Mischief vs Pathfinder
Compare Mischief and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mischief | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, Classless, Gonzo, Comedy, Fast-Paced, Fiction-First, Low-Prep, Improvisation, Character-Driven, Hackable | Tactical, Crunchy, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d12 and add BODY, MIND, or WILL, then read the total on a five-tier scale: 12+ is a Critical Success, 9–11 a Success, 5–8 a Mixed Success, 2–4 a Failure, and 1 or less a Critical Failure. Natural 12s and 1s are always critical. Each instance of Good or Bad Luck adds a d12 and keeps the highest or lowest result. | 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 | d12 | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | Made for Mischief Third-Party License | ORC |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Made for Mischief Third-Party License | Commercial publishing allowed — Open and compatibility licenses |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Publisher | Drimbus | Paizo |
| Year | 2026 | 2023 |
| Languages | English | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who want quick, swingy fantasy sessions with comedic magic, freeform character concepts, and advancement tied to each character's personal goals. | 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 | Opponents use a single Power score as roll modifier, damage track, and persuasion threshold, so one number runs a creature in both combat and conversation. Characters level up by checking off items on a player-written Bucket List, tying advancement to personal goals rather than experience points. Abilities and spells share one list and are normally Exhausted by a failed roll, so magic needs no spell slots or mana. | The three-action economy gives every turn the same three actions to spend on strikes, movement, or spells, so each turn is a fresh tactical decision. Characters customize through ancestry, class, skill, and general feats gained at nearly every level, letting builds diverge sharply within a single class. Four degrees of success, set by beating or missing the DC by 10, turn each roll into a range of outcomes rather than a binary result. |
| Considerations | A failed roll exhausts the Ability used until a Rest or Healing restores it, so a character starting with three Abilities can lose most of their tricks within one Conflict. Base attack damage is usually 1, or 2 on a critical, so weapons mostly differ in accuracy, critical range, and Luck conditions. Wounds add a -1 penalty and then Bad Luck on every roll, so injured characters get steadily worse at escaping danger. | 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 draws feats from ancestry, class, skill, and general pools at every level, making each build a slow step. |