Shadow of the Waxwing Slain

A Blade Runner TTRPG Solo Campaign

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Before I get into it, I just want to say thanks for allowing me a break. There was quite a bit going on and it was nice to not stress about getting a post out every Monday. That being said, I’ve been working on a new campaign and am eager to share it with you all.

Here we begin a new campaign, Shadow of the Waxwing Slain using Blade Runner: The Role Playing Game system, written by Free League. This is the first time I’ll be using a system that isn’t made to be played solo, so I’ll be using other tools to support me, which I’ll note and explain as I use them. I’ll be tinkering and trying different tools as I go, to find what fits best. I might use some tables from the wonderful (and free) Augmented Reality, or some Starforged oracle tables, or whatever else I manage to find and seems useful.

Lore Dump: Blade runner is a cyberpunk dystopia, a neon noir setting filled with massive mega-corporations, detectives in trenchcoats, and retro-style technology. Blade Runner is the name for an officer who deals in any crimes involving replicants and replicant-technology. Replicants are essentially robots who look like humans, created to serve in a variety of ways. It’s usually difficult to tell if a person is a replicant or not. There are feelings of distrust, anger and hatred from humans towards replicants. Replicant models older than N-9s are currently illegal and hunting them down is one of the main duties of a Blade Runner.

This will also be the first time I’m playing two characters instead of one. I wanted to have a grizzled older human (who could still potentially be an N8) and a rookie N9 replicant, working together on a case. Here is the character sheet for Remedy, who everyone calls “D”.

D is a Doxie, which is a replicant archetype that is hyper-vigilant and hyper-aware. She is strong and fast, but is lacking in the areas of Empathy and Intelligence.

Next up is Eddie “Echo” Fletcher.

This form-fillable character sheet can be found on the BR: RPG discord here

Fletcher has been on the force a long time, ten years. In that time, he’s learned how to read, manipulate and observe, but he’s aging, and his strength isn’t what it used to be. He’d prefer to sneak, talk or use his gun then get into any kind of hand to hand fight.

The less years on the force, the more you can advance your attributes, the more years on the force, the more you can advance your skills, which is a very cool system.

Almost everything that could be randomly generated was, including Key Memory, Key Relationship, Home, Appearance and Signature Item.

The Blade Runner RPG system is a bit dense and complex, so I’m not going to go through every rule. I’ll start with the basics and explain along the way. I’ll say this is going to be much more narrative and story-focused, with less rolling in general and more story-telling. I’m through a couple chapters at this point, and it’s incredibly fun to stretch my creative-writing skills, but it’s also slower-going and just harder than using oracles to push the story along.

Rolling dice: To complete an action in BR:RPG, you roll your attribute + skill and any die that comes up 6 or higher is a success. More than one success is a critical, so you get a bonus of some kind. A roll higher than 10 counts as two successes. You can Push a roll, which involves rerolling to attempt to get more successes, but it may force your character to take Stress or Damage. If you Push, you can reroll any die that isn’t showing a 1. You suffer Stress or Damage equal to the number of 1’s rolled overall, either with the first roll or after Pushing.

For example, let’s say D is trying to sneak into an apartment without making a sound. I would roll a d12 for Agility and a d8 for Stealth. d12 + d8 = 3, 4 → Failure. She definitely makes noise and someone notices unless I push! I decide to Push the roll as D becomes more focused and vigilant in suppressing the noise she’s making. d12 + d8 = 12, 4 → Critical Success! The 12 gives her two successes which is a Critical. She suffers no Damage because she didn’t roll any 1s.

As for the Case that my detectives will be solving, I’ve used some random tables in the back of BR:RPG to get the basic gist of what’s happened, but I plan on letting my creative muse as well as well as yes/no oracle questions to direct the investigation. I will not know the ending until I get to it. I’ll determine or randomly generate clues as needed, and work towards conclusions that make sense, but I won’t know the end until I get there and the dice decide, which will keep it interesting and engaging. I’ll use a d6 to answer yes/no questions, and possibly other situations (i.e. How willing to talk is this person? 1-not at all, 6-very willing). I may even make my own oracle tables as I need to.

For right now, I’m not going to try to get into the more advanced and complex Game-Master Emulators such as Mythic or Motif Story Engine, simply because it feels like adding too much to track and roll. I want to be able to play a bit fast and loose, so I don’t get bogged down. Now, as I play, I may very well change my mind and give something more in-depth a try depending on how things are going. This is an experiment and is likely to be changing. I’ll be sure to make a note of and explain any tools I do happen to use in the chapter I use them.

I’ll end with a bit of a teaser.

It was raining. It was always raining. Water drizzled off the tarp that flapped in the wind, dripping on the back of Fletcher’s duster as he sat on a stool at the noodle counter, lit by multi-colored neon, slurping the remnants of his noodle bowl held up to his mouth.

—

Fletcher looked out at the giant glowing advertisements, made bulbous and strange through the raindrops on the window. “You know my name but I don’t know yours and if we’re gonna be partners, that’s a problem.”

“You could just ask me my name directly instead of talking around it.”

—

“…The Movement is claiming it was the work of an N9. You know the job, find who did it and bring them in.”

—

Blue and red light pulsing in the rain, reflecting off pools of water. A section of the area barricaded off with officers behind, making sure people stayed back. Only a few hangers-on were here, on the edge, watching.

—

Fletcher sighed. “It’s not about that. It’s about keepin’ them happy. If they aren’t happy, Holden ain’t happy. This could be a PR disaster for them. We need to at least make them think they’re in the loop.”

—

“Mountains toppling evermore into seas without a shore; seas that restlessly aspire, surging, unto skies of fire; lakes that endlessly outspread, their lone waters-lone and dead, their still waters, still and chilly”

Shadow of the Waxwing Slain, Chapter 1: The Courthouse Bombing