Evil Hat Productions has released a free preview of its Blades in the Dark supplement Blades ’68, providing 40-pages of free tabletop RPG content ahead of its upcoming crowdfunding campaign.
The supplement spins the clock forward, taking the heist TTRPG from a fantasy Victorian era to an alternate-universe 1960s and plunging players into a world of consumerism, science, and secret espionage.
It’s based on the original Blades in the Dark roleplaying game, and uses most of the same mechanics. There are a few under-the-hood additions include the worryingly-named ‘Trouble Engine’, plus a new keys system – representing character traits – which can grant you XP for good roleplaying. But for the most part, you’d be picking this up for the new setting, character options, and the oh-so-stylish PDF.
The 40-page PDF, free on DriveThruRPG, contains two playbooks (Blades character archetypes). You get to see the Hull, a criminal who was made into a soulless robot labourer and is slowly regaining their memories; and a swinger, a charming life-and-soul type with fabulous fashion and a sweet ride. There’s also one new crew type: a hit squad of contract killers. The full supplement has six crews and eight playbooks.
But it’s not just about character choices. The preview PDF is a hearty stew, containing some rules details, some cold opens, snippets of GM advice, and a little bit of setting information, including some sexy maps.
Blades ’68 by designer Tim Denee was announced several years ago, but it’s only now starting its crowdfunder, coming to Backerkit on February 10. You can check out the preview yourself to get a taste. Bear in mind that this is a supplement, not a standalone spin-off, so you do need the base Blades in the Dark RPG to play.
I have to say it’s not hard to be seduced by the look of this thing. If you’ve played Deathloop, Team Fortress 2, or I guess if you’re very ancient, you’ll be familiar with the style.
Are you up for a new take on Blades? Let us know in our Discord slash comments section.