GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Blackcoat, Soren Ludwig, John Powell, Sydney Icarus
System: Blades in 68′
Back at the Donut Sunday morning, which meant another game of Blades in 68′!
This session I was running it just with the leftover playbooks I had after my home crew made their character and the last two games made theirs (I had printed out two sets originally) so the only options available were the Intellectual, Hound, Veteran, and Hull. John aptly named the crew The Leftovers!
In this game, more so than the past two, I started swapping out the NPCs I had planned to use for the close contacts and rivals. In this case I didn’t even worry about pitting friends against each other. The first half of the score had been erased, nobody knew what was going on!
- Seamus Muny, aka Red (Intellectual) the Sparkcraft engineer who was always providing gadgets for his crew but had completely forgotten about his rivalry with OLEK the rogue sparkmind. In his future he glimpsed as chrome cranial plate (played by John)
- Kagney “Aliases are for Cowards (Hound) the consummate professional who was in too deep. She forgot that she had killed her rival agent’s partner. He saw himself wearing dentures in the future.
- Markov, aka Scorch (Veteran) the soldier returned with horrible burns. His violence had turn to viciousness. His past was haunted by war crimes forgotten in the anomaly.
- Charlie the criminal who’s soul had been forced into a machine (Hull) to serve the Golden Hand, but was now regaining it’s sentience. A forgotten memory from the past was that “Charles” was a serial killer. Oh, so glad we didn’t remember that bit… for all of 20 minutes.
Highlights of the game:
- I just love seeing how players work within creative constraints. So happy to see all the playbooks played!
- Charlie Branded “AO” for the Alluvium Oil company, but a future version of his branding featuring USC instead. Croc portrayed as the doting father figure who cared about all his creations.
- Red had his very only calling card (pictured in the center image above) left for Penny when the made off with the Alluvium)
- When Charlie tried to take control of the sparkmind in Triptree’s car the interface almost made him lose control of his own autopod but Red was prepared in advance with an “autopilot” machine that opened to reveal four small arms that grabbed hold of the wheel and steadied it.
- Charlie also getting detached from his frame (something about trying to travel through the resonance field that close to an anomaly just isn’t safe) and being temporarily replaced by Charles, the serial killer.
- Charles then crashing his autopod into the blockade and purposefully rocketing himself out the front window to tackle Triptree.
- Meanwhile Red rolling into the backseat and miraculously falling out on the other side of the blockade unscathed and looking dapper!
- It definitely had more punch to have friends and rivals involved in the score. Instead of Chago at the roadblock it was Triptree, the hitwoman who was tight with Scorch, but now she was leveling a coil gun at the engine block of their car! Instead of Marlow on the autocycle with a gun it was Red’s friend Penny, the debauched theorist (who got very close to hating Red by the end).
- Markov’s demolition (a crit on a desperate action) not only blew up the Bluecoat cards, it sent the lead car (Sergeant Vran’s) flying back into the anomaly itself. He was perched on a building across the bridge and could see it all perfectly.
- Kagney looking for buyers and debating between Section 6 who wanted to contain the Alluvium and Mirror House who might buy it…and amazingly choosing the reality wardens! (with quite a bit of group discussion about the heat that was on them)
- Charlie Deadlocking and taking the robotic deadlock “Brutal” reflecting “Charles” returning and both spirits existing inside the Hull at once.
- Scorch buying the Leftovers some time by hiding out in Keel tower. A chance to show the seedier part of Crowfoot
- Getting into the basement Kagney’s old Section 6 safehouse to find that it had been converted into research outpost that was tracking anomalies…including them.
- Miraculously pulling off the deal with Section 6 (it didn’t end in a shoot out) but Kagney getting punched the the face by a reality warden “This is for Peggy” (fulfilling both his lost past and future premonitions) – Level 3 harm: Needs Dentures.
- Just for me contrasting Soren’s grizzled veteran who went from “violent” turned “vicious” with Tracy’s veteran who went from “disciplined” to “loose” I really got a great sense of how much range the playbook has. Very different characters but also very much both Veterans.
