Dice & Glory vs The Last Book
Compare Dice & Glory and The Last Book side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Dice & Glory | The Last Book | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Universal | Fantasy |
| Tags | Crunchy, Toolkit, Character Building, Simulation, Tactical, Freeform Magic, Superpowers | Crunchy, Tactical, Simulation, Character Building, Classless, Deadly, Sword & Sorcery |
| Core Mechanic | Dice Check: roll d20 plus a skill modifier (skill rank + attribute + miscellaneous) and meet or beat a difficulty the GM sets. Standard difficulties run from 10 for easy to 35 for impossible. Attack rolls and saving throws use the same d20, though an attack must also beat the target's Agility Class. A natural 20 is a critical success and a natural 1 a critical failure. | The Last Book uses two resolution systems. Skill and attribute checks roll d100 under a calculated success chance, and how far under the number sets the success margin. Combat is an opposed contest where each side rolls 2d6 and adds a maneuver rating, and the higher total wins the exchange. The margin of victory, called Strike Severity, is added as bonus damage. |
| Dice | d20 | d100, 2d6 |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Availability | Paid | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Ranger Games Publishing | Patrick White |
| Year | 2014 | 2026 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Rules-comfortable groups building a long campaign from scratch, who would rather engineer a spell or a fighting style than choose one from a list. | Groups who enjoy 1980s-style point-buy character building and granular, location-based tactical combat, and want that level of crunch set in a violent sword and sorcery desert world. |
| Highlights | Experience points work as a currency rather than a level track, so an attribute increase and an extra attack come off the same price list. The core book contains no spell list, so a spell is built from its method and effect and then developed with money and time. Knockout points absorb nonlethal damage while weapons bypass them for hit points, so beating an opponent unconscious and killing them are different outcomes. | The margin by which a 2d6 attack contest beats the defense becomes Strike Severity and is added to damage, so cleanly won exchanges hit harder rather than only landing. Attackers can aim for a specific body location such as the head or vitals, trading an accuracy penalty for effects like multiplied damage or a chance to cripple a limb. Esoteric Alchemy builds potions from five reagent types that each carry their own laws and effects, letting an alchemist mix custom concoctions instead of drawing from a fixed list. |
| Considerations | Task resolution switches between high-roll d20 checks and roll-under percentile proficiencies, so two scales run side by side. Spells and superhuman powers are built rather than chosen from a list, so two characters of the same level can differ widely in practical capability. Power scale needs policing: fantasy, superheroic, divine, and modern technology all run on one framework. | The game runs on two separate resolution engines, a d100 roll-under for skills and a 2d6 opposed contest for combat, so players learn and switch between two different systems. Resolving one attack can involve wound level, strike location, vulnerability and status, encumbrance, and lighting at the same time, which keeps combat deliberate and slow. Character death is largely permanent and crippling injuries can persist well beyond a fight, so losing a heavily built character is a real risk. |