Dungeons & Dragons vs Fellowship
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Fellowship side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, Ascending AC | Fiction-First, Playbook-Driven, High-Fantasy, Heroic, Collaborative, Worldbuilding, CC-Licensed Rules, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | 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. | Roll 2d6 + stat (Blood, Courage, Sense, Grace, or Wisdom). 10+ full success, 7–9 success with a cost, 6− the Overlord makes a Cut against you. Playbook moves trigger from fictional actions. Hope (roll 3d6 keep best two) and Despair (roll 3d6 keep worst two) modify all rolls and cancel each other out when both are present. |
| Dice | d20 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary | Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $ |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | Liberi Gothica Games |
| Year | 2024 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy with configurable tactical combat, broad character options, and campaigns that span multiple levels. | Groups who want LOTR-style co-operative epic fantasy where one player commits to playing the evil Overlord throughout the campaign and each hero treats themselves as the spokesperson for an entire fantasy people. |
| Highlights | 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. | Dedicated Overlord playbook lets one player run the villain throughout the campaign with structured threat, plan, and Cut mechanics. Each hero playbook grants full authority over their fantasy people's lore, history, and culture: players are the canonical voice for their species. Over a dozen Destiny playbooks unlock at level 5 to transform heroes into greater figures (Chosen One, Cyborg, Witch, Lord of Beasts, and others). CC BY-SA 4.0 license permits free modification and redistribution. |
| Considerations | 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. | Requires one player to commit to running the villain full-time with no hero of their own. Hero playbooks are tightly themed around six fantasy archetypes (Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Heir, Orc, Squire): groups wanting non-Tolkien-style species must reskin or hack the playbooks. Tracking Bonds, Companions, Hope, Despair, and tagged gear adds bookkeeping above the typical PbtA load. Whether a fictional Advantage exists for Finish Them often requires table interpretation. |