Art of Wuxia vs Daggerheart
Compare Art of Wuxia and Daggerheart side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Art of Wuxia | Daggerheart | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Historical | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Martial Arts, Heroic, Cinematic, Skill-Based, Character-Driven, Hackable, Random Tables, GM-Friendly, Fast-Paced | Narrative, Collaborative, Heroic, Roleplay-Heavy, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 equal to or under a skill or ability score. Skills are calculated from a base ability score plus 10 per skill level, with bonuses for primary and secondary skill designations. Doubles (11, 22, 33, etc.) are critical: a critical success if under the target, a critical failure if over. Rolls of 00–05 always succeed and 96–99 always fail. Characters can take multiple actions per turn at a cumulative −20% penalty each, creating a press-your-luck dynamic. Qi points fuel kung fu techniques and mystic abilities. | 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 | d100 | 2d12 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 | Darrington Press Community Gaming License (DPCGL) |
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | DwD Studios | Darrington Press |
| Year | 2020 | 2025 |
| Best For | Groups who want cinematic wuxia adventures with fast percentile-based mechanics, 25 distinct kung fu styles, and adjustable sliders for how fantastical the martial arts become. | 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 | 25 kung fu styles each with unique techniques, weapon proficiencies, and internal/external classifications. Cinematic Sliders let the GM adjust how fantastical combat and movement are: from grounded martial arts to high-flying xianxia. Moral code system ties character virtues to cultivation point rewards, reinforcing wuxia genre conventions. Built-in adventure and random dungeon generators with extensive creature bestiary. | Every action roll uses 2d12 Duality Dice, and whether Hope or Fear lands higher hands momentum to the player or the GM. Combat runs fiction-first with no fixed initiative, so the spotlight passes by the action rather than a turn order. Characters equip abilities as domain cards drawn from two domains, building a loadout the player can swap between. |
| Considerations | Setting is tightly focused on wuxia: groups wanting other martial arts subgenres (samurai, muay thai) would need adaptation. No free quickstart or SRD despite the CC license. d00Lite system's skill score calculation (half ability + 10 per level + primary/secondary bonus) requires cross-referencing several values during character creation. | The domain-card system runs best with printed cards, though it can be played from the character sheet alone. Players and the GM use asymmetric rules, so each side has its own procedures to learn. Mechanics are tied to the game's own setting and ancestries, which takes work to reskin for another world. |