Last week, we looked at the physical contents of the Hope & Fear box, the first big expansion for the Daggerheart RPG. If you thought the box looked full before, we’ve only scratched the surface.
Hope & Fear is a massive expansion to the game. It just about doubles the number of adversaries the GM has to throw at the PCs. But a lot of the goodies are for PCs.
First, there’s a whole new Domain, the Dread Domain that allows players to play with the Fear points that are usually solely the domain of the GM. It also has many powers that inflict Stress on adversaries. To showcase the new Domain are two new Classes. The Witch communes with nature and unnatural spirits alike to power their magic. They can Hex those who harm their companions or consult the spirits of the dead for hidden knowledge. The Witch, of course, comes with two subclasses. The Hedge Witch is about supporting their allies with practical folk magic, boosting healing and offering protection to their allies. The Moon Witch, on the other hand, is all about beguiling foes with illusions and glamour, as well as buffs that aid multiple allies at once.
The other new Class that uses the Dread Domain is the Warlock. These are like the Warlocks of D&D, making pacts with otherworldly beings for their power.
But that’s not all the new classes. We also get the hand-to-hand Brawler, who can be a tanky Juggernaut or a Martial Artist; and the Assassin.
We also get six new Ancestries (what Daggerheart calls Races) which include four based on the classic elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water (like D&D’s genasi); the divine answer to the tiefling-like Infernis in the Aetheris; and Gnomes.
And we get six new Communities, basically your character’s social background. These include the sheltered Hearthborne, those who grew up surrounded by conflict in the Warborne, and the Freeborne, who once knew great adversity but have escaped it. Finally, the Frostborne come from lands of ice and snow, while the Duneborne hail from desert terrains.
But maybe the most intriguing is the Reborne, the classic amnesiac character who no longer remembers their roots and is on a personal quest to either to reconnect with their forgotten past or completely sever those old bonds.
And as if that wasn’t enough, players and GMs get a brand new mechanic to play with: Transformation. These are six new additions to your character that each come with a perk and a drawback. Some of these, like Vampire and Werewolf, can be gained through play. Others, like Shapeshifter and Demigod, might be part of your character’s creation. And both the Ghost and the Reanimated might be a way to prolong your character’s involvement in the campaign after their untimely death.
And there’s still more to talk about: new Environments for GMs like the Masquerade Ball and Campaign Frames, like the gothic horror Dark Heart of Andaloria (which leans heavily into the new Dread Domain and the Transformation mechanic) or the modern day high school meets high fantasy of Castle High. If you’re looking to infuse some Old School flavor into your Daggerheart, the Journey to the Horizon Campaign Frame is designed to support Hex Crawls and West Marches style gaming.
In short, the Hope & Fear box is as packed with fun new options and additions to the game as it is with physical goodies. You can order either the standard or deluxe versions from your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® today!
