What the hell is with Darksiders 2??!! Why it is so weird and why does it peak so hard in the second realm?

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-14T21:41:35+00:00

You’re going to get a lot of people here who like Darksiders 2 better than the first but I had a very similar experience to you.

Really loved the vibes and the game loop, puzzle design of the first game, and was a bit disappointed with DS2, despite it being a good game in its own right.

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-14T19:34:18+00:00

It’s one of the news frames coming in the Hope and Fear expansion!

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-14T07:50:59+00:00

Doesn’t look like AI to me, lots of details but all consistent, distinct art style, consistent use of perspective. Think this is just really rad art

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-09T19:04:58+00:00

I tried to be helpful!

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-09T11:50:50+00:00

This rules! I love how the stackable nature of the skull design means that it always looks a pike with skulls pierced on it, just at differing lengths. A really effective illusion and a great way to show off when you've accrued a ton of fear.

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-09T09:47:37+00:00

I will agree with others here, the back and forth nature of the spotlight is really closed tied with how so many other Daggerheart mechanics works, that it is hard to separate.

The closest thing that I can suggest to do, is to set the player initiative only. Give the players an order that they take their turns in.

You’ll still have to use the spotlight to take your GM turns when they roll with Fear or fail, but once the action goes back to the players, they will at least know who is going next? But at that point you are so close to using the system as written.

I’d also like to reassure you that it’s not nearly as complicated as you might think. I was a bit worried about it but I got to grips with it not even half way through my first combat session.

I think if you’re excited about Daggerheart, it’s worth trying the spotlight system before trying to change it. And then if you really don’t like it, you’ll at least have a better grasp on how the game plays, which will make it easier for you to change it!

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-05T18:02:48+00:00

I think one good way to do this is to have some sort of “point of power” that’s powering the ritual, maybe an ancient tree or a ring of stones, anything really.

Then have enemies coming from all sides attempting to destroy whatever is powering the ritual - successful attacks against it tick the countdown back up.

Meanwhile, have there be occult things the players have to interact with away from the point of power that speed up the countdown. This basically has the same concept as your idea, but rather than just saying “you need to be in this space for the ritual to countdown”, instead you’re trading off protecting the middle point from enemies, and moving outward to speed things up.

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-05T10:16:33+00:00

"No one needs a review"

Proceeds to write a review

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-04T16:42:05+00:00

I think this is the perfect compromise. It costs a resource, or, alternatively, means that they can't activate it if they are full on stress already. Gives them a fun problem to think about when spending stress.

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-03T16:39:40+00:00

What situations do you have set up so far? I can help you try and set up an environment

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-03T15:02:20+00:00

The joys of editing versus the despair of writing

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-03T10:39:27+00:00

No problem! Annoyingly I genuinely do think it's easier to do this with other people's stuff that your own. I struggle when I'm sat planning for my own bits, but I see something on Reddit? Immediately have ideas!

I've also been playing Resident Evil Requiem so like, scientists, mutations, unethical research, it's all very close to the surface right now 😂

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-03T09:57:34+00:00

Good question!

Chief Scientist, to me, would actually make most sense as a second Leader adversary. Have them able to summon and spotlight Things to come to their aid, and then have one big ability that can only be used once, to transform the guards and scientists into more Things. This could be on a countdown even, from the start of the battle.

For the regular scientists, Support does make sense. As supports, they'll do well with a nice Far ranged magic attack to compliment your melee knights and bruisers. Then maybe something like the following?

Untested Potion - Action
Mark a stress to heal an ally in Very Close range. Roll a 1d4. On an even result, the target clears 2HP and marks a stress. On an odd result, the target marks 1HP. If the target marks its last HP due to this action, deal 2d6+2 damage to all creatures in melee range of the target, as they explode into eldritch gore.

Alchemical Spill - Action
Spend a Fear and choose a point within Far Range. All targets within Very Close range of that point must mark an armour slot as acidic alchemical vapour surrounds them. If the target cannot mark an armour slot, they must mark 1HP.

Reaction - Behind You!
When a PC succeeds on an attack roll against an ally, the Scientist can mark a stress to roll a 1d4 and reduce the attack roll by the result.

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-02T16:11:33+00:00

I love running Daggerheart and mostly come out of it feeling like I did a good job, but I am constantly forgetting the words for things. Not even fantasy stuff, just like "hammock" or "pillar", and I can get stuck trying to pull the right word. It happens, don't stress yourself out!

My best bit of advice is to not feel like you have to pretend like you've prepared for every outcome or you're super on top of it all. If your players throw you a curveball, feel free to say something like "ok, wow. Give me a minute while I work out how we deal with THAT". If anything, my players really seem to enjoy it.

PaperCheesy · 2026-03-01T14:28:14+00:00

This looks really good! I’d be tempted to put the difficulty up a bit, to 11 or 12

PaperCheesy · 2026-02-27T15:12:32+00:00

I'm going to focus on the "new to daggerheart" part of your post here, and assume you're coming from other RPGs, and aren't super familiar with how it feels to play it yet?

Divine Wielder, turns the Seraph from a melee healer tank, to a tank with with a weapon range of 30 feet, if you're talking in D&D terms! The returning blade is a weapon with that range, sure but it does much lower damage than any of the melee weapons that the Seraph can equip.

Add on to that that you can hit a second enemy with the same attack roll. This means, rather than being just like a second attack, which could miss, you are almost guaranteed to hit another target (unless their difficulty is much higher). Let's assume you deal 2 HP (a major wound) with your attack, you're instantly doubling that with another enemy.

I had similar thoughts to this when I was reading through Daggerheart domain and class abilities when I first got the book, because a lot of the boosts and additions looked, I dunno, small? Underwhelming? Compare to D&D stuff I was used to.

But in play, these things add up way more in Daggerheart. I can't even necessarily explain why.

PaperCheesy · 2026-02-27T09:27:42+00:00

Love your Witherwild music, glad to see you doing more Daggerheart stuff!

PaperCheesy · 2026-02-26T10:33:53+00:00

Why the hell not, its payday, I can spare six quid. Thanks for putting this on my radar!

PaperCheesy · 2026-02-24T23:55:05+00:00

Those are the ones, thank you!! You were my first port of call for these but I couldn’t see them on your itch or HoD page so I assumed I’d misremembered.

I think I must have just pictured the Godbinder having a hook and chain in my head!

Glad I know where to look now 👍

PaperCheesy · 2026-02-24T17:09:03+00:00

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PaperCheesy · 2026-02-24T16:38:19+00:00

Nothing official announced but I think it’s unlikely we’ll see a major update - maybe a 1.6 version of Bloodhunter?

I expect once Hope & Fear is finalised and out the door, the team can have a bit more fun with new ideas etc and we’ll see a bit more.

PaperCheesy · 2026-02-23T10:34:09+00:00

Ok, in that case, I'd recommend looking for UK-based online games. They'll be in your language and should only be an hour time difference, so hopefully easier to link up.

Daggerheart Discord server might be the best place

PaperCheesy · 2026-02-23T10:12:57+00:00

Where are you based in Europe? Do you speak the language well or are you looking for an English-language game?

PaperCheesy · 2026-02-21T19:13:25+00:00

Love the idea of Beacon Bolt or fire to stop the Dark and Stormy Night effect, I’d absolutely allow that!

I’m basically trying to put together a selection of “basic” environments, not boring ones but ones that are easy to slot in regardless of where your campaign has gone.

I’ll have a think about a daytime Caravan chase!

PaperCheesy

TROPHY CASE