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Matt Mercer hopes Daggerheart follows Critical Role's example and helps more people find their found family

Daggerheart - and tabletop games in general - can help form powerful friendships just as much as Critical Role fans have over the years.

PAX East 2026 Critical Role Header — Image credit: Critical Role Productions / Popverse

News by Trent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer

Published on Wed Apr 01 2026

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One of the things that has made Critical Role such a success over the years has been the sense of family that fans tend to find amongst themselves. That found family dynamic extends to the stories that get told around the table, and Matt Mercer hopes the same thing happens to people who play the company’s Daggerheart system as well.

“I’d love to see Daggerheart as much as a community as the Critters have been for Critical Role,” Matt Mercer told us when we spoke to him at PAX East 2026. “You know, a place for people to find each other, to find excited storytellers in each other, and make friends through that, and, you know, if Critical Role’s experience has been any indication, find family through it. That’s how tabletop games have always been for me.”

“It’s where friends of mine have gotten married after meeting at the table,” he continued, clearly passionate about giving people the chance to connect with each other. “So for me, having Daggerheart be another extension of that opportunity to empower people to feel like they can tap into that creativity that often a lot of culture, especially American culture, doesn’t seem to value. That, to me, I think is really important.”

These friendships are a big reason why we’ll always argue that tabletop games like Daggerheart and D&D can be more rewarding than video games. Around that table, life-changing friendships can be formed. More than any spell your character can cast, that is the real magic of tabletop, and that is what Matt Mercer hopes every Daggerheart player finds.

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