Everywhen vs Vagabond
Compare Everywhen and Vagabond side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Everywhen | Vagabond | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, Pulp Action, Heroic, Fast-Paced, Sandbox, Low-Prep | Fast-Paced, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, Sandbox, Heroic, Pulp Action, Solo-Friendly, Player-Only Rolls, Mana Points |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + attribute + career (or combat ability) vs. 9+ to succeed. Bonus/penalty dice add extra d6s, keeping the best or worst two. Hero Points let you bend the rules. Careers replace skill lists: your background defines what you can do. Mighty Successes and Calamitous Failures add dramatic swings. | Roll d20 vs. Difficulty (20 − Stat, doubled if Trained). Crit on nat 20, fail below Difficulty. All rolls player-facing. Spend Luck for Advantage (Favor) or rerolls (Fluke). Three saves: Endure (MIT×2), Reflex (DEX+AWR), Will (RSN+PRS). Defend with Block or Dodge on off-turns. Mana-based magic scales one spell from cantrip to nuke. Enemy AI action gambits run monsters for the GM. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Availability | Paid | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 1 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | Open Compatibility |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Filigree Forge | Land of the Blind |
| Year | 2018 | 2024 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want a fast, career-based universal system with tons of optional rules switches: run weird westerns, cyberpunk, age of sail, high fantasy, or anything pulp and heroic. | Groups wanting modern character depth married to old-school speed: 20+ ancestries, 17 classes, non-Vancian mana magic, and built-in solo/co-op/guided play. |
| Highlights | Career system eliminates skill lists, fast-playing 2d6 core, large optional rules toolkit (resolve, psionics, arcana, vehicles, mass battles, investigations), two included settings with more published separately | Mana-based magic scales a single spell from cantrip to high-powered effect, so casters shape output on the fly instead of tracking fixed spell slots. Enemy action gambits run monsters from decision tables, removing per-turn tactical choices from the GM's workload. A spendable Luck pool buys Advantage or rerolls, turning swing into a resource players ration across a session. |
| Considerations | Requires GM comfort with rulings over rules, BoL veterans may find overlap confusing, no free quickstart | Dense class and ancestry options can overwhelm new players. Pulp-fantasy tone limits grimdark play. All rolls are player-facing, so the GM never rolls dice and every check rests on the players. |