Hello and welcome to Session 1 of PTFO’s new Blades in the Dark campaign, Proper Villains! I want to get right to the fiction and start playing with this setting and these characters, so I’ll try not to burden us with too much GM prep and system talk up front. To get us started, let’s spend a few moments talking about what Session 1 of a BitD game is supposed to look like before we dive in. If you want to refresh yourself on the Jesseks and the starting landscape of Crow’s Foot, you can find it here in the pilot write-up.
The First Score
The central element of a BitD Session 1 is the crew’s first score — it doesn’t necessarily have to be the first score the crew has ever done together, but it should represent a turning point in the crew’s fortunes, where they begin to make plays of their own in Duskwall’s underworld. As part of this score, they also take their first Claim — these are the territory and operations that make up their criminal enterprise.
Our crew are Shadows — thieves, spies, and saboteurs. Part of our Crew Sheet1 is our claims map that shows our gang’s progression. Here it is, pristine and unmarked:
Source: Blades in the Dark // John Harper
Part of the first score should involve the taking of our first claim, and our crew will first focus on the Loyal Fence. Right now, they’re under the thumb of Chael, leader of theCrow’s Teeth: Anything they steal from their hunting grounds in South Crow’s Foot they give to him, and he fences it and gives them a share. The Jesseks will look to change that arrangement.
The Faction Game
Outside of the score, we also need to connect the Jesseks to the broader action in Duskwall — the BitD book recommends you set up the major factions in your chosen ward (ours being Crow’s Foot) and create an opportunity for the crew to be of service to one of them at the expense of another, so we’ll look to close out the session by doing just that, but for now we’ll just focus on the first score. In the the pilot-write up, we identified four gangs of interest: The first three are the most powerful gangs in the Ward2: The Crows, the Red Sashes, and the Lampblacks, with Boss Roric and his Crows ruling the roost — for now. The final gang of note are the Crow’s Teeth — Chael’s pack of rag-tag bravos. This last gang will be peripherally involved in the score, since the Jesseks are doing this score to break Chael’s hold over them.
Setting the Scene:
We’ll begin by setting up our first score — the group’s modus operandi is to ply the brothels and coffee houses of Silkshore, looking for likely marks to pickpocket, or burgling homes that are empty while their owners visit their favorite courtesans. Tonight, they’re about to plan something big with one of their contacts — and that’s where we’ll begin the fiction.
The Blades in the Dark flow of play diagram. Source: Blades in the Dark // John Harper
For those following the rules of play closely — this scene is Freeplay, where the party is gathering information and making a preparations for their Score. A few action rolls might be triggered, but the real risky stuff happens later on, during The Score.
Scene 1: The Golden Cup
It’s quiet on Silkshore’s boardwalk, thanks to the cold rain tonight — the heavy drops crackle the lightning barrier high above the streets, the tenements and the spires, and smell of copper and ozone when they puddle on the muddy streets below. The finnickers and scriveners from Charterhall, their pockets laden with crowns and polished pocketwatches, have gone home to their families rather than brave the rain. Only a few carriages carrying men and women of the posher set rattle down the wooden walk, stopping in front of townhouses festooned with red lanterns.
Lit with red, save for one —the Golden Cup, whose windows cast a soft, yellow light into the street. Two figures can be seen waiting in those pools of light — one sitting on a low cast iron bench, the other pacing restlessly beneath the eaves.
“We should go in,” Rian huffs, shaking the rainwater from the shiny black collar of his woolen topcoat. “She’s probably waiting for us.” His baby face is wet with rain — despite his complaint, there’s a smile behind his eyes, like he’s laughing at some private joke.
Aldo waits a beat before responding. He strikes a match, and shields his pipe from the rain, lighting and taking another, slow drag of the Weeper,3 and exhaling its thick, musky smoke. He sits easily in the bench, his posture relaxed, almost lazy — but his pale blue eyes are sharp and focused, on watch for other watchers.
“We don’t go in without Carver,” he finally says. “Anyway, we’ll most like be waiting on her, if the past is any proof. Her time is in great demand.”
Rian smiles in anticipation of seeing Nyryx — their contact, a raven-haired courtesan plying her trade within. “That it is.” He shakes his head, reluctantly banishing thoughts of her from his mind. Then he looks up the street, towards the Strand Bridge, and the way back to their patch in Crow’s Foot. “Where is the big man, anyway? Shouldn’t he have been here by now?”
“There’s no cause to rush. Haste draws eyes. If you were so worried about his prompt arrival, you could’ve come together. After all, you know these meetings, these places — they set him on edge.”
Rian snorts, stung by Aldo’s rebuke. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” he asks a bit lamely.
Aldo stands, tapping the ashes out of his pipe. “Yes,” he says simply, nodding down the street. “And here comes our man now.”
Carver is tall and broad — six and a half feet and eighteen stone, his eyes held low under the brim of a brown bowler hat. He joins them under the eave and doffs his cap. “Boys. Sorry I’m late, I thought I made one of Chael’s bravs4 following me, so I took a bit of a roundabout.”
“Well done, then,” Aldo says. He lifts his scarf over his mouth, covering his face.
“Rags up, lads,” he says, and the others follow suit. “After you, Rye.” Rian bows with mock-courtesy, and leads the way into the coffee house.
The first thing the brothers see when the red door swings open is the doorman, waiting within, out of the rain. He is a short, thick Severosi who long ago gave up his riding leathers for an ill-tailored suit jacket. Rian smiles warmly at the man as they enter.
“Batsa! You are looking fit and fierce, my good man” Rian drawls, clapping the man on his meaty shoulders and lowering his mask just long enough for the bouncer’s eyes to flash in recognition. He slides a few tarnished silver marks into the man’s jacket pocket and whispers, “A lady is expecting us upstairs.”
“Rosewood Parlor,” the Severosi grunts, and they go smoothly by him. In the warm coffee parlor beyond, a small knot of youngish, well-heeled gentlemen lounge in a corner booth, vying for the attention of a pair of well-favored hostesses and sipping from steaming cups of blackjack5. The ladies laugh, a sound like well-practiced music, and their suitors shoot glances in the Jesseks’ direction, but make little note of them — it is not so unusual for men of quality to hide their faces in Silkshore.
The smell of the dark brew is heady in the air, and Aldo feels Carver shift uncomfortably behind him as they head for the stairwell. The abbess6-on-duty, a stern, silver-haired matron, gives them a cool nod and they ascend to the private salons.
The spacious hallway is hung with old Iruvian tapestries: forest scenes with fanciful animals chasing lovers through dark forests. The rich silks do much to conceal the shabbiness of the old townhouse in the dim, flickering electroplasmic lights. The Rosewood Parlor is the last door on the left, secluded from the common room below and the more exclusive boudoirs on the floor above. The trio enters discretely, closing the carved wood door quietly behind them.
The parlor is arranged for a variety of amusements, with a card table, a few overstuffed easy chairs and a chaise lounge, and one wall dominated by a bookshelf stocked with tawdry pulp novels and Iruvian love manuals of doubtful provenance.
Aldo takes a seat at the card table, with Carver following suit, while Rian stands, slowly circling the room. The big man shifts uneasily in his dainty chair and looks to Aldo, who in turn looks to Rian. “Looks like Nyryx wasn’t cooling her heels after all. Since we have some time on our hands, why don’t you tell us what you’ve found out about this mark of yours, Master Molino?”
Here, we’ll trigger our first Action Roll — I’ll go into a little more detail as we’re onboarding onto this system.
Rian is the group's schmoozer, and he will have been responsible for learning everything possible about the mark. In Blades in the Dark, you are able — and encouraged — to envision actions taken by your character in the past as well as the present — during a Score, these ‘flashbacks’ cost Stress, the core resource in BitD, but in Freeplay, it’s much more open. For the last few weeks, Rian’s been trolling houses of ill repute for information about their mark (with Carver watching his back — offering Assistance for a bonus die). Putting on our GM hat, we then set Position — how risky the action is — and Effect — how much of an impact will be made if the action is successful.
For this roll, I set the position as Controlled — there’s not a lot of risk here, Rian’s frequenting known establishments and dealing with mostly friendly contacts. The effect is Standard — the default when there are no strong factors for or against the scoundrel.
The crew has learned a good amount about Molino, his background, and his recent dealings. Carver has begun to accumulate stress — Scoundrels can spend up to 10 stress before they crack under the pressure and incur a trauma. I’ll maintain a running talley as we go.
Back to the fiction:
Rian smiles sourly at his brother. “I’m sure she’ll be along presently. But since you ask: Our mark is Roland Molino, one of the esteemed directors of the North Hook Trading Company.” Rian’s tone is feigned nonchalance, and he paces as he talks, absently brushing the dust from the spines of the books. “Three months back, the company’s ships came in after that great bloody winter storm sank a quarter of the trade fleet. Every shareholder on those boats got a pretty pile of crowns, and Molino held the biggest share.”
“Would be a fine thing to lay hands on a bit of that pile,” Carver says with a smile.
“No doubt his crowns are safe in the Merchant’s Bank — locked behind vault doors and guarded by assorted myrmidons and tame wraiths. Well beyond our reach,” Aldo says.
“That they are — but he’s been on something of a shopping spree, Nyryx tells me. He bought one of the distressed manor houses in Six Towers8 — the old Lightly Manor, now Molino House — and moved his new wife there. He plans to renovate it and restore it to its old glory. He's staffing up the place, and filling it with all his treasured possessions. Including one of the Emperor's Tears, bought at auction six weeks ago. Brothers: That is our prize.”
There is a moment of respectful silence between the brothers at the mention of this treasure. There were 7 Tears made to celebrate the Empire’s victory over the Skovlanders in the Unity War two years ago — fine golden pendants set with rubies, each the size of a Blackshrike’s egg, carved by a clever Iruvian jeweler. The story he told when he hawked them in Duskwall’s wealthiest salons was that when the treaty was signed, the Immortal Emperor wept tears of blood at the suffering of his Skovlander subjects, whose corrupt leaders had led them into civil war. The inkrakes lapped up the tale and splashed it across the broadsheets, and the jewels and their owners enjoyed a year of fame before disappearing into aristo ladies’ jewelry boxes and gentlemen’s curio cabinets.
“Have you found someone who can move it?”9 He looks to Aldo.
“I have a likely fence, yes. But he’s concerned with retribution from Molino.” Aldo is about to say more, but then the door to the parlor clicks open, and Nyryx glides in, in a swirl of dark skirts and spiced perfume.
“A man after my own heart,” she says, her voice quiet and husky. She smiles at the brothers, her eyes lingering on Rian for a fraction of a moment. Nyryx is slender and pale, like she is halfway to becoming a ghost -- a look that many modern Duskwall gentlemen covet. Most striking, however, is her hair, a slicked-back mane of thick feathers, blue-black and shining, a mark of her demoniac Tycherosi heritage. She is dressed for her trade in a long black dress with an empire waist,10 fringed with raven feathers, and silken gloves.
Nyryx. Midjourney couldn’t quite capture her hair. // Source: Midjourney
Rian quickly moves to pull out a chair for her at the card table, and takes the seat at her left hand. She takes a moment to light a long, delicate cheroot, and the smell of cloves fills the air. “I’m taking a grave risk in this scheme, boys. I do hope you’ve thought things through.”
Rian smiles winningly at her. “Nyryx, our word is gold11. We’d never let any of the heat fall on you.”
She raises an eyebrow at Aldo. “Is that so?”
The elder twin nods. “It is. Show her, Rian.”
We have the target for the score, and now the crew needs to decide on a method. Since the jewel is well-known, and there are multiple copies, replacing the piece with a forgery could help allay the heat from the burglary. The fake need not stand up forever — only long enough to cast a little doubt. Again, we use a flashback to keep the action in the present: Before the meeting, Rian sought out forger and arranged to have a cheap copy made of one of the Emperor’s Tears. Carver once again accompanied him, watching his back and providing an intimidating presence when dealing with the unscupulous tinkerers and grey alchemists they encountered when searching for the asset. Once again, they are in a controlled position, but this time with limited effect — the forgery will be hard to get right, and the best they might be able to do is an unconvincing copy.
A critical gets them a Standard effect — the copy is solid, and will pass for at least a while.
With a flourish, Rian reaches into his waistcoat and pulls out a delicate golden chain and its pendent, a lustrous red stone. Nyryx sucks in her breath and leans towards it, studying it carefully with her dark eyes. “Rian, you clever boy.”
“A damn good copy, if I do say so myself,” Rian says triumphantly. “A leech12 on Bubbler’s Row ginned it up. It’s a muddy piece of quartz, boiled in some foul-smelling soup for a few hours, then cut to match the Tear. The red will fade after a few months, but for now, it’ll do.”
“Does it look right?” Aldo asks. “Have you seen it with your own eyes?”
Nyryx exhales a plume of smoke and smiles coyly. “Oh, my dear Aldo, I’ve held it in my hands. He brought it here for me to wear during one of his visits.” She looks at the jewel in Rian’s hands and taps the ash from her cheroot. “It looks right enough. What about his security?”
Now it’s Aldo’s turn to gather some information. For last few weeks, he’s been watching Molino House from one of the many abandoned buildings in Six Towers. Rian and Carver were busy with the forgery, so Aldo does so without assistance.
Success with a consequence — I opt to lower the Effect to limited, and Aldo only gets a bit of information, and nothing about Molino House’s interior.
“Easy enough to get onto the grounds themselves — the property is walled, but the southwestern tower is collapsed, and easy to climb,” Aldo says quietly. “As far as muscle, he only has one dedicated man, but he’s a bulldog. I tried to make my way into the house, but he was patrolling the grounds and caught wind of me. I made it away clean, but I didn’t care to try my luck again.”
Since Aldo didn’t have a clear path to the house’s interior, it’s reasonable for the crew to look for another angle. Rian will consort a bit with the household’s newly-hired serving staff, and see what he can learn. In this case, Carver can’t assist him — the big man is a bit of a liability when moving in gentler circles.
Our first Miss! Usually, the consequences for a Miss are things like Harm, a consequence, or a complication emerging, but a less-used option is to escalate the situation and put the PC in a Desperate situation — a really risky play. In this case, that option sounds fun — so we’ll envision that, rather than just gossiping, Rian managed to slide his way into a job interview at Molino House. After all, they’re staffing up, and there are a lot of new faces on the property. Since this is a desperate roll, Rian’s going to pull out all the stops. He’ll Push Himself for 2 stress, and accept a Devil’s Bargain — he accepts a fictional consequence in exchange for a bonus die. We reduce the effect to Limited — here, Molino’s Tier(II vs. the Jesseks’ 0) comes into effect. Since they’re contending with a faction two tiers above theirs, we could reduce the effect all the way to zero, but since Molino is staffing up quickly and is desperate for workers, we’ll give Rian a shot.
With a critical success, Rian has been hired! We’ll reveal the Devil’s Bargain in the fiction:
“I had luck enough for both of us, thankfully,” Rian says with a triumphant grin. “You’re looking at the newest footman at Molino House. I met that bulldog you mentioned, Aldo. Steffan is his name; he was Master Molino’s batman13 and bodyguard during the war. They were aboard a navy ship together. He’s a miserable fucking cuss, I’ll tell you that much.”
“Language, Rye,” Nyryx chides. “This is a place for gentlemen. If this Steffan saw you, he can point the finger at you if things go sideways.”
“Best we don’t let them go sideways, then,” Aldo says. “Carver, if it comes to it, do you think you can handle the navy man?”
“Don’t worry yourself about me, Aldo. You can count on Carv.”
Aldo’s slow gaze turns back to Nyryx. “Then all we need is the best time to strike.”
The courtesan nods. “That’s why I called you here. This weekend, Molino’s wife is visiting her sister in Whitecrown, and sweet Roland plans to spend the evening in my company. Well into the night, if my charms don’t fail me.”
“No doubt his wife will take a few servants with her to Whitecrown. The house will be on a skeleton crew, and she won’t take me — I’m a terrible footman.” Rian says with a chuckle. “Aldo, that’s our chance.”
Aldo strokes his stubble, considering it. “It could work. You do what you can to case the place before the night of. I can get onto the grounds, simple as. You let me in at the footman’s door, and we’ll search the place from top to toe, starting with the most likely stashes.”
“I’ve seen a few prime spots already,” Rian supplies. “The lady of the house’s sitting room, Molino’s office, and the library — they’re all kept locked tight, day and night, save for when they’re entertaining.”
“Leave the locks to me,” Aldo says flatly and then turns to Carver. “Carv? What do you think? Does this smell right to you?”
Carver grimaces. “I trust you on the second-story work, Aldo. The dicey bits will be when we go to your fence, behind Chael’s back. He won’t like it. He might try to beat his share out of us. Or he might go to Boss Roric and get permission to cut our throats and leave us to drain.”
Aldo’s face sets with stubborn determination. “We’re done with Chael. Once we have the money in hand I’ll go straight to the boss and cut him in. If we’re going to do this, we’ll be proper villains about it.”
Nyryx leans back and takes a long, deep drag before exhaling a hazy cloud above their heads. “Gentlemen, I believe we have a plan.”
Aldo gives the nod. “Aye. Let’s be about it.”
We’ll close this episode out with the Engagement Roll, giving us a glimpse of how next episode might begin! The dice pool for the engagement roll goes like this:
+1d Base (‘for sheer luck,’ the rulebook says) +1d for a particularly bold or daring operation (this isn’t a simple burglary, and they’re crossing Chael in the process) +1d for the plan’s detail that exposes a vulnerability (Rian’s job on the manor’s staff) -1d for a higher-tier target (Molino, and the North Hook Trading Company, is Tier II) = 2d
Result: 6, 6
Big dice energy in today’s play. The Jesseks score a critical success on their Engagement roll — the rulebook describes the result thus: You’ve already overcome the first obstacle and you’re in a Controlled position for what’s next. Next stop: Molino House!
Feedback, please!
New story, new characters, new setting, new system — I want your feedback on any or all of it! Hold forth in the comments about anything that caught your fancy, or, even more valuable, any stuff you didn’t like.
I had a ton of fun playing and writing it, and I hope it was able to hold your attention. As always, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in your inbox next week, where we’ll play to find out how our first score unfolds. I suspect our first reader decision point will emerge next week, but you never know until the dice fall!
I’m using Google Sheets to track the character sheets of each individual scoundrel as well as the crew as a whole — if you want to get into the weeds on the rules, you can see those sheets here.
For those who are familiar with the Blades in the Dark core books — we’re using the ‘default’ starting situation presented in the materials, and seeing where it takes us.
A brief note about BitD’s post-apocalyptic universe: In this world, the sun has been blacked out: the days are dim and shadowy, and the nights are black as pitch. As a result, plants like tobacco are grown in electroplasm-lit greenhouses and are only available to the well-off. The less well-off make due with substitutes that grow in darkness, often fungus and molds. In PTFO’s Duskwall, the Weeper is a variety of wood rot that can be dried and smoked. It gives a nicotine-like high — an edgy focus and restless energy. Its name comes from the real-world scientific name for wood rot — serpula lacrymans, or ‘the weeping creeper.’ It is not, in reality, smokable, as far as I am aware.
Throughout this campaign, I’m going to be experimenting with stealing and inventing some thieves’ cant for our heroes to speak in. Feel free to give me feedback on what elements are and are not working for you. ‘Bravs’ is, of course, slang for bravos — semi-professional doers of violence who run protection rackets and squeeze other gangs.
In real-world English thieves’ cant, an ‘abbess’ is a brothel-keeper, and so it is in Duskwall. I suppose that implies the existence of abbeys and nuns, a bridge we will cross when we come to it.
For those learning the system — BitD uses a dice pool, where sixes represent successes, 4-5s represent success with a cost, and 1-3s represent failure. The highest roll determines the result, and if there are two sixes, it is a critical, granting increased effect.
A once-rarified neighborhood, the Six Towers Ward has begun to fall into disrepair as the elite abandon it for the more desirable White crown. Many of its dilapidated manors are home to dangerous spirits.
The Jesseks are cultivating a reputation as honorable thieves — this is noted on the Crew Sheet and is an XP trigger if the crew strengthens their reputation during a score.
An impeccable start, already loving the flavour and personality that you're pouring into these characters. Also very happy to see Nyryx in use, she's a very popular NPC in most of the APs I've read/listened to.
I also love the footnotes, Duskwall is a setting with tons of little details and I can imagine it's hard to get the necessary amount of exposition in without derailing the flow.
I'm curious - why use an Action Roll rather than a Gather Information roll for the first two rolls? The two *are* different, but the difference can be annoyingly subtle sometimes (and it may indeed be that an Action Roll better suits your purposes). Happy to chat further, either now or in the future, about Blades GMing; I've done a LOT of it! I'm really looking forward to the project!
An impeccable start, already loving the flavour and personality that you're pouring into these characters. Also very happy to see Nyryx in use, she's a very popular NPC in most of the APs I've read/listened to.
I also love the footnotes, Duskwall is a setting with tons of little details and I can imagine it's hard to get the necessary amount of exposition in without derailing the flow.
I'm curious - why use an Action Roll rather than a Gather Information roll for the first two rolls? The two *are* different, but the difference can be annoyingly subtle sometimes (and it may indeed be that an Action Roll better suits your purposes). Happy to chat further, either now or in the future, about Blades GMing; I've done a LOT of it! I'm really looking forward to the project!