Knave vs The Black Hack
Compare Knave and The Black Hack side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Knave | The Black Hack | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Classless, Rules-Light, Dungeon Crawl, Hackable, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting, Random Tables | Rules-Light, Dungeon Crawl, Hackable, Beginner-Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + ability score (1–10) vs. 11 + difficulty modifier. No classes: your abilities come from what you carry. Item slot inventory means every piece of gear is a meaningful choice. Spellbooks occupy an item slot and can be cast once per day (INT times per day total). 100 random careers provide starting equipment and flavor. Wounds reduce ability scores directly. | Players roll d20 under their attribute scores to succeed at actions. Advantage and Disadvantage (roll 2d20, pick best or worst) modify difficulty. Armour provides a pool of d6 Armour Dice that absorb damage. Consumable resources use a Usage Die chain (d20→d12→d10→d8→d6→d4→gone): roll 1–2 to downgrade. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 + d4–d12 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Paid | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | The Black Hack Open Game License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Questing Beast LLC | Gold Piece Publications |
| Year | 2024 | 2018 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want a classless, inventory-driven OSR game where characters are defined entirely by their equipment: with brilliant random tables and a full worldbuilding toolkit. | Groups wanting a fast, hackable OSR dungeon-crawling game with modern design sensibilities: roll under attributes, abstract distances, and usage dice that track resources without bookkeeping. |
| Highlights | Classless: gear defines the character, item slot inventory makes every choice meaningful, extensive random tables for worldbuilding, CC BY license allows free modification, fits in a small book | Highly hackable: spawned an entire subgenre of 'X Hack' games, core rules fit in about 30 pages, Usage Die tracks resources without inventory math, armour-as-dice-pool adds a tactical layer, conversational writing style makes rules easy to learn |
| Considerations | No character classes may feel directionless for some players, very swingy d20 rolls with low ability scores, minimal rules means heavy GM improvisation, combat is basic by design | Only 4 classes (Warrior, Thief, Cleric, Wizard) in the core, limited character customization beyond class and background, no setting included, light on GM guidance compared to larger games, may lack depth for long campaigns |