The Daggerheart Rule EVERY DM Should STEAL!

[@PjotrFrank]

The map thing, where everyone can set up a location or two, relevant to a character backstory, is a quite cute worldbuilding tool as well.

[@TheCharacterSheet]

Very true!

[@FranklinLongallnitelong22]

I feel everyone at the table is building a story in the world the DM started...I know I have made suggestions to the DM as I built out my character...adding to the story in some degree.

[@TheCharacterSheet]

Exactly, the DM still builds the worlds and the general narrative, but by allowing players to fill in the gaps and add personal details, it becomes much more immersive and engaging , at least in our experience!

[@LuizCesarFariaLC]

I would get ideias from players, but never names... My players always copy their names from some anime and I hate it.

[@TheCharacterSheet]

That seems like a fair compromise honestly. No one wants an entire world full of Sasukes and Monkey D. Luffys

[@mjphyil]

players adding to the narrative is going to be dependent on each table. I've been playing TTRPG's for 30+ years and there are some players who, when asked to describe something will say, I rolled the dice, you tell me what happens no matter what prodding or hints they are given. I've had players who would absolutely abuse this power and carefully get as much advantage to themselves out of their descriptions - then if it doesn't work out the way they wanted, they immediately retcon it and say 'that's not what I meant to do/say." Then of course there are those players who give a 20 minute description and bog the game to a complete halt... this can go so wrong, so many ways...

[@TheCharacterSheet]

Yeah, the amount you use it is definitely a "to taste" situation, but we feel like even a little sprinkling can really help !

[@miked.9364]

Absolutely.

[@Jamms_TV]

I love this part of Daggerheart. TLDR: Loose guidelines im using in a game: Have players help create their hometowns/home areas and then relinquish control to gm, then allow player OOC to influence story progression and development. Dont stop RP to build a town/character. When making characters I had them create their "hometown" and one or two surronding areas. Next im going to allow them to create a map if they want and a few key npc's for their towns/areas that I can maybe incorporate into the story if the need arises. Once they have done this, they will not be able to change things and it is then up to GM. They can then later on express a direction they want their character to go in and I will do my best to make it happen for them. For example, if the players decided they want to fight big creatures and if I can work it into the setting there will probably be some kind of monster hunting guild in the next town, or they may hear a few people talking about bounties on a wild beast. Or if they want do political, maybe i plan for them to be caught in the middle of a city civil war type scenario or a non violent power struggle that requires rp and talking to try to get what they want out of the situation. Let them help shape the overarching story so their character can achieve, or at least be on the path to, their goals. Daggerheart is shaping up to be a decent game because it seems super focused on RP. It's non structured combat is good because you dont have to stop RP to do a mechanic, dont add a mechanic that stops RP by stopping play to make a town or a random npc you may never see again. Having collaboration from everyone playing is awesome and will make for some interesting characters and areas, but dont let it be a detriment to actually PLAYING the game. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk LOL

[@TheCharacterSheet]

So do you think you could easily fit that Daggerheart Rule into your current campaign? Let us know in the comments!

[@kevoreilly6557]

It’s not a Daggerheart rule - it’s basic narrative

[@Vampster19CockedD20]

My wife and I play solo dnd almost every day. Some times it's well thought out but most of the time it's me and her building what's cool or makes sense in the moment. Now I built the world years ago with about 5 or 6 kingdoms and different gods but an incredible amount has been built in game by her or just dice roles. " I love it when dice makes a good story come together"

[@Zai-kyu]

The Genesys RPG system has GREAT ways of the players having narrative input. It is one of the best systems I have played with a very unique narrative dice system which I believe adds more depth to the game. Dice rolls can allow the players the opportunity to take brief narrative control or add things to the narrative that can be very cool.

[@the-cosmic-turtle]

Please do not assume your players, even creative ones, will love this without talking to them first! I am primarily a GM and rarely get to be a player, but if I was a player and the GM asked me to describe a random location or NPC that had no relation to my character it would rip me out of my PCs head and break my immersion. I personally would be fine with it only if it is an NPC or location from my players backstory, or if a GM asked me to create a location or NPC and give them notes to run off of before the session starts, but during the session I want the sense of realism and exploration that comes with the DM confidently narrating the world and NPCs. (and doing a “how do you want to do this?” Is always fun, because that is my character)

[@marioavilag]

Hey there, I don't always like the creative decisions of the show but I have to genuinely admit that i love this segment, since is both informative in a news sense but also game theory, thank you I really enjoy

[@TheCharacterSheet]

Glad to hear it!

[@XerrolAvengerII]

there are a lot of great opportunities here. Most campaigns don't start with a fully established world, and players can buy into the game with a suggestion related to character or experience that the gm can integrate. this kind of stuff was already in d&d with backgrounds but daggerheart loves to codify implications instead of ignoring them.

[@TheCharacterSheet]

Yup, well said!

[@kanafleuret8420]

I play tested the game as DM and i have to say it was a lot more fun then i expected. The battle system and the dice mechanik where fun too. And what surprised me, we have one player who is a bit shy at RP and he came totaly out of his shell with this. He narrated every detail and after the game i asked him, how he feels and what was the trigger for that. He told me that he never felt to have such narrativ freedom in any game ever. I told he had but here it is was clear as day that he could. So yeah there are a lot of things i will take with me for DnD. But that have to wait, cause the want to play some more Daggerheart 😅

[@martinetto]

The group i'm DM'ing for is starting arc 2 of our campaign soon, and I'm planning on having the players provide details and blanks to the map that I've intentionally left there for them to fill in.

[@isaacgraff8288]

It really encourages collaborative story telling. I do like it

[@davidmc8478]

Everyone is struggling with what to do with Fear and this really is the answer.

[@MrRourk]

This is what made Mage and Vampire great back in the day. The players had input in what was happening

[@SituationNormalGames]

I guess I have some confusion as to how much control the player has over the narrative and how that works. Is it just the DM asking the players for input on things like locations, shopkeepers, etc? Is it like a codified mechanic where players can just introduce narrative elements so long as it doesn't conflict with the GM's plan for the game? Do players need to spend resources like Hope to add elements? Any clarification on this would help. I've been reading the playtest and I can't find a solid explanation.

[@TheCharacterSheet]

Yeah, the DM is still the creator of the world, and holds the reigns of the narrative, but this way the characters can add in their own personal touches to locations, npcs, and combat that increase their buy in to the game, if that clears it up!

[@SituationNormalGames]

I believe so! So GM handles the broad strokes of the narrative and has final say, while the players can add finer details for narrative buy in. Seems like a good system!@@TheCharacterSheet

[@ErickRedcloud]

This is a tool I have been trying to use more for the past year. It has created more interest and engagement of my 5e games.

[@CoyoteGris]

get ready to try that with Randoms and get super cringe or uncomfortable stuff. XD

[@kevoreilly6557]

There is exactly “nothing” new in this - I mean literally nothing

[@wilheiminplatz]

exactly a WHOLE lotta waffle this video was

[@therealsamtheman]

How would a DM get players involved in creating a shop, for example? If a player says they want to buy rope and where is the nearest shop, does the DM say "Yes the shop is right there, tell me what it looks like"???

[@iPivo]

You are describing the one thing I dislike the most about Daggerheart as both GM and player, this is literally pulling players out of immersion to put them in a different headspace momentarily. This approach shifts the game focus from roleplay, players are experiencing everything through the eyes of their characters, to a narrative experience, where players move between character and narrator while they are shaping the story. To me this is like saying that incorporating touchdowns is a nice addition to basketball.

[@XerrolAvengerII]

It's a skill for sure, and one that most players never exercise.. However I would bet that once your players get more experience doing this they will become more creative and contribute more to the fun of the game.

[@TheCharacterSheet]

We have found (and your mileage may vary!) it kind of builds the immersion as it gives them more investment and buy in to random NPCs or Locations, and to combat, but we could also see it briefly shaking someone out of immersion, but hopefully to build back a deeper level of it afterwords.

[@eoris12]

Thank you!

[@adam-px2ye]

eh, i feel like that can really break immersion. letting players narrate their actions should be standard, but if im narrating a setting and then go "..and john, you should know this guy, what does he look like?" or any variation of that seems like its taking away the ability for the player to get lost and reminds them we're playing a game. just not for me

[@randomusernameCallin]

Reading the rules it is a fine co-op story telling but I am hard-pressed to call it a game. As someone who like role-playing through the gameplay it just not for me.

[@TheCharacterSheet]

That is fair. We really like the combat mechanics of Daggerheart, but like with any TTRPG, we fully respect that it may not be for everyone!

[@crepusculum7472]

You really need to start investigating the definitions of words before you use them. D&D is not a "fantasy heartbreaker", and 1:41 a "pratfall" is not the same as a "pitfall". Words mean things, and a journalistic/communication enterprise is held to a higher standard of clarity than you are demonstrating.

[@frankmartinjr6236]

Just play Daggerheart don’t steal from it

[@eoris12]

This is terrible, in my opinion. Player input is already more than half of the entire input to a story through their character's choices. Giving players the capacity to get involved with the narrative in other ways than through their character pulls them out of the character, into the room and table, and into their own minds as players. But this is the opposite of what you want! It's like those cinemas that have rocking chairs that blow air and spit at you. They want to "enhance the experience" but all they keep doing is reminding the audience that they are sitting on a chair in a cinema trying to watch a movie. Players are already impacting every little thing through their actions in the most meaningful ways possible. If they lose that, even a little, then the story is not happening to them. They are just making it up like the gm is doing, only less so. And yes, of course they are making it up anyway, but the illusion of existing in this imagined realm is removed. Just like with the cinema, the illusion, once lifted, changes the experience for the worse. Again, in my opinion.

[@TheCharacterSheet]

we disagree in that the player's combat input is really just how well they progress along the storyline set out by the DM. By letting them add small details, you still have control of the narrative, but the players have more buy in, especially when the dice start going against them.