Darrington Press Daggerheart: Core Set Board Game

Build a World Worth Fighting For

There's a moment in every great tabletop roleplaying session when the story stops feeling like a game and starts feeling like something real — when a character's choice carries genuine weight, when the world you've built together pushes back. Daggerheart is designed to chase that moment every time you sit down. It's a complete tabletop roleplaying game built from the ground up for collaborative, narrative-driven adventure, and it arrives at the table with the full creative muscle of Critical Role's publishing house behind it.

What It Is

Published by Darrington Press — the studio founded by the cast of Critical Role — Daggerheart is a standalone TTRPG that puts storytelling and player expression at the centre of every session. Where some systems reward tactical optimization, Daggerheart rewards daring, character depth, and the kind of dramatic tension that makes for great stories. The core mechanical heartbeat of the game involves a distinctive dual-dice system that introduces a natural ebb and flow of hope and fear, giving both players and the Game Master meaningful ways to shape the narrative moment to moment. The result is a game that feels alive even when — especially when — things go sideways.

The Core Set is a complete, self-contained package. It includes 189 Domain Cards that define character abilities and progression across a rich array of archetypes, giving players enormous flexibility in how they build and grow their characters without requiring supplementary purchases. Two sets of 9 Community Cards extend that flexibility to the group as a whole, shaping the shared history and bonds that tie a party together. The rulebook goes well beyond mechanics, offering detailed guidance on GM craft, player best practices, worldbuilding, campaign construction, and full tutorial examples of play — making this genuinely approachable for groups new to the hobby.

Who It's For

Daggerheart is designed for 2 to 5 players plus a Game Master, and works beautifully with a consistent group of three to five. It's rated for ages 14 and up, though mature teens with an interest in storytelling will find it deeply engaging. In terms of weight, it sits in medium territory — there's real depth to character building and worldbuilding, but the moment-to-moment play is designed to flow naturally rather than grind into rules lookups. It's a strong choice for groups graduating from simpler systems, fans of Critical Role looking to run their own campaigns, or any table that values story over combat optimization.

Features and Highlights

The production quality throughout the Core Set reflects Darrington Press's commitment to the craft — the Domain Cards are substantial both in number and in the narrative flavour baked into each one, and the dual physical dice set included reinforces the game's signature hope-and-fear mechanic in a tangible way. The GM guidance sections are unusually thorough for a core rulebook, treating Game Masters as collaborators rather than referees and offering practical tools for building campaigns that feel cohesive and responsive. For groups who want to expand, Daggerheart is built with a growing ecosystem in mind.

Specifications