Creating a character inDaggerheart,Critical Role’s tabletop roleplaying game, can prove to be incredibly rewarding and in-depth. Though there’s quite a bit of overlap in character creation between Daggerheart and other roleplaying games, there are also some key distinctions. But where should someone new to Daggerheart start?

Beyond just choosing your character’s abilities and looks, character creation in Daggerheart features some unique options that are singular to this TTRPG. For this guide, we’ll be looking at how to create a character using from start to finish. Here’s everything you need to know to create wondrous and unique characters in Daggerheart.

Five adventurers of different heritages from the tabletop game Daggerheart standing side by side.

Choose Your Class

Classes

Much like other tabletop roleplaying games,the first and most important stepin creating a character in Daggerheartisselecting a class.Player class determinesall ofyour abilities and skills. For the open beta, there are several familiar and new classes to choose from.

Onceyou’ve selected a class, you cantake the corresponding character sheetandcharacter guideassociated with your class. These sheets are whereyou’ll fill in important character information, as well asfindyour class feature and other abilities. You’ll also want tochoose a subclass. Each class has two options.

A magical bard with horns and cow-like ears in the tabletop game Daggerheart playing a magical instrument.

Wordsmith,for bards that are clever and silver-tongued.

Troubador, for bards that focus primarily on music-based magic.

Druid

Warden of the Elements,for druids that encapsulate many different forms of nature.

Warden of Renewal,for druids that want to magically heal their friends and allies.

A Ribbet character with a quarterstaff fights in water in Daggerheart.

Guardian

The Stalwart, for guardians focused on tanking and taking lots of damage.

The Vengeance, for guardians that want to seek revenge on enemies.

A Clank character looks on at mysterious ghosts shrouded in an ethereal light in Daggerheart.

Ranger

The Wayfinder, for rangers who are expert hunters and trackers.

The Beastbound, for rangers that wish to form meaningful connections with an animal companion.

An adventurer in Daggerheart stands up to a monster with large horns and many hands.

Seraph

The Winged Sentinel, for seraphs that take to the skies and attack aerially.

The Divine Wielder, for seraphs that wield legendary blades or other weapons.

Two adventurers in Daggerheart work together to secure a rope to the mast of a ship.

The Syndicate, for rogues allied with useful connections and factions.

Sorcerer

The Primal Origin, for sorcerers who are highly versatile and especially powerful.

The Elemental Origin, for sorcerers who serve as conduits for elemental magic.

Warrior

The Call of the Slayer, for warriors who mow down enemies in droves.

The Call of the Brave, for warriors that wish to wield the power of their enemies.

Wizard

The School of Knowledge, for wizards that have a versatile knowledge of the vast world.

The School of War, for wizards with a penchant for violence.

Choosing A Heritage

Heritage is similar tospecies in Dungeons & Dragons. However, in Daggerheart,heritage hastwo separate functions. These are calledAncestry and Community.

Ancestriesinclude lineageslike Dwarf, Elf, and Human, as well as species unique to Daggerheart like the loveable frog-like Ribbet.Communitiesreflect ideaslike Highborne or Loreborne.Theyhelp inform the type of environmentyour character grew up in.

Daggerheart Ancestries & Communities

Ancestries

Clank, Drakona, Dwarf, Elf, Faerie, Faun, Firbolg, Fungril, Galapa, Giant, Goblin, Halfling, Human, Infernis, Katari, Orc, Ribbet, Simah

Build Your Stats And Abilities

Character Stats

Daggerheart hassix core statsat play:Agility, Strength, Finesse, Instinct, Presence, and Knowledge. Each character guide has a suggested way todistributestat modifiersto your character.

These stat modifiershelp to determinewhatcharacter is good or bad at. When creating a new character, you canfreely distribute the below trait modifiersto each of these skills.

Evasion, Hitpoints, And Stress

In addition to these core stats, each new Daggerheart character has anevasion score, hitpoints, and stress points.Each ofthese stats and abilitieshave predetermined uses andstarting scoresthatareeither universalfor all new playersordetermined by your class selection. Here’s a quick breakdown of these abilities.

Details

Evasion

Your Evasion score is predetermined by your class selection, and your starting score is written in the top left corner of your character sheet from the start.

Whenenemies make attacksagainst your character,they roll against your evasion to see if the attack hits.

Hitpoints & Stress

Both Hit Points and Stress Points are reflected in the top left corner of your chosen class’s character sheet.Hit points get markedoffwhen damage done to your characterpasses certain thresholds.

These thresholds are predetermined at the start and listed on your character sheet.Stress points are inflicted by certain spell or roleplay effects, or by your GM in the appropriate circumstances.

Hope & Fear

Hope and Fear are forms of currencyin Daggerheart that you may spend in certain situations by rolling. At character creation,you start with two Hope, which you can mark on your character sheet. As yougain Hope, you canuse itto cast spells and use other abilities.

Fear is a currency that the GM trackson their end. If you want touse either Fear or Hope, you roll withyour Duality Dice,the special dice used for Daggerheart.EitherHope or Fearcan havegame-altering effectsdown the line.

Choose Starting Equipment

Daggerheart features a decentamount of starting equipmentfrom which you can choose. Like with Character Traits,each class guide hassuggestions for things likearmor, physical and magical weapons, and inventory.

But, some ofthese allow for flexibilityin your final selection,so long as the items you choose are all of the tier one level. Formagic weapons, youneedto have the Spellcast ability. Here’s an overview of the type of starting equipment you’ll choose.

Armor

In addition, at character creation,your starting Damage Proficiency is one, which is pre-marked on your sheet.Damage Proficiency determines how many damage dice you can rollwhen you attack.

Each weaponandpiece of armoryou chooseshows how many damage dice you may roll, andwhat number to write in your Armorbox, which is next to Evasion on your character sheet. You can also add any additional boons or modifiers that your class or heritage gifts you.

Create A Background

Background

Character backgrounds in Daggerheart arenot predetermined, and areonly meant to help flavor your character narratively. Each character guide offerssome starting questionsto ask of your characterto help determine their background. Here are some sample background questions.

These questions are just jumping off points, but by no means should they limit your personal creativity. However,you should work with your GM on the starting questionsin the guideor come up with a set of questionsbetween the two of you to determine character background.

Experiences

From there, you’re able to work with your GMtocraft two starting Experiences. An experience can be eithera word or a short phrasethathelps grant insight into yourcharacter or party’s backstory. Think of these as beingsimilar to the skill proficienciesyou gainwhenyou choose a background in Dungeons & Dragons. Here are someexamples of experiences:

Each starting experienceyou craft with your GM can be listed on your character sheet andis granted a +2 modifier.When you make an action roll in Daggerheart, if you feel one of your Experiences could help in your endeavor,you’re able to spend Hopewith your GM’s permissionto add this +2 modifier to the roll.

Pick Domain Cards

Domains represent the abilities and skillsthat correspond to each class in Daggerheart.Each class is comprised of two domains, and each class shares its domains with at least one other class. For example, the domain known as Codex is shared by bards and wizards.These are the domainsand theircorresponding classes.

Valor

Guardian, Seraph

Each domain also hascorresponding cardsknown as aDomain Deck. When creating a new character, you mayselect two level one domain cards.

You can take one from each deck or two from the same. It’s also recommended thatif you share decks with other player characters, you shouldwork together to pick different cardsso that your party’s abilities are varied. Each time you gain a level, you can choose additional domain cards.

Craft Connections

Last but not least, when finishing creating your Daggerheart character,you should consider your connections. Connections arerepresentations of your relationships and dynamicswith the rest of your party. Each character guide offers starting connection questions that you can ask of your fellow players.

Before asking these questions though, your entire party (with the help of your GM) shouldsit around the table together and describe your characters to one another. Then, use either the connection questions on the character guide or craft your own todetermine your connections to the rest of the party.

It’s also perfectlyokaynot to have fully formed dynamics fleshed outat the get-go. you may also always reject a connection if it’s not feeling like the right fit for your character.After selecting connections,you’re ready to playwith your first character in Daggerheart!