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Blades in the Dark Actual Play
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<blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 7065580" data-attributes="member: 16586"><p>Let's talk about character and crew creation!</p><p></p><p>Before I get two in depth with anything, I wanted to provide some commentary on the reference and playbook sheets found <a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/blades-in-the-dark-downloads/" target="_blank">here</a>. They really are a thing of beauty. John Harper, the game's designer is also a graphic designer. He designed and iterated on the playbooks, crew sheets, and reference material as part of the game design process. Usability was a clear focus of the design. Everything a player needs to play the game is included in these sheets. The actual text of the game provides meaningful context, but only the GM really needs the text.</p><p></p><p>Download the sheets if you want to follow along.</p><p></p><p>Let's carry on! </p><p></p><p>While I was unable to join the rest of the crew for the first two sessions of actual play, I was there for the short Session Zero where we talked about the game, and did crew and character creation. So, one of the unique features of Blades in the Dark is that player characters are not just a loose collection of individuals who happen to go on adventures together. They are part of a crew trying to rise up the ranks of the criminal underworld of Duskvol and they are trying to accomplish something meaningful that will live beyond what any of them do as individuals. The crew becomes a focus of play, a character in its own right. As such, it gets its own sheet and advances through play. You start at the bottom with no Tier and only 2 Coin between the whole lot. Characters may come and go, but the crew is always there.</p><p></p><p>Here's How Crew Creation Works</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Choose a crew type. Here's where we choose what our crew is broadly about. This helps to provide focus to players in the sandbox of Duskvol. You can decide to be Hawkers selling a variety of contraband and taking street corners, Assassins who do murder for hire and ransom jobs, Smugglers who transport that contraband from place to place, Bravos who extort and run protection rackets, amongst other things. This is not like binding. You can always take on scores of any variety. It's there to focus players and GM on the types of things your crew does most often. Each crew type gets its own sheet. What you select affects how your crew advances, the crew upgrades uniquely available to them, turf available, and the suggested contacts available to them. It also affects which crew upgrades are initially set. Each crew types also have a set of suggested abilities, but you are not limited to those belonging to your crew type. Any time you advance you can choose a special ability from another crew. It's just there to keep you focused if you need to.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Begin with <strong>Tier 0</strong>, with <strong>strong hold</strong> and 0 Rep. You start with 2 Coin. Use them wisely! Your Crew's Tier represents their over all influence and power in Duskvol. You start at the bottom. Your hold is how strongly you have a grasp on your crew's power base. This fluctuates according to the events of play. Your Crew's Rep represents your social currency in the setting. Coin represents actual currency. Keep in eye on Coin. There are various decision points in Crew Creation that affect your Crew's position in setting that make use of it. We are already playing the game!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Choose an initial reputation and lair. Choose how the rest of the fictional world sees you. Choices are things like Ambitious, Brutal, Daring, Honorable. Make your own if you want. Look at the map and choose a district to make your lair in. Describe it. Here we are doing important stuff. We are choosing how we are seen, and where we rest between scores. This becomes a fixture of play. We are getting connected to the setting. We have a home now.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Establish your hunting grounds. Look at the map and choose where your crew operates out of most of the time. We get certain advantages to operating in that area. Decide how to deal with the faction that controls that area. You can pay them 1 Coin to secure the right to operate in that area, You can pay 2 Coin to secure the right to operate in the area and gain a measure of shared interest (+1 Faction Status), or pay nothing and operate under the noses of the faction that controls the area. You get -1 faction status. We're already paying the faction game and making decisions that will meaningfully shape play. We choose who our enemies and allies are.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Choose a special ability. Pick a special ability from your faction sheet.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Assign Crew Upgrades. This is stuff like special features of your lair, followers, quality of gear available to your crew, and training advantages. One faction helped with an upgrade. Take +1 status with them or spend one coin to take +2 status with them. One faction suffered as the result of one of your upgrades take -1 faction status or spend 1 Coin to smooth things over with them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Choose a favorite contact. Choose a contact from the list to be an asset to your crew. They have their own enemies and allies. Take +1 status with their ally and -1 status with their enemy. You can choose to be deeper in bed with your contact. Take +2 status with their ally and -2 status with their enemy. We're saying stuff about relationships and make determinations that ground us in the settings.</li> </ol></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Campbell, post: 7065580, member: 16586"] Let's talk about character and crew creation! Before I get two in depth with anything, I wanted to provide some commentary on the reference and playbook sheets found [URL="http://www.evilhat.com/home/blades-in-the-dark-downloads/"]here[/URL]. They really are a thing of beauty. John Harper, the game's designer is also a graphic designer. He designed and iterated on the playbooks, crew sheets, and reference material as part of the game design process. Usability was a clear focus of the design. Everything a player needs to play the game is included in these sheets. The actual text of the game provides meaningful context, but only the GM really needs the text. Download the sheets if you want to follow along. Let's carry on! While I was unable to join the rest of the crew for the first two sessions of actual play, I was there for the short Session Zero where we talked about the game, and did crew and character creation. So, one of the unique features of Blades in the Dark is that player characters are not just a loose collection of individuals who happen to go on adventures together. They are part of a crew trying to rise up the ranks of the criminal underworld of Duskvol and they are trying to accomplish something meaningful that will live beyond what any of them do as individuals. The crew becomes a focus of play, a character in its own right. As such, it gets its own sheet and advances through play. You start at the bottom with no Tier and only 2 Coin between the whole lot. Characters may come and go, but the crew is always there. Here's How Crew Creation Works [LIST=1] [*]Choose a crew type. Here's where we choose what our crew is broadly about. This helps to provide focus to players in the sandbox of Duskvol. You can decide to be Hawkers selling a variety of contraband and taking street corners, Assassins who do murder for hire and ransom jobs, Smugglers who transport that contraband from place to place, Bravos who extort and run protection rackets, amongst other things. This is not like binding. You can always take on scores of any variety. It's there to focus players and GM on the types of things your crew does most often. Each crew type gets its own sheet. What you select affects how your crew advances, the crew upgrades uniquely available to them, turf available, and the suggested contacts available to them. It also affects which crew upgrades are initially set. Each crew types also have a set of suggested abilities, but you are not limited to those belonging to your crew type. Any time you advance you can choose a special ability from another crew. It's just there to keep you focused if you need to. [*]Begin with [B]Tier 0[/B], with [B]strong hold[/B] and 0 Rep. You start with 2 Coin. Use them wisely! Your Crew's Tier represents their over all influence and power in Duskvol. You start at the bottom. Your hold is how strongly you have a grasp on your crew's power base. This fluctuates according to the events of play. Your Crew's Rep represents your social currency in the setting. Coin represents actual currency. Keep in eye on Coin. There are various decision points in Crew Creation that affect your Crew's position in setting that make use of it. We are already playing the game! [*]Choose an initial reputation and lair. Choose how the rest of the fictional world sees you. Choices are things like Ambitious, Brutal, Daring, Honorable. Make your own if you want. Look at the map and choose a district to make your lair in. Describe it. Here we are doing important stuff. We are choosing how we are seen, and where we rest between scores. This becomes a fixture of play. We are getting connected to the setting. We have a home now. [*]Establish your hunting grounds. Look at the map and choose where your crew operates out of most of the time. We get certain advantages to operating in that area. Decide how to deal with the faction that controls that area. You can pay them 1 Coin to secure the right to operate in that area, You can pay 2 Coin to secure the right to operate in the area and gain a measure of shared interest (+1 Faction Status), or pay nothing and operate under the noses of the faction that controls the area. You get -1 faction status. We're already paying the faction game and making decisions that will meaningfully shape play. We choose who our enemies and allies are. [*]Choose a special ability. Pick a special ability from your faction sheet. [*]Assign Crew Upgrades. This is stuff like special features of your lair, followers, quality of gear available to your crew, and training advantages. One faction helped with an upgrade. Take +1 status with them or spend one coin to take +2 status with them. One faction suffered as the result of one of your upgrades take -1 faction status or spend 1 Coin to smooth things over with them. [*]Choose a favorite contact. Choose a contact from the list to be an asset to your crew. They have their own enemies and allies. Take +1 status with their ally and -1 status with their enemy. You can choose to be deeper in bed with your contact. Take +2 status with their ally and -2 status with their enemy. We're saying stuff about relationships and make determinations that ground us in the settings. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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