Queen of Daggers, Heart of Fire: A Daggerheart Adventure

Carmela and David interview each other about coming from opposite ends of our group's spectra of experience--those who have gamed before, and those who have publicly performed. They also happen to be two of the kindest, most curious people in the world, and their dialogue is a must-listen for *anybody* interested in the art of roleplay. The Actor and The Gamer, our new duality! For of course, Dear...

David was bursting to ask Carmela about her approach to the sound editing of the podcast--specifically, her use of music. Carmela walks us through how she taught herself to score hours and hours of actual play, with the help of her tingly brain.  Listen to the actual play podcast we're talking around, "Queen of Daggers, Heart of Fire," at https://www.hagdealgaming.com/qod-podcast Featuring David S...

Two Daggerheart actual play GMs? Definitely not a hat on a hat. Part 2 of Asteria's chat with DODOBORNE'S Isaac Allen Burns—A gleeful GM squawkfest on such topics as collaborative combat, facing up to table conflict, and how those darn players foil ones evil schemes.  Dodoborne: www.dodoborne.com YouTube:  @DodoBornePod  BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/dodoborne.com Listen to the actual play pod...

Can one podcast withstand the might of *two* Daggerheart GMs? Nope! We had to split this one up, it was just too powerful. DODOBORNE'S Isaac Allen Burns joins Asteria to squawk about collaborative GMing, the eerie power of their words, and how they both fell in love with Daggerheart on sight. Dodoborne: www.dodoborne.com YouTube:  @DodoBornePod  BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/dodoborne.com List...

The Heart Afire is finally within reach...in the claws of a grinning hag. Our young Poets will have their wits to rely on, but this quest has drawn them deeper, into their own exiled Hopes. What can they trust, here at the Ward's source? What will they trade, and what will they choose? Our Season 1 Finale. CW: Thoughts and urges related to self-harm - [1:41:43-1:50:02]   STARRING Jay Ben Markson a...

The morning brings many surprises in the Queen of Harrows' palace: breakfast, gifts, hexes, childhood friends...and a voyage into the forbidden.  The second half of Season 1's penultimate session! It is a twisting trail indeed that leads our young Poets to their goal--a trail that may know their goals better than they do.   STARRING Jay Ben Markson as Lemma Katie McLean Hainsworth as Evelyn David...

In a wide-ranging episode, David and Asteria wax philosophical--and psychological, and dramaturgical--about the art of TTRPG storytelling. Get ready for two hyper-intellectual elder millennials who've made theater together since the 90s, cuz they're gonna talk about Daggerheart! (And Jacques Lacan. And we cut the part where they try to remember the plot of Armageddon.) Listen to the actual play po...

Separated in the Queen of Harrow's palace, our young Poets must tread carefully. Even a tiny cut from ones own dagger can have grave consequences--imagine saying the wrong thing to (or stealing the wrong book from) the Queen's most mysterious agent... The first half of Season 1's penultimate session! Stay tuned as these heroes step further into the core of Lacuna, the source of the Ward, and, at l...

The Harvest Court contains multitudes, and our Poets no longer no whom, or what, to trust. It's been a long, weary road, after all, marked by loss and upheaval. But when the Queen of Harrows questions you, you don't want to lose your head...   STARRING Jay Ben Markson as Lemma Katie McLean Hainsworth as Evelyn David Skeist as OrLeon Carmela Smith as Ginny and Asteria the Hag as Game Master Produce...

Faced with a showdown between Glory and Fortune themselves, the Poets make some quick decisions--and try to put together the pieces of all that's befallen Lacuna in a few short days.     STARRING Jay Ben Markson as Lemma Katie McLean Hainsworth as Evelyn David Skeist as OrLeon Carmela Smith as Ginny and Asteria the Hag as Game Master Produced by Asteria (aka Liz Thaler) and Carmela Smith Sound Edi...

Asteria and Carmela react to the big Episode 9 combat, and break down Asteria's use of the "Burning Heart of the Wood" environment. Listen to the actual play podcast we're talking around, "Queen of Daggers, Heart of Fire," at https://www.hagdealgaming.com/qod-podcast Featuring Carmela Smith and Asteria (aka Liz Thaler) Edited by Asteria This product includes materials from the Daggerheart Playtest...

The Poets at last find themselves in a fight they can't escape. What will they learrn about themselves in this trial by chaotic fire? Will motes of Madness herself change their fates?    STARRING Jay Ben Markson as Lemma Katie McLean Hainsworth as Evelyn David Skeist as OrLeon Carmela Smith as Ginny and Asteria the Hag as Game Master Produced by Asteria (aka Liz Thaler) and Carmela Smith Sound Edi...

Part 2 of our Live From Chicago session! Asteria, Carmela, and Katie talk about exploring the Realm of Lacuna through player questions and dice rolls. Plus, these veterans of multiple systems compare the Daggerheart experience to other games in their wheelhouse (especially the super-crunchy ones).  Featuring Katie McLean Hainsworth, Carmela Smith, and Asteria (aka Liz Thaler) Edited by Asteria Thi...

Strange visions greet our Poets in their sleep. Stranger still is the task that awaits them on the morrow...    STARRING Jay Ben Markson as Lemma Katie McLean Hainsworth as Evelyn David Skeist as OrLeon Carmela Smith as Ginny and Asteria the Hag as Game Master Produced by Asteria (aka Liz Thaler) and Carmela Smith Sound Editor Carmela Smith This product includes materials from the Daggerheart Play...

The second half of our most recent chat episode, for those who haven't yet listened to episodes 6 and 7 of Queen of Daggers, Heart of Fire.  In this section, Asteria and Jay Ben discuss the pre-campaign groundwork that went into creating the Elegists, and into building comfort with group worldbuilding and storytelling as a whole.    Featuring Asteria and Jay Ben Markson Edited by Asteria This prod...

Asteria and Jay Ben share the collaboration and pre-campaign discussions that led to Lemma's flashback scenes and backstory reveals. Looking back on the vignette of Lemma's kindling, we discuss how we've been able to set each other up for dramatic improvisation and build off each other's storytelling--while still, ideally, ruining each other's lives. (It's a game after all.) Contains heavy spoiler...

As night falls on the Shadowjack camp, our heroes are drawn apart--by their pasts, by their fates, and by curiosity. Though they call themselves allies, each mysterious figure here sings a different siren song. What will our young Poets discover about themselves in the shadows? They may have changed the world, but they're now learning how strange it already was... Gird yourself for flashbacks, new...

Asteria and Carmela visit Katie in Chicago for our first ever in-person coven meeting! In this portion, we talk about the homebrew mechanics of Season 1, our biggest collaborative storytelling moments, and the inherent Daggerheart-iness of fitting your method to your madness.  Featuring Katie McLean Hainsworth, Carmela Smith, and Asteria (aka Liz Thaler) Edited by Asteria This product includes mat...

Carmela and Jay Ben return to discuss playing half a season using only one of their two domains. What's it like to be a spellcaster who won't cast spells? (Yes, both of them.)  Featuring Carmela Smith and Jay Ben Markson Edited by Asteria This product includes materials from the Daggerheart Playtest Manuscript 1.5 © Critical Role, LLC. under the terms of the Darrington Press Community Gaming (DPCG...

A jam-packed episode! Our Poets are caught in the thick of a shadowy ambush. In the aftermath, they'll learn things about Lacuna--and themselves--they never imagined.  The beginning of a big second arc. Who (and what) are the Shadowjacks? Where is the Sallow Ring, and why are generations of Poets drawn there? How many accents will Asteria attempt in just one session? Stay tuned.   STARRING Jay Ben...

Carmela Smith (producer, editor, and hag-about-town) chats with her fellow player Jay Ben Markson about his PC's custom ancestry, and about how both Ginny and Lemma (their Queen of Daggers, Heart of Fire PCs) use the Orderborne community. A great discussion for anyone intereted in the mesh of mechanics and flavor/backstory in the Daggerheart system.  This product includes materials from the Dagger...

Our Poets hit the road, and the books. Will unraveling Lacuna's past help them decide its future? And while they're choosing the realm's path, they'd better keep an eye on their own...   STARRING Jay Ben Markson as Lemma Katie McLean Hainsworth as Evelyn David Skeist as OrLeon Carmela Smith as Ginny and Asteria the Hag as Game Master Produced by Asteria (aka Liz Thaler) and Carmela Smith Sound Edi...

GM Asteria, in a solo episode, considers a hallmark of the Daggerheart system: Making GM Moves. A nerve-wracking prospect--especially when your players roll with Fear! Eight months after the Queen of Daggers, Heart of Fire campaign began, what has Asteria learned the hard way? What might she do differently? Our Episode 2 look back at our other Episode 2. Because hindsight is 20-20--or, as we say i...

GM Asteria chats Daggerheart mechanics! Joined by Katie McLean Hainsworth and Jay Ben Markson after the debut episode of Queen of Daggers, Heart of Fire, and the Daggerheart system itself. Just three theater folk who love spreadsheets, trying not to get hit. This product includes materials from the Daggerheart Playtest Manuscript 1.5 © Critical Role, LLC. under the terms of the Darrington Press Co...

After Episode 4, Asteria and the players pause to talk through their level-up decisions. Almost NO SPOILERS or campaign familiarity required--just good clean system talk. (Plus some hard-hitting nostalgia around backpacks.)  Though Season 1 used the Daggerheart playtest, almost everything we discuss here is applicable to the official release rules! Carmela explains at top of the episode.   If you'...