[Blades] Table Chatter

edited June 2014 in Blades
This is now the OOC Thread for the Blades PBP game. Please note when you'll be unavailable to post for more than one weekday. Also, this is a great place for "atta boys" or feedback on the game in progress.




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This is a Pitch, to be followed by a Chargen and Guild Creation.

I'm looking for a few good thieves who want to join a guild and make some Coin.

The game is Blades in the Dark, currently in playtest, designed by John Harper. He describes it as follows:
Blades in the Dark is about a group of scoundrels operating a criminal enterprise on the haunted streets of Duskwall city. We’ll play to find out if their 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 PC’s own vices.

Who is in?
«1

Comments

  • I is in.
  • I'm totally in, and looking forward to it. I'd rather see a few other character concepts before I choose a path for mine, so bring it on!
  • edited June 2014
    NOTE: New Version added 6/6/2014
    Here is a link to the current playtest version 3.22

    Please be advised that I want to provide value to John Harper as he continues to iterate and develop this playtest document. It means I would love feedback as we play, and it also means we will most likely need to convert and re-generate our PCs along the way.

    New Update on Mechanics!

    From Game Designer today:
    Here's how I'm thinking of the Core Rolls (this is how I've always thought of them, I'm just now realizing I should probably write them this way):

    A Desperate Gamble
    6: Success with a cost (harm, stress, time, etc.). 4/5: Failure. The GM will offer you a choice between two worse outcomes. 1-3: Critical failure. Everything goes to hell.

    A Risky Move
    6: Full success. 4/5: Success with a cost (harm, stress, time, etc.). 1-3: Failure. The GM will offer you a choice between two worse outcomes.

    A Controlled Maneuver
    6: Critical success. You do more or achieve an extra effect. 4/5: Full success. 1-3: Success with a cost (harm, stress, time, etc.).

    This maybe better shows how the nine outcomes are a continuum, shifted up or down depending on which roll you make. So it goes:

    - Critical Success
    - Full Success
    - Success with a Cost
    - Failure
    - Critical Failure

    And three of those are in play for any given roll.
  • I am almost, but not quite, frothing at the mouth to play this.
  • edited June 2014
    Volette

    Uploaded with Imgupr


    Female, Wiry, Dark

    Cutter: Bladework, Reflexes
    Slide: Insight, Stalking,Streetwise
    Lurk: Athletics

    Vice: Drugs - Content

    Homeland: Dagger isles

    Trait: Wild

    Assets: Volette favors Arms.

    Volette's hold on her temper is tenuous at the best of times. And she cultivates the "just crazy enough to carve you into little pieces" image. She's done a lot of work as a collection agent. After Vauri was imprisoned Volette ended up beating the tar out of the eldest son of the chief constable. She's been leaning on him to repay gambling debt and he said something... unfortunate.






  • I wanted to play as soon as you said John Harper, but now that I've read some of the game, I'm really quite interested.
  • edited June 2014
    image

    I'm thinking something like the following (though I can be flexible):

    Ring the Cunning, from Akoros. A local man; lean, scarred and grey.

    Cutter ()
    Slide (Culture)
    Whisper ()
    Lurk ()
    Spider (Education, Tinker)
    Leech (Alchemy, Appraisal, Rituals)

    Vice: luxuries (content)

    I've just been released from the jail where I have lived for these last fourteen months. I was tutor to the children of Kurth Skyhold, but my many petty larcenies -- mostly taking the form of accessing the family wine cellar, but also stealing fine miscellanies here and there, caught up with me. Now their children will have to grow into their ignorance.
  • hey guys, going to leave the recruiting for PCs open until tomorrow. On Thursday, we'll gather up and make the Guild. If you want to work on PCs now, feel free!
  • edited June 2014
    Frog, a squat, cunning man.

    image

    Whisper: Channel, Sight, Tempest
    Spider: Investigate, Strategy
    Cutter: Reflexes

    Homeland: Skovland (Ruthless)

    Vice: Lovers (current: Distracted)

    Assets: Frog favors Tools
  • Forgot to say... not married to anything at the moment, just thinking out loud.
  • edited June 2014
    image

    Name: Vauri
    Look: Woman, slim, dark & athletic
    Homeland: Dagger Isles (Daring)

    Lurk: Athletics—Finesse—Stealth
    Leech: Alchemy—Appraisal
    Slide: Stalking
    Vice: Faith, content

    Assets: Poor, favors Contacts

    Vauri sometimes will take jobs without considering the larger implications. She has a weakness for rubies. She's was arrested for stealing from the wrong Revium Lord.
  • edited June 2014
    image

    Name: Milos
    Look: Man, Scarred, Cunning, Rough
    Homeland: Skovlan (Brave)

    Lurk: Security - Stealth - Awareness
    Slide: Streetwise
    Cutter: Reflexes - Brawl

    Vice: Gambling, Desperate
    Assets: Tools

    Milos was in one of the first gangs of line bulls put to work on the Iruvian lines. He's heavily tattooed, both from Skovlan, and from the newly minted tradition of tattooing among Skovlaner bulls. He was arrested selling chits and electroplasm through the black market, but kept his mouth shut.

    He's likely on the books as an Acquisitions Agent. He also brings practical knowledge of ghosts.
  • edited June 2014
    Two questions to ponder

    The first to answer doesn't silence the others, let's talk it out.

    1. Is our game like a gritty sword & sorcery novel, like the stories of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser? Or is our game more inspired by heroic cinematic action?

    2. Do we want our game to be gritty and psychological, where Scoundrel PCs may have to commit murder, be betrayed by people they count on, watch their allies die sometimes? Or should it be a more fun, freewheeling feel?
  • My instinct is to treat those as dials. On a scale of 1-5:

    Grit - Cinema : 2
    Grit - Fun : 3.5

    So yes grit! But clear moments of cinematic and lightheartedness.
  • Mouser is always in my characters, this will be more so. Also, remember. Leiber's stories were gritty, but never grimdark. There's always a large degree of fun and/or awesome.
  • I haven't read any of the source material so I can't reference that. But I prefer grit to camp. And the setting seems to call for darkish handling.
  • edited June 2014
    Really, Lankhmar is rarely campy. It's more the pervasive feeling that Faffhrd and Mouser are doing exactly what they want to be doing, in spite of themselves.
  • NEED TO KNOW | Eugene Hütz, immigrant punk | PBS:

    Idea of how Milos (MEE-lōsh) speaks. It's the accent north of the mountains, of the metropolitan center of Blackvale
  • You know me. I'm all for grit
  • I'm actually pretty flexible on both scales.
  • Sounds like gritty violence, and on the stress level, a mix of grit and some light-heartedness with ZERO campiness.

    So, the crimes are hard core and mean. But the in between could have slightly positive moments and characters, and some actions could have positive beats.

    Sound about right?
  • I'm actually not sure I understand what you're calling stress. I do imagine that these criminals we're playing aren't unadulterated evil, just predators.
  • Sounds cool, as I'm sure we can add salt as needed.

    But we are going to have cool arcane stuff, right? Don't skimp on the special effects (within reason)?
  • Yeah, there are at least a couple of the PCs we see above invested in arcana.
  • My character kinda depends on arcane stuff. He's Channel and Tempest, so lots of direct magical force, I think.
  • Hey guys, I'm interested in joining, but I can't make a character until tonight.
  • Sweet! Welcome, Adam!
  • I'm actually not sure I understand what you're calling stress. I do imagine that these criminals we're playing aren't unadulterated evil, just predators.
    Sorry, Chris. Stress is in the game, it's basically mental pressure / harm. So, I'm trying to gauge "do you guys care about the psychological pressure of being poor and criminal?" vs. "Happy go lucky thieves, all swashbucklery?"
  • I totally want to see a mix of stress. The lighter moments to help offset and showcase the darker.

    Also: YAY ADAM!
  • Frog and Milos-- old comrades? Seems a shame to waste a shared homeland.
  • I'm good with poverty stress. Big part of why we do what we do. Besides, being noticeably broke is a key element of the source material. See: Thief and Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser.
  • edited June 2014
    Holy shit! I just got myself put in a block-less-of-the-internet group at work and pictures have appeared in all kinds of places that I never knew I wasn't seeing them. (Unless you all just added pictures to your characters in the last 16 hours...)
  • Yay! Boo to overly-filtering filters!
  • Happy birthday, Trevis!
  • I want to talk about your Guild today, fellas.

    (from the book, edited slightly since we cannot "circle" things)
    To create your guild, choose your guild type and lair. Choose three talents under one ability, plus two talents in a second ability and one talent in a third ability. When you add a talent, add a name and look to the guild roster to characterize that element of the guild. Choose your starting guild reputation. Choose your cover type (cult, political, etc.).

    TYPE:
    assassins—coven—cult—smugglers—thieves—thugs

    "Guild" is a slang word in the city which refers to any secretive, exclusive organization, often the cover for a criminal enterprise, including those which operate with tacit permission of the law, such as the Servants of the Weeping Lady, the Gondoliers, and the East Iruvian Trade Company. Choose a starting type for your Guild:
    ◆◆A group of assassins, selling murder for hire.
    ◆◆A coven of magicians, witches, rune-binders, dealing in illegal magics.
    ◆◆A cult dedicated to one of the thousand forgotten gods, demons, or spirits.
    ◆◆A crew of smugglers moving illicit cargo.
    ◆◆A pack of thieves.
    ◆◆A gang of cutthroat thugs, seizing what they want with violence and threats.

    LAIR
    grotto—tower—back room—house—barge
    Choose a starting location for your lair:
    ◆◆A half-sunken grotto at the waterline of the city’s maze-like canals.
    ◆◆An abandoned watch tower atop the city wall.
    ◆◆The unassuming back room of a tobacconist’s shop.
    ◆◆A private house, tucked in a quiet neighborhood.
    ◆◆A wide floating barge, moored at various shadowy docks.
  • I'm least interested in a gang of thugs.

    How do we want to do this? Talk it out, come to a consensus? Or just take turns asserting one thing that has to be decided (cover type, lair, talent+name+look)
  • Good question, Chris. How do you guys want to handle it? I don't want to take too long with back and forth, I think the PCs as they exist should be a good guide.

    BTW, Adam will have his PC up before too long.
  • edited June 2014
    Tossing my votes in for

    (*)Thieves -
    (*)Tower or Barge.
    (*)Not sure about cover at this point.
    (*)Abilities, in order:
    Shadow: Security - Surveillance - Veil
    Flame: Resources - Transport
    Steel: Training

    I'm gonna be crashing here in a few. Will be online sporadically tonight during work.
  • I like the idea of being a cult, with a cover of a different cult. :)

    And I'm more interested in Gloom and Flame than Steel and Shadow.
  • I'm interested in a coven or thieves or smugglers. Will look at traits when I can.
  • Coven or thieves for me. Barge floats my boat, but tower or grotto work, as well.
  • Barge floats my boat
    Sigh.
  • A thing on Guild Assets:
    (brought up on the G+ Community):
    "When your guilds assets are Poor, that means that in everything but your chosen asset, you have worse than Poor. Is there need for a Destitute level? Or is it understood we go without our gruel and rags?"
    ----------------------
    Do you want to start the Guild Assets at Moderate, or come up with Destitute, which would be "shoddy, unreliable".
  • I lean toward a Moderate Guild and personal as Poor.
  • I like smugglers. Thieves is okay too. Cult doesn't do anything for me. Grotto, tower or barge.

    I don't understand cover. Is it made up or are we choosing a second type?
  • Cover shows up on the Guild sheet next to HEAT but isn't talked much about.
  • Cover is HOW you avoid heat. In the previous iteration, it included
    CULT POLITICAL MERCHANT SERVICE

    That isn't there now, so we may need to adjust.
  • Phinimage
    Is a stern, weathered man from Skovlan.

    Cutter: Presence, Blade Work, Vigor
    Slide:
    Whisper: Summon
    Lurk: Security, Finesse
    Spider:
    Leech:

    Vice: Content with Drink.
    Trait: Rugged.

    Assets: Arms

    Phin has been involved in organized crime for a very long time. His no-nonsense nature has been known to get him in trouble though, as he picked a fight with local law enforcement while inebriated a few nights back, and was incarcerated for assaulting an officer of the peace.

    I don't really have a background set up for Phin yet, beyond him being somewhere in his mid-to-late 40's. Maybe he has a family for cover... Who knows!


    Sorry that took so long to get up.

    For the guild, I like: Thieves or Smugglers.
    For the lair, I like: a Back room, or a Tower.
  • No, it's still in there. It's in the guild booklet.

    I wouldn't mind having a cover as a cult. Smuggling spirit essence or whatever sounds cool.

    Otherwise workers. Maybe merchants.
  • I very much like smugglers with a cult cover.
  • Sure, that works for me.
  • I'm down with that.
  • It looks like we have majority votes for:

    Type: Smugglers
    Cover: Cult
    Lair: we have 4 votes for Tower, 3 for barge (taking Paul's pun as a vote)
  • I'm reading the new Turf War stuff.

    Pretty friggin sweet.
  • I'll take anything, lair-wise. So, this is a pun-intolerant zone?
  • I'll take anything, lair-wise. So, this is a pun-intolerant zone?
    Chris might be intolerant, I was just making sure it was a vote not only a joke.
  • I approve of puns.

    Oh wait, I meant coven not cult. Can we go that way instead?
  • Chris is tolerant! I only called it out to make sure you knew we got it. :)

    I'd give top vote to grotto because it's good for both our real operation (smuggling) an also our cover (cult). But I feel quite weakly about it -- tower and barge are both OK.
  • I could easily see a cult in an abandoned tower, or a smuggling operation on a barge. No reason why the cover/op have to directly share?
  • I'm going to say no to a cult as a type. I have religion issues.

    The votes as I see it for type are as follows:
    Thieves - 4
    Coven - 3
    Smugglers - 3

    You guys jumped around and cover may have confused me. Is that right?
  • edited June 2014
    There are four votes for smugglers unless it's higher because I missed one. Rich, are you nixing cult as a cover, too? (I'm not try to push into uncomfortable space, just wanting to see where we are.)
  • Nope, cult as a cover is cool, for some weird reason in my brain.
  • There's 2 or 3 voting for smugglers and thieves. Heh.
  • I'll throw Smugglers as my preference over thieves.
  • Recap:

    It looks like we have majority votes for:

    Type: Smugglers
    Cover: Cult
    Lair: Tower
  • Done and done!
  • I'd like us to circle Sanctum.
  • Hey, I'm reading the Guild booklet and this jumps out at me: "When you add a talent, add a name and look to the guild roster to characterize that element of the guild."

    So it sounds like we're making up NPCs for each circled talent, is that so?

    Oh, and we need to choose Reputation. I like one of ambitious—professional—strange.
  • So... we're Smugglers. The strongest Ability for that seems to me to be Shadow. (Pretty much any of the Talents).

    Our cover is Cult? And we've seen a preference for some arcane weirdness, so Gloom seems a strong second.

    And, for support... Flames seems stronger (for Smugglers) than Steel, to me.

    Discuss.
  • I'm going to say that Milos was busted for selling chits *and* electoplasm. I agree on the ability split.
  • I agree with those traits.
  • Rolling with it:

    Shadow: network—security—veil
    Gloom:leechcraft—sanctum
    Flames: transport
  • Re: name. We could work in a nod to the Touchstones. Order of the Eyeless Face, Seven-Eyed Fellowship...
  • The map can be found here.
  • I'm good with those abilities too.
  • I'm going to pull together what we have so far and restate, then show where we need to focus.
    (after I take my son to school)
  • edited June 2014
    Recap:

    Guild Name: Order of the Eyeless Face or Seven-Eyed Fellowship
    Type: Smugglers
    Lair: Tower (Niko chose a tower on the linked map)
    Cover: Cult
    Rep: ambitious—professional—strange
    Steel: (0)
    Gloom: (2) Leechcraft - Sanctum
    Shadow (3) Network Security Veil
    Flame: (1) Transport
    Assets: Poor (designer clarified the question I had above)

    Needed:
    * Some loose details on the Cult cover (are they a functioning cult, just playing at it, do they make money, etc.)

    * Choose Rep

    * Name and look on the guild roster (perhaps each player chooses one to fill?) for
    - Leechcraft
    - Sanctum
    - Network
    - Security
    - Veil
    - Transport

    * Choose to become a Guild Leaders (meaning, if you think your PC should be the Guild Leader, say so
    Steel
    Gloom
    Shadow
    Flame

    * Choose a ward name:
    city wards
    (richest to poorest)
    Whitecrown
    Brightstone
    Six Towers
    Charterhall
    Nightmarket
    Silkshore
    Coalridge
    The Docks
    Crow’s Foot
    Dunslough
    Barrowcleft
    Charhollow

    * Choose your starting situation:
    1. This ward is controlled by a large criminal enterprise, The Unseen. We pay them 50% of all our earnings. In return, they deal with the bribes for the city watch and officials and give us free access to fences for stolen goods. Our contact is Gutter, a mid-level thug with reckless ambitions. you’ve paid off the Unseen for the week, so the guild has only 2 coin left.
    2. This ward is splintered by a war between two criminal gangs, The Red Sashes and The Lampblacks. They’re both recruiting every free blade in the ward and don’t take ‘no’
    for an answer. Which side have we thrown in with? The City Watch won’t come into the ward with the war on, so it’s open season on the enemy and every precious, shiny thing not nailed down. With lots of opportunities to pilfer, the guild has managed to crounge up 4 coin to start.
    3. The criminal boss of this ward, Scurlock, was recently killed and no one has stepped forward to lead his gang or seize control of the ward. There are a few likely candidates, including his murderer and former partner, Roric; the secretive Dimmer Sisters; and the Skovlander, Ulf Ironborn. Until a boss is named, most fences won’t operate in the ward, and the City Watch are off their bribes and looking to crack skulls and make their jail
    quota. But hey, no one is ordering you around, huh? Since you’re on your own without any higher-ups to pay a share to, the guild starts with 6 coin.Whichever situations are not chosen, place them in adjacent city wards. Use NPCs from those other situations as needed.
  • Ward: I like either Six Towers or Nightmarket.
  • edited June 2014
    I like the idea that various members of the guild treat the cult differently. Like, it's a real cult but some of us just roll our eyes and go along with things but others of us are True Believers.

    Una
    image
    Una is a cold and beautiful woman. She always has informants, allies, and other sources of information at hand.

    I like strange or quiet for our reputation.

    I prefer middle of the wealth band for our ward: Nightmarket, Silkshore, Coalridge or The Docks.

    And I like the situations in the order opposite that they appear on the list. (3 -> 2 -> 1)
  • edited June 2014
    I'm voting for Six Towers. The island was the location of the original fortress that became Duskwall. It's shores were once dotted by six tall, square towers that have since been pulled down as the city expanded and they fell into disuse. Only the northwestern tower still stands.

    Roster

    image
    Security: Bricks the Doorman. A HUGE, CHISELED brute from Charhollow. Despite his ROUGH exterior and COARSE demeanor, his eyes suggest a vicious intelligence. He's a true believer in the cult, and in that regard, is deeply religious. He delights in tormenting Cinnamon Socks, which is why Cinnamon tends to stick to the places Bricks isn't. (Ron Pearlman circa Alien Resurrection)

    I'm thinking Shadow, Leechcraft, or Whisper for the guild leader.

  • What if we treat the cult like the Freemasons? A secret society type of thing that has cult-like overtones?
  • As long as we can ritually consult the seven-eyed one who lives under our tower, I'm good. :)
  • edited June 2014
    Transport: Cinnamon Socks, expert with horseflesh and gondola. Skittish, superstitious, fat.

    (I'm thinking the actor who played Hurley on LOST.)
    image
  • Thanks for Socks, Mischa. I totally have to see Johner bullying Hurley.
  • I'm thinking 2 or 3 on the scenarios. If we're good as we think we are in keeping under the radar, we haven't thrown in with either side ;).
  • @Niko Found a better period image of the actor.
  • Ooh! That's awesome, @Mischa!
  • Nice.
  • By my count, we need NPCs for guild members:

    - Sanctum
    - Leechcraft
    - Veil

    From @rich @trevis @wptunes ?

    We need Rep/Ward/Sitch? (I voted Professional/Ambitious/Strange for rep, we got two people liking Six Towers for Ward, and I still like sitch 3.)

    Do we need to define all the Guild leaders?
  • New Update on Mechanics!

    From Game Designer today:
    Here's how I'm thinking of the Core Rolls (this is how I've always thought of them, I'm just now realizing I should probably write them this way):

    A Desperate Gamble
    6: Success with a cost (harm, stress, time, etc.). 4/5: Failure. The GM will offer you a choice between two worse outcomes. 1-3: Critical failure. Everything goes to hell.

    A Risky Move
    6: Full success. 4/5: Success with a cost (harm, stress, time, etc.). 1-3: Failure. The GM will offer you a choice between two worse outcomes.

    A Controlled Maneuver
    6: Critical success. You do more or achieve an extra effect. 4/5: Full success. 1-3: Success with a cost (harm, stress, time, etc.).

    This maybe better shows how the nine outcomes are a continuum, shifted up or down depending on which roll you make. So it goes:

    - Critical Success
    - Full Success
    - Success with a Cost
    - Failure
    - Critical Failure

    And three of those are in play for any given roll.
  • edited June 2014
    I'll throw my vote behind a second for Sitch 3, Rep Strange.
  • By my count, we need NPCs for guild members:

    - Sanctum
    - Leechcraft
    - Veil

    From @rich @trevis @wptunes ?

    We need Rep/Ward/Sitch? (I voted Professional/Ambitious/Strange for rep, we got two people liking Six Towers for Ward, and I still like sitch 3.)

    Do we need to define all the Guild leaders?
    @Chris - Is Una the Guild member for Sanctum? Or is she the face of the Cult?

    @Trevis - why don't you pick up Leechcraft since Niko and Mischa have done one already

    @WPTunes - take Veil

  • This maybe better shows how the nine outcomes are a continuum, shifted up or down depending on which roll you make. So it goes:

    - Critical Success
    - Full Success
    - Success with a Cost
    - Failure
    - Critical Failure

    And three of those are in play for any given roll.
    Three consecutive of those, are in play. And that's the important, clear part.
  • I'm going to narrow vote for leader to Shadow.
  • Six Towers or Nightmarket in that order.

    Sitch 3

    Leechcraft: Bragon - Weathered, Lamed, Deceptive

    image
  • @clweeks Completely off topic, but I just read The Witch playbook, and I absolutely adore it.
  • @Chris - Is Una the Guild member for Sanctum? Or is she the face of the Cult?
    Una is for Network.
  • @clweeks Completely off topic, but I just read The Witch playbook, and I absolutely adore it.
    Neat! To the best of my knowledge no one has ever played it and I think most people feel like the rituals are a cumbersome mechanic. But it was a fun little project.
  • To the best of my knowledge no one has ever played it and I think most people feel like the rituals are a cumbersome mechanic. But it was a fun little project.
    I'd like to give it a shot at some point. I'm sure the clunk could be lubed away with a little practical play.

  • UPDATES:

    We'll kick off with Situation 3.

    The Guild starting rep is Strange.

    For Guild Leader, we have one vote for Shadow

    We have a map of the Six Towers Ward here.

    I'm doing a Guild Character sheet on GDocs right now. It's here.

    Needed:
    * Some loose details on the Cult cover (are they a functioning cult, just playing at it, do they make money, etc.)

    Two suggested options for the Cult Cover:
    1. Various members of the guild treat the cult differently. Like, it's a real cult but some of us just roll our eyes and go along with things but others of us are True Believers.
    2. A secret society type of thing that has cult-like overtones?

    * Choose Guild Leader:
    Shadow was nominated, any other thoughts or just go with it?

    * Name and look on the guild roster (perhaps each player chooses one to fill?) for
    - Sanctum (Chris)
    - Veil (Paul)
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