Critical Role Announces Age of Umbra Daggerheart Campaign, Starting May 29th

An 8-part Daggerheart miniseries is coming from Critical Role. Announced today, Age of Umbra is a new Actual Play series featuring Matthew Mercer as game master and co-founders Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Taliesin Jaffe, and Travis Willingham as players. The new miniseries will take up the bulk of the summer months, providing more of a break to the core cast ahead of an assumed fourth full-length D&D campaign.

Daggerheart is a new TTRPG developed by Critical Role's Darrington Press. Although the base game is intended to be a high fantasy RPG, the game includes several "campaign frames" that add additional rules for specific types of stories. Age of Umbra was developed by Mercer and draws inspiration from games like Dark Souls, Tainted Grail, and Kingdom Death: Monster.

The miniseries will air on Beacon, Twitch, and YouTube, with episodes airing every Thursday. The first episode debuts on May 29th, with Session 0 airing on various Critical Role platforms on May 22nd.

The full description of the series can be found below:

Age of Umbra

is an eight-part Daggerheart mini-series from Critical Role of dark, survival fantasy, debuting May 29 on Beacon, Twitch, and YouTube. Set in the Halcyon Domain, a world abandoned by gods and consumed by darkness, the series begins by following five people from the isolated community of Desperloch as they fight to protect their own in the face of rising horrors.

The Halcyon Domain is a lethal, foreboding land where the souls of the dead are cursed to return as twisted, nightmarish forms. A dark, ethereal mass known as the Umbra roams and holds these fiendish monstrosities, further corrupting anything it touches. Sacred Pyres keep the corruption at bay, and small communities endure through cooperation. Out in the beyond, whispers speak of ancient secrets and powers, wonders of a lost age, ready for discovery to those brave enough (or foolish enough) to seek them.

Game Master Matthew Mercer leads fellow Critical Role co-founders Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Taliesin Jaffe, and Travis Willingham in a high-stakes actual play exploring hope, sacrifice, and survival in a world where death is only the beginning.

 

[Arilyn]

yea but it's best practices based on fiction-first gaming and the book's own text and that he often fails to do it is not a great showcase of the system.

But I think it well help people unfamiliar with the style feel more comfortable. DH can ease people into fiction first gaming and let them do as much or as little as possible. I'm hoping tables get more comfortable and embrace the style, but it's not necessary.

 

[zakael19]

I think running DH like classic story-forward 5e is ignoring most of the GM best practices, moves, and principles. Upside: you’ll still have a solid core. Downside: you’re missing out on what’s possible.

 

[Reynard]

But I think it well help people unfamiliar with the style feel more comfortable. DH can ease people into fiction first gaming and let them do as much or as little as possible. I'm hoping tables get more comfortable and embrace the style, but it's not necessary.

I think running DH like classic story-forward 5e is ignoring most of the GM best practices, moves, and principles. Upside: you’ll still have a solid core. Downside: you’re missing out on what’s possible.

I agree with @Arilyn here: the "5E style GMs" will still have successful games, while moving toward fiction first play at their own pace. Seeing Mercer do his thing with DH is a good example in that regard.

 

[The Soloist]

With Matt, it does feel like a 5e D&D game with extra cool mechanics. The Death Rolls were captivating. I'm not convinced CR can change the way they play.

Maybe we will get to see how Spencer would GM it in another mini-series.

 

[Arilyn]

I agree with @Arilyn here: the "5E style GMs" will still have successful games, while moving toward fiction first play at their own pace. Seeing Mercer do his thing with DH is a good example in that regard.

I'm seeing traditional players look at how Mercer runs DH and feeling a lot less negative towards the game. I like how mechanically it can run other way. I know that although I enjoy fiction first games, it's nice in DH to just hand out the Hope or take a turn with the fear point if I'm coming up empty, creatively.

 

[overgeeked]

I think running DH like classic story-forward 5e is ignoring most of the GM best practices, moves, and principles. Upside: you’ll still have a solid core. Downside: you’re missing out on what’s possible.

Exactly. You absolutely can drive your manual-transmission Lamborghini while only ever using first gear, but it's going to be slow and fight you along the way. Best to use all available gears when appropriate. Same with using 5E to run a pure mystery or intrigue game, you absolutely can but you're actively ignoring the lion's share of the game to do so. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but it is a waste.

Running Daggerheart as if it were 5E is a fail state. It'll still work and you absolutely can run it that way, but you're kinda missing the point if that's all you do with it. Just play 5E.

I'm seeing traditional players look at how Mercer runs DH and feeling a lot less negative towards the game.

Absolutely. It is a good thing the way Matt's presenting the game so far. It will bring in far more people who're skeptical of the narrative elements.

I like how mechanically it can run other way. I know that although I enjoy fiction first games, it's nice in DH to just hand out the Hope or take a turn with the fear point if I'm coming up empty, creatively.

Yep. Running PbtA- and BitD-style games is exhausting. It's good to be able to coast sometimes. My concern is people, especially those who've only ever played 5E, will start to view that exact kind of coasting as how it should be run. It's entirely missing the point and actively ignoring large chunks of the system and GM advice.

 

[Arilyn]

Exactly. You absolutely can drive your manual-transmission Lamborghini while only ever using first gear, but it's going to be slow and fight you along the way. Best to use all available gears when appropriate. Same with using 5E to run a pure mystery or intrigue game, you absolutely can but you're actively ignoring the lion's share of the game to do so. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but it is a waste.

Running Daggerheart as if it were 5E is a fail state. It'll still work and you absolutely can run it that way, but you're kinda missing the point if that's all you do with it. Just play 5E.

Absolutely. It is a good thing the way Matt's presenting the game so far. It will bring in far more people who're skeptical of the narrative elements.

Yep. Running PbtA- and BitD-style games is exhausting. It's good to be able to coast sometimes. My concern is people, especially those who've only ever played 5E, will start to view that exact kind of coasting as how it should be run. It's entirely missing the point and actively ignoring large chunks of the system and GM advice.

I agree, but hoping that reading the book will draw them into using all the gears. If not, hopefully game will still be fun and exciting.

 

[zakael19]

I'm seeing traditional players look at how Mercer runs DH and feeling a lot less negative towards the game. I like how mechanically it can run other way. I know that although I enjoy fiction first games, it's nice in DH to just hand out the Hope or take a turn with the fear point if I'm coming up empty, creatively.

Or I love that it says "hey, just have them burn a stress and ask them why" as a core GM move.

 

[Arilyn]

And the experiences, no initiative and the background questions are a good taste as well.

 

[Reynard]

Exactly. You absolutely can drive your manual-transmission Lamborghini while only ever using first gear, but it's going to be slow and fight you along the way. Best to use all available gears when appropriate. Same with using 5E to run a pure mystery or intrigue game, you absolutely can but you're actively ignoring the lion's share of the game to do so. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but it is a waste.

Running Daggerheart as if it were 5E is a fail state. It'll still work and you absolutely can run it that way, but you're kinda missing the point if that's all you do with it. Just play 5E.

Absolutely. It is a good thing the way Matt's presenting the game so far. It will bring in far more people who're skeptical of the narrative elements.

Yep. Running PbtA- and BitD-style games is exhausting. It's good to be able to coast sometimes. My concern is people, especially those who've only ever played 5E, will start to view that exact kind of coasting as how it should be run. It's entirely missing the point and actively ignoring large chunks of the system and GM advice.

If they are enjoying it, what's the problem?