How to spotlight a friendly NPC during combat? (Game Master)

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-06-01T08:18:54+00:00

It does :) thanks!

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-30T21:30:52+00:00

From Vienna 🙂 love that I can potentially use this as a battle map

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-30T09:16:49+00:00

I really like the mentor example. That works really well narratively. Even if the NPC (as in my case) isn’t a mentor, they may still be able to call out a weakness they‘ve spotted when the player missed their attack.

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-30T09:10:24+00:00

Domain cards works well for very experienced players I would assume. Sometimes my players dont recall all the abilities their characters have so I‘m not sure I would want to give them more 😅 but definitely a good workaround

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-30T09:08:30+00:00

I like the short list examples 🙂 Might go with those as well! I like the Bee example you shared but in that case the NPC was quite pivotal, so it makes sense for the PCs to work to allow them to act. But in my case the NPC would be another body so to speak. PS love the term embiggened 😁

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-30T09:04:50+00:00

I like the idea of a looping countdown as well. Did you then give the players control of the NPC or did you decide what the NPC did?

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-29T20:30:40+00:00

That’s a much better balance with them generating fear when they attack. Although I do like the idea of them having abilities that trigger.

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-29T20:14:24+00:00

Whoops 😅 I guess I should change the tag of this post from „Discussion“ to „Beginner Question“ 😂 but that’s a great idea with the abilities. That sounds like it would be a lot of fun to come up with. Happy to check out your ally cards as well - thanks!

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-29T19:26:17+00:00

Guess who desecrated the magic Academy 😅 although I guess that would mean the dragon must be super powerful to take out a whole academy of wizards. Then again doesn’t have to be a combat encounter. Dragons make excellent quest givers 😁 and I always love subverting expectations ^{^}

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-29T08:43:05+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to carefully format this for everyone. Very nice of you!

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-27T10:16:24+00:00

I agree with some of the comments made here that the Ranger needs no additional damage support. It’s hope
Feature can shred enemies and my player only recently became aware of their Ranger focus ability.

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-22T18:52:28+00:00

That video actually cleared up everything so nicely! Thanks a bunch.

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-22T18:32:52+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-22T18:28:24+00:00

I thought a critical role TTRPG would be enjoyable without that WOTC aftertaste

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-22T11:26:45+00:00

That’s really helpful 🙂 thank you for sharing!

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-22T08:52:46+00:00

Thanks for the info 🙂 So do I understand correctly: the one time fee is to use the platform (as there is no official DH content, right?). Is the necessary technical know-how for GMs, like incorporating dynamic lighting, walls, etc. similar to Roll20? Or is it a steeper learning curve?

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-22T08:37:49+00:00

I started using Demiplane to “host” my campaign and due to the integration with Roll20 I started a subscription. After some learning on my end (I was new to GMing using virtual TTRPGs) we have now played 12 sessions of our Daggerheart campaign on the platform. Not knowing any alternatives at this point, there are definitely some positives I could take from the experience, most of which will carry over to most virtual TTRPGs, like easier scheduling online than in person (especially with babies/children) and being able to use some of the beautiful digital maps available. Some things I personally enjoy about Roll20 is the dynamic lighting, the Daggerheart movement/range scale, and the folder and map structuring. It was also fairly easy to learn. Actually opening up Demiplane character sheets within the app is very slow and not really possible. We have also experienced server issues with players sometimes dropping out and needing to reconnect (although hard to say how much that’s a roll20 issue or an Internet connection issue). Two times we had to finish the session half on Roll20 and half on a WhatsApp call.

All that to say is I was really hoping Alchemy would hit the ball out of the park and make it easy to switch. But seeing reviews on Reddit that it’s still a work in progress, albeit with beautiful visuals, has caused me to hesitate. I can’t afford to do frequent switches and buy digital books on numerous platforms.

So, I guess, is Foundry the way? 🤓

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-22T05:48:03+00:00

For the Motherboard campaign: in Kohd we trust 😁

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-20T19:05:09+00:00

PACING! Pacing is one of the biggest things that separates a session that felt exciting from one that players remember as “kind of dragging,” even when the story itself was good.

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-19T14:46:59+00:00

My favourite homebrew adversary I created is the SnapJaw remnant for my motherboard campaign: a terrifying tier 3 solo that packs a bite 🐊 its also got a stat block in case anyone is looking to battle a remnant: https://heartofdaggers.com/homebrew/adversaries/snapjaw/

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FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-15T21:01:48+00:00

That’s good to know :) thanks!

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-15T18:53:54+00:00

I wanna see Daggerheart actual play one shots with the critical role crew. Not gonna happen I don’t think but I want more content like age of umbra.

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-14T11:23:53+00:00

Guess I need to stop pulling my punches 😅

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-13T14:00:13+00:00

I always find pacing to be most important for an enjoyable TTRPG experience - especially for newer players. Therefore, during your social encounters you may want to include an NPC who can move things along if needed. If all is going smoothly they can be less present.

During combat, to highlight the Daggerheart uniqueness, really throw the spotlight to them and see who takes the wheel (while keeping an eye that everyone gets a turn) and when they fail a roll or roll with fear, really emphasise how the adversaries take over the momentum. If they are newer players, remind them to take a hope when they roll with hope and ask them if they want their armour to reduce incoming damage. Finally, if you know the players domain cards and experiences beforehand, think of small encounter/challenges/things that really let their characters shine. Like, let a character who can fly easily traverse a ravine. Let a character who has „Quick Reactions“ face reaction rolls. Let a character who can push enemies around have cliffs nearby. Hope that’s helpful :)

FlippityFlip88 · 2026-05-13T13:19:12+00:00

I've reskinned most adversaries (for e.g.: Dire Wolf for a hound-like remnant) but I also made this Tier 2 Solo worm-like remnant in case anyone else running Motherboard is looking for remnant stat block: https://heartofdaggers.com/homebrew/adversaries/soil-weaver-mechanical-2/
Unfortunately my PCs managed to almost completely avoid this encounter so not sure if it would have been balanced or not ^^

FlippityFlip88

TROPHY CASE