[closed][failed]Interest Check: Blades in the Dark

A few weeks ago, on another site, someone asked for Blades in the Dark. That site is very quiet and a game did no come together. I have been thinking about Blades since then and am keen to try make it work in PbP. I noticed some interest here.

Blades players need to be self motivated. The GM is not in charge of the story, many aspects of play are up to the players --including things like how much XP you get; which action you roll; and whether you accept the consequences of those actions as presented by the GM or reject them and try to resist.

You would not be expected to know the game rules before we start, but you will be expected to learn the game rules. There a quite a few places where the fiddly bits can either make the game sing or flounder, and skipping a step (usually by rushing to roll dice) can result in consequences not making sense and the game breaking. Blades has a tight set of mechanics that need to be played as written, there is a lot of realm for making the game and setting your own, but the mechanics need close adherence.

This game features pre-roll discussion that is vital to the mechanics. This can really slow a game down if players are not able to post fairly regularly. These discussion posts need not be substantial, if necessary we can easily wait a while for a final in-character post, but even a once per day rate on these pre-roll (Position and Effect and such) discussions can kill a game.

Who here wants to Embrace the Scoundrel's Life, Go Into Danger, and Fall In Love With Trouble?

https://bladesinthedark.com/

If there is interest, I can add more details. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

(Possibly also Scum and Villainy if BitD ends up working out well in PbP. :)

I'm interested ! Never played it, but I've heard quite a lot of praise of the game here and there.
About availability, however, I'll probably have some "slower" weeks during the vacations, but it shall never be below 1 post/week, and generally more around 2/3 posts/week. But I'd understand if that isn't enough for you.

Depending on how frequent these 'vacations' are, and how many players we have, we can arrange to skip you during those times. Being a 'city game' Blades can easily tolerate characters not being around for a while (characters being lost and out of action at times is baked into the mechanics).

I think I'm interested in giving it a shot. I've heard positive things about the system, but never got around to actually learning it, so this would be a good opportunity to do so.

Well since they're planned in advance, I'll be able to warn you beforehand, if it helps !

And that's quite clever of a mechanic, I like it. So yeah, if this doesn't bug you, I'd be happy to participate ^^.

Games based in a city have a much easier time explaining how a character can be absent for bit, it is not like they vanish in the middle of a dungeon or mission. :) They are staying at home today, or seeing to the kids, or whatever.
In Blades you play, what they call 'Scoundrels', but You are really some variation on 'criminals', and at odds with 'the law'. Your character can be arrested (player voluntary) thereby forcing you to play another character for a while. There are other mechanical reasons a character can be removed (they can also be lost in their vice if they overindulge, for instance), so the game --by necessity-- needs to handle such things.
All the mechanics support the central idea and setting.

I don't often use published settings, but Dokvol is very integral to Blades, hard to separate out. It is also a very cool setting (a haunted Victorian-era city trapped inside a wall of lightning powered by demon blood) so no hardship using it. :)

I would be interested too. I own the book and had read it some time ago, so I would only need to refresh my knowledge of the rules. Never played it yet, though, as I was not confident enough to run a game myself before being a player first.

My only caveat is that I'm only available from July 26th onwards. Other than that, I am usually able to post daily except on weekends.

Indeed. There are so many game systems that, until we get to play one, we can't read them all. :)
Blades is a game that benefits from rules proficiency. Only through playing it do we gain an understanding of how things fit together.
It can be a bit awkward at first till people work out the tricks. PbP will add an additional struggle, but I believe we can overcome it.
We will need to see how time goes. Two weeks from now is a long time away, so we are not going to wait for you specifically. We may still be recruiting (I guess this is happening and I am recruiting now:) or maybe there will be place. You might have missed some worldbuilding --which is a pity-- but we shall see.

I will start putting together a game (forum? what do we call things here?).
What is the protocol, should I start a real recruitment thread or continue in this thread?
Recruitment will not be first come first served.
3 players (plus the GM) is a good number, give or take 1. More than 4 and some mechanics get overbalanced (if we have more than 4 I might run two, loosely linked, crews at the same time). 2 person crews make for nice intimate games (3 means we can lose one and still have that intimate 2).

Fair enough. I shall keep an eye on this thread.

Thanks!

I'd be interested as well. It's a game I Kickstarted and have most of the additional settings.

I have been a bit disappointed with the additional settings. Scum and Villainy has potential but most of the 'requires the Blades book to play' games I have looked at were kinda meh.
I still want to read Band of Blades, but have not gotten past the intro (which sounds interesting), and Hack the Planet is on my list (FitD seems perfect for Cyberpunk), but I struggle with the writing style (and anyway, Yesterday's Tomorrow (free) gives me all the Cyberpunk rules I need).

Hey I ran a game of Blades on the forum once! And a few in-person sessions...

Would love to have a chance to sit in the Player's seat!

I'd love to run or play in Band of Blades at some point -- played a one-shot at a con once, and really enjoyed it...

Also, welcome to GP, vagueGM!

They're usually called games here, but people will probably understand what you mean if you call it a forum.

In my experience, recruitment happens in the same thread as the IC (Interest Check). This is more out of convenience for the recruiter rather than some hard rule, as all the people interested in the game presumably will also be interested in being recruited to the game.

Thanks saevikas, 'games' is the term I would use, but the software lists them under 'forums'. I doubt anyone would be confused.
Leaving the recruitment in this thread makes the most sense... and seems to have been what happened anyway.

I've always wanted to try Blades in the Dark! If I weren't on a gaming fast right now I'd be all over this! Have fun, scoundrels!

It looks like you have your 3-4 interested parties already, but if you're keeping a list of on-decks, I'd like to get on it. Never played Blades, so I'd have to learn as I go, but it looks very cool.

This will not be first come first served.
But there is enough interest that I need to work out a winnowing system.
I will put together a tone and pallet questionnaire (that sounds a bit grandiose since I suspect it will only be a few questions:) to see who fits together.
I am open to having more players in the game, but the crew size is best limited to what the rules assume. We could have two crews operating simultaneously in the city --they might not know they are aligned-- but that might be adding more complexity than we want for a first attempt. Let's see what out numbers really are and then think about it.

Pre-Recruitment Pallet and Tone
Given the volume of interest --and coupled with the fact that I don't know the people here-- it will help to know what you each want to get out of the game; so we can all be on the same page.

Setting the stage
The World
These detail are set out in the book, but, in case some have not read it yet, I will touch on them here:

You will be playing as daring criminals in the underworld of the city of Doskvol (aka Duskwall or "the Dusk").

We play to find out if your fledgling crew can thrive amidst the teeming threats of rival gangs, powerful noble families, vengeful ghosts, the Bluecoats of the City Watch, and the siren song of the scoundrels' own vices.

The world is industrial in its development. Think second industrial revolution of the 1870s, with trains, steam-boats, printing presses, simple electrical technology, carriages, and the black smog of chimney smoke everywhere. Doskvol is something like a mashup of Venice, London, and Prague. It's crowded with row-houses, twisting streets, and criss-crossed with hundreds of little waterways and bridges.

The city is also a fantasy. The world is in perpetual darkness and haunted by ghosts --a result of the cataclysm that shattered the sun and broke the Gates of Death a thousand years ago. The cities of the empire are each encircled by crackling lightning towers to keep out the vengeful spirits and twisted horrors of the deathlands.

The Characters and Crew
In addition to creating their Characters, the players will create a 'Crew', a gang/cult/organisation/etc --with its own character sheet, abilities, XP and Advancements.

Some games see the Crew playing a central role, with the Characters coming and going and the Crew being the only constant. Some games downplay this aspect and merely use the Crew Sheet to help keep the Characters together and provide them with extra abilities. This will develop in play, we don't need to decide now.

Character and Crew creation is done collaboratively, together, 'at the table'. We do this as a group, so no hard-and-fast Characters will be considered before we start, though we are welcome to chat about ideas.

Unlike many PbtA games (Blades is kinda-sorta PbtA...ish) duplicates of Character types is completely allowed. We will try to not step on each other's toes, but it is equally feasible to play a Crew filled with one type or character, or to mix and match.

With that: On with the questions...
There are two dials that I have seen disrupt some games.

Weird
If everyone is a 'normal person', doing their best to avoid (or run from) ghosts --as any sane person should-- but one Character constantly summons ghosts, or wants to spend time speaking to them while everyone else stands around, we can end up with 'Cyberpunk Hacker Syndrome' (everyone else watches as the 30 second hack takes hours at the table).

Social
Social agendas can pose a similar problem. If everyone else is a hard, heartless thug, but one player wants to do jobs of 'social infiltration' or 'climbing the ladder', the hitters can feel left out.

While not necessary, I find it often helps to set these dials before Character Creation so everyone can make a Character that fits in with the general tone we are aiming for.

* How actively Weird do you want the Characters' actions to be?
* How actively Social do you want the Crew's motives to be?

Meta
The game also features a (quick) 'Faction Turn'. How much to you, as players, want to know about those happenings? The Characters will learn some of this as the surrounding world adjusts to any happenings, but the GM can either roll 'behind the screen'; or roll in the open; or even, roll in the open and discuss the meanings/outcomes of the Faction rolls with the players.

Similarly there is an Entanglements Roll at the end of each Job. Some groups like to have the results of this roll hidden till the Entanglement rears up and bites them, some like to know the outcomes (in which case, in live play, I usually have a player make the Engagement roll, but that can add extra waiting in PbP).

These last two are about how much we want to enforce separation of player-vs-character knowledge. We can adjust all these dials as we play.

As a side question: Do you each have access to the book? This will change the way I answer some questions here.

I have the book, and have read the whole thing (though I only skimmed the specifics of the setting near the end). I was thinking that a Spider would be fun to play, but instead of a social mastermind, I was thinking more of a Sherlock Holmes style interpretation of the abilities. So in that case, I would be fine with any amount of weirdness or social, and could be flexible.

Personally, I think that I would like to know as much about the faction turns as the characters would know. Once again, flexible in that preference. Ditto for engagement rolls.

I also have the book. I think we need at least a little Weird and Social, otherwise you lose some of the flavor of the setting. Also, I know sitting around a table, you can get sidelined if your not part of the where the story is at the moment, but playing by post and everyone's own time differences can mitigate a lot of that.

As to the Meta level, I have no problems walking right into a trap in a module I wrote and then ended up playing rather than running. But it seems pretty straightforward to know when folks are acting on knowledge there Character doesn't have access to.

I'm thinking Lurk...

It is fine and fun to 'think' but don't become attached to Character till after we start the game.

Personally, I'd like to have some Weird as well as Social going on in the game, as it seems to fit its theme well, and it would be quite a shame to not exploit it.

On Meta matters, I have the same opinion as saevikas, I do not really need to know what my character wouldn't know. Even without meta-playing, I think it would be funnier to get the element of surprise and discover it as we play.

Finally, I do not have the book right now, but can get my hand on it if necessary.

There will be Weird and Social, but this question was more about how much that would be our focus.
We can make a plan. And the author regularly gives away free copies at https://johnharper.itch.io/blades-in-the-dark

Ah sorry, I wasn't very clear here x). So yeah, what I truly meant was that I would like for the Weird and more especially Social aspects of the game to be an important focus point, but still have some other elements in the game.

I'll check out this site, but I've also found at least the basic rules on the official site of the game.
Otherwise, 20 bucks shouldn't be too high of a cost for me if it's necessary, especially since I could probably dm it with some friends afterward.

Noted.
The SRD does not contain the setting stuff. I will need to check again, but I believe the meaning of the Action ratings is also not spelled out there, and that would need to be addressed (easy enough to do).
We can arrange for you to borrow the book for the duration of this game. That way you can try it before you buy it.

Another question comes to mind:

How do we feel about houserules vs playing it strictly by the book?

The only houserules I am considering is allowing players to both Push Themselves and Take a Devil's Bargain for two extra dice.

Does anyone know good reason why this should not be allowed? Not allowing it causes constant confusion in every game I have seen, and I have not had a problem with allowing both.

Although a +2d is a very potent advantage by my understanding of the rules, allowing one to match a skilled character's action rating, I think the costs associated and the fact that a bargain has to be suggested by someone else balance it out somewhat.

Bargains can be suggested by anyone, even the one rolling. GM has final say over if it is valid, player has final say over if it happens.

Characters can easily have 3d in the Action, +1d for Help, +1d for a setup action, then +1d for Pushing or a Devil's Bargain means you already can easily have 6d, allowing that to be 7d in the rare situations where a Bargain applies, and the player wants to spend the 2 Stress to Push does not seem like a big deal. Or at least less of a deal than the constant "No, you can't do both" rule exception.
Players can already take a Devil's Bargain and Push themselves for Effect at the same time, and they can Push for +1d and Push for Effect at the same time, it is only the combination of DB and Push for +1d that is disallowed.
All it might do is make the game a smidgen easier, but the short-term consequence of the Stress and the long-term consequence of the Bargain both make it harder again, so... swings and roundabouts?
If we allow it, we can always rescind it later if it causes problems.

Ok, we have enough to start.

I am going to add Rattila, saevikas, and Esidrix. Looking
forward to playing with you.

There is still space. emsquared and blue, if you are still
interested, let us know. I might be persuaded to stretch things to 5.

gnomius give us a shout when you are available and we can see if we
can fit you in.

I hear that people can struggle to find games they are invited to. This one lives at https://gamersplane.com/games/3132
Unless there are objections, I will probably make it public once we get going.

I'm interested. It seems like you already have a lot of interest, but if there is still room, or if someone drops early, I would like to join. I've been trying to find people to play blades in the dark for a while but haven't found other interested people.

That would be very appreciated, thanks !

We are still looking for one or two more players for this game. If you are interested, answer the questions above or tell us a bit about what sort of game you are looking for so we can see if you fit.

So far we have been becoming familiar with the rules. We have not started Character or Crew creation yet, so you have not missed out.

The pace will pick up now that we have read the book. But don't worry if you need to start from scratch, you can learn as we play and we will be patient.

See what little we have so far at https://gamersplane.com/forums/7801/

Hey, so it seems I may have arrived in time after all!

If you still have a spot available, it would be my pleasure to join. Regarding the questions above:

- I would definitely like to see some Weird and Social interactions within the crew for sure.
- I am both OK with meta information being available to the player, or hiding it completely. I can play both ways.
- I don't have enough experience with Blades to judge if your proposed "house rule" would break the system or not, although it seems fine with me. I would say to go ahead, and we can always drop it if needed.

Thanks for your time!

We had some delays, and by the time they reached Wednesday last, I figured we might as well wait till your 26th stipulation. :)

Still happy to take one more, but we will be starting now, so time is running out.