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roleplaying:bitd:start [2025/03/27 17:47] – [Playbooks] curufearoleplaying:bitd:start [2025/03/31 19:02] (current) – [Character Sheets] curufea
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 [[Old Campaign]] - for version 6 (current version is 8 ) [[Old Campaign]] - for version 6 (current version is 8 )
 +===== Introduction =====
 +The game takes place in the cold, foggy city of Doskvol (aka Duskwall or “the Dusk”). It’s an industrial city reminiscent of our world during the second industrial revolution of the 1870s—there are trains, steamboats, printing presses, simple electrical technology, carriages, and the black smog of chimney smoke everywhere. Doskvol is a mix of Venice, London, and Prague, crowded with row-houses, twisting streets, and crisscrossed with hundreds of narrow waterways and bridges.
 +
 +The city is also steeped in fantasy. The world lies in perpetual darkness, haunted by ghosts—a consequence of the cataclysm that shattered the sun and broke the Gates of Death a thousand years ago. Each city in the empire is encircled by crackling lightning towers to keep out vengeful spirits and the twisted horrors of the deathlands. To power these massive barriers, titanic metal ships from the leviathan hunters set out from Doskvol to extract electroplasmic blood from the demonic leviathans that dwell in the ink-dark Void Sea.
 +
 +You’re in a haunted, Victorian-era city trapped within a wall of lightning powered by demon blood.
 +===== Inspirations =====
 +  * Computer Games
 +    * [[https://thief.fandom.com/wiki/Thief_Gold|The Thief games]]
 +    * [[https://dishonored.fandom.com/wiki/Dishonored_Wiki|The Dishonored games]]
 +    * [[https://bloodborne.fandom.com/wiki/Bloodborne_Wiki|Bloodborne]]
 +  * Music
 +    * [[https://youtu.be/jttWyvL6iIM?si=9pwsBgLPyq64Rdgf|Theme song]]
 +    * Despite this recommendation in the rulebook I will personally be leaning heavily in to the soundtracks for the [[https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXXJsTZMXxTUdU9vi_94GwUzpXd_AVIkH&si=yiHlt3NnC57MuLH_|Arcane series]] for my games 🙂 
 +  * Television
 +    * [[https://peaky-blinders.fandom.com/wiki/Peaky_Blinders_Wiki|Peaky Blinders]]
 +    * [[https://thewire.fandom.com/|The Wire]]
 +    * [[https://spartacus.fandom.com/|Spartacus]]
 +    * [[https://narcos.fandom.com/|Narcos]]
 +  * Movies
 +    * [[https://g.co/kgs/QdGMSr7|Crimson Peak]] by Guillermo del Toro
 +    * [[https://g.co/kgs/WpNnpt1|Gangs of New York]] by Martin Scorsese
 +    * [[https://g.co/kgs/o5x6MfU|Ronin]] by John Frankenheimer
 +    * [[https://g.co/kgs/RkRA6Fu|Heat]] and [[https://g.co/kgs/hB21tv2|Thief]], by Michael Mann
 +  * Books
 +    * [[https://g.co/kgs/f7Am7kP|The Vlad Taltos novels]] by Steven Brust
 +    * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fafhrd_and_the_Gray_Mouser|The stories of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser]] by Fritz Leiber
 +    * [[https://g.co/kgs/wvYgiAK|The Lies of Locke Lamora]] by Scott Lynch
 +    * [[https://g.co/kgs/6VEY8fP|Best Served Cold]] by Joe Abercrombie
 +===== Session Structure =====
 +Other than Session 0, sessions usually consist of a score/job started In Media Res, then Downtime afterwards followed by discovering/choosing which score/job to do next
 +===== Core Mechanics =====
 +As a fiction first game, players have more narrative control than traditional RPGs.  This means that players will often know things their characters should not and will make story relevant choices that may not be in their character's best interests.  Usually this is choosing between which bad result is the most interesting to have happen.
 +**Deep Cuts** simplifies the main Action roll of the base game to a [[Threat Roll]] which combines several rolls into one. \\ 
 +Other changes include:
 +  * **Harm** level now no longer automatically effects the character.  You get XP when the GM chooses to have it effect you. You can remind the GM when appropriate.  Also level 1 Harm goes away in Downtime.
 +  * The player chooses when to invoke **Trauma** and gets XP for it. Once per session per Trauma. You may also use long term projects to recover Trauma.
 +  * **Load** is changed to conspicuous and discreet and is based on carrying heavy or bulky items.
 +  * **Advancement** is now handled with clocks, you cash in filled clocks to improve different parts of your playbook or crew sheet at different costs (from 1 to 4 filled clocks).
 +  * **Downtime** actions now are diceless.  Some crew advances cost coin rather than XP.  Tier advancements are now based on reputation, having a strong hold on your claimed territories and the minimum number of advances and cohorts.  Vice being overindulged is now based on how much Stress you have. There are various changes to the types of activities you do as well.
 +  * The **Devil's Bargain** is now not automatically a bad thing that happens.  It now has a cost or adds a [[Threat Roll|Threat]].
 +  * **Gathering Information** is no longer a separate mechanic.
 +  * **Teamwork** has been expanded.
 +===== Cheat Sheet =====
 +  * {{ :roleplaying:bitd:bitd_deep_cuts_complete_rules_cheat_sheet.pdf |Summary rules of Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts}} \\ [[Deep Cuts Cheat Sheet]] - A text version of the above PDF
 +
 +===== Character Sheets =====
 +  * {{ :roleplaying:bitd:bitd_deep_cuts_sheets_v1_1.pdf |Deep Cuts Sheets}} - for playbooks and crews
 +
  
 ===== Playbooks ===== ===== Playbooks =====
 What type of character are you? What type of character are you?
-++++ Official (7) |+++++ Deep Cuts (11) | 
 + 
 +^ Name ^ Description ^ Blurb ^ XP ^ Notes ^ 
 +| **Cutter** | A dangerous and intimidating fighter | In the underworld of the Dusk, there are scoundrels who take what they want at the bloody edge of a blade or with a threatening presence that can stop a man cold. They are the enforcers, the debt collectors, the killers, the leg-breakers, and the thugs, commonly known as Cutters. Where subtlety fails, swift brutality—and the threat of worse to come—can solve the problem. Or at least turn it into a different kind of problem. | When you play a Cutter, you earn xp when you address a challenge with violence or coercion. Go ahead and get up in everyone’s smug faces and tell them who’s boss, then let your blades do the talking if they don’t get the message. | //Do you have a personal code or a line you won’t cross? Do you want to be the boss or do you want to be the enforcer for the boss? How did you acquire your taste for violence and coercion?// | 
 +| **Hound** | A deadly sharpshooter and tracker | There’s always a need for scoundrels who can find what others want to keep hidden. Whether that’s a deadbeat gambler trying to skip out on their debts, a treacherous informant or witness who’s going to squeal to the Bluecoats, or the trail to a treasure squirreled away in a secret vault—it’s the Hounds that ferret them out. Why have a fair fight, when you can stalk and ambush your prey on your terms? The underworld is your hunting ground. | When you play a Hound, you earn xp when you address a challenge with tracking or violence. Take the initiative to hunt down opportunities and targets for a score and be willing to hurt whoever stands in your way. | //Do you see the whole world as potential prey, or do you still care about people? Which target in the past gave you the most trouble? Why?// | 
 +| **Leech** | A saboteur and technician | The world is built on industry, and the underworld is no different. Leeches are the scoundrels who distill the drugs, refine the arcane essences, build the bombs, bandage the wounds, and forge the tools of the criminal trades—and knowing how to make things also means knowing how to break them. | When you play a Leech, you earn xp when you address a challenge with technical skill or mayhem. Duskwall is a city full of industrial machinery, spark-crafts, plumbing, and electrical systems for you to bend to your purposes or sabotage. Get out your tools and get your hands dirty. | //The extensive training that makes a Leech is rare and strange among the disenfranchised underworld class—how did you learn your arts? Which side of the coin do you prefer, the side of creation and restoration, or the side of mayhem and destruction?// | 
 +| **Lurk** | A stealthy infiltrator and burglar | There is no longer any sunlight—the world is plunged into eternal night. There are scoundrels who live in the darkness, who prowl the underworld unseen, trespassing where they will. They are the burglars, the spies, the infiltrators, the cut-throats—commonly called Lurks. | When you play a Lurk, you earn xp when you address a challenge with stealth or evasion. Stay out of sight, sneak past your enemies, and strike from the shadows. If things go wrong, there’s no shame in disappearing into the darkness... for now. Your greatest ally is the dark and twisting city, its ink-dark streets, its rooftop pathways. | //How did you learn the stealthy arts of the Lurk? Which aspect are you drawn to most? The invisible watcher, spying on the unwary? The adroit acrobat, racing across rooftops? The deadly ambush predator, waiting for a victim in the darkness?// | 
 +| **Slide** | A subtle manipulator and spy | It’s said that the primal substance of the world is not mere matter or strange plasms, it’s lies. Everything we do, everything we care about, everything we value—all lies we tell each other and ourselves. The world is a fabrication, a convenient fiction, a story—and the storytellers are Slides. | When you play a Slide, you earn xp when you address a challenge with deception or influence. Talk your way into trouble, then talk your way out again. Pretend to be someone you’re not. Bluff, lie, and manipulate to get your way. Every problem is ultimately a problem because of people—and people are the instrument upon which you play your music. | //Is there anything true about you, at your core? Or are you whatever you need to be, day to day? Are all of your relationships merely gambits that you play for your advantage?// | 
 +| **Spider** | A devious mastermind | The underworld may appear on the surface to be a chaotic array of warring factions and bloody deeds, but it has a beautiful order to those who are able to see it. This pattern is the web of connections, favours, vendettas, and secrets that bind the criminal world together. The scoundrels who pluck the strands of this web are known as Spiders. | When you play a Spider, you earn xp when you address a challenge with calculation or conspiracy. Reach out to your contacts, friends, and associates to set your crew up for success. Use your downtime activities and flashbacks wisely to prepare for trouble and to calculate the angles of success. When things go wrong, don’t panic, and remember: you planned for this. | //Are you enmeshed in the network of favours and debts that you exploit as a Spider, or do you scrupulously hold yourself apart, as a cold predator upon the web?// | 
 +| **Whisper** | An arcane adept and channeler | Duskwall is a haunted place—plagued by rogue spirits consumed by vengeance, by cunning demons manipulating humans for their own inscrutable purposes, and by even stranger horrors lurking in the space just beyond sight and reason. To go into this shadowy world without knowledge of the arcane and the occult is to walk unarmed into the lair of the enemy. The Whispers are the sentinels who watch the greater darkness—staring into the void so others don’t have to. | When you play a Whisper, you earn xp when you address a challenge with knowledge or arcane power. Seek out the strange and dark forces and bend them to your will. By being willing to face the trauma from the stress-intensive abilities of the arcane, you’ll slowly remove parts of yourself, and replace them with power. | //Why did you pursue the path of the Whisper? How did you develop your abilities? Are you a natural, did you study and practice on your own, or did you have a mentor?// | 
 +| **Stranger** | Curiosity & secrecy | You have traveled through a fracture: an unstable portal from another world. | || 
 +^  Supernatural  ^^^^^ 
 +| **Ghost** | A disembodied spirit, craving vengeance | A rogue spirit is a scourge upon Duskwall, hunted by Spirit Wardens and sought out as a servant by Whispers and cultists. But your righteous vengeance burns so bright and pure—you must not allow yourself to be thwarted by anyone. | When you play a Ghost, you earn xp when you exact vengeance upon those you deem deserving, when you express your outrage or anger, and when you settle scores from your heritage or background. Playing the Ghost means payback for anyone who wronged you in life. It’s up to you to decide who has earned your ghostly ire, but don’t let anyone off the hook! | //Who shall be the first to suffer your wrath? Are there any living beings who deserve mercy, or shall they all eventually be found guilty in your eyes?// | 
 +| **Hull** | A spirit animating a spark-craft frame | You have become a pale echo of your living self, trapped in a metal body, forced into servitude. Is this all that remains of you? | When you play a Hull, you earn xp when you fulfill your functions despite difficulty or danger, and when you suppress or ignore your former human qualities. | When you transfer to the Hull playbook, add all of your current action ratings to the ratings on the Hull playbook. You may not have an action rating greater than 4. You keep any ghost special abilities from your former playbook.  Ghost Mind, Ghost Voice, etc. You lose all other special abilities. | 
 +| **Vampire** | A spirit animating an undead body The apex of human existence is the vampire—the sublime, immortal union of spirit and flesh. Mortals are merely flawed reflections of this perfection, suitable only for recruitment into the ranks of the eternal, or fed upon as chattel. | When you play a Vampire, you earn xp when you display your dominance or slay without mercy. You transcend the mortal world. Your concerns and needs eclipse all others. | //To which worthy enterprise shall you commit your immortal effort?// | 
 + 
 +++++ 
 + 
 +++++ Official (10) |
  
 ^ Name ^ Description ^ Blurb ^ XP ^ Notes ^ ^ Name ^ Description ^ Blurb ^ XP ^ Notes ^
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 | **Spider** | A devious mastermind | The underworld may appear on the surface to be a chaotic array of warring factions and bloody deeds, but it has a beautiful order to those who are able to see it. This pattern is the web of connections, favours, vendettas, and secrets that bind the criminal world together. The scoundrels who pluck the strands of this web are known as Spiders. | When you play a Spider, you earn xp when you address a challenge with calculation or conspiracy. Reach out to your contacts, friends, and associates to set your crew up for success. Use your downtime activities and flashbacks wisely to prepare for trouble and to calculate the angles of success. When things go wrong, don’t panic, and remember: you planned for this. | //Are you enmeshed in the network of favours and debts that you exploit as a Spider, or do you scrupulously hold yourself apart, as a cold predator upon the web?// | | **Spider** | A devious mastermind | The underworld may appear on the surface to be a chaotic array of warring factions and bloody deeds, but it has a beautiful order to those who are able to see it. This pattern is the web of connections, favours, vendettas, and secrets that bind the criminal world together. The scoundrels who pluck the strands of this web are known as Spiders. | When you play a Spider, you earn xp when you address a challenge with calculation or conspiracy. Reach out to your contacts, friends, and associates to set your crew up for success. Use your downtime activities and flashbacks wisely to prepare for trouble and to calculate the angles of success. When things go wrong, don’t panic, and remember: you planned for this. | //Are you enmeshed in the network of favours and debts that you exploit as a Spider, or do you scrupulously hold yourself apart, as a cold predator upon the web?// |
 | **Whisper** | An arcane adept and channeler | Duskwall is a haunted place—plagued by rogue spirits consumed by vengeance, by cunning demons manipulating humans for their own inscrutable purposes, and by even stranger horrors lurking in the space just beyond sight and reason. To go into this shadowy world without knowledge of the arcane and the occult is to walk unarmed into the lair of the enemy. The Whispers are the sentinels who watch the greater darkness—staring into the void so others don’t have to. | When you play a Whisper, you earn xp when you address a challenge with knowledge or arcane power. Seek out the strange and dark forces and bend them to your will. By being willing to face the trauma from the stress-intensive abilities of the arcane, you’ll slowly remove parts of yourself, and replace them with power. | //Why did you pursue the path of the Whisper? How did you develop your abilities? Are you a natural, did you study and practice on your own, or did you have a mentor?// | | **Whisper** | An arcane adept and channeler | Duskwall is a haunted place—plagued by rogue spirits consumed by vengeance, by cunning demons manipulating humans for their own inscrutable purposes, and by even stranger horrors lurking in the space just beyond sight and reason. To go into this shadowy world without knowledge of the arcane and the occult is to walk unarmed into the lair of the enemy. The Whispers are the sentinels who watch the greater darkness—staring into the void so others don’t have to. | When you play a Whisper, you earn xp when you address a challenge with knowledge or arcane power. Seek out the strange and dark forces and bend them to your will. By being willing to face the trauma from the stress-intensive abilities of the arcane, you’ll slowly remove parts of yourself, and replace them with power. | //Why did you pursue the path of the Whisper? How did you develop your abilities? Are you a natural, did you study and practice on your own, or did you have a mentor?// |
 +^  Supernatural  ^^^^^
 +| **Ghost** | A disembodied spirit, craving vengeance | A rogue spirit is a scourge upon Duskwall, hunted by Spirit Wardens and sought out as a servant by Whispers and cultists. But your righteous vengeance burns so bright and pure—you must not allow yourself to be thwarted by anyone. | When you play a Ghost, you earn xp when you exact vengeance upon those you deem deserving, when you express your outrage or anger, and when you settle scores from your heritage or background. Playing the Ghost means payback for anyone who wronged you in life. It’s up to you to decide who has earned your ghostly ire, but don’t let anyone off the hook! | //Who shall be the first to suffer your wrath? Are there any living beings who deserve mercy, or shall they all eventually be found guilty in your eyes?// |
 +| **Hull** | A spirit animating a spark-craft frame | You have become a pale echo of your living self, trapped in a metal body, forced into servitude. Is this all that remains of you? | When you play a Hull, you earn xp when you fulfill your functions despite difficulty or danger, and when you suppress or ignore your former human qualities. | When you transfer to the Hull playbook, add all of your current action ratings to the ratings on the Hull playbook. You may not have an action rating greater than 4. You keep any ghost special abilities from your former playbook.  Ghost Mind, Ghost Voice, etc. You lose all other special abilities. |
 +| **Vampire** | A spirit animating an undead body The apex of human existence is the vampire—the sublime, immortal union of spirit and flesh. Mortals are merely flawed reflections of this perfection, suitable only for recruitment into the ranks of the eternal, or fed upon as chattel. | When you play a Vampire, you earn xp when you display your dominance or slay without mercy. You transcend the mortal world. Your concerns and needs eclipse all others. | //To which worthy enterprise shall you commit your immortal effort?// |
  
 ++++ ++++
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 ++++ ++++
 +
  
 ===== Crews ===== ===== Crews =====
 Who do you work with? Who do you work with?
-++++ Official (6) |+++++ Official & Deep Cuts (6) |
  
 ^ Name ^ Description ^ Blurb ^ XP ^ Notes ^ ^ Name ^ Description ^ Blurb ^ XP ^ Notes ^
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 ++++ ++++
 +===== Factions =====
 +There are many faction in and around the city.  When choosing your crew you also collectively choose which factions you have interactions with.  The majority of factions will be unlikely to appear in a campaign unless you undertake specific plot actions to interact with them.  **Deep Cuts** adds more factions including many relevant to the additional ongoing plot.  Some faction descriptions include spoilers and should be avoided.  Every faction has a tier from 0 to VI.  Tiers are similar to levels and cover a faction's scale and quality (e.g. Tier V often has 80 members, but I has 3-6).  Fighting higher Tiers gives you limited effect and lower Tiers gives you great effect.  Effects are based on the type of action you are doing.
 +
 +Your Crew is regarded as a Tier 0 faction with a strong hold on your territory (ie not likely to get worse in Tier)
 +
 +Factions are grouped by their member types
 +  * Underworld (17) from Tier I to IV
 +  * Institutions (18) from Tier I to VI
 +  * Labour and Trade (12) from Tier II to IV
 +  * The Fringe (12) from Tier 0 to IV
 +  * Citizenry (6) from Tier II to V
 +
roleplaying/bitd/start.1743122835.txt.gz · Last modified: 2025/03/27 17:47 by curufea