[BitD] Does the setup action suffer consequences?

[Starfox]

For Blades in the Dark players, a pretty straightforward question. Does your character suffer consequences when you do the setup action? (p 134 in my book) Does tier apply? Setup is described in the Teamwork part of the rules, and all the other options there have special rules, so maybe setup is an exception too. Note that consequences and tier effects are two separate issues, and either may or may not be applicable here.

No Consequences: Setup would be meaningless if it was as difficult as the task it is supposed to improve. Why add the risks of an additional roll if all it is as dangerous as the action being supported? Tier already applies to the action you are supporting, it should not be applied twice.​

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Consequences: Rules does not say there is no consequence. It adds excitement to the game.​

As might be seen from the somewhat strawman-ish con argument, I am in the no consequences camp, but I wonder how others play and if there is some sort of official statement on this?

 

[Manbearcat]

For Blades in the Dark players, a pretty straightforward question. Does your character suffer consequences when you do the setup action? (p 134 in my book) Does tier apply? Setup is described in the Teamwork part of the rules, and all the other options there have special rules, so maybe setup is an exception too. Note that consequences and tier effects are two separate issues, and either may or may not be applicable here.

No Consequences: Setup would be meaningless if it was as difficult as the task it is supposed to improve. Why add the risks of an additional roll if all it is as dangerous as the action being supported? Tier already applies to the action you are supporting, it should not be applied twice.​

​

Consequences: Rules does not say there is no consequence. It adds excitement to the game.​

As might be seen from the somewhat strawman-ish con argument, I am in the no consequences camp, but I wonder how others play and if there is some sort of official statement on this?

Setup follows the same procedure as everything else in the game.

SETUP MOVE ORDER OF OPERATIONS:

1) Is this a Downtime Activity?

If yes, then make a downtime roll; pay 1 Coin or Rep, make a Fortune Roll w/ +1d for Friend/Contact to determine Effect Level. At player discretion, post-roll, "buy up" Fortune Roll result at 1 Coin per per result level rate.

If no, proceed to 2.

2) Is this a Flashback?

If yes, pay 0, 1, or 2 Stress and proceed to 3.

3) Index the situation/obstacle at hand and determine if there is danger or trouble at hand (the significant bulk of the time, the answer should be "yes," see GMing section; Duskvol should be a haunted, dangerous place filled with consequences, threat, trouble and the PCs leading interesting lives with the deck stacked against them)? If no, then fortune roll, or downtime roll, or GM will simply say yes and you accomplish your goal.

If there is danger or trouble at hand, proceed to 4.

4) Make an Action Roll.

Follow action roll procedures as normal (Index the situation/obstacle at hand > player chooses Action Rating > GM sets Position: Effect > negotiate trading one for the other and/or use Loadout for Position or Effect increase > Devil's Bargain/Push (including using playbook moves) > Teamwork > Resistance/Armor/Special Armor for Consequences).

 

[MarkB]

I'd tend to say it depends, as some things you might do as a set-up might be hard to justify having no downside. A simple compromise would be to say that the person doing the set-up is now an active participant, so they take no consequence from their set-up action, but will share the consequences of the action they're setting up.

 

[Starfox]

Thanks for your replies!

I should have written under "consequences" that you can always give the PC a very favorable position with almost no consequences, making the two camps less opposed.