Epyllion vs Rifts
Compare Epyllion and Rifts side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Epyllion | Rifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero |
| Tags | Narrative, Beginner-Friendly, Family-Friendly, Rules-Light, Fiction-First, Character-Driven | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + stat (Courage, Charm, or Cunning): 10+ is a hit, 7–9 is a partial hit, 6− is a miss. Friendship Gems are passed between players to reward virtuous behavior and spent to power moon magic. A Shadow Track measures the Darkness's hold: fill it and you become your corrupted Shadowself until friends pull you back. | Combat and saving throws use a d20 plus bonuses, with high results overcoming a target number or opposing roll. Skills use d100 and succeed when the result is at or below the character's percentage. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d20, d100 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | Proprietary (PbtA) | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Noncommercial only — Palladium Books Internet Policy limited license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Magpie Games | Palladium Books Inc. |
| Year | 2016 | 2005 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Families and groups who want a heartfelt, friendship-driven adventure where everyone plays young dragons protecting their world from a creeping Darkness. | Groups who want long-form science-fantasy campaigns that move from a ruined Earth to other dimensions. The game suits tables whose GM will decide which parts of the broad setting a campaign uses. |
| Highlights | Accessible gateway RPG for families and new players, friendship gem economy makes cooperation mechanical, dragon setting with its own lore, six playbooks with distinct Shadowself arcs | Occupational and racial class packages assign distinct abilities and advancement tracks, giving each archetype a different role in the party. Mega-Damage places many supernatural creatures and war machines on a separate durability scale beyond the reach of ordinary Structural Damage Capacity attacks. Rifts and ley lines make dimensional travel a standing feature of the setting, letting campaigns move between devastated Earth and other worlds. |
| Considerations | Very niche: you must want to play young dragons, limited mechanical depth, tightly bound to its setting | Character creation combines rolled attributes with extensive skill selection, making first-time preparation lengthy. Combat asks each player to track an action economy, active defenses, and which damage scale applies. Magic and psionics use separate point pools and power procedures, adding class-specific rules to the shared system. |