Flashbacks¶

Traditional tabletop planning often gets bogged down in exhaustive preparation—hours spent mapping routes, predicting guard rotations, and debating how to bypass every possible obstacle before the run even starts. It can drain the energy from the table and stall the story before it moves forward.

Cybermancy adopts the Flashback mechanic, invented by Blades in the Dark, to streamline that process. Instead of spending sessions plotting contingencies, players can reveal their prior preparation in the moment. This reflects both cinematic pacing and the narrative spirit of Daggerheart: characters are competent professionals, even if their players can’t anticipate every detail.

Flashbacks represent actions the characters already took before the current scene—preparations, favors, or small interventions that now alter the situation. The cost is paid in Stress, reflecting the effort or risk involved in setting up those advantages.

Using Flashbacks¶

Declare the Flashback
When a player wants their character to have prepared something earlier, they announce a flashback. The flashback must logically connect to the current scene.
Frame the Scene
The GM briefly describes the flashback setting. The player narrates what their character did to set up the action or advantage.
Assign Stress Cost
The GM sets a Stress cost based on the complexity of the flashback.
(Note: Cybermancy raises all costs by 1 from the original Blades in the Dark scale, as characters here can sustain and recover more Stress.)
1 Stress: A simple or easily arranged action.
Example: bribing a contact, planting a tracker, or acquiring a basic tool (take up a usage on the appropriate Item Loadout list).
2 Stress: A complex or risky action with limited opportunity.
Example: forging credentials, bypassing security unnoticed, or blackmailing a minor official.
3+ Stress: An elaborate, high-stakes action involving special access or contingency planning.
Example: rerouting surveillance networks, convincing a corp exec to look the other way, or embedding a hidden failsafe.
Resolve the Flashback
The player pays the Stress and performs the roll or action as normal. Success or failure in the flashback directly affects the present situation.

Rex “Ghostwire” Mendez (on planning and flashbacks)

Plans are a fairy tale you tell yourself before the bullets start flying. The streets don’t care about blueprints—they care about who adapts first.

That’s what flashbacks are for. You don’t waste hours plotting every step; you show how you already had the angle. Maybe you bribed the janitor, stashed a drone, or spoofed a badge last night. The prep was real—you’re just revealing it now.

Keep it tight, keep it plausible. Flashbacks don’t rewrite the past—they prove you were thinking ahead. Pros don’t talk about their plan. They just smile when it works.

Purpose and Tone¶

Flashbacks let the story flow naturally, rewarding improvisation and creativity rather than exhaustive planning. They reinforce the sense that characters are capable, connected, and always one step ahead—until they aren’t.

In Cybermancy, every flashback is a glimpse into the invisible web of favors, deals, and data that defines life in the sprawl. Each one reveals how far a runner will go to make the impossible look effortless.