by ilrosso89
Travel is a foundational element of fantasy storytelling. In Daggerheart, it is possible to fully embrace this aspect of play by drawing on a strongly cinematic imagination, full of grand journeys, long crossings, and epic travels worthy of the genre’s greatest classics.
This compendium is intended as a set of guidelines on how to manage travel in Daggerheart, leveraging the game’s narrative potential to give depth to this moment of play without slipping into excessive simulationism.
Hi, I’m Andrea (but everybody call me Il Rosso due to my red beard and hair) a TTRPG enthusiast and Daggerheart fan.
In the last ten years I’ve done a lot of organized play in Italy and works on some kickstarter project like Journey to Ragnarok and Nightfell for 5e (for the last one I’ve win an Ennies).
In the last two year we found the Dragonslayer Society an Italian RPG club and this year we start our first Daggerheart Shared Campaign.
Many of the tips I’ve put in this guide came from the doubt and the problem less experience master has in managing the travel in a fiction first game like DH, I hope this could be helpfull for someone and I’ll wait your feedback !
Ciao from Italy!
Preparation is the foundational moment of every journey. Ask the table how the characters intend to prepare, which route they plan to take in broad terms, and most importantly, who will act as the group’s guide.
In general, I recommended using a group roll to handle travel. This allows you to designate a leader for the roll, typically the guide, and to clarify what the other characters are doing during the journey.
If you wish to focus more deeply on the journey instead of resolving it in a single scene, you can still divide roles and responsibilities, then resolve individual rolls separately and weave all outcomes together into a shared narrative of the journey.
At this stage, it is also important to clarify which path the group intends to follow. The recommendation is to use the map created during Session Zero as a general reference, as it will be useful later.
It is not necessary to define rigid roles or specific tasks. However, identifying at the fiction level what each character is trying to do during the journey helps determine which rolls to call for.
Below are some guidelines, intended purely as inspiration:
The group’s guide, who also acts as the leader of the group roll, will likely roll INSTINCT action roll.
A character watching for enemies or traps may roll an INSTINCT reaction roll.
A character clearing obstacles along the path may roll a STRENGTH reaction roll.
A character studying maps or recalling routes may roll a KNOWLEDGE reaction roll.
A character gathering rations or hunting during the journey may roll a FINESSE reaction roll.
A character acting as a scout or vanguard may roll AGILITY or FINESSE reaction roll.
These examples show how actions described in the fiction of travel can be translated into action rolls.
Before calling for any rolls, it is important to provide a brief narrative introduction to the journey. Using the elements shown on the map, the GM describes the first stages of departure.
Even with a concise narration, it is useful to recontextualize the environment, the weather conditions, and the time of day when the group sets out.
You can begin introducing elements the characters may encounter during the journey, again using the map as a guide. For example, if a great tower rises beyond the forest in the direction the group is traveling, you can begin describing it immediately.
This document was created based on the questions and uncertainties of a group of GMs new to the game who struggled to give travel the appropriate amount of time.
In many cases, travel became the sole focus of an entire session, disrupting the overall pacing.
This is not necessarily a negative outcome. Groups who particularly enjoy this aspect of the story should feel free to focus on it, dividing rolls as suggested.
For groups that prefer a faster-paced session, this approach should allow travel to remain quick while still being deep and engaging.
According to the rules, failed rolls or rolls that generate Fear always give the GM an opportunity to make a move.
While critical successes or successes with Hope are relatively easy to handle as advantages, such as a faster journey or a positive discovery along the way, choosing a move after a failure or Fear result is more complex.
This is one of the most delicate aspects of managing travel. A move that is too light or too heavy can disrupt the pacing of the session, and it is not always easy to choose the right response for the current fiction.
Below are some general guiding questions to consider before choosing a move, followed by more detailed suggestions based on different outcomes.
Looking at the map in broad terms, without falling into exploratory simulation, consider what types of terrain the characters are crossing.
Defining the biome provides a simple starting point for establishing the environmental context of a move.
Are the characters traveling through dense forests, swamps, raging rivers, or steep mountains? The shared map can easily help identify environmental elements to use later.
In Daggerheart, characters are heroes driven by strong personal goals. Why are they traveling? What motivations push them toward their destination?
These elements of story and background are invaluable when deciding which move to make, as they allow complications to feel personal and meaningful to both characters and players.
Recall what the chosen campaign frame or Session Zero established about dangers and creatures in the world.
Based on the biome, what kinds of adversaries or monsters might oppose the journey, and what are their goals?
In Daggerheart, especially during travel, enemies are not merely pools of hit points but actors with intent.
Are starving bandits blocking the road in search of gold? Is a bear aggressive because it is protecting its den? Are black knights pursuing the party under orders from the main antagonist? Are woodland warriors guarding the borders of an ancient temple?
Whatever threat you place between the characters and their destination, ensure it has a strong purpose. This gives meaning to combat and opens the door to strategies beyond simple violence.
Daggerheart is not a game where combat should be avoided. As the rulebook states from the very beginning, it is a game of combat and introspection.
For encounters during travel to carry weight, the motivations of both antagonists and protagonists must be clear, sensible, and strong.
At this point, you can call for the group roll. This roll represents the journey as a whole and is intentionally highly abstract.
Below is an example of how to translate the mechanical outcomes of the group roll into the shared fiction.
Critical Success Ask the players to describe how the journey unfolds. Everyone gains 1 Hope and removes 1 Stress.
Success with Hope The journey goes very well and the group’s morale is high. Everyone gains 1 Hope.
Failure with Hope The journey is difficult, but the characters remain hopeful. Everyone gains 1 Hope and suffers either 1 Stress or 1 Injury.
Success with Fear The journey succeeds, but a dark presence looms over the group. Everyone suffers 1 Stress.
Failure with Fear The journey is a disaster. Something actively works against the group, greatly increasing the time required. Everyone suffers 1 Stress and 1 Injury.
This is not how mechanical group roll resolution works in DH corebook but an homebrew for managing travel group roll.
I don’t have any strict recommendations regarding the difficulty of the group roll.
This is something the GM should adjudicate by considering all the elements discussed above, such as the current weather conditions and the potential dangers along the route.
For example, in my Witherwild campaign I always ask for a higher difficulty when the group is traveling at night, or during particularly harsh conditions. I also assign advantage or disadvantage depending on how the characters prepare, how they use allies, and whether they leverage specific objects or resources.
Another useful consideration is how much of the map the characters are attempting to cross.
As a general rule, I tend to start with a difficulty of 15 when they are traveling across an entire region, then increase or decrease that difficulty based on what the map suggests. Enemy borders, treacherous seas, or very high mountain ranges are all strong indicators that the journey should be more challenging.
The group roll determines how the journey goes, but it does not necessarily represent its conclusion. Additional scenes and rolls may still be required.
Beyond mechanical effects, the following suggestions show how different outcomes can be reflected in the fiction. Use them as inspiration, selecting one or two elements at most to create a coherent consequence.
Critical Success
Let the players explain why the journey went so well, encouraging them to introduce allies, discoveries, important information, or secrets about the world.
If they hesitate, guide them using the Success with Hope suggestions.
Success with Hope
The journey goes exceptionally well, granting the characters a clear advantage.
Terrain The characters discover a meaningful location within the biome: a safe haven, ancient ruins filled with hope, or a peaceful place to rest.
A calm journey is an ideal time to deepen relationships or introduce helpful allies.
Antagonists The party gains an advantage over their enemies, spotting a patrol unseen or witnessing a normally hostile creature behaving peacefully.
Success with Fear
The journey succeeds, but something interferes, requiring a GM move.
Terrain The environment resists progress through harsh weather or difficult terrain.
Characters Difficulties may bring ideological or personal conflicts to the surface, such as moral dilemmas or encounters tied to a character’s past.
Antagonists An enemy acts openly or from the shadows, possibly reaching the destination first or seizing a critical asset.
Failure with Hope
The journey goes poorly, but Daggerheart embraces fail forward. The characters arrive, though conditions are worse.
They may be late, or their enemies may have arrived first.
Use what already suggested in Success with Fear as a base for your move, but remember Hope introduces something positive: a lesson learned, information gained, or a small advantage.
Failure with Fear
This is the most severe outcome. The GM should make one or more impactful moves.
The journey is actively opposed, creating a critical situation. Despite this, failure should set the stage for future triumphs rather than ending the story.
Use what already suggested in Success with Fear for your moves but remember to made It worse.
A failure with Hope or Fear may interrupt the journey entirely. Use this only when it creates interesting play.
When the party travels near an enemy base being capture by them in a hostile location can become the start of a new scenario.
Always weigh this option against group preferences and available session time.
Whenever you introduce new elements and are unsure how they connect to the story or characters, ask the players.
How did you meet this ally or rival? What do you know about this place? What does this creature remind you of from your past?
A Success with Fear does not negate success. Fear should arise as a consequence, not invalidate the roll.
Likewise, a Failure with Hope does not erase failure, but opens new possibilities.
Arrival is a pivotal moment. Consequences accumulated during the group roll should be reflected here.
In Daggerheart, what happens during the journey is often more important than whether the destination is reached.
A successful journey grants advantages, while a failed one may result in arriving too late or finding the ally camp already devastated by the enemies.
Arrival marks the beginning of a new climax. Use the journey’s consequences to seed new conflicts, hooks, and opportunities in the destination.