Daggerheart Releases First Playtest Update, Testing Major Rules Changes

Daggerheart could be making some big changes to its core mechanics if a new playtest is received well. Today, Darrington Press released the Daggerheart Open Beta Playtest 1.3, a new version of its upcoming tabletop RPG. The new playtest document contained a number of revised rules for the fantasy-themed gamedag, including significant changes to the game's advantage and disadvantage system and a decoupling of player's stress and damage stats to allow players to better utilize stress as a resource. The new playtest document also contains a new optional initiative system, which seems to directly address one of the more controversial aspects of the game. 

Darrington Press first released the open playtest rules for Daggerheart last month, showcasing the new game system (which blends elements from several game systems along with a new 2D12-based check mechanic) for the first time. The game is played by rolling two separate D12s, one designated as the "hope die" and the other designated as the "fear die" and combining the results together. When the Hope dice shows the higher result, the rolls is made "with hope" and grants an additional benefit in addition to passing or failing the roll. When the Fear dice has the higher result, the roll is made "with fear" and results in some kind of negative consequence independent of the check result. 

The new rules includes a major change to advantage and disadvantage, replacing the D6 (which was either added or subtracted to the results depending on whether the roll had advantage or disadvantage) with a second Hope dice. Players now roll both Hope die when rolling with either Advantage or Disadvantage, with players able to take either result when rolling with Advantage (thus increasing the chances of rolling a critical success) or taking the lower of the two rolls when rolling with disadvantage. If a player chooses to help another player with their roll, they still grant that player advantage but now roll their Hope dice instead of giving a D6 to the other player. 

The stress system has also received an overhaul. Players no longer take stress when they are attacked but the damage is lower than their "minor damage" threshold, meaning that players can more freely use stress as a resource to fuel some of their abilities. Additionally, the armor system has been rebalanced, with players having more armor slots but a lower armor value to reduce the amount of damage they take on an attack.

Another major change is the Fear resource, with GMs now choosing whether to collect Fear (a resource that can be used to fuel adversary actions or add other complications) when a player rolls with Fear or opting to make a move instead. The aim for this is to make Fear more impactful to the game, while also reducing the Fear economy for players. Many adversaries have also been reworked for GM clarity, with adversaries having actions, reactions, and passive abilities that are always in effect.

Perhaps the most surprising part of the rules update is how many changes were made to the system and how quickly they were made. The first round of open playtests came out less than a month ago, so it's impressive to see how fast Darrington Press moved to address feedback (although we'll note that Darrington had run a closed beta playtest for longer.) 

You can check out the full change log on Daggerheart's website.