[DGH] Daggerheart: Mechanical Musings

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Ancestries | Classes | Domains | Communities | Mechanical Musings

Communities - Backgrounds and Champions

Backgrounds are enchantments that on entering allow you to choose a creature you control as your champion. For compatibility/consistency they grant their ability to champion creatures and commander creatures.

They are like Auras that don't die and can be re-used/re-attached by playing another Background.

There are multiple creatures in the set that allow you to tutor a Background (compare "partner with"). THose creatures will often have synergy with becoming champions or having a champion.

There will be a low-rarity cycle of ten Backgrounds that are hybrid and a higher-rarity cycle of five monocolored Backgrounds.

Each Background will feature the appropriate flavor word.

Classes

The naming scheme will differ from the D&D Class (somewhat like BLB), but will feature the names of the Daggerheart classes.

If I want more Class cards, there are subclasses, too, but they feel like a second set endeavor.

Domains - Spell subtypes

To represent domains, most or all instant or sorcery cards will have those ten subtypes.

Stress

I play with the idea of introducing a stress mechanic. Currently contemplating renamed rad counters since their effect is really similar to the ideas I had and features both things I considered flavorful/thematic: milling and eventual life loss.

Clearing stress (in addition to life gain) is on the table.

Hope and Fear - Action Rolls

I really think hope counters and fear counters (not the ability counter) would be neat. The primary way to get them in Daggerheart is through action rolls with two dice (two d12). That's a lot of complexity, but with a template similar to the d20 template of D&D sets possible.

There are five levels of success though:

• failure with fear
• failure with hope
• success with fear
• success with hope
• critical success

That's a lot. I imagine a singular threshold and a crit success, without regard for hope/fear on effects, but a hope/fear mechanic that gets fueled by these cards.

How strong should hope/fear be?

I feel, three counters to an effect (maybe ) seems reasonable if you expect to get a steady flow of hope/fear both from your own cards and your opponent.

Should fear just be a hope counter for an opponent?

There could be draft archetypes around accumulating hope or spending hope, but fear seems a harder concept. Maybe a The One Ring style card that allows for certain default boni/mali for hope fear?

• Red/White - Good at gaining hope.
• Black/Red - Good at causing fear.
• Blue(Black) - Manipulates die rolls.
• Green(Blue) - Cares about difficulty/high rolls. Grants +1 proficiency (regardless of hope/fear).
• ???(G/W) - Triggers on action rolls regardless of success/failure.

IDEA: To avoid action rolls being a potential downside, you always like rolls with fear and/or hope - hope for you, fear for an opponent. Hope can be used for positive effects for yourself. Fear can be used for negative effects on an opponent. Sorcery speed means you won't fight over fear?

Armor - Shield counters for players?

see title.