As I’ve previously noted, my Blades in the Dark games require low amounts of preparation. One of the reasons that can work is that I try to have reusable prep. When a score comes up, or when free play gets dangerous, I need to have a list of dangers (complications, consequences, etc.) already handy. These … Continue reading Dangers and complications for Blades in the Dark
As my first full season of Blades in the Dark comes to a close, I took some time to write down my thoughts on John Harper's fantastic game. For clarity, this represents only my personal opinion, and on balance this remains one of my very favorite role-playing games in both mechanics & setting. I will … Continue reading Lessons Learned in the Dark
This is a ritual I created together with my friend Jessie, a player in my Blades in the Dark campaign, for her Whisper character "Aleizabel" ("Eyes"). "White Ghosts Walk in a Row" by Florence Harrison 1. What does the ritual do and how is it weird? The ritual wards the caster and someone else from … Continue reading Ritual: Ghost Ward
At one of the PAX Unplugged panels on racism in TTRPGs this weekend, something was said that sort of crystallized some thoughts I've had floating around in my head about making sure my games aren't all white folks. it's not enough to do an "open call" - I need to reach out specifically to folks … Continue reading Thinking about active invitations
NB: The following is based on a comment I wrote on The Gauntlet forums. That thread has other people's advice as well and is worth reading! Photo by Isis França I do very little prep for my Blades in the Dark campaign, Doskvol Dalliances. Before the game, I take a look at any existing faction … Continue reading Blades in the Dark preparation
I've now run three sessions of Blades in the Dark for my "Doskvol Dalliances" campaign. The first two had some serious pacing problems in various ways; the third session finally started to get the pacing I want. The short version of this is that you should leave plenty of time for the Downtime phase. In … Continue reading Pacing for Blades in the Dark
My new Blades in the Dark streamed campaign launched this weekend! The video is at the end of the post, but I'll summarize things here. Doskvol, by John Harper, based on "Shipping on the Clyde (1881)" by John Atkinson Grimshaw First, we ran through safety tools. We talked about the CATS method: Concept, Aim, Tone, … Continue reading Doskvol Dalliances: Session 1
