Why Daggerheart Works Alone
Daggerheart already splits every roll into two answers: did it work, and did it bring Hope or Fear? That second answer is exactly what a solo player needs. It tells you not just whether your character succeeded, but which way the story leans next, without anyone else at the table.
The game is also built for collaboration and improvisation rather than a script, so it handles a story that you discover as you play. You make the choices, the Duality Dice push back, and the world grows from your answers.
The World Is Your GM
In solo play you do two jobs. You play your character, choosing what they do and say. And whenever you'd normally ask the GM ("Is the bridge guarded?", "Does the merchant believe me?"), you ask an oracle: a quick roll that answers yes or no, with a twist now and then. This part gives you an oracle built from the Duality Dice themselves, a world Fear pool that stands in for the GM's Fear, scene checks, sparks and NPC attitudes.
What You'll Find in This Part
- What you need to play, and how many characters to bring
- How to run adversaries and the GM's side honestly
- The Duality Dice oracle, with exact odds, and the world Fear pool
- Scene checks, sparks and NPC attitudes, with a dice tool you can use right here
- A first-session walkthrough and an example of play
Your Solo Kit
- The Daggerheart Core Rulebook (or the free SRD) for classes, domain cards, adversaries and environments.
- Two d12s in different colours plus a d6, or the Dice Roller & Toolkit, which also tracks Hope and Fear.
- A character, made as in Character Creation. The background questions and connections give you threads to pull on.
- A journal: a notebook or a text file. In solo play the journal is the table talk.
- The tools on this page for the oracle, the world Fear pool, scene checks, sparks and NPC attitudes.
A Party of One (or More)
Daggerheart expects a party, and its combat is dangerous when you're alone. You have three good options:
- Play two or three characters (recommended). A small party covers more domains, can Help each other and can make Tag Team rolls. Give them a reason to stay together.
- One character and a companion. Play one hero and run a companion with the oracle: a guide, a beast, a rival you're stuck with. The Ranger's companion subclass fits this naturally.
- One character, a softer world. If you go truly alone, use fewer and weaker adversaries, and be generous with rests. That's a judgement call, not a rule.
Remember the tools the rules already give you. Hope pays for Experiences, Help, Tag Team rolls and your abilities. Armor Slots soften big hits. And when you mark your last Hit Point, you still get to choose a death move.
Running the GM's Side
When adversaries act, you roll for them, and you roll honestly. Two habits keep it fair:
- Set the Difficulty and the stakes before you roll. Say (or write) what happens on a success and a failure first.
- Let adversaries want things. Use their stat blocks, and ask what they're after. Bandits want loot and will flee; a cultist wants the ritual finished; a beast wants to eat.
In a group game the GM makes a move when a player rolls with Fear or fails. Do the same for yourself: when your own action roll comes up with Fear, or fails, ask the oracle "Does it get worse?" or roll a spark, and let the world act. See Combat & Conflict and Game Mastering.
The Duality Dice Oracle
Ask a yes-or-no question and decide how likely a "yes" is. Roll the Duality Dice with no modifiers and compare the total to the matching Difficulty. Meet or beat it for a yes, just like an action roll.
| How likely is "yes"? | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Very likely | 8 |
| Likely | 11 |
| Toss-up | 14 |
| Unlikely | 18 |
| Very unlikely | 22 |
Then read the five outcomes the game already has:
- Matching dice (a critical): "Yes, and…"
- Yes with Hope (made it, Hope die higher): "Yes"
- Yes with Fear (made it, Fear die higher): "Yes, but…"
- No with Hope (missed, Hope die higher): "No, but…"
- No with Fear (missed, Fear die higher): "No"
The Odds
All 144 combinations of the two d12s counted for each likelihood:
| Likelihood (Difficulty) | Yes, and | Yes | Yes, but | No, but | No | Any yes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very likely (8) | 8.3% | 39.6% | 39.6% | 6.25% | 6.25% | 87.5% |
| Likely (11) | 8.3% | 31.9% | 31.9% | 13.9% | 13.9% | 72.2% |
| Toss-up (14) | 8.3% | 20.8% | 20.8% | 25% | 25% | 50% |
| Unlikely (18) | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 37.5% | 37.5% | 25% |
| Very unlikely (22) | 8.3% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 44.4% | 44.4% | 11.1% |
Because Hope and Fear are equally likely to be the higher die, a yes is always as likely to come "with Fear" as "with Hope". A critical, "Yes, and…", comes up 1 time in 12 whatever you ask.
The World Fear Pool
In a group game, rolls with Fear give the GM Fear to spend. Solo, keep a world Fear pool instead (this guide's house rule):
- Every oracle answer or action roll that comes up with Fear adds 1 Fear to the pool (up to 12).
- Spend 1 Fear for a small complication: an adversary acts first, a door sticks, a witness hesitates.
- Spend 3 Fear for a big one: reinforcements, a betrayal, a storm, a countdown starting.
- When the pool reaches 12, the next scene is automatically interrupted. Spend all 12 and make it count.
Tip: when your character could find out for themselves, make an action roll instead of asking the oracle. "Can I climb the wall?" is Agility; "Do I know this sigil?" is Knowledge. Save the oracle for things your character can't control.
Running Scenes Solo
Play in scenes: a journey, a conversation, an exploration, a fight. Before each one, say what you expect to happen, then make a scene check.
The Scene Check
Roll a d12 at the start of each scene (this guide's house rule):
| d12 | The scene is… | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Interrupted: something else entirely happens. Roll a spark. | 16.7% |
| 3–4 | Altered: roughly as expected, with a change. | 16.7% |
| 5–12 | As expected: play it out. | 66.7% |
Sparks
When you need an idea, roll two d12s and read an action and a subject. Interpret them for the moment you're in.
| d12 | Action | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awaken | an old god |
| 2 | Betray | a guild |
| 3 | Bloom | the wilds |
| 4 | Break | a promise |
| 5 | Hide | a relic |
| 6 | Hunt | a rival |
| 7 | Mend | a ruin |
| 8 | Reveal | a secret |
| 9 | Seize | a stronghold |
| 10 | Shelter | a stranger |
| 11 | Summon | a storm |
| 12 | Trade | a memory |
NPCs and Attitudes
When you meet someone new, roll a d12 for how they feel about you at first (this guide's house rule). After that, your Presence rolls and the way you treat them move them.
| d12 | First attitude | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Hostile: wants you gone, or worse | 25% |
| 4–7 | Wary: answers questions, trusts nothing | 33.3% |
| 8–11 | Friendly: will help if it costs them little | 33.3% |
| 12 | Helpful: has a reason to want you to succeed | 8.3% |
🎲 Try the Solo Tools
Session Log
- Your rolls will appear here.
🛠️ How To: Your First Solo Session
- Make a character (or two) and answer one background question you'd like the story to come back to.
- Pick a hook: a job, a debt, a strange omen. Or roll a spark and build from it.
- Frame the first scene: where are you, and what do you expect? Make a scene check.
- Play it out: make action rolls for what you try, ask the oracle what you can't decide, and add to the world Fear pool on every roll with Fear.
- Write as you go: a few lines per scene, including the rolls that mattered.
- Stop on a question: end the session with something unresolved, so you want to come back. A rest is a natural place to pause.
Example of Play
Wren, a Ranger with Agility +2, has been hired to find a missing courier on the forest road. In this example her Evasion is 13 (Ranger 12, plus 1 from her Gambeson Armor) and her damage thresholds are Major 6 and Severe 12.
Scene check: the d12 shows 4, so the scene is altered. Rain has turned the road to mud.
Oracle: "Are there tracks leading off the road?" Likely (11). Hope 7, Fear 5: 12 meets 11 with Hope, a plain "Yes".
Oracle: "Is the courier still alive?" A toss-up (14). Hope 4, Fear 9: 13 misses 14 with Fear, a plain "No", and the world Fear pool goes to 1. Wren finds the courier's body in the ferns.
Oracle: "Is the killer still nearby?" Unlikely (18). Hope 6, Fear 6: matching dice, "Yes, and…". It's a beast, and the spark (Hide / a relic) says the courier's package is in its den.
The fight: Wren attacks with Agility against the beast's Difficulty of 12; in this example its stat block gives it a Major threshold of 7 and a Severe threshold of 13. Hope 8, Fear 3, plus 2 = 13: a success with Hope, so she gains 1 Hope. Her damage comes to 9: at least Major (7) but under Severe (13), so the beast marks 2 HP. The beast lunges back; you roll its attack against Wren's Evasion of 13 and it hits for 10. That's Major damage for Wren (2 HP), but she marks an Armor Slot to drop it to Minor and marks just 1 HP.
World Fear: the pool has 1 Fear. You spend it: the beast drags itself into the undergrowth, toward its den. That's a good place to end the session.
Common Questions
Should I play a single character?
You can, but two or three characters play more like the game expects: Help, Tag Team rolls and more domains to draw on. Many solo players run a small party and give each character a distinct voice in the journal.
How do I handle GM moves without a GM?
When your roll fails or comes up with Fear, let the world respond: ask the oracle "Does it get worse?", roll a spark, or spend from the world Fear pool.
What if a "Yes, and…" doesn't make sense?
Roll a spark and read it as the extra. If it still doesn't fit, take the first idea that makes the scene more interesting.
My character marked their last Hit Point. Now what?
Choose a death move, just as you would at a table, and let the result stand. Whatever happens makes a better story than a reroll.
Key Takeaways
- Play a small party, a hero and a companion, or one hero in a gentler world.
- Set the Difficulty and the stakes before you roll, for you and for adversaries.
- The oracle is the Duality Dice against a Difficulty: matching dice add "and", Fear on a yes adds "but", Hope on a no adds "but".
- Rolls with Fear fill the world Fear pool; spend it the way a GM would.
đź““ Journal Prompts
- What does your character hope for, and what do they fear most?
- Which oracle answer surprised you most, and what did it change?
- What did the world spend its Fear on, and was it fair?
Where to Go Next
Use the Dice Roller & Toolkit for action rolls with exact odds, Hope and Fear trackers and damage thresholds. For places and factions to explore, revisit World-Building & Lore.