New Blades in the Dark Expansion “Blades ’68” Now On BackerKit

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TTRPG publisher Evil Hat Productions has officially launched a BackerKit for their much anticipated Blades in the Dark expansion Blades ’68. The upcoming supplement pushes the game’s timeline forward by a full century and reimagines the grimdark fantasy city of Doskvol as a retro-futuristic metropolis with a dash of 1960s cool. The project also offers new playbooks, new crews and new systems built specifically for the updated era.

So what exactly can players expect when Blades in the Dark enters the Swinging Sixties? Below, we break down everything thats included in the new crowdfunder.

What is Blades in the Dark?

Blades in the Dark is a tabletop RPG published by Evil Hat Productions and created by award-winning indie designer John Harper. The game takes place in the city of Doskvol, a slum-filled Victorian-inspired fantasy city shrouded in perpetual darkness and surrounded on all sides by electric barriers that keep an army of vengeful ghosts at bay. Players take on the role of a crew of criminals, con artists, occultists and thieves, pulling off daring heists while dealing with rival gangs, corrupt authorities, restless spirits and a city powered by chaotic supernatural energy.

Mechanically, Blades in the Dark is inspired by the Powered by the Apocalypse TTRPG system, emphasizing player choice and narrative-driven rules. The game system (which is now known as Forged in the Dark) uses pools of six-sided dice, with outcomes shaped largely by the story and level of risk rather than strict success-or-failure results. Players can spend Stress to push themselves or trigger flashbacks, allowing the group to roleplay past scenes in order to change the outcome of a current scene. Play flows between intense criminal “scores” and downtime, where characters heal, grow and expand their crew’s influence in the city.

What is Blades ’68?

Blades ’68 is an upcoming 450-page supplement for Blades in the Dark that advances the setting by 100 years, reimagining Doskvol during the so-called Age of Consensus. It’s a period in which superstition has been replaced by science, conformity and consumerism, with the setting inspired largely by 1960s spy and heist films.

As an official supplement, Blades ’68 is being released by Evil Hat Productions and does require the core Blades in the Dark rules to use. It’s also designed by indie creator Tim Denee, although it also features extensive consultation from original creator John Harper.

Blades 68′ does, however, introduce a number of changes to the core Forged in the Dark mechanics, including:

• New Trouble Engine system, to help the GM manage faction clocks, generate entanglements and track city developments.
• New gameplay cycle, dividing play into crew business, the Trouble Engine and personal business.
• New character mechanics, including Keys and Deadlocks, which are personality traits players can use for XP or to manage stress.
• New playbooks: There are eight playbooks in total (which are essentially classes in the Forged in the Dark system) including the Hound, Hull, Intellectual, Operative, Paranormalist, Radical, Swinger and Veteran.

• New rules for Harm and Resistance, which are designed to streamline play and better match the new setting.
• New time skip mechanics, including new claims crews can pursue and new ways to call on factions for help.
• New tech and lore, with new Electroplasmic Fusion technology and updates to Doskvol’s districts and history.
• New crew options, including the Hit Squad, Racers, Shadows and Utopians.
• New Cold Opens, which are four short, punchy starting scores for characters to take on right away.
• New Ticking Timebombs, which are five large-scale issues simmering beneath the city’s art deco exterior.

Notably, Blades ’68 has been in the works for some time now and was first announced a year ago in January 2025, with a free playtest package released on DriveThruRPG. This new version on BackerKit, however, is the final product that has since integrated community feedback.

What are the BackerKit options for “Blades ’68”?

The primary deliverable from BackerKit is the new rulebook, additional items including physical map, a Faction Deck, a 32-page Player Gazette, a Trouble Deck, a Score Pad and a Roll20 VTT bundle.

• Limited Edition and PDF ($65 USD): Includes one physical copy of Blades ’68, plus the final PDF.
• Dead Drop ($95 USD): Includes a physical/PDF copy of Blades ’68, Doskvol City Map, Player Gazette, Faction Deck, and the PDF.
• Hull Containment Unit ($145 USD): Includes physical/PDF copy of Blades ’68, plus Doskvol City Map, Player Gazette, Faction Deck, Score Pad and Trouble Cards..
• PDF and POD ($25 USD): Provides immediate access to the prototype PDF, final PDF (upon release), an at-cost softcover print-on-demand code and Roll20 Quickstart access.
• Hardcover and PDF ($45 USD): Includes one standard hardcover copy of Blades ’68 plus the PDF and all Digital tier rewards.
• Roll20 and PDF ($45 USD): Includes the Roll20 Blades ’68 bundle plus the PDF and all Digital tier rewards.

Final thoughts

Blades ’68 looks like to be incredibly unique expansion that pushes Blades in the Dark into new thematic and mechanical territory. With its strange blend of retro-futurism, espionage and the swinging sixties, it may just be in the running for one of 2026’s most innovative new TTRPGs supplements.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on the campaign in the days ahead, but in the meantime, you can learn more and back it now on BackerKit. Below is also a short teaser video, showing more about of what we can expect to see.