Dirty Attorneys: World of Duskvol Play-by-Post

Creating your character

No experience with Blades in the Dark is required! I'll teach the system as we play. Characters will be created during Session Zero, which will take about 90-120 minutes. This collaborative session ensures everyone understands the Blades in the Dark system and creates a cohesive law firm together. What you'll need: Just show up! I'll provide all the necessary playbooks and reference materials. We'll be using the core Blades in the Dark character playbooks (Cutter, Hound, Leech, Lurk, Slide, Spider, Whisper) along with the custom Vigilantes crew sheet (Sean Nittner). The process: Within the Roll20 setting, we'll establish your vigilante crew: choosing an origin( gargoyles, wolves, or shields) your reputation, faction friends/enemies, and starting reources. Each player can select a playbook that represents their role in the firm (the smooth-talking Slide, the intimidating Cutter, the evidence-gathering Hound, etc.). I don't mind duplicate playbooks. Then we'll select action ratings for skills. We'll create relationships between characters and with NPCs in Duskvol's legal underworld. Finally, we'll discuss lines & veils and establish our table's tone. Starting level: Characters will begin as a Tier 0 crew, a small but ambitious law firm trying to make a name in Duskvol's cutthroat legal scene. No additional prep is required. Just come ready to collaborate and create morally flexible lawyers!

Preparing for the session

Before our first session, please complete these steps: 1. Create a free Roll20 account at roll20.net if you don't already have one 2. Test your audio setup - We'll use Discord for audio/voice chat 3. Join the game - You'll recieve a Roll20 game invite link once you're registered for the campaign. Optional but helpful: Check out the "simple rules overview" handout in the Roll20 game, and anything else in the "Read Me" section that interests you.

What Bluebird brings to the table

I’ll bring moody ambient music, vivid descriptions, and fun character voices to bring Duskvol to life. You can expect a cinematic session with plenty of tense moments and space for your character to shine. As a GM, I’ll give you difficult, interesting problems with multiple ways to solve them, clever planning, bold gambits, or desperate last-second rolls. I generally run Rules as Written for Blades in the Dark so things feel fair and consistent, but I’m happy to bend toward the Rule of Cool when a wild idea fits the fiction and gets the whole table excited. You can expect clear guidance on the system, a collaborative tone, and a focus on shared storytelling over “gotcha” GMing. New to Blades? No problem. I’ll walk you through everything you need so you can focus on being daring, reckless scoundrels.

Homebrew rules

We'll be using a homebrewed crew playbook by Francis Gaskin. For double 6's, I let characters remove a ticked stress box. If characters want to roll a skill that doesn't fit the action they're performing. I may not allow it. If I do, the players will need to roll a desparate action (failures are bigger but you earn XP), or roll with lesser affect (successes are smaller).

How Bluebird creates a safe table

We'll participate in a Session 0 to create characters, relationships, and share lines and veils. In play, we'll use the stoplight system as needed. As characters will regularly encounter and manipulate the justice system we will discuss potential content warnings there as well.