Nimble vs Star Wars Saga Edition
Compare Nimble and Star Wars Saga Edition side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Nimble | Star Wars Saga Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Sci-Fi |
| Tags | Tactical, Fast-Paced, Heroic, Combat-Heavy, Grid-Based, Character Building, Classic Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Strong GM Support, Low-Prep | Licensed IP, Space Opera, Heroic, Cinematic, Character Building, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Grid-Based, Miniatures |
| Core Mechanic | 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. | Roll d20 + modifiers against a target number or a Defense score. Three static defenses (Reflex, Fortitude, and Will) replace saving throws. Trained skills grant a flat +5 bonus. A five-step condition track runs alongside hit points, so a single heavy hit can impose cumulative penalties before a character drops. Force Points and optional Destiny Points provide narrative and mechanical resources for critical moments. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Out of print |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Nimble 3rd Party Creator License v2.0 | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Creator license | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Nimble Co. | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2025 | 2007 |
| Languages | English | English, Italian |
| Best For | 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. | Groups who want a d20-based Star Wars campaign with deep character customization through talent trees and a tactical combat core built for miniatures. |
| Highlights | 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. | Talent trees let two characters of the same class develop along different branches, so a Jedi built as a Guardian and one built as a Consular play differently from first level. The condition track turns a single heavy hit into a persistent penalty, making damage threshold matter alongside hit points. The Force subsystem runs on one Use the Force skill, so telekinesis, mind tricks, and combat enhancement all resolve through the same check. |
| Considerations | 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. | The game is out of print with no legal PDF, so acquiring the core book means the used market. The d20 chassis carries heavy per-character bookkeeping: talent and feat selections, a Force power suite, and a condition track that changes during combat. Vehicle and starship encounters switch to a second combat scale with its own actions and statistics, which is a lot to learn for a campaign that stays on foot. |