Blades in the dark - starter guide
What is Blades in the Dark?
Blades in the Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game about a crew of scoundrels trying to carve out a life in Doskvol, a dark and rain-soaked industrial city haunted by ghosts and ruled by powerful factions. You play thieves, assassins, smugglers, and con artists pulling off heists, making enemies, and slowly building your criminal empire - or watching it fall apart.
The game was designed by John Harper and published by Evil Hat Productions. It sits somewhere between a heist film and a gothic horror novel: gritty, atmospheric, and built for stories where things go sideways in interesting ways.
How does the system work?
Blades in the Dark uses a dice pool system with six-sided dice. When your character attempts something risky, you gather a number of d6s based on your relevant action rating (a score from 0 to 4) and roll them, taking the single highest result.
- A 6 means success.
- A 4 or 5 means success with a complication or cost.
- A 1-3 means things go badly.
- Two or more 6s count as a critical success.
Before a roll, the GM establishes two things: position (how dangerous the situation is - controlled, risky, or desperate) and effect (how impactful a success will be). This framing makes every roll meaningful and negotiated, rather than just a pass/fail check.
One of the most distinctive mechanics is the flashback. Instead of planning everything in advance, your crew jumps straight into the action. When you need something to have been prepared - a bribed guard, a hidden tool, a forged document - you call a flashback and play it out in the moment. This keeps sessions fast and lets the story breathe.
Characters belong to both a playbook (a character type like Cutter, Slide, or Whisper) and a crew type (like Shadows for stealthy thieves or Bravos for violent enforcers). Both develop over time through experience and upgrades. The faction system tracks your reputation and relationships with the city's power players, while the heat and wanted level system creates mounting pressure as the authorities close in.
What do you need to start?
You need the Blades in the Dark core book. It contains everything: the full rules, all playbooks for both characters and crews, the setting, factions, and advice for running the game. There is no separate GM screen or starter set required.
If you want to try before you buy, the Blades SRD (System Reference Document) is freely available online and contains the full rules text. It is less readable than the book but fully functional.
Who is this game for?
Blades in the Dark works best for groups who enjoy emergent storytelling - situations that develop from decisions rather than following a pre-planned plot. If your table loves the planning phase of a heist movie but finds traditional dungeon crawls a bit slow, this game was made for you.
It rewards groups that are comfortable with narrative agency and collaborative fiction. The GM role is lighter than in many systems; the city of Doskvol reacts to your actions rather than following a scripted adventure path.
It is less suited for players who want detailed tactical combat, carefully balanced encounters, or a clearly marked path through the story. There is no initiative system, no grid combat, and no experience points from defeating enemies.
How does it differ from other systems?
Compared to Dungeons & Dragons, Blades in the Dark is far more narrative and fiction-first. There are no hit points, no spell slots, no equipment lists with weights and prices. The focus is entirely on consequence and tension.
Compared to other PbtA-adjacent games like Apocalypse World, Blades has more mechanical structure - especially in the crew management, downtime activities, and the long-term progression of your criminal operation. It feels crunchier than most narrative games while remaining story-driven.
Where do you start?
- Read the introduction and the first few chapters of the core book to understand position, effect, and how rolls work.
- Pick your crew type first as a group, then choose individual playbooks that complement it.
- Watch or listen to an actual play before your first session - the Rollplay: Blades series on YouTube and the Friends at the Table actual play are both excellent references.
- The Blades in the Dark Discord community and the Reddit community (r/bladesinthedark) are active and welcoming for new GMs.
- Keep your first session focused on a single small score. Do not worry about the faction system or downtime until it comes up naturally.
Recommended products at Netherbook
The Blades in the Dark core book is the one essential purchase. The hardcover is well-designed and built to last at the table.
If your group wants to explore the Forged in the Dark system further after playing, Scum and Villainy (a sci-fi space opera adaptation) and Band of Blades (a dark military fantasy) are both strong standalone games built on the same foundation.