In Defense of Spite

[Inkbones]

In the years to come, you will often be asked why you are doing this. Why you are trying to take over the world. To which you reply, why isn't everyone?

The Earth is burning. People are dying. Someone has to do something. Everyone has to do something. So, here you are.

Your name is Philo Fawkes, and you are about to rob a billionaire.

CEO Baron Stavro is the internationally beloved head of Empire Industries, a rather unimaginatively named megacorporation whose tendrils extend throughout the world and even into the fledgling lunar colonies. Empire's global headquarters is a half-mile tall black glass and steel insult to the Harmony City skyline, extending far up enough to breach the cloud layer.

Stavro is(justifiably) one of the most paranoid men on the planet, so the building is crawling with his own "personal security force". One of Empire's biggest products is cybernetic enhancements, so of course he reserves the best toys for his own gaurds. Frankly, you have no idea what kind of hardware some of them have, and you'd rather not find out. You'll have to avoid them, or find a way to decommission them.

The building also has an advanced security system run by a low-level AI. It won't be winning any Turing tests, but it's smart enough to control the cameras, doors, and other systems of the building. You'll need to find a way to spoof it, or deactivate it.

Lastly, superheroes. The Empire building is within patrol territory of no less than three Hero teams, who will descend on your location as soon as the silent alarm is tripped.

Your target is the safe on the top floor of the building, located somewhere in Stavros' office/penthouse apartment. If you can get your hands on what's inside, then you will be one step closer to saving the world.

Now then, how are you going to do it:

Spoiler: Tutorial: Actions

These are your stats. There are 12 Actions. Actions have a rating from 0 to 4. The higher your rating, the more likely you'll succeed when trying to do it. Choose four Actions to raise from 0 to 1, as well as how you use those actions to access your target. As this is the tutorial, these attempts will automatically succeed, but all Actions afterward will involve a die roll. The Actions intentionally overlap, allowing you to use them in imaginative or unexpected ways.

Please, feel free to ask questions.

Choose 4:

[ ] Hunt| Tracking a target from a distance. In the literal way, such as firing a ranged weapon, or more figurative interpretations, such as setting up an ambush, Overwatching a specific area, or trying to find someone in a crowd(but Study might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you dispatch guards with sleep darts(or bullets)? Do you snipe the server room from another building? Do you hold Stavro at gunpoint, in exchange for the safe code? Perhaps you even have an more exotic form of gun.

[ ] Study| Carefully analyzing something, such as a person to tell if they're lying, a branch of science to develop a new invention, or try to anticipate an ambush before it happens(but Survey might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you analyze the guards for weaknesses in their armor? Do you notice that the receptionist is sweating, and why? Do you pore over the security system's code for weaknesses? Information you gather this way will be useful later.

[ ] Survey| Carefully analyzing a situation, such as a burning building to find the exit, a fight to understand who's winning, or an ominously buzzing engine to see if it will explode(although Tinker might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you see the thirty-second gap in the guard's patrol patterns? Do you memorize the building's layout before you enter? Did you spot the missing floor? There are opportunities everywhere, if you take the time to look for them.

[ ] Tinker| Using, creating, and manipulating technology. Could be hacking a computer, building a better mousetrap, or slicing an enemy with a laser sword(although Skirmish might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you hack the gaurds' eye implants to make yourself invisible to them? Do you climb up the side of the building with the aid of a scrap-metal supersuit and very liberal interpretations of Van der Waals forces? Do you your own implants grafted into your forearms? This once, you can use whatever the hell your imagination can come up with. Please do not abuse the QM's generosity.


[ ] Skirmish| Close-quarters fighting. Could be stabbing someone, choking them out, or attacking them from cover of darkness(although Prowl might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you face the guard's one-on-one. Do you overpower an office worker and steal his badge? Do you plug into cyberspace and fight the AI on it's own turf? Fights are about more than raw stats, you can use your other actions to give yourself advantages and weaken your opponent.

[ ] Prowl| Moving deftly and/or silently. Sneaking past a security patrol, parkouring across a rooftop, or dancing across a tightrope(although Finesse might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you stealth in through the loading dock? Do you squirm through the vents? Do you sneak attack one of the guard's from behind?

[ ] Finesse| Being dexterous or using subtle slight of hand. Picking someone's pocket, pulling off a dangerous driving stunt, or throwing an enemy's grenade back at her(but Wreck might be better).
-[ ] Write-in: Do you lift an ID badge from someone's pocket? Do you hide something useful on your person? Do you fight a guard with a laser rapier? Pick this if you like getting away with something too clever by half.

[ ] Wreck| Being constructively destructive. Breaking down a door, blowing up a wall, or sabotaging a summoning circle (although Attune might be better).
-[ ] Do you set up the power grid to fry at just the right time? Do you magnetize the AIs server room? Do you blast the safe door off it's hinges, combination be damned? Please remember that it's always easier to destroy something important than to repair it.


[ ] Attune| Using your soul to affect reality. Moving objects with telekinesis, casting spells, interfacing with cybernetics.
-[ ] You don't know what you're capable of, but you can find out. Do you unleash psionic force on a cyborg guard? Do you shove a splinter of your soul into the security mainframe? Do you rip open a hole in reality and let something interesting in? Or do something even less advised?

[ ] Consort| Using your social connections to your advantage. Calling on your contacts for a favor, making a new friend, or convincing an enemy to work with you(for the moment).
-[ ] Do you buy security codes on the black market? Do you befriend a janitor in his off hour? Do you arrange for a distracting incident in the lobby? There are always strings you can pull on to further your own ends.

[ ] Command| Compel obedience, either by threatening someone or giving them instructions on the battlefield.
-[ ] Is one of the Gaurds on your payroll? Do you have a mechanical friend you can send into the vents? Do you know the command codes to make the AI follow your bidding?

[ ] Sway| Manipulating someone with guile or deceit.
-[ ] Write-in: Do you prick Stavro's pride enough to make him face you? Do you come in wearing a disguise? Convince the AI to help you in exchange for freedom?

 

[Inkbones]

Name: Philo Fawkes


Playbook: VVV VVV VV

Stress: VVV-VVV-VVV
Trauma: \/ \/ \/ \/

​

Harm:

Lv.3: -
Lv.2: -|-
Lv.1: -|-​

Insight: VVVVVV
X X X X Hunt
X X X X Study
X X X X Survey
X X X X Tinker

Prowess: VVVVVV
X X X X Finesse
X X X X Prowl
X X X X Skirmish
X X X X Wreck

Resolve: VVVVVV
X X X X Attune
X X X X Command
X X X X Consort
X X X X Sway



Loadout:

• A Switchblade [1 Load]: cuts people and things.
• Throwing knives [1 Load]: use Finnesse to throw at people and things.
• Pistol [1 Load]: Extremely efficient efficient machine for turning people into inanimate objects.
  • Extra magazine [1 Load]: It takes a few, precious seconds to reload.
• Large gun [2 Load]: a shotgun, or AK-47. For when you want to kill more than one person at a time.
• An unusual weapon [2 Load]: A broadsword, a chaingun, a laser katana. Harmony has a very high bar for the ridiculous.
• Body armor [2 Load]: Armor will reduce the severity of an attack, to a point.
• Heavy armor [3 Load]: Will reduce the severity of an attack even further.
• Burglary gear [1 Load]: Glass cutter, lockpicks, and other useful items for going we're you're not supposed to.
• Climbing gear [2 Load]: Grappel, rope, chalk, and other useful items for scaling a building/cliffface.
• Witch's toolkit [1 Load]: Blessed chalk, special herbs, rare inks, candles, and other useful items for igniting the secret fires of the world.
• Useful Documents [1 Load]: Open-ended. Could be false ID, letters of passage, subway pass, whatever you want. Still costs Load though.
• Demolition tools [1 Load]: Special tools, small explosives, and other things you'd need to break something well.
• Hacking gadget [1 Load]: Attach to a computer and let it work it's magic.
• Data gadget [1 Load]: Allows for communication, data storage, and remote hacking ability if you know what you're doing. Intentionally built to be fragile.
• Combined plasma cutter/signal duplicator [1 Load]-Carrying
• Scuba-suit [0 Load]-You're wearing this for worldbuilding reasons, it wouldn't be far to make you pay for it.-Carrying [/SPOILER]

 

[Inkbones]

The canals of Harmony City are filled with every kind of pollutant imaginable. The canal bottom is filled with assorted plastic refuse, the bones of whatever poor organisms tried to survive down here, (and more likely than not, the occasional human corpse).



You are extremely thankful that there is, at least, the thin vaneer of a diving suit in between you and the water. You've seen what it does to peoples skin, especially when exposed to the particularly nasty run-offs that the corporations claim they aren't letting into the canal system.



Above you, the shadows of auto-gondolas swim past, ferrying tourists and executives throughout the districts. Soon, the lunchbreak will start, and traffic will slow to an utter crawl. Or, it will assuming you've timed this right.



Finally, through the muck, you see your entrance. An ancient storm drain, almost invisible in the shadows cast by the Empire building looming above you. There's a problem, though.

Spoiler: Tutorial: Engagement roll

The Engagement roll determines how well your starting situation goes.

We started with 1d6 for pure luck. +1d

The information you Surveyed gives you another die. +1d
As this is the tutorial, the drawbacks that would normally apply to this sort of operation will be ignored.

In any roll using the Blades in the Dark system, there are three outcomes based on the highest die roll.
If the highest roll was:
1-3: Bad result
4-5: Mixed result
6: good result
Two or more 6s: Exceptional result.

And now, the roll:
2d6=2,2. Bad result.

The mouth of the drainpipe is blocked by wire mesh. No problem, you anticipated this. You prepare to carve through the mess with your plasma cutter-

Which is when the canal is filled with the strobing red and blue lights of police speedboats as they swarm around the Empire building. What the hells are they doing here?

You designed the cutter to function underwater, but it's bright. If one of the those cops notices the shine, your situation will be significantly worse.

You could try to find another entrance, but your plan was somewhat contingent on entering through this pipe.

What do you do, and what Action do you use to do it?

Spoiler: Tutorial: The Conversation

Blades in the Dark is a conversation between the player and the DM. Hopefully we can achieve something similar here.

There are two factors that govern your roll. Position, which governs the consequences of failure, and Effect, which governs the rewards for success.

Because of your bad engagement roll, you are now in a Desperate position, which in this case means there is a high chance the cops will notice you if you use your plasma cutter.

On the other hand, you have Great Effect, because wire mesh was not meant to stand up against plasma.

The kind of Action you use can improve your Position or reduce your effect. For instance, you could roll Prowl to try to mask the glare of the Cutter, but it will take more time to cut through the mesh. On the other hand, you could Survey to try to find another entrance, but you don't know how close that would be and how much time it would take to reach it.

So, ask questions, propose ideas, and use your imaginations.

 

[Inkbones]

Spoiler: Prowl Roll

1d6=3

You work as quickly as you dare, angling your body to obscure the light. It isn't enough.

A small metal sphere, about the size of a baseball, with the letters HCPD etched into it's side drops from above. A camera lens irises open, projecting a soft red glow. A voice, uncomfortably loud, echoes from hidden speakers.

"-fuck is that? Citizen, you are attempting to interfere in an official police action. Halt what you are doing, and do not resist arrest."

You've managed to cut away most of the grating, but the edges are still red-hot. You can squirm through, but you might get burned in the process. Alternatively, you could swim away, or (hypothetically) stay and fight.

What do you do?

 

[Inkbones]

Spoiler: Finesse roll

As you have no points in Finesse, we roll 2d6 and take the lower result.
0d= 5,4. Mixed result

There comes a time when one must realize that the situation is no longer in ones's control, and most likely never was from the beginning. Realizing this, you elect to take the better part of valor and fucking swim like your life depends on it, because it does.

Adrenalin is truly a wonderful thing. You don't think you've ever moved this fast in your life. Unfortunately, you are an unathletic teenager, and they have a speedboat.

"You are resisting arrest! We are authorized to use lethal force against you!" the aqua-drone screams, before the boat's engine revs and starts giving chase. You would be grateful that they're only sending one after you, except that that one boat is carrying enough firepower to kill you very easily.

You have a small headstart, but they will very quickly catch up to you?

Thankfully, you have an ace up your sleeve.

Spoiler: Tutorial: Loadout

You have the power to retroactively declare what items you're holding, with a limit.

Every item costs an amount of Load. You usually declare what your Load is at the start of a Mission, but seeing as we're starting in the middle of things, you can declare it now(the plasma cutter already costs 1 Load).

Once your Load limit is reached, you declare you're carrying anything else(although you can still pick stuff up in-Mission).

Choose your Loadout:
[ ] Light: 3 Load. You're faster and blend in better.
[ ] Normal: 5 Load. No bonuses or drawbacks.
[ ] Heavy: 6 Load. You're slower and obviously look like you're up to something.

Spoiler: Your Loadout

Loadout:

• A Switchblade [1 Load]: cuts people and things.
• Throwing knives [1 Load]: use Finnesse to throw at people and things.
• Pistol [1 Load]: Extremely efficient efficient machine for turning people into inanimate objects.
  • Extra magazine [1 Load]: It takes a few, precious seconds to reload.
• Large gun [2 Load]: a shotgun, or AK-47. For when you want to kill more than one person at a time.
• An unusual weapon [2 Load]: A broadsword, a chaingun, a laser katana. Harmony has a very high bar for the ridiculous.
• Body armor [2 Load]: Armor will reduce the severity of an attack, to a point.
• Heavy armor [3 Load]: Will reduce the severity of an attack even further.
• Burglary gear [1 Load]: Glass cutter, lockpicks, and other useful items for going we're you're not supposed to.
• Climbing gear [2 Load]: Grappel, rope, chalk, and other useful items for scaling a building/cliffface.
• Witch's toolkit [1 Load]: Blessed chalk, special herbs, rare inks, candles, and other useful items for igniting the secret fires of the world.
• Useful Documents [1 Load]: Open-ended. Could be false ID, letters of passage, subway pass, whatever you want. Still costs Load though.
• Demolition tools [1 Load]: Special tools, small explosives, and other things you'd need to break something well.
• Hacking gadget [1 Load]: Attach to a computer and let it work it's magic.
• Data gadget [1 Load]: Allows for communication, data storage, and remote hacking ability if you know what you're doing. Intentionally built to be fragile.
• Combined plasma cutter/signal duplicator [1 Load]-Carrying
• Scuba-suit [0 Load]-You're wearing this for worldbuilding reasons, it wouldn't be far to make you pay for it.-Carrying

What in your Loadout will be useful right now?

What do you do with it(Action)?

 

[Inkbones]

Spoiler: Tinker roll

1d6=6. Success

You need to deal with the drone. Without it, they won't be able to track you.

You take out your (waterproofed) datatool and begin to wriggle your way into the aqua-drone's code. There's no knowing how long it could take to get past their security, but it's worth a shot-

...

'Password?' Seriously?

In any case, the drone's "eye" turns a light purple and speeds off in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, you're still being pursued by the speedboat. In a few second they'll be within firing range, and you highly doubt they're interested in taking prisoners.

[ ] What do you do?

 

[Inkbones]

Spoiler: Tinker roll

1d6=5

Now that you've dealt with the drone(and discovered how criminally negligent the police's IT department is), it's relatively easy to hack their boat's control system and make the engine stall.

Unfortunately, this still gave the bastards a shot at you.

Spoiler: Cop gunfire roll

Effect: Limited(water)
Position: Controlled(They are in a boat)
4d=6,4,4,2

You note, absently, a bullet tearing through the tendons of your left leg, slightly below the knee. For the average human, this would be complete agony. You are significantly less than human.

Spoiler: Tutorial: Harm

Instead of hitpoints, you have levels of Harm that you receive before you die. Normally, Harm is increasingly debilitating. However, because this is the tutorial(and for other reasons), Harm does not effect you negatively. You still die if you receive enough of it though.

Lv. 2 Harm: Wounded leg

Thankfully, your blood muddies the water enough for you to slip away, leaving your pursuers stuck in a dead boat in the middle of the canal.

***​

Three blocks down and two to the right later, you pull yourself out of the water and onto the sidewalk and take a moment to consider your situation.

Before you even entered the building, you were discovered by Harmony's finest. This begs the question of why they were here in the first place. Did
Stavro know you were coming? The cop who was speaking through that drone seemed surprised to see you.

More immediate concerns include your leg, which is still bleeding, and your diving suit which now has a hole in it. Your original plan of sneaking under the foundations of the building seems to have gone up in so much smoke. Thankfully, you have a plan B.

[ ] Assault| Just smash into the building, grab the safe's contents, and get out.
-[ ] Write-in| What's the point of attack?

[ ] Deception| Use subterfuge to get in under their noses.
-[ ] Write-in| What's the method of deception?

[ ] Stealth| There's another, secret, entrance into the building. Get in, and continue with the original plan.
-[ ] Write-in| What's the way in?

[ ] Occult| You'd hoped to avoid this, but there are certain...entities you can go into debt with, in return for favors. This might be time to ask for one.
-[ ] Write-in| What do you ask for?


Then again...this has already gone several shades of sideways. Stavro's safe contains an untraceable source of money, but more importantly a certain little black book that contains very valuable information. It will be much harder, starting without those, but it might be your only viable option at this point. You'd rather not be shot again, as sensationless as the injury itself feels.

[ ] Abandon the Mission [You will start the campaign in a much worse situation]

 

[Inkbones]

It's hard enough trying to walk through the crowds of Harmony without a gunshot wound. At least the blood is enough to make people give you a wide berth as you limp your way up to the Empire building. The black glass and gold of it's facade is colored red and blue by the lights of police cars, boats, and hover-craft.

Spoiler: Engagement roll 2: Roll Harder

+1d for luck.
+1d for Light Loadout

2d=4,4.Risky start.

The lobby has become the aftermath of a warzone. The once-lavish marble floors are covered in bullet holes, scorch marks, and the occasional cyborg corpse. Above you, the sounds of gunfire and plasma bursts ring out.

You can hear someone sobbing under the front desk. The elevator doors are flashing "out of order", and the door to the stairwell looks like it's been busted down from the outside.

It appears the situation is more complex then originally envisioned.

[ ] Study| Analyze one of the corpses for anything salvageable(such as weapons).

[ ] Survey| Try to figure out what the hell happened here.

[ ] Tinker| Attempt to restore the elevators to functionality.

[ ] Prowl| Go up the stairs and investigate the sounds of battle(without being spotted).

[ ] Write-in

 

[Inkbones]

Spoiler: Survey Roll

1d6=2. Failure.

Well, obviously Stavro's "bodyguard's" were fighting someone, but who? Whoever they were, they completely decimated the cyborgs. Some of the body's are halfway disintegrated, their implants still glowing a faint golden and occasionally sparking and/or twitching.

It sounds like the fight in the floor above you has ended about the same way. Whoever they are, they're most likely also going after Stavro. You're running out of time.

Spoiler: Tutorial: Progress Clocks

Progress clocks mark the progress of something happening outside of your control. In this case, the QM has started the clock:

"??? get to Stavro": 1/8

The clock will be progressing with every action you take. When it reaches zero, whoever did this will reach Stavro before you do.

The sobbing underneath the desk has stopped. Whatever you're going to do, you need to do it quickly.

[ ] Study(1d)| Analyze one of the corpses for anything salvageable(such as weapons)[.

[ ] Survey(1d)| Try to figure out what the hell happened here.

[ ] Tinker(1d)| Attempt to restore the elevators to functionality.

[ ] Prowl(1d)| Go up the stairs and investigate the sounds of battle(without being spotted).

[ ] Write-in [You can take multiple actions at once, but they will progress the Clock]

Spoiler: Status

Harm: 2nd(Wounded leg)

Loadout(3/3):
Plasma cutter/security baffle
Hacking gadget
Data gadget

 

[Inkbones]

Spoiler: Tinker roll

1d=1

The screens embedded in the elevator doors flare to life as you approach with the Empire Industries logo, a stylized black pyramid outlined in gold. The pyramid blinks, then begins speaking in a clipped Elbish accent.

"Good afternoon. I am Maximus, the building security system. I don't seem to have your credentials in my database, and thus cannot allow you access to the elevator system. May I enquire as to your business here?"

Expensive wooden panels slide away to reveal machine-gun turrets quickly whirring to life.

"We seem to be experiencing issues with our security today, so I'm afraid I must insist."

Spoiler: Tutorial: Pushing yourself.

Now, for the central mechanic of Blades, Stress.

Stress is an mixture of your mental fortitude, luck, spoons, and sanity. It is expended in multiple ways, the most basic of which is Pushing Yourself.

When you Push Yourself, you spend 2 Stress(out of 9) to do one of the following:

• Add +1d to your roll
• Increase your Effect
• Improve your Position

You can only Push Yourself once per roll. Stress is also used to Resist damage, but we'll get into that next time you get shot.

What do you do?

[ ] Sway(0d)| Try to convince it that you're an employee. [Effect: 1(Limited). Position: 2(Risky)]

[ ] Survey(1d)| Look for cover from the turrets. [Effect: 2 (Standard). Position: 2(Risky)]

[ ] Study(1d)| Analyze the turrets for an exploitable weakness. [Effect 1 (Limited). Position: 2(Risky)]

[ ] Tinker(1d)| Hack the incredibly advanced security system with your pocket data-gadget. [Effect: 0(Impossible). Position: 2(Risky)]

[ ] Prowl(1d)| Run like hell to the stairwell. [Effect: 2(Standard). Position: 1(Desperate)]

[ ] Write-in| What do you do, with what Action?

[ ] Push yourself

[ ] +1d​

[ ] +1 Effect​

[ ] +1 Position​

Spoiler: Status

"??? get to Stavro": 2/8


Harm: 2nd(Wounded leg)

Loadout(3/3):
Plasma cutter/security baffle
Hacking gadget
Data gadget