Dungeons & Dragons vs Whitehack
Compare Dungeons & Dragons and Whitehack side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Dungeons & Dragons | Whitehack | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Vancian Casting, Ascending AC | Rules-Light, Narrative, Hackable, Mana Points, Freeform Magic |
| 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 under your attribute to succeed; the face value of a success indicates quality. Positive double rolls (roll 2d20, pick best) and negative double rolls (pick worst) replace flat modifiers. Characters are defined by Groups (species, vocations, and affiliations) which grant advantage on relevant tasks. The Wise class casts miracles by spending HP, with effects triangulated by their groups and wordings. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 + 3d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (SRD); core books proprietary | Proprietary |
| 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 | Christian Mehrstam |
| Year | 2024 | 2023 |
| 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. | Experienced players who want a concise, elegant OSR system that rewards creative play: where freeform character groups replace rigid skill lists and miracles are flexible but costly. |
| 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. | Concise yet deep (~136 pages), Groups system replaces both skills and feats, compatible with old-school modules from 1974 onward, Auction mechanic adds tension to extended contests, miracles system rewards creative description, four editions of refinement |
| 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. | Dense writing requires careful reading: not a quick-start game, assumes familiarity with old-school play, no bestiary or setting included, rare classes may feel underdeveloped |