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We're back! Today, we talk with Em Acosta about the stretch goals rapidly approaching for Exiles, a new dark fantasy TTRPG, funded in 48 hours and live now on Kickstarter!The Kickstarter ends in under 24 hours, so swing by right now: ttrpg.link/exilesksYou can find Crescent Moon here: https://pocketcompass.itch.io/crescentmoonYou can find Em at @spookymeals on twitter!

Today, Mark and  new host Erik are joined by Karl, author of Mountain Home, a forged in the dark game about dwarves establishing a new home in the mountains. We talk about how emergent narrative in the inspiration, Dwarf Fortress, evokes the narrative EXPLORATION of TTRPGs, and what it means to get into character as a dwarf. We also DELVE into how entanglements drive the narrative tone and challenges, and DIG deep into a number of adjusted mechanics.You can find Mountain Home at turtlehat.itch.io/mountain-home, and you can follow Carl on twitter at @TheTurtleHat.Podcast episodes will be slower to come out until the end of January, as we are preparing for Con in the Dark 2022! Stay tuned to our twitter @HackedintheDark for more information!

Today, Nychelle is joined by Michael Low from Luck of Legends, an educational creative writing and story game camp, about the first chapters of his new game project, Stories RPG. We talk about running and designing games for kids, and how they can be amazing educational tools for topics ranging from conflict resolution to science! Michael describes some of the game design aspects inspired by his students, as well as his methods for making the game approachable for a parent unfamiliar with TTRPGs to pick up and play with their kids. This is a great episode if you're thinking of designing an all-ages game of your own!For the young person in your life, you can find Luck of Legends at www.luckoflegends.com, and the first two chapters of Starsworn at storiesrpg.comYou can also find Michael on Twitter @LuckLegends

Today, Justin returns as a guest to talk about his current project, CHEW, an official spinoff forged in the dark game based on the best-selling CHEW comics by Image. Justin and Mark talk about incorporating humor into the typically more gritty forged in the dark system, as well as how he has incorporated the established world and, especially, the tone of the comics into a game.The CHEW Kickstarter is ending in 3 days! Check it out here and help them get more stretch goals! www.kickstarter.com/projects/peteyp/chew-the-roleplaying-gameYou can find Justin's other content on his new website mothlands.com, or on his twitter @MothLands.

Today, we're trying something new! We recently ran an Actual Play stream of External Containment Bureau (ECB), and we brought on the cast of the stream to talk about how it went, their favorite parts, and some insights into the game!Please let us know if you enjoy this format, and we can keep doing it with our future streams!Follow us on Twitch to catch our future streams at twitch.tv/hackedinthedarkYou can watch the ECB stream on our Youtube page at youtube.com/c/HackedintheDarkYou can find the game at mythicgazetteer.itch.io/external-containment-bureauAs always, you can join our Discord to let us know what you think, or to request future topics or have your own game featured! discord.com/invite/qzb2y98

Today, Mark is joined by Cohan and Garrett of Poor Students to talk about their one-page  game Subconscious_Routine, submitted as part of the Applied Hope game jam. They discuss how they limit both the overall rules and the players' available actions to convey the tone and setting of robots searching for free will, as well as their use of other media to convey the hopeful post-post-apocalyptic setting. Stick around to the end of the episode for a trailer for their game!Special thanks to Cohan for updating our intro and outro songs a few episodes back!You can download Subconscious_Routine and follow along at poorstudents.itch.io/subconscious-routine.You can follow the Poor Students on twitter at @poorstudentsRPG.You can find other entries of the Applied Hope Jam here: itch.io/jam/applied-hopeAs always, you can join our discord here: discord.com/invite/BDZckBB

Today, Umbra joins hosts Jacob and Nychelle to talk about his game Future.Shock, as well as how resolution mechanics (dice, cards, etc.) affect the tone and fantasy of your game. He describes his transhumanist game, but also discusses how to tell if your dice mechanics will work out, and gives examples of when the dice mechanics accidentally told a different story than what the designer intended.You can follow Umbra on twitter at @DealerUmbra.You can find Future.Shock and Umbra's other games on itch at dealerumbra.itch.io

Today, Mark is joined by Michael, author of a number of forged in the dark games, to talk about A Torch in the Dark, his single-player dungeon-delving/revolution game. We talk about how "the conversation" which usually happens between players and GM still happens in a solo game. He also talks about his influences and what drew him to make a solo game.You can find Michael on twitter @notwritinggames.You can find A Torch in the Dark, as well as Michael's other games and his hugely helpful "An Amateur's Guide to Hacking Blades in the Dark", on his itch page, notwriting.itch.io.You can also get his games, as well as early previews and such, on his patreon: www.patreon.com/notwritingAnd lastly, you can find the collaborative project, featuring Michael and a bunch of other designers from the discord, External Containment Bureau, at mythicgazetteer.itch.io/external-containment-bureau.

Today, Stefan joins hosts Nychelle and Mark to talk about his game Fistful of Darkness, the impact of the touchstones you give on defining how your game plays, and also the effect of the hellish economy of the system. Last year, Nychelle ran a game of Fistful for our twitch channel with Stefan and Mark as players, so we reminisce about and highlight the parts of the game that shined.You can check out the game on itch here: monkeyecho.itch.io/a-fistful-of-darknessYou can find Stefan on Twitter @MonkeyEcho.If you missed our stream, and want to see how Fistful of Darkness plays, you can find it all on our youtube page here: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi7V0TnXlMfuIq6FGylx5TQTMDydE4ResEditor's note: At the end, Mark shouts out the awesome Blades in the Dark forum (community.bladesinthedark.com), but describes the similarly awesome and more active discord (discord.com/invite/qzb2y98). Check both out!

Today, Justin is joined once again by Laurie to talk about his game, Hieronymous, a FitD hex-crawl game through the artwork of Hieronymus Bosch. He talks about what inspired the idea, and how to get inspiration from art. We also talk about Lichcraft, Laurie's  kickstarted game about trans necromancers, which he also discussed on our Zinequest 2021 episode!You can find Laurie on twitter @Laurie_eee, and you can find his games on itch at laurieoconnel.itch.io. If you want a physical copy of Hieronymous (who wouldn't?), you can get one from floatingchair.club/collections/zines/products/hieronymous in the US or www.rookspress.com/products/hieronymous?_pos=1&_sid=90d08699e&_ss=r in the UK.

Today, Jacob and Ian are joined by Adam Bucceri to talk about his new, setting-agnostic game, Enter the Survival Horror! We discuss how the Doom Clock and related mechanics set the survival horror tone, and how to enable the players to take on the narrative authority normally associated with a GM by making them choose between difficult options.You can check out Adam on twitter @AdamBucceri, and you can find Enter the Survival Horror on itch.io at adam-bucceri.itch.io/enter-the-survival-horror.You can find Jacob @Jacobalso and Ian @antifinity on twitter.Miss Justin? You can find him GMing his game Moth-light on our twitch channel at twitch.tv/hackedinthedark every Wednesday, with vods on youtube at www.youtube.com/c/HackedintheDarkAs always, you can join the amazing and welcoming Blades discord server where we help each other build hacks at https://discord.com/invite/qzb2y98

Today, our host Mark is joined by Dustin and Michael to talk about Synthicide: Sharpers in the Dark, their new Forged in the Dark adaptation of Dustin's original trad-game. We discuss why Dustin wanted to bring his game to FitD, and how they maintained the tone and content of the original, as well as how more content was added to fit into FitD.Synthicide: Sharpers in the Dark is kickstarting now! You can check it out here! Follow Dustin on here, and Michael on their twitter here. Show links.. Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/willpowergames/synthicide-sharpers-in-the-dark Dustin DePenning: https://twitter.com/DepenningDustin Michael Elliot: https://twitter.com/kindelingboy

In this very special episode, Justin is interviewed by three guest hosts: Ema, Eli, and Nychelle! Our hosts get a bit silly, then we talk about Justin's highly anticipated post-fall sci-fi game, Mothlight, and the process of iterating on your designs through playtests, feedback, and experience. We talk about what to change, what to keep, and how to take feedback, as well as the huge changes that Justin has made to Mothlight over its development.You can hear Justin as our usual host on most of our prior episodes, and you can find him on twitter @MothLands! You can also find Mothlight on itch.io at moth-lands.itch.io!We're currently doing an actual play stream of Mothlight on our twitch page. Come watch Wednesdays at twitch.tv/hackedinthedark! Episodes will also be posted soon to our youtube page www.youtube.com/c/HackedintheDark.You can find Ema on twitter @spookymeal, and her current game Crescent Moon at stardrift-design.itch.io/crescentmoon.You can find Eli on twitter @ZapDynamic, and his current game Errant Deeds mythicgazetteer.itch.io/errant-deeds.You can find Nychelle on twitter @Mistletoetrex, and her website at www.voidalspace.com.

Today, Justin is joined by a member of the team, Mark, to talk about Science Fiction adaptations of Blades in the Dark through his Sci-Fi/ Fantasy game Runners in the Shadows. We talk about how to accomplish the tones and themes of science fiction, as well as how Mark balances and blends futurism with magic. Mark also teases his future game, Voyagers in the Dark, a military sci fi game inspired by Star Trek, and we contrast Runners with Justin's sci-fi game, Mothlight.Mark has been a huge part of building Hacked in the Dark and helping us thrive, so check out his game on itch.io here!You can also follow Mark on twitter here. You can watch Mark GM Runners in the Shadows on our youtube channel here!Episode Links..Mark Cleveland Massengale: http://www.twitter.com/savemejebu5Runners in the Shadows: http://markcleveland.itch.io/runners-in-the-shadowsRunners Actual Play: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi7V0TnXlMfu86chJ9L9DAkXbyuTZbc8TVoyagers in the Dark: http://markcleveland.itch.io/voyagers-in-the-dark

Today, Justin is joined by Ben Roswell and Caro Asercion to talk about Rearguard, their supplement for Beam Saber. They talk about what drove them to make a supplement, how their supply drop is more than just new playbooks, and why make a supplement instead of a hack.You can find Rearguard at roswellian.itch.io/rearguardYou can check out Ben's twitter @roswellwrites and Caro's @seaexcursion.If you want to hear more about Beam Saber, check out our podcast episode 4, where we talk to the developer, Austin Ramsay!

Today, Justin and Mark are joined by Emanoel to talk about his new game, CBR-PNK. We also discuss what sacrifices had to be made to fit the game into a one-page trifold, what advantages were gained, and how a fiction-first approach allowed it to stay small. We also talk about the TTRPG scene in Brazil, and FitD influences on OSR.You can find Emanoel on twitter @emanoelmelo.You can check out CBR-PNK at emanoelmelo.itch.io/cbrpnk.For another cyberpunk take, check out our actual-play series of Mark's game Runners in the Shadows at www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi7V0TnXlMfu86chJ9L9DAkXbyuTZbc8T

Today, Justin and Ian are joined by Briar Sovereign to talk about their game, The Brightest Things We Know, a Destiny- and Warframe-inspired forged in the dark game. We also talk about making a forged in the dark game from a blank slate, cutting mechanics, and pulling inspiration from established games. We also talk about bringing the game to a new power level and tone-balancing.You can find Briar Sovereign on twitter @weregazelle.Check out The Brightest Things We Know on itch.io at weregazelle.itch.io/the-brightest-things-we-know.Our new intro is curtsey of Cohan. Thanks a lot!

Today, Justin and Ray are joined by Pammu to talk about Gameable Lore, as well as some of her past and future FitD projects, including a Philippines-inspired Dagger Isles supplement. She also talks about the Filipino RPG scene and the struggles of decolonizing game design. We also define gameable lore and microsettings, with examples of how they are expressed in Blades, and how Pammu uses it in her own work, as well as how you can introduce it into yours!You can follow Pammu on twitter @TheDovetailor, and find her games on itch at thedovetailor.itch.io.

In this episode, Justin interviews ME, your editor, Jacob, about my game Asphalt & Trouble, a game of biker gangs in a corporate-fueled climate apocalypse! We talk about difference between complications and consequences, and the adjustments Asphalt & Trouble makes to the core FitD list of consequences, including a revamp of Harm, and the new Slights and Grudges system. We talk about all the sources of trouble that players find themselves in, from Devil's Bargains to Entanglements, and how customizing those define the tone of your game.You can find Asphalt and Trouble at jacobalso.itch.io/asphalt-and-trouble, and you can find me at @JacobAlso on twitter. You can find Justin at @MothLands.You can also watch me GM my custom crewbook for Blades in the Dark, the Drowners, on the Hacked in the Dark YouTube page at www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi7V0TnXlMfvjASLkY1JTub0G0DPg-dEU!

In this special episode, Ray interviews a few designers submitting Forged in the Dark games to Zinequest 3, a Kickstarter program to promote small (zine) ttrpg games and modules. All of these games are kickstarting now, and some are ending soon, so check them out now!Ema (@Spookymeal) talks about her game of childhood dreamscapes, Crescent Moon at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spookymeal/crescentmoon.  Laurie (@Laurie_eee) talks about his game of trans people becoming liches to get healthcare, Lichcraft at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laurieoconnel/lichcraft-an-rpg-about-trans-necromancers. Tom (@TomMecredy) talks about his solo journaling game of reflections in war, High Speed Low Drag at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tommecredy/stay-frosty.Eli (@ZapDynamic) talks about his collaboration with others from the discord about paranormal investigations, External Containment Bureau  at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mythicgazetteer/external-containment-bureau-a-zine-quest-rpg.There are a ton of awesome games, including FitD games, that are kickstarting for Zinequest, so check out Kickstarter for more!