Troupe (IB)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark hack

A Troupe is a band of entertainers running a venue, touring the lanes, or streaming across the nets—circus rigs, zero-g dance, immersive AR theatre, live music, stunt crews, or variety shows. They captivate habitats and waystations, balancing spectacle with logistics, bookings, and fickle patrons. In space, every gig is a docked berth, a customs form, and a crowd to win—where showmanship turns into Credit.

Heat & Wanted Level

☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ | ☐☐☐☐

Credit

☐☐☐☐ | Vault ☐☐☐☐ | Vault 2 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Special Abilities

1. Made on Stage: Each PC may add +1 action rating to Consort, Rig, or Sway (up to a max rating of 3).
2. Crowd Pleasers: +1d on any Resolve action performed on stage or before a number of people to scale, p 221.
3. Ensemble: On a group action, multiple 6s from different rolls count as a critical success.
4. Fabulous: +1d on Resolve Resistance rolls.
5. Lounge: +1d to Gather Information about people.
6. Patronage: When you advance your Tier, it costs half the usual Credit. Who is your patron and why do they fund you?
7. Upstairs Allies: Treat up to four positive statuses as if they were Investment Crew Upgrades.
8. Additional Playbook: Select another crew playbook. You may now 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. Use creativity, showmanship, or performance to influence or entertain others.
2. Contend with challenges above your current station.
3. Bolster your troupe’s reputation or develop a new one.
4. Express the goals, drives, inner conflict, or essential nature of the troupe.

Crew Upgrades

Starting Upgrades ☑ Venue (pick one), ☑ Vice (pick one), ☑☑ Runabouts, ☑☑ Cohort (Team of Agents Cross trained as Engineers, pick a Flaw), two ☑ ☑ of choice.

Troupe Only Upgrades

1. ☐ Backstage Pass — +1d to Gather Information in downtime.
2. ☐ Costumes — Distinctive Quality +2 clothes.
3. ☐ Dressing Room — Reduce Heat increase by 1 per operation.
4. ☐ Fans — +2 Credit payoff on operations that impress the common crowd.
5. ☐ Headliner — +2 Credit payoff on operations that impress the upper crust.
6. ☐ Local Sponsors — +1d to Acquire Asset rolls.
7. ☐ Method Acting — +1d Engagement on Deception plans.
8. ☐ On the Road Again — +1d Engagement on Transport plans.
9. ☐ Stage Fame — +1d Engagement on Social plans.
10. ☐ Talent — All your cohort gangs add the Agent role. Agents become Elite.

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 new spin-hab opens a flagship venue; secure the residency before a rival troupe does.
2. A luxury liner wants live shows during a high-risk crossing—hazard pay on offer.
3. A critic’s viral pan tanks your sales; flip them or outshine with a pop-up spectacle.
4. Customs seizes your effects as “hazmat”; spring the gear or re-stage with local kit.
5. A netstream deal demands “edgier” content—bend your brand or negotiate control.
6. An elite patron wants a discreet private show; the guest list is politically hot.
7. A festival’s main stage slot opens after an accident—can you mobilize in time?
8. A rival leaks your set list; counter-program with a surprise collaboration.
9. A habitat’s curfew limits nightlife; lobby for exemptions or stage “matinee raves.”
10. A meme storms the nets; capitalize with a remixed act before it burns out.
11. A sponsor offers a shipboard stage refit tied to exclusivity—golden handcuffs?
12. Crowd control fails at a packed dome; save face and fans without blaming security.
13. A famous headliner ghosts a gig; cover their slot and poach their audience.
14. A union dispute shutters loaders; hand-carry the show or broker a truce.
15. A surveillance-heavy polity censors your lyrics; slip the message or play it straight.
16. A zero-g stunt goes wrong on stream; crisis-manage, then come back bigger.
17. A pirate station offers untaxed air-time—great reach, bad neighbors.
18. A boutique effects house can triple your spectacle if you front materials.
19. A celebrity scandal splashes your name; lean in with a concept show or go quiet.
20. A historic theatre’s AI asks for a revival it curated a century ago—honor or modernize?