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.

 

[Reynard]

Time (and play) will tell, however I think that DaggerHeart has that ‘loosely coupled systems’ quality in its design that makes a system like Savage Worlds easy to home brew in my experience.

I will definitely play the default rules and some of the provided frames to get a feel for things first. Once I’ve played a few short campaigns I think I could ‘get my eye in’ to make some useful campaign frame rules. In fact the campaign frame concept was one mod the things that tipped me over into purchasing DH. I love Setting Rules in Savage Worlds and these are basically the same thing.

I hope one of the things we will see is a "advanced GM guide" that will go into detail on creating mechanical elements.

 

[The Soloist]

I hope one of the things we will see is a "advanced GM guide" that will go into detail on creating mechanical elements.

So now you want support. I thought you said an RPG doesn't need supplements. A single book is enough!

 

[Reynard]

So now you want support. I thought you said an RPG doesn't need supplements. A single book is enough!

Want and need are different things.

 

[zedturtle]

I really like all that you said here, is that in the rules as written? or is that just Matt making extra stuff up that actually is not a rule or mechanic (the whole soul eaten, scars less capable, etc) ?

Umbra setting as written.

This is all hilarious, as Matt is the writer for the Age of Umbra campaign frame. So, yes he made it all up. And then put in a book, with nice art and excellent presentation.

I hope the campaign fulfills its grimdark promise and shows the range of the CR cast.

 

[The Soloist]

Want and need are different things.

And yet you expressed the want, and implied that the game needs more guidance for the GM.

 

[Imaro]

Mechanics like the ones presented here via the hope/fear dice allow for more stuff to be hung off them; and combine with the agenda and principles for players and the GM to create expectations around the narrative experience. If you’re happy with having total control in a conventional D&D style DM role & your players happily accept whatever manipulation you do in the fiction to sustain an oppressive atmosphere despite the inherent heroic cast of anything 3.5e and later, you don’t need any of this.

Or I can use a grimdark setting for 5e (there's a few of them) that add and modify mechanics to support the genre. I feel like both Daggerheart and 5e out of the box are default heroic fantasy.

Edit: This is the sentiment I'm trying to understand...It's shoehorning or forcing for D&D to add/modify rules to better represent a certain genre but it's done in Daggerheart and there's no criticism, no reminders that there are better games for emulating X out the box. Why?

 

[Reynard]

And yet you expressed the want, and implied that the game needs more guidance for the GM.

You inferred that "need."

But, do go on.

 

[MacMathan]

Or I can use a grimdark setting for 5e (there's a few of them) that add and modify mechanics to support the genre. I feel like both Daggerheart and 5e out of the box are default heroic fantasy.

Edit: This is the sentiment I'm trying to understand...It's shoehorning or forcing for D&D to add/modify rules to better represent a certain genre but it's done in Daggerheart and there's no criticism, no reminders that there are better games for emulating X out the box. Why?

Because one is very new and there is very little play experience with it yet for most folks and the other has been around for decades and seen many many iterations of what is possible with it?

 

[Imaro]

Because one is very new and there is very little play experience with it yet for most folks and the other has been around for decades and seen many many iterations of what is possible with it?

Well to be fair each edition of D&D is almost a brand new game... and my whole point is that we have seen what is possible mostly through 3pp but it's discounted or disparaged...while Daggerheart as you state has little in the way of actual play experience but is apparently just as perfect for high fantasy as it is grimdark fantasy... let's just say I'm a little skeptical.

OAN... My Daggerheart game arrived this morning so going to dig into it later today for myself. Im actually looking forward to it becoming my more narrative take on D&D game. We'll see how that pans out.

 

[MacMathan]

Well to be fair each edition of D&D is almost a brand new game... and my whole point is that we have seen what is possible mostly through 3pp but it's discounted or disparaged...while Daggerheart as you state has little in the way of actual play experience but is apparently just as perfect for high fantasy as it is grimdark fantasy... let's just say I'm a little skeptical.

OAN... My Daggerheart game arrived this morning so going to dig into it later today for myself. Im actually looking forward to it becoming my more narrative take on D&D game. We'll see how that pans out.

Okay then a decade plus versus just released, also 3PP versus official support from one of the co-creators?