Cairn 1st Edition vs Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Compare Cairn 1st Edition and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cairn 1st Edition | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, Classless, Deadly, Attacks Always Hit, Open Source, Hackable, Random Character Creation, Inventory Management, Beginner-Friendly, Dark Fantasy, Fiction-First, Sandbox | Gritty, Deadly, Career-Based, Dark Fantasy, Roleplay-Heavy, Atmospheric, Low-Fantasy, Investigation, Corruption, Lore-Heavy, Licensed Setting, Random Character Creation, Roll to Cast, Grimdark |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 equal to or under STR, DEX, or WIL to pass a save; 1 always succeeds and 20 always fails. Attacks always hit — the attacker rolls a damage die, subtracts the target's Armor, and applies the remainder to Hit Protection. When HP reaches 0, damage spills into STR and triggers a critical damage save; reaching 0 STR means death. Characters have 10 inventory slots, two for hands, with bulky items occupying two slots. Fatigue from spellcasting or deprivation fills slots like gear. Spells are cast by holding a Spellbook in both hands and reading aloud, adding one Fatigue per cast. | Roll d100 under skill or characteristic. Success Levels measure degree of success by comparing the tens digits of the target and the roll. Advantage accumulates during combat, adding +10 per point to attack tests. |
| Dice | d20, d4–d12 | d100 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Community | Medium | Medium |
| License | CC BY-SA 4.0 | No open license |
| Cost | Free / $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Yochai Gal | Cubicle 7 |
| Year | 2020 | 2018 |
| Best For | Groups who want a free 24-page toolkit for fae-haunted woodland adventure where character creation takes minutes, equipment defines the character, and any fight can kill you. Especially well suited to one-shots, hacking into custom settings, and learning rules-light fantasy. | Groups who want dark, gritty fantasy where ordinary people face extraordinary dangers in a richly detailed setting. The career system creates unique character arcs from rat catcher to witch hunter. |
| Highlights | Entire game fits in 24 pages, released under CC BY-SA 4.0 with full rights to remix and republish commercially, the ten-slot inventory unifies equipment and Fatigue into one resource, character generation rolls on d20 tables for names, traits, backgrounds, and starting gear plus a d100 spellbook table, a Scars table produces lasting consequences when HP is reduced to exactly 0 | Detailed grimdark setting, career system creates varied character arcs, combat carries real consequences |
| Considerations | Almost no setting detail beyond a vague mysterious Wood, only five creatures in the core bestiary, no structured procedures for exploration turns or dungeon rounds (added later in 2nd Edition), classless design offers no character build mechanics for players who enjoy optimization | Tightly bound to the Old World setting, Success Level math can slow play, expensive supplement line |