Beyond the Wall vs Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Compare Beyond the Wall and Werewolf: The Apocalypse side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Beyond the Wall | Werewolf: The Apocalypse | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Horror, Modern, Fantasy |
| Tags | Beginner-Friendly, Low-Prep, Collaborative, Character-Driven, Classic Fantasy, Low-Fantasy, One-Shot Friendly, Ascending AC, Worldbuilding | Atmospheric, Base-Building, Character Building, Character-Driven, Corruption, Drama, Lore-Heavy, Strong GM Support, Superpowers, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifiers against ascending Armor Class for attacks, and d20 under ability score for skill checks (with situational penalties). Three classes (Warrior, Rogue, Mage) with five saving throw categories. Character Playbooks generate abilities, backstory, and village details through a series of table rolls, building shared history and relationships before play begins. Scenario Packs give the GM a complete adventure framework with no advance preparation. | Build a d10 dice pool, usually from an Attribute plus a Skill. Each 6 or higher is a success, and meeting the Storyteller-set Difficulty wins. Each pair of 10s counts as four successes. Rage dice replace regular dice up to current Rage and can cause Brutal outcomes. |
| Dice | d20 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | OGL 1.0a | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Flatland Games | Renegade Game Studios |
| Year | 2014 | 2023 |
| Languages | English, German, French, Spanish | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who want to sit down with no prep and collaboratively create a village, a cast of NPCs, and an adventure in a single evening: especially those drawn to literary fantasy in the tradition of LeGuin, Cooper, and Lloyd Alexander. | Groups who want long-form modern horror about shapeshifter packs defending communities from ecological and spiritual threats, with violent power constrained by moral and social consequences. |
| Highlights | Playbooks collaboratively build characters, backstory, and the village map in a single session. Scenario Packs provide complete adventures with zero GM prep. Fortune Points provide rerolls and cheat-death mechanics. True Name magic system adds a unique magical layer. Further Afield supplement adds sandbox campaign tools with threat packs. | Brutal outcomes can force destructive failures or add four successes to actions the Storyteller judges can benefit from Rage. Choosing a Garou form changes a character's capabilities, creating tactical and narrative options. Caerns give the pack an improvable spiritual home whose traits connect campaign advancement to territory and community. |
| Considerations | Three classes only, with limited mechanical differentiation at higher levels. Playbook-driven creation is tightly structured, leaving less room for fully custom character concepts. Designed for low-level play (levels 1–10) with a flatter power curve than most OSR games. | A Crinos-form Garou who did not kill in the previous turn must spend Willpower at the start of the next turn or enter frenzy, making the war form difficult to sustain outside violent scenes. Harano and Hauglosk can remove a Garou from play when despair or absolutism fills either track, making moral decline a campaign-level consequence. The game centers mature environmental and spiritual horror, including graphic violence and themes of exploitation and extremism that require deliberate table boundaries. |