History MediaNotes / ForgedInTheDark

Whenever you want to get something done that is fraught with danger or risk of failure in a ''[=FitD=]'' game, announce what you want your character to accomplish, build a pool of six-sided UsefulNotes/{{dice}}, and roll them. If the highest roll in your pool is a 6, you get what you wanted; if it's a 4 or a 5, you get what you wanted but there is a catch -- a negative ''consequence'' or two, chosen by the GameMaster; on a 1 through 3, you only get consequences instead. If you roll two or more 6s, it's a CriticalHit: you get what you wanted with a cherry on top; but if your pool, for any reason, ends up with no dice in it, you instead roll 2d and take the ''lower'' result (you also cannot crit in this case: two 6s are just a regular full success).

Just like in systems UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse, each PlayerCharacter has a particular ''playbook'' that serves as a rough template for their characterization. The playbooks are system- and setting-specific, there are typically at least seven of them, and unlike in ''[=PbtA=]'', a group is not restricted by rules to a [[CastSpeciation single instance of each]] at any given time. A ''[=FitD=]'' playbook commonly fits on a single page and has following information on it:

Compare and contrast its close relative, UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse, based on Vincent Baker's ''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld''.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Girl by Moonlight}}'' (TBR): A MagicalGirl game with playsets all over the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism[[note]]including a MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction playset not unlike ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful''[[/note]].

Just like in systems TabletopGame/PoweredByTheApocalypse, each PlayerCharacter has a particular ''playbook'' that serves as a rough template for their characterization. The playbooks are system- and setting-specific, there are typically at least seven of them, and unlike in ''[=PbtA=]'', a group is not restricted by rules to a [[CastSpeciation single instance of each]] at any given time. A ''[=FitD=]'' playbook commonly fits on a single page and has following information on it:

Compare and contrast its close relative, TabletopGame/PoweredByTheApocalypse, based on Vincent Baker's ''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld''.

* ''TabletopGame/SigCityOfBlades'' (2021): A game moving the original concept of ''Blades in the Dark'' of a crew of scroundes, to a city that bears [[WritingAroundTrademarks more than a few passing similiarities]] to [[TabletopGame/{{Planescape}} a certain city of doors]]

* ''TabletopGame/SigCityOfBlades'' (2021): A game moving the original concept of ''Blades in the Dark'' to a city that bears [[WritingAroundTrademarks more than a few passing similiarities]] to [[TabletopGame/{{Planescape}} a certain city of doors]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Beam Saber}}'' (2019): A far-future Mecha warfare game. Player's are a squad of Mecha pilots fighting for one or more of the factions seeking to control the galaxy.

Whenever a crew wants to enact a major change in the game world, a ''score'' is called for. A score is essentially any planned group endeavor with a clearly defined goal, and the flow of play and narration in ''[=FitD=]'' games is structured around the core loop of executing a score, enjoying the ''downtime'', then entering ''free play'' again to plan the next score. Unlike other score-based [=RPGs=][[note]]looking at you, ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}''[[/note]], which are plagued by [[ParalysisByAnalysis boring and often superfluous contingency planning]], ''[=FitD=]'' assumes that while the ''characters'' prepare their scores in minute detail, the ''players'' don't have to. Consequently, it employs a number of so-called ''cut to the action'' techniques[[note]]described below as ''planning'', ''load'', ''engagement roll'', and ''flashbacks''[[/note]] to skip over most of said planning and to put the players InMediasRes of an operation already underway, effectively gamifying the UnspokenPlanGuarantee trope. This is how it works:

* ''TabletopGame/{{Hack the Planet}}'' (2019): A {{Cyberpunk}}[=-meets-=]ClimateChange game about fighting the system in a MegaCorp-run MegaCity.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Hack the Planet}}'' (2019): A {{Cyberpunk}}[=-meets-=]GlobalWarming game about fighting the system in a MegaCorp-run MegaCity.

Coincidentally, the above table can also be used to estimate the effectiveness of Indulge Vice rolls by subtracting each cell value from 6 (e.g. the mean expected result of an Indulge Vice roll with 1d is 6 − 2.5 = 3.5)[[note]]because Indulge Vice and resistance rolls treat [=CRITs=] differently, this overestimates the former's effectiveness by 1-5% for larger dice pools, but the resulting error is negligible for all practical purposes[[/note]].

Coincidentally, the above table can also be used to estimate the effectiveness of Indulge Vice rolls by subtracting each cell value from 6 (e.g. the mean expected result of an Indulge Vice roll with 1d is 6 − 2.5 = 3.5)[[note]]because Indulge Vice and resistance rolls treat [=CRITs=] differently, this overestimates the former's effectiveness by 1-5% for larger dice pools, but the result error is negligible for all practical purposes[[/note]].

Coincidentally, the above table can also be used to estimate the effectiveness of Indulge Vice rolls by subtracting each cell value from 6 (e.g. the mean expected result of an Indulge Vice roll with 1d is 6 − 2.5 = 3.5)[[note]]because Indulge Vice and resistance rolls treat [=CRITs=] differently, this would overestimate the former's effectiveness by 1-5% for larger dice pools; this error is, however, negligible for all practical purposes[[/note]].

How many dice are in your pool depends mainly on the ''action rating'' you are using. An action rating is simply a verb describing your interaction with the game world, such as Prowl, Study, or Command, with a [[SkillScore numeric rating from 0 to 4]] attached to it[[note]]an important distinction between classical RPG {{stats}} and ''[=FitD=]''-style action ratings is that the latter aren't tied to a particular trait or an area of expertise: a high Skirmish rating just means that your character often comes out on top in straight-up fights, and it's up to you whether they do so through [[UnskilledButStrong brute strength]], [[WeakButSkilled extensive training]], or [[CombatPragmatist dirty tricks]][[/note]]: so if you are trying to Prowl past the patrolling guards and your Prowl action rating is 3, your base pool size is 3d. These verbs are system- and setting-specific[[note]]e.g. ''Scum and Villainy'' includes [[HollywoodHacking Hack]], which wasn't in the original ''Blades'' for obvious reasons[[/note]], but typically general enough to cover a broad variety of actions[[note]]the best example is Hunt from ''Blades'', which can cover everything from tracking down a missing person, through setting up an ambush or a trap, to sniping someone from a safe distance[[/note]]. A typical ''[=FitD=]'' game has twelve action ratings grouped into three ''attributes'' (usually [[ThreeStatSystem Insight, Prowess, and Resolve]]), and a new character gets seven {{point|BuildSystem}}s (''dots'') to distribute among them.[[note]]A common piece of advice given to new players (owing to how stress relief works in the baseline ''Blades'') is to have dots in at least one or, better yet, two different action ratings within each attribute, in order to maintain manageable stress levels in the long-term.[[/note]]

Here is the biggest kicker, though: a player can dodge or reduce ''any'' consequence the GM assigns to them[[note]]except Devil's Bargains, which are emphatically ''not'' "consequences" and are instead avoided by simply not accepting them[[/note]] by simply announcing that they make a ''resistance roll'' against it. A resistance roll is automatically successful[[note]]though whether it lets you avoid the consequence entirely or just reduces its severity is up to the GM -- in fact, this is their main tool for setting the tone of the game to more daring or to more gritty, respectively[[/note]] and its result only determines how much ''stress'' it costs you: the GM decides which ''attribute'' you must resist with, and you roll as many dice as you have action ratings above 0 in that attribute. The final cost is 6 minus your highest roll -- this is how much stress you take[[note]]if you roll a crit, you relieve 1 stress instead[[/note]]. This simple mechanic puts a ''lot'' of power in the players' hands, while also freeing the GM to [[KillerGameMaster go as hard as they want on them]] -- after all, if they're unhappy with ''anything'' bad the GM does to them, they can always resist it.

''Stress'' is an abstract resource representing a PlayerCharacter's [[SanityMeter fortitude]]. Resistance rolls are the most [[GameplayRandomization unpredictable]] source of stress, but you can also take stress to push yourself[[note]]to get +1d to an action roll, to increase its effect level by one, or to make an action roll after suffering a level 3 harm[[/note]], to assist another, to activate special abilities, or to invoke flashbacks (see bellow). Stress is reduced during ''downtime'' by indulging your ''vices'' (see below), while accumulating a total of 9 stress leads to a permanent ''trauma'' condition (such as Paranoid, Unstable, or Vicious) and puts you out of the action for a time. If you accrue four traumas, you must immediately [[RolePlayingEndgame retire your character from play]], as they are [[NervousWreck too psychologically broken]] to continue.

Another important tool in the GM's kit are the ''[[https://bladesinthedark.com/progress-clocks progress clocks]]'': abstract representations of complex obstacles the players have to overcome[[note]]i.e. ones that cannot be bypassed or resolved with a single action roll[[/note]] or of processes occurring in the background[[note]]which can take from several rolls to several sessions to resolve[[/note]]. A clock can have four, six, or eight segments, which are usually filled in ("ticked") one by one, and once it's full, something happens in the fiction: the players clear the obstacle, the alarm is sounded, a rival faction reaches its goal, etc.

How many clock segments are ticked at once depends on its purpose. An obstacle clock, such as security measures or tough enemies, is ticked when an action roll succeeds: once for a limited ''effect'', twice for standard, and triply for great[[note]]or even ''five'' ticks at once if you manage to raise the effect beyond great, e.g. by pushing yourself for it and then rolling a crit[[/note]]. A danger clock, such as discovery or time pressure, is instead ticked as a ''consequence'' of an action roll: once in a controlled ''position'', twice when risky, or triply when desperate -- though, of course, the players can choose to resist that consequence, reducing the number of ticks accordingly. Finally, clocks can be advanced with fortune rolls: one tick for 1-3, two for 4/5, three for a 6, and five for a crit, -- hopefully, this illustrates how beautifully all parts of this game system feed into one another when utilized to their full potential.

Whenever a crew wants to enact a major change in the game world, a ''score'' is called for. A score is essentially any planned group endeavor with a clearly defined goal, and the flow of play and narration in ''[=FitD=]'' games is structured around a core loop of executing a score, enjoying the ''downtime'', then entering ''free play'' again to plan the next score. Unlike other score-based [=RPGs=][[note]]looking at you, ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}''[[/note]], which are plagued by [[ParalysisByAnalysis boring and often superfluous contingency planning]], ''[=FitD=]'' assumes that while the ''characters'' prepare their scores in minute detail, the ''players'' don't have to. Consequently, it employs a number of so-called ''cut to the action'' techniques[[note]]described below as ''planning'', ''load'', ''engagement roll'', and ''flashbacks''[[/note]] to skip over most of said planning and to put the players InMediasRes of an operation already underway, effectively gamifying the UnspokenPlanGuarantee trope. This is how it works:

# The players come up a plan type-specific ''detail'' to make it work.[[note]]It's important that the detail comes ''after'' the goal and the overall plan are already decided -- in fact, if the players cannot come up with anything right away, it's perfectly legal to ''gather information'' for a plan's detail, calling upon the GM to help them out.[[/note]]

* ''Tier'' is a [[TierSystem measure of wealth, influence, and scale]] assigned to each faction in the setting. The players' crew normally starts out at Tier 0 and can rise up to Tier III or IV, depending on the game, with the ultimate Tiers V and VI reserved for TheGovernment and MegaCorp-equivalents. The Tier determines the ''quality'' of a faction's equipment and experts and the ''scale'' of its subordinate gangs. Tier is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logarithmic_scale logarithmic in scale]], so a faction is roughly two times bigger, richer, and better equipped than any one on the next lower Tier.[[note]]Mechanically, both quality and scale factor into the position and effect levels of action rolls where they are relevant: for instance, a burglar with Tier 0 lockpicks will have to get ''very'' creative to overcome the best security measures deployed by a Tier V faction, while a Tier I-sized gang of 3-6 people will be in a desperate position when fighting a Tier III-sized one (of 20).[[/note]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Band of Blades}}'' (2018): A {{military|ScienceFiction}} DarkFantasy game about a [[TheSquad squad]] of survivors retreating after a disastrous battle against TheUndead.
* ''TabletopGame/ScumAndVillainy'' (2018): A SpaceWestern game about the BadassCrew of a CoolStarship freelancing in the StandardSciFiSetting.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Adrenaline}}'' (2020): A PostCyberpunk game about a crew of {{Thrill Seeker}}s running dangerous jobs mostly for the kicks.

* ''TabletopGame/CopperheadCounty'' (TBR): A "[[DeepSouth Southern]] [[FilmNoir noir]]" game of organized crime and political corruption in [[LikeRealityUnlessNoted contemporary-but-fictionalized]] Tennesse[[note]]inspired by shows like ''Series/BreakingBad'', ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', and ''Series/TheWire''[[/note]].
* ''TabletopGame/{{Girl by Moonlight}}'' (TBR): A MagicalGirl game with playsets all over the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism[[note]]including a MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction playset not unlike ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful''[[/note]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Adrenaline}}'' (2020): A PostCyberpunk game about a crew of {{Thrill Seeker}}s running dangerous jobs mostly for the kicks.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Girl by Moonlight}}'' (TBR): A MagicalGirl game with playsets all over the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism[[note]]including a MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction playset not unlike ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful''[[/note]].

* ''TabletopGame/ScumAndVillainy'' (2018): A SpaceWestern game about the BadassCrew of a CoolStarship freelancing in the StandardSciFiSetting.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Adrenaline}}'' (TBR): A PostCyberpunk game about a crew of {{Thrill Seeker}}s running dangerous jobs mostly for the kicks.

* ''TabletopGame/RebelCrown'' (TBR): A game of feudal politics and conflict, putting players in the shoes of an [[TheExile exiled]] [[RightfulKingReturns rightful heir]] and their loyal retinue.

* ''TabletopGame/ScumAndVillainy'' (2018): A SpaceOpera game about the BadassCrew of a CoolStarship freelancing in the StandardSciFiSetting.