Against the Darkmaster vs The Riddle of Steel
Compare Against the Darkmaster and The Riddle of Steel side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Against the Darkmaster | The Riddle of Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Deadly, High-Fantasy, Journey, Character-Driven, Roll to Cast | Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Deadly, Gritty, Simulation, Crunchy, Character-Driven, Freeform Magic, Classless, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 + skill bonus against a difficulty threshold for skill checks, or against an opponent's defensive bonus for attacks. Rolls of 01–05 are automatic failures (fumbles); rolls of 96–00 are open-ended, allowing a second d100 roll added to the first for explosive results. Attack rolls that exceed the target produce hits on weapon-specific attack tables, with high results triggering critical strikes that cause injuries, bleeding, and conditions beyond simple hit point loss. | Roll a pool of d10s against a Target Number. Each die that meets or beats it is a success. Skill Tests roll an attribute's dice against the Skill Rating, where lower is better. Melee draws dice from a Combat Pool (Reflex plus Proficiency) that must cover attack and defense across a round's two exchanges. Spiritual Attributes add dice when a roll serves their stated focus. |
| Dice | d100 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Out of print |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary (open00 SRD planned) | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Open Ended Games | Driftwood Publishing |
| Year | 2020 | 2002 |
| Languages | English, Italian | English |
| Best For | Groups who want an epic good-versus-evil campaign with deep character creation, detailed travel mechanics, and crunchy percentile combat with critical hit tables: especially fans of Rolemaster or MERP looking for a modernized take. | Groups who want deadly, historically grounded melee decided by how fighters split their dice. It suits campaigns the Seneschal builds around each character's passions, drives, and destinies. |
| Highlights | Character creation combines Kin, Culture, Vocation, and Background into highly differentiated characters with personal Passions that mechanically drive play. Detailed overland travel system with terrain-specific hazard tables, foraging, camping, and safe haven mechanics. Magic system with 30+ Spell Lores and over 300 spells, available to all Vocations at different costs. The Darkmaster creation system lets the GM build a campaign-defining antagonist with servants, artifacts, and a dark stronghold. | Secret red-or-white die declarations and Combat Pool splits make each exchange a contest of reading the opponent. Points earned by acting on Spiritual Attributes add dice in play and also pay for advancement, rewarding characters who pursue their convictions. Sorcerers build spells on the fly from nine Vagaries, and each casting risks months of aging. |
| Considerations | 574-page core book requires significant reading investment before first play. Open-ended d100 rolls and critical hit tables can produce extreme outcomes that swing encounters unpredictably. No published setting: the GM must build or adapt one, though the included introductory campaign provides a starting framework. Character creation involves multiple layered steps (Stats, Kin, Culture, Vocation, Skills, Backgrounds, Passions) that can take an entire session. | There are no hit points, and one solid hit can kill a character outright. Sorcery is deliberately unbalanced against fighters, leaving the Seneschal to rein in sorcerer characters. Mass combat gets only an abstract contested Strategy roll, with no dedicated procedures for naval battles or sieges. |