Legend of the Five Rings vs The Dark Eye
Compare Legend of the Five Rings and The Dark Eye side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Legend of the Five Rings | The Dark Eye | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Social Combat, Social Intrigue, Character-Driven, Drama, Character Building, Narrative, Tactical, Crunchy, Lore-Heavy, Strong GM Support | Crunchy, Skill-Based, Lore-Heavy, Character Building, Simulation, Social Intrigue, High-Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Choose a skill and elemental approach. Roll custom d6s equal to the ring value and custom d12s equal to the skill rank. Keep up to the ring's value in dice. Count successes on kept dice against a target number. Explosive successes can add rolls. Spend opportunity symbols for extra effects. Strife symbols on kept dice build emotional pressure. The core includes a conversion table for ordinary d6s and d12s. | Skill checks require rolling a d20 three times, each against a different linked attribute (roll under). A pool of Skill Points can be spent to reduce individual rolls that exceed their target attribute. Remaining Skill Points after all three rolls determine the Quality Level of the success. Combat uses d20 roll-under for attacks, with separate Parry and Dodge defense rolls. Spellcasting costs Arcane Energy points and uses the same triple-check system. |
| Dice | d6 + d12 custom dice | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Paid | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | Book tools not listed |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Scriptorium Aventuris (community content program) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Noncommercial only — Fan content policy | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Edge Studio | Ulisses Spiele |
| Year | 2018 | 2017 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want samurai campaigns where personal desires clash with sworn duties, with detailed court intrigue and tactical duels. | Groups who want a detailed, skill-rich fantasy RPG with a deeply developed setting and mechanics that model character competence through point-based skill management rather than binary pass/fail. |
| Highlights | Choosing an elemental approach changes how a skill tackles a problem and which opportunities a player can spend. Strife turns emotional pressure into a mechanical limit, inviting characters to reveal desires they are expected to conceal. Intrigues and duels give courtiers and warriors distinct tools for pursuing their goals. | Triple d20 skill check system rewards investment in both attributes and skills, Aventuria is one of the most extensively detailed published RPG settings, free quickstart rules available |
| Considerations | Players track emotional pressure and social standing alongside the action. Keeping dice and choosing opportunities can slow checks until the group knows its options. Clan duties and Bushidō shape character creation and consequences, so campaigns in other settings require adapting those assumptions. | Eight attributes and dozens of skills make character creation lengthy, triple d20 check resolution is slower than single-roll systems, core rulebook is dense and requires significant reading before play |