It's been a few weeks since Daggerheart released...

I tried out the quick start adventure with some friends and it went great. It was really easy to set up, get everyone's characters ready, and start rolling some dice. Combat was fluid, and I really enjoyed how the game itself encouraged me to include others in the narrative process. It prompted me to pointedly ask the players why they are doing something, or to help describe a location.

In about four hours, I was able to help my friends fill out their sheets, run through the first encounter, then the town, and then the final encounter with even some breaks in between. That's great considering most of my one-shots turn into two or three or more-shots! Combat was fluid which I liked, but it took some getting used to. And all my players enjoyed it, both the veteran TTRPG players and the new ones!

I asked my friends after what they thought about it and my buddy Chris summarized it best. He said that the game feels like it "gives more juice per squeeze" compared to 5e. And I have to agree. Daggerheart seems to have picked up where 5e left off, smoothed out a lot of issues you only know about once you're a seasoned TTRPG player, and added nice new zest to the formula.

That being said, I'm not swearing off 5e/D&D 2024/One D&D (How many names does it have?) for good. But I want to see it change things up. They have a lot of potential still.

My Daggerheart Wishlist

An adversary/environment book. It's pretty much a no-brainer, but I feel it has to be first on the list. The adversaries are really well designed, save for a few math hiccups (A bear that can one shot a level 1 PC). I was really impressed by the environments though. That's a very different way of thinking about locations than I'm accustomed to, and I'm curious to see what they do with it. 

A starter adventure. There was a recent post on the Daggerheart subreddit, and I was surprised at how far I had to scroll to see someone mention they wanted an adventure. Not that I don't want everything else listed, but an adventure seems like the next big step in solidifying Daggerheart as a heavy hitting TTRPG. Lost mines was the diving board for 5e that everyone needed and I think if Daggerheart has that, they will be golden.

My Wishlist for D&D

Shake things up. D&D, you're in a slump as far as I'm concerned design wise. I'm going to wait to see the reviews of the Dragon Delves Anthology after a while to consider picking it up, but I'm looking for my next adventure. I don't take that word lightly. I need discovery. I feel like I'm just seeing the same things I've already seen a hundred times.

Update your social strategy. I'm a follower on your Instagram, and it needs a kick in it's pants. Many of the posts are flat images with a quick voice over, or a clip of a live game that I'm not interested in. Show me some more people on the design team and connect with me on a personal level. Make me emotionally buy in with your next products. 

Final Thoughts

I'm excited to see what comes next from both games. As far as I'm concerned, competition is good and I hope Daggerheart can be a heavy weight like D&D is. I'm going to keep a lookout for the new D&D starter pack as well as what Daggerheart has in store next!

Photo by Amaury Gutierrez on Unsplash