Dungeon World vs Pathfinder
Compare Dungeon World and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeon World | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Fiction-First, Narrative, Playbook-Driven, Classic Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Rules-Light, Fast-Paced, Collaborative, Heroic, Open Source, Hackable, GM-Friendly | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + ability modifier. On a 10+, you succeed. On a 7–9, you succeed but with a complication, cost, or hard choice. On a 6 or less, the GM makes a move (something bad happens) and you mark XP. Moves are triggered by fictional actions — describe what your character does, and the rules tell you when to roll. | Roll d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | Very Low | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Community | High | Very High |
| License | Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 | ORC |
| Cost | $ | Free (ORC) |
| Publisher | Sage Kobold Productions | Paizo |
| Year | 2012 | 2023 |
| Best For | Groups who want D&D-style fantasy adventure (dungeons, monsters, treasure, classes) but with fiction-first PbtA mechanics that keep the pace fast and the spotlight on the narrative. | Groups who want deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. |
| Highlights | Full text available free under Creative Commons, playbooks let new players start playing within minutes, GM chapter provides structured principles and moves for running the game, large library of third-party playbooks and supplements | Complete rules available free on Archives of Nethys. Three-action economy gives every turn meaningful tactical decisions. Character customization through ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats at every level. Four degrees of success on every roll add granularity to outcomes. |
| Considerations | Combat lacks tactical positioning or grid-based options, long campaigns can expose repetitive move structures, damage dice are class-based rather than weapon-based which limits gear choices, no longer actively developed by its creators | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation requires selecting feats from multiple categories at every level, which can overwhelm new players. |