Facing death is an important part of being an adventurer, and having a character die can be an exciting end to a story and an opportunity for the player to transition into something new. In Daggerheart, when you mark your last hit point, you must make a death move.

Death Move

Choose one of the options below.

Blaze of Glory. You embrace death and go out in a blaze of glory. Take one action (at GM discretion), which becomes an automatic critical success, then cross through the veil of death.

Avoid Death. You avoid death and face the consequences. Roll your Hope die; if its value is equal to or under your level, you gain a Scar (see “Scars”). You also drop unconscious temporarily; work with the GM to describe how the situation gets much worse because of it. You may not move or act while unconscious. You return to consciousness when an ally clears one or more of your marked Hit Points or when your party finishes the next long rest.

Risk it All. Roll your Duality Dice. If Hope is higher, you stay on your feet and clear an amount of Hit Points and/or Stress equal to the value of the Hope die (divide the Hope die value up between these however you’d prefer). If your Fear die is higher, you cross through the veil of death. If the Duality Dice are tied, you stay on your feet and clear all Hit Points and Stress.

If a player makes a death move that results in their character dying or no longer being able to play, they should work with the GM before the next session to build a new character at the current level of the rest of the party (see “Building Higher Level Characters” in chapter 1).