Breathe In: Taking Your Time With Downtime

A short free essay on Downtime in Blades in the Dark games - it's clear, well thought out, and written from a place of genuine enthusiasm for these games. I especially appreciated the consideration of themes relating to critical perspectives on power. 5/5 stars - outstanding.

Having played in a campaign of Band of Blades (a Forged in the Dark game) where our GM and players were quite inconsistent in how we approached Downtime segments, it was oddly reassuring to read about other groups running into similar moments of excessive focus on mechanics, or just not having enough inspiration for a notable roleplay segment.

I've wondered at the potential during downtime actions to explore and development the PCs in a relatively safe and almost private environment. Downtime actions is really my favorite part of the game, and I'm glad I'm not alone in this feeling. Excellent essay, and I bought the Doskvol Breathes PDF to add to all my games to provide more questions and potential for downtime actions.

Sam coming in with a great vision for downtime, and how to be intentional about it. Precise framing of downtime scenes offer a great contrast to the scores, and will give your game a huge boost.

Sam's Doskvol Breathes supplement, as well as this essay, showcase how Blades and other Forged in the Dark systems have so much to gain by slowing down and wading in the feelings and characters of the worlds they make. Bravo.