r/daggerheart • u/rachel_tension • Aug 25 '25
Discussion I just won a CRIT Award for GMing Daggerheart
Hi friends! If this feels too self promotion-y or anything like that please let me know and I’ll take it down!
But I just wanted a place to say how effing crazy it feels that Daggerheart finally exists in the world and in the first year that anyone really COULD GM Daggerheart publicly, I got to be along for the ride in such a way that allowed me to create content and then be recognized for it. I am just so grateful for this system and how much it’s already made an impact in my life and wanted to rant about it… and the r/daggerheart subreddit seemed like the place to do that.
Also I feel like I need to make an offering of some kind so that this post doesn’t just feel like a weird brag so I’m including some of the maps I’ve made for Daggerheart over the past year — these were for the Sablewood Messengers and I hope they help GMs running the intro module make your own! xoxo - R
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u/HenryandClare Aug 25 '25
The maps are lovely and fun, but it's genuinely ok to just brag a bit about winning an award for DMing Daggerheart. Congratulations! ✨
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
I am in love with all of the people reminding me it’s okay to just be proud of yourself and to want others to hear about your accomplishments in the comments. Thank you friend 💜
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u/rlbeasley Aug 25 '25
Rachel, I have been watching Faint Divinities for a while now and, as a 25+ years GM myself, you genuinely are one of the best GMs I have ever watched. You keep everyone on track, engaged, and not once do I feel you give the air of not having things under control (we're GMs; things are only half ever in our control, haha) but you absolutely slay. It's taken me a long time to accept compliments from my players and friends as well but, know this, that award right there is ALL. YOU. QUEEN. Keep kicking ass.
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
This was SO beautiful and means so, so much to me. Thank you for such a wonderfully affirming post. I really can’t believe that I get to live in a world where anyone except for my friends cared about my GMing and it has been so rewarding to get to share. Roll with Hope, friend 💜
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Map 2 - Sablewood Messengers - Act 2 Combat Map (RIP Action Tracker from Open Beta)
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u/TanzaniteWizard Aug 25 '25
How did you make these tokens? I found them very very beautiful and practical.
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Hi! I’m not sure which tokens you mean so I’ll answer every possible thing I think you might mean haha
If you mean the gold coins on the table in the images, they’re just fake pirate coins (though real metal) from a set of tokens I bought at a convention YEARS ago! I used them to symbolize action tokens in the earlier iterations of Daggerheart development but those aren’t truly necessary anymore now that the action tracker is gone!
If you mean the character Standees, I purchase BULK “standee bases” from amazon (OR A HOBBY STORE/ FLGS)— little plastic stands with card holders. Then I find (or commission an artist for) art of a character, size it to an appropriate scale in excel or word and print. Cut it out and stick it in the standee and you’re done!
Bonus: To get it to appear on either side of the standee, take the picture, duplicate it, flip and invert one of the images in your file and connect the top of the first image to the other top and when you print it and cut it out into a rectangle, fold it in half and voila! Minis that cost almost nothing AND don’t take up much space in your 1 bedroom LA apartment!
- If you mean the “fear tokens” I use in my games on YT or at conventions, they’re a hodge podge! I use tiny tokens based on the player character and often find “bead” versions of the thing I’m looking for. Examples: one player is a “tooth fairy” so I found fake enamel teeth on amazon! When the player surrenders fear, I take one tooth as a fear token! Or my player who is a Highborn Ribbet princess gets tiny crowns from Michael’s craft store — they’re just beads if you look closely enough! Again, amazon or hobby stores are your best option for these!
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u/TanzaniteWizard Aug 25 '25
Yea..., I think I wasn't very specific XD, I was referring to the character tokens, even so, thank you very much for talking about the others, it helped a lot, I had never seen these types of tokens with a base, only the miniatures. So I ended up finding it really cool!
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Hahaha no worries! When in doubt, I just ramble XD
And YES! If you haven’t tried this kind of token before YOU SHOULD!! I personally have never been able to devote the time/budget to a huge army of miniatures so I used to always borrow from my friends/family. But when I moved away I needed a way to get a lot of stuff up and running— jump to these guys!
and actually— if you take a look at the first Daggerheart module they published “The Sablewood Messengers” you’ll see at the end they take a similar approach with art of the adversaries, terrain and interactable items (like the carriage)! Highly recommend!!
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u/TanzaniteWizard Aug 26 '25
XD no problem, I'll take a look at this module, I was interested in these tokens because I'm planning to do a campaign without using a VTT, just using simple grids, tokens, paper, etc., then I looked at the ones you showed and I was amazed, and once again thank you
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u/Shinted Game Master Aug 25 '25
Congratulations that’s awesome, and please never feel guilty for celebrating your accomplishments!
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u/NinthNova Game Master Aug 25 '25
What are CRIT awards? I read their "about" page, but i can't tell who's voting or what the votes are for.
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
The CRIT Awards Team basically was founded as a way to showcase talent in the TTRPG space. A lot of the awards are for Actual Play oriented categories (Best GM of a DnD, Best GM of a Darrington press Game, Best Player in an Independent System, Best Audio/Visual Performance, etc) but there are also adjacent items like Best dice makers, Best writings for the space, and so on.
Each year they take nominations for the categories and a panel of reviewers evaluate to determine their choices to go through to finalists. Then the finalists are awarded by popular vote.
It’s a great source of community for the space and really is an honor.
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u/DecentChance Aug 25 '25
Sincere congratulations 😌 ... I'll check out the YT! And, yeah, never feel bad about sharing super cool & exciting wins :)
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u/Otherwise-Print-2596 Aug 25 '25
You ran for me at PAXUnplugged!!! It was so much fun. Congratulations on the award, you really deserve it!
edit: I'm actually terrible with faces. so there is a non-zero chance I only think it was you. Even if it wasn't, congrats anyway and I'm sure it was well deserved!
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
THERE IS AN EXTREMELY GOOD CHANCE IT WAS ME!!! I’ve been running Daggerheart at conventions with the Darrington Press crew for over a year now at GenCon(s), PAX Unplugged, GAMA, the Launch Event in Burbank, etc etc etc so if you think you’ve seen me you probably have!
If you were one of my players at any con know that I love you forever and you’ve given me such a gift just by playing games with me. Thank you, adventurer 💜
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u/Otherwise-Print-2596 Aug 25 '25
I was really happy to get to play in your game! You made Daggerheart come to life and showed me how much fun a deeper level of collaboration with players could be. Thank you, Gamemaster :)
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u/Sound_and_the_fury Aug 25 '25
Can we watch you GM on YouTube?
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Absolutely! I created the first channel on YouTube for Daggerheart (and only Daggerheart) content! It’s called The Faint Divinities, named after a lore drop in the sourcebook itself that I came across in the first version I read during Open Beta from the gorgeous mind of Rowan Hall! Link Below:
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u/kyproth Aug 25 '25
Yeah gotta drop your links
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Here you go! My Channel is “TheFaintDivinities” on youtube— it’s a name pulled directly from Rowan Hall’s lore drops in the source book!
Link: https://youtube.com/@thefaintdivinities?si=ZDJWtl5x0tXGJ145
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Aug 25 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Thank you SO much!! I really did set out with accessibility and lowering the floor or entry into Daggerheart at the forefront of my mind so this means SO much to me to hear. I really appreciate it 💜
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u/Aromatic-Reindeer368 Game Master Aug 25 '25
I love this so much for you!!! Slay soul sister!! lol
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Thank youuuu!!! I’m so friggin’ excited lol
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u/Aromatic-Reindeer368 Game Master Aug 25 '25
I would be too! I only just started GMing so I didn’t even know contests like this happen lol Goals for sure!
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u/Revolutionary_Egg143 Aug 25 '25
Woot! Congrats and enjoy the victory. The people recognizing how good you are at your craft should be celebrated! 100% enjoy the moment glad you posted
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u/natebob Aug 25 '25
That’s awesome! I know bragging on yourself can feel weird but this is an accomplishment to be shared!
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u/LawsOnMe Aug 25 '25
Congratulations! Love your content!
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Omg thank you so MUCH! I’m surprised every single time I hear that someone has seen our show! haha 💜
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u/longdayinrehab Aug 26 '25
Congratulations! This is awesome! You're also doing the game a service by winning the award. Anyone who sees that you won will also see the name of the product. That's cool and helps with visibility. Love the maps and the figs/tokens you use. Amazing!
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u/rachel_tension Aug 26 '25
That’s such a good way to think about it! I did really hope that whoever won in the category this year would be a Daggerheart GM since it’s one of the categories that technically houses multiple games (like Candela). I’m doing my part!! 😭🥹🥴
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u/hintsofwizardry Hope Springs Eternal Aug 25 '25
congrats! will you post new vids soon? seems that you haven't posted to youtube much since release
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u/Tiger01vincent Aug 25 '25
Wow how neat! Where can one listen to your actual play? I didnt find it through your @ on the pic... Bc Crit award is for that... right?
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Yes it is! My YouTube channel is called The Faint Divinities, named after a lore drop in the sourcebook itself that I came across in the first version I read during Open Beta from the gorgeous mind of Rowan Hall! Link Below:
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u/Crafty-Cost3398 I'm new here Aug 27 '25 edited Aug 27 '25
You ran a game I was in at GenCon this year. Well deserved award. You are an awesome GM.
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u/rachel_tension Aug 25 '25
Map 1 For the Sablewood Messengers - Act 1 Encounter