Ironsworn: Starforged vs Rifts
Compare Ironsworn: Starforged and Rifts side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Ironsworn: Starforged | Rifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero |
| Tags | Narrative, Solo-Friendly, Sandbox, Exploration, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Worldbuilding, Character-Driven, CC-Licensed Rules, Random Tables | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 1d6 (action die) + stat vs. two d10 challenge dice. Beat both = strong hit, beat one = weak hit, beat neither = miss. Momentum meter (-6 to +10) can be burned to replace your action score. Moves resolve fiction; progress tracks measure quests, expeditions, and combat. Oracle tables generate story prompts for solo and co-op play. | Combat and saving throws use a d20 plus bonuses, with high results overcoming a target number or opposing roll. Skills use d100 and succeed when the result is at or below the character's percentage. |
| Dice | d6 + 2d10 | d20, d100 |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Noncommercial only — Palladium Books Internet Policy limited license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Tomkin Press / Modiphius Entertainment | Palladium Books Inc. |
| Year | 2022 | 2005 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Solo or small-group sci-fi campaigns driven by sworn vows, with rich oracle tables, starship exploration, and collaborative worldbuilding: no GM required. | Groups who want long-form science-fantasy campaigns that move from a ruined Earth to other dimensions. The game suits tables whose GM will decide which parts of the broad setting a campaign uses. |
| Highlights | Strong solo RPG design, 'Choose Your Truths' worldbuilding tailors the setting, large oracle chapter for emergent story, momentum system creates dramatic tension, three flexible play modes (solo/co-op/guided) | Occupational and racial class packages assign distinct abilities and advancement tracks, giving each archetype a different role in the party. Mega-Damage places many supernatural creatures and war machines on a separate durability scale beyond the reach of ordinary Structural Damage Capacity attacks. Rifts and ley lines make dimensional travel a standing feature of the setting, letting campaigns move between devastated Earth and other worlds. |
| Considerations | Dense 400-page rulebook despite narrative focus, large move count to internalize, setting is human-centric by default, oracle-driven play can produce disjointed narratives without careful interpretation | Character creation combines rolled attributes with extensive skill selection, making first-time preparation lengthy. Combat asks each player to track an action economy, active defenses, and which damage scale applies. Magic and psionics use separate point pools and power procedures, adding class-specific rules to the shared system. |