Forged in the Dark (2017)

Overview

Forged in the Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game framework and System Reference Document created by John Harper. Released in 2017, it is the underlying engine that powers Blades in the Dark and has since been used by independent designers to build countless other games, such as Scum and Villainy and Band of Blades. It excels at telling stories about capable but flawed groups of people pulling off daring missions against overwhelming odds. The system it directly evolved from is
Blades in the Dark https://groupfinder.eu/library/blades-in-the-dark
Description Instead of being a single game, Forged in the Dark is an open license toolkit. Players form a crew, whether they are space smugglers, military mercenaries, or rebel outcasts, and undertake dangerous missions known as Scores. The system is heavily narrative and focuses on failing forward, meaning a bad dice roll never stalls the story, but instead introduces a new complication. It completely eliminates tedious planning phases by throwing players directly into the action. System Overview & Key Features
The d6 Dice Pool To resolve a risky action, a player rolls a pool of six sided dice based on their action rating. The highest single die determines the result. A six is a full success, a four or five is a partial success with a consequence, and a one to three is a bad outcome.
Position and Effect Before the dice hit the table, the Game Master establishes the Position (Controlled, Risky, or Desperate) and the Effect (Limited, Standard, or Great). This ensures everyone understands exactly what is at stake and how much impact the action will have.
Progress Clocks The game tracks complex threats and long term projects using circular clocks divided into segments. A stealth mission might have a clock for the guards going on high alert, filling up bit by bit as the players roll partial successes or failures.
Stress and Resistance Characters have a Stress track that they can spend to push themselves for extra dice or to assist an ally. More importantly, players can spend Stress to resist any consequence the Game Master introduces, allowing characters to survive deadly situations by sheer willpower.
Flashbacks Players do not need to spend hours planning a heist or mission. When they encounter an obstacle, they can simply spend Stress to declare a flashback, narrating how their character anticipated the problem and set up a solution in the past.
Phases of Play The game flows through specific phases. Free Play is where characters gather information and choose a target. The Score is the actual mission. Finally, Downtime allows the crew to recover from injuries, reduce their heat, and work on personal projects before the cycle begins again.
Additional links bladesinthedark.com https://bladesinthedark.com - Official System Reference Document and rules database evilhat.com https://evilhat.com - Official Evil Hat Productions website

Active games and players

en English
Homebrew
Homebrew
BitD
Blades in the Dark
...
Online
Michelle
Let’s go on an adventure together! I'm looking for a cooperative, consent-based, story-focused TTRPG table. I enjoy character-driven games with party relationships, meaningful combat, exploration, mystery, downtime, and earned emotional moments. Ideal balance: about 50% roleplay, 30% combat, 20% exploration. I like sincere games with humor, but not constant bits, edgelord behavior, or main character syndrome. I fit best with players who share spotlight, cooperate, respect boundaries, and care about everyone’s character mattering. Consent and safety are important to me. Heavy themes, PvP, romance/flirting, sexual content, intense character conflict, or major effects on another PC should be discussed first. Lines and veils should be respected. I’m in Hawaiʻi Time / UTC-10. Weekends are best, and I prefer 2–3 hour sessions. I’m open to voice, PBP, or hybrid formats. Not a good fit for bigotry, disruptive rules-lawyering, non-cooperative play, unconsented PvP/romance/sexual content, trauma dumping, or using RPGs as therapy. Message me on Discord; I’m more responsive there. Please say you saw my Groupfinder post and send a short game pitch. Discord: goldaline
en English
PbtA
Powered By The Apocalypse
...
Berkeley
Online
Cameron
Looking to join some narrative or OSR games! Really want to play in Monster of the Week and Apocalypse World.
en English
DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
DND5.5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)
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Online
hisownsidekick
Hi! All told, I only have about a year of experience playing and GMing, and it's been a looong time, so I'm sure I'm quite rusty. My time zone is CST and my schedule is open. I have no strong preferences when it comes to frequency of sessions, system, or setting. Back when my friends and I actively played, I mostly GMed, using DnD 3.0/3.5, with a little Spycraft on the side. Even though that was years ago, I've never stopped thinking about RPGs, listening to actual play podcasts like The Adventure Zone and Acquisitions, Inc., reading random supplements and forum posts, and playing video games based on tabletop systems/adventures. I love backstory, lore, and worldbuilding and enjoy combat and dungeoncrawling, too. I remember my very first RPG session, when I was a kid, immediately opened my eyes to the creativity and improvisation that the format allows. All I'd done in our first battle was ready my weapon and lightly wound an unlucky bandit... while the far more experienced players of the group spent their first few turns positioning themselves technically, slinging buffs and debuffs, and throwing a tarp over the intimidating-as-hell bandit leader and then setting it ablaze with a torch. I was astounded; I knew I had to have more. The Discworld and Hitchhiker's Guide series of books are dear to me, though I'm down for nearly any fantastical story and setting (much like Pratchett and Adams themselves). Potentially relevant-to-tabletop video game series I've enjoyed are The Witcher, Knights of the Old Republic, Fallout, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, Divinity, Baldur's Gate, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Legend of Grimrock, and many more. I like to let other players choose their specializations first, so I can try to fill any gaps we have, then build the character's background and motivation from there. That way, everyone who really wants to play a specific role is happy and the group as a whole is well-rounded. Plus, it's just fun to mix things up from game to game, so I've never really had a favorite class, though I do enjoy playing support (gotta have a healer/medic!). If you have the patience to help me shake off the rust and adapt to your setting and system, I'll do as much or as little reading, roleplaying, and rolling as you need. Ugh, this is really starting to sound like a sales pitch, ha ha... sorry. I'll finish by simply saying that I'm excited to meet you and see what adventures you've got brewing!

Other entries

Hedron
Tools & Platforms

Hedron

Virtual tabletop (VTT)
English
Free
Hedron is a one-stop shop for everything TTRPG. Design and play entirely new TTRPGs, build robust worlds for your home games, and connect with your community – sharing your lore, worldbuilding, homebrew, and other creations! A Powerful Mechanics Editor Hedron lets you create a framework for your homebrew system, enabling anyone to contribute instantly – without any programming knowledge. A Complete Content Editor Manage all the elements of your TTRPG system and make them available to everyone. Lore Management Manage every aspect of your tabletop game’s lore from a single platform, making it collaborative or keeping every aspect a secret until your players discover it in game. Full Virtual Tabletop Experience Elevate your homebrew games digitally with seamless integration with our built-in Virtual Tabletop. Marketplace Purchase your favorite games and campaigns from publishers like Hit Point Press, DC20, Critical Kit, 9th Level Games, and others! You can also sell your creations on Hedron, which includes your own game systems and original third party content with the appropriate licenses. Custom Timekeeping Expand your homebrew world with a custom calendar, unique timekeeping system, and timelines leading up to your campaign, through it, and beyond. Map Making Use Hedron’s robust mapmaking UI to create custom world maps for your homebrew setting. Campaign Management Run or participate in entire campaigns with your players and their characters within the world and the TTRPG rule systems you created. Community Interaction Share your creations with your community to create living rulesets in real-time. /images/general-media/1779971096_MpJJR2un.pngHedron's mechanics editor Links projecthedron.com - Official website discord.gg - Discord server reddit.com - Hedron subreddit

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Shadowrun (2019)
Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Shadowrun (2019)

TTRPG
English
Complex
Shadowrun is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. The game has gone through multiple variations and versions, since its first release in 1989, the latest "Sixth World" game system was published in 2019, by Catalyst Game Labs. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy, and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy, horror, and detective fiction. The system it directly evolved from is Shadowrun 5th Edition Description Shadowrun takes place several decades in the future (2050 in the first edition, currently 2088). The end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar ushered in the "Sixth World" with once-mythological beings (e.g. dragons) appearing and forms of magic suddenly emerging. Large numbers of humans have "Goblinized" into orks and trolls, while many human children are born as elves, dwarves, and even more exotic creatures. The Shadowrun world is cross-genre, incorporating elements of both cyberpunk and urban fantasy. Unlike in a purely cyberpunk game, in the Shadowrun world, magic exists and has "worked" since 2011. System Overview & Key Features The d6 Dice Pool The core resolution engine uses a massive pool of six sided dice. To attempt a test, a player adds their relevant Attribute and Skill together, then rolls that many dice. Every 5 or 6 rolled counts as a "hit" and players need to roll a certain number of hits to succeed. The Edge System In the Sixth World edition, Edge is a fluid tactical resource. Instead of tracking dozens of tiny situational modifiers, characters earn Edge points during a fight by having a superior position, better gear, or catching the enemy off guard. These points are spent immediately for rerolls or special combat actions. The Three Worlds The game takes place across three distinct layers of reality. Physical combat happens in meatspace, hackers project their consciousness into the virtual reality of the Matrix, and mages project their spirits into the magical Astral Plane. A well balanced team must handle threats from all three directions at once. Magic and Drain Spellcasters do not use spell slots. Instead, they can cast spells as often as they like, but channeling arcane energy takes a physical toll. Every time a spell is cast, the mage must resist "Drain" which can cause severe stun or physical damage if they are not careful. Additional links shadowrunsixthworld.com - Official Shadowrun website catalystgamelabs.com - Official Catalyst Game Labs website

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Basic Roleplaying (2023)
Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Basic Roleplaying (2023)

TTRPG
Rules-light
Chaosium
Basic Roleplaying is the venerable "D100" engine that has powered Chaosium’s greatest hits for over four decades. Originally appearing as a slim booklet in 1980, it was most recently revitalized as the Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine in 2023. In 2026, it stands as one of the industry's most important open-source platforms, released under the ORC License, allowing independent creators to build and sell their own games using its legendary, time-tested mechanics. Description BRP is a "genre-neutral" toolkit that discards character levels and rigid classes in favor of a pure skill-based system. Whether you are playing a Bronze Age warrior, a 1920s detective, or a futuristic mech pilot, the core experience remains the same: your character is defined by what they can do. Because it uses percentages (e.g., "I have a 65% chance to climb this wall"), it is widely considered the most intuitive and "transparent" RPG system for new players to understand at a glance. System Overview & Key Features The Universal D100 Engine Every action is resolved by rolling two ten-sided (d10) dice to get a result from 1 to 100. If you roll is equal to or under your skill rating, the action is deemed a success. This approach simplifies the mechanical process of the game, as there are no complex tables to keep track of and compare to decypher whether it is a success or failure. Organic Character Growth There is no "Experience Points" system in the traditional sense. Instead, when you succeed in using a skill, you mark a "Skill Check" on your character sheet. At certain stops in the game/story, the player rolls to see if the character improves in those skills, meaning your character evolves based specifically on the actions they performed (and succeeded at) during the game. Modular Rule Design The Universal Game Engine is designed with variations and systems to choose from. GMs can choose whether they prefer to just use "Hit Points" or add a more detailed wound system with "Hit Locations" for more realistic tactical consequences. Systems for Magic, Sorcery, Mutations, or Superpowers (depending on the setting) can be added, instead of being baked in the core mechanics, ensuring the mechanics always fit the theme of the game. Deadly and Tactical Combat BRP combat is grounded and dangerous. Unlike high-fantasy games where adventurers have a vast health pool, a single strike of a sword or bullet in BRP can be fatal. This encourages players to think creatively and use mechanics and terrain to their advantage. Talking their way out of situations is often seen as more reasonable (and survivable), than just treating every conflict as a forced combat situation. The ORC License Revolution By introducing to the Open RPG Creative (ORC) license, BRP started a wave of third-party "Powered by BRP". This has expanded the system into new genres like Cyberpunk, Wuxia, and Cozy Fantasy, all supported by a single, unified ruleset and system, compatible with most themes. Compatibility with "The Big Three" Because the core mechanics have remained the same since the beginning, a monster or spell from a 1980s supplement is almost always compatible with the modern 2026 engine. This gives GMs access to one of the largest libraries of pre-written adventures in tabletop gaming, spanning Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, and Pendragon. Additional links chaosium.com/brp : Official BRP Universal Game Engine portal basicroleplaying.org : The primary community hub and "BRP Central" forums

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