Dolmenwood vs Pathfinder
Compare Dolmenwood and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dolmenwood | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Exploration, Hexcrawl, Dungeon Crawl, Dark Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Atmospheric, Faction Play, Deadly, Resource Management, Inventory Management, Random Character Creation, Journey, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifiers vs. ascending AC for attacks and vs. save targets for saving throws (five categories: Doom, Ray, Hold, Blast, Spell). Skill checks and ability checks use d6 + modifiers vs. a target number. Characters choose a kindred (breggle, elf, grimalkin, human, mossling, or woodgrue) and one of nine classes. Three distinct magic systems: arcane (memorized spells), holy (daily prayers), and fairy (glamours and runes). | Roll d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Community | Medium | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | ORC |
| Cost | $$$ | Free (ORC) |
| Publisher | Necrotic Gnome | Paizo |
| Year | 2024 | 2023 |
| Best For | Groups who want a deeply detailed fairytale-dark fantasy setting with OSR mechanics, hexcrawl exploration, and rich faction play in an enchanted wood full of fairies, monsters, and intrigue. | Groups who want deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. |
| Highlights | Richly detailed fairytale-dark setting with competing factions and deep lore, hexcrawl travel system with Travel Points and terrain-based encounters, six unique kindreds including cat-folk grimalkins and fungal mosslings, three distinct magic systems each with their own spell lists | Complete rules available free on Archives of Nethys. Three-action economy gives every turn meaningful tactical decisions. Character customization through ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats at every level. Four degrees of success on every roll add granularity to outcomes. |
| Considerations | Full experience requires three core books (Player's Book, Campaign Book, Monster Book), setting-specific — not a generic OSR toolkit, GM needs the Campaign Book and Monster Book which are sold separately from the Player's Book | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation requires selecting feats from multiple categories at every level, which can overwhelm new players. |