Arcane as in the League of Legends Netflix show (first few episodes mainly).
I’m not big on the sort “oppressive, endless darkness/ever encroaching void” vibe of the default Blades setting. But while watching Arcane I can see how well it could mesh with the system.
Thing is, I’ve never actually run a Blades game before. Mostly listened to podcasts, read some of the book and played a session of Scum & Villainy.
How easy is it to tweak the “vibe” of the default setting? Reading through the book is not doing much to inspire me, but I like the system a lot and think I could get into the setting if I could just make it more of my own.
Should be noted that I’m not looking to play in the world of Arcane verbatim. It’s just a touchstone.
I haven't seen Arcane, but tweaking the setting should be relatively straightforward.
The key thing about Doskvol that I'd recommend carrying over is the pressure cooker environment you get from having a place that the crew can't easily or meaningfully leave. It allows the tension and stakes to naturally ratchet up over time, forcing the crew to deal with the problems they create rather than laying low until things blow over.
Aside from that, ghosts and the occult could get narrative makeovers to better suit your setting.
I think you should go for it!
Thanks! Yeah, it would certainly have the same or similar stakes. I just want to add some color and joviality to the whole thing.
Do you have any tips for how to go about it? Blades seems kinda tied to Doskvol so the whole thing feels a bit daunting.
I would recommend running the game after the events of Arcane. Piltover and Zaun are at war. Your game should take place in Zaun. Leaving Zaun is a huge risk due to the war. This helps keep that pressure cooker vibe mentioned above.
With Zaun at war with no leader you have waring gangs all struggling for power and control. This is where your players come into the game. A small gang trying to make it in the undercity.
The only real thing you would need to do is just rename the map city sections based on Arcane.