Select A Campaign Frame
First thing we’ll do is select a Campaign Frame. This will help us set the overall setting for the campaign. What is described with each Campaign Frame idea is only a starting point and can be modified to suit the group’s ideal form of play.
CATS
This is an acronym used in the Daggerheart Core Rulebook(pg. 169) to help make it clear how to establish what the campaign will be like as we play it.
Concept
What’s the big-picture pitch? If this campaign was a book series, how would you hype it up to a friend you know would love it?… [This is] a great way to set a guiding star for your creative discussion throughout Session Zero and Beyond. Zxhm Daggerheart_Core_Rulebook-5-20-2025, page 170
Aim
Logisitcs
How Often Do We Want To Try And Meet And For How Long Per Session?
Reflection Cadence or First Pass Check
Deciding when to check in to see if we still like playing the campaign, if we want to change how often or where we meet.
Social Goals
What’s The Level of Play That We Want To Engage In?
Ex. Mostly RolePlay, Mostly Combat, deep note taking or less complicated engagement
Any Specific Social Goals That We Want To Achieve?
Ex. Have a cozy mystery, defeat a big bad, mostly beach episodes
Tone
Subject
Discuss subjects you and the players actively want in the game and topics you want to avoid. Subjects to avoid can be broad themes, such as bigotry and torture, or specific elements, such as spiders or a particular name that carries emotional weight for a player.
Daggerheart_Core_Rulebook-5-20-2025, page 171
Lines And Veils
X-Card
Read more about these tools on the Daggerheart Website
Character Creation
Character Experiences
Relationships With Other PCs
Player Tools
Daggerheart Character Builder | Digital Character Sheet App Obsidian TTRPG Tutorials | Guide towards using Obsidian to note take for your RPGs Obsidian TTRPG Tutorials - Daggerheart | Specific resources around Daggerheart
Build A Map
We can discuss how in depth as a group we’d like to be with the map making process.