Dungeons & Dragons vs Mercs, Mages, and Monsters
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Mercs, Mages, and Monsters side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Mercs, Mages, and Monsters | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Combat-Heavy, Exploration, Resource Management, Strong GM Support, CC-Licensed Rules | Classic Fantasy, Skill-Based, Tactical, Comedy, High-Fantasy, Roll to Cast, Character Building, Mission-Based |
| 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. | G.U.T.S. (General Understanding of The System): sum 3d8 and try to roll equal to or under your Trait Level (starts 8, capped at 17). The margin of success or failure is called the Success Level or Failure Level and scales the effectiveness of the action. Knack Mastery shifts the effective trait by −4 (Untrained) to +2 (Master). Difficulty adjustments (Very Easy to Very Hard) add or subtract 4 to 2 from the trait. |
| Dice | d20 | 3d8 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (SRD 5.2.1); proprietary core books | Proprietary |
| 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 | Bad Toad Games |
| Year | 2024 | 2025 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy campaigns with tactical combat and extensive character customization. | Groups who want a comedic high-fantasy adventure with mechanical breadth (mastery-tiered skills, three magic schools, twin crafting paths) paired with a simple roll-under core. Characters are sworn Members of a Guild taking hired contracts in the kingdom of Yogath, often unknowingly working for the Crown or a shadowy Consortium plotting against it. |
| 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. | Rolling doubles on an attack triggers weapon-typed Status Effects (swords impale, blunts stun, axes amputate), so weapon choice shapes battlefield complications, not just damage. Mages can attempt spells above their Mastery tier, but a failed overcast rolls on a Miscast table that can escalate to a Wild Magic explosion damaging the caster and nearby allies. Elixirs grant a temporary trait buff offset by a matching Withdraw penalty once combat ends, making potion timing a tactical trade-off rather than free power. |
| 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. | Weapon-typed Status Effects, weather penalties, and per-weapon damage tables add table-reference overhead during combat. The comedy-grim tone (Goblin Piss Paste as a crafting ingredient, an Iron Pan spell cast by yelling 'I cast iron pan!', a Mad Child King on the throne) will not fit groups expecting straight high-stakes fantasy. Adventures are built around Guild Contracts in the kingdom of Yogath, so dropping into a homebrew setting means reworking the Crown and Consortium hooks that drive published material. |