Knave vs The Elf Game
Compare Knave and The Elf Game side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Knave | The Elf Game | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Universal |
| Tags | Classless, Rules-Light, Dungeon Crawl, Hackable, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting, Random Tables | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Hackable, Descending AC, CC-Licensed Rules |
| 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. | Assign six ability scores rolled on 3d6, then resolve any uncertain action by rolling a D20 and subtracting your adjustments. A result at or under the relevant Ability Score succeeds, and a higher result fails. A natural 1 always succeeds and a natural 20 always fails. Attacks use the same roll-under method, subtracting a Melee or Ranged score and comparing the total to the target's Armor Class. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Paid | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | Book tools not listed |
| License | Proprietary | Public Domain |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Questing Beast LLC | S&A Baudelaire |
| Year | 2024 | 2025 |
| 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 who want a free, pick-up-and-play system for a first RPG or a one-shot, especially tables happy to supply their own spells or borrow rules from other old-school games. |
| 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 | Ability tests and attacks both roll a D20 under a target number, so players learn a single resolution method and apply it to skills, combat, and saving throws alike. A character picks a class and a stance independently, so Fighter or Tradesman combined with Magical or Mundane yields several distinct builds from a tiny ruleset. Characters advance only from Level 0 to Level 3 by Referee fiat, so there is no experience economy to track. |
| 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 | Advancement caps at Level 3, so extended campaigns quickly run out of mechanical growth. Spells are named but never detailed on the rules sheet, so magical characters draw their actual spell effects from the Referee or compatible outside material. Every uncertain action is a single Ability Test with no fixed difficulty tiers, so how hard a task is depends on which ability the Referee calls for rather than a set target number. |