Blades In The Dark is one of the most influential role playing games in the past decade. Multiple games use everything from the d6 pool system to long term projects measured in clocks. What began as an evolution from the Powered By The Apocalypse lineage of games has grown into its own robust tree in the gaming forest.
Designer John Harper took the opportunity to partner with Evil Hat Productions again to produce Deep Cuts. This expansion of the game includes new details on the city of Duskvol, alternate rules systems and lessons learned from running the game in public and private over the past decade. Harper was kind enough to give me some time to chat toward the end of the crowdfunding run.
“Blades in the Dark is a game that's designed to be hacked and customized as you play,” said Harper, “with instructions in Chapter 9 (Changing the Game) for doing just that. Over many years of running the game, I've done lots of tweaking and customizing myself, and I realized I had enough new material (both setting and mechanics) that it made sense to put it all together as a supplement that could be useful for other Blades groups.”
Much of the book comes from Harper watching other groups play his game on actual plays. It’s exciting to see someone play your game but can also inspire you to make changes based on their ideas.
“I've watched a lot of Blades AP,” said Harper. “Sometimes I'll see a group that's a bit hesitant to modify the game to suit their specific preferences, even when a particular mechanic or setting element isn't working for them. I'm thinking ‘that's what Chapter 9 is for!’ So I guess Deep Cuts is also kind of an extended example for Chapter 9 -- hopefully it will inspire more groups to tweak and modify the game themselves.”
One of the things that’s always stood out for me is how the setting of the game nails the perfect balance between detail and flexibility. Blades is full of so many interesting ideas and leaves plenty of room for groups to define what the details mean and how they came to be. It allows games to develop with a great depth without having to read tie-in novels or get attached to a big name IP.
“[The way] each game group (and individual player) connects to and plays with the setting elements of the game [is] different and surprising every time,” said Harper. “A detail that I threw in because I thought it was cool, or a background NPC with a one-sentence description, or a bit of technology or lore -- I never know what it's going to be that hooks players and becomes the focal point for play. I made the city of Doskvol somewhat small but very dense, hoping that players would make discoveries and find their own interests in the setting -- but the specific way that each person does it still surprises me. That's probably one main reason why I keep running the game, actually.”
Harper provides several new details in Deep Cuts to expand not just the city but the work around it. The world around the city is getting darker as a reaction to how pliers have carved lives out on their own. Players are used to having the local powers against them. How about the world?
“I think the Covenant -- a military airship sent to "monitor" Doskvol -- is an important one,” said Harper. “The ship is involved in a secret (supernatural) situation that's threatening the Imperium from without, as well as embodying the increasingly desperate moves of an oppressive regime that would turn its military forces against its own citizens. Doskvol has always been a tough place to survive when you oppose the powers-that-be, but the arrival of the airship is an escalation that makes things even tougher for the scoundrels in the underworld. I'm excited to see what Blades groups do under these new, harsher conditions.”
Forged In The Dark games have pushed the boundaries of the original system. They’ve turned Blades In The Dark into an ongoing philosophy rather than a lone game. The ideas offered in Deep Cuts continue a conversation Harper began a decade ago.
“There are so many cool designs happening in this space,” said Harper, “but I especially want to shout out Mikey Hamm (Slugblaster), Ema Acosta (Crescent, Exile), Gareth Damian Martin (Citizen Sleeper), Tim Denee (Blades '68), and Emanoel Melo (CBR+PNK).”.
Deep Cuts crowdfunds through June 19th, 2025. Backer rewards are expected in late Q4 of this year.
