# Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts tags: #game/rpg/blades-in-the-dark-deep-cuts ![[Blades in the Dark - Deep Cuts (cover).jpg|600]] **Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts** is John Harper's own expansion for **[[Blades in the Dark]]** — the loose bundle of new rules and lore he'd been tucking into his own campaigns for years, finally gathered, polished, and published by Evil Hat. Harper frames it as "an extended Chapter 9": a collection of expanded setting elements, alternate mechanics, and techniques that follow the book's own principles for changing the game, all built to bolt onto whatever campaign you already run rather than replace it. Think of it as the master's own house rules, handed out at the door. ## Content The book splits into two halves. The first half swells the setting of Doskvol: **thirteen new technology innovations** reflecting the Imperium's ongoing industrial-and-political push; **27 factions** — fifteen name-checked-but-undeveloped in the core book (like the Cyphers, the Rail Jacks, and the Path of Echoes) plus twelve brand-new ones such as **the Unchained**, a group of *hulls* that have won their freedom; and **over 100 heritage and background options** that both widen character creation and add lore about the Shattered Isles. It also ships a **catalyst** — a world-shaking event that permanently alters the starting state of your series, with dark secrets and new opportunities for scoundrels to exploit. The second half is where Harper hands you the toolbox: a suite of **six modular systems** you can mix, match, or cheerfully ignore, each one a "wait, we can do that?" lightbulb for a campaign that's been running a while. Highlights include a **modified advancement system** that brakes character-and-crew progression so a long series keeps room to grow; **revised Harm and Trauma** rules that bite harder and heal more flexibly; a **diceless Downtime** with tweaks to payoff, Heat, Vice, and crew development; and a **new Action System** that streamlines the resolution roll to put more power in the players' hands — including, in the finished version, collapsing the tangle of teamwork options into a single *devil's-bargain*-flavored assist. ## Editions - **Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts** (2025) — John Harper / Evil Hat, a 118–128 page expansion for **[[Blades in the Dark]]**. *In the library* (v1 and v1.1). ## References - [Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts — itch.io (John Harper)](https://johnharper.itch.io/deep-cuts) - [Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts — Evil Hat Productions](https://evilhat.com/product/blades-in-the-dark-deep-cuts) - [Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts — BackerKit](https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/evil-hat/blades-in-the-dark-deep-cuts)