Daggerheart vs Pathfinder for Savage Worlds
Compare Daggerheart and Pathfinder for Savage Worlds side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Daggerheart | Pathfinder for Savage Worlds | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Narrative, Collaborative, Heroic, Roleplay-Heavy, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven | Heroic, High-Fantasy, Character Building, Tactical, Fast-Paced |
| 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 a trait die (d4–d12) plus a Wild Die (d6); keep the highest. Dice 'explode' (ace) on their max value. Beat a Target Number (usually 4) to succeed; each raise (4 over) improves the result. Playing cards determine initiative. Bennies let you reroll or soak damage. Class Edges capture Pathfinder archetypes as progressive talent trees. |
| Dice | 2d12 | d4–d12 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | Darrington Press Community Gaming License (DPCGL) | Savage Worlds (Proprietary) |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Darrington Press | Pinnacle Entertainment Group / Paizo |
| Year | 2025 | 2023 |
| 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 love the Pathfinder world of Golarion but want faster, more cinematic combat: Savage Worlds' exploding dice and Bennies replace Pathfinder's tactical crunch with pulp-action heroics. |
| 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. | Fast combat compared to standard Pathfinder, Golarion setting fully supported with ancestries and deities, Class Edges capture iconic Pathfinder classes, Bennies keep heroes in the action, compatible with Savage Worlds Adventure Paths |
| 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. | Requires Savage Worlds familiarity: not standalone for new SW players, some Pathfinder depth lost in translation, not compatible with standard Pathfinder adventures without conversion |