Blades in the Dark — Build Your Crew. Claim the City.

What is Blades in the Dark?

Blades in the Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game of daring scoundrels in the haunted industrial city of Doskvol. Inspired by crime dramas and occult fiction, it’s about building a crew, taking big risks, and carving out your place in a city ruled by corruption, ghosts, and ambition.

Every session revolves around a high-stake score—such as heists, smuggling runs, sabotage, or espionage—followed by downtime where you recover, indulge in your vices, and expand your criminal enterprise. And as your crew grows in power, so do the dangers circling you.

The system emphasizes bold actions and cinematic pacing. Flashbacks let you prepare retroactively. Stress fuels daring gambits. Consequences are at every corner—and every success comes at a cost.

Critically acclaimed and the winner of an ENNIE award, Blades in the Dark has inspired an entire family of Forged in the Dark games across genres.

Game Features

• Play a Crew of Scoundrels — Choose from distinct playbooks including the Cutter, Leech, Whisper, Slide, and Spider.
• A Living City — Factions scheme behind closed doors, alliances fracture, and every score you pull shifts the balance of power. Your victories (and mistakes) ripple outwards.
• Cinematic Flashbacks — Skip tedious planning phases; jump straight into the job and reveal your preparations exactly when they matter.
• Stress & Consequences — Push yourself harder. Take bigger risks. Bargain with danger. But know that the more you reach, the more it costs.
• Downtime & Vice — Recover from danger, reduce heat, indulge in your vices, and deepen your character between jobs.
• Ghosts, Demons, and… Electroplasm? — A haunted industrial world where the dead don’t stay dead, leviathan blood fuels the city, and a lightning barrier holds back swathes of restless spirits.

This is your crew.

This is your territory.

How far will you go to take control?

Dive into the Core Rulebook

Everything you need to run Blades in the Dark. Explore the haunted streets of Doskvol, build your crew’s reputation, and shape a criminal saga full of tension, ambition, and hard choices.

Try the Quickstart

New to Blades? These quickstart rules introduce you to the core mechanics and drop your crew straight into a high-pressure score.

The city is waiting.

What’s your first move?