If you forgot or don’t have d12 dice, you can play a game of Daggerheart that uses playing cards in place of d12s. This post details a few alternative ways to roll Duality Dice with cards, from basic rolling to fun mini-games--I call it Daggerdeck, a simple add-on to Daggerheart.
When I return from vacation, I will upload a formatted Daggerdeck rules doc to Itch, PWYW, that has a few more examples of play (future link here). If you playtest these rules yourself and have questions or feedback, please comment down below. And before I get started, I want to acknowledge again that the idea for these cards-as-dice mechanics came from the inimitable Dadstep, over at the To Be Resolved blog. Enjoy!
Game 1: Simple rolls
If you remove the Kings from a deck of playing cards, drawing a card is just like rolling a d12 (Ace=1, 2-10, J=11, Q=12). The odds are exactly the same, on average, for a given number to come up.
So here’s how to play Daggerheart without any dice:
Step 1: Get a standard 52-card deck, removing any Jokers. One or two decks of cards will do for the table, but if each player and GM has a shuffled deck of cards, you won't have to re-shuffle as often.
While playing, discard any Kings that appear, in a separate pile. Replace them by drawing from the deck.
Step 2: Each time a player needs to roll Duality Dice, they deal themselves a hand of 2 cards face up. This pair of cards is their roll.
Total up the roll by adding the two card values. To determine if they rolled with Fear or Hope, players use these rules:
If both cards are red, they roll with Hope.
If both cards are black, they roll with Fear.
If red and black are drawn, the red is Hope, the black is Fear: higher wins.
Example 1: Player deals a Jack of Hearts (value=11, red) and an Ace of Spades (value=1, black). Their total is 12 on their Duality Roll, with Hope (red>black).
Step 3: If you have advantage/disadvantage, draw and place a third card near your pair, sideways. If it is greater than 6, subtract 6 from its value (so a 7 → 1, etc.). Then add or subtract the card value from your roll total.
Step 4: Put played cards in a discard pile next to the deck. When a player is out of deck cards, shuffle the discards.
Game 2: Three-roll draw
This version of rolling Duality Dice with cards injects a bit of strategy into the game–players deal themselves a hand of three cards, which represent pre-rolled dice. Players can choose which card to play and make interesting choices (do I want a high roll with that Queen of Spades, even if it means I get Fear?). There are also optional twists to the game that make it even more fun.
Step 1: Get a standard 52-card deck, removing any Jokers. One or two decks of cards will do for the table, but if each player and GM has a shuffled deck of cards, you won't have to re-shuffle as often.
In this game, KEEP any Kings that appear. Kings are wild, but the deck chooses the value, not the player. When they are dealt, draw another card from the deck to replace them in the hand.
Step 2: From the deck, each player deals themselves a hand of 3 cards. Players should hide their hand of cards from other players.
Step 3: Each time a player needs to roll Duality Dice, they play one card from their hand, and turn over a second card drawn from the top of the deck. This pair of cards is their roll.
Total up the roll by adding the two card values. To determine if they rolled with Fear or Hope, players use these rules:
If both cards are red, they roll with Hope.
If both cards are black, they roll with Fear.
If red and black are drawn, the red is Hope, the black is Fear: higher wins.
Step 4: If you have advantage/disadvantage, draw and place a third card near your pair, sideways. If it is greater than 6, subtract 6 from its value (so a 7 → 1, etc.). Then add or subtract the card value from your roll total.
Step 5: Put played cards in a shuffle pile next to the deck. When a player is out of cards in their Hand, they deal themselves three more from the deck. The deck is reshuffled from the shuffle pile when it runs out of cards.
Players knowing that they may roll poorly or well ahead of time can be justified in game by saying they know if they feel tired and down, or feel like a million bucks. Don’t you always have a good feel for if you are up to a task? If you are exhausted, can you gather your energy for one big push?
Twists: Twists are optional, and are rated on a scale of changing gameplay. One star = minimal changes, two or more stars = noticeable changes.
Twist #1: Play Two.* This twist allows the player some control over getting a good result when they need it, at the cost of worse luck later.
If there are two cards that add up to 12 in their hand (for example, a Jack and Ace, or a 5 and a 7), a player can play two cards from their hand at once, separately. They place the cards face up on the table and a bit apart: one card is played to the left, one to the right.
The player then draws two cards from the deck; the first is added to the left card to make a pair, and the second to the right card to make a pair.
The player then chooses which pair of cards on the table to use for this Duality Dice roll. The other pair returns to their hand, to be played later.
Twist #2a: Play a Double (Hope).** This twist allows a player to have instant luck, but at the cost of spending Hope.
If a player has a two-of-a-kind in their hand (for example, two sixes, of any suit), they can spend 2 Hope to play their two-of-a-kind pair for their roll. They place the two cards face up on the table, touching.
If a pair of Kings is played, it is an automatic double. The player draws one card from the deck to determine the value of the double (for example., if a six is drawn, the King double becomes a double of sixes, with a total of 12).
GMs: If you allow this twist, the chance of a critical roll is doubled. Players could also use this Twist to pass moderate checks by choice, if they have the cards, but that will only happen in a fraction of dealt hands. So this twist comes with a cost, spending Hope.
Twist #2b: Play a Double (Risk).** This twist allows a player to have instant luck, but at the real risk of a bad-to-middling roll instead. Either use Twist 2a, or 2b, but not both.
If a player has a two-of-a-kind in their hand (for example, two sixes, of any suit), they can play their two-of-a-kind pair for their roll. They place the two cards face up on the table, touching.
If a pair of Kings is played, it is an automatic double. The player draws one card from the deck to determine the value of the double (for example., if a six is drawn, the King double becomes a double of sixes, with a total of 12).
The odds of a two-of-a-kind when you have three cards are roughly 2x the odds of rolling a double with dice. So this twist comes with a real risk.
The risk: The player must draw two additional cards from the deck and flip them over. If the total value of the deck pair is higher than the total value of their double (a pair of 8s is 16, etc.), they lose the benefits of the double! Instead, players total up the double like a regular roll, and roll with Fear.
With this cost, it’s risky to play any double that’s less than a 7: the odds are against you that it will stay a double.
GMs: If you allow this twist, the chance of a critical roll is doubled. Players could also use this Twist to pass moderate checks by choice, if they have the cards, but that will only happen in a fraction of dealt hands. This is why, to offset this benefit, all failed doubles roll with Fear. If you think this is too harsh, let the deck hand’s cards determine Hope or Fear.
Twist #3: Cards on the table.*** Instead of players holding their cards in their hand where others cannot see them (or otherwise hiding them), they lay them on the table face up. This may be the default for play in some online set-ups. This twist is equal in terms of odds of different rolls, but players will change their choices and strategize around poor or high rolls they see coming for their party.
Knowing that a fellow player may roll poorly can be justified in game by saying they look uncertain or beleaguered, or visibly need to recover their energy after a big effort. Similarly, a good hand can be thought of as a player brimming over with vitality and good vibes, clearly having a run of good fortune. And as always, players may still find disappointment, or hidden reserves, in the Deck.
Twist #4: Choosing Advantage.*** This twist allows a player to spend 1 Hope to avoid drawing a card from the Deck for their advantage/disadvantage (A/D) rolls. Instead, they can play a card from their hand sideways as their A/D card.
The catch to this twist is that the GM can also spend 1 Fear to determine the advantage/disadvantage card for any draw. They play a card from their hand, overruling the existing A/D card. Players cannot play over the GM’s card.
Game 3: Five-roll draw
This version injects more strategy into the game–players start with a hand of five cards, which represent pre-rolled dice. Players can choose which card to play and make interesting choices (do I want to try for a high roll with that Queen of Spades, even if it means I get Fear?).
Step 1: Get a standard 52-card deck, removing any Jokers. One or two decks of cards will do for the table, but if each player and GM has a shuffled deck of cards, you won't have to re-shuffle as often.
In this game, KEEP any Kings that appear. Kings are wild, but the deck chooses the value, not the player. When they are dealt, draw another card from the deck to replace their value and suit.
Step 2: From the deck, each player deals themselves a hidden hand of 5 cards to hold, and deals two more cards face down in front of them (face down cards are called Hole cards).
Step 3: Each time a player needs to roll Duality Dice, they play one card from their hand, and turn over a second card drawn from the top of the deck. This pair of cards is their roll.
Total up the roll by adding the two card values. To determine if they rolled with Fear or Hope, players use these rules:
If both cards are red, they roll with Hope.
If both cards are black, they roll with Fear.
If red and black are drawn, the red is Hope, the black is Fear: higher wins.
Step 4: Put played cards in a shuffle pile next to their deck. When a player is out of their face-up cards, they deal themselves more from their deck and replace any missing Hole cards.
Step 5: Once a player runs out of deck cards, they reshuffle their their deck.
Players knowing that they will roll poorly or well ahead of time can be justified in game by saying they know if they feel tired and down, or feel like a million bucks. Don’t you always have a good feel for if you are up to a task? If you are exhausted, can you gather your energy for one big push?
Twists: Twists are optional, and are rated on a scale of changing gameplay. One star = minimal changes, two or more stars = noticeable changes. If you have been reading all the rules to this point, only Twists 1 and 2 differ from those in Game #2.
Twist #1: Play Two.* This twist allows the player some control over getting a good result when they need it, at the cost of worse luck later.
If there are face-down Hole cards remaining in front of them, a player can play two face-up cards from their hand at once, separately. They place the cards face up on the table and a bit apart: one card is played to the left, one to the right.
The two face-down cards in their Hole are then flipped over, one at a time. The first is added to the left card to make a pair, and the second to the right card.
The player then chooses which pair of cards on the table to use for this Duality Dice roll. The other pair returns to their hand, to be played later.
Face down cards are not refreshed until all face-up cards in a player’s hand have been played.
Twist #2a: Play a Double (Hope).** This twist allows a player to have instant luck, but at the cost of spending Hope.
If a player has a two-of-a-kind in their face-up hand (for example, two sixes, of any suit) AND two Hole cards remaining face down, they can spend 3 Hope to play their two-of-a-kind pair for their roll. They place the two cards face up on the table, touching.
If a pair of Kings is played, it is an automatic double. The player draws one card from the deck to determine the value of the double (for example, if a six is drawn, the King double becomes double sixes, with a total of 12).
GMs: If you allow this twist, the odds of a two-of-a-kind when you have five cards are roughly 5x the odds of rolling a double with dice. Players could also use this Twist to pass moderate checks by choice, if they have the cards, but that will only happen in ~20% of dealt hands. So this twist comes with a cost, spending Hope.
Twist #2b: Play a Double (Risk).** This twist allows a player to have instant luck, but at the real risk of a bad-to-middling roll instead. Either use Twist 2a, or 2b, but not both.
If a player has a two-of-a-kind in their face-up hand (for example, two sixes, of any suit) AND two Hole cards remaining face down, they can play their two-of-a-kind pair for their roll. They place the two cards face up on the table, touching.
If a pair of Kings is played, it is an automatic double. The player draws one card from the deck to determine the value of the double (for example, if a six is drawn, the King double becomes double sixes, with a total of 12).
The odds of a two-of-a-kind when you have five cards are roughly 5x the odds of rolling a double with dice. So this twist comes with a real risk.
The risk: After playing their double, the players flip over their two face-down Hole cards. If either card in the Hole pair is higher than the number of their double (a pair of 8s is number 8, etc.), they lose the benefits of the double! Instead, players total up the double like a regular roll (a pair of 8s would be 16), and automatically roll with Fear.
With this cost, it’s risky to play any double that’s less than a 9: the odds are against you that it will stay a double, and instead become a low-to-medium roll with Fear.
GMs: If you allow this twist, the odds of a two-of-a-kind when you have five cards are roughly 5x the odds of rolling a double with dice. Players could also use this Twist to pass moderate checks by choice, if they have the cards, but that will only happen in ~20% of dealt hands. This is why all failed doubles could roll with Fear. If you think this is too harsh, let the Hole hand’s cards determine Hope or Fear.
Twist #3: Cards on the table.*** Instead of players holding their cards in their hand where others cannot see them (or otherwise hiding them), they lay them on the table face up. This may be the default for play in some online set-ups. This twist is equal in terms of odds of different rolls, but players will change their choices and strategize around poor or high rolls they see coming for their party.
Knowing that a fellow player is likely to roll poorly can be justified in game by saying they look uncertain or beleaguered, or visibly need to recover their energy after a big effort. Similarly, a good hand can be thought of as a player brimming over with vitality and good vibes, clearly having a run of good fortune. And as always, players may still find disappointment, or hidden reserves, in the Deck.
Twist #4: Choosing Advantage.*** This twist allows a player to spend 1 Hope to avoid drawing a card from the Deck for their advantage/disadvantage (A/D) rolls. Instead, they can play a card from their hand sideways as their A/D card.
The catch to this twist is that the GM can also spend 1 Fear to determine the advantage/disadvantage card for any draw. They play a card from their hand, overruling the existing A/D card. Players cannot play over the GM’s card.
