13th Age vs Dungeons & Dragons
Compare 13th Age and Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| 13th Age | Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Strong GM Support, Heroic, Ascending AC | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Combat-Heavy, Exploration, Resource Management, Strong GM Support, CC-Licensed Rules |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier vs. defense. The escalation die (a d6 that increases each combat round, adding to player attacks) builds momentum. One Unique Things and Icon Relationships tie characters to the setting and drive story. | Roll a d20 and add applicable modifiers to meet or beat a target number. Checks and saving throws use a Difficulty Class; attacks use Armor Class. Advantage or disadvantage means rolling two d20s and keeping the higher or lower result. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Availability | Paid | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | ORC License | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (SRD 5.2.1); proprietary core books |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Pelgrane Press | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2025 | 2024 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who love d20 fantasy combat but want more narrative freedom, improvisational play, and story-driven character connections baked into the mechanics. | Groups who want heroic fantasy campaigns with tactical combat and extensive character customization. |
| Highlights | The escalation die keeps combat moving. One Unique Things and Icon Relationships create narrative hooks. Streamlined monster design makes GM prep fast. | Weapon Mastery adds effects such as pushing or slowing enemies to qualifying weapon attacks. Class and feat choices let characters develop different roles over twenty levels. Optional Bastions give characters home bases with facilities that produce benefits between adventures. |
| Considerations | Tightly coupled to its default setting through the Icon system, some classes have complex trigger systems | Spells and class abilities have separate resource limits and timing rules. Higher-level magic can change travel and encounter assumptions that the DM must prepare for. Social encounters rely on ability checks and DM judgments about NPC attitudes. |