(Author’s Note: this post was written based on the Daggerheart Open Beta v1.5)
I first came to Daggerheart through COVID.
Sort of. Not the big pandemic, of course, but just a smaller bout. Let me explain.
One evening after a tiring day of entertaining the kids while relying on ibuprofen to keep myself going, I just wanted to play a game. I booted up Baldur’s Gate 3, and when I got tired, I quit. Then, I thought to myself, “How did I play for an hour and basically accomplish nothing?” I realized that rather than playing a CRPG, I would really rather play a TTRPG.
I largely quit since having kids citing a lack of time and opportunity, but in my COVID exhaustion, I realized there was no reason to wait. If I wanted to play a TTRPG, I needed to stop making excuses and just play. I couldn’t let the perfect (4 hour, weekly, in-person sessions in a long campaign with a stable group of good friends) be the enemy of the good (whatever isn’t that).
While looking online for communities to find a play group, I stumbled across this DMDavid post comparing the MCDM RPG to Daggerheart. I read deeper since I had crowdfunded the MCDM RPG, but he caught me with this good summary about how to think about both systems coming from D&D 5e.
The MCDM RPG seeks to recreate some of the tactical play exemplified by fourth edition D&D in fast-paced, cinematic battles. Daggerheart targets a more narrative, rules-light style that fosters heroic moments and chances for players to reveal their characters.
As I started reading more about Daggerheart, I felt like it resonated with my own desire to blend a narrative-focused game with enough crunch to keep the game moving.
I’ll pick apart my thoughts more in a future post. For now, though, I’ll say I’m optimistic that it threads the needle.
What’s to come
I’m just now getting familiar with Daggerheart by discovering the existing community, reading the rules, watching the first-party videos, and getting a one-shot group put together. This blog will be my running journal as I dive into the world of Daggerheart to see where it takes me. My hope is that I can share community resources, review existing content, reflect on what I learn, and just think out loud by writing what happens.
I hope that Daggerheart carries my roleplaying passion for a good long run, and this blog will grow with it. I hope you enjoy the journey with me, and I can inspire some of you in this hobby as well.
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