Daggerheart Announces New “Hope & Fear” Expansion

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Darrington Press, the publishing arm of the Critical Role franchise, has just unveiled the first major sourcebook for the new Daggerheart fantasy tabletop RPG. Entitled Daggerheart: Hope & Fear, the upcoming supplement introduces new classes, campaign frames, adversaries, magic items and physical cards, representing a significant expansion of the relatively new TTRPG.

The book will be coming out later in the summer of 2026, but you can learn more and pre-order now from your local game store and on the Daggerheart website. Below, we take a closer look at everything that’s included.

What’s inside “Daggerheart: Hope & Fear”?

Hope & Fear is a new 200-page expansion for Daggerheart that contains new mechanics, lore and player tools. In particular, it includes:

New Character Options

• Four new classes: Including the Witch, Warlock, Brawler and Assassin.
• Eight new subclasses: Two for each of the new classes listed above.
• Six new ancestries: Skykin, Tidekin, Earthkin, Emberkin, Gnome and Aetheris.
• Six new communities: Duneborne, Hearthborne, Frostborne, Warborne, Freeborne and Reborne.

Monsters, Environments & Items

• 130+ new adversaries, which is Daggerheart’s term for monsters and antagonistic NPCs).
• 28 new environments, with hooks for integrating them into adventures and campaigns.
• 100+ new weapons, armor pieces, consumables and items
• A rip pad of blank adversary sheets to build your own threats

New Campaign Content

• Four new Campaign Frames, each offering a fully realized thematic backdrop for adventures.

New Card Sets

• The Dread Domain, a dark magic card suite tied to the new Witch and Warlock classes.
• New card decks for each of the 8 new subclasses featured in the book.
• 6 Transformation Cards for the Vampire, Werewolf, Reanimated, Ghost, Shapeshifter and Demigod.

What’s included in the Hope & Fear Deluxe Edition?

Darrington Press is also releasing a Hope & Fear Deluxe Edition that has a number of additional features that aren’t included in the standard edition, including:

• Gold-foil collector’s box with exclusive wraparound artwork and magnetic clasp.
• Alternate cover art for both the physical rulebook and accessory box.
• Custom GM screen with new artwork and stackable Fear tokens.
• Rip pad of character sheets, guides and maps
• Exclusive premium dice, including a standard seven dice polyhedral set, an oversized GM d20 and ten rhombic d12 Hope & Fear dice.

When is “Daggerheart: Hope & Fear” Coming Out?

The book is slated for release in the summer 2026, with an exact date to be determined. Pre-orders are available now via the Daggerheart website and will include a bonus PDF version of the book that will be, delivered two weeks before release.

Notably, the Standard Edition will be widely available at game stores, online retailers and bookshops through Darrington Press’s partnership with Macmillan Publishers. The Deluxe Edition, however, will remain an exclusive item with a limited print run and will only be available via the Daggerheart website and select retailers.

How much is “Daggerheart: Hope & Fear”?

The Daggerheart: Hope & Fear standard edition hardcover retails for $39.99 USD, while the Deluxe Edition is $119.99 USD (not including shipping and handling). A PDF version will also be available, but an official price has not yet been confirmed.

This price point, however, is comparable to what we’ve seen with other Daggerheart products, with the 366-page Standard Core Rules going for $59.99 USD.

Why pick up “Daggerheart: Hope & Fear”?

• A major expansion that meaningfully deepens the Daggerheart ruleset.
• Four new classes and transformations that dramatically reshape character builds.
• New adversaries and environments with a dark fantasy/horror vibe to them.
• A new domain with unique mechanics and flavor, expanding the darker corners of Daggerheart’s magic.
• Continued support for a game that’s relatively new but growing in popularity among the community.

Final Thoughts

With Daggerheart: Hope & Fear, Darrington Press looks to be continuing to grow what’s quickly becoming a major new fantasy RPG and a direct competitor to Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons. There’s no doubt that the community will be closely watching this release. Whether it lives up to the hype, however, remains to be seen.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this launch in the days ahead and will do a deeper dive closer to launch. In the meantime, you can pre-order Hope & Fear now from your local game store and on the Daggerheart website.

Below is also a video from the official Darrington Press YouTube channel with more info on what’s included.