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WhileDaggerheart, the tabletop roleplaying game from Critical Role, has a lot of shared DNA with other TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, it also has many unique mechanics, one of which is the Duality Dice. Duality Dice are one of the main ways you’ll roll and take actions in Daggerheart, and not only impact the result of the action you’re trying to take, but can have long-term effects across your session.
But, if you’re new to Daggerheart, you might be wondering how exactly this mechanic works, and what Duality Dice even are. Here’s everything you need to know about Duality Dice.
What Are Duality Dice?
In Daggerheart,Duality Dice are a set of two d12sthat each represent a different mechanic you can use in play.
One d12 represents Hope, a resource you can gain,whilethe other represents Fear, a resource the GM gains.
While you can purchase specific Hope and Fear dice for Daggerheart,any regular d12s will also work.
Just make sure you’reusing two different colorsto distinguish the dice apart.
Anytime you make an action rollin Daggerheart,you’ll roll both dice to try to meet or exceed a Difficultyset by your DM, taking note of each dice’s result and the total.
The idea behind Hope and Fear dice is that,regardless of whether you fail or succeedon your action roll,you will gain metacurrencyfor the sessionbased on whether you roll higher with Hope or with Fear.
How Do Duality Dice Work?
When you roll the Duality Dice, the results of your roll may changedepending onwhether you roll higher with Hope or higher with Fear, in addition to your standard success or failure.
This functions similarly to a d20roll in Dungeons & Dragons, in which you’ll tell your GM the total you rolled between both dice to determine whether your action is successful or not.
When you take an action, you’ll be asked to roll your Duality Dice and thentell your GM the total you rolledbetween the diceas well as which dice is higher.
Depending on the results of the roll,you or your GM will gain metacurrency known as Hope and Fear.
Additionally, when you roll your Duality Dice, you willadd relevant modifiersbased on whether you’re attacking, using an Experience, or a Domain Card.
Rolling With Fear And Hope
Here is a breakdown of the various outcomesand dice results you may get.
Outcome
Success with Hope
The total of the dicemeets or exceeds the difficultyset by your GM, andtheHope die has the higher number.
Success with Fear
The total of the dicemeets or exceeds the difficultyset by your GM, andthe Fear die has the higher number.
Failure with Hope
The total of the dicedoes not meet or exceed the difficultyset by your GM, andthe Hope die has the higher number.
Failure with Fear
The total of the dicedoes not meet or exceed the difficultyset by your GM, andthe Fear die has the higher number.
Critical Success
Both Duality Dice have the same number, meaning neither Hope nor Fear is higher.
When you make any of the above rolls,if your Fear or Hope dice is higher, you tell your GM that you rolled with Fear or Hope, respectively,as well as the total of the result to determine the outcome.
Rolling with Hope on a failure and with Fear on a successis Daggerheart’s method of explaininga ‘mixed result.’
When these rolls happen, typically, you either get what you want with some caveats, or you don’t get what you want with some surprising perks.
How To Use Hope
In Daggerheart,there are various ways to spend Hopethat you’ve accrued through various rolls. Here’s a breakdown of some of the ways you can spend Hope as a player:
Details
Help an Ally
Yougrant an ally advantage on an Action Roll, allowing them to add a d6 to the result of their roll.
Utilize an Experience
You may use an Experience, granting yourself a modifier (typically +2) to an Action Roll you are about to make.
Tag Team Rolls
you’re able to initiate a Tag Team Rollbetween you and another player character, allowing you a creative moment to empower your skills and damage on attacks.
Hope Features
Various classes,ancestries, and morehaveabilities known as Hope Features.
Depending on the specific rules of the feature, you canspend Hope to subsequently trigger any given effects you desire in the feature.
While Hope does carry over between sessions, you can only hold a maximum of six Hopeat a time, so spend it when you can.
How To Use Fear
As a player, you will not use Fearto play Daggerheart. Rather,the GM uses Fearas a resource that they can wield against players.
Similar to Hope, Fear carries over between sessions, butthe GM can only hold 12 Fear at a time. The amount of Fear you have should also be visible to players.
As a GM, you’ll use Fear to interrupt or countermand players' actionsin some way, shape, or form. There are a handful of specific ways you can use Fear as a GM:
Interrupt the Players
You can spend Fear to break up the action of a player’s move, thuspotentially undermining a character’s success.
Make an Additional GM Move
you’re able to spend Fear to make additional moves during your GM turn, meaningyour adversaries can perhaps take additional actions.
Use Adversary’s Fear Feature
Adversaries each have special Fear Features. You canspend Fear to use these in combat or other situations.
Use the Environment’s Fear Feature
Environments also have Fear features that you canuse by spending a Fear.
Add Experience to Adversary’s Role
You canspend Fear to add modifiers via Experiencesto an Adversary’s role, thus buffing them in combat or other situations.
Improvise Fear Moves
you may alsospend Fear to improvise a GM Fear Move, which can take on many different forms.
Ultimately, the idea behind using Fear moves is tokeep the game feeling balanced if players are too strong or successful.
However, you want tobe careful not to make Fear too powerful.
If a move you make with Fear would drastically alter the story, ensure you’re using multiple Fear tokeep the resource exchange feeling balanced.
Additionally,don’t use Fear to undo a player’s action.
Rather,use Fear to add complications or wrinkles to their action.
You want tomake sure that players feel that they have agency, and using Fear to completely undo their moves can take that agency away.
