Kannik
Legend
Have you played or run the Forged in the Dark system? First introduced in the Blades in the Dark RPG, a CC licensed SRD was released and it now powers some 300+ games of all sorts of genres, including Band of Blades, Scum and Villainy, Beam Saber, CBR+PNK, Asphalt & Trouble, Crescent Moon, Mountain Home, and more. If you have tried any of those games, what did you think of it? (Though it should be noted that, as with the Powered by the Apocalypse system, though these games use FitD at their core many feature twists or alterations to the core as well as potentially adding additional rules to better fit and support their particular aim.)
One of features of FitD games is a specific and thematically derived play structure, revolving around the main conceit of the character’s group or gang. Similarly, the characters themselves are built around archetypal playbooks, each with triggers and special features that encourage actions that further support the archetype and overall narrative.
The core resolution mechanic in Blades in the Dark is described as such: “...players to roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the number of points in that character's matching action. A success or failure criterion is always the same and determined by the highest individual number rolled. Special focus is given to the fictional position of the characters to perform a given action, with explicit division of authority between GMs and players giving the players the final say in what character stats are rolled to address a challenge, while the game master is tasked with assessing the strength of the player's position ranging from a dominant to a desperate position.”
As noted in the previous “Grade…” threads, “the D20 System is the undeniable favorite for tabletop RPGs today, but there are plenty of options out there for those who don't like D20 or might be looking for something different. The goal in these little surveys is to highlight the different systems and options available to tabletop fans...not bash on anyone's favorites.”
So! If you’ve played one of the FitD games, I’d like to hear about your experiences. What do/did you like or dislike about it? If you haven’t played, was there something that dissuaded you from giving it a try?
And as before, just for fun we’ll take the responses to give the system a “grade.”
Grade: B
Of those who voted, 95% have heard of it and about a third (68%) have played it.
Of those who have played it: 41% love it, 25% like it, 23% are lukewarm, 9% dislike it, and 3% hate it.
Previous entries:
Grading the Cypher System
Grading the Pathfinder 2E (D20) System
Grading the Savage Worlds System
Grading the Fate/Fate Core System
Grading the Modiphius 2d20 System
Grading the GURPS System
Grading the Powered by the Apocalypse System
Grading the D6 System
Grading the Hero System
Grading the Storyteller System
Grading the Megaversal/Palladium System
Grading the Basic Role-Playing System
Grading the SAGA System
Grading the Warhammer 40K RPG System
Grading the Rolemaster/Spacemaster System
Grading the Cortex Plus and Cortex Prime System
Grading the Burning Wheel System
Grading the Genesys System
Grading the Silhouette System
One of features of FitD games is a specific and thematically derived play structure, revolving around the main conceit of the character’s group or gang. Similarly, the characters themselves are built around archetypal playbooks, each with triggers and special features that encourage actions that further support the archetype and overall narrative.
The core resolution mechanic in Blades in the Dark is described as such: “...players to roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the number of points in that character's matching action. A success or failure criterion is always the same and determined by the highest individual number rolled. Special focus is given to the fictional position of the characters to perform a given action, with explicit division of authority between GMs and players giving the players the final say in what character stats are rolled to address a challenge, while the game master is tasked with assessing the strength of the player's position ranging from a dominant to a desperate position.”
As noted in the previous “Grade…” threads, “the D20 System is the undeniable favorite for tabletop RPGs today, but there are plenty of options out there for those who don't like D20 or might be looking for something different. The goal in these little surveys is to highlight the different systems and options available to tabletop fans...not bash on anyone's favorites.”
So! If you’ve played one of the FitD games, I’d like to hear about your experiences. What do/did you like or dislike about it? If you haven’t played, was there something that dissuaded you from giving it a try?
And as before, just for fun we’ll take the responses to give the system a “grade.”

Grade: B
Of those who voted, 95% have heard of it and about a third (68%) have played it.
Of those who have played it: 41% love it, 25% like it, 23% are lukewarm, 9% dislike it, and 3% hate it.
Previous entries:
Grading the Cypher System
Grading the Pathfinder 2E (D20) System
Grading the Savage Worlds System
Grading the Fate/Fate Core System
Grading the Modiphius 2d20 System
Grading the GURPS System
Grading the Powered by the Apocalypse System
Grading the D6 System
Grading the Hero System
Grading the Storyteller System
Grading the Megaversal/Palladium System
Grading the Basic Role-Playing System
Grading the SAGA System
Grading the Warhammer 40K RPG System
Grading the Rolemaster/Spacemaster System
Grading the Cortex Plus and Cortex Prime System
Grading the Burning Wheel System
Grading the Genesys System
Grading the Silhouette System
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