An international team of master thieves pulling a Vegas casino score. A Caribbean pirate crew raiding Spanish treasure galleons. A squad of cyberware-enhanced mercs chasing down rogue androids in a sprawling technopolis.

No matter the time, no matter the place, there's always a crew with just enough skill, ambition, & foolhardiness to go against the odds and try to make it big.

The game is based on John Harper's Blades in the Dark & the open Forged in the Dark system. In the Dark simplifies Blades' rules and adds playsets to make those rules work in any setting.

In the Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game where players portray a team of highly-skilled individuals on the fringes of society. They may work within the law or outside of it. Either way, they're determined to improve things – for themselves or others – by taking bold risks in a dangerous world.

This guide will explain how the game works.

Some notes:

Only the gamemaster needs to read this guide. Players can too, but it's not required.
In general, don’t reference this guide during play. Use the game sheets instead.
The game is rules-light & improvisational. It's always better to make a snap rules decision and keep the game moving than stop to look something up.
This guide restates the same rules in multiple contexts. This is to make it easier to understand & find rules in different situations. Once you have the gist, feel free to skip repeat info.
If something isn't in the guide, it isn't part of the game. If you need a rule for your table, create it as a group or use one from *Blades in the Dark.*

The Guide