Recent content by Jacob Lewis

There’s something foundational here that tends to go unexamined: not why campaigns end early, but why the game assumes they should run all the way to level 20 in the first place. The 1–20 progression is rarely questioned because it’s baked into the DNA of D&D. That structure has been carried...

While I get what this article is going for, something about it doesn’t sit right. It frames the whole hobby as if D&D and its direct offshoots are the only meaningful throughline, and everything else is just a reaction to that. It treats D&D like the center of gravity, and anything outside that...

D&D was a hard habit for me to break. It was my main game for decades. I’ve been through every edition. By the time I stepped away, both my time and expectations had already peaked. I was always open to trying different systems, but most of the games I encountered that promised “D&D, but better”...

This is actually very close to what’s written in the Daggerheart Core Rulebook—page 20 lays it out directly in the “Creating Your Experiences” section, which is treated as a major step in character creation. What stands out to me is how the book frames this kind of advice. It’s not presented...

I think it was the Campaign Frames that finally sold me on Daggerheart—or at least convinced me to buy in and explore what it was really offering. The idea of campaign framing isn’t new. Most GMs do some form of it, whether in collaboration with their group or not. But I’d never seen it defined...

I find it interesting how often initiative has already come up in this thread as a source of inspiration. It’s ironic, considering that initiative was one of the earliest and most vocal criticisms I saw in online discussions. The language was familiar—frustration framed as certainty, a lot of...

I’m actually a big fan of how Daggerheart handles armor and damage, even though I know this is a point of contention for some. The way armor works here feels more grounded and more tactically engaging than in most systems. What stands out is the separation of concepts that are often collapsed...

I want to share this video again before it gets buried under another 70+ pages of posts. It’s a detailed review of Daggerheart by someone who originally didn’t think the game would appeal to them: What sets this apart is that the reviewer actually played and ran the game at conventions, with...

Let's look at the tip you're referring. I'll reprint it directly from the Core Rulebook, so we're all on the same page (20): That tip doesn’t contradict the game’s ethos—it reflects it. It’s framed specifically for players unsure how to begin in a battle-focused campaign, and it still...

This is an excellent articulation of what sets Daggerheart apart—not just in tone, but in structural intent. The mechanics you highlight don’t force narrative outcomes, but they actively permit them in a way that’s rare. The “Avoid Death” move, the evolving Experiences, even the attention to...

It’s been a long time since I cared about a new RPG. I had stopped looking—stopped expecting to feel anything from a new system, let alone an edition. I was done buying books, learning rules, chasing the promise of a table I’d probably never sit at. But Daggerheart caught me off guard. I didn’t...

This just dropped in my feed today. I think it's worth watching, so I shared it with the [+] thread. The end.

I don’t think it’s fair—or accurate—to dismiss what I’m saying as “bad faith” just because you assumed I haven’t played Daggerheart yet. Regardless, the book is very clear about what to expect from this system. So no—what I’m offering isn’t just theory. I’ve been through this process before...

I’m still working my way through the Core Rulebook, and honestly, I’m having a great time with it. But reading through this thread, I keep finding myself wondering… are we all actually reading the same book? Not trying to be flippant—I genuinely mean that. Because a lot of the issues being...

Happy to help, if I can. Going back to your original post, I noticed you mentioned using Gemini with a document on Google Drive as part of your setup. That’s helpful context—and it brings up a broader point I think is worth flagging for anyone following the discussion: Not all LLMs operate the...