Daggerheart General Thread [+]

[Agamon]

I always feel so weird with VTT discussions, I like my stuff as simple and close to tabletop-analogue style as possible. Clearly in the minority there though.

That's valid. There's lots of different ways to play, preferences vary.

Regarding the "expansion" I'm not sure I see anything interesting there but hey, they've got more time. I don't really have any interest in using a stock Frame when I can exercise my creativity so easily with the baseline tools, and I was reflecting last night after play that I like never use environments. I'll just write out rules snippets that generally have a wider applicability or a small note like a PBTA Custom Move for a situation. I wonder if they're more useful as Action snippets for people coming from the conventional side?

I just see H&F as just more core book. And I think environments are one of the best parts of the game. I see them less as stifling creativity, and more as a way of expressing and differentiating locations in a way that encourages creativity. But I do think it's a cool system that lets you pick and choose the parts of the system you want to use and it still works fine.

 

[Teemu]

I just switched from Roll20 + Demiplane to Foundry. Demiplane's adversary sheets are still very much in beta it feels like. You can't create brand new adversaries for example. It's a weird omission because the Demiplane implementation is the only way to use DH on Roll20. Likewise, modifying existing adversaries is slow and clunky. For example, you can't delete adversary features, and while you can create new features on existing adversaries, you can't implement any rolls in those abilities, just plain text. Also, it's kind of bizarre how when you write in the text box on an adversary sheet, the input of the text is delayed, as if it's reading it in real time. It makes it difficult to write longer pieces of text -- like when you want to create a new feature or an ability...

All of that coupled with the occasional log in issues that the players have had made me look into the Foundry module. It's definitely better all around, and much, much better as a GM.

Roll20 has kind of bungled the Demiplane integration. They're using it with all the new games but it's just not ready yet and it's much clunkier to use than simply having the game on Roll20. They also messed up the D&D 2024 sheets badly. Roll20 needs better project management.

 

[SteveC]

All of that coupled with the occasional log in issues that the players have had made me look into the Foundry module. It's definitely better all around, and much, much better as a GM.

We did a test campaign when Demiplane was the only option and it was one of the reasons that the game didn't really succeed. I don't think any of the other players liked how clunky, for lack of a better word, it was. I have the Foundry game system installed and have made characters as well as run some combats, and it just works much better. The main issue is that it's based just around the SRD and unless something changes, new content isn't going to be officially added.

More than anything, my wish would be for Darrington to create a license so I could get all the material. Of course I'm willing to pay for that, both to Darrington and to the designers of the module. Having your game be available on multiple platforms is key to getting it played more in 2025, or at least that's my contention.

 

[zakael19]

Still love just dropping sheets and images into Miro like we're playing with pen and paper around a table. The one thing I can see getting a little annoying is high Proficiency math come T3-ish. That's a lot of d8s etc getting tossed around by people.
____

We had two Death Moves made on Thursday (avoid Death in both cases and no low rolls on the Hope die), which was interesting. Turns out when you run a multi-location fight with narrative objectives at hand that aren't just "fight them" it's actually pretty easy to make this game real challenging! Thinking about it in retrospect, if the Rogue hadn't managed to finish the last enemy the weary archmage who'd opened the path for them would've probably expended himself finishing it off and that would've led to a much different next series of events.

Continue to be very happy that I hit just the right amount of prep for a wide open player-driven space in this city. I did a couple of hours up front generating the map and building the districts/moments/NPCs out and haven't really done anything since!

 

[TheHand]

Add me to those disappointed with Roll20 + Demiplane. Demiplane just feels so slow and clunky, and also so very restrictive, which simply flies in the face of Daggerheart’s freedom to customize and reflavour. Sadly, I’ve sunk too much into Roll20 to want to start over with another VTT.

 

[Reynard]

One idea that I am fiddling with is "Gammaheart" -- a Gammaworld-esque post apocalyptic hack of Daggerheart. So I decided to start with a random mutation table that replaces choosing an ancesry. Instead, you roll for two ancestry traits (the top and bottom traits separately).

This is what the charts looks liek from the SRD info:
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Primary Mutations (roll 1d10)

1. Purposeful Design: Decide who made you and for what purpose. At character creation choose one of your Experiences that best aligns with this purpose and gain a permanent +1 bonus to it.
2. Scales: Your scales act as natural protection When you would take Severe damage you can mark a Stress to mark 1 fewer Hit Points.
3. Thick Skin: When you take Minor damage you can mark 1 Stress instead of marking a Hit Point.
4. Fungril Network: Make an Instinct Roll (12) to use your mycelial array to speak with others of your ancestry. On a success you can communicate across any distance
5. Shell: Gain a bonus to your damage thresholds equal to your Proficiency.
6. Endurance: Gain an additional Hit Point slot at character creation.
7. Surefooted: You ignore disadvantage on Agility Rolls.
8. Luckbringer: At the start of each session everyone in your party gains a Hope.
9. Amphibious: You can breathe and move naturally underwater.
10. Natural Climber: You have advantage on Agility Rolls that involve balancing and climbing.

Secondary Mutations (roll 1d10)

1. Efficient: When you take a short rest you can choose a long rest move instead of a short rest move.
2. Elemental Breath: Choose an element for your breath (such as electricity fire or ice). You can use this breath against a target or group of targets within Very Close range treating it
as an Instinct weapon that deals d8 magic damage using your Proficiency.
3. Increased Fortitude: Spend 3 Hope to halve incoming physical damage.
4. Death Connection: While touching a corpse that died recently you can mark a Stress to extract one memory from the corpse related to a specific emotion or sensation of your choice.
5. Retract: Mark a Stress to retract into your shell. While in your shell you have resistance to physical damage, you have disadvantage on action rolls, and you can’t move.
6. Reach: Treat any weapon, ability, spell, or other feature that has a Melee range as though it has a Very Close range instead.
7. Danger Sense: Once per rest, mark a Stress to force an adversary to reroll an attack against you or an ally within Very Close range.
8. Internal Compass: When you roll a 1 on your Hope Die you can reroll it.
9. Long Tongue: You can use your long tongue to grab onto things within Close range. Mark a Stress to use your tongue as a Finesse Close weapon that deals d12 physical damage using your Proficiency.
10. Nimble: Gain a permanent + bonus to your Evasion at character creation.
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EDIT: Lol. I am a moron. I have a portrait oriented monitor and for some reason it was only showing me the odd pages of the SRD. All the species are in the SRD.

One super interesting thing I realized while putting this together is that the DH SRD does not include almost half of the ancestries. That seems like a weird oversight, but okay. I can still add traits based on the other ancestries, so long as I rewrite them, I think a total of 20 of each type should be enough.

I think also that something inspired by the Transformation cards could be the way to do "negative" mutations.

Thoughts?

 

[Reynard]

Here is the revised list. I will have to invent a couple to fill out 19 and 20.
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Primary Mutations (roll 1d20)

1. Purposeful Design: Decide who made you and for what purpose. At character creation choose one of your Experiences that best aligns with this purpose and gain a permanent +1 bonus to it.
2. Scales: Your scales act as natural protection When you would take Severe damage you can mark a Stress to mark 1 fewer Hit Points.
3. Thick Skin: When you take Minor damage you can mark 1 Stress instead of marking a Hit Point.
4. Fungril Network: Make an Instinct Roll (12) to use your mycelial array to speak with others of your ancestry. On a success you can communicate across any distance
5. Shell: Gain a bonus to your damage thresholds equal to your Proficiency.
6. Endurance: Gain an additional Hit Point slot at character creation.
7. Surefooted: You ignore disadvantage on Agility Rolls.
8. Luckbringer: At the start of each session everyone in your party gains a Hope.
9. Amphibious: You can breathe and move naturally underwater.
10. Natural Climber: You have advantage on Agility Rolls that involve balancing and climbing.
11. Quick Reactions: Mark a Stress to gain advantage on a reaction roll.
12. Luckbender: Once per session after you or a willing ally within Close range makes an action roll you can spend 3 Hope to reroll the Duality Dice.
13. Caprine Leap: You can leap anywhere within Close range as though you were using normal movement, allowing you to vault obstacles, jump across gaps, or scale barriers with ease.
14. Charge: When you succeed on an Agility Roll to move from Far or Very Far range into Melee range with one or more targets you can mark a Stress to deal 1d12 physical damage to all targets within Melee range.
15. High Stamina: Gain an additional Stress slot at character creation.
16. Fearless: When you roll with Fear, you can mark 2 Stress to change it into a roll with Hope instead.
17. Feline Instincts: When you make an Agility Roll you can spend 2 Hope to reroll your Hope Die.
18. Sturdy: When you have only 1 Hit Point remaining, attacks against you have disadvantage.

Secondary Mutations (roll 1d20)

1. Efficient: When you take a short rest you can choose a long rest move instead of a short rest move.
2. Elemental Breath: Choose an element for your breath (such as electricity fire or ice). You can use this breath against a target or group of targets within Very Close range treating it
as an Instinct weapon that deals d8 magic damage using your Proficiency.
3. Increased Fortitude: Spend 3 Hope to halve incoming physical damage.
4. Death Connection: While touching a corpse that died recently you can mark a Stress to extract one memory from the corpse related to a specific emotion or sensation of your choice.
5. Retract: Mark a Stress to retract into your shell. While in your shell you have resistance to physical damage, you have disadvantage on action rolls, and you can’t move.
6. Reach: Treat any weapon, ability, spell, or other feature that has a Melee range as though it has a Very Close range instead.
7. Danger Sense: Once per rest, mark a Stress to force an adversary to reroll an attack against you or an ally within Very Close range.
8. Internal Compass: When you roll a 1 on your Hope Die you can reroll it.
9. Long Tongue: You can use your long tongue to grab onto things within Close range. Mark a Stress to use your tongue as a Finesse Close weapon that deals d12 physical damage using your Proficiency.
10. Nimble: Gain a permanent + bonus to your Evasion at character creation.
11. Celestial Trance: During a rest you can drop into a trance to choose an additional downtime move.
12. Wings: You can fly. While flying you can mark a Stress after an adversary makes an attack against you to gain a +2 bonus to your Evasion against that attack.
13. Kick: When you succeed on an attack against a target within Melee range you can mark a Stress to kick yourself off them dealing an extra 2d6 damage and knocking back either yourself or the target to Very Close range.
14. Unshakable: When you would mark a Stress roll a d6. On a result of 6 don’t mark it.
15. Adaptability: When you fail a roll that utilized one of your Experiences, you can mark a Stress to reroll.
16. Dread Visage: You have advantage on rolls to intimidate hostile creatures.
17. Retracting Claws: Make an Agility Roll to scratch a target within Melee range. On a success they become temporarily Vulnerable.
18. Tusks: When you succeed on an attack against a target within Melee range you can spend a Hope to gore the target with your tusks dealing an extra 1d6 damage.

 

[zakael19]

Are you going to keep the names and descriptions, or re work them to be a little more mutation related? You could probably trim down to d12 instead if you wanted, and certain of the ancestries don't really work without the surrounding bits (Fungril, Clank, stuff like Luckbringer, Celestial Trance).