Daggerheart

I like the new "blue games" that are taking the torch passed by D&D. Tales of the Valiant is my other blue game, and now, Daggerheart seems to be filling the "narrative game" niche needed in the streaming adventure world, away from the wargame-like D&D 2024, and more into a FATE and Cypher-like narrative play system.

We need new narrative games. I liked FATE, but the game has run its course of interest with me. It remains a solid system, but it is abstract and not ideal for fantasy streaming games, as the concepts are not easily grasped by the audience. Daggerheart feels like a similar narrative system on the storyteller side, with the fear point system driving opposition power.

I watched the GM video, and like FATE, Daggerheart does a fair amount of aggregation, even measuring gold into "handfuls," "bags," and "chests." This isn't a game for those of you who like to count every coin. Also, what happens above the chest? Do we get "carts?" On a narrative level, this sort of simplification is effective. On a simulation level, this aggregation is terrible.

I can see why they did it, though. D&D walks a strange line between narrative and simulation, and Daggerheart goes all-in on the narrative. That squishy middle at times is maddening, and if all my narrative play is in Daggerheart, and that saves my simulation play for games that do it the best, such as GURPS, then I will be happier if that middle ground is taken out of the equation.

On the character side. Daggerheart feels like Cypher System, another narrative system with a strong A+B+C character creation system where you assemble characters out of parts, and that is what you play. Daggerheart and Cypher are somehow sister games, with Cypher being the more setting-neutral one, and Daggerheart being the fantasy style relative. Both have pool resource management to drive narrative play, as well as shifting narrative control of the action between players and the referee.

Tales of the Valiant is my "post-D&D" blue game. Since I have 10 years' worth of 5E books from 2014 that I still want to play with and protect, I also want to support new 5E creators going forward without worrying about what Wizards does or their drama. I play this. It is a good "let's play 5E" game, and I can now ignore all the clickbait YouTube "Wizards drama" videos because I do not care anymore.

How much time do I save by not being forced to watch those drama videos about Hasbro/Wizards? A lot. I get sucked into those because I'm worried they're changing something about the game I care about, the books I bought, retroactive changes are coming in, and then it gets into a vicious cycle where I can't stop "hate click" watching these utter wastes of my time and life.

I still want to use these nice 5E third-party books I spent good money on.

I do not want drama, constant clickbait, or to be forced to subscribe to a service to read a book.

Having a version of 5E that is stable, future-proof, compatible, well-supported, not in a niche market, and drama-free? Oh, and I own my PDFs?

Priceless.

Tales of the Valiant is the best version of 5E going forward, and you will not be wasting money on 2024 books that will inevitably be worthless when 6E is rolled out. And due to the softer reception of 2024, 6E is likely closer than we think. In three to five years, you will thank me. Transition now and save yourself the heartache.

I hope Daggerheart goes well and is a hit; the streaming D&D channels need a boost after YouTube declared war on D&D content creators. I also hope the Daggerheart creators open up their card system to anyone, so more card-based expansions can be made, such as for gear, new classes, new backgrounds, monster cards, and treasures.

As a system better suited for the narrative-style play that Critical Role does, this is a great system. They can track "hope" and "fear" on the screen for viewers to see, and all the other pools the game uses to track resources. Even Stress and Hit Points are more point-based pool resources, so every character can have an easy-to-understand "scorecard" on those stats that viewers can understand at a glance. What the players "do" each turn on-screen is simplified, so it will be a better experience for viewers who can see rolls and interpret them themselves.

You can't think of this game in terms of D&D; you must think about it as a system that enhances the streaming experience for viewers. The game aligns well with live streaming, which complements their brand's strengths.

Is it my cup of tea? I don't know ...yet.