Critical Role's 'Daggerheart' Open Playtest Starts In March

On March 12th, Critical Role's Darrington Press will be launching the open playtest for Daggerheart, their new fantasy TTRPG/

Using cards and two d12s, the system plays on 'the dualities of hope and fear'. The game is slated for a 2025 release.

Almost a year ago, we announced that we’ve been working hard behind-the-scenes on Daggerheart, our contribution to the world of high-fantasy tabletop roleplaying games.

Daggerheart is a game of brave heroics and vibrant worlds that are built together with your gaming group. Create a shared story with your adventuring party, and shape your world through rich, long-term campaign play.

When it’s time for the game mechanics to control fate, players roll one HOPE die and one FEAR die (both 12-sided dice), which will ultimately impact the outcome for your characters. This duality between the forces of hope and fear on every hero drives the unique character-focused narratives in Daggerheart.

In addition to dice, Daggerheart’s card system makes it easy to get started and satisfying to grow your abilities by bringing your characters’ background and capabilities to your fingertips. Ancestry and Community cards describe where you come from and how your experience shapes your customs and values. Meanwhile, your Subclass and Domain cards grant your character plenty of tantalizing abilities to choose from as your character evolves.

And now, dear reader, we’re excited to let you know that our Daggerheart Open Beta Playtest will launch globally on our 9th anniversary, Tuesday, March 12th!

We want anyone and everyone (over the age of 18, please) to help us make Daggerheart as wonderful as possible, which means…helping us break the game. Seriously! The game is not finished or polished yet, which is why it’s critical (ha!) to gather all of your feedback ahead of Daggerheart’s public release in 2025.

 

[Jahydin]

It means there is a segment of the ttrpg TAM they are specifically addressing, in hopes of picking up a very targeted market share demographic.

A few years ago I would have agreed with you. Thanks to work though, I've been around the US and always make it a point to visit the FLGS wherever I go (usually big cities). Can honestly say, almost all of them were packed with your "targeted market share demographic".

And to be clear, I'm not just talking about how drastically diverse the clientele has become, but specifically how they game too. Whenever I eavesdrop on the D&D games going on around me (I can't help it), it's clear they are not playing even remotely the same as my friends and me. "Cozier" dungeon environments, fluffy/friendly in-game banter, concern for PC and NPC feelings alike, and emphasis on "doing the right thing" is common.

Makes total sense why the market has shifted tone so drastically (to me) recently.

 

[AstroCat]

A few years ago I would have agreed with you. Thanks to work though, I've been around the US and always make it a point to visit the FLGS wherever I go (usually big cities). Can honestly say, almost all of them were packed with your "targeted market share demographic".

And to be clear, I'm not just talking about how drastically diverse the clientele has become, but specifically how they game too. Whenever I eavesdrop on the D&D games going on around me (I can't help it), it's clear they are not playing even remotely the same as my friends and me. "Cozier" dungeon environments, fluffy/friendly in-game banter, concern for PC and NPC feelings alike, and emphasis on "doing the right thing" is common.

Makes total sense why the market has shifted tone so drastically (to me) recently.

I personally have had a very different experience in my recent travels and game store visits. I live in a major US city with at least 2 thriving game stores with big game areas as well as long running game at the bar nights. Has the cliental diversifying some since say 20 years ago, sure of course, has it changed dramatically, not even close in my experience. I also attend a few of the cons that happen through the year, mostly the same demographics as it has always been by an enormous margin, I mean it's not even subtle. And what's interesting is the AL stuff has really been shrinking and the "more old school flavored" indie stuff booming. So if we are just talking personal field reports as a marker, I'd feel very comfortable standing by my statement.

 

[Waller]

I personally have had a very different experience in my recent travels and game store visits. I live in a major US city with at least 2 thriving game stores with big game areas as well as long running game at the bar nights. Has the cliental diversifying some since say 20 years ago, sure of course, has it changed dramatically, not even close in my experience. I also attend a few of the cons that happen through the year, mostly the same demographics as it has always been by an enormous margin, I mean it's not even subtle. And what's interesting is the AL stuff has really been shrinking and the "more old school flavored" indie stuff booming. So if we are just talking personal field reports as a marker, I'd feel very comfortable standing by my statement.

Or maybe you only go to events which are filled with people who look exactly like you, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Why are you so uncomfortable with the idea of people who don’t look exactly like you being depicted in the art of games? Is it some sort of personal insecurity or is it more phobic than that? Would it make you more comfortable if they photoshopped your face onto every NPC?

 

[AstroCat]

Or maybe you only go to events which are filled with people who look exactly like you, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Why are you so uncomfortable with the idea of people who don’t look exactly like you being depicted in the art of games? Is it some sort of personal insecurity or is it more phobic than that? Would it make you more comfortable if they photoshopped your face onto every NPC?

First no, these are stores that serve very wide populations, with one by location attracting a bit younger crowd and the other skews a bit older, similarly by location and how long they have been around (one the best game stores in the country btw). The bar nights are very much the current "live over 21 scene". The cons are big enough that they serve the general populous of con going people for sure.

To answer your questions...
I am not, that honestly sounds boring. I love different cultures and worlds to explore.
Afraid, not in the slightest, of what?
That would be disturbing , although that could be an intriguing encounter for one of our games. PCs encounter a location, like maybe a "lost village" when they get lost in a forest and everyone in the village has the face of one of them... interesting, thanks.

 

[Waller]

To answer your questions...
I am not, that honestly sounds boring. I love different cultures and worlds to explore.

So what is it then? You hate the art as it is directed to a ‘certain demographic’. The art features people of color and people with disabilities, and you don’t like it. Which is it, the people of color or the people with disabilities you don’t like seeing depicted in art?

Afraid, not in the slightest, of what?

That’s the question, isn’t it? You’re the one using the dogwhistles.

 

[AstroCat]

So what is it then? You hate the art as it is directed to a ‘certain demographic’. The art features people of color and people with disabilities, and you don’t like it. Which is it, the people of color or the people with disabilities you don’t like seeing depicted in art?


That’s the question, isn’t it? You’re the one using the dogwhistles.

Quite simply, first off I don't "hate" it, it didn't kill my dog, I don't like it, there is a difference. I don't think the art looks "cool", I don't like the style, I don't think the characters look cool and I don't think what they are doing looks interesting, it doesn't inspire my imagination or make me get excited about learning more about the game. I do think the choices were hyper deliberate and almost entirely market driven above all else, which I also find a bit of a turn off for a ttrpg product.

So there is is, I just don't like it. Since you appear to be fishing hard, I can find plenty of examples of, your words not mine, "people of color and people with disabilities" that are cool and inspiring to look at, this isn't it at all for me, to me this set all just looks pretty lame and boring.

 

[Waller]

Quite simply, first off I don't "hate" it, it didn't kill my dog, I don't like it, there is a difference. I don't think the art looks "cool", I don't like the style, I don't think the characters look cool and I don't think what they are doing looks interesting, it doesn't inspire my imagination or make me get excited about learning more about the game. I do think the choices were hyper deliberate and almost entirely market driven above all else, which I also find a bit of a turn off for a ttrpg product.

So there is is, I just don't like it. Since you appear to be fishing hard, I can find plenty of examples of, your words not mine, "people of color and people with disabilities" that are cool and inspiring to look at, this isn't it at all for me, to me this set all just looks pretty lame and boring.

You used the dogwhistles deliberately. So aside from the ‘I have a black friend’ response, what’s the “demographic” you were referring to? You said it, not me. What’s this “demographic” you keep talking about but never specifying? You wanted it said, so just say it.

There’s probably a clue in that before you posted about how you hated the art featuring a black lady and people with disabilities, the last time you posted here was back in 2023 in this thread:

D&D's Inclusivity Language Alterations In Core Rules​

Coincidence, I’m sure.

In fact looking back at your posts, you don’t seem that interested in talking about games. You just pop up when anybody mentions inclusivity. That appears to be why you’re here.

 

[AstroCat]

You used the dogwhistles deliberately. So aside from the ‘I have a black friend’ response, what’s the “demographic” you were referring to? You said it, not me. What’s this “demographic” you keep talking about but never specifying? You wanted it said, so just say it.

Dude, please don't even with the pre-emptive ‘I have a black friend’ stuff, you don't know me, and what is it with "black friend", how about, Korean friend, or Polish friend or whatever you'd like, I don't hierarchically rank my friends like that. My family including my son is mixed race so please sit down with your judgmental insults, that's more than "friend". I'm referring to the very targeted market "persona" they chose for the art. I'm not going to give a market research lesson here, but they are in the so called "gen z" persona bucket, probably siphoned from critical role "fans" and a bunch of other survey styled branching analytics. So yeah it's deliberate and I still think this art is lame, race of the characters is not even the driving factor here, they could have all kinds of different races here and it not be lame, this is lame.

Update on your edit, yeah the language changes were for the most part not something I found value in. I talk plenty about games, this site posts a lot of "news and culture" as well. Again you are the one with the innuendo and not so veiled attacks. Lame art is lame, regardless of the race and ability of the content. You keep posting art I think is lame with the same characters over and over, it'll still be lame to me every time. You love it every time, enjoy, that's fine, I can still not like at the same time. And again, race isn't it, you can think it is, but to me it's not.

 

[Jahydin]

I personally have had a very different experience in my recent travels and game store visits. I live in a major US city with at least 2 thriving game stores with big game areas as well as long running game at the bar nights. Has the cliental diversifying some since say 20 years ago, sure of course, has it changed dramatically, not even close in my experience. I also attend a few of the cons that happen through the year, mostly the same demographics as it has always been by an enormous margin, I mean it's not even subtle. And what's interesting is the AL stuff has really been shrinking and the "more old school flavored" indie stuff booming. So if we are just talking personal field reports as a marker, I'd feel very comfortable standing by my statement.

And I believe you, my experience was the same. In fact, it's why I joined these forums: to find out why my game was changing so much. Between being a regular at my FLGS for over 30 years and running 2 to 3 campaigns with rotating groups every week, I too thought I was "on the pulse" of who gamers were and what they wanted.

Realize though, between the two statements:
"I've traveled around and have seen this game's demographic."
"I've traveled around and haven't seen this game's demographic."
Both can be true, but one "holds way more water" determining if this game's demographic "exists".

But no reason to go back and forth, we can just wait and see how well the game sells...

Just know I'm with you, I don't like this sort of aesthetic either. One of the main reasons I started the Dragonslayer RPG thread was how excited I was that a game captured the aesthetic I did like. Friendly suggestion is to realize there is a market for the games you don't like, but that doesn't mean you need to like it too; just focus on the games you do like.

 

[AstroCat]

And I believe you, my experience was the same. In fact, it's why I joined these forums: to find out why my game was changing so much. Between being a regular at my FLGS for over 30 years and running 2 to 3 campaigns with rotating groups every week, I too thought I was "on the pulse" of who gamers were and what they wanted.

Realize though, between the two statements:
"I've traveled around and have seen this game's demographic."
"I've traveled around and haven't seen this game's demographic."
Both can be true, but one "holds way more water" determining if this game's demographic "exists".

But no reason to go back and forth, we can just wait and see how well the game sells...

Just know I'm with you, I don't like this sort of aesthetic either. One of the main reasons I started the Dragonslayer RPG thread was how excited I was that a game captured the aesthetic I did like. Friendly suggestion is to realize there is a market for the games you don't like, but that doesn't mean you need to like it too; just focus on the games you do like.

Totally on board, there are plenty of amazing options out there, especially the last few years. Including ones with just awesome aesthetics, we are much more focusing on those. There is a built in audience for this game, but a lot can change by release, so we'll see how it works out.