Marines (IB)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark hack

Marines are ship-and-hab assault teams: boarding specialists, corridor fighters, and stabilization forces. They seize or retake vessels, clear decks, hold compartments, and keep the peace under arms. Your success depends on turning contracts and berths into leverage—being the crew called when someone must breach, secure, and stand the line.

As you rise in Tier, the stakes grow—harder targets, meaner corridors, and neighbors with heavier guns. For Marines, every op is a choice between diplomacy, deterrence, and decisive entry.

Heat & Wanted Level

☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ | ☐☐☐☐

Credit

☐☐☐☐ | Vault ☐☐☐☐ | Vault 2 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Special Abilities

1. Veterans: Each PC may add +1 action rating to Mark, Micro, or Terran (up to a max rating of 3).
2. All Hands: All of your cohorts gain the Marines type for free. If they’re already Marines, they gain the Elite edge.
3. Commission: When you advance your Tier, it costs half the usual Credit. You owe obedience to your sponsor/contracting authority.
4. Militia: When near your home habitat/ship, cohort gangs gain +1 Scale.
5. State of War: While at war (−3 Faction status), PCs gain +1d to vice rolls and retain two downtime actions instead of one.
6. Steadfast: +1d to resistance rolls while operating in or near your home habitat/ship.
7. Teamwork: Each participant in a group action gains +1d to their roll.
8. Additional Playbook: Select another Crew Playbook. From now you may choose its Upgrades and Special Abilities. Immediately gain access only to the Crew XP track.

Crew XP

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 XP (or mark 2 XP if that item occurred multiple times).

1. Board, secure, and defend ships/habs—or stabilize volatile situations under arms.
2. Contend with challenges above your current station.
3. Bolster your crew's reputation or develop a new one.
4. Express the goals, drives, inner conflict, or essential nature of the crew.

Crew Upgrades

Starting Upgrades ☑ Security, ☑ Quarters, ☑☑ Training (Insight, Prowess), ☑☑ Cohort (Team of Marines, armored, pick a Flaw) two ☑ ☑ of choice.

Marines Only Upgrades

1. ☐ Armorer — Ignore the load of the Hardsuit and Hazard Suit.
2. ☐ Auxiliaries — +1d Engagement on Transport plans. Allies provide cover.
3. ☐ Beacons — +1d Engagement on assault plans. Watch for threats and opportunities.
4. ☐ Berth Charter — −2 Heat from operations conducted aboard a contracted ship/hab.
5. ☐ Patron — +1 effective Tier in interactions with government/command.
6. ☐ Provost — +1d Engagement on Social plans. Authority tracks your people and grants limited cover.
7. ☐ Rules of Engagement — Killing on a operation does not increase Heat.
8. ☐ Security Contracts — +2 Credit payoff on operations that involve defense.
9. ☐ Seizure Orders — +2 Credit payoff on operations focused on boarding/capture operations.
10. ☐ Supply Lines — +1d to Acquire Asset rolls. You have established contacts with distant suppliers.

Common Crew Upgrades

Available to all crews. See Crew Playbooks for an explanation of all terms below.

Base: ☐,☐ Life support, ☐,☐ Power, ☐,☐ Maneuver, ☐,☐ Gravity, ☐,☐ Camouflage, ☐,☐ Security.

Assets: ☐,☐,☐,☐ Investment — Reduces the base cost of improving Tier, before multiplication.

Installations: ☐,☐ Quarters, ☐☐☐☐ Training, ☐,☐ Vault, ☐,☐ Venue, ☐,☐ Prison, ☐,☐ Workshop, ☐,☐ Medical, ☐,☐ Hangar.

Vehicles: ☐,☐ Shuttles (needs hangar), ☐,☐ Fighters (needs hangar), ☐,☐ Runabouts.

Quality: ☐ Documents, ☐ Gear, ☐ Implements, ☐ Supplies, ☐ Tools, ☐ Weapons.

Vices: ☐ Faith, ☐ Gambling, ☐ Luxury, ☐ Obligation, ☐ Pleasure, ☐ Stupor, ☐ Weird.

Cohorts ☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐ Cohort: (Max 2 per tier). Each cohort begins with one Flaw. ☐ Add Edge or remove flaw from one cohort. Repeatable

Cohorts

Each cohort is either a Team or an Expert with one Type and one Flaw. A maximum of 2 cohorts for each Tier. Each cohort needs this data.

Name:

☐ Team or ☐ Expert. This is where your initial upgrade investment is checked.

Type: First type is free. You can add one additional Type by spending an upgrade. ☐ Agents, ☐ Engineers, ☐ Marines, ☐ Scientists, ☐ Security, ☐ Winghands.

Edges. Each cohorts can add edges as if they were upgrades. ☐ Armored, ☐ Elite, ☐ Fearsome, ☐ Independent, ☐ Loyal.

Flaws. Each cohorts can remove flaws at the cost of an upgrade: ☐ Ally, ☐ Compromised, ☐ Intelligent, ☐ Principled, ☐ Savage, ☐ Unreliable, ☐ Wild.

Damage: Cross one box per level of harm: (☐ Armor), ☐ Weak, ☐ Impaired, ☐ Broken.