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Jimbozig posted:So am I right in saying that there are really two different sorts of clocks? One type of clock basically represents a scene and you need to overcome it to complete the scene. This would be something like "sewers entrance" or "hidden laboratory". And then there are clocks that represent recurring dangers that the DM can throw in front of you at any point until you clear the clock. This would be "guards" and "fine locks" and "electroplasma traps". Yep! Also, clocks can be used to measure a countdown like in Apocalypse World (e.g. "The Bluecoats arrive when this clock fills in; every time one of you takes an action, I'll mark off a tick.") or long-term progress toward a goal ("The Red Sashes are trying to wipe out the Lampblacks; barring PC interference, when this clock fills in they'll accomplish that goal.") You also don't have to measure every obstacle with a clock (or, technically I guess, to have one-segment clocks) if the obstacle isn't interesting as a long-term problem.
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May 8, 2015 19:39
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Quickstart Revision 3, Draft 3 is up. (I'm assuming it's okay to link this here since John posted it publicly to the Google+ group for the game, not a backer-only Kickstarter update, but just in case there are weird permissions I've linked to the G+ post rather than the PDF directly.) Fenarisk posted:So I'm just wondering how would people here handle effects? I really like the skill resolution being tied to actual skills and not stats or specific "moves" like in other PbtA games, and I don't mind the Xd6, keep highest (because rolling more dice is fun). Using them as a baseline for success based on the number isn't terrible in my opinion (with the roll on the skill check adding to that), but it still feels kind of "meh". The newest Quickstart has Effect being determined more by fictional positioning, with shifts in the magnitude based on whether you have a significant advantage or disadvantage in Quality, Scale, or Potency. It also makes an explicit distinction between simple actions that don't require a clock to track progress, and complex actions that do. You can still get increased or reduced effects based on the action roll results, and several character talents have been reworked to give bonuses on effect factor.
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Jun 25, 2015 19:06
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Fenarisk posted:I'm getting that the base is 1-3 depending on the situation, modified by the character's attribute level (which is equal to the highest skill I think?), and modified by how they're tackling the situation (fine items, etc). But is the base skill roll adding to the base effect rating? I think you're conflating Effects and Resistance a bit; in the new version they're two separate things. Effects are the PCs' ability to overcome obstacles. The base level is established by the fiction (e.g. trying to convince the suspicious guard to let you pass might get you a lesser effect than just sneaking past him), but can be modified by a couple of factors:
Resistance is for determining how much Stress you have to take to avoid something nasty happening. You roll your Attribute rating (which is not your highest Action in the category but rather how many Actions in the category you have at least one dot in), and you have to take (6 - the highest-showing die) Stress to avoid the Consequences. It's a little confusing because both of these used to be covered by Effect rating, but that's no longer the case.
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Jun 26, 2015 21:17
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Fenarisk posted:All I see from this is that with most clocks being a base of 4 segments, you would need to roll multiple times usually to convince the guard to let you pass. Unless that's a simple one-off roll and it counts towards a total clock of something else now. Depends on how you're setting up the challenge, really. If the guard is just one guy on the door and he himself is the only guard-type obstacle you have to deal with, then yeah, it could be a simple action. In which case the Effect Level is more down to fictional positioning than clock segments--in this case, maybe a limited effect means "he lets you in, but he's keeping an eye on you/noting you down to follow up on later" while a great effect means "he gives you full unfettered access to the place." If "Guards" is a major, long-term obstacle with a countdown clock, then yeah, it's a multi-roll sequence of bluffs, verbal feints, and brazen bullshitting, but once you've cleared the obstacle, the guards are no longer a problem. Like, you've convinced them that everything's in order and you have the run of the place.
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Jun 26, 2015 21:33
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Iceclaw posted:Yeah, that's what the rules seems to say. However, it bother me that despite for all intent and purpose, the group forfeit their progression by switching methods, yet it is still treated mechanically as progress. It feels a bit too much like a videogamey thing where you have to complete random tasks to fill a bar, know what I mean. You're assuming switching methods means starting over completely from scratch. It doesn't--not necessarily. Maybe in the case of the safe their attempted safecracking at least identified the make and model of the works inside and that gives them a lead on who to kidnap--rather than having nothing to start with than "we need someone who can open a big safe" they're starting with "we need someone who can open a Grommet and Squibb Model 500," and that gives them an advantage. If you absolutely can't justify a way that progress on approach (a) would carry over into approach (b), then yeah, maybe abandon that clock, but you can usually find at least a semi-plausible way to transfer it over. EDIT: Also, yeah, switching tactics on the fly is a great excuse to make their position worse, too.
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Apr 11, 2016 17:56
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Freudian slippers posted:Edit: I have a question about the regular Blades setting. As I understand it, moving beyond the city walls is quite dangerous (ghosts, etc). There are some exceptions, like trains and Leviathan hunters, which probably have some sort of anti-ghost technology. What I don't understand, is how the Imperium managed to wage war on Skovland (extremely portable anti-ghost fields?) and how refugees from Skovland made it to Doskvol. Can anyone explain this to me? By "anti-ghost technology" you mean "some poor slob riding on top of the train with a ghost-pokin' stick."  But really, I think the answer is twofold--first, if you look at the map of the Shattered Isles, it's a pretty straight sea shot from Doskvol to any of the cities on Skovland. Sea travel is... well, I hesitate to use the word "safe" to describe anything in the Blades in the Dark world, but certainly the horrible monstrosities in the sea don't seem to care all that much about humans in boats crossing the surface. So you can probably assume that "war" looks an awful lot like "sail an armada into the enemy harbor and throw bodies at the beach until you can establish a landing zone inside the ghost fence" more than big protracted land battles. As for the refugees reaching Doskvol, well... without knowing the number of refugees who fled Skovland vs. the number actually living in Doskvol, it's hard to say exactly, but I think it's fair to assume that lots of refugees just didn't make it.And the second part: Blades in the Dark, p. 308 posted:Don’t expect scientific realism here.
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Jan 29, 2020 09:36
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DarkAvenger211 posted:Thanks for the response! It helps out to think about these scenarios in advance. Nah, they can apply to both--position dictates how much risk you're exposed to, while effect dictates how much of your goal you can reasonably accomplish with one action. Getting into a fistfight with a dozen bravos is both Risky (because 12 goons can beat the poo poo out of one person pretty easily) and limited effect (because it's highly unlikely that one person in a fistfight can do appreciable harm to 12 people). The same principle applies to going up against a single super dangerous opponents, like a demon or Lord Scurlock. EDIT: obviously, this is somewhat subjective, and will vary from group to group depending on the overall tone of the game. Maybe your game is a more High action Kung Fu Adventure, where one badass can easily take on 12 Mooks and wipe the floor with them. That's fine! That's part of the conversation the table should have about what feeling they want out of their game. GimpInBlack fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Mar 13, 2020 |
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Mar 13, 2020 18:00
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Anime Store Adventure posted:I know that’s a whole lot to read - but does that all track? Has anyone had experience with a group like this that might have some ‘silver bullet’ tricks to engaging my new players? In general I’d appreciate any tips with the system. I’ve read the book and a lot of online discussion and I feel prepared, but it’s always such a Wild West when you first step into a game. This might be obvious, but the evergreen silver bullet advice is have this conversation with your players. Especially the new ones. Sit down with them and say "hey, I want to make sure you're enjoying yourself and you're eased into the whole 'shared fiction' aspect of this particular kind of gaming. Here's what I was thinking, does that sound good to you? And if not, what can I do to facilitate?" I would definitely not recommend ambushing them with solo scenes unless you know for sure that they enjoy having a spotlight on them like that--that can be really intimidating for people not yet fully comfortable with tabletop gaming.
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Mar 19, 2022 17:48
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SimonChris posted:The rules definitely imply that rolling for flashbacks is the usual outcome: For pacing's sake, flashbacks are best boiled down to a single discrete "focal point" where we see how well the scoundrel actually pulled it off, even if that moment would have required a bunch of off-screen support. Remember also that a single roll, whether action or fortune, can already encompass a lot of time/activity: e.g. if your flashback involves "recruit a gang of toughs to show up and back me up," you don't need to play out a bunch of scenes of seeking out willing gang bosses and haggling with them individually, just roll Consort and maybe drop some Coin. If you really feel like a flashback needs more than one action to resolve, it probably has a high stress cost due to complexity. SimonChris posted:In connection, is it possible to nest flashbacks? Like, if a flashback goes wrong, can you flashback to an even earlier time to establish how that was you plan all along? This is definitely going to start hitting those "unlikely or complicated action" qualifiers and will almost certainly warrant increasing stress costs.
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Sep 8, 2023 15:19
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