One of my favourite TTRPGs is releasing an expansion that goes from gothic horror heists to a psychedelic 60s sci-fi dystopia inspired by Deathloop, where the dead feed an oversaturated sky

Blades in the Dark Gets a Psychedelic 60s Makeover—and It’s as Groovy as It Sounds

Dungeons & Dragons fans know the magic of a setting overhaul—just look at Spelljammer, which takes your classic sword-and-sorcery campaign and blasts it into the cosmos. But what happens when you try to do the same for a game as tightly wound and specific as Blades in the Dark? The answer, according to designer Tim Denee, is to go full Austin Powers.

Launching this week on Kickstarter, Blades ’68 has already smashed its $30,000 goal, raising over $228,000 at the time of writing. The pitch? Take the gothic, post-apocalyptic city of Duskvol—surrounded by a blood sea and walls of lightning to keep out ghouls and spectres—and drop it into the Swinging Sixties. Think Deathloop meets Blades in the Dark, with a dash of Soylent Green for good measure.

In this alternate timeline, Duskvol is still under an eternal night, but now there’s the B.L.U.E. array—an artificial sky that bathes the city in psychedelic hues. Plasmovision sets sit in every home, autopods line the streets, and the supernatural horrors of the deathlands are kept at bay (mostly). But as Denee explains, this utopia comes at a cost: “There’s a new power source, but it comes from the way they dispose of human bodies. There’s sort of a Soylent Green thing going on as well.”

The playbooks are just as groovy. Instead of the usual scoundrels and assassins, you’ll play Radicals, Swingers, Intellectuals, and Paranormalists. Team up with hard-bitten fixers, ex-military Veterans, shadowy Operatives, and even outcast souls sealed inside robot bodies. It’s a radical departure from the original, but one that feels perfectly in tune with the era’s blend of optimism and underlying darkness.

For fans of Blades in the Dark, this isn’t just a reskin—it’s a reimagining that keeps the core mechanics intact while injecting a fresh dose of 60s psychedelia. And for newcomers, it’s a chance to dive into one of the most innovative RPG systems out there, with a twist that’s as timely as it is timeless.

Blades ’68 plans to wrap up all its rewards by August 2026, but backers can already get their hands on a free, in-progress PDF of the supplement. If the Kickstarter is any indication, this is one Kickstarter campaign that’s bound to go out with a bang—or at least a really groovy one.

Tags & Viral Phrases:

• Swinging Sixties
• Psychedelic 60s
• Austin Powers meets Blades in the Dark
• Deathloop vibes
• Soylent Green twist
• Groovy setting overhaul
• Radical playbooks
• Artificial sky B.L.U.E. array
• Plasmovision and autopods
• Post-apocalyptic utopia
• Kickstarter smash hit
• Disco Elysium energy
• Robot body outcasts
• Gothic city meets 60s optimism
• Supernatural horrors at bay
• In-progress PDF for backers
• August 2026 release
• TTRPG darling reimagined
• Groovy as it sounds

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