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Considering the number of tabletop game systems that are out there, you might think that making one is easy. However, there is so much to consider, between balance issues and how to make your system stand out in an increasingly crowded industry. When Matt Mercer was looking at designing Daggerheart, the longtime Critical Role GM knew there were a few mechanics that he wanted to make sure they explored.

When we spoke to him at PAX East 2026, we asked Matt Mercer what he was hoping that Daggerheart would take from other tabletop systems like D&D and change or adapt for Critical Role’s new system. He explained that part of the challenge when working with D&D is always that it has to both bring in new players and satisfy those who still revere the 50-year legacy of Dungeons & Dragons. 

“With Daggerheart, a lot of us wanted to find the scenarios, the sort of experiences that a lot of other modern tabletop systems weren’t really facilitating,” Mercer told us. “We wanted there to be enough tactical crunch and customization options and the ability where you can really dive in and craft your own place in this world, but then also be a little more narratively inviting, like a lot of new school game design tends to lean towards. Trying to bridge some of those gaps in a way that also empowers the GM to not feel like they have to build and run and learn everything. That, I think, is one of the big things we wanted to improve upon with Daggerheart over a lot of other systems was to give enough GM tools to make them feel like you don’t have to build a campaign setting. You can just build a few pages here, and it’s really not that hard to just take these few pages and run with it.”

But it isn’t just about helping the GM with worldbuilding; Daggerheart is also focused on getting the players involved, too. “And also build in systems where everyone at the table gets to contribute to that worldbuilding and how that actually generates player investment as well. And then building in actual prominent tools within the system, when the players are playing it, to collaborate in exciting, heroic ways. The Tag Team rule, I was a big proponent of that in the design, and it’s something that I try to incorporate in my D&D, Critical Role campaign, but when it's not codified in the system in a way, it’s kind of left up to player reminder, and it easily gets discarded, and people fall into old habits.”

That Tag Team rule is one of the most exciting parts of Daggerheart to us precisely because it encourages players to come up with new and exciting ways to do epic stuff together. For Matt Mercer, it was a way to remind people that Daggerheart isn’t D&D. “And so a lot of that was trying to break habits that have built over playing other systems for so long, and have the opportunity to out of the gate to be like, ‘No, it’s actually really cool to work with your players in cinematic ways’ and be rewarded for it. So between the campaign frames, the facilitating GM and player collaborative creation and running of the world, and things like the Tag Team rule that help exemplify and reward players coming up with cool shit that they do together, those are some of the examples of things I was really excited for building in the system.”

With two animated series on Prime Video, Campaign 4 in full swing, and so much more Exandrian lore to come, Critical Role is showing no signs of slowing down. That's why the adventuring party at Popverse are here to bring you everything we can from those nerdy-ass voice actors & Bo., including:

• Critical Role release schedule
• Critical Role's Campaign 4 characters ranked
• How to watch Critical Role in order
• Ways for you to relive the Critical Role panel from ECCC '26
• Taliesin Jaffe on playing Mollymauk Tealeaf for Campaign 2 vs. playing him for Prime Video
• Matt Mercer's homebrew warrior class (created originally for Vin Diesel)

...and much, much more. Roll initiative, player. Magic awaits.