During its panel at Gen Con today, Critical Role’s publishing arm, Darrington Press, unveiled a significant expansion for its new fantasy roleplaying game, Daggerheart.
The announcements signal a major push for the system, including the huge news that former Dungeons & Dragons lead designers are now working on the game, alongside a new Kickstarter and a creator kit to encourage homebrew content.
Still, perhaps the addition of high-profile talent to the Daggerheart team remains the biggest story of recent weeks. Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins, both long-serving and prominent designers at Wizards of the Coast, joined Darrington Press in June. Crawford is reportedly leading the design on a new setting with a “hellishly terrifying” theme, while Perkins is developing a series of interconnected adventures designed to span multiple campaign frames.
The talent acquisition doesn’t stop there. Keith Baker and Jenn Ellis of Twogether Studios, known for their work on RPGs like Eberron and storytelling games such as The Adventure Zone Storytelling Game, are also creating a brand-new world for the Daggerheart system.
To foster a community of creators around its new RPG, Darrington Press has released a free Daggerheart Homebrew Kit. Available to download now from the game’s official website, the kit provides resources and guidance for players and third-party publishers to create their own classes, ancestries, and campaign frames. This toolkit is designed to be used with the Darrington Press Community Gaming License, which Geek Native has previously covered.
Following several sold-out runs of the game since its launch, a Kickstarter has been announced for this September to fund Daggerheart Class Packs. These packs are designed as a play accessory, with each one containing 76 cards covering everything a player needs to run a specific class from level 1 to 10. This includes ancestry and community cards, subclass options, and all the cards for the two domains associated with that class. Backers of the campaign will also receive a digital PDF of the Daggerheart Core Rulebook. All nine classes from the core set will be available through the crowdfunder.
The reach of Daggerheart in the popular actual play scene is also set to grow. Darrington Press confirmed new collaborations that will see the system used in:
- A mini-series from the Legends of Avantris crew.
- A one-shot adventure by the popular Dungeons and Daddies podcast.
- The third season of the Bonus Action campaign.
These new shows will join Critical Role’s own Daggerheart series, Age of Umbra, which was also confirmed for a second season.
Looking ahead to 2026, a new campaign frame titled With Love and Magic is in development. The setting is described as “romantasy-inspired,” drawing from the in-world romance saga Tusk Love, and will centre on a competitive matchmaking season in the empire of Lumisara.
Finally, a slate of new licensed products was announced to support the game. Insight Editions will publish an Art of Daggerheart book, and the character creation tool Hero Forge will add Daggerheart ancestries to its miniature builder. Players will also see new official dice sets from Dispel Dice, Botch Dice, and Misty Mountain Gaming.
