Cabal (IB)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark hack

A Cabal is a covert political alliance—agenda-setters who move levers through intrigue, favors, and pressure. In the habitats and along the lanes, they sway councils, route licenses, media narratives, and patronage webs. Goals vary: force a reform, seat a proxy on a board, break a rival bloc, or midwife a new polity.

Heat & Wanted Level

☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ | ☐☐☐☐

Credit

☐☐☐☐ | Vault ☐☐☐☐ | Vault 2 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Special Abilities

1. Masters of Intrigue: Each PC may add +1 action rating to Command, Consort, or Sway (up to a max rating of 3).
2. Manners: +1d to Resolve actions when among high society and their supporters.
3. Network of Allies: Treat +3 Faction statuses as if they were Turf upgrades.
4. Patronage: Advancing your Tier costs half the usual Credit. Who is your patron? Why do they fund you?
5. Revolutionaries: +1d to Resolve actions when dealing with workers and the underclass.
6. Rumor Mill: You may always use Consort as a flashback to Set Up a later Command or Sway action.
7. Whispered Secrets: +1d to Gather Information about people and society.
8. Additional Playbook: Select another crew playbook. You may now choose its Upgrades and Special Abilities. Immediately gain access 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. Use intrigue, manipulation, or persuasion to advance your agenda or control others.
2. Contend with challenges above your current station.
3. Bolster your crew’s reputation or develop a new one.
4. Express the goals, drives, inner conflict, or essential nature of the crew.

Contacts

1. Arlen, a habitat councilor.
2. Cassio, an inter-polity envoy.
3. Ilyas, an intelligence analyst.
4. Lanthys, a trade regulator.
5. Merva, a clandestine cell organizer.
6. Saruul, a sector noble-patron.

Crew Upgrades

Starting Upgrades Cohort (Rooks), Hidden Lair, 2 of choice.

Cabal Only Upgrades ☐ Classy Clothes — (+1 apparent lifestyle) ☐ High Society Contacts — (+1d Engagement on Social plans) ☐ Manifesto — Gain +1 Reputation when you add or improve a cohort. ☐ Spies — +1d to Gather Information about individuals. ☐ Grease — +2 Credit payoff on scores that influence specific individuals. ☐ Salon — +1d Engagement on plans involving high society. ☐ Network — During downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. Gain Credit equal to the highest result, minus your Heat. ☐ Safehouse — Reduce Heat by 2 per score. ☐ Turf — Reduces the Credit cost multiplier to advance crew Tier. (May be taken multiple times.) ☐ Lair — Your network’s secure base of operations. ☐ Cold Drop — +1d to Acquire Asset rolls. ☐ Firebrand — During downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. Gain Credit equal to the highest result, minus your Heat. ☐ Flashpoint — +1d Engagement on plans involving commoners. ☐ Influence — +2 Credit payoff on scores that sway a group. ☐ Informants — +1d to Gather Information about political groups. ☐ Cover Identities — +1d Engagement on Deception and Social plans.

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.