Daggerheart General Thread [+]

[overgeeked]

So Critical Role is not using DH for their new campaign. I think it could definitely slow down the DH momentum since it does send a mixed message about the game from the main marketing force behind it.

Exactly. It's certainly cooled my excitement for Daggerheart quite a bit. They're the best people on the planet to market the game because it's their game...and yet they're not confident enough in their own game to play it for a long-term campaign. That's says a lot.

 

[Agamon]

It's made me less excited for CR, personally. One thing I noticed with the AoU game, my attention wasn't completely lost during combat, unlike the d&d APs. Ah well, at least they are continuing AoU.

 

[Reynard]

Never mind.

 

[Reynard]

Here is what I am running for the fall's big con-campaign at carnage (Killington, VT):
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Arcanopolis: the magitech megacity and worldwide center of commerce and culture -- and crime. Your days are spent among the laborers of Sootfield or the office workers of Mercantile Row. But your nights belong to the sky-reaching Tiers and the Fallows undercity, protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. You are a superhero in an aetherpunk city ruled by greed and dark magic and where villains like Manaflux, the Steam Legion, and Lady Bloodright run amok. Arcanopolis Knights is a narrative fantasy-superhero action adventure powered by Daggerheart from Darrington Press, and told over four sessions. Each session is stand alone, but playing all four will enhance your experience.
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The con is at the end of October. I am going to focus on creating supervillain adversaries, superhero style setpieces as environments, and maybe one or two small "genre rules". To be clear, this is not a modern superhero game. it is a superhero game in a high fantasy world with a technomagic vibe a la Eberron or Arcane. So the classes in core DH ARE the super archetypes. That is, I am not going to be trying to create new classes or domains... yet. After I see how it goes in play, I may decide to do something more expansive with it.

 

[zakael19]

I'm also slowly brainstorming through Adversaries! Probably going to focus on a good spread of T2 ones, since those are easy to drop down to T1 or up to T3. Focused on what images/fiction I want to present and their main Actions to anchor me as I start to work on interesting Actions.

Spoiler: list of what I've got so far

• Litterbug, Solo (2 phase) (trash and debris crawling together, amorphous vaguely humanoid form). Crush, throw, flatten.
• Bag Serpent, Bruiser. (sinuous form of fluttering bags, eyes of smiley faces “Thank You Have a Nice Day”) Pluck, Buffet, smother.
• Imps, Horde. (Bodies the color of dust and lint, dripping noses, beady eyes like black plastic). Swarm, gnaw, choke.
• Crossing Guard, Standard. (White neon outline, outstretched orange hand). Detain, block, repel.
• Mercenaries (grey and brown tactical gear, matte black guns, hungry swords and knives). Flank, keep distance, disrupt

- Automatic Weapon (ranged), suppress.
- Scout (skulk), safety vest invisibility, shank.
- Trooper (standard), tactical grenades
- Sergeant (leader), direct, pistol & sword.

• Specters, Standard. (baggy hoodies and grey/white/black and jeans, white earbuds, empty voids where the face should be). Drain, scream, Ignore blows.
• Fae Knight, Leader. (Neon: impeccable hair, ravewear glimmering with magic, blade of the black glass of skyscrapers at night. Pine: Armor of pinecone like scales, wavering blue axe that strikes like a crashing wave). Evade, Mock, Take Offense.
• Fae Footsoldier, Standard (Neon: tailored suits, dyed hair/fur, shining sunglasses, brass knuckles and blasts of thumping bass. Pine: workwear, Filson jackets, jeans and tall boots, spears topped with pine needles, spells of bubbling sap). Strike, Act Together, Follow Orders
• Fae Skirmisher, Ranged (Neon: tech wear, climbing gloves, chemlights, balls of sodium light. Pine: flannel shirts, straight fit jeans, bows launching gusts of sea air). Climb, fan out, keep distance.
• Fae Lurk, Skulk (Neon: . Pine: )
• Faerie Enchanter, Support (Neon: glimmering yellow wasp wings, robes of moonlight, spells of smog and tar. Pine: Soft moth-wings, robes of mist, spells of water and branches). Befuddle, Play, Call for help
• Fae Hound: Minion (Neon: dog-like shadows with neon orange eyes, growl like a truck’s diesel engine. Pine: tangled branches and vines, growl like distant surf). Harass, Snap, Intercept
• Vampire, Elite. (Varied garb, eyes locked on your neck, stutter stop walk). Cling, fling, feed
• Vampire Servant, Standard (tracksuits, jeans and outdoors gear, gaunt with uncaring eyes). Interfere, assault, unflinching.
• Vampire’s Chosen, Support. (striking clothes that coordinate with their vamp). Distract, entangle, absorb.

Shared Blood - Action. Mark a Stress to end the effect of a spell or clear any condition affecting the Chosen or any Vampiric ally they can see within Close range.
Draining Shadows - Action. Spend a Fear, a point within Far range fills with grasping toothed shadows. All targets within Close are Restrained until they break free with a successful Strength or Instinct roll. Targets Restrained by this Action have their strength sapped and must spend a Hope to make an action roll.
Blood Siphon - Action. Spend a Fear to make a standard attack against a target within range. On a success, if the target has already Marked HP the attack deals Direct damage.

• Fatberg, Bruiser. (Horrible seething mass of congealed fat and grease, laden with wipes and other flushable waste). Engulf, ooze, divide
• Grease ooze, Minion. (Smell of rancid oil, potatoes, fried food).
• Urban Summoner, Support. (Clothes appropriate to station, coat or satchel for spell items). Summon, Vex, Deny access.

Painted Reinforcements - Action: Summon PC count of Graffiti Defenders within Close range.

- Graffiti Defender, Minion. (Spray painted figures, fantastic animals and simple humanoids). Pile on, smear.

Minion (4) - Passive.
Group Attack - Action. Spend a fear to choose a target and spotlight all Graffiti Defenders within Close range of them. Those Minions move into Melee range of the target and make one shared attack roll. On a success, they deal 2 damage each. Combine this damage.

• Urban Evoker, Ranged. (Clothes appropriate to station, umbrella with mystical sigils, walking staff, etc). Unleash, Bombard, Declaim.
• Asphalt Worm, Skulk. (Skin of writhing asphalt, scent of molten tar, grinding teeth). Meld with environment, Abrade flesh, Spring a Trap.
• Were-cougar, Skulk. (Loose clothing, fluid walk, greenish eyes that flash at night). Leap, strike from above, shift and dash. Experiences: Natural Climber +3, Ambush Predator +2

Savage Prey - Passive. The Were-cougar has advantage against restrained targets.
Predatory Takedown - Action. Mark a Stress to choose a Target within Far range, the Were-cougar dashes and then Leaps, making an attack against the Target. On a success, deal 2d10+5 damage and the target must succeed on a Strength reaction roll or become Restrained.
Unnatural Resilience - Action. Once per scene, you can Spend a Fear to immediately recover 3 HP.

 

[MrTemplar]

I enjoy Critical Role in concept, and have watch episodes in each of the campaigns, but it is just too much time for me to invest. I have completed some of their smaller, 8 episode arcs, including DH and Age of Umbra. Brendan Lee Mulligan is not my cup of tea, and to be fair, I have only tried to watch his fantasy high, which was too silly at times, and possible out of my demographic anyways, given my age. He has his own big following though, so Critical Role's main campaign should still be popular.

As for Daggerheart's popularity, our gamestore has only 1 DM (me) to run it, and far, far more people who want to play it, including non-Critters. After our first Campaign (4 weeks based on an expanded quickstart) brought a lot of interest. Our initial group was made up entirely of 5e veterans, and no critters, and they loved it. We are starting campaign 2 next month, and I have had to turn 6 people away. I am foolishly capping at 8 people.

 

[Reynard]

Given that this is a + thread about DH, can we not have the CR discussion here?

 

[zakael19]

That is, I am not going to be trying to create new classes or domains... yet. After I see how it goes in play, I may decide to do something more expansive with it.

The thoughts they have around building new class features in the Homebrew Kit are interesting. They clearly intend for the core class feature to be part of the continuous gameplay loop, and so it needs lots of testing (as they note). I somehow doubt that any of the classes I keep seeing on Reddit etc have had any testing at all, lol.