The Shattered God | A Daggerheart Actual Play One-shot

Some curses are not born of monsters—but of impossible choices.

Shackled and condemned, five prisoners are pulled from the depths of Witherhelm Hold and offered a single chance at freedom: investigate the Watchfire of Kharvos Keep, a beacon long thought extinguished… now burning once more. Their escort, Commander Garren Holtvale, gives no promises—only a warning. Success earns their lives. Failure earns their graves.

Across a fog-choked sea, the island greets them not with ruin, but with illusion. A village alive with laughter and light hides a terrible truth: the dead reliving their final day, over and over, bound to a song etched into stone. When the illusion shatters, the past rises screaming—and the party flees into the keep as the chant haunts them.

What follows is not a battle—but a reckoning.

Through visions of war, sacrifice, and betrayal, the party witnesses the moment a man’s grief called to the gods… and was answered not with mercy, but with transformation. The Watchfire was not a warning. It was a birth.

From grief and fire a god of chaos rose.

Session Six: The Arc of History

History does not bend quietly.

The Garden holds its breath as truths long buried rise to the surface. One among the party vanishes into living light—and returns forever changed. In a realm of moving script and golden radiance, a choice is made: secrets or truth. Memory or power. When Ellumnd reappears as the Avatar of Knowledge, the weight of the past follows with them.

At the edge of the Garden, the party finds an encampment abandoned without struggle. Fires cold. Tools left where hands once rested. The elves are gone—not scattered, but summoned—drawn deeper into the Garden toward an ancient reckoning. As supplies are gathered and signs interpreted, one truth becomes clear: this was not flight. It was judgment.

That judgment awaits within a circle of stone, where gods convene and mortals stand accused. The elves plead for survival. The Garden’s keepers demand purity. And the party finds themselves pulled into the trial—asked not only to defend the elves, but to answer for the corruption spreading across Aer'yndor itself.

When the moment breaks, knowledge becomes a weapon. Memory floods the circle. Lies unravel. And the gods are forced to reckon with the Shattered One’s influence—an offer made to save the Garden at the cost of its soul.

The elves are spared. The Garden dims. And the path forward leads not to peace—but to war.

Through a portal torn open by divine will, the party steps onto the burning plains of Thra’kul. Beneath a crimson sky, gods clash like living cataclysms. Steel meets crown. Justice meets ruin. And when a god falls, his hammer remains—still burning, still waiting.

As thunder gathers and the storm answers the call, Throgg stands before a choice that will echo through history.

Justice…

And the arc of history begins to turn.

Session Five: What Comes For Us All, Part II

Victory comes at a cost.

In the shattered throne room of Thalan’dor, the chaos god lies slain—but its death leaves scars deeper than any wound. Amid broken marble and fading divine echoes, the party reckons with what was lost: an eye torn from a friend, the lingering words of Nyxirath, and the terrible truth that mortals may yet be forged into gods.

As the night unravels, revelations surface. Ancient names are spoken. Forgotten origins of the gods are revealed. And one among them is called home—to a glade of eternal moonlight, where a radiant god offers a choice that could burn the world clean… or save it.

Beyond the ruined palace waits the Vale of Elarion, an elven garden frozen in fear and decay. Statues line its paths. Souls linger beneath still water. And at the heart of it all stands a moment that will change everything: a bargain with Death herself, struck not with power—but with grace.

One life is restored. One destiny is rewritten. And one companion walks a different path entirely.

As portals open and the garden breathes again, the party steps forward—into beauty, rot, and the living heart of creation.

What comes for us all is not the end.

Session Four: What Comes for Us All, Part One

The journey into Aelthwyn reveals a kingdom already lost.

What should have been a living elven realm is instead a vast mausoleum—entire villages frozen in marble, their souls torn away and harvested by spider-like creatures of stone and flesh. Following their trail leads the party to a chasm where the ruins of Thalan’dor hang suspended in the air, its ancient magic flickering like a dying star.

Crossing a shattered bridge between worlds, the group enters the floating city and discovers the full cost of what was taken: hollowed nobles, shattered shrines, and whispers that invade their dreams. For Darr, sleep brings a vision of past lives, burned homes, and familiar faces marked for death—ending with the unmistakable gaze of something watching from the dark.

Morning brings worse news. Ellumnd and Oleg are gone.

Their trail leads to the palace at the city’s center, where shattered spiders part as if in reverence. Within the throne room, among broken columns and violet crystal remains, the truth is revealed. Nyxirath—once the god of chaos—now claims a new mantle as the god of broken crowns. He offers knowledge, vengeance, and divine inheritance… and when refused, leaves behind a final “gift.”

What follows is a brutal confrontation with a creature born of godly cruelty and stolen flesh—one that leaves scars both seen and unseen.

As the dust settles, the party stands wounded but alive, staring into a garden glowing with impossible green light. A portal waits. The gods are watching. And the cost of what comes next is only beginning to be felt.

Session Three: The Stormsong of Dawnspring

The road out of Gul’vothar offers no peace. In the storm-battered village of Brackenford, the party seeks refuge at the Stag’s Rest—only to find that survival has a way of sharpening old wounds instead of healing them. Secrets surface at the common table. Bloodlines are questioned. Faith, rage, and hope strain against one another as the weight of what was uncovered below the mountain settles in.

When night falls, the storm answers in kind. Shattered souls descend upon the village, driven by a relentless Hunter and wreathed in violet storms. Lightning splits the sky, blades clash in the mud, and victory leaves behind more questions than relief. A single crystal remains—whispering promises that no mortal should hear—and a truth about the Shattered that threatens to unmake everything the party believes they are fighting for.

By dawn, the road ahead is no longer clear. Lies choose the path. Dreams blur into memories. And on a lonely stretch of road, a firelit stranger sings songs that feel less like music and more like prophecy. The storm has passed… but its song lingers.

Video Sessions: http://www.youtube.com/@groupactionroll

The echoes of betrayal run deep as the party uncovers ancient vaults and secrets long buried beneath Vel’thyros. Each step forward tests their faith, their loyalty, and their understanding of the past. Nightmares blur into prophecy, and in the shadows of ruin, a god waits to be revealed.

The Shattered God | A Daggerheart Actual Play Series

Join us on an epic journey into the mystical realm of Aeryndor in the introductory episode of "The Shattered God." In this Session Zero, we lay the groundwork for a tale of celestial upheaval and divine intrigue. Meet the players and their unique characters as they prepare to step into a world teetering on the brink of collapse.

This episode explores the rich backstories of the characters, delves into their connections, and sets the stage for the tales of heroism and tragedy to come. With the fate of gods and the soul of the world hanging in the balance, our adventurers embark on a quest that will test their mettle and bind them to the divine narrative unfolding before them.

Tune in to discover the secrets of Aeryndor, the roles each character will play, and the challenges they will face as the curtain rises on a story where faith, identity, and legacy are about to clash with destiny.