GM Classes - Early WIP

I'm keeping busy with Drakkenheim work, but have no worry, I am still making material for Patrons to enjoy before anyone else.

After reading through Girl Frame by Isabelle M. Ruebsaat and Your Hand is Not Your Hand by Michelle Jones, I got to thinking about what it would be like to have classes for GMs in Daggerheart.

Some games already give the GM interesting choices in a similar fashion, like the Playset choices for GMs in Band of Blades by Stras Acimovic and John LeBoeuf-Little. In Band of Blades, the GM chooses which of the Broken (big bads) to play, each coming with their own themes, adversaries, and special abilities.

Campaign frames in Daggerheart are already very much like playsets, so I wanted to go deeper, try to push farther into a design space to emphasize different styles of play and support GMs wanting support in approaching Daggerheart in their own way.

These GM classes are an optional rule that adjusts some core elements of the game, including the GM's starting and Max Fear, as well as other rules for how the GM plays the game.

A GM class is comprised of three elements:

Max Fear: The maximum number of Fear a GM of that class can hold.
Starting Fear: The starting number of Fear the GM has at the beginning of a campaign.
Class Features: Special rules and abilities a GM of that class uses when running and playing a game. GM Class Features work like other GM features, manifesting in Passive, Action, and Reaction types.

Some of these GM Classes have especially potent or versatile features, and so I've set their Max or Starting Fear lower than normal as a balancing mechanism. A lower Max Fear is a bigger limitation than lower starting Fear, but having two axes of modification provides more granularity as needed. The question of "balance" in Daggerheart is, for me, fully about the experience of the people at the table, and so my focus is on whether the GM and players feel like the class features give the GM too much more influence or power compared to the limitations applied to them.

To be clear - most all of what is written for GM features are moves or approaches a GM could take on their own, could house rule, or could work into a campaign frame. I'm presenting them in this fashion as an exercise for myself and to provide as much clarity as I can to how I see the ways they might facilitate different types of play.

Using GM Classes
Right now, the idea is that a GM will pick their class and select a corresponding Class Card to keep on-hand throughout the campaign. Once picked, a GM class is set for the campaign, though I could imagine a world where a GM could change classes at the beginning of a new story arc to shift the emphasis of their rules to fit the emphasis of a given story arc.

I currently have four classes in rough form, plus a fifth "default" class currently titled "The Foil", as a reminder of the baseline (Rules-as-Written GM settings). I have a lot of things to playtest right now (including Dungeons of Drakkenheim x Daggerheart material, naturally!), so I may not get to try these myself for a little while. If you use one of these classes at your table, I'd love to hear how it goes!

Draft GM Classes

Dramatist

Play the Dramatist if you want to emphasize the interpersonal relationships between NPCs and PCs as well as the inner lives of the characters.

Max Fear
12

Starting Fear
Equal to Player Count  

Class Features
Director – Action: Ask a PC about their emotional state. They can mark a Stress to connect the moment to something in their past and gain 2 Hope. If they do so, you gain a drama token. 

Live for the Drama - Action: Spend a drama token to have an NPC deliver a monologue that cannot be interrupted by PC action (the NPC cannot take meaningful action during the monologue).

Facilitator

Play the Facilitator if you want to focus on building the world together with your players and discovering the story through play.

Max Fear
11

Starting Fear
Equal to Player Count -1

Class Features
Pass the Mic – Passive: When describing a new location, provide a brief sketch and then provide the players with a prompt, ask the players to each add a detail based on the prompt. The first roll this scene to investigate or contend with the environment gains advantage.

Build-a-Beast Workshop – Reaction: When an adversary is introduced, spend a Fear to ask a player about a dangerous feature, ability, or weapon they possess. If they provide an answer, they gain a Hope. Twice per scene, when you improvise a move that utilizes that idea, that adversary clears a Stress or you gain a Fear.

Mastermind

Play the Mastermind if you want to emphasize schemes and faction politics, telegraphing moves in shadowy feints and hatching plots to advance the villain’s agendas.

Max Fear
10

Starting Fear
Equal to Player Count -1

Class Features
Catspaw – Action: Once per session, Spend 2 Fear to reveal that a character has been compromised by an adversary, unknowingly serving their interests. Spend an additional Fear to reveal the target is a willing agent, unless the party (as a whole, in any combination across characters) spends Hope equal to the size of the party.

Plans Within Plans - Reaction: When you advance a long-term countdown during a Long Rest, you may also advance a second countdown or advance the same countdown a second time.

Strategist

Play the Strategist if you want to emphasize dynamic combat and action-focused storytelling where combat brings the narrative to life.

Max Fear
11

Starting Fear
Equal to Player Count

Class Features
Slow-Mo - Passive: Once per scene, you and each player can gain advantage on an action roll by providing a description of the physical and sensory elements of the action.

Co-Ordination - Passive: When you spend a Fear to take the spotlight, you may spotlight up to two adversaries.

Foil (the default GM class)

Max Fear
12

Starting Fear
Equal to Player Count

Class Features
(Rules-as-Written)

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This text is not official content of Darrington Press or Critical Role and does not represent the opinions or stances of anyone other than Mike themself. This product includes materials from the Daggerheart System Reference Document 1.0, © Critical Role, LLC. under the terms of the Darrington Press Community Gaming (DPCGL) License. More information can be found at https://www.daggerheart.com. There are no previous modifications by others.