Agon vs Pathfinder
Compare Agon and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Agon | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Historical | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Heroic, Narrative, Rules-Light, Fast Sessions, Low-Prep, Mission-Based, Fast-Paced, Cinematic, Tag-Based | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | All conflicts resolve in a single contested roll. Players assemble a dice pool from relevant traits (Name die, Epithet die, Domain die, Divine Favor), each rated as a step die (d4–d12). Everyone rolls simultaneously; highest result wins. The Strife Player sets opposition with their own dice. Divine Favor grants bonus dice from the gods but is unreliable. Pathos tracks a hero's inner fire — when it runs out, the hero's tale ends. | Roll d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. |
| Dice | d4–d12 | d20 |
| Complexity | Very Low | High |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | Proprietary | ORC |
| Cost | $ | Free (ORC) |
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | Paizo |
| Year | 2020 | 2023 |
| Best For | Groups who want fast, competitive mythic Greek adventures with minimal prep — each island is a self-contained session of trials, battles, and divine interference. | Groups who want deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. |
| Highlights | Island adventures require zero GM prep — everything needed is in the book, one-roll resolution keeps pace fast, competitive Glory system encourages heroes to outshine each other, Strife Player role rotates so everyone can play a hero | Complete rules available free on Archives of Nethys. Three-action economy gives every turn meaningful tactical decisions. Character customization through ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats at every level. Four degrees of success on every roll add granularity to outcomes. |
| Considerations | Narrow mythic Greek genre with limited setting flexibility, competitive Glory system can frustrate cooperative-minded players, heroes have few mechanical traits to differentiate them, campaign arc is finite — heroes eventually reach their Fate and retire | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation requires selecting feats from multiple categories at every level, which can overwhelm new players. |