Blades in the Dark: Game Questions – Page 66 – Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

So…how do Heritage and Background work?

So…how do Heritage and Background work? The character creation rules say you pick those and assign action dots accordingly, but the rules don’t seem to include how that works…

I’ve probably just missed it in the document, but when it comes to a new fame which playbooks do people do first?

Characters then Crew?

Crew then Characters?

I can see advantages of doing it either way.

Questions about Long Term Projects.

Questions about Long Term Projects. Can they be used to gain claims? Recruit Cohorts? Acquire permanent assets (from the crew playbook)? Is there anything that should specifically NOT be a LTP? I’m afraid I’m not providing appropriate clock lengths, and/or that my players are getting ridiculously lucky.

Any suggestions about Long Term Projects in general?

Question about Ghost Veil:

So the description of Ghost Veil says “Ghost Veil: You may shift partially into the ghost field, becoming shadowy and insubstantial for a moment. Take 1 stress when you shift, plus 1 stress for each extra feature: It lasts for a few minutes rather than a moment—you are invisible rather than shadowy—you may float through the air like a ghost—you may pass through solid objects.”

And we were wondering, if you use the basic 1 stress ghost veil and don’t pay for the extra features, what does it do?

It makes you become shadowy and insubstantial for a moment? How can that be used? It’s not enough to let you float up onto a balcony in that moment, or quickly step through a wall.

So is it just a special effect to spend stress and look creepy for a moment? Or is there an obvious use that we’re missing?

I’d presume it’d be used to get advantage on other rolls, such as spending the stress during a melee roll to change the risky roll into a controlled roll (and narrate their attacks passing through the insubstantial form) or something? Except even that is narrating “passing through solid objects”

I’m having a lot of trouble understanding mechanically as a player how to trigger the XP for “You expressed your…

I’m having a lot of trouble understanding mechanically as a player how to trigger the XP for “You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.”.

We just started a new game with new characters and despite doing (what I felt was) a good job of playing my character I couldn’t justify ever giving myself any XP for these things.

Without a burning wheel like statement on a belief of drive I feel like the only way to achieve it as a player is to actually break the immersion and metasplain that “Yeah, Cass goes to the gambling den to find info on the target and she appraches it in a few fun comradery kind of way because her drive is to feel included and have a sense of belonging in groups” versus just actually playing the character and then having to seemingly back peddle and explain stuff like that at the end of session.

Heritage and background have their own problems for my understanding to. My Heritage is a racial thing, so I just have to bring up iruvian tattoos or secret skovlan millitary hanshake? Is the only way to make up cultural stereotypes and inject my own lore every time I have the chance? Background kind of has the same problem of, if its immediately shoe horned in that like “I lay in a prone position on the rooftop like we were taught in the military”.

Is that how it’s intended to be done? Are there more organic ways to inject these things into the game? Are there any tips for the kinds of Drives/Beliefs that are more apparent and actionable?

First, a hello to all the lovely people in this lovely G+ Community.

First, a hello to all the lovely people in this lovely G+ Community. But beyond that I need to ask for input and some opinions on two questions that relate to a game of blades that I’m running.

The first relates to a player of mine who is playing a Hull (They gave me a pretty good back story and reasons why they should let them play as a Hull at start, so I didn’t shoot them down.) Their long term goal, (Currently set at 12 slices, but I might make it more?) Is to build their own body that they can possess. Mind you that this isn’t the standard possession that the rules allow for, I.E a ghost taking over a body and becoming a vampire. The player in question essentially wants to Frankenstein together a body that is identical to a standard person, then slip into it as a permanent meatsuit. My first Idea is to just have them make a hollow for themselves, but I honestly want your opinions on all of this as well. Should I make it a longer series of clocks? Discover the theory, find the parts, make the body, etc? Or something else entirely?

The second question has to deal with another one of my players wanting to make an advanced ability/permission that’s in the veins of the Abhorsen bells from some oldish book series. Issue is they’d give the character in mention (A whisper) control to guide and control the dead. I’ve already slated it up that they need the Key Lense and the Song Folios from the Print and Play deck, but as to what the caveat to it all is, I have no clue. Stress or Trauma per use?

Thank you again for you time and imput! keep being awesome and have a good day/night!

Any advice for handling large scale combat? We are talking the crew vs most of the Lampblacks.

Hey, i’m planning to run Blades in the Dark on a forum. Couple of questions

1) Any tips for making forum play more enjoyable?

2) Is BitD particularly well suited for this style of play?

3) I’m pretty new to this, so any general tips?

4) Has anybody got any little jpegs or such of Clocks with various amount of sectors filled so I can post these in the thread, preferably with different colours to differentiate.

Thanks,

Dom

On pg.

On pg. 13 it says that when you roll reduce heat you roll tier? but then on pg. 37 it says reduce heat is done with an action roll? I ran with an action roll in my session but was wondering which one is the correct way.

I hate asking another question so soon, but I’m starting my campaign up this week, and everyone here was so helpful…

I hate asking another question so soon, but I’m starting my campaign up this week, and everyone here was so helpful last time!

All the Crew sheets seem to have “Elite [Cohorts] (+1 Quality)” as a potential Crew upgrade. What does this do, specifically?

a) The Crew gains a new Cohort of that type at +1 Quality.

b) All the Crew’s Cohorts of that Type, now and in the future, gain +1 Quality.

c) Something else?