I'd be curious to meet the townspeople, not abstract the whole thing behind a roll...

That's reasonable.

That's not how that works though.

Not how what works? I’m more interested in role play for meeting the townspeople than leaving it to action and fortune rolls. I’m referring to this box* from the Blades SRD:



Edit to add: The alternative is the GM just gives the answer to the question, but that’s also not role play

Am I missing something obvious here?

* https://bladesinthedark.com/gathering-information
This message was last edited by the player at 13:53, Sat 22 June.

Well, basically, what I want to say is that there's some steps and most of all fictional positioning needed before you even get to the Gather Information roll. I think it would be best to provide some examples.

Let's say Carlo decides he wants to Gather Information about some possible secret entrance to the Sanctum. So he could either rely on his character's past knowledge or try to snoop around in the present.

So, let's go through the options:

1) Carlo somehow already had the opportunity to learn that in the past. He'd need to justify how he could know that. Most likely through a Flashback. So, you could come up with this flashback where there's this party with some Revellan bigwigs Carlo managed to somehow attend and Magistrix Lebraux was there too. She got very drunk and somehow separated from her entourage, leading to a moment where Carlo was able to have a 1 on 1 conversation with her and get some secrets out of her.

Now, that would be very unlikely, so that Flasback could easily cost Carlo 3 or 4 Stress. Then, because it's sort of important, I'd also decide that you'd need to make an Action Roll (or maybe Fortune Roll) within that Flashback, with Carlo somehow coaxing the information out of Lebraux depending on his approach, which you'd need to describe.

Then it would depend on the result of the roll, if it failed, then it would be decided that this opportunity was a bust and Carlo didn't learn anything back then. There could also be Consequences. Maybe Lebraux remembers Carlo and knows that she told him something important during her drunken ramblings and is wary of him for it, if not outright hating him. So, once you are on the island, Carlo could suddenly remember that Magistrix Lebraux has it out for him and that would be an additional complication.


2) Carlo decides to snoop around in the present. First, he'd need to decide on how exactly he'd go about it and likely also where. So, he could walk around town to see what's there and I'd point out some interesting locations, such as the local tavern.

a) Let's say Carlo decides to go to the local tavern and somehow gather information there. Once he enters, I'd describe the scene and perhaps some patrons who stand out and could be possible sources of information. Additional information could be obtained if Carlo spends some time observing the patrons, such as via Survey or maybe Study. This could lead to him noticing someone who could be the best source of information regarding the Sanctum in the tavern. Then, he could somehow gather information from them.

Or maybe he just asks around the tavern, but that is bound to be less effective and draw unwanted attention.

Another possible option would be to spend some time at the tavern socializing with the patrons. That would probably be Consort. Carlo would probably be doing things like throwing cash around and ordering drinks for people left and right, entertaining patrons with his acrobatics, fencing skills and larger-than-life personality. This would obviously take a lot of time. While this is going on, Carlo could be discreetly coaxing bits of information out of the patrons regarding the Sanctum and possible ways to get inside secretly.

However, this approach could risk Carlo drawing attention to himself and that could have potential ramifications in the future. Carlo would also learn only things the tavern patrons would know. Perhaps someone knowledgeable would happen to be there at the time, perhaps not. Or perhaps Carlo fails his roll and manages to get into a bar fight against the whole tavern.


b) Carlo decides not to leave anything to chance and go about this methodically. He thinks that the best thing he could do would be to find some plans of the Sanctum and to find a place where they could be. Perhaps he first decides to find the place, so he first asks some local who points Carlo to the location where maps of the Sanctum could be located. So, Carlo goes there and somehow obtains access to the archives. It could be that Carlo decides to break in, likely via passing an Action Roll that would depend on Tier and Quality of the security measures in place at the archives. Or it could be that Carlo forges some document and disguises himself as some high-ranking official to gain access. Or maybe Carlo seduces the secretary working there with his roguish charm to let him in.

Then once he's in the archives, it would just be him searching the archives, maybe learning what he can there, maybe looking for some specific old plans of the Sanctum that would show secret entrances and such.

If he broke in, then there would probably be a Danger Clock that would tick down and he'd need to finish his information gathering before he's discovered. If he seduced the secretary, then there's likely no rush and perhaps she's there helping him obtain what he needs. In that case, either there's no roll required or it gains a large bonus. So, either way, Carlo now has what he needs. Plans of the Sanctum that he either somehow made a copy or or stole outright, so that he can analyse them later together with his crew members. Or perhaps he just simply looks them over, looking for some possible back entrance and nothing else. So, all that remains is to get out of there with the information he gained.

If he seduced the secretary to help him, that could be a potential complication, as she's now involved. So, maybe she wants some money for her silence. Or to get out of this dump and join the crew. Or a cut from the proceeds of the scor. So maybe she really fell for Carlo and this turns to hatred once Carlo just absconds and breaks her heart. So, she now wants revenge on Carlo for using her.

Likewise, if Carlo stole the plans from the archives instead of either making a copy or just going with what he can memorize, then the theft could be discovered and the people at the Sanctum be aware that you are planning something. That would lead to increased security at the Sanctum.

This message was deleted by the player at 22:00, Sat 22 June.

This makes more sense, thanks. To the original question, I’m interested in exploring the town, finding out what the townspeople know, and seeing where that takes us. Carlo is in no hurry. I won’t know specifically how he does that until we have more information.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:03, Sat 22 June.

Sophia is trying to gather some information, as well as establish her cover as a noblewoman.

So let's free play/ role play until we get to a position where we can make a Gather Information roll?

So Sophia and I are walking around the town, looking at houses, trees, animals, shops, then going up to the Sanctum? We might talk to people we see walking round perhaps.

Carlo is talking to people at the tavern?

In reply to Orlov (msg # 460):

Yep, will have a post about it up in a couple of hours

Carlo is not necessarily at the tavern yet, I’m interested in a description of the town first

Tbh, the 'town' is really small, just the tavern that also doubles as a brothel, the general store, one other shop, small wooden church with an attached graveyard, the tavern, a warehouse and one large, official looking building that seems to serve as the town hall. Other than that, it's mostly small houses for the people to live in. You guess there's around 50 inhabitants.

Got it

I'll move this along after the weekend.

Remember,  don't poke the crazy. Sidle up next to it and lick it's ear.

In reply to Orlov (msg # 466):

I try not to lick ears unless necessary.

It’s very difficult to lick your own ear but it’s not unheard of

Poke!

I hope everything’s ok with our GM!

Maybe he's hibernating. Another month until spring...

Aww.

I'm going to delete this game from my game list because said list is now half full of inactive games.

If the GM does return, somebody please send me a RMail.

Got it!

Same -- Removing this from my game list, but still very interested to play if our GM comes back! RMail me, my username is michaerical