← Session Zero
EN RU
Blades in the Dark hero art
John Harper / One Seven Design

Blades in the Dark

"You're a gang of scoundrels in a dark city that never sleeps."

DiceПул d6
Players3–5
Prep~10 min
Foundry VTTCommunity
Complexity
What is this system

An RPG about a criminal gang in a dark industrial city. A revolutionary system: no planning operations in advance — instead, flashbacks during the job. 'Something goes wrong? I ALREADY bribed the guard yesterday.' Between jobs — a downtime phase: healing, training, upgrading your lair.

Setting

Doskvol — a city lit by electric barriers against ghosts. Beyond — dead lands inhabited by spirits. Within — factions controlling districts: from the Bluecoats (police) to the Spirit Wardens. Industrial gothic, demons, and blood on the cobblestones.

What it looks like at the table
You're in the Bluecoats' vault. The lock is beyond your skills. 'Flashback,' says the Lurk. 'Yesterday I bribed the locksmith — he left the door open.' Roll — 4 on the best of two d6. Partial success: the door is open, but the locksmith left a note to his boss. Position: desperate. Effect: standard. The 'Alert' clock fills 2 of 6.
Playstyle
Narrative Social Combat Urban Fantasy
Key mechanics

Flashbacks

Don't plan ahead. When something goes wrong — declare a flashback: 'I already prepared for this yesterday.'

Crew as character

Reputation, territory, allies, enemies. The crew develops alongside the players.

Position and Effect

Every roll: how dangerous + how powerful the result. Two axes — infinite flexibility.

Downtime

Between jobs: healing, training, lair upgrades, long-term projects. A separate mini-game.

What people say
The flashback mechanic singlehandedly fixed my biggest RPG frustration: 2-hour planning sessions where nothing happens. Now we jump straight into the action and plan retroactively. GENIUS.— u/doskvol_scoundrel, r/bladesinthedark
Blades changed how I think about RPG design. Position and Effect is the most elegant resolution mechanic I've seen. Every other game feels clunky after playing this.— u/narrative_gm, r/rpg
Free resources

Written and curated by Kejid — TTRPG player & GM

Similar systems
Vote on Blades in the Dark with your group →

Open in Session Zero to let every player vote and see the results.