Michael Barclay – Blades in the Dark G+ Archives

So….The Ghost Field.

As the book says the Ghost Field is intentionally vague which I like – it’s really something the GM and players can define in play. I can clearly see the influence from Apocalypse World’s Psychic Maelstrom here. The Ghost Field is a ubiquitous thing anyone can “open their mind / attune” too but how that looks will differ from group to group.

The book offers some (possibly intentionally) contradictory explanations of what the Ghost Field actually is. It’s the energy stored in the Lightening barriers surrounding the city. It’s another world that erupted during the cataclysm. It allows players to see echos of previous events. It allows players to communicate with the spirit world. It is all of these things. Some of these things. It could be different things also.

So my question to the community is – What is the Ghost Field to you? How has it changed and developed during play? What can and can’t players do with it? If it’s the energy stored in the lightening field then….what happens to the many spirits that are destroyed through cremation? Can the echoes of their deaths be seen or are they lost during this process never to enter the Ghost Field? How does ectoplasm link into the Field? It’s distilled life essence from ghosts and leviathan blood but what does that actually mean….how does that contribute to the field itself and how do you use it in play?

Lots and lots of open questions here and interested in how people are interpreting it in different ways.

Hey all – a question for you.

Hey all – a question for you. Apologies if it’s already been asked before but I can’t quite figure how to search on google plus yet…especially on mobile.

Anyway:

Gather information. The rules state that this can either be done as a fortune roll or an action roll but don’t go much further. Any tips on when to use a fortune roll over an action roll? Removing all possible consequences and seeing how well some surveying goes seems far less exciting than doing a full action Roll .

Also another minor point – less of a question but more of an observation. There’s been a few times where the rulebook has pointed to something that only exists in the downloadable sheets – things like the gloom and wreck lists for example. This has been a primary source of fuels confusion for me when reading and it might be something to fix in later editions.

Hey all

Hey all,

Got a probably very simple question about group actions. Apologies if this has been asked before.

The text for group action is as follows:

If you direct the cohort with orders, roll Command. If you participate in the action alongside the cohort, roll the appropriate action. The quality of any opposition relative to the cohort’s quality affects the position and effect of the action.

My interpretation of that text is that doing something with a group improves position and effect – often to a high effect. Turning up to a gang war alone is a bad idea…bring a Quality 3 gang and you’re going to massively improve your position and effect in the ensuing violence.

Anyway onward to my confusion. The example text for a group action includes this sentence:

The next day, Arcy goes back and leads a group action, rolling her 3d in

Skirmish alongside the Thugs’ 2d.

So wait….when I do a group action I add the gang’s quality as extra dice? This isn’t really explicitly mentioned in the initial rules text which focuses more on effect and positioning. Any clarification here? Seems like this could lead to some massive dice rolls when you start rocking out with really high quality gangs…

EDIT: Thought I’d add another question seeing as I’ve figured out my original question.

Engagement rolls – is 1d the minimum you roll? Can a disadvantage take you zero dice forcing you to roll two and take the lowest? Can you push yourself doing this roll?