Conan: The Hyborian Age vs Dungeons & Dragons
Compare Conan: The Hyborian Age and Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Conan: The Hyborian Age | Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Classless, Combat-Heavy, Cinematic, Gritty, Licensed IP, Low-Prep, Skill-Based, Strong GM Support, Sword & Sorcery, Tactical | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, Ascending AC |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a Stat die, add the Stat value and modifiers, and meet or exceed a GM-set Difficulty. Player characters also roll a separate Flex die with nearly every roll; a maximum result triggers a choice such as gaining Stamina, turning failure into success, refunding sorcery costs, or inflicting Massive Damage. | Make a D20 Test by rolling d20, adding relevant modifiers, and comparing the total to a target number. Ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls use this procedure. Advantage and disadvantage use two d20s and keep the higher or lower result. |
| Dice | d6–d10 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | No verified route found | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Monolith Board Games SARL | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2025 | 2024 |
| Best For | Groups who want combat-forward Conan adventures of treasure hunting in lost cities and ancient tombs. Sorcery is rare and costly. | Groups who want heroic fantasy with configurable tactical combat, broad character options, and campaigns that span multiple levels. |
| Highlights | A player-only Flex die turns maximum results into immediate choices such as automatic success, Stamina, a sorcery refund, or Massive Damage. Stamina lets characters push movement, rolls, damage, and learned skills when the moment matters. Abstract Range supports combat without a physical map, while optional Areas add map-based positioning without replacing the core procedure. | Advantage and disadvantage resolve common situational effects by selecting the higher or lower of two d20 rolls. Backgrounds, classes, subclasses, and feats distribute character choices across creation and advancement. Weapon Mastery gives qualifying weapon users distinct tactical effects without replacing the action economy. |
| Considerations | Combat asks players to track action economy, defenses, and resource state at once. Sorcery is restricted by character Origin and can consume Life, Stamina, actions, and ongoing upkeep. Wealth and noncombat possessions are abstract, while difficulty, encounter tuning, and dramatic interventions rely on GM judgment. | Spell preparation, spell slots, class features, and conditions create several interacting resources for players to track. High-level characters combine many spells and features, increasing adjudication work for the DM. Bastions add a separate downtime procedure for campaigns that use the stronghold rules. |