Burning Wheel vs Dungeons & Dragons
Compare Burning Wheel and Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Burning Wheel | Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Roleplay-Heavy, Character Building, Drama, Low-Fantasy, Social Combat | Tactical, Heroic, Dungeon Crawl, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Ascending AC |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of d6s (ability exponent = number of dice). 4+ counts as a success. Meet or exceed the obstacle number. Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits earn artha rewards. | 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 | d6 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | Proprietary | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | BWHQ | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2011 | 2024 |
| Best For | Groups who want character beliefs and drama to mechanically drive play, with deep subsystems that reward mastery. | Groups who want heroic fantasy combining tactical grid combat with deep character-build options, scaling from one-shots up through long multi-tier campaigns. |
| Highlights | Beliefs mechanically drive play, skills advance through use, Duel of Wits and Fight subsystems offer detailed resolution | Advantage and disadvantage collapse most situational modifiers into one mechanic: roll a second d20 and keep the higher or lower, so play rarely stops to total small bonuses. Each of the 12 classes offers four subclasses in the 2024 Player's Handbook, letting players reshape a class's role without multiclassing. Bounded accuracy keeps proficiency bonuses small, so low-level threats stay relevant in numbers and DCs read consistently across all tiers. |
| Considerations | Steep learning curve, meant to be played as written (not hackable), print availability limited | 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. |