Blades in the Dark Advice Please?

[Starfox]

I've recently had the chance to try out Blades in the Dark (hereafter BidD) and Candela Obscura. Just a single session of each so far. I would describe the later as mechanically kind of Blades in the Dark 1.1. I like the lack of an action economy in these games. There are no turns, instead there are opportunities to "Step Up" and take charge of a situation, either by taking the initiative or by being the one to decide to respond reactively. Of course, this changes preparation on the GM's part. No stat blocks, instead situations. Which I like. NPCs are less stats, more personality.

So, on to my questions. I know Blades in the Dark has been adapted to multiple settings, but I don't know which ones. I read about a setting for anime-style magical girls, for example, but I don't recall where I read this or in which product it. We usually play at a DnD-esque power level, with quite a number of supernatural abilities, and my players prefer powers that are pretty well-defined, much like DnD spells. That level of detail would never work in BitD, but something like it might exist? What I am asking for are genre-engines that somewhat offer this degree of definition. I realize the aesthetics of BitD and DnD are quite different, so there can never be a perfect match.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Here's a link to a reddit post that has a bunch of Forged in the Dark games with links:

Forged in the Dark

Some of those are a bit out of date, but it's a good starting point.

 

[MarkB]

The variant I'm familiar with is Scum and Villainy, which is a space opera hack of BitD. Very Star Wars-like, but with its own specific setting that borrows heavily from various science-fantasy sources. It centres around the crew of a starship, with the default options being smugglers (Firefly-esque), bounty hunters (Mandalorian-esque) or freedom fighters (Rebels-esque).

It'd possible to adapt it to a particular existing setting if there's one your players are familiar with, but more work than it might at first appear to be. You need to come up with a robust variety of factions, and a constrained setting - in this case a handful of frontier star systems - is important to long-term play, much as the city of Duskvol is for BitD, as you build up a network of local contacts, allies and enemies.

 

[Umbran]

The variant I'm familiar with is Scum and Villainy, which is a space opera hack of BitD. Very Star Wars-like, but with its own specific setting that borrows heavily from various science-fantasy sources. It centres around the crew of a starship, with the default options being smugglers (Firefly-esque), bounty hunters (Mandalorian-esque) or freedom fighters (Rebels-esque).

Note that that's default campaign type, rather than character type. The base character types are Mechanic, Muscle, Mystic (think Jedi), Pilot, Scoundrel, Speaker, and Stitch (doctor or scientist).

 

[Aldarc]

The variant I'm familiar with is Scum and Villainy, which is a space opera hack of BitD. Very Star Wars-like, but with its own specific setting that borrows heavily from various science-fantasy sources. It centres around the crew of a starship, with the default options being smugglers (Firefly-esque), bounty hunters (Mandalorian-esque) or freedom fighters (Rebels-esque).

That game was sadly missing the escaped prisoners (Farscape).

 

[Umbran]

That game was sadly missing the escaped prisoners (Farscape).

In Farscape, and the earlier Blake's 7, the escaped prisoners were Rebels without significant resources.

 

[Tutara]

For more defined powers and roles, particularly in a (grim and gritty) fantasy setting, I believe Band of Blades (https://evilhat.com/product/band-of-blades/) is quite a good shout. I will admit I browsed the rules and decided not to bother because it's a bit more defined than I like for this system. There's a free supplement, Blades of the Jhereg, which is available on the main website (https://bladesinthedark.com/), and a D&D style hack called Blades Against Darkness as well.

The magical girl hack is called Girl by Moonlight and was crowdfunded last year (https://evilhat.com/project_status/girl-by-moonlight/). Not my thing, but more power to you if it's yours.

 

[Tonguez]

BitD is a great system once you get around its approach to missions I have played I have played Frontier Kingdoms, which is a very different adaption and would make a nice system for a She-Ra Princesses of Power game.

Did a one-shot for a superhero game using the FitD

 

[MarkB]

In Farscape, and the earlier Blake's 7, the escaped prisoners were Rebels without significant resources.

And indeed, in Scum and Villainy, the default starting scenario for the rebels' ship is a prison break.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Note that that's default campaign type, rather than character type. The base character types are Mechanic, Muscle, Mystic (think Jedi), Pilot, Scoundrel, Speaker, and Stitch (doctor or scientist).

Bolded by me for reference.

Is anyone else perpetually annoyed by the naming of a lot of these games and pbta games?

Stitch? Why not call the Speaker a “Talk”?

Is it just me??

It’s like naming the attribute for how well you can get along with people Vibe or something.