Category: Blades in the Dark: Hacks and Add Ons

I have struggled with how Trauma, Vice, and Stress fit together. I’ve come up with a number of possible solutions, some more radical and complex than others, and discarded them one by one.

What’s my problem anyway? Here are some of my base assumptions that don’t fit with how these things work in the game as it is (and I don’t expect the game to change to fit my assumptions.)

* Vice is a threat to rogues, even as it comforts them. It is not an unmitigated good. You can get lost in it, brittle and destroyed.

* There are ways to clear stress that are not vices, and sometimes vice can add stress (by which I mean damage, system strain, and pushed luck.)

* I disagree that the more damaged you are, the easier it is for you to relax and clear stress; the more damaged you are, the more helpful vices are to you.

I have FINALLY come up with the rough draft of what I think is a workable alternative. As I continue working on my own hack of Blades in the Dark, this is the foundation of what I think will be a better fit for me.

DISCLAIMER: I don’t need you to love it! I don’t hate Blades in the Dark because we disagree about these issues! All is well. I’m experimenting. If you have useful comments I’d love to hear them, and clarifying questions are great. No abuse please.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pFXfro-ngx51VYVRjjisbcoMrO0K5NmE1ct4cbWwO70/edit

It took a while, but it was explained to me so I understand it. “Fine” items give you +1 level of success unless you roll 1-3 or a critical. So, they help you on a 4, 5, or 6. Otherwise they don’t matter.

Last night I got to thinking. What if taking stress to help was switched with “fine” items? So, using a fine item gives you +1d, and if you spend 2 stress you can give yourself 1 extra level of success, or someone else can take 1 stress to give you 1 extra level of success. And, this can be done after the roll if necessary.

Really, it fails to satisfy. For me the problem is “if you fail then you just fail and there’s no help.” It takes too many words to explain to players, it feels too arbitrary. Especially since if you succeed you succeed better, with fewer consequences. But only if you succeed.

Still, I’ve played enough and this has been annoying enough to me, I’m starting to consider using the method I proposed months ago. 

If you have a fine item, you get +1 on your highest die roll result. A 3 becomes a 4, a 5 becomes a 6, etc.

This has a few advantages. For one, you can still fail if you roll a 1 or 2, but on a 3 you can tip over to success. Also, if you succeed with complications, it can tip you over to not have those consequences. However, it will not give you 2 results of 6.

There’s room for 2 tiers of quality; +1 for fine gear, and +2 for best possible gear. The goal is to show it is still possible to fail, but the gear is still useful.

The main down side is it is the only mechanic that works in that way. Is that a deterrent? Eh. It’s still faster to explain than how quality will only help you if you succeed.

Because of that, I’d branch out and look at how effort works. +1 instead of +1d, for taking stress to help another or help yourself? Making that the same as quality? I could definitely see that, I could even see letting “effort” stack with “quality.”

This game’s focus on “heist” and “down time” cycles with allowance for flashbacks makes it an ideal vehicle for playing as monsters in a slasher flick.

Here is a disciple done by someone else too. I think I might take a crack at this one to get some differently distinctive special abilities.

https://plus.google.com/113335182170012049888/posts/f1VG7ZV7DMp

Do you want a ghost playbook? Here is one done back in May (not by me.)

https://plus.google.com/+JNicklasAndersson/posts/RtWf38n9rqZ

I didn’t have enough players for my Lasers and Feelings game tonight, so I canceled it. My loss can be your gain! Want a vampire playbook? OF COURSE YOU DO!

https://fictivefantasies.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/vampire-7-23-15.pdf

https://fictivefantasies.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/vampire-7-23-15.pdf