Darrington Press has released new playtest material for Daggerheart. The latest batch of Daggerheart playtest material of material doesn't introduce a new ancestry or a new class, but a new transformation mechanic, allowing players to become monstrous vampires or werewolves at the table.
The Transformation Daggerheart Playtest Material
The new Daggerheart playtest material was added in an update to The Void, Darrington Press' page for new playtest material. Similar to Dungeons & Dragons' Unearthed Arcana, the page provides players with an early look at experimental gameplay mechanics and ideas.
Those players can then provide feedback to Darrington Press. Based on that feedback, the material may be adjusted and released in official supplements down the line.
As the name suggests, the new transformation represents changes to a player's character in Daggerheart. These changes can be done for narrative purposes by the GM or can be used as a character creation option. The playtest material contains rules and cards for six transformations: Vampire, Werewolf, Demigod, Ghost, Reanimated, and Shapeshifter.
How the transformation Daggerheart playtest material works in-game is that your character adds the corresponding transformation card to their loadout, ignoring their domain card limit. A character can only have one transformation total. That transformation card then provides an appropriate benefit and drawback.
The playtest material encourages gaming tables to figure out the origin of this transformation alongside the implications of the power going wrong. For example, vampire and werewolf transformations are staples of pop culture; get bitten and be forever changed. But while a werewolf player benefits from a Wolf Form, sacrificing Stress for a damage boost, they can potentially massacre their party with the Frenzy drawback.
The more eclectic forms do encourage some more creativity. Reanimated and Ghost do contain potential for dark fantasy and horror adventures, and the Demigod does invite some intriguing worldbuilding and roleplay potential if done well.
The new transformation Daggerheart playtest material, which includes rules and the transformation cards, are free to download.
