Critical Role to Run Grimdark Daggerheart Miniseries

Critical Role has a new Daggerheart miniseries in the works, which will showcase the Age of Umbra campaign frame developed by Matt Mercer. In a recent video posted to social media, Mercer showed off the final print version of Daggerheart's core rulebook, which will release in May. During the video, Mercer discussed some of the campaign frames that will appear in the new book, including the previously announced Age of Umbra setting. In the video, Mercer announced that Age of Umbra will be featured in the next Daggerheart Actual Play miniseries being developed by Critical Role.

Mercer developed the Age of Umbra campaign frame as an intentionally grimdark setting inspired by Dark Souls and Kingdom Death: Monster. Speaking at PAX Unplugged, Mercer discussed the setting in further detail. "The campaign I created, Age of Umbra, is [similar to] a Soulsbourne," Mercer said. "It is a dark, challenging very grim place by design. In Daggerheart, our menagerie games are very silly and very fun and lean on flexing and going over the top with our characters. Age of Umbra is meant to be the opposite. It is a landscape that has been without gods for over 100 years; they abandoned the people and the realm itself is kind of rotting and dying. The survivors that exist there have to hold on to what community there is to get by as the dark things in the shadows grow darker and larger as time passes."

"There are threats and dangers whenever you rest that might give the GM more Fear," Mercer said later in the panel. "You might actually be attacked before you finish resting, so you want to have somebody take the Watch action while you have downtime to mitigate that danger. There are mechanics in this frame to set that theme that no place is really safe. There are things lurking out there and there's longstanding corruption beyond just damage that exists in this space."

The announcement, while minor, has some major implications for Critical Role. The popular actual play show recently wrapped up its third campaign and there was speculation that the show would switch from Dungeons & Dragons to Daggerheart for the next ongoing campaign. Considering that Age of Umbra is developed by Mercer and is being featured in a new miniseries, it seems like the plan is still for Critical Role to focus on Exandria in their ongoing campaign and use various miniseries to explore other kinds of stories and worlds. We'll have to see as Critical Role said they'll make more announcements about its future later this spring.

 

[Imaro]

"Out of the box" those things are included in Daggerheart with the Age of Umbra campaign frame is the main thing

Yes, so it's modifications to the base Daggerheart rules for a specific campaign setting... exactly the same thing done with 5e amidst cries of... there are better games for that genre/tone/style/etc. out of the box.

 

[dbm]

Making changes is not a binary thing, with the type and degree of change required making a big difference in how good a fit or otherwise a system is. I say this as a person who has adapted systems like GURPS or Savage Worlds to many different campaigns, and the two are very different activities.

Time and practical experience will tell how suitable or otherwise Daggerheart is for customisation. At the moment all we can say for sure is that they have made a real effort to showcase flexibility. And to me it looks credible.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Yes, so it's modifications to the base Daggerheart rules for a specific campaign setting... exactly the same thing done with 5e amidst cries of... there are better games for that genre/tone/style/etc. out of the box.

Sorry, but this is absolutely false, and it doesn't like you're genuinely "trying to understand", it sounds like cheap whataboutism for the sake of internet point-scoring. I'm sorry if that's not your intention, but that's absolutely how it reads to me.

First off, there aren't games that are "better" for "that genre/tone/style" here. That's actually a major issue point worth discussing! Because Age of Umbra isn't "low fantasy" or "dark fantasy" or w/e, it's very over-the-top Elden Ring-style (but in a less destroyed world) fantasy, which in terms of mechanics, is vastly closer to Heroic Fantasy than it is to say, Low Fantasy. D&D 5E wouldn't actually be a terrible model for this setting either - no-one is suggesting it would be, AFAIK.

D&D 5E if you just do tiny changes like the ones @Reynard suggested is an absolutely disaster for a lot of genres/settings, but not all of them! Like, anything where people start powerful and don't shoot up in power like a rocket, D&D 5E as a base is an absolutely awful base. Anything where people don't go from easily killed to very hard to kill, D&D 5E is a terrible place to start. But if those things are true in that genre/setting - then closer examination is merited! Maybe 5E would be fine!

Daggerheart is a better fit for this specific setting, unsurprisingly given the setting was designed for it (mostly because PCs start a lot tougher, which fits the genre/setting), but in this case, there aren't RPGs out there which actually do this particular and specific genre/tone/style better than it. I mean, if there, mate, I'd have bought them, I can assure you of that. I have virtually every fantasy RPG published in the last decade that could even potentially do this sort of vibe - right down to obscure Itch.io ones that only a few hundred or a few thousand people have bought, like Trespasser. And no, the Dark Souls TTRPG definitely does not do a better job, because it's an absolute car crash of an RPG on multiple levels but not least the rules, but that's a separate discussion! (Nor does Shadow of the Demon Lord or a number of others - they're doing something a bit different, a bit more heavy metal - also frankly SotDL is a cool game but it's also, at its heart, Heroic Fantasy!)

I think that's actually a major reason why Daggerheart is doing this - the lack of real work in this genre**. Another I suspect is that D&D 5E, especially 2024, has proven weirdly averse to setting-specific rules. Not that it's had none, but it's sure had fewer than other editions. So your "exactly the same thing 5E has done" is absolutely false. No, 5E has not done that. Nor have people been mad about 5E for doing that, because it hasn't done that. You seem to be confusing fans trying to use 5E to run John Wick campaigns or w/e (which doesn't make much sense, and the "other RPGs" argument is valid for) with 1/2/3E-style setting-specific rules for D&D. That's what we're looking at here - stuff that's like the way magic changes in Dragonlance, or the way you can turn to the dark side in Ravenloft, or a bunch of stuff in Dark Sun and so on. Not "let's just use one setting for a genre it's ill-suited to!".

Notably all the Daggerheart settings are basically Heroic/Epic Fantasy. Age of Umbra is just that in the Elden Ring/Diablo/Blasphemous sort of format, where the characters are absolutely powerful, hard to kill, and gain rapidly in power.

TLDR: You're confusing age-old D&D-style "setting specific rules", which were particularly common in 2nd edition AD&D, like those for Dark Sun or Ravenloft or Dragonlance with "Let's just use 5E's rules to run John Wick and then get confused/surprised when the tone seems totally off!". Again, simple false and wrong to claim people are "mad at D&D for doing the same thing!"*

* = I think I once saw one saw one person complain that Ravenloft wasn't great for horror, but it's like, Ravenloft isn't really horror-primary, so that's missing the point - Ravenloft is Heroic Fantasy with a side-serving of horror.

** = The only major game I can think of coming out in this sort of space is Hollows by Rowan, Rook and Deckard

 

[Reynard]

D&D 5E if you just do tiny changes like the ones @Reynard suggested is an absolutely disaster for a lot of genres/settings, but not all of them!

For clarity, I was talking specifically about making 5E a science fantasy game. I made no claims regarding changing the actual gameplay genre.

 

[Imaro]

Sorry, but this is absolutely false, and it doesn't like you're genuinely "trying to understand", it sounds like cheap whataboutism for the sake of internet point-scoring. I'm sorry if that's not your intention, but that's absolutely how it reads to me.

First off, there aren't games that are "better" for "that genre/tone/style" here. That's actually a major issue point worth discussing! Because Age of Umbra isn't "low fantasy" or "dark fantasy" or w/e, it's very over-the-top Elden Ring-style (but in a less destroyed world) fantasy, which in terms of mechanics, is vastly closer to Heroic Fantasy than it is to say, Low Fantasy. D&D 5E wouldn't actually be a terrible model for this setting either - no-one is suggesting it would be, AFAIK.

D&D 5E if you just do tiny changes like the ones @Reynard suggested is an absolutely disaster for a lot of genres/settings, but not all of them! Like, anything where people start powerful and don't shoot up in power like a rocket, D&D 5E as a base is an absolutely awful base. Anything where people don't go from easily killed to very hard to kill, D&D 5E is a terrible place to start. But if those things are true in that genre/setting - then closer examination is merited!

Daggerheart is a better fit (mostly because PCs start a lot tougher, which fits the genre/setting), but in this case, there aren't RPGs out there which actually do this genre/tone/style better than it. I mean, if there, mate, I'd have bought them, I can assure you of that. I have virtually every fantasy RPG published in the last decade that could even potentially do this sort of vibe - right down to obscure Itch.io ones that only a few hundred or a few thousand people have bought, like Trespasser.

I think that's actually a major reason why Daggerheart is doing this. Another I suspect is that D&D 5E, especially 2024, has proven weirdly averse to setting-specific rules. Not that it's had none, but it's sure had fewer than other editions. So your "exactly the same thing 5E has done" is absolutely false. No, 5E has not done that. Nor have people been mad about 5E for doing that, because it hasn't done that. You seem to be confusing fans trying to use 5E to run John Wick campaigns or w/e (which doesn't make much sense, and the "other RPGs" argument is valid for) with 1/2/3E-style setting-specific rules for D&D. That's what we're looking at here - stuff that's like the way magic changes in Dragonlance, or the way you can turn to the dark side in Ravenloft, or a bunch of stuff in Dark Sun and so on. Not "let's just use one setting for a genre it's ill-suited to!".

Notably all the Daggerheart settings are basically Heroic/Epic Fantasy. Age of Umbra is just that in the Elden Ring/Diablo/Blasphemous sort of format, where the characters are absolutely powerful, hard to kill, and gain rapidly in power.

TLDR: You're confusing age-old D&D-style "setting specific rules", which were particularly common in 2nd edition AD&D, like those for Dark Sun or Ravenloft or Dragonlance with "Let's just use 5E's rules to run John Wick and then get confused/surprised when the tone seems totally off!". Again, simple false and wrong to claim people are "mad at D&D for doing the same thing!"*

* = I think I once saw one saw one person complain that Ravenloft wasn't great for horror, but it's like, Ravenloft isn't really horror-primary, so that's missing the point - Ravenloft is Heroic Fantasy with a side-serving of horror.

I didn't claim anyone was mad at D&D for anything... just finding it odd that D&D (at least on the surface) and those who like to homebrew it are often on these very boards criticized for trying to use D&D for multiple genres and styles of fantasy when Daggerheart is doing exactly the same thing without the system matters criticisms.

It's not what about-ism because I dont think doing this with either system is bad or wrong and since they have different focuses (tactical combat vs. narrative flow) ill be using both for multiple settings. That said... yes I have noticed a difference in how each has been received for doing this and brought it up for discussion. Right now Im chalking it up to the explanation offered earlier concerning play experience but I haven't framed the discussion as one being correct and the other wrong only in the different reactions to what both do.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

For clarity, I was talking specifically about making 5E a science fantasy game. I made no claims regarding changing the actual gameplay genre.

Yeah if it's basically Heroic Fantasy, 5E is probably going to align pretty well. In fact, the biggest bar with 5E will always be the bizarre pure sacred cow insistence on starting incredibly weak - but it's pretty easy to work around that by starting at level 3.

 

[Imaro]

Dbl post

 

[Reynard]

Yeah if it's basically Heroic Fantasy, 5E is probably going to align pretty well. In fact, the biggest bar with 5E will always be the bizarre pure sacred cow insistence on starting incredibly weak - but it's pretty easy to work around that by starting at level 3.

Yeah, narrow level slices for campaigns can make them feel pretty consistent. I like 4-8. If there are lots of things to do, you can spend a year in that range and have a great time.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I didn't claim anyone was mad at D&D for anything... just finding it odd that D&D (at least on the surface) and those who like to homebrew it are often on these very boards criticized for trying to use D&D for multiple genres and styles of fantasy when Daggerheart is doing exactly the same thing without the system matters criticisms.

It's not what about-ism because I dont think doing this with either system is bad or wrong and since they have different focuses (tactical combat vs. narrative flow) ill be using both for multiple settings. That said... yes I have noticed a difference in how each has been received for doing this and brought it up for discussion. Right now Im chalking it up to the explanation offered earlier concerning play experience but I haven't framed the discussion as one being correct and the other wrong only in the different reactions to what both do.

All that we're looking at here are setting-specific rules.

I don't know how I can make that any clearer. That's what campaign frames are. They're a well-executed way of presenting setting specific rules and guidelines. The guidelines ("principles" particularly) are mostly about how to make stuff cool and fun in those settings - something D&D could absolutely learn from, but seems to be terrified of discussing in 5E, lest it break some sort of spell of immersion.

Setting-specific rules are something D&D has had for basically as long as it has existed, and which have never attracted significant criticism, certainly not on the basis of genre!

It's not the same thing as "homebrewing 5E", and you conflating the two is really strange to me.

Further, as I've explained to you, all the Daggerheart campaign frames in the core book are, essentially, at their core, Heroic Fantasy. This isn't someone trying to use Daggerheart for like, really gritty low magic fantasy, as people occasionally clunkily attempt to do with 5E. Daggerheart would be terrible for that just like 5E is, you'd at the very least need an entirely different set of classes and Domain cards!

So attempts to say this is a "double standard" are flatly wrong and a category error.

 

[Imaro]

Yeah if it's basically Heroic Fantasy, 5E is probably going to align pretty well. In fact, the biggest bar with 5E will always be the bizarre pure sacred cow insistence on starting incredibly weak - but it's pretty easy to work around that by starting at level 3.

All that we're looking at here are setting-specific rules.

I don't know how I can make that any clearer. That's what campaign frames are. They're a well-executed way of presenting setting specific rules and guidelines. The guidelines ("principles" particularly) are mostly about how to make stuff cool and fun in those settings - something D&D could absolutely learn from, but seems to be terrified of discussing in 5E, lest it break some sort of spell of immersion.

Setting-specific rules are something D&D has had for basically as long as it has existed, and which have never attracted significant criticism, certainly not on the basis of genre!

It's not the same thing as "homebrewing 5E", and you conflating the two is really strange to me.

Further, as I've explained to you, all the Daggerheart campaign frames in the core book are, essentially, at their core, Heroic Fantasy. This isn't someone trying to use Daggerheart for like, really gritty low magic fantasy, as people occasionally clunkily attempt to do with 5E. Daggerheart would be terrible for that just like 5E is, you'd at the very least need an entirely different set of classes and Domain cards!

So attempts to say this is a "double standard" are flatly wrong and a category error.

So it's heroic fantasy and yet the very title of the article claims it's a grimdark campaign. Not to mention another poster earlier who in reply to one of my posts claimed Daggerheart wasn't heroic fantasy. But if you're saying it's heroic fantasy with different coats of paint... well cool I accept that...but I feel like others weren't viewing or presenting it as such and perhaps that mistake is on me, Ill own it. Better to finish reading it and decide for myself.

And look I get what you're saying about rules though I think new rules are new rules regardless of whether they came from the publisher, a 3pp or someone running the game they functionally serve the same purpose, modification of the base rules to achieve a result... but if you see a distinction between the 3 then fine I can accept that and move on. I think I believed campaign frameworks to be more than minor rules tweaks at first but realize that's exactly what they are and more for injecting mood or tone than actually changing the genre.