Basic Fantasy RPG vs Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia

Compare Basic Fantasy RPG and Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Basic Fantasy RPG	Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia
Genre	Fantasy	Fantasy
Tags	Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Rules-Light, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting, Deadly, Exploration, Resource Management, Random Tables, CC-Licensed Rules	Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Exploration, Hexcrawl, Random Tables, Vancian Casting, Descending AC, Base-Building, Domain Management, Crunchy
Core Mechanic	Roll d20 plus attack and ability modifiers to meet or beat ascending Armor Class. Saving throws use d20 against targets determined by class and level.	Attacks roll 1d20 plus modifiers against a class-and-level target for the defender's Armor Class. Saving throws roll 1d20 against class-and-level targets. Ability checks roll 1d20 at or below the relevant ability score.
Dice	d20	d20
Complexity	Low	High
Availability	Free core rules	Paid
Runnability	5 of 5 book tools	5 of 5 book tools
License	Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International	All Rights Reserved
Third-Party Publishing	Commercial publishing allowed — Creative Commons license	No verified route found
Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing.
Publisher	The Basic Fantasy Project	TSR, Inc.
Year	2023	1991
Languages	English, Portuguese	English, Japanese
Best For	Groups who want straightforward fantasy dungeon expeditions with lethal combat and careful management of supplies.	Groups who want a classic fantasy campaign that grows from dangerous dungeon expeditions to managing a territory. It suits tables willing to learn additional procedures as the campaign expands.
Highlights	Separate race and class choices allow elves to combine spellcasting with fighting or thieving. Encounter reactions and morale let negotiation or retreat resolve threats without fighting to the death. Dungeon stocking and wilderness encounter tables help the GM prepare expeditions.	Dungeon turn procedures make exploration a schedule of resource use and encounter checks. The War Machine resolves large battles without playing out every soldier's attack. Stronghold costs and dominion income give adventurers rules for becoming rulers.
Considerations	Characters normally die at zero hit points unless the GM adopts an optional survival rule. Racial ability requirements and class restrictions limit character combinations. Casting can be interrupted by an attack on the same initiative count even if it misses.	Dwarf, elf, and halfling classes normally have lower level caps than human classes. Starting ability scores are random, so a character may not qualify for a preferred class. Characters normally die at 0 hit points, making low-level encounters risky.