I am Enamored with Daggerheart

When I was twelve, I was invited to my first Dungeons & Dragons table. Every Wednesday, my friends and I would gather to continue our campaign. It being a game run by middle school students, it was hardly a very good game. None of of us really understood the rules, but I didn’t care. Adventuring with my friends was the highlight of my week.

For years after, I absolutely loved D&D. I collected the books, the spell cards, miniatures, and bought more dice than any one person could ever need. Long time readers might remember my old ‘Best of the Bestiary‘ series, in which I analyzed the creatures of the 5E Monster Manual. ‘Baldur’s Gate 3‘ is my favorite game precisely because it so perfectly captured everything I love about the tabletop game.

But in recent years, my love for the game slowly turned into disdain. Mostly due to personal issues, which I will not air here; that’s a conversation for a therapist, not the internet. Though Wizards of the Coast didn’t help. The new 5E 2024 books are a joke; either make a new edition or don’t bother. I ain’t paying upwards of $180 for what is essentially a balancing patch.

The love just wasn’t there anymore. Every time I played, I only felt miserable. It had nothing to do with the people I played with. I was burnt out. Playing felt like trying to save a failed relationship. So I stopped. Now, all my books and dice sit on my shelf. Gathering dust.

Then something interesting cropped up in my feed. A new TTRPG from the folks at Darrington Press. One that was causing quite a stir among the online D&D space. So I decided to indulge my curiosity and picked up a copy.

Right on time, too. This thing is sold out everywhere (as of the time of writing). And I can see why.

One look through the manual and I could tell this game was made by theater kids. If D&D is obsessed with math, then Daggerheart is all about drama. The whole game is built to make collaborative storytelling as simple as possible.

Take the Duality Dice system. In place of a standard d20, players instead roll two d12s. One is your Hope Die, the other your Fear. Their combined sum determines whether you succeed. But the higher die adds an extra wrinkle. Roll with Hope, you get a Hope point and something extra good happens. Roll with Fear, and the GM gets a Fear point and something bad happens.

For example: let’s imagine the party is bartering with a dangerous crime lord. One wrong word could spark a fight. The bard uses their silver tongue to try and strike a bargain. The GM calls for a Presence check. The roll can go a few ways:

• Success with Hope: The bard’s deal is convincing. The crime lord not only agrees, but gains new respect for the party.
• Success with Fear: The crime lord accepts the deal begrudgingly. A shaky alliance is struck. Chances of later betrayal rise significantly.
• Failure with Hope: The bard’s deal is rejected, but the crime lord respects their gusto. There’s still room for negotiation.
• Failure with Fear: The crime lord rejects the deal and is offended by the party’s audacity. If the party doesn’t clear the air quickly, things may turn to violence.

This was literally an exercise we did to learn improv in my high school drama class.

I absolutely adore the Hope/Fear system. Hope is a great way to soften the blow of a failed role. Conversely, Fear is a fun way to add tension even if the players succeed. Especially if you as the GM let your players see how much you have. Stockpiling a ton of it before a major battle is a great way to have your table pissing themselves.

Speaking of, let’s talk about combat. Unlike most other TTRPGs, Daggerheart doesn’t have an initiative system. There are no turns, no actions or bonus actions, none of that. Instead, the game uses a Spotlight system. Anyone who wants to act can do so at any time. Again: like an improv group.

It all comes back to the Hope/Fear system. With Hope points, players gain access to their more powerful spells and abilities. Conversely, the GM can use their Fear points to activate traps, monsters, or just fuck with the party by raising the stakes.

Personally, I love this system. One of the main things I hate about D&D combat is waiting between turns. Playing a low-level melee character is the most mind-numbing experience in the world. Sorry, but I don’t want to wait thirty minutes just to make one attack roll that will probably miss anyway.

Here, if you want to act, you can. Since there are few restrictions, team play is highly incentivized. Players can even spend their Hope to perform devastating tag-team attacks. No long waits to take you out of the story. If you’re not on the ball, actively participating, the GM will make you regret it. It takes some getting used to, but it works so well!

Provided your table doesn’t shout over each other to act all at once. Only the GM gets to interrupt people.

That’s not a joke, by the way. Should a player roll with Fear, or the GM spend a Fear point, they can force the spotlight over to the enemy. A player may succeed their attack roll, but if they do it with Fear, their target is bound to hit them back. If played properly, this can create an ebb and flow that blends gameplay and narrative as smoothly as peanut butter and chocolate.

If the poor GM can keep everything straight in their heads. Such is the struggle of running any TTRPG.

More than anything, I love how easy it is to actually play Daggerheart. If you’re creating level one characters, you can have your sheet ready in less than ten minutes. Each class has their own character sheet, and everything you need for leveling is already written down. All you need to do is check a box. Multiclass? There’s a sheet for that. Druid forms? There’s a sheet for that.

Then there are the ability cards. Every spell, skill, class, race, and even backgrounds are printed on cards that come packaged with the core rule book. Gone are the days of pouring over the spells section for hours. Just pick the cards you like and you’re good to go. Don’t like that card? Pay a small price and you can replace it!

Of course, this simplicity comes at a cost. In its current state, Daggerheart doesn’t have nearly so many customization options as games like Dungeons & Dragons. But call me crazy: I’d rather start playing the game ASAP than spend several hours pouring over abilities I may never use anyways.

Besides, Darrington Press is already working on new classes and abilities. They’re introducing a whole new system for lycanthropy! Not to mention that you can create your own cards for free from their website; homebrew isn’t just easy, it’s encouraged. If you want more options, you can either wait or do it yourself.

Need to set up a session on the fly? Once again, Daggerheart makes that as simple as possible! The core rule book contains five unique ‘campaign frames’ you can use as a jumping off point. Some of them even have unique mechanics, such as stat sheets for giant monsters ala ‘Shadow of the Colossus‘ or even a cooking system! And there are more on the way, including a whole campaign setting book!

Although I do wish there were more monsters. I want more scary things to kill my players with!

Finally, we gotta talk about the cost. The sad reality is, money is tight for most people, and rapidly getting tighter. Getting into games like D&D can be really expensive; you’d need to spend upwards of $180 just for the three core rule books, even if you’re buying digitally. Same with Pathfinder. Daggerheart? For just $60 bucks, you get everything you need to start playing.

Minus dice, miniatures, and maps. Unfortunately, TTRPGs are always going to be an expensive hobby. That’s a fact as immutable as the sun. Even so, it’s always good to have cheaper alternatives. Especially when they’re of such high quality.

I’m not the only one of that opinion. As mentioned earlier, this thing is sold out just about everywhere. Which is kind of crazy for a new tabletop game, even from a team with as much prestige as Darington Press. And with even more on the way, from new books to class-specific decks, the game’s future is looking bright.

Daggerheart has captured my imagination now as Dungeons & Dragons did all those years ago. It’s got everything I look for in a tabletop RPG. Rules that are easy to learn, mechanics that encourage creativity and cooperation, plenty of customization options, all for a more affordable price than its competition. With how easy it is to set up and play, I can see myself returning to Daggerheart for many years to come.

Who knows? Maybe when I get tired of that, I’ll be ready to return to D&D. Or I’ll finally take the plunge into Pathfinder. Then I could be the Linux user of TTRPGs.

As always, thank you very much for reading. Until next time, stay safe, keep healthy, and may all your rolls have Hope.