Blades in the Dark (GM Sarah)

Game Master Sarah 'queen' B.

I'm not minded to set up a clock for this, ghosts are inherently weird and magic shouldn't be confined like that. Let's say that 6 means you get exactly what you want - for now, with me reserving the right to require another action roll from one or more of you as and when the situation demands it.

Hey, a win's a win. Don't forget the 1 xp for making a Desperate roll!

Just checking, but I'm assuming the ball is back in the GM's court at this point.

Yes, sorry. Posting now.

Think of this as a race. Jonah's success means you start out ahead, but some bad rolls will mean the ghost catches up with you.

Cool. Are we still searching for the entrance to the Grinder hideout? Or are we on track and need to bypass whatever their next defensive measure might be? Just trying to understand what might be the best action for our next step.

And obviously I'm thinking that if we can lure this thing into the midst of the Grinders that'll be tons of chaotic fun. :)

Good questions!

Also, I wonder if it would be worth a quick Study roll to look for vulnerabilities and/or how to manipulate this thing.

Things are still Desperate until you fix that, which affects the narrative as well as the mechanics; so you're side-tracked from where you were going and need to find your way, in the sewers, while some long-dead sniffing thing is tracking you for its dessert.

tl;dr - you're playing Blades in the Dark ;)

So it seems like this might be a moment where Casia can shine. With 2 Survey she can use her knowledge of maps and the underground to find/spot/remember a route through a series of a side tunnels that helps get us back on track.

Then maybe it is a group Prowl to lay a quick false trail, stay quiet long enough, or otherwise do something to delay or throw the ghost off our scent for a little bit. Between the two maybe we improve our situation from Desperate to Risky?

I could also try using a bit of blood on clothing dropped into the flowing water heading a different direction. An Attune to increase the 'scent' of the blood so it would register like a full sized person fleeing in the sewers. Again, more of a quick, desperate delaying tactic vs. attempting to fight it off for good.

This all could maybe buy enough time for Min to have a chance for that Study roll to try and figure out how to wrangle, kill, or drive off the ghost when it comes time.

Just my initial thoughts.

I like it. Casia, are you up for that?

Sounds like something doable. :)

That could work! Don't forget you also have access to flashbacks as and when you need them. Lots of tools to work with.

I've just realised I haven't been as diligent as Sarah was in keeping the calendar going. I'll try and fix that. Quick timeline of recent events:

15 March - into the Ghost Field /// Adventures in Scurlock Manor

16 March - leave Scurlock Manor alive

20 March - Grinders kill Dary

25 March - Lady Phroiag demands revenge /// Enter Min

28 March - spinning a tale for the Silver Nails

30 March - Burglary at the Grinders

2 April - Fin tangles with the Silver Nails, gets poisoned

5 April - Down we go

So tonight is 5 April, which gives you some spaces to insert flashbacks as required. Going forward, I will try to remember to list the date in my posts.

Hey, remember that Min's nemesis is an architect? [rummages] "Enemy: Augus, a master architect. I humiliated him and he hates me. You might not think a master architect would be a frightening nemesis, but Augus is very wealthy, very well connected, and very vindictive. Mind, rumors of him building a death maze are probably exaggerated."

Okay, so... part of Augus' stock in trade is that he designs buildings with secret passages and hidden rooms. And he also has access to maps for many -- not all, but many -- of the passages beneath the city, so that his wealth clients can always have ratlines as well as safe rooms.

I haven't fleshed out Min's relationship with Augus, but I think he exposed something nefarious -- maybe by publishing plans for something unpleasant that he was planning to build. So Min must have gotten close to him. Which suggests that (Min being Min) he'd either have copies, or have the key details memorized.

So I could maybe do a flashback to dictating the plans? That seems like it would be 1 Stress, no roll, though of course the GM is the judge of that. And then it would give Casia either another die or increased effect?

Agreed - that sounds like a 1 Stress flashback to me. No roll needed, so go for it.

Tangent: in his fantasy novel _Little, Big_, author John Crowley came up with a very cool method of divination. You start with the standard Memory Mansion, which is an actual thing that people have used since the ancient Greeks, and that thousands of people are still using right now. But Crowley's wizard, the excellently named Ariel Hawksquill, allows her mind to drift a little so that the images may change just a bit. So, wandering through her memory mansion, she may find that the ballerina is now a gymnast, or the Grecian column is now a steel girder. And she can use these changes as omens or portents, to learn about things that are past, or passing, or to come.

Anyway: flashback complete. Min /thinks/ he has a good route out of here, and all Cassia has to do is follow directions and scout for obstacles or surprises. Of course, Augus' maps may have been flawed, things may have changed, you name it.

I like it! And thanks for the recommend, I haven't encountered that author but the work sounds good so I will look out for it.

I think that the architecture you are going through has some basic wards, old and decayed but enough to throw the ghost off your 'scent' for a bit - in mechanical terms that gives Casia's action greater effect than it would otherwise have.

I like it! And thanks for the recommend, I haven't encountered that author but the work sounds good so I will look out for it.

It came out in 1980, and is considered a minor classic. It's very odd, though, and not to everyone's taste -- it's long, deliberately slow-moving, and rather "literary". I like it a lot, but YMMV.

I like it! And thanks for the recommend, I haven't encountered that author but the work sounds good so I will look out for it.

It came out in 1980, and is considered a minor classic. It's very odd, though, and not to everyone's taste -- it's long, deliberately slow-moving, and rather "literary". I like it a lot, but YMMV.

Here's my Attune roll to help further throw the ghost off our scent for a while.

Attune: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

Not great, but some success. Will write something up soon.

Success with consequences; let's see, you're in a Desperate position still so I think the obvious bad thing that happens is to split the party.

You can resist using Resolve.

Okay, Min will try resisting with Resolve.

3d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 3) = 7

Wow, that cost 3 stress. Ouch. Min is now down to 4 out of 9 Stress, and we haven't even started the proper heist yet.

Still... not separated.

...and Casia can breathe a sigh of relief that someone else rolled Resolve so she didn't have to.

OK, so you're reunited and not split up - but you're still in the dark underground away from where you need to be, and things are still Desperate.

But hey, you're the Dusk Mites - this is eminently surmountable, right?

Right?

Now seems like a good time for Casia to do that Survey roll (with an extra die, or better effect, from Min's flashback).

Are we waiting on Casia's Survey roll, or something else?

Yup, waiting on Cas - I've narrated as far as I can get without another dice roll.

Survey: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 2) = 10

A success! Somehow, despite everything, Cas has managed to stay oriented with your surroundings and lead you back to where you were supposed to be going.

The complication is lost time: you only had a limited window of time to do this and it is very rapidly ticking away. Because you're in a desperate position, I'm making a 4-clock and ticking it twice. Once it fills, your opportunity to attack the Grinders by surprise in their current location will be over.

You can resist with Prowess.

You can resist with Prowess.

I have one die in Prowess -- and only 4 Stress left. So that's a 1/3 chance of me leaving the heist right there.

Anyone else? Casia, do you want to try? (It's fine if you don't.)

I'll give it a go...

Prowess Resist: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 5) = 6

A five. That'll work. Leaves me with 4 Stress.

Good work! You're out the sewers and in sight of your target destination. But...

...things are still Desperate. Which means if/when things go wrong they'll go really wrong, especially since the Grinders are higher Tier.

Press on anyway? Or do something about it?

Press on anyway? Or do something about it?

What could we do?

It's BitD, you can do almost anything you like.

I realise that answer sounds super-unhelpful, but it's not intended to be! This is free-form, fiction-first gaming, not a railroad in sight.

EDIT: slightly more helpfully - if in doubt, look at your character sheet, the equipment your playbook has available, the abilities and NPCs listed there; and think about actions and flashbacks that could help you improve your situation.

Okay, how about a flashback setting up a series of distractions meant to make it a bit easier to infiltrate the Grinder's hideout? I'm thinking a few 'timed' incendiary devices set up in one or two of their main warehouses. Nothing to cause a lot of real damage, but enough to make them think the Silver Nails are starting to move hard against their holdings. Maybe we leave a patch of torn Nails uniform behind in one of the places where it can be found. This would then draw off a few more 'defenders' from the main hideout as they are forced to defend other holdings. At least for a time until they figure out how limited the 'attacks' really are.

So this would be trading effect for position. No real damage done, but it improves our position while trying to sneak in to the hideout.

I'm thinking Tinker to properly design and set up the devices to go off at about the right time.

Thoughts?

Yup, I think a Tinker roll plus 2 stress to represent getting the things planted in enemy territory. You can have one person take 2 stress, or divide up between two of you for 1 point each.

Okay...here's a roll

Tinker: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Well, a success. So that'll improve our position a bit. I've got 2 stress left. Busy day today, but will try to get something posted as soon as I can.

Tinker: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Casia will take the Stress.

OK, your position improves from Desperate to simply Risky. Which is about as good as you could have hoped for.

Cas: you rolled a 6, so you get to describe the effect you achieve without complications! This is the end-stage of the score, so keep pushing the story forwards.

Good work! You finally made it into the Grinders' hideout. Now the hard work begins, let's see how it plays out.

I think one action roll (of your choice) from each of you will help us reach the denouement.

Here's an idea. I could Attune to the ghost field in order to fill the place with an 'aetheric fog' the generates ghostly images and sounds. All illusionary at this point but it all helps hide our presence, spreads fear and perhaps makes it a bit easier for everyone else to hit hard with knives and guns.

Downside is that an obvious complication will be drawing that ghost up from the sewers which we may or may not be able to turn to our benefit.

I could also just try my luck and Finessing some sneaky knife attacks. Preferences?

Thematically I like the ghost thing. How many dice can you get on it?

I'm guessing your question was aimed at Cas and Min but I think Whispers should Whisper. Worry about the consequences later :)

Thematically I like the ghost thing. How many dice can you get on it?

Base of 2 dice. I could push for a third since Casia ended up resisting earlier.

You can get +1d with a devil's bargain if that's of interest...?

Sure, I think that's one thing I've avoided so far, so I should give it a try. Do you have something in mind?

Obvious answer: the ghost picks up your trail again.

Sure. It's bound to happen sooner or later and I'd prefer to save the stress for when it does. So.....

Attune: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 4) = 10

Eep...well, thank goodness for that 4. Will get something posted in a bit.