Chronicles of Darkness vs The Walking Dead Universe RPG
Compare Chronicles of Darkness and The Walking Dead Universe RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Chronicles of Darkness | The Walking Dead Universe RPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Horror, Post-Apocalyptic |
| Tags | Atmospheric, Character Building, Character-Driven, Classless, Corruption, Drama, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Improvisation, Investigation, Strong GM Support | Survival, Narrative, Deadly, Character-Driven, Gritty, Licensed IP |
| Core Mechanic | Build a d10 pool from an Attribute plus a Skill and count each 8, 9, or 10 as a success. Tens reroll, five successes are exceptional, and a pool reduced below one die becomes a chance die that succeeds only on a 10. | Roll a d6 dice pool (attribute + skill). Each 6 is a success. Push your roll to reroll failures, but gain 1 stress and add a stress die. Stress dice that roll 1 cause bad things: attracting walkers, panic, or worse. Only 3 HP means every fight is dangerous. Anchors (named NPCs) relieve stress. Breaking Points track psychological damage; cross too many and your character is Shattered. |
| Dice | d10 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved (AMC Networks license) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $ | $$ |
| Publisher | Onyx Path Publishing | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2015 | 2023 |
| Languages | English | English, Swedish, German, Polish |
| Best For | Groups who want modern supernatural horror built around investigating mysteries, navigating personal consequences, and confronting threats before they overwhelm an ordinary life. | Groups who want tense, character-driven survival horror in the Walking Dead universe: where stress, difficult choices, and human drama matter more than combat. |
| Highlights | The investigation system can reveal an Incomplete clue on a failed roll, preventing a mystery from stopping at one check. Conditions, Aspirations, and Beats link consequences and personal goals to character advancement. Horror Anchors create investigative inroads for supernatural threats. | Stress dice create constant tension, push mechanic forces difficult decisions, only 3 HP makes combat highly consequential, Anchor system ties survival to relationships, well-integrated licensed IP |
| Considerations | The core contains detailed procedures for combat, chases, investigation, social maneuvering, and supernatural threats, so groups need to decide which rules to emphasize in a campaign. Damage, Integrity breaking points, and Persistent Conditions create lasting consequences. Social Maneuvering includes sexual goals and hard leverage, so players should back away from uncomfortable concepts. | Tightly bound to the Walking Dead IP with limited homebrew flexibility, limited character options in starter set, stress mechanics can cascade into unavoidable spirals, Anchor system penalizes character growth through loss |