Mercs, Mages, and Monsters vs Nimble

Compare Mercs, Mages, and Monsters and Nimble side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Mercs, Mages, and Monsters	Nimble
Genre	Fantasy	Fantasy
Tags	Classic Fantasy, Skill-Based, Tactical, Comedy, High-Fantasy, Roll to Cast, Character Building, Mission-Based	Tactical, Fast-Paced, Heroic, Combat-Heavy, Grid-Based, Character Building, Classic Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Strong GM Support, Low-Prep
Core Mechanic	G.U.T.S. (General Understanding of The System): sum 3d8 and try to roll equal to or under your Trait Level (starts 8, capped at 17). The margin of success or failure is called the Success Level or Failure Level and scales the effectiveness of the action. Knack Mastery shifts the effective trait by −4 (Untrained) to +2 (Master). Difficulty adjustments (Very Easy to Very Hard) add or subtract 4 to 2 from the trait.	Skill checks and saves roll a d20 plus the relevant skill or stat against a DC. A natural 1 always fails and a natural 20 always succeeds. Attacks skip the to-hit roll: roll the attack's listed damage and deal the total. On most attacks, a 1 on the leftmost Primary Die misses and a maximum on that die explodes into a critical hit. Advantage and disadvantage add dice of the same type and drop the lowest or highest.
Dice	3d8	d20
Complexity	Medium	Medium
Availability	Free quickstart	Free quickstart
Runnability	3 of 5 book tools	4 of 5 book tools
License	Proprietary	Nimble 3rd Party Creator License v2.0
Third-Party Publishing	Not yet researched	Commercial publishing allowed — Creator license
Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing.
Publisher	Bad Toad Games	Nimble Co.
Year	2025	2025
Languages	English	English
Best For	Groups who want a comedic high-fantasy adventure with mechanical breadth (mastery-tiered skills, three magic schools, twin crafting paths) paired with a simple roll-under core. Characters are sworn Members of a Guild taking hired contracts in the kingdom of Yogath, often unknowingly working for the Crown or a shadowy Consortium plotting against it.	Groups who want class-based heroic fantasy with tactical grid fights and no separate to-hit roll. Also a good fit for a group whose GM is running a game for the first time.
Highlights	Rolling doubles on an attack triggers weapon-typed Status Effects (swords impale, blunts stun, axes amputate), so weapon choice shapes battlefield complications, not just damage. Mages can attempt spells above their Mastery tier, but a failed overcast rolls on a Miscast table that can escalate to a Wild Magic explosion damaging the caster and nearby allies. Elixirs grant a temporary trait buff offset by a matching Withdraw penalty once combat ends, making potion timing a tactical trade-off rather than free power.	Heroic Reactions such as Defend and Interpose normally cost one of a hero's three actions, so reacting on an enemy's turn leaves fewer actions for the hero's own turn. Assess spends an action on a skill check to ask the GM a question that must be answered honestly or to create an opening, bringing roleplay into combat turns. Legendary monsters act after each hero's turn and list HP per hero, so one boss scales to the size of the party.
Considerations	Weapon-typed Status Effects, weather penalties, and per-weapon damage tables add table-reference overhead during combat. The comedy-grim tone (Goblin Piss Paste as a crafting ingredient, an Iron Pan spell cast by yelling 'I cast iron pan!', a Mad Child King on the throne) will not fit groups expecting straight high-stakes fantasy. Adventures are built around Guild Contracts in the kingdom of Yogath, so dropping into a homebrew setting means reworking the Crown and Consortium hooks that drive published material.	Movement, reach, and area effects are counted in grid spaces, so gridless play relies on one of the optional movement variants. Damage can swing widely because a single roll decides both whether an attack hits and how much it deals. Outside combat, social and exploration scenes run on skill checks and GM-built skill challenges rather than dedicated subsystems.