Blades in the Dark: Game Rhythm & Calling For Rolls

[@RaffiQueer]

Wow. This is genius. My dyslexic brain has a lot of trouble understanding rules if not with very concrete examples and you did JUST THAT!

[@OwlGhoulGames]

I remember watching this video almost a year ago, and it really helped me run BitD by a staggering leap. Stating the threat upfront is so important, and the new updated core play sheets really help too! Thanks for constantly updating the game, even after so many years. Was caught so unawares by Deep Cuts when it dropped recently!

[@scotthumphrey1212]

As a Storyteller who is literally running his first Blades campaign right now, this addresses exactly how I've been feeling! Love this video, thank you!

[@JohnHarper]

Yay!

[@MarkWMpls]

Thank you so much for continuing to support this game, John.

[@asdfasdfasdfdsfgsdfg]

My players recently brought up that they felt that the consequences of partial successes or failed rolls seemed arbitrary because they were only described after the roll happened and didn't always relate to a previously telegraphed threat. I was trying to come up with a way to consistently mention looming threats better so they didn't feel so out of left field when players faced consequences. Then this video came out like mana from heaven. Thanks, John!

[@gagrin1565]

Another reason I like this conversation flow of making the threat/risk front and centre, is I feel like it's easier to not subconsciously pull your punches when you've committed to them prior to seeing the outcome. I don't tend to think I'm doing it in other games until I look back over the session, so it's just a handy sort of check to keep me honest by putting the chips down before we roll rather than having wiggle room and second guessing after the fact.

[@JohnHarper]

Great point!

[@kevintheradioguy131]

Only two videos, while you talk so well about how to play the game. We honestly need more of this! I'm very excited to get into the game, and waiting for the book to arrive, and this is a very smooth and comprehensive way to explain the system. I'd love to throw it my players' way.

[@nyarparablepsis872]

I've had my first experience with running Blades yesterday, and this video really helped me prepare for it! It's really interesting how deeply ingrained that habit of calling for rolls is, but consciously reminding myself of this different, much more fluid approach worked very well. A great time was had by all 😎 I loved that I could just run with the creative ideas of the player, who in turn afterwards said that they really enjoyed being able to do what they wanted and co-create the fiction. I also gotta say that I am EXTREMELY happy about how Blades handles GM prep. I hadn't run any games for about 10 years because I couldn't find the time to come up with adventures, get all the NPC and monster stats in one place, plan around the CR, plan for possible mad ideas of the players... Whereas yesterday I made up two small scores on the fly with the score tables and the heist deck. Thanks for creating a game like that!!

[@davidjennings2179]

I've been wanting to play blades for a while now, finally getting some players voice an interest in playing new TTRPGs so am trying to brush up. Really like the narrative flow that blades allows for, the preset values and the broad strokes that each action covers - and flash backs - one of the best mechanics in a TTRPG I've ever experienced.

[@sythguy]

This is a great example to show the difference! Thanks for this quick little tidbit!

[@JohnHarper]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kevin.m.rodrigo]

These videos are a gem. I think pulling back traditional instincts and patterns is the biggest challenge in running fiction-first games. This video might make it click for many people.

[@nicholaskumpula4011]

This is the most that an explanation has ever made sense to me!! Thank you.

[@craigshipman7974]

Gold. More please.

[@ragedrako]

This video is a godsend, because I've struggled many times before when trying to GM Forged in the Dark games. Thank you for this very concise explanation

[@ollywright]

Clear explanation about a part of the game that new GMs (often coming from D&D) can get tripped up by. Thanks! Just ran a session of Blades earlier tonight, really love the game.

[@torinarg123]

I have to say I played a short one shot trial with my players last night and they loved it, but I suffered very much from the task based roll thinking - this has been very useful in helping me consider how to alter that approach. Many thanks.

[@Blairrows]

John, thank you for making this video. I'm going to run Scum & Villainy for the first time next week and I was already grappling with how to replace the instinct to directly call for a roll. The notion to replace it with the introduction of a threat towards the player's goal is just what I needed.

[@jakehartman7150]

Fantastic video! These nuggets of awesome are very helpful! Thanks for putting them out there!

[@GeekPsychology]

Very helpful! Thanks for creating more clarity around this.

[@hershycows]

This is so helpful!! I'm 5 Sessions into my first game and this is something I've been struggling with a lot as the sessions have gotten more complicated. Thanks!!

[@theblindjedi41]

Thank you for doing this; this helps greatly in adjusting to a system very different from the usual d20 ones.

[@18ps3anos]

I feel like this is relevant not just for blades and fitd games, but also for most games. For instance, this way of drawing the player to interact with the game world, and the conflict resolution system itself plays very well into the whole "player skill" approach of OSR-type games. I think a middle ground can be reached in balancing this philosophy while using other, more traditional, games. In my mind, I see no incompatibility in following this approach when playing heavy skill-based games such as Cyberpunk, Call of Cthulhu or Vampire the Masquerade. Thank you for this detailed explanation, John!

[@holisticdm]

Thanks so much for this! I'm running a short taster of Blades in my Discord server and this is extremely helpful as this is my first time running it!

[@yinnyari]

I just started running a BitD game for my group, they are enjoying it so far. This is a very handy, thank-you

[@alamos52]

This is and the new playsheets are SO HELPFUL and makes me want to get back to Blades ASAP! Thanks!

[@HMSBeardsley]

Blades is my favorite TTRPG of all time. The setting, the mechanics, it all feels made for me. I can't wait to run it for my players.

[@JohnHarper]

Glad to hear it!

[@alyssonlago]

Thank you, John!

[@Belegor]

I got into Blades after watching Edegrunners as I was discussing with a friend what kind of system would be best suited for a daring cyberpunk gang adventure and I have totally fallen in love with your system.

[@JohnHarper]

Thanks! Glad to hear it.

[@memoriesofthetimeify]

Yeah it's especially fit for show like edgerunners or arcane!

[@cryoshakespeare4465]

This is great, thanks for the explanation! I think my play group has triangulated in on this over time, but definitely it takes a switch from this more default task-oriented mindset. In thinking about hacking the game, I've come to frame the actions I use in terms of denoting a broad set of consequences, since you can generally take whatever approach you want towards a goal.

[@VonSkulltaker]

This is really phenomenal -- thanks so much! Great layout on the sheets, too.

[@supdudz]

Thank you for this! Very clear flow of conversation and salient tips!

[@TheAggravatedApe]

This a great video, it gives quite an insightful view on the system

[@SilverDragonAcademy]

This is so helpful. Provide the threat up front.

[@litis5151]

This is super helpful for any PbtA or FitD game. One question I still have is: When not to call for Rolls. Especially as it relates to matching the action to the clocks. If they get 3 out of 8 segments towards 'stealing the thing' from this scouting action. Does that suggest I should not refrain from calling for rolls until we're about 50% towards 'stealing the thing' narratively?

[@JohnHarper]

The main thing is: you don't make an action roll unless there's a threat. Also, an action roll isn't the only way to tick a clock. A fortune roll can be used to find out how much progress is made in the absence of a threat, or the GM can simply tick segments as dictated by the fiction. Finally, I wouldn't usually set up a clock like 'steal the thing' during a score. Clocks for player goals are often best reserved for long-term projects in downtime. Instead, a danger clock is much better during a heist. Something like "The household staff wakes up." Then you tick it when the PC's roll 4/5 and 1-3 on action rolls, escalating the potential danger, rather than incrementing a task. See pages 16 and 17 in Blades for clock examples.

[@JPSeabury]

Super helpful, even for a GM who is 14 sessions in to play.

[@tobbl]

hey john awesome to see new vids for blades. are there any recent sessions on youtube or somewhere else you can point me to?

[@JohnHarper]

I don't have any new ones myself. I highly recommend Haunted City on Glass Cannon network. kzbin.info/aero/PLz3Be--ot61Nip0tbIMHcVnZWz3LOE_rb

[@tobbl]

@@JohnHarper thanks, iam going to check that out!

[@jamesthelimey1738]

@@tobbl Haunted City is GREAT.

[@masonchapple7669]

Also, Oxventure in the Dark is a little unconventional but very fun!

[@thedrumlord]

This makes a lot of sense, thanks! I'm curious what your advice is for a threat that is secret to the characters. Do you reveal the threat to the PC when setting up the action roll? What if revealing something about the nature of the threat would change a player's approach? I'm thinking situations like an ambush or a trap

[@christenh359]

I was watching another video for tips on how to run Candela Obscura, and they said "state the complication up front" and it didn't make ANY sense to me why that would be a good thing or how that would work. This video made it "click" and now I have a lot to think about.

[@bojacknorseman9009]

Specific concrete question: when you're in the information gathering phase speaking to a contact/ally, do you treat that as an action roll with potential consequences, a roll for how much info they give, or something else?

[@JohnHarper]

See pages 36 and 37 in Blades in the Dark for details about this. The key is paragraph 3 on page 36: "If it’s common knowledge, the GM will simply answer your questions. If there’s a [dangerous] obstacle to the discovery of the answer, an action roll is called for. If it’s not common knowledge but there’s no obstacle, a simple fortune roll determines the quality of the information you gather." So there are three general cases: 1. It's easy info to get from this friend/contact. The GM answers the player's questions 2. There's a threat involved, so the GM asks for an action to deal with it, and there's an action roll. 3. It's not easy or simple info, so a fortune roll is used to see how good the info is. I generally go with case 1 when a PC asks a relevant contact for information. It's almost always better to just tell them what they need to know. Sometimes, case 2 is appropriate, with a potential threat like: "That's something they wouldn't want to reveal... this could strain your relationship." Case 3 is good for situations like: "Your friend talks for like an hour about all the details of the electroplasmic inversion matrix that feeds into the power transformers on the lightning tower, but... wow is it complicated. Let's make a fortune roll to see how much of the techno-babble is actually useful to you. How many dots of Study do you have? Okay, let's go with that." Hope that helps.

[@bojacknorseman9009]

@@JohnHarper It sure does, this is spectacular! Yes, I was thinking of Case 3 fortune roll as the default, but these are incredibly helpful concrete examples. Thank you!

[@lucmillette700]

John, thank you very much for this video. This one and the previous one on consequences has helped this new Blades GM a lot. I still struggle with traps though. How would you deal with a hidden trap? It is expected by the.players but I never handle it well. At least to my liking. How would you introduce the threat of a hidden trap without giving it all away? Thanks.

[@asdfasdfasdfdsfgsdfg]

Is there any way you could do a similar video to help understand the gray area "free time" between downtime activity and scores? It seems like my players end up running into situations during free time that end up being mini-scores but not fully fledged enough to require an engagement roll, because most of the time they are alone. They adore the setting and want to explore it as much as possible during free time on their own but sometimes they see a glint of gold in the bartender's pocket or a potential opportunity for coin due to some rigged dice games being played in the tavern and decide to pursue it during downtime even though it's not really a "score." I never want to say "No" so I absolutely encourage them to explore the world as much as they want but when danger appears during free play I'm not sure how to handle it.

[@dylanba5251]

Can you provide how you may telegraph when the consequences of the threat aren't as clear? This is especially important when a PC gets very creative. Instead of sneaking, distracting or running at breakneck speeds that all likely have a similar Consequence of Guards Alert Clock ticking (with various Positions/Effects), what if a Player suggests using their ghost key and walking through ancient ghost corridors of Doskvol to sneak past those guards One of my biggest issues I have had is to not give Players too perfect of information about the Consequences but still to give them some Telegraphing information. I found if I give them too much information, it makes them want to use this to look at many possibilities and find the best one. So some of this is definitely on Players being too safe and not following best practices.

[@JohnHarper]

Making threats more or less clear is a stylistic choice. In your ghost key example, I might say, "Okay, you use your key and slip into the ghost world [I describe the strange environment]... you might easily get lost here and emerge somewhere you didn't intend... how do you want to deal with that?" That's a clear threat, but not 100% perfect info. Using unknown threats can work, too, though. It's fine to say stuff like, "Something is hunting you... you don't know what, but it's drawing ever closer," then give the player a moment to react and take action.

[@tacoforce157]

Is this for the Adventure Zone boys? I love that they are playing and hacking blades in the dark, but they are surely going through the learning process of how to play blades. (I still think their podcast is great)

[@thomdenholm]

Putting this on a post it for behind the screen, plus a 6 segment clock with title "GM learns this trick". Hoping I can check a few of those soon :)

[@Softcloner]

Do I also understand correctly that the "threat" may not be in direct opposition to the goal? For example, If the goal is 'I want to climb up on the roof so I can see what's happening inside the house", using a slippery roof as a threat or a missed oppertunity for information inside the house does not work- ?

[@JohnHarper]

It's easier to parse threats that aren't in direct opposition, but that is a thing you can do -- I may do a video about that to go into more detail. But in short, if you can't make sense of it in the 4/5 space, don't propose it as a threat.

[@Softcloner]

@@JohnHarperI would love a video on that! I feel the 'I climb up on the roof to see what's going on inside the house" is a good springboard/example. I always second guess my threats and would love some exploration on the topic!

[@danielchicaprevatt-goldste8000]

This is something I sometimes have trouble with, so a video on it would be great. For example, I set the position as desperate based on the consequences of failure being very severe. But then on a partial success, I don't have an obvious serious complication or consequence to go with their success.

[@davidanddragons5339]

This question probably has been answered somewhere else before. But what if the player doesn't really say a specific skill they want to use to avoid the bluecoats? or whatever threat it is. Should I as the dm then encourage them to pick a relevant skill to roll?

[@JohnHarper]

Yeah, just ask the player which action they're performing.

[@Caitlin_TheGreat]

I ran a somewhat lengthy Scum And Villainy game (probably 20+ sessions). I hope to do Blades somewhere down the line as it's a fantastic setting and has an atmosphere that I love. But sadly the S&V game just ended with no fanfare because my players weren't so into it anymore. I've had a heck of a time "rehabilitating" D&D players to play other things. Fate was interesting, and there were times when it seemed to click. But a recurring issue has been with the players _taking the initiative._ I think they've been conditioned to be "good D&D players" and just do the thing they believe the DM wants them to do, and to never "hog the spotlight"... by essentially foregoing any sort of character-directed narrative. The other problem that I had -- and which was far more on my side of things -- was that I leaned a bit too heavy on the improv side of things. Improvisation is good, certainly, but I came to realize I was expecting my players to take the lead, to direct the narrative and they simply were not taking the bait. So things had a way of never resolving, it felt like a bad soap opera script where nothing ever really happens it's all just build up and expectation (I mean, jobs would conclude and there'd be the mechanical step of payoff, but narratively it was always in-the-air as the players waited for the story to tell them what to do next), but because the players were reluctant to capitalize on things or initiate jobs on their own (rather than essentially "checking the bulletin board" for something I randomly generated) there also wasn't much character investment in the goals they were allegedly pursuing. We had conversations as I tried to explain the concepts and philosophy of the FitD playstyle, but I think they were just "smiling and nodding" to shut me up, lol. So, I think I'll be sure to have a core story/plot to set in motion for the next FITD game I do. I still very much want to encourage and leave room for player agency and I'd like to have player characters who drive the story rather than are driven by the story. But you work with what you have. -- It'd be fantastic if I could get one of them to run a FitD game and let me be a player.

[@hyphz]

The problem I always have with this is the risk of confusion between the party. Wouldn't they have known about the Bluecoat patrol before climbing the pipe? If they are not alerted to the PC on the rooftop, might they then end up alerted to the other PCs still standing on the ground at the drainpipe? If the PC hadn't climbed the drainpipe, would the Bluecoat patrol not be there because you wouldn't have needed to come up with a threat?

[@bojacknorseman9009]

Something I'd love from these videos is if you could point to what you're describing happenening in an actual play. Obviously you don't know all the actual plays that are done! But I'd be curious to see you point towards it happening in practice.

[@voland6846]

John GMed a campaign right here on his own channel (The Bloodletters) and on itmejp's (RollPlay: Blades) where you can see this style in action. Fair warning, the start of Bloodletters was probably an alpha build of the rules, so things won't look exactly like the BitD we're familiar with.

[@abacate4492]

This game needs a second edition! I wish the rolls weren't so bureaucratic (since the game's climate calls for agility), and that the off phase wasn't so mechanical. Maybe mixing a litte with Drama System.

[@gusmcbean9474]

He said double doody