Daggerheart Open Beta First Impressions: For the Love of Improv

Designed by Darrington Press and Critical Role, Daggerheart is a table-top roleplaying game (TTRPG) currently in the open beta phase. After taking some time with the guidebook, these are our first impressions of Daggerheart.

First Impressions of Daggerheart

Daggerheart is a full system, with its own mechanics and lore. It not only comes with a guidebook, but printable cards you can use to visually create and manage your character.

It deviates from how Dungeon and Dragons 5e plays, which is what Critical Role currently uses for the main show. It allows for more improv and team play but lacks in unique character customization and domains to really make your character or spells stand out.

From my first read through, it’s evident that the creation of Daggerheart chose the narrative path versus the combat focused one. Many of the elements included in the game are more vague, allowing free flowing storytelling.

While it allows for some slight customization in the form of unique skills you get to name and describe, character creation include the basic human, elf, cat person, demon person, holy person, and fairy influenced. Backgrounds are typical, but there are moments you get to describe your character’s relationship with their community.

Rolling is executed using two D12s instead of one D20. This is how the Hope and Fear mechanic comes into play. One of the D12s is chosen as the Hope die and the other as the Fear die. The die picked to succeed on the roll determines whether the player or the GM benefits. Hope acts as an advantage, while Fear charges up enemies and allows them to perform stronger attacks.

The combat mechanics are the biggest sticking point. Simplified to allow for faster turns and better narrative flow, those that prefer battle find it lacking. It can also be difficult to understand, with proximity and turn order being less defined. For quieter players or those new to TTRPGs, it can become easy to get lost in the bustle.

The system really shines when you have a group of players that are used to each others styles. Those focused on going on a narrative journey together will be able to take advantage of all Daggerheart has to offer. If your group is filled with combat oriented murder hobos, this probably isn’t the best system to use for your games.

While this system is made for all experience levels, a new GM or players may have a harder time picking up the rules due to the general vagueness. The GM has to make multiple decisions when it comes to combat closeness, unique skill creation, and what players can or can’t do. With less detailed rules, new players could get lost without specific numbers or actions to follow.

Overall, Daggerheart is a well thought out system that is made for TTRPG players that love the RPG and improv aspect of the genre. You can easily see Critical Role‘s influence in its creation, focusing on story over combat. While character creation could use more customization options, Daggerheart could become one of the main alternatives to D&D.