Title: Daggerheart
Publisher: Darrington Press
Authors: Spenser Starke, Carlos Cisco, Rowan Hall, John Harper, Matthew Mercer, Alex Uboldi, Mike Underwood, Layla Adelman, Meguey Baker, Banana Chan, Chris Davidson, Rue Dickey, Felix Isaacs, Erin Roberts, Deven Rue, Rogan Shannon, Mark Thompson, Eugenio Vargas, and Chris Willett
Artists: Nick Acuna, Juan Salvador Almencion, Mauro Alocci, Ana Amaral, Anthony Avon, Mike Azevedo, Zoe Badini, Diana Bakieva, Adam Barker, Eliot Baum, Paul Scott Canavan, Carlos Cardona, Edgar Cardona, Kristina Carroll, Stephanie Cost, Luísa Costa, Katya Cyan, Cybercatbug, Daarken, Nikki Dawes, Carlos C. Díaz, Benjamin Ee, Geoffrey Ernault, Letícia Freitas, Bear Frymire, Gaboleps, Laura Galli, Kristina Gehrmann, James Green, Grant Griffin, Arturo Gutiérrez González, Juan Gutierrez, Leesha Hannigan, Rick Hefner, Suzanne Helmigh, Hendry Iwanaga, Jessketchin, Anthony Jones, Jack Jones, KarrahE, Sam Key, Ivan Koltovich, Alex Konstad, Samantha Kung, Linda Lithén, Samantha B. Lucas, Danil Luzin, Dominik Mayer, Julia Metzger, Maxime Minard, Andrea Tentori Montalto, José Muñoz, Reiko Murakami, Laura Marie Neal, Irina Nordsol, Tamara Osborn, Mike Pape, Jen Estirdalin Pattison, Mila Pesic, Henry Peters, Rafater, Andreas Rocha, Ryan Christian Rodero, Joshua Rodriguez, Henrik Rosenborg, Ilya Royz, Allan Santos, Stanislav Sherbakov, Ernanda Souza, Fernanda Suarez, Jenny Tan, Mat Wilma, and Maciej Wojtala
Year: 2025
Genre: Core rulebook for a narrative heavy fantasy roleplaying game
Pages: 266 pages
MSRP: $59.99 for the hardcover (with PDF) or $29.99 for the PDF at DriveThruRPG
Daggerheart is a self-described “heroic, narrative-focused experience that features combat as a prominent aspect of play.” In other words, it’s another entry into the fantasy tabletop roleplaying space.
Daggerheart’s system is simple: roll two differently colored d12s (the “Duality Dice,” representing Hope and Fear), add the result, add any bonuses, and compare to the Difficulty. If necessary, roll your damage die to determine damage.
That’s it. That’s the core. It’s a sleek, simple system that makes it easy for new gamers to learn to play; for fans of Critical Role who have never gamed themselves and find Dungeons and Dragons a little too intimidating, it makes Daggerheart an especially attractive option.
One particularly excellent addition to the game is the explicit guidance on adjusting abilities and spells to suit characters who may have a disability. It’s broad, it can be applied in a variety of creative ways, and it reaffirms the game’s commitment to the idea that everyone belongs at the table. The book also includes advice on disability as an identity, citing not just obvious handicaps –such as limb difference, hearing loss, or visual impairment—but less obvious ones, as well. Seeing a game include chronic illness and autoimmune disorders as examples of disabilities that may make an appearance in a story is, frankly, great. While disability representation at the table has been steadily growing, Daggerheart’s commitment to good representation from the start is heartening.
Easy onboarding seems to have been at the core of the book’s design. The game’s nine base classes are each divided into two subclasses, summarized as a helpful “either/or” graphic at the beginning of character creation in language that is easy to understand. Subsequent pages detailing the classes in greater detail clearly take inspiration from D&D, but again, avoid potentially overwhelming mechanical complexity. The Ancestry feature pages take a similar approach, with a visual treatment that feels like a pleasing mix between concept art and a page from an in-world artist’s sketchbook. The seemingly hand-written notes scattered throughout are a welcome way to add detail without detouring the reader’s attention from the core information.
Art, in general, is a standout for Daggerheart. While there is no shortage of talented artists working in the tabletop gaming space, it’s rare to find a game that feels like it should have its own artbook; Daggerheart is an exception to that statement. While there are certainly fantasy staples, there are also fresh ideas and a few genuine surprises. The mix of painted and pen-and-ink pieces keeps things balanced and feels like a tantalizing tease into the design process.
One other interesting choice is the decision to explicitly acknowledge where design inspiration was sourced. While the phrase ‘credit where credit is due’ is a common one, it typically doesn’t apply for games referencing other games. Daggerheart fearlessly credits a variety of titles, including some smaller ones players may not have heard of before.
Daggerheart is an easy-to-learn, easy-to-learn entry into the fantasy roleplaying space that brings all of the flavor and room for complexity as its bigger name counterparts but eschews the mechanical grind in favor of a more streamlined system. Fans of Critical Role will be an obvious audience, but anyone who enjoys a well-designed fantasy setting primed to grow will likely find something to pique their curiosity as well.
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