Apocalypse World vs Dogs in the Vineyard
Compare Apocalypse World and Dogs in the Vineyard side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Apocalypse World | Dogs in the Vineyard | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic | Historical, Fantasy |
| Tags | Narrative, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Collaborative, Improvisation, Drama, Playbook-Driven, Gritty, Weird, Strong GM Support | Narrative, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Tag-Based, Drama, Collaborative, Improvisation, Roleplay-Heavy, Social Combat, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | When the fiction triggers a move, roll 2d6 plus the specified stat. A 10+ is a strong hit, 7–9 is a weak hit, and 6 or less is a miss. The move defines its outcomes; a miss usually lets the MC introduce consequences. | Roll a d4–d10 pool from relevant Stats and Relationships. Players Raise with two dice and See by spending dice that match or exceed the Raise. Traits, belongings, and escalation add dice as they enter the conflict. Seeing with three or more dice earns Fallout. Giving concedes the stakes. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d4–d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Availability | Paid | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Publisher policy for original inspired games | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | lumpley games | lumpley games |
| Year | 2016 | 2004 |
| Languages | English, Italian, Portuguese | English, Italian, German, Polish, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who want an unfolding post-apocalyptic campaign built around unstable alliances and struggles over scarce resources. | Groups who want episodic frontier drama built around difficult moral judgments and arguments that can escalate into violence. |
| Highlights | Shared-history ratings make changing relationships feed directly into assistance and advancement. Threat types and countdowns give the MC procedures for escalating pressures without scripting a plot. Battle moves let players weigh control of an objective against harm inflicted and suffered. | Escalation supplies fresh dice at the risk of harsher consequences, making continued opposition a choice about what the stakes are worth. Fallout changes Traits and Relationships to carry conflict consequences into later play. The town-creation ladder builds crises from interconnected grievances without prescribing how the Dogs should resolve them. |
| Considerations | The campaign is designed to develop over several sessions rather than conclude in one sitting. The MC must interpret fictional circumstances and turn move results into concrete consequences. Sex-triggered moves make intimacy a mechanical topic unless the group agrees to remove them. | The Faith's patriarchal theology supplies concrete grievances in the town-creation rules and needs deliberate rewriting for another religious framework. Conflicts abstract range and movement into narrated actions rather than measured positioning. The GM must challenge the Dogs' judgments without preparing a preferred solution. |