Cairn vs Mausritter
Compare Cairn and Mausritter side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Cairn | Mausritter | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, Classless, Deadly, Dungeon Crawl, Exploration, Inventory Management, Fiction-First, Random Character Creation, Random Tables, Strong GM Support | Rules-Light, Inventory Management, Hexcrawl, Dungeon Crawl, Sandbox, Exploration, Deadly, Attacks Always Hit, Random Tables, CC-Licensed Rules |
| Core Mechanic | To avoid a risky outcome, roll d20 equal to or below STR, DEX, or WIL; a 1 succeeds and a 20 fails. Only the participant most at risk rolls an opposed save. Attacks deal damage automatically, reduced by armor and then Hit Protection (HP). Damage beyond HP reduces STR and requires a save against the reduced STR to avoid critical damage. | Roll a d20 equal to or under STR, DEX, or WIL to avoid a risky consequence. Attacks deal weapon damage directly, reduced by armour. Items and conditions compete for limited inventory slots. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0); Mausritter Third Party Licence |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Creative Commons text reuse | Commercial publishing allowed — Mausritter Third Party Licence and Mausritter SRD |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Cairn Press | Exalted Funeral |
| Year | 2024 | 2020 |
| Languages | English, Finnish, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish | English, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, Czech, French, German |
| Best For | Groups who want dangerous woodland expeditions where equipment and preparation matter more than optimized character builds. Suits campaigns shaped by exploration and the consequences of encounters. | Groups who want mouse-scale sandbox adventures where clever plans and careful supplies matter more than fighting. The rules support exploring dangerous ruins and returning treasure to a safe settlement. |
| Highlights | Fatigue occupies the same ten inventory slots as equipment, making spellcasting and hardship compete with useful gear. Dungeon turns and wilderness watches tie exploration choices to events and resource costs. Training and significant encounters can change abilities without an experience-point track. | Condition cards occupy inventory slots, forcing a choice between carrying supplies and enduring setbacks. Spell tablets trade greater power for faster depletion and dangerous miscasts. Faction goals advance between sessions, letting the world change beyond the mice’s immediate adventures. |
| Considerations | Automatic attack damage makes direct confrontation dangerous even when characters wear armor. The Warden decides when fictional advantages remove the need for a save instead of using graded difficulty targets. Advancement depends on experiences and negotiated training rather than a predictable level progression. | Damage beyond Hit Protection reduces Strength and can incapacitate a mouse after a single failed save. Depleted spell tablets require specific fictional tasks to recharge. Advancement improves attributes and endurance rather than offering classes or extensive ability choices. |