Dungeon Crawl Classics vs Pirate Borg
Compare Dungeon Crawl Classics and Pirate Borg side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Dungeon Crawl Classics | Pirate Borg | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Horror |
| Tags | Dungeon Crawl, Deadly, Random Character Creation, Roll to Cast, Random Tables, Corruption, Gonzo, Exploration, Sword & Sorcery, Strong GM Support | Deadly, Rules-Light, Gonzo, Pirates, Fast-Paced, Random Tables |
| 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. | Roll d20 + ability modifier vs. a Difficulty Rating (DR). Players roll both attack and defense. Five abilities (STR, AGI, PRE, TOU, SPI). Classes include Brute, Rapscallion, Buccaneer, and Swashbuckler. Devil's Luck points provide clutch rerolls. Ship combat uses broadside volleys and boarding actions. Fully compatible with Mörk Borg content. |
| Dice | d3–d30 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | Open Game License 1.0a; DCC Indie Publisher license | Mörk Borg Third Party License |
| 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 | Limithron LLC / Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2012 | 2023 |
| Languages | English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian | English, Swedish |
| 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 fast, brutal pirate adventures with a doom-metal aesthetic: ship combat, cursed treasure, and a world spiraling toward annihilation. |
| 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. | Simple rules, ship combat is fast-paced, Devil's Luck creates drama, fully Mörk Borg compatible, extensive random tables for pirate adventures |
| 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. | Class balance varies significantly, core book layout prioritizes style over reference usability, ship combat rules are lighter than expected, random character generation limits player investment |