Armour Astir: Advent vs Daggerheart
Compare Armour Astir: Advent and Daggerheart side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Armour Astir: Advent | Daggerheart | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Mecha, Playbook-Driven, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Narrative, Anime, Ship-Based, Collaborative, Mission-Based | Narrative, Collaborative, Heroic, Roleplay-Heavy, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + trait (6 stats from -3 to +3): 6- is a miss, 7-9 is a partial success, 10+ is a full success. Advantage and disadvantage add or remove a die (up to 4d6 total), keeping the best or worst two. Confidence upgrades 1s to 6s; desperation downgrades 6s to 1s. Channeler playbooks pilot Astirs using the CHANNEL trait for magic-related moves, while support playbooks contribute through B-Plots and Carrier upgrades. | Roll 2d12 Duality Dice (Hope + Fear) and add modifiers vs. difficulty. Which die rolls higher determines whether the moment swings toward the players (Hope) or the GM gains Fear tokens to spend on complications. In combat, adversary attacks roll d20 + modifier against target's Evasion. |
| Dice | 2d6 | 2d12 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Darrington Press Community Gaming License (DPCGL) |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Briar Sovereign | Darrington Press |
| Year | 2024 | 2025 |
| Best For | Groups who want PbtA-style mecha action framed as rebellion against oppressive authority, with equal emphasis on dramatic relationships and cockpit combat. | Groups who want heroic fantasy with emotionally driven storytelling, where every roll shifts momentum between hope and fear. Great for Critical Role fans and narrative-focused tables. |
| Highlights | Splits playbooks into Channeler (mech pilot) and Support roles so non-pilots are mechanically distinct rather than sidelined. Conflict Turns provide a structured large-scale warfare system layered on top of individual scenes. Four optional campaign settings provide ready-made factions, mission hooks, and example Astirs as starting points. Confidence/desperation mechanic adds dramatic stakes beyond standard PbtA outcomes. | Every action roll uses 2d12 Duality Dice, and whether Hope or Fear lands higher hands momentum to the player or the GM. Combat runs fiction-first with no fixed initiative, so the spotlight passes by the action rather than a turn order. Characters equip abilities as domain cards drawn from two domains, building a loadout the player can swap between. |
| Considerations | Groups must collaboratively define their Authority, Cause, and Carrier before play begins, though four optional settings are included as starting points. Channeler and support playbook split means the party must coordinate roles during character creation. Rules for Astir construction and Conflict Turns add mechanical weight beyond typical PbtA games. | The domain-card system runs best with printed cards, though it can be played from the character sheet alone. Players and the GM use asymmetric rules, so each side has its own procedures to learn. Mechanics are tied to the game's own setting and ancestries, which takes work to reskin for another world. |