Age of Adventure RPG vs Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Compare Age of Adventure RPG and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Age of Adventure RPG | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Gritty, Deadly, Career-Based, Dark Fantasy, Roleplay-Heavy, Atmospheric, Low-Fantasy, Investigation, Corruption, Lore-Heavy, Licensed Setting, Random Character Creation, Roll to Cast, Grimdark |
| 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 d100 under skill or characteristic. Success Levels measure degree of success by comparing the tens digits of the target and the roll. Advantage accumulates during combat, adding +10 per point to attack tests. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d100 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Medium | High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 | No open license |
| Cost | Free / $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Adrian Young Games | Cubicle 7 |
| Year | 2025 | 2018 |
| 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 dark, gritty fantasy where ordinary people face extraordinary dangers in a richly detailed setting. The career system creates unique character arcs from rat catcher to witch hunter. |
| Highlights | A single Proficiency number from 2 to 5 defines a character's physical-versus-mental lean in one decision — high favors MIGHT (roll under), low favors MIND (roll over) — so building a Hero is a thirty-second commitment rather than a stat-by-stat exercise. 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. | Detailed grimdark setting, career system creates varied character arcs, combat carries real consequences |
| 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. | Tightly bound to the Old World setting, Success Level math can slow play, expensive supplement line |