Daggerheart — Narrative fantasy by Darrington Press (Critical Role)

"Every roll is a story beat. Hope or Fear — pick your fate."

Dice2d12 (Hope/Fear)

Players3–5

Prep~30 min

Foundry VTTCommunity

Complexity

What is this system

A narrative heroic fantasy by Darrington Press, the publishing arm of Critical Role. At its core: two d12s — a Hope die and a Fear die. The sum decides success; whichever rolled higher sets the tone — triumph or cost. A card-based class and ancestry system builds your hero like a deck, combat feels cinematic, and the GM banks Fear to twist the scene at the most dramatic moment.

Setting

The default world is high fantasy with Critical Role flavor: ancient kingdoms, fallen empires, magic-as-legacy. Campaign Frames (Age of Umbra, Sablewood, and more) set the dial — from grim dark-fantasy to bright storybook. Run the in-house setting, or rip the system out and bolt it onto your own world.

What it looks like at the table

The GM describes a fissure in the temple floor — cold air and whispers leak out. Your bard makes a Presence check: roll d12 Hope and d12 Fear. 9 and 11 = 20, beats DC 12 — success with Fear. The spell works, the shadows recoil, but the Fear die was higher: the GM drops a Fear token into her stash and smiles quietly. Something in the dark heard your song. You bank a Hope token for next turn — but you know there's a price waiting around the corner.

Playstyle

Narrative Combat Fantasy

Key mechanics

Hope & Fear dice

Two d12s in different colors. Sum is the success; the higher die sets the tone. Every roll shifts tokens between players and GM.

Card-built heroes

Class, ancestry, abilities, domains — all cards. Your build is literally a deck on the table.

Cinematic combat

No rigid rounds — the GM passes the spotlight player to player until the scene exhales. Action flows instead of crunching.

Stress & damage

HP, Stress, Armor — three tracks. Stress accrues from fear and magic, armor softens the blow. Going down isn't death; it's choosing a consequence.

What people say

The narrative system is built around a more freeform collaboration between players and GM, where the story grows without much impediment from rules.— Christian Hoffer, EN World

Art & materials