Dungeons & Dragons vs Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Tactical, Heroic, Dungeon Crawl, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Ascending AC | Crunchy, Tactical, Character Building, Exploration, High-Fantasy, Open Source |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier against a target DC (for ability checks and saving throws) or AC (for attacks). Meeting or exceeding the target succeeds. Advantage rolls 2d20 and takes the higher; disadvantage takes the lower, replacing most situational modifiers. | d20 + modifier vs. DC/AC with advantage/disadvantage. Adds expertise dice, combat maneuvers with exertion pool, and structured exploration/social systems. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary | CC BY 4.0 |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | EN Publishing |
| Year | 2024 | 2021 |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy combining tactical grid combat with deep character-build options, scaling from one-shots up through long multi-tier campaigns. | 5e players who want deeper character builds, meaningful exploration and social pillar mechanics, and combat maneuvers without changing the core d20 framework. |
| Highlights | Advantage and disadvantage collapse most situational modifiers into one mechanic: roll a second d20 and keep the higher or lower, so play rarely stops to total small bonuses. Each of the 12 classes offers four subclasses in the 2024 Player's Handbook, letting players reshape a class's role without multiclassing. Bounded accuracy keeps proficiency bonuses small, so low-level threats stay relevant in numbers and DCs read consistently across all tiers. | Backwards-compatible with 5e adventures, much deeper exploration and social pillars, combat maneuvers for martial classes, rich origin system (heritage + culture + background + destiny) |
| Considerations | High-level play (tier 3–4) introduces significant spell interaction complexity and encounter balancing challenges for GMs. No official rules for non-fantasy genres. Three core books at $50 each represent a significant investment for the full rules. | More complex than base 5e, some players find the extra systems overwhelming, Requires the separate Trials & Treasures book for GM tools and magic items while monsters are in the Monstrous Menagerie book. |