Barbarians of Lemuria vs Dungeons & Dragons
Compare Barbarians of Lemuria and Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Barbarians of Lemuria | Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, Pulp Action, Sword & Sorcery, Beginner-Friendly, Fast-Paced | Tactical, Heroic, Combat-Heavy, Dungeon Crawl, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Beginner-Friendly, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Ascending AC |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + attribute + career (or combat ability), 9+ to succeed. Four attributes (Strength, Agility, Mind, Appeal) and four combat abilities (Initiative, Melee, Ranged, Defence) rated 0–5. Careers replace individual skills — if your career is relevant, add its rating. Boons roll 3d6 keep best two; flaws roll 3d6 keep worst two. Hero Points fuel dramatic escapes and heroic feats. | Roll d20 + modifier against a target DC (for ability checks and saving throws) or AC (for attacks). Meeting or exceeding the target succeeds. Advantage rolls 2d20 and takes the higher; disadvantage takes the lower, replacing most situational modifiers. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Community | Low | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary |
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Beyond Belief Games | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2015 | 2024 |
| Best For | Groups who want fast, pulpy sword and sorcery in the vein of Conan — career-based characters, boons and flaws, and combat that resolves in minutes. | Groups who want heroic fantasy adventures with tactical grid combat, deep character customization, and access to more published adventures and supplements than any other RPG. |
| Highlights | Career system is intuitive and fast, combat resolves in minutes, Hero Points enable pulp heroics, simple to learn and teach, spawned the Everywhen universal toolkit | Advantage/disadvantage system simplifies most situational modifiers to a single mechanic. Extensive class and subclass options across 12 base classes with 48 subclasses in the 2024 PHB. The largest third-party content ecosystem in tabletop RPGs. Free basic rules and starter sets lower the barrier to entry. |
| Considerations | Tightly coupled to its Lemuria setting, limited character advancement, combat lacks tactical depth | High-level play (tier 3-4) introduces significant spell interaction complexity and encounter balancing challenges for GMs. No official rules for non-fantasy genres. Three core books at $50 each represent a significant investment for the full rules. |