GM: Judd Karlman
Players: Pete Cornell, Jason Bowell, and Sean Nittner
System: Blades in the Dark
Crew: The Wobbegong Crew
In which the team deals with the fallout from failing the Coalridge Demon job…starting in the stark white cells of the Spirit Wardens. Judd made a great write up here: https://githyankidiaspora.wordpress.com/2017/11/06/wobbengong-crew-downtime-after-the-coalridge-demon-disaster/.
Judd’s Write up
It was fun starting the game off with Maude and Charming being held by the Spirit Wardens while Skannon was at the HQ, having entirely missed the Coalridge Demon job. Cutting between these 3 different points of view for the first hour was satisfying.
I liked how those opening minutes colored the downtime – from Charming adopting a demonic persona in his fight career, taking on the name Atreus (the demon they failed to kill in last session’s job), how Maude is suspected of being a snitch because she was caught by the Spirit Wardens and Skannon getting invited to the Doskvol University to hear Professor “Bakoros” speak.
We only got to some downtime but it was great to be back in Duskwall with these scoundrels.
I’m getting a better and better grasp on the way limited success and failures work and how to best deal with them in a given situation.
Something I love about the Blades in the Dark book is whenever I look at it I come away inspired. I had to glance at it today when I wanted the Spirit Wardens to knock on the Wobbegong Crew’s door. Would it be a masked Spirit Warden? Do they have a mouth-piece, someone who is seen without a mask? Professor “Bakoros” was there waiting for me.
Right there in the NPC’s section on page 296 was Bakoros, the pseudonym of their academic face. I loved the idea of this kindly old professor knocking on the door of this Imperial SWAT Ghostbusters. Skannon, with his noble family background, suave air and scientific curiosity was the perfect scoundrel to meet him. When Pete told me that he almost stabbed the professor and sacrificed him to the Witch Matron on her altar, I was in shock. He decided not to do that but what a shockingly different game that would’ve been.
We saw the inside of the Doskvol Academy, a Spirit Warden safehouse/interrogation chamber and the manor of a group of rich cultists whose members include the prestigious Rowan family (and who knows how many others?).
We know that the Hive are at war with the Unseen, who are trying to infiltrate the Spirit Wardens. We’re getting embroiled in rivalries way above the Crows, Lampblacks, Red Sashes and Billhooks. Good stuff!
There is an odd, almost grudging respect towards the Spirit Wardens from the crew that I found fascinating.
Quess, the maid in service to the Witch Matron’s Brightstone Temple.
I picture Quess as being played by Lydia Night, lead singer of the Regrettes, shown below in their video for Seashore.
Timoth Rowan, the teacher’s assistant Skannon took out for drinks to get more information about why ghosts attach themselves to a certain place from their lives, gaining 5 ticks on that long-term project.
Timoth is going to be a blend of every beleaguered grad student Pete and I knew from our days in Ithaca, N.Y.
Atreus, up and coming Pankration heavyweight who moves like a middle-weight and is drawing strange uptown high society folk to his fights. He wears a demon mask and totally isn’t Thaddeus “Charming” Thimbleford, Cutter for the Wobbegong Crew. That idea is just preposterous!
