Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition vs Rifts
Compare Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition and Rifts side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition | Rifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero |
| Tags | Tactical, Miniatures, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Crunchy, Ascending AC | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 plus relevant modifiers against a DC or target defense. A total equal to or higher than the target succeeds. Combat turns use standard, move, and minor actions, while powers specify their targets and effects. | 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 | High | Very High |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | 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 | 2008 | 2005 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want role-defined heroes, grid-centered combat, and long campaigns with extensive tactical advancement. | 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 roles give defenders, strikers, leaders, and controllers distinct tactical jobs in a party. At-will, encounter, and daily powers make each class's available actions explicit at the table. Encounter-building rules pair monster roles with level and XP budgets, giving DMs a repeatable preparation procedure. | 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 | Grid position, forced movement, marks, and opportunity attacks require continuous spatial tracking. Each character's power list grows across 30 levels, increasing turn options and rules lookups. Rituals, skill challenges, treasure parcels, and combat use separate procedures that the group must learn. | 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. |