I Played DAGGERHEART - First Impressions of the Open Beta!

Thanks all for so many great comments! But I did want to address some of the more critical comments that I believe make some valid points. 1. You are absolutely allowed to have opinions about games and their mechanics without having played the game! I came across like that was some cardinal sin, and is certainly isn't. I was more frustrated that pretty much every video and comment I saw online that was critical of how these mechanics "felt" hadn't actually played the game, but I wasn't seeing that from anyone who has actually "felt" those mechanics in action, which I think is also an important viewpoint. Sometimes you can't get a good feel for how mechanics work in the greater system until you've experience them and I really felt it was important to also have that perspective. Add on that I had seen a few really bombastic criticisms shortly before recording this, and I definitely came in too hot. Very much on me. 2. I don't think you're stupid if you disagree with me, whether you've played the game or not. Again, I think I mocked the opposing opinions too harshly, as I was primarily thinking of the people who were screaming this game was "trash" because it didn't have initiative when I was poking fun, but I wasn't remotely clear about that. I shot way too wide, and I apologize to anyone caught in the blast radius. 3. There is a lot to keep track of! At least at first, especially when learning a new system! There might be less than in D&D (btw, the list of things to track in D&D is partially a joke, folks, that's why silly music and much more clearly silly things in the list), but that doesn't mean it isn't still a little much to take in at first. I wanted to present people with a number of ways to track these things to show how easily it could be, but damn, looking back I was a little rude about it. I wanted to go for light-hearted like "See, look how easy it can be, you 've got this" but I missed the mark. Anyway, I may edit and update this if I see more comments that I need to address, because frankly if I'm not open to criticism then what right do I have to criticize? If anything, this just reaffirms why I prefer to script my videos, so that I better convey my points (which I, frankly, still screw up). Play what you love, and love what you play! ~Klaus "The Guide" von Hohenloe

I really hope they keep most of the mechanics the same in the final version. The "initiative" system in Daggerheart seems really fun.

If you find yourself in need of a variety of tokens, go buy a big bag of M&Ms. Five color and you can eat them when you short rest.

People who play D&D 5e who complain of the things to keep track of in Daggerheart are arguing in bad faith, IMO. I've found Hope to be a much better player resource than 5e's Inspiration. The rate at which a player gains hope (more than 50% of all rolls) encourages players to take more risks and to help their allies out. I'm going to have to try the Action Tracker for myself to experience it. Before that, I simply had an enemy do their thing when a PC rolled with Fear, similar to grtting a 7-9 in Dungeon World. It still worked out pretty well!

Btw the Demiplane team ARE the people that created DnDBeyond before they sold to WotC/Hasbro. 😊

Daggerheart definitely melds the crunch of D&D with “narrative first” games like Blades in the Dark, Fate and PbtA games. I’ve seen a lot of comments/reviews from people that have never played narrative games and struggle with the more free form rules like Experiences and fluid initiative. Also how to come up with consequences for fear rolls is another issue that I’ve seen from GMs. Having run a fair amount of Blades in the Dark. I’ve tried to explain that, yes, all these mechanics are tried and tested and work well, but it is a different mindset that takes a bit of learning for both players and GM. It does make for a free flowing style of play where the mechanics don’t get in the way.

I wish people had a more open mentality when reading the rules and THEN get angry because it seems as if they want to get angry while reading the rules and they misinterpret stuff or complain before understanding them. I have a feeling that is complicated for some people to separate the thematic dimension from the playable dimension and if this game wasn't trad fantasy they wouldn't be as angry or confused by the rules. I would prefer if the game itself encouraged normal players to participate more and spotlighters to take a break. I don't want anyone to feel left out and I prefer if the system itself encouraged this. At the end of the day this is an open beta to give feedback and so I think is fair to point out problems so the game can be better for players. Thanks for the video I really appreciate you making it.

Yeah the “it’s to complicated” thing baffles me. Folks saying that the DM has a lot to learn and keep track of is also odd… I’m not accusing these folks of anything but like, it’s kind of important in the game that the gm knows the rules and knows how the game works, somewhat right?

You touched on the part I really find interesting, that the free flowing combat "fixes" the action economy issues with 5e. As you said, people seem overly focused on this theoretical situation where one player goes five times in a row and everyone at the table is helpless to prevent it.

In the list of things DnD makes you keep track off, I initially read "Concentration" as "Contraception", and for a moment I was like "woah, WTF did I miss when playing 5e?!"

Off topic: Klaus, my brother, your nails are FABULOUS right now!

Nails lookin fab buddy!

Any time The Dungeon Newb uploads, I watch. Your videos never fail to entertain.

I would like to see like 2 things: 1: a cap of 2-3 action tokens per player being codified as an option in the rules for parties that want more initiative structure. Then all players get more tokens at the same time once all players have spent their current tokens. 2: Armor reducing damage from a hit below the lowest threshold should inflict 0 hp loss instead of 1 stress. Stress is oftentimes more valuable than hp.

I GM for a number of nerodivergent groups, we have been actively moving to open initiative to teach them how to share the spotlight and collaborate.

Great video, loved the breakdown.

I'm glad you followed the initiative "problem" with advancement. A thought that just came to mind is to (if the table agrees) at session 0 state that advancement can come on an individual basis (rather then the whole party at once like stated in many examples) dew to exemplary play, this will encourage more timid players to put themselves out there (Embrace The Danger p122), because their little fungril wizard, has a chance to ultimately be as tough as the big bad drakona guardian.

I like the flowing initiative system. My whole crew did. There. I said it. Judge me if you must.

I hope that people are more interested in Daggerheart content than WizBro content

I really like the stress system as a way of managing abilities. Finite resource management is my biggest struggle in videogames and rpgs so having it limited by stress but with options to manage stress are a lot less stressful (eyyy) than something like spell slots.