The world that you explore in Daggerheart will be one of great magic, wondrous landscapes, mythical beasts, and powerful foes. As you build this world together, you can use an existing location you’re already familiar with, a supplemental setting book, or use the “Running a Campaign” section of chapter 3 to collaboratively create your own world.

Because this game has established ancestries, communities, classes, abilities, and spells, some aspects of the world will exist similarly across every campaign. These can always be reflavored or modified to match the style of game you all want to play, but understanding the Core Realms is a good place to start.

Core Realms

The core realms are the starting place of reality for your world in Daggerheart.

The Mortal Realm

Most adventures are likely to take place in the Mortal Realm. This is the land, sea, and sky, where mortals live out the entirety of their lives—the plane where the majority of all material beings and objects exist. Stories say this realm was created by the Forgotten Gods during the Earliest Age, and when they were overthrown by the New Gods, many of these ancient deities were banished to remain here eternally. This realm is also occupied by the Faint Divinities, the more common lesser deities created by both the Forgotten and the New Gods to oversee the Mortal Realm.

The Hallows Above

The Hallows Above are the collection of realms where many of the gods reside, having been claimed by the New Gods at the end of the Earliest Age. Because this place is closely connected with most other realms, the gods that reside here can see and speak with the people of the Mortal Realm without leaving their domain, though their methods of communication may appear strange or obfuscated to those with whom they choose to engage. There are ways by which the gods can leave the Hallows Above to occupy other realms, but they must always sacrifice something of personal importance to them to do so. It’s rumored that this sacrifice is the cause behind some of the great calamities that have befallen the Mortal Realm.

The Circles Below

The Circles Below are the collection of lower realms where the Fallen reside. The Fallen Gods lost the Divine War with the New Gods during the Earliest Age and have since been deemed “evil practitioners of tainted magic.” Thus the Faint Divinities that were banished alongside them, commonly referred to as “demons”, as well as those sired since, bear the weight of that identifier. The Circles Below is considered a place of corruption, destruction, and endless hunger. Stories say this dominion is home to some of the most dangerous creatures in the core realms. Most other planes have safeguards against Fallen who may wish to cross over from the Circles Below. Within the Mortal Realm, it’s rumored that the use of arcane magic in acts of great evil can open a temporary rift between the two lands, allowing Fallen to pass through.

The Realms Beyond

There are countless realms beyond these—the Elemental Lands, the Astral Realm, the Valley of Death, and endless others. These are not typically accessible or traversable by those from the Mortal Realm, but some in the core realms do carry the knowledge of their existence.

Magic and Spells

Magic in Daggerheart is both very powerful and incredibly dangerous. It permeates the land and dwells within the people here. Magic exists as both a force within you that you may be able to draw on to give you aid throughout your journey, and as a force outside of you that affects the world and can be tapped into by those who know how to harness it. Depending on the kind of character you choose to play, you may or may not have the ability to use magic.

If you do have the gift of spellcasting, you’ll use magic through specific weapons, spells, and other magical means. As characters grow, the magic they can perform will grow with them through the additional cards you gain at each level. These will give you the specific parameters around the kinds of effects your magic can take.