13th Age vs Dungeons & Dragons
Compare 13th Age and Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| 13th Age | Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Tactical, GM-Friendly, Heroic, Ascending AC | Tactical, Heroic, Dungeon Crawl, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Ascending AC |
| 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 d20 + modifier against a target DC (for ability checks and saving throws) or AC (for attacks). Meeting or exceeding the target succeeds. Advantage rolls 2d20 and takes the higher; disadvantage takes the lower, replacing most situational modifiers. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | ORC License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Pelgrane Press | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2025 | 2024 |
| 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 combining tactical grid combat with deep character-build options, scaling from one-shots up through long multi-tier campaigns. |
| Highlights | Escalation die keeps combat moving, One Unique Things and Icon Relationships create narrative hooks, streamlined monster design makes GM prep fast | Advantage and disadvantage collapse most situational modifiers into one mechanic: roll a second d20 and keep the higher or lower, so play rarely stops to total small bonuses. Each of the 12 classes offers four subclasses in the 2024 Player's Handbook, letting players reshape a class's role without multiclassing. Bounded accuracy keeps proficiency bonuses small, so low-level threats stay relevant in numbers and DCs read consistently across all tiers. |
| Considerations | Tightly coupled to its default setting through the Icon system, some classes have complex trigger systems | High-level play (tier 3–4) introduces significant spell interaction complexity and encounter balancing challenges for GMs. No official rules for non-fantasy genres. Three core books at $50 each represent a significant investment for the full rules. |