Making your Daggerheart character is not dissimilar to other fantasy tabletop systems with which you might already be familiar. With that in mind, it introduces some novel and interesting concepts you may not have seen, and to that end, I’m going to walk you through the process, step-by-step. When we’re finished, you’ll be ready to find your first game from the pool of talented GMs here on StartPlaying. Browse Daggerheart Games on SPG here.

How you make your character will depend on whether you’re playing online or in person. In person you might have the official cards that come with the game, or maybe you’re doing it old school with just a character sheet. Meanwhile, online you might be using Demiplane, a remarkable resource for not just Daggerheart but over a dozen other TTRPGs, as well. With an integrated character builder, this is the resource I highly recommend. Whichever you’ve chosen, let’s get started!

WHO ARE YOU?

Like in most systems, you’ll choose your character’s name, as well as their gender. This is flavor, of course, and it can be whatever you want it to be! If you aren’t sure, just jot down an idea or a concept and you can come back and give them a proper name later.

If you’re making your character on Demiplane, this is also when you’ll choose an image to represent your character. They have an array of options available at the jump, but you can also upload your own.

WHAT IS YOUR CLASS?

Now to the fun part: Classes. Daggerheart brings some of the usual suspects, like Druids and Rogues, while introducing some fresh new ideas, like Seraphs and Guardians. Every class is made up of two Domains, which can be compared to schools of magic in more traditional fantasy TTRPGs. While not every ability represents magic, they do represent a certain flavor and style of skills and abilities. Let’s talk about these domains, and then the classes that are shaped by them.

• Arcana: Offensive spells and reality-warping magic makes the Arcana domain a staple of natural spellcasters. Druid, Sorcerer
• Blade: The Blade domain offers combat-centric abilities that allow one to excel in combat, most especially in melee. Guardian, Warrior
• Bone: Perseverance and brutal endurance are the capstones of the Bone domain. Ranger, Warrior
• Codex: This domain holds vast knowledge and powerful, traditional magics in high regard, featuring an array of spellbooks that offer multiple spells at once, giving you versatility and power. Bard, Wizard
• Grace: Charisma, illusion, and the power of words are what makes the Grace domain unique among all others. Bard, Rogue
• Midnight: Tap into the Midnight domain to melt into shadows and move with stealth and cunning under the cover of darkness, both natural and magical. Rogue, Sorcerer
• Sage: Nature’s blessings abound for masters of the Sage domain, summoning forest-dwelling creatures, healing allies, and bringing the vengeance of the earth against those who would defile it. Druid, Ranger
• Splendor: The Spendor domain encapsulates divine and holy powers of healing and restoration, as well as the power to punish the wicked. Seraph, Wizard
• Valor: Powerful defenders on the battlefield, wielders of the domain of Valor stand on the front lines, protecting their allies and keeping the pressure on any who dare stand against them. Guardian, Seraph

Classes

• Bard (Grace & Codex): Bards support and rally their allies with inspirational magic and conquer their foes with wit and persuasion.
• Druid (Sage & Arcana): Druids channel nature by taking on the shape of animals and healing their companions with wild magics.
• Guardian (Valor & Blade): Guardians stand tall in the heat of battle, delivering vengeance to the enemy and taking blows their allies might not withstand.
• Ranger (Bone & Sage): Hunt and track prey as a Ranger, mastering the wilds and befriending animals along the way.
• Rogue (Midnight & Grace): Rogues attack from hiding and they seem to have a shady connection everywhere they go.
• Seraph (Splendor & Valor): Part holy warrior, part vengeful angel, Seraphs control the battlefield through powerful movement and sheer willpower.
• Sorcerer (Arcana & Midnight): Sorcerers channel innate, raw power and form it into their spells, mastering the elements and primal forces that drive them.
• Warrior (Blade & Bone): Warriors are at the front line, facing fearsome foes with nothing but their weapon and their bravery.
• Wizard (Codex & Splendor): Knowledgeable experts and world-wise keepers of books, Wizards can master battlefields as well as they master the information held in their vast libraries.

Once you’ve chosen a class, you’ll have to do the following:

• Choose a subclass. Each class has two subclasses to choose from; what you select here will narrow your character’s focus and offer unique subclass abilities.
• Set your traits. Assign an array of bonuses – +2, +1, +1, and -1 – to your traits. Some of these will look familiar, but they’re a little different. Let’s review them quickly:
  
  • Agility: Climb a rope, sprint to cover, and leap from one roof to another.
  • Strength: Lift heavy things and hold fast against a rushing enemy.
  • Finesse: Use fine tools, escape notice, and strike with perfection.
  • Instinct: Sense danger around you, notice details in the environment, and track things that don’t want to be found.
  • Presence: Convince someone, intimidate another, and get the attention of the crowd.
  • Knowledge: Interpret facts, recognize patterns, and recall vital information.
• Choose starting weapons. There are both primary (main-hand) and secondary (off-hand) weapons to choose from. When creating a new character, you can choose any from Tier 0, but be sure to look at which trait your weapon relies on: unlike other games, it’s not as simple as one trait or another, as there are weapons that use each of them!
• Choose starting armor. Likewise, armor is also chosen from any available in the Tier 0 list, and there are no class restrictions here. However, pay attention to what the armor offers, as each has benefits depending on the strategy you are considering. A wizard can wear heavy armor, but does that serve your goals? It might!
• Take your starting inventory. Every character begins with some basic items, but you also get to choose between a potion that restores health and another potion that relieves stress, as well as a background flavor item that doesn’t have any mechanical effects, but might be interesting to tie into your story!
• Take domain deck cards. From your class’s two domains you can select two level 1 cards. Some might be spells, others might be abilities, but whatever you choose, read through your options and find what suits your vision the best.

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Now you’ll select your character’s  ̶r̶a̶c̶e̶  ̶a̶n̶c̶e̶s̶t̶r̶y̶ Heritage. Known by a variety of different names, pick from the usual suspects – humans, dwarves, elves, and so on – as well as some new options, like the turtlefolk galapa and the mechanical clanks. Each one has two different features, and if none of those options appeal to you, you can even create your own by mixing and matching these features to make something entirely new.

Then, like backgrounds in other systems, Daggerheart has Communities, each of which grants you another special feature. Pick one!

To finalize your character, we have four more steps, and most of them are narrative options:

• Choose your description. Answer questions like “clothes than are”, “eyes like”, “body that’s”, “the color of”, and “attitude like”. These are meant to help you define your character’s presentation and aesthetic.
• Answer background questions. Depending on your class, you’ll be prompted with three questions, but don’t feel bound to them! You can always work with your GM to create better questions that suit your character.
• Choose your experience. Characters begin with two experiences; these are free-form and entirely up to your creative interpretation and are meant to represent prior skills and roles in your character’s history. Some examples of good experiences might be “Bodyguard”, “Navigator”, “Tracking”, and “Street Doctor.”
• Create connections. You will also have three questions that should be answered by other characters about yours. It’s ideal to have a different player answer each question; the intention here is to establish some history with the other characters before the game even begins. Of course, if you’re learning how to make a character before you’ve joined a game, there won’t be any other players to ask yet; you can set them aside and save them for when you do find a Daggerheart game to play on SPG.

Now, fresh character in hand, you are ready for adventure! May your rolls bring Hope and keep Fear at bay!

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‍Bryan Hardenberger (professional GM, unprofessional squirrel) is a former military analyst turned pro GM.