Ironsworn vs Land of Eem
Compare Ironsworn and Land of Eem side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Ironsworn | Land of Eem | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Narrative, Solo-Friendly, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Sandbox, Low-Fantasy, Exploration, Theater of the Mind, CC-Licensed Rules, Random Tables | Narrative, Exploration, Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Hexcrawl, Theater of the Mind, Fiction-First |
| Core Mechanic | Roll an action die (d6) plus a stat and any adds, then compare the total to two d10 challenge dice. Beat both for a strong hit, beat one for a weak hit, and beat neither for a miss; ties go to the challenge dice. Positive momentum can be burned to cancel challenge dice below its value. Long-term challenges use a progress roll, which compares filled progress boxes to the challenge dice without an action die. | Roll 1d12 + skill modifier. Results on a 5-tier scale: Complete Failure (1–2), Failure with a Plus (3–5), Success with a Twist (6–8), Success (9–11), Complete Success (12+). Advantage/disadvantage rolls 2d12 take best/worst. |
| Dice | d6 + 2d10 | d12 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | Book tools not listed |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Ironsworn System Reference Document under CC BY 4.0 | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Shawn Tomkin | Exalted Funeral Press |
| Year | 2018 | 2023 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want dark fantasy questing for one to four players, with fiction-first moves, oracle tables, and little or no GM preparation. | Groups who want lighthearted, story-driven fantasy adventure with whimsical tone, hex crawl exploration, and meaningful roleplay: where talking to monsters is often better than fighting them. |
| Highlights | Vows tie advancement to the story: fulfilling a sworn quest earns the experience that buys new assets. Momentum gives every action roll a second layer: a strong position can cancel an unlucky challenge die, while a negative track can remove the action die entirely. The oracle tables turn open questions into prompts, giving solo and co-op groups enough procedural input to play without a GM. | Whimsical tone encourages creativity, graduated success/failure keeps things interesting, detailed hex crawl and exploration rules, combat designed to be avoidable through parley, character story mechanics with relationships and personal quests |
| Considerations | Progress tracks convert ticks and boxes at five ranks into a progress score, which takes a few rolls to internalize. Oracle results are prompts rather than answers, so a solo player must interpret them and can stall when a result seems contradictory. Combat and movement use no grid or positioning rules, so groups that want tactical placement must supply it themselves. | Whimsical tone won't suit every group, combat is intentionally simple and abstract, tightly tied to its own setting |