Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition vs Rifts
Compare Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition and Rifts side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition | Rifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero |
| Tags | Ascending AC, Character Building, Classic Fantasy, Crunchy, Dungeon Crawl, Tactical, Vancian Casting | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d20, add relevant modifiers, and compare the total to a target number. An equal or higher total succeeds. Ability checks, skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws use this framework. Combat uses initiative and defined action types, while damage dice are rolled after a hit. | Combat and saving throws use a d20 plus bonuses, with high results overcoming a target number or opposing roll. Skills use d100 and succeed when the result is at or below the character's percentage. |
| Dice | d20 | d20, d100 |
| Complexity | Very High | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | OGL v1.0a (SRD); core books proprietary | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Noncommercial only — Palladium Books Internet Policy limited license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | Palladium Books Inc. |
| Year | 2003 | 2005 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups running fantasy campaigns that want class-based character advancement, prepared-spell resource planning, and position-sensitive combat. It also supports GMs who want encounter construction, monsters, treasure, and campaign procedures in the core set. | Groups who want long-form science-fantasy campaigns that move from a ruined Earth to other dimensions. The game suits tables whose GM will decide which parts of the broad setting a campaign uses. |
| Highlights | Class levels, skills, and feats create distinct mechanical advancement paths for characters. Grid combat combines initiative, movement, action types, attacks of opportunity, and special attacks into positional decisions. The Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual supply encounter, campaign, and creature-construction procedures alongside player rules. | Occupational and racial class packages assign distinct abilities and advancement tracks, giving each archetype a different role in the party. Mega-Damage places many supernatural creatures and war machines on a separate durability scale beyond the reach of ordinary Structural Damage Capacity attacks. Rifts and ley lines make dimensional travel a standing feature of the setting, letting campaigns move between devastated Earth and other worlds. |
| Considerations | Character creation requires choices across race, class, ability scores, skills, feats, equipment, and spells. Spellcasting uses separate class lists, spell levels, daily spell counts, and preparation rules. Encounter design requires the GM to reconcile challenge ratings, creature statistics, treasure, and adventure procedures. | Character creation combines rolled attributes with extensive skill selection, making first-time preparation lengthy. Combat asks each player to track an action economy, active defenses, and which damage scale applies. Magic and psionics use separate point pools and power procedures, adding class-specific rules to the shared system. |