In this episode I go over the new ancestries, communities, and transformations for Daggerheart in the Hope & Fear expansion. There are some really fun character options here and some cool game design in the new features.

I discuss the new Dread domain in Daggerheart.

I return to my exploration of the new Daggerheart supplement, Hope & Fear. This week I discuss the four new classes: the assassin, brawler, warlock, and witch.

I begin the show by going over Darrington Press’s three year plan for Daggerheart. I also discuss the upcoming official support for Daggerheart on Foundry VTT. Then I begin my multi-episode series exploring the first expansion for Daggerheart, Hope & Fear.

There are very few official published adventures for Daggerheart, and those are either one-shots or very short. The third party options are also limited. So what is a GM wanting a published adventure to do? In this episode I share how I’m taking adventures from other games and adapting them to Daggerheart. Because Daggerheart’s system is relatively simple, it’s actually pretty easy to do.

A lot of times as a GM, we can be tempted to say no to a player. Why not say yes instead? Not only is this embracing the “yes, and” philosophy of improvisation, but it will lead to more fun for the players and for us too. I also discuss leveling in Daggerheart compared with other games I’ve played. There is no such thing as xp in Daggerheart. How does this impact leveling? I compare 1st level Daggerheart characters with beginning characters in games like D&D, Pathfinder, Cypher System, and World of Darkness.

Today I discuss GM pitfalls to avoid in Daggerheart and other RPGs. We also play a little game of finding a way to use any attribute for a task. Even with something obvious, like crossing an icy bridge—that would obviously use agility, you can make a good argument for using any of the six attributes. I give some tips on how to prepare for more improvisational gaming sessions, and how to plan story beats without railroading the players. I talk about how the Hope and Fear system is an excellent pacing mechanic. Finally, I show how you can also use Fear to make an encounter as easy or difficult as you want, and it always feels above board and fair to the players, no matter how well or how badly things are going for their characters.

Today I discuss Daggerheart’s GM Best Practices. These will help you be a better GM, no matter what game you’re playing or which system you’re using.

Today I discuss Daggerheart’s GM Principles, which are begin and end with the fiction (story); collaborate at all times, especially during conflict; fill the world with life, wonder, and danger; ask questions and incorporate the answers; make every roll important; play to find out what happens; and hold on gently. I talk quite a bit about why you don’t want to call for too many rolls, and how to know when to call for a roll versus when not to. I specifically discuss the two main areas where some GMs call for way too many rolls: actions involving perception and knowledge. I also go into preparing for an adventure or game session by creating an inciting event to kick things off, and not planning too much beyond that point. I also share how I prepare to improvise. Finally, I talk a bit about advancing and modifying my setting of Primordia. I originally designed the setting for D&D, so I wanted to make some changes to better fit Daggerheart and allow the players more design space to collaborate with the world building.

This week I discuss player best practices presented in the Daggerheart core book. Keeping these in mind will enhance any tabletop RPG you play, not just Daggerheart. The first, and I’d say fundamental, best practice is to embrace danger. At the heart of this and the other best practices is to choose the interesting choice, the choice that makes a better story, not necessarily the optimal or most tactical or strategic choice. We don’t “win” at these games by always succeeding, never failing. We win by creating an awesome story together. A story where the PCs always succeed is a pretty boring story. The key to making this all work at your table is to establish and maintain trust among the GM and players. And a big part of building and maintaining that trust is how you handle PC death at your table. Daggerheart has some really great guidelines for all of this. I also go over how hit points, death moves, and scars work in Daggerheart.