Phantom Ship - Learn Blades and Play by Post!
Blades in the Dark | One-Shot
About the adventure
The Phantom’s Gold: A Haunted, Beginner-Friendly, Blades in the Dark Heist! **This is an asynchronous play by post game taking place over 2-3 weeks depending on how players engage with the story.** The Setup: A ghost ship has drifted into Doskvol’s docks. The Silver Whisper, was a smuggling vessel lost at sea decades ago. It shouldn’t be here. Its name was struck from the records. It was swallowed by the Void Sea, its crew never found. Now, The Silver Whisper is docked at the old piers, shrouded in mist, and the whispers say it carries a fortune in cursed gold. Problem is, you’re not the only ones interested. The Obstacles: 💀 The Bluecoats Are Watching The city’s corrupt lawmen want to seize the ship for themselves. They’ve put up a half-hearted blockade, shaking down anyone who gets too close. If you get caught sneaking aboard, they’ll beat you bloody, or worse, ship you off to Ironhook Prison. 🔪 A Rival Gang Wants It First The Wraiths, Doskvol’s most feared arcane smugglers, claim the ship belongs to them. Their enforcers will be already onboard, searching for the gold and any other secrets the ship may hold. For your crew of scoundrels, it is best to avoid these supernatural assassins. ⛪ A Church Has Other Plans The Church of the Drowned God believes The Silver Whisper is a divine omen. They’ve set up a makeshift shrine on the docks, chanting, burning strange incense, and warning, “the sea always takes its own.” If they find out what you’re after, expect zealotry and blood. The Payoff: A chest of golden scales which shimmer with ghostly light, worth a fortune to the right buyers. Escape with it and you’ll be rich, infamous, and forever looking over your shoulder. Will you outfox the Bluecoats, outmaneuver the Wraiths, outwit the cultists, and outlive the otherworldly entities which are lurking in the ship’s shadows?
Game style
Theater of the Mind
“Theater of the Mind” uses little to no visuals for scene settings and combat. Instead, the narrative imagery comes from the Game Master’s descriptions and character action and movement comes from Players’ descriptions.
Rule of Cool (RoC)
“Rule of Cool” emphasizes creative story beats over sticking to a system’s rules as written. Players have the ability to push the limits of the rules or even break core rule mechanics at times if the Game Master thinks it is interesting, fun, or cool enough.
This game will take place over 2-3 weeks via asynchronous play by post meaning the game will move at a slower pace to accommodate diverse player response times. This is not a live text event occurring in a single session.
5.0
(27)
4 years on StartPlaying
90 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Teacher
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
Game Master Reviews (27)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Creativity
Storytelling
Teacher
Anja
New review
Played 16 sessions
I've been doing Play by Post for years due to an unpredictable work schedule. It is a difficult format and I really struggled to find a fulfilling game. Until I joined Collin's table. He has an uncanny knack for keeping the game flowing, maintaining a high level of player engagement and building a collaborative and intriguing story. His writing is evocative and thought-provoking, so that you always feel like you have something worthy to add to the narrative. For anyone considering Play-by-Post, I highly recommend joining one of Collin's games.
Ari Ceres
Played 12 sessions
I play in Collin's Blades in the Dark play-by-post game. Collin runs one of the best play-by-post games I have been in and he has figured out a way to do it well. I've enjoyed his writing and characterization as well and the mechanics have been altered to blend much better with this written format. As a player, I'm encouraged to build upon the world and it feels like a genuine collaborative experience with GM and players taking a fair part in it. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you're looking for a game that has an asynchronous flow.
Christian Nielson
Played 2 sessions
Collin does an excellent job of setting up a game keeping it interesting for the player. And as someone new to TTRPGs, I found him to be very helpful in answering questions and in explaining mechanics. If you are a beginner, or even a veteran, of these games, I would highly recommend him.
Woland
Collin is, without doubt, one of the best Play-by-Post Game Masters I have ever played with, and a great choice both for people new and experienced in the format. He sets the game at a great pace and is always there to guide you or give you a creative boost (or play off of the idea you had). He fosters a warm atmosphere in the group that mirrors that of a live table, sets fun challenges and masterfully uses words to set the scene. In short, he is everything you could ask for and then some.
Paul G. Silva
Pulled 3 people together who had never played together and kept it fun, fast, and kept us on time. Knew when to fast forward and when to zoom in. Knew how to pull in elements from our backstories and to make things interesting. EXCELLENT devil's bargains.
GM Bren
Played 1 sessions
Colin is really good at explaining rules and creating fun worlds for your PC to explore. He led us on a really fun adventure and left plenty of scope for us to affect the game in cool ways. He is very gentle and welcoming to new players, I would definitely play with him again!
Additional details
How to prepare
Access to a free discord account is all you need for play by post! No video/audio needed. I will teach the basics to start playing quickly. A dice roller, rules references and character playbooks will all be provided. Bring your imagination!
What I provide
I bring the world of Duskwall and its many factions and citizenry to life! You will experience exciting heists, navigate story changing decisions, and RP with quirky NPCs!
Gameplay details
Safety Tools: Player onboarding will include session 0 questions and establishing Lines and Veils. GM will have regular check ins with players via an out of character channel and through discord direct messaging. Lines and veils will be a living document players can reference. Gameplay: - Players will have more agency over the story than typical D&D games. Narrative flashbacks, teamwork, and adding to the world building will be highly encouraged. - Players should lead with narrative actions first rather than limit themselves by their character abilities or stats. "How would my character accomplish this goal?" instead of "What skills/spells/abilities limits are available to accomplish this goal?"
Content warnings
• Alcoholism
• Alcohol Use
• Blood
• Character Death
• Classism
• Cults
• Death
• Deep or Large Bodies of Water
• Devils / Demons / Fiends
• Drowning
• Drugs (addiction, use, withdrawal)
• Fire
• Freezing
• Guns
• Illness
• Language/Cursing
• Murder
• Paralyzation
• Police Brutality
• Scars
• Small Spaces (Claustrophobia)
• Suffocation
• Violence
Safety tools used
• Breaks
• Lines and Veils
• Open Door
• Session 0
• Stars and Wishes
How will character creation work
We have a very impressive character keeper in google sheets provided by one of our players! This tool streamlines character ability and stat tracking. To get started crafting your character we can use: 1. The Character Builder Tutorial: Collaborative character creation where players bring their favorite character traits and the GM will build their character sheet around how they want to play. 2. A pre-built character, if you are already familiar with Blades in the Dark. 3. GM provided pre-built characters are available for players who want to jump in to the action!
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
Medium
Roleplay
High
Puzzles
Low
Experience level
Beginner
Platforms used
• Discord
• Text/Play by Post
Free
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Once / Wednesday - 7:30 PM UTC
Apr 9
10-12 Hour Duration
2 / 3 Seats Filled
Schedule
Requirements
Experience required: Beginner
Age: 18+