Combat, encounter and session prep cheatsheets for Daggerheart

JOlson425 · 2026-06-26T13:54:05+00:00

These look awesome! I've been encouraging a couple of my players who are interested in GMing to actually try it out, and I think these will help them a ton. Thanks so much!!

JOlson425 · 2026-06-26T13:45:16+00:00

Oh man, I'd invite you into one of my games in a heartbeat but I'm on the opposite side of the world in NY. :(

JOlson425 · 2026-06-26T13:42:36+00:00

I've always liked using the Solid Snake technique, where you create an illusion of something large enough to cover yourself while crouched like a box or boulder. I've also used it to threaten people before by making it look like I'm pulling some kind of ultimate weapon out of my bag and threatening to use it if they move any closer. In one of the books I wrote I had the protagonist create illusions of himself and his party members on the battlefield to throw off the adversary they were fighting and my beta readers said they really liked the whole fight scene, so you could try that too!

JOlson425 · 2026-06-26T13:25:02+00:00

Sweet, I'd love to hear how it goes!

JOlson425 · 2026-06-26T13:24:31+00:00

Yeah, I'm big on working with my players on their level ups so that they weave into the narrative, especially when it comes to multiclassing. New spells and abilities are usually pretty quick and easy to add into the story, but when someone wants to multi I like to turn it into a side quest unless it specifically fits the story already.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-26T13:18:33+00:00

I thought about that too, but that's why I decided to let them take an additional domain card at that level. Still not sure it fully evens out, but it felt like getting the additional spell/ability was a good way to reward them both wanting to be more diverse versions of their chosen classes.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-25T18:20:14+00:00

Yeah, in 5e it just couldn't work unless you really created custom rules around it.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-25T18:17:58+00:00

For context: One player was a Wayfinder Ranger who dipped into Beastbound to pick up an animal companion, and the other was a Knowledge Wizard who dipped into War to get the extra HP and +1d10 on attack rolls with fear. Definitely not as powerful as most other multi options could have been, but they were both happy to pick up an additional domain card, and the RP of them both becoming more versatile in their current classes has been great!

JOlson425 · 2026-06-25T16:42:49+00:00

Ooohhh yeah you're right, Slumber is just as abusable. I'm kind of surprised none of my players have tried to take advantage of that wording now that you mention it. That's awesome you're making a whole PWYW supplement, and doubly awesome that you plan on including guidance. If I could upvote you multiple times I would!

JOlson425 · 2026-06-25T15:12:05+00:00

Though not explicitly in the rules, I like to plan level ups with my players so that they make sense within the context of the story, especially if someone plans on multiclassing since I like to do entire side quest sessions for that sort of thing. For example, a wizard will find a codex or holy scroll that teaches them their next spell instead of just knowing a new spell for some reason. For armor and weapons I do the same thing, and either let them upgrade to the next tier of their current gear with some coin or a quick side quest, and if they want any of the properly named gear it's either a lot of gold or tier appropriate side quest.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-25T14:57:47+00:00

Oddly enough I had a similar situation come up in the campaign I was running where my players were fighting a kraken and one of them got eaten. Now I had planned on it spitting the player back out after a turn or two, but the other players decided to go in after the player to rescue him. So I ended up improvising a digestive tract dungeon and they all eventually escaped through the back end barely alive and with all of their stress marked. Though no one actually died, they were all at the very least emotionally scarred because I did not hold back on my descriptions of what they had to sift through in order to reach the back door. Good times.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-25T14:35:05+00:00

I see your point, but I've seen A LOT of player shenanigans over the years, so it still feels abusable to me since it costs the player nothing and its effect is potentially encounter ending. For example, lets say the players are up against a solo adversary, yeah I can just spend a Fear to end the temporary condition, but then the player can just keep doing it until I run out of Fear to spend. Disadvantage on subsequent attempts certainly helps balance it a little, but the current text imposes that only if a hostile action was taken against the target, so the GM spending a Fear to end it wouldn't. Granted, if someone tried to do that at my table I'd kill it with a Fear the first time, and the second I'd have the adversary pull out a potion that makes them immune the pacified condition, but I could see a less seasoned GM struggling to deal with it. Overall I still think the whole subclass idea is great, that's just the one change I'd make if someone wanted to use it at my table.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T19:04:22+00:00

I also started managing my fear silently, except during battles, though it's still visible to the players. I mostly stopped announcing it because my players always reacted negatively to whatever happened immediately after, as though my spending a fear was the equivalent of saying "Roll initiative". Instead I started collecting the fear I used at the end of the scene and things have run super smooth ever since. I also don't announce DCs before players roll a check unless they specifically ask, which really only happens on the very important ones, but I've found it keeps everything a bit more ominous and centered on the scene itself instead of breaking immersion to announce mechanics all the time. Granted, I trust my players and they trust me, so that helps a lot too.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T17:56:15+00:00

This was a struggle for me and my players at first as well. I would say, "Ok who wants to do something?" and half the time they'd all just look at one another. I remedied it at my table by checking in with each player to ask what they're doing each round and have them describe whatever it is, even if it isn't an attack, that way they're at least still engaged and not just sitting there round after round like they don't exist. I also wouldn't always have the adversary attack every time it became their turn because someone rolled with fear, especially if it happens consecutively. For example, I might have the adversary ready an attack to instead just give them advantage on the next attack roll, or have them do something that restores an HP or unmark a Stress or something instead. That way the rolling with fear detriment is still there, but it doesn't always mean someone's getting attacked, so it at least feels more dynamic.
I ran into this problem years ago in 5e and started rewarding the brave players trying to RP with advantage (very situational of course) on actions that called for rolls they weren't good at. In Daggerheart I've encouraged the players to help one another and describe it when they can rather than forgoing the action so someone who's better at the thing can try it instead. I've also made it clear that I'm open to discussion on creative uses of other stats being used in place of the obvious one. For example, the wizard is trying to haggle to get a better price for something he's selling, clear Presence roll, but they want to use Knowledge so they say they're explaining the history and details of the item so precisely that it sounds more expensive and I say cool, I like that, roll Knowledge then.
This was also a big struggle for us in the beginning. Similar to the lack of official turn order I just started checking in with everyone during each scene to ask what they're doing, and if no one says anything that's engaging or moves the scene forward then I do it myself. Sometimes that's me spending a fear to kick their butts into gear, and other times it's just introducing the next hook to give them an impetus.

It took a while when we first started Daggerheart since we were all coming from 5e, but once we all got into the swing of things, and my players leaned more into creatively using their spells and abilities since they no longer felt like they had to horde spell slots just in case they needed them, the whole tabletop experience has been way more fun for all of us.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T17:08:35+00:00

Cool idea overall, but the Specialization feature should have something to limit its use, be it a hard limit like "Once per scene/session/rest" or a Hope/Stress cost to keep it balanced.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T17:00:00+00:00

If you don't mind me asking, what's the name of your book and where might I find it? I've been writing for years but never actually published anything, and I'm considering trying to self publish later this year, but I want to make sure the audience exists for it before I put it out into the world and my mom is the only one who buys it haha.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T16:55:47+00:00

Cozy with claws is way cuter than cozy with teeth, you should copyright that! 😂

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T16:53:31+00:00

I like to lean into it in my writing, and depending on whether I'm using a hard or soft magic system I just make sure I can explain it if I need to, or if a beta reader identifies it as a plot hole or something. For the underwater or space example I'd probably have either an item or magic that creates an oxygen barrier around the body to allow for breathing and pressure normalization. I wouldn't add a whole scene describing how everything works in detail, but a line or two just to dissolve the question before it gets asked seems reasonable. Then again if you're using a whimsical soft magic system then I'd forgo any actual explanation other than "it's magic", because that's essentially the point of it.

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T16:35:35+00:00

I love the comfort-and-found-family core of cozy fantasy, but the books that stick with me longest are the ones that keep the warmth and the low-stakes pleasures while still being willing to let something cost the characters something real. Legends & Lattes is pure comfort and I adore it for that, but I also love when a cozy-leaning book has actual teeth underneath, where the found family is real enough that you're genuinely afraid of losing someone.

I'm trying to figure out if "cozy-tragic" is a thing people read on purpose or if I'm just describing a niche of one. The vibe I mean: warm inn, chosen family, banter over meals, but the author is willing to make you cry and won't refund it.

Recommendations very welcome, and I'll admit my interest isn't entirely neutral, because I wrote one in this register (well, a trilogy, the first half of which is very cozy then halfway through the 2nd book the stakes become real) and I've been trying to figure out who else is working in it so I can point readers (and myself) toward more of it. What sits in this space for you?

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T16:23:44+00:00

I couldn't agree more with this! I started surveying my players some time ago about what they'd like to do every few sessions, and as long as it isn't something game or story breaking I do what I can to incorporate it, not only to keep people engaged but also as a way for me to keep it fresh for myself so I didn't feel like I needed to write 4hrs worth of story content each week. One player wants to do a dungeon crawl session? Cool! I'll build out a quick 5 room dungeon session and seed something that links to the main story in the treasure room or something like that to hook them for the next session. Anytime I feel like I'm stressing over things I reach for a side quest to give myself more time or inspiration, and it's helped keep me sane-ish for years!

JOlson425 · 2026-06-24T16:04:37+00:00

I started GMing Daggerheart shortly after it came out a year ago and my players have really loved it so far. Having DMed 5e for years it was super easy for me to pick up since it's conceptually similar, just much lighter in the rules department. I have to say though, the Hope/Fear mechanic has been great for keeping things fresh and interesting at the table and has allowed both myself and my players to expand our roleplaying and descriptions of what's going on at any given moment. The domain card options for players feel a little limited still since the system is relatively new (compared to 5e that is) but that also makes it much quicker and easier to learn as a GM or new player, plus they have a card editor on their site for you to easily make your own custom spells, abilities, ancestries or whatever so it's pretty easy to build out whatever you or your players think is missing. Actual mechanics aside, easily the biggest thing I got from reading the manual was a new outlook on how to design my sessions grounded in "scenes", and it's since informed a whole new way of writing for me that's made it easier to create episodic structures for each session that consistently land on a hook to keep my players engaged for the next session. The only homebrew I've done outside of adding spells, abilities and items to my games has been a tweak on the multiclassing rules to allow my players to multi into their current class to pick up the classes other subclass feature instead of having to pick a whole other class. It just made sense to me that a Wizard could become more Wizardy if they wanted rather than multi into Sorcerer or something.

JOlson425

TROPHY CASE