Dungeons & Dragons vs Maze Rats
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Maze Rats side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Maze Rats | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, Ascending AC | Rules-Light, Dungeon Crawl, Sandbox, Random Tables, Improvisation, Freeform Magic, CC-Licensed Rules |
| 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. | Danger Roll: roll 2d6 + ability bonus (STR, DEX, or WIL), 10+ avoids danger. Advantage rolls 3d6 keep best two. Attack rolls use 2d6 + Attack Bonus vs. target's Armor. Spells are randomly generated from combination tables (effect + element + form) and erased after casting. |
| Dice | d20 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Very Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Low |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary | 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. | ||
| Cost | Free | $ |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | Swordfish Islands LLC |
| Year | 2024 | 2024 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy with configurable tactical combat, broad character options, and campaigns that span multiple levels. | GMs who want a dead-simple system with extensive random tables that generate adventures, spells, NPCs, and monsters on the fly. |
| 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. | Fits in 12 pages, extensive random tables for on-the-fly worldbuilding, spell generation system is highly creative, CC BY 4.0 license, near-zero prep |
| 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. | Very minimal: experienced players may want more mechanical depth, no bestiary or setting included, advancement is slow and simple, assumes GM comfort with improvisation |