Age of Adventure RPG vs Daggerheart
Compare Age of Adventure RPG and Daggerheart side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Age of Adventure RPG | Daggerheart | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Classic Fantasy, Heroic, Player-Only Rolls, Roll to Cast, One-Shot Friendly, Low-Prep, Theater of the Mind, Random Tables, Open Source | Narrative, Collaborative, Heroic, Roleplay-Heavy, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven |
| Core Mechanic | Each Hero picks a single Proficiency number from 2 to 5. MIGHT actions (physical, martial) count d6 results equal to or under that number as Successes; MIND actions (mental, complex) count results equal to or over it. Roll 1d6 by default and add bonus dice for being Skilled, Prepared, Helped, or carrying the right Item. Rolling the Proficiency number exactly on a successful check earns a Hero Point, spendable for extra dice, rerolls, +1 damage, or a true in-world answer from the GM. Only players ever roll: enemy attacks resolve as automatic player Reaction Checks against the same Proficiency, with Block (1 less damage) or Dodge (no damage) chosen by the defender. | Roll 2d12 Duality Dice (Hope + Fear) and add modifiers vs. difficulty. Which die rolls higher determines whether the moment swings toward the players (Hope) or the GM gains Fear tokens to spend on complications. In combat, adversary attacks roll d20 + modifier against target's Evasion. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | 2d12 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 | Darrington Press Community Gaming License (DPCGL) |
| Cost | Free / $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Adrian Young Games | Darrington Press |
| Year | 2025 | 2025 |
| Best For | Groups who want a complete heroic fantasy game they can start playing the same night: everything from character creation to campaign play fits in a twelve-page zine, with classic fantasy races and class archetypes already built in. | Groups who want heroic fantasy with emotionally driven storytelling, where every roll shifts momentum between hope and fear. Great for Critical Role fans and narrative-focused tables. |
| Highlights | A single Proficiency number from 2 to 5 defines a character's physical-versus-mental lean in one decision, so building a Hero is a thirty-second commitment rather than a stat-by-stat exercise: high favors MIGHT (roll under), low favors MIND (roll over). Only players roll dice, even on defense: every enemy attack triggers an automatic Reaction Check from the targeted Hero, so the GM is free to narrate threats while every die at the table belongs to a player. Encounter Levels are calculated as Size × Actions × Challenge plus armor and shield bonuses, then summed across the party, giving the GM an at-a-glance balance number to scale opposition without writing statblocks. | Hope/Fear duality creates constant dramatic tension, fiction-first combat flows freely without rigid turns, card-based abilities add a tactile element, session zero and safety tools built in |
| Considerations | Magic is limited to six Arcane and six Holy spells that Wizards and Clerics know in full from creation, with no spell progression, new spells, or list customization across a campaign. Damage caps at 2 points per hit and Stamina maxes at the Proficiency number plus armor, so combats resolve in a few rounds without granular HP attrition or extended tactical play. Character advancement between adventures is limited to gold rewards and a +1 starting Hero Points carryover: there are no levels, experience tracks, or stat increases that meaningfully change a Hero over the course of a campaign. | Card-based system works best with physical or printed cards though character sheets alone suffice, asymmetric GM/player rules have a learning curve, tightly coupled to its own setting and lore |