The Lost District

Blades in the Dark
#1

So, my intrepid band of scoundrels are about to leave the (relative) safety of the city and head out to the Lost District to sabotage another faction’s efforts there.

I’m sure it will all go extremely smoothly.

But this does raise a few questions about how the environment there differs. Some of which are mechanical.

For a start, as it’s outside the lightning barriers… that means no deathseeker crows, no bells ringing for the dead… and potentially no Heat increase or other automatic consequences for deaths?

(Of course, if you decide to shoot someone from another faction and there are witnesses, it might not be that simple)

…and presumably no penalty for use of electroplasmic ammunition etc. either? Although I guess that draw a very different type of unwelcome attention out there, possibly as a consequence rather than a clock…

I’m thinking that dawn and dusk get a lot more important with no artificial light source, too. With the world otherwise in darkness, torches out there are going to draw a lot of attention…

Any other thoughts?

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#2

There are so many options here! As well as the Lost district being one of my favorite aspects to play in. Tbh there are too many to share here, so I suggest looking in the official Discord for BitD as we have discussed and come up with so many goodies!

Usually when looking for something specific I use the search function as well as look in the Creative category and pinned items. Hope this helps! Some of the best things have been graveyards filled with recorded echoes from the dead, crazy plants, bramble hares, buried treasure and more.

https://discord.gg/e6pc4gpQrE

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#3

In the one-shot I ran, I actually had a clock going of “how long before a swarm of hungry spirits arrives” (though much shortened to keep it less obvious to the players). Outside the lightning barriers, the power of a spirit charm is much diminished - sure you can hold off one spirit with it, maybe, but the Lost District has hundreds.

I also told them that using a Ghost Key wouldn’t work - a ghost key relies on opening the ghost of a door, and the Lost District has been dead long enough that the reality is the same as the ghost.

Depending on their goal and relationships, there are a couple factions with interests in the Lost District (including the Spirit Wardens) who might make things easier or more difficult. Maybe they need to do a setup Score to forge a temporary alliance, blackmail, or steal useful anti-ghost items from another faction.

#4

In the latest Blades in the Dark novel, Raining Sideways, there is a brief excursion into the Lost District that runs into some deadly trouble. Also, there’s more background on my version of the Lost District’s history, including what it was called before it was “lost” and why that happened. Readers get a look at how settlements out there fend off the death storms, and what you can do to protect yourself if you’re on the run from a storm front.

https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/andrew-shields/raining-sideways/paperback/product-4ee4vg.html?page=1&pageSize=4

The novel I’m writing now, Sleet Rising, has some intrepid scoundrels reviving a long-expired smuggling run to an oasis in the Deathlands, with all the complications that entails. I’m releasing a chapter every two weeks on my Patreon.

It isn’t canon, but it is a lot of fun. =)

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