Media (IB)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark hack

Media crews shapes narratives — newsrooms, stream collectives, propaganda shops, documentary outfits, memetics labs. You investigate, edit, package, and amplify stories across local nets and inter-hab relays. Your tools are sources, algorithms, and delivery windows; your payload is attention.

News operations can be reactive, to cover a specific event, but it is more interesting to be proactive, to cover your own stories that other's miss.

Heat & Wanted Level

☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ | ☐☐☐☐

Credit

☐☐☐☐ | Vault ☐☐☐☐ | Vault 2 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Special Abilities

1. Newsbred: Each PC may add +1 action rating to Interface, Judge, or Sway (up to a max rating of 3).
2. Background: +1d on Gather Information in downtime.
3. Embedded: +1d on Engagement Rolls with allies or cohorts present.
4. Integrity: +1d resistance with Insight.
5. Partisan: Treat up to four positive statuses as if they were Investment Crew Upgrades.
6. Spin: Reduce the Heat gained from operations by 2.
7. Talking Head : +2 Reputation from operations if you have someone with knowledge that is relevant to the subject at hand, such as a Philosopher with the the Specialist ability, Expert Cohort, Contact, or faction with positive status.
8. Additional Playbook: Select another Crew Playbook. From now you may choose its Upgrades and Special Abilities. Immediately gain access only to the Crew XP track.

Crew XP

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 XP (or mark 2 XP if that item occurred multiple times):

1. Expose, reframe, or amplify a story.
2. Contend with challenges above your current station.
3. Bolster your outlet’s reputation (credible, sensational, fearless, etc.) or develop a new one.
4. Express the goals, drives, inner conflict, or essential nature of the crew.

Crew Upgrades

Starting Upgrades ☑ Security, ☑ Vault, ☑ Security, ☑ Vault, ☑☑ Runabouts, two ☑ ☑ of choice.

Media Only Upgrades

☐ Back Channels — Once per score, declare a confidential Contact.

☐ Botnet/Street Team — +2 Credit payoff on stories with a negative spin.

☐ Fact-Check Desk — +1d Insight Resistance, results in Controlled consequence.

☐ Friend of a Friend — +1d to Acquire Assets.

☐ Interviews — +2 Credit payoff on stories with a positive spin.

☐ Portfolios — +1d to Gather Information on individuals in downtime.

☐ Social Section — +1d Engagement on Social plans.

☐ Spin Room — +1d Engagement on Deception plans.

☐ Standards & Practices — Reduce Heat increase by 2 for media Operations.

☐ Whistleblower — +1d to Gather Information on organizations in downtime.

Common Crew Upgrades

Available to all crews. See Crew Playbooks for an explanation of all terms below.

Base: ☐,☐ Life support, ☐,☐ Power, ☐,☐ Maneuver, ☐,☐ Gravity, ☐,☐ Camouflage, ☐,☐ Security.

Assets: ☐,☐,☐,☐ Investment — Reduces the base cost of improving Tier, before multiplication.

Installations: ☐,☐ Quarters, ☐☐☐☐ Training, ☐,☐ Vault, ☐,☐ Venue, ☐,☐ Prison, ☐,☐ Workshop, ☐,☐ Medical, ☐,☐ Hangar.

Vehicles: ☐,☐ Shuttles (needs hangar), ☐,☐ Fighters (needs hangar), ☐,☐ Runabouts.

Quality: ☐ Documents, ☐ Gear, ☐ Implements, ☐ Supplies, ☐ Tools, ☐ Weapons.

Vices: ☐ Faith, ☐ Gambling, ☐ Luxury, ☐ Obligation, ☐ Pleasure, ☐ Stupor, ☐ Weird.

Cohorts ☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐ Cohort: (Max 2 per tier). Each cohort begins with one Flaw. ☐ Add Edge or remove flaw from one cohort. Repeatable

Cohorts

Each cohort is either a Team or an Expert with one Type and one Flaw. A maximum of 2 cohorts for each Tier. Each cohort needs this data.

Name:

☐ Team or ☐ Expert. This is where your initial upgrade investment is checked.

Type: First type is free. You can add one additional Type by spending an upgrade. ☐ Agents, ☐ Engineers, ☐ Marines, ☐ Scientists, ☐ Security, ☐ Winghands.

Edges. Each cohorts can add edges as if they were upgrades. ☐ Armored, ☐ Elite, ☐ Fearsome, ☐ Independent, ☐ Loyal.

Flaws. Each cohorts can remove flaws at the cost of an upgrade: ☐ Ally, ☐ Compromised, ☐ Intelligent, ☐ Principled, ☐ Savage, ☐ Unreliable, ☐ Wild.

Damage: Cross one box per level of harm: (☐ Armor), ☐ Weak, ☐ Impaired, ☐ Broken.

Opportunities (IB)

1. A polity’s censors throttle a disaster feed—mirror the truth before the window closes.
2. A whistleblower offers logs implicating a major contractor—verify, then survive the backlash.
3. A viral deepfake targets your ally—debunk fast or ride the wave for leverage.
4. A hab’s elections hinge on turnout—engineer a GOTV campaign under blackout rules.
5. A rival outlet steals your scoop—one-up with receipts or expose their funders.
6. A pirate relay promises uncensored reach—great audience, terrible neighbors.
7. A celebrity crash-lands a scandal at your doorstep—manage it or milk it.
8. An ancient archive AI wants its story told—on its terms.