CHAPTER TWO

Playing An Adventure

Playing an Adventure

In this chapter, we’ll cover what you need to know as a player in order to start your adventure. This includes the core mechanics, how combat works, some optional rules to consider adding to your game, and more.

The Flow of the Game

In a session of Daggerheart, the players go back and forth describing what their characters do in the fictional circumstances the GM lays out for them, building on each other’s ideas and working together to tell an exciting story. The mechanics of the game help to mediate this conversation, providing structure to the discussion and a way to resolve moments where it’s unclear what will happen next.

One of the most important aspects of this conversation is asking questions; in Daggerheart, this should go both ways. The players will often ask clarifying questions about the scene: “Are there any guards outside the door?” or “Do you think I can jump across the gap safely?” or “What kind of weapon are they holding?” The GM usually either provides the answer or tells the player to roll to determine the answer. But the GM should also ask questions of the players, and build upon those answers to create the fiction: “How do you sneak around this building so carefully?” or “What does the camp you’ve set up here look like?” or “You’ve found a way to scramble up the wall safely—what was here that made it easier than you anticipated?” This back and forth allows for a collaborative conversation where everyone has a chance to contribute to the fiction in a meaningful way.

For those familiar with roleplaying games, the flow of the game is probably something that comes second-nature by now, but for those new to this kind of experience, it may not. Below is a basic look at the procedure of play; the gameplay loop that drives every session.

• GM Narrates Details: The GM gives the players the details of a scene, describing the surroundings, dangers, and any important elements the characters would notice immediately here; what they see, smell, hear, feel, etc.
• Players and GM Ask Questions: The players ask questions to clarify the scene, gathering details to help them take appropriate action. The GM also asks questions of the players to provide added detail to the scene and open the world to be influenced by their perspectives.
• Players and GM Answer Questions: The players should respond to these questions by providing information about their characters and the world that the GM can build on. The GM should respond to these questions by giving the players any information they can obtain easily and without complication. If they want something more than what is readily available, the GM will inform them what they need to do to get it.
• Choose and Resolve Actions: The information the players receive will often spur them into taking action. If it does, the GM will help facilitate the resolution of these actions, and everyone will work together to evolve the fiction based on the outcome. If it doesn’t, the GM should provide more detailed information, action, or consequences until it does.
• Repeat Cycle: Because the scene has now changed in some way, this process repeats from the beginning.

Example Interaction

Here’s an example of how a GM and player might interact to progress a scene:

Emerson’s character has just been caught trying to pickpocket an important letter off of a noble in a busy market square in a medium-sized town.

“How many guards did you say this lordling had?” Emerson asks.

“Two right there with him, and you suspect that there’s another two out of uniform back a bit in the crowd.”

“Great. I’m by an alley, right? I want to back off and find a place to climb up to the rooftop before anyone can catch me.”

“Sure thing,” the GM says. Based on the situation, they decide the PC doesn’t need to roll to accomplish what they want to do: “You’re fast and the noble noticed you rather than the guards, so you can scramble up without a roll. The guards will be following you, though, and once you’re all up on the roof, they’re going to pull their crossbows and start shooting.”

Emerson asks, “How close are the buildings here? Could I run and leap across to the next building’s roof?”

“Not that far apart,” the GM says. “Certainly not any wider than what you’re used to from growing up in Downside. That’d be an Agility roll to escape across the rooftops. But heads up-if you don’t succeed here, you’ll probably take some serious damage from the fall. It’s a long way down.” the GM warns him. Emerson has a +2 in Agility, and also chooses to spend a Hope to use his +2 experience “Scoundrel” here to make the leap.

“I know it’s dangerous, but I can guarantee I’ve done this kind of jump before.” He gathers 4 of his Character Tokens to represent the “ Agility ” and “Scoundrel” bonuses, then rolls his Duality Dice and the tokens together. The Hope die lands on a 9 and the Fear die lands on 4. He combines those values together (13) and also adds his 4 Character Tokens for a total of 17. Because his Hope die rolled higher than Fear , Emerson tells the GM: “I rolled a 17 with Hope!”.

The GM nods. 17 is higher than the 15 difficulty they had in mind, and a success with Hope means no meaningful consequences for the action. “That’s more than enough to escape these guards. They’re armored and trying to take shots, but none of them get close to you—and they’re not good enough at jumping to risk a fall. By the time you’re two blocks away, you’ve completely lost them. Make sure to take Hope for that roll. But now you’re farther away from the noble and his letter you were trying to nab. What do you do?”

Core Mechanics

This section covers the core mechanics of Daggerheart and how to utilize them as a player at the table. dditionally, the “Equipment” section near the end of this chapter presents rules on weapons and armor, and the previous chapter contains rules for using your domain cards, class, subclass, ancestry, and community.

On Your Turn

The game has no “turns” in the traditional sense; players don’t have a set amount of actions they can take or things they can do before play passes to someone else. In most senses, everyone should follow the fiction to figure out what happens next, bouncing around the table to whoever it makes sense to spotlight in that moment.

Moves and Actions

Whenever you decide to do something in the story and the spotlight shifts to you, your PC makes a move, which you describe to the group. These moves can include talking to another character, interacting with your environment, using a class feature, and most anything else you can dream of.

Some moves automatically succeed (it’s easy to open an unlocked door), while others require a roll to determine the outcome (it’s hard to break down a barricaded door). Any move that requires a roll is an action; a few other moves also state they are actions, though they don’t require a roll. When you make an action, play pauses while you make an action roll to determine how things play out (see “Action Rolls”)—and if you’re in combat or otherwise using the action tracker, you’ll also place an action token on the tracker (see “Action Tracker”).

Tip: If a move says to use an action, but you’re not using the action tracker right now, you can still make that move! You only have to pay attention to which moves are actions when you’re using the tracker.

Moves in Combat

Since Daggerheart relies on a flexible back-and-forth conversation between the GM and players, combat has no initiative order, no rounds, and no distinct number of actions you can take on your “turn.” Instead, fights play out narratively moment-to-moment, just like non-combat scenes. This provides the players opportunities to team up together in their tactics, respond appropriately to narrative changes in the scene, and not be locked into violence once the first strike happens.

In combat scenarios that have the potential to last more than a few rolls, or in any scene where moment-to-moment gameplay becomes important to track, you can use the Action Tracker to track each PC action (see “Action Tracker”). This provides structure for these scenes without compromising flexibility.

GM Moves and Adversary Actions

PCs aren’t the only ones who make moves—the GM can make a GM move at nearly any time (see “Making Moves” in chapter 3), most commonly when a PC rolls with Fear or fails an action roll. GM moves typically escalate the scene in an exciting and dangerous way; a PC might take an attack from some enemies, become Vulnerable, or anything else that significantly changes the scene. This creates a back-and-forth conversation as the story evolves organically between the GM and players. Many GM moves don’t require spending any resources, but the GM spends action tokens to activate adversaries in battle (see “Using the Action Tracker” in chapter 3), and they spend Fear to make more powerful moves like using an adversary or environment’s Fear move (see “Spending Fear” in chapter 3).

Duality Dice

The core dice in Daggerheart are a pair of d12 dice called Duality dice. These d12s are different colors (or if you prefer, different sizes or patterns), one representing Hope and the other representing Fear. Each player chooses two colors of dice that embody these concepts for them, using them any time they make an action roll (see “Action Rolls”) during the game. Your Duality dice don’t need to be the same two colors as anyone else’s around the table, but they do need to be easily recognizable from each other at a glance.

Example: Kat looks at their choices of d12 dice and decides on a blue die to represent Hope and a red die to represent Fear. Rowan looks at her dice and instead chooses a yellow d12 die to represent Hope and a purple d12 die to represent Fear. Dani thinks about using a black d12 with red inking as the Fear die and a black d12 die with white inking as her Hope die, but decides to go with an orange d12 as her Hope die instead so that it’s easier to identify.

The Duality dice represent the way the world pushes the character back or guides them forward throughout the story. Regardless of whether you succeed or fail on an action roll, your Duality roll will influence how the scene evolves.

Rolling Hope and Fear

Hope and Fear represent the duality of the world beyond the characters, and how the world around them impacts the action they’re attempting. One of your Duality dice is your Hope die, and the other is your Fear die.

Hope. When you roll your Duality dice and the Hope die rolls higher than the Fear die, you “ roll with Hope.” When this happens on an action roll, mark one of the Hope slots on your character sheet, up to a maximum of five. You might also gain Hope from spells, abilities, or other things that happen in the game.

Fear. When you roll your Duality dice and the Fear die rolls higher than the Hope die, you “ roll with Fear.” When this happens on an action roll, even if you succeed on your action roll, there are consequences or complications that come from it.

Critical Successes

Whenever you make a Duality roll, if both dice roll the same number, you automatically roll a Critical Success, even if you would’ve otherwise failed because the total is lower than your roll’s difficulty (see “Roll Difficulty”). Not only does a critical success on an action roll count as a roll with Hope, but you also clear a Stress.

If you critically succeed on an attack roll, you also deal extra damage, as described in the “Damage Rolls” section.

Using Hope

Once you’ve gained Hope and recorded it on your character sheet, you can spend it to power special abilities (erasing it from your character sheet when you do). Your Hope carries over between sessions, but you can only hold up to six Hope at any given time, so you don’t want to save it for too long. Hope can be used in several ways: to Help an Ally, to Utilize an Experience, or to Activate a Hope Feature.

Help an Ally

You can spend one Hope to help an ally who is making an action roll that you could feasibly aid them in. When you do this, describe how you’re helping and roll a d6 advantage die (see “Advantage and Disadvantage”). They can add the result to their action roll. If more than one PC wants to help an ally, each spends a Hope to roll a d6 advantage die, and the highest result among all those advantage dice is added to the roll.

If the PC who is being helped already has advantage on the roll from another source, they can roll that d6 along with the other players’ advantage dice from Help an Ally, then pick the highest result among all of them.

Utilize an Experience

You can spend a Hope to utilize one of your relevant Experiences on an action roll, adding its modifier to the dice results. If more than one Experience could apply, you can spend an additional Hope for each Experience you want to add to your result.

Activate a Hope Feature

Spells and abilities may also allow (or require) you to spend Hope to activate certain effects. A Hope Feature is any effect that asks you to spend Hope to activate it. If the text instructs you to “spend Hope,” that means you must immediately spend the specified number of Hope, or you can’t trigger the Hope Feature.

When using a Hope Feature, if you already rolled with Hope as the higher Duality Die for that action, you can just spend the Hope from that die instead of erasing a Hope from your character sheet. Otherwise, you’ll need to spend Hope you’ve stored from earlier rolls to activate the effect.

Unless an effect states otherwise, you can’t spend Hope multiple times on the same feature to increase or repeat its effects. For example, if a feature says you can “spend a Hope to add 1d6 to the damage roll”, you can’t spend two Hope and add 2d6 instead.

Tip: Some effects only trigger “on a success with Hope”. This doesn’t mean you can spend Hope on a successful roll with Fear to get the effect; it instead means the effect only takes place when you roll with Hope and you succeed on your action roll. On this kind of effect, you don’t have to spend Hope to activate it—it just happens as long as the conditions of the roll are met.

Each class also has a unique Hope Feature, such as “Druid’s Hope” or “Guardian’s Hope.” These powerful abilities allow the character to spend all six Hope on a display of great power in keeping with their class’s theme, turning the tides in a combat or other scene. If you find yourself maxing out on Hope, using your Hope Special could allow you to get the upper hand—but don’t neglect other uses of Hope like helping an ally and utilizing experiences. Hope is a liquid resource, and it’s meant to be used frequently.

Using Fear

As a player, rolling with Fear doesn’t mean your action roll failed (see “Action Rolls”)—but you’ll face some type of complication. For example, you might only learn partial information, face a strike from the enemy you just attacked, or encounter an unexpected danger. If you also failed on the action roll where you rolled Fear, you’ll instead face major consequences or complications.

When you roll with Fear, you don’t record it on your character sheet. Instead, the GM makes a move to reflect the complications of your Fear roll. This move might immediately affect the scene, but the GM sometimes uses that move to instead collect a Fear token. The GM can later spend these stored Fear tokens on effects such as powering big adversary and environment moves (see “Spending Fear” in chapter 3).

Evasion Score

Your evasion score represents your ability to avoid attacks and other unwanted effects from adversaries. This score sets the difficulty for any roll another creature makes against you (see the upcoming “Action Rolls” section). Your base evasion score is determined by your class, but it can be modified by domain cards, gear, statuses, and more.

You get to describe what your evasion score represents—take this opportunity to be creative, evocative, and deepen your character. You might be good at acrobatic dodging or precise footwork, you might parry incoming blows, you might disrupt enemy attacks with well-timed counters, or you might have magical shields or enchanted objects that ward off blows. Similarly, when an adversary misses you with an attack or other effect, you can enrich the scene by describing how you avoid the hit.

While these descriptions add to your character and to the story your group is telling together, they don’t change the normal evasion rules or give you special bonuses. For example, you might describe how you use a powerful burst of magic to redirect an arrow headed your way, but this doesn’t mean you can redirect the arrow back at the enemy who fired it and deal them the damage instead.

Hit Points and Damage Thresholds

Hit Points represent the physical injuries and discomforts experienced by a character during your adventures. Your available Hit Points, sometimes called HP, are determined by your class. When you take damage—usually when an adversary succeeds on an attack roll against your evasion score—you mark between 1 and 3 HP, representing that you’ve lost that much health.

The number of HP you mark is determined by your class’s damage thresholds (as described in “Marking Hit Points” below). As a 1st-level character, you’ll usually mark at least 1 Hit Point on your character sheet each time you take damage; as you gain levels, you’ll become more resilient. The dark bars in the “Hit Points & Stress” section of your character sheet show the three tiers of damage you can take: Severe, Major, and Minor.

For example, a Level 1 Guardian starts with the following thresholds and Hit Points:

Marking Hit Points

When the GM tells you to take damage (see “Damage Rolls”), compare that number to your thresholds, and mark Hit Points depending on the tier:

• Severe Damage is equal to or above your Severe threshold; this marks 3 HP.
• Major Damage is below Severe but equal to or above your Major threshold; this marks 2 HP.
• Minor Damage is anything below your Major threshold; marks 1 HP.

If you ever mark your final available Hit Point, you must immediately make a death move (see “Death”).

Example: In the image above, a Guardian’s incoming damage is Severe if it’s 18 or higher, and they mark 3 Hit Points. If the damage is 8 or higher (but below 16), the damage is Major and they mark 2 Hit Points. If the damage is below their Major threshold of 8, the damage is Minor and they mark 1 Hit Point.

If you ever reduce incoming damage to 0 or less (through armor or any other means), you don’t mark any hit points. When you mark your final available Hit Point, you must immediately make a death move.

Clearing Hit Points

Any time you make downtime moves (see “Downtime”), you have the opportunity to clear some of your Hit Points.

Additionally, as you level up your character, you’ll be able to permanently increase both your Damage Thresholds and your number of Hit Point slots, making your character more resilient against incoming attacks.

Optional Rule: Massive Damage

To make the game more dangerous, the table may implement a Massive threshold that’s double your Severe threshold. If you ever take Massive Damage, you mark an additional Hit Point.

Using the example above in “Marking Hit Points,” if the Guardian is dealt 32 damage (or more), they take Massive Damage and mark 4 Hit Points.

Stress Points

Stress Points represents the mental and physical strain put on your character during their adventures. Some effects require you to mark a Stress Point. Additionally, you can somtimes choose to mark a Stress Point to affect the narrative; when you do, consider the burden your character knowingly accepts. Does your anxiety increase as you use a new tactic in a high-stakes negotiation? Do you accept the impact of witnessing horrors in order to dive back into danger and save an innocent? Are you willing to take minor abrasions to fatally wound your foe?

Marking Stress Points

When an effect requires you to mark a Stress Point, do so on your character sheet. Whenever you mark your last Stress, you become Vulnerable (see “Conditions”) until you either clear at least 1 Stress or clear the Vulnerable condition through other means (such as a spell, ability, or GM fiat).

If you’re ever forced to mark one or more Stress Points but your slots are already full, instead mark 1 Hit Point. For example, if you should take 3 Stress from an adversary but your stress slots are already filled, you instead mark a Hit Point.

As with Hit Points, when you take Downtime actions (see “Downtime”), you have the opportunity to clear some of your Stress. Additionally, when you gain levels, you’ll be able to increase the amount of Stress you can withstand.

Stress from Adversaries

Some adversary actions might require you to mark Stress. These actions represent the adversary’s ability to demoralize you, exhaust you, or similarly push your physical and mental limits.

Stress from Complications

Your GM can also inflict Stress as the complication or consequence of an action, especially when a roll doesn’t go as well as it could have. For example, you might mark Stress as a complication from having a difficult conversation, clashing swords with a worthy foe, or committing an act of incredible bravery.

The GM might also give you the option of marking Stress to avoid a different complication.

Stress from Moves

You might be able to mark Stress to perform certain moves that call for it. Unless an effect states otherwise, you can’t mark Stress multiple times on the same feature to increase or repeat its effects. For example, if an ability lets you mark Stress to add 1d8 to a damage roll, you can’t mark 3 Stress and add 3d8 instead.

You can’t use any move that requires you to mark Stressif you don’t have any slots to mark.

Action Rolls

In each scene, the GM and players go back and forth describing what happens. If you make a move where the outcome is in question, and the success and failure of that move is interesting to the story, your move is an action. In these cases, the GM usually calls for an action roll to determine how the moment unfolds. However, if an action would either be impossible to perform, or it’s easy enough to pull off without complication, there is no need to roll—you already know the outcome!

When the GM (or your spell, attack, or ability) asks you to make an action roll, you’ll do so by rolling your two Duality Dice. These 12-sided dice embody the way the world’s chance, luck, and fate play a part in the story. Each action roll follows four basic steps, which are detailed later in this section:

Step 1: Pick a Character Trait. Ask the GM what character trait best applies to the roll, and they will set a difficulty for the roll (either openly or privately, at their discretion) based on the details of the scene.

Step 2: Add Extra Dice and Modifiers. Decide if any Experience or other modifiers also apply, and grab any character tokens, advantage/disadvantage dice, or other dice as needed.

Step 3: Roll the Dice. Roll your Duality dice, any additional dice, and your character tokens. Total their result, telling the GM the total and which Duality die rolled higher. “I got a 15 with Fear!”

Step 4: Resolve the Situation. Work together to resolve the outcome of your actions.

Step 1: Pick a Character Trait

When the GM calls for an action roll, your character is usually already starting to perform your move. Depending on the situation and how you’ve described what you’re trying to do, the GM might tell you what character trait to use, or your move might require you to roll using a certain trait (see “Trait Rolls”). Other times, the GM might ask you for more information to help decide: “You want to convince this guard to let you through. How are you speaking to them? Are you trying to intimidate them? To trick them?”

Sometimes, more than one trait makes sense—in this case, the GM might ask you which trait fits best, give you a choice between two, or make a judgment call based on the situation at hand. “As you tell him about the important message you have for the king, I need you to make a roll here to determine whether he can tell you’re lying or not. I’d say Instinct is probably what best applies, does that sound right to you?”

Unless your action you’re making requires a certain trait, feel free to suggest one and describe why it’s a good match for what you’re doing. However, the GM always has final say over which trait applies.

Roll Difficulty

When you decide to make an action roll, the GM typically sets the roll’s difficulty—the number you need to reach when you roll. This number is based on the situation and how effective your approach might be. If you’re making an action roll against an adversary, the difficulty is usually defined by their stat block.

The GM can choose to share this number or keep it to themself. Even if they don’t tell you the difficulty, they should make any potential consequences of your actions clear (unless the consequences aren’t something your character would reasonably be aware of). For example, “You’re putting yourself in melee with this guy, you might take a hit in return,” or “If you fail this jump, you might not make it to the other side.”

Step 2: Add Extra Dice and Modifiers

Once you know which trait to use, it’s time to figure out if any other dice or modifiers apply to the roll. Set aside any dice you need, such as the following:

Duality Dice. You roll your Hope and Fear die with every action roll.

Advantage or Disadvantage. If you have advantage or disadvantage on the roll (see “Advantage and Disadvantage”), set aside that d6 for your roll. If you’re rolling with disadvantage, make sure your disadvantage die is a distinct color, so you can remember which die to subtract from the result.

Class Features, Subclass Cards, and Domain Cards. Some class features allow you to add extra dice to your roll (or allow another character to give you a die). For example, a Bard can give you a Rally die, which you can add to an action, reaction, or damage roll of your choice. Similarly, some of your subclass and domain cards might grant you a bonus die. Set these aside for your roll.

Other Dice. Occasionally, other effects might give you an extra die.

Then count the modifiers that apply to your action roll, setting aside that many character tokens to help you keep track (see “Counting Character Tokens” below). Modifiers can include the following:

Chosen Trait. Add the modifier for whichever trait you and your GM chose for this roll (and remember that some modifiers are negative).

Experience. If you have an Experience (or several) that you think applies to the situation, describe how your Experience helps your chance of success, then spend one Hope per Experience to add its modifier to your roll. The GM may ask you for more information to justify that Experience, but you have final say (within reason) over whether your Experience applies.

Class Features, Subclass Cards, and Domain Cards. Sometimes these grant you a modifier to your roll, so keep an eye out.

Other Bonuses or Penalties. Add any other bonuses or penalties, such as from the GM, the items you have equipped, and other sources.

Tip: If you consistently use the same Experience on every roll, it’s very likely the GM will require you to narrow the scope of your Experience or change it altogether. The purpose of Experience is to reflect the way your character has specialized in something important, not to give you a bonus to all your actions.

Counting Character Tokens

Once you declare what modifiers you’re applying to your action roll, grab that many character tokens (see “What Do You Need to Play” in the introduction).

Tokens are never rolled for a random value; they are simply +1 counters you add to your hand to aid in counting your results. Before adding them to a roll, figure out the sum of all of your modifiers, then take that many tokens. For example, if you have a -1 to Agility and a +2 modifier from an Experience you’re utilizing, you have a +1 total modifier to the roll, so set aside one token to represent that.

Tip: Occasionally, your total modifier on a roll might be negative; in this case, you can still use the tokens, but remember they’ll signify the number you need to subtract from the result, not add.

Step 3: Roll the Dice

Once you’ve gathered all your dice and tokens from step 2, roll them all at the same time. Counting each token as 1, add all your tokens and dice rolls together—but keep an eye out for numbers you need to subtract, such as your disadvantage die or tokens that represent a negative modifier.

Then tell the GM the total number you rolled, along with which Duality Die rolled higher—“I rolled a 15 with Fear!”

Tip: If you determined in the previous step that your roll has a negative modifier and/or disadvantage, be sure to subtract the tokens and/or die representing this, rather than add them.

Adding Bonuses to Rolls

Some features allow you (or another player) to add a bonus to your action rolls, damage rolls, or reaction rolls. Unless otherwise specified, all bonuses must be added before you make the roll. For example, if a Bard gives you a Rally die, you must choose to use it before you roll, rather than after you see the numbers on the other dice.

A few features let you affect a roll after the result has been totaled, either by applying a bonus (like the Seraph’s Prayer Dice feature) or by allowing for a reroll (like the Faerie’s Luckbender feature). At the GM’s discretion, you can generally use these after the GM has said whether a roll succeeded or failed, but you must do so before the narrative consequences unfold or another dice roll is made.

Step 4: Resolve the Situation

Each time you make an action roll, the scene changes in some way. The GM always describes how the world reacts to the action that’s been taken, but depending on what your action result is, the situation changes differently.

If your total meets or exceeds the difficulty set by the GM, the action succeeds—you get what you want. If the total is below the difficulty, the action fails—you don’t get what you want—but with one exception! As described in the “Duality Dice” section, if your Duality Dice both roll the same number, you’ve rolled a Critical Success (even if your total wasn’t enough to meet the difficulty).

Based on your roll total, the GM uses the following guide to decide how the narrative moves forward:

On a critical success, you get what you want and a little extra. Gain a Hope and clear a Stress. If you made an attack roll, you also deal extra damage equal to the maximum value of your damage dice (see “Calculating Damage”).

On a success with Hope, you pull it off well and get what you want. Gain a Hope.

On a success with Fear, you get what you want, but it comes with a cost or consequence.

On a failure with Hope, things don’t go to plan. You probably don’t get what you want and there are consequences, but you gain a Hope.

On a failure with Fear, things go very poorly. You probably don’t get what you want, and there is a major consequence or complication because of it.

After announcing your roll’s result, always look to the GM to find out what happens next. (“Making Moves” in chapter 3 guides the GM on resolving action rolls and making GM moves.)

Story Is Consequence

In Daggerheart, every time you roll the dice, the scene changes in some way. There is no such thing as a roll where “nothing happens,” because the fiction should constantly be evolving based on the successes and failures of the characters.

A “failure” doesn’t mean you simply don’t get what you want, especially if that would result in a moment of inaction. The game is more interesting when every action the players take yields an active outcome—something that changes the situation they’re in.

For example, if you fail a roll to pick a lock, it’s not just that the door doesn’t open. On a failure with Hope, it might mean you can hear the rumble of footsteps coming down the hall behind you—the enemies you previously escaped before are getting close, and you’re going to have to act quickly to hide, or take a different approach and find a way through. On a failure with Fear, the door might’ve been magically warded to keep thieves away, and its arcane alarm triggers. Meanwhile, on a success with Fear, you might succeed in unlocking the door, but you’re spotted by the enemies within. These consequences are what make the game interesting and drive forward the adventure you’re all on together.

Every GM and player has a different level of interest and comfort in this roll-by-roll improvisation. Some groups may prefer a largely predetermined world—for example, the GM could’ve previously decided there are two guards on patrol, and you roll simply to learn whether you unwittingly run into both of them, whether one rounds the corner but you catch them unawares, or whether you escape both guards without notice. In other groups, the GM might not have decided if any guards exist at all—but after you roll a failure with Fear, the GM weaves two guards into the story you’re creating together. Either approach is okay, and you’ll likely use a mix of both in each session! But Daggerheart shines when each player feels free to affect a story that doesn’t exist yet, rather than waiting for a predetermined story to unfold. Part of the game’s fun is discovering those unplanned moments together.

Example Action Roll

Sara’s Rogue, Isabella, is trying to run across a narrow parapet to stop the mage that is raining spellfire down on her party. The GM tells Sara to make an Agility roll with a difficulty of 15. Isabella’s Agility is 2, so Sara rolls the Duality Dice, adds them together, then adds two tokens (representing her +2 modifier from Agility) to get her total.

Here are examples of the five possible results of her roll:

Failure with Fear

Sara rolls 3 on the Hope die and 6 on the Fear die, plus 2 from Agility for a result of 11 with Fear. The GM describes the mage responding quickly to Isabella’s maneuver, making an attack roll. It is successful, so the mage knocks her off the parapet with a blast of magical fire and deals damage. Isabella crashes down to the level below and must find a way back up if she plans to face the mage head-on again.

Failure with Hope

Sara rolls 6 on the Hope die and 3 on the Fear die, plus 2 from Agility. That’s an 11 with Hope. 11 isn’t enough to make it across safely, so on a failure, the GM makes a move, narrating that the mage sees Isabella coming and makes an attack, which succeeds. The mage’s blast knocks Isabella off-balance, leaving her dangling from the parapet, her progress stalled and position precarious. Isabella gains a Hope, but her friends are still in the line of fire and may need to help Isabella reach safety.

Success with Fear

Sara rolls 5 on the Hope die and a 9 on the fear die, plus 2 from Agility. That’s a 16 with Fear, a success. The GM asks Sara to describe how she races across the parapet, dodging the mage’s blasts. After her description, the GM takes over, saying that once Isabella has crossed, she faces her foe head-on, blocking them from attacking the rest of the party. But then the mage reaches out with magic and crumbles the parapet behind Isabella, leaving her trapped and unable to move back to safety. At least the mage isn’t attacking her friends, right?

Success with Hope

Sara rolls 10 on the Hope die and 6 on the Fear die, plus 2 from Agility. That’s an 18 with Hope, a success. She immediately gains a Hope, then the GM asks her to describe what it looks like as Isabella races across the parapet and interrupts the mage’s assault on the party. Since Sara rolled a success with Hope, the GM asks what the players want to do next.

Critical Success

Sara rolls 8 on the Hope die and 8 on the Fear die. That’s a critical success! Isabella immediately gains a Hope and clears a Stress. The GM offers Sara a choice of two extras - she can deal damage to the mage or gain advantage on the next roll against the mage. Sara describes how Isabella races across the parapet and lands a telling blow on the mage, not just stopping their attacks on the party, but dealing her weapon damage as well. Since a critical success counts as a roll with Hope, the GM asks the players what they want to do next.

Special Action Rolls

Many action rolls just use the above rules. However, some situations require special types of action rolls—these use the following rules.

Trait Rolls

A trait roll is an action roll that specifically calls for a certain character trait to be used. These rolls often appear on Domain Cards, and say something like “Presence Roll” or “Agility Roll (12).” If there is a number in parentheses after the trait, that is the difficulty you must meet in order to succeed. If there is no number, the difficulty is up to the GM to decide.

Though a trait roll requires you to roll using that trait modifier, you can still add your Experience and other bonuses to the roll.

Attack Rolls

When you make an action roll with the intent to do harm to an enemy, you’re making an attack roll. Reference the weapon or spell you’re using for the attack to determine what trait it uses. We’ll talk more about spellcast rolls in the next section, but for a standard physical or magic weapon attack, use the character trait the weapon requires (see “Equipment”), as well as any Experience or other modifiers that are applicable, and resolve it as you would a normal action roll.

If you succeed, make a Damage Roll (see “Damage Rolls”) to determine how much harm you do to the target.

By default, each attack roll can only target one enemy. But if a spell or ability allows you to target multiple enemies, roll once and apply that result to all of the enemies the attack can hit. If the roll meets or exceeds the difficulty of any of those enemies, the attack is successful against that target (but not necessarily against other targets).

Unarmed Attack Rolls

When making an attack without a weapon—for example, a punch or kick—make an attack roll as usual. This attack often uses Strength or Finesse, but could be any trait depending on how you describe the attack. On a success, your damage dice are a number of d4s equal to half your proficiency (rounded up). All unarmed attacks deal physical damage.

Spellcast Rolls

Spellcast rolls are a type of action roll that’s used when you’re creating significant magical effects (often via a Domain Card). These are called for like this: “Spellcast Roll” or “Spellcast Roll (14)”. Instead of referring to a specific stat on the character sheet, these rolls use the Spellcast stat of your class (which you can find on the Subclass Foundation card).

As with Trait Rolls, if there is a number in parentheses, that is the difficulty they must pass in order for it to succeed.

If a spellcast roll is intended to damage a target, it’s also considered an attack roll.

You generally need to be using a specific spell to make a spellcast roll—you can’t just make up magic effects (like forming a bridge out of vines) that aren’t on your character sheet or cards. However, at the GM’s discretion, they might allow you to creatively apply an existing spell in an unusual way. And you can always flavor your magic to match the kind of character you’re playing, but that flavor shouldn’t give you access to effects you wouldn’t normally be able to perform with your spells.

Example 1: If a Sorcerer is trying to reach a cliff high above him and doesn’t have a spell or ability that lets him get there, he wouldn’t be able to just make a generic Spellcast roll to have magic lift him up into the air and fly him to the cliff. He would need a specific spell or ability that would provide him that kind of magic.

Example 2: If a Wizard wants their Rune Circle spell they just picked up at Level 3 to erupt from their wand in sparks, form into a galloping, flaming stallion that circles them– and this is the reason why the Rune Circle gives them protection from enemies, that’s awesome and should be highly encouraged. But if they wanted it to do extra damage to an enemy because of this narration, that wouldn’t normally be permitted.

Any time you cast a spell, the text tells you when the effect expires. It might be temporary (in which case the GM can spend their move to end the spell), at the next short or long rest, etc. If the spell doesn’t note an expiration, it stays up until you choose to end it. If you ever want to end a spell earlier than when it would normally expire, you can always choose to do so.

If you ever want to make a Spellcast roll, but you don’t have a Foundation that gives you the needed Spellcast ability, you won’t be able to make the roll.

Group Action Rolls

When multiple PCs are taking an action together—such as sneaking through the enemy camp as a group—the party nominates a leader of the action, then each player describes how they collaborate with the other PCs on the task. The action’s leader makes an action roll as usual, while the other PCs make a reaction roll using whichever traits they and the GM decide fit best (see “Reaction Rolls”).

The leader’s action roll gains a +1 bonus for each reaction roll that succeeds, and they gain a -1 penalty for each reaction roll that fails.

If the action tracker is in use, each PC who participates in a group roll adds a token to the tracker, even those who make a reaction roll instead of an action roll.

Tip: If you want to assist an ally with their own action, use Help an Ally instead (see “Using Hope ”),

Example: A party has just retrieved a stolen amulet from an ancient stronghold and are rushing out as it crashes down around them. The GM calls for a group action roll as they all try to escape. They elect the Ranger to be the leader, since that character would remember the path the best. The other party members explain how they work with the others to escape:

• The Guardian says they are going to use their size to shield the others from the falling debris, so the GM has them make a Strength reaction roll. They get a 14—a success—giving the Ranger a +1 modifier. The GM asks the Guardian to describe how they shield their friends.
• The Rogue says they are running alongside the Ranger to act as a second set of eyes in case there is a faster route. The GM has them make an Instinct reaction roll. It’s a 19—also a success—so they give the Ranger an additional +1 modifier. The GM asks the Rogue to describe what quicker path they notice that helps.
• The Wizard says that they noticed the stronghold begin to fall once the amulet was taken, so they try to understand what kind of magic caused the collapse and reverse it. The GM has them make a Knowledge reaction roll. It’s a 12—not quite enough—giving the Ranger a -1 Modifier. They ask the Wizard what happens as they are studying the amulet that causes them to drop behind for a moment.
• The Bard says that they notice the Wizard is looking like they’re not going to make it and turn back to reach out a hand in a moment of desperation, yelling “I’ve got you! We’re not leaving you behind!” The GM has them make a Presence reaction roll. It’s a 16, a success, giving the Ranger an additional +1 modifier. The GM asks the Bard and the Wizard to describe how this rescue happens successfully.

Now that everybody else has acted, the Ranger takes the total of the modifiers, in this case +2, and makes an Agility roll, hoping to lead the party to safety while dodging debris and pointing out hazards. It’s a 16 with Fear. The GM says they all take a point of Stress—but they also emerge from the stronghold just in the nick of time, the ancient stones collapsing around them.

Tag Team Rolls

Each player can choose one time per session to spend 3 Hope and initiate a Tag Team Roll with another PC. When you do, work with your chosen partner to describe how your two characters combine their actions in a unique and exciting way. Both you and your partner make separate action rolls, but before resolving the roll’s outcome, choose one of the rolls to apply for both of your results. If the chosen roll is with Hope, the PC whose action roll was chosen gains that Hope.

If the action tracker is active, Tag Team rolls only take one action token instead of two.

Tag Team rolls become especially powerful on attack rolls: on a successful Tag Team attack, you both roll damage as usual, then add it together to determine the damage dealt.

Damage Rolls

When you succeed on an attack roll against an enemy, you’ll then make a damage roll to determine how much damage—and thus what tier of Hit Points—your attack inflicts on that target.

The damage dice used to make a damage roll generally are determined by the weapon, spell, or ability you’re using to make the attack. If the attack is using a weapon, the weapon’s damage dice appear in the “Active Weapons” section of your character sheet. If the attack is coming from a spell on a domain card or class feature, it details the damage dice within the text of the move.

When striking with a weapon, you’ll generally roll a number of your weapon’s Damage Dice equal to your Proficiency at the top of your “Active Weapons” section (see “Using Weapons”). When striking with a move that does damage (such as a spell), the text of the move will tell you what kind of damage dice should be rolled instead.

Anytime a move tells you to deal damage using your proficiency, you roll a number of dice equal to your Damage Proficiency. Anytime it tells you to deal damage using your spellcast trait, you roll a number of dice equal to your Spellcast trait.

As with action rolls, if you want to add a bonus to your damage roll, you must decide to do so before you roll (see “Adding Bonuses to Rolls”)

Calculating Damage

After rolling your damage dice, add all their values together then add any modifiers to determine the result. The GM will mark the corresponding Hit Points based on that damage.

Tip: There’s a difference in this game between damage and hit points. Damage is the result of your damage roll, including your damage dice and modifiers. Hit Points reflect how hard that damage affects the creature who’s taking it; the number of Hit Points a creature marks depends on factors such as their Damage Threshold, armor, resistances, and immunities.

Damage without Modifiers

Some damage rolls just tell you to roll a certain number and type of die, without any modifiers (plus or minus signs) after it. For example, “1d8 physical damage.” In this case, simply roll the necessary number of dice and add the values together.

Example: Kat makes a successful longsword strike with their Guardian against a target using an attack roll of 16. They have a weapon proficiency of 2 and their longsword’s damage dice are d8’s, so they roll 2d8 and get a 3 and a 7, for 10 total damage.

Damage with Modifiers

Some damage rolls have modifiers on them, like 2d6+2 or 3d8+5. When this is the case, you roll the dice, add their values together, then add the modifier to that total. (This modifier is not affected by weapon proficiency.)

Example: Emerson makes a successful attack with their Improved Shortbow , which deals d6+6 damage. They have a weapon proficiency of 3, so they roll 3d6 damage dice. The results are 3, 5, and 6, totaling 14. They then add the damage dice modifier of +6, and deal 20 points of damage to the target.

Critical Successes and Damage

If your attack roll is a Critical Success, it deals extra damage! Start with the full value of your damage dice, then make a damage roll (plus modifiers) as usual, adding it to that value.

Example: Rowan makes an attack roll against a target with her cutlass and gets two 7’s on the Duality Dice—a critical success. She has a proficiency of 2, and the cutlass does d8+1 damage. She rolls her blade’s damage dice of 2d8, and they land on a 3 and 6. She adds the +1 modifier for a total of 10 on the roll. Because it’s a critical success, she automatically does an extra 16 damage (the maximum potential roll on 2d8). The total of her roll, plus the added 16 brings her total to 26 points of damage.

Multiple Sources of Damage

If for any reason damage should be applied more than once to a creature during a PC’s move, that damage should always be totaled together before applying it to the damage thresholds.

Damage Types and Resistance

Sometimes, other circumstances affect how much damage a creature takes. Use the following rules to determine whether special circumstances affect a damage roll.

Damage Types

There are two damage types a weapon, spell, or ability can inflict: physical damage and magic damage. Damage types can affect how damage is dealt or received. For example, a spell might double any magic damage, a condition might make a character resistant to physical damage, or a type of enemy might be immune to a certain type of damage all together.

Physical damage represents a hit primarily through mundane physical contact, something that is usually done without the aid of magic. Most standard blades and bows do physical damage.

Magic damage represents a hit that is primarily delivered through magical means. Most spells that deal harm to a target do magic damage.

Direct Damage

Direct damage is physical or magic damage that automatically hits a target. When a PC or GM deals direct damage, they don’t have to make an attack roll to hit.

Resistance & Immunity

Some abilities, spells, items, or other effects in the game might limit the amount of damage being done to a player through resistance or immunity. The text will usually specify whether this effect applies to either Physical or Magic. If it does not specify, the effect applies to all types of incoming damage.

When a creature has resistance to an incoming type of damage, they divide the damage in half (rounding up) before applying it to their thresholds. For example, you deal 25 damage to them, they would instead only take 13 damage. If multiple features give you resistance, they only count as one source of resistance.

When a creature has immunity to an incoming type of damage, they do not take any damage from the attack.

If you have resistance or immunity plus another way to reduce damage (such as marking an Armor Slot), apply the resistance or immunity first; if you wish, you can then use other methods to reduce the damage further.

Reaction Rolls

Some moves will prompt a reaction roll. This is a roll in response to a threat or attack, representing the character’s effort to avoid or withstand the effect.

Reaction rolls generally very similar to action rolls, except they don’t generate Hope and Fear or additional GM moves, and they don’t contribute to the action tracker, if it is in play (see “Action Tracker”). Additionally, another character can’t help you on a reaction roll—everything is happening so quickly that you’ll have to handle this alone!

When you make a reaction roll, the GM will tell you what trait to use, then you’ll make a roll with the Duality Dice, as if it were an action roll. As with action rolls, if you want to add a bonus to your reaction roll, you must decide to do so before you roll (see “Adding Bonuses to Rolls”).

NPCs can make reaction rolls too, though they follow slightly different rules (see “Adversary Reaction Rolls” in chapter 3).

Example: The GM asks Sara to make a reaction roll using Agility in order for her rogue Isabella to avoid being hit by a mage’s explosive spell. Sara rolls her Duality dice, adding her Agility, and gets a 19 with Hope. It’s a success! The GM asks her to describe how she avoids the attack.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Some features let you roll with advantage or disadvantage on an action or reaction roll:

Advantage represents an opportunity, through either magical or mundane means, that you seize upon to increase your chances of success. When you roll with advantage, you add a d6 advantage die to your total.

Disadvantage represents an additional difficulty, hardship, or challenge you face when attempting an action. When you roll with disadvantage, you subtract a d6 disadvantage die from your total.

Some of your abilities may automatically grant you advantage or disadvantage, but the GM can also choose to give it to you for any roll where it fits the story.

The d6 you roll should be a special color so it’s not confused with any d6s you roll for other effects; this allows you to easily spot your disadvantage d6 and subtract it from the result. However, you only need one d6 for rolling both advantage and disadvantage, because you’ll never roll both at the same time: Advantage and disadvantage always cancel each other out when applying to the same roll. If, for example, the GM gives you disadvantage on a roll, but you gain advantage from a domain ability, the two cancel one another out. If you have two sources of advantage and one of disadvantage, you instead only have advantage.

NPCs can also roll with advantage (or disadvantage), but when they do, the GM uses rolls an extra d20 and picks the highest (or lwest) result (See “Giving Advantage and Disadvantage” in chapter 3).

Tip: Some moves or effects require you to add or subtract a d6 for reasons other than advantage or disadvantage. If you find yourself both adding and subtracting a d6 for any reason, you can simplify your roll by rolling neither, since they cancel each other out as if they were advantage and disadvantage.

Domain Cards

As introduced in the “Domains” section of Chapter 1, your active domain cards grant you special abilities. Unless a domain card states otherwise, you can use it as many times as you wish, for as long as it remains in your loadout.

Loadout and Vault

You can only have a maximum of five domain cards active at any one time, along with your subclass, ancestry, and community cards. At lower levels, you won’t have enough cards for this to be an issue, but once you reach level 5 and above, you’ll need to choose which domain cards to keep in your loadout and which to store in your vault.

Cards in your loadout can be held in your hand or placed on the table next to your character sheet; do whatever makes it easiest to access them. Any cards in your loadout are considered active and can be utilized or benefitted from during play.

Your vault holds any domain cards that are inactive and not currently in your loadout. Vault cards should be kept somewhere out of the way, but close enough that they’re available if they need to be accessed during a session.

Swapping Cards

When you begin a rest, you can swap cards between your loadout and your vault (see “Downtime” later in this chapter). You must do so before you use any downtime moves.

When you’re not resting, you can still swap cards into your loadout, but it’s stressful to do so without a chance to prepare! To immediately switch a card from your loadout, mark Stress equal to the vaulted card’s Recall Cost (see “Domains” in chapter 1 for a reminder of where to find this). When you do, switch it for another domain card, placing the previous loadout card into your vault.

Swapping During Combat

If you’re adjusting your loadout during combat or when the action tracker is in use, you must also use an action to switch cards (in addition to marking Stress). As a result, you can’t switch while a GM is making a move (see “Moves and Actions” earlier in this chapter).

Swapping When You Level Up

If your loadout is full when you level up and gain a new card, you can immediately move one of the previously active cards into your vault, and add the new card to your current loadout at no cost.

Usage Limits

Some domain cards have an exhaustion limit that restricts how often you can use that card (for example, once per long rest). If you use that card, you’ll need a way to remember that it’s temporarily unavailable; you might choose to take that card out of your hand and place it face down on the table, turn it around, or any other method to remind yourself that you’ve already used it. If a card allows for a certain number of uses, you could place a token on it each time it’s activated to remind yourself how many times you’ve done so.

A few effects require you to permanently place a card in your vault. When this happens, that card is essentially removed from play. You can’t move such a card back into your loadout by any means, nor can you choose it when you gain a level.

Conditions

Some moves may impose a condition on you (or your adversaries). These are effects or circumstances that change how you can function. This game has three primary conditions—Vulnerable, Hidden, and Restrained—which are explained below. Some moves may apply other unique conditions; their effects are detailed within the text of the move.

Vulnerable

When you gain the Vulnerable condition, this means you’re temporarily in a difficult position within the fiction. This might mean you’re knocked over, scrambling to keep your balance, caught off-guard, or anything else that makes sense in the scene. When a creature becomes Vulnerable, the players and GM should work together to describe narratively how that happened.

While you are Vulnerable, all rolls targeting you have advantage.

If you’re already Vulnerable, you ignore effects that would make you Vulnerable again.

Restrained

When you gain the Restrained condition, you can’t move until this condition is cleared, but you can still take actions from your current position.

Hidden

While you’re out of sight from all foes, you can mark a Stress to gain the Hidden condition. While Hidden, any rolls against you are at disadvantage. When you move or attack while Hidden, or when an enemy gains line of sight on you, you’re no longer Hidden.

Examples:

While scouting a temple to the Fallen Gods and investigating some large statues depicting ancient battles, Xerxes hears footsteps coming. He declares that he’s going to duck behind the statues, take an action to become Hidden, and then wait for the person to pass. The GM decides that the statues provide ample cover and doesn’t call for a roll. They describe snippets of dialogue as two cultists walk right by Xerxes as he sticks to the shadows, then ask Xerxes what he wants to do next. If Xerxes had wanted to attack the cultists as they passed, he’d lose the Hidden condition after doing so.

If instead cover was not readily available, the GM could call for a Finesse roll to hide nearby. Xerxes spends a Hope to utilize his experience of “Blending In” to clamber up into a windowsill and pull the drapes closed to give him some cover. Xerxes rolls his duality dice and adds +3 for his Finesse trait and +2 for his “Blending In” experience for a total of 15, with Fear. The GM compares that 15 to the adversaries’ difficulty and tells Xerxes he’s succeeded, but that the scramble to take cover and the discomfort of scrunching himself into a window means he’ll mark a Stress.

Ending Conditions

When an effect imposes a condition, it might state a specific trigger that will clear that condition, such as a unique action, item, or effect. Conditions with stated triggers are permanent conditions; usually, these can only be cleared via the specified trigger, but at the GM’s discretion, they might provide alternative ways to remove these conditions.

If no trigger is given, the condition is a temporary condition. You can usually make an action roll (difficulty determined by the GM) to clear a temporary condition, though the GM might have you end it in another way. As always, this action roll should be described and negotiated narratively. For example, if your character is Vulnerable, you might describe how you leap through the fire that’s trapped you, free your ally’s legs from the vines entangling them, or whatever fits the story.

If an adversary is affected by a condition, the GM can spend an action token to clear it; this doesn’t require a roll but does use that adversary’s action. When it fits the story, the GM might end the condition in other ways instead.

Ending Other Temporary Effects

Some effects aren’t a condition, but they state they’re temporary. These can be ended in the same way as conditions. If you initiate the effect (such as by using the Ranger’s Focus class feature), the GM can end it by spending an action token (or using a move). If the GM initiates the effect (such as an adversary creating a temporary cloud of poisonous gas), you can end it by making an action roll.

Countdowns

Sometimes a mechanic or the GM might introduce a countdown. Countdowns are a way for the table to keep track of a coming event, and usually utilize setting a die to a certain value, then ticking that number down until it reaches 0. A countdown might tick every time an action roll is made, every time a PC rolls with Fear, during downtime, or any other parameter (either set by the mechanics or by the GM to reflect the fiction). For more about countdowns, see “Countdowns” in the GM section of chapter 3.

Maps, Range, and Movement

Daggerheart is a game that can be played using both theater of the mind and maps with miniatures. The below section assumes you are using a map for combat; but if you aren’t, use whatever guidance works for your theater-of-the-mind play, and leave behind anything that doesn’t serve your table.

Maps

At any point, players or the GM may call for a map to be brought to the table. This might be to clarify positioning, showcase an environment, or simply because the table enjoys using maps and miniatures. When this happens, the GM should create (or reveal) a map of the area, and everyone should place their miniature figures or tokens within it appropriately. This can be as simple as a quick drawing on a piece of paper or as complicated as a fully-designed 3d map, as long as it presents the information players need to be able to navigate the space more clearly than in their minds. If you have the space for it, use the range measurements below as general reference when building out this map.

Some tables may almost never use maps, where others might utilize maps every session—there is not a right or wrong way to implement these in your game. Do whatever best serves the kind of play your group enjoys.

Range

In Daggerheart, rules don’t measure distance by feet, but by range. Each range includes an example of how you might quickly estimate distance on a physical map on which 1 inch represents roughly 5 feet; however, these ranges aren’t intended to be precisely measured during play. The suggested estimates are a quick guide for the GM to determine ranges during a scene, and they may adjust the map as needed to reflect whatever creates a satisfying story.

If the table decides not to implement a map, you still use range, but in a more abstract way. Distances are simply a part of the theater of the mind, and it’s up to the GM to decide roughly how far away everything is.

Melee: You are within touching distance of the target. As a PC, you can generally touch targets up to a few feet away from you, but Melee range may be greater for especially large NPCs.

Very Close: You’re very close to a target, allowing you to see its fine details—and to reach it within moments, if need be. This is generally about 5-10 feet away. While in danger, you can usually move into Melee with anything that’s Very Close as part of any other action you make. Anything on a battle map that is within the shortest length of a game card (~2-3 inches) can usually be considered Very Close.

Close You’re close enough to a target to see its prominent details, such as across a room or in a neighboring market stall. This is generally about 10-30 feet away. While in danger, you can generally move into Melee with anything that’s Close as part of any other action you make. Anything on a battle map that is within the length of a standard pen or pencil (~5-6 inches) can usually be considered Close.

Far You’re far enough away that you can see the appearance of a target, but probably not in detail, such as across a small battlefield or down a large corridor. This is generally about 30-100 feet away. While in danger, the GM will usually require you to make an Agility check if you want to safely move into Melee with something that’s Far from you. Anything on a battle map that is within the length of a standard piece of paper (~11-12 inches) can usually be considered Far.

Very Far You’re very far away, and while you might be able to see the shape of a person or object, you probably can’t make out any details, such as across a large battlefield or down a long street. This is generally about 100-300 feet away. While in danger, the GM will usually require you to make an Agility check if you want to safely move into Melee with something that’s Very Far from you. Anything on a battle map that is beyond Far distance, but still within the bounds of the conflict can usually be considered Very Far.

Out of Range: Anything beyond your Very Far range is out of your range and usually can’t be targeted.

Using Range

When a weapon, spell, ability, item, or other effect states a range, this refers to its maximum range. Unless otherwise noted, an effect can be used at closer ranges as well. For example, the Shortstaff starting weapon has Close range, so you can use it against a target within Close or Melee range, but not against a target that’s Far, Very Far, or Out of Range.

Some effects may also specify a certain area within their range, such as an effect that targets “all enemies in front of you”. In that example, you choose which direction you’re facing, then target each enemy in a 180-degree field in front of you. As with other rules in this game, use common sense when interpreting these effects—they’re there to support the story, not limit it.

Some effects can move you or a target from one range to another, such as an effect that lets you “push a target out of Melee range.” In that example, you would move them to the next range, from Melee to Very Close range.

You can always ask the GM which of your ranges a certain target is in, or you can ask which targets are within your desired range. The map is just an approximation of the scene playing out in everyone’s head, so scale, distance, and details don’t need to be perfectly accurate. The map and the miniatures on it should never limit the table’s imagination, only provide spatial context so that everyone is on the same page.

Optional Rule: Defined Ranges

If your table would rather operate with more precise range rules, you can use a 1-inch grid battle map during combat. If you do, use the following guides for play:

Melee: 1 square | Very Close: 3 squares | Close: 6 squares | Far: 12 squares | Very Far: 13+ squares

Movement

When you’re not in a dangerous, difficult, or time-sensitive situation, you don’t generally need to worry about how fast you move. However, when you’re under pressure (such as when you’re in danger or when the action tracker is in play), the following rules apply.

Moving Close During Actions

If you’re doing something that requires an action roll, you can also freely move to a location within your Close range (including Very Close and Melee), either before or after you use that action. This location must be somewhere your character could easily reach within the story. If you want to move Far or Very Far, or if you want to reach an area that’s not easily accessible (such as one that requires climbing, swimming, or jumping), follow the rules below.

Moving Far or Without an Action

If you’re not already making an action roll, or if you want to move farther than your Close range, you’ll typically need to succeed on an Agility roll to safely reposition yourself. The GM sets this difficulty depending on the situation. On a failure, you might only be able to move some of that distance, the adversaries might act before you can make it, or something might prevent you from moving at all. If there is no risk or potential complication in moving a certain distance, no roll is required.

Adversary Movement

When an adversary uses an action (such as making an attack or picking a lock), the GM can generally move them to a location within their Close range as part of that action. If the GM wants to move the adversary Far or Very Far, this uses an entire action on its own, but the adversary doesn’t have to succeed on an Agility roll like a PC would.

Targets & Groups

Often an effect asks you to choose a target within range. This means you choose a single creature to affect. When it makes sense in the story, you can ask the GM about instead targeting a single object in range, adjusting the effects as needed.

To affect a group of targets, these targets must be clumped together in an area within Very Close range of the others in that group. You can always ask the GM if something would be considered a “group of targets” before you make a move.

When you make an attack roll against more than one target or against a group, roll once and compare that total to each eligible target to determine which creatures you succeed against.

When your attack deals damage to more than one target, roll damage once and apply it to each target the attack succeeded against.

Cover, Line of Sight, and Darkness

Sometimes during a fight, you might seek cover, such as by diving behind a small barricade or ducking behind a tree. When you take cover behind something that makes attacking you more difficult (but not impossible), attack rolls against you are made at disadvantage.

You usually can’t be targeted if you’re entirely behind a substantial object like a wall, even if you’re technically in range of the attack. However, you might still be affected by nearby explosions or similar effects.

Some effects require the target be in your line of sight. You have line of sight if you can see the target (though in some situations, the GM might decide the effect can’t go through a glass window or similarly transparent object). This just denotes whether or not a target can be seen by the character. For alternatives to this rule for characters that are blind, see “Adjusting Abilities and Spells” in chapter 1.

Darkness can also make certain actions more challenging. The GM should reflect this in the difficulty of an action roll.

Gold

Gold tracks how much wealth you have with you on your journey. You can often spend it on things like items, consumables, and equipment. Some campaigns will be more or less focused on gold as a reward, so talk with your GM about how much your game will use gold. There are no set prices in this book for weapons, armor, and loot, so players aren’t locked out of adding exciting equipment to their characters simply because they aren’t playing a gold-focused campaign. The GM determines equipment prices based on the amount of gold given out during your sessions.

Gold is measured in handfuls, bags, and chests. Ten handfuls equal one bag, and ten bags equal one chest. Whenever you have marked off enough slots in a given category that you should reach the next category, instead mark one in that following category and erase all the slots in the current one. For example, if you have nine handfuls and gain another, you instead mark a bag and erase all handfuls. If you have nine bags and gain another, you mark a chest and erase all bags. If you should ever have more than one chest, you’ll need to store some of your gold elsewhere before you can take more.

These values are abstracted so that they do not need to be tracked as closely. If you want to tip a coin to a waiter or flip a coin into a well, you typically don’t need to worry about tracking it.

Optional Rule: Gold Coins

If your group wants to track gold more granularly, you can add coins as your lowest denomination. Following the pattern above, ten coins equal one handful.

Downtime

A party may choose to rest before they continue forward on their journey, and when they do, each PC has the chance to make a few downtime moves. Though downtime this is their time to recover from the dangers they’ve faced, it’s also an ideal opportunity for characters to have important, emotional scenes with each other—to learn more about one another, and have character-centric conversations that may not be as easy to find time for in big battles or high intensity moments. This is a chance for players to lean on their Connections to the party and explore the story that happens between them in their quiet moments together.

When the party decides they want to begin downtime, they will need to make a choice between a Short Rest and a Long Rest. They can take up to three Short Rests before their next rest has to be a Long Rest. If a Short Rest is interrupted (such as by an enemy attack), characters don’t gain its benefits. If a Long Rest is interrupted, characters instead gain the benefits of a Short Rest (even if they’ve already had three Short Rests).

The GM also takes actions during downtime. On a short rest, they take Fear and advance a long-term countdown. On a Long Rest, they take 2 Fear, and they can advance a long-term countdown twice, or advance two long-term countdowns once.

Short Rest

A short rest is when player characters are only able to stop and catch their breath, taking a break for about an hour. Each player can swap any domain cards in their loadout for any in their vault and then choose two moves below (or choose the same move twice).

Tend to Wounds

Describe how you temporarily patch yourself up and clear 1d4 Hit Points. You may do this on an ally instead.

Clear Stress

Describe how you blow off steam or pull yourself together, and clear 1d4 Stress.

Repair Armor

Describe how you spend time quickly repairing your armor and clear 1d4 Armor Slots. You may do this to an ally’s armor instead.

Prepare

Describe how you are preparing yourself for the path ahead and gain a Hope. If you choose to Prepare with one or more members of your party, you each gain two Hope.

Long Rest

A long rest is when player characters are able to make camp, relax for a few hours, and get some sleep. Each player may swap any domain cards in their loadout for any in their vault, then choose two moves below (or choose the same move twice).

Tend to All Wounds

Describe how you patch yourself up and remove all marked Hit Points. You may do this on an ally instead.

Clear All Stress

Describe how you blow off steam or pull yourself together, and clear all marked Stress.

Repair All Armor

Describe how you spend time repairing your armor and clear all of its Armor Slots. You may do this to an ally’s armor instead.

Prepare

Describe how you are preparing for the next day’s adventure, then gain a Hope. If you choose to Prepare with one or more members of your party, you each gain two Hope.

Work on a Project

Establish or continue work on a project (see “Working on a Project in Downtime”).

Working on a Project in Downtime

If a PC wants to pursue a project that would take a substantial amount of time but progress can be made during a long rest, they should first discuss it with the GM. This could involve deciphering an ancient text, crafting a new weapon, or something else. Projects will usually involve a Progress Countdown (see “Countdown” in chapter 3). Each time a PC takes the Work on a Project downtime move during a long rest, they might automatically tick down the countdown, or the GM might will tell them how much or ask them to make an action roll to gauge their progress.

For more information on projects, see “Using Downtime” in chapter 3.

Refreshing Features During Downtime

When you take a short or long rest, this can refresh your ability to use some of your features, and it can end some temporary effects:

• At the end of a short rest, you end any effects that last until a short rest, and you regain the use of any features that can be used a number of times per short rest.
• At the end of a long rest, you end any effects that last until a long rest, and you regain the use of any features that can be used a number of times per long rest. Additionally, a long rest counts as a short rest for these effects, so if a move lets you use it once per short rest, you can refresh it after a long rest.

“Once Per Session” Features

Some features might also say you can use them “once per session.” These do not refresh during rests, but instead are available again at the start of the next session. If your table decides to play a long session, the GM might decide that all “once per session” abilities are refreshed during a break instead.

Downtime Consequences

Downtime allows for quiet scenes between PCs, encouraging personal moments in the story—but the world doesn’t stop when you rest! As a reminder, be cautious of how many rests your party decides to take, since downtime also allows the GM to take Fear and progress events in the background.

Death

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).

Scars

If you choose to avoid death, you might take a scar. If you do, permanently cross out one of your Hope slots. You can’t use this slot to gain Hope anymore. The narrative impact of this scar is up to you; for example, you might now bear a physical scar, a painful memory, or a deep fear.

When you put a scar on your last Hope slot, it is time to end your character’s journey. Work with the GM to find a graceful and fitting way for the party to say goodbye to them at the end of the session, and prepare a new character for the next time you play.

Resurrection

It is possible to resurrect a dead character, though it will likely be a long, difficult, and costly process– and they likely won’t return the same as they died. If a party decides to take this path upon a character’s death, the GM will tell the players what it will take to make that happen. For more details on this, see the section for resurrection in the GM’s section on page here [section pendin g].

There is also a one-time Resurrection spell available at Level 10 for any class that includes the Splendor Domain. Once this spell is used, it will go into your vault permanently.

Action Tracker

When a combat scenario is likely to last more than a couple rolls, when play moves to maps and miniatures, or when seconds count in the narrative, the GM should place the action tracker card on the table within everyone’s reach. During this scene, PCs place action tokens on the tracker (see “Placing Action Tokens”), and the GM spends those tokens to activate adversaries (see “Adversary Actions”).

Placing Action Tokens

When the action tracker is in use, your character can still make moves at any time. However, whenever you use an action (including any move that says “Use an action” or requires an action roll), you must place a character token on the action tracker and resolve the action, ending your move. As a PC, your tokens aren’t limited—they’re just used to track how many times the GM can activate adversaries—so if you ever run out, you can grab more.

After you end your move by placing an action token, the GM or another PC might act, or you might decide to make another move. You and your fellow PCs can still act in any order you like, following the narrative—but remember to pass the spotlight around the table to ensure everybody has a chance to act. If another player hasn’t placed any tokens on the action tracker recently, consider letting them make a move before you do anything else.

Example: Emerson places a character token on the action tracker (bringing the total tokens on the tracker up to three), then makes a roll to strike an enemy he’s in melee with. When he gets a success with Fear , he describes how he swings his sword overhead and down, dealing 12 points of damage. However, because the roll was with Fear, play moves to the GM. They can make a move, either in response to Emerson’s character or elsewhere in the scene.

What Counts as an Action?

You only place a token on the action tracker when you’re either making an action roll or using another move that tells you to “use an action” (certain features, switching weapons, etc.). For example, unless your consumable says it uses an action, you can use it without a token. As always, the GM can decide certain moves require an action token when it keeps the spirit of the rules aligned with your unfolding story.

Adversary Actions

When the GM makes a move (usually after a player fails an action roll or rolls with Fear), they can spend one or more tokens from the action tracker to activate that many adversaries. When the GM spends a token, they remove it from the action tracker and return it to the token’s player.

An activated adversary can take most any action your PC could, but most of the time, they’ll do one of the following:

• Move within Close range and make a weapon attack.
• Move within Close range and use an adversary action.
• Clear a condition.
• Sprint Far or Very Far away on the battlefield.

Once the GM decides to stop spending action tokens, play returns to the PCs. The GM can spend a Fear to place two additional tokens on the action tracker (then spend one or both of them on adversary actions), or they can spend two tokens to gain a Fear. See “Using the Action Tracker” in chapter 3 for full rules on how the GM uses the action tracker.

Example: After Emerson’s attack roll with Fear in the example above (see “Placing Action Tokens”), play moves to the GM. The GM takes all three tokens off of the action tracker, spending the first to end the Vulnerable condition on a nearby adversary, who breaks free from the vines that were binding them. The GM spends the next token on the adversary Emerson just hit with his sword, describing the enemy’s warhammer being pulled out of the mud and swung at Emerson’s ribs. The enemy succeeds on the attack, then rolls for damage and totals it up for 9 physical damage. This falls above Emerson’s Major threshold, but he marks one armor slot and reduces the damage down to 5, which is below his Major threshold. Emerson takes Minor damage and only marks 1 hit point. With the last token, the GM describes an adversary sprinting all the way across the battlefield to get to the massive bell that would call in reinforcements. As the adversary prepares to ring it, the GM turns back to the players, asking, “What do you want to do?”

Optional Tool: Turn-Based Initiative

If your group prefers tactical play or structured player turns, you can limit the number of action tokens each PC can use on the action tracker at a time. It is recommended to start with 3, but you may decrease or increase the number as your table prefers.

When the action tracker is in use, every player places that number of action tokens on their character sheet, ready for use. Players then act as usual, and each time they make an action roll, they spend one available action token by moving it to the table’s action tracker. Collaborate with other players on passing play around the table, making moves and telling the story together; even if you have multiple action tokens, see if any other players want a turn before you spend more than one in a row.

Once every player has used their available tokens, players refill their character sheet with the same number of tokens as before, then continue playing.

The GM makes moves as usual (see ”Making Moves” and “Using the Action Tracker” in chapter 3). When the GM uses an action token, they give it back to the player it came from, but the player doesn’t place that token on their character sheet until it’s time for the table to replenish their tokens.

Tactics and Narrative

Even while using turns with the action tracker, consider how your character would act in the current situation and use their perspective to guide the story forward, rather than worrying too much about what “should” come next. Remember that your character doesn’t know their actions are dictated by an action tracker! Some groups might decide to temporarily use the turn-based initiative rules to reduce the learning curve for players who are used to tactical gameplay, while others will enjoy using them for the entire campaign; do whatever best supports your group in weaving a story together.

General Rules

The following rules apply to many aspects of the game.

Rounding Up

This game doesn’t use fractional numbers; if you need to round to a whole number, round up unless otherwise specified.

Simultaneous and Stacking Effects

If any two effects are happening simultaneously, and the rules don’t tell you which order to apply them in, the player (or GM) controlling the effects can do so in any order. For example, if one ability lets you spend a Hope to retaliate after an attack, and another ability lets you gain a Hope when you mark a Hit Point, you can decide to gain the Hope first, then spend it on the attack. Similarly, if you have multiple moves that can trigger in a situation (like two moves that occur “after a successful attack”), you can use them together, and choose which order to use them in. As always, if there’s any uncertainty, the GM arbitrates how effects apply.

At the GM’s discretion, most effects can stack; for example, if two Bards each give you a Rally die, you can spend both of them on the same roll if you wish. However, you can’t stack conditions (see “Conditions”), advantage/disadvantage (see “Advantage and Disadvantage”), or other effects that say you can’t (such as Tava’s Armor from the Book of Ava card).

Ongoing Effects

Once an effect is in play, it continues until a PC or the GM ends it, or until the fiction changes in a way that would naturally stop it. This means that if you cast a spell then switch out that domain card for another in your vault, that effect can remain active even though that card is no longer in your loadout.

Spending Resources

If a rule tells you to spend a resource, you lose that resource when you spend it. For example, when you spend a Hope on an ability, you erase a Hope that you’ve marked on your character sheet. Similarly, if a Bard gives you their Rally die, when you choose to spend it and add its result to your roll, you lose that die and return it to the other player.

End of the Scene

Sometimes certain effects, bonuses, or conditions state that they last until the end of the scene. At the GM’s discretion, a scene generally continues until the current narrative situation has played out. A chase scene might end when the PCs have caught their quarry or when they’ve escaped pursuit. A battle scene usually ends when one side has fled, surrendered, or been entirely dispatched. If there’s uncertainty about when a scene is considered to be over, throw it to the table and see what they think makes sense. You generally don’t have to linger in a scene after the most interesting actions and interactions have occurred -if you want to play out their implications or process the emotions but the heat of the moment has passed, that aftermath and processing can take place in its own scene.

Player Best Practices

This section provides guidance around player best practices and how to get the most out of Daggerheart! As always, take what works for you and your table from this section, and leave behind anything that doesn’t resonate with you. And when considering these best practices, remember the “Player Principles” section in this book’s introduction.

Embrace The Danger

The life of an adventurer is a dangerous one, often filled with treacherous paths, monstrous beasts, and powerful foes. Along the way, it’s almost certain that you will face difficult choices and life-threatening peril. It’s important as adventurers to embrace this danger as part of the game—playing it safe, not taking risks, and overthinking a plan can often slow the game to a halt.

So don’t be afraid to leap in head-first and think like a storyteller—what would the hero of a novel or a tv show do here? Think about not only what might be obvious, but what might also be most interesting or how your character might approach the situation differently because of their background. But no matter what you do, keep the story moving forward—the worst thing you can do as an adventurer is get so caught up in trying not to get hurt that you stop being adventurous at all. You have some control over whether you live or die, and you’ve got scars you can take if need be. It’s important to remember that you are not your character; it’s okay to put them into harm’s way, push them to their limits, and take big risks if it’s what is right for the story. Their trials and tribulations, their failures are not yours. We might always want to win, but we do that as players by driving a compelling narrative together, not by having successful dice rolls every time.

Use Your Resources

Player characters in Daggerheart have access to a number of resources that help them in their heroic journeys. Chief among them is Hope, the most liquid resource that will come and go frequently over the course of a session. You’ll gain a Hope roughly every other time you make an action roll, so you’re encouraged to spend it for Hope Features, to help your comrades, to utilize experiences, and more.

Stress, HP, and armor are chief among your other resources. They interact in varying ways that you can manipulate and optimize with domain abilities, Heritage traits, your Class Feature, and more. For players excited about the crunch of interacting mechanics, look to those resources and think about how managing them helps you get the most out of your character. This will help your character to contribute in conflicts and battles to the best of their potential to enhance the overall story.

Tell The Story

You are an equal partner in telling the story alongside everyone else at the table. The GM will present opportunities and challenges for the party along the way, but they are not the sole author of the narrative you’re all exploring. Daggerheart is a collaborative experience where everyone is responsible for bringing the kind of tone, feel, and themes they’re interested in to the table. If you have an idea for a description or a detail to add, feel free to offer it to the table. If you want a certain theme or emotional arc to be a part of your story, talk with your GM about finding those opportunities, and take it upon yourself to seize them when they show up. You might also choose to take moments within the scenes you are playing to showcase the driving force of that emotion and make actions that reflect that desire. Your role as a player in Daggerheart is to guide your character along the best story arc you can, not necessarily to always make the most tactical or strategic moves. Think about what you’re interested in saying thematically with the narrative, and let that be expressed through your character.

Discover Your Character

It’s okay to not know everything about your character when you sit down to play for the first time, or the tenth time, or the hundredth time. When the game begins, you only have a few pieces of information to go off of– what they might be good at, some backstory about their past, their relationships with a few other characters, what kind of weapon they carry, etc. But all of this doesn’t mean you have a firm grasp on who this person actually is yet, and that’s okay. Think of Character Creation as an ongoing process that continues through every session you play that character. The GM might turn to you to ask something about your past that you may not have worked out or thought of yet; you could take this opportunity to invent something on the spot, or ask them to talk through some ideas with you before you settle on one. Try to use the game’s fiction to discover things about your character, and let those discoveries flow into the kinds of decisions they make.