Blades in the Dark: Game Questions – Page 65 – Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

Any goals for non-criminal factions?

Any goals for non-criminal factions? My group is starting to get involved w/ some of the other factions (notably The Reconciled, Inkrakes, and Cabbies) and I think I should start having those factions progress towards “goals”. However From their short description I’m not entirely sure what motivates them?

Anyone else done some faction stuff w/ these groups? Thoughts/Ideas?

(The crew owe Salia “a favor” in the future, which sounds cool (probably just a random roll on a score table?) but i’m not sure how to approach it as a benefit for that faction)

Thanks!

So my brother and I are having a bit of trouble translating the results of Controlled rolls into the narrative.

So my brother and I are having a bit of trouble translating the results of Controlled rolls into the narrative. Specifically the difference between 1-3 and 4-5. The wording make them seem very similar. Can you guys help me out? Examples showing the difference would be ideal.

Thanks! So far our solo game is slow going because neither of us is used to suck a heavy narrative game, but is awesome so far. I actually got him excited about writing his character backstory and details of his relationship with his contact. I could never get him to do that with D&D.

I GM’d my first game of Blades last Sunday. Two questions:

1. “That guy just stabbed my friend, now I’m gonna paste him” – Our leech is tossing a grenade down a short hallway in the hold of a smugglers ship. What action is most appropriate? Despite the situation being a fight, and had the roll failed I might have had that guy run up and try to cut our unlucky Leech, skirmish didn’t feel right. We settled on wreck, although it felt more appropriate when the character previously threw a smoke bomb. In retrospect I’m thinking maybe finesse would have worked as well.

2. During downtime, if a player’s worst attribute rating is 0, can they recover stress using their vice?

I have a question about trauma.

I have a question about trauma. It says when a PC fills their last stress box: “you’re taken out of action. You’re left for dead or otherwise dropped out of the current conflict, only to come back later, shaken and drained.”

How long do people usually make “later”? It seems like dropping a player out of the action for too long will disengage their interest and decreases the chance my players will risk getting stress up that high more than once.

So, I’ve been running a group for a couple weeks now (I think they’ve attempted ~4 scores) and the table has had…

So, I’ve been running a group for a couple weeks now (I think they’ve attempted ~4 scores) and the table has had some issues in dealing with complexity towards plans or action descriptions.

Hopefully some of the players see this and give their 2 cents on it as well. There’s been a few times where the group has tried to come up with rather complicated plans and its been difficult for them to pin down specific details or plans (I’ve been trying to offer the idea of linked plans, or having a setup of some sort).

Have you guys had experiences like this with your own groups? How do you work through it? I try not to stifle player creativity (though I do interject when it becomes discussions about contingencies still)

A few players have mentioned feeling “limited” in what they are allowed to do, so I thought I’d bring the question over here because I didn’t have a great response for it.

Thanks all.

EDIT: A reread of the Ritual section answered my own question for me.

EDIT: A reread of the Ritual section answered my own question for me. Lesson to learn here, memory is a terriable thing to go by.

The Whisper ability Ritual only allows one Ritual to be learned, correct? If this is the case, can a Whisper take it multiple times? If they ‘can’ take it multiple time, do the subsequent takings of Ritual count as Veteran slots?

Quickie: Bodies must be destroyed in electroplasm to prevent spirit release, but what happens if the corpse is…

Quickie: Bodies must be destroyed in electroplasm to prevent spirit release, but what happens if the corpse is irrecoverably burnt in a normal fire?

So let’s talk about Hulls.

The Hull PC can get a second frame, and so I feel like any damage taken is specific to the frame in use at the time (and the other is unscathed). I have been running it this way, and the player switches frames often so I am technically having the player keep two Harm tracks. Sounds OP but fiction seems right for it; right?

That seems kind of clear, but what about when the Hull gets another ability like Overcharge or Interface; is it frame-specific, or the character can use it no matter which frame is in use?

Also: who has stories or advice about Hull players selecting a master, or switching them? I have one player who was using another PC in the crew but now that player is gone, and I am wondering what to do with that (and Functions’ reliance on the master’s commands)

EDIT: clarity

Hi all

Hi all,

So, my group finished their first score, and I’ll tell you guys about it when I’m feeling less god awful with this cold.

It did bring up a two more questions, though.

1- How to handle alchemicals & the leech

2- How to handle downtime

So for number 1, I notice that a few of the sheets have alchemicals already available – the lurk has the silence potion, the cutter has the rage potion. Presumably that’s just something that those playbooks have ready access to, and they refill between scores.

The Leech, however, has a “bandolier” of alchemicals, with 3 doses. And has two of those. So presumably he can have 3 doses of any alchemical in the list? And the another 3 doses of that same or a different alchemical in the list? And it says he refills the bandolier during downtime.

OK – awesome. So he’s got a bunch of these things, that’s a great way to represent the scientist, medic, or tinkerer while out on a mission.

My question is how that overlaps with the “crafting an alchemical” – in the list of alchemicals there are clocks for crafting them, and the number of doses created. So it requires a clock with 4 slices to get 1 dose of a number of alchemicals or drugs. And some cost more. Why would a Leech ever craft them? You’d be using up two of your downtime actions just to get one dose, when you’re already getting 6 for free? Am I misunderstanding about being able to mark the bandolier equipment while on the mission to have those potions? Or is crafting this something that you just wouldn’t do?

For point 2, I’ll make another post soon 🙂

I was discussing this with another Blades GM, but I thought I would ask the G+ community.

How natural, especially with newer players, is the switch between player chat and character chat?

I’ve ran a few sessions where there has been some confusion between the two or mixed signals/communication about if this was an in character or a player/gm conversation.

Is this flow natural for your groups? Do you have tips or go-to ways to differentiate when needed?