Exploring the Devil's Bargain Mechanic in Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Transcript

This week, Sam talks with Pam Punzalan about Devil’s Bargains, one part of the dice pool mechanic from John Harper's game Blades in the Dark. Some topics discussed include:

* Rulebooks as guidelines and play philosophy more than proper rules

* DBs as a safety tool

* Generic DBs

* Do DBs slow down the game? Is that good or bad?

* Retconning in RPGs (it's good)

* Putting DBs into any old game

* Our favorite DBs

Games mentioned:

* Blades in the Dark

* Navathem's End

* The Exiles

* Belonging Outside Belonging games such as Dream Askew // Dream Apart

You can find Pam on Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.io at TheDoveTailor. You can find their newsletter at thedovetailor.substack.com. Her website is thedovetailor.carrd.co.

You can find Sam @sdunnewold on Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.io

You can find Blades in the Dark at bladesinthedark.com.

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