Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game vs Wolves of God
Compare Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game and Wolves of God side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game | Wolves of God | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Historical | Historical |
| Tags | Fear & Stress Mechanics, Player-Only Rolls, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Character-Driven, Narrative, Low-Prep, Licensed IP | Sandbox, Exploration, Worldbuilding, Low-Prep, Ascending AC |
| Core Mechanic | The GM rates a task from difficulty 0 to 10 and multiplies it by 3 for the target number; difficulty 0 succeeds automatically. When a roll is required, players roll a d20 for tasks, attacks, and defenses and succeed by meeting or beating the target. Skills, assets, and Effort spent from Might, Speed, or Intellect Pools ease the difficulty; Edge reduces those Pool costs. | 2d6 + skill + attribute ≥ target for skill checks; d20 + modifiers vs. AC for combat. Same engine as Stars/Worlds Without Number adapted for a historical setting. |
| Dice | d20 | 2d6 / d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | OGL 1.0a |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Monte Cook Games | Sine Nomine Publishing |
| Year | 2023 | 2020 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups seeking community-rooted horror in early 20th-century Appalachia, with player-controlled risk spending and theater-of-the-mind action. It suits GMs who prefer flexible adjudication and explicit horror-safety conversations. | Historical Dark Ages campaigns set in Anglo-Saxon England with dungeon-delving into Roman ruins, sandbox tools, and Kevin Crawford's signature GM aids. |
| Highlights | Character arcs award XP for steps in GM-approved arcs and for climaxes even when their final goals fail, keeping personal stories mechanically active. Single-use cyphers turn folk charms and strange objects into frequently changing powers, encouraging players to spend unusual tools instead of hoarding them. What Wakes Mode widens the natural-roll range for GM intrusions until a ten-hour recovery roll resets it, turning supernatural attention into escalating mechanical pressure. | Detailed historical setting with Crawford's sandbox tools, distinctive Anglo-Saxon flavor, Roman ruins as dungeons, compatible with other Sine Nomine products |
| Considerations | Stat Pools serve as both health and spending resources, so Effort and abilities can leave characters less able to absorb harm. The GM sets task difficulties and decides when to introduce complications, placing much of the game's consistency in GM adjudication. The game is built around alternate Appalachia in the 1920s and 1930s rather than a portable generic-horror setting. | Very niche historical setting, limited appeal outside Dark Ages fans, no free version |