Blades in the Dark
Thieves own the night in a gritty magic-industrial city!
In Blades in the Dark, competing gangs, wealthy families, and the city watch attempt to thwart your criminal gang as you fight your way out of the smog-choked, ghost-ridden streets of the alt-Victorian city of Doskvol.
Doskvol is a thoroughly-detailed setting filled with threats and opportunities. Criminal factions vie for control of the city, and player character actions influence and are affected by these power struggles. The core mechanics are built around six-sided die (d6) rolls, with frequent “success at a cost” outcomes and rules that keep action moving even when characters are between criminal schemes.
Here’s how publisher Evil Hat describes Blades in the Dark:
Blades in the Dark is a tabletop role-playing game about a crew of daring scoundrels seeking their fortunes on the haunted streets of an industrial-fantasy city. There are heists, chases, occult mysteries, dangerous bargains, bloody skirmishes, and, above all, riches to be had — if you’re bold enough to seize them.
What Fans Love About Blades in the Dark
- Doskovol – The magic-tinted steampunk city of Doskvol is highly detailed, with a variety of districts, each presenting its own challenges and opportunities.
- Characters & Crew – Player characters are part of a crew, and the crew advances in capabilities just as individual characters do. Setbacks for individuals influence the crew, and vice versa.
- Flashbacks – In the middle of a heist, you realize your character would have brought a length of rope, but you neglected to write this down as you were planning the heist. Not to worry! Just expend a stress point or two and declare that you actually did bring that rope.
Reviews
- “I seriously cannot say enough good things about this game.” — JayArr, Bell of Lost Souls
- “…not only is Blades the most fun that my friends and I have ever had playing an RPG, it’s also like nothing I’ve ever played.” — Quintin Smith, Shut Up and Sit Down
See Blades in the Dark in Action
Community
- Hang out in the official Blades forum
- Find fellow rogues on Reddit
- Get answers to your Blades in the Dark questions on RPG StackExchange.
Buy It
- Buy the PDF + book from Evil Hat
- Buy the PDF from DriveThru RPG