Character, Crew, and World Creation

We will discuss and build characters here. You have the final say on your own character, but this is a collaborative effort.

The Crew type may affect your choice of character, so I tend to work on both at the same time, bouncing back and forth and making adjustments as things clarify.

Don't stress too much about the choices. We can discuss anything that is unclear and I am always happy to let players swap out things they chose at Character Creation but later find don't work the way they thought.

I can't decide if we need a separate thread for Crew Creation, it might help with bouncing back and forth, but the Crew is rather integral to the Characters, so keeping it in one place works too.

Let me know how much detail I need to provide here to get things going. I don't want to duplicate the chapters from the book unnecessarily.

If anything is unclear, just ask. Several things are repeated in the book, there is often more detail in the later parts. Many questions may be redirected to those later parts of the book. :)

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Character Creation Summary
1. Choose a playbook. Your playbook represents your character's reputation in the underworld, their special abilities, and how they advance.

2. Choose a heritage. Detail your choice with a note about your family life. For example, Skovlan: Ore miners, now war refugees in Duskwall.

3. Choose a background. Detail your choice with your specific history. For example, Labor: Leviathan hunter, mutineer.

4. Assign four action dots. No action may begin with a rating higher than 2 during character creation. (After creation, action ratings may advance up to 3. When you unlock the Mastery advance for your crew, you can advance actions up to rating 4.)

5. Choose a special ability. They're in the gray column in the middle of the character sheet. If you can't decide, choose the first ability on the list. It's placed there as a good first option.

6. Choose a close friend and a rival. Mark the one who is a close friend, long-time ally, family relation, or lover (the upward-pointing triangle). Mark one who is a rival, enemy, scorned lover, betrayed partner, etc. (the downward-pointing triangle).

7. Choose your vice. Pick your preferred type of vice, detail it with a short description and indicate the name and location of your vice purveyor.

8. Record your name, alias, and look. Choose a name, an alias (if you use one), and jot down a few words to describe your look. Examples are provided on the preceding page.

Playbooks
Cutter: Cutters are good at winning fights, with violence and with intimidation. Play a Cutter if you want to get your way.

Hound: Hounds are good at tracking things down and also long-distance combat. Play a Hound if you want to choose your battles.

Leech: Leeches are good at using alchemy and wrecking stuff with sabotage. Play a Leech if you want to be creative with weird tools.

Lurk: Lurks are good at sneaking around and breaking into places. Play a Lurk if you want to slink around in the shadows.

Slide: Slides are good at social situations and subterfuge. Play a Slide if you want to manipulate and deceive people.

Spider: Spiders are good at masterminding maneuvers. Play a Spider if you want to assist teammates and deal with other factions.

Whisper: Whispers are good at magical stuff and dealing with ghosts. Play a Whisper if you want to meddle with arcane powers.

Heritages
Akoros is the largest and most industrialized land in the Imperium, and is home to the capitol city as well as Duskwall itself. They're known as a diverse conglomeration of cultures that have grown together in close proximity for centuries, somewhat like Europe.

If you want to be a rootless wanderer you could be from the Dagger Isles. People there often grow up on ships and travel a lot before settling down. They're known as corsairs and merchants who live without lightning barriers ---dealing with spirits in other ways.

If you want to be from a culture considered "foreign" by the locals,
you could be from Iruvia, a rich and powerful desert kingdom far to the south. It's another diverse land of varying cultures similar to old Persia, Egypt, and India.

If you want to be from a place considered "wild" by the rest of the empire, you could be from Severos. Outside the few Imperial settlements, most Severosi live in nomadic horse-tribes scattered across the blasted deathlands, surviving within the ruins of ancient arcane fortresses which still repel spirits.

If you want to be from a marginalized people, you could be from
Skovlan, the island kingdom just across the sea from Doskvol.
Skovlan was last to be brought under Imperial rule, over the course of the 36-year Unity War (which ended only a few years ago). Many Skovlander refugees who lost their homes and jobs in the destruction of the war have come to Doskvol seeking new opportunities.

If you want to be weird, you can be from Tycheros. It's a semi-mythical place, far away beyond the northern Void Sea. Everyone says that the people there are part-demon. If you choose Tycherosi heritage, also create a demonic telltale (like black shark eyes,
feathers instead of hair, etc.) that marks your character.

Backgrounds
Academic: A scholar, a professor or student from Doskvol Academy,
a philosopher or journalist, etc.
Labor: A servant, a factory worker, a coach driver, a docker, a

sailor, a Rail Jack, etc. A stevedore for the North Hook Company.

Law: An advocate or barrister, a Bluecoat or inspector (or even Spirit Warden), a prison guard from Ironhook, etc.

Trade: A shopkeeper, a merchant, a skilled crafts-person, a shipping agent, etc. A liaison to the Ministry of Preservation.

Military: An Imperial or Skovlander soldier, a mercenary, an intelligence operative, a strategist, a training instructor, etc.

Noble: A dilettante, a courtier, the scion of a fallen house, etc.

Underworld: A street urchin, gang member, young thug, or other outcast who grew up on the streets.

Vices
Faith: You're dedicated to an unseen power, forgotten god,
ancestor, etc.

Gambling: You crave games of chance, betting on sporting events,
etc.

Luxury: Expensive or ostentatious displays of opulence.

Obligation: You're devoted to a family, a cause, an organization,
a charity, etc.

Pleasure: Gratification from lovers, food, drink, drugs, art,
theater, etc.

Stupor: You seek oblivion in the abuse of drugs, drinking to excess, getting beaten to a pulp in the fighting pits, etc.

Weird: You experiment with strange essences, consort with rogue spirits, observe bizarre rituals or taboos, etc.

Crew Creation Summary
1. Choose a crew type. The crew type determines the group's purpose, their special abilities, and how they advance.
~ You begin at Tier 0, with strong hold and 0 rep. You start with 2 coin.

2. Choose an initial reputation and lair. Choose how other underworld factions see you: Ambitious, Brutal, Daring , Honorable, Professional, Savvy, Subtle, Strange. Look at the map and pick a district in which to place your lair. Describe the lair.

3. Establish your hunting grounds. Look at the map and pick a district in which to place your hunting grounds. Decide how to deal with the faction that claims that area.
~ Pay them 1 coin.
~ Pay them 2 coin. Get +1 status.
~ Pay nothing. Get -1 status.

4. Choose a special ability. They're in the gray column in the middle of the crew sheet. If you can't decide, choose the first ability on the list. It's placed there as a good first option.

5. Assign crew upgrades. Your crew has two upgrades pre-selected. Choose two more. If your crew has a cohort, follow the procedure to create it. Record the faction status changes due to your upgrades:
~ One faction helped you get an upgrade. Take +1 status with them. Or spend 1 coin for +2 status instead.
~ One faction was harmed when you got an upgrade. Take -2 status with them. Or spend 1 coin for -1 status instead.

6. Choose a favorite contact. Mark the one who is a close friend, long-time ally, or partner in crime. Record the faction status changes related to your contact:
~ One faction is friendly with your contact. Take +1 status with them.
~ One faction is unfriendly with your contact. Take -1 status with them.
At your option, increase the intensity of the factions' relationship with your contact and take +2 and -2 status, instead.

Crew Types
Assassins: Killers for hire. They execute "accidents,"
disappearances, murders, and ransoms.

Bravos: Mercenaries and thugs. They execute battles, extortion,
sabotage, and smash & grabs.

Cult: Acolytes of a forgotten god. They execute artifact acquisitions, auguries, consecration, and sacrifices.

Hawkers: Vice dealers. They execute product procurement, covert sales, shows of force, and social events.

Shadows: Thieves and spies. They execute burglaries, espionage,
robberies, and sabotage.

Smugglers: Contraband transporters. They execute clandestine deliveries, territory control, and expeditions outside the city.

Hi everyone !
So, first of all, I'd just wanna say that english isn't my first language. I hope it won't be a problem here, but it is just to warn you that I may make typos, errors, or misunderstand some sentences, so do not hesitate to notify/correct me if that's the case !

For the Crew Type, I'm especially interested in Hawkers, Shadows and Smugglers, but I'm open to ideas with the other ones too.

As for the character itself, I'd like to play either as a Hound, a Leech or a Slide, but that could vary depending on the Crew Type we choose.

Not a problem, so far yours seems better than many native speakers. This is often the case as native speaker tend not to put enough effort into their writing and get sloppy.
Do you want corrections and advice? (I am a teacher, so that tends to come naturally.:) Though I find that, except where there is confusion, such critiques just slow the game down without real benefit. If so feel free to say how much and when we should stop. :)

With regard to Character and Crew choices, there are some things to look at first.

Look at the "you earn XP when you... line, this is important since it defines the types of action you get Points for. There are other ways of getting points, and you will, mostly, get more from other sources, but this can be a reliable way.

You can get a few (mostly 3) Special Abilities from other playbooks , but the ones on your sheet are all available, from the start, and unlimited.
If we really want we can swap out some elements and make a mixmash character. But this may be better saved for when we have more experience.

Items are meant to add flavor to the character types, but if something on your list does not fit your image of the character, say so and we can look at swapping it out. This is normally not a big deal. You could acquire access to Items during play, as well.

Crew differences/choice are mostly similar to Character ones, though they may be harder to change.

Look at the XP line, we can talk about what it means to execute those types of operations. The Players say whether they have met these requirements and how much XP they get at the end of a Job, it is not my job to decide and limit this.
You can do Jobs that are not of your playbook's type (and quite often will have to), but this defines what you should be trying to do, and you should therefore choose the one that will let you do the types of Jobs you think will be fun. Don't agree to a Crew type that does not excite you.
Take a look at the sample set of opportunities on each sheet (for suggestions, but don't feel limited by these examples). Blades is very collaborative, the players should set the Jobs as much as possible, so you can just tell me, 'we want to do job 5 on the second list' and I will make it happen.

Special Abilities and Claims define a lot of what each Crew is about. Again you can get some Abilities from the other playbooks (Assassins get 3 other Crews get 2), and you can get other's Claims (though I think you need to go to prison for that?).
Take a look at the Claim map (you don't have to to them in order, but it is harder if you skip around) for the types of things you can get. Let that flavor you choice as well.

Mechanically the Crews are much the same, the Assassins get one extra Veteran Upgrade (Ability from another Crew) and Smugglers get more vehicle options, though not really more vehicles. Other Crews can get carriages and boats, Smugglers can get anything you can think of that fits the fiction. Anyone can --theoretically-- build (via Long-term Project) any vehicle that fits the fiction, so don't factor that too highly.

I must reread the book again and may find some other salient points, but, for now, that should be enough to get started.
Ask if you have any questions. About what things mean in the book, or about how things will work in play.
I expect the players to have a lot of say in how things work. That is how I play all games, but is built into the Blades Rules.

So here's a quick draft of the character I'm thinking of (elements will change as needed). Although this character is a Spider, I could see the concept working with Hound, Slide, Lurk, etc. if such a need to change occurs.I haven't got a real feel for what kind of crew I would like to participate in. I think they all sound like they could be pretty neat.

I had not thought about private investigators in Doskvol, but this does make for some intriguing possibilities. I already have some --very rough-hewn-- thoughts, not so much about jobs, but about social structures (or something like that) ...

To clarify what my idea was with that, I was thinking that he'd had a pretty mundane job using his skills, usually looking into low level stuff like adultery and stuff. Then something drastic happened that led him to drop stuff and join a crew (the motivation probably changing a lot depending on what crew we go with).

Sure, sure. Just the mere existence of such a profession says a lot about our Doskvol. Also: apparently 'adultery' exists, now. :)
And, yes. Backgrounds are what we used to do before becoming a criminal, but we will still have some contacts from back then (more to be determined in play), and the fact that people hired you for such jobs opens possibilities for a patron type figure (possibly shady and hidden, but, you know, possibilities:).

Forgot to answer this, so I'll do it now: do not hesitate to correct me if you feel like it and it is really important, but don't go out of your way/break the rythm to do so. I also use an auto-corrector so it should be fine on the grammar side of things, I guess (or hope) ?

Cool.
Been grammatically fine so far. No worries.

With a crew of three, we are ready to start.
What you are you all thinking about playing, in terms of Character and Crew?

The Crew choice sort of sets the stage for the types of Jobs we will be aiming to do, but the makeup of Characters within a Crew defines a lot about how they plan to go about doing those Jobs. Both are important, and I find it best to work on both at the same time.

Remember. If we get it wrong can change our minds and do this over again (as much as is needed) after we have played for a bit. We can either try do a re-branding in the game, or step out and pretend we were always what we change to, as suits us at the time. So, don't stress overly much about the choices.

Ok, let's take those three as our starting point then. Personally, I would prefer Shadows or Smugglers, just to narrow it a bit. Regarding my character, I have a couple of ideas boiling into my head, the final concept will depend on the Crew type we finally choose.

PD: I am not a native English speaker either, so please excuse any future mistake! (and I certainly accept corrections and suggestions, mr. Teacher) :-)

We can also talk about why we are thinking about a Crew type, and how we see their features being useful to our game.
This can be about mechanical or thematic aspects of the Crew type.
Remember, in addition to the mechanics (which are most pronounced at the start and start to blur as the Crew advances), the Crew type picked also represents how the rest of the city sees you and what they think of you, what they call you, and what they expect from you.
A Shadows Crew may have less outside recognition than a Hawkers Crew, some Crews tend to be more open about their dealings than others. You can, of course, play them any way you like.

Well, I think it would be cool to play as Shadows if we are some kind of spies/infiltrators who perhaps get hired for infiltration and burglary jobs. In the case of Smugglers, this could be more generic, and I see this type of Crew as more autonomous, so we can decide what type of goods we are going to trade with, decide strategies on how is the best way to enrich ourselves, etc.

What do you guys think?

@saevikas, you seem to have your character quite advanced, in which type of Crew do you think your Spider would fit better?

Makes sense.
I tend to refrain from commenting on Character and Crew choices since I don't really have an option, nor does it affect me. I am happy to run for any Crew type.

However, if you need me to expand on anything related to these choices (more details, rules explanations, examples, etc), you have but to ask.

I'm personally good with both Shadows and Smugglers. I think one of the major differences between the two however is the social environment: as Shadows, we may deal with more high-up, political figures, and this could reflect in our characters having some form of social standing. On the other hand, Smugglers could have us start as street urchins and thugs among more impoverished people, which would make a huge difference in the feel of the game.

Hmm, it's a pretty close choice for me. I can see my character acting in either crew type. I'm more inclined towards Shadows, since it seems more straightforward, but I'm not opposed to trying Smugglers out if anybody wants to.

Shadows may have aspirations to be more 'high-up', but might still start 'in the street' (pretty much have to as a Tier 0 Crew).

Let's say we are probably Shadows. With that in mind, we can talk about starting options for that Crew and look at Characters.
We can always decide to go with a different Crew later if something else ends up fitting betting with what else we make.

Shadows start with their Lair being Hidden, so you have a 'safe' place to plan and fall back to. They also start being better at Training Prowess (meaning you get double the XP when you use your Downtime to Train Finesse, Prowl, Skirmish, or Wreck, leveling them up a bit faster).
You get to pick two more Upgrades from the list (see the sheet for Shadows.
You also get to pick one Special Ability at the start, find them on the sheet.

There are other things you need to pick for the Crew, but they might be unclear at this stage, and involve some Faction Status movement. We can talk about any of them that you have ideas about or leave till things firm up a bit.
During the rest of Character/Crew Creation, be thinking about the various Factions and other people in the city, as well as where in the city you want your base to be, where you want your first Hunting Grounds to be (which influences where you want to be doing jobs). Maps are in the book as well as on the maps page.

At some point we will find out (you choose) which Factions like you and which dislike you, and who your useful Contacts are. There are lots of Factions in the book, we will add Wiki entries for the ones that matter to us.
If you want to be friendly (or at war with) with any particular Faction, say so and we can try to engineer that. Your Crew's Status with a Faction might not reflect your Character's relationship with them or with certain members of the Faction, but your Crew's Status will start to affect how people see you as you play.

Some groups enjoy trying to keep the Factions neutral (countering most -1s with +1s) some like to see the world burn and go all in on pilling +1s on top of +1s and -1s onto -1s. You can try for one style, or leave it to organically develop, whatever. We can always go back and change our choices at the end if we don't like how things turned out.

Your Crew also has a Reputation. This contributes to getting you XP, so think about what sort of things you want to be doing and what Reputation would cause people to seek you out for such Jobs. You can use one of the example Reputations or make up something new, but keep it simple. Your Reputation can change over time and you can get additional new Reputations, so it is flexible, think of this only as 'what you are known for at the start'.

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We have spoken, a bit, about some Character Ideas. What do you each feel like playing?