sucks.

Do you make the fails really soft with minimal consequences or do your players have flashbacks to really bad memories?^^

Do you let them have another flashback (“Ok, I also asked this other dude” or “I overheard them at the tavern”)?

Quick question.

Quick question. If you need to make a dice roll based on the crews Tier rating which is zero, do I roll 2 dice and choose the worst?