Character Sheet
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Feb 06, 2020 at 04:57:00 AM
In Blacksad, all characters are represented by a series of game features. In the case of playing characters, this information is presented on the character sheet.
The character sheet has the following features:
- Concept: A one-phrase summary of the character, consisting of three elements: the character's animal species, occupation, and circumstance (character's present state). For example, John Blacksad has the concept "Detective cat with an ambiguous morality".
- Characteristics: Values that serve to represent the different areas of action in which the characters may be involved. There are four: Fortitude (brute force, resistance, etc.), Reflexes (coordination of movements, ability to react, etc.), Willpower (presence, poise, etc.) and Intellect (intelligence, cunning, etc.). To create your character, distribute 12 points among these four characteristics and remember that all characteristics have a value between 1 and 5 and a descriptive phrase.
- Traits: Areas in which the character stands out and further differentiates our character from the rest, in a manner consistent with the chosen concept. Features are associated with a characteristic, so that the character will have one or more features in each of them and have values between +1 and +3. Distribute as many points among the traits of each characteristic equivalent to the stats this one has.
- Milestones: Four short phrases summarizing past experiences or characteristics that have a deep impact on the character. The milestones don't have to be negative or positive per se: they reflect what has happened and maybe they can be interpreted from one side as well as the other, having the look that best fits the idea you have. During the game, the milestones will serve as a guide for interpreting your character and the situations surrounding it, and may also affect the outcome of the rolls in a positive or negative way.
- Complication: A limitation that prevents him from developing his full potential and that limits him, as a "human" that he is. For example, John Blacksad's complication is "He can't resist a pretty face".
- Combat scores: All characters have an Initiative value (how fast he acts in stressful situations; Reflexes + Intellect), Defense (how difficult it is to hit him; Reflexes/2, round-up to higher value ), Endurance (the margin in which certain wounds can cause complications; Fortitude + Willpower), Resistance (the damage he is able to endure; Endurance x3) and Protection (the defenses, natural or not, against damage).
- Conscience: The integrity and moral rectitude of the character, his inclination to do the right thing. This punctuation (Willpower + Intellect) marks the status of your character in his personal story of descent into hell.
- Drive: The character's ability to give the best of himself and to take advantage of the situation, his motivation and, in a way, his heroism. The character starts with the exact same number of Drive points and Conscience points.
- Instinct: The strength of the character's impulses, the degree to which he trusts them, and can use them to his advantage. Every character starts with 2 Instinct points.
Examples of Play
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Feb 05, 2020 at 04:55:29 AM
Thanks to all of you, we have already funded more than 55% of the project! And this is just the beginning!
So now it's time to a little peek to Blacksad: The Roleplaying Game.
The "How to Play" section of our campaign already stats the basics of Blacksad game system, but we know you wanna know more about it.
Blacksad: The Roleplaying Game uses three different colored dice: black (action dice), white (complementary dice) and red (tension dice). Since tension dice (red) are only used in certain situations, most of time only action dice (black) will be used along with complementary dice (white): action dice equal to character’s stats plus complementary dice in order to complete a set of six dice.
Blacksad Dice
How this works in play?
John Blacksad is investigating the murder of Natalia Wilford who was his former love. Clues have led him to Leon Kronski’s apartment, Natalia’s most recent lover. After forcing the lock open, Blacksad enters the house and starts searching for something that will enable him to advance. The game master tells Blacksad’s player to roll the dice to see if he is successful in his search. Blacksad has Intellect 3, so the player must use three action dice and three complementary dice in order to roll six dice, the result is: 2, 2, 5, 1, 3, 3. The 5 from the action dice is considered successful and the 1 from the complementary dice is considered a failure, this nullifies the success from the action dice.
Some game mechanics, like invoking aspects or the support actions, will allow the player to reroll one or two dice. Any action dice (black) or complementary (white) can be rerolled, no matter the result, except for the tension dice (red). Each die can be rerolled; dice can only be rerolled once, and this result must always be accepted as valid.
Furthermore, depending on what the player is rolling for, the results of 6 (in action dice) and 6 (in complementary dice) can be two successful results instead of one, like what normally happens with tension dice (red), or what happens with results of 1 with action dice, which can nullify success.
Blacksad’s player wants to reroll the action dice (black), where the result was a 2 along with the three complementary dice, to attempt as many successes as possible in order to overcome the conflict. For this, he uses one Drive point and activates the milestone “The only job he’s kept up is being a private detective”, which defends how seriously the cat takes his job. The new result is: 2, 3, 5, 2, 2, 4. There are no new successes but now there are no failures, so the 5 is not nullified.
The Animals of Blacksad
over 6 years ago
– Tue, Feb 04, 2020 at 04:56:41 AM
In Blacksad, the animals might look like they have been picked randomly but if we take a closer look we’ll see that they have a predominantly narrative purpose. They are a metaphor of the role they are going to play within the story. This enables us to recognize the character and even part of their story with just one look. It’s very important that the species chosen for the character give the players the ability to see it as part of the concept and give it special importance. The species of the character has to reflect what the player wants the rest to see in them. In the Blacksad comics, the chief of police, Hans Karup, is a polar bear that represents the purity of the animals of white fur, and his physical strength places him as the leader within his community. The pig that runs the Cypher Club represents the decadence of that club and the customers who frequently go there. Jake Ostiombe is a gorilla that represents strength and fierceness, which help him in the boxing matches he fights in. These examples prove the importance of choosing the right species because it defines the main idea of the character and the interactions it has in the story.
As a player, you’ll have to take time to make this decision. You’ll think about the abilities and qualities the species of your choosing has within the animal kingdom and make sure it suites the occupation and circumstance you have in mind for your character.
This way, you’ll be able to play any character you want from an ambitious dog detective to a naughty weasel journalist or a naive doe writer.
Welcome to Blacksad: The Roleplaying Game
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Feb 03, 2020 at 07:44:54 AM
These are the troubling years between the Second World War and the Cold War. The world is a noir film where anthropomorphic animals play the role of weary detectives, brutish goons or mischievous femme fatales. Welcome to the world of Blacksad, the award winning comic series by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido about a black cat called John Blacksad, who works as a detective. Throughout the numerous volumes that define the series, Blacksad resolves cases, reencounters his past and lives all kinds of adventures that revolve around the classic themes of noir fiction.
Now, you will have the chance to enjoy this world in a totally different way.
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