Summary
Critical Rolehas announced its very own tabletop roleplaying game known asDaggerheart. A Western fantasy-based tabletop RPG similar toDungeons & Dragons, Daggerheart still promises to shake things up. From new mechanics toa focus on story-first, Daggerheart differentiates itself from the more balanced approach to social, exploration, and combat, in D&D. Daggerheart is something fresh.
However, though some may compare it to D&D, there are some key differences you should be aware of before jumping right into the system so that it isn’t too shocking if you’re coming from D&D. Here are just a few differences between Daggerheart and Dungeons & Dragons.
Daggerheart is currently in open beta and active development. This means that gameplay rules, mechanics, and more are subject to change.
8Different Dice Are Used
D12 Vs D20
In D&D, you’re likely going to use all sorts of dice, from a small d4 from that Guidance cantrip to a d20 for most everything from attack rolls to saving throws. However, in Daggerheart, there is no d20. Instead, it focuses on being a 2d12 system.
Players roll both dice, one representing hope and the other representing fear which brings about a different kind of outcome depending on the compared rolls. It’s certainly an interesting new way to roll for checks and more by using an often underutilised type of dice in the d20 system of D&D.
7There Is No Combat Initiative
Everybody Can Go Whenever They Wish
You read that right. Unlike Dungeons & Dragons, which keeps an initiative modifier (based on your Dexterity and possibly other things depending on feats and subclass) that you add to your roll to see when you take your turn in a fight, Daggerheart has no such thing.
Instead, combat is more narrative focused and allows players to dip in whenever they want. Enemies also don’t have a set order and the DM can have them respond when appropriate, which is usually when a player fails at an action or rolls with Fear.
6Story Is An Important Mechanic
Daggerheart Puts Narrative First
As you’ve probably noticed, Daggerheart promises to be a story-first TTRPG. Its lack of initiative in combat, paired with a focus on having players contribute to their scenes, proves this. Combined with mechanics like labelling the dice Hope and Fear seem to create a TTRPG that ismore focused on telling a story along with the GMthan anything else.
This is different from Dungeons & Dragons, which has always taken a much more balanced approach to things, hence a focus not only on lore but on the mechanics behind downtime actions, combat, spells, items, and much more.
5Hope And Fear Mechanic
The Two Dice To Rule Them All
In Dungeons & Dragons, emotive dice don’t exist. Instead, you use one main dice, the d20, which is a more generic catch-all. It can mean anything from an attempt to scale a wall to resisting a charm effect from a spell. The more ambiguous nature of the dice means that players only prescribe its meaning, depending on the situation they’re in.
Meanwhile, with Daggerheart, the 2d12 are always known as Hope and Fear. However, they also have an impact mechanically as players can attain Hope (to a maximum of five) each time they roll higher on the Hope die than Fear. They can then spend Hope to empower spells, aid allies, and more.
4Stress Points
You Need To Look After Your Characters
Although introduced in many other TTRPGs, Dungeons & Dragons has always shied away from having stress points. The closest to a “stress” mechanic is through conditions like Exhaustion, which pertains more to physical exhaustion rather than just a mental one.
Daggerheart has Stress Points, a mechanic that represents both physical and mental strain on a character. Players can spend Stress to affect the narrative as they see fit and will attain Stress from damage, consequences or certain actions.
3Domains For Every Player
And Not The Cleric Kind
When one thinks of domains in Dungeons & Dragons,it usually pertains to Clerics. The subclasses are known as domains, representative of the different domains a God could have control of, such as life, war, peace, magic, and more.
However, in Daggerheart, every player has Domains. Described as core themes of a class, classes can often share Domains, and each one grants players access to Domain Cards, special cards that can provide unique actions, spells, and other abilities. This is a whole new system compared to D&D, allowing players to sometimes have shared abilities through these Domains regardless of their class.
New Creative Ways To Represent Your Character
Dungeons & Dragons has always had a ton of different species to play as, with more than 20 options available. There’s a great variety of species, from the standard elves and half-orcs to more fantastical satyrs and fairies.
But Daggerheart has offered some more unique species that have never been seen in D&D. These species include Fungril which resemble humanoid mushrooms. Some of the other species are similar, such as the Ribbets, which are a race of anthropomorphic frogs, and Simiah, which are more like anthropomorphic monkeys. A new take on D&D species and even more unique species directly from Daggert may offer a more appealing option for players.
1Daggerheart Has No Traditional Skills
The Skill System Is Entirely Different
In Dungeons & Dragons, there are a certain number of skills in which characters can be proficient. They gain this proficiency through their class, background, species, and more. These skills include things like Arcana (magical knowledge), History, Acrobatics, etc.
However, Daggerheart has no traditional skill system like this. Instead, there is the Experience system, in which characters use a word or create a phrase that encapsulates a set of skills. Some examples are Bodyguard, Quick Hands, Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing. Players work with their DM and choose two Experiences to start with. Then, when they feel it can apply to a roll, they can add a modifier to their Hope dice for the roll. It’s a new way of linking skills directly to one’s backstory and making them more open-ended.
