Block, Dodge, Parry vs Pathfinder
Compare Block, Dodge, Parry and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Block, Dodge, Parry | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Classless, Skill-Based, Tactical, Inventory Management, Gritty, Exploration, Social Combat, Freeform Magic, Hackable, CC-Licensed Rules | Tactical, Crunchy, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | To resist a sudden danger, roll d20 equal to or under STR, DEX, or WIL; a 1 always passes and a 20 always fails. When a deliberate action's outcome is in doubt, the Warden checks Time, Gear, and Skill. A character with all three succeeds without a roll, and one with one or none fails. With two of the three, roll d6: 4–6 succeeds, 2–3 succeeds at a cost, and 1 fails. Attacks have no hit roll: the weapon die minus Armor reduces HP, and leftover damage reduces STR and triggers a Critical Damage Save. | Roll d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. |
| Dice | d20, d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | CC BY-SA 4.0 | ORC |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Creative Commons text reuse | Commercial publishing allowed — Open and compatibility licenses |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Publisher | Dice Goblin Games | Paizo |
| Year | 2024 | 2023 |
| Languages | English, Portuguese | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who want old-school dungeon and wilderness expeditions with gear-driven fights and characters built from past careers rather than classes. Suits campaigns with downtime in settlements, where characters seek out trainers and new skills between adventures. | Groups who want deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. |
| Highlights | Defensive reactions depend on gear: a character's weapon and armor determine whether they can block or dodge an attack and whether doing so costs Fatigue. New skills come from using them, training with a teacher found in play, or studying books, so advancement follows goals the characters pursue in the world. Arcane casters choose how many Magic Dice to invest in a spell, and duplicate results risk Arcane Feedback that damages the caster. | The three-action economy gives every turn the same three actions to spend on strikes, movement, or spells, so each turn is a fresh tactical decision. Characters customize through ancestry, class, skill, and general feats gained at nearly every level, letting builds diverge sharply within a single class. Four degrees of success, set by beating or missing the DC by 10, turn each roll into a range of outcomes rather than a binary result. |
| Considerations | Whether a deliberate action needs a roll depends on the Warden judging Time, Gear, and Skill, rather than on fixed difficulty numbers. Fatigue and wounds fill the same ten inventory slots as gear, and a full inventory leaves a character at 0 HP. Raising HP and ability scores normally requires paid training during downtime, so campaigns with little time between adventures see slow character growth. | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation draws feats from ancestry, class, skill, and general pools at every level, making each build a slow step. |