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 |
| Tags | Crunchy, Roleplay-Heavy, Character Building, Drama, Low-Fantasy, Social Combat | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, 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. | Make a D20 Test by rolling d20, adding relevant modifiers, and comparing the total to a target number. Ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls use this procedure. Advantage and disadvantage use two d20s and keep the higher or lower result. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | Proprietary | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | BWHQ | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2011 | 2024 |
| Languages | English | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who want character beliefs and drama to mechanically drive play, with deep subsystems that reward mastery. | Groups who want heroic fantasy with configurable tactical combat, broad character options, and campaigns that span multiple levels. |
| Highlights | Beliefs mechanically drive play. Skills advance through use. The Duel of Wits and Fight subsystems offer detailed resolution. | Advantage and disadvantage resolve common situational effects by selecting the higher or lower of two d20 rolls. Backgrounds, classes, subclasses, and feats distribute character choices across creation and advancement. Weapon Mastery gives qualifying weapon users distinct tactical effects without replacing the action economy. |
| Considerations | Steep learning curve, meant to be played as written (not hackable), print availability limited | Spell preparation, spell slots, class features, and conditions create several interacting resources for players to track. High-level characters combine many spells and features, increasing adjudication work for the DM. Bastions add a separate downtime procedure for campaigns that use the stronghold rules. |