Feel free to workshop your playbooks with other participants here!
Ask for feedback on your creation, toss ideas around, or solicit help for art, etc.
I had the idea of a 'Spirit Playbook' where you play as a Hollow. Anyone is free to take this idea as their own. Here's what I'm thinking:
They're a living body without a spirit. Their former human feelings, interests, and connections are only dim memories (like Hulls). They are generally emotionless, dull, dim-witted, and easily controlled. As a result they're immune to supernatural terror and can't have trauma because nothing really fazes them. In addition, as a result of being crippled emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, they're dependent on others to survive, and so the only way for them to remove stress is for someone else to use a downtime action to take care of them (make sure they have food and are eating, see how they're feeling, and so on).
They could have a fairly short stress track and instead of trauma they could have a more temporary mechanic where they become increasingly helpless. Such as wandering off, becoming fixated on something, staying exactly where they're left when separated, or otherwise not acting according to common sense or self-preservation. The idea being that someone needs to keep an eye on them and guide them by the hand when necessary. These would be 'temporary' in that maybe they could be removed through downtime action, where a character helps and gives them instructions so they won't be as helpless in the future. All in all, similar to the Wear mechanic from the Hull Playbook.
Their XP triggers would also be similar to the Hull Playbook, and aimed towards rewarding roleplay of the above concepts. They mark XP if they suppressed or ignored their former human beliefs, drives, heritage, or background; if they struggled with issues from their innate helplessness; and if they followed a command despite difficulty, danger, or detriment.
The charm of playing a Hollow would be in the slow transition from being a helpless and emotionless doll to becoming your own person (perhaps even recovering the memories and personality of your old self). Their traits could be connected to Demons and the lore surrounding the Church of Ecstasy, who believe that the purest beings are those without spirits and that there might be a way for a human to undergo 'ascension'. Giving them an elemental affinity and access to specific demonic powers, like Remote Viewing, would be particularly interesting.
I'm planning to make a playbook that would fit in Duskvol. Some of these might work better as special playbooks, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Any in particular you would like to see? I haven't explored existing custom playbooks yet, so if you see any overlap with existing work, I'd appreciate a link!
I'm feeling what you have already with The Seeker and bet you could do a lot with the Indy J inspiration:
Thanks, definitely gonna try something with heat.
I was just about to say that I was going for more of a selfish coward type , so a self-sacrificing ability probably wouldn't work thematically; but now that I'm thinking about it, it would be fun to have an ability where other players get advantage for sacrificing you on their own.
Hey all, I just submitted a playbook to this jam, the Mechanist, which is my BitD-steampunk take on Iron Man. I've never done any design for BitD or FitD, so I'm really keen for any feedback or thoughts people might have. I think, in particular, I leaned heavily on PbtA style move design over the more specific BitD mechanics; there's not much in the way of moves around pushing, or effect, or the Blades-specific mechanics like Heat or stuff. What do other people think? https://mqsalmon.itch.io/mechanist
You’ve done a pretty good job of creating a special playbook given your supposed lack of experience with the system! I call it a “special” playbook because basic playbooks in Blades generally don’t have abilities that directly build off one another or that would apply only to that particular playbook. Remember that players from other playbooks can choose these abilities, too, by the rules and design them appropriately.
Oh and shock absorbers mentions prowl “checks” which are not a thing. Players only roll. I think I know what it is you mean but the wording seems strange when applied to Blades.
I'm working on a playbook inspired by a mention of demon blood tattoos in the Blades in the Dark book. The playbook is for a common sailor from the leviathan hunter fleets who has retired back to Duskvol and taken up a life of crime. It includes Leviathan Blood Tattoos as craftable, semi-consumables that grant unusual abilities.
Feedback and observations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fvexL3KdDIROVb_dxF7l4wqJwYVm3A38elv6aBmTXhY/...
Made it! https://adamsaleh.itch.io/the-clerk ... It might be weird to request comments after I submitted, but I am trying 'submit first, ask questions later' approach. I made it on google docs mostly, and the handout whit the wonderful scribus template, so if anyone wants to make a comment, or suggestion, you can see it ere: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17w4cgGtqEeOr_NUoRtVDPsV9fEkBRG9-qQZ8v2qVaVE/...