Mercs, Mages, and Monsters vs Pathfinder
Compare Mercs, Mages, and Monsters and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mercs, Mages, and Monsters | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Classic Fantasy, Skill-Based, Tactical, Comedy, High-Fantasy, Roll to Cast, Character Building, Mission-Based | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy |
| 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. | Roll d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. |
| Dice | 3d8 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Community | Very Low | Very High |
| License | Proprietary | ORC |
| Cost | $$ | Free (ORC) |
| Publisher | Bad Toad Games | Paizo |
| Year | 2025 | 2023 |
| 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 deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. |
| 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. | Complete rules available free on Archives of Nethys. Three-action economy gives every turn meaningful tactical decisions. Character customization through ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats at every level. Four degrees of success on every roll add granularity to outcomes. |
| 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. | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation requires selecting feats from multiple categories at every level, which can overwhelm new players. |