The Shadows of Stonehaven
Stonehaven is protected from the arcane chaos beyond its underground walls, but chaos of a different kind breeds crime of all sorts on its streets.
$10.00
/ Session
Details
1 player following this game
Weekly / Thursday - 11:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 6 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
This is a game about crime in the city of Stonehaven, where the greed of the pious and wealthy leads to the suffering of the poor and the heathens. Long ago, a "Holy Savior" shielded the massive city from an apocalyptic vortex of chaos, and now they worship the magical stability of the stones it is built on. It houses six Greater Districts, each with their own police force headed by a superhero-like Grand Marshal, with magical powers granted to them by arcane stones. In Blades in the Dark, you play a crew of criminals, whether they're thieves, dealers, thugs, or assassins. This was barely a choice for you- there's no other life you can go back to, and this is the only way forward. Seize territory, make money, and cut down your enemies while evading ending up in prison, or worse. If you're a fan of games like Dishonored, or shows like Peaky Blinders or Warrior, then you know exactly what we're going for here.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Sandbox / Open World
Theater of the Mind
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(2)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Beginner Friendly, Storytelling, World Builder
About me
I started playing 1e D&D in 2014, then learned 3.5e, then started playing 5e when it came out, and since then I've branched out all over finding a love for all sorts of role-play and story-centric games. Outside of TTRPGs, I have a closet full of more board games than I can play, and spend a lot of time playing Commander Magic the Gathering. I love finding games that create new mechanics for the purpose of developing story beats and character interactions. Powered by the Apocalypse and Forged in the Dark systems are some of my favorite, and I love telling stories with a great many moving parts. "The clock is always ticking." I'm very experienced in D&D and Savage Worlds, but I'm most at home playing factional and role play-centric games like Urban Shadows or Blades in the Dark.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Session 0 will be free, and we will go through the process of making characters together, coordinating together as we go. The players will all select character playbooks (essentially like classes) as well as the kind of crew they are, filling them out as we go and answering questions to figure out backstories and connections to other characters. You may have some frame of an idea for a character, but you should be prepared to modify your ideas to fit the world and the crew you're a part of. Players will not be able to start as a Ghost, Hull, or Vampire, but there may be opportunities to become one during play.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You don't need to own a copy of the book for this game, but you should at least look over the reference sheets below, particularly the roll procedures on page 1, and the rules references on page 26 and 27. https://bladesinthedark.com/sites/default/files/blades_playerkit_v8_2.pdf This game will be played on a Discord server, where scheduling, voice chat, and character sheets will be held.
What Jonah brings to the table
This game will revolve around a world with its own mechanisms and agendas. "The clock keeps ticking," meaning things you aren't paying attention to will continue to progress without your input. I primarily stick to rules as written, but there's a lot of leeway in a game like this to interpret consequences. It won't just be the players vs. the GM like in many D&D games. You should feel free to consider the flow of the narrative as a conversation between us, discussing what we as a group thinks makes sense. (Of course, the GM has final say in these matters)
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Headphones
Physical Dice
Platforms used
Safety
How Jonah creates a safe table
If you are admitted to the game, we will open up a Lines and Veils page. A Line is any subject matter you do not feel comfortable discussing at all, a Veil is anything you're fine with being a subject in the game as long as it doesn't happen onscreen, and an Ask would be something you'd like us to check before bringing it up in game. This would be a living document, and you should feel free to bring up new feelings at any time. Please note that Blades in the Dark is a system where stress and the vices characters use to deal with that stress are an inherent part of the game. Faith, gambling, drugs, sex, and alcohol are all examples of vices prevalent in the system.
Content warnings
Safety tools used