The district of Crow's Foot in the city of Doskvol is a place divided. The recent turf war between rival gangs, the savage Lampblacks and the well-disciplined Red Sashes, ended a year back with an uneasy truce splitting the island-suburb in two. Now every block claims its allegiance, every pub hangs its preferred colours outside to let everyone know who's welcome and who's not. It's not an easy peace.

A week back, word reached Mylera Klev, leader of the Sashes, that an up-and-coming lieutenant in the Lampblacks was interested in defecting. Then a couple of days later, that same lieutenant disappeared. Perhaps someone in the Lampblacks got suspicious; perhaps said lieutenant is already lying face-down in the Dusk River. Regardless, Klev needs a group of ne'er-do-wells and rogues to investigate. A group smart enough to work alone, small enough not to arouse suspicion, and independent enough that if the whole thing blows up, she can deny all involvement and leave them to hang. Who could be desperate enough for money, fame, and influence to take her up?

Is it you guys? Yeah, it's you guys.

Blades in the Dark is "a game about a group of daring scoundrels building a criminal enterprise on the haunted streets of an industrial-fantasy city. There are heists, chases, escapes, dangerous bargains, bloody skirmishes, deceptions, betrayals, victories, and deaths." (We probably won't be able to fit all of these into a three-hour session though.) The system is currently being Kickstarted by designer John Harper. This game will be using the Quickstart 7.1 rules, if you're playing along at home.