Dragonbane vs OpenQuest
Compare Dragonbane and OpenQuest side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Dragonbane | OpenQuest | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Beginner-Friendly, Tactical, Classic Fantasy, Solo-Friendly, Fast-Paced, Mana Points | Skill-Based, Classless, Beginner-Friendly, Deadly, Sword & Sorcery, Mana Points, Roll to Cast, Theater of the Mind, CC-Licensed Rules, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 equal to or under your skill value to succeed. Boons roll 2d20 and keep the lowest; banes keep the highest. Six attributes (STR, CON, AGL, INT, WIL, CHA). Willpower Points fuel heroic abilities, class features, and spells across four magic schools. Combat uses initiative cards drawn each round for unpredictable turn order. Based on Drakar och Demoner (1982). | Roll d100 equal to or under a skill percentage to succeed. Doubles on a success (11, 22, 33) are critical successes; doubles on a failure are fumbles. Modifiers apply in meaningful increments of ±20% or ±50% only. Opposed tests have both sides roll, with the highest successful roll winning. Fortune points allow rerolls and can prevent character death. |
| Dice | d20, d4–d12 | d100 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Free League Third-Party License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Free League Publishing | D101 Games |
| Year | 2023 | 2021 |
| Languages | Swedish, English, German, Polish, French, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want approachable, fast-paced fantasy with a mix of adventure and humor: great for new players and veterans of classic European RPGs alike. | Groups wanting a streamlined D100 fantasy system that retains the feel of classic BRP (deadly combat, three distinct magic systems, and percentile skills) without hit locations or fiddly modifiers. |
| Highlights | Approachable roll-under system, initiative cards keep combat dynamic, Willpower Points unify magic and abilities cleanly, solo play rules included, boxed set includes maps and cards | Three magic systems (Personal Magic, Divine Magic, and Sorcery) each with distinct mechanics and progression. Simplified modifiers (±20% or ±50% only) reduce bookkeeping without sacrificing impact. Social combat subsystem handles fast talk, oratory, and intimidation with mechanical structure. Full SRD released under CC BY 4.0, which has spawned commercial derivatives like Jackals (Osprey Games). |
| Considerations | d20 roll-under can feel swingy at low skill values, fewer character options than comparable fantasy RPGs, initiative card system adds components to track | No hit location system: groups wanting granular wound tracking should look to Mythras or RuneQuest. Low hit point totals make combat swingy from single lucky or unlucky rolls. Non-human character options (Ducks, Elves, Dwarves) are optional rules only. |