Captain (FiD)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page

This is a work in progress.

A captain is a leader of any kind, from a gang boss, to the leader of a work crew or caravan, to a military or ship commander. As a captain you are boldly taking charge of a situation and lead from the front, empowering your crew.

Not every player wants to follow a leader, so this playbook requires an agreement in the group to work well.

Touchstones: Martin from "Flesh and Blood" (1985). Don Lope de Aguirre from "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" (1972). Any number of heroic leader-types from fiction.

Special Abilities

1. Devil's Due: When you or a crewmate fails an action roll during a score, you can spend 2 stress to allow a re-roll with the same number of dice. If this second roll also fails, in addition to the consequence of failure, you end up in an immediate desperate situation, the result of overthinking or the enemy seeing through your plan.
2. Foresight: Two times per score you can assist a teammate without paying stress and without being present. Tell us how you planned for this. You can take this ability several times to gain two additional uses of free assistance each time.
3. Functioning Vice: When you indulge your vice, you may adjust the dice outcome by 1 or 2 (up or down).
4. Master of Masks: You can don or doff a disguise in seconds. You get +1d to rolls to disguise yourself and to maintain a disguise. After a successful Engagement Roll you can choose to infiltrate the opposition, only to appear later disguised as one of their minions. When you throw off a successful disguise, the resulting surprise gives you the initiative to act first.
5. Networking: All your Shrewd Friends turn into contacts except the one you have selected as your enemy. During each downtime, you can add one NPC you or your crew recently got along with as a new contact.
6. Plans Within Plans: You may expend your special armor to protect a teammate or to negate the entire stress cost of a group action. You can do this even if you are not present.
7. Rook's Gambit: Take 2 stress to roll your best action rating while performing a different action. Fib how you do this.
8. Web of Deceit: You gain +1d when you gather information. If you succeeded at gathering information about a score, get +1d to the engagement roll.
9. Band of Brothers: When you assist (p 134) or protect (p 135) a teammate and suffer a consequence, gain +1d to your resistance roll.
10. Brave: When you push Skirmish you can do one of the following: perform a physical feat that verges on the superhuman—engage a gang at your scale (p 211) on equal footing—dodge an area attack.
11. Dreadslayer: You may imbue your hands, weapons, and tools with spirit energy. You gain potency in combat.
12. Loyal: Gain +1d when resisting Resolve consequences.
13. Tactician: When you fight along with a cohort in combat, they gain extra effect and 1 armor.
14. Warlord: When you Command a cohort in combat, they continue to fight when they would otherwise break (they're not taken out when they suffer level 3 harm). When you retreat or leave the group, survivors safely retreat.
15. Vanguard: When you Command a cohort in combat, they continue to fight when they would otherwise break (they're not taken out when they suffer level 3 harm). They gain 1 armor.
16. Sergeant: When you Command a cohort in combat, they continue to fight when they would otherwise break (they're not taken out when they suffer level 3 harm). They gain increased effect in ranged combat.
17. Bodyguard: When you protect a teammate (p 135), take +1d to your resistance roll. When you gather info to anticipate immediate threats you get +1d.
18. Honor: Gain +1d when resisting Resolve consequences.
19. Fame: During downtime, you get +1d when you reduce heat or improve your crew's status with other factions. At the end of each downtime phase, you earn +2 stash.
20. Libertine: You never roll less than 2d indulging in vice. You may pick which dice result to use to reduce Stress. For example, if you rolled a 2 and a 5 you could choose to reduce your Stress by either 2 or 5. Your crew also benefits from this if they indulge with you, and can use your vice but their own attributes, with a minimum of 2 dice.
21. Rabble Rouser: By performing before an appreciative audience you can recruit a temporary gang of cohorts (p 96) appropriate to the situation. These cohorts have no edges and one flaw and stay with you for the duration of the score or until you use this ability again.
22. Expertise: When you lead a group action using Prowl, you can suffer only 1 stress at most regardless of the number of failed rolls.
23. Armed to the Teeth: Increase your load limit by 2.
24. Idol: When you push a Consort roll you soon find someone willing to act as a temporary contact.
25. Steady Hand: You are an expert at finding your way with mounts and vehicles, +1d and improved effect on all Finesse checks driving a vehicle.

Shrewd Friends

˄ ˅ Arlin, an architect.

˄ ˅ Kael, a alchemist.

˄ ˅ Lenn, an information broker.

˄ ˅ Nix, an archivist.

˄ ˅ Soryn, a domestic.

Inventory

☐, ☐ Fine bottle of wine.

◯ Fine disguised weapon.

☐ Fine Disguise Kit.

☐ Operational map.

☐ Spyglass.

☐, ☐, ☐ Trance Powder.

• Fine Bottle of Wine ☐: A rare vintage from your personal collection, potent both in its alcohol and its ability to impress. Can be laced with Trance Power at no additional load cost, see below.
• Fine Disguise Kit ☐: A theatrical make-up kit equipped with an impressive array of expert appliances to fool the eye. The fine quality of this kit may increase the effect when playing a role or relying on beauty. As a Captain this protects you from powers that read your mind or determine your identity, improving your position against such threats.
• Fine Disguised Weapon ◯: A weapon that does not appear to be a weapon except under close scrutiny. Examples include cane swords, fighting fans, hair pin daggers, blades concealed in everyday objects like holy symbols, belt buckles, shoes, and emblems of rank, palm pistols concealed in cutlery, snuff boxes, swagger sticks, or purses. Sashes, belts, or clock chains can be made to be used as whips or garottes. This is a masterwork weapon that fits you perfectly, improving your effect.
• Operational Map ☐: A map of the area of operations, gained through contacts and information gathering. +1d on engagement rolls. Negates the engagement roll penalty for complex plans. Playbook.
• Spyglass ☐: Telescopic brass tube with lenses, amplifies three to four times. Gadget.
• Trance Powder ☐: A dose of the popular drug, which induces an altered mental state. The victim of this powder is not fully unconscious, but rather retreats into a calm, suggestible mental state, similar to hypnotism. +1d on all Resolve actions against imbiber. Common, Consumable, Unreliable (minimum complexity 1).

XP

• Every time you roll a desperate action, mark xp in that action's attribute.

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 xp (in your playbook or an attribute) or 2 xp if that item occurred multiple times.

• You addressed a challenge using co-operation or charisma.
• You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
• You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.

Starting Actions

Command 2

Finesse 1

4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one.