Daggerheart Combat & Meaningful Choices

As we were doing Stars & Wishes at the end of my in-person Daggerheart game the other day, one of the players highlighted something that two other players enthusiastically seconded: that the “combat” that night had let them make interesting choices which immediately impacted how the scene played out each time; success or fail. This got me thinking, because implicitly this suggests that most of the combats we’ve done throughout 13 months of play and ~ 25 sessions have not had this feeling. In fact another player highlighted how it felt nice to not “just go in and attack.” Quick breakdown of the combat sitation: the players have finally met up with an elusive NPC Duke to warn him of various plots that are afoot - including that a number of his troops under one of his officers have just responded to a neighboring polity’s intrusion. The Duke rides to the aid of his troops, accompanied by his squires & the adventurers. I framed the scene starting on a crest of a hill with the two forces…