Help me "get" Forged in the Dark.

[hawkeyefan]

A question about campaign structure. Note: this probably isn't relevant to Band of Blades but seems relevant to Scum and Villainy.

The book suggests a campaign length of 12 or so jobs. Is that intended to be a hard limit (and therefore built into mechanics like xp) or is a "campaign" more like a season of a TV show. Is it not possible or practical to play FitD games for longer periods than a quarter?

I think that’s more like a “season” than a hard limit. I don’t think most FitD games have as long a lifespan as some years-ling campaigns of D&D and the like, but I’ve been involved in three campaigns of good length. Well beyond 12 sessions.

 

[Ovinomancer]

A question about campaign structure. Note: this probably isn't relevant to Band of Blades but seems relevant to Scum and Villainy.

The book suggests a campaign length of 12 or so jobs. Is that intended to be a hard limit (and therefore built into mechanics like xp) or is a "campaign" more like a season of a TV show. Is it not possible or practical to play FitD games for longer periods than a quarter?

One of the holes in Blades is that, at a certain point in the advancement, the math starts to break down and PCs can mostly swamp the system. This takes quite awhile, though, much more than 12 sessions. PCs will likely be earning an advance every 2-3 session, depending on play. You need like 10 or so advances for the system to start wobbling. 5-6 action bumps and 5 or so playbook advances.

But, no, there's no hard limits on sessions. On the other hand, there's a reasonable chance that a crew crashes and burns -- the system absolutely puts enough pressure on the crew for this to happen. That's part of the fun, though, you play to find out what happens. I know some players that have burned down three Blades in the Dark games and had the most fun doing it.

 

[Reynard]

One of the holes in Blades is that, at a certain point in the advancement, the math starts to break down and PCs can mostly swamp the system. This takes quite awhile, though, much more than 12 sessions. PCs will likely be earning an advance every 2-3 session, depending on play. You need like 10 or so advances for the system to start wobbling. 5-6 action bumps and 5 or so playbook advances.

But, no, there's no hard limits on sessions. On the other hand, there's a reasonable chance that a crew crashes and burns -- the system absolutely puts enough pressure on the crew for this to happen. That's part of the fun, though, you play to find out what happens. I know some players that have burned down three Blades in the Dark games and had the most fun doing it.

Scum and Villainy seems more open to "fun" as a play goal, which I infer to mean the GM shouldn't be using dire, deadly consequences regularly. That's why the note in the book that says it isn't for long term play (it uses the term "beyond the scope of these rules") felt a little off.

 

[Reynard]

One thing I am not a huge fan of is how setting specific the rulebooks are. I feel like Scum and Villainy in particular could have dispensed entirely with the setting, or just had an example or three.

 

[Ovinomancer]

Scum and Villainy seems more open to "fun" as a play goal, which I infer to mean the GM shouldn't be using dire, deadly consequences regularly. That's why the note in the book that says it isn't for long term play (it uses the term "beyond the scope of these rules") felt a little off.

"Fun" is something all play has, really, if it's what people want to play. I think you mean a bit lighter, and I think there that it's more a matter of how you flavor the adversity. I mean, look at the source material for the setting tropes -- the characters there certainly have some serious setbacks and adversity. Firefly is almost exactly what a FitD game is supposed to deliver and the suffering applied to the PCs in that show was certainly coming to a middle. But it's not "maiming, and brutality" it someone that the PCs care about put under serious threat and pressure. So tone is a big deal. Letting off the gas, though, will result in some lackluster outcomes. This is probably the largest single hurdle to overcome as a GM of these games -- you are not neutral, and you are rarely ever the source of good news. Your job is to put these characters through the wringer. You're a fan of the PCs, and that really means wanting to see what they do under pressure. No one is a fan of John McClaine getting donuts and watching TV. They're a fan of John McClaine when he's beaten, bloody, down to his last bullet, and against desperate odds. That's what "be a fan of the PCs" means. It means you want to put them in those moments and see what they do. This not-adversarial-but-source-of-adversity position as the GM is different than how you usually get encouraged to run more Trad games, like 5e. It's a different mindset.

This is part of why I say don't worry about PC side things. That's theirs. Your job is to put them in a bad spot, see what develops from there. If they fail, they fail, the game still goes on to seeing what they do about failure. If they get beat up real bad, that's fine, we get to see what they do now. If the stress out, get a trauma (or whatever the specific version of play calls it), and fail, no big, we're here to see what they then do about that.

 

[MarkB]

One thing I am not a huge fan of is how setting specific the rulebooks are. I feel like Scum and Villainy in particular could have dispensed entirely with the setting, or just had an example or three.

That is both a feature and an issue of the system. The long term gameplay loop relies on detailed interactions and relationships with the various factions, and the Heat system requires you to be tooling around just a few star systems, or you can easily outrun the consequences.


I've run a Star Wars hack of S&V, but it was a lot of work detailing out a reasonable selection of factions and locations, even with copious existing lore to draw upon.

I'd definitely recommend running at least a few sessions using the default setting, so you can get a handle on how factions, contacts and relationship-building works, before trying to build a custom setting.

 

[Fenris-77]

If you posit some sort of system spanning govt (like the Empire) the Heat is easier to keep relevant. Or a galaxy police. Something like that.

 

[Reynard]

I'd definitely recommend running at least a few sessions using the default setting, so you can get a handle on how factions, contacts and relationship-building works, before trying to build a custom setting.

Sure, that's my plan. I'm just commenting on how it feels.

But the games also seem to inspire and invite homebrewing (which is probably why there are so many FitD games/hacks out there). I am already trying to figure out how to do a "The Boys" inspired game with it but know I need some solid experience to begin with.

 

[Fenris-77]

There's a couple of supers hacks out there. The best one is probably Galaxies in Peril, although I haven't played it personally. I think @hawkeyefan has though, maybe he can tell you more.

 

[Reynard]

Am I asking for trouble if I do this with 5 players? Long story short was I made my initial pitches one potential player was unavailable so I gave his seat to someone else. He is now available again and wants to play, but that would take the PCs from 4 to 5. He's a good player, and game for anything so he is valuable to have at the table. What are the consequences of too many PCs in Scum and Villainy or FitD in general?