By Rookery Publications
Art by Mark Gibbons
It might surprise the novice player to learn that behind Dark Deeds’ cloak and dagger theatrics swirl deep and murky strategic depths. Few victories are won with just a trusty stabber and a pair of pretty petticoats, although that’s a solid place to start. This week, we dissect, with cold cunning, the plots and schemes malicious minions can deploy to earn the Patron’s fickle Favour and ultimately win the day.
Favour is the currency of Dark Deeds. Meagre portions can be earned through petty criminal acts of thievery and violence, but the big paydays accompany completing the game’s titular tasks. Each Dark Deed represents the precise orders, vague instructions, or fleeting whims of every minion’s unpredictable Patron. Successfully completing a Dark Deed is a feather in any minion’s black and shabby cap and earns a significant Favour reward. In sharp contrast, no greater shame exists than a Dark Deed left undone. Simply contemplating the consequences of failing their Patron has many a minion waking in a cold sweat. Whilst it’s true they are not to be taken lightly, it’s a callow player who avoids picking up Dark Deeds in addition to the ones they are assigned at the start of the game for fear that they might fail.
Dark Deeds are often made easier to complete thanks to bonuses bestowed by Plot cards, which also aid attempts to implicate, steal, cheat, deny, and otherwise get ahead of rival minions.
The Early Game
At the start of the game, each player is dealt a hand of 5 cards – 2 Dark Deeds and 3 Plots. To a naive and wide-eyed minion, that initial assignment of Dark Deeds might seem intimidating, but keep in mind players have the entire game to foment their dastardly schemes, and the boldest amongst them will think nothing of taking on additional Dark Deeds as the game progresses. It’s also worth noting that some Dark Deeds are comparatively easy to complete, and players should be ready to pounce on the Tavern deck if one of these appears at an opportune moment.
The first few turns tend to revolve around the acquisition of Loot since bonuses to Strength and Cunning (plus the odd handy one-shot item) will prove vital as plots thicken. The value of Loot that may be ‘liberated’ from a Citizen on the Street is not determined by the individual’s Perception – the lowly Celebrant is just as likely to be toting a Blessed Bludgeoner (+2 Strength) as the Revered Mother, but will be significantly easier to rob. Consequently, players should be ready to adjust their targets depending on both the Citizens and the corresponding Loot in play.
Most players seek to acquire a range of Loot, pilfering items that confer bonuses to both Strength and Cunning. Still, it’s not uncommon for a minion to accumulate a range of heavyweight weaponry and start dishing out some serious damage to Anthrand’s Guards and Nemeses. As much as such wanton violence is likely to please the Patron, it’s also guaranteed to earn the player excessive Suspicion Marks, which, if not carefully managed, can see favourite items pinched by rivals or, in the worst case, wholesale confiscation of all Loot by the authorities when the minion is arrested.
The Mid-Game
The mid-game often finds players battling each other as much as the inhabitants of Anthrand’s Street. Although the Patron frowns upon direct, inter-minion conflict, thieving, snitching, and general betrayal are positively encouraged and the Plot cards in a player’s hand can wreak much misery when deftly deployed. A player can hold a maximum of 6 cards (including Dark Deeds, which, once picked up, cannot be discarded, although they can be forced upon a rival), so careful consideration should be given to the acquiring and playing of Plot cards. Some are intended to be picked up and quickly played, but others a minion will guard jealousy until dire need looms. No Plot card stirs a minion’s blood more vigorously than the defiantly glorious Sod Off! Its playing ensures someone’s scheme now lies in tatters and there will be a bloody reckoning before the game’s end!
If minions can tear themselves away from each other’s throats, the mid-game tends to see the greatest concentration of Dark Deeds completed. Plot and Loot often come together to facilitate these Favour-earning escapades.
Here’s an example:
The player has the Star-Crossed Lovers Dark Deed and the Witch-Sniffer Nemesis in pursuit. Before launching their attack, in an effort to improve the player’s chances of success they play the Mine! Plot card. This allows them to steal an item of Loot from whichever player is currently the Most Suspicious Minion. In this instance, they choose that minion’s Master Sword (+3 Strength), which proves invaluable in disposing of the Nemeses and earning the player 16 points of Favour (8 for the Witch-Sniffer and 8 for the completed Dark Deed).
If the Most Suspicious Minion had been able (or willing) to play a Sod Off! Plot card, they could’ve cancelled the effect of the Mine! Alternatively, they could’ve played a Foiled! Plot card after their rival attacked, and that card’s −3 modifier to the target’s roll would’ve caused the attack on the Witch-Sniffer to fail despite the stolen sword. Deliciously petty, of course!
Although a risky proposition thanks to the ever-changing decks, a ‘Dark Deed chain’ is an intoxicating proposition that many players will attempt to construct. Since a player may complete a single Dark Deed in each of their turn’s 3 phases, with the right cards (and the right dice rolls, of course), it’s possible to rack up a significant Favour haul in a very short space of time.
Here’s an example:
The player has 3 Dark Deeds – Wild Goose Chase, Kidnap a Guard, and Infiltrate the Keep. They have 2 Guards chasing them and in the Take Stock phase of their current turn they choose to complete Wild Goose Chase, adding it to their Score Pile and earning them 6 points.
When they next Hit the Street, they successfully attack the Recruit that is pursuing them and choose to complete Kidnap a Guard Dark Deed, earning themselves 11 points (8 for the Dark Deed and 3 for the Recruit). They also earn themselves 3 Suspicion Marks in the attack, which takes their total to an arrestable 12. But rather than attempt to reduce the total and keep the authorities at bay, they allow themselves to be arrested in the Take Stock phase of the same turn and complete Infiltrate the Keep, earning themselves another 7 points. That’s 24 points in total.
Not a bad night’s haul!
The End Game
The Brute Squad’s arrival on the Street triggers Dark Deeds’ frantic final phase. Once this unique Curfew card is in play, no additional cards are drawn from the Street deck, and the game ends after the Brute Squad leaves the board. Before that, there’s a frantic turn or two as players attempt to complete (or offload) outstanding Dark Deeds and dispose of (or again, offload) pursuing Nemeses. To be stuck with either past game’s end will result in significant Favour penalties. It requires nerves of steel to wait until the game’s dying seconds to play Plot cards like, ‘E Did It! or Pass the Buck… what if they have a Sod Off! in reserve?
Dark Deeds is a fun, fast-paced, and unpredictable game in which the most successful players adapt nimbly to its sudden shifts and challenges. Rival players pose as great a threat to victory as the most powerful Nemesis, so trust nothing but the blade in your hand… and those Grand Pantaloons!
We thank you for your company over these past 10 blogs and hope that our paths cross (peacefully) again out there on Anthrand’s grubby street.
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