
Vrog Skyreaver |

I just did some research, and Blades in the Dark is not just another fantasy game. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with it, nor the $20 to spare to pick it up off of Drive-Thru RPG. If I can be nursemaided through it, I'm game to try.
It's designed to be similar to the Apocalypse World, in that your entire class is on your character sheet. The rules are fairly quick to pick up, too...

Oceanshieldwolf |

Thankfully, it looks like Evil Hat was kind enough to post an SRD for Blades in the Dark.
Thanks Adam! Yep, going to remove my interest from Blades in the Dark. Looks like a good system, just not one for me.
Let me know if by some freak of fate Twilight 2000 wins so I can play something cheery to take my mind off the current malaise and impending catastrophe.

Decimus Observet |

While Blades in the Dark wasn't my pick, I'm interested in giving it a go.
I do have an assassin, Vincenzo Goya that I could rework into BitD. I'll need to get up to speed with the rules.
@Vrog: any general advice on the rules? Any trap options to avoid for stealthy killers?

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For those of you who don't have a copy of the rules, you can find lots of free downloads and the Blades in the Dark System Reference Document at the Publisher's Website. I'll be posting a link to the campaign OOC thread shortly. For now we'll just assume anyone who is interested in playing will have a chance to create a PC.

TheWorstFighter |

One thing you may want to decide (or maybe hold another small poll for) before people start working on their PCs is what crew type the game will be about. The backstory of a character who joins a Cult is likely to be different from that of one who joins a Smuggler gang; "one story fits all" doesn't work terribly well here in my experience.

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One thing you may want to decide (or maybe hold another small poll for) before people start working on their PCs is what crew type the game will be about. The backstory of a character who joins a Cult is likely to be different from that of one who joins a Smuggler gang; "one story fits all" doesn't work terribly well here in my experience.
Very true. I'm happy to leave this up to the players. What do people prefer? The different types of gangs are listed in the Player Kit available at the link I posted above. To summarize they are:
Assassins (Murderers for Hire)
Bravos (Mercenaries, Thugs, and Killers)
Cult (Acolytes of a Deity)
Hawkers (Vice Dealers)
Shadows (Thieves, Spies, and Saboteurs)
Smugglers (Suppliers of Illicit Goods)

Vrog Skyreaver |
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@Vrog: any general advice on the rules? Any trap options to avoid for stealthy killers?
Certainly. While nothing is a "trap" option per se, I would avoid anything that requires a push. Stress is a fairly big deal to get rid of (after every score, it's a downtime action to TRY and get rid of stress.)
The other thing worth mentioning is that playing the game is much different than most other rpgs I have played: for example, there's no need to sit around planning how you're going to start your attack on your rival's HQ, or trying to figure out how to get out of a sticky situation. You can instead just ask for a flashback where you describe how you planned for this exact situation and set up something to be available to help things out.
Secondly, the players roll all the dice, and there is a conversation with the GM about most dice rolls; do you want to try to trade position (how much of an advantage you have in a situation) for effect (How well/good the thing was). There is a mechanic called a devil's bargain that can get you an extra die, but whatever the GM offers will occur whether or not the roll is successful (i.e. if you're in a fight, you can ask for a Devil's bargain to get an extra die to roll on an attack, he might say "succeed or fail, you end up making a lot more noise than intended, which increases the heat the group will take at the end of the mission". You can always choose whether or not to take the devil's bargain once offered).
Finally, the game is very sandboxy. Most of the time, players will set their own scores and then carry them out.
As far as type of crew goes, I like Assassins and Shadows, and I'm working on a Spider.

KingHotTrash |

I agree with Vrog to a certain point; abilities that require you to push yourself are expensive and require some thought about where you're going to use them. To quote the book though, play your character like you would drive a stolen vehicle on a joyride. Do all the stress, take the risky actions, put yourself in dangerous situations and clutch victory out of the jaws of defeat!
The game naturally favors the player characters; it isn't hard to go from having no dice in something (which is roll 2d6 and take the lowest result) and getting two dice. Just a little stress or a devil's bargain and having an ally assist you and you're good to go.
If I get selected, I may type up the "Player's Best Practices", "GM's Best Practices", and "The Conversation". I really do love the way the game focuses on everyone cooperating to create the theme of the game, how dangerous or adventurous it is.
My own hard preferences would have to be Bravos and Cult. I like the former for playing a "mafia"-esque game. The latter I like because shit gets really strange really quick with Cults.
My soft Preference would be Shadows and play a clandestine-focused kind of group. Spies and such, playing the powers that be to our own benefits.
As for playbooks, I am perfectly fine playing whatever really. I love them all and they are great fun. My all-time favorite is Cutter and I've not had a chance to be a Slide or a Lurk yet.

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So, um, will there be a recruitment process for the game or is first come, first served?
There will be a recruitment process once I have a better handle on the rules. I'll post a link to that thread in a few weeks. Right now just see if we can reach a consensus on what type of crew we'd like to play. I'm also happy inviting more folks than can play at any one time. That way we can have a set of 6-10 as the active crew, while everyone else can RP in a separate thread and help create backstory and side missions for what's going on at/help to develop and flesh out the "base".
Also another side note: most people will be playing PCs of questionable morality. I will be enforcing a strict system of lines and veils and using the X-card (for more info on that check THIS out), and will not tolerate unsanctioned PvP behavior. We're all here to have fun and games with grey or evil PCs can quickly deteriorate without vigilance. If that does not seem like your cup of tea, please don't participate in the game.

KingHotTrash |

I think, what might be better in some ways, is what kind of stories are you interested in running in the Setting. I've ran the game before and I've noticed that running crews that I am actually excited for tend to do much better overall.
If there is any preference that you want or like, I think we would all love to hear it. Having everyone on board would really help make sure that everything flows well.

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So, how's it going?
Hi folks, sorry to let this drift off for a few weeks.
I'm still here and interested. I just got ... distracted with everything else that was going on and also by other RPGs. There are just so many of them!
So if you're still interested and still out there, please let me know. I promise I'll get there ... soon.