Hero Kids vs Pathfinder
Compare Hero Kids and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Hero Kids | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Beginner-Friendly, One-Shot Friendly, Grid-Based, Family, Low-Prep, Heroic | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d6 dice pool (pool size from hero card stats). Attacker's highest die vs. defender's highest die — equal or higher hits. Ability tests roll pool vs. target number (4/5/6). | Roll d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | Very Low | High |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Community | Low | Very High |
| License | Proprietary | ORC |
| Cost | $ | Free (ORC) |
| Publisher | Hero Forge Games | Paizo |
| Year | 2012 | 2023 |
| Best For | Parents introducing kids aged 4–10 to tabletop RPGs. Simple enough for young children, with grid combat and pre-made hero cards. | Groups who want deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. |
| Highlights | Genuinely playable by young children, print-and-play hero cards and stand-ups, included introductory adventure, lots of expansion adventures available | Complete rules available free on Archives of Nethys. Three-action economy gives every turn meaningful tactical decisions. Character customization through ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats at every level. Four degrees of success on every roll add granularity to outcomes. |
| Considerations | Too simple for older players, no character progression system, fantasy-only, requires printing materials | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation requires selecting feats from multiple categories at every level, which can overwhelm new players. |