Five Torches Deep vs Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Compare Five Torches Deep and Werewolf: The Apocalypse side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Five Torches Deep | Werewolf: The Apocalypse | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Horror, Modern, Fantasy |
| Tags | Dungeon Crawl, Tactical, Resource Management, Rules-Light, Gritty, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting, Roll to Cast | Atmospheric, Base-Building, Character Building, Character-Driven, Corruption, Drama, Lore-Heavy, Strong GM Support, Superpowers, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier vs DC 11 (most checks). Four classes (Warrior, Thief, Zealot, Mage), levels 1–9. Supply (SUP) abstracts consumables, load limits gear, and equipment can break via durability rolls. Magic carries mishap risk. Compatible with both 5e and B/X adventures. | Build a d10 dice pool, usually from an Attribute plus a Skill. Each 6 or higher is a success, and meeting the Storyteller-set Difficulty wins. Each pair of 10s counts as four successes. Rage dice replace regular dice up to current Rage and can cause Brutal outcomes. |
| Dice | d20 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | OGL 1.0a | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Sigil Stone Publishing | Renegade Game Studios |
| Year | 2019 | 2023 |
| Languages | English | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who like 5e's core d20 feel but want OSR resource scarcity, simplified classes, and deadlier dungeon crawling. | Groups who want long-form modern horror about shapeshifter packs defending communities from ecological and spiritual threats, with violent power constrained by moral and social consequences. |
| Highlights | Bridges 5e familiarity with OSR lethality, supply system elegantly handles torches and rations, fits in 48 pages, dual-compatible with 5e and B/X content | Brutal outcomes can force destructive failures or add four successes to actions the Storyteller judges can benefit from Rage. Choosing a Garou form changes a character's capabilities, creating tactical and narrative options. Caerns give the pack an improvable spiritual home whose traits connect campaign advancement to territory and community. |
| Considerations | Very slim: GMs may need to house-rule gaps, limited character options compared to full 5e, magic mishap table can feel punishing, no bestiary included | A Crinos-form Garou who did not kill in the previous turn must spend Willpower at the start of the next turn or enter frenzy, making the war form difficult to sustain outside violent scenes. Harano and Hauglosk can remove a Garou from play when despair or absolutism fills either track, making moral decline a campaign-level consequence. The game centers mature environmental and spiritual horror, including graphic violence and themes of exploitation and extremism that require deliberate table boundaries. |