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, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Combat-Heavy, Exploration, Resource Management, Strong GM Support, CC-Licensed Rules | Crunchy, Tactical, Character Building, Exploration, High-Fantasy, CC-Licensed Rules |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d20 and add applicable modifiers to meet or beat a target number. Checks and saving throws use a Difficulty Class; attacks use Armor Class. Advantage or disadvantage means rolling two d20s and keeping the higher or lower result. | 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 | High | High |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (SRD 5.2.1); proprietary core books | CC BY 4.0 |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | EN Publishing |
| Year | 2024 | 2021 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy campaigns with tactical combat and extensive character customization. | 5e players who want deeper character builds, meaningful exploration and social pillar mechanics, and combat maneuvers without changing the core d20 framework. |
| Highlights | Weapon Mastery adds effects such as pushing or slowing enemies to qualifying weapon attacks. Class and feat choices let characters develop different roles over twenty levels. Optional Bastions give characters home bases with facilities that produce benefits between adventures. | Backwards-compatible with 5e adventures, much deeper exploration and social pillars, combat maneuvers for martial classes, rich origin system (heritage + culture + background + destiny) |
| Considerations | Spells and class abilities have separate resource limits and timing rules. Higher-level magic can change travel and encounter assumptions that the DM must prepare for. Social encounters rely on ability checks and DM judgments about NPC attitudes. | 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. |