Dungeon Crawl Classics vs Dungeons & Dragons
Compare Dungeon Crawl Classics and Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeon Crawl Classics | Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Deadly, Exploration, Gonzo, Dungeon Crawl, One-Shot Friendly, Theater of the Mind, Fast-Paced, Ascending AC, Roll to Cast, Random Tables | Tactical, Heroic, Dungeon Crawl, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Ascending AC |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifiers. Unique dice chain shifts die size up/down. Mercurial magic tables. | Roll d20 + modifier against a target DC (for ability checks and saving throws) or AC (for attacks). Meeting or exceeding the target succeeds. Advantage rolls 2d20 and takes the higher; disadvantage takes the lower, replacing most situational modifiers. |
| Dice | d3–d30 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | 3rd Party License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary |
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Goodman Games | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2012 | 2024 |
| Best For | Old-school dungeon crawls with unpredictable magic, character funnels, and a sense of wonder. | Groups who want heroic fantasy combining tactical grid combat with deep character-build options, scaling from one-shots up through long multi-tier campaigns. |
| Highlights | Character funnels are distinctive, unpredictable magic system, Appendix N aesthetic | Advantage and disadvantage collapse most situational modifiers into one mechanic: roll a second d20 and keep the higher or lower, so play rarely stops to total small bonuses. Each of the 12 classes offers four subclasses in the 2024 Player's Handbook, letting players reshape a class's role without multiclassing. Bounded accuracy keeps proficiency bonuses small, so low-level threats stay relevant in numbers and DCs read consistently across all tiers. |
| Considerations | Requires unusual dice (d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24, d30), spell result tables slow play at higher levels, funnel adventures require many disposable characters | High-level play (tier 3–4) introduces significant spell interaction complexity and encounter balancing challenges for GMs. No official rules for non-fantasy genres. Three core books at $50 each represent a significant investment for the full rules. |