Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

This mornings thoughts on Folded Steel are more on tone and inspiration for each Fold (as well as looking for any recommendations for more inspiration).

So I have already mentioned that the First Fold is pre-invasion, but I haven’t really explained what that should feel like. The world is filled with the rise of new technology, but it is still in its early stages (mechs will cap out at Tier 2). This is currently the least refined Fold, but it is meant to let you explore what it means to have this sort of power in a modern urban setting. The government is aware that something is about to happen, but no one is sure the nature of it. The world is getting weirder and the Empire already has secret operatives paving the way for their invasion, so if you know you want to progress through multiple folds you have premade hooks.

Genre-wise this Fold is meant to touch on cyberpunk, detective stories, and corporate espionage. An Enclave might be a corporate PR firm, a police squad who specialize in Mech related crime, a special ops military team, a corporate R&D division, criminals with stolen tech, vanguard operatives of the empire, a racing team, or even a gladiatorial team.

The inspiration for this fold so far is primarily Guyver and Patlobar, but it is also informed by the early episodes of Robotech/Macross.

So, coming back to Folded Steel my thoughts have turned to tier and how it works. In Blades it makes sense that your crew had a tier, it is a game about moving up the criminal ladder and expanding your operations accordingly. For Folded Steel Scum and Villainy will be more of a touchstone where Tier still exists, but it is used to gauge outside factions and the quality of their assets. It is not thematically appropriate to have Enclaves being that concerned with going up in tier (well mostly not appropriate, so I reserve my right to come back to this later)

Where tier, or some version of it rather, does have a place in Folded Steel is in regards to the mechs. Specifically, tier would be a good mechanic to look to to model the different size scales of mechs and how they interact with each other.

Tier 0 Booster Suits – Human scale exo suits

Tier 1 Frames – 15 feet tall

Tier 2 Walkers – 30 feet tall

Tier 3 Goliaths – 60 feet tall

Tier 4 Titans – 120+ feet tall

The higher the tier the more effect the mech provides, but also the more it interacts with the Enclaves resources. During the First Fold it costs more funding to run a tier 1 than a tier 0, and also provides more exposure. During the Second Fold the empire definitely notices and reacts accordingly when an Enclave manages to field a Tier 3 mech.

What this does in addition to providing a loop of gathering resources is create meaningful choices for the players when deploying on a mission. The Enclave’s current position will have to factor into the choices instead of just always bringing the biggest and heaviest mechs in their hangar.

Folded Steel thoughts of the morning is the idea of “Folds”, how they relate to Enclaves, and what the currently planned playbooks are.

Before I talk about Enclaves I need to establish the idea of “Folds.” Folded Steel is in some series ways shaped by my young love of Robotech just as much as it is by more modern Mecha media. In particular this can be seen with Folds, which are explicit different ages to play in that are meant to emulate certain subgenres while also allowing the Enclave to progess through time in a more clear way that my original idea of tiered Crew Playbooks did when this first came up. Each Fold features a specific thematic things the Enclaves are trying to manage.

The First Fold is Pre-Invasion – This looks like near future sci-fi with a hint of things to come. Mechs and energy weapons are new technologies in their infancy enabled by the discovery of a strange new energy field. Enclaves are less unified, but tend to be worried about securing Funding and managing Exposure.

The Second Fold is Occupation – An outside force drawn by the use of the mysterious energy have come to our dimension to occupied the earth. Mechs now represent mankind’s best hope of throwing off the yoke of these oppressors. Enclaves are about rebellion, and having to manage the Heat from the Empire as well as the Resources needed to keep their particular brand of revolution going.

The Third Fold is Reconstruction – The Empire has been defeated but reality itself is in ruins, but there is still a future. Enclaves are defined by their particular vision for recovery, and must nurture Hope while also finding the Scraps that they need to keep moving forward.

If you so desire you can play through from Pre-Invasion all the way to the reconstruction, chronicling how your Enclave has changed with the Folds, or you can instead just tell the story of one Fold and the tragedy or triumph it brings. Each Fold will have three Enclaves specific to it, and mechanics on how you can call back to the previous Fold and be shaped by the time before.

No matter which Fold you are in the brave people willing to wrap themselves in a mech remain the same. Current planned pilot playbooks (names are subject to change):

Ace – a natural pilot who excels in his mech in ways that others cannot.

Tech -scientists, communications experts, and mechanics

Commander – tactical commander able to get others to do what is needed.

Specialist – Combat specialist who is as deadly in their mech as out.

Psychic – People changed by the energy field capable of strange feats.

Folded Steel thought of the morning is based around character sheets. Current vision is a character sheet with a section that covered your out of mech options that is intended to be covered by the equivalent of your current mech’s sheet when you are suited up. The Enclave (crew equivalent) could even have a Hangar section intended to hold the Mech sheets not in use. Leaning toward an index card size mech sheet, but am not sure if that is big enough.

Working on my Mech system for my Folded Steel Hack has me asking, how many armor uses are too many when you are in a mech?