Blades in the Dark: Game Questions – Page 8 – Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

So Ive been playing Blades for 3 seasons with the same group, but I am having trouble introducing the main villain…

So Ive been playing Blades for 3 seasons with the same group, but I am having trouble introducing the main villain of the series. Here’s a background of her time in season 3 so far:

The Spider comes home to his Girlfriend, Salia, an information broker. Her house is torn to shreads, her clothes are ripped, and graffiti across the wall reads something along the lines of “DON’T STICK YOUR NOSE WHERE IT DOESN’T BELONG. G SENDS HER REGARDS”. Salia had been looking into an extortionist who seems to have dirt on almost everyone, and the men who attacked her didnt want to hurt her, it was just “business” and they were in deep shit if they didnt. The Spider vows to find “G” and get revenge, this just got personal.

“G” (later revealed to be called Grace) strikes a deal with Tarvul’s (leader of the Billhooks) wife, letting her take control of the Billhooks, userping Tarvul. She takes advantage of the PCs crew being down a leader (the Spider was on holiday at the time, and she thinks the docks rightfully belong to her not them, whilst Tarvul was trying to make peace). She encroaches on their turf as if it were her own, one thing leads to another and they end up at war. (They have yet to find out that this was because of Grace and they will find out once the war ends probably).

Grace has also pulled several strings to mobilise and have the Bluecoats/Spirit Wardens breathing down the murderous crew’s necks by giving them evidence against them. We have also established that she wants the pieces of Kotar for some reason, and has blackmailed the group’s Whisper into getting a piece for her (Scurlock has tasked the Spider to get one for him too; crew conflicts, yay!)

So who is Grace? Grace is a ghost who has managed to remain sane even without draining life energy. She is powerful and the ghost field gives her visions of events before they happen, allowing her to plan ahead and know details of events despite never being there (perfect for use in extorting favours from people). She was separated from her body decades ago by the powerful Lord Scurlock, and wants revenge on him for this. The only problem is that ghosts cant see Scurlock due to his supernatural powers. She knows he wants the Kotar pieces and so she wants them for herself, to wish for her body back (collecting all the pieces allegedly grants the user 1 wish), and take revenge.

So how do I get the crew into a position where they find out shes this ghost? The Spider wants to confront her and “kill her” for what shes dont to Salia, and theres going to be an interesting conflict due to the whispers misplaced loyalties. I just cant bring the pieces together!

Hi

Hi,

I’m enjoying a lot the beta of Band of Blades and are planning to play soon (once I translate the playbooks to Spanish for my players). Love military fantasy and I think that all the new rules/setting developed by Stras Acimovic and John LeBoeuf-Little help enormously to recreate the genre tropes perfectly.

A couple of doubts, typos? and questions:

Rules

1. Which is the max. value for actions modified by the Friendly, Connected and Stern traits? (the values on the playbooks and the book are not the same)

2. The Medic sheet has 6 actions points marked, while the other playbooks have 4. Is this a typo, or something intentional?

3. The Rookie main weapon is the Musket, but they don’t have the shoot action by default. Again, is this intentional?

4. Any question that the commander asks using the Intel rules applies to all available missions or just to one?

Narrative

5. What is the reasoning for the legion to go to Skydagger Keep? The map seems to indicate that there is a clearer south path through some forest.

6. Why is Skydagger Keep unprepared & unused? If this is so a critical path to the Eastern regions, should not be protected by the Eastern Kindoms? Does the Legion know it, and that is the reason for going there?

Question about tiers and the mechanics behind gang size.

How do you make use of the gang when your moving up the food chain and the number behind Tier I (3-6 gang members), Tier II (12 members) … so forth.

Can the players name them, and make use of classes as powerful as PCs? Like recruit (aquire assets) classes to broaden the skills of the gang/crew?

Or is the number just a figure of people guarding the turf?

Question about if you can fail a roll, or if the PC always succeeds?

On page 22 it says

https://bladesinthedark.com/action-roll

“On a 1-3, it’s up to the GM to decide if the PC’s action has any effect or not, or if it even happens at all.”

But on page 24 it says

https://bladesinthedark.com/effect

“The GM judges the effect level using the profiles below. Which one best matches the action at hand—great, standard, or limited. Each effect level indicates the questions that should be answered for that effect, as well as how many segments to tick if you’re using a progress clock.”

We have always used the tables, and I’ve never noticed John Harper telling someone they failed. I’m pretty sure the players thought they failed a roll, and John saying “nope, you succeed, but here are the consequence.”

Scum and Villainy questions here.

Scum and Villainy questions here. One Could we get a table of contents? I know it is a work in progress but I am gonna be flyin’ that ship in August. Would help a lot.

And…What about a Scum and Villainy G+ group? Would someone be willing to have that? Someone in the know.

Hi all, been playing Blades for a year now, running it for about half that time.

Hi all, been playing Blades for a year now, running it for about half that time. My group is coming up on Season 2 of my run as GM, and one of my players is introducing a new character at the start of the season.

My question is: should I scale his new character up to the same relative level as the rest of the scoundrels? Has anyone else out there done something similar?

I’m concerned that his new character, who, in the fiction, should technically be better than the entire party at all social interactions, will seem completely inadequate. The other characters have 8-9 sessions of XP under their belts, and he’ll have nothing so far. Any advice is appreciated!

I read most of the BitD book and I’m a bit overwhelmed on the adventure planning front.

I read most of the BitD book and I’m a bit overwhelmed on the adventure planning front. Do you guys have any advice for a new DM? This is not the first time I run a game. I’ve run Dungeon World a few times in the past. But, Blades in the Dark is completely different beast.

Or, is there a particular order that makes the corebook make more sense? I wanna grok it almost completely before I play it with other people.

Best,

Blades in the Dark: Ring Down Below returns to Twitch tomorrow night at 7pm central!

Blades in the Dark: Ring Down Below returns to Twitch tomorrow night at 7pm central! Tune into http://Twitch.tv/ZapDynamic to join in the fun.

We’re going to make use of the Crafting rules tomorrow night and I’m looking for inspiration. Most of the examples in the book are bombs, potions, or poisons, but I’m looking for ideas about spark-craft tech.

My question: what Tier II/III/IV spark-craft gadgets can you think of that might ease the Dockers’ life? What technological boons would make all the difference in this holdout of low-tech, manual labor?

My first thought was an Aliens-style powered loader mech but I don’t think this Tier 0 Crew has got the clout to secure one of those!

Here’s a little something to whet your creative whistles:

“A Docker’s life is simple: unload cargo from incoming ships and load it back onto outgoing ships. This is not to say their simple job is at all easy. Whether the cargo is jellied eel or volatile lightning oil, you’ve got to know what goods need moving, where they have to go, and what path to navigate through the ever-bustling docks. You’ve got to have the strong back to lift the goods and the endurance to carry them. And when the Leviathan Hunters roll in, you’ve got to have the willpower to handle all that devilry they bring in without losing your stomach.

“Consider the warren of political entanglements and backalley deals just beneath the surface. No stevedore or foreman can hope to profit from these, but take one wrong step or utter one wrong word and a lowly worker could end up floating face-down in the canals.

“Consider also the tools Dockers have at their disposal: complex rope skills, hand-trucks, and goat carts, but also powered cranes, anti-spirit devices, and the know-how to use them.

“Add to all this the transience of the Dockers life: catching the breaks in the morning (or going home empty-handed), breaking their backs all day, and winning a measly loaf to break with their family before rising the next day to try their luck again. It’s a wonder the docks are never short of fresh rubes fit for grinding down into workers’ pulp.”

After spending the weekend with Band of Blades, I have two questions to which I cannot seem to find answers:

1) The Scout has a piece of gear called Seals & Reliquaries, but I cannot figure out what it does.

2) How do you get ticks in your Specialist clock?

Thanks in advance for any help the community can offer!

Question about groups of enemies (in band of blades and blades in the dark) – if you are fighting a gang of enemies…

Question about groups of enemies (in band of blades and blades in the dark) – if you are fighting a gang of enemies – the scale of them is used to downgrade the effect of damage..

is fighting them like a 4-clock or similar? Trying to get my head around this