Dungeon Crawl Classics vs Tales of Argosa
Compare Dungeon Crawl Classics and Tales of Argosa side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Dungeon Crawl Classics | Tales of Argosa | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Dungeon Crawl, Deadly, Random Character Creation, Roll to Cast, Random Tables, Corruption, Gonzo, Exploration, Sword & Sorcery, Strong GM Support | Deadly, Sandbox, Combat-Heavy, Dungeon Crawl, Roll to Cast, Gritty, CC-Licensed Rules, Sword & Sorcery |
| 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 under attribute to succeed (roll-under). Luck saves deplete your Luck attribute with each success, ratcheting tension. Combat uses Nat 19 effects, Exploits, Fumbles, Crits, and Trauma tables. Dark & Dangerous Magic risks madness and Veil monsters when casting spells. |
| Dice | d3–d30 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Open Game License 1.0a; DCC Indie Publisher license | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
| 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 | 2024 |
| 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. | Sword & sorcery fans who want fast, brutal combat with diminishing Luck, dark & dangerous magic, and rich emergent sandbox play: group or solo. |
| 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. | Distinctive diminishing Luck mechanic, combat with Exploits and Trauma is consequential, large GM toolbox (hexploration, oracles, hirelings, mass battle), solo rules included, Creative Commons license |
| 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. | The Diminishing Luck mechanic means characters weaken as they succeed. There are limited magical options in the core rules. The game requires GM comfort with sandbox hexcrawl prep. |