“The Sablewood Messengers” Ends on a Cliffhanger – But Where Is the Sequel?

Anyone who has played The Sablewood Messengers knows the problem: Daggerheart’s introductory adventure is over—but the story clearly is not. A cliffhanger already points toward the next adventure. And not only has that second part existed for some time: a third installment was already played at Gen Con as well. Neither, however, has been made generally available so far. Could that change as soon as August 25?

The Sablewood Messengers, released in German as “Botengang im Zobelwald,” is many German-speaking groups’ first introduction to Daggerheart. The adventure takes Level 1 characters into the Sablewood and introduces a new group to the system’s core mechanics.

But something rather unusual for an introductory adventure happens at the end: The story ends on a cliffhanger. Instead of bringing the plot to a complete conclusion, the finale directly suggests that another task is already waiting for the characters.

And that sequel actually exists.

Part 2 Already Exists: “The Dying Spire”

With The Dying Spire, Darrington Press has already completed the Level 2 sequel to The Sablewood Messengers. The adventure was first released on June 27, 2026, for Free RPG Day as a print edition available through participating game stores.

Anyone who was unable to get a copy has therefore been left hanging at the cliffhanger.

A public digital edition of The Dying Spire has still not been released. However, the adventure was playable at Gen Con from July 30 to August 2, where Darrington Press offered The Dying Spire as a four-hour adventure for Level 2 characters.

Print copies were also available at Gen Con. Evidence of this comes from the German-language YouTube channel Dolchherz: One of its videos shows a printed copy of The Dying Spire that was brought back from the convention. The video does not, however, establish under what conditions those copies were available there.

The timing is interesting for another reason as well. At Gen Con, Darrington Press outlined its future plans for Daggerheart and announced regular free digital adventures. New material is intended to cover different Tiers, genres, and styles of play over time.

That means there is now a very suitable release channel for The Dying Spire.

Part 3 Is Already Here, Too

Things get even more interesting with The Marauders of Windfall.

This adventure already exists as well. An updated version for Level 3 characters was played at Gen Con 2026. It even made use of character options from Hope & Fear.

Based on the material currently known, this creates a small sequence of adventures:

Level 1: The Sablewood Messengers / “Botengang im Zobelwald”
Level 2: The Dying Spire
Level 3: The Marauders of Windfall

What initially appears to be a simple introductory adventure therefore seems to be the beginning of a small trilogy that could take a group through its first three character levels.

There is just one problem: While The Sablewood Messengers is readily available, we are still waiting for a general release of its two sequels.

Rumors of a Digital Release

At least in the case of The Dying Spire, there have been indications for some time that this could change.

Important: From this point on, we are dealing with unconfirmed community claims and speculation. Darrington Press has not officially announced either a digital release or a specific release date.

As early as June 27, immediately after Free RPG Day, people on Reddit were speculating about a later free digital version.

In early August, the claims became more specific—although they came from different users. On August 7, one user claimed that a free release would arrive “at the end of the month.” On August 11, another user wrote that the digital release was coming “very soon.”

Another comment even named August 14. That date has passed, making the claim demonstrably incorrect.

A new rumor has since appeared: On August 18/19, a Facebook post claimed that The Dying Spire would be released for free “next week with the release of Hope and Fear.”

That would mean August 25, 2026.

Why August 25 Would at Least Make Sense

There is indeed quite a lot happening around Daggerheart on that date: Hope & Fear officially releases on August 25. At the same time, the Daggerheart SRD is expected to be expanded with content from Hope & Fear.

The date would therefore fit naturally with a larger wave of digital updates for Daggerheart. In addition, the Gen Con version of The Marauders of Windfall already used character options from Hope & Fear.

Releasing The Dying Spire on the same day would therefore be entirely plausible.

But it is not confirmed.

That is the crucial distinction. While these claims come from several members of the community, we do not know their original sources. It is possible that statements made by Darrington Press staff at conventions were passed along. It is equally possible that later comments are simply repeating earlier speculation.

The already incorrect August 14 date shows why caution is warranted.

So, as of today, August 19, 2026, the situation is:

A future free digital release of The Dying Spire seems entirely plausible. However, there is currently no official confirmation that it will be released on August 25.

And When Will “The Marauders of Windfall” Arrive?

If The Dying Spire does receive a digital release, the next question immediately follows.

After all, The Marauders of Windfall already exists as a Level 3 adventure. The fact that Darrington Press ran an updated version at Gen Con at least shows that the adventure is still actively being used and developed.

A public release of this new version has likewise not been announced.

However, in the context of Darrington Press’s new strategy of releasing free Daggerheart adventures on a regular basis, a later release would certainly make sense. And because the Gen Con version already used content from Hope & Fear, the release of that book on August 25 would at least remove that potential obstacle.

For now, however, this also remains speculation.

A Quickstart Could Become a Small Campaign

And that is what makes this story particularly interesting.

The Sablewood Messengers is not simply a tutorial that ends after a single session. Its cliffhanger leads into an existing Level 2 adventure—and apparently another installment for Level 3 follows after that.

If The Dying Spire and, later, The Marauders of Windfall are made generally available, the German Quickstart would effectively become the beginning of a small Daggerheart campaign:

The Sablewood Messengers → The Dying Spire → The Marauders of Windfall

That would be particularly useful for new groups. Instead of having to create their own campaign immediately after finishing the introductory adventure, they could keep their characters and continue their story across several levels.

At the same time, Darrington Press has announced plans to regularly release free digital adventures for Daggerheart. So a suitable release channel already exists.

Whether The Dying Spire will actually become part of that strategy—and whether we might learn more as soon as August 25—remains to be seen.

Anyone currently sitting at the cliffhanger at the end of The Sablewood Messengers therefore has good reason to keep a close eye on Darrington Press’s upcoming releases.

And if The Dying Spire does arrive, we already know the next question:

When will The Marauders of Windfall be released?

Sources and Further Reading

Darrington Press – Gen Con 2026:
Darrington Press – Gen Con 2026

Daggerheart – Hope & Fear:
Daggerheart – Hope & Fear Unveiled

Daggerheart – Birthday Announcement / Adventure Pipeline and SRD:
Daggerheart – Birthday Announcement

Dolchherz on YouTube – Print Copy of “The Dying Spire” from Gen Con:
Dolchherz on YouTube

The Sablewood Messengers – English Quickstart Adventure:
The Sablewood Messengers – Quickstart Adventure PDF

Note on the rumors: The claims regarding a possible free digital release at the end of August or specifically on August 25, 2026, come from various community posts on Reddit and Facebook. Darrington Press has not confirmed a specific release date for The Dying Spire.