Monster of the Week vs Rifts
Compare Monster of the Week and Rifts side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Monster of the Week | Rifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero |
| Tags | Narrative, Beginner-Friendly, Investigation, Playbook-Driven, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Theater of the Mind | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + stat. 10+ full success, 7–9 success with a cost, 6 or less the Keeper makes a move. Playbook moves trigger from fictional actions. Luck points turn failures into successes but never come back. | Combat and saving throws use a d20 plus bonuses, with high results overcoming a target number or opposing roll. Skills use d100 and succeed when the result is at or below the character's percentage. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d20, d100 |
| Complexity | Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | Generic Games Third Party License | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Noncommercial only — Palladium Books Internet Policy limited license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | Palladium Books Inc. |
| Year | 2023 | 2005 |
| Languages | English, French, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want episodic monster-hunting adventures inspired by Buffy, Supernatural, and The X-Files: investigating mysteries, confronting creatures, and dealing with hunter drama. | Groups who want long-form science-fantasy campaigns that move from a ruined Earth to other dimensions. The game suits tables whose GM will decide which parts of the broad setting a campaign uses. |
| Highlights | Very easy to learn, mystery countdown gives the Keeper a clear prep framework, playbooks map directly to genre archetypes | Occupational and racial class packages assign distinct abilities and advancement tracks, giving each archetype a different role in the party. Mega-Damage places many supernatural creatures and war machines on a separate durability scale beyond the reach of ordinary Structural Damage Capacity attacks. Rifts and ley lines make dimensional travel a standing feature of the setting, letting campaigns move between devastated Earth and other worlds. |
| Considerations | No pre-written mysteries in the core book, limited mechanical depth for long campaigns, custom move design requires GM experience, monster creation guidelines are loose | Character creation combines rolled attributes with extensive skill selection, making first-time preparation lengthy. Combat asks each player to track an action economy, active defenses, and which damage scale applies. Magic and psionics use separate point pools and power procedures, adding class-specific rules to the shared system. |