Castles & Crusades vs Rifts
Compare Castles & Crusades and Rifts side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Castles & Crusades | Rifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero |
| Tags | Heroic, Dungeon Crawl, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Theater of the Mind, Vancian Casting | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical |
| Core Mechanic | SIEGE Engine: roll d20 + modifier + level vs. Challenge Class (12 for primary attributes, 18 for secondary). Primary/secondary attribute distinction replaces complex skill lists with a single unified check system. | Combat and saving throws use a d20 plus bonuses, with high results overcoming a target number or opposing roll. Skills use d100 and succeed when the result is at or below the character's percentage. |
| Dice | d20 | d20, d100 |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | OGL 1.0a | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Noncommercial only — Palladium Books Internet Policy limited license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Troll Lord Games | Palladium Books Inc. |
| Year | 2004 | 2005 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups wanting the classic AD&D feel with streamlined, unified mechanics: old-school spirit with modern ease of play. | Groups who want long-form science-fantasy campaigns that move from a ruined Earth to other dimensions. The game suits tables whose GM will decide which parts of the broad setting a campaign uses. |
| Highlights | SIEGE Engine unifies all attribute checks, easy to convert AD&D/d20 content, 13 classes with classic archetypes, fast character creation, large back-catalog of adventures | Occupational and racial class packages assign distinct abilities and advancement tracks, giving each archetype a different role in the party. Mega-Damage places many supernatural creatures and war machines on a separate durability scale beyond the reach of ordinary Structural Damage Capacity attacks. Rifts and ley lines make dimensional travel a standing feature of the setting, letting campaigns move between devastated Earth and other worlds. |
| Considerations | Primary/secondary attribute split can feel arbitrary, limited non-fantasy support | Character creation combines rolled attributes with extensive skill selection, making first-time preparation lengthy. Combat asks each player to track an action economy, active defenses, and which damage scale applies. Magic and psionics use separate point pools and power procedures, adding class-specific rules to the shared system. |