Daggerheart vs Mouse Guard RPG
Compare Daggerheart and Mouse Guard RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Daggerheart | Mouse Guard RPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Narrative, Collaborative, Heroic, Roleplay-Heavy, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven | Character-Driven, Atmospheric, Mission-Based |
| Core Mechanic | 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. | Roll a pool of d6s equal to your ability or skill: each die showing 4+ counts as a success. Meet or exceed the obstacle number to pass. Conflicts (fights, arguments, chases, negotiations) use scripted actions and disposition. Beliefs, Instincts, and Goals drive advancement. Play alternates between GM's Turn (missions and obstacles) and Players' Turn (personal goals and recovery). |
| Dice | 2d12 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | Darrington Press Community Gaming License (DPCGL) | Proprietary |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Darrington Press | Archaia Entertainment |
| Year | 2025 | 2015 |
| Best For | 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. | Groups who love the Mouse Guard comics and want a mission-driven RPG where brave mice face nature, weather, and predators: with Burning Wheel's belief-driven mechanics in a streamlined package. |
| Highlights | 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. | Beliefs and Instincts mechanically drive play, versatile conflict system handles fights, debates, chases, and negotiations equally, streamlined Burning Wheel engine, well-integrated with the comics, included sample missions and 12 pre-made characters |
| Considerations | 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. | Tightly bound to the Mouse Guard setting, conflict scripting takes getting used to, limited character options, currently out of print |