Dungeon Crawl Classics vs Low Fantasy Gaming
Compare Dungeon Crawl Classics and Low Fantasy Gaming side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Dungeon Crawl Classics | Low Fantasy Gaming | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Dungeon Crawl, Deadly, Random Character Creation, Roll to Cast, Random Tables, Corruption, Gonzo, Exploration, Sword & Sorcery, Strong GM Support | Low-Fantasy, Gritty, Deadly, Sword & Sorcery, Corruption, Sandbox, Dungeon Crawl, Random Tables, Strong GM Support, Hackable |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 plus modifiers to meet or exceed a difficulty or Armor Class. Circumstances shift the die up or down a chain from d3 to d30. | Combat uses standard d20 + class attack bonus + ability modifier vs. Armour Class. Out of combat, attribute checks roll equal-or-under (1d20 ≤ attribute, with degrees of success), and skills add +1 and grant access to a level-based Reroll Pool that smooths the d20 swing. Dropping to zero hit points triggers an All Dead vs. Mostly Dead check and a roll on the Injuries & Setbacks table (lost eyes and limbs, broken ribs, madness, permanent scars). Spell casting is uncertain: every cast carries a cumulative 1-in-20 chance of triggering the Dark & Dangerous Magic d100 table, which can mutate the caster, sap Luck, or summon hostile aberrations. The Luck attribute itself is a depleting meta-resource that fuels saves, Major Exploits, and Rescue Exploits. |
| Dice | d3–d30 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Open Game License 1.0a; DCC Indie Publisher license | OGL 1.0a |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Publisher-approved compatibility license | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Goodman Games | Pickpocket Press |
| Year | 2012 | 2020 |
| Languages | English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian | English |
| Best For | Groups who want dangerous dungeon expeditions with randomly generated adventurers and risky magic. Campaigns can begin with several peasants per player and follow the survivors into classed adventuring. | Groups who want gritty low-magic fantasy where every combat carries real consequences (broken bones, lost limbs, madness) and where casting a spell is a calculated gamble that can corrupt the caster or summon something worse. |
| Highlights | The character funnel lets survival determine the starting adventuring party. Mighty Deeds let warriors and dwarves attempt improvised combat maneuvers alongside attacks. Spell checks scale magical effects with the casting result. | Dark & Dangerous Magic puts every spell at risk of triggering a d100 corruption table (mutations, summoned aberrations, Luck loss, madness) with the chance climbing by 1 in 20 each cast until it fires, making sorcery a calculated gamble rather than reliable utility. Martial Exploits layer creative combat moves (Minor, Major, and Rescue) on top of a successful hit, such as disarms, decapitations, or throwing an ally clear of a fireball, fueled by depleting Luck checks rather than a fixed action menu, so combats are improvisation-driven rather than rotation-driven. Every PC designs a Unique Feature at 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th level in conversation with the GM, working off 36 worked examples (Awakened Host, Faustian Pact, Skill Prodigy, Slippery Bastard) that each scale through low, moderate, and high power tiers the table can cherry-pick. |
| Considerations | Random starting attributes and occupations limit planned character builds. The default funnel puts several fragile characters under each player’s control. The dice chain uses unusual die sizes with ordinary-dice substitutions. | Magic Users are deliberately weaker than other classes: no at-will spells, no teleport, no mind reading, no resurrection, and every cast risks a corruption effect, so spell-focused players have to accept playing a high-risk role that can lose its toolkit mid-adventure. The 12th-level cap shortens the campaign arc: the book trades long-haul progression for keeping monsters threatening and magic spectacular, but groups expecting decades-long advancement curves will hit the ceiling. Permanent injuries from the Injuries & Setbacks table are a regular outcome of going to zero hit points, and short of rare in-setting healing magic those disabilities stay, which can frustrate groups attached to keeping their characters physically whole. |