Character creation in most games is where heroes are born. In Blades in the Dark, character creation is where we accidentally founded a sewer cult dedicated to a giant vampire bat god, befriended ghosts, picked fights with spirit traffickers, and collectively agreed that getting high on our own alchemical supply was a perfectly reasonable life choice.
This was not a descent into darkness. This was an enthusiastic sprint.
Show Notes
Part 2 of our Blades in the Dark How to Play series was supposed to be about character creation. It technically was. We built characters, chose backgrounds, picked special abilities, and put together our crew. We just happened to do it while derailing through Texas town names, cult theology, ghost smuggling economics, and whether a sewer hideout was the most cult appropriate headquarters possible. It was. Obviously.
We dug into how character creation works in Blades in the Dark and immediately found one of the system's strengths. Building a character is fast, but every choice matters. Heritage, background, actions, rivals, friends, vices, and special abilities all tie directly back into the fiction. Instead of feeling like disconnected mechanics, everything pushes the story forward.
Tyler leaned hard into the supernatural with a Whisper tied to ghosts and spirit trafficking, while Ash built an alchemical menace who absolutely should not be trusted around poisons, drugs, or open flames. Together they somehow arrived at the most natural conclusion imaginable and founded a strange sewer cult devoted to Camazotz, complete with ghost contacts, cultists, and a plan that will almost certainly end badly for everyone involved.
What stood out most was how collaborative crew creation feels. The hideout, reputation, deity, allies, rivals, and upgrades all turned into worldbuilding on the fly. By the end we were not just holding character sheets. We had a weird little organization with history, enemies, goals, and enough red flags to concern every authority in Doskvol. Which means we are probably doing it right.
Key Takeaways
Character creation in Blades in the Dark is quick but tightly connected to the game world
Heritage and background choices help define roleplay hooks and advancement opportunities
Action ratings shape both character strengths and resistance mechanics
Special abilities immediately establish each character's role and style
Friends, rivals, and vices create built in story hooks from session one
Tyler created a ghost focused Whisper with spirit themed connections and supernatural abilities
Ash built an alchemical Leech centered around crafting, toxins, and chaos
Crew creation adds shared worldbuilding through hideouts, reputation, contacts, and upgrades
The group chose a Cult crew operating from a sewer hideout beneath the city
Camazotz became the cult's chosen deity because apparently subtlety was never an option
The episode accidentally became a masterclass in collaborative storytelling through character creation
The cult may be strange, but at least everyone agreed the sewer lair was perfect
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Meet the Hosts
Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix.
Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme.
Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy.
Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos.
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