dh-domains

Domain Cards Skill

Provides guidance for handling domain cards and magical abilities in Daggerheart adventures. Domain cards represent a character's magical or specialized abilities, organized into 9 thematic domains.

Authoritative Source: For exact rule wording, use the dh-rules skill to reference srd/contents/Classes.md and srd/contents/Domain Card Reference.md.

The Nine Domains

Each domain represents a thematic school of power. Characters gain access to domains through their class, typically having access to 2 domains.

Domain	Focus	Classes with Access
Arcana	Innate magic, elements, raw power	Druid, Sorcerer
Blade	Weapon mastery, martial prowess	Guardian, Warrior
Bone	Tactics, body control, combat awareness	Ranger, Warrior
Codex	Magical study, books of power	Bard, Wizard
Grace	Charisma, charm, language mastery	Bard, Rogue
Midnight	Shadows, secrecy, stealth	Rogue, Sorcerer
Sage	Nature, beasts, natural world	Druid, Ranger
Splendor	Life, healing, light	Seraph, Wizard
Valor	Protection, shields, defensive power	Guardian, Seraph

For detailed domain descriptions and class associations, see references/domain-overview.md.

Domain Card Anatomy

Each domain card includes six elements:

Element	Description
Level	1-10, determines when the card becomes available. You cannot acquire a card with a level higher than your PC's.
Domain	Symbol indicating which domain the card belongs to. You can only choose cards from your class's two domains.
Recall Cost	Stress spent to swap this card from your vault to your loadout (see Loadout & Vault below).
Title	The card's name.
Type	One of three types: abilities (typically non-magical), spells (magical), or grimoires (Codex domain only, grants collections of lesser spells).
Feature	The card's effect, including any special rules for using it.

Example Card

# CHAIN LIGHTNING

> **Level 5 Arcana Spell**
> **Recall Cost:** 1

Mark 2 Stress to make a Spellcast Roll, unleashing lightning on all
targets within Close range. Targets you succeed against must make a
reaction roll with a Difficulty equal to the result of your Spellcast
Roll. Targets who fail take 2d8+4 magic damage. Additional adversaries
not already targeted and within Close range of previous targets who
took damage must also make the reaction roll...

Spellcast Rolls

Many domain cards require a Spellcast Roll. This is a standard Duality Dice action roll.

Making a Spellcast Roll

Use the mcp__corvran__roll_dice tool:
{ "groups": [{ "n": 1, "d": 12, "label": "hope" }, { "n": 1, "d": 12, "label": "fear" }], "modifier": [trait] }

Spellcast Trait: Determined by your subclass, not class. Each subclass specifies which trait is used for all Spellcast Rolls. Guardian and Warrior subclasses have no Spellcast Trait (martial classes).

Class	Subclass	Spellcast Trait
Bard	Troubadour	Presence
Bard	Wordsmith	Presence
Druid	Warden of Renewal	Instinct
Druid	Warden of the Elements	Instinct
Ranger	Beastbound	Agility
Ranger	Wayfinder	Agility
Rogue	Nightwalker	Finesse
Rogue	Syndicate	Finesse
Seraph	Divine Wielder	Strength
Seraph	Winged Sentinel	Strength
Sorcerer	Elemental Origin	Instinct
Sorcerer	Primal Origin	Instinct
Wizard	School of Knowledge	Knowledge
Wizard	School of War	Knowledge

Spellcast Roll Targets

Some cards specify a target number in parentheses:

"Make a Spellcast Roll (13)..."

The number in parentheses is the Difficulty. Compare your roll total to this number.

Spellcast Outcomes

Spellcast Rolls follow standard action roll outcomes:

Outcome	Condition	Effect
Critical Success	Both dice match	Automatic success, enhanced effect
Success with Hope	Total >= Difficulty, hope die higher	Success, player gains Hope
Success with Fear	Total >= Difficulty, fear die higher	Success, GM gains Fear
Failure with Hope	Total < Difficulty, hope die higher	Failure, player gains Hope
Failure with Fear	Total < Difficulty, fear die higher	Failure, GM gains Fear

Some cards have different effects on success vs. failure (like Healing Hands).

Loadout & Vault

Your loadout is the set of domain cards whose effects your PC can use during play. You can have up to 5 domain cards in your loadout at one time.

Once you've acquired six or more domain cards, you must choose five to keep in your loadout; the rest are in your vault. Vault cards are inactive and do not influence play.

Note: Subclass, ancestry, and community cards don't count toward your loadout or vault - they're always active.

Managing Cards

At the start of a rest (before downtime moves): Freely swap cards between loadout and vault at no cost, as long as your loadout doesn't exceed 5 cards.

At any other time: To move a card from vault to loadout, mark Stress equal to the card's Recall Cost. If your loadout is full, you must also move a card to your vault (at no cost).

When gaining a new card at level-up: You can immediately add it to your loadout for free. If full, move another card to vault.

Usage Limits

Some domain cards restrict how often they can be used (e.g., "once per rest"). Track these limits separately using whatever method you prefer - turning the card sideways, flipping it facedown, or using tokens.

Note: If an effect gives you uses equal to a trait with modifier +0 or less, it grants 0 uses.

Using a Domain Card

When a character uses a domain card:

1. Verify Card is in Loadout: Only loadout cards can be used
2. Pay Any Activation Cost: Some cards require marking Stress to activate
3. Make Spellcast Roll (if required): Roll DdD + Spellcast Trait vs. Difficulty
4. Resolve Effect: Apply the card's outcome
5. Track Usage Limit (if applicable): Mark if the card has limited uses

Card Selection

At Character Creation

PCs acquire two 1st-level domain cards at character creation. Each domain offers 3 options at Level 1. Choose from your class's two domains (you can take both from one domain or one from each).

At Level-Up

Each time you level up, gain one additional domain card at or below your new level. Levels 2-10 typically offer 2 options per domain per level.

Loadout Limit

Your loadout holds a maximum of 5 domain cards. Once you have 6+ cards total, excess cards go to your vault.

Looking Up Domain Cards

Full Card Content

Domain card details are in the Daggerheart SRD. Use the dh-rules skill to search:

# Find a specific card
grep -ri "CARD_NAME" "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/dh-rules/references/srd/abilities/"

# List all cards in a domain
cat "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/dh-rules/references/srd/domains/[Domain].md"

Domain Overview

For quick reference on all 9 domains and their thematic focus, see:

• references/domain-overview.md

Full Domain Content

For complete domain card listings with all options by level, reference the SRD:

• dh-rules/references/srd/domains/ - Domain descriptions and card tables
• dh-rules/references/srd/abilities/ - Individual card details

Quick Reference

Spellcast Roll Formula

DdD + Spellcast Trait (from subclass) vs. Difficulty

Loadout Rules

• Maximum 5 domain cards in loadout
• Swap freely at start of rest (no cost)
• Swap mid-session by paying Recall Cost in Stress

Domain-Class Access

Class	Domains
Bard	Codex, Grace
Druid	Arcana, Sage
Guardian	Blade, Valor
Ranger	Bone, Sage
Rogue	Grace, Midnight
Seraph	Splendor, Valor
Sorcerer	Arcana, Midnight
Warrior	Blade, Bone
Wizard	Codex, Splendor

References

• references/domain-overview.md - Summary of all 9 domains with thematic descriptions
• ../dh-rules/references/srd/domains/ - Full SRD domain content (via symlink)
• ../dh-rules/references/srd/abilities/ - Full SRD domain card content (via symlink)