Forbidden Lands vs Worlds Without Number
Compare Forbidden Lands and Worlds Without Number side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Forbidden Lands | Worlds Without Number | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Sandbox, Hexcrawl, Gritty, Survival, Deadly, Exploration, Base-Building, Random Tables | Sandbox, Exploration, Faction Play, Strong GM Support, Gritty, Classic Fantasy, Random Tables, Hexcrawl, Low-Prep, Domain Management |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of d6s (attribute + skill + gear dice). Each 6 is a success. You can push your roll for extra dice, but risk damaging gear and taking conditions. Gear dice degrade on 1s. Year Zero Engine. | Skill checks roll 2d6 plus the relevant skill level and attribute modifier against a difficulty. Attacks roll d20 plus base attack bonus, combat skill, and attribute modifier against the target's Armor Class. A missed melee attack can still inflict Shock damage when the target's AC is low enough. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | 2d6 / d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Year Zero Engine OGL | CC0 1.0 Universal (SRD 1.0); proprietary core books |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Worlds Without Number System Reference Document (SRD 1.0) under CC0 1.0 Universal |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Free League Publishing | Sine Nomine Publishing |
| Year | 2018 | 2021 |
| Languages | English, Swedish, German, French, Spanish, Italian | English |
| Best For | Sandbox hexcrawl campaigns with stronghold building, resource management, and a dark fantasy tone. Great for groups who want to explore and carve out their own corner of the world. | Groups who want an open fantasy sandbox where their own goals drive play. Faction turns and campaign-building tools keep the world moving between sessions. |
| Highlights | Detailed sandbox tools and hexcrawl structure, stronghold building adds long-term goals, push mechanic creates meaningful risk, low-prep with random encounter tables and legend handouts | The campaign chapter turns worldbuilding into procedures, with tags and tables that keep sandbox preparation to one session ahead. Faction turns let rival powers act between sessions, so the setting changes even when the players are elsewhere. Shock damage keeps melee misses meaningful and makes armor and shields matter in close combat. |
| Considerations | Tightly tied to its Ravenland setting, push mechanic can frustrate cautious players, stronghold rules require the full boxed set, hex encounters can feel repetitive without GM preparation | Combat resolution is deliberately simple, with positioning and Shock carrying most of the tactical weight. The rules assume a sandbox campaign and offer little structure for pre-planned story arcs. Social conflict is handled by skill checks and GM judgment rather than a dedicated subsystem. |