Blades in the Dark: a Review

Inage (cc) Yowan2008

I haven't been tending to the blog for a while, sorry.  Covid has affected gaming opportunities, I have not had a personal laptop, I have had difficulty getting things down on paper.  Plus I have been playing a lot of Cyberpunk 2077.  A lot.

Here I am trying to re-ignite things with a review format that feels like it could have legs.  Let me know if you want more of these.

Who are the players and what do they do?

Characters in Blades in the Dark are scoundrels in the underworld of Doskvol, a haunted fantasy-industrial city fuelled by leviathan blood and electroplasm.

The players work together as a Crew, lining up and running "Scores" to acquire Coin, Rep, and Turf.  At the same time they need to manage their Heat (and Wanted level) and relations with other Factions in the city.

What is the core mechanic?

On Maps and Mapping

I have come to dislike maps.

Don't get me wrong, I love actual maps - I'm a big fan of the cartographic arts - but not so much in my games.

Drawing maps takes time

Image (cc) xkcd webcomic

When I am planning an adventure I'm usually trying to get as much information out of my head and onto paper as I can, and drawing maps slows me down.  I move things around until they "fit" (and often change them in play anyway) and worry too much about filling all the space.  I learned a lot from reading "Draw Maps, Leave Gaps" in Dungeon World.  Now I might sketch a grid with notes on relative positions, or room ideas, because:

Drawing out maps on the table in play can be painful. If the DM does it, it can break the narrative flow while everyone waits.  If the players deputise then it can end up being a long game of reverse Pictionary as the DM explains how a wall is 35 feet long - 5,10,15,20,25,30,35, is that right? - and then there is a 10 foot alcove. No, ten feet wide not 10 feet deep...

Also: Published maps may look beautiful, but  they never make it onto my table intact; all just wobbly lines of whatever-coloured dry-wipe marker.

Maps can be restrictive