Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia vs Pathfinder
Compare Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Exploration, Random Tables, Vancian Casting, Descending AC, Domain Management, Crunchy | Tactical, Crunchy, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Characters make attacks by rolling 1d20, adding applicable modifiers, and meeting the target number for Armor Class. THAC0 offers an equivalent subtraction method. Saving throws are d20 class-and-level targets, and spellcasters memorize limited spells that are expended when cast. | 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 | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | ORC |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open and compatibility licenses |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $ | Free |
| Publisher | TSR, Inc. | Paizo |
| Year | 1991 | 2023 |
| Languages | English | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who want a single reference for a long-running classic fantasy campaign that can move from dungeons to dominions. It suits readers comfortable learning optional detail alongside the baseline rules. | 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 | Chapter 1 walks a player from ability scores through class, equipment, attacks, and saving throws. Separate combat procedures support personal fights, large battles, and sieges. Stronghold and dominion rules turn accumulated resources into rulership procedures. | The three-action economy gives every turn the same three actions to spend on strikes, movement, or spells, so each turn is a fresh tactical decision. Characters customize through ancestry, class, skill, and general feats gained at nearly every level, letting builds diverge sharply within a single class. Four degrees of success, set by beating or missing the DC by 10, turn each roll into a range of outcomes rather than a binary result. |
| Considerations | Character advancement reaches 36 levels before optional high-level paths add further decisions. Rules depth spans personal advancement, large battles, and domain administration, requiring a group to choose which procedures will matter. The game retains class-and-race restrictions and descending Armor Class rather than a universal skill resolution procedure. | 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 draws feats from ancestry, class, skill, and general pools at every level, making each build a slow step. |