Welcome to Daggerheart! If you’re a new player, the character sheet might look a bit daunting at first. Don’t worry — this guide walks you through each section, explaining what everything means and how it works during play. No rules lawyering or heavy jargon, just a clear breakdown so you can jump in with confidence.

Name, Heritage, and Pronouns

Name: This is simply your character’s name — the identity you’ll be known by in the game.

Heritage: A mix of ancestry and community. For example, you might be a human from a bustling city or an elf raised in a wild forest.

Pronouns: Note your character’s pronouns so the GM and other players know how to address them.

Class, Subclass, and Level

Class: Your broad adventuring role, such as Bard, Warrior, or Ranger.

Subclass: A specialization within your class that gives unique abilities.

Level: Everyone starts at Level 1. As you advance, update your level — it impacts damage thresholds, proficiency, and features.

Traits (Core Abilities)

Daggerheart uses six core traits: Agility, Strength, Finesse, Instinct, Presence, and Knowledge. These modifiers define how good you are at actions like sprinting, persuading, sneaking, or recalling lore.

Active Weapons

Your sheet lists Primary and Secondary weapons. For each, note:

• Name (Longsword, Shortbow, etc.)
• Trait & Range (e.g. Agility, Melee)
• Damage Dice & Type (d6 physical, d8 magic, etc.)
• Feature (special ability tied to the weapon)

Armor and Evasion

Armor sets your damage thresholds (how much damage counts as Minor, Major, or Severe). Always add your level to these thresholds. Armor also has an Armor Score, which gives you slots you can mark to reduce incoming damage.

Evasion is your defense number. Enemies must roll against it to hit you.

Health (Hit Points and Stress)

Hit Points: Instead of a big pool, you have a few HP slots. Each hit may mark 1–3 slots depending on severity. Marking your last HP triggers a death move.

Stress: Tracks fatigue, strain, and minor harm. If you run out of Stress, you must mark HP instead.

Hope

Hope is your heroic resource. Spend it to activate Experiences, help an ally, or trigger special class abilities. Every character starts with 2 Hope points.

Experiences

These are narrative skills or backgrounds, like “Streetwise Thief” or “Apprenticed Alchemist.” You can spend Hope to add your Experience bonus to a roll when it’s relevant. They grow as your character levels up.

Gold and Inventory

Gold is tracked in handfuls, bags, and chests. Ten handfuls = one bag, ten bags = one chest. A simple way to manage treasure without counting coins.

Inventory lists everything you’re carrying — gear, consumables, and spare weapons not currently active.

Bring Your Sheet to Life

Now that you know what each section means, you’re ready to dive into your first Daggerheart session. A great way to practice using your sheet is by running a short adventure. Our Thorns of an Ancient Seal one-shot is a perfect introduction — a forest horror tale with maps, monsters, and magic.

And if you want to keep your campaign organized, check out our Adventure Log Session Journal, designed for recording character progress, notes, and story details in games like Daggerheart.

Daggerheart is built to be approachable. With this guide, you’ll always know what each part of your sheet does, so you can focus on roleplaying, rolling dice, and telling great stories at the table.