The Clockwork Assassin - Intro to Blades in the Dark

About the adventure

In this exhilarating one-shot, you and your crew of assassins must infiltrate the Winter's End feast at the manor of Lord Clairmont, identify a secret assassin, and kill him before he finishes his murderous mission. 'Blades in the Dark' is a game about a crew of daring scoundrels seeking their fortunes on the streets of an industrial fantasy city, and this one-shot will be the perfect introduction to the game's systems. Blades’ setting is something like a steampunk combination of Prague, Venice, and London — only with powerful gangs lurking around every corner, immortal whales whose blood powers the city, and electroplasmic lightning walls that keep out the ghosts. If you’ve played Dishonored, read The Lies of Locke Lamora, or watched Peaky Blinders, you’ve got a sense of what Doskvol is like. The mechanics are easy to learn and immediately inviting! Blades is a fiction first game, which means that you make story decisions and mechanics come after. Most every ring you do will be resolved with a simple D6 roll, and I’ll help you with all the rest.

Additional Details

How to prepare

You'll need: - a camera, mic, and internet connection for the video call (most of course will be built into your laptop or PC!) - a discord account, Gmail account, or zoom account - 3-6 six-sided dice - probably a notebook!

What I provide

I'll bring: - PDF character sheets for every player - Original music composed for this story world - Dozens of unique characters with accents and voices - all the rules you’ll need!

Gameplay details

This one-shot, which requires 0 previous experience, will put you in the dark leather boots of a criminal in the City of Doskvol, and you'll feel like a main character in a gritty steampunk heist movie. You'll infiltrate a party, try to uncover the identity of a legendary assassin, and battle to protect the Lord Regent from being murdered. Blades in the Dark is a fast-paced, simple system that focuses on exciting choices with dramatic consequences. All of your rolls will be resolved with a few d6s. Instead of crunchy tactical combat, you'll have engaging storytelling with the heavy lifting done behind the curtain by the GM. In Blades in the Dark, narrative is king, and you'll have the freedom to roleplay and act how you'd like. I'm excited to play this exhilarating RPG with you.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

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How will character creation work

For this one-shot, I've pregenerated the specifics of a crew of assassins, but you'll still be able to customize. In advance of the session we'll discuss on discord about a few details: "What does your character look like?" "Who are their friends and enemies?" "What's their background and history?" "What makes them unique in the criminal underworld?" These elements will help you dive in and roleplay at the actual session.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.