In a session of Daggerheart, you and the other players go around the table describing what your characters do in the fictional circumstances that the GM sets up, building on each other’s ideas and working together to tell an exciting story. The mechanics of the game help facilitate this conversation, providing structure to the discussion and a way to resolve moments when there are several exciting possibilities for what happens next.

Everyone at the table should ask questions and integrate the answers into the game. As a player, you’ll often ask clarifying questions about the scene: “Are there any guards outside the door?” or “What kind of weapon are they holding?” or “Can I jump across the gap safely?” The GM might answer questions directly: “There are four guards outside the door”, or “They’re wielding longswords”. They might also ask you to roll to determine the answer: “It’s raining and dark, so let’s see how well you jump the gap. Give me an Agility Roll, Difficulty11”.

In turn, the GM asks you questions and builds on those answers to create the fiction: “How are you able to sneak around this building so carefully?” or “What does the camp you’ve set up look like?” or “You’ve found a way to safely scramble up the wall—what made your climb easier than you anticipated?” This back and forth creates a collaborative conversation where everyone can meaningfully contribute to the fiction.

For those familiar with roleplaying games, the flow of the game might come naturally, but if you’re new to this experience, it might not. The following steps outline an example of the gameplay loop that drives every session. This gameplay loop will be described in more detail in chapter 2 of the Daggerheart Core Rulebook.

Step 1: The GM Narrates Details

The GM lays out a scene, describing the surroundings, dangers, NPCs, and any important elements the characters would notice immediately.

Step 2: The Players and GM Ask Questions

The players ask questions to explore the scene in more depth, gathering information to help them decide their characters’ actions. When appropriate, the GM can ask the players to describe elements of a scene, leaving their own influence on the world.

Step 3: The Players and GM Answer Questions

The GM responds to these questions by giving the players information their characters can easily obtain. The players also respond to any questions the GM poses to them. If they want more insight than what is readily available, the GM informs players what dice roll or action they must make to obtain more information.

Step 4: Choose and Resolve Actions

As the GM describes the scene and provides information, they lead the players to opportunities to take action—problems to solve, obstacles to overcome, mysteries to investigate, and so on. As the players pursue these opportunities, the GM helps facilitate their characters’ actions, and everyone works together to move the fiction forward based on the outcome. If the players aren’t compelled into action right away, the GM continues to provide more details, conflict, or consequences until they are.

Step 5: Repeat the Cycle

Because the scene has changed in some way, this process repeats from the beginning.