Daggerheart vs Five Torches Deep
Compare Daggerheart and Five Torches Deep side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Daggerheart | Five Torches Deep | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Narrative, Collaborative, Heroic, Roleplay-Heavy, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven | Dungeon Crawl, Tactical, Resource Management, Rules-Light, Gritty, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting, Roll to Cast |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d12 Duality Dice (Hope + Fear) and add modifiers vs. difficulty. Which die rolls higher determines whether the moment swings toward the players (Hope) or the GM gains Fear tokens to spend on complications. In combat, adversary attacks roll d20 + modifier against target's Evasion. | Roll d20 + modifier vs DC 11 (most checks). Four classes (Warrior, Thief, Zealot, Mage), levels 1–9. Supply (SUP) abstracts consumables, load limits gear, and equipment can break via durability rolls. Magic carries mishap risk. Compatible with both 5e and B/X adventures. |
| Dice | 2d12 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | Darrington Press Community Gaming License (DPCGL) | OGL 1.0a |
| Cost | $$$ | $ |
| Publisher | Darrington Press | Sigil Stone Publishing |
| Year | 2025 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy with emotionally driven storytelling, where every roll shifts momentum between hope and fear. Great for Critical Role fans and narrative-focused tables. | Groups who like 5e's core d20 feel but want OSR resource scarcity, simplified classes, and deadlier dungeon crawling. |
| Highlights | Every action roll uses 2d12 Duality Dice, and whether Hope or Fear lands higher hands momentum to the player or the GM. Combat runs fiction-first with no fixed initiative, so the spotlight passes by the action rather than a turn order. Characters equip abilities as domain cards drawn from two domains, building a loadout the player can swap between. | Bridges 5e familiarity with OSR lethality, supply system elegantly handles torches and rations, fits in 48 pages, dual-compatible with 5e and B/X content |
| Considerations | The domain-card system runs best with printed cards, though it can be played from the character sheet alone. Players and the GM use asymmetric rules, so each side has its own procedures to learn. Mechanics are tied to the game's own setting and ancestries, which takes work to reskin for another world. | Very slim: GMs may need to house-rule gaps, limited character options compared to full 5e, magic mishap table can feel punishing, no bestiary included |