pokemon daggerheart prep

If I was to multiclass, I'd do a Guardian + Seraph for a Tanky Healer. Ranger + Druid would also be a nice combo.

I don't plan to multiclass. Need to get a game or two under my belt beforehand. My level up plans are as follows:

Level 2(Tier 2): +1 Evasion and +1 Domain Card(leaning Cinder Grasp), also get +1 Proficiency and +1 Domain card(Shadowbind) from Tier 2. Haven't decided on what Experience to add(will decide when time comes).

Level 3: +1 Stress slot +1 HP slot, not sure on domain card

Level 4: +1 HP slot +1 Stress slot(8 on both at this point). No idea on Domain card.

Level 5(Tier 3): +1 Evasion and Specialization Subclass to go with +1 Proficiency and +1 Domain Card(Hush is current choice but may change my mind). Experience TBD.

Level 6: +1 Proficiency(4 Proficiency at this point), Domain card I have no idea.

Level 7: +1 Domain Card(TBD.. leaning Arcana Touched since I'll easily have four Arcana cards to get +1 to Spellcast rolls) and +1 bonus to Instinct (+3) and Strength(+0). As for other Domain card, no idea.

Level 8(Tier 4): Mastery(Subclass) that will result in +2 Evasion when invoked and +1 Evasion(am at 15 w/o Equipment buffs). Also get +1 Domain card(TBD but Confusing Aura is on the lead) and Domain card via level up I don't know.

Level 9: +1 Proficiency, Domain card TBD

Level 10: +1 Instinct(+4) and Finesse(+2) and +1 Domain card(Falling Sky). Other Domain card TBD.

Above is subject to change but I think that's pretty solid. Unlikely to remember all of it but figured a rough draft couldn't hurt.

Also completely ignoring my Pokemon moves and evolution 🤣 Shame we can't upgrade our Hope capacity.

@clasingla So I think I have leveling down. Lmk if I'm wrong on anything.

Characters and their level are grouped into four tiers. Tier 1 is what everyone starts at with level 1. Upon leveling to 2, we enter Tier 2 and Tier 2 is for levels 2-4. Tier 3 is from levels 5-7 and Tier 4 is levels 8-10.

Each Tier advancement increases character proficiency by 1 and grants a new Experience with a +2 bonus. Each level up, regardless of Tier, results in +1 Damage thresholds(resulting in +9 to Major and Severe at level 10) and a Domain card from our available domains at our character level or lower. We can have at most 5 domain cards active at a time so eventually unused cards go into our vault and can be swapped or recalled at any time with the appropriate Stress payment(based by recall cost. This can be for free during rest periods).

During each Tier, we can spend 2 advancements per level. For Tier 2, we can get a permanent +1 to two of our stats(can be done three times per tier, hence a max of +1 per stat per tier or +3 per stat from Tiers 2-4 if you take it when possible), +1 Stress slot(twice per Tier, max of +6 for Tiers 2-4), +1 HP slot(twice per tier, max of +6 for Tiers 2-4), permanent +1 bonus to an Experience of your choice(can be done once per tier hence a max of +3 for a given Experience for Tiers 2-4) +1 Domain Card(max of +3 Cards per Tiers 2-4) and permanent +1 to your Evasion(max of +3 for Tiers 2-4).

For Tiers 3 and 4, three additional options become available, two of which are mutually exclusive. The first option is to increase your Proficiency by +1(both level advancements must be spent on this option). Next option is for multi-classing. If you multi-class both level advancements must be spent on it and is mutually exclusive to your third option. Namely if you take the multiclass option, you cannot upgrade the subclass of your main class until you reach the next Tier. Yet if you don't multiclass, then you can upgrade your subclass at Tier 3( or any time during Tier 3) and only costs one level advancement.

Tier 4 is no different than Tier 3, only that the next subclass advancement becomes available and can only be taken if you don't multiclass and took the Specialization during Tier 3(Afaik, you can't take both subclass perks in Tier 4, hence you lose it if you don't take it in Tier 3 correct?).

So if I'm right on everything, then feel free to critique my planned leveling plan.

It's a lot to take in but the gist is that every time you level up, your damage thresholds increase alongside you, hence you get a bonus of +10 to each upon reaching level 10(meaning whatever Armor you have equipped(Bare Bones domain card included), you add your character level to both Major/Severe threshold values. If you're a Stalwart Guardian, you get an additional bonus thanks to Stalwart subclass. @clasingla: Quick question but do Stalwart subclass cards stack or do they merely replace the prior one?). Meaning does it go up by 1 or do they get them all for a fat +6?

In addition, you get a Domain card that is equal or less than your current level from the Domains available to you. Meaning at level 2, you take a level 2 or level 1 card from Grace or Midnight Domains(since you are a Rogue). Once you reach level 10, you will have a floor of 11 Domain cards of varying level and composition, but can only utilize 5 of them at a time(so by level 4 at the latest, you will have a full Domain card loadout).

Upon reaching a respective "Tier", we gain +1 to our Proficiency and a new Experience option(that we pick) at +2. Tiers are achieved at level 2(Tier 2), level 5(Tier 3) and level 8(Tier 4). Meaning upon reaching level 8, we will have a Proficiency of 4 and a total of 5 Experiences to call upon. We obtain the first of these bonuses when we level up to level 2.

Now if you're still following next is where player choice comes into play since everything above is guaranteed. For every level up, we get 2 Advancements or picks that we can do per level.

Our Advancement options are as follows: Use this as a guide to follow: Daggerheart Character Sheet + level up

Upgrade Traits with a permanent +1. This costs one advancement and when choosing this option, you can pick any two Traits but each Trait can only be upgraded once per Tier. This results in a maximum of +3 for a given Trait upon reaching Tier 4.

Permanently add +1 Stress slot. This costs one advancement and can be done twice per Tier, hence for a given character, you can have up to 8 Stress slots in Tier 2, 10 Stress slots in Tier 3 and 12 Stress slots in Tier 4. Additional slots can be obtained through Class perks(Vengeance Guardian) or Domain Cards(Blade in particular). Meaning it's possible to exceed this cap. @clasingla You going to let us exceed 12 Stress slots if we opt to do so? Ditto with HP below given it's "possible" with Guardian and Seraph?

Permanently add +1 HP slot. This costs one advancement and can be done twice per Tier, hence for a given character, you can have up to 8 HP slots in Tier 2, 10 HP slots in Tier 3 and 12 HP slots in Tier 4(Bards and Wizards would have one less, although Wizard subclass pick can add +1). Additional slots can be obtained via Class Perks(Guardians and Seraph start with 7) and Vitality card in Blade grants permanent +1, resulting in a max of 14 for Guardians(if permitted).

Permanently add +1 bonus to two Experiences. This costs one advancement and can be done once per tier, resulting in a cap of +3 to two Experiences(which start at +2 or a ceiling of +5 if you choose this option every Tier).

Choose additional Domain card. This costs one advancement and can be done once per Tier. @clasingla Says on sheet it can be of level 4 or lower for Tier 2 so can we get a level 4 Domain card at level 2 or are we limited to Domain cards of our level or lower like it is for level up? Just wondering since I have ideas lol.

Choose to grant permanent +1 to our Evasion. This costs one advancement and can be done once per Tier, resulting in a cap of +3 if we take it every time. Other Evasion bonuses exists such as Armor, Class Hope Feature or subclass perks. If you take it as a Rogue, you'll have 15 Evasion at level 8(which is insane and doesn't factor in Armor). This can be bumped to 16 via Nightwalker mastery.

Thanks to @clasingla, we gain one more advancement perk and that is a new Pokemon move. This costs one advancement and we can have up to four moves at a time(meaning we have to replace a move upon doing this for the third time). There is no limit to how many times we can do this per Tier but we are limited to two new moves per level.

Upon reaching Tier 3, three options open up. First option is permanent +1 to your Proficiency. This costs two advancements and can only be done once in Tier 3 and again in Tier 4. This results in a cap of 6. @clasingla Is Proficiency capped at 6 or can we exceed that as well? It's possible for my character to do so, hence the question.

Upon reaching Tier 3, the option to Multiclass becomes available. This costs two advancements and prohibits you from upgrading your subclass. You obtain class feature of your new class, one foundation subclass perk from your new class and one Domain from your new Class. Any Domain cards chosen from your new class are equal to half your current level or lower(so level 2 if you do it at level 5, level 3 at level 6 and so on).

The final option is to upgrade your subclass and this costs one advancement. You can do this at any time during Tier 3. Upon reaching Tier 4, Mastery subclass option unlocks but if you haven't taken Specialization perk yet, that must be taken first before you can acquire the Mastery perk.

@clasingla is Evolution going to require an Advancement pick? Also what impact will evolving have on Damage thresholds, Stress/HP slots and other areas, if any?