Daggerheart Post-Mortem

[zakael19]

What's interesting is my players generally do not like using cards. They prefer everything on their character sheets.

All mine love cards, physical and digital.

 

[Vael]

I dont use any digital tools at all across 3 games, nor do my players! Somehow it's going amazingly.

I will sometimes use my tablet, Freshcutgrass is indeed very useful, and a later addition to the party managed his PC purely through Demiplane, but this has been 90% my experience as well. It's been super fun to play "old school" a purely analog, just paper, pencils and dice. Even better, having the cards meant that char gen and leveling up were painless and I don't have to pass the book around the table, everything is on their sheets and cards.

I also have felt reenergized by Daggerheart, it's also my fav system. I still play DnD, and am in a 5.5 campaign, but Daggerheart is definitely what I want to run and play right now.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I am delighted you have found a system that clicks with you and your groups. I would also not be surprised if in a few years you take what you have learned and maybe come back to D&D or other systems you have tried and find a fresh approach that works for you.
But as long as it works enjoy Daggerheart.

 

[Agamon]

So, I've been digging into Stonetop, and it's really my first PbtA hard look since Dungeon World came out 15 or so years ago. And I like how in PbtA, the GM "directs the spotlight". Aside for the awkward pause as the players try to figure out who's going to act when the spotlight moves to them in my DH game, it hasn't been much of an issue.

However, outside of an encounter, I'm directing the spotlight more often than not, and that leads to a more engaging response. But during an encounter, I just throw the spotlight back to them as a group, and the response is usually light in descriptiveness and heavy on feature announcement.

So I think I'll start passing the spotlight to individual characters, narrating things from their point of view, and try to coax out a more narrative response. Unless, of course, a player announces that they have an idea and want to take the initiative. That will always take precedence, of course.

 

[zakael19]

So, I've been digging into Stonetop, and it's really my first PbtA hard look since Dungeon World came out 15 or so years ago. And I like how in PbtA, the GM "directs the spotlight". Aside for the awkward pause as the players try to figure out who's going to act when the spotlight moves to them in my DH game, it hasn't been much of an issue.

However, outside of an encounter, I'm directing the spotlight more often than not, and that leads to a more engaging response. But during an encounter, I just throw the spotlight back to them as a group, and the response is usually light in descriptiveness and heavy on feature announcement.

So I think I'll start passing the spotlight to individual characters, narrating things from their point of view, and try to coax out a more narrative response. Unless, of course, a player announces that they have an idea and want to take the initiative. That will always take precedence, of course.

Oh yeah, after we "start" an encounter which I kinda leave open unless I'm coming out strong, I'm actively shepherding the spotlight. Both to ensure that everybody is tracking the fiction and keeping things dramatic, and also to make sure nobody is getting missed (plus, like, on a roll w/fear or whatever showing how the fiction changes & offering opportunities but also telegraphing danger).

Works so well.Every time I see people posting about "it's more sense to not do anything" or "why wouldn't people just not act" or whatever I'm always baffled because my group(s) always want to participate and do Cool Stuff.

 

[Vael]

Works so well.Every time I see people posting about "it's more sense to not do anything" or "why wouldn't people just not act" or whatever I'm always baffled because my group(s) always want to participate and do Cool Stuff.

I've had it happen once or twice, I just had to remind them that failure to act is also "giving the GM a golden opportunity", and that I make sure that while I'm a GM that is playing their opposition, I'm also their cheerleader and hype guy for bold action. That tends to do it.

 

[TheHand]

I’m happy for you and your group, @Retreater ! I’ve read some of your previous post-mortems with great pangs of sympathy.

For me and my live group, who had all been feeling D&D 5e burnout, Daggerheart was like a breath of fresh air. It managed to find the sweet spot between my players who missed the character powers and antics of 4e, and the players looking for a more narrativist way experience ala Dungeon-World (and everyone in between!).

And for my take, I’ve hardly touched any of the digital tools. I encouraged everyone to make their characters with pencil and paper and I’ve likewise been running encounters just with paper notes. It’s great that sites like Freshcutgrass are out there, and I’ve scanned fan made works for my own inspiration, but I’m happy it’s not needed!

 

[Agamon]

Yeah, like I say, it's not so long a pause that I feel the need to say, "Um, someone want to do something?" Maybe at the very beginning as everyone was getting used to it, but a lot less now. But the lack of description is the big issue. And like say, I can also default to it when things get tense, so I think moving to this method forces me to look at things narratively, which should help the players, too.

 

[Reynard]

The really nice thing about spotlight initiative is that it let's the players coordinate and use interactive tactics. This makes combat more dynamic and fun, especially when players think up things that help without having to make Duality rolls so as not to lose the spotlight.

 

[djotaku]

Your story is a great example of why diversity in choices of TTRPGs is a thing to be celebrated. There are tons of people enjoying D&D 5e (both versions) or PF2e (and even PF1e!). But it wasn't working for you and Daggerheart revitalized things for you!

With the hope/fear - that's one of the things I've been worried about with my main table. But at my Cosmere table (cosmere TTRPG has a similar mechanic called Opportunities/Complications), my players often are pretty quite to jump in with suggestions, especially on the Opportunity side. I only occasionally need to negate an overpowered suggestion.