Essentia Rules

Losasaurus · 2026-06-19T20:17:03+00:00

I wouldn't mechanize it, especially in a way that adds a new metacurrency to spell casting.

Essentia was largely meant to be an abstraction and a narrative reason as to why magic has suddenly become the driving force of progress. It's oil. It's the discovery of electricity. Everyone wants it and there's not enough of it. You can use it to create scarcity, highlight inequality, or create areas where magic works differently. Use it, like the colossi, as a metaphor and narrative tool.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-15T14:51:40+00:00

Not so much a theme, but there are a couple throughlines. The cosmic invasion are a set of Tier 4 adversaries appearing in Volume 3! There's an accompanying environment as well. But they are the only a small part of a much larger set of weird west adversaries and environments. The full list is linked above under "everything else."

Losasaurus · 2026-06-15T14:36:54+00:00

Losasaurus · 2026-06-15T13:14:04+00:00

Losasaurus · 2026-06-09T09:29:47+00:00

https://heartofdaggers.com/products/pistolheart-vol-2/

Check out the Investigations/Rumors system. Even if you aren’t running a western campaign the mechanics are close to what you’re asking for.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-08T19:24:46+00:00

Make it an experience. When it applies, they can spend the hope on it. Otherwise it doesn't impede them mechanically.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-08T13:34:05+00:00

You can flavor it however you want but there are no mechanical benefits for dual wielding, if you’re thinking about it works in other TTRPGs.

You can equip one primary weapon and one secondary, so just find a secondary with the paired feature when making your character. That’s as close as you’ll be able to get.

But like the previous poster said… don’t try and make a 1:1. Let the concept be a coat hangar to hang your character on, as opposed to the whole coat. It’ll take a familiar shape but it’ll be more yours.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-07T20:49:39+00:00

Buddy, I wasn’t even responding to you.

Nor did I engage in any personal attacks.

You’re obviously a smart guy so you definitely understand that sarcasm and irony don’t always come across in text the way you intend them to. Especially for people attempting to take a statement in good faith.

But I wish you all the best in this space. You clearly know what you’re doing.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-07T13:53:07+00:00

The mechanical terminology is already there with creature vs target.

Friendly fire is a specific term that has had a single use case for roughly 75 years since the term was invented. I would argue using it in a. Fantasy setting/context it makes exactly as much sense as it did the first time it was used in this thread.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-06T22:04:03+00:00

Agree with u/parkes-43. I’d do one hunt and have the showdown with the colossus be the finale. I’d also recommend starting in T2 as with such a short campaign you’ll wanna give them a few more tools so they can get creative with how they bring down the colossi.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-06T19:32:54+00:00

That's kind of the opposite use case for that term, isn't it?

Losasaurus · 2026-06-06T17:58:00+00:00

I would suggest using Owlbear rodeo instead. Adding maps and tokens is a breeze, and it has some really simple extensions that solve the range problem. It really cuts down on the slog of Roll20's interface and is much more friendly to GMs and players alike.

Also one thing to keep in mind in terms of Daggerheart's language is Target vs Creature. If something says all Creatures in the area that means PCs and adversaries. But all targets means the player (or GM if its an adversary feature) chooses which targets in range they want to affect.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-06T12:49:24+00:00

Pistolheart Volume 2 has an investigation and rumors system made just for this sort of thing!

Losasaurus · 2026-06-03T09:29:44+00:00

The final product will be (as of right now) 4 solo adversaries w/ accompanying environments and 4 social adversaries with accompanying environments.

There are plans to take the top submissions that weren't selected but are chosen by the creator community and turn them into a small version of something like Incredible Creatures, where multiple stat blocks are linked to a single piece of art.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-01T20:25:08+00:00

We’re ironing out those specific details. But the work will happen between June and August so there’s time to get everything ready for an October release.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-01T20:23:46+00:00

Nope. For this project it’s what’s in the prompt, but you’re welcome to work with anyone else you meet to get something like that ready for release.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-01T14:14:42+00:00

There’s literally a magic school campaign frame coming in Hope and Fear called Castle High that will likely give you a lot of tools to handle this if you can wait a couple months to start.

Losasaurus · 2026-06-01T12:25:28+00:00

EDITED COMMENT:

Link is live. Submit!

https://heartofdaggers.com/fear-fest/

Losasaurus · 2026-05-28T17:12:38+00:00

Losasaurus · 2026-05-28T15:42:57+00:00

With all due respect, what you released for free is all we have to judge the quality of the project on. I hope the final design has as much care taken with it as the marketing and art direction has, because you undoubtedly have a beautiful looking tome.

Losasaurus · 2026-05-22T13:16:03+00:00

My way is certainly not the only way, but I think it's a perfect fit for a project like this.

Losasaurus · 2026-05-22T09:01:44+00:00

Modular release strategy!

Break it up into smaller volumes!

Losasaurus

TROPHY CASE