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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7171647" data-attributes="member: 6696971">That is good stuff mate.  I agree across the board:1)  3 ticks for the PCs' "Find Her" clock and the relevant info for Greater Effect.2)  Move the action forward with a new obstacle.3)  You've moved the Position from Controlled to Risky as a result of 5.  I agree with you on 3.  Assuming these are normal gang members and not truly dangerous adversaries, the situation is Risky.  3 on 2 against standard guys is Risky (the PCs can still get hurt and the situation can definitely escalate).  3 on 2 versus master duelists/assassins/brawlers (etc)...or if the circumstances surrounding the potential skirmish are extremely dangerous (spatial or temporal), then we're definitely talking Desperate.  So for any following on that are trying to get a grip on how Blades in the Dark moves along, chaochou's example is a great one.Bit different than yours but also similar in a couple very relevant ways:a)  The precarious electroplasmic lantern was the lynchpin (my guess is if you asked a lot of folks to do this, many/most of their minds would go their as well).b)  I took the opportunity to move the Position from Controlled to Risky.I think (b) above is very relevant.  Personally, I think that is a big part of GMing Blades.  The 7-9 result is so fundamental to PBtA systems, so you want (i) PCs accepting Devil's Bargains and (ii) to get Position in the vicinity of Risky much of the time.  If the PCs can establish Controlled Position, lets use our complication opportunities to move that Position right back to threatening or worse!Interestingly, I had the girl above (rather than below as you did)!  In short order, the subdued lackey relayed that she was being kept in the master suite (this is an abandoned coal mine...so...the equivalent) three switchbacks above them.  She is the prize possession of the gang's vice den (being a noblewoman's daughter) so she always has a few handlers guarding her and high-end clientele involved in any...purchases (ewwww)...Now what does flesh contact with unrefined electroplasm do to a person?  Didn't know before this moment.  It is "the distilled essence of the ghost field, rendered from demon blood."  So I'm thinking maybe it can turn a person, or part of them, ethereal...but not in a good way?  Maybe they see ghosts or hear them suddenly?  Maybe the demon blood of the leviathans of the black sea corrupts them and turns them into the equivalent of 28 Days Later zombies (but demon-spawn rather than flesh-hungry creatures spawned from disease)?Anyway...He quickly finishes a panicked vomiting forth of the info above...then...the pendulum swinging lantern unhooks...trundles through the air (slow-mo-like) and the glass smashes on his head, releasing the small bit of unrefined electroplasm inside onto our poor lackey's head!In a weird Predator-like deal, as the glowing green-black goop trickles down his head onto his face, he immediately starts to fade out in those places.  His body starts convulsing and poltergeist activity begins to manifest in the small walk-in-closet.  Objects elevate off the ground from nothing and begin to accelerate every-which-way...some of these objects are pointy bits...all of these objects make racket!Our Slide says something to the equivalent of:Slide:  "I know a bit of everything.  I know some kind of ghost is channeling through this guy.  I've got to break that link to the ghost field.  I've seen it done a time or two...casting out of spirits.  I'm going to touch the guy's head, say the words and try to project myself to cast the spirit out.  I've got "Rook's Gambit", so I'm taking 2 Stress to use my highest Action Dots (2) for Attune."None of the players can think of a way to assist (or don't care to), so they don't.  I come up with the following Devil's Bargain related to the Slide PC's vice - Pleasure (Art):GM:  "This guy has an intricately carved wooden eye-patch with crushed velvet backing.  He’s probably a former leviathan hunter because he’s carrying a battered posture and what looks to be a fishing line scare that crosses his face right where his eye was taken.  The patch rendering is that of a demonic leviathan attacking a lonely fishing vessel on the black sea.  I mean, if you’re down on your luck at some point and you need to make it liquid, this thing is definitely 1 Coin…maybe 2 with the right buyer!  Problem is, its possibly one of a kind, so that means two things; (1) you're going to get +2 Heat the moment you legitimately look into a buyer/fence and (2) the buyer/fence better be discreet or word is going to get out on where it came from!"The player takes the Devil's Bargain for a 3rd d6.  The PC deftly slips the eyepatch from the fading man's face before it goes fully ethereal too.Now Effect on this one was kind of difficult to figure.  The PC had no tools or arcane capacity to assist in this.  However, I wasn't going for some kind of serious supernatural intrusion here.  I described it as something like "if Egon from Ghostbusters was there, he would probably call it a Class 3 (out of 10) Phantasm or something <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> "  So I made it a wash; Standard Effect.  So Attune @ 3d6, Risky Position, Standard Effect.Player got a 4.  I won't tell you what I came up with yet, but I will tell you that the player chose to roll Resistance!So what do you think about all of the above and what would you have done if the situation turned out like this (and do you think one of your players would have rolled Resistance)?For anyone reading along, a PC rolls Resistance when they want to reduce the severity of, if not outright avoid (which would likely happen only on Controlled position), a consequence.  They automatically succeed.  The roll determines how much Stress they eat in the process.  They roll their Action Rating worth of d6.  They subtract their highest rolled die from 6 and eat that much Stress.  If they get a Critical (roll a pair of 6s), they actually clear 1 Stress.</blockquote>

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