Barbarians of Lemuria vs OpenQuest
Compare Barbarians of Lemuria and OpenQuest side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Barbarians of Lemuria | OpenQuest | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, Pulp Action, Sword & Sorcery, Beginner-Friendly, Fast-Paced | Skill-Based, Classless, Beginner-Friendly, Deadly, Sword & Sorcery, Mana Points, Roll to Cast, Theater of the Mind, CC-Licensed Rules, Strong GM Support |
| 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 d100 equal to or under a skill percentage to succeed. Doubles on a success (11, 22, 33) are critical successes; doubles on a failure are fumbles. Modifiers apply in meaningful increments of ±20% or ±50% only. Opposed tests have both sides roll, with the highest successful roll winning. Fortune points allow rerolls and can prevent character death. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d100 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Availability | Paid | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | CC BY 4.0 (SRD) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Beyond Belief Games | D101 Games |
| Year | 2015 | 2021 |
| Languages | English | English |
| 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 wanting a streamlined D100 fantasy system that retains the feel of classic BRP (deadly combat, three distinct magic systems, and percentile skills) without hit locations or fiddly modifiers. |
| 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 | Three magic systems (Personal Magic, Divine Magic, and Sorcery) each with distinct mechanics and progression. Simplified modifiers (±20% or ±50% only) reduce bookkeeping without sacrificing impact. Social combat subsystem handles fast talk, oratory, and intimidation with mechanical structure. Full SRD released under CC BY 4.0, which has spawned commercial derivatives like Jackals (Osprey Games). |
| Considerations | Tightly coupled to its Lemuria setting, limited character advancement, combat lacks tactical depth | No hit location system: groups wanting granular wound tracking should look to Mythras or RuneQuest. Low hit point totals make combat swingy from single lucky or unlucky rolls. Non-human character options (Ducks, Elves, Dwarves) are optional rules only. |