Dungeon Crawlers vs Dungeons & Dragons
Compare Dungeon Crawlers and Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeon Crawlers | Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Dungeon Crawl, Low-Prep, Fast-Paced, Fiction-First, Freeform Magic, Heroic, Theater of the Mind | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, Ascending AC |
| Core Mechanic | Build a pool of Action dice (d6s) from trademarks and edges. Roll Danger dice for obstacles: matching Danger dice cancel Action dice. Highest remaining Action die determines success (6 = full, 4–5 = partial, 3 or less = fail). | Make a D20 Test by rolling d20, adding relevant modifiers, and comparing the total to a target number. Ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls use this procedure. Advantage and disadvantage use two d20s and keep the higher or lower result. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $ | Free |
| Publisher | Peril Planet | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2020 | 2024 |
| Languages | English | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups wanting instant fantasy dungeon-crawling with minimal rules: perfect for one-shots, new players, or when you forgot your rulebooks. | Groups who want heroic fantasy with configurable tactical combat, broad character options, and campaigns that span multiple levels. |
| Highlights | Entire game fits on 2 pages, character creation in minutes, freeform magic system, built-in adventure generator, same action/danger dice as Neon City Overdrive | Advantage and disadvantage resolve common situational effects by selecting the higher or lower of two d20 rolls. Backgrounds, classes, subclasses, and feats distribute character choices across creation and advancement. Weapon Mastery gives qualifying weapon users distinct tactical effects without replacing the action economy. |
| Considerations | Very minimal: no detailed combat or advancement systems, limited long-campaign support, lacks depth for crunch-oriented players | Spell preparation, spell slots, class features, and conditions create several interacting resources for players to track. High-level characters combine many spells and features, increasing adjudication work for the DM. Bastions add a separate downtime procedure for campaigns that use the stronghold rules. |