DABaM vs Fate Core
Compare DABaM and Fate Core side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| DABaM | Fate Core | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Classless, Skill-Based, Narrative, Toolkit, Open Source, One-Shot Friendly | Narrative, Rules-Light, Tag-Based, Freeform Magic, Social Combat, Improvisation, Open Source |
| Core Mechanic | When an action calls for a Roll, it resolves on a d20 roll-under. The GM names the two Attributes that best fit the action and adds them for the Limit. If only one Attribute applies, its score is doubled instead. A relevant Background adds its score to the Limit, and situational Modifiers raise or lower it. The roll succeeds when the d20 lands at or under the Limit, and missing by three or less can still succeed at a cost. | Roll 4 Fudge dice + skill vs. difficulty. Spend/earn Fate points to invoke aspects. |
| Dice | d20 | 4dF (Fudge dice) |
| Complexity | Very Low | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | CC BY 3.0 |
| Cost | $ | Free (SRD) |
| Publisher | La Torre de Dimirag | Evil Hat Productions |
| Year | 2024 | 2013 |
| Best For | Groups running convention demos, one-shots, or a first session for players new to tabletop RPGs. It also suits GMs who want a genre-neutral base to adapt to any setting. | Narrative-focused groups who want to tell collaborative stories in any genre with minimal rules. |
| Highlights | When a check is needed, one d20 roll-under resolves it by summing the two Attributes that best fit the action, so combat, social, and mental tasks share a single path. Backgrounds replace a fixed skill list with freeform descriptors the player defines, each adding its score to the rolls it applies to. The wound track escalates through named statuses from Beaten to Dying, each cutting the Body score used to resist the next injury. | Genre-agnostic, encourages narrative play, free rules |
| Considerations | Special abilities such as magic or superpowers are left entirely to the GM to design, as the core rules provide no framework for them. Advancement has no automatic progression, leaving the GM to decide when and what each character improves. The GM must pick which two Attributes and which Modifiers apply to every roll, placing resolution difficulty on GM judgment rather than fixed rules. | Aspect economy demands constant creative input which can exhaust players, character differentiation can blur with freeform aspects, requires system mastery from the GM to run smoothly |