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

Daggerheart is an approachable, interesting, and downright delightful tabletop RPG. Its rules are familiar yet polished, with plenty for TTRPG veterans and newcomers to get excited about.— Mollie Russell, Wargamer

But it also knows exactly what it wants to be: a game about heroic characters that have meaningful stories that feel satisfying.— J.R. Zambrano, Bell of Lost Souls

Art & materials