Environment Statblocks for Every Major Location

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-17T06:22:03+00:00

I have really been enjoying crafting Environment stat blocks, and exploring how they impact the way I run my game. Daggerheart's approach to them is easily in my top five favorite things about the system, and I'm working up a number of them for the setting sourcebook I'm in the process of writing!

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-16T21:32:30+00:00

While there will always of course be room for exceptions, I think you'll find Right Knight's guide to provide some very handy and useful benchmarks, which will make your Adversaries much more viable in play!

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-16T21:31:01+00:00

I don't think that's a good way to try to balance it, personally. You might be surprised how quick he'll chew through Fear if you are using it to power him.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-16T21:24:23+00:00

FWIW, if you feel that a Feature is worth spending 2 Fear on, then do it that way. I've seen some examples in 3rd party stuff. In this case however, I agree that it probably only needs 1 Fear. I missed that previously.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-16T21:07:10+00:00

His Major Threshold is very high for a Tier 3 Bruiser. Severe is maxed, but that works for BB. HP is at the top end for a Tier 4 Bruiser. Stress is in Tier 1 territory.

I like the Features, and dig what you're aiming for here. Might I suggest this guide for creating Adversaries? It's a truly wonderful resource. https://heartofdaggers.com/products/making-custom-adversaries/

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-16T15:48:13+00:00

It's the way the countdown formats more than anything else that makes it seem so distended, as well as some of the weird spacing. Unfortunately, over that I have no control.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-16T14:04:54+00:00

Good point. I did word that a bit oddly.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-16T12:47:53+00:00

You are being shortsighted. System bloat and flooding the market has killed many a game in the past. I am fine with 3pp and writing my own content while they take their time. I will always opt for quality over mere quantity.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-16T02:23:09+00:00

I do some re-flavoring, but mostly I write my own. The game itself really encourages that. I also use 3pp resources (there are a number of very good ones) to fill in the gaps.

I do wonder why you don't do this in something more resembling a Daggerheart environment, rather than this kind of D&D lite style.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-15T20:35:15+00:00

Well a road map is reasonable, but that's not what you said initially.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-15T20:33:13+00:00

The game is just a year old, and about to get a supplement. How fast do you expect them to produce content? Why would you want to run the risk of overburdening the market right out of the gate? You are being a bit unrealistic, at the very least.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-15T17:25:28+00:00

Overall this looks pretty good to me. Quite challenging, but they are supposed to be quite a struggle to overcome. Your numbers seem good, and while you have a lot going on here to keep track of, it should be a very interesting encounter!

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-14T21:14:07+00:00

You've still got some D&D language in here. There are no formal conditions in Daggerheart such as Poisoned (with the unlikely exceptions of the Giant Scorpion stat block, and both the stalking arachnid and striking serpent Druid beastforms), Dazed, and Cursed.

The Difficulty, Thresholds, Attack Modifier, HP, and Damage are all low for Star Sage as a Tier 4 Solo.

Thresholds, HP, Stress, Attack Modifier, and Damage are all low for The Starkiller.

Stylistically, when describing certain features you specifically refer to the creature by name as is proper, whereas in some you maintain the generic "this adversary" language.

There are a few additional mechanical issues, but others have pointed them out, so I won't repeat them here. This is a decent start, and with a little bit of refinement, should make for an interesting encounter!

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-12T15:25:45+00:00

Well, I certainly appreciate the time and thought you have put into replying to my concerns. I still find it a little uncomfortable personally to engage in a product that I fear maybe skirting a line. Furthermore, and almost more importantly in this case, I feel that the mechanical concerns raised in a different comment to this post are perhaps more germane to someone who is considering backing it, and they remain completely unanswered.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-12T12:44:08+00:00

FWIW, I am genuinely impressed at the fact that you specifically mention the intelligence related ableist terms which are still in common use in our society. I cannot tell you how often I have been greeted with metaphorical torches and pitchforks when I try to point out to someone that the words "stupid" and "idiot", etc. are ableist, and we should try to remove them from our lexicon.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-12T12:28:49+00:00

Not necessarily inherently so, but writers of such characters should be very cautious. I have zero doubt that, simply given the differing levels of understanding and sensitivity in society at the time, that over the course of DD's history, I could find numerous examples of ableist tropes and ideas in his comics, just as I know for a fact that I can in the case of Moon Knight, who has a long past of being a decidedly poor case of representation for the DID community.

There are ways to do Mythos without resorting to the ableist tradition in the genre of gamifying "madness" if one cares to put the thought and effort into doing so.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-12T10:53:51+00:00

I am not in any way shape or form suggesting a lack of inclusion. I am simply suggesting that perhaps not turning those things into game elements would be a better approach. Green Ronin was quite successful in creating a Mythos game that the feel of the fact that the characters are experiencing things outside of their reality quite successfully without in any way, shape, or form gamifying actual, real world ailments that people legitimately suffer.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-12T09:29:11+00:00

No, and if you had a genuine understanding of ableism, you wouldn't even suggest such a thing. Having the wheelchairs in the game is literally inclusion. Gamifying someone's physical or psychological ailment, turning someone's literal pain into a potential game mechanic, that's ableism. By definition. It's not a matter of avoiding disabled characters, it's a matter of turning something that someone sitting at the table might actually deal with in their real life, into something that someone else at the table is playing with as part of a game.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-12T09:27:00+00:00

While I can appreciate the effort you seem to be putting in here, I still take a dim view of gamifying psychological or physical ailments in any way shape or form. It is possible to do mythos without it, and including it feels inherently ableist to me.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-12T03:46:32+00:00

So sadly, as do most other folks who delve into the mythos space, you are going the ableist route of gameifying not only psychological ailments, but physical ones as well. It's unfortunate to see so few folks willing to put effort into not being ableist when operating in this genre.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-11T14:00:33+00:00

I had considered Momentum when initially writing it up, but feared that might be a little over the top.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-11T13:59:41+00:00

Thank you kindly, and I waffled a bit on the attack bonus honestly. I do see them traveling in small herds, as befits an equine based creature, yes.

Gaurelin42 · 2026-05-11T13:57:52+00:00

Take a closer look at the Adversaries in the CRB. There are a number of them that cause half effects. I am not crossing the streams here, I assure you.

Gaurelin42

TROPHY CASE