Post by Endy in Bloodstone comments

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Hi! I'm familiar with other Forged in the Dark games, yet I find some of the aspects of this game unclear. I know Forged in the Dark games are usually loose in terms of the setting and rules and most of these could be answered with "It's up to the GM", but I rather have some guidelines to start with.

This is also mixed with a bit of feedback.

Apostles

How many harm can the Apostles take? Do a level 4 harm also kill them? Do/Could they have a Harm clock?
What special abilities the Apostles have/could have?

Stamina

Is it refreshed after consequence of any action. A PC inflicting harm on an enemy is a consequence of the attack - in that case why should it refresh the Stamina? Or I interpret this the wrong way, and Stamina should only refresh after a PC suffers a (negative) consequence.
If yes, then the PCs will usually spend all Stamina each Turn, because they most likely get it back next turn. This means, almost all rolls will be Pushed by the PCs.
If we look at Bloodborne or any other Soulslike game, Stamina would rather refresh after each turn; not each consequence.

Parry

It's unclear why and how a Firearm used explicitly for Parrying, which is usually done with melee weapons.
Parry does interrupt Enemy actions. How does this fit into the Turn order? In most FITD games the NPCs do not act on their own, rather as a consequence of a PC roll. Maybe just the term "Parry" isn't the best, or "Interrupt" could work better.

Stun

Stun does stun the enemy for a few seconds. Is it 1 Turn, or how long? Also, taking a shot (or multiple shots as multiple bullets could be spent on this action) shouldn't "Stun" the enemy, rather Harm it.

Forms

Base form and Alternate form sounds a bit confusing, like it's a completely different weapon in each configuration. I'd assume Base form could be interpreted as Light attack, and Alt form as Heavy attack.

Resources

Stamina needs to be spent, but Blood and Insight needs to Marked. A bit confusing again, would be easier if all resources either needs to be Spent or Marked.
Blood -> Mark: suffering Harms or using the Trick Weapon. - So using the Trick weapon (in any form) costs 1 Blood? Or is this only for "Imbrued with blood"?
Blood: How does other FITD games Harm levels translate to Blood? Like suffering a Level 3 Harm in Blades in the Dark should be Mark 3 Blood? "Harm: deal 1-5 Harms to the hunter involved, based on the Position." - How many Harms do each Position represents?

Night's clock

What is the negative effect of letting the Night's clock complete? The Apostle find the PCs first, but I see no consequence of letting the Night's clock complete.

Thanks in advance, I do like your game.

Matteo Sciutteri122 days ago(+2)

Hi!
Thank you for the questions. I hope I can clarify your doubts.

First of all, you wrote a bunch of questions using " turns", but in Bloodstone there are no turns - like in other FitD games, it's the GM that moves the spotlight back and forth between the characters and the scenes (if they are not together). So I'm assuming when you say "turn" it's more like "the action of the character".

Apostles:

If the Apostle completes the ritual, it becomes a powerful entity - I suggest you to create an 8-sided clock to represent their dangers.
If the characters reach the Church before the ending of the ritual, the Apostle has less power so a 6-sided clock is better.
About the special abilities - it depends on how the Apostle is. Half-human, half-wolf? Or Half-human, half-bat?

Stamina:

When a character faces an Action Roll, they can spend Stamina points to add dice.
Than, you check the Action Roll result: there are any consequences? If yes, the player can resist but only if they still have Stamina points. If not, they cannot resist. If there are no consequences (i.e., they roll 6), you don't need to check the Stamina.
After this, if they have spent the Stamina (pushing or resisting), they regain all Stamina points.

Parry:

You use the Firearms to Parry because that's how Bloodborne works - so, in Bloodstone you do the same stuff.

Parry interrupts the action of an enemy. So, if the enemy moves against a character, you can try to parry to interrupt their action. If you fail, the action becomes real, and you face consequences (i.e., a giant wolf attacks you, you try to parry the attack, you fail, you suffer harm).

Stun:

You CAN use a weapon to stun or if you want to harm. But in Bloodborne, most of the time, you use the melee weapons to inflict harm. The firearms are here to parry and stun.

Weapons:

Yes, Base and Alt forms are two different kinds of weapons. You transmute your weapon to do different stuff (again, like in Bloodborne).

It's not only a Light vs. Heavy attack - for example, you can have a cane with a blade that transforms into a metallic whip.

Resources:

You spend stamina because you don't mark on the character sheet when you use it (you will regain it very soon). You Mark blood and insight because you need to track them for a longer time.

Blood -> only to imbrue your weapon with blood

Harms - it depends on the situation, I guess. You can suffer 1 harm in a desperate situation if it's desperate about other details (like: you are chasing a living dead, fleeing with your girlfriend. It's fast, so it's a desperate position, but you don't risk much harm).

Night's Clock

If you fill it, the Apostle gains much more power, completing the ritual.

Endy122 days ago

Thanks, made a few things more clear.

About the Turns, it doesn't matter how you call them, PCs going after each other, taking their Actions can be called as Turns. The way you proposed how things should work indicate that in this game NPCs have their own turns/or actions (hence Parry their Action), and they do not only act when PCs roll <6 (as a consequence).

If I interpret this right, a simple 1v1 combat should look like this:

- The PC attacks (Base form for 1 Stamina, Push for 1 Stamina)

- Rolls a 6, inflicts Harm on the Target

- Regain all stamina? (No consequence suffered)

- The Target/enemy makes it's move and attacks the PC

- The PC choose to Parry with 3 bullets, but fails the roll

- The PC choose to resist, with 3 Stamina

That means it's basically doesn't matter what happens, you can always use 3 Stamina to resist with 3 dice.

- The PC attacks (Base form for 1 Stamina, Push for 2 Stamina)

- Rolls a 4, may inflict Harm on the Target but also suffer Consequence

- PC resists the consequence with 1 Stamina, and successfully avoids it

- Regain all stamina because suffering a consequence

- The Target/enemy makes it's move and attacks the PC (Not sure if the NPC does actually rolls here to hit the PC or it's "just hits" - depending on the Parry/Stun & Resist rolls after)

- The PC choose to not Parry/Stun

- The PC choose to resist, with 3 Stamina

Again, all this based on that the NPCs have their own actions/turns to act, not only by PC roll consequences.

Matteo Sciutteri122 days ago(+1)

Yes and no. There is more to take in account.

1. There is position / effect to check. You can roll a 6, but with a limited position, you can't inflict harm (maybe you can break their armor or magic defense).

2. If you make a Parry move, you are not making an Action Roll. And you resist the consequence of an Action Roll. So, if an enemy attacks you, you can try to avoid the attack by making an Action Roll (if in the fictional situation you can do, i.e. if you are tied up, you cannot flee), or you can try to parry the attack (and you can parry ONLY an attack, not any kind of danger). If you make an Action Roll, to avoid the enemy attack, you can push or keep the stamina for the (possible) Resistance Roll. If you try to parry, and you fail, you don't have any other option: you suffer harm (or the consequence of the attack).

3. Just to be clear, the NPCs can make their move first, if they have the opportunity or the power.

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