Fate Core vs WARDEN
Compare Fate Core and WARDEN side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Fate Core | WARDEN | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Tags | Narrative, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Collaborative, Tag-Based, Toolkit, Worldbuilding, Rules-Light, Social Combat, Strong GM Support | Cinematic, Classless, Character Building, Tactical, Exploration, Sandbox, Character-Driven, Grid-Based, Toolkit, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll four Fate dice and add a skill rating to compare with the opposition. Spend Fate points to invoke a relevant aspect for +2 or a reroll. Accept an aspect-based complication to gain a Fate point. | Roll a d20 plus a relevant Proficiency and modifiers against a Difficulty Value. Natural 20s and 1s shift the result tier, while a result at least 10 above or below the difficulty is critical. In Conflict, characters have three Action Points and one Reaction each round. |
| Dice | 4dF | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | CC BY 3.0 (SRD) | ORC License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Commercial publishing allowed — ORC License |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $ |
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | Ghost Spark |
| Year | 2013 | 2026 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian | English |
| Best For | Groups who want to build their own setting and follow capable heroes through personal complications and dramatic conflicts. | Groups who want a tactical, classless engine for genre-spanning sandbox campaigns. It suits Game Wardens who want campaign maps, setting alterations, and procedures for custom material. |
| Highlights | Compels turn character weaknesses into story complications that earn Fate points. Creating advantages gives allies free aspect invocations to combine for decisive actions. Conceding a conflict preserves some control over defeat and earns Fate points for later scenes. | Classless characters combine Proficiencies, Abilities, and Feats across their paths, letting builds develop without fixed classes. Campaign Maps use places, secrets, threats, and clocks to structure an open-ended campaign around player choices. Setting Alterations and Game Warden creation rules provide procedures for adapting the game to a chosen genre. |
| Considerations | Aspect use depends on agreement about which fictional details apply. Full character and setting creation can take an entire session. Magic and other extras require group decisions about permissions and costs. | Character customization spreads choices through multiple chapters, so players compare a large catalogue of Proficiencies, Abilities, and Feats. Conflict procedure is dense: action costs, reactions, conditions, attack penalties, and effect rolls all matter during a turn. Game Wardens make choices about campaign maps and setting alterations when preparing a campaign. |