The wait is nearly over! Daggerheart, the next evolution in tabletop roleplaying from Darrington Press (the publishing arm of Critical Role), will officially release on May 20, 2025. This highly anticipated game brings fresh innovations to the genre, offering a thrilling new approach to collaborative storytelling and gameplay for both seasoned players and newcomers. Daggerheart’s Open Beta Playtest in summer 2024 was a turning point for the game, made possible by the passion and dedication of over 150,000 players who shared their insights, tested its mechanics, and gave feedback that helped shape the game’s direction. Their feedback was invaluable in refining the system’s fast-paced combat, deepening collaborative storytelling elements, and ensuring the system felt dynamic and responsive.
With its groundbreaking mechanics, rich worldbuilding tools, and the innovative Duality Dice system, Daggerheart is set to redefine what’s possible in tabletop roleplaying.
“We built Daggerheart from the ground up to be a toolbox for crafting heartfelt, epic tales of adventure, and we’re so excited for the finished game to finally be in people’s hands,” said game designers Spenser Starke and Rowan Hall. “Through years of hard work, with an army of collaborators, and thanks to an incredible open beta playtest with the community, the game is now ready for you to make your own. We look forward to hearing about all the campaigns you build, the enemies you slay, and the stories you tell at the table together!”
- Hope and Fear mechanics: At the heart of Daggerheart is the Duality Dice system, which uses two twelve-sided dice (d12s)—one representing Hope and the other Fear. Players roll these dice to determine the outcome of actions, with Hope and Fear representing the ebb and flow of the story.
- Tools to build worlds steeped in magic, history, and intrigue: Embark on journeys in campaigns filled with mythic landscapes, dangerous foes, and untold wonders. Daggerheart enables players to collaborate with the GM to shape and explore a world brimming with magic, ancient secrets, and ever-present dangers.
- Ready-made campaign frames to dive into: Six ready-made frameworks provide inspiration, tools, and mechanics to support a specific story your table can tell, from the cozy cooking and dungeoneering campaign fame of Beast Feast to the post-apocalyptic world of technological marvels in Motherboard.
- Asymmetrical gameplay: The game offers a distinctive experience for both players and Game Masters. Players use the Duality Dice for action rolls, while the Game Master employs d20 rolls to control their adversaries. This asymmetry keeps gameplay unpredictable!
- Cards bring player abilities to your fingertips: Rather than flipping through a book to look up what that spell does again, each player has their character abilities and details right in front of them on beautiful art-filled cards!
- A 300-page, lavishly illustrated hardcover rulebook that covers character creation, worldbuilding, and Game Master tools, alongside examples of play and tutorials.
- 279 illustrated cards featuring Ancestry, Community, Subclass, and Domain cards.
- A gorgeous, upgraded box with a wraparound cover that holds the hardcover rulebook as well as a magnet-closing box that slides out to reveal all your cards and additional accessories.
- Alternate cover artwork unique to this edition.
- A Game Master screen, with stunning art facing the players and quick reference information on the game master side regarding mechanics, difficulty, making moves, rewarding hope and using fear, and more.
- A rip pad that contains all the sheets you need to play.
- A full set of 9 standard dice (d4, d6, d8, two percentile d10s, d12, and d20) as well as two d12s of differing colors for Hope and Fear dice, all held within a satin drawstring bag.
- A set of 102 acrylic crystal tokens for tracking Fear, modifiers to rolls, counters on cards, or anything else you might need.
