Top Ancestries for Completing in Daggerheart: A Solving Guide

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In the world of Daggerheart, players have a wide variety of ancestries to choose from, along with numerous customization options. Ancestry not only defines your character’s looks but also brings two unique features that influence gameplay. Some ancestries even have special abilities related to their physical traits, like elemental breath or flight.

Selecting the right ancestry can enhance your chosen class, helping you get the most out of your character. If you’re uncertain about which ancestry aligns best with your class or how to optimize your options, there are multiple strategies to explore your choices effectively.

Overview of Ancestry Features

Katari Warrior via Darrington Press

The first step in choosing an ancestry is to evaluate which features will benefit your character the most. Since Daggerheart requires you to select your class prior to your ancestry, your class will provide you with Foundation, Specialization, and Mastery features. These features outline your class’s mechanics and offer various advantages. While not perfectly aligned, certain ancestry features may complement your class abilities.

Below is a list of all the ancestry features in Daggerheart, which can help you decide which ancestry suits you best.

Ancestry	Features
Clank	Purposeful Design: Gain a +1 bonus to an Experience of your choice. Efficient: Recover a long rest action during a short rest.
Drakona	Scales: When taking Severe damage, you can opt to mark Stress instead of Hit Points. Elemental Breath: Use a breath attack that deals d8 magic damage based on your chosen element.
Dwarf	Thick Skin: Mark two Stress for Minor damage instead of Hit Points. Increased Fortitude: Halve incoming physical damage for the cost of three Hope.

When picking an ancestry, be aware that some provide static benefits at character creation, while others introduce gameplay elements involving Hope and Fear. While static benefits can be advantageous in the long run, it’s essential to select an ancestry that resonates with your playstyle.

Which Ancestry Should You Choose?

A faerie wielding a shield in defense in Daggerheart. — Faerie via Darrington Press

Ancestries can be categorized based on their features, making it easier to find one that fits your desired playstyle. Here’s a simplified breakdown:

Play Style	Ancestry	Description
Fighting/Action Style	Orc Galapa Firbolg Faun Dwarf Drakona Ribbet Giant	These ancestries are ideal for players who want to focus on delivering damage or controlling the battlefield. They excel in dealing extra damage and offer high survivability, making them perfect for action-oriented players.
Buffing Yourself/Party and Playing Support	Katari Infernis Human Halfling Goblin Faerie	For those who enjoy supporting their team, these ancestries have features that aid the party or enhance personal survival, such as giving Hope to others or rerolling dice.
Roleplay		If you’re focused on roleplaying rather than combat, these ancestries shine by leveraging their unique physical traits creatively within the campaign.

Creating a Mixed Ancestry

A half-clank half-drakona hybrid character in Daggerheart. — Half-Clank, Half-Drakona via Darrington Press

If none of the available ancestries quite fit your vision, you have the option to create a mixed ancestry character. This allows you to combine features from two different ancestries found in the Core Rulebook.

However, you can only choose one feature from each ancestry. For instance, an Elf Faerie cannot take both Quick Reactions and Luckbender, since they are both first features from their respective ancestries. Instead, they can select Luckbender and Celestial Trance or Quick Reactions and Wings.

You are welcome to adjust ancestry features as necessary, but it’s important to work with your GM to ensure balance in character creation.

Additionally, you can create a character that combines more than two ancestries, but you’ll still be limited to two features from two of those ancestries. You can showcase the remaining ancestries through your character’s appearance, background, and Experiences in the game.