Blades in the Dark (2017)

Overview

Blades in the Dark is a heist-themed tabletop roleplaying game system about a crew of daring misfits  on the streets of an industrial fantasy city. Published by Evil Hat Productions in 2017 and designed by John Harper, it introduced the highly influential
Forged in the Dark https://groupfinder.eu/library/forged-in-the-dark-2017
rules engine. BitD revolutionized the heist genre in tabletop gaming by pushing players straight into the act, eliminating the "planning phase". The system it loosely evolved from is
Apocalypse World
Description In Blades in the Dark, players are part of a criminal organization in Doskvol, a grim Victorian era city. The city is protected by a wall of lightning, to keep any threat on the outside. Players create their characters as either smugglers, thieves, assassins or cultists and explore the criminal underworld, perform dangerous heists, manage gang warfare and grow their criminal organization. The game focuses heavily on narrative momentum and failing forward. Characters are competent but flawed, constantly accumulating stress, trauma, and heat from the law as their gang rises to power. System Overview & Key Features
Action Roll (d6 Dice Pool) The core mechanic uses a pool of six-sided dice(d6) based on a character's action rating. The highest die result will determine the outcome of the action. 6 is considered a full success, 4-5 is a partial success with a consequence, and 1-3 is a failure. Rolling multiple full successes is considered a critical success.
Position and Effect Before every roll, the Game Master explicitly states the character's Position (Controlled, Risky, or Desperate) and Effect (Limited, Standard, or Great). This transparently communicates the exact stakes and potential fallout of the action before the dice hit the table.
Stress and Resistance Characters have a Stress track. Players can spend Stress to give themselves for extra dice when rolling. They can also use it to assist an ally, or fuel their special abilities. Players can also spend Stress when facing any situation or consequence the GM throws at them, this makes the characters very skilled, but forces them to consider when to spend it.
The Flashback Mechanic Instead of spending hours planning a heist, the crew simply chooses a target, picks a detail, and jumps right into the action. Later, they can use Stress, to envoke a flashback moment, where they explain how they had already planned for such a situation, or had "solved" it beforehand.
Progress Clocks The game uses circular progress tracks called Clocks to visually represent approaching danger or the progress of a complex task. A clock might represent the alert level of the city watch, the structural integrity of a safe vault, or the patience of a rival gang leader.
The Crew as a Character The criminal organization the players run has its own character sheet. The organization gains experience, levels up, claims territory, and unlocks special abilities, ensuring that the gang's rise to power is just as mechanically significant as the characters'
Additional links evilhat.com https://evilhat.com - Official Evil Hat Productions website bladesinthedark.com https://bladesinthedark.com - Official System Reference Document and rules database

Active games and players

BitD
Blades in the Dark
Online
Campaign
Attorneys in the Dark: Doskvol (il)Legal
Players
1/5
Paid game
Paid game
GM
1/1
Blades in the Dark
en English

Attorneys in the Dark: Doskvol (il)Legal

Paid game Paid game
Roleplay focused Roleplay focused
10-15 sessions/ $20 per session - Saturday Evenings https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmrsg8mq50047jx04x3zg5bn0?ref=cl49c0gdo67ytbopkh01b6fx3 Welcome to Silks, a Blades in the Dark campaign where you play crooked lawyers fighting dirty in the grimy courtrooms of Duskvol. Your firm specializes in the underhanded tactics that win cases: tampering with evidence, threatening witnesses, corrupting juries, and delivering theatrical courtroom performances that would make any Silkshore actor jealous. Whether you're defending gangsters from Ironhook Prison, prosecuting high-profile criminals, or navigating inheritance disputes in the spectral Ghost Court, you'll use flashbacks, heists, and social manipulation to stack the deck in your favor before the magistrate bangs their gavel. Each session centers around a case, with the courtroom serving as your battleground. You'll roll engagement, present evidence (real or fabricated), cross-examine witnesses, and use competing clocks to determine who wins. Between arguments, you'll flash back to key moments: breaking into a records office, convincing a witness to change their testimony, or planting incriminating documents in your opponent's files. This game is perfect for players who enjoy social intrigue, creative problem-solving, and morally gray characters. If you like courtroom dramas, heist movies, and the dark Victorian aesthetic of Blades in the Dark, you'll feel right at home. We'll embrace the game's mechanics of flashbacks, devil's bargains, and collaborative worldbuilding to create memorable legal battles where the truth is whatever you can make the jury believe. Come prepared for sharp wit, dirty tricks, and the satisfaction of winning cases through cunning rather than justice.

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BitD
Blades in the Dark
Online
Campaign
Dirty Attorneys: World of Doskvol
Players
2/4
Paid game
Paid game
GM
1/1
Blades in the Dark
en English

Dirty Attorneys: World of Doskvol

Paid game Paid game
Play by post Play by post
$20 weekly (at least 3-5 posts per week) https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmlvqcs0d0049if04ak7zjn9z?ref=cl49c0gdo67ytbopkh01b6fx3 This is a play-by-post game using the Storium platform. You'll portray morally gray lawyers and legal fixers navigating the corrupt courts of Charterhall. Your firm specializes in the tactics no one admits to using: forged documents, intimidated witnesses, bribed jurors, and flashback heists designed to reshape the trial before it ever begins. The story unfolds as a structured legal thriller/case. The courtroom is your battlefield, but the real work happens behind the scenes: breaking into records halls, negotiating with Spirit Wardens, manipulating dockside witnesses, and cutting deals with wealthy patrons who demand specific outcomes. We'll use the Doskvol setting, and various playbook abilities to collaboratively tell the story of a layered, high-stakes legal drama. This game is perfect for players who enjoy social intrigue, creativity and the high drama of a Victorian English courtroom. No prior experience with Blades in the Dark is required. Its premiere city will be the setting for the game. In Doskvol, the truth isn’t what happened. It’s what you can make the jury believe.

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en English
Savage Worlds
Savage Worlds
CoC
Call of Cthulhu
...
Online
Marlon
Hello, fellow gamers. My name is Marlon, but everyone calls me Jay-long story there that I won’t get into. Anyways, I’m the forever DM in my family, and I run weekly podcast games for my wife. We’ve designed a tabletop RPG called Prosperon: A Bio‑Cyberpunk RPG, and we’re actively looking for more playtesters. If that interests you, shoot me a message and we’ll make it happen. With that being said, I’m also an active player in several games. I’m currently in a Blades in the Dark campaign every Thursday, which is absolutely amazing, and I have a few open biweekly days where I can commit to another game-as long as it’s the right game, the right crew, and the right day and time. That’s all for now. Take care, and don’t forget-have fun at your table.
en English
DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
DND5.5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)
...
Online
Tchulk
Hello all. I am Tyler (he/him) (under 18) (AEST) and I have 4 years of experience as a player and GM. I would love to find new games to join as a player. I am someone that enjoys playing character driven and story based game. I'm not really a megadungeon kind of guy. But I do enjoy some combat. Let's say 50:50 RP: combat ratio with it being ok if the roleplay is higher up to 100:0 I am looking for an online weekly table that does something like if a game gets cancelled, they play a one shot or online game instead or something like that, I don't care what, I just want to do something else if game night doesn't go to plan. I am fine with games during my nighttime as well as during the day, you just got to tell me the schedule first to see if I can make it. I am generally unavailable Saturday and Sunday day and Saturday night my time Even though my most played game is DnD, I enjoy playing other systems like Alien the roleplaying Game, Pathfinder and others. I am always down to learn a new game. If you made it this far, I hope I have left a good impression. My favourite video game at the moment is Baldur's Gate 3, My favourite books are Brandon Sanderson Cosmere and my dream job is to be a video game programmer.
en English
BitD
Blades in the Dark
CoC
Call of Cthulhu
...
Online
Izzy
I'm Izzy. 28. They/it.  I have over 10 years of experience in the tabletop space. On/off over the years with playing as finding groups that stay together takes time.  I have played in 2 completed 5e dnd campaigns that lasted over 2 years separately. Rime of the Frostmaiden & a homebrew Strahd campaign.  I will happily play in 5e & 5.5e games, though I have had an increased interest in p2fe/p2fre!  Tabletop games i have liked and played, would play again: 5e, pf2e, Vampire the Masquerade, Monster of the Week, Monsterhearts, Wanderhome, Call of Cthulhu  Tabletops I have not played but would be interested in: Blades in the Dark, Scum and Villainy, other Powered by the Apocalypse games or Forged in the Dark games, pf1e, Werewolf the Apocalypse, other World of Darkness games, Cyberpunk Red, etc etc My main goal as a player is to be a group player, to be someone that is wholly on the team with the other players! I love the collaborative nature of tabletop most, and why I always hold myself to be flexible and prioritize everyone's enjoyment and keep the table flowing! My characrer ideas are always many, but playing a characrer to the T is not a priority in the sense; that if it disrupts the flow and story of the table or conflicts wirh the group? Then I scrap that idea or develop the character different to mesh better!

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