Dungeons & Dragons vs Ultraviolet Grasslands and the Black City
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Ultraviolet Grasslands and the Black City side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Ultraviolet Grasslands and the Black City | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Scifi, Post-Apocalyptic |
| Tags | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, Ascending AC | Journey, Exploration, Sandbox, Resource Management, Inventory Management, Random Tables, Improvisation, Strong GM Support, Gonzo, Weird |
| 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. | Roll d20 + the relevant stat + a trained skill bonus to exceed a target number. A natural 1 fails and a natural 20 succeeds. Advantage adds a die and keeps the better result; disadvantage keeps the worse result, and the two cancel. Some tests instead read the total on an outcome table. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Commercial publishing allowed — When Time Fades compatibility license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast | Exalted Funeral Press |
| Year | 2024 | 2019 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish | English, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who want heroic fantasy with configurable tactical combat, broad character options, and campaigns that span multiple levels. | Groups who want a long science-fantasy caravan campaign centered on exploration, trade, and survival across an open-ended world. |
| 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. | Weekly travel procedures connect supplies and setbacks to the time available for exploration. Discoveries award experience for reaching and investigating unfamiliar places. Market research and trade-route investments let a caravan turn geographical knowledge into income. |
| 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. | The included SEACAT rules are an excerpt rather than the complete engine, and most spells are omitted. A week of rest normally restores only one damaged attribute or condition. The setting includes slavery, drug addiction, and body horror. |