Dungeons & Dragons vs Mythras
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Mythras side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Mythras | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Universal |
| Play Style | Tactical, Heroic, Dungeon Crawl, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Ascending AC | Crunchy, Tactical, Simulation, Character Building, Deadly, Sandbox |
| 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. | Roll d100 under your skill percentage. In combat, degree of success vs. opponent determines Special Effects: tactical maneuvers like Disarm, Trip, Bypass Armor, and Bleed. Action Points govern actions per round, damage applies to hit locations. |
| Dice | d20 | d100 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary | ORC |
| Cost | $$$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | The Design Mechanism |
| Year | 2024 | 2016 |
| 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. | Groups who want gritty, tactical, and realistic combat in a skill-based percentile system, particularly for historical, mythic, or low-fantasy settings. |
| 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. | Tactical Special Effects combat system, classless skill-based progression, five distinct magic systems, adaptable to many genres, free intro version (Mythras Imperative) |
| 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. | Steep learning curve for combat, analysis paralysis when choosing effects, large combats become unwieldy, lengthy character creation |