Cairn 1st Edition vs Mörk Borg
Compare Cairn 1st Edition and Mörk Borg side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Cairn 1st Edition | Mörk Borg | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Horror |
| Tags | Rules-Light, Classless, Deadly, Attacks Always Hit, Random Character Creation, Inventory Management, Dark Fantasy, Fiction-First, Gritty, CC-Licensed Rules | Rules-Light, Deadly, Dungeon Crawl, Dark Fantasy, Grimdark, Atmospheric, Random Character Creation, Random Tables, Roll to Cast, One-Shot Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d20 equal to or under STR, DEX, or WIL to pass a save; 1 always succeeds and 20 always fails. Attacks deal rolled damage directly, reduced by Armor and then Hit Protection (HP). Damage beyond HP reduces STR and requires a STR save to avoid critical damage. | Roll a d20 plus an ability modifier and meet or exceed a difficulty rating to succeed. Players roll both attacks and defence in combat. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | CC BY-SA 4.0 | MÖRK BORG Third Party License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Cairn Press | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2020 | 2020 |
| Languages | English, Catalan, Chinese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Scottish Gaelic, Spanish, Toki Pona, Turkish, Ukrainian, Belarusian | Swedish, English, French, Italian, Japanese |
| Best For | Groups who want dangerous woodland expeditions where equipment defines characters and creative problem-solving matters more than character builds. | Groups who want short, lethal dungeon expeditions in a world approaching its foretold destruction. |
| Highlights | Equipment and spellcasting Fatigue share ten inventory slots, making magical power compete with carrying useful gear. Scars from attacks that reduce HP to exactly zero can increase attributes or maximum HP, tying mechanical growth to surviving danger. Characters can gain new abilities through training and experiences in the fiction rather than following classes or levels. | The Calendar of Nechrubel generates worsening disasters until the seventh Misery ends the world. Optional Omens let characters spend limited luck to avert disastrous rolls. Random equipment and character traits make replacement adventurers quick to generate. |
| Considerations | Attacks require no to-hit roll, making avoiding or controlling a fight more important than relying on a missed attack. Spellbooks cannot be copied or manufactured, leaving new spell acquisition dependent on discoveries in the world. The core leaves exploration timing to the Warden rather than providing a dungeon-turn or wilderness-travel procedure. | Characters can begin with just one hit point and die immediately below zero. Failed spellcasting damages the caster and prevents further casting for an hour. Advancement can lower abilities as well as improve them. |