Critical Role’s Daggerheart: What We Know So Far
By: Jack Durkin
To any repeat viewers of this blog you’ll likely be familiar with the recent struggles of Wizards of the Coast and how they’ve handled their Dungeons & Dragons IP. We’ve even covered one of the most high-profile competitors in an earlier post. Another mighty salvo has been launched by the time of this article’s publication with the release of the demo rules for Darrington Press’ Daggerheart system, which we’ll be digging into with this post. What makes this system tick, and how does it differ from the tried-and-true methods that WotC has to offer? Let’s dig into the material presented and find out.
One of the biggest changes presented within this new system is a shift in how dice rolls are determined. Instead of a single D20, now the standard rolls are decided by a roll of 2d12. These 2d12 are separated into one “Hope” die and one “Fear” die. See, the two dice added together determine whether the roll succeeds, but the dice that rolls higher (Hope or Fear) can complicate the result. This gives the players or the DM extra resources to work with.
Another key difference is how Daggerheart uses an initiative-less system for combat. It’s a system that tends to appear in TTRPG systems that put a focus on roleplay instead of mechanics, a territory Daggerheart proudly stakes out for itself. Instead of waiting for their turns, players are encouraged to put their tokens forwards and describe what their characters would like to do. It seems to encourage collaboration between party members to come to a solution on how to handle each encounter, but it’s also easy to see players who aren’t as extroverted or quick on the draw falling by the wayside if the table isn’t run carefully.
Another method that sets Daggerheart apart is its character creation. Along with the usual stats and classes one might expect from a fantasy game, Daggerheart’s classes use a system where each class consists of two domains, different ability groups that can overlap between classes and give your characters access to cards that provide unique abilities. At level 1, this means you get 6 total cards to narrow down to 2: 3 from each domain. In addition, the background questions ask very specific questions to try and help players fill in their backstories, how/why they set out on a life of adventure, or what might link them to other party members. I think that’s a nice touch that allows players to naturally consider their character’s backstories and relationships before even hitting the table, but as with any background system it depends on the table's propensity towards roleplay.
From what we’ve seen so far of this system, it seems to broadly encourage the use of roleplay and improvisation and will be a natural fit for those already comfortable with that at the table. There’s a few choices for those who are more interested in the game’s mechanical systems, potential builds and combat, but that doesn’t seem to be the system’s main focus. For the average table, what I’ve seen so far might be a solid compromise between the structure of D&D and the more narrative focus of other TTRPG systems like Powered by The Apocalypse.
Of course, there’s an elephant in the room when it comes to Daggerheart and the kind of table it might benefit most. Because of the connection between Daggerheart publishers Darrington Press and the Critical Role series there’s been much speculation as to whether or not their new baby will replace D&D as the main system for Critical Role. I can see this system working for such a replacement: the actors and friends behind CR have unshakeable chemistry together and have spent years honing their roleplaying. It may not be such an easy transition for other players or tables, but that’s okay and there’ll still be room in the marketplace for other platforms like D&D or the MCDM ruleset. Time will tell as Daggerheart is changed and eventually released, so expect at least a Part Two as more information comes to light!