Critical Role and Darrington Press are about to release the tabletop RPG system, Daggerheart. This TTRPG blends traditional fantasy tabletop roleplaying with fresh, modern mechanics designed to streamline the process and enable greater focus on storytelling aspects. Drawing from the ten-year history of Critical Role, as well as a team of people ionate about TTRPGs, the new system is one that many have been anxiously waiting for. To add to the polish of the product, Daggerheart has been in beta for over a year now, with designers implementing changes based on from the community of playtesters.

ScreenRant was given the chance to reveal a sneak peek inside the rulebook for Daggerheart, as well as chat a little with Lead Game Designer, Spenser Starke and Co-Designer, Rowan Hall. The game system is one that will blend well for many themed games using the new campaign frames and allows for a more fluid and open conversation in gameplay. Its unique approach to everything from character creation to combat has set it apart from the norm, although its rules may take a little getting used to for those who are familiar with the more common D&D formats.

Our Exclusive Reveal Of A Page From The Daggerheart Rulebook

Showcasing Fear Moves And Roll Difficulty

ScreenRant was provided with an image from chapter three of the Daggerheart rulebook, where some of the core mechanics of running the game are outlined. In particular, this image details some of how the Fear moves are used by a GM. The Hope and Fear system of Daggerheart is at the core of how Daggerheart is played, with each roll of the dice providing either a Hope currency to the player or a Fear currency to the GM.

Spenser Starke explained the Fear moves in this way: "As the GM, I can take that [fear] move to do a number of things. One of those things might be to spotlight an adversary, and when I spotlight an adversary, they might be making an attack against you. They might also be doing something else. They might be running to a bell to ring it for reinforcement. They might be calling out to another person across the way to do something for them. Whatever it is, it's all narrative-based."

Also included in the page reveal, alongside stunning artwork of an Inferis ancestry character in the game, is a glimpse at Daggerheart's recommendation to GMs on how to set the roll Difficulty targets. As it says in the book, "it's best not to overcomplicate the question", but GMs should be willing to go off script and look at whether the player would even need to roll if their character is an expert in something or how the roll should be adjusted.

Critical Role's Daggerheart Is Releasing On May 20, 2025

Has Been In Beta Access Since March 2024

The Hope and Fear system in Daggerheart will play an important role in how the story can be moved along, and, as Rowan Hall added, "every time you make a roll, the world is going to change." Though the full rulebook will have much more detail in explaining how the system works, this glimpse at the beautifully illustrated page shows the detail and examples that players and GMs can expect from the system.

"Every time you make a roll, the world is going to change." - Rowan Hall

Daggerheart is scheduled to fully launch on May 20, 2025, and those who participated in the playtesting period through open beta will likely see many changes that have come as the game evolved over the past year. The design team has incorporated much of the of the 150 thousand playtesters to make Daggerheart as polished as possible. And they aren't stopping there, as Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall both hinted at exciting things on the horizon.