Blades in the Dark recently came out with its (relatively) final version. I'd like to run a short game to get a handle on the mechanics and gameplay.
The kickstarter does a very good job selling the game. Blades is based loosely on the Apocalypse World system and focuses on a group of scoundrels conducting heists and crimes to create a powerful gang with territory and riches. It's a gritty setting with strong gothic and steampunk elements drawing heavily from games like Dishonored. Sneaking around, negotiating with ghosts, and getting into trouble are all expected.
The game focuses on the story and action with mechanics that support that focus. Players will frequently find themselves in troublesome situations, succeeding by the skin of their teeth. The fun is in how they survive and what trouble the get up to rather than focusing on whether they succeed or not (although success is by no means assured).
If there is enough interest, I would run a game consisting of a single heist, or job, as well as the following downtime period. This could expand to more if Blades turns out to be as addicting to run as it has been to read.
If you do not have the book, that is by no means a problem and is the assumed state of any players expressing interest/applying to the game. I plan on sharing the relevant details and the Blades website is supposed to have a Player Information area soon.
What I am looking for is:
Rate of Posting: 1/day. I know not everyone can manage daily postings all the time. I am looking for a rough average of that. If you do not post within 24 hours, I will make an effort to move the game along rather than wait. I would want players that are okay with this.
Tone: I'm aiming for a gritty-ish, gothic tone. There will be humor, but it will not be a comedic game. I'm hoping for something that feels like an Ocean's 11 or Lies of Locke Lamora job.
DM Raven! It's me, Eilidh, from your The Long Vigil game!
I don't know if I'm interested or not yet; I'll have to look at my time budget and what the game's really about. That being said, I'd love to run with you again.
Good to see you again! I'm hoping to just run this as a short, single-heist game. From what I understand a heist usually takes one (or less) sessions to play through so it shouldn't be a very long game (hoping for a month or so at most).
I totally understand time budget. I'm playing in two games right now and that's pretty much my maximum in terms of play.
To give a snippet/idea of play, I'll post a bit of the Example of Play from the book.
Showdown at the Docks
The Billhooks, an NPC street gang, have been encroaching on the drug-sales territory of the PC crew ("the Bloodletters"), down by the docks. The players left their crew at weak hold for a while, so the GM decided to show that weakness by describing Billhooks milling around in their turf, talking to customers, and generally ignoring the Bloodletters' claim to the streets. [Note: You can gain territory and your hold on it will be either Strong or Weak. This references how secure it is.]
In this session, the Gm casually mentions that a Billhook is selling "spark" in a nearby alleyway, and that tips the scale. Arcy, Canter, and Oskarr (the PCs) have had enough! They gather their gang and come out in force to run the Billhooks off. It's a display of dominance to see who flinches first. A Bluecoat patrol notices the two armed gangs squaring off and decides to wait on the sidelines for a moment--let them sort it out a bit first.
Arcy makes the opening move, getting in the face of the first Billhook. She stares him down, ice cold, and says "You think this is gonna be your moment, but it's not. Get gone before we put you down." Sounds like a Command roll, and that's what Sean (Arcy's player) chooses. The GM reveals that this is Coran, second-in-command and the son of the leader of the Billhooks, and there's no way he can lose face by backing down right away. It is a risky roll with limited effect.
[Note: Rolls are made from one of three positions Controlled, Risky, or Desperate. The position dictates what kind of consequence the person rolling might face. Rolls also have one of three effect levels: Limited, Standard, or Great.
The GM chose limited in this case as Coran can't be seen to back away.
Sean gets 3 dice (3d6) for Arcy's Command roll. Oskarr chooses to assist. Oskarr's player, Stras, describes how the demonic eyeball on Oskarr's spirit mask rotates around and glares unblinking at Coran--enough to freak anyone out. Sean rolls 4d6 and gets a 4: a partial success.
Arcy does what she's trying to do, and intimidates the Billhooks. The GM describes Arcy's limited effect: "When you stare Coran down, you see him freeze up. He really doesn't want to mess with you but he's terrified of looking weak in front of his gang. You notice a few members shuffle nervously and begin to back away."
It was a partial success, though, so Arcy suffers a consequence from it too. Harm doesn't seem to make sense here (yet). A complication makes sense though. The GM says that Coran's three bodyguards become enraged when Arcy speaks to the boss's son like that. They draw weapons and close in on Arcy. If she even twitches, they will be on her before she can draw her sword.
Sean decides to resist the consequence. Arcy's gonna need her sword if this turns into a battle. Sean rolls 2d6 for Arcy's prowess attribute and gets a 4. She takes 2 stress and avoids the complication. The Billhooks think they have her in a bad spot, but she'll be a lot faster than they expect and won't be surrounded or unarmed when they attack.
I'm super into this. Huge fan of PBTA games and have always wanted to try Blades in the Dark.
Gothic and dark? Sounds like a lot of fun!
Gothic and dark? Sounds like a lot of fun!
One of the examples has a crew breaking into the house of some supernatural ghost-speakers who guard their home with ghosts. After encountering a ghost in one of the rooms and rolling a complication, they find out the ghost is the aunt of one of the crew members. Lots of crazy ghosts, magical rituals, and elaborate escapes by leaping through windows and escaping on the top of a steamboat ensue.
A note on Blades in the Dark's expectations:
You will succeed. The chances of success in the game are fairly high. However, you will succeed...with harm. The idea is that you will make it through the heist, but someone will have a broken arm, someone may be mentally traumatized (which doesn't go away), the faction you robbed will start seeking out who robbed them, and the Bluecoats may come knocking on your door to investigate causing someone to get locked up for a month or two (meaning you have to play an NPC, friend, or other member of the gang if the group does a heist in that time frame). There are also prison mechanics for whoever gets locked up.
I'm intrigued for sure!
Hey DMRaven, you still interested in running your own game of this?