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Fumbling with [Blades In The Dark]
Albino Bunny
JackieRegistered User regular
JackieRegistered User regular
Blades In The Dark is Dishonoured meets Thief meets Mistborn meets all those other influences I don't know about because they're for nerds the RPG.
In it the players take on the roles of scoundrels within the city of DuskVol. A city in the Imperium and one of the few places left in the shattered isles that isn't a ghost filled hell hole.
Duskvol is still a regular hell hole though. Filled with low lifes, cultists and politicians all vying for status, wealth and the downfall of their enemies. This play by post is intended to be a relatively loose, casual affair to get to grips with the rules. In general while I'm up for teaching the rules and I'm sure others in the thread can help you owning the book will be of vast help.
For now though I'm going to leave you with the quick start's hand out of the situation in Crow's Nest, the shitty district you live in, and a brief description of the crews and character archetypes you can play. While you each get your own character sheet you'll need to agree on the crew archetype you want to be:
CREWS
Assassins: You shank people, usually for money, often for fun. Kidnapping, ransom and accidents are you other hobbies.
Breakers: Mercenaries, thugs and less discreet murderers for hire. You collect loans, extort stores, engage in lucrative but noisy Smash and Grabs and take part in gang wars for pleasure.
Cult: Honestly gonna veto these guys. The setting is semi lovecraft style with old gods in addition to more traditional spirits and demons and this gang engages in that. I don't think they're a great choice for the first time exploring the setting.
Hawkers: Pimps, pushers and profiteers. Hawkers acquire what you need and have it for a price just low enough you can afford it if you sell your house. They secure the means of production, socialize with the bored and wealthy and punish those who step into their profit margins with brutal reprisals.
Smugglers: Also don't seem a great first time fit seeing as they're focused on vehicles and stuff that don't lend themselves to Crow's Nest's starting situation overly well. Veto.
Shadows: Cat thieves, spies and saboteurs. If you aren't seen doing it and it isn't straight up murder odds are you hire a shadow. I'd be super down for this as the crew archetype as it seems the most generic of the available ones.
Scoundrels
Cutter: You cut things. At the very least you threaten to cut things. Big, brutal and violent is the name of the game. Great fighters who are there for when Plan A fails and armed well enough for Plans B through E. Plan F is that one time Chael put a Bluecoat's head through the tavern privy.
Leech: Lets get a little crazy, weird alchemy, gadgets, sabotage and generally being described as the crazy one are all in the Leech's wheel house.
Lurk: The thief, great at getting in and out of places, has better thieving tools than everyone else and can be extra sneaky.
Slide: The Ponce, the smooth talker, Romeo in trousers so tailored they've gone past flatteringly tight. The Slide convinces, lies and spies his way to fortune.
Spider: The mastermind, good at planning and holding the crew together and supporting them outside of Scores. Probably the de facto boss or at least second in command.
Whisper: You talk to ghosts, you perform profane rituals and are sometimes drunk enough to believe binding a demon to you is a good idea.
As for the kinda happy neighborhood you're getting into lets meet the Neighbors:
In it the players take on the roles of scoundrels within the city of DuskVol. A city in the Imperium and one of the few places left in the shattered isles that isn't a ghost filled hell hole.
Duskvol is still a regular hell hole though. Filled with low lifes, cultists and politicians all vying for status, wealth and the downfall of their enemies. This play by post is intended to be a relatively loose, casual affair to get to grips with the rules. In general while I'm up for teaching the rules and I'm sure others in the thread can help you owning the book will be of vast help.
For now though I'm going to leave you with the quick start's hand out of the situation in Crow's Nest, the shitty district you live in, and a brief description of the crews and character archetypes you can play. While you each get your own character sheet you'll need to agree on the crew archetype you want to be:
CREWS
Assassins: You shank people, usually for money, often for fun. Kidnapping, ransom and accidents are you other hobbies.
Breakers: Mercenaries, thugs and less discreet murderers for hire. You collect loans, extort stores, engage in lucrative but noisy Smash and Grabs and take part in gang wars for pleasure.
Cult: Honestly gonna veto these guys. The setting is semi lovecraft style with old gods in addition to more traditional spirits and demons and this gang engages in that. I don't think they're a great choice for the first time exploring the setting.
Hawkers: Pimps, pushers and profiteers. Hawkers acquire what you need and have it for a price just low enough you can afford it if you sell your house. They secure the means of production, socialize with the bored and wealthy and punish those who step into their profit margins with brutal reprisals.
Smugglers: Also don't seem a great first time fit seeing as they're focused on vehicles and stuff that don't lend themselves to Crow's Nest's starting situation overly well. Veto.
Shadows: Cat thieves, spies and saboteurs. If you aren't seen doing it and it isn't straight up murder odds are you hire a shadow. I'd be super down for this as the crew archetype as it seems the most generic of the available ones.
Scoundrels
Cutter: You cut things. At the very least you threaten to cut things. Big, brutal and violent is the name of the game. Great fighters who are there for when Plan A fails and armed well enough for Plans B through E. Plan F is that one time Chael put a Bluecoat's head through the tavern privy.
Leech: Lets get a little crazy, weird alchemy, gadgets, sabotage and generally being described as the crazy one are all in the Leech's wheel house.
Lurk: The thief, great at getting in and out of places, has better thieving tools than everyone else and can be extra sneaky.
Slide: The Ponce, the smooth talker, Romeo in trousers so tailored they've gone past flatteringly tight. The Slide convinces, lies and spies his way to fortune.
Spider: The mastermind, good at planning and holding the crew together and supporting them outside of Scores. Probably the de facto boss or at least second in command.
Whisper: You talk to ghosts, you perform profane rituals and are sometimes drunk enough to believe binding a demon to you is a good idea.
As for the kinda happy neighborhood you're getting into lets meet the Neighbors:
+2
Posts
Essentially any low-magic fantasy centering around scoundrels and cutthroats should make this sound familiar.
I've been wanting to try Blades for forever, so I've got an interest. I'm willing to fill whatever position in the crew, so feel free to pick up what you want, other potentials
At me if you guys inexplicably have trouble meeting the gang quota, as I don't have the book. Otherwise I'll just watch your misadventures.
Feel free to discuss roles and junk.
Also make up for the last time you were given something tanky to control :rotate:
I'd be way more interested in Whisper or Leech, though, if you guys are drafting me into a life of crime.
And yes, a life of crime for everyone.
As far as crew, with the story, seems like Assassins, Breakers, and Shadows work easy to push us into the setting, as everyone seems to be wanting hired muscle to fight this bloody war. Hawkers seems out of place, but it might be cool Game of Thrones style political playthrough than the others that are more D&D murderhobo-y.
Breakers sounds like by far the most fun for the thud-and-blunder of it, though.
EDIT: Similar to Fragged Empire and Command Confusion I highly encourage all questions because they help me realise what you're focusing on and what's causing issues.
As for our crew make up, I'm down for Breakers or Hawkers, the situation definitely seems like it leans a bit more towards Breakers though, I will note.
I think we should do the crew sheet first then characters but anyone with the book is free to blast through character creation if they like.
EDIT: I'm not entirely sure on the etiquette of posting large chunks of the rules book. I think to make creation *not* suck for people without the book I'll post the faction, crew and playbook pages. They're more or less hand outs anyway.
GG as Whisper
Me as Leech
admanb as Slide
Matev as Spider
Amigu as ???
Pending renegotiation.
Hawkers is looking pretty good.
I'll check out the book for this tonight, probably!
Course you can just put your points in skirmish/prowl/hunt and take veteran skills from cutter/lurk/hound to compensate instead. Even if you'd lack certain items.
Mention was already made of Breaking Bad, but I'm just spitballing up there.
The worst bit is the waiting.
Looks: Stout Man, in Shirt, Suspenders, Leathers and Work Boots
Special Ability - Artificer (When you Tinker with a device, tool, vehicle, or weapon, you may include advanced alchemical or clockwork features)
Heritage - Akoros (Maintenance Technician) +1 Survey
Background - Labor (Would-be Union Organizer) +1 Skirmish
2 others: +1 Study, +1 Finesse
Friend: Stazia, Apothecary
Rival: Eckerd, Corpse Thief
Vice: Weird (Strange automatons, parts from Mickey the Junker)
Insight
Study 1, Survey 1, Tinker 2
Prowess
Finesse 1, Skirmish 1, Wreck 1
Resolve
Nope.
Morlan Slane is a former electro-train mechanic now believed dead in a freak accident involving erratic discharges from a turbine he was working on. In truth, Morlan faked his death because he was certain that the Railroad was planning to have him killed due to his efforts as a union organizer. This may have been an overreaction, and stiffing the grave-robber who provided the fake body was definitely not the best plan, but Morlan is sure it was worth it. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a job when everyone thinks you're dead, but his skill with mechanics and alchemy has found a new market in the underworld.
I figure that's enough of a sketch to get rolling with.
Foresight (3x per score, assist another rogue without being stressed)
Akoros - Imperial Blood (+1 Command)
Background - Disgraced Academic (+1 Study)
2 others: +1 Sway, + Skirmish
Insight: 1
-Study: 2
Prowess: 1
-Skirmish: 1
Resolve: 3
-Command: 1
-Consort: 2
-Sway: 1
Close Friend: Jeren, a bluecoat archivist
Rival: Augus, a Master Architect
Vice: Pleasure (Spiregarden Theater, Maestro Helleren)
Looks: Man, Suit and Vest, Soft Boots, Threadbare Tatters
Tarvis was the 2nd child of a Baron of no great import. As he was not to inherit the estate, he was sent to the prestigious Imperial University to become a man of learning and bring honor to his family through schooling. Tarvis, while possessed of a cunning mind, had a tongue sharp as any dagger and a temper the match of an enraged bull. He made these traits serve him in the halls of academia, until he was finally drummed out before receiving his final honors, having marred a senator's son in a duel during final recitations. His family forced to disown him, Tarvis drifted on the winds, making due as a tutor and occasional accountant. His travels brought him to Duskvol, where he finally slipped between the cracks. Here he learned that even criminals appreciated intellect, that his knack for thinking on his feet and his honeyed words would be very useful to those with the coin to harness it. Tarvis works now to make his own shadowy dominion in the city. If he cannot be a lord of the empire, he'll just have to settle for being an underlord, won't he?
***
Is everyone all right with us being Hawkers, or do we want to go a different direction?
1) Show all skills trained and what attribute
2) What the ability does
3) spaces for harm and clocks.
4) All your friends.
To make the thread as readable as possible.
Also Auralynx you need to specify where you're getting the parts for your weird vice of building automatons, not that you have a thing for weird automatons.
@Grunt's Ghosts @Amigu @admanb you guys need any help piecing together character sheets?
Background: Underworld - Begger
Vice: Luxury - Dunridge & Sons, fine fabrics and tailoring
Rook's Gambit - Take 2 stress to roll your best action rating while performing a different action. Say how you adapt your skill to this use.
Skills
Insight
1 - Survey
Prowess
1 - Skirmish
2 - Prowl
Resolve
1 - Consort
2 - Sway
Friend: Nyryx, a prostitute
Enemy: Bryl, a drug dealer
Harm
Clocks
No one looking at Phin Booker would guess his background growing up on the streets, stealing and begging for any food and cash he could scavenge, fighting and fleeing to keep his place and life where neither could be taken for granted. They wouldn't see the friendships he formed and betrayed, the gangs he joined and fought, or the drugs he sunk into when things were going badly -- or especially well.
They won't see all that because he won't let them. Because he spends the first hours of every morning putting on the face, putting on the clothes, and putting on the personality of a man who didn't grow up in any of that -- someone who grew up with money, with servants, and with class. He escaped that world, but he'll never feel truly free. He'll always feel like he's one misstep from being driven back onto the streets. Naked, cold, and hungry.
Most of them are there to help you give context to your character (who do you get on with and why? Who did you fall out with and why were you friends in the first place?) And help define what actions give you bonus die in downtime (if you do it with anyone on your contact list, even the one who you're not buddies with any more you get an extra dice).
They also give me people to kill, have betray you or whatever when needed too.