this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2025

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Daggerheart: I expected another Dungeons and Dragons, but found something much, much better (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

33 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I run a table. One of the people at the table insisted that I checked out Daggerheart. So I did. And I was very pleasantly surprised.

Why? Well, I admit I had some prejudices against it. First, I sort of made up my mind when I saw the whole licensing issue, Daggerheart basically doing what Wizards of the Coast did with Dungeons and Dragons. But not only that, I also saw red flags in Daggerheart itself: minis.

I saw a video for Daggerheart where the thumbnail showed minis. I was out. I find minis so frustrating. They are in my list of things that I cannot care about. I care about dramatic stories, not combat simulation. I care about intrigue and character growth, not arithmetic. I saw that and assumed that Daggerheart was a combat simulator just like Dungeons and Dragons is. I didn't even pay attention.

But then my friend insisted that I read about Daggerheart. And so I did.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that minis are optional. Even more importantly, I was shocked to find a game that effectively is Powered by the Apocalypse. I was especially relieved to not find rules for movement that require trigonometry or strange approximations (unlike Dungeons and Dragons, where there are grids and numbers everywhere).

I found a game that prioritized drama. Yes, it still simulates combat, but it does so in such a simple way that makes me happy to run it.

I’m excited! This would be the first game that I ever play when the game is just released. This would be the first game in which I don't even have to pitch to the table; the table already wants to play it.

Of course, these are my first impressions. Maybe they'll change. For now, I'm happy.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Would be interested to know how it diverges from PbtA? Sounds cool though!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

EDIT: Oh… I just realized you asked how it DIVERGES from PbtA, not how it is similar to PbtA. lol my bad. I'll come back with a more informed response later!

So far I can confidently tell you that the Player Principles in Daggerheart are very much like the Principles of Apocalypse World:

Be a fan of the character
Address the characters
Look through crosshairs
Play to find out what happens

In other words, it gives clear guidance on what it means to be an MC/GM. It's explicit about not railroading. It's explicit about not pulling the rug underneath your players ("Oops! You didn't check for traps! That's 999999 bludgeoning damage coming your way!"). I like when games are this explicit; it's easier to have a conversation about what good and bad GMing looks like.

I also know that it doesn't just have success and failure (and critical successes and failures). Instead, it has successes and failures that aren't as extreme, so small complications pop up more often.

The character progression checklist also looks straight up from an Apocalypse World character sheet (in a good way!). [Edit 2: I learned that the checklist might be similar to Apocalypse World, but there's this whole card system where each level involves choosing new feats or abilities or things like that, all related to your class]

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

Standing by! Haha

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Look also to one heir of PbtA: Blades in the Dark.I'm biaised, I like mist of this game (including Deep Cut).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I've heard good stuff about blades in the dark, I've got time for that. Hell, more than half the time I'm a player I just play someone crazy about dying anyway

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Play your character like a stolen car.

It's even in the rules.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

So rare to feel truly understood these days.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

What is PbtA? Well, the Baker's definition:

"Powered by the Apocalypse" isn't the name of a kind of game, set of game elements, or even the core design thrust of a coherent movement. (Ha! This last, the least so.) Its use in a game's trade dress signifies ONLY that the game was inspired by Apocalypse World in a way that the designer considers significant, and that it follows our policy wrt others' use of our creative work.

Is Daggerheart inspired by Apocalypse World? I think so: Meguey Baker co-authored Apocalypse World and the post-apocalyptic "Motherboard" campaign frame in Daggerheart. I would be surprised if Mercer would not have credited PbtA somewhere. If Darrington Press would like to, Meg and Vincent would probably approve with the "PbtA" stamp.

It doesn't use the "2d6+stat" role mechanic but that is not essential just like all the other game mechanics.

I'm sorry. This is probably not very helpful. Maybe a more precise answer could be given if you ask how it diverges from "Dungeon World" or some other PbtA game you know.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

That's cool, I didn't realise PbtA was such a broad term in its own right. I've played a little Dungeon World and others, but not enough to know the background of all that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Compared to Dungeon World, the Hope/Fear counters are a difference.

I'm not sure where they got it from. To me it seems somewhat like Fate points.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Dang. That's a cool dice mechanic. I must be spoiled with ORE, but it feels like a lot of work to get one dice roll out of the way. It doesn't bog things down, do you find?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Youtube interview of Mercer about the Hope-Fear mechanic.

I had no chance to try it myself.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

I get it now. I like the idea of having a visual build-up of threat stemming from dice rolls.