Machinator (IB)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark hack

Those who plot in secret strike with certainty.

— Attributed to Tacitus

Machinator Playbook

As the Machinator (MACK-ih-nay-ter), you are the unseen architect of events — the mind that turns circumstance into opportunity. Where others act, you arrange; where others see coincidence, you see design. Through manipulation, foresight, and calculation, you shape outcomes not by force, but by understanding how every piece moves.

Touchstones: Kaiser Söze (The Usual Suspects (1995)), Number One / Cavil (Battlestar Galactica TV (2004–09)), Dom Cobb (Inception (2010)), Hari Seldon (Foundation TV (2021–)).

Special Abilities

1. Devil’s Due: When you or a crewmate fails an Action roll (1–3) during a Score, you may spend 2 Stress to allow a re-roll with the same number of dice. You need not be present to do this. If this second roll also fails, in addition to the normal Consequences, you yourself end up in an immediate Desperate situation — the plan had a fatal flaw.
2. Foresight: Your preparation lets you Assist a teammate without being present. You can Assist your crew once per Score without paying Stress.
3. Functioning Vice: When you Indulge Vice, you may adjust the dice outcome by 1 or 2 (up or down).
4. Long Game: You may spend 1 Stress to declare that you “predicted this” in a flashback. Introduce a small, plausible detail (an ally in place, a hidden tool, an appropriate ID, a bypass code) that helps the current situation.
5. Mask: You can don or remove a disguise in seconds. Gain +1d to Consort rolls when disguised and to Resist anything that would break your disguise. Before the Engagement Roll, you may choose to have infiltrated the opposition, disappearing from the action only to appear later disguised as one of their number; reappearing restores 2 Stress to each ally present.
6. Networking: All your Contacts and Enemies become Contacts except the one you chose as your Enemy. During each Downtime, you can add one NPC you or your crew recently came to terms with as a new Contact.
7. Prescience: Gain +1d to all Actions to Gather Information.
8. Rook’s Gambit: Spend 2 Stress to roll your best Action rating while performing a different Action. Fib how your preparation or manipulation makes this possible.
9. Additional Playbook: Select another playbook. You gain immediate access to its Inventory and XP conditions. but not base upgrades. From now on, you can choose its Special Abilities. You can take this special ability multiple times, each time selecting a new playbook. Prerequisite: To select a playbook, you need an action rating of one in each of its starting actions.

Contacts and Enemies

˄ ˅ Alix, an archivist.

˄ ˅ Brin, a domestic.

˄ ˅ Coren, an architect.

˄ ˅ Jalen, a philosopher.

˄ ˅ Miro, a praxic.

Inventory

Your understanding and connections let you access Forum equipment one Quality level above your Tier. You also have access to the following higher-quality items; their Quality already includes this bonus.

☐ Beamer Holdout +1 Quality

☐☐ Communication Booster +2 Quality

☑ License +2 Quality — Restricted personal kit.

☑ Operational Map — Additional inventory, see below.

☐ Provisions +2 Quality

☑ Neme +2 Quality

• ☑ Operational Map: A map of the area of operations, gained through contacts and information gathering. Negates the Engagement Roll penalty for complex plans. Playbook.

Your Crew also gains any one additional upgrade of any type.

XP

• Every time you roll a Desperate Action, mark XP in that Action’s Attribute.

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 XP (in your playbook or an Attribute), or 2 XP if it occurred multiple times.

• You addressed a challenge using calculation or conspiracy.
• You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
• You struggled with issues from your Vice or Traumas during the session.
• The player pointed out an established enemy or disadvantage.

Starting Actions

Consort 2

Judge 1

4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one.