Mercs, Mages, and Monsters vs Tales of the Valiant

Compare Mercs, Mages, and Monsters and Tales of the Valiant side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Mercs, Mages, and Monsters	Tales of the Valiant
Genre	Fantasy	Fantasy
Tags	Classic Fantasy, Skill-Based, Tactical, Comedy, High-Fantasy, Roll to Cast, Character Building, Mission-Based	Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Tactical
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 target number or opposed check. Uses the core 5e framework: six ability scores, proficiency bonus, advantage/disadvantage. Adds a Talent system for additional character customization, reorganizes spells into numbered Circles, and introduces new Heritages and Lineages for character creation.
Dice	3d8	d20
Complexity	Medium	Medium
Availability	Free quickstart	Free core rules
Runnability	3 of 5 book tools	Book tools not listed
License	Proprietary	Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 (Black Flag Reference Document)
Third-Party Publishing	Not yet researched	Not yet researched
Publisher	Bad Toad Games	Kobold Press
Year	2025	2024
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 to continue playing 5e-style fantasy with backwards-compatible adventures but prefer an independent publisher with new heritages, talents, and spell circle organization.
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.	Fully backwards-compatible with 5e adventures and supplements, Talent system adds character customization beyond subclass choice, spell Circles streamline spell level organization, backed by Kobold Press's extensive monster and adventure catalog
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.	Very similar to 5e: groups satisfied with existing 5e rules may not find enough differentiation, still building its own identity separate from D&D, Monster Vault sold separately